In a hurried world of work and play, quiet moments for reflection and rest are often the first thing slashed from our daytimers. Gotta get the kids to soccer, there's that committee meeting on Tuesday evening, and oh yeah, I'm supposed to deliver holiday fruit baskets to needy this weekend. I know you can relate; we all live this way. Sometimes we get so busy doing good things that we miss out on the better things, like sitting at the feet of Jesus.

When God named Himself to Moses, He said "I AM," not "I DO." We are created to BE, and whenever our "doing" gets in the way of our "being," we need to stop and reevaluate our priorities. We will only hear the still, small voice of God when we rest in His presence, open to His word.

As I planned this album, I wanted for you to have moments for joyous celebration and moments for quiet, intimate worship... It is in such moments with Him that I have been changed. I pray you will be as well.

In theory, following Christ sounds so simple. After all, in our hearts nothing matters more than pleasing God. Nonetheless, in reality we all struggle so often to do the things God wants of us. Perhaps we don't hear his voice as well as we should; or maybe there's something inside us that holds us back from complete and total surrender to His will; it could even be that there's an unnoticed fear of what it might cost us to submit to Him whole-heartedly.

Whatever the hindrance, if we are to grow in our relationship to Christ, we must resolve to move toward the goal of walking according to His example. The apostle Peter provides a great case-study of this. While he was flawed, just like we are, and despite his occasional falls, his sense of dedication to Jesus was unwavering. We see this more and more as he works to spread the gospel after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

As you consider where you are in relation to following Christ, I pray the songs on this album will challenge, bless, and strengthen your commitment to walk just a bit closer His path for you.

Nothing takes us through the diverse range of emotions like the birth of a baby. While looking at a newborn for the first time after a seemingly endless wait, we find it impossible to verbally express ourselves. Our hearts simply have to do all of the talking. That night in Bethlehem was no different. After the anticipation for hundreds of years, for the first time human eyes gazed upon the face of our Savior.

In the midst of the shopping, gift wrapping and Christmas gatherings, my prayer is that the music on this album can be used to bring you closer to one of those quiet, speechless moments; a moment for you to consider your relationship with that little Baby. May you ponder in your heart the freedom that God has offered you... by way of a manger.

There has never been a better way to describe God's grace other than to say it is amazing. How else could God continue to love us when we keep failing Him? It was by His grace that He created us, sent His Son to die for us and loved us in spite of our failures... and this still amazes me. I realize that I will not master the discipline of surrender until I stand before Him in heaven, but it will be His grace that gets me there.

I pray that the songs on this album will make you a proud recipient of God's grace too.

"I Surrender All" came about after struggling for years with the discipline of surrender. As I became a teenager, I sincerely desired to master this discipline. Many times I had given the control of my life over to God only to experience failure as I let my selfish nature do things my way. Each failure made me want to give up trying and save God the embarrassment of having to listen to me apologize again.

The songs on this album are very much a depiction of my heart's desire to please my Creator. I have learned that a life of surrender is a process. These songs remind us that we have to be willing to follow, even when we do not know where He is leading. It's ok though; He has our best interests in mind.