Embracing God’s Plan For Your Life
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It's Live in the Bream with the host of Fox News Sunday, Shannon Bream. This week on Live in the Bream, I am so excited to welcome our guest who you have heard his songs in his voice. You may not know he is also a very accomplished songwriter who's written for many of your other favorite artists out there as well. He's got a new book out called My Story, Your Glory. You will recognize the song. Matthew West, welcome to Live in the Bream.

Thanks, Shannon. And I have to give you extra points for a very clever podcast name, Live in the Dream. As a songwriter, you know, I'm always about titles and that's a really strong title, right? Why, thank you. I felt like it was just the right amount of cheese.

Without going too far, it was just sort of a little seasoning for you. That's all. But we're glad to have you as our guest. So let's talk about your music a little bit. I know you're working on new stuff now. When you were coming up, starting in music years ago, you grew up in the church. Did you know that you wanted to be a writer as well as a singer? Because you write for so many other successful artists, too. Did you know you had that gift early on as a storyteller?

I actually was focused on one thing and one thing only, and that was baseball. Okay, maybe two things, baseball and girls. My new girls had to be in there. Because guys, I'm married to a baseball player. Guys who like baseball are also, most of them are really into attracting girls to watch them play baseball.

There you go. And I think sometimes it takes a dream coming to an end to discover what your deeper purpose and calling in life is. And that was the case for me, for the door to close on baseball, not be given any scholarship offers. I began to kind of look around me and realize that for a long time, people had been kind of encouraging me saying, hey, you have a gift for music. And I always sang and things like that, but I was never taking it seriously. And so when I began to turn my attention towards music,

I started to sing and people said, man, you have a really gifted voice and things like that. But I found myself thinking, you know, I'd be a lot more excited to sing a song if it was something that I was really feeling in my own life or in my own story. And so, you know, I'm sitting in my studio as I talk to you today and I'm looking at a picture of James Taylor on my wall. And I remember hearing a James Taylor song and thinking, well, what if I could like

write a song that tells my story. And that's when it first started to take off the idea of I liked singing. But when I could when I figured out that I could pick up a guitar, teach myself chords and say something from my heart as a way of like a vehicle for me to tell my story. That's when things began to click in. Songwriting became just a true passion for me right away.

So do you, does something come to you all at once? Is it hard work? Do you like to collaborate with other people? What's it like writing for other people? I mean, how does the process actually work?

So I always look at it like this. I always look at it like if I was locked out of a house, I wouldn't just sit at the front door and it magically opens. I always look, you know, you look for another way into the house, you know, see if a window is open or whatever. And I think about songwriting like that house. And so some people say, well, you do start with always lyrics. Do you start with the music? And I try to like develop.

lots of different ways to get into that song of a house. If that makes, so if I get stuck with the lyrics, I can go sit at the piano and play the piano until something comes. But predominantly what happens is I'll have a concept or a title idea. Maybe that's why I loved living the Bream. I just immediately, I heard a theme song for your podcast just pop into my head. No, but I love titles and I love ideas. Back in the day when I was first starting

a high school student, I would ask my dad, who was a preacher, he would, I'd say, give me your sermon notes for the upcoming message that he would deliver on Sunday. And then I would say, I'm going to write a song inspired by the message that you're preaching. So if he was doing a message on forgiveness or something like that, I would sit down and I would try to write a song that fit that theme.

And so all these years later, I still thrive on assignments. Matter of fact, just to give you an example, yesterday I was sitting with a movie maker who was in my studio. He was telling me about a movie he was making and a song that he needed. And I love getting a script or watching a movie. I got to watch the movie Jesus Revolution and then go to the studio and try to write a song for the end of the movie.

