Giving Your Dreams to God and Getting More in Return: Kristina Bishoff's Story - Latter-Day Lights

What happens when you’re willing to give up a dream for God, only for Him to show you a way to pursue it after all?

In this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, Scott and Darla sit down with composer and music producer Kristina Bishoff, to share how her struggle to balance motherhood with her passion for music brought her to a crossroads.

Ready to set aside her career to focus on raising her children, Kristina instead received unexpected inspiration that led her to create an ambitious soundtrack for the Green Rider fantasy book series, and discover that God had a different plan for her gifts.

From composing fantasy soundtracks to creating music about our Heavenly Parents, Kristina shares how surrendering her plans to God opened doors she never could have imagined. Her journey is a powerful reminder that when we place our dreams and talents in God’s hands, He can reshape them into something even greater.

*** Please hit SUBSCRIBE to get our latest episodes, and hit the SHARE button to help us share Kristina's story and light with others. ***

To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/dNn2Mli-A1k 

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To LISTEN to Kristina’s music, visit: https://www.kristinaabishoff.com/

To LEARN MORE about “The Divine Project,” visit: https://www.kristinaabishoff.com/divine-project

To READ “The Green Rider” series by Kristen Britain, visit: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/AY1/green-rider/

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To READ Scott’s new book “Faith to Stay” for free, visit: https://www.faithtostay.com/

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Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaylights

Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.

Transcript

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“Faith to Stay” by Scott Brandley

Scott Brandley 0:00

Hey there, as a Latter Day Lights listener, I want to give you a very special gift today. My brand new book, Faith to Stay. This book is filled with inspiring stories, powerful discoveries, and even fresh insights to help strengthen your faith during the storms of life. So if you're looking to be inspired, uplifted, and spiritually recharged, just visit faithtostay.com. Now, let's get back to the show. Hey everyone,

Intro

Scott Brandley 0:30

I'm Scott Brandley.

Darla Brandley 0:32

And I'm Darla Branley. Every member of the church has a story to share, one that can instill faith, invite hope, and inspire others.

Scott Brandley 0:40

On today's episode, we're going to hear how one woman was willing to give up pursuing her music career to focus on motherhood, but God had another plan in mind. Welcome to Latter Day Lights.

Welcoming Kristina Bishoff to the show

Scott Brandley 1:02

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Latter Day Lights. We're so glad you're here with us today. And we're really excited to introduce our special guest, Christina Bischoff, to the show. Welcome, Christina.

Kristina Bishoff 1:12

Hi, thanks for having me.

Scott Brandley 1:14

Yeah, you bet. We're excited to have you. So before we kind of get things kicked off, why don't you tell everyone a little bit about

Balancing a music career with family

Scott Brandley 1:22

yourself?

Kristina Bishoff 1:22

Yes. So I'm a composer and a producer. And before I really started getting into composing, I was a big lover of soundtracks as a kid. And I fell in love with the music of John Williams and Hans Zimmer. The Prince of Egypt was the soundtrack that really got me going thinking, I want to do this as a job. And I think it'd be so cool to have that kind of impact on people. And so that was kind of what inspired my decision to be a composer. And, you know, I got married. And after a few years, we had kids. And all through that, I was wondering how am I going to be able to balance my desires to have a career as a composer, specifically in the realm of film scoring and background music and orchestra music, while also balancing being a mother of young kids and my husband being a lawyer and working at a big law firm at the time. And so, you know, I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna do it all. So it just felt like, you know, was a breaking point where I'm like, something has to give. I can't keep doing this. And um, you know, it came down to, I felt like that that Abrahamic moment, like, this is something that I truly love to do. I love writing music. I love being involved with, you know, composing a score or something that's just um just takes you to another world, like a transitional piece that just takes you to another realm. Um, I really love doing that. I really love exploring our souls through music. And I had to put it on the altar at one point because it just felt too hard. And I said, well, maybe this is the moment where I just, you know, pause, like a lot of mothers before me have done, where you kind of put your dreams on hold, raise your children, and then just come back to it after 20 years. If that, or maybe you just find another dream. And, you know, I was willing to do that because I felt called to be a mother and that that was more important to focus on motherhood. And so I was praying a lot during that time, saying, you know, God, this is a big decision for me. And I think it's time for me to just turn my whole heart towards motherhood and just focus on making this the best life that I can give to my children and just putting all of my focus there rather than focusing on trying to, you know, continue working with directors and continue to

