"In some ways, being away from the music scene for a little while has made me appreciate the gift of it even more," she said of her first project with producer Mark Miller (Casting Crowns). "Both of us had such a sense of peace with the whole team. I really saw God's hands on the process of this album."

Some of the themes of the new album are "the kindness of God, because that's really what draws us to Him, His gentleness and love," she said. "Then there is the act of surrender, just how important letting go is, and that's something God has been doing in my life. We even talk about beauty and self-image, God redeeming our pain. We talk about fear."

Recently engaged, St. James has long been known as a pro-life and abstinence champion through her music, concerts and books. "The purity message has been the mainstay of my ministry," she said. "Now being in the engagement period, preparing for marriage, it's a real fulfillment of a lot of dreams. It's a lot easier to talk about that and not feel a bit of the sting of 'I'm still single and I don't necessarily want to be.' But the purity message, in essence I really have enjoyed sharing about because I think it's a need-driven message."

Read more in the April issue of Christian Retailing.

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