There's a common saying out there that hurt people... hurt people. And healed people... heal people. It's a response of the heart that comes from experience, and fast-rising singer-songwriter Natasha Owens has a ministry birthed out of a grateful heart. 

After telling people her story through the very personal debut, I Made it Through, Owens is back with Rising Above, an EP (coming August 2015) that continues her story of restoration, overcoming, and moving forward in life with Christ. I recently spoke with Owens about her powerful testimony, one that shapes every aspect of her music and ministry.

You've got a great story, so we just want to introduce you to people and new fans and get the gist of what you're all about. Tell us where you live and what normal life is like for you.

I live in a suburb north of Dallas, Texas. I have two boys, one that is almost 15 and one that is 12. My husband and I have been married for 20 years. We started our own businesses about 15 years ago, and luckily they now run on their own so we're able to tour and get this music out.

When I'm not out on tour, I am doing the mom thing and running a business. I'm over the office part of it. We sell cable equipment to cable companies for Comcast and Time Warner and Charter. We also have a retail company now that sells products in stores.

You also have a worship leader background. Your story there is incredible, in terms of coming out of a really dark time after your father's passing. The way you describe it, being asked to lead worship at your church seemed completely out of the blue to you. Talk about that experience.

My family has been a musical family. Way back in the day my grandparents, mom and aunt toured around just in local churches singing at camp meetings and things like that. I was always a choir member and a praise singer, but I was never the one out front. I would rather blend into the background. I had a little bit of social anxiety when it came to talking in front of a big group. The ministry part I never really tapped into.

I was over with the praise team at a church helping the pastor with a lot of things, and out of the blue our worship leader left. In the middle of this, my dad had passed away. It was sudden and at a young age, so it was a shock. I went through this whole stage of shock before I could deal with the reality and the grief of it. I was very close to him, and it rocked my world, but I was trying to be the strong one.

It took me about a year to really deal with it, and when it hit me, it hit me with a force that almost crushed me. I didn't really know what to do with all of these emotions that were suddenly creeping to the surface. It threw me into a depression, and I down-spiraled very quickly. I was dealing with anger. I was so mad at God, who is the person I shouldn't be mad at, but I was. I was mad at everybody and everything, even my friends who still had their parents. It just became ridiculous.
 
I didn't know how to function. I didn't know how to get out of bed every day. I was just in survival mode. But my pastor said "We lost our music minister and we're having a tough time finding one. I really feel like God just keeps placing you on my mind to take this position."

I thought it was a joke at first because I'm like "You're friends with us. How do you think I'm supposed to function and motivate people when I am so angry at Him? I don't feel like He's great, and you want me to get up and tell people He's great?"

When God has a path for your life, you might delay it, but it will keep coming around like a boomerang. People would call me out of the blue and say "God put you on my heart, and I really feel like you need to listen to what He wants you to do."

Finally I went to the pastor and said "I believe that this is what God wants me to do, but how am I supposed to give of myself and minister to these people and connect to God in such a way when I feel so dry and dead? I want to do it, but I just don't know if I can."

He said, "Tash, the funny thing about God is when you don't feel like you have anything left to give, that's when you know that it's beyond you and you have to give it to Him. He will give you the strength and everything that you need to do the position that He's called you to do."

It was a battle because I didn't feel healed when I stepped up on that platform. I didn't feel healed for a long time. I felt hypocritical because I felt like I was saying things that I didn't know if I believed myself. But just trying to find songs to do for the next Sunday and listening to those words started to help me get out of bed every day. Every song was a restoration song to some degree, about how great He is or how He is the healer.

I kept doing that for several years, but I just felt like there was more to this ministry. Different pastors had spoken things over my life, had told me I was going to be a songwriter. I didn't believe them. But God was giving me encouragement and signs that this was the training ground.

I remember specifically one Tuesday night I prayed and I said "God, I just feel like there's more that you have for me. I don't know what to do." We had brought a guy in from Nashville several times to teach worship songs and things like that. I didn't even know he did producing, but he texted me the next morning and said, "Have you ever thought about doing a CD?"

I called him and he said "We were just in a production meeting, and your name came across my mind. You want to do one?"

I told him "That's the answer to my prayer. I don't really know why we're doing it yet, but it has to be a restoration CD." He said "OK, I have to warn you that since you're not a songwriter, we'll poll the writers, but we're probably not going to get much." We polled them and got 30 songs by the next day, and every single one of them was about restoration.