Kristina reads “The Green Rider” series

Kristina Bishoff 4:05

build my career and work with music. And interestingly enough, God had another idea. He sent me another friend from the law firm that my husband was working at. Her husband and my husband were working together. And I was chatting with her and I said, You know, I really want to get into reading again. I wish that I had more desire to read. And I used to when I was in high school, especially like fantasy books. I was really into that. And she said she'd never read fantasy before. So she asked, She's like, Well, I'm interested in trying fantasy. Why don't you introduce me to a few fantasy things that would be easy for me to jump in? And so I thought about it. I'm like, well, what would be some good fantasy series or even just like a fantasy novel that I've read that would be fun to reread and rediscover, but at the same time introduce her to the realm of fantasy. And I came across an old book series that I had read the first two novels from when I was like 12, and it was the Green Rider series. So I said, let's read this one. This one's fun. It's about a girl who's not sure about magic and about like all this otherworldly stuff. And I thought it would be a good thing to dive into because this girl becomes like a heroine of the kingdom, and she goes on to do many incredible things and overcome many obstacles. And um, through her journeying, like she starts off as this like 17-year-old girl. She discovers the ability to do anything that it takes to help the forces of good win, basically. And she discovers magic and she starts to believe in things that she would not have believed a year before that. And I think that that's one of the powers of fantasy itself is that it kind of teaches you to believe in something that you don't exactly understand. And I think that there's, you know, a lot of truth to that in the real world because, for example, you know, in the gospel, there's a lot of, in a way, magical things that we don't exactly understand, but you can still believe. And so fantasy allows for that. And yeah, I was excited to introduce this friend to that and reread this thing that I loved as a girl. And since then, the author had written like five more books. So I was really excited to just like do that deep dive where you like burn through the pages and yes, you know, something to live for. And for me, for the first time in a while, I was excited about something. Um, because you know, going through that having your first kid, and she was in her toddler phase and she was very busy, and my husband was working like hundred-hour weeks at this point that I'm like just spent, and I was giving up my career as a composer. And so this was kind of a balm for me during that period. And after I burned through the series, and my friend like kind of read the book haphazardly, and she's like, Yeah, it was fine. And I'm like, Okay, but I'm obsessed. Like, this was amazing. Um, I went to bed one night after that, you know, that loss that happens, that like emptiness that happens after you read a series and you're like, but now what? I'm like, you know, that is very real, it's so real. You lose like the empty part of your heart. So you're like, what am I gonna do now? So I start getting ready for bed, and I start

Kristina begins to hear music in her head

Kristina Bishoff 7:25

to hear music. And that was a first for me. I usually don't just hear music out of nowhere, but it was just this orchestra with a strong French horn line playing this lilting melody with a string section and you know, the percussion in the background and the suspended cymbal kind of rolling into it, and the woodwinds playing their little fanfare in the background. And it's just such an amazing piece, and it's just full color to me. Like I can hear every part so clearly. And as I'm laying down for bed, I'm like, this is remarkable. Like, this is miraculous that I'm having this kind of musical experience. And so I quickly hum the melody into my phone so that I can remember it in the morning. And uh, it ends up being the song to this book soundtrack I end up doing for the Green Rider series. Like, it is the future that I'm hearing, and it's such a remarkable experience that it was so real. Like I felt the vibrations of the music in my soul, and that to me was a sign that God said, No, I want you to keep doing music, and you're gonna figure out a way to do this while also being there for your kids.

Darla Brandley 8:38

And so that was that's absolutely amazing. That's a wonderful experience.

Kristina Bishoff 8:43

Yeah, it was really cool, and it's just one of those examples of God speaking to you in a way that you understand. And uh, that was a very miraculous and real experience for me.

Scott Brandley 8:54

You have this inspiration, yeah, and you've finished reading this book. Like, what do you do from

How Kristina got connected with “The Green Rider” series

Scott Brandley 9:00

there? How do you compose something like this? And then how did you make that connection with the author to turn this into something?

Kristina Bishoff 9:07

Yeah, what is the all the steps in between? Because it isn't just like suddenly there's like an amazing book score, too. Yeah, because that book score, uh, I actually have it right here. Uh it has like 23 songs on this. So, you know, I had to write every one of those. This is the um here, I'll pull it up the screen a little bit more. The Green Rider book soundtrack. And um, the way that it started, once I realized that that music belonged to the Green Rider universe that I just read, because I had to make that connection as well. And I'm like, oh my gosh, that is this series. That is the theme for Saccharidia, which is the city of Green Rider, um, like the main world of it. Once I made that connection, then I was like, okay, well, now what? Now that I know what's next, how do I make these connections? Thankfully, married to a lawyer. So I asked him to help me draft up like a template contract and have that ready to go. I worked on two starter songs for the series and then quickly threw together a visual of like what I imagined the album could look like. And I reached out to the author's agent and asked, I said, Hey, would you be interested in letting me do a soundtrack for your book series? It's one of my favorites. This is my credits, this is who I've worked with before, these are my networked connections, and uh this is my plan. And I plan to use a crowdfund to raise the money so that I can record live instruments and whatever we raise goes towards the project. And if we raise nothing, then in my heart, I was like, if I raise nothing, I know I'm still going to compose this music and just use the virtual instruments that I have. And so I sent that email off. And after about a week, they got back to me and the agent said, We're very interested. Why don't you explain a little bit more about your project? And it didn't feel real until I saw like my new favorite author's signature on the contract that we had drafted. And I was like, Oh my gosh, it's real, and I have her signature. Like, this is so exciting. So amazing. Fangirling, and at the same time, it's interesting because never once did I actually feel overwhelmed by the idea of what was coming. I just always knew it was gonna work out. I didn't know how, and I had to take it a step at a time because if I'd looked at the big picture too deeply, I'd I'm sure I would have just like melted into a puddle on the ground. So I had to write the music. I had to find somebody to do the artwork for the album. I had to raise the money, and then with the whatever money we raised, I then had to record the music in a studio and have it mixed and mastered, produced for the CD, basically, create the CD. And then with the crowdfund, I actually had to build, contract, design a whole bunch of um fantasy items that could fit in the Green Rider universe. Because who was I going to be raising this money from but the fans of the Green Rider series? So I also had to kind of be political where I had to reach out to the moderators of those Green Rider fan groups because if I got them on my team, they'd be the ones to promote that with me. And it's fun because like now I consider them my friends, like really good friends. And uh, you know, even the author I consider to be really good friends with because I'm on the third album for this book series now. Um, but yeah, it all comes just a step at a time. We ended up raising a hundred thousand dollars for the crowd fund. Yeah. What yeah, I know. I was aiming for $30,000, by the way. I was like, this would be miraculous if I can get $30,000. And God's like, I'm giving you a hundred. But it's one of those where it was also like, okay, with the hundred thousand, there was a huge expectation of the delivery, right? On all the products. I'm like still having to carve out this time to work on the music, let alone shipping and putting together all the packages. And it was a big haul. Like it was just such a big load. But somehow, you know, miraculously, I'm sure I had angels just helping me. Must be like feeding me like caffeine pills, like through my soul, because I was working on like a broken five hours of sleep for like three years. But I it it never felt too tired. Like I was always invigorated by the whole thing. You know, it was such an exciting project. And from start to finish, everyone that touched this project too was like, This, how is this even happening? Like, this is such a project that you just wouldn't think would be successful in the beginning because I was kind of an unknown artist, and I had to work really hard to get the fan base of Kristen Britton, who's the author of the series, to trust me

