Rachael burst onto the Christian music scene when she was 15, releasing an album that led her to the top of the charts. She’s won a Dove Award and had multiple nominations for more, including one for Female Vocalist of the Year.

Rachael’s now 19 and has recorded two albums, including her latest, Rachael Lampa. She mixes a variety of styles into her music — pulsing club beats, pop and alternative rock, smooth ballads, funky grooves and even ska. And her voice keeps up with them all.

“I’ve always loved different styles of music,” Rachael says. “[On stage] I love doing funk, but I also like acting as if I’m a rocker. The newest album is the most me I’ve ever been. I was able to have more input.”

That input came in the form of helping shape the musical sound of the record. “[My producer and I] took some risks on this album — we wanted it live and real,” Rachael says. “We used horns and wanted to be more artistic.”

The music stretched Rachael’s boundaries, but God had even bigger plans with the words to the songs. . . .

12:45 p.m.
We’re enjoying lunch at one of Rachael’s favorite restaurants — a kickback Italian place along Pearl Street in Boulder, Colo. Boulder is minutes from Louisville, Colo., where Rachael lived most of her life. She knows the restaurant — and all the stores to shop in along this hip stretch of outdoor retail paradise. “I did schoolwork here; I people-watched; I basically lived on this street,” she says.

The girls may be planning their shopping strategy, but I’m planning the next bite of my sandwich and still chuckling about Rachael trying to talk the server into letting her order from the children’s menu because she wasn’t that hungry.

On her latest album, Rachael co-wrote the lyrics to all the songs — something she’s never done before. To be 19, a high school graduate, have a successful singing career and Stacie Orrico as one of your closest friends — life is good, right? Rachael’s lyrics tell a different story at times.

“I laid my journals all over the floor and really opened myself up,” she says. “I wanted to break the perception that I have everything figured out.”

What she penned reflected a year of extreme highs and lows, plus a move from Colorado to Nashville, Tenn. Nine students at Rachael’s high school committed suicide, a couple close to her heart divorced, and issues like depression affected her life, faith and songwriting.

According to Rachael, her song “You Never Know” touches on how people can feel alone when life is chaotic. “When I Fall” addresses Christians making mistakes. “Being Alive” admits most people have days when they feel they’re barely surviving, and in “Honest,” Rachael comes to grips with the fact that she can’t make it through life without God.

By being real, Rachael opened up her heart and poured out some heavy issues. She also learned that in the darkest times there’s always hope. . . .

1:30 p.m.
We’re shopping. Make that, Rachael and the Brio gang are shopping. I’m following, plus running up the street to put more coins in the parking meter and looking like a sad puppy as we pass a bakery with warm chocolate- chip cookies.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

This is Rachael’s favorite verse. After a year that brought a lot of difficulty, she leaned on that verse — and ultimately on God — more than ever. “I’d be a wreck if I tried to figure out everything myself,” she says. “Even when little things go wrong and my 19-year-old girl instincts want to freak out, I’m like, ‘God, I know You’ll figure this out.’ ”

Rachael’s learned that God is in control when life is a mess. “The last few years have shown me how truly in control God is,” she says. “We can’t get by with merely accepting or believing it; we have to actively embrace it and allow ourselves to be on a journey.”

The recent struggles in Rachael’s life have done more than deepen her faith; they’ve allowed her to impact others more effectively as well. Turning 20 in January, she’s lived through many issues other girls deal with. She knows it’s easy to look at circumstances and get angry or disillusioned. Rachael’s recipe is to put God at the center of her thoughts, and she encourages you to do that, too.

“If God were to paint a beautiful picture and give it to you, would you crumble it up and say ‘I hate it’? God gives us our life — opportunities and trials. If we say we hate our body or our life, we’re crumbling up what God’s giving us,” Rachael says.

3:00 p.m.
Rachael stops to check out one of her favorite stores, and the girls follow suit. I stay outside and take in the sights and sounds of Pearl Street. One thing I’ve learned is that being at an outdoor mall with a vanload of girls isn’t as scary as it seems. Another is that Rachael is into dressing modestly. “I know people want to express themselves,” Rachael says. “But what is it they want to express — their belly button?”

Standing on stage in front of thousands of people, doing radio interviews and singing on the “Tonight Show,” at a Billy Graham Crusade and at Pope John Paul ll’s World Youth Day takes a lot of courage. Rachael sees this fact as an example of how God can change a person.

“Growing up, I was so shy,” she says. But in the midst of her shyness she was always singing. “I can’t remember not singing. I used to take the vacuum cleaner hose and sing into it. I’d get sent to my room at dinner for being too loud and trying to sing. In my room I’d record myself singing the words in my books.”

Rachael first sang in front of people at church when she was 5. Thoughts of singing as a career entered her mind when she was 11. A few years later she began to see how singing could become a ministry. Now she tours up to eight months a year doing just that. It’s a dream come true, with lots of great memories and experiences.

Through the challenges and pain, Rachael’s held on to her faith. She’s even grasped it more during times of confusion. Through it, God has strengthened her, led her to surrender her life even more and revealed to her a crucial truth about His faithfulness that she now shares in her songs.

“We should love that God loves us enough to put us through the valleys, because we can only get closer to Him when we accept His challenges,” she says. “Eventually we’re going to come out on top. It’s so awesome how God can make anything good.”

3:30 p.m.
We say goodbye to Rachael and head back to our van. Every girl is carrying a treasure she couldn’t live without. I didn’t buy a thing, which is fine. I’m more excited that I had a great afternoon with Rachael and that I survived being the only guy in a group of shopping girls. Miles from Pearl Street, I’m still sad though, because I never got the cookies I wanted. Maybe the Brio staff will put some under my Christmas tree.

Stocking Stuffers on Rachael
• Rachael loves to snowboard, but has never skied.

• She played basketball as a freshman, but after that, she says, “I realized I was really short.”

• Rachael once blacked out on stage while hitting a high note. Of course, she was performing in the mountains of Estes Park, Colo., at more 8,000 feet above sea level.

• She bowls a lot while touring. In fact, she has her own Sponge Bob Square Pants bowling ball.

Christmas with Rachael
Favorite Christmas Tradition: “The night before Christmas, our family watches Home Alone. Then all the kids cram into the same bed and sleep together.”

Quirky Christmas Tradition: “Most families cook ham or turkey for their Christmas meal. My dad makes egg rolls and teriyaki chicken — he’s from the Philippines.”

Favorite Christmas Carols : “O Holy Night” and “Silent Night”

Worst Christmas Gift: “Last year my family decided to be mean to me. I asked for a Pilates set. They gave me that, but they also gave me weights and a bunch of Slim-Fast.”