Now that my album has finally been released, I will begin posting the remainder of my song stories. My intention here is to take you little deeper into why the song was written, how the song was written, and what it means to me.

“Way of Surrender” was the first song I ever wrote that I actually liked. Prior to this song were attempts at songwriting that were shameful, to say the least (though all songwriters need to write a lot of bad songs before they write a good one). Of all the songs on this album, this may be the most special to me.

I sought to articulate a couple of truths:

• That to follow Jesus means walking a path of surrender and dying to self
• That following Jesus is the greatest joy and pleasure in life
• That our true “calling” and highest aim in life must be to know and love Jesus Christ

Remember those early junior high/high school years where you are asking the question (and a million other people are asking you), “What am I going to do with my life? What is my calling?” I didn’t really know the specifics of what I was going to do at the time of this writing, but I did know this: I wanted to live in the presence of God and love Him with all of my heart.

This song is a constant reminder to me of who I am and what I am about. When I don’t feel this way, I sing this to myself and stir up the passion again. I hope it is a blessing to you.

My heart is stirred by just one thing – to know You, God
To come before You every day and stand in awe
To live within Your presence, Lord, is the call upon my life
This interchange of holy love is the source of my delight

This is my pleasure
This one thing do I long for

Jesus, You are my love
Reigning forever as Lord of my heart
Jesus, You are the way
The Way of Surrender I walk each day

The closer that I come to You the more I die
The more I come to realize “to live is Christ”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, they will see God”
For they are set apart and set upon this walk of love

More than pleasures, more than fame
More than these gifts I long for Your face
More than the riches I treasure in vain
More than this life I long for Your face

If you have not heard, Delirious is calling it quits. Read the farewell article here. I will miss their music. As a tribute, I am posting the most amazing Delirious performance I know of. You really do need to watch this. The guitar solo is liberating.

Justin McRoberts: Decontsruction – I met this guy at the conference and have heard certain songs from him over the years. Beautiful, raw folk music with a strong ‘prophetic’ voice. Very challenging.

Hillsong: This Is Our God – Decent worship album. I really like 4-5 songs, in particular. I find myself singing “Stronger” all the time.

Sovereign Grace Music: Psalms – Sovereign Grace is a great community of churches. Strong, theological truth is packed into these great songs. It’s exciting to see a lot of ‘lesser known’ writers all working together.

Charlie Hall: The Bright Sadness – I’ve always liked Charlie Hall because he is a deep thinker and expounder of truth. This album is soaked in so much passion, it’s almost uncomfortable. A different sort of worship music – maybe not a set of congregational lullabies, but music that definitely stirs the heart.