WHY I WRITE THESE SONGS | Every Song Comes From a Real Piece of My Life | 35 Years Kept

WHY I WRITE THESE SONGS This song answers a question that sits behind everything I do with 35 Years Kept: Why do I write these songs? They're not about trying to make a name for myself. They're not about fame. They're not about money. I write them because they're pieces of my life, and after keeping much of my testimony inside for 35 years, I believe it's time to tell it. These aren't made-up stories. They come from things I actually lived. Some come from alcoholism and addiction. Some come from sobriety. Some come from mistakes I made and people I hurt. Some come from my marriage to Donna, our children, our family, Lindsey's battle with leukemia, years spent working and driving a truck, and moments that seemed ordinary when they happened but look very different when I turn around and see them from where I stand today. Some of these songs have been easy to write. Others haven't. Writing them has forced me to open doors in my memory that I had kept closed for a long time. I've had to look honestly at who I was, decisions I made, things I wish I could change, people I hurt, things that hurt me, and moments I didn't completely understand until decades later. There have been times during this process when the memories brought me to tears. But I don't believe I did that digging by myself. Jesus Christ gave me the strength to open those doors. He gave me the strength to look at the truth — including the parts where the truth doesn't make me look good — and keep going. And the deeper I've gone into my own story, the more I've discovered something I didn't fully understand while I was living it: Jesus was there. Sometimes I recognized Him. Sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I followed before I understood. But looking backward over 35 years, I can see His hand in places where I couldn't see it at the time. That's why I write these songs. Maybe somebody fighting alcohol or drugs will hear one and realize there is still hope. Maybe somebody who thinks they've destroyed too much of their life will hear one and decide not to give up. Maybe somebody who has walked away from Jesus Christ will hear something in my story that makes them wonder whether He has really walked away from them. Maybe somebody will simply recognize a piece of their own life in mine. If one song reaches one person at the right moment, then it was worth writing. But there is something else I want to make absolutely clear. I don't take the glory for any of this. Not for 35 years of sobriety. Not for having the strength to go back into some painful memories. Not for the testimony. And not for whatever good may come from these songs. The glory belongs to Jesus Christ. All of it. Without the real story, these would just be words and music. With the truth behind them, they become my testimony. That's why I write these songs. 35 YEARS KEPT By the grace of Jesus Christ. And counting.