November 22, 2022 • 28 mins
It's beginning to SOUND a lot like Christmas... and I LOVE it! I am positively giddy every year when we flip the switch and begin playing all Christmas music on the Delilah radio show, I don't know that I could ever tire of it!
Today's guest knows a little something something about Christmas music. He's been releasing new music regularly and performing around the world to sold-out crowds for the last 35+ years. He's written and recorded over 36 No. 1 songs and has sold more than 15 million albums!
Michael W. Smith is here with us to talk about his big music news, a brand-new Christmas EP, "Christmas at Home", featuring Michael's entire family, including his wife, children, and 17 grandchildren! Joy to the world! ~ Delilah
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
The holidays have arrived. Many of you have started your
Christmas shopping, pulled the bins of tencil and haul decking
decor out of the places they've been stowed all year,
and have been deep cleaning in anticipation of holiday. House Guest,
those are strong indicators that were in the thick of
(00:25):
all things ho ho ho. But nothing tells me the
holidays cometh more than when my mother in law starts
filling her freezer with homemade tomales. While our Thanksgiving and
Christmas dinners usually involve a turkey, a ham, or prime rib,
but Hilda, my mother in law, brings her Costa ricanheritage,
(00:47):
to the table with dozens upon dozens of handmade tomales,
wrapped in banana leaves and filled with shredded chicken and
extra helpings of love. Other than all the wonder full
Christmas music that fills the air, those tamales are one
of the things I look forward to the most. And
(01:07):
speaking of Christmas music, today's guest on love Someone with
Delilah has certainly done his part to make sure we
will never ever ever run out of holiday happiness. He
released his first Christmas album in nineteen nine and aptly
called it Christmas. His second, Christmas Time, came out in
(01:29):
nineteen and his third, It's a Wonderful Christmas, came out
in two thousand and seven. In he released his first
duet album featuring Carrie Underwood, Lady A Little Big Town,
Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride, Vince Gilbono, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald.
(01:54):
In t at won a DEVI Award for Christmas Album
of the Year. It was called Michael W. Smith and
Friends The Spirit of Christmas. Michael W. Smith has been
releasing new music regularly and performing around the world to
sold out crowds for the last thirty five plus years.
(02:16):
During his amazing career, he's written and recorded over thirty
six number one songs. He has been bestowed three Grammy Awards,
Dove Awards, one American Music Award, was inducted into the
Gospel Hall of Fame, and has sold more than fifteen
(02:36):
million albums. His music has charted in both contemporary Christian
and mainstream charts and is known to the widest audience
for his hit Place in This World that climbed to
number six on Billboards Hot one and I Will Be
Here for You that was a number one hit with
(02:57):
adult contemporary music. That's what I play on the show.
And today Michael W. Smith is here with us to
talk to us about his big Christmas news, a brand
new Christmas EP called Christmas at Home, featuring Michael's entire family,
including all of his children and his seventeen grandchildren. I
(03:20):
can't wait to hear what Michael has to share with
us about Christmas at Home. But before we dive into
this conversation, I want to be able to tell you
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(03:40):
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(04:05):
and old photo albums, others are on social media sites
and cloud storage accounts, and thousands are on my phone.
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for percent off. Michael W. Smith, Welcome back to Love
(05:37):
Someone with Delilah. It's been a minute. It has been
a long minute, A long, long minute. I I can't
even remember it was you were getting ready to tour
last time we talked, and then the world shut down.
It did shut down, didn't So I actually found a
way to stay busy in the midst of all of it.
So I was grateful for that what did you do
(05:59):
in the midst of a shutdown to be busy? You
have a recording studio at your home, so well, I
got one at home, and then my real studio, which
is where I'm talking to you from, is eight minutes
from my house, and then our farmers twenty minutes from
our house. I was kind of doing do the little circuit,
and then I found myself in Italy with Andrea Bocelli
(06:19):
filming a television special in the midst of COVID too,
So that was, you know, just a lot of hoops
to get through and all the tests which has got
so old that we ended up filming anyway, and it
was awesome. So I ended I found myself doing some
property events. I was kind of surprised that I was
(06:40):
busy and I was writing and I was just creating
what I always do. So you didn't get the break
and the twenty extra pounds from sour dough bread baking
like I did. Well, uh no, I just chose to
stay active, So I was, I was, I was okay.
I mean it was hard, you know, it's hard for everybody,
(07:01):
especially hard for a lot of our friends, you know,
and people felt they were stuck and we have people
that were sick and some people who didn't make it.
That was awful, you know, so um, but yeah, the
Smith family survived. All of us were at the seventeen
grandkids now, so we're populating the county we live in dude,
and so fun. Do they all live close to you?
(07:22):
They all but one and and Emily lives in Indiana
just three hours door to door. They have one girl, Nora.
So but we're all very very close and they're all
doing great, awesome. So I when when the shutdown happened,
I said, if I'm going to be shut down, I'm
going to be shut down with my husband who lives
and works in another state. We have a ranch in
(07:42):
another state. And it was one of the best times
in my life. It was amazing. I mean, it's hung
out on the ranch, hung out on the ranch. I
have a studio down there, so I was able to
work every night, didn't miss a single night of work.