Sometimes people just need a little bit of hope and encouragement when they feel like they can't hear from God, or they feel that He's not there to let them know to keep going. But eventually you're going to hear an answer, one way or the other. That's the whole purpose of the album.
 
You've already been able to do some incredible things, from touring with Jason Crabb to opening for Sanctus Real. Now you're working with Ed Cash after already working with a number of songwriters. What's it been like to go from pretty local and the first CD coming out to now this huge step forward?

Everything has happened so backwards, which we can only attribute to the fact that it's for sure God's hand. The first time I was singing songs outside of the studio and outside of a church was on a stage opening for Michael W. Smith. That just doesn't happen. I felt like I was a kindergartner running with a bunch of college professors, still expected to know what they know.

When we came across Jason Crabb, he was opening for Michael about the same time. I told him "Jason, I just feel so intimidated sometimes," and he said, "God does not call the equipped. He equips who He calls." That has really stuck with me to give me confidence.

When we contacted Ed Cash's office they said he really only works with a certain record label and he executive produces, but you can't get his time. My manager said "We just want to tell you our story. Just give us 10 minutes."

Ed sat down with me, and I was telling him my vision for this next album. The first one was I Made it Through, but this next CD is Rising Above, and I really felt like God placed it on my heart that we can't stop at making it through something. We have to teach people to rise about the circumstance and help somebody else.

I was telling him all of this, and God gave him a song. Within second he just started playing a chorus, which is the title track to the next CD. He looked at me and said "I am going to produce your CD. I'm going to do vocals. I'm going to do this every step of the way."

We were originally supposed to just do an EP with him, but I came back and told him I really wanted to do a full project. He committed to do the rest of the project for me, and now he's songwriting with me. God has been so good. He's opened up a lot of opportunities.

Tell us about the new record Rising Above. Would you say it's an extension of your restoration ministry?

Yes, it's an extension. Like I said, the first CD is just helping someone stay focused through a trial, and then this CD is trying to help somebody realize that you have to take your brokenness and rise above it and help somebody else, whether you feel like you're ready or not, because He will equip you.

The first song is "No One But You." My husband had a dream, and he woke up and was telling me about it. I said "that's a song." When it came time to see if we could even write a song, my music director started playing a tune, and we wrote the words.

We brought it to Ed Cash. I was so intimidated to bring the first song I'd ever written to a guy like Ed Cash. I just kept remembering what Jason told me. Ed listened to it and loved it. He made some changes to make it better. The whole purpose of the song is that when you have broken pieces on the inside and you feel like nobody can see them, God sees that. If you give those pieces to Him, He mends them back together.

That's how the record started. We have written every song on this record with Ed Cash and the Rising Above. It's so special. You can feel God's presence in it.
 
When does that release?

The release of the EP is going to be August as of now. Then we will finish the full album probably by the end of summer, and it will be ready to be launched the first part of next year. I'm so impatient. I have five songs done and I want them out now!

You've toured a little bit. What has your road experience been like over the last few years?

It's been really cool. We did a few shows with Michael W. Smith, but not full tours. The Jason Crabb tours involved all the tour buses and the band. We covered 40 markets last year with him. From April to December I was only home like six weeks. Sometimes when the kids are not in school they're with us on the bus, which makes it a little more chaotic to have two teenagers on the bus, but all the band is very laid back.

It's amazing to me because I've been involved in music ministry all my life, and it's usually dramatic. You kind of brace yourself to have that drama in close quarters, but we never had that. I had the most awesome band. We're like family now because we just bonded really quick. We had some really fun times and some struggling times on the road with different things, but it's been fun.

We're going to be on a tour with Kutless October 1st through November 22nd. There are three other bands. It's a big tour for Hope International, and we're doing 30 to 40 cities with them.

How can people be praying for you and your family as you enter this next season?

I want to be able to know the right doors to walk into. We're at a pivotal point in my career right now where we could go in so many different directions, but God knows where we need to go.

I do also have a need in my life. My youngest son fell and hit his head last year, and he got a concussion. He's had a constant migraine for 10 months. If people could just pray that they figure out how to force out this headache. It's either God's got to heal him at this point, or He's got to give the wisdom to the doctors to know what to do. I usually don't do this, but since you asked, if they could be praying for my son that would be wonderful. As a mom you feel so helpless.

I don't know why I'm going through this. I know it's a development for me because I'm one that wants to speak faith and give hope. When you're going through something, we still have hope and faith and we're claiming His healing, but there are days where you start doubting. But He's got it under control. I just have to trust that He's got it in His timeline, and that's the hardest part.