On Saturday, February 6^th, Ginny Owens joined Point of Grace, Mark Shultz, Larry Stewart (Restless Heart) and Selah at Brentwood United Methodist Church for two special concerts benefiting the earthquake victims of Haiti. The event was a huge success, raising over $50,000 at the show and online during the live webcasts. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the relief efforts of UMCOR. “The success in the dollar amount raised on Saturday is only exceeded by the volunteer spirit in which it was given…from volunteers that gave their time and talents to help others so desperately in need.  From that perspective it was an awe-inspiring evening,” stated Stuart Dill, Point of Grace’s manager and co-event organizer.

Owens said she was incredibly humbled to be a part of the fund-raising effort.  “We’re seeing less and less in the media about Haiti now, even though we all know the rebuilding is just beginning.  I hope we’ll all continue finding ways to help bring hope to this hurting country in the future.”

Ginny will conduct her final live songwriting seminar of the year, covering every topic from how to break free from writer’s block to getting your songs published. To learn more and register, visit

http://www.obscuregenius.com/

We can’t wait to see you there!

http://www.familychristian.com/shop/search.asp?Ntt=Ginny+Owens&N=4294967251&D=Ginny+Owens&Ntk=All

The workshop will be held tomorrow (Saturday) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST, and will feature valuable information about crafting a song, overcoming writer’s block, and getting your music published.

For more information or to sign up, visit http://www.obscuregenius.com. We look forward to seeing you there.

http://budurl.com/ginnyblog

The delay is due, in large part, to the fact that my summer travel schedule has been quite busy, thus delaying my signing and shipping efforts. I appreciate so much your patience, and I hope you enjoy the CD!

Also, if you have found that your download link is broken and need for it to be reset, please send an email to allthingsginny@gmail.com.

Have a wonderful Sunday.
Blessings,
Ginny O

To craft this CD, Owens pursued an in-depth education of hymns current and historical, finding surprises all along the way. “I read through lyric after lyric of the most amazingly beautiful poetry, prayers, psalms and laments. Such depth. Such magnificent language.”

In many ways, being reminded of the ephemeral nature of life seems appropriate in the creation of this album as its title cut was born amidst a life-and-death battle. Owens co-wrote original track “Say Amen” with Ronell Ragbir, a 20-year-old Trinidad native and cancer patient who was living in Memphis to be close to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. An aspiring songwriter, Ronell was introduced to Ginny in the hopes that together the two women could make Ronell’s dream come true. The result of their collaboration was “Say Amen,” a song the new friends were able to perform together several times over the next few months. When Ronell passed away, Ginny sang the song at her memorial service and then, in a sense, buried the song because it was simply too painful to re-visit.

However, one year after her first meeting with Ronell, Ginny received news that hit much closer to home: her mom had just been diagnosed with cancer. “I could not do my part by writing songs with her, calling to talk or posting the news on my Web site and asking everyone to pray. I had to simply go and be there…right in the middle of it. It was the only thing to do.”

It was an incredibly difficult nine months for mother and daughter, full of chemo, surgery, radiation and many, many prayers. Thankfully, the treatment worked. Ginny’s mom is now cancer free and back to her full and active lifestyle.

“The fact that she is doing so wonderfully fills me with immense gratitude for God’s grace. I’ve finally felt like it is the appropriate time to share ‘Say Amen’ once more. My Mom never heard it when I sang it with Ronell, but now that she knows the lyrics, she says that she wished she could have had it to listen to this time last year.

“My prayer is that this song—and the rest of the record—will bring hope to listeners’ hearts, and to the hearts of those who might be suffering,” Owens concluded. “I continue to be in awe of how precious life is and how little control we have over it. In my darkest hours or my brightest moments, I hope that I will always be able to say ‘Amen’ and encourage others to do the same.”

Co-produced by Owens and Kerry Kernan, the album’s debut single, a modern interpretation of “Just As I Am,” releases to radio later this month. The full-length CD is currently available at www.ginnyowens.com and will release to various retail outlets on September 29, 2009.