On March 14, these 5 songs will be released as a gift from my heart to whoever needs it! Before the release day, I’ll be sharing some thoughts and reflections about the songs.
Track 1 is called “Exhale” — it is a centering prayer that I am dedicating to our late friend Wes Simons, whose presence and influence in our lives always drew us closer to the Father. He passed away at the end of January, and this song was written around that same time.
Track 2 is called “Do You Really Love Me?” — it’s a raw and honest prayer of wrestling/confession and longing to arrive at the truth that His love is unchanging, unfailing and unceasing. The inspiration for the form of this song is the series of passages in the book of Psalms called Psalms of Ascent.
Track 3 is called “Christ Be Known” — it’s a full-band remake of the song I released last year. The lyrics of the song are inspired by a prayer of St. Patrick. I wanted to make a recording of this song that reflects the way it is played live with our band.
Track 4 is called “Known” – it is the title track mentioned on the album cover. This song is near and dear to my heart because I am a deeply relational person, and my friendships mean a lot to me. This song describes the gift of truly being known and loved by friends and that even though sometimes life brings people in and out of our lives (like seasons), there is ALWAYS someone to walk through life with. One of the hook lines in this song is “we’re not made to be lonely.” The inspiration for a lot of this song is our good friend John Kelly and his journey of running the Appalachian Trail with his village of supporters and friends- you’ll hear lots of analogies that point to that experience in the song. Watching John’s journey was deeply inspiring and encouraging for Kirk and me!
Track 5 is called “Going Home”— it’s written and sung by Kirk. I sing on it, too, but this song is ALL him and his creative genius. This track is also about going along a road eventually headed “Home”, but it speaks of the stops along the way “I’ll stop for anyone, but I’m going Home.” His heart to love and serve whoever is put in his path will come through, I’m sure!