that fit that theme. So it happens a lot like that. Yesterday, I was in a recording studio writing a song with a young artist. And that's a totally different type of experience because here comes a young recording artist who's just, you know, on the edge of seeing her dreams come true. And it's about sitting there and going, hey, what's your story? Tell me what you're all about. And then she starts unpacking her story. And we, I'm in a different seat that day and I'm getting to help her share her story. So every day in Nashville is a new

creative journey and adventure and gives me another reason to wake up. And I love picking up that guitar and whether it's writing a song for me or for somebody else, man, it's my favorite to do. And you, gosh, you do so many other things. If people follow you or Emily, your wife is hilarious on social media. She's truly one of my favorite follows on Instagram because she's just kind of taking you through her day. I love it. She's got the dog. She's getting a manicure. She's doing eighties workout, step class at, um,

YMCA, your girls are progressing through school. We're getting to experience part of their lives. Like there are just so many things. She's a lot of fun. And like my favorite Instagram follow, you can tell her that and people, you should check it out. It's very, she's you, both of you have a great sense of humor. As I've seen evidenced in some of your hosting of things like K-Love and some of the skits that you come up, I can only, I can only assume that you help write the skits as well.

Well, I do. And, you know, that was a big thing for me was kind of realizing, you know, in my whole platform that I've been given as a singer or songwriter with, you know, books or podcasts or whatever it is I'm doing. I've kind of boiled it down to like two words and that's like humor and heart. Like I love I don't take myself too seriously. You know, it's funny, Shannon, when I first came to Nashville and tried to get a record deal, the record labels thought like I wasn't enough of them.

Like they wanted me to be this like leather jacket, like brooding rock star. Like, Oh, I wonder what he's thinking. Like, he's so cool. You know? And then I started to realize, you know what? I'm not Bono. That's not, you know, life becomes so freeing when you just step into like who God uniquely and created you.

And when you step into that and be unapologetic about it, that's when you discover freedom and you discover freedom with your platform, with your voice and all the different things. So having fun and not taking myself too seriously is always a is always a big part of it. But I got to tell you, it does have some downside because a few Thanksgiving's

During the pandemic, I wrote, as an example of me being goofy, I wrote a song called Gobble Gobble. Like, it's certainly not the most deeply meaningful song of my career. But I got to tell you, that song took off. And now it haunts me every single year at Thanksgiving. It comes back. Oh, the...

Classrooms all listen to Gobble Gobble. And true story, I was getting ready for, I was in New York City. An artist that I work with was getting ready to play a television show the next day. And we went to dinner and it was late at night after dinner in Midtown Manhattan. And this guy stops me on the street. And he's like, are you Matt West? And I said, yeah. He's like, man, I love that turkey song, Gobble Gobble. And I thought of all the songs that I've written in my life,

that I hoped would change the world. And it was a song about Turkey that got me recognized on the streets in New York. Lovely. You're like, I've got 30 number one hits. I'm platinum, I'm gold, I'm Grammy nominated. You know who I am? Yeah, I'm the Turkey. I'm the gobble gobble guy. But I do love that you do have a sense of humor about yourself. I think that's good for all of us. But on your serious side, I want to talk about this book. It's really in-depth because it's a devotional and it's not just...

sharing scripture, asking people to read and think about things. This is the storyteller in you. You want to help us find the storyteller in us. Because in going through the scriptures, you then ask people to write part of their story. You ask them to share their story. You want them to journal and live their story and really come up with, you know, kind of looking at the arc of their own experiences. And one of the things you say very early on, which I love, is that

Listen, almost all of us probably have parts of our story that we're ashamed of. We have regrets. And you say, it's okay. You know, God can work through all of that. He's not surprised. He knows our stories better than we do. So I love that this isn't just a reading devotional, but you're really asking people to be interactive and to put their own story to paper.

It's so true. That's something that I felt like I'm put on this earth to do is to encourage people to know that their story matters, that their story has...

You know, what put that into focus for me was several years ago, I had this idea to ask people to share their stories with me. And I began collecting people's stories and thousands of them came in. And one of the predominant themes of the stories that came in were basically like, thank you for asking for my story because I've been made to feel in my life like I'm anonymous or like my story doesn't matter. And I wound up making an entire record, which wound up becoming a big part of my whole songwriting career.

