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Hello!
It's me, Stephanie Pauline. MtM has been working hard and I am so excited to get to update you on all the happenings. Thank you for taking the time to track with what we do and why we do it.
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Highlights and Prayers
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>>>We finally have a copy of the video from the live concert, May 9th 2014, of Stephanie Pauline opening for David Wilcox. Click HERE to check it out!
>>>More than Music has set a goal to launch our Toy Soldier 1280 Program in the Spring of 2016. There are 1,280 juvenile detention centers across the United States. The Toy Soldier 1280 Program is More than Music's plan to help establish Christ-based mentoring programs in every facility. We have been assembling and creating needed fundraising materials the last few months and finally have a DVD being duplicated this week all about the program and how our supporters can help us reach 26,000 incarcerated young people with a tranformative message of hope and healing through real relationship in the next five years alone. This represents the culmination of so many years worth of work. God is awesome! Please pray with us for the advancement of this work for the benefit of these young people. You can see an exclusive advance preview of this presentation today HERE.
>>>Stephanie Pauline gave birth to a beautiful baby girl April 16th of this year. Maven Alatheia Grace is a blessing to all who know her. She is an answer to prayer and is a cherished addition to Stephanie and Nathan's family. Maven Alatheia Grace means unconcealed truth brings grace and understanding. This kind of truth has been the mainstay and stronghold of Stephanie's life and the source of her peace. Maven is Hebrew for understanding. Alatheia is a greek philosophy term meaning unconcealed truth. And Grace? Grace speaks for itself and falls fast on all of us from the One through whom all miracles like this are born.
>>>Since it has been SOOO long since the last newsletter (Nov 2014) it should be reported that the More than Music team did 10 concerts in several states and two radio interviews in Dec 2014. MtM also released Stephanie Pauline's song, More than a Story to radio. It was played on over 70 outlets nationwide and was featured in concerts across the country. While on tour in Dec we stopped off at several detention centers and shared the promise of God's love as revealed by this beautiful gift given to the world: Jesus. It was wonderful. Some really amazing moments.
Here is a brief story by Stephanie Pauline about a girl in North Dakota who she talked with after a concert in Dec.:
She was hesitant to enter the little chapel where we were doing the concert. I wasn't sure if she was going to stay through the whole thing or if she was going to leave. She was skittish it seemed. Then as I shared I saw her lean in and her face take on a different appearance. She wanted more. After the concert she shyly walked up to me and began asking me questions. She asked how to know God as a Father who loves when she has never experienced the love of a parent. It was such a vulnerable, honest question. I shared about what the Bible says in so many places about how God loves us. I shared about when I had my daughter and how I would hold her and she would sigh completely contended sighs -- how God loves us like that. I told her it was in that season with my daughter (now eight) that God showed me I am to lay back, but in His arms and just breathe with faith that He will hold me - always. He showed me trusting like THAT is abiding in Him and is the only way we bare good fruit. As I acted all this out and breathed in rhythm aloud the way my daughter would, as I talked about how God will never leave this precious young lady -- will never forsake her, that He doesn't care if she doesn't get it all right away -- that parenting is a long term commitment, she began to cry. I don't know exactly which thing it was that I said, but I saw a shift in her heart and the flood gates opened. She couldn't stop. She was weeping. I drew her into my arms and just held her as her shoulders shook and shook. I held her as I had held my newborn. As Jesus holds me. It was hope she was crying. New hope. New promise. New life.
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has bore? Thought she may forget you...I will not."
-Isaiah 49:15
Thank you for changing that girl's life. She will never be the same. You made that happen through your faith in me and in this ministry. THANK YOU.
>>>Some would rest and recuperate after having a baby, but Stephanie is using her "off" time to record another full length studio recording.
The yet unnamed CD, produced by Jeoff Harris, features 12 of some of her most loved songs. Set for release in Sept 2014 her first radio single is being released this week through CRW.
and CLICK HERE to purchase the new single and wet your appetite for the rest! 
