J e n i . V a r n a d e a u

website: http://www.pamplinmusic.com/jeniv/

"I want to be 'set apart,' not just blending in with the crowd. I don't want to be a part of 'Generation X,' a lost generation with no name or face. I want to fall in love with Jesus so much that I represent Him well, by being a light to those around me." Jeni Varnadeau, Real Magazine, March/April 98'



Sometimes the simplest of life's truths can be the hardest to grasp. And human nature often seems determined to complicate things that are actually very clear . Simple but profound faith in God, a life that reflects that, and music that celebrates it are the heart of Jeni Varnadeau's second and latest album.

"The deeper you go spiritually, the less complex things become," says Jeni. "I've been trying hard to simplify my life, and focus on the things that are really important. Faith in the Lord and absolute dependence on Him in everything we say and do has become a recurrent theme of my ministry. The new album brings that right to the forefront by emphasizing God's eternal faithfulness. I have a zeal to communicate that, because I've experienced both the fruits of that faith, as well the consequences of my lack of it."

As the child of a solid church-going family, Jeni was only seven when she dedicated her life to Christ. By the time she was a teenager, she was well- known among her peers as someone who knew what she believed, and wasn't shy about sharing her faith.

Through years in church and school choirs, while living outside Houston, Texas, Jeni realized her love for music, and the gifts for singing that God had given her. She moved to Nashville, from Albuqurque, New Mexico, to attend Belmont University. In 1994, she graduated from Belmont with a degree in commercial music, with an emphasis on vocal performance, and a minor in music business. With training in both the creative and corporate aspects of her undertaking, she recorded a six-song EP and started marketing herself and her songs in and around Nashville. That mini-album found its way to producers John and Dino Elefante, and Pamplin Music, with whom she signed in December of 1995.

"I feel like God has taken me through a very natural, ordered sequence of events," says Jeni. "His goal is not for me to be famous. That could be part of His plan, but He's looking at a much bigger picture in all of our lives. The key is to not get lost in all the earthly, day-to-day things that happen along the way."

As she simplifies--and intensifies--her own journey of faith, Jeni's sense of purpose is just as honest and transparent as the songs she writes and sings. "I would hope that I could be a role model...that my life and how I live it would be of some benefit to someone else in their own walk," says Jeni. "That sounds funny to say, because who am I to be a role model for anybody? Still, God is capable of using me to be salt and light to the people around me."

And that's nothing but the truth. Plain and simple.

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