I collect these people's stories. And a lot of the songs that I've had that are like hits on the radio, they're actually inspired by, you know, Hello My Name Is was a song inspired by Jordan who wrote to me about his battle of addiction.

addiction and how he realized it wasn't just a battle with an addiction. It was a battle for his identity. A song called forgiveness was inspired by the story of a single mom named Renee whose daughter was killed in a drunk driving accident and her journey to learn how to forgive the young man who was behind bars responsible for taking her daughter's life. Incredible stories of not just beauty, but brokenness and seeing people discover one by one how nothing is wasted from our stories. Not the good, not the bad.

not even the broken, when we place it in the hands of the one who is the author of all stories. And so oftentimes when I write a song, Shannon, I'll feel like, man, there's more to it

to unpack with the message because I know you write books and with my songs it's like I've learned how to tell a story in three minutes and make it rhyme and hopefully have a catchy melody but I want to unpack that and so this idea of telling our story and getting to know our story and understand the significance of the story God is writing was something I wanted to unpack on a deeper level and so it's turned into my story your glory it's a 30 day devotional discovering the story that God is writing with your life and I wanted

it to be a simple and quick read that people could add to their daily devotions. I want it to be filled with scripture because I don't want to try to say anything any better than God's word.

where it already does it. And then I wanted it to be a place where you could reflect. Think about times where God's been faithful in your life. Think about breakthroughs that you still haven't seen, but be reminded of the breakthroughs that you have seen so that your faith can be encouraged. And maybe it can be a book where you simply discover that your story can be changed when you invite God into every chapter. No matter what that chapter is, he has a plan to restore, redeem, and use it for his glory.

We'll have more live in the Bream in a moment. I'm Guy Benson. Join me weekdays at 3 p.m. Eastern as we break down the biggest stories of the day with some of the biggest newsmakers and guests. Listen live on the Fox News app or get the free podcast at Guy Benson show dot com.

And I love that you encourage people to share their story because it's really, I found through my darkest or most vulnerable and oftentimes, you know, most hurtful or embarrassing things. It makes you able to connect with other people when you're vulnerable and, you know, maybe save them some of the same pain that you had or sit with them in their pain because you've been there. And so sharing our story as part of that, too, as we craft it through the devotional to

to also share it and connect with other people. I want to read the lyrics of one of the songs that you mentioned because it's, I'm sure, one of your most successful, best known. Hello, my name is, and you talked about where this came from. Hello, my name is regret. I'm pretty sure we've met every single day of your life on the whisper inside that won't let you forget.

Hello, my name is Defeat. I know you recognize me. Just when you think you can win, I'll drag you right back down again until you've lost all belief. And you talk about these are the voices that you hear. These are the lies that we hear and we believe them. But then you come back with this.

Hello, my name is child of the one true king. I've been saved. I've been changed. I have been set free. Amazing grace is the song I sing. Hello, my name is child of the one true king. So beautiful and so powerful and so redemptive. Thank you for putting that kind of work and that kind of lyric out into the world.

Well, I like to think of that as a victory anthem, you know, and there's so many dark things happening in the world and so many people struggling with so many things. And, you know, one of the chapters that I cover in this book is about our identity. And so each chapter is it's like a different part of my story for God's glory and my identity. I mean, we're living in a world right now, Shannon, I know, you know, and we see it as like

This world seems to be completely and totally obsessed with the topic of identity, even more significantly, like redefining our identity and deciding for ourselves who we are. And we know that that's a fool's chase because when we play the role of God and we say, well, I'm going to decide. It's up to me.

me to tell the world who I am. Well, that's when we start to get off the beaten path and we lose touch with our God given identity. And that's ultimately what it all comes back to is like, am I the author of my story or do I believe that I was put here on this earth by a creator who, and wouldn't it make sense? Like when I go buy a Mac book pro,

Do I want to decide that I know best how to operate that computer? Or would it make sense for me to look at the manual? Or what if I could have talked to Steve Jobs before he passed away? I'd rather go to the creator of that product and learn how to use that product. And I think about that when it comes to my life. And I'm so thankful that guy Jordan shared his story of his battle with addiction. You know, he went from being an all-American athlete to getting hooked on Oxycontin and totally seeing his life fall off the rails.