How the soundtrack goes with the books

Kristina Bishoff 14:20

with the music of this world that they cherish so dearly.

Scott Brandley 14:23

So, what I picture in my mind is so Lord of the Rings.

Kristina Bishoff 14:28

Mm-hmm.

Scott Brandley 14:29

There's a book series, Lord of the Rings, and then you've got the movie, but you've got the soundtrack that goes with the movie, but it could also go with the book.

Kristina Bishoff 14:37

Yes.

Scott Brandley 14:38

So is that kind of how this works? Yes. You read the book and you kind of associate the songs to places or things that happen in the book.

Kristina Bishoff 14:46

Yes, that's exactly how it works. I got the idea from two different parts of my life. You know how God tends to like hint at things coming, kind of like foreshadowing. I feel like God is an artist, he just foreshadows things. And um so there were two things in my life that would have led me to this moment. And one was as a girl, I would listen to the Harry Potter soundtracks and read the Harry Potter books. Because to me, I'm like, I want to really be enveloped in this world. I want to dive in, I want to feel like I'm there on Diagon Alley, you know, just looking at the pastries in the window and smelling the burning cauldron. Like I want to really be in the world. And so that was when I started thinking of listening to soundtracks while reading books. And then a friend of mine from BYU, we both graduated in media music together. And he did the soundtrack to Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. And he had also crowdfunded and he asked me to do a song on their album. And so I did. So I knew that this was something that actually existed. And I had done that just a couple of years before the Screen Writer project. So I knew it was possible, and that was something that also added to my proposal to the author saying Brandon Sanderson is doing this.

Scott Brandley 16:10

So nice, you know.

Kristina Bishoff 16:14

So it all helped, but again, it's like those little like there's stair step things where like suddenly everything comes together, and you're like, aha! Never would have put it together, but once it came together, all these other pieces made more sense. So it's cool. That is amazing. I love it.

Scott Brandley 16:30

It creates like more of an immersive experience. Absolutely. Yeah, okay, that's cool.

Kristina Bishoff 16:36

Yeah, so the way that I did it, I kind of did it a John Williams style where I wrote themes to go and motifs to go with characters. So the main heroine named Kerrigan has a musical theme, the king has a musical theme, and I tried to make them symbolic because you know they have a love story throughout the series, and so I tried to make their themes work together and play together well. And you know, the bad guy has a theme, and I had to come up with the palette for the universe because with Harry Potter, you expect that to lest in the beginning, like the moment that hits your ears, you're like Harry Potter. And so I had to create a palette like that for the Green Rider series so that it again helped with that world building building atmosphere. So that's amazing.

Scott Brandley 17:29

Even as you say Harry Potter, like I already, it's going to be a little bit more.

Kristina Bishoff 17:32

You're hearing it. Yeah. Yeah. You're hearing it. And it and you're just there, you're instantly there.

Scott Brandley 17:37

Yeah, yeah.

Kristina Bishoff 17:38

It was something that, you know, because here I thought I had to just give up because I'm like, there's no way I'm gonna be in Los Angeles making these films and scores. Because um, when I was in college, I was going to BYU, but then the UVU orchestra professor reached out to me because he knew me from when he was my band teacher in high school, and he said, Hey, I have a film scoring internship that you might be interested in if you come to UVU. And I said, Yeah, let's do it. So I went to UVU for a couple years, and they had a film scoring internship where you went down to Los Angeles to Sony Picture Studios to watch Han Simmer do his Angels and Demons soundtrack and James Newton Howard do his I Am Legend score. And there was another composer, um, Chris Bacon, who he does the Wednesday Netflix series. At the time, he was doing his first film, Space Chimps, I believe, is what it was. So these experiences to go down to witness that and to see the kind of time and energy that it took to put into these budgets and these like full like contracted film with um all the music, not all the stops pulled out, the different writers in the background, the changes in the studio. I was so excited about it, but I also knew how in the world am I gonna have a family and also be part of this world? So I didn't know how it would work. And somehow, when I was willing to give it all up for motherhood, God was like, I'm so happy that you're willing to give it up. I'm gonna help you find a way to actually do both. And so between the technology that we have, where we do have virtual orchestras, but also the ability, the things that I learned on that film score internship, I was able to draw on that so that I knew what I needed to do to record this whole orchestra piece and uh this whole um series. Yeah, it's one of those things where I'm just amazed that God was able to find a way to help me be a film score composer and a mother at the same time.

