You know that triumphant feeling you get when you've been writing songs for, like, 20 years, and you finally decide to put the details together to record them?…oh, you don't?…actually, that's probably not a common feeling, is it? How about this: you know that feeling when…ummm…well, I guess there's nothing I can think of that quite compares to that feeling as a songwriter!
I've heard it said that writing a song is a lot like having a baby. I have 5 kids, it's nothing like that. I've never changed a song's messy diaper. BUT…I will say, the process of recording songs that have blessed people for years and have drawn people closer to God is VERY rewarding. I have recorded lots of albums with various groups of mine over the years, and have even helped other people with their albums, but nothing feels quite like hearing a concept held in your mind for years finally manifest through a set of speakers.
I'm sure there are lots of things that could possibly compare to that feeling: a climber standing at the summit of the mountain after preparing for years to climb to the peak of what she'd only dreamt of conquering; a politician reaching the office he'd spent years working toward after decades of building relationships, investing in local government, and many late nights spent doing the intangibles people don't see; a pastor standing center-stage in a packed church, the same church he'd spent years dreaming of with God, with a view of the full seats he'd prayed over and cried over for years, his wife and family smiling in the front row, knowing the immense sacrifice and sleepless nights it took to build this church from the ground up…
These feelings compare to the feeling I have right now.
I have co-labored with God to birth these songs, and now they are ready to be released to the world (or whoever, God knows who). And I just wanted you to maybe share a slice of that feeling with me. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you can't. Either way, you get to eat the fruit of what I've labored for, and I'm so happy you do.
Some of these songs on this album were written a few years ago, when the world was teetering on the edge of a knife blade. Some of them were written way back in North Carolina days, when my wife and I were content being newlyweds in a 2-bedroom duplex with a couple of wiener dogs.
But no matter when they were written, there's always been a common thread: all of my worship songs came from a place of intimacy with God. My songs birth from my relationship with God, just as your faith and fruit should birth from drawing near to God. See? We're not all that different from each other. You may not have written any songs in your lifetime, but if you have an abiding relationship with Jesus, I'm sure the fruit of your faith has born in other ways.
And to be honest, as meaningful as it's been recording my first original worship album, the fruit of obedience in my life - when I obey God's voice and walk in His Spirit to bring wholeness and Heaven's solutions to those around me wherever I go - is WAAAAY more impactful and satisfying than recording an album. And we'll talk about that here, too. Probably a lot.
So enjoy the journey with me as I talk through some of the tidbits, facts, revelations, struggles, and triumphs of my faith and songwriting here in this blog. This is my online journal, things which I feel God wants me to release to the public, whether that be faith thoughts, or songwriting stuff, or just things I'm fascinated by in the Lord. I pray this blog encourages and strengthens you in your walk with Jesus, and that fruit is born from your life - fruit that tastes as sweet as what I've tasted from my faith-walk and music.