Eden: Seth, thank you so much for joining us today. I’m really excited to talk to you. Your music has really ministered to me on a number of occasions. We’ll talk a little bit more about that later, but I would love to hear what are a couple of things that bring you joy?

Seth Carpenter: Okay, so I made sure I got ready for this question because there are so many different things that I do. But I think for me especially, nature is what brings me a lot of joy. We’re out in the country. I kind of live in a rural area. I love the fields. I love seeing things grow.

I grew up in the greenhouse industry. My parents have greenhouses. So I love seeing different types of flowers that are developed each year. And I think one of my favorite things, I was telling my sister that the thing that brings me the most joy is a summer afternoon where it’s like 75 degrees and it’s calm, I’m looking out over the fields and the sunset is going down, it’s beautiful color.

So anything that is just peaceful and calm and nature is just what brings me the most joy.

Eden: I love that. That’s so neat that you got to grow up in that kind of an environment. You know, I’m in the suburbs and we don’t get the luxury of seeing as much of creation at one time. And that’s got to be such a blessing to see that every day.

And you said you’re based in Maryland. Is that right? So what does the landscape near you look like?

Seth Carpenter: The landscape: it’s small towns. And, like, if I’m looking straight out my window right now, it’s just fields. Yeah. There are no neighbors really in sight. It’s a lot of farmland. Before my dad was in the greenhouse industry, he was a farmer. So, it’s just a lot of farmland around here and a couple of small towns. Yeah, so it’s pretty rural.

Eden: So you are involved in the music industry. You produce some pretty awesome stuff. I would love to hear kind of how you got into that. What inspired you to start making music? How has God led you to be doing that?

Seth Carpenter: Yeah. I think if I started where I started getting into music…My mom is a worship leader. My dad is a pastor also. But when I was really, really young, my mom played the piano, and that’s what she grew up with. So she started getting me into the piano, probably when I was like five or so. And then I took piano lessons with my grandmother. All of my cousins and some relatives and stuff, we all did piano lessons growing up, so we had big recitals. But it probably wasn’t until I was 13 or 14 that I wanted to pursue something more creative than just playing somebody else’s music. So started trying to figure out how to do songwriting, and then that kind of just blossomed into wanting to be able to release and put out what I created.

I mean, the first couple of songs that I made obviously weren’t anything that anybody would want to listen to. But you grow and you develop over time. And then I just gradually started working into creating my own music with my computer and then recording that, and then watching a lot of YouTube videos on how to develop and produce it and how to get it out to people. And so it was kind of just a big process of starting from somewhere that my parents and my grandparents and my family got me into, like transitioning over to something that I love myself and that I’m really drawn to and that I want to pursue with my own passions. I think I’m probably similar to a lot of people in that their families are a big part of what they do and how they’re raised. And so music was just kind of a part of that growing up and still is now.

Eden: Wow, what a gift that you had a family that encouraged those gifts in you, and that could already begin shaping you into that person who would then pursue music on your own. I’m also very impressed that you’re able to produce it all by yourself. I would never know from listening to your music that it’s just one guy. That’s awesome.

Seth Carpenter: Yeah, honestly I didn’t think when I was starting that I would do any of the producing because I wouldn’t say that’s my forte. I like being more creative and producing is a lot more mechanical. But if I wanted to get stuff out, it was what I had to do. So I just picked it up.

Eden: So you wrote a song recently called “Page by Page“. So can you tell us a little bit about what inspired that song or how that song came about?

Seth Carpenter: I guess I’ll start with where it came from. So over the last couple of years, I’ve really tried to pursue music—put a lot of time and effort into it. I tried to do it a little bit more full-time than in the past, still not anywhere close to full-time.

But I felt like I’ve been in a waiting season with the Lord just because I know what the Lord has spoken over me, and I know what he’s called me to do. So seeing the fulfillment of that and being in the season of watching and waiting for him to move and open a door is kind of where I started to write.

And I know the best music comes from places that are actually real to you and what you’ve actually walked through. So “Page by Page” is just about a season I’ve been walking through over the last couple of years where I’ve just been waiting and trusting what the Lord has for me, and knowing that whatever his plan is, whatever his path is, that I’m just going to take it step by step. I’m going to wait for him to open the door. I’m going to wait for him to move instead of trying to force things into place.

Eden: Wonderful. I listened to that song on a plane ride to D.C. about four weeks ago, and it got me through a season of waiting. So I’m super grateful for that. And it’s neat how, you know, we are obedient to the Lord in the seasons that he puts us in, and then that can actually bless other people. You know, I just think of how you’re waiting on the Lord for him to bring about what he wants to do in your life. As you wait patiently and you use the gifts that you have to write about the Lord and, you know, write as an act of trust, he can bless people across the world through your music, which is incredible!

I would love to hear a little bit about how you came to know the Lord. So it seems like your family has a strong—or at least some of them—have a strong relationship with Jesus. How did your relationship with Jesus develop?

Seth Carpenter: Yeah, kind of like the music developed. It was just something that was always a part of our family. My dad became a pastor when I was probably 12 or so. So that was about nine years ago, and I kind of grew up in the Christian setting. I went to church a lot. But I think it wasn’t until I was like 13 or 14 that I kind of walked through a season of where I didn’t know if I really believed the whole thing that my parents were believing. I didn’t know if I really believed what everyone around me was telling me.

So it wasn’t until I kind of walked through that season myself that I found Jesus to be so evidently real and so amazing in my life that I couldn’t express any other thought than giving him my heart. Because once you’ve tasted the absence of Jesus, you know how good his presence in your life is.

