When my daughter was a "tween," around 1991, she got me "into" Amy as I desired to strengthen the bridge into her world with her TEEN years approaching. I took Jenna to several Christian concerts, nice "daddy-daughter dates," and in fact we saw Amy Grant live 5 times together over the next seven years!! I began to REALLY like Amy's music in '91 when she crossed over into POP (I didn't have a problem with that as some did, because she wasn't throwing off her profession of faith, just seemingly trying to bring the message to new audiences instead of "preaching" to the "choir.") THIS (below) was her 1991 album...
And then I went back to get Amy's PREVIOUS album, from '88, which is one of my all-time favorite albums DESPITE the boring COVER, Lol!! (See below)...
But it was in August 1994 that THIS album (below) came out, just as my grandfather was pronounced terminally ill. I listened to it to distract my weary mind as I made countless trips, two or three times a day, to the hospital to visit Grandpa and the album COMFORTED me. And when my wife and I took Grandpa into our house to die under Hospice Care at the very end, I can't explain it but the themes and songs from "House of Love" encouraged me that WE were loving Grandpa by taking him in to OUR house...and that God was most pleased. Sounds far out?? Maybe. "You had to be there," I guess!!
Anyway, Amy's 1997 album wasn't as uplifting. Rumors were going around that her marriage to Gary Chapman was on the rocks and she and VINCE GILL were an item though HE was also still married (they did a duet on "House of Love," and, from what I understand, that's where the affair began). Around 1998, to add MORE controversy, Amy's newsletter said she was thinking of recording John Lennon's "Imagine" and I wrote her to voice my SERIOUS objection (she never recorded it, but eventually Amy gave the song "(I Can Only) Imagine" a huge boost, instead)!! Then, around New Years Eve of '98 I heard she was divorcing Chapman and I was REALLY upset with Amy. You see, Chapman's 1999 album, "Outside" (as if he was "Outside" the "House of Love") contained a song which could easily be interpreted as saying that Gary, the author, was "done wrong" by Amy. And when Amy married Vince in 2000, I swore her off....even writing a letter to "World" magazine, which they published, to that effect!!
However, a Facebook Friend, CASS, who is like an adopted daughter to me, is a HUGE Amy fan and through HER influence primarily, about a decade later, I was able to "forgive" Amy and started listening to a few of her new songs. Oh yeah, I forget all the details but Cass and I imagined Amy as a superhero, "The Unguardian," and I drew Amy in a superhero outfit utilizing designs from her album "Unguarded" and "House of Love." Cass subsequently SAW Amy in person and had her autograph my art....see copy BELOW!! (Cass has the ORIGINAL.)
I am really glad that God used Cass to help me check out Amy's music again!! I still have problems with some of Grant's stances, though...like her position on LGBTQs which seems to support sin, but in the judgment of charity from the little I've seen of it it's just poorly worded. And again, I am really glad I got back into her MUSIC...
Because, around this time in 2016, I was going through THE saddest time in my whole life so far.
My first wife Beth, of almost 38 years, was terminally ill and plus Christmastime is ALWAYS a bit sad for me because my unsaved DAD died on Christmas Day, 2009. If you've ever lost, or been in the PROCESS of losing, loved ones in The Christmas Season you KNOW how tough it is....everybody around you is in The Holiday Spirit and YOU are alternately happy and SAD. Well, I bought Amy's newest (at that time) album and it REALLY ministered to me because it had a blend of BOTH happy and sad songs, unlike OTHER Christmas albums. Once again, THE MUSIC OF AMY GRANT brought me comfort from God in a way that it's hard to explain...it was like He was telling me HE UNDERSTANDS my mixed emotions. It strengthened me. Here's the cover of that album AGAIN.........
And here's a 'review" of this album which I did in the "Notes" section of Facebook (that was before I started this BLOG.) Thank you Amy for ALL of the great music, and Happy Birthday!!
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