She couldn't have imagined how close she would come to predicting her personal future. In 1985, at age 25, when asked in an interview for The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine how she envisioned herself in ten years, Amy Grant responded spontaneously, "Fat and pregnant!" Today just a few years ahead of that enthusiastic forecast - the Alpha Eta/Vanderbilt alumna is the devoted mother of six-month-old Sarah, in addition to Millie, three, and Matt, five, What Grant didn't predict was her rise to success as a bona fide pop star, complete with five Grammys, record sales of more than 15 million and an MTV Award nomination for best video.

Motherhood and music stardom don't seem to mesh until you talk with Grant and begin to understand that she's created a sort of real-life harmony with these two areas of achievement. An idea for lyrics might begin while she's rocking Sarah. Or maybe a song comes together while she and the kids are listening to a tape in the car, en route to preschool. The recording studio is in a barn on the farm where she lives, literally surrounded by extended family. Even on concert tours, nearly every day is spent with husband, singer/songwriter/producer Gary Chapman, and their children, taking advantage of new sites for family outings.

While reaching lofty star status, Grant has firmly rooted her life in family and faith. Rather than embracing the trappings of success, she has instead gathered about her the familiar: the farm, located near Nashville where she grew up; her family, including parents, sisters, and in-laws; and her trusted friends, among them producer Brown Bannister whom she met nearly two decades ago when he was her church youth group leader.

Most of all, Grant continues to sing from the heart. "I just try to write honestly, things that I like."

The "simple little songs" that led to her first record contract at age 15, were the prelude to Grant's early acclaim in the gospel music field, winning Grammy awards for Best Gospel Performance three years in a row, as well as numerous Dove Awards (gospel music's Gram- my equivalent). As her music matured and her visibility grew, Grant's audience expanded to include not only her original Christian music fans but secular audiences as well. Her 1991 smash album "Heart in Motion" was certified Quadruple Platinum after selling more than four million copies and producing five consecutive Top 5 hits. Among the singles were "Baby Baby," dedicated to then- baby Millie, which reached number one simultaneously in both R&R and Billboard magazines.

Grant's much talked of cross over from gospel to pop is not something on which she focuses. "It never felt like a big deal to me because my experience in music is much more holistic than that," explains Grant. "If creating music is not a natural process of your life it probably seems much more calculated. The whole time I was recording gospel music I was still writing pop songs."

Songs by the Beatles, the Byrds and the Doors - from the record collections of three older sisters - were among Grant's earliest musical influences. Then, she says, it was simply a natural progression from singing others' songs to writing her own. "The first time I performed I wrote songs specifically to round out the repertoire of what I wanted to present to the girls at my school. I had Carol King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," a couple of James Taylor's songs and Elton John's "Friends." But I was singing for a chapel program, and I wanted to write some simple songs about faith and God's love and that's where it started."

In 1982 - the same year she was married to Gary Chapman - Grant's album "Age to Age" was released. It was the first of eight to be certified Platinum, including the 1985 release "Unguarded," a watershed for Grant. "With that album I got the first nibbles of interest from A&M Records, and really my relationship with that record company has completely altered the course of the visibility of the songs that I've done."

But while her career was taking off, Grant's marriage was in a holding pattern, which in 1986 became "tumultuous." Says Grant, "It's like cleaning out your closet. When you really get into the corners and start dragging out all the junk that you didn't even know was there... I think the greatest tool for a marriage to survive in this generation is intimacy." With the help of a marriage counselor, family support and time to grow up, Grant says she and Chapman were able to take their relationship to a new, deeper level of understanding. And, with that as a base, Grant began the first of several cycles that successfully incorporated both music and motherhood. "That's the way it's happened for me the last three albums, " says Grant, describing a 21/2 year process that moves from song selection to recording, through promotion and "more interviews than you can shake a stick at," on to touring and, finally, baby.

"Each one (stage) is just a welcome change from the last...It's just like the seasons. You know, when you light that first fire in the fall you think, 'Oh, I love the smell. I love how this enhances conversation. I love how life kind of slows down a little. This is fantastic.' And then when you're lighting that last fire (of the season) you're thinking, 'If I don't see green soon, I think I'm going to die.'" Right now Grant is savoring the relatively relaxed pace of the song selection stage. "Toward the end of my pregnancy and right after the birth, my work schedule has really been held to a minimum. I have a great management company that has allowed us to really establish as a family of five," says" Grant. 'This is such a wonderful stretch of time. I feel like we're still in the euphoric stage...As soon as we get all those songs, boom, we're in the studio and it just doesn't stop."

Having a mom who's a celebrity doesn't seem to have affected the children, according to Grant, although their eldest, Matthew, is beginning to take note of his mother from a new perspective. Explains Grant, "I was driving Matt home from school the other day, and he said, 'Mama did you know you're a star? The girls at my class scream when you show up.'"

