I've been married for almost 18 years and I have three young daughters, and this year has been marked by several songs by female Christian singers about finding their true identity in Christ--all of which minister to me and my family.

My daughters are more precious than anything in the world to me and to their Heavenly Father, and the following 10 songs are all great anthems that speak to them. These have all been in heavy rotation for me as a playlist to celebrate the biblical Truth from Psalm 139, that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

You can also view my entire list on Amazon here.

 

1. Britt Nicole, "Gold" (from Gold)
Britt Nicole has delivered the ideal album to minister to anyone struggling with identity issues. I've been married for almost 18 years and have 3 young daughters and this entire album really ministers to me and my family. The title track opens with the lyrics--"You were walking on the moon, now you're feeling low, what they said wasn't true, you're beautiful, sticks and stones break your bones, I know what you're feeling, words like those won't steal your glow...you're worth more than gold." My daughters are more precious than anything in the world to me and to their Heavenly Father, and this song is a great anthem to celebrate the biblical Truth from Psalm 139, that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." 

 

2. Laura Kaczor, "Yours Forever" (from Love Enough)
Laura's enthusiastic and reverent style of writing and singing praise and worship songs is a draw for me. Her prayerful sentiments are consistently filled with her personal adoration of God. "Yours Forever" is no exception. What I really love about this song is how it is a call to sing out "All of who we are we bring You, All of who we are, For we are Yours forever, All of who we are we bring You, All of who we are, forever more." God is worthy of proclamations of joy! It is a sweet sound for God to hear us proclaim that we are "Yours Forever." We should not be ashamed to sing of our dependence on God and show Him reverence. This is a great new worship song for the Church and I love how the song proclaims the biblical Truth of Psalm 100:3--"Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us." Amen!

 

3. Lindsay McCaul, "Let Go" (from If It Leads Me Back)
The gorgeous and moving song "Let Go" by Lindsay McCaul is about dealing with an eating disorder, and seeing a friend in college wrestling with the same issue. "I really feel like Satan was trying to get a hold of me, keep me from fully giving my life to the Lord," she says. "It's a control thing. You want to control an area in your life. The Lord had to really break me of that and show me that He's in control of my life." It's also very relatable to listeners, especially for those who struggle with control issues and perfectionism. We are called as Christians to believe in the freedom that we have in the Cross of Jesus. We are free from our fears, addictions, insecurities and perfectionism. Jesus came to die for us so that we can all truly live in Him. 

 

4. Lara Landon, "Better For The Breaking" (from Overcome)
Overcome opens with Lara's gorgeous acapella vocals crying out "This is me... this is me broken, this is me facing defeat" in "Better For The Breaking," one of several stand-out songs on this album. Guitar, piano and strings layer musically in a powerful fashion as the song builds to the emotional proclamation, "this is me finally facing, all of the pain, all of my doubt, I'll be better for the breaking, finally I have the chance to be awakened, no I'm not afraid it's the choice that I made to live again, I'll be better for the breaking."

Lara wrote the song coming out of a break-up and commits to believing the truth of Romans 8:28 where God's promise is to "work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Amen. What I love is how Lara is singing about a broken relationship in the style of Adele's hit song "Someone Like You," yet as a believer she prays with confidence for God's restoration and healing rather than expressing bitterness.
 

A song that stops me in my tracks is "Not Myself Anymore" by Jessa Anderson. The song has a bluesy Brit-pop piano style emotional vocal like Adele's hit song "Someone Like You," and it's also a break-up song. However redemption is found in last line, "So why can't we just be friends, When that's all we were before?" What's so relatable is how Jessa's "relationship" songs are relevant for everyone. If you know Jesus, then you especially know the ultimate answer to the quest for love can only be found in Him which is Jessa's conclusion in every song on her incredible album. 

 

6. Holly Spears, "Identity" (from Heartache to Hope)
Holly Spears pours her heart out in every single song. "Identity" causes tears to stream down my face when I hear it. The song is in the style of JJ Heller's hit song "What Love Really Means" both in message and music. I lose it when Holly passionately belts out "She's screaming out I want to be free, she's longing for identity, she's thinking what happened to me, who am I to be...she's trying to find, her peace of mind, she can't rewind back to the time when she knew her identity." If you are looking for the words to express your feelings to God in times of hurting and pain, this song is a wonderful companion. 

 

7. Heather Williams, "Beautiful Thing" (from This Time Around)
"Beautiful Thing" by Heather Williams is the best opening track of any album this past year, rivaling "Rolling In The Deep" by Adele as an opener that sets the pace for an album. It has that same rollicking tempo and provides insight into Heather's mindset and submission to God as a believer, especially in the hooky chorus where Heather emotionally cries out to God, "Can You take all that I am and make this broken mess a beautiful thing? Every jagged piece, can You fix me, please? Fix me, fix me, I wanna be a beautiful thing." She clearly loves our Lord and Savior Jesus with all of her heart and wants to celebrate that fact with every song. 

 

8. Heather Clark, "Undivided Focus" (from Overcome)
"Undivided Focus" by Heather Clark has become my personal worship anthem and is a gorgeous and prayerful offering reflecting the yearnings of my heart: "Holy Spirit, I surrender to You, take my life I lay it down, all my gifts, all my crowns, take my life and lay it down, I am Yours, I am in love with undivided focus, I am in love with You." There is incredible comfort and biblical Truth in this song and Heather's passionate vocals will have you hanging on every word, especially during the bridge which wrecks me--"I wanna be a lay down lover, filled with You, I wanna be a fearless lover, filled with You." What an incredible prayer to our King and Savior. There is great comfort in knowing Jesus and being known by Him in every detail of our lives. 

 

9. Dara Maclean, "Yours Forever" (from You Got My Attention)
"Yours Forever" is a very personal song where Dara Maclean really unveils what's on her heart. I love it when Dara personally prays, "Thank You for finding me when You did, You changed my life, Now I believe that Love is all that I'll ever need, I promise my heart and all that I am, I'm Yours forever my Love." Dara is clearly a grateful believer who is unashamed of her salvation and many of these songs are invitations into Dara's prayer life. If you don't know how to word your prayers of thankfulness for what Jesus has done for you, just sing along with this incredible song of faith. 

 

10. Jaime Jamgochian, "Everything You Are"
Jaime's new song "Everything You Are" is absolutely breathtaking, with the song's constant declaration of God's attributes, worshipful chorus and soaring bridge. Jaime has once again written a song that touches my heart and meets me where I am spiritually like her other hit worship song "Hear My Worship." My favorite part of this great new song for the Church is when Jaime sincerely sings in the last chorus, "I believe, I believe, I believe, tonight," as though we're eavesdropping on Jaime's prayer. This song is a great way to declare the Truth: "Everything You are is everything I need Jesus, Everything You are is good." Amen to that!