Alex Edmonds Featured in Arkansas Baptist Magazine
by Jenny Redfern

CROSSETT – "When I look at you, I see forgiveness, I see the truth," sings Miley Cyrus as the credits roll at the end of the 2010 film "The Last Song." The lyrics are from her single, "When I Look at You," from the album "The Time of Our Lives," released in 2009. On August 25, 2011, Alex Edmonds of First Baptist Church, Crossett, will release her rendition of the song to Christian radio. The 21-year-old does not claim to be a Cyrus fan, but after hearing the lyrics to this song, she said she knew it had to be about more than just a person."We all deal with different struggles, but if we can put ourselves before God, He is faithful to take care of them," she said. "Our problems kind of melt away, and that's what this song is really about."

The new single will not be the first time Edmonds has received radio play, but she said it is by far her favorite and the most personal single she has released. Her record "The Blue EP" debuted nationwide in January 2010, and her songs have been featured on many stations in the United States and around the world. Currently, Edmonds is busy booking dates for her fall 2011 tour and writing songs for her 2012 album. "I haven't recorded anything I've written yet," she said. "But I'm really ready to do a new album and start a platform for teenage girls and the problems we have with self-esteem."Edmonds said she was excited about writing songs about her past that were more relatable to this target audience.

Edmonds' parents divorced when she was age 3, and her mother remarried five times. She remembers rarely seeing her father and her mother working long days at the local mill to support her and her siblings. "From that, there were a lot of neglect issues," Edmonds said. "But the absence of a loving family at home brought me closer to my church family and closer to God."Edmonds accepted Christ as her Savior at age 9 at vacation Bible school.The next several years, Edmonds became more involved in music through the church and with the support of her grandmother and family. She sang in the children's choir and the youth praise band.

It was during those teenage years she began to struggle with stress and low self-esteem. After the death of her great-grandmother and cousin, two of her favorite people in the world, Edmonds hit a low point.After church camp one summer, Edmonds felt like God was telling her He had to break her before He could use her. The new understanding transformed her into a completely different person, she said."I feel like He's let me break, and it's brought me closer to Him so I'm ready to use my testimony and my life to help others," she added.Edmonds said it was experiencing this connection during performing with the praise band that drew her to the ministry side of music."I remember nights after the band would sing people coming up and saying they felt God speaking through my voice," said Edmonds.

"I was in awe, and I just remember thinking, 'Is this really what you want me to do, Lord?'"Edmonds was performing a solo in the Christmas program at her church in 2008 when Christian recording artist Jim Murphy heard her sing for the first time. "The very first thing I thought when I heard her sing was, 'Wow, she's definitely got something really special with her voice,'" Murphy said. Murphy said he worked with her, recording songs in his home studio, but soon realized she needed a bigger platform. He helped sign her on with Mission House Music, and she released her first EP in 2009. The two now tour together.To this day, Edmonds said she is still reminded of Matthew 6:33, "Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."

"He had to let me break before He could use me," she said. "And from that experience, I'll always know and be able to testify that in a time when it seems Jesus is all you have, you realize that He's all you truly need." Learn more about Alex Edmonds at www.arkansasbaptist.org