This show went on and we were able to have
like family meals together, all of us, and you know,
because usually I'm running here and running there, and for
(08:05):
like six months, there was none of that. And I
loved it. They hated it, but I loved it. Yeah,
that's awesome. Yeah it was it was sweet. It was sweet,
and your family is good. You got how many kids?
How many children? I have fifteen? My husband has five,
so twenty between us. Three of them have changed their
(08:26):
address to heaven. So seventeen here and uh twenty three
grand babies. Last last time, you got beat. Yeah, but
I kind of cheated. I didn't you know. You guys
went through it the old fashioned way. I adopted a
(08:47):
dozen of them, so I did good for you. Yeah.
So it's it's sweet. It's busy, but it's sweet. Sadly,
not all of mine live in my county. I wish
they did. I wish they lived all here on my farm. Yeah. Yeah,
we're pretty we're almost there. I mean we're three hours
isn't bad. But you can't tempt her with I don't know,
(09:08):
like your own corn patch or something. Say well, we'll
plan ex or pumpkins for the baby. I've tried, you know,
so I have to make sure I don't bring it
up too often. They want to come back, actually, so,
and I think and I think they will. So. Her
husband's a worship leader in the big church there, and
so they they kind of found at home there, but
they long to be here. And because because we're all,
(09:29):
like I said, we're all pretty close, you know, and
pretty tight knit family. So all the cousins and it's
just Christmas at our house is insane. But you probably
know what that's like as well. So, but how sweet.
How many cousins? So how many of the siblings, Michael,
do you have? So I have one sibling, and so Kimberly,
(09:50):
and and dev has one brother as one sibling. So
are the cousins like right in with your kids? Yeah,
there's that, you know. So Kimberly's it's her, you know,
she had kids later in life, you know. So her
kids are like ninety three, you know, and so they
were younger than our kids. Because our kids are all
thirty nine. Ryan's making films Tyler scorn films of thirty
(10:13):
nine down the thirty. But it's when the cousins get together.
It's mainly just our family, the cousins, because they're all
fifteen down to thirty four days old. You know, ten
boys and seven girls. That's pretty pretty amazing. Do you
have a favorite Christmas tradition? I mean, besides your music,
(10:34):
do you guys have a family tradition, like you do
every year something. Yeah, we yeah, And our family is
kind of big on tradition. They're not like go crazy,
but there's some things we don't change and we just
cannot change it. So it's like, you know, we all
get together. Everybody spends the nine in our house. Most
of the time, you know, we all cram in our
you know, we've got a big house. We're sort of
(10:55):
the gathering place, you know. But we get up and
we read the Christmas Story. We're acting it out now
because all our our kids and grandkids are all actors
and musicians and writing screenplays and all that, and so
it's so fun to watch them act this thing out.
And then we do a countdown. We do this whole
to you know, get them there in the sitting room
(11:15):
and there's the great room where the Christmas tree is
and all the gifts, and so they do ten sixty
fourth through two one, and they bust through the big
French doors they've run in. They're screaming. And that's how
this new Christmas record that I just did, this Christmas epiece,
my Christmas album, I can't believe that, but but it
was the whole album was so family oriented. So and
that's what I love about it. So we have the
(11:37):
countdown on the Christmas record that just came out last week,
the actual countdown, the actual countdown awesome, awesome. Did you
use any of their acting out the Christmas story? Did
you weave that in somehow? No? But but but we
had the grandkids sang on the Christmas Is Here, which
is the single, and uh my fourth older. She's extremely
(12:01):
creative writing musical. She wrote the lyric, Whitney singing with
me on one of the songs, and I sing with
me and freest the frame Tyler is orchestrating. I mean,
it just was the most family oriented record that I've
ever done. You know, they're all just incredible. While look
outside when all your kids can, you know, they're starting
to kind of really rise up. And it's a lot
(12:22):
cheaper that way. I mean, you know, come on, you say,
if you want mom to make your favorite Christmas bread,
you're gonna you're gonna produce this album for me. Son.
That's the way it is. But you gotta pay him.
I call it volunte holding. Volunt told my kids all
the time, Okay, they're like, we didn't volunteer I said,
now you were volunte told I like that, and they
(12:45):
actually love usually when they get volunte old because it's
usually for Point Hope, my charity, and they're pretty active
in that. But hello, so tell me about the Christmas
album and are are you and Amy touring? This? Are
at this Christmas We are? We are touring together, so
we're grateful for that. Yeah, like I said, the Christmas
(13:06):
record came out last Friday, and then UM and Tamie
and I and then we're taking out Michael Tate. I
don't know if you know who. Michael Tait is used
to be in d C Talk. He's the lead singer
of Newsboys, and you know he's always going to do
a Christmas record. He's there's this whole really you know this.
He had this distinguished voice with DC Talk and now
he's got this thing with news Boys. But you get
(13:27):
him off to the side and see what he's kind
of passionate about in terms of vocally. He sounds exactly
like Matt king Cole really, so he has made an EPs,
made a Christmas epe and he's going out on the
road with Amy and I fun. Yeah, I can't wait
to hear that. I love. I love the interaction between
(13:48):
you and Amy in your Christmas shows because you involved
the audience and it's like, uh, like a gathering in
your living room. I mean, it really feels so inviting
and wonderful and just like a hallelujah. I love your
Christmas concerts. I agree with you. I think it's you know,
(14:11):
we you know, it's an experience, and it's like the
people sort of make it what it is, you know,
and they respond and we create space for them to sing.
