You might not be able to go out in the cold weather, but we're bringing the freshest picks of Christian music news straight to you.
Christian Music/Entertainment News (8)
1. Happy Birthday to Kirk Franklin! He's now 45 years old, and on top of that, he and his wife, Tammy Collins, celebrated 19 years of marriage last week. Big week! Congratulations, Kirk!
2. Tooth & Nail Records asked its fanbase which of its 2014 releases was their favorite, and the winner, by a landslide, was Lowborn, the goodbye album of rock band Anberlin. Copeland's Ixora and Nine Lashes' From Water to War were the runners up.
3. Some Winter Jam attenders captured a pre-show, streetcorner performance by About A Mile outside of the arena in Charlotte, North Carolina last week. A pretty awesome acoustic jam of the song "In with the Out Crowd" ended with a sweet camera angle that showed an optical illusion of the band's guitar strings vibrating strangely. It's a must-see on About A Mile's Facebook page.
4. When a mother and daughter both make music for a living, musical talent isn't the only thing that gets passed down. Crystal Lewis' daughter, Izzi Ray liked her mom's sparkly silver Gretsch guitar from the '80s so much that she had to swipe it. What's old is new again.
5. Even hip-hoppers are down with the worship of Hillsong. Rapper/singer HillaryJane shared with her fans her current song obsession, "Lord of Lords," a song from the 2007 album Savior King, featuring Brooke Fraser-Ligertwood. She said that while she doesn't always Hillsong, when she does, it's "Lord of Lords."
6. Matthew West and Colton Dixon will be out on the road together as part of the Live Forever Tour, which starts March 5th in Poughkeepsie, New York, and stretches down South and into the Midwest before ending in Getzville, New York on May 8th.
7. Aaron Shust is in songwriting mode, and he told the Twitterverse that he's "pumped" about the church party song he wrote with Mia Fieldes and Hank Bentley about the complete work of Christ.
8. Either Matty Mullins has a major shoe addiction, or he's a Converse rep of some sort. Matty shared a photo of 14 boxes of shoes with the caption, "Got some Converse in the mail today."
Quotes (3)
1. "It's worth waiting on God's man for you cause it makes your heart happy and peaceful." - The newly married Kari Jobe
2. "It's amazing the heart to heart talks that happens while sitting on top of old, beaten up washing machines! Sometimes it's the little moments that mean so much." - Bread of Stone
3. "Pray to end hate of any kind and to stop violence. God, help us LOVE." - John Cooper of Skillet