When Butler writer Niki Lott published her children’s book, “The Princess and the Tea” in November, she shared a project that began nearly 20 years earlier as personalized rhyming Christmas stories for her nieces and nephews.

For years, Lott thought about turning those stories into something others could read, but one thing was missing: illustrations. She found the right collaborator in her mother, Tami Neal, an artist from Mount Vernon, Ky.

Working across the miles, the two transformed a family tradition into a published children’s book.

“She’s my collaborator on many things because she was my teacher,” Lott said of her mother, who also homeschooled her through high school, allowing her to graduate at 15 years old.

In the story, a young princess learns that friendship is not something to demand, but rather something to show through kindness, generosity and consideration for others. Lott said the lesson grew from Proverbs 18:24, which says, in part, that a person who wants friends must be friendly.

The book also includes black-and-white illustrations, so children can color the pages and make the story their own.

Lott and her husband, the Rev. Brian Lott, have spent nearly three decades in ministry. He is pastor of New Testament Baptist Church in Center Township. She serves as the church pianist while also writing songs, Bible studies, devotionals, Sunday school curriculum and children’s books.

Lott was born in Muncie, Ind., and spent her early childhood there before moving to Tennessee at age 12, after her father became a pastor there.

“I grew up in ministry, and I would say it is the biggest factor in my life and work,” she said.

As a young girl, Lott wrote about what she was learning in church. She also wrote stories and poems before turning to songwriting as a teenager.

“Really, if you read or listen to any of my songs or my Bible studies, I think all of it springs out of things that I feel like I’ve had to learn that the Lord is teaching me,” she said. “I think my music is probably my diary without me realizing it.”

Lott attended Crown College, a Bible college in Tennessee, where some of her songs were performed in chapel and church services. Faculty members encouraged her to publish her music. A few years after graduating in 1996, she released her first music books.

She and her college sweetheart, Brian Lott, who was youth pastor at the time, married later that year. The couple served nearly nine years in Georgia before moving to Lawrence County in 2005. Since 2019, they have lived in Brian’s hometown of Butler, where he is the pastor of New Testament Baptist Church.

Despite writing books and songs used far beyond Western Pennsylvania, Lott tends to downplay her accomplishments.

“For the most part, I’m just the preacher’s wife here,” she said. “I play the piano, and that’s probably what most people see.”

Behind the scenes, though, Lott has built a ministry through her website, Christian Compositions, where she offers music, Bible studies, devotionals, Sunday school curriculum, homemaking classes and children’s literature. She estimates she has written about 75 songs.

One of her songs grew out of one of the hardest seasons of her life. For 11 years, the Lotts faced infertility, disappointment and unanswered prayers, including two adoptions that fell through. From that experience came her song “If Not,” inspired by the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their determination to remain faithful regardless of the outcome.

“If You never give us children, it’s OK,” she recalled praying through her disappointment. “God is still good.”

The song has since reached people facing their own struggles. Listeners have told her it carried them through cancer, grief and loss. Two missionary widows even chose it for their husbands’ funerals after they were killed on the mission field.

“I think God puts ‘If Not’ situations into a lot of people’s lives,” Lott said. “It just talks about how we know God can do anything, but if he chooses not to, we’re still going to love him. We’re still going to serve him. He’s still good.”

Not long after she wrote the song, the Lotts’ lives changed dramatically. In 2007, after years of waiting, they got a phone call asking whether they were still interested in adoption. Six weeks later, they brought home their newborn daughter, Halle. About a year later, while Halle’s adoption was being finalized, another unexpected call led to the adoption of their newborn son, Evan.

“They are two miracles,” Lott said.

Although many people know her simply as a pastor’s wife or church pianist or Sunday schoolteacher, others have discovered her music in unexpected ways.

One of her favorite memories came during choir practice at church, when the group was preparing to rehearse “If Not.”

“We got ready to sing it and one of the women in the choir was like, ‘That’s one of my favorite songs,’” Lott recalled. “And I said, ‘Oh, awesome. Thank you.’ And the shocked woman said, ‘Wait, you wrote this?’”

Lott laughed as she remembered the moment.

Similar encounters have happened over the years, when people realize the self-effacing pastor’s wife is the artist behind familiar Christian music.

Her work has also reached listeners around the world. She recently heard from a man in Germany who asked permission to translate one of her songs into German for use in his church. A video of her music posted online in the Philippines has been viewed more than 1 million times. Missionary friends have translated some of her Bible studies into Spanish.

This fall, Lott hopes to record a companion CD for “I Will Hope,” a music collection she published several years ago.

Asked what advice she has for aspiring writers and composers, Lott encourages them to keep learning and working at their craft.

“I think if you’re going to do well at something, it has to come from something you’re interested in or passionate about,” she said. “Then be willing to work at it. Be willing to take criticism, be willing to be edited, take classes, learn from others, research your topic and keep improving. I feel like there’s always more to learn.”

Lott’s creative life also has deep family roots. Her mother is an artist, and her grandmother wrote poetry. Neal said Lott showed musical ability early, playing by ear when she was 4 or 5 years old.

Neal believed enough in her daughter’s talent that she sold pop bottles to help pay for music lessons.

As a mother, Neal said, it is a joy to hear her daughter’s songs on the radio.

“It makes my heart leap with joy to see my daughter use her talents in service of her faith,” she said.

Neal and her husband, Pastor Gary Neal, live in Mount Vernon, Ky., and travel the world distributing Bibles as part of their missionary ministry. She said working with her daughter on the illustrations for “The Princess and the Tea” was especially meaningful because she and Niki spent so much time discussing the heritage project together, mostly over the phone.

“Seeing the illustrations become part of a published book felt like one of those lifetime projects you never regret,” Neal said.

Marlene Lott agreed with Tami Neal that it was meaningful to see her daughter-in-law and Neal work together on a project that had begun years earlier as a simple family gift and eventually became the “The Princess and the Tea.”

She’s also proud that Niki Lott’s music, writing and teaching have long been part of her service in church.

“She’s steady, humble and deeply committed to her faith,” Marlene Lott said.

She also said the years of waiting to become a mother, including adoption disappointments before the couple welcomed their two children, helped Niki deepen her compassion for others.

“Her faith is strong, and her desire to live for the Lord is strong,” she said.

Marlene says her daughter-in-law’s quiet nature may be one reason more people do not know the extent of her work as a writer, composer, teacher and pastor’s wife.

“She’s Butler’s best-kept secret,” she said.

To read more about Niki Lott and her work, visit christiancompositions.com.