And sometimes we'll just we'll just back off of the
microphone and you've got ten thousand people singing the Holy Night.
I mean, you know, I'm elevating off of my piano, bitch,
I'm like, what's happening here? And then everybody's got there
(14:33):
bones and they're letting up the sky, you know. I mean,
oh that that does not get old. I have been
blessed to be able to take my kids to some
pretty cool concerts. But guess what their favorite memory is.
(14:56):
Whenever we talk about, you know, music and in the concerts,
that favorite memory, Especially my my youngest daughter, Delilah Jr.
Her favorite memory was getting dressed up and getting to
meet you and Amy and and just setting there mesmerized
the whole show. I don't know if you remember, but
(15:16):
she actually was out in the aisle dancing of the
concert and it was so precious. And she today when
I told her I got to do a podcast with you,
She's like, and I have to go to school. That's
just not right, mom. She is thirteen. Wow, wow, good
(15:40):
for you. Tell her. Also, Hello, well you look good,
so you must be doing well holding it together. I
have to say, Michael, honestly, I don't know anybody that
has been more blessed by the Lord than I have
through it all, through it, all, his his mercies, his grace,
his strength, his his effervescent love is just overflowing. And
(16:06):
I know he loves us all, but I know he
adores me, and that's what it gets me through. He does.
When people get that piece of it, it's a game changer.
The lightbulb goes off and everything changes. Everything changes. Yeah.
I know that's a simple, silly little thing. But how
many people do I know who are constantly struggling to
(16:28):
be good enough, or to love him enough, or to
to do whatever enough? And it's enough. It doesn't work
that way. It doesn't work that way. I love him
because he first loved me. Yeah, that's it. That's it,
And I love you for how many years now? Is
trying to figure out it's been like thirty almost four decades.
(16:52):
YEA to start touring with Amy Ino on the Age
Days tour and my first record end up for her
in A two and then my first Stricker came out
in February of eighty three. And I have been playing
your music since day one. Thank you. I think I
played friends at least five million times I show. I
(17:15):
need you to re release that. Well, I've cut it
like three or four times. I need you to re
release a two or three version because it is the
perfect song for a million situations that that our world
is going through. But you know the way radio works
and bosses and program directors and such, when I pull
(17:36):
out a forty year old out a song, you know,
they're like, can we like it in this decade? You
need to re release that for mere version. I'll give
you the I'll give you the Delila version. Yeah, yeah,
that would be awesome because it's such a sweet song.
It's been forever since I was able to get caught
(17:58):
up with Michael W. Smith I'm loving the opportunity to
do so. Today. We have a lot more to talk about,
but first I'm going to offer these good tidings about
one of my generous podcast sponsors. I'm sipping here, enjoying
a cup of Constant Comment. By the way, while we
have this conversation, visitors to my home or my studio
(18:22):
are sure to notice one thing right away, my love
for tea. One of my favorites is bigelow t s
Constant Comment. It's been my go to for years. The
aromatic citrus and spice blend is an immediate pick me
up first thing in the morning, during the afternoon slump,
or when sitting down in front of the microphone to
(18:43):
spend time with my listeners. Each evening, even before I
take my first sip, I like to slowly inhale, letting
the scent of oranges and sweet spices fill my lungs
and tantalize my taste buds. A little ritual that helps
to put me in the best frame of mind for
(19:04):
whatever task lies ahead. I wonder if Ruth Bigelow did
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(19:28):
t blend to your shopping list. It's been blended by
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love they add in every cup. I know the story
behind it. But for our listeners who are just joining
us and don't know the story behind your your song, friends,
can you share that with us? Yeah? It was. Let
(19:52):
me make a long story short. It was we were
having a gathering at our house. We had this babl
study and there was a scotnye Bill Jackson. This is
going to be his last one day and because he
was going to take a job at a ministry in Alabama.
And and my wife, Debbie said, she said, we got
to do something for Bill. I said, yeah, we're gonna
buy him a gift. You know. She what if we
wrote him a song? Great idea? And then she said,
(20:14):
what if we wrote it like today and we say
and didn't play it for him tonight? And I said,
you've lost your that's that's not gonna happen. And I
walked outside. I was with the dog. I was in
the garden. I was out there just having fun with
our dog. And then Dad walks out thirty minutes later,
enhanced me this piece of paper and the words to friends,
(20:35):
and I actually have the I haven't framed in my
when you walk in my studio, I have her that
thing frame. And I walked in and I wrote to
me that music just fell out of the sky. I
just caught it three and affnutes with the music, and
I went, oh my gosh, what just happened here? And
we sang it for Bill that night. Everybody cried. And
(20:55):
then I woke up the next day and I thought,
I love this song lot. I like this song. I
need to record this song. I think I might need
to record and I'll never forget when I played it
for my managers, and I thought this, this would be
great for Amy. This will be great for Amy. She'll
knock it out of the part. And I remember being
on the elevator and me trying to gather some songs
from my very first record, and my manager then Mike
(21:18):
blent and looked at me and says, you know what,
Amy doesn't need to cut this song. You do, yeah,
because God gifted it to you. Maybe, you know, maybe
maybe Amy should be on the new version, the Delilah version.
