AMAZED

amaze ( -m z )
v. amazed, amazing, amazes
v. tr.
1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise.
2. Obsolete. To bewilder; perplex.
The dictionary definition of amaze seems to tell a great story. It tells the story of two unlikely individuals who will eventually come together and start a ministry team together.
It truly is a great wonder how God can take two people whose stories have very little similarities and bring them together to form a ministry team that has as strong a spiritual and emotional bond as Amazed.
Cathie Marsh started singing at a very early age.
My mom tells everyone when I was born, I came out singing. I can remember being a very small child and always singing around the house and standing in front of any mirror pretending to sing. I used to have a green record player that I would try to play all the time. (I still have a lot of those 45s), mentioned Cathie. When I got older I would have to play the radio every night. I remember many occasions when my mother would yell down the hall for me to stop singing and just go to sleep.
Her love for music early in life affected the paths that she would take eventually. Taking part in many choirs during her young life proved very influential and took her all over the country and the world singing.
After I returned from Europe with the United States Sound of America Choir, I joined the choir and show choir in College for a short time, but I was ready to move on with my singing to something else, recalled Cathie. I loved country music and started singing at various family oprys, festivals, cruise ships, and where ever else I could sing. I was blessed for 13 years with getting to travel and sing on what is called the Opry Circuit.
As time wore on, Cathie began getting weary of the Opry Circuit.
I knew I wanted to sing, but I was getting burned out with what I was doing and just didnt have that same excitement to carry on to reach my goals, said Cathie. I felt like I was too old for country music, and no one would ever give me a chance. Little did I know that God had been working on my music career all along and just hadnt revealed it yet!
While Cathie was honing her skills as a singer, Tamie Perks was doing the same thing, just with a different goal.
Tamie explained, My first singing experience was at a little Baptist church in Sherman, Texas, and Ive been singing ever since. I grew up singing in the choir at school, but didnt have professional training until my late years of high school, when I joined a group called Solid Rock and went on tour with them. God has blessed me through the years with always being able to express myself through music.
However, Tamies main focus was in the contemporary Christian music field. Even though she was following her desires, she knew that God had another plan for her music ministry, but she just wasnt sure what exactly that entailed.
In the mid 1990s, I began a solo career singing contemporary Christian music, recalled Tamie. It was my first experience in the recording studio, and I really learned a lot. However, God was trying to tell me something else that He had planned for me. One day while vacuuming the floors, God gave me a vision that I would be in a group someday. I knew that I was to continue growing and singing for Him, but that my talent would be used in connection with others. I waited and waited and waited, but Hosanna Integritys praise team never called! Imagine that?
Cathie and Tamie first met in 1998, but they never imagined that they would someday join together and minister as a Gospel music duo.
When I met Tamie I wasnt really looking to sing with a partner in my career because I was determined I wanted to be a big country star, remember Cathie. I just thought it would be nice to sing together for fun. When we finally ended up singing together at a local festival a year or two later, it ended up being so much fun. It gave me a new excitement that I hadnt had in awhile. It was nice having someone there to share in the same dream, so I asked Tamie if she wanted to partner up, and she said yes.
Tamie agreed, God put Cathie in my path. It took me a couple of years to see that God had a plan far greater than I could imagine. Cathie and I began singing in 2000, and we have been singing strong for the Lord ever since!
The ministry of Amazed was birthed in the year 2000.
We started out singing at Oprys in order to get our foot in the door to churches, remarked Tamie. We felt that if we used an avenue that was already established through Cathies solo career, it would get us some exposure and therefore result in additional bookings for the group.
Eventually those Opry dates did turn into bookings, and the rest is history.
God gave talent to us to use for His glory, and its a blessing to be able to share a message of hope and joy to a hurting world, mentioned Cathie. Its also fun, and it brings smiles to peoples faces. Theres so much satisfaction when we sing; it fills our souls beyond imagination.
It is motivation just to know that our music touches peoples hearts, said Tamie. What a blessing to be used to make a difference in someones life. The ultimate motivation is to lead others into eternal life and relationship with Jesus Christ.
When asked about the future of Amazed, Cathie and Tamie seem to stand in agreement.
Tamie says, Each day is new and full of new experiences for Amazed. God has and will continue to expand the ministry of Amazed. We never take anything for granted. We are grateful to God for everything He has done for us and through us. We know that we are accountable to God in all of our dealings, whether in the ministry, or in our personal lives. Our prayer is for God to hold us close and never let us get our eyes off of Him.