Darla Brandley 19:44

Yeah. I love that.

God makes the impossible happen

Kristina Bishoff 19:45

Yeah.

Darla Brandley 19:45

It's amazing what God can do. And when we're willing to sacrifice what he is willing to make happen. Yeah. Just that little sacrifice we make, he gives us so much more.

Kristina Bishoff 19:55

Yeah, it's like it's we always get to this like path where we have to make a choice. Um, and the choice is either an impossible decision, where it's like either we do this or to do that, and God's like, well, and let's do and let's do both. I will make it work. And he always comes in to show that he can make the impossible happen. And I just love it. So, and like all day I could sing his praise. Like, I think he's amazing, and I think that he knows us so well, and I think his favorite thing is helping make the impossible happen in our lives. Yeah, that's cool. I agree.

Scott Brandley 20:33

So you spent three years

Making “The Green Rider” series a missionary experience

Scott Brandley 20:35

putting this all together, and then what happens after that?

Kristina Bishoff 20:40

So it took three years just because I am still a stay-at-home mom full-time. So it was like when I wasn't being a mother, I was doing this and trying to give my husband attention too. But like sometimes our date nights would be packing packages. Bless his heart. He was so patient.

Scott Brandley 21:02

You know what though? He's gonna remember that. Like that's gonna be a legal memory, right?

Kristina Bishoff 21:06

Yeah, there was a time when we were living in an apartment in Houston, and our apartment was like filled floor to ceiling with boxes of packages that needed to go out. And at a certain point, I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna finish this. And he's like, You need to get the relief society involved. And I'm like, but this doesn't seem like the kind of thing that I he's like, yes, it does. Get them involved, they'll think it's cool. So I actually did. I got the relief society involved being like, I actually really need help with this. And a lot of the women are like, we've been waiting for someone to ask for help on something for a long time. So it's nice to have something to do, like to way to serve and help, and you know, help make my house more clean in that way. But it was cool to look back on it and reflect on all the different processes from start to finish. But what happens after the three years that it took me for you because we had what? I think we had. Like 800 backers on the project. And that's varying degrees of you know, just a simple CD shipped out to the full package where you have like a signed score and like personalized artwork and an art book that we had to also create to go along as a companion to the album. And so it was such an involved process that after that I was like, I'm dead and tired, and I'm just gonna take a break for a moment. And my uh partner in this, and I like to think of us as missionaries because she is also LDS, the person who banded up doing the artwork for all of the album and like all of the inserts and the art book later on, you know, she like I'll just show like a few pictures in here. Like she had to create these for the project, and it was so much fun. And she loves the series as well, but she was LDS. And so through this thing, I felt like we were just like mission companions that served together on this project. And what's remarkable too is God found a way to make it a missionary experience. And one of my friends who um was very into the Green Rider universe and at the time living in a bus, she contacted me separately and she's like, Why are you and Madeline so happy? And I'm like, I have some answer to that. And so I talked with her multiple times every week for I want to say a solid year. And eventually I just got to the point where I'm like, you need to see the missionaries. I think you're ready, and they're gonna have be able to answer these questions better than I can or my partner can. And so she saw the missionaries, and after a couple years, then she got baptized. And at the time, they had just recently enabled uh women to be witnesses at the baptism. So I got to be able to be at her baptism and be a witness, and now she's one of my good friends, and that's just one of those other like god-like golden points of like, look, he not only gave me the ability to do something I loved while being a mother, um, he also gave my partner something that she loved doing. She loved doing photography and fantasy and just couldn't find a way to make it work. This allowed for that, and at the same time, like everyone was excited about something being made for this universe that they love so dear. Like it was just like these golden rings continually going outward and onward and just like endless amounts of joy. And someone gets baptized. Like, that was something I did not have on my bingo card for this project, but it was another evidence of like God's like, see, I can do anything. Just like the little thing on the top. Yes, exactly, like the cherry. Boom. Little did you know that was the whole reason for all of this, but also everything else.

Darla Brandley 24:58

So it's just it's cool, and um I love how God works that way because it's benefiting you, it's benefiting this person and this person, and and this this like rings. It's just it just everything spreads. It's nothing is just for one purpose, it's for like 10 purposes that you that you don't even know, but for you it's yeah, you didn't have in mind because you don't know, you don't know it all.