And it was a period of time that was really difficult for me, but it really sharpened me and gave me a new desire to live and to give Jesus my heart and to offer him what I have—my giftings.

And so it’s been a process. I know that the Lord has everything in control, and I know that where I’ve walked has led me to where I am right now. And so I think allowing the Lord to use where I am and where I was to shape what he wants to do with my life. Ultimately it’s his plan, and what I want to want to offer him is a sacrifice of who I am to him.

Eden: So wonderful. That’s awesome. Yeah, that makes me think of Romans 12. I think it’s verse one where it talks about how in view of God’s mercy and what he’s done for us, we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to him (Romans 12:1). It sounds like that is what you’re doing, which is so exciting.

So as you think about the future and writing more and producing more music, where do you find your inspiration for the songs that you write? How do you go about songwriting? Where does where does it all come from?

Seth Carpenter: I mean, I would like to say that I’m just naturally creative, but I know that some aspects of what your giftings are, are you, and some aspects are, really entire aspects of it are, what Jesus gives you, what the Lord has allowed me to walk through and see in my own life.

So I try to put in probably about an hour each day into writing. And then honestly, when I go to sit down at the piano, that’s where I write the most of the time. I just offer up a prayer of “Lord, use whatever you want.” So I let the Lord direct what I’m thinking of, where I’m going. I let him bring the ideas to me.

But I know that a lot of times I start from somewhere that is present in my life, something I’m going through or something I’m dealing with, and then allow the Lord to shape what he wants to say around that. So I think songwriting is different for everyone, but that’s the way that I go about it and it’s definitely developed over time.

Eden: The website that we have built is called Bibles.net. So we focus a lot on the Bible and the role of God’s Word in our relationship with Jesus. How would you say that God’s Word shapes your music or your life?

Seth Carpenter: Oh yeah. I mean, the Lord speaks so clearly through his Word and where I can, I try to incorporate the faithfulness and the reminders of what his character is through his Word and through the words that we read and what we sing out so that it mirrors the same.

And I always try to make sure that what I’m saying is true to what the Word of God says, because ultimately, if it’s not in line with the Word, then it’s not from God. Sometimes I’ll just read a passage or allow a Scripture to soak into me and then try to develop something around that artistically or creatively when I’m writing.

But I know that ultimately if I’m not in the Word, then the fruit of what I’m putting towards the Lord isn’t going to be pleasing to him. So what I put into myself, the Word, comes out in my writing and my creative abilities. And so the Word of God is everything to me.

Eden: Praise God. And is there a part of the Word that’s become especially precious to you, like a book or a chapter—some part that you just especially love?

Seth Carpenter: I think in every season there are different things that stand out to you and the Holy Spirit speaks to you in different ways. Recently, I’ve been trying to put my heart towards learning a lot more wisdom from the Word, because I know that wherever the Lord takes me, he’s definitely going to need me to be ready and equipped for what he has.

But I think ultimately, if I’d say one thing that I come back to over and over and again and it just keeps speaking to me, it’s the first chapter or the first half of John chapter 15, where the Lord talks about being a part of his kingdom and him being the vine and us being the branches. And I don’t know, it just speaks to me every single time I read through it because it brings me peace and centers where I’m thinking and where I’m going, and allows me to set my eyes and my focus back on Jesus.

Eden: That is such a beautiful passage of Scripture. It just brings us such rest. If we abide in him, he will abide in us, and we will bear much fruit if we’re connected to him (John 15:4-5). And yeah, that’s a beautiful passage.

As you kind of look forward, what are you excited about in terms of your music? Do you have any projects that you’re in the middle of right now?

Seth Carpenter: Yeah, I’m always writing. I try to choose which things that I put my focus and my time towards, because we’re only allotted a certain amount of time in this world, so I wouldn’t say that I have anything in focus right now, career wise. I’m just allowing the Lord to align my steps and see where that takes me. I mean, I definitely know that he’s given me vision and dreams of where I want to be, but I’m allowing the Lord to open the next door and not try to force it open myself.

Right now, I’m not working on a song because I’ve released one in the last couple of weeks. I try to give myself probably about a month in between where I just put myself towards writing and allowing some rest. I try to only put out stuff that I feel is ready and then allow the Lord to speak to me when that is.

Eden: So you’re in the rest phase it sounds like.

Seth Carpenter: A little bit right now, yeah.

Eden: It’s so neat to hear how God has led you and how you are depending on the Holy Spirit as you do your work. And I think of when, you know, the Bible says that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. And how we haven’t received a spirit of slavery that makes us afraid, but we’ve received the spirit of adoption that makes us cry, ‘ABBA, father!’ (Romans 8:14-15). And it’s just so neat to hear that your work and your job comes from this place of seeking the Lord and being led by his Spirit. And I think that’s such a great example for the rest of us, you know, to think about whether we let God direct our work or we live self-directed lives. So it’s super encouraging to hear about that.

Thank you for your time and for being willing to interview with us.

Seth Carpenter: Yeah, I enjoyed it so much, and it was awesome to hear from somebody else who loves Jesus just like me.

Eden: Thank you so much for listening to our podcast today. If you enjoyed our conversation, I would encourage you to like or subscribe to our podcast so that you can hear the next conversation. And if something that you heard today spoke to your heart or got you thinking, I would encourage you to not let the day go by without talking to God about what’s on your mind. We believe that he loves you and that he’s pursuing you today out of that love.