CCM: Absolutely. …and, you are one of the few artists that truly and honestly opens up the door, even to your own home.
NG: Right.

CCM: If anyone reading follows you on social media, that is very obvious right away.
NG: [chuckles]

CCM: Which leads me to my last question: We’ve heard and seen how your kids have been involved in the recording process of your music, but what have they taught you in the process of writing this book? How has being a mom influenced you as an author?
NG: They’re throughout the book because so much of my struggle and fear comes from thoughts of failing them. I have two incredible parents that have done so much for me, but it was a different generation, you know? One of the things I didn’t see a lot was my parents embracing their weaknesses. [On one hand] we don’t want to, because we want to believe our dad is Superman, but I think one of the things that I’ve really been intentional about is actually being weak in front of my kids. When I fail them, when I lose my temper with them—which is way too often than I want to admit—I apologize. I go to them and say, “I am wrong. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that.” I think that what a child has is that immediate ability to receive you in your weakness, to love you anyway and look past it.

We lose that the older we get. We become jaded. We might say, “we forgive,” but we carry it. We tuck it away somewhere on the inside and don’t forget. Kids still have that ability to just be like, “It’s okay, Mom. Of course you make mistakes. Of course you’re going to do that. That’s okay. That’s okay.” I think we lose that. It does take courage to let your weaknesses show, but if you start by actually letting your kids in on them, the amount of conversation and the amount of trust that is built (and what you will receive from them) will just be immeasurable, honestly. I can tell you, that so much strength comes to me through being weak in front of my kids, and what they give me as a result of that is really truly beautiful.

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