Some of you know I write for lots of other projects besides my own albums. I’ve gathered together 12 of my favorite demos written for film, television and other niche projects, to share with you in my new CD, Snapshots. Several of the songs from this CD have aired already on CBS, NBC, ABC, MTV, Lifetime, feature films, hundreds of professional photographers’ sites, and more. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover…

I’m excited for you to hear these songs! I’ve uploaded several audio clips, along with some writer notes in the MUSIC PLAYER of my FACEBOOK PAGE I’d love for you to give them a listen and take advantage of the pre-order special we’re running through the month of July.

I’m offering to autograph and ship you a CD free of charge if you pre-order from this PAYPAL LINK for $ 7.99

We’re anticipating shipping the CDs by the end of July…

It’s a really fun collection of songs, the kind that sound great turned up loud in your car on one of these gorgeous summer days. In fact, I wish I could get into your car and ride along while you listen. Unless you think that would be awkward….you’d feel obligated to say nice things because I’d be sitting right next to you, in your car. Ok, maybe that won’t work. But I do think you’ll like it!

If you blog, and give the new CD a review or mention to your readers, I’ll send you the mp3 files and CD cover art FOR FREE! Just email me at staci@stacifrenes.com and I’ll get you a zip file full of goodies. For us independent artists without big marketing budgets, your recommendations to your friends are a HUGE help in getting our music out to people!

I’ll keep you posted on the progress, and post some stories behind the songs soon!

Yesterday afternoon my 2 kids and I hung out in the family room with laptops and open books strewn all around. Both of them were working on research papers for school, and were asking for help. In our family, I’m the go-to person for English and History and Dad’s Math and Science. My kids got lucky; after all, we could have both been losers at math…

Both of these research papers required outlines. Zach and I have worked on several of these over the years—he struggles with English and has to really sweat it out to get a B on an essay or report. Abby, my daughter, is a natural writer and finds it pretty easy to get A’s in composition.

Zach found that once he had a framework, a sort of blueprint, the rest was a piece of cake. He felt physically relieved after we worked on an outline….like a load of pressure had been lifted off his back. He said that he now knew exactly what details to look for, and wouldn’t get bogged down by all the research.

This is the kid who, when we go on vacation, wants to know The Plan each day when we wake up in the morning. The one who used to pick out his school clothes the night before and set them out. Who makes little workout charts and thumbtacks them to his wall. Who organizes his closet without being told. Who asks me in the morning what’s for dinner that night. Yes, this one likes to know where things are headed. He thrives within a structure, a framework.

Abby, though, resisted the outline. Kept asking why she had to make an outline when she knew what she had to say and just wanted to write. Said it was constraining her and didn’t feel like it allowed her to be creative with her idea flow. She kept getting up and playing with the dog, getting a snack, plunking around on the piano…..basically anything to avoid coming up with the outline for her paper. She felt hemmed in by it.

This is the child who writes poems on the back of napkins, stays up half the night painting, changes her mind 7 times a morning about what to wear, never makes plans more than an hour ahead of time. Whose room is an explosion of clothes, paintbrushes, sketch books, guitars, and odd collections. Who thrives on spontaneity and chaos.

I thought about their differences as I watched them work yesterday, my heart overflowing with empathy and love for both of them. Grateful and puzzled that they turned out so completely opposite. They are beautiful and complex human beings, and I realize that this whole parenting thing requires insight—that it’s not a one size fits all operation. God help me to really see their unique attributes, and to encourage and guide them accordingly.

I wish I could record a new album every few months—I love the songwriting, the arranging, the creative process, and I tend to write a lot more songs than I have the time—or money!—to record myself. One of the things I love doing, then, is collaborating on other artists’ projects.

Just for fun, I thought I’d share a few of these collaborations, starting with the most recent. I believe all of these CDs are aslo available at iTunes. And by supporting these artists, you’re supporting GREAT music and (in some cases) this particular songwriter. :) (Click the CD cover to go to their website)

Tonia Hughes is an incredible Gospel R&B vocalist from the Minneapolis area; she has the voice I’d like to have when I get to heaven (!!) She wrote to me about the passing of a spiritual mentor, and asked if I’d write a song which conveyed the powerful impact she’d had on Tonia’s life. That song became the title track on Tonia’s latest CD, I’m Ready Now.

