Stories On Stories

I consider this song to be one of the most special songs I’ve ever written or recorded. I do have an abundance of stories that I can tell of how God has brought me through some very painful and dark times. By the age of 7, I had already survived sexual abuse, lost my father to addiction, and been uprooted to another country. I’ve suffered through learning differences, bullying and rejection, church hurt, and double-living Christianity, mental health disorders, and a vast array of brokenness. I’ve also endured that rough terrain of healing my mind and soul after so much pain and trauma. And through it all, God has been there, ever so faithful, and kind, and constant, and good.

Now, years later, the Lord has helped me to see that only He can make dry bones live again. And that I am better because of the suffering I’ve endured, only because He lives in me. Like the song Stories on Stories says: “I’ve got ten thousand stories of Your faithfulness… and God I know there will be more hard days ahead… But not one where you fail me…” This is the summary of my life, one full of testimonies of how God’s faithfulness has brought me through every season, the ones of deep dark pain and the ones of healing and growth. I hope this will become an anthem of testimony and a praise for the ‘stories on stories’ we all have to tell.

Cover Art Backstory

I love symbology. So in the heart of memorializing the journey, I did something with the cover art that very few people know. It turns out that the photo I chose was shot back in 2010. I was recording a project that this photo was intended for, but it was never used. So I kept it in my chest of memories only to be pulled out every now and again whenever I wanted a trip down memory lane.

One of those trips down memory lane happened soon after I wrote “Stories On Stories” with the brilliant Jordan Sapp and Jonathan Gamble. Immediately it served my heart as a memorial of God’s grace for me. I felt that I was being flushed and cleaned by testimony.

When that old photo was taken, I had just turned 28 years old and the year prior I had started on my journey of healing from sexual abuse trauma. I had to revisit deep-seated and multilayered pain for the first time in 23 years. God was helping me to process through that healing. And the very week that photo was being taken, I was going through days of wailing and crying out to God for strength and barely beginning to find my way between the why and the what-for of all of my suffering.

And now, 13 years later, I can see in that photo how the hand of God has guided me to find the right help. And sometimes even having to do surgery on my soul with His loving hands. The Lord has helped me to see that only He can make dry bones live again. God has been so good, so patient, so kind, and so very faithful. And He has not ever and will not ever fail. Today I can say that truly God makes all things work together for our good. And now I know that I am better because of the suffering that I’ve endured, only because He’s lived through that pain with me.

“I’ve got 10,000 stories of your faithfulness. And God, I know there will be more hard days ahead, but not one where You fail me.” This is the summary of my life, one full of testimonies of how God’s faithfulness has brought me through every season. And my hope and prayer is that Stories On Stories will become an anthem of testimony and a praise for the stories on stories that we all have to tell.