Well Jo this is what it looks like. If I need to make any changes when do you  need that by?…  tell Lewis to make sure I have apses and appendix spelled correctly. (it’s in blue in the ‘ah ha’story.)

My name is Rita and I am the sister of JoLeen K. Norman the founder of Jo Magazine.

Thank you for giving JO Magazine this opportunity to chat with you and ask a few questions I think the world (which includes me) would like to know about you.

Mission Statement:  To inform and encourage the lives of women in various genres, especially women in music, entertainment and film.

Kathy answered 6 of my  8 questions  and an Ah Ha!   Experience

The beautiful Kathy Taylor resides in  Houston Texas and she  is the founder of the group Kathy Taylor and Favor; current CD project is Kathy Taylor Live, The Worship Experience.… and her prior CD  was titled Taylormade.

Kathy is the Minister of Music at her church, Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Texas where she has been serving for the past  20 years.  Just a few months ago they had a great celebration in her honor. Kathy has a great cloud of witnesses including family and friends and church members. She humbly reports attending and working at the largest United Methodist Church in America and   having four adult services on the weekends. Although she acknowledges that her plate is full, full, full she immediately responds, “but I’m  enjoying the work.”

Kathy says that her family was in town for the making of this current CD  project which the group did themselves, she says her family was her staff ; you could hear the smile of pride mixed with gratitude in her voice as she said ‘free staff’. God blessed  me like that, she states. One of my brothers and  a sister is retired and the other ones just gave time after work. I have also  a great balcony of friends as well, who believe in the vision and believe what God called us to; everybody is just sold,  including the church.   Kathy thanks God for the support of her family, church and friends.

*We  missed Kathy in the Midwest (Chicago) this Fall, but she reports that she will be returning soon for a week of things here, ‘ listen up’ for that.

• What is your occupation and what do you consider to be your calling?

I feel extreme blessed by God that he gave me an occupation within my calling. Being the minister of music here at  Windsor is certainly in line with my calling and I get to do what he’s called me to do and I get to experiment and get to broaden my horizons. He just made the way plain so I could just  do all those things and get paid for it.

• If you could interview a famous person who would it be and what would be the one thing you definitely would like to know about them?

“I think if I had the opportunity to interview one person at this time in my life it would be  my pastor.” “Actually I would ask my pastor , Kirby John Caldwell.”  how does he balance family, church and being an entrepreneur (and a great one at that) at one time. He does a great job in all three of these areas and then some.” Hat’s off to you, Pastor Caldwell.

• What are some of the ingredients that you think a person must have to do well in this industry?

Kathy agrees first it needs to be your calling and then don’t mind rehearsing.         “ You know sometimes you think at the average church if you can sing pretty good, then you think you can record, but it’s a whole different vain, if you start recording and try to get that to the general public, it’s a whole different walk, it’s a different professionalism that you need; not only in your singing style; First of all you want to make your music relevant to today but also it’s a stage presence, you got to be able to communicate well with others and it’s a wide spectrum of things you need to be in the gospel industry, you have to get to know people and certainly there is a fellowship that goes on within that realm.”

• What would you tell someone who wants to get started in this industry and become successful at it?

“First , really be called to it,   don’t want it for the fame and fortune that it looks like; want it for the sake of the ministry  and  secondly learn the business.”

She shared as an experience from “one of my own mishaps” she said…you know you think if you have enough money for a record or CD you‘d be fine, but really you need the money for the record, for the promotions and marketing; you need to be able to travel to get the word out about your business, your CD… It’s not just about making a CD .

• What do you want people to walk away knowing about you?

“I want people to walk away knowing that I really am what I sing about and it’s not just a hobby, but it’s a calling on my life to win the world to Jesus.”

• Complete this statement:  I am glad to be alive today so I can… for one so I can be a light to our youth, so  that I could be able to view with my own eyes the first African American President. I’m just glad to be here to see gospel music take the platform at all levels, I’m just happy to be here to see that.”

• YOUR AH HA! STORY or I JUST CAN’T WAIT TO TELL YOU STORY

My most recent ‘Ah Ha’ story was about two months ago (when the interview actually took place).

“You  know how you study God’s word and we  know it to be true just because we‘ve studied it so long, but when you get to walk through something it just sheds a whole different light on the situation and that happened to me about 12 or 14 weeks ago. I went to the hospital and I had an apses on my appendix  and I found out that a lot of times that’s a silent killer, you don’t even know you have it and before you know it your whole system is poisoned.

Well in my case God was so awesome, He put like a shield all around it; so this one bubble in one place right next to my appendix and all that area was swollen, but it was protected, it was shielded, (now to me that sounds like mercy and grace, hallelujah) they were going to do emergency surgery if my blood count didn’t go up by the next morning.”  Kathy says  she called some of my prayer warriers in the choir, and she put it on the e-mail (and we thank God for e-mail another way to get the word out) “and we prayed and my numbers automatically went up the next day like a hundred more than we needed for the surgery, then the doctor said , well okay since the medicine is working I’m going to  let you take the medicine so your appendix and that area won’t be so inflamed and we’re going to take it in six weeks.”  Emphatically Sister Kathy said, “well those were the facts BUT I chose to believe what I talk and sing  about and what I have been taught and that was the truth. The truth is; by His stripes I am already healed. So I started to do what we have been taught here to do; that is speak the word over your situation for breakfast , lunch and dinner as it pertains to your health.  Like you say things like by   His stripes I am healed, no weapon formed against me shall prosper, you have healed my body from all diseases, just all kinds of scriptures that go with healing and I did that for three weeks and went back to get tested to make sure everything was going right and all they could find was scar tissue”  By this time you do know we were giving God the Glory.  Kathy said, not only did the woman with the issue of blood touch His garment and was made whole, I called that word into my own life and He revealed Himself even in today’s time. You see He is the same God yesterday, today and for ever more.”

We thanked Sister Kathy for sharing her ‘AH HA’ story with the world and being a blessing for so many sisters (and brother we won’t leave you out).

Sister Kathy, Jo Magazine says that God has truly smiled on you