As the title of Recollections - The Best of Nichole Nordeman indicates, Nichole Nordeman is taking some time to recollect on the career she has been building since 1998.

      "I did this Best Of because it felt like the right time," says Nordeman. "It is not unusual after four or five releases, and this is more of a regrouping, not a way to drop off the radar. This is more of a transitional record."

      From her debut disc, Wide Eyed, onward, Nordeman has established herself as one of the most distinctive singer/songwriters within Christian music. Her thoughtful lyrics, flowing melodies and clear, shimmering voice have yielded impressive results.

      To date she has racked up total sales of nearly 1 million units, earned nine Dove Awards and is currently the most-played female artist on Christian radio. Biggest among the featured hits on Recollections are "Brave," "To Know You," "Every Season" and "Holy," the song that reigned at No. 1 for 10 weeks and led to six of those nine Doves, including Song of the Year, back in 2003.

      Forward motion continues on Recollections with the inclusion of two new tracks, "Sunrise" and "Finally Free." The latter track is particularly significant since it was commissioned by the organization Women of Faith to be the theme song for its national touring conferences. Nordeman supports the organization and has been a featured performer at conferences before (and will continue throughout this year as well), but as a songwriter she usually draws upon personal experience for inspiration. Creating a work for hire on a pre-selected topic presented a new challenge since she needed to channel the experience of others.

      "Women of Faith was looking for a theme song and approached me about a song about freedom," she notes. "The writing of it was very emotional since being at the conferences I would see women being so hopeless. It felt good to write a song to give them a voice about longing for freedom in their lives. And I thought it was a good chance to stretch myself."

      Historically, stretching has worked well for this artist. In fact, it has been a successful catalyst in various areas of her career and personal life. In the beginning she intended to just be a songwriter, not a performer. Yet the executives involved convinced her that she would be the best interpreter of her own songs. So she pushed herself and gave into the concept of singing, rather then merely selling her tunes. And while she has not completely given up the aspiration to be a tunesmith for others (new compositions from her are set to be covered by Point of Grace and Selah), reaching a release such as Recollections testifies to how smart it was to follow that early advice.

      Nordeman stretched again when, a few years into being an artist, she took more control over the direction of her music, her career and, most importantly, the impact of both upon her personal life. Nowadays she is more involved with the complete process of recording tracks and makes more thoughtful decisions about promoting and performing. Plus, she maintains her home in Dallas, out of the hubbub of Nashville but in the fray of personal accountability from family and friends. "[It's been] 10 years of learning and I am still learning," she states. "But I have a voice now, whereas I juggled people-pleasing balls before. People in my life have been loving by keeping me grounded."

      And it is likely that cultivating that perspective assured a place for marriage and the biggest stretch to date: becoming a parent. As expectant mother to son Charlie at the tail end of the popularity of "Holy," Nordeman made the choice to take time off to be at home with him rather than ride a career crest. That time was life-altering and ultimately led to a strong comeback in 2005 with the Brave album.

      As expected, though, being a wife and especially a mother did not prompt a temporary change; it continues to have a lasting impact. As Nordeman notes, "I have trouble finding the same motivation to jump on a tour bus and I have had only one major tour since [Charlie] was born, which was big strain on our family emotionally. But my label has been so unbelievably flexible and given me so much latitude."

      Apparently record label and even fan base are satisfied enough with the output to allow Nichole Nordeman the flexibility she needs. As Recollections shows, good things do come to those who wait. But no fear-this artist is already looking ahead to the next collections of new songs.

      "This should be a quiet but good year," she states. "And I will begin writing for a new studio project. I am so grateful that I am at a place in my career where I am happy with as much work as I want."