Kristina Bishoff 25:19

And it's kind of like that loaves and fishes where I'm like over here with my like three fishes and five loaves of bread, and I'm like, okay, this is gonna be amazing. And God's like, it's gonna be really amazing. Just watch 5,000, like you know, 10,000, whatever it takes. Exactly. So it's yeah, it's remarkable. God is a God of miracles, and um, like so many pinpoints along this whole project. Like, you would this is not something you would expect someone to be able to talk about. Like, oh, this album can debate. You'd think it would be like a religious album that had miracles, but this was a fantasy album, you know, with no one was really a member except for me and the artist, and everyone else was just a big fan of the series, and it ended up blessing all of our lives. Like everyone who was involved with this project, like still thinks about

Making connections with Utah musicians

Kristina Bishoff 26:10

it. And when we were in the recording studio, uh, a lot of the artists, I used Utah artists, even though I lived in Texas at the time, I said, I really want to make connections with Utah musicians, and so I want to record it there. And so I got in contract with our music contractor, and she helped me get the different players. And half, if not most of those people were actually people who play in the Tabernacle Choir Orchestra. Uh-huh. And one of them was also Jenny Oakes Baker, who was going to be the soloist. And I know you just recently had her on.

Scott Brandley 26:45

Yeah, we did, yeah.

Kristina Bishoff 26:46

Yeah. So, but um, she got to be the soloist for this series. She got to play the music of Kerrigan, like she got to play Kerrigan's theme.

Scott Brandley 26:56

Oh, cool.

Kristina Bishoff 26:57

Yeah. So amazing. I love that. So that was really interesting, that little touch point. And while we were at the recording studio, it honestly felt like a sacred space. And even the musicians in the studio were like, that's been a long time since we felt this kind of like specialness with a project. And I'm like, I don't know why God cared that much to be present at every moment, but he did. And I just testify of his love for all of us. And sometimes we feel it and sometimes we don't, but he really is always there.

Scott Brandley 27:34

And um absolutely. Yeah, that's awesome.

Darla Brandley 27:38

That's so awesome. So after that, then then you took a little break, but what did what did you end up doing after that?

Kristina Bishoff 27:43

So I'm trying to

Life after recording the album & through the pandemic

Kristina Bishoff 27:45

think chronologically of what happened after that. We had moved to Utah in the middle of that because um my husband was going to work for a private equity company, and I had two kids at this point, and one of them was like, you know, eight months old, and then I had like a three-year-old, and so we were constantly sick. It was the winter of Utah, and I'm like, I am so tired. I'm just gonna pause. And so we still had a few packages left to ship and a few extra details of handwritten things that as now I've had experience. I'm like, oh, I should offer less of that, or offered a higher tier so I don't have to do a million of these handwritten things that I just don't have the time to do. Lots of learning curves. But I took a pause when we finished it all. I was like, woof, we did it. I didn't expect anything to happen after that, other than like maybe this was the gift that I got, and now I'll go on to do something else. I'll go on to make my piano album of hymns or something. And so I thought about that. I said, okay, God, I'm so tired. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears. Like, I'm not even kidding. There was actual blood, actual sweat, and actual tears that went into this series. I'm sure that I was like, I'm so tired, I just need a moment, and then we can talk about what was happening next. And I'm like, maybe I'll just do a piano album. That sounds nice. Because to me, piano is easy. Like, I could whip out and improvise piano hymns all day. I love doing it. It's the most creative thing I can do that doesn't require anything else from me. I can just play and dream across the keys. But so I was like, I'll just do that, it'll be great. And I got this strong prompting where God's like, well, that would be a waste of all the skills I've given you. And I was like, I'm like, hey, I'm tired. You're supposed to be like, oh, Christina, poor Christina, yeah, you worked so hard. And so God's like, no, I'm not letting up. You still have things to do. And so I was like, okay, well, give me like just give me a couple months, okay? Like, I just need a break. And then I mean, thankfully, God was like, well, yeah, that obviously I'll keep it. And uh so during this time, I use this as time to get inspired and just kind of uh just take a real break and focus on being a mom all in again, just being like, okay, let's make some cupcakes, let's find other ways to use my creative desires for a moment and just I'll come back to music in a little bit. I need a little bit of a break. And um, at this time, my in-laws, I was living with them while we were waiting to know if we were moving back to Texas for this private equity company or if they were gonna stay in Provo. And so all during this uncertain period, we were living with them and our kids and stuff, and bless their hearts. They took us in, despite the fact that we had two very young kids and they had very busy schedules and had to hear the constant crying and sickness in the house. But um, they were patient and they invited me to watch a documentary with them one night, as like they're like, both your kids are in bed, just come watch this documentary with us. And I'm like, Okay, that sounds great. I can do that. And I come in and it's a documentary on David Foster. Now, most people are probably familiar with him who are listening, but in case they're not, David Foster is a producer, like a very popular, famous music producer who's done a lot of incredible work. And um, one of my favorite songs that he's produced and created was The Prayer that was first sung by, I believe it was Celine Dion and Josh Grobin. It was supposed to be Andre Bodcelli, but the night that they were gonna perform it, Andre couldn't make it because of like flight changes or something. And so Josh Grobin ends up singing the other part of it, and it just becomes this like worldwide sensation. And it's just a remarkable song. So that's one of his big songs that uh really influenced me. But watching his documentary, it made me think, oh, I really want to become a music producer, maybe not just a composer, but like an actual producer and work with other people and help them create their songs. That sounds super interesting to me. And, you know, I've left with that thought and just, you know, went to bed and went back to being a mom for a little bit. But we moved to Dallas, and while we're there, COVID hits. And it was during that period where, you know, the world kind of just shuts down. And so then you're at your house trying to fill your day. And at this point, I had like a two-year-old and a four-year-old. And so a lot of my days were very full trying to make it special and entertaining for them inside a house. And uh, I had actually had a lot of fun with it. I would make themed weeks and I'd do like Pirate Week, and we'd do like all kinds of piratey things, and then the next week was Lego week, and that was kind of how we got through COVID is just by escaping to these fun little worlds that we'd make together, and they loved it. That it was really fun and amazing. But during that time, I started discovering and just asking questions of being like, Where's my heavenly mother? You know, I'm a mother, I love my children to pieces, and I'm so involved in their life, like constantly involved. And so I'm like, but where is my heavenly mother? Like, how do I know nothing about her? I feel like as a mother, and if I was a heavenly mother, I'd be so involved in my children's life. And I know we don't have a lot of doctrine surrounding her, other than that she exists. And I and I understand that, and I look forward to the day when we have further doctrine, but if I was to imagine Heavenly Mother, I imagine she's involved in our lives, that she loves us to pieces, and that she works with the father, she counsels with him and they come up with plans together. You know, the Plamo proclamation talks about our roles as families. And I, if it's heavenly inspired, then I would assume that the parts and roles of women and men all stem from the examples set by our heavenly parents. And so, with those thoughts kind of swirling in my head, I started feeling really prompted and inspired to produce music on Heavenly Parents and, you know, bringing out like what do I imagine Heavenly Mother would be like? What do I imagine Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father doing and planning together? Like, how do they work as a team? And, you

