Gospel is just the truth of the word of God. Anybody can sing it, anybody; anybody can perform it.

I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. We were brought up with a great collection of good morals and good values, but we also had fun. We'd go to church on Sunday, but then have ice cream, roller skate or play in the park afterwards.

I was brought up by great parents and great grandparents who told me, 'Never, ever think that you're better than anyone else or that what you do is so important that the world won't miss you once you're gone,' and I kind of translate that into the stardom thing.

I do a medley of hymns in all of my sets, whether I'm in an arena, in a theater, in an amusement park.

Education helps you to be a well-rounded person, period. It teaches you how to take in information and data, process it, and use it for life building. Education was key in my family. You were going to college.

I truly believe that my songs bring the answers and the solutions, as opposed to just talking about the problems. My music at its core is joyful.

All of my lyrics are based on the one thing that's never failed me, and that's the Word of God.

I cook everything from Italian to Cajun food. I have now mastered the roux for gumbo. I love cooking.

The great thing about Gospel is that you don't have to have an album every year in order to keep working.

Of course, my faith has a lot to do with being able to be public without being a public nuisance.

When I write a song, it comes from the heart and is based on a specific experience. You can't really say that one experience is greater than another, because all of your experiences take you through life on this journey.

The more I grow, and the older I get, the more I am enjoying my life and know how precious it really is.

People love gospel music. It's calming. It's soothing. It gets right to the point of whatever you're dealing with.

The only time I really eat out is when I'm on the road. Then, I make the same choices that I would make at home -- salmon and lots of oily fish and veggies.

There is a sound that comes from gospel music that doesn't come from anything else. It is a sound of peace. It is a sound of, 'I'm going to make it through all of this.

As humans, we have the tendency to call on God only when we think that we're in dire straits as opposed to cultivating a real relationship with Him every day. And that's what my music tries to convey to all the listeners -- try to cultivate it every day.

When you win a Grammy... you're thinking about you winning. It is amazing. Your peers and folks in the record business are saying, 'This is what we think of you.' And that's why the Grammy will always be, to me, the ultimate in what you get as far as a music trophy, because it is the one.

I started out in a professional choir at 13 years old. We traveled to different places, and I had a close relationship with the leaders of our choir. We were recording when I was 15, so it wasn't like I had to wait until 25 to find out certain things.

I'm very involved with kids because after being a teacher for seven years, I just can't stop loving the kids. I am a teacher forever.

No matter how hard it seems...never give up, always believe.