You guys could do it together. If I'm not mistaken,
she's staging with me on that first she's sang harmony
with me, and then we we sung it together. I mean,
(21:39):
I can't count how many times we've sugn it together,
you know. So that's a that's a that's a special
moment for us. Yeah. So I just didn't think I
was going to sing the song from the rest of
my entire life, you know. But but you know, you
look out into the audience and you see what happens,
and you see people's expressions. People start holding hands, and
then people are crying ang over here, and you know,
(22:02):
you just you know, that's just it hits a it
hits a nerve, and everybody goes back to where they
were when they first heard the song. And maybe it
was played at the funeral or the graduation whatever. I'll
never know until I get to heaven. That's okay, but
it still connects and I'm grateful for that. And when
you said it fell out of heaven, it did. And
(22:22):
when I first heard that song, I was not even saved.
I didn't even know God at that time when I
first started playing it, and oh my gosh, for years
it was like my most requested song on the show
back in the day. And then after I gave my
(22:44):
heart to God and he illuminated what that means. Forever
you are forever together. You know, it changes everything, It
changes everything. Yeah, I'm grateful, grateful for the song, Grateful
to your wife for listening to the spirit when he said,
(23:05):
write these words down, sweet that you haven't framed. I
wish I held on to stuff like that. I lose it.
I'm such a scatter brain, Like I lose everything. My
sister made a really beautiful picture thing for my when
Paul and I got married, and I have that framed.
But like really important stuff I've written or people have
(23:27):
written for me, or cards that were I don't know
where they are. Yeah, I'm saying I'm the same way
a little bit. I can't keep up with it all.
So you think about how long you've been doing it,
so it's it's hard. You know, two more years, it'll
be fifty years. Wow, that's amazing. It's that crazy? Is
that crazy? And last year I bought the little radio station.
(23:54):
I started on tiny little station and read Sport Oregon
on dark and I decided to buy it, and we
built the studios in my old classroom in a school
that's been shuttered and a young couple bought it and
have turned the school into a art school where they
(24:15):
give art lessons and pottery lessons and painting lessons and
dance lessons in the gym. And so I leased one
of the classrooms, my old sixth grade classroom, and that's
where my studios are now. So it's like full circle. Awesome.
That's great. So Michael, how can folks find tickets to
(24:38):
your tour? And how can we obviously pray for Amy
for her health, for her shoulder, for for her strength,
anything else that I can pray for specifically for you, Yeah,
just for strength and stamina. You know, we were on
the Way Maker World Tour. We have twelve shows left.
We're doing that and then you go to dot com
(24:59):
you can put all the dates are on the website,
probably on namies as well. So all right, you do
have a lot of work to do. The As the
world grows darker, your light shines brighter. You know, that
light of God shining through you As the world grows darker,
people are hungering, you know, and they think that that pleasure,
that that that devices, that TikTok, that this or that
(25:22):
is gonna make them happy. And it doesn't. It doesn't.
But that light you shine, and you have always shigned. Michael.
You don't talk the talk, You walk the walk, and
you don't have to talk the talk. And so yeah,
we need you to be healthy and strong for a
long time. Thank you, well, God speed to you on
(25:44):
every level than your family as well. Thanks for having
me on. I appreciate it. Good. Good to see you.
Good to see you. I can't wait to see you
in person. I gotta go check and see if you're
coming to Seattle. Are you coming to Seattle? Well? Thanks?
So on fire, all right, go check out the Christmas record.
(26:05):
There's a little nutcracker thing called the Night Before Little
Nutcracker theme, and then it and then that there's a
little haunting little thing and all of a sudden, you
hear my grandkids do the countdown at Christmas is here.
It's up on the Apple. You can find it. Okay,
I love you, I love you too, But by night,
(26:26):
thank you By Michael. How you welcome Michael W. Smith
has been on the music scene, as I said of her,
thirty five years, while he has churned out chart topping
hit after chart topping hit that puts me in a
better mood whenever I get a chance to listen. I'm
especially grateful to him for his contributions to my Christmas
playlist during the holiday season. Michael and his wife Debbie
(26:50):
live on a farm outside of Nashville, Tennessee. They're five
very talented children, Ryan, Whitney, Tyler, Anna, and Emily are
all grown up and now have children of their own.
Seventeen grandchildren so far that keep everyone busy and busy
and smiling. More than just an outstanding songwriter and performer,
(27:14):
Michael has given back to the global community through his career.
He's raised funds to battle AIDS in Africa, started Rocket Town,
a safe haven for young people in Tennessee to meet
and find hope. He has helped more than seventy thousand
children through Compassion International. You can get connected with Michael W.
(27:36):
Smith at his website Michael W. Smith dot com and
on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The Christmas at Home EP
is available now and you won't want to waste a
single minute before downloading and enjoying all six of the
new offerings this Christmas season. I hope your holidays are
off to a merry and bright beginning. Hilda is doing
(27:58):
her part to make sure my family has taken care
of when it comes to to Molly's. Michael has just
gifted us with six new Christmas songs, and I'll be
playing all your old and new holiday favorites over the
air waves each night, bringing you highlights of my best
radio moments on my daily podcast. Hey it's Delilah. Have
(28:20):
you been listening to that? It's really good and sharing
more inspirational conversations with you here on Love Someone with Delilah.