About “The Divine Project,” how Kristina became a music producer, and writing with other women

Kristina Bishoff 34:15

know, these are kind of the thoughts that were prompting me to move forward. And I really do feel like I was called to work on what I've called the divine project, which is music about our heavenly parents and our desires and our future to become like they are, and how the savior makes all of that possible. I started becoming a music producer, kind of like David Foster, which again, how I talk about foreshadowing, like all these little like things along the way that add to when it all comes together, you know that your path ahead has been prepared. And so in that moment, I just felt remarkably prepared to write this music that I was gonna make it kind of like the prayer and make it a full orchestra version of these songs. And so I met with other LDS women who had been writing songs, but they were like writing it on a ukulele or writing it at a piano, but no one's producing this music. No one's gonna touch it because it's still something that people feel taboo about. And I'm like, I'm gonna touch it because I'm a mother. And if I was Heavenly Mother, I'd want mothers to be writing about me. Like, I'd want them to think about me. And so I felt prepared for this and said, you know what? I'm going to produce these songs and I'm gonna work with these women and because a lot of them were women, and we're gonna make this music happen. We're gonna bring it out, and we're going to put this music out there because I know that there's other people who have these same questions that I do. And maybe by having music out there, it allows our souls to reflect a little bit more on the divine and thinking celestial, you know, keeping with the prophet's saying. And it was another project that then invigorated me. So I'm continually working on that project. I have three songs right now that are all recorded and composed and everything. They just need to be mixed and mastered. Um, but it's something I've been doing for the last four or five years now, on top of still doing other book soundtracks for the screenwriter series. So it's not even like a changing projects. Now I'm just adding more to my plate. It's like somehow God's of course, right? You know, it God just finds a way to make it work. And He helps me to prioritize. Because there are times where I'm like, I have three different things that I could be working on right now. What should I work on next? And God kind of helps me prioritize the things that need the attention. And thankfully, there's no deadline with any of these things. That's been a gift. Because usually you think in the music industry or any entertainment industry that there's always deadlines you have to hit. But for me, because they're all self-designed projects, I get to pick the deadline, I get to push it back. And I'm usually working with other mothers who have similar schedules where they're just like, we'll get to this in a month because right now it's just too crazy. And I feel like, yeah, yeah, I feel like the music is actually blessed in that way and it adds a feminine value to it because of the fact that a lot of us are living our motherly lives. Some of the ladies actually in this group who wrote this music weren't mothers at the time that they wrote it, but their lives were also equally full with family obligations and other um feminine roles. And so it was really fun to write with these women and to be able to develop these songs. I like to think of it like a cheese. It just takes time to develop these flavors. Like we'd do a little bit here, I'd send them an edit. They'd send back what they think could change, and then a week goes by and we send another thing back and forth. And some of these songs took two or three years to create. There were times where I had to scrap an entire thing, even though I spent like 60 hours on it, because I'm like, you know what? This isn't working. This isn't what we want it to be. We have changed in the meantime, the meaning has changed. Let's do this again. And it ends up becoming way better. That's the project that I'm working on. And through these experiences with these other women, it's actually strengthened my testimony of the love of both of my heavenly parents because a lot of these songs aren't just about Heavenly Mother. Um, I'd say about half of them actually talk about the role of Heavenly Father with Heavenly Mother and their role as parents and what that looks like. One of my favorites, actually, this was um something that came about during my time in Dallas. The Millennial Choirs and Orchestra had put out a call for a Christmas song. And they say, We want a Christmas song, send us what you got. Keep it like three minutes. And so, of course, I don't follow that. And I'm like, I'm gonna make it a seven-minute full orchestra piece, like big choir. They were really looking for like a kid to write, you know, a poppy song that they could turn into something simple. But I at the time when I wrote it, I was I felt so inspired and invigorated by this idea like, how do I write a Christmas song that hasn't been written before? Like, oh, I know. I'm gonna write it about heavenly parents preparing Mary and Joseph to be the parents of the savior. And I loved it. I loved writing it, I loved just like really diving in. I even had some Middle Eastern uh melodic influence to the piece. I love that. And I was like, this is amazing, it's my best work. I'm like, Chef's kiss, let's send it in, and they're gonna be like, wow, we have to play this, you know. The great grand imagination that you have when you send in these things, being like, it's gonna be amazing. And of course, they're like, we're gonna go with this one that a teenager wrote about I love Christmas. And like, I mean, it was better than that, but