Neither has fame been a negative for Grant and Chapman, whose new album will be released in August. "I think the thing that it's done for Gary and me is that we have been forced to really talk and get to know each other, talk about our hopes and dreams, our insecurities. That's a great thing. It really is," says Grant. "I would die of curiosity if he had a nine to five job that I didn't really get to see."

Sharing time together is no problem since both work and family are centered on the Chapman's farm. "I'd always wanted to live on a farm from the time I was a kid," says Grant. "I like the peace and quiet." Both she and Chapman record there in the studio, which Grant's 15-year-old nephew and his band are allowed to use for rehearsals when it's not otherwise occupied.

The family farm is also the site for regular gatherings of youth, which have come to be known as "loft sessions." They began in the summer of 1990 when a Nashville Christian counseling group asked permission to hold their meetings in the Chapman's house, which was soon out- grown and replaced with the loft of the barn. By the end of the ten-week session, says Grant, "Gary and I saw how great the need was and what a fun thing it was." They offered to continue the gatherings, which are held annually and now include about 450 kids on a first-come, first-served basis. Each session features group singing, a musical guest and a speaker. "We basically just really prayed and said, 'God, lead us to the people that could help lead this group. Next week we're getting ready to start the fourth session of the loft," says Grant.

"I think mostly there's such an intense need for high school and college age kids to feel like they can go someplace where nothing is expected of them and they're accepted the way they are. The most revealing thing about the pressure of being that age in this time has been the prayer cards we've done. Toward the end of the night we pass out these 3 x 5 cards and pencils and say 'Okay, write down something that you're going through this week that you want us to pray about. If it's too heavy and you don't want to say the name and the need, fine. God knows both. And don't try to be a goody-two-shoes. You're not graded on this.'

Although Grant says that helping one particular young woman through a family crisis has made the whole thing worthwhile, it isn't always easy. While attempting to provide personal support, she also feels an obligation to be honest with the young people about the limitations on her availability. She says, "It's very humbling. It's a lot easier to be on a pedestal."

But Grant has never placed herself there. In fact, she is known for having a tremendous rapport with her fans. "My music has allowed me to meet a lot of people, and I guess I just feel a certain connection to the people who have supported my music. When I meet kids who listen to my music - I guess a kid is anybody younger than I am - I remember how much the music that I listened to as a teen-ager and in college was a life line. I guess I don't ever want to belittle that unspoken thing."

In addition to personal contact with fans, Grant receives an overwhelming amount of mail. For years, her mother- in-law and a friend have helped her respond to the weekly deluge, which includes many letters from children. True to form, Grant considers the situation from a personal perspective. "I have nieces and nephews in the third and fourth grades, and I think, 'If Elizabeth wrote somebody and nobody wrote her back it would kill her.' I try to prioritize responses. If somebody just wants an autographed picture, I will get to it eventually. If it's a class project, I have to knock those out pretty quickly,"

It is obvious that Grant takes seriously her position as a role mode1. "I like attention being drawn to good things. The music industry can be very selfish. I have license now to be a complete idiot and to be applauded for it. But if somebody sees that people have really supported my music and that I'm trying to give something back, that sets a good example. It seems like the only responsible way to live."

This attitude made Grant the perfect choice for Theta's Asbury Society. In 1992 she was one of the four Thetas regonized by the Fraternity with the award, which was established to honor women who have achieved notable recognition in their fields of endeavor, and who inspire and serve as role models for other Thetas. Says Grant, "It's an honor. But I'll be honest with you, I don't really focus on that kind of thing. It doesn't occur to me to do that. If you wear that stuff like a banner, it tends to alienate you from other people."

Grant has maintained close contact with members of her Alpha Eta pledge class, with whom she recently attended a reunion. She has continued to support Kappa Alpha Theta as an alumnae member, although her feelings about sororities, "run the gamut." She explains, "It's important to find a place where you feel like you belong...I never really came to terms with the rush system, but life is competitive and people will always try to find common ground... The good thing is that you don't have to be voted in to get into heaven or to be loved by God. In the grand scheme there is not a rush system...But that's kind of the way the ball bounces, life on planet earth, the real world."

That perspective - her ability to be idealistic yet realistic - has no doubt contributed to Grant's success in the music industry. "My idea for 'Baby Baby' (the video) was to have a room full of babies in cloth diapers," says Grant with a laugh. "I really tried to sell them hard on that. But they wanted an 'in love' video, and I think they were right. It was a real stretch for me to make the video, but it was kind of a hurdle that, once I got over, was okay."

Although her aspirations are high, Grant is not obsessed with the future. It all seems to, well, harmonize. Her next album is due out at the end of this year ("Maybe like 'Heart in Motion' with a little more grass roots. But who knows?") and she doesn't rule out the possibility of having another child.

And in another ten years? "My guess would be I'll have finished touring. I might have had a short run as a talk show host. Not a long run. It needs to have a definite beginning and end so you don't wear out your welcome. And I would love to have done something in film.