For Mary Mary, that means pursuing that beloved scripture often quoted from pulpits on Mother’s Day, Proverbs 31. “The God that is shining inside [you] is definitely the most important factor,” Tina Campbell says. “If you don’t have that, you are wasting your time.”

“I think what was important for me was finding my voice,” Natalie Grant says. “Not my singing voice, but finding out how to do something that matters with my life. I think, as a woman, I ask, ‘How does that translate into my artistry?’” To that end, her songwriting voice is influenced by her experiences through her HOME Foundation, a campaign to raise awareness about international human trafficking.

Sara Groves, too, aims to continue her work toward social justice. She prefers to work with what’s in front of her instead of fighting for what isn’t available. For her, that means zeroing in on developing one’s character.

“The women I really respect are women who know who they are in Christ and who have that ability to nurture everything around them to be better,” she says. “That can be the gentle power of women.” Sara remembers meeting Christian music’s most influential artist, Amy Grant, for the first time. “The thing I was so struck with was her gentleness. She was so kind and gracious.”

For BarlowGirl, finding success used to mean practicing as a band 50 hours a week so they could play as well as guys, Rebecca Barlow says. Now it means being faithful to God’s calling. Rebecca explains that this begins with one’s heart.

“It’s not like you’re going to wake up one day, and God is going to go, ‘Here’s your calling,’ if you’ve not even picked up a guitar. No, it’s the little things first.”

She continues, “God is going to start gradually; so if we don’t obey Him in the little things, He can’t take us to where He wants to take us.” Her trio illustrates this point. “The three of us joined our church worship band because that was one of the things God was putting on our hearts. We didn’t know why. We thought it was just for fun. But, now as I think about it, God used that. If we hadn’t been obedient in that, I don’t think we would be where we are today.”

Author and Women of Faith core speaker Luci Swindoll agrees. “God made us to be us. And it’s such a joy to be around people who never try to be something they’re not,” she says via email. “Vulnerability is the key to finding who you are. When we throw up barriers or defend or protect or deny, it circumnavigates what God is trying to get at: the real you. It blocks His work. But, when those barriers are dropped and we let go of all those trappings, the world opens. People listen. They even buy our albums, and they feel different for having listened to what God is saying through us.”