I have had so much fun recently as I have taken on an informal role helping other songwriters hone their songs and take steps to share their music. I am not an expert but I have learned a lot over the last 10 years that allows me to help people get started. This week, however, I was convicted for having neglected my own music. I needed to take my own advice and share what I have in my hands right now. So, I gave my website a little face lift and toyed with whether or not to upload one of the songs I recorded but hadn’t yet released. Last night, it really hit me that I do have something to say through my music; I have a story worth telling.
.
.
.
Two years ago, I spent a week going through some counselling and healing with Caring For The Heart Ministries because while serving overseas in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2023, some things had come to the surface that I needed to deal with. You see, it is awfully hard to tell other people they are valuable and worthy and loved when deep down I had a big ole question mark regarding whether or not those same things were true of me. This struggle had insidiously infiltrated every aspect of my life and I couldn’t keep going with things as they were. I had seen too much and experienced enough to know I needed to work through things to be able to live more freely and confidently, as the “real” Amy-Lynn that was smothered under the pain. So, after that week of digging deep and being vulnerable and honest about my past, this simple song flowed out within a few minutes. I brought the song to Robby Valderrama a few weeks later in a virtual songwriting session and he helped me finish the writing and arrangement of it. Little did I know I would be invited to speak at The Objective in Nashville a month later, and Robby graciously fit my song into his recording schedule while I was in town (Spring Hill Studios).
.
.
.
It was great to see the song come to life and I am thrilled with how his team brought out the best in it (and me!), but I didn’t know what to do with it when it was done. I haven’t yet released a song that sings about Jesus so clearly, partially because I’ve always wanted my music to point to truth and Light and Love but remain accessible to people of all walks of life. Then, I was in that car accident in October 2024 and what ensued was the darkest, hardest time of my life. As someone who has struggled with depression off and on, that is saying something. My faith was tested. God seemed to have brought me to a place where I could choose to keep believing or give it all up. Through the verse 1 Peter 1:13, He showed me that somehow my faith had never been fully rooted in the hope of Jesus’ return and eternal life with Him, and He didn’t want me wavering anymore. I was still so focused on life down here, on trying to fulfill my “purpose”, to be good enough, to be a better Christian (ironic), and not surprisingly, there was still something about my identity and confidence what was easily shaken with the littlest criticism or whisper of doubt. So, last year, during a season I hope I never have to relive, I experienced the love of Jesus like never before. He held onto me through the prayers of so many and by the love and kindness my parents showed me by walking with me in the mess. Despite wrestling in my heart of hearts with some deep existential and spiritual questions, I never could renounce that Jesus is who He says he is. I KNEW it was the truth! There was just a surrender in my soul that needed to happen. A surrender to who God made me to be. A surrender to the finiteness of this existence. A surrender to His word as truth through and through – even the parts I don’t understand (or even like!).
.
.
.
So, in light of Good Friday yesterday and Resurrection Sunday tomorrow…I share this story and song as someone who can honestly say that there is no one like Jesus. He IS alive. He IS with us. He IS coming back again. No one has been so faithful and loving, no one has held onto me like Jesus.
.
.
.
Who else could there be?
.
.
.
(Song now available for download on https://amylynnhowson.com/music – coming to streaming platforms Spring 2026.)