If you like the singer-songwriters Sara Groves, Audrey Assad, Nichole Nordeman and Ginny Owens, you probably are drawn to female singers who have an enjoyable, sweet vocal style and make catchy, worshipful songs that make you think. Drawing from that influential pool of strong female songwriters, Jessa Anderson's music reflects a wrestling with the unknown and daily struggles alongside catchy and worshipful refrains.

Her last release Not Myself Anymore was one of the most captivating albums I've ever heard, and one of my Top 5 Albums of 2011. Jessa's albums are also great for fans of mainstream pop singer-songwriters like Kate Voegele, Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat. Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, Jessa returned with her independent offering, Whole.

The opening track and lead single "Idols" is an engaging song with Jessa's passionate vocals setting the tone for this solid effort, as each song asks and answers the question of what makes us "whole" with ten stand-out tracks. "Idols" opens with the confessional lyrics "I am so like a bird in flight, I try to build my home, I set my eyes on anything that shines and tells me it will make me whole." I had the chance to speak with Jessa about "Idols."

Please tell me the personal story behind writing this song.

We've been making music full-time for six years, and we are very excited for this album and how it all came together. This was the last song I wrote for the album before we went into the studio to record. I was doing as much writing as I could before we selected the songs to make the final cut.

I had heard a sermon at my church, and our friend was giving the message and talking about idols. My first thought when I hear that word is a gold statue and people in robes in the Old Testament bowing down. Hearing this sermon, I was so convicted and spent a lot of time in prayer because I realized that I have idols in my life. It is easy for me to become consumed.

In my opinion, anything that takes the place of Jesus or distracts us from being satisfied by Him is idolatry because we are looking to that to fulfill us instead of Jesus Christ. We all know at the end of the day that anything other than Jesus won't satisfy us.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Leviticus 26:1 (NKJV): You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God.

Luke 16:13 (VOICE): Imagine you're a servant and you have two masters giving you orders. What are you going to do when they have conflicting demands? You can't serve both, so you'll either hate the first and love the second, or you'll faithfully serve the first and despise the second. One master is God and the other is money. You can't serve them both.

Acts 2:28 (VOICE): Instead, You direct me on a path that leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending, and I know true joy and contentment.

Hebrews 10:10 (NKJV): By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV): Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

1 Timothy 6:6 (NKJV): Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

1 John 5:21 (NKJV): Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

What is the takeaway message?

We live in a culture where we think we can put our best foot forward on social media, and can design your dream kitchen on Pinterest, and see kid's crafts and think you should be doing 10 crafts a day with your 3 year old child and they should be able to read and write and it gets overwhelming. Those things can make you feel like your life is inadequate and you need to step it up. But Jesus Christ finished the work on the Cross. He took the pressure off. We don't have to prove ourselves anymore.

Culturally, proving ourselves is something that's very relevant, and I was processing all of that and realized that I tend to put some of these things as top priorities that in the grand scheme of things are not at all important. I wanted to remind myself and encourage listeners to be satisfied in Jesus. The Gospel message that Jesus gave His life is the only thing that will satisfy us, and that is the only thing that matters in light of eternity.

I have spent much of my life trying to live as though I'm worthy of the Gospel. The whole point is that we aren't worthy. We are sinful and broken, and knowing that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins once for all has been driven home as we've been digging in to the message of the Gospel and what the Word of God says. As I processed that, the message of this song reminds me that I need to really have faith in what Jesus Christ did for me on the Cross.

It's so freeing to see Jesus uproot those things in your heart, show you what's going on inside of you and tell you to get rid of it. Lay those idols in your life down at His feet. It's symbolic to think of destroying idols physically. God telling His people to not make idols applies to us. Maybe you need to physically destroy something in the way of God, or maybe it's the emotional laying down of idols in your heart. It's a process we are all going through until we are made whole with Christ.

Lyrics:
I am so like a bird in flight, I try to build my home
I set my eyes on anything that shines and tells me it will make me whole
I stack the walls surrounding me with promises and pretty things
But when I see what winter brings, I fly

And as it turns out, this fickle heart in my chest
Sometimes it beats for everything but what is best
But when I turn down this voice I hear in my head
I give You room to speak and offer life instead
So take all of these idols, all of my idols and lay them to rest
So take all of these idols, all of my idols

And all this time, addicted I, desperate for more and more
I chase the high but every single time, I come down lower than before
These empty words are on repeat and I can see they're killing me
But still I find that I believe the lies

I am a well run dry, I am a clouded, starless sky
Without Your breath of life I would surely die
But You gave Your life for mine


Jessa pours her heart out in every single song, which allows listeners to hear her expressing her deep feelings, insecurities, and desire to be "whole" directly to God. I really enjoy how this album tells the story of redemption as each song displays Jessa offering her Psalm-like prayers to God. Jessa addresses the lies that the Enemy tells us: "I set my eyes on anything that shines and tells me it will make me whole…These empty words are on repeat and I can see they're killing me, but still I find that I believe the lies."

Satan seeks to destroy us and our relationship with God by making us believe that things will fill the "holes" in our hearts and we'll be made "whole" by the world. Jessa has written and sung an exceptional set of songs that deal with the identity struggle we all face of knowing that as children of God we are made in His image, and we are made "whole" by His love. The song sings directly to God "Without Your breath of life, I would surely die, but You gave Your life for mine."

This song does a wonderful job of challenging the world's definition of satisfaction and acknowledging spiritual warfare, while knowing that Jesus is the answer to all that we want and need. I love to sing along with this song with all of my might, "I give You room to speak and offer life instead, so take all of these idols, all of my idols and lay them to rest." Amen to that!

(Watch the lyric video here.)