I’m reading today about how Solomon built the temple according to skilled instructions God gave his father, David. He employed many people to complete this amazingly beautiful offering to God. . . and left no detail unconsidered or up to chance. All mattered; because it was for God Most High, he oversaw it with painstaking attention to detail. Everything was of the highest quality. God is God, after all! The best is the very least of what He is due. And God had provided all of the resources to Solomon in the first place; it was only proper to give it back to Him with man’s creative touches applied.
And so goes this album as well.
God wrote these songs. He gave me the inspiration with ideas I couldn’t bear to lose; He gave me the skill to write them cohesively; He opens people’s hearts to receive them clearly and like what they hear. I had the raw material for five years in my hand, wondering what to do with it to get this album built. But in God’s timing, everything fell into place.
First, the $6000 gift. That started the process of hiring the best musicians for these songs and locating the best studio. . . and everyone had to have the right heart about the messages and the Lord behind them. That was very important. Prayer started every session, and the Holy Spirit anointed us–Alex the keyboard player noted the magic that happened in that room . . . and all of us agreed. These are professionals for many years, and all believe it is some of their best work ever. What an honor to be part of that! It was also very important to me that every man and woman involved felt free to bring their own creative expression to the music without feeling hemmed in, yet my original idea for the song still had to remain the anchor, the voice in the middle. It is so; the results are amazing.
There has been no rushing, no worrying. When I ran out of money, I prayed and asked God for more and kept serving as worship leader for our church and ladies’ events. One of those events provided opportunity to ask for support from anyone who felt led to help record the album, and another $3000 came in that day!
Wow! Now we could hire more skilled musicians to add spice and flavor sounds over our already delicious foundation. Like Solomon covered the temple’s interior with cedar carved with winged creatures, palm trees and lilies (making the temple impressive to all who entered–they’d never forget their experience in God’s temple), so did the Lord allow me to gather some of the most talented people in Kansas City to play their B3 organs, Miles Davis trumpets, Irish whistles, flutes, country and classical violins, upright basses that sound just like celloes and fancy keyboards that sound like orchestras. The effect is splendor. This music hardly needs lyrics!
God even kept His hand on us when we were about to make some wrong turns. One day I had scheduled a session with a musician who couldn’t make it, so I thought that would be a great day to start re-doing the vocals. That morning I woke up crabby, flat and listless and could barely drag myself to the studio. I warned Larry about what was going on (this isn’t like me at all), and he said we could just try. We spent an hour and forty minutes on the song A Different Kind. Technically it was all right, but the spirit behind it was all wrong. We stopped and learned this lesson: the scratch vocals actually capture that magic Alex mentioned better than any other vocals ever could, so why not save money and time just using the magical ones? After we came to this, my body and soul became as right as rain. God had made His point.
Absolutely brilliant: the vocals you will hear on the album are all recorded on a Shure 58 while I’m sitting on the black leather couch in the studio with Nate, Jim and Alex, looking into the drum room at Doug. I love it. I sing better live anyway.
Other times, musicians fell through so others could come in–by God’s design. He brought every musician in Himself, for His own reasons, His own glory.
Dear God, thank you for your faithfulness! You’ve arranged a dream to come true here, and I pray it reaches many thousands, even millions of souls with Your message of hope and love for them. There’s no end to my praise of Your love, Your kindness, Your ability to do great things, Your steadfastness when I flag. Thanks for letting me play with your craft supplies. I give you this masterpiece almost ready now because I love you. . . this macaroni sculpture. . . .
P.S. we’re recording the background vocals tonight. It’s the last piece before mix down. It’s coming. . . .
