"Blue Light Gaze" addresses the damage that streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, and social media in general are doing to our society - particularly to our children. It seems to me that the mainstream media has made a joint effort to desensitize and sexualize us while corrupting all traditional American and Christian values. I saw this effect in myself first. When my eyes were opened to what these things were doing to my brain and my soul, I began to observe the world around me and saw it happening everywhere. So in my state of shock over how bad things had gotten, I picked up my pen and wrote the lyrics for "Blue Light Gaze".

"Reflections" was inspired by the earliest memories of my childhood. I realized I had been hanging on to the child in me a little too hard, and it was time to let go. While I embraced the childlike way with which I viewed the world, I understood this was also keeping me from healing and maturing. I can’t explain the emotions I have when I ponder those early years, as though I’m watching an old movie for the thousandth time. I can see my face in the mirror with my messy blond hair and green jacket.  I can smell the fresh Puget Sound air occasionally interrupted by a trace of decaying seaweed and oil covered pylons, and feel the excitement of the roaring trains thundering along the Edmonds coastline. I remember the joy and the sadness of so many people and occasions. It's almost like traveling time. I was so inspired to capture these emotions with words and music that the song practically wrote itself! 

The lyrics for "Religion" were inspired by a friend of mine who had recently recanted his faith and who shared with me his new understanding of Jesus. As he described to me his newly defined Jesus, I connected it to other areas of his life where he tended to view reality in a sense that would suit his own needs. Even so, I didn't see this coming. I had no idea he would eventually create a Jesus that could affirm his own worldview whether it lined up with scripture or not. At the time, I had never heard of the progressive Christian church, nor would I for many years to come. But this was the beginning of my endeavor to stand up for the authority of scripture through music, and to call out the many things I found wrong with the world - most passionately, the false teachings of progressive Christianity.