But his mom and dad never stopped praying for him. And they said, "Jordan, this is a broken part of your story, but it doesn't have to be the end." And he began that fight, that battle. And we're all facing battles with our lives. We're facing the voices that come at us from dysfunctional family. We're facing the voices that come at us from mistakes we've made in our past.

Facing the voices, you know, some kid in school right now is being told by their friends that they're not pretty enough or smart enough or athletic enough or just not enough. But when we turn to the Bible and we look at who God says we are, there are so many scriptures chock full of truth and the promise that he values us as his beloved children. First

John 3, 1, later in that song, I quote that verse. It says, how great is the love the Father has lavished on us. I love that word lavished. That we should be called children of God. And the next sentence says, and that is what we are. In other words, it's not what you used to be before you went and made a bunch of mistakes. It's what you are right here in this moment. You are a child of the King.

And you take these stories and you share them in so many different ways, which gives voice to real life, what people are walking through. But you also provide the hope on the other side of that, as you were just talking about. You and your dad, by the way, love your parents when they get roped into social media, too. They are hilarious and wonderful as well. But you and your dad have a nonprofit ministry. It's PopWe. So you can find that at PopWe.org, P-O-P-W-E dot org.

What are people going to find there? How does it help? Well, the ministry has a weird name, but the purpose is crystal clear. And it's all about the power of story. And so at our ministry's website, people have an opportunity to share their story. They can submit a video or they can write it in. And the goal of that is to tell your story, to be an encouragement to somebody else, to let somebody else know that they're not alone. We also have materials there that help walk you through that process.

Learning how to write down your story, get in touch with your story, and see how God is at work in your story. We've boiled it down to three words. It's about learning how to craft. And craft is that word that highlights that you're not mass produced. You're uniquely, you are God's workmanship, his craftsmanship. So we're learning how to craft and then share craftsmanship.

that story. I believe we're not meant to be story keepers, but storytellers. And then ultimately how to live the most fulfilling story with our lives. John,

that says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus said, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. And so our ministry is really in place to spur people on. To go, look, one, you're not alone. One, your story matters. Two, you're not alone in your story. And three, God has a plan for you to discover life to the fullest with Jesus.

story. So I also send out a weekly email devotional and people can subscribe to that. It's just a, I write them inspired by my own daily devotions. And every week you'll just get a little email from me with some scripture and some encouragement about what's going on. As a matter of fact, this week I sent out, I'm sending out a devotional about the season of life I'm in right now. Shannon, I've got...

My oldest daughter is getting ready to graduate from high school. She's 18. And I just released a song called 18 Summers, which is about... Get your tissues, people. Do not listen without tissue. But I want to thank you because I love the themes of the books that you... And so many of your books are about empowering women's voices. And as a girl, Dad, I just want to say... I live in a house full of women and I just... I love...

one, the example that you said, and two, what you put into the written word with the women of the Bible speak, all these different books that you've written, just empowering and encouraging people like my daughters to know that their voice matters. Well, thank you. And I love to see how you and Emily nurture that in your girls and how they have a heart for the things of God too, because you've been such steady parents and your parents and all of those generations pouring into them. They're such beautiful young women inside and out.

Listen, I got to say something, though, about Matthew's world domination, because I often like to watch Great American Family. I've got a lot of friends who work over there, love their movies and what they're working on. And then I hear Matthew West's voice.

