I started going to church as a senior in high school because of my best friend from Scotland who was living with us at the time and my boyfriend (and his incredible mom). I became a Christian the summer going into my freshman year of college after reading Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (naturally I really recommend it, but have Kleenex nearby). I was really, really into Christian novels at the time and went through over twenty of Karen Kingsbury’s books (amongst others). Although most of the reading was fictional, I was incredibly moved by the stories I was reading. I read less now, but recently finished Love Does by Bob Goff and seriously loved it to pieces – it’s an easy and moving read if you’re looking for something in that category.
Although I became a Christian going into college, my faith developed significantly during my time at The University of Texas, as I was attending an amazing church called The Austin Stone. The worship music was unbelievable. For my first few years, Chris Tomlin led the singing, and it was like being at a concert every Sunday (and the best one ever at that). I learned during my four years in Austin the impact that music can have on your soul. Singing worship songs did not end at church – my iTunes account is 90% Christian music, and I listen to it while I drive, work on the computer and workout. When I start to feel like nothing is going right, I’ll put on Lord I Need You. When I am needing a reminder that I’m loved, I’ll put on How He Loves Us. When my faith feels weak, I listen to Oceans. When I doubt God, I listen to Mighty to Save. When I want to dance around the kitchen with Isla, we jam to Marvelous Light or Like a Lion.
After an insane amount of thought and consideration (i.e. this started off with around 70 songs), I’ve created the 30 most life-changing Christian song playlist (according to moi). I had a great time making this, as I got to listen to all of the songs at one time. ‘Life-changing’ is a really bold statement, right? Well, it’s true. I am a completely different person than I was before 2006. These songs have had a huge impact on the person that I am today, so yes, ‘life-changing’ is right.