like by comparison, it felt a little, I'm like, wait a second, my masterpiece, how could you not have they're like, well, it was seven minutes, like, and it wasn't what we were looking for. I'm like, oh, okay, you know, dramatically upset. But at the same time, I was like, Yeah, I guess I totally didn't listen at all to what you wanted. But I I was praying, I'm like, I'm like, Helly Father, I felt really inspired by this. Why didn't it make it in? And God's like, well, did you write it for them or did you write it for me? I was like, I guess I wrote it for, you know, you and Heavenly Mother and Jesus and everyone else who's a parent. And God's like, great, that's all you need to think about right now. And so later on I end up developing it with this divine music project, and I get uh Clara Hertardo Lee to sing the Heavenly Mother slash Mary part, and I get Casey Elliott. So Casey Elliott, he was in a member of Gentry, he plays uh Satan in the earlier Temple videos, uh-huh. Um, but he's like an actor and he sings, so it was it was actually kind of cool. I was like, hey, Satan gets to sing on my song and my song about Heavenly Father. Um but uh so both of them sing for this piece, and uh and I had condensed it down at this point because I'd rewritten it and edited it over the years, and now it's so much better, even now, than what it was when I wrote it, and I'm much happier with it. I feel like it's more mature and at the same time still very accessible. So uh Casey and Clara sing on this piece, and it's Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother, Counseling in Heaven. You know, here our son Jehovah offered to, you know, save all of mankind and go through the hardest thing ever possible in order to save all of our children. Who should we send to be as parents? And then through that process, Heavenly Mother sings, you know, then to Mary, like Mary, we choose you because of these values that you have, like you're virtuous, and we want to make sure as a mother that you teach wisdom, compassion, and you nurture him. And I tried really hard to focus on like what are divine motherly traits that we are all asked to do? And at the same time, what are more natural gifts for us as women and as men? Um, what are these divine traits that we have? And what kind of gifts are we imbued with so that as mothers and fathers we can teach our children? So I tried to grab that and have Heavenly Mother telling Mary, I need you to do these things and love my son Jesus Christ. And then Heavenly Mother testifies to Mary of Jesus Christ's divine mission. And then it goes to Heavenly Father speaking to Joseph, you know, vigilant Joseph, you know, provide his need, protect, preside, and introduce some fun. Because I feel like a lot of dads have this natural ability to kind of lighten the mood with something fun. Like when they're in touch with that inner child that all of us have, I feel like fathers have a more natural, like instant fun. Whereas like mothers are more naturally like more patient and with like a child, but maybe we're not as like willing to do like silly, ridiculous things as like a dad being like, hey, let's go catch a ball, and then like dunks it on the head, or like, you know, something fun. So I thought, you know, heavenly father talking to Joseph about his role to raise his son was also really important because, in a way, all of us as parents are really borrowing these children from our heavenly parents that they are trusting their children with us, and it is our role to teach and raise them, and especially those of us who are in the church to raise them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, you know, instill wisdom from our experiences to testify. And so through this Christmas song, they are. Are teaching Mary and Joseph about their roles, but also us as our roles as mothers and fathers of the children that our heavenly parents have given us. And then a full choir breaks out, and it's an angelic choir testifying of Jesus Christ's mission. And then, like the second to last minute of the song, it comes down to Mary and Joseph now in the stable, and they're talking about their calling as parents and roles to not only raise a child from heavenly parents, but also raise the savior of this world. And then they testify of Jesus Christ's sacred mission in this song. And working with both Casey and Clara in the studio was really special because I got to tell them, I'm like, you need to testify of Jesus Christ's mission to me right now. And like you sing it. I want to hear your testimony vibrating through this room. And it was really cool to just watch them just sing their heart out and testify. And then there was the issue of like trying to sing through their tears. And so we were like, okay, feel the feelings, pull, and then we'll we'll take a couple takes and then you'll be able to sing it again with the same emotion, but more control because you've gotten out that initial cry. And it was just, it was so special and such a sacred moment. What an amazing experience. So now there's a Christmas song out there about heavenly parents. And it's just one of those things that I'm like, I would never have thought of this as something I would have done. Like in college, I already had my plan of like, I'm gonna be a famous composer, I'm gonna go and do like film scores in Los Angeles and somehow be a mother. And God's like, I have a more interesting and unique plan for you. Yeah. But it usually turns out better than we could have imagined. And it's so much better. It's so much better. Because like I could have been just like a no-name in Los Angeles, just like doing something for some film that just fades away with time. But I got to do instead this Christmas song about heavenly parents, and what a remarkable gift. And I hope there's many more like that.

