Hey, everybody, welcome back to The Covenant Eyes Podcast. It's Karen Potter, your host of The Covenant Eyes Podcast. And I've got Rob Stoddard, the other host of the amazing podcast, joining me today. How are you, Rob? I'm doing great. Good morning. Good morning guys. Season four. We made it came fast. It has. I know today is going to be a great episode though. Today's guest actually has a unique story that I think our listeners are going to find fascinating. Our guest actually went from living in his car to a winning an Emmy Award. Like, how do you do that? That's amazing. Only God can pull through and do that in such an amazing way. So with that, I'd love to introduce today's guest. We've got, Steph Carse joining us. How are you Steph? I'm good, I'm good. Thank you. Welcome. Welcome to The Covenant Eyes Podcast. Now you're a Christian music artist. You've got an amazing new worship song that is called Almighty. It's doing really well on YouTube. I see that it's up there over I don't. Last time I checked, 350,000 downloads or views on YouTube. Is that correct? Well, yes, but now we're at 1.2 million, I believe. So that's pretty. Amazing. It's amazing. God is good. That's great. He is, he is. Now, you also have done music specials. You've been on Daystar Pure Flix. You've been on Christian cinema. You actually are a successful country music artist as well. Like, I would love to talk a little bit about that, how you are able to, you know, do I. Started that way. Yeah. Is that okay? Well, great. Well, with that, let's jump into talking a little bit about how you got into music and what is your back story. Well, I grew up on a farm. And, strangely enough, grandma was next door. She was an opera singer. And as she's saying, well, she sang opera, right? So she or I had great, great uncle like her brothers were. We had those big vinyl 78 records, you know, those that were before everybody's time right now. But, so. And then dad was a, was a fan of, of Elvis Presley, and mom was a fan of gospel and country. So I grew up with all of these types of music. And so that was my baggage, I guess musical baggage I always wanted to be. I already knew that I was going to be a singer at a young age. I think my mom recorded me. I was three and a half years old when she first recorded me. So it's it's just something I have to I had I had to think about. It's something that just I just knew and, and, but my career started, in the 90s and, then my, first album, we had a pop album. The first album was not a success. Well, it was a semi success. We went to France and we, in a contest, I think. And with my gosh, I forgot what year. But that was the very first song. It was a French song. And so we went to France to, one of the big network. And then it was first performance in front of 17 million people. So, so that was my first break. So the song didn't win the first place, but it got second place. So that was is that my good beginnings somehow. But but then I recorded, an album of country music. Some of the cover songs that are familiar to all of us here. And we did different versions, different, you know, different version of the songs. And, and it took off. And that's how my career started. Stef, can you tell us a little bit? So you started in secular kind of country music? There's some faith there, but mainly secular, genre and opera music, certainly. But you're a man of deep faith. Where did that faith come in, and how did that kind of, come about with your music? Well, I grew up, we were, Baptists, so we were probably the only French Baptist in the area. And so I accepted Jesus Christ at the age of six. But actually, for me, I, I don't know, mom. Always. My mom always wanted me to be either a pastor or, you know, a Christian singer and do. And that the time during the teenage years, I just didn't want to hear about that. I, I, you know, I just I had different ideas, which is funny today, but I guess, you know, the rebellious year, right? So, and, so I then was and I think, I think we were, we grew up with a very strong religious spirit, if you know what I mean. And we're in and I you know, I used to watch people acting a certain way on Sunday and differently than the rest of the week. And so I wasn't sure I was still searching. And then, and I had, I don't know if I had a lot of things to prove to the family or something, but with the grace of God, you know, even though as, as a country artist, starting as a country artist, I would honor my Lord Jesus Christ on every album. And I had always a Christian song in it, but I wanted to. I guess I started wanting to do more country pop, you know, different genre and Christian music. I didn't like the hymns we sang in church at the time. So that's the honest, but strangely enough, you know, we've we've had a great success. We sold a few platinum albums, over half a million records in, in my hometown, which we haven't mentioned. My hometown. I grew up in Montreal. So, so, and and so I over there in the province of Quebec, we sold half a million records, and it was they went really fast, but I started I was so green. We had a farm, so I grew up on a farm as well. So very naive. I didn't know anything about business. All I knew is I wanted to sing. So I had a manager who was the manager who has a record label. He was the publisher, he was the agent. So they ended up making a lot of money. But I was performing every day, but just didn't know what was going on. So I think