Author Archives: Mama Jo

Married, mother of 4, who loves to be crafty and creative, lives to perform and never wants to stop learning!

Only In You – The Story Behind the Song

I would like to tell you that recurring themes show up in my songs because I’m really good at focusing on concepts until I perfect them.  I would LIKE to tell you that but I’d rather be honest.  The existence of recurring themes in my songs is due to the simple fact that I can be a little hard-headed when it comes to learning lessons.

“Only in You” is a reminder that joy comes from exactly one source – my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  Period.  When that relationship is being nurtured, inner joy is palpable.  When I am setting aside time to be with my Abba my sense of purpose is well-defined and the next step is crystal clear.  It’s when I start worrying about what others think, when I allow my focus to be misdirected, that I find myself struggling.  I start to doubt my calling and purpose.  I start to second guess what I’m supposed to do next.

So this song draws my focus back to the ONLY source of joy and the only being able to confirm my sense of purpose.  It’s that simple and that difficult.

I find my greatest sense of worth
In the presence of my King on bended knee.

You will make known to me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.  ~Psalm 16:11

Welcome Home – The Story Behind the Song

My sisters and I are all Michigan “born and raised” but we have all ventured to live in other states at various points in our adult lives.  Currently, hubby and I are in North Central Iowa while the middle sister, Becki, and her two boys are in Richmond,VA (my parents live with her as well) and the baby sister, Andrea, lives in San Antonio, TX with her hubby and their three kids.  Becki also lived in the Dallas, TX area for a while and it was during that time that God used her to inspire a song.

This was in the days before Skype or FaceTime or social networking of any kind.  We relied on emails, “snail mail”, and phone calls.  During one of our weekly (most of the time) phone calls, we discovered that, in a spiritual sense, we were walking down similar paths.  Both of us were learning about our true identity as children of God.  There were a number of times when one of us would talk about a realization or a new understanding and the other person would respond with “Oh my gosh, me too!”

At the end of one such conversation, Becki told me she was going to email me a poem she had recently written, sort of a way for her to capture the lesson in a concrete way for when she needed reminding down the road.  I opened the email and read the poem.  Before I was done, there was a melody line running repeatedly through my head connected to a specific line she had written.  So I emailed her back and begged her to let me turn the lyrics into a song.  With a couple of small tweaks – mostly for rhyme and rhythm – “Welcome Home” was born.  For reasons I won’t go into here, the parable of the Prodigal Son is a family favorite and this song captures that story from the father’s perspective – the idea of a loving father waiting and watching for his child to return home.  No judgment, no conditions; just unbridled love, restoration and healing.

The concept of being God’s cherished daughter has been a powerful one in my life.  So much so that I bear a tattoo that says “Daughter of God” in Hebrew.  The chorus of this song has been a balm in the rough spots of life and the fact that my sister and I had both had a hand in “birthing” this one is special to me.

“Welcome home, my child, I’ve been waiting
I’ve been watching and I love you
Let me fix your broken pieces.
Won’t you let me carry you?
My child, you’ve been gone away so long.
Welcome home.”

John 1:12-13

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Luke 15:22-24

But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet: and bring the fattened calf kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”  And they began to celebrate.