Welcome to my blog on what it is to be a worshipping songwriter (and some other stuff, too!)
Many of you may know, I am a singer/songwriter from Australia, now living in Texas. I began songwriting when I was a young teen, but didn't really take it seriously until fairly recently (2015). I have been a worshipper my whole life, and began leading worship in chapel, at my high school and also had a little bit of experience leading in youth group and church, as a young adult. It wasn't until I was married, however, that I was able to start leading more in church.
Fast forward to when my husband and I moved, with our then 3 year old son, to my hometown of Moe, where I led the worship team for 15 years. There were a lot of mistakes made. A lot of growing was done! And in it all, I learnt how to worship God with my whole heart. I had to learn how to surrender daily, and my prayer was always, 'God, I only want to do this if it's for your glory!' 'Lord, teach me your ways. Show me your heart'. And the more I prayed these prayers, the more I felt a song stirring in my heart.
I had been leading other people's songs, because they are what I knew. They are what I learnt. And they are how I learnt to worship (those and some key mentors in my life!)
But then, that stirring would not go away, and these songs began to just come out of me. They weren't perfect. They weren't necessarily written like a song should be written. But they were what God was speaking to me at the time, and I knew I had to do something with them. My album, I'm made new, comprised of 7 songs about living our lives in Christ. Each song I included on this album spoke of being who we were created to be (One You), knowing the love we have in Christ, and learning how to love others in that way (This Love), letting God take control of our situation and allowing him to work in it (I let it all go), living our new creation lives (I'm made new), knowing that we can be close to the Father in this life (Close to you, My Father) and allowing his Spirit to refresh and anoint us in this new creation life (Spirit Fall).
I was blessed to release those songs in 2020, right 'in time' for the pandemic. And I believe they have touched the hearts of those they needed to.
And just last year I was able to write and release my single, Hope, which is completely different to any of the songs on my first album. I believe it also has reached, and will continue to reach, those it needs to. I don't think my songs are just for me, although there are those songs too!
As I've continued to worship God with my songs, I can see how he is working in me and through me. I have been learning and growing these past 2 years, as my family and I moved over to Fort Worth to begin a new life. Although it's been away from everything and everyone we have ever known, we have seen it as an opportunity to learn and grow. We have already met some key people in our walk so far, and are excited to see what else the Lord has in store.
Worship is, and always should be, about putting God first, about giving him every part of your life in complete surrender, and humbly offering your gift to him. Worship literally means 'to give worth to' - weorthscipe, "to venerate, worship, honour shown to an object, which has been etymologised as worthiness or worth-ship". (wikipedia). We are giving worth to God when we worship him! And it's not just in music - it's prayer, attending a church service, and basically living your life as an offering to God. And this is what I will predominantly be sharing with you all, in this blog!
I've added the night of worship I was blessed to put on, above.
I never wanted to 'make a spectacle of myself', so to speak. And over the years I have learnt that, if I worship God in the secret place, these times that I come and lead others in to worship and an acknowledgement of who God is, are just an overflow of those times. As it's been said many times, all that matters when I'm worshipping is that I worship an audience of one, no matter who is in the room.
I hope you'll continue on this blogging journey with me, as I share my heart of worship with you all!
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