I've got some great guests coming up you won't want
to miss. Do me a favor. Take some time out
of your busy, hectic schedule the next few weeks to
slow down and love someone
The holidays have arrived. Many of you have started your
Christmas shopping, pulled the bins of tencil and haul decking
decor out of the places they've been stowed all year,
and have been deep cleaning in anticipation of holiday. House Guest,
those are strong indicators that were in the thick of
(00:25):
all things ho ho ho. But nothing tells me the
holidays cometh more than when my mother in law starts
filling her freezer with homemade tomales. While our Thanksgiving and
Christmas dinners usually involve a turkey, a ham, or prime rib,
but Hilda, my mother in law, brings her Costa ricanheritage,
(00:47):
to the table with dozens upon dozens of handmade tomales,
wrapped in banana leaves and filled with shredded chicken and
extra helpings of love. Other than all the wonder full
Christmas music that fills the air, those tamales are one
of the things I look forward to the most. And
(01:07):
speaking of Christmas music, today's guest on love Someone with
Delilah has certainly done his part to make sure we
will never ever ever run out of holiday happiness. He
released his first Christmas album in nineteen nine and aptly
called it Christmas. His second, Christmas Time, came out in
(01:29):
nineteen and his third, It's a Wonderful Christmas, came out
in two thousand and seven. In he released his first
duet album featuring Carrie Underwood, Lady A Little Big Town,
Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride, Vince Gilbono, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald.
(01:54):
In t at won a DEVI Award for Christmas Album
of the Year. It was called Michael W. Smith and
Friends The Spirit of Christmas. Michael W. Smith has been
releasing new music regularly and performing around the world to
sold out crowds for the last thirty five plus years.
(02:16):
During his amazing career, he's written and recorded over thirty
six number one songs. He has been bestowed three Grammy Awards,
Dove Awards, one American Music Award, was inducted into the
Gospel Hall of Fame, and has sold more than fifteen
(02:36):
million albums. His music has charted in both contemporary Christian
and mainstream charts and is known to the widest audience
for his hit Place in This World that climbed to
number six on Billboards Hot one and I Will Be
Here for You that was a number one hit with
(02:57):
adult contemporary music. That's what I play on the show.
And today Michael W. Smith is here with us to
talk to us about his big Christmas news, a brand
new Christmas EP called Christmas at Home, featuring Michael's entire family,
including all of his children and his seventeen grandchildren. I
(03:20):
can't wait to hear what Michael has to share with
us about Christmas at Home. But before we dive into
this conversation, I want to be able to tell you
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for percent off. Michael W. Smith, Welcome back to Love
(05:37):
Someone with Delilah. It's been a minute. It has been
a long minute, A long, long minute. I I can't
even remember it was you were getting ready to tour
last time we talked, and then the world shut down.
It did shut down, didn't So I actually found a
way to stay busy in the midst of all of it.
So I was grateful for that what did you do
(05:59):
in the midst of a shutdown to be busy? You
have a recording studio at your home, so well, I
got one at home, and then my real studio, which
is where I'm talking to you from, is eight minutes
from my house, and then our farmers twenty minutes from
our house. I was kind of doing do the little circuit,
and then I found myself in Italy with Andrea Bocelli
(06:19):
filming a television special in the midst of COVID too,
So that was, you know, just a lot of hoops
to get through and all the tests which has got
so old that we ended up filming anyway, and it
was awesome. So I ended I found myself doing some
property events. I was kind of surprised that I was
(06:40):
busy and I was writing and I was just creating
what I always do. So you didn't get the break
and the twenty extra pounds from sour dough bread baking
like I did. Well, uh no, I just chose to
stay active, So I was, I was, I was okay.
I mean it was hard, you know, it's hard for everybody,
(07:01):
especially hard for a lot of our friends, you know,
and people felt they were stuck and we have people
that were sick and some people who didn't make it.
That was awful, you know, so um, but yeah, the
Smith family survived. All of us were at the seventeen
grandkids now, so we're populating the county we live in dude,
and so fun. Do they all live close to you?
(07:22):
They all but one and and Emily lives in Indiana
just three hours door to door. They have one girl, Nora.
So but we're all very very close and they're all
doing great, awesome. So I when when the shutdown happened,
I said, if I'm going to be shut down, I'm
going to be shut down with my husband who lives
and works in another state. We have a ranch in
(07:42):
another state. And it was one of the best times
in my life. It was amazing. I mean, it's hung
out on the ranch, hung out on the ranch. I
have a studio down there, so I was able to
work every night, didn't miss a single night of work.
This show went on and we were able to have
like family meals together, all of us, and you know,
because usually I'm running here and running there, and for
(08:05):
like six months, there was none of that. And I
loved it. They hated it, but I loved it. Yeah,
that's awesome. Yeah it was it was sweet. It was sweet,
and your family is good. You got how many kids?
How many children? I have fifteen? My husband has five,
so twenty between us. Three of them have changed their
(08:26):
address to heaven. So seventeen here and uh twenty three
grand babies. Last last time, you got beat. Yeah, but
I kind of cheated. I didn't you know. You guys
went through it the old fashioned way. I adopted a
(08:47):
dozen of them, so I did good for you. Yeah.
