I had the great advantage of a mother who used to tell me the most beautiful years of a woman's life are ages 35 to 45.

There's a beauty to wisdom and experience that cannot be faked. It's impossible to be mature without having lived.

That happened when I was a freshman in high school. The guy reading it [the Bible] was dating my older sister. I thought he was the cutest thing that had ever happened in Nashville. He was nine years older than me and I thought, 'Mimi, I hate to do this to you, but I'm going to steal this guy away.' So I went to this Bible study thinking I was going to make this guy fall in love with me. I was fourteen. Hey, you know. But I was so overwhelmed by what they were talking about at this Bible study. I became a very serious, committed Christian.

I know how it feels to go into a studio to start a record, and eight weeks later it's finished. I know how an intense schedule feels.

How we absorb music is unique. I know what I do. When I'm listening to music, I tend to find myself in a song. That's what really makes you connect is if you feel what that song is saying.

Rich Mullins was the uneasy conscience of Christian music. He didn't live like a star. He'd taken a vow of poverty so that what he earned could be used to help others.

I've found that music allows years to fold like an accordion over each other, so I guess you don't feel the passage of time as much.