Hello everyone! I’ve just uploaded two Christmas songs — one in the holiday channel, and one in the spiritual channel. I hope you’ll take the time to check them out, and if you like what you hear, follow the link to my website, www.christinehand.com, where you can download both songs for free! Have a wonderful Christmas!

I had a busy and satisfying weekend. We had two shows, Friday at Seekers Coffeehouse in Hurst, and Saturday at Eurotazza coffeehouse in Ft. Worth. We played well, met some great people, and overall, had a really great time. Plus, the Eurotazza “Meaning of Life” brew of coffee is one of my very favorites!!

Also, Friday night at midnight, after our Seekers show, I stood in line with many teenage girls to get my copy of Stephenie Meyer’s fourth and final installment in the Twilight series, “Breaking Dawn.” I finished it yesterday, and it was wonderful! I won’t give anything away though, because I know there are still many who haven’t read it yet.

Anyway, this weekend was great, and I just want to say a special thank you to the coffeeshop owners and baristas, as well as the lovely people who came to see us. Thank you!!!

We’ve been going to a lot of open mics lately. A coffeehouse in Hurst, called Seekers has a great one. Last night was our second time to attend, and, unbeknownst to us, this open mic was a contest, called “seekers idol.” Well, we walked away as one of the top three winners, which puts us in the running for the grand prize: $50 and an opening slot for one of the main acts. If you’d like to see this happen, please join us on Monday, June 30th, at Seekers in Hurst so that you can vote in the finals. There is a link above if you’d like directions.

My favorite part of the evening was that we didn’t play any songs with traditionally Christian lyrics, or talk about faith at all, but after the evening was through a man came up and told me that my singing reminded him of Eric Little in Chariots of Fire, who ran because he could “feel God’s pleasure” when he ran. That made me feel hopeful that we are doing something right — that love songs, even sad ones, can reveal the hope and light and creativity of Christ to the listener.

Last week I celebrated my 25th birthday. It was fun — good time spent with friends and family. As usual on my birthday, I started thinking about my life, what I’ve accomplished, what I’d like to accomplish. Sometimes this is depressing. But the truth is, I am very content with where I am now. Contributing to this contentment is a sense of artistic growth.

About a month ago I played my very last show at Apostle Credo Coffeehouse, which has been an important venue to me since I started performing my own music about a decade ago. Because it was a special show, I decided to make the concert a trip down memory lane, choosing something from every important phase of songwriting during that 10-year period. The process was fun and extremely rewarding, as I realized how utterly blessed I have been — not only to be able to write, perform and record my own music — but also, to have experienced the things I have that led to the writing of those songs. Performing that concert was almost like my life in review.

Now I am in a new phase. A Dallas phase. This weekend we have a real gig in Dallas, at Labyrinth Walk Coffeehouse. All the details can be found at my website (see link above). I would really love it if you would come to the show, as I embark (God-willing) on another quarter-century of life and music.

Hey everybody! I just wanted to let y’all know that I am performing tomorrow night from 8-10 pm at a Starbucks in Arlington, TX. The address is 1201 W. Arbrook. It’s at the corner of Cooper Street & is across from the Parks mall. I would really hope to see you guys there! There’s a link to a map at the top of the blog.