So it's it's sweet. It's busy, but it's sweet. Sadly,
not all of mine live in my county. I wish
they did. I wish they lived all here on my farm. Yeah. Yeah,
we're pretty we're almost there. I mean we're three hours
isn't bad. But you can't tempt her with I don't know,
(09:08):
like your own corn patch or something. Say well, we'll
plan ex or pumpkins for the baby. I've tried, you know,
so I have to make sure I don't bring it
up too often. They want to come back, actually, so,
and I think and I think they will. So. Her
husband's a worship leader in the big church there, and
so they they kind of found at home there, but
they long to be here. And because because we're all,
(09:29):
like I said, we're all pretty close, you know, and
pretty tight knit family. So all the cousins and it's
just Christmas at our house is insane. But you probably
know what that's like as well. So, but how sweet.
How many cousins? So how many of the siblings, Michael,
do you have? So I have one sibling, and so Kimberly,
(09:50):
and and dev has one brother as one sibling. So
are the cousins like right in with your kids? Yeah,
there's that, you know. So Kimberly's it's her, you know,
she had kids later in life, you know. So her
kids are like ninety three, you know, and so they
were younger than our kids. Because our kids are all
thirty nine. Ryan's making films Tyler scorn films of thirty
(10:13):
nine down the thirty. But it's when the cousins get together.
It's mainly just our family, the cousins, because they're all
fifteen down to thirty four days old. You know, ten
boys and seven girls. That's pretty pretty amazing. Do you
have a favorite Christmas tradition? I mean, besides your music,
(10:34):
do you guys have a family tradition, like you do
every year something. Yeah, we yeah, And our family is
kind of big on tradition. They're not like go crazy,
but there's some things we don't change and we just
cannot change it. So it's like, you know, we all
get together. Everybody spends the nine in our house. Most
of the time, you know, we all cram in our
you know, we've got a big house. We're sort of
(10:55):
the gathering place, you know. But we get up and
we read the Christmas Story. We're acting it out now
because all our our kids and grandkids are all actors
and musicians and writing screenplays and all that, and so
it's so fun to watch them act this thing out.
And then we do a countdown. We do this whole
to you know, get them there in the sitting room
(11:15):
and there's the great room where the Christmas tree is
and all the gifts, and so they do ten sixty
fourth through two one, and they bust through the big
French doors they've run in. They're screaming. And that's how
this new Christmas record that I just did, this Christmas epiece,
my Christmas album, I can't believe that, but but it
was the whole album was so family oriented. So and
that's what I love about it. So we have the
(11:37):
countdown on the Christmas record that just came out last week,
the actual countdown, the actual countdown awesome, awesome. Did you
use any of their acting out the Christmas story? Did
you weave that in somehow? No? But but but we
had the grandkids sang on the Christmas Is Here, which
is the single, and uh my fourth older. She's extremely
(12:01):
creative writing musical. She wrote the lyric, Whitney singing with
me on one of the songs, and I sing with
me and freest the frame Tyler is orchestrating. I mean,
it just was the most family oriented record that I've
ever done. You know, they're all just incredible. While look
outside when all your kids can, you know, they're starting
to kind of really rise up. And it's a lot
(12:22):
cheaper that way. I mean, you know, come on, you say,
if you want mom to make your favorite Christmas bread,
you're gonna you're gonna produce this album for me. Son.
That's the way it is. But you gotta pay him.
I call it volunte holding. Volunt told my kids all
the time, Okay, they're like, we didn't volunteer I said,
now you were volunte told I like that, and they
(12:45):
actually love usually when they get volunte old because it's
usually for Point Hope, my charity, and they're pretty active
in that. But hello, so tell me about the Christmas
album and are are you and Amy touring? This? Are
at this Christmas We are? We are touring together, so
we're grateful for that. Yeah, like I said, the Christmas
(13:06):
record came out last Friday, and then UM and Tamie
and I and then we're taking out Michael Tate. I
don't know if you know who. Michael Tait is used
to be in d C Talk. He's the lead singer
of Newsboys, and you know he's always going to do
a Christmas record. He's there's this whole really you know this.
He had this distinguished voice with DC Talk and now
he's got this thing with news Boys. But you get
(13:27):
him off to the side and see what he's kind
of passionate about in terms of vocally. He sounds exactly
like Matt king Cole really, so he has made an EPs,
made a Christmas epe and he's going out on the
road with Amy and I fun. Yeah, I can't wait
to hear that. I love. I love the interaction between
(13:48):
you and Amy in your Christmas shows because you involved
the audience and it's like, uh, like a gathering in
your living room. I mean, it really feels so inviting
and wonderful and just like a hallelujah. I love your
Christmas concerts. I agree with you. I think it's you know,
(14:11):
we you know, it's an experience, and it's like the
people sort of make it what it is, you know,
and they respond and we create space for them to sing.
And sometimes we'll just we'll just back off of the
microphone and you've got ten thousand people singing the Holy Night.
I mean, you know, I'm elevating off of my piano, bitch,
I'm like, what's happening here? And then everybody's got there
(14:33):
bones and they're letting up the sky, you know. I mean,
oh that that does not get old. I have been
blessed to be able to take my kids to some
pretty cool concerts. But guess what their favorite memory is.
