Plumb: Fresh Air

For singers, breath support is everything. Shallow breathing doesn’t go very far, while deep breaths and controlled exhalation allow for expanded range and endurance.

Proving she’s a master of her abilities, to date Plumb has sold over 500,000 albums plus two million singles, and counting. Lately, the “singer’s singer” has been applying these principles to other parts of her life.

The personal revelations she has had are now woven into her latest studio project, aptly titled Exhale.

“The last few years of my life have been the hardest,” she says. “However, I’ve now reached a place at which I’m completely surrendering to God, letting Him breathe into me so that I can breathe out. I’ve been holding my breath for so long, attempting to control everything around me. Now, I can finally exhale.”

As she breathes out, she’s taking account of God’s mercy on her family in these last few seasons of life. This perspective doesn’t always come easily.

Plumb has been incredibly forthright when it comes to sharing the story of her marriage, which was on the brink of ending. In retrospect, however, she can now see that many of the issues that drove she and her husband apart happened over an expanse of time.

“I’ve been so blessed to have had my career play out so well,” she says. “There was a time when we were doing great professionally. We were traveling a lot, winning awards and making a mark in mainstream music alongside our work in the Christian market. Admittedly, there was a time when I felt that I was better than just a CCM artist. I even stopped listening to Christian music, for the most part.”

That changed when things at home began going south.

“I didn’t like who I was,” she says. “I was frail, weak and sad. Darkness had invaded my heart, my life and my home. Eventually, I reached the point of complete brokenness.” It was at this impressionable time when hope would spring from a familiar source. “I remember one particular day at home, I overheard some Christian music playing in the background. Even to my own surprise, the lyrics of the songs provided the very hope that I needed.”

That event alone began to re-purpose Plumb’s heart, as she gained an entirely new perspective of Christian music, and felt “an overwhelming sense of gratitude to be a part of it.”

As she was experiencing this musical and purpose-driven realignment, God was at work repairing the home front. Their own diligence notwithstanding, through individual and couples counseling, both Plumb and her husband worked hard to rebuild their relationship. Once on the brink of divorce, God restored their marriage and the two are opening a new chapter of life together.

“I’m in a new head and heart-space,” states Plumb. “Everything has changed. I believe in resurrection now more than ever. God has taken what was dead, brought it back to life, and continues to make it better. Exhale is intended to reflect all of this.”

“I’ve never felt more free or grateful in all of my life,” she says.

With gratitude and humility coursing throughout, this new project will continue to be an intended source of inspiration and hope for others. The official music video of the title track has already clocked over 100,000 views on YouTube featuring dozens of comments from people touched by its redemptive message—a message that Plumb first heard at her home church in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Our pastor was talking about the community of the church and how we don’t exist for ourselves,” she explains. “We exist to share that love that changes us all, a love that is freely given to all of us. The change occurs as we breathe it in, and we fully live by breathing out in love and service—exhaling. I wrote [the title track] the very next day. God had done something so miraculous in my life by healing my heart and our home. I wanted to exhale all of that into this record and in these love letters.”

Today, life is once again promising for Plumb. In addition to singing, she and her husband are homeschooling one of their three children and are continually involved with the Montessori school they established a few years ago. As for what’s next, Plumb is committed to sharing the story of God’s miracle in her family.

“I pray that opportunities continue for my husband and I to share our story and to give others hope,” she says. “If God can redeem ours, He can redeem any other home. I feel completely blessed with the responsibility that my platform gives me to breathe out this renewed sense of purpose.”

Moving forward, Plumb will continue to surrender her heart, her home, and her breath to the One who breathes into us the very life and hope we all need.