Growing up, I was surrounded by music. My dad was the pastor of a small church who let his daughters plug in the mics and turn on the sound system while he was at church prepping for Sunday, and my mom was always playing through her hymnals at the piano. My grandpa, in particular, loved my sisters and I to sing for him and we have countless home videos of my sisters and I singing the Christian classics of the 80’s and 90’s. Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant were my jam.

But somewhere in middle school, singing went from being something I did for fun with my family to something I could use to express all of my complicated teen girl emotions. The thing is I’ve never been one to talk about my feelings. I refer to myself as a “processor” – I like to take things in and mull them over for a few days – and during my teen years, I tended to retreat to my parent’s basement and sing. (We also had a surround sound system for max effect.)

I don’t live with my parents anymore, but I still process. And over the last few years, songwriting has become a part of that process. Sometimes in my car and sometimes at my piano I sort through things with God. Things I need to understand better, hear clearer, or remind myself of.

Each song on this EP is tied to a moment or experience that I was sorting through. Spirit Come started in a Maundy Thursday service when I wasn’t sure music was the place for me. Beautiful came to me as I was driving home from a friend’s house and the sun was in my eyes, which reminded me of God’s depiction in Revelation. Wait On Me poured out of me in my car one night, because I was frustrated with where my life was (or wasn’t) going. Almost Home was written during the final hours of my grandpa’s life as I grieved, but celebrated, his homecoming.

So here they are…my feelings. Go ahead and take them in and mull them over for a few days. Maybe we can process through something together.