that journey led you to having, like, living in your car, like, talk to us about how that how that happened and how God walked with you through that tough time. Well, when I, I decided and I think it was 1997, I left this after realizing that, you know, we we generated $3.2 million, and I didn't get much out of it. So but, so I left for Nashville, Tennessee. I wanted to start fresh, and, I didn't, you know, at the time, Canadian dollars was $1.50 for a dollar for a dollar American dollar. So it would go fast. So I would keep my money for recording studio. So it was it was a choice I decided yesterday. You know what I'm and I didn't have much money left. Right. So I would live in my car and I had a small car. I would sleep there, would shower at the YMCA and, you know, eat a dollar menu from Wendy's. But because of the the sales we've had, we did in Canada, I was sort of, you know, respected in my field and in Nashville somehow. And so I was working with very, you know, known personalities in country music and also pop music, actually, Donna Summer, do you remember Donna Summer? Well, I used to work with her husband, Bruce O'Donnell. So I would go in their home and record their. Well, Donna Summer was the first record I bought when I was a kid, so. So it was very intimidating at first. But, I guess in the car with all of this thing, these things are happening to me. I always say that this is where I met God. This is when I understood the difference between a religion and a relationship. And asking the right questions. I guess. You know, when you're in a place where you. You really seek for the answer. Why is this happening? And why am I here? Why? What am I supposed to do? What's the purpose of all of this? And, so at the same time, you know, we had some great breaks working on dealing with those. Some you never remember. I'll tell you something funny. I remember it was very intimidating to sing in front of her. And I remember calling mom my mom, and she would say, you know, honey, God tells us that a king is just a drop of water in his hand, that he could disperse wherever he was. And that was a life changing first that I really was able to implement in my daily life, because then I thought, if I'm if I have a relationship with God, then he could you could lean towards handing me favors. And so that was a life changing verse for me. And I never got intimidated after that. But that's basically what started it. What started was I call it the hunger years. But there were the very formal years that that shaped what I became. It feels like during that time, you know, it was hard and challenging. You had to lean even more into God and trust in his ability to take care of you and to guide you. That I think oftentimes, you know, when we're in our toughest places, I think that's when we look to him and lean into him, and we can see his glory and trust him more than we ever have in our entire lives. I just think that's powerful. And I think that probably helped shape your career from there. So how do you go from that place of struggle and challenge to you're a six time Emmy Award winning video producer. You just, produced a great Christmas film with your wife. On Prime, like, talk to us a little bit. How now? I mean, your life is completely different. And how has God really moved and shaped your life? Well, it was a, you know, it was a slow process. It's a very slow, I guess. I was, like one of the Jews. I had to walk my 40 years in the desert. But it was it was slow. I had a lot of great moments, but also a lot of, a lot of, deep valleys, I would say, You know, I, I, I don't mind saying, I think, I believe I was a slow learner, but the process, I think, for me was always to get myself out of my own way and understanding that the less of me and the more of God, it was it's a moment to moment decision, you know, and, but I had a lot of good breaks in the meantime. I mean, it was it was amazing. A lot of good moments, like in 1999, they needed, they they were looking for Andrea Bocelli to open Portofino in, in, Orlando. And, so for some reason, but Kelly could not be there. He was at the peak of his career and, and the agent I had at the time that found from my friend in Nashville and was here in Orlando, and he heard me sing some operatic song. So he said, could you do, could you do under Bocelli? And I guess I was so hungry. I said, yes. And without knowing who and Kelly was. And, so I had two weeks to learn, 2 or 3 weeks to figure out exactly the learning the songs and learn learn Italian so that it was an interesting thing. You know, it's always been a my career has been like a roller coaster ride. So but that led me to say, well, you know what? No, I've done country have succeeded in some ways. And and coming back in 98, we did an album for the Special Olympics that that sold a lot of records to for in Tennessee and in Canada, which, ironically, Donna Summer was part of it. Two and Kevin Bacon and Leann Rimes. So, but now it was it was moving. I was moving to a different career, a different style. And so that thing with Boccelli, even though it was very nervous, it opened doors to, now produce a show and get me to Las Vegas and do a mixture of opera, pop, rock. And basically I was going through different genres of music, which was my background, which is it was it was a good thing, you know, it was it was, if I had to prove myself something, that was one of the good. That was one of the good break