(14:56):
Whenever we talk about, you know, music and in the concerts,
that favorite memory, Especially my my youngest daughter, Delilah Jr.
Her favorite memory was getting dressed up and getting to
meet you and Amy and and just setting there mesmerized
the whole show. I don't know if you remember, but
(15:16):
she actually was out in the aisle dancing of the
concert and it was so precious. And she today when
I told her I got to do a podcast with you,
She's like, and I have to go to school. That's
just not right, mom. She is thirteen. Wow, wow, good
(15:40):
for you. Tell her. Also, Hello, well you look good,
so you must be doing well holding it together. I
have to say, Michael, honestly, I don't know anybody that
has been more blessed by the Lord than I have
through it all, through it, all, his his mercies, his grace,
his strength, his his effervescent love is just overflowing. And
(16:06):
I know he loves us all, but I know he
adores me, and that's what it gets me through. He does.
When people get that piece of it, it's a game changer.
The lightbulb goes off and everything changes. Everything changes. Yeah.
I know that's a simple, silly little thing. But how
many people do I know who are constantly struggling to
(16:28):
be good enough, or to love him enough, or to
to do whatever enough? And it's enough. It doesn't work
that way. It doesn't work that way. I love him
because he first loved me. Yeah, that's it. That's it,
And I love you for how many years now? Is
trying to figure out it's been like thirty almost four decades.
(16:52):
YEA to start touring with Amy Ino on the Age
Days tour and my first record end up for her
in A two and then my first Stricker came out
in February of eighty three. And I have been playing
your music since day one. Thank you. I think I
played friends at least five million times I show. I
(17:15):
need you to re release that. Well, I've cut it
like three or four times. I need you to re
release a two or three version because it is the
perfect song for a million situations that that our world
is going through. But you know the way radio works
and bosses and program directors and such, when I pull
(17:36):
out a forty year old out a song, you know,
they're like, can we like it in this decade? You
need to re release that for mere version. I'll give
you the I'll give you the Delila version. Yeah, yeah,
that would be awesome because it's such a sweet song.
It's been forever since I was able to get caught
(17:58):
up with Michael W. Smith I'm loving the opportunity to
do so. Today. We have a lot more to talk about,
but first I'm going to offer these good tidings about
one of my generous podcast sponsors. I'm sipping here, enjoying
a cup of Constant Comment. By the way, while we
have this conversation, visitors to my home or my studio
(18:22):
are sure to notice one thing right away, my love
for tea. One of my favorites is bigelow t s
Constant Comment. It's been my go to for years. The
aromatic citrus and spice blend is an immediate pick me
up first thing in the morning, during the afternoon slump,
or when sitting down in front of the microphone to
(18:43):
spend time with my listeners. Each evening, even before I
take my first sip, I like to slowly inhale, letting
the scent of oranges and sweet spices fill my lungs
and tantalize my taste buds. A little ritual that helps
to put me in the best frame of mind for
(19:04):
whatever task lies ahead. I wonder if Ruth Bigelow did
something similar when she mixed up the first batch of
Constant Comment in her kitchen over seventy five years ago.
It wouldn't surprise me. Love tea, love citrus and spice
and everything nice. Don't forget to add Bigelow's constant comment,
(19:28):
t blend to your shopping list. It's been blended by
the Bigaelow family for three generations, and you'll taste the
love they add in every cup. I know the story
behind it. But for our listeners who are just joining
us and don't know the story behind your your song, friends,
can you share that with us? Yeah? It was. Let
(19:52):
me make a long story short. It was we were
having a gathering at our house. We had this babl
study and there was a scotnye Bill Jackson. This is
going to be his last one day and because he
was going to take a job at a ministry in Alabama.
And and my wife, Debbie said, she said, we got
to do something for Bill. I said, yeah, we're gonna
buy him a gift. You know. She what if we
wrote him a song? Great idea? And then she said,
(20:14):
what if we wrote it like today and we say
and didn't play it for him tonight? And I said,
you've lost your that's that's not gonna happen. And I
walked outside. I was with the dog. I was in
the garden. I was out there just having fun with
our dog. And then Dad walks out thirty minutes later,
enhanced me this piece of paper and the words to friends,
(20:35):
and I actually have the I haven't framed in my
when you walk in my studio, I have her that
thing frame. And I walked in and I wrote to
me that music just fell out of the sky. I
just caught it three and affnutes with the music, and
I went, oh my gosh, what just happened here? And
we sang it for Bill that night. Everybody cried. And
(20:55):
then I woke up the next day and I thought,
I love this song lot. I like this song. I
need to record this song. I think I might need
to record and I'll never forget when I played it
for my managers, and I thought this, this would be
great for Amy. This will be great for Amy. She'll
knock it out of the part. And I remember being
on the elevator and me trying to gather some songs
from my very first record, and my manager then Mike
(21:18):
blent and looked at me and says, you know what,
Amy doesn't need to cut this song. You do, yeah,
because God gifted it to you. Maybe, you know, maybe
maybe Amy should be on the new version, the Delilah version.
