God does Above and Beyond your wildest Dreams and Imaginations!!!!!!
I am sitting here in Carol Hogner’s (2014 ICM New Artist of The Year Nominee) hotel room writing this blog. I can’t help but to think about how far my life has come over the last couple of years. I met Carol in the spring of 2012 and I knew instantly that there was a divine God connection. I have always had a pull towards Cowboy Church and music and it was just a fit from the get go.
Our journey began by simply being willing to be a servant. Carol was scheduled to sing at Cowboy Capital Felloship in Lenepah OK and her daughter Lu was not able to attend. I volunteered to assist her anyway I could. I ran Carol’s IPod and assisted with sales on her CDs , carried around her purse and just made sure things were handled so she could love on others. After this service I started driving and meeting them as often as I could. I never imagined that one day soon this would turn into a full time life changing adventure.
I had told Carol (MommaJo) from day one that I was going to make sure she got on the radio. I had no clue how to make this happen but I was determined. I emailed a couple local stations and didn’t get responses. I knew that somehow God and I were going to get this done. In September last year I researched Country Christian Stations and I contacted Hunter Logan with HLE. Hunter started playing Living Stones and from this point things started rolling. God showed me more and more stations to contact. He says in His Word in Proverbs 3:6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. He did for sure one step at a time. Living Stones hit the charts in Jan 2014 on Christian Voice and began to rise up the charts quickly.
In early spring of this year Carol received a message on Facebook from Mr Gene Higgins of HMG Nashville. When Carol first received his message I was not sure it was real. I had several public figures friend me or message me that were spam accounts. My protective nature took over and I said let me call as your PR girl. When I dialed that number and the HMG office answered the phone I was so overwhelmed I almost hung up. I texted Carol while on the phone and yelled ITS REALLY MR HIGGINS!!! We knew at this moment we had reached an ABOVE AND BEYOND pivotal point in our lives and in her music.
Carol released her single Ordinary Things in May of this year with HMG and it hit the charts at 89 in June and currently has risen to 21. Watching all of this unfold has been almost unbelievable even though in fall of 2013 I felt the Lord say she will be at the 2014 ICM Awards. In my small thinking I thought at first it would be as a spectator. When she got that message from Mr Higgins I knew I had thought to small. At that moment I knew this was it. God showed me that even my Above and Beyond teaching and words I had spoken about that I still was not getting it. That when He does it there is no time frame or plans that compare to my thinking. I thought 2014 would be the year we figured it all out and learned the ropes and 2015 would be explosion year. Well guess what here we are.
I have met a lot of ICM artist and DJs on Facebook while doing PR. When we got here to the ICM Week I begin to meet them one by one in person. I realized GIRL you are still thinking too small. I have had people who I would have never imagined ask me about social media and how I do Carols PR. I currently have an artist and DJ who have asked for me to work with them which has just amazed me. When Mary Jane Holt stood and bragged on my PR and said I needed to be duplicated and they all needed one of me I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped open! Still small thinking. I have not seen myself as a professional. I wasn’t even sure how I had accomplished what I had. I looked back over the last two years while she stood there talking to Carol and I and remembered Proverbs 3:6. He has been showing me the way each step.
Tonight Hannah, Amber and myself will be attending the 2014 ICM Awards not just as spectators but with a 2014 New artist of the Year Nominee Ms Carol Hogner. We are currently sitting in our awesome rooms that God provided for us through our wonderful pastors Dave and Kathleen Simmons and basking in all God has done for all of us.
I can’t tell you what all is in store for 2015 but I can tell you it’s ABOVE AND BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAMS AND IMAGINATIONS Eph 3:20
Dreaming Above and Beyond
Cassie Gilman