to do that. And, and that led to a PBS special. And, so after that, not interesting enough. There's another period in my life where nothing really happened. And, going back and forth to Vegas doing shows. You know, I was kind of getting tired. The same thing. But what happened, it was no, we're talking 2011, 2012, 2013. I was losing my voice. Performing in Vegas is very demanding because it's dry and, you know, so in the range of those big opera songs are huge and doing two shows a day where it was very demanding. So I was losing like an octave. And, I, I said to God, said, God, I'm tired of being a Christian in a closet, so to speak, meaning being a Christian and apologizing in my field for what I believe. But, if you restore my voice, I will. I will just devote everything that I have to you. And so my voice within months was restored, and I held my promise. Actually, I still have on my screen, on my phone screen here. The prayer that I wrote in 2013 on the wall of a church in Las Vegas, it says, dear Lord, I pray that I would record a bold city that will be heard around the world, and I will bring glory to you, Jesus Christ, Lord God, and my Lord Jesus Christ. That was August 25th, 2013. And so that led me to record a new project. And the first song from it was Amazing Grace. Yeah, yeah. I wanted to ask you about that, because that rendition of That Amazing Grace is my favorite. It is amazing. Your voice is amazing. So that came right out of that time period in that prayer. Was that that project and Amazing Grace, which you won an Emmy for that arrangement? Yes. Yeah, yeah. Tell us a little bit about how that all came together. Well, this is a beautiful miracle story on this because it was a big project, because it's a big production. If you saw the music video, at the time, it was a big production for us, you know, and, so I was spending a lot of money on that, and I was asking God. Okay. So maybe the fact that I'm, I think, you know, I've I've been a slow learning all these years as a learner all these years, I thought, am I supposed to do this? Is that something you want me to do, or is that something I'm instigating again? And, So I needed a sign, and I ask if it was a sign that he would give me a sign because the vision I had was given on that was to do a multi-generational and multi-cultural version of the song, to invite everybody at the banquet. And, so which led me to produce different, you know, groups of ethnicity. And so there was a big production. So one morning on the first day of shoot, it's 4 a.m. and I'm walking on the beach. We're preparing the last scene of the video where you have about 100, choir members and choir robes. You know, on the beach, shaped in the form of a cross at sunrise. That's the last scene of video. So. So as we're preparing for this is about 4 a.m., I'm walking up to God. I need a sign. Is I need to know that I'm supposed to do this, that you really are instigating it, not me. That's so. Whatever purpose you have for this, please allow me to understand that I can really just delegate and just be used this time completely. And, As I'm praying that then, there's a there's a woman that walks on the side and comes to me as I'm getting ready for the scene. Because, you know, when you're directing a scene with the sunrise, you have a very short window, right? If you miss it, then it's the next day. Right. And we got about 100 people there. So. But this woman comes to me and said, I need to talk to you. I said, I really don't have a lot of time, but I'll give you two minutes because she was very insistent. So she says, well, last night would have been the 30th anniversary of what would have been my daughter, that I had bought it 30 years ago, and I couldn't sleep. I was crying all night, and I asked God for a sign that I'm forgiven. And, now picture. Remember what I prayed for. And now what she prayed for was that now picture this. After she prayed for that

00, she's walking on the beach, pitch black because we're, you know, we were pitch black right at 4 or 5 a.m. and she's hearing out of nowhere, Amazing Grace because we had huge speakers. Right. And as she's approaching, she sees people dress in a robe like angels, so to speak, shape in, in, you know, form in the shape of a cross. So can you imagine what she you know, how God is using all of us when it was just an amazing moment. So she certainly got her answer a prayer and answered and mine too. And so when you watch the video again, that woman with a black t shirt who's not wearing a robe, she that's her. So because I wanted her to be part of the that of the cross. Yeah. So wow. That is incredible. I mean, that story gives me chills. I mean, that is it is amazing how God uses situations. I mean, you were praying for confirmation and you know that this would be for his glory. And this woman had a completely different prayer and it all came together. God is so good. I am just I you know, it is amazing to see how through the course of your career and, all of the accomplishments that you've had, God has been with you the entire way. And I want to talk a little bit about some of the the fun projects that you've done recently as well that you've got you you actually incorporated your wife into a film. I believe it's called The True Miracle of Christmas. And I think that's amazing because now you can do this together as a family and it's it's got great music in it. It's a fabulous, amazing, heartwarming Christmas film. But talk to us a little bit about that film and about some of the other things that you're working on. Well, that film came about, during some of my breaks, we were filming in in different parts because whenever that, because we filmed, filmed it at home. Most of it. And, I remember that year we had I had to put up the Christmas tree three times. So, but my wife is not it. And I know it's fooling everybody. She's not an actress or a singer. She sang in the choir and she's good, but she's in a whole different world. She's a she's actually in the world of finances. So. So it's a, you know, it's like spreadsheet, meaning creativity. So it's a completely different world. We're very different. But one day I was just I was just playing on the piano and singing some song that I wrote, and she was harmonizing and I said, oh, honey, you have such a beautiful voice. And then and I kind of tricked her just singing for me in the studio, and she sounds so beautiful. She has a, you know, that's that's what attracted me to my wife. Her speaking voice is such a beautiful tone. I was so attracted to her, her sound, so her speaking sound, you know, and that's when we met. And and, but, over the years, you know, I didn't know that she could sing that. Well. And then. So I said, would you, you know, would you mind just doing this for me? And then we'll just film a little bit and see what happens, you know? And she she was game for us as if you're directing it. I'm okay. You know, because I know you'll you'll, you'll cut it. If it's not good, then you're not going to make me look bad. And so, and that's how it started. And then we have, we have a little. Can we ready to star of the movie right here? Mr.. My leash. This is our little dog. He's this is the star of the movie. He plays the he plays the brat in the movie. And he's he's not a brat, but, Yeah. So, but, it was a family affair. It really was my thing. That's awesome. Did the. Did your dog get some special treats for being such a wonderful part of that film? Or when you watch the film and you see him chew on cable? No, that they were dipped in, they were dipped in a chicken broth. So that was. Tricky. Oh. That's great. I wondered how you did that. That's amazing. Well, before we let you go, Steph, I definitely want to hear a little bit about, a ministry you started, at anti-bullying ministry called. Why You count. Can you tell us how that came about, how that started, and and what that's all about? Why I count, it was worth it in 2016. And that at that time, I had as I was finishing the project, The Light Shining Hour project, which started with Amazing Grace, which led us, that led us to Daystar, I have a song that I wrote called Awesome, and it didn't fit. It was more of a pop sound. It didn't fit the the rest of the album, but I liked the song and I didn't want to give it up in it. So, God, you must have a plan for this song. And then somebody sent me a letter, an online letter that was found from a young child, 14 year old, that had committed suicide due to bullying. And he left this letter hoping that somebody would, you know, do something about that. And that brought me back to my childhood because I as a kid, I was bullied. I was very introverted, you know, very shy. Our home was a foster home for mentally challenged kids. So you can imagine the name calling. And so I could relate to bullying, but I didn't. I said, what could be so bad that somebody at 14 would take their life? And, and it was very hard to understand. So I started digging into it and, and understanding the psychology of, of, of what happens. And the first thing I learned is that the frontal part of the brain of a child and even a teenager is not formed a part that's able to reason is not developed until the age of 22 or 23. So everything that they think about is fueled by emotion. So when you tell your child, what were you thinking? Well, chances are they were not thinking. They were just feeling. And so and then going back to me, well, when I was bullied in school, you know, it involved 2 or 3 guys and then you get in a fight and that's the end of it. And we go home and home was a safe place. But now the difference is, you know, this home is no longer safe place. First of all, parents are busier or or there's more single parents today, so there's less time with the child. The child is left on him on his own more often. And and the worst part is that they're coming home with their device, which is the cyberbullying. And so they're being bullied online. And we did we did a few movies on that one call is is there a future for me? If you go to the website, I suggest anybody who has a teenager to watch this film and also the series The Secret Hero, because it gives us it's an eight episode series, and it gives us for the parent and the child how to deal with situations, you know, like that. So it's I, I strongly because it's free. It's available. We made it free for everybody. It's the nonprofit. So but the bottom line is the peer pressure is so huge because of cyberbullying. So the kid doesn't go, you go, he goes home and not fully aware of who knows what. Right. So so he enters into schools and for all he knows, everybody in the school might know what he's been called the day before on social media. So the peer pressure is too hard for them to handle so they can't see. And if they're not able to communicate with the parent because they have, because it's a, you know, I as a kid, I wasn't talking about it. You know, kids are not going to brag about being bullied. Right. And so, so now it's it's really the number one cause of suicide among children under 14. And so, so that so then I said, you know, Lord, I'm going to use this song. Awesome. Because, and we reworked some of the lyrics to make

14. I am depending on what version of the Bible you read, but I'm wonderfully, made. But also I'm awesomely made in the completely Jewish Bible it says, and so I wanted to use that, that song as a way, since it was pop, it would allow me to get into secondary school and share the message, and I wanted to approach a music video as well in this series. As a from a scientific standpoint, if you've ever read the book creation, it tells us that we come from one cell in three days, we're 16 cells and 16 cells becomes 100, you know, trillion cells, and then there's 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the body that the heart has to push blood throughout every day, 60,000 miles, a blood vessel every day as I go around the earth two and a half times every day, the camera that the the eyes are able to to receive information, a million bits information per second, sending it at 300mph. So we explain to kids the complexity of what's going on inside of them, that no matter what's happening outside, nothing can affect the inside because they are awesomely made. And so it's it's about a, a class of self value, a self worth of, of our identity. Because there's such a rub of identity today, especially through social media. So it's, it's reinforcing what's unique about them and what's great. And, and then we teach them that the only way that the inside can be effective is, is what you say to yourself, because we teach them in a disguised way that your words of power, you know, we know scripturally that the words can bring life or death. Right. And and so so we tell them, I said, you know, Oftentime we hear that we become what we believe, but we often end up believing what we are told repeatedly and accept this truth. So. So it's a whole new approach. You know, it's not to eradicate bullying because bullying is going to be there forever, right? We know it's been well forever until the return of our Lord. Let's put it this way. But, but if we can build self value and self-worth, then we can teach them how to deal with this and not to become a victim of bullying or cyber bullying. I think that's so important and so valuable. And our listeners certainly are going to, you know, definitely want to check out your ministry and learn more. How did they find out more? How do they get their hands on the documentary movie that you are providing for free on your website? Yeah, I'm going to I'm going to promote one website today. I don't want to promote my own stuff. I want to promote this because it's so important. So it's Why I Count, and it spells with a “Y”. we're trying to be cool here, YICount.org. And if you go to YICount.org, all these videos are available and free in a series of eight episodes, and then also one for teenage girls that are wrestling with body dysmorphia and self-harm. So and we were just promoting kindness. We're promoting how to react and, and and to teach the value basically, you know, it's it's it's, it's, it's to pay it forward. Right. So it's the golden rule. I love that. Thank you for your work in your ministry. And for all of the contributions that you've made culturally, I think it's so important that we have strong Christians out in culture and in entertainment, providing amazing music and film and, and organizations and ministries like you are. So thank you for your work on that. It just it really makes a difference out there. Well, well, I'm grateful that God has been patient enough with me to allow me to, to do work for his, for his kingdom, because that's that's what we were called to do, like what you guys do. We're expanding God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This is our. This is the only thing I'm interested in. We're living at a very special time in history, and there's no time to be wasted and have wasted so many years. We all could say that for sure. But you're making a difference. Is wonderful ministry, wonderful things. Before we go, just what's next for you? What's coming up? Well, I'm. I'm actually tonight we're recording a new song, a new worship song, and, and, we're going to be filming this next week, probably if we finish it tonight as the choir part. And, I've already done the vocals. Have already, so I do a lot of vocals here, actually. But and we're working on a film called Undone. It's a, it's, producing this movie on the life of Sherry Damron. We we need to raise the funds for the movie, but we're we're, we're very, passionate about this film. This woman has been she grew up in a church, was sexually abused by a church member at the age of five, bullied in school, very low self-worth, self-esteem. She had a guy friend. I'm just going to sum it up quickly because. Because you're going to love this story. She had a guy friend that was a little older than her, and she he was kind of her protector. But when he turned 18, he went to the aviation. And so she ended up marrying the first guy who paid attention to her at 17, which in turn abused her during their entire marriage, which they were married for ten years, abused her to the point that she was sent to the E.R. seven times and to the point that she couldn't have children. So there's a click that happened in hers. That's what's your Jesus's. I'm not interested. And then she left the church, left a marriage, and she walked into a world foreign world for her, which is drug, alcohol and prostitution. Now, she ran as a prostitute for ten years. And one day, one of her friends changed her life and invited her to her own baptism. And she said, oh, I'm. You're not going to get me in church. You know, so she. So on a dare, she walked in church as high as a kite. But during the worship, when I admitted to say that she always loved the country music, she always loved music. So being a worship, the Holy Spirit user, she had one of those Paul inversion, you know, experience and and and you know, wondering like something snapped her out. What am I doing here? You know. And so her life then changed instantly. Obviously. And no one does. I mean, even Paul had to wait for 40, 14 years. Rights of the all. There's always a period. I guess we're all slow learners, but she had the the grace God sent her. A woman who was a the wife of a pastor who helped her understand the different the difference between religion again and relationship. So that's also why I'm connected to her story. And then, so she, you know, walked her through the book of Ephesians, the first three chapters, all about who we are in Christ. And she would personalize these verse instead of we. She would write her name, Sherry, and, accepted inheritance. And, you know, all these terms of who she is in Christ. And so God started to restore her life in a, in a it's such a miraculous way. And somebody called her after a while from the, the place where the foster care and they had found this child, four year old kid walking by himself on the street, ran away from home because his parents were drug addicts, and they were now put in rehab. And so they called her because she was next of kin and, she, so she went to see the child, and foster fostered him for two years. And the movie is about that is how through healing him, she gets healed and and, it's how God uses people, you know? That's why we're all together. We're all the body of Christ. And then through the healing and all of a sudden, I mean, there's a lot of things in a lot of different layers, to the movie. But you remember the aviation guy? Well, she'd been married for ten years. Prostitute for ten years. So 20 years it went by. So he retired from the aviation looking for a house, happen to knock at her door. They fell in love, got married within six months, adopted the child, opened a ministry to help women together. And he had her record albums in Nashville country and gospel album and it gets better. If you're familiar with Loretta Lynn country music, You ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man, which is her biggest hit. Well, just for fun, she changed the lyrics to You Ain't Devil enough to change God's plan and recorded in Nashville. And somehow I got to the ears of Loretta Lynn and Loretta. What we didn't know is that she had a heart for the broken in the heart aholic. And so she followed her online, gave her the rights to her song, her biggest hit to record, and given royalties for the new version to record a song. So when you talk about, you know, the restoration of what the looks of devoured. So she's experienced this. So this is the movie we, we want to make sure that we, we bring it in a way that it's going to be not just biblical, but very practical, because we have so many drug issue drug problems out in America and worldwide. Now that we want it, we want to show not just do this, this, this. We want to show the real thing, meaning that how do we implement the Word of God? How do you do it in a practical way? Today? For somebody that are dealing with in that world that wants to get out, you know, so this is the movie is called Undone I don't know if you seen have you seen the trailer of the movie. I have, yes, actually, yes. And I would love to share with our listeners how they might be able to support. Are you funding? Kind of like in an Angel Studios way? Are you crowdsourcing? Yeah. We're crowd, we're crowdfunding. So I could, I could actually, send you a link for that. That would be great. Let's put that in the show notes. But it is it looks like it's going to be a powerful and moving film. And with so many people struggling with addictions and just things that happen in their life that really are traumatizing and that way to see God's, you know, redemption and healing and the power to restore lives. And it's just it sounds like an amazing film stuff. This is going to be amazing. God is still a God of restoration. He's still who he is. Everything about God hasn't changed. He's still in command. I was watching this morning with the fire in California, this guy who was saying, this entire block is he, you know, the praying man, but his entire block is burned except this house in the middle of it. God is a faithful man, you know, we don't know why things happen the way they do. Don't have it. Know no one knows the answer. But we know he's faithful. Well, Steph, thank you so much for joining us today. Your stories, your music, your film, they're inspirational. And, we look forward to to undone and in what you're going to do next. And, we'll share all of this with our listeners. So to our listeners, thank you for watching today. If you like this, please share it. And, and like it. And, look for more from Steph. Thank you.