Darla Brandley 46:12

Yeah, yeah, that's totally amazing.

Scott Brandley 46:14

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome.

Darla Brandley 46:16

Where did you say you could find the music again?

Kristina Bishoff 46:18

Sorry.

Scott Brandley 46:19

Yeah, where can

Where to find Kristina’s work

Scott Brandley 46:20

we listen to this amazing Christmas song?

Kristina Bishoff 46:22

Yes, so it's called Mother to Mother, Father to Father, and you can find this divine music and any other of my soundtracks and other songs that I put out at Christinaabischoff.com or any streaming platform, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Deezer, Pandora, whatever it is that you listen on, all of my music's on there. So look up Christina A. Bischoff and let me know what you think. I love when people discover this music and they're like, I didn't know this existed. This is so awesome. That's so cool. There's people out there who are just like hungry. They're so hungry for more music, you know, filled with the spirit about our heavenly parents and our divine natures and what we're capable of being here on earth and what we have to look forward to in heaven.

Scott Brandley 47:20

Yeah. Wow.

Kristina Bishoff 47:21

I love that. Thank you.

Scott Brandley 47:23

What a fun journey. Unexpected journey, right?

Kristina Bishoff 47:26

Very unexpected. But those are the greatest stories, right?

Scott Brandley 47:31

Yep. Awesome. Well, um, we usually like to ask people to share any final thoughts that they have um before we kind of wrap things

Tips for burnt-out, creative mothers

Scott Brandley 47:40

up. So anything you'd like to share with those that are listening, kind of wrap things.

Kristina Bishoff 47:44

Yeah. If you're struggling right now, whether you're a mom struggling to figure out how to use your gifts and your talents in a way that you are hoping to use them because you're busy taking care of little ones, you know, or you're someone who is burnt out in whatever capacity or field that you find yourself in. When you give yourself completely over to God, God will take care of you and figure out remarkable, miraculous ways to take you on better journeys than you ever planned for yourself.

Darla Brandley 48:20

That's so very true.

Kristina Bishoff 48:21

Yeah.

Scott Brandley 48:22

Well, that's amazing. So, Christina, we will definitely put your links in the show notes so people can go check out your music. Perfect. And yeah, we really appreciate you coming on and sharing your story. And I think it's gonna really resonate with a lot of people that watch it. So we really appreciate you coming on and sharing that with us.

Kristina Bishoff 48:42

Yeah, thank you for having me. And and we kind of take the mic and just go with, you know, I've been holding all of this in, and it's interesting to see like when I get these opportunities to share my testimony of these experiences that I'm like, oh, I guess I really needed to say all of

Everyone has a story to share

Kristina Bishoff 49:00

that. Yeah, it's always cool.

Scott Brandley 49:03

One thing I love about doing this podcast is everyone really does have a story to share.

Darla Brandley 49:08

Yeah.

Scott Brandley 49:09

Right? And you don't even think like as you're going through your life, you're like, I guess I have a story, but when you actually say it, uh-huh, it's like, wow, I really do have a story. Like, this is cool, right?

Kristina Bishoff 49:21

Yeah. So yeah, with the lens of like backwards perspective and like looking back, being like, okay, where is my journey taking me? And now I'm in like this book seven of this incredible 20-book series. Like, you know, everything is different, like there's the long story, and then there's the individual journeys and battles that you go through, but it's cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Scott Brandley 49:44

And we're all at different points in that journey in our lives, right? You just never know what the next chapter is gonna have in store for us, literally, in your case, with books.

Kristina Bishoff 49:53

But this is so true. Like, it's funny because like I had actually uh told like both me and my partner, uh Madeline Shane, she she and I were both like, I think this third book soundtrack is gonna be our last one. Like, I'm actively still shipping out things for this. Like, there's like journals and there's like stuffed animals, and yeah, actively shipping out these things still. And both of us are like, we both feel like there's something else on the horizon. It's endless, God is endless, miracles are endless. Like, there's just you just don't know. Like, whenever God touches it, it never truly stops. It's so cool, but yeah, yeah, that's amazing.

Scott Brandley 50:34

Well,

Outro

Scott Brandley 50:35

this has been awesome. Thanks again for coming on, and thanks everyone for tuning in to another episode of Latter Day Lights. Let's get Christina's music out there. Uh, go hit that share button, do your five-second missionary work. That's what we call it, Christina.

Kristina Bishoff 50:50

I like that, yeah.

Scott Brandley 50:52

So go hit that share button. Let's get this out. Let's get this music out there and inspire and enlighten as many people as we can, right? So, and if you guys have a story that you'd like to share, like Christina, go to latterdaylights.com and tell us about it so we can have you on the show as well. So thanks again, Christina. It's been a treat.

Kristina Bishoff 51:12

Yeah, thank you.

Scott Brandley 51:13

It's been wonderful, and thanks everyone for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next week with another episode from Latterday Lights. Till then, take care. Bye bye.

Kristina Bishoff 51:22

Bye.