Sara Renner is also from Minneapolis, and is a powerhouse Gospel and R&B vocalist/performer. She and her band, The Elements, have a strong regional following and put on great live shows. Sara and her producer, Nate Sabin, asked me in on the writing process for several of the songs on her latest record, All for Love.

Brian Bates is an Adult Contemporary artist with a huge heart for Africa (which is near to my heart as well) I helped write several songs on his latest CD, Worlds Collide. On the homepage of his website there’s a video of a song we wrote called, You Danced about what he saw when he visited Africa. You’ll be inspired.

Jason Gray is a good pal of mine whom I met through World Vision several years ago. He’s an amazing singer, songwriter and storyteller. I co-wrote and sang on some of the songs on his last record, All the Lovely Losers. He’s currently got a song near or at the top of the CCM Radio charts from his latest record, Everything Sad is Coming Untrue.

Kenon Chen is a longtime friend and co-writer who’s also produced some of my favorite album cuts (Amazing, Safe With Me, Right Now, You Said Enough, No Stone Unturned) He writes and performs his own acoustic/pop material but also releases a worship album every year or so, which I usually end up singing on in some fashion. Here’s a CD of his I recorded BGVs for on a song called Who Do I Have.

After the Chase is a California-based married duo that released a folk/pop album called Make Me New around the time I released Meteor Shower. I had the chance to sing some BGVs on at least one of their songs. They just had a baby and are pretty much the cutest little family I know.

I got an early Mother’s Day gift yesterday—a sampler box of 10 bars of Divine Chocolate. Divine is the brand name…and how I’d describe the taste. It’s creamy, rich, mmmmm, delectable. The sampler flavors included in the box I got are Hazlenut Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Raspberry, Dark Chocolate Mint and White Chocolate with Strawberry flakes. I’m savoring them square by delicious square. Sharing only when necessary.

But here’s the super cool thing. This is no ordinary chocolate. Divine Chocolate is the first farmer-owned chocolate company in the world. The cocoa beans that make up this chocolate are fairly traded, sustainably farmed, and irresistibly tasty.

Check this out. (it’s short and painless, I promise)

Yesterday I met a woman who is a cocoa farmer in Ghana, where a big percentage of the world’s chocolate is produced, yet which remains one of the world’s poorest countries. She said that before she joined the co-op which contributes to Divine Chocolate products, she was cheated and offered less than market value for her cocoa beans, because she was a woman and because she was poor and had no leverage in the marketplace. Joining a co-op gave her the power to get better prices for her beans, allowing her to help feed her kids and send them to school.

So while I am thoroughly diggin’ this chocolate, it’s actually helping to create a sustainable business and quality of life for a mom in Ghana, Africa?



Tastes good, does good.

Yeah, I’m sold.



Click the pic to go to her story, and the website where you can order the yummy sampler pack of Divine Chocolate as well as other products that help support small businesses and farmers in developing countries.

Look what happened—spring snuck up on us!

April is bursting out all over my backyard with dazzling colors and shapes and aromas.

Look at this pink!

Look at that green! (don’t asparagus ferns remind you of dreadlocks?)

See the bending birch trees below? They’re just saplings, and the one on the right almost didn’t make it through the windy, stormy months. But he’s been hangin’ in there, even after one of his thick trunks splintered one blustery day this past February.

Just a few weeks ago all of this looked like a brownish wasteland of tangled dead weeds. I haven’t done one bit of gardening; the water’s been off all winter. The rain and sun and earth did this all on their own.

I’m inspired by this cycle of life, death and rebirth. It gives me hope. Makes me think I don’t need to fret and strive so much; that maybe beneath the surface this season is doing its work in me like it’s done in my backyard, and that new joy, new patience and new peace are growing and will emerge in me in due time.