The Life You Long For with Christy Nockels

Growing Up Godly 

Christy Nockels grew up in a Christian home as the daughter of a pastor. She started singing in church as a young girl and by 17 she was leading worship. 

Christy met her husband Nathan in 1993 at the Christian Artists Seminar in Colorado. After getting married in 1995, they began serving as worship leaders in their local church in Oklahoma City. They also began writing songs together and released an album in 1996. Later, they did recordings under the name of Watermark until 2006. While trying to start a family, Christy and her husband experienced two back-to-back miscarriages in 1999 and 2000. Not long after, she got pregnant with their firstborn and went on to have two more children.

In 2008, they moved to Atlanta, GA, where they helped found Passion City Church with Louie Giglio, and signed with Sixsteps Records.

Weariness Sets In 

After years of traveling and keeping a hectic schedule while also trying to take care of three young children, burnout set in. Christy and Nathan both knew something had to give and they decided to take a step back from Watermark and devote time to their two children. She explains, “Even though we were intentional on spending our lives on good things, our professional schedules were so full that our personal lives, mainly our family life, was being suffocated. We felt strongly that God was asking us to reprioritize our lives.” Even though they were concerned about income, they knew God would provide. Nathan’s desire to start a production company began to take off while Christy realized that being a full-time mom wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. “I began to battle fear that I would not be able to find purpose in the unseen tasks of motherhood and keeping house. My identity and sense of purpose had somehow become woven into the visibility of my platform.” She began to learn what it means to invite the glorious into the mundane. They were still very much involved in their church and leading worship but were able to have a more balanced schedule and be home with their kids. 

Inside Out Living 

Christy talks about the importance of inside out or living in the bullseye. “Inside out living calls us to hide in the center of God’s love and then emerge from that hiding, every day, in the rings beyond.” 

This kind of balance helps us learn the right balance in life and helps protect us from burnout.  

Shocking Diagnosis 

Over 15 years later, Christy began suffering from constant ringing and swooshing noises in her ears. She thought maybe she had an ear infection. On January 8, 2018, she went to the ENT. She was shocked when the doctor diagnosed her with sudden sensorineural hearing loss. This diagnosis was devastating. She wondered what life would be like without the ability to hear. 

Five months after her diagnosis, Christy’s ears were healed! She explains, “My specialist walked in waving my hearing test results saying, ‘I rarely see this kind of recovery!’”

Still About The Father's Business 

Christy is now co-owner of Keeper’s Branch Records, with her husband Nathan. Christy released three albums in just three years after creating their independent label. Her Christmas album, The Thrill of Hope released in 2016, launched a Christmas tour called A Night of Hope: A Family Christmas that the Nockels hope will remain a tradition each year. 

In 2017, Nockels released a breathtaking album of lullabies, meant for all ages, called Be Held; Lullabies for the Beloved, and in 2018, an instrumental version of the album was also released. Be Held; Lullabies for the Beloved was nominated for a Dove Award.

Christy’s latest endeavor is her podcast called The Glorious in the Mundane, which has exceeded her expectations since its beginning in 2016. It has grown in listeners but also in Christy’s heart as a place where she’s learning to use her voice beyond just singing. Touring with author friends, such as Jennie Allen, Rebekah Lyons, and Ann Voskamp, Christy has also developed a love for writing and speaking and continues to be stretched beyond her musical borders. 

Christy still lives in Franklin, TN with her husband Nathan and their three children, Noah, Elliana, and Annie Rose. They affectionally call their homestead, Keeper’s Branch, a play on their street name but also a promise from Psalm 121. They hope that their home will be a sanctuary and a place of rest and creativity for their family, as well as all who enter in.