“The record is a compilation of stories I’ve experienced over the past four years of my life,” she continues. “I think I hadn’t experienced much of life until now.”

For this, her 13th release, a pregnant Velasquez invited Mark Heimermann back into the studio—the same producer who worked on several of her earlier projects. Through the new songs, Velasquez invites listeners to “love out loud,” allowing actions to speak louder than words. The title track serves as a declaration for change. But it’s the worshipful “Jesus (The Way)” that the singer claims as her favorite cut: “It’s a reminder of His grace and the grace I also need to show.”

FREE TO BE

Velasquez isn’t the only one who’s been affected by the profound changes that come with life and love. “I believe that art is one half from your heart and one half from your brain… The birth of my son is a perspective change, to say the least,” says husband Nic Gonzales. His band, Salvador, recently released a new studio album titled Aware (Word). “Our new record has been a joy to be able to write as well as to play with my friends again,” offers Gonzales. “The difference this time is a new understanding about what it feels like to be called to spread the Good News through song.

“It was an eye-opening experience to see what the married guys in the band have been sacrificing over the last 10 years,” he adds. But Gonzales wouldn’t have it any other way. He says he’s learning “to be grateful in the big and small things.” And in this phase of life, he’s reveling in the freedom of becoming exactly who God intends him to be. New song “Free to Be” is a testament to this newfound independence uncovered through his life with Jaci and Zealand and also in his relationship with Christ. “[The song] speaks to the awkward and unsure person in me,” shares Gonzales. “It expresses what it feels like to be free in God’s love and that I’m OK if God is pleased with me.”

THE SIMPLE LIFE

Promoting two new releases and touring the country might make the art of juggling family life quite a challenge, but Velasquez and Gonzales take it all in stride. “Just like any other family with two working parents, we are trying to figure it out as we go. We are faced with a lot of the same challenges as the next couple,” says Gonzales.

Velasquez’s best advice in regard to the precarious balance is to simplify. “Anyone who knows me, knows how out of character that is for me!” she says. “I have to attack each and every task at hand and not let the rest of the world enter my mind until I finish.”

In the end, out of the limelight, this couple’s sentiments boil down to one thing: gratitude. “I have no idea why God has smiled upon me in such a way, but I do know that I am truly grateful,” says Velasquez. “I feel very undeserving of all this beauty in my life.”

Check out reviews of both Jaci’s Love Out Loud (A'postrophe) and Salvador’s Aware (Word). To learn more, visit jacivelasquez.com and salvadorlive.com.