Given Away

FROM MY HEART: The MOST intense craving, seamless longing, and incessant hunger of my life is to LOVE MY DADDY with wide-armed, reckless abandon - with everything I have, all I know (& ever will know), never counting the cost... to passionately adore Him with an unabridged heart, from the deepest caverns of my soul, the innermost recesses of my mind, and with every thread of my strength... (Father, I CRAZY love You!!!) A dialogue between Jesus Christ & Peter, His disciple, is recorded in Scripture in John 21:15-17. That conversation forever changed my life and honed my purpose for being on this planet. To paraphrase, it went something like this: Three times, Jesus asked Peter, Do you love Me? Each time, Peter replied, Yes, Lord, You know I love You. Jesus drove His point home by His repetitious response, Then, take care of My sheep [My people]. THE QUESTION: How can I most effectually demonstrate my love & devotion to my Beloved? MY ANSWER: GIVE MY LIFE AWAY... to bless, serve, & love humanity. (Hence, the song Given Away is my heart's anthem sardine-packed in 5:38!) In writing for this project, I experienced the most tender intimacy with my Daddy I had ever known... Over a long weekend of solitude (with only my piano, blueberry cobbler coffee, and wheat noodles), God and I penned five songs in two days. (The other song we wrote together for this project was created prior to this time.) Upon my simple, yet impassioned, invitation, my Father inhabited the nucleus of my inmost being, and I poured out a musical offering to my Beloved. And, He drank. It was sacred. It was worship. It was a time where Deity met brokenness and wrapped His royal robe around the nakedness of my heart. The majority of these songs were birthed during this significant period of time, and I will never forget those four days as long as I breathe... As you journey through this project, it is my fervent prayer that you feast lavishly on the sweet taste of Love Divine, hope, forgiveness, grace, strength, and solace. His engraved hands are reaching out to you - bridging the Great Divide - calling you by name. He is in relentless pursuit of you, His precious. The heart of The Chosen One is sending you a never-ending message: YOU ARE LOVED...