I wrote "Draw Near" because I LOVE the Bible verse, James 4:8 - Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

It requires action on our part. We can't just sit back and expect. We have to initiate. I think you may all agree with me that the world today is pretty unpredictable. Sometimes the people that we really think we can count on let us down, or mislead us, or miscommunicate with us. They are just people. We are all flawed. Count me in.

But our God is not flawed. He loved us first, even in our sin. He wants to be part of every moment of our lives.

I also wrote this song so that people could listen to its beautiful truth instead of something else that might have power over them. Songs are powerful. A song's words go deep inside us and affect every part of our lives even when we do not realize it.

Point in case, I took Jonah to his endocrinology appointment last week. Let me just say that it is a tiny bit difficult to get cooperation from a 12 year-old who knows that they will have to draw his blood. In the past, it has taken several people to pin him down in order to do the blood draw. But this time, Marga and I convinced him to just stick out his arm and say "easy-cheesy." Well, he wouldn't even let me stand next to him, and when it was over, he asked "Was that it?"

Then, walking to the car, he looked at me and Jonah said, "Mommy, God draw near."

I asked, "What?" and he repeated "God draw near. I okay."

I must say, I was floored. But I believe in my heart that since my son is by FAR my biggest fan (he listens to this CD over and over and over and over), that the lyrics to "Draw Near" really did sink in, even though Jonah doesn't always understand everything fully. And since Jonah was crying, he remembered the line that says "the great God of all creation, really sees my every tear."

That is why I wrote these songs, and a big part of why I wanted to record them - so they could help somebody somewhere, just like this song helped Jonah.

...our God is not flawed. He loved us first, even in our sin.

"Child of the King" is one of my favorites on this album. It features the verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

That's what being a child of the King means. I am not who I was before, because He lives in me. So I don't have to limit myself to my own human strength. I can draw from His. How awesome is that? He can also do things through me that I cannot take credit for.

Letting love flow through me, God's mercy heals a wound. His goodness overcomes my human flaws. Now such a Light is in me, His joy becomes my song. He fills me with a passion for His cause!

Some time back, Timmy and I were on a business trip to Scotland. The trip had been fabulous - we even got to golf at St. Andrews! It was our big dress up night, and I was all decked out. (I love to pack and plan for these things, because as a general rule I am not so dressy...) Anyway, they assigned seats at the dinner which they had not done on the whole trip, and secretly I was hoping not to be seated next to the one lady on the trip who was sick and in a wheelchair because selfishly, I wanted to just have a good time.

Guess who they put me right smack dab next to? Well, she was suffering from MS and it was severe. And everytime I looked at her, I wanted to cry for her. Obviously, God had a different plan than I did.

We ended up having a very uplifting conversation and she was so positive, I felt awful for having the thoughts I had about not dealing with it. About half way through the evening, she needed to use the restroom. Well, this section of the hotel did not have a wheelchair ramp, so when I volunteered to take her to the ladies room, we had to go through the kitchen. She knew I was a singer, so I asked her if she had a favorite, and she liked Carole King. I asked if she liked "You've Got a Friend" and she enthusiastically said yes! So, as I wheeled her through the kitchen and to the bathroom, I sang to her.

The kitchen staff was all rather surprised at this chain of events and turned to watch us having so much fun. When we finally got back to the table and my precious new friend told me that her trip to the bathroom and private concert was the highlight of her trip, I was truly humbled and touched. It was then that I was reminded that God knows exactly what a good time is. And, a special gift from one heart to another means so much more than a fancy evening.

Letting love flow through me, God's mercy heals a wound. His goodness overcomes my human flaws. Now such a Light is in me, His joy becomes my song. He fills me with a passion for His cause!

John 16:33 In this world, you will have trouble. But be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.

"Overcomers" reminds me of so many things. And one that is still fresh on my mind is Crystal Beach, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. We had a beach house right on the water, before hurricane Ike; 15 months before the hurricane we sold our second-row house and bought the beach front one, in the same neighborhood.

