When I first read these words written by A.W. Tozer, my heart leapt. He wrote them to clarify the purpose of his book Pursuit of God - an anointed work that has no doubt stamped my life - and I’d like to borrow them as my own purpose statement for this record. (You don’t mind do you, Toze?)

“This book [record] is a modest attempt to aid God’s hungry children so to find Him. Nothing here is new except in the sense that it is a discovery which my own heart has made of spiritual realities most delightful and wonderful to me. Others before me have gone much farther into these holy mysteries than I have done, but if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle as its flame.” - A.W. Tozer, Pursuit of God

Meadow is my own modest attempt to nourish faith in a loving God. I don’t claim to be doing anything new here, I only claim that these truths delight my own spirit and feed my own faith.

There is an infinite spring, a secret place of abundance inside of us that is the life Christ. His kindness and tenderness carries us here. We have access to these green pastures and quiet waters at any given moment - no matter what darkness we face. There is an endless stream in every desert. I pray that Meadow is a path alongside that stream.

Thank You’s

I want to thank the warriors of faith in my life…all of you made this record. Your quiet courage in suffering, your willingness to be weak and press into the Father’s strength, and your bright, beautiful HOPE, specifically in the last couple of years, has changed me and truly fueled these songs. Hulia, Sarah, Leah. My pillars forever: Mom and Dad. My sisters Lauren and Laine, my twin brother Cole, my sibling-in-laws, and my gracious mother and father-in-law. Wind in my sails: my Franklin + TX tribe. And to my biggest glimpse into the heart of a true faith warrior: my husband Will Franklin. Your life teaches me. Thank you for believing in me and faithfully pushing me to find what was next. And of course thank you to our Faye Faye! You teach me every day of the kindness of God. I hope these truths water you like you water me. You’re strong, baby girl!

The Stable Collective crew: Mark Mattingly, Alex Whiten, Poppa Steve. I can’t imagine feeling more supported or empowered than I do with you beside me, and I truly hope to serve you and your families with this work. Thank you for the countless ways you brought this to life. Thank you SCC and MBC for taking every opportunity possible to show me you’re with me. Thank you Ava for speaking life and reality into early visions of this record. Thank you Stacie & Lori, my friends at Concord Music Publishing, MAMBA and Amanda Remo, Shawn Fowler, and The Dwyers.

Lucas Morton, thank you for stepping into the driver’s seat and stewarding these songs with your gifts.

Credits + Lyrics

Photography and Design by Connor Dwyer & Rachel Dwyer / www.dwyerdwyer.com

1. Whisper Hymn

In a world dressed in sorrow
Show me the delight of being human
Between dark and deathly shadows
Whisper the way of life to me

Written by Jillian Edwards
Engineered by Lucas Morton
Mixed by Buckley Miller
Lucas Morton - Piano, Synth

2. Meadow

Your love is a meadow
I'm free to run around in
Barefoot on the soil
I'm feeling like a child again

What if there’s nothing to be afraid of
I think you’re closer than my blood
What if you’re in the lines on my hands
I think your heart is beating in my chest
And I need only to breathe in your love

I can feel your kindness
It follows like the shadows on my feet
It’s playful in its nature
It's never been a stranger to me

I get lost inside
When I wander on my own
But you come and find me
You always find me
When I think I'm hidden
From the goodness of your heart
You come and find me
And I’ll always find

There's nothing to ever be afraid of
I know You're closer than my blood
And You're in the lines on my hands
I feel your heart beating in my chest
And I need only to breathe in your love

Breathe in your love
Breathe in your love
Breathe in your love

Breathe in your love
Breathe in your love
Breathe in your love
I need only to breathe in your love

Written by Jillian Edwards, David Leonard
Engineered by Sean Moffitt, Lucas Morton, Evan Redwine
Mixed by Sean Moffitt, Warren David
Will Chapman - Drums, Percussion
Lucas Morton - Bass, Piano, Synth, Percussion, Programming, Electric Guitar, Dulcimer
Courtlan Clement - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar

3. But I Know You

Door opener, door closer
You are good before it starts, you are good when it’s over
Life giver, now and after death
You are good when air fills lungs, and when there’s no more breath

I don’t know the mystery of your ways
I don’t know the purpose of the pain

But I know You
I know You
In the ashes and ache of a shattered soul
In a cold aftermath all alone
But I know You
I know You
I am held in Your love and You won’t let go
I know you and that’s all that I need to know

You are faithful when my eyes can’t see
The shore of your healing when I’m still lost at sea

I may never know the mystery of your ways
I may never know Your purpose for this pain

Written by Jillian Edwards, Tony Wood, Josh Bronleewe
Engineered by Sean Moffitt, Lucas Morton, Evan Redwine
Mixed by Buckley Miller
Will Chapman - Drums, Percussion
Will Sayles - Drums
Lucas Morton - Bass, Piano, Rhodes, Synth, Percussion, Programming, Ukulele
Courtlan Clