Cherie Adams - Interview with Cherie Adams

We met Cherie in Nashville recently and she shared with us her heart and life experiences behind the songs on her new album 'The Sweet Life'. We learned about how God was there for her at her lowest point and she shared the powerful testimony of God's amazing power and goodness in her life...

MQ: How are you?

Steven: I'm doing so great today. I'm so excited because I've been sharing this story that's been kind of bubbling inside of me for about 9 years now. It's finally coming out.

MQ: First of all, let's talk about the album - 'The Sweet Life'. Why that title?

Cherie: Well, it took me a long time to write that song. I guess it's mainly because, for the longest time, I never imagined that the Lord had a true sweet life for me. I had suffered through a traumatic event about 9 years ago and it left me feeling like, "Man, my life is never going to be the same." I was pretty hopeless - like a lot of people in America, you know? When you go through storms of life you get to a point sometimes where you feel like, "Man, is there really a God out there? Does He really care about every detail in our life?" And so that is pretty much the place that I was at for a long time. When He finally brought me over that fence and on to the greener pastures and all of that, it was so sweet...I just couldn't...I couldn't believe it! It was almost like euphoria! (laugh) You know? You can't believe this!

MQ: Awesome. I had read a few years ago - back when you were in Avalon - where you had talked about emotional healing and how you had struggled with that. You could always relate it to other people...

Cherie: Yes...

MQ: - but you felt it was 'not for me.' I read that and I could relate because I'm that way too. I used to read scripture and go, "Well, that's a great promise, but maybe that's not for me." You know what I mean?

Cherie: When all of His promises are for all of us!

MQ: Exactly!

Cherie: Yeah! God is not a respecter of persons and I would see people - like Jody and Janna in the group (Avalon) - they got married. They were the first ones to get married. And I would just look at them and be like, "(sigh)...Oh, I don't think I'll ever get married" ... because I thought I was 'damaged goods'. I had been involved in a 10 year relationship that kind of blew up in my face 3 months before the wedding. We had planned a big, huge Italian wedding - thousands of dollars were spent. And I just really didn't think that I could ever overcome all that brokenness and all that hurting. I just sort of felt like , "Well, I'll just devote myself to ministry and minister through Avalon and whatnot, and hopefully God will just give me a peaceful life. And really that's the extent of what I thought would happen to me but - I was wrong! And I'm happy to tell you, (laughing) - I was so wrong!

MQ: That's awesome! It's like we get caught up into looking at one thing and we miss the big plan. So, it's like, "Ok, I'll aim low, you know - just to get by..."

Cherie: Yes...

MQ: It's like you said - and then you see over the mountain and you see 'all of this.' I see a lot of that today. We get so hung up on one thing and we say, "I can't get over this hump!" What I love about your testimony is that you just said, "I'm going to focus on ministry and God's will first ..."

Cherie: No matter how hard it is ... to find! (laugh)

MQ: Exactly! Yeah, and letting go of things - you've got a track on your CD called 'Powerless' ...

'looking back, I can thank God for that storm'

Cherie: Yes! That's my anthem! That song is my anthem. Powerless - Oh! How many times when I look at my life's history and see how powerless I really was ... and now looking back I can say there were so many instances where God showed His powerfulness in my life. But at the time, you're so caught up in the storm - with all the wind and the rain and the sleet and the hail, all swarming around you - that you can't see God's power and you can't see His authority really operating in your life. Now, looking back, I can thank God for that storm ... which I never thought I would be able to say! I never honestly, truly even imagined that I would thank God for even the person who caused me the storm! I am just so glad that I went through it because now I can talk to people who are hurting - and people who are broken. And they'll listen to me, because they know that I've been there.

MQ: So, you'd say that is your message in this album?

Cherie: The message of my album is definitely the tangible presence of God. And really tapping into that tangible presence. My record is very deep lyrically and melodically. It's just very, very deep. It's not fluffy stuff at all. I'm not good with surface level things, you know? I'm a real passionate person! And I'm very deep and I love to dive into people's lives and this album is my heart on a disc. It literally is. Every single song has a story behind it. It's called 'The Sweet Life' and you can only get it at cherieadams.com

MQ: What kind of reactions have you gotten from your songs?

Cherie: There's this one song - and it's kind of funny because I almost did not put this song on my record - it's called 'Grieve For You'. And it's - like I told you - it's deep, very deep. Even the title alone - people go, 'Ugh, Grieve for you? Oh, that's heavy.' And a lot of the people in the industry that I ran it by were like, "Oh Cherie, could you say - 'Pray For You' - or could you say something else other than 'grieve'? Grieve is just kind of a dark word." And I'm like, "Yeaaah, but, No - I can't say anything else because really, that word grieve is the only word that can describe it. And it's the story of the prodigal son ... from the father's perspective. It's about life and how sometimes we make choices and we choose to walk away from God's will. Or we choose to live lifestyles that are completely contrary to God's word - that are not in line with His scriptures, you know? When we do that, we're making those choices, but no matter what we do, it never changes how the father loves the son. Not once does God ever say, "Oh, if you do this, I'm not going to love you anymore!" Sin cannot separate you from the love of God - but - there are consequences when you walk away from the Lord and I guarantee you that when that prodigal son walked away from his father, I can guarantee you that the father did not say, "Oh, Ok. I'll pray for you, son." He didn't say that. No! He grieved! I guarantee you that father wept ... and travailed ... and grieved. It must have felt like a death. I don't have any children, so I don't know what it's like to watch your child completely live a lifestyle contrary to God's word. I don't know how painful that must be, but I can imagine. So, that song gave me a lot of flak from my peers and I was really debating, "Oh God, if You really want me to put this song on my record, then You need to show me. I need a sign. Ok?" And this is tangible. This is tangible evidence of God - that He is tangible. I get an email out of the blue this day that I'm praying. I spent this whole day praying about this song because I was really in agony over this. I don't want to offend anybody, but it's a really strong song delivered with the love of Christ. So, I was praying and praying and praying about this song and I get this email from this girl I haven't seen in years - from New England. And right at this point, I had just sent a demo of the song up to my relatives in Rhode Island and my Aunt let this girl hear this song. Well, this girl was so touched by this song that she felt compelled to write me an email all about 'Grieve For You' and how much it touched her - and how she's never heard a song like it before - how it just ministered to her in such a deep way that she felt like she was going to go and play it for this guy who she knew was in a mental institution who's suffering from suicidal depression. And she really believed that the anointing of God was going to heal him through this song.

MQ: Awesome.

Cherie: So, because I got that email that day, I put this song on my record. And I promise you, every night that I sing this song, people will come up to the table and they will constantly ask me about that song. They may not ask me about any other song on that record, but they will faithfully ask me about 'Grieve For You'.

MQ: That little email was a confirmer...

Cherie: Total confirmation. Yeah.

MQ: It seems like there is a lot of people that way - that are hurting - and they won't say anything unless there's that common ground. So, it's like that song may have opened up some doors that they had closed ...

Cherie: Right...

MQ: And because of the message of it and because it's just real - your heart and emotion was put out there - it just did what God wanted to do through it...

Cherie: Yeah.

MQ: - and not what could have been done if we would have 'packaged' it. That's awesome.

Cherie: It was initially inspired by - I have this uncle who is kind of, well, he's really living totally contrary to God's word - like a mafia wannabe. He's not in the mafia. He's one of these guys that lives a lawless life. We worked on him for years. We kept trying to bring him to Christ and kept trying to encourage him to repent and turn his life over to the Lord and he would just not do it. So, finally, it just got to the point where it really grieved our hearts. It really did, it grieved our hearts. talking about 'Grieve For You'... So, that's what inspired this song. One day I was flying home from Rhode Island and I just dealt with him on some business matters because he was in partnership with my father. I was just sitting on the plane and I was so mad at him and so angry! And I'm just like, "Oh God, I just ... hate him!" And I can't believe that I said that because here I am - I'm a Christian - and I'm struggling with hating my own flesh and blood. I'm like, "God, forgive me! Forgive me!" And I'm repenting ... and having this emotional breakdown on the airplane - and all of a sudden I hear God say, "Cherie, you have to grieve for him." I'm like, "What?!" He goes, "I grieve for his soul. That's my son and I marvel over him and I created him with a purpose and a destiny for his life. He's choosing to walk away from me and my heart grieves for him." God spoke these things to me. And that was the beginning point for me, because I knew that as much as the bad things that my uncle was doing, I was just as much in sin by hating him for what he was doing. You know? And so, it was a major turning point for me and my walk with the Lord. And that song, I heard the words "I grieve for you" straight from God that day. That's where the song came from.

MQ: That's awesome. Thanks for sharing that with us. How can we pray for you?

Cherie: I would ask that you would pray that God would open up more doors for me to minister on a grand level. I just wanna travel all over the world and I want to tell my testimony and share with people how God touched me. Nine years ago, through my traumatic event that we talked a little bit about earlier, I was really suicidally depressed and very sick. And one day I walked into this church and this man who I've never met before - he was a prophet evangelist - he was there. And he called me by name - literally - this was 9 years ago . He said, "Is there a Cherie here?" Called me by name! Called me forward and began to prophesy over my life. The things he said to me would literally blow your mind. They were things that I had prayed in my prayer closet. He said, "The serotonins and the endorphins that have been depleted in your brain chemistry due to a trauma in your life is now being replenished ... and I speak an antidepressant from Jesus into your life this very day. You will no longer be in need of any medications or drugs because Jesus is going to be that drug. He's going to heal you from the inside out." And he began to say all of these things about me, like my husband is a ministry man, and I'm going to have a career like Celine Dion. He spoke a word from the Lord to me ... and made God so tangible to me. Jesus literally made Himself real to me that day. And my life turned around from that moment forward. The mood swings and the depression began to go away. A year later, I got my record deal with Avalon - and toured all over the world. A couple of years later I met my husband at a wedding. I actually walked with him in the wedding and 11 months later married him in that same mansion.

MQ: Wow.

Cherie: Cherie shares her testimony... Yeah! So, I have this powerful story of God's tangible presence. That's what led me to leave Avalon and pursue this ministry - to be able to sing songs that I write from my heart - from my life story - and reach people on a deeper level. My ministry is really different [these days]. I don't get on a tour bus and do 40 concerts. I go into churches, sometimes I even preach on a Sunday morning. I speak and I sing and I worship and I minister and pray with people. It's amazing ministry. And people are writing in and telling me how much the music is touching their life. I know it's making a difference and that's the most important part to me. I don't want to give people a 'quick fix'. Entertainment is a good thing, and it's a fun thing, and it makes people feel good. But I want to do more than just make you feel good for one day. I want you to leave feeling like God has really moved in your life and He's really made Himself real to you to you in a powerful way. That's what I want to deliver. That's the mission that I have.