You guys could do it together. If I'm not mistaken,
she's staging with me on that first she's sang harmony
with me, and then we we sung it together. I mean,
(21:39):
I can't count how many times we've sugn it together,
you know. So that's a that's a that's a special
moment for us. Yeah. So I just didn't think I
was going to sing the song from the rest of
my entire life, you know. But but you know, you
look out into the audience and you see what happens,
and you see people's expressions. People start holding hands, and
then people are crying ang over here, and you know,
(22:02):
you just you know, that's just it hits a it
hits a nerve, and everybody goes back to where they
were when they first heard the song. And maybe it
was played at the funeral or the graduation whatever. I'll
never know until I get to heaven. That's okay, but
it still connects and I'm grateful for that. And when
you said it fell out of heaven, it did. And
(22:22):
when I first heard that song, I was not even saved.
I didn't even know God at that time when I
first started playing it, and oh my gosh, for years
it was like my most requested song on the show
back in the day. And then after I gave my
(22:44):
heart to God and he illuminated what that means. Forever
you are forever together. You know, it changes everything, It
changes everything. Yeah, I'm grateful, grateful for the song, Grateful
to your wife for listening to the spirit when he said,
(23:05):
write these words down, sweet that you haven't framed. I
wish I held on to stuff like that. I lose it.
I'm such a scatter brain, Like I lose everything. My
sister made a really beautiful picture thing for my when
Paul and I got married, and I have that framed.
But like really important stuff I've written or people have
(23:27):
written for me, or cards that were I don't know
where they are. Yeah, I'm saying I'm the same way
a little bit. I can't keep up with it all.
So you think about how long you've been doing it,
so it's it's hard. You know, two more years, it'll
be fifty years. Wow, that's amazing. It's that crazy? Is
that crazy? And last year I bought the little radio station.
(23:54):
I started on tiny little station and read Sport Oregon
on dark and I decided to buy it, and we
built the studios in my old classroom in a school
that's been shuttered and a young couple bought it and
have turned the school into a art school where they
(24:15):
give art lessons and pottery lessons and painting lessons and
dance lessons in the gym. And so I leased one
of the classrooms, my old sixth grade classroom, and that's
where my studios are now. So it's like full circle. Awesome.
That's great. So Michael, how can folks find tickets to
(24:38):
your tour? And how can we obviously pray for Amy
for her health, for her shoulder, for for her strength,
anything else that I can pray for specifically for you, Yeah,
just for strength and stamina. You know, we were on
the Way Maker World Tour. We have twelve shows left.
We're doing that and then you go to dot com
(24:59):
you can put all the dates are on the website,
probably on namies as well. So all right, you do
have a lot of work to do. The As the
world grows darker, your light shines brighter. You know, that
light of God shining through you As the world grows darker,
people are hungering, you know, and they think that that pleasure,
that that that devices, that TikTok, that this or that
(25:22):
is gonna make them happy. And it doesn't. It doesn't.
But that light you shine, and you have always shigned. Michael.
You don't talk the talk, You walk the walk, and
you don't have to talk the talk. And so yeah,
we need you to be healthy and strong for a
long time. Thank you, well, God speed to you on
(25:44):
every level than your family as well. Thanks for having
me on. I appreciate it. Good. Good to see you.
Good to see you. I can't wait to see you
in person. I gotta go check and see if you're
coming to Seattle. Are you coming to Seattle? Well? Thanks?
So on fire, all right, go check out the Christmas record.
(26:05):
There's a little nutcracker thing called the Night Before Little
Nutcracker theme, and then it and then that there's a
little haunting little thing and all of a sudden, you
hear my grandkids do the countdown at Christmas is here.
It's up on the Apple. You can find it. Okay,
I love you, I love you too, But by night,
(26:26):
thank you By Michael. How you welcome Michael W. Smith
has been on the music scene, as I said of her,
thirty five years, while he has churned out chart topping
hit after chart topping hit that puts me in a
better mood whenever I get a chance to listen. I'm
especially grateful to him for his contributions to my Christmas
playlist during the holiday season. Michael and his wife Debbie
(26:50):
live on a farm outside of Nashville, Tennessee. They're five
very talented children, Ryan, Whitney, Tyler, Anna, and Emily are
all grown up and now have children of their own.
Seventeen grandchildren so far that keep everyone busy and busy
and smiling. More than just an outstanding songwriter and performer,
(27:14):
Michael has given back to the global community through his career.
He's raised funds to battle AIDS in Africa, started Rocket Town,
a safe haven for young people in Tennessee to meet
and find hope. He has helped more than seventy thousand
children through Compassion International. You can get connected with Michael W.
(27:36):
Smith at his website Michael W. Smith dot com and
on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The Christmas at Home EP
is available now and you won't want to waste a
single minute before downloading and enjoying all six of the
new offerings this Christmas season. I hope your holidays are
off to a merry and bright beginning. Hilda is doing
(27:58):
her part to make sure my family has taken care
of when it comes to to Molly's. Michael has just
gifted us with six new Christmas songs, and I'll be
playing all your old and new holiday favorites over the
air waves each night, bringing you highlights of my best
radio moments on my daily podcast. Hey it's Delilah. Have
(28:20):
you been listening to that? It's really good and sharing
more inspirational conversations with you here on Love Someone with Delilah.
I've got some great guests coming up you won't want
to miss. Do me a favor. Take some time out
of your busy, hectic schedule the next few weeks to
slow down and love someone
Host
Delilah
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