My God Will Hear Me

I hope your hearts have been encouraged by the music and stories, but also softened and opened to the plight of these girls. I hope that the Lord is stirring in your hearts to do something to help this dire situation. Here are some ways you can help. Pray. Most of all, we need to intercede for these girls, the staff, and the workers at Disha Foundation. Pray for the Shaw family as they work hard to lead and make wise decisions as they care for so many. They need prayers for strength, courage, and endurance as they run a difficult race. Make a purchase. Buy a song, album or a book. If you already have them, gift them to others. This way you are being blessed by the songs and stories, and money from the sales is going right back to these girls in need. Also share the links to the album on iTunes, to this blog, and to the books on Amazon with your friends. Give. Give a donation to Disha Foundation to help fund the hostel or support the older girls trying to make it on their own. Go....

The girls who sang on this album are all teenagers now, ranging from 14 to 19. About half of them are too old to live in the hostel. Some of them secured admission through testing to grades 11 and 12 in good, English medium schools. These girls are generally safe for now, living in a different Christian hostel. Some will graduate in April 2018. At this point they will be back at a crossroads, figuring out how to fund further education, how to get a job, or how to go back and live in the slum communities they are from. It will surely be a difficult time. Some graduated after grade 10 and are trying to keep work to help support their families. Most of these girls are living back in their slums, again in difficult circumstances. Many are still high-risk for abuse, trafficking, and forced marriage. Some struggle to find jobs so they will be tempted to seek other ways to make money, as suggested by their families. So far, by God's grace, all are standing strong for him and holding on...

Less than a month before recording was scheduled to begin, my husband, one of my sons, and I came down with dengue fever. This was the most sick we had ever been in our lives and it was a difficult time. Recovery can take a while as it drains your energy for several weeks or months. However, I knew God would make a way for this to happen and we were able to move forward with the project on time. The recording process was very interesting and exciting for the girls. First, I recorded the piano tracks at my house with the help of the drummer (to keep the right tempos). Then, the drummer took a few days to record his parts at his home. Once we had this basic track down, it was time to go to the studio. I worked hard on coordinating the schedules of the musicians who needed to record in studio to maximize everyone's time and try to limit waiting around. We recorded the sitar, tabla (Indian hand drum), flute, guitars, and violin. This took a little more than a week, then the engine...

Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. I love how this album ends with this simple and beautiful praise song. The bansuri flute is prominent in this song (and Aata Hoon) and is one of my favorite instruments. It is one of my favorite parts of this album. When I followed the Lord and stepped out in faith to begin working on this project, I was completely clueless how to do the technical things for the album and had many questions. I didn't know enough musicians to play, I had no idea where to record it, I needed a producer, and I also had no idea of the cost. I trusted that the Lord would bring all these things together, and He did, in a much better way than I could have ever imagined. I am a composer and songwriter, and I had written these songs for piano and voice with the desire to add other instruments in the arrangement. Through one connection at my local church in Delhi, I had several professional, well-known India...

Teri Sundarta (Your Beauty) Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask from the Lord,      this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord      all the days of my life,  to gaze on the beauty of the Lord      and to seek him in his temple.  About the Song I wrote this simple praise song about the beauty of God sometime before moving to India. It has always been a favorite of mine, and one that many others have enjoyed listening to and singing. It has a simple melody, a timeless message, and lyrics not too difficult to translate. I am thankful for dear Indian friends who worked hard making the best translation to preserve the meaning as well as the melody. This can be very difficult! It was important to include some Hindi language songs so that the girls could sing in their heart language. They do know some English, but it is generally basic or very beginner level for the younger ones, especially. I loved hearing th...

Luke 4:1-13 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothings during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone.'"  And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give you all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down fr...

Psalm 139:1-18 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you percieve my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.  If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's w...

Luke 19:38-42 "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!"       "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"      Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"       "I tell you," he replied, "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes . . . " About the Song I wrote this song while studying through the book of Luke. I wanted to include it on this album to continue to stress who Jesus is, and how he came to redeem us. It was very important to me to choose songs that taught these girls important, simple truths. The song is almost word for word from this passage in the book of Luke so it speaks for itself. I pray that all who hear this are stirred to consider if they truly believe Jesu...

John 17:20-26 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--I in them and you in me--so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." I wrote this song during my college years ...

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever; and his faithfulness to all generations.  About the Song I started writing this song in 2008 when my 3-week old daughter was intubated in the ICU, very sick with RSV and pneumonia. I was completely helpless and had to rely on God and the doctors to know how to care for her. She was so tiny, new, fragile, and sick. At the worst of her illness, I feared for her life. The dramatic way the hospital staff responded when I brought her to the emergency room confirmed my worst fears. It was quite traumatic, watching them snatch my limp baby, rush her to a bed and start cutting the clothes off of her little body in order to quickly diagnose the problem. Several doctors and nurses were running from all directions to my baby and began frantically working together to help her. A kind doctor turned to me and calmly said, "Please just give us a few minutes to figure out what's going on and then we will talk to y...