Gail and I had a great time shopping and decorating, and my mom and dad helped with cool fishing nets on the windows with colored buoys and Tim's surfboard and fishing rods on the wall. We had fun painting furniture crazy colors and helping the children hand paint pots for the flowers. My Daddy had fishing gear there from his Daddy.

Anyway, the stuff isn't important, but we had some really great times with friends and family there. So, when Ike came, my stubborn father wanted to get in his red truck with Timmy and go to pick up furniture. Thank God I fought that one - and won; they might have been trapped on the peninsula, as were so many other people who drove in or were unable to leave before the storm surge hit. We finally all agreed that their lives were worth more than some bunk beds.

So when we told Jonah-man that Ike had destroyed our whole house and it was gone, he said, "That hurricane is stupid. My pajamas are floating in the ocean!" (He's not supposed to say the word stupid...)

Anyway, when we could finally get back on the peninsula, we spent three days digging in the sand and mud and found some really cool treasures from our home, including the starfish in the album pictures - it was on my coffee table. In all that time of searching, we found one article of clothing, just one from the whole house. You guessed it: Jonah's pajamas...

I told my church family that was just the little ray of hope that we needed at that time. Sometimes that's all we get. But as long as we really, truly trust that God is in charge, AND that His ways are higher than our ways, we can get through. He doesn't promise that because we choose to love Him, He will protect us from any bad things; He just promises that in the end, He will overcome. He will win. That is enough for me.

Now when Jonah puts on those pajamas, he does his "hurricane dance!"

... as long as we really, truly trust that God is in charge, AND that His ways are higher than our ways, we can get through.

I wrote "Miracle" to get me through my own tough time. I never was really mad at God, but it was so hard to be told that one of my babies had Down Syndrome.

The first specialist doctor appointment was just plain bleak. We were told not to expect much out of this child and that he could have a long list of problems. That is a hard pill to swallow after 10 years of endometriosis and much emotional struggle, praying and praying to God to even have a child.

No mother wants to see her child struggle, for any reason. So, perhaps my prayer should be for my son to be healed. But Trisomy 21 is part of who he is. It is even part of the simple innocence that is one of the gifts God has given for Jonah to share. And, yes, on a good day, God's light shines brightly through His child, my son.

To look at Jonah's baby pictures, you can see that even though it took almost a whole hour for him to take a bottle, that time with him was precious. He was a bundle of joy. He hardly ever cried because children with Trisomy 21 don't have as much physical strength and it takes too much energy to cry a lot. That's how I knew something was wrong, even before they told me. When Jonah was delivered (via C section), he cried once and stopped. Hannah was delivered 2 minutes later, wailing at the top of her lungs - and she didn't stop. I was so afraid because I knew something was really wrong.

The gift of the two of them - twins, but so different - is both strange and wonderful. They've always had a special bond - they look out for each other, they challenge each other, and they learn from each other. Even now, Hannah does swim team, so Jonah is an extraordinary swimmer. He has always tried to keep up with his sister. And she, my not-so-little girl, is awesome on so many levels. One night, Jonah had hurt her, head-butted her I think, and she was crying. I had retreated to my room because I was so mad, I needed a mommy break. Hannah followed me, sat down on my bed and hugged me. She asked me, "Mommy, can we pray?" Of course I agreed, and she proceeded to pray for her brother and for him to understand his feelings and have a better day. She was the hurt one.

Wow. They are always teaching me ... from the mouths of babes, as the saying goes. I remember that the next morning at church, we did the old song "Whispering Hope" that says "soft as the voice of an angel." And then I thought, thank you God for sending me my two angels right when I needed them.

Often, when I tell the story of "Miracle", I refer to John 9:1-2 where the Pharisees asked Jesus why the man was blind - because of his sins or the sins of his parents. Jesus said, "It was not that he or his parents did any wrong thing. But it was so that people would see what God will do in him."

How cool is that? People DO see God in Jonah, and that is what "Miracle" is about.

Thank you, God, for Jonah and for Your light.

I wrote "Miracle" to get me through my own tough time. I never was really mad at God, but it was so hard to be told that one of my babies had Down Syndrome.