Click above to listen to the title track So Loved as you read. You can also enjoy the CD, MP3 Album, Piano Book and Sheet Music on the So Loved Album Page. And you can stream the music on Spotify, iTunes-Apple Music, Amazon MP3, Pandora, and more.

What does “so loved” bring to mind for you with family, friends, and faith?

As we celebrate Mother’s Day in the U.S. this coming Sunday, I am dedicating this song and this week’s post to my Mom. She has been loving and encouraging me in my life and music since before I started playing piano at age six. In case you haven’t heard the story before…when I was twelve years old and wanted to give up piano lessons to focus on basketball, she wouldn’t let me quit. Mom and Dad both had a bigger, long-term perspective. They said I needed to finish the school year first before we would decide if I should stop piano lessons. By the time my 8th grade school year arrived, playing the piano had become a retreat, a sanctuary where I could relax and unwind. Then the next summer I wrote my first song…

This title track for my just released album is also based on a love story. Since God revealed the idea for So Loved to be an album of life soundtracks inspired by Bible stories, He has been deeply moving me to know how much He loves me. Just as for each of these characters, God sees our lives as priceless works of art, and our stories as epic adventure films. He is forever singing a beautiful song over our life as He does the extraordinary through broken, ordinary people, for His glory. His love never quits, and He transforms our lives when we trust in His bigger, long-term perspective.

Musically So Loved is all original, but as the music emerged I was reminded of my favorite composer J.S. Bach. His timeless melodies from the early to mid 1700s have a simplicity as they sing to our hearts and ears (this does not mean Bach is easy to play, however!). He signed all his compositions “Soli Deo Gloria” — to the Glory of God Alone, and his music is filled with refreshing beauty. The life of the disciple John and the John 3:16 verse quoted at the bottom are the inspiration behind the song and album So Loved.

In the opening and closing sections, if you listen closely, the piano notes are repeating the words “For God so loved, the world, that He gave His only Son.” The boy choir, Gregorian choir, harp, and vibes (vibraphone) join the piano to offer angelic, heavenly harmonies. These parts were not intentionally inspired by Bach, but they could be considered reminiscent of his church music composing and chorales.

How does SO LOVED and its inspiration speak into your life today?

SO LOVED | JOHN
John 3. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We are so loved.