>>>In a more serious vein, we are mourning the death of a friend and dear supporter of all that God has done in and through More than Music. Keith Bufis was a friend and mentor and he was lost much too soon.
Stephanie Pauline's first ever recording was at his impetus, and insistence. He met her after she sang in a divinely orchestrated three services at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul MN. She sang Faithful to the Dance, and the words therein seem an appropriate offering for this moment as we lift up this life and praise God for His mercy on us. "I will smile to hear a newborn cry. Shed a tear when I say goodbye. I will kiss death with a heavy sigh, and with a light step greet the morning sky. All the while I will wonder why." You are loved, Keith. Thank you.
>>>Finally, Stephanie Pauline's testimony was featured in a book by Dawn Marie Woroniak.
You can read reviews and purchase that HERE.
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 Digs on the Gigs
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2015 FEATURED CONCERT: More than Music Presents: RHETT WALKER BAND and Stephanie Pauline WHAT: Rhett Walker Band presented by and with all proceeds to benefit, More than Music Inc. WHO: Headlining the night, the Rhett Walker Band made an impressive debut two years ago with Come To The River, and their second release, Here's To The Ones, continues their high-test, southern rock stampede. The debut effort generated the band's first Top 5 hit, "When Mercy Found Me," and garnered Walker a GRAMMY� nomination. Since its inception, the band has been invited three times to perform on the Grand Ole Opry. - "Providing a winning combination of unique musical style with an impassioned and relatable message...the band has an obvious calling to their art" - Jackie Labuguen, Christian Music Review
- "Walker possesses an impressive set of pipes, and his soulful bellow fills up a rock song like few other voices in Christian Music...Here's To The Ones is a rare treat in that both the music and the message sound equally authentic." - Alex Caldwell, Jesus Freak Hideout
- Concert opener: Stephanie Pauline is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, and recording artist. With poignant lyrics, engaging storytelling and a sweet, but powerful voice, Stephanie's music has been played in 30 countries and on nearly 1,000 radio stations to date.
- Emcee: TBA
WHEN: Friday, Sept 25th, 2015; showtime 7 PM. General Admission doors open 6 PM WHERE: Discovery Church, 4304 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80918 719-596-7359 TICKETS: Advance $10/Day of Show $15 RELATED LINKS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
FALL - 2015
- Oct 5 state tour to The Dove's KS, MS, TN, CO, GA
- FIT FOR A KING HEALTHY LIVING SEMINAR, BRUNCH AND HEALTHY EXPO!!!
Date: Saturday, October 10th, 2015 9 AM - 1 PM Cost: Free Will Donation
Location:Woodmen Valley Chapel C/S, CO 80915
Speakers: Cheryl Townsley, Kristen Kells, Kristen Johnson, Frances Chacon and Suzanne Himka, Lee Miller and Worship by Stephanie Pauline
For More Information: Contact Suzanne Himka, Registered Dietitian, Certified Strength Coach at suzannehimka@gmail.com
- Sat, Nov 7th 9 AM Hope for the Hurting Breakfast The Metropolitan Mpls., MN
2016
- May 2015 Youth for Christ Hope and Potential Concert C/S, CO
- Oct 2016 David Wilcox w/ Stephanie Pauline to benefit MtM in St. Paul, MN
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From the Heart
By Stephanie Pauline
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"In this world there will be troubles, but take heart - I have overcome the world."
When little Maven Alatheia Grace was born she laid there still and silent as a stone for seven minutes before life stirred in her. For those minutes, from the sterile distance across the delivery room, from my bed, I frantically called out questions, gave nonsensical instructions to my bewildered husband, Nathan, and tearfully prayed aloud in the room full of doctors and nurses; with all my heart, I prayed.
There are so many frantic moments in life. Desperate people calling out questions, bossing instructions. Of the things I chose to do in that moment life has taught me that *prayer* is the one that has the real power to make a difference. Some would call me stupid and ignorant for thinking that. I am aware, but I don't care about their opinion of me.
