When Stephanie Smith (Skipper) got her first glimpse of the father she’d desperately missed all of her 14 years, her heart was in her throat. She waited breathlessly as he greeted her mother and her brother, then finally turned to Stephanie. But his words were anything but the healing she’d dreamed of for so long. He said, “And this must be Priscilla?”

In the aftermath of that meeting, Stephanie processed a great many life lessons. Following a spiritual reality check she experienced while singing with a rock band she joined during college, a fateful door was opened for Stephanie to travel overseas. “I ended up going to Guatemala on a mission trip. If anyone is struggling with pride or self-righteousness,” she laughs, “you need to go haul cinder blocks up a mountain. The hard work will cure you!”

Stephanie graduated from Greenville College in Illinois in 2006. It was at Greenville College that she first met Gotee Records manager tobyMac while performing at the annual AgapeFest. Toby then signed her to the record label. Her compelling redemption story drove the hope-drenched lyrics and gutsy honesty of Not Afraid, her 2008 debut album on Gotee Records.

Also in 2008, she wrote a book with Suzy Weibel titled Crossroads: The Teenage Girl's Guide To Emotional Wounds. Two EPs followed: 2009's five-song Stephanie Smith EP and 2010's Christmas EP, I Celebrate The Day. She also released a single in 2012 called "Letting Go."

In November 2012, Stephanie married House Of Heroes frontman Tim Skipper. The couple started creating their own music under the name Copperlily and released their debut EP, Love Is A Legend, in 2014.