It's part of the Christmas stuff that's going on there. And listen, I don't mind if they do Christmas movies now. I mean, May is fine. I will take it whenever. Okay, you're one of those people. Yes, go ahead and put me down as one of those. Listen, Sheldon, my hubs, he went on a hunting trip last year. He's gone in the fall. He's out doing his thing. He's in the woods. He's doing his stuff. And he was gone on a trip last October, and I said to him,

man, things are rough in the world. It is not a good time. I think I'm going to start the Christmas decorations early. And he's like, no, no, I don't want you going up in the attic while I'm not there. It's dangerous. I don't want you bringing all that stuff down. Well, he wasn't going to be home for like a week. He didn't say anything about not ordering stuff that comes to the front door. I mean, right. I could just take it from there. He came home and there was actually a Christmas tree in October. And I think he was like,

Okay, this has gone a little bit awry. But yes, I'm one of those people. But tell us, I've always been so curious. You do Christmas stuff. What is the stuff that you do at Christmas that people can get involved in?

Well, you're my people because I love Christmas too. What's funny, a little known fact that people may not know, but all the Christmas music that you guys enjoy, most of it, and this has gone on for years, like even back in the day, like remember the old song, Mel Torme chestnuts roasting on an open fire. The story goes, he wrote that in the middle of a heat wave because he was trying to think cool.

Cool thoughts, right? Well, a lot of the music written for Christmas time is actually written because of the release schedule. It'll be in the middle of July when I'm sitting in my studio writing Come Home for Christmas. So that's just kind of a funny little tidbit. But Candace Cameron Bure is who to blame for my song being on the Great American Family channel. Love it.

She calls me from time to time. She'll be working on a film and she'll say, I need, you know, I need a song for this slot here or whatever. And so I love doing that. In fact, we did a Christmas movie together inspired by one of my songs years ago called The Heart of Christmas. And I'm convinced that it's not really a Christmas movie if it's not starring Candace Cameron Bure. I mean, she is kind of an important ingredient. So we get her, we get your song. It's like, you know, hot chocolate and let's do this. Yeah. So I but I do love Christmas movies.

And we always have a Christmas event in Franklin, Tennessee, where I live every year. We're actually coming on our third annual where we invite people and we keep it capped at a small number. I think it's like 300 max people who can come from around the country and ring in the Christmas season in Frank, Tennessee. And every year I'm the emcee and the host of the annual Franklin, Tennessee Christmas tree lighting. And Shannon, have you been in Franklin, Tennessee?

to experience this magic. Oh, my goodness. You will feel like you are in the middle of a Christmas movie. I know it's like it's magical. It's magical. Well, so I get to host that every year. And I've always thought, you know, I go on tour and I go all these other places, but I wish people could experience what it's like in the town where I love being. And so we've begun doing an annual it's called Come Home for Christmas. And matter of fact,

I have, I know we're talking about one book today, but I've got another book coming out this Christmas called come home for Christmas. And it's going to kind of coincide with our special Christmas weekend. So if anybody has the idea to go to Franklin, Tennessee, we've got a few spots left. They can go to Matthew West.com and it's, it's just a fun weekend with like, we do a Christmas dinner. I do a special intimate Christmas concert. Uh, we do a podcast taping, lots of

good stuff. Maybe even Shannon Bream could come. Oh my gosh. In my dreams. Here's the problem. For anybody who goes to this, you're going to want to move to Franklin. This is why Franklin's population keeps exploding. Because if you spend one Christmas season there, or really any season, it's such a special place. And you guys put together such a special event. We might crash it this year. You are welcome anytime. We would love to have you.

Well, Matthew, thank you so much for all of the good truth and hope that you put into the world. The book we've been talking about is My Story, Your Glory, a 30-day devotional to walk you through figuring out your own story. It's encouraging and it's beautiful and encourages us to act and to share our story with others as a form of encouragement, too. So we're so excited you're working on new music. We'll look for the new book.

And just God bless you. And Emily, tell her I said hi. You're the best. Thank you, Shannon. And thanks for all that you do and keeping us up to speed on the news and everything. Listen ad free with the Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple podcasts and Amazon Prime members can listen to this show ad free on the Amazon Music app.

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