As a child, Jeana was frequently called upon to sing for neighbors and friends but she did not start singing in public until 1981. She taught herself to play guitar so she could accompany herself and her sister in the early years.
"I remember our first church service. I had to sit down to play the guitar and they had put this stool on the stage for me. I worried all evening about how I was going to climb up on that stool gracefully. When the time came, I turned sideways and got on it and swung around--and hit my sister on her forehead with the end of the guitar."
Through out the 1980's Jeana sang mostly by herself in her home church. Then in 1991 she went to an outdoor singing and was asked to fill in for a group that had not shown up.
"I did not normally carry my soundtracks with me, but that day a lady at work had wanted to hear me sing. I had a tape that I had made for my dad and I called him and asked him to bring it to me. He was not sure which one it was so he brought my whole tape case."
From singing at this outdoor singing Jeana was asked to join the East Tennessee Gospel Music Guild. At her first guild singing she met The Praisers. She was asked to try out for them and stayed with them for 10 years as their lead singer. It was while singing with The Praisers that she met her husband Larry who was the drummer for the group. They were married in 1994. In 2000, she stepped down from The Praisers due to the birth of her son. For the next two years she did a little solo singing but by the beginning of 2002 she had stopped singing all together.
"I just let myself get too busy. I was working full time and thought I had to work to pay for the things I thought I had to have. I did not have time to sing or time for anything else. I would get my little boy out of bed in the mornings and take him to the babysitter's house and leave him before he really woke up and then I wuold pick him up in the evenings just in time to take him home and put him to bed.He had no earthly idea who I was. I just let myself drift into this cycle where work was the most important thing in my life. Then in January of 2002, God took my job away. He took away all the things that I thought I had to have. I let myself get very discouraged and asked the Lord what was I doing wrong. He told me it was not what I was doing wrong-it was what I was not doing at all. The Lord gave me a job to do-SING. He also gave me a beautiful little boy to raise and I was neglecting those two very important things. God pretty much gave me a wake up call and told me to get moving. He showed me what my priorities needed to be. Sharing the message he gave me to share and my family. Nothing else is important."
Since starting her solo ministry the blessings have been pouring in. She is averaging about 5 singing appointments a month. She is working on her first solo project. Eventually she hopes to have a full time singing ministry but she is following the leadership of the Lord and will do what he wants.
