(Photo from Fall Tour 2008)

People equate your music and your energetic on-stage personality with that sense of hope. Would you call yourself an eternal optimist?

I think it’s more just a testament of my relationship with God, and what He’s done in my life and knowing that He’s in control. There’s this weird perception of me that I’m this crazy, happy-go-lucky, bubbly person. Those people that really know me, I think they’d say I’m a positive person. But the other day, someone asked me, “Have you ever had a bad day in your entire life?” And I’m just sitting there thinking that 2009 was full of many, many, many bad days. I’m not perfect by any means. I definitely get upset. It’s just a journey, and just when I think that I’m achieving something, God shows me that I’m not there, but in a very loving way, and in a very refining way.