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Forever and Ever, Amen
Paul Overstreet
Destiny Image
Hardcover. 208 pages.
Review by Valerie Martinez (Read Valerie's bio)
When you hear the name Paul Overstreet you may think one of two things. First "Who is Paul Overstreet?" or second, "Isn't he a secular country singer?" What may surprise you is you probably know many of the songs this talented songwriter and Grammy Award winner, has written. These songs include: "Forever and Ever, Amen," "On the Other Hand," "Same Ole Me," "I Fell in Love Again Last Night" and "When You Say Nothing At All." Behind every song written there is a story of how that song came to be. This book not only tells that story but also accounts of how these songs have impacted others' lives. Basically, the power of a simple song.
Paul was born in Mississippi. His father was a preacher and the entire family sang and played musical instruments. One night he went to the movies and saw "Your Cheatin' Heart," the autobiography of Hank Williams. He was amazed that a man could take a guitar and his gift of singing and write down what he was feeling and make a living. He knew right then what he would do with his own God given gift. After high school graduation, Paul went to Waco, Texas for a while, working as a mechanic on diesel trucks. It didn't take long to realize that this was not what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He saw Tanya Tucker perform and thought "I think I can do that." The next day, he told the company he was working for that he was going to Nashville. They said they would hold his job open for him. Paul arrived in Nashville driving a 1968 Ford Fairlane. He didn't own a suitcase so he had his clothes in a laundry basket in the back seat of the car. Paul didn't have a clue what to do next...but he was there! A long hard road lay ahead, but the dream of writing songs and making records was so big that the roughest roads weren't going to stop him. Paul says "Looking back on those early years it's amazing to realize that the reality is greater than the dreams that started the whole adventure."
Paul started out by writing songs of misery and woe. After all, that is what country songs were about. He was twenty nine years old when he knew he had to take a serious look at his life and make a decision. Was he going to continue on the road of what he wanted to do...or was he going to finally try to learn what God wanted him to do? He decided that he had done everything he had wanted for so long, and wasn't happy and it was getting worse. So he allowed God to take over his life. One day while reading the Bible he came across the Scripture, Proverbs 23:7a, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." and he felt that God was directing him to the kind of songs He wanted him to write. It was at that point that he made a decision to start saying good things about life. Paul says, "I now believe that music and songs have an unusual power to reach in to the hearts and souls of human beings, so we continue to write songs. We do our best to be thoughtful of that power and try to do something good with the gifts we've been given...and the time that others give us by listening to our songs. Maybe that is why God sometimes gets involved making the songs much more important than they would be ordinarily."
After Paul rededicated his life to the Lord, he first thought that God was going to have him become a missionary in Africa or preach in a small country church or something like that. Surely He would want him to only sing and write Christian music. He was totally shocked when God began directing him to write country songs with a different message than he had been writing. He closed all the doors to the Christian music direction at the time. Paul was confused. But he just wanted to follow God. He says "I guess that's what people mean when they talk about putting God in a box - I realized I didn't know God very well. I really thank God that He didn't let me go totally into Gospel music at that time. Instead He placed me and my songs into secular country music, where the message of the songs could speak to a whole different audience, where people who wouldn't otherwise plan to listen to Christian music could still hear God speaking to them. They might be drawn closer to Him and might be able to hear Him saying something special, just for them, because of these songs. It has been a tremendously rewarding experience for me."
This book shares the stories of people who were touched by the songs that Paul has written. Some of them are tear-jerkers, so get out the kleenex box. Some are inspirational. All are a testimony of how God can use a man willing to allow God to direct his life.
Copyright 2001, Valerie Martinez. All Rights reserved.
| About Valerie Martinez: Valerie Martinez is a freelance writer and Publicist/Contributing Writer for Christian Songwriters Resource. She also writes a monthly column for the "Active Christian News" in Phoenix AZ. She has written one book and has appeared on National Television, Radio and Newspapers. She may be reached at 480-964-0710 or at valerie@crosshome.com |
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Forever and Ever, Amen Paul Overstreet Destiny Image Buy Now! |
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Would you like your Christian book featured here? Send a copy of your book and presskit/bio to: Jason Mitchener 9155 N. 3rd St. #229-2 Phoenix, AZ 85020 Questions? Contact me |