When we are immobilized by life's trials...when we can't see clear to go on, we can respond in several ways:
- Doubt - When life throws us a curve ball or disaster hits it is easy to question. Some doubts lead us to dig in and really press towards the discovery of answers, and movement towards growth. In that, doubt can serve a good purpose. Some doubts, however, immobilize. There are some bedrock truths that can sustain us and move us towards healing in any trial. God is. God loves. God will never leave. God can and will use all things for our good. We can trust Him, even when it doesn't appear like we can. God is faithful to give us the strength, through His Holy Spirit, to love like He does, and the courage to be honest and fall fast on grace when we fail. Ultimately. Truly. We will be okay.
- Blame - I don't know, if in my little anecdote above, that my instructions constituted blame, but they certainly originated from the same vein, didn't they? They come from a sense of control that you really don't have. Someone is always the expert at knowing what is wrong, how and why, and what we should do about it. I often find myself in this rut. There is nothing wrong with study, and knowledge, and there is wisdom in some teaching and discerned sharing, but a counselor once said to me, "Stephanie, you are very perceptive. You are. Perception sees things. Insight, knows what to do with what you see." Sometimes no matter what instruction you throw into the cosmos, the fix will not come that way. Sometimes it's not figuring out how the puzzle pieces go together, but laying your hand in THE HAND of the one that holds the most important pieces and letting love speak for you.
- Move Mountains - My grandparents, on my mom's side, used to kneel down every night and go through a looooonnnnnnggg list of prayer requests. I know this, because as a child I fidgeted and giggled my way through several of those sessions on my knees; my face buried in the couch cushions with my sister. I didn't listen to all of the prayers, but when the prayer turned to those I knew closely, my ears perked up. There was my brother. My mom and dad. My sister and I. We lived there in those prayers. For those moments I stopped fidgeting and I heard how loved I was. Not just by them, but by God. See, the Maker of the universe set up a system of us talking to Him, and believe it or not, Him talking back. Through words -- impressions. Deep knowings. In these little jots and tiddles on the screen, we find associations that move us deeply over time. Impressions that transform hearts and minds and lives. In the creation of the world, the Bible says, God spoke forth and the heavens and earth were created. It was faith and intent spoken through the Word that brought creative essence into form. God hears and will move with creative essence as we practice our faith through simple conversation with Him. The Bible says, "It is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom." Sometimes those doubts I mentioned get in the way of asking for what we really need and want, and what God really wants for us. It's almost as if it hurts to imagine that it could be, so we cower away from the true power we have to ask, seek and knock, for fear our power is not enough. But what if it was never supposed to be enough alone? And what if -- with God -- it is more than enough. Go on...ask. Seek. Knock. Trust God. Let Him move that mountain.
So what if little Mae hadn't come back to me? What if the answer to what we seek isn't what we want to hear? I can't even think about that in relation to my baby girl, but I have uttered soulful desperate prayers and not seen fruit for years, or decades, or maybe ever, at least not in the way that I thought. Even if it is hard...even if you have asked a thousand times before. Keep speaking to God. He hears. He loves you. You live there in prayer and so does He.
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In Closing
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Thank you for enabling this work that has always been, and will always be about so much More than Music.
Love to you,
Stephanie Pauline
More than Music Inc.
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Admin & Sponsorship Development: Genevieve Moellring
Admin@MorethanMusicInc.com
Booking and Promotions:
Booking@MorethanMusicInc.com
PR Manager: Kathy Morford
Kathy@MorethanMusicInc.com
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In the past five years, More than Music
has sponsored over 75 free concerts in correctional and treatment facilities,
has supported social service ministries through benefit concerts; raising over $110,000, and
has served as an independent sending agency for like-hearted musicians, artists, and missions projects.
Through this work, and out shared art and multimedia, ministries have been strengthened,
millions have heard a message of hope and forgiveness,
and lives have been transformed by Christ.
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