"I'm a wife and a mom first," says Mullen. "And then I'm a singer second."
At home on her farm, an hour outside of Nashville, you're likely to find her spending time with her husband and kids, including a toddler.
"I get my kids up in the morning," she says. "I make sure their hair is combed, they're fed, and out of the door by 7:15 because they have to be to school by 8am."
After the young ones are gone, she'll take time to look out the window to see horses, bugs, and bales of hay. Sometimes she'll write or sew. Once in a while she tries to reupholster furniture. Maybe she'll talk on the phone with her parents in Cincinnati, Ohio, who she's very close to.
As someone who recognizes the importance of parent-child (and adult-child) relationships and influence, Mullen actively mentors young girls each Wednesday when her "Baby Girls Club" meets.
"We'll be dancing, sewing, doing crafts, reading bible verses, eating and all kinds of stuff girls do," she says. "We do it in Franklin Tennessee, near Nashville, although sometimes they come to my house for slumber parties."
With Mullen serving as a sort-of "big sister" mentor, the Baby Girls Club is meant to be a safe and comfortable place for young girls to not only have fun eating and dancing, but also a place to learn new skills like sewing and knitting. It's a place where they can let their true selves show, often discussing what's "really" going on in their lives. It's at those times when Mullen's able to offer them Godly direction in a way they understand.
One of the best qualities about Mullen is her ability to, like Jesus, meet you wherever you are. She's one of the few people in the music business who can be just as comfortable singing or talking to teenagers, inner-city people in the projects, suburban soccer moms, native Africans (she visited there recently and will probably return), and well-heeled crowds at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Nicole C. Mullen is one of the rare "Christian" artists who, with confidence, can sing in front of people who know nothing about Jesus Christ and leave them wanting to know Him in a close and intimate way through her well-crafted, stylish songs.
"I love writing about reality from a Christian's point-of-view. I believe that we as believers are called to make an impact on our culture. We are compelled to do that," she says. "We as believers are called to give light to the world and we can't give light by hiding. We've got to let those around us know we are believers in Jesus Christ, so I do my best to do that in my songs."
Mullen would like her new songs from Everyday People, including one called Message For Ya, featuring funkmaster Bootsy Collins, to be played everywhere - in mainstream and Christian circles alike.
"I want to take the light of the gospel into the places where people wouldn't necessarily come to church," she says. "I've said it often that I want to make sure I keep my feet planted firmly in the church so I can reach over into the world and pull people out without falling in - that's my whole goal.
As a mother, a wife, and a touring artist, Mullen's life can get quite hectic, but she remains grounded in prayer, and hopes her fans will pray for her.
"I need the people of God to keep my lifted up in prayer so I can go and do what God's called me to do," she says. "It's us doing the work of God - what He called us to do, not just me - in order to reach the people of world with the gospel of Jesus Christ."
--Read more about Nicole C. Mullen and 69 other artists in Mark Weber's book, Christian Music Makers, available here .
