Liner notes for Tears of Lament from The Voice CD. For some time I have anticipated musically exploring the times of sadness and mourning that life brings . . . these moments are often hard to understand. I always think about how much greater the suffering and pain is for so many people in the world versus my own. As I looked back on these experiences in my life this music met me in those places, and played a small part in the healing process of finding hope for the future. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy . . . my eyes overflow with tears. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.” (Psalm 126:5; Lamentations 1:16, 3:22-23; Psalm 116:8)

It’s been a busy week with Music to Light the World and family activities. I recorded several demos for the new album A Thousand Years, including new originals Always in Blossom (Psalm 1) and Bread of Angels (Psalm 78:25), as well as original work blended with unique arrangements of Amazing Grace, The Doxology (a piece titled For a Lifetime Blessings Flow), Pachelbel’s Canon in D, and Bach’s Air on G String. Some Oswald Chambers thoughts that really spoke to me this week are, “Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. I must maintain an adventurous attitude toward God, despite any potential personal risk. The secret of walking by faith is showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead.”

The song Simplicity from the Draw Near CD was inspired by a version of Ecclesiastes 7:29 that says, “God has made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” I have to be intentional to seek out and to treasure moments of simplicity. This mindset is counter cultural, like swimming upstream, due to the volume of information and the fast pace that the world brings on. I am working on new music that integrates great classical melodies with hymns, and I found this inspiring quote by Frederic Chopin. “Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.”