To Make A Long Story Short….

Shannan Miller is a singer-songwriter based in Bristol, Tennessee. The evidence of her relationship with Christ is displayed in the lyrics of her songs and in the way that she pours her heart into each word and note. While the foundation of her songs is consistent, the sounds certainly are not. From classical to folk to blues and jazz, Shannan’s songs exhibit her love for a variety of different genres of music. “Pressed, but Not Crushed,” her first full-length album, released January 18, 2019 with appearances from award-winning musicians Tim Stafford and Dave Eggar.

the Long story of my journey, thus far…….

I have lived in the Bristol area all of my life. I grew up on a farm in Bluff City, with summer days spent catching crawldads and minnows in the creek that ran in front of my house. I ran free in the fields and played kickball and whiffle ball in the yard with my sisters, except on Sunday afternoons, where you would have found me “working cattle” with my dad. When I wasn’t playing outside, I was practicing piano, playing basketball or volleyball at Sullivan East High School, singing in the school choir, performing in plays, or playing piano and singing at a local church.

after graduating from Sullivan East, I attended King College (now University), really to play volleyball there, and it just so happened that they had my major, too. Many life lessons and marvelous memories traveling and playing volleyball. I also sang in a ministry team there called “The Refreshment Company.”

The love of my life is Brian, my husband. He continues to tell me that these songs are my ministry, and gives me perspective when I question taking risks (there are many of these, since all of this is completely uncharted waters). We have three really cool kids, each so different in their own ways. I am so proud of my family.

I have had the opportunity to work in several different arenas, including teaching elementary school, coaching a high school volleyball team, pharmaceutical sales, stay-at-home mom, and worship leader for a church.

And then…..I fell into a valley, which is where my songwriting really began. After great sadness, I stepped away from a worship leader position at a church. I was very hurt, and the enemy used that time to magnify everything that had happened. I spent days taking kids to school with an “I’m fine” face on, and came home to sit at my piano and cry and ask God what good could come out of this situation. He gave me a verse from Jeremiah 31 - “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again…” salve for a wounded, seemingly “identity-less” heart, and the turning point for a perspective of hope. From there I began writing songs to process the pit into which I felt like I had been thrown and didn’t know how to get out. I identified (with the help of friends) how the enemy was lying to me….and I was believing him. The ministry of the presence of the Holy Spirit was the only place my soul could find a place to rest, and I found that truly, “My soul finds rest in God alone.” (Psalm 62)

So, “Pressed, But Not Crushed” came from the broken place where I sat. God’s power was made perfect in weakness, and the hope that I found in the arms of Christ is a hope I thought I knew, but hadn’t known to the depth that I now know it. I have learned to take captive thoughts and make them obedient to God, to recognize lies the enemy is throwing at me (I’m not an expert at this, but I am getting better!), and to claim victory over them because of Jesus. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 5:1) And so, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the Mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”