Back Porch Book Chat: Kristyn Getty (Singer, Hymn Writer, and Author)

Kristyn is the founder, along with her husband Keith, of Getty Music. She is an award-winning hymn writer and the author of Sing! and a brand-new children’s biography of Joni Eareckson Tada (read our starred review!). Kristyn and Keith live in Nashville with their four children.

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us, Kristyn! We like to create an informal atmosphere for these chats by pretending we’re sitting on your back porch (or front porch) with a cup or glass of your favorite summertime beverage. Could you share a little about your surroundings with us? and what’s that you’re drinking?

I’m sitting at my desk (an old Singer sewing machine with a wooden top), I have a Waterloo sparkling water and lots of books and notebooks and little pieces of paper around me! All my kids are at school and even though I miss them the quiet is very lovely…

(A Waterloo sparkling water sounds like just the thing for a warm summer morning!) Everyone knows Kristyn Getty (and husband Keith) as Christian singers, songwriters, and coordinators of the annual Sing! Conference in Nashville. What inspired you to include writing a children’s biography of Joni Eareckson Tada in your busy schedule?

The Good Book company asked me if I would like to write a biography of Joni Tada as part of their ‘Do great things for God’ children series. My daughters and I love these books and we all love Joni and so I was happy to get involved! I enjoyed working on the text and I think Hsulynn’s illustrations are wonderful!

I agree about the illustrations–very kid-friendly and engaging. Could you share a bit about the writing process? Was Joni closely involved?

The Good Book Company helped me work through the scope of the assignment and to understand how it fits the series. It has been a great privilege to get to know Joni over the years so I had a lot of memories to pull from. I chatted with her about it! The challenge was keeping to such a short word count and always thinking ‘what would speak best to my six year old?’. There are so many things to say about the incredible Joni Tada!

I’ve known about Joni for decades, but learned more about her from this biography. What do you think she has to offer young readers?

I once asked Joni what she hoped children would take from the telling of her story and she said she wanted to help ‘dissipate fears of suffering and to instill in them a confidence that God is worthy of their trust’.

So early in life we wrestle with fear and anxiety. We realize very quickly how broken the world is. Joni has always been special to my kids. She has helped bring to the forefront the big questions they already had. She has shown them better than my words could how it’s not only possible to trust in God through hard times but that God takes those hard things and makes something beautiful out of them for His glory.

I agree; we learn so much by example. I love the title of this book series: Do Great Things for God. Speaking of books, that’s our favorite subject around here. What role have books and reading played in your home life? Do you have any family-favorite titles?

We have lots of different books in our house. Some like reading more than others and then they all have different tastes. Some favorites are the Little House on the Prairie books, Junie B Jones, all the Julia Donaldson and Sally Lloyd Jones books! I’m excited about my eldest daughter’s booklist at school this year as she’s starting Shakespeare. One of my big prayers for this new school year is to see the girls increasingly reading the Bible for themselves. The girls are excited to bring this new Joni book into school with them – they helped me finish it by listening through many times to the different drafts!

Kid-tested–I love it! Are there any recent books you’ve enjoyed, either as a family or individually?

I read a book called ‘Surprised by Oxford’ by Carolyn Webber this summer and loved it. It is a journey to faith story in the context of Oxford and literature and the stirring of the imagination!

This year I have been going through the chronological one year Bible reading plan. I’ve never used this reading plan before and it has really opened my eyes in new ways.

I followed that plan last year. in fact, I came to it through a Joni recommendation!

Lets go back to your primary focus. I really appreciate the Gettys’ work in encouraging congregational singing. It’s an aspect of worship the church has neglected in the past. When it comes to family devotional times, I know a lot of parents don’t have much confidence in their musical abilities. How would you encourage those parents to incorporate music and hymn-singing into their family devotional times?

There are two main things we try to do. First we make every effort to get to church on time so that we can sing together as a family with the wider church family. Keith often plays the songs we will be doing that morning as we travel to church in the car.

Second, we play recordings of hymns through the week as they go to school, as they fall asleep, as we cook in the kitchen alongside lots of other music too! We have a family hymn of the month we focus on each month.

(gettymusic.com/hymnofthemonth)

When we have devotional times we sing our favorites and sometimes have the girls add their musical instruments. Every time we have been with Joni we always sing – in hotel lobbies, in elevators, going up the street, in the car! I think showing how it is the most natural and healthy thing to do as a believer is so important for our kids whatever voice we have.

Thanks for the link! I love those suggestions. Here’s something most of our readers would like to know: How do you balance motherhood and family life with creating/writing music and touring?

I’ve learned that finding a good balance is always a process with lots of adjustments! If you have a plate that is too full you need to take things away or find the right people to help share the load. As I’ve walked through motherhood and work I’ve always needed to do both! If you don’t it’s hard to find peace in your home or even more the time needed for your soul to be at rest before the Lord. Joni has been an inspiration to me for she is someone who spends a lot of time in prayer and in the word and in song. Her suffering has taught her great patience and to wait on the Lord.

You’re right; it’s a process. Are there more children’s books to write in days ahead? Such as biographical subjects you’d like to explore?

We are releasing a new hymnal next year and so I’m working on a few things for children around that!

Great! We’ll be looking for it. Thanks again for chatting with us!

Also at Redeemed Reader:

Reflections: See our list of Back Porch Book Chats.