We’ve all gotten them. Some of us get them every day. Some of us are the culprits of sending them. The forwarded emails.

There are many beautiful stories and quotes passed around the internet that have truly touched my heart over the years. Many of these stories I have received more times than I can recall. There are many silly forwarded emails, some funny forwarded emails, quite a few thought provoking emails, and the occasional quite annoying forwarded emails. The ones I hate the most are the “chain letter” type that says if I truly love Jesus I will forward the email to 12 of my friends, and if I don’t forward the email then I am denying Christ. I believe that it takes a lot more to deny Christ than not forwarding an email. But that’s just me.

However, there are the rare forwarded emails that I have actually never seen that touch my heart to the very core of my being. This is the case when I received a forwarded video a couple of months ago.

When I opened up the video link in the email I heard the most beautiful voice singing “The Star Spangled Banner”. It was actually an audition to sing the National Anthem at the opening of the Houston Astros game. The voice stopped me in my tracks. Her voice was astounding, bringing up deep emotions inside of me as I heard the lyrics of the sacred anthem of One Nation Under God.

The voice I heard that day belonged to a 15-year-old Texas native, Mary Sarah.  I was so moved by it that I became a culprit, and forwarded it to many of my friends, insisting that they had to listen to this young lady’s voice! And then I went searching to find her on my favorite social network, Twitter.

If you have not heard of Mary Sarah, you are missing out on an angelic voice! At just 15-years-old, I have no doubt Mary Sarah will be taking the country music world by storm!

Mary Sarah is no stranger to the music scene. At the age of 8-years-old she was singing in church. She has performed on many country radio stations; she has performed at many charity events; she has performed at many Opry Theaters around the state of Texas; she has received national recognition and awards for her songwriting talent; and, to top off all of these accomplishments, she has shared the stage with names such as the legendary Oak Ridge Boys.

By the age of 12 Mary Sarah was touring the country as a lead vocalist and dancer in Kidz Bop, a Razor & Tie Records and Vee Corporation production, produced by Michael Anderson in Los Angeles. The production has resulted in 7 Gold albums with “kid friendly” covers of hit songs.

She has performed to audiences of 4-6,000 kids at a time, which has helped develop her stage performances, as well as helped her to gain national and global recognition.

After completing the Kidz Bop tour, Mary Sarah returned home to Texas where she continues to perform at various events.

Music is not all that defines Mary Sarah. She is a young lady who has a strong faith, loves her family, and has a passion to work with various charities. The charity that is most dear to her heart is The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  Mary Sarah’s brother, Chris, has Juvenile Diabetes. This past fall she performed the National Anthem at the opening of The Walk to Cure Diabetes in Houston. In an interview at the event, she told the Houston Post, “I want to be a voice for those who need one.” This quote has given me a higher respect for Mary Sarah than even her beautiful voice. It strikes a common thread for me, personally, because I too want to be the “voice for the voiceless”.   

If you are in the Houston area, you may want to see if “OPRY on the Square- Country Now and Then” is playing in the Sugarland Square. Mary Sarah will be hosting 4 shows during the 2011 season. If you like country music, this is a little Texas lady you do not want to miss out on hearing and seeing! 

I have absolutely no doubt that Mary Sarah is going to have a successful career in the music business. Her love for traditional and modern country music, along with having the opportunity to write with such greats as Nashville songwriters, Tony Mary and Karen Staley, are sure to assure her a strong foundation for a successful career.

Mary Sarah’s audition video that I originally saw paid off! She sang the National Anthem on opening day for the Houston Astros on April 10, 2011!

To paraphrase the National Anthem, which Mary Sarah so proudly and beautifully sings, I proudly hail Mary Sarah! If you are a country music fan I am just about willing to bet you will be a Mary Sarah fan!

http://www.marysarah.com
www.youtube.com/marysarahmusic    
www.twitter.com/marysarahmusic 
www.reverbnation.com/marysarahspace
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mary-Sarah/109974905078#!/pages/Mary-Sarah/109974905078?sk=info

Show Time: Monday May 30th 9pm Eastern, 8pm Central, 7pm Mountain, 6pm Pacific

To Listen to the show click this link:  Plain, Hard Truth Tribute to America and Our Troops

To Call in to the show: (424) 220-1807

Reference Links from the Show (work-in-progress)

“If I Die Before You Wake” – Dustin Evans
Dustin got involved in music at a very young age, influenced mainly by his father. Dustin learned most of his dad’s songs and was singing them with true pitch at the age of three. As a teen, Dustin taught himself to play guitar, drums, bass, and piano, and began writing his own songs.

John Wayne’s collection of patriotic messages are still valid today. We’ll be listening to “Face the Flag Son”.

Please click on the CD image to purchase the entire CD if you find The Duke’s true American messages as inspiring as we do.
The CD contains these tracks:

1	Why I Love Her 2:58
2	The Hyphen 2:30
3	Mis Raices Estan Aqui (My Roots Are Buried Here) 2:42
4	The People 3:46
5	An American Boy Grows Up 4:31
6	Face the Flag 3:55
7	The Good Things 2:43
8	The Pledge of Allegiance 4:21
9	Why Are You Marching, Son? 3:44
10	Taps 3:05