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| ><> CMR Album Review <>< |
'The Invitation'
[Release Date: April 29, 2008] (Word Records)
Track Listing
1. You Invited Me In
2. Lift Your Head Up
3. You're Not Alone
4. Treasure
5. Show Me What It Means
6. Deeper
7. The River
8. New Song We Sing
1. You Invited Me In
2. Lift Your Head Up
3. You're Not Alone
4. Treasure
5. Show Me What It Means
6. Deeper
7. The River
8. New Song We Sing
| 4.0 |
| 2.7 |
| 1.4 |
| 1.0 |
| 9.1 |
| 91 % A- |
| ><> Review Written By: Liz Zelinski (liz.zelinski@christianmusicreview.org) <>< ><> Date Written: April 22, 2008 <>< |
| [ Main Review ] |
| [ Writer's Closing Thoughts ] |
| The project is honestly inspiring. Providing vivid pictures of hope, heaven, and eternity, this album is replete with spiritual refreshment. The lyrics speak of the security a Christian has in the heart and plan of an unchanging God of love. The best kind of music is music laced with scripture, and Meredith Andrews has provided a beautiful and artistic well of worship for brothers and sisters to draw from. One gets the sense that not only has Andrews released an album, but she has released her heart as well. Her focus is clearly on Christ, and this album is truly glorifying to God. This one is going to go through the charts. |
“Sing to the Lord a new song” is a phrase that comes up over and over again in the
Psalms. Meredith Andrews is truly living out the word of God by offering up many new
songs of praise to the Lord. She started out like any other Christian singer, serving and
worshiping God in her own church. No visions of stardom, no dreams of glory; just a
passionate spirit and a servant’s heart. In this album, “The Invitation,” Andrews extends her
hands and voice to invite you to enter with her into a time of worshiping our Lord.
The first song gives the listener a visual of God waiting for us with His wide-open arms to
come love Him and be with Him, despite whatever ashes our past may hold. The good
thing about ashes is that they can be blown away with a gentle wind. “Now I am walking
away from the life I once knew and running into your grace/ it covers my shame/ again and
again/ I’ve found my life in you. You invite me in/doesn’t matter where I’ve been/you’re
arms are open wide/there’s nothing left to hide.” There is no shame under the protection of
Christ. Track two continues on inviting listeners to “Lift up your head, and throw off every
chain, lift up your eyes to the one who doesn’t change…” Worship is not just singing or
words; worship is action. Lifting up your eyes and hands can be an action symbolic of
devoting yourself to the Lord, mentally and physically. It is freedom to throw off your chains
and meet the eyes of the One who loves you more than life.
A big standout song is track six: “I’ve been wading in shallow water/ you’re the ocean I am
after and I wanna go with you…/ Take me deeper and take me deeper to where you are/
that I may find you/ Take me further, take me further than where I’ve been/ I wanna be with
you.” Through this slow and steady melody Andrews also speaks of coming through a
desert place, out of the dust into His embrace, being drawn ever deeper into the love of
her Savior.
It is hard not to get up and dance as the track eight starts to rock with “We are reconciled
by love/ This is the new song we sing/ to the King of Heaven…/ We stand before you
redeemed/ as you children…we who were once so far away/ are brought near by your
love.” It’s a fun and perky mix, followed by some heavier sounds in the next few tracks,
dealing with the greatness of God, and how hard it is for our human minds to fathom who
He is. I believe that Andrews has made it clear that if no one buys her album, or she doesn’
t reach top charts, it does not matter because she has done what God called her to do,
and she did it for Him, no one else. The last three songs, although beautiful, are all a little
too slow paced, and might be better mixed in with something more lively. However, this
detracts from the overall effect very little.
In a press release, Andrews said “I never want to write songs just to write songs. I always
want them to be about conveying the heart of God to people, whether they are people who
walk with the Lord or people who don’t walk with the Lord,” she says. “I think the best way
to do that is to do it through His word. I always want my songs to be infused with the word
of God because if it’s my words, it’s null and void. What do I have to say to people that is
going to change their lives? Nothing! But if it comes from the Lord, it’s that’s what’s going
to change them.”
Psalms. Meredith Andrews is truly living out the word of God by offering up many new
songs of praise to the Lord. She started out like any other Christian singer, serving and
worshiping God in her own church. No visions of stardom, no dreams of glory; just a
passionate spirit and a servant’s heart. In this album, “The Invitation,” Andrews extends her
hands and voice to invite you to enter with her into a time of worshiping our Lord.
The first song gives the listener a visual of God waiting for us with His wide-open arms to
come love Him and be with Him, despite whatever ashes our past may hold. The good
thing about ashes is that they can be blown away with a gentle wind. “Now I am walking
away from the life I once knew and running into your grace/ it covers my shame/ again and
again/ I’ve found my life in you. You invite me in/doesn’t matter where I’ve been/you’re
arms are open wide/there’s nothing left to hide.” There is no shame under the protection of
Christ. Track two continues on inviting listeners to “Lift up your head, and throw off every
chain, lift up your eyes to the one who doesn’t change…” Worship is not just singing or
words; worship is action. Lifting up your eyes and hands can be an action symbolic of
devoting yourself to the Lord, mentally and physically. It is freedom to throw off your chains
and meet the eyes of the One who loves you more than life.
A big standout song is track six: “I’ve been wading in shallow water/ you’re the ocean I am
after and I wanna go with you…/ Take me deeper and take me deeper to where you are/
that I may find you/ Take me further, take me further than where I’ve been/ I wanna be with
you.” Through this slow and steady melody Andrews also speaks of coming through a
desert place, out of the dust into His embrace, being drawn ever deeper into the love of
her Savior.
It is hard not to get up and dance as the track eight starts to rock with “We are reconciled
by love/ This is the new song we sing/ to the King of Heaven…/ We stand before you
redeemed/ as you children…we who were once so far away/ are brought near by your
love.” It’s a fun and perky mix, followed by some heavier sounds in the next few tracks,
dealing with the greatness of God, and how hard it is for our human minds to fathom who
He is. I believe that Andrews has made it clear that if no one buys her album, or she doesn’
t reach top charts, it does not matter because she has done what God called her to do,
and she did it for Him, no one else. The last three songs, although beautiful, are all a little
too slow paced, and might be better mixed in with something more lively. However, this
detracts from the overall effect very little.
In a press release, Andrews said “I never want to write songs just to write songs. I always
want them to be about conveying the heart of God to people, whether they are people who
walk with the Lord or people who don’t walk with the Lord,” she says. “I think the best way
to do that is to do it through His word. I always want my songs to be infused with the word
of God because if it’s my words, it’s null and void. What do I have to say to people that is
going to change their lives? Nothing! But if it comes from the Lord, it’s that’s what’s going
to change them.”
9. Who Is Like You?
10. Draw Me Nearer
11. You're Not Alone (Acoustic Version)
