I had a chance to speak with the lovely and God-filled Demaries Glaspie. We chatted as if we knew it each other instead of meeting for the first time! I am excited about the doors God has opened for her and her calling.
Read on as she opens up about meeting her husband, the exodus from New Orleans to Texas, and what she misses about home.
On how she was given the opportunity to open for Earnest Pugh:
I was online one night looking for different events and a friend of mine contacted me through Facebook. She let me know that the [Earnest Pugh] concert* was going on at the [Household of Faith Christian Fellowship] church [in Round Rock]. We exchange contact information. Lady Val Hooper and her husband went online and listen to some of my music. They liked what they heard so they contacted me and asked if I would be able to come out.
*The concert is this Friday, June 11, click here for ticket information/church location
On her song, “Let Go”:
It’s the title song off my upcoming album, which drops in August. “Let Go” is really an encouragement song for the saints – and a reminder that no what you are going through, thanksgiving is the key. When we give thanks to God we can let go of our problems and the issues that we have and able to be the light that God wants us to be to the world. When we are focused on our problems and issues, it is hard for us to shine our light. If we just leave those things in God’s hands and let go and let God do what He is going to do with those issues, then we can focus on being that light.
On meeting her husband, Minister Marvin Glaspie (AKA Marv4MoBeats):
We met in 2001. He is a member of my parents’ church and I recently moved back to New Orleans from Tampa Florida. He was the sound engineer there and I was on the praise team. When we started the group, Sound Minds Music, which was our church’s first music outreach ministry, Marvin was the producer and I was the only female artist. We got to know each other through working together.
On moving from New Orleans to Texas with the entire church congregation:
Before the storm, our church [Smoking for Jesus Ministry] would have what we called “family retreats.” We were looking at possible locations to hold the retreats and we came across Church Alive [Conference Retreat] in Lumberton Texas. When we found out Hurricane Katrina was coming and we would have to evacuate, my pastor Elder Willie Monnet Sr, who is also my dad, did not want to leave anybody behind. We met up at church that Sunday morning and we contacted Church Alive to make sure they had enough rooms to accommodate us. That is how we ended up in Lumberton. Three weeks later, Hurricane Rita hit so our church and the Church Alive people had to evacuate. When we realize we would not be able to go back, we traveled through six or eight different cities for 40 days. It was a really difficult time – we were going from hotel to hotel, different retreats centers. We were constantly looking for places to accommodate our entire group. God kept making a way. Someone told of us some vacant apartments that were built in Marble Falls, Texas. It took about one to two weeks to go through the process of getting everyone a place, except our pastor and elect lady (my dad and mom). God eventually made a way and provided them with a place. On July 11, we have our book release which chronicles our church’s story entitled Mount Up: How One Church Survive Hurricane Katrina and Rita. We are really excited especially since it is the fifth anniversaries of Katrina and Rita disaster.
On what she misses about New Orleans:
One of the things I definitely miss about New Orleans is you never had to drive more than twenty minutes to get anywhere. Here in Burnet, we have to drive at least twenty minutes to go to Walmart. I miss city life period – everything being close and you don’t have to do a lot of driving. Another thing I miss about New Orleans is the opportunities to witness, the outreach ministry. We are from the hood so we are use to city life - that hood life - and letting God use us to minister to others. That is what I miss.
On why Psalm 50:23 is her ‘anchor’ scripture:
It was about two years ago, my husband and I were going through some financial problems. We were talking about what we were dealing with and the Lord showed me [this scripture] that particular morning. It was such an eye-opener for me. The scripture says “thanksgiving is a sacrifice” –that is what I took from this scripture. Thanksgiving is what pleases God. We can offer God a lot of things, we can try to be obedient, and we can do a lot of things. What He really wants from us is for us to be trusting and thankful in whatever situation He allows us to go through.
On advice she would give to aspiring artists:
I do have important nuggets that I could drop. For a secular artist, the advice I would give to them is to know God and to know the gifts and the calling He has placed in his/her life. Callings on life are without repentance, [the gifts given] would be definitely used for His Glory and He will not allow Satan to distort the gifts to use it for his own good. That every word and every note that will come out of their mouth and everything they do will be to glorify God. This would be the same for a Christian artist, that they will completely use every gift and everything to give God all the glory. We have to look at the big picture: from the day we were born, God puts those gifts in us it was for the purpose of saving souls. We always have to be mindful of what does God wants. Sometimes we might want fame and fortune. We have to know the most important thing is if we never gain fame or fortune but we have touched the hearts of people that God wants us to touch, then we have fulfilled our purpose. To be purpose driven, go after what God wants with reckless abandonment, don’t hold back, give God everything and watch God make something out of your life that you never thought you would get.
Demaries’ 9 Random Truths:
1.| Favorite Food – Any kind of Seafood
2.| Favorite TV show – any Law & Order
3.| Least Favorite Subject in School – History
4.| Tye Tribbett or Kirk Franklin – Kirk Franklin
5.| Mahalia Jackson or Shirley Caesar – Mahalia Jackson
6.| Favorite Movie – Facing the Giants
7.| Favorite Clark Sisters’ song – Pure Gold
8.| Favorite Scripture - Psalm 50:23
9.| First Song She Sung in Church – Blessed Assurance at age 5
Listen| Demaries sings Blessed Assurance
For free download of Let Go, visit DaSouth.com or Marv4MoBeats.com .
Want to know more about Demaries, visit her Myspace page.
Want to know more about Smoking for Jesus Ministry? - click here.
Loved Demaries’ interview? Tell her on Twitter & send us a tweet too!
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