Meredith Kinleigh Talks Exclusively About the Passion & Stories Behind "Beautiful Mess"

INOV8 Music Group artist Meredith Kinleigh, who recently toured with Grammy Award-winning vocalist Jason Crabb and platinum-selling band Kutless, is releasing a new single to Christian radio. The song, "Beautiful Mess," is the second single from Kinleigh's debut EP of the same name, which was released in October 2015. With early station adds of more than 1,400 radio outlets, "Beautiful Mess" will be serviced to INSPO/Soft AC and AC-formatted radio stations. 

Q: Thank you Meredith for your time.  Tell us a little more about yourself, how did you feel the Lord's call to sing for Him?  

Thank you for your time, as well.  I'm a pastor's daughter and am the oldest of 5 kids.  I was homeschooled from Pre-K to 12th grade, and I loved it.  I grew up in church and have always enjoyed serving.  I took dance for 13 years and have played the piano for 19 years.  I see the world through the eyes of an artist.  Becoming a part of the worship team when I was 12 (I'm 22 now) was the start of my love for music and worship.  Since then, I've seen God use my love for music to minister to people.  I feel very fulfilled when I sing because I know I'm singing for Him and pointing people to Him.  I was on tour this past fall for a week with Kutless, Mark Schultz, Rush of Fools, David Dunn, and Natasha Owens; while I was on that tour, I knew without a doubt that God was calling me to share my message and what God has done for me with people hungry for hope and purpose.  Since then, I have toured with Jason Crabb, Kutless, 7eventh Time Down, and Natasha Owens.  God has opened some amazing doors and has continued to do so this year!

Q:  You've just released your new EP "Beautiful Mess."  I love the title because it's so intriguing; we don't normally envisage a mess as beautiful.  So, can you explain to us your EP's title?  

One day I was praying and thanking God that he saw me as his beautiful daughter.  I thanked him that even though I'm such a mess from day to day, he still sees every part of me as beautiful.  He sees even our mess as beautiful because our messiness makes us who we are.  If we were perfect, we wouldn't see the need for the Lord's perfection in our lives.  What God does to heal us and clean us defines us.  

Q:  A couple of songs on the album utilizes the water imagery, such as "Sail On" and "Healing Waters."  Tell us more about these songs?  

I definitely got excited when I realized that the songs God was putting on my heart were about water.  Water is amazing- it cleanses, it changes into different states, it is unbelievably powerful, it can destroy, it carries things across its waves, it hydrates, it heals.  "Sail On" is a song about moving forward.  The water in this song (the rain, the sea) symbolizes life's circumstances.  One minute we are quietly moving along on a clear sea, and the next we are being tossed around in a storm.  One of the biggest revelations I received when pondering the storms of life is that a storm always has an ending.  There has never been an unending storm.  We just have to be faithful in allowing the wind to carry us forward, not to give up, not to despair, and not to look around at the raging waves and fear.  God is always with us and will be with us through the darkest of storms until we reach the sunshine.  

The water in "Healing Waters," represents the Spirit of God.  The Spirit of God can pour out, fill us, quench us, and heal us.  Life can be as dry as the desert, but the healing waters of God will never run dry.

Q:  On your title cut "Beautiful Mess," you talk about how God can work through the mess in our lives.  Can you tell us a personal story when you saw how God made something beautiful in your life?  

One of my favorite stories about a beautiful mess took place a couple years ago on New Years Eve.  It's kind of a silly story, but I love telling it.  I had just received a brand new pair of canvas shoes for Christmas, but I had to send them back to get the correct size.  I got the new pair in the mail on New Years Eve and was so excited.  Later that day, Mom asked me to buy some groceries for the holiday festivities, so, of course, I wore my brand new shoes to the store.  At the store, my cart was pretty full (that tends to happen when you're part of a family of 7), and so I had to place the bottles of sparkling cider I had picked out on the bottom rack of my cart closest to the floor.  Before I realized what was happening, one of the bottles fell out of the cart; the wheel of my cart smashed the bottle and sent the effervescent cider all over the place, including my new shoes.  

Now, if anyone knows me well, they know I love shoes.  I was forced to keep it together as I called for help from the store employees, checked out, and drove home.  When I got home, I sat on the back porch and just broke into tears.  I had wanted my year to start off perfectly, and then this unfortunate happening took place.  Then God used that catastrophe to speak to me: He told me that I couldn't have started my year off any better.  He said that because my year started off messy and imperfect, there was room for him to be perfect IN me and that His strength could be perfect in MY weakness.  I was immensely grateful for that revelation because trying to be perfect is such a heavy burden.  Knowing that God is perfect is an amazing relief.  I'm so grateful that I serve a perfect God who only expects my heart rather than a perfect life.

Q:  What's next for you?  Are you following up the EP with a full-length album?  And if so, when will it be released?

My smart phone is FULL of new songs that I've written over the past two years, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to record a new project soon!!  I can't answer the question specifically since I'm waiting on some other factors right now, but I'm excited for the future.  

Q: Where can our readers catch up on your tour dates and venues? 

Readers can check out my website, meredithkinleigh.com, for dates and venues, and they can check out my blog, meadowlarkmusic.weebly.com, for fun inside looks of tour life and experiences.  I have some exciting things coming up this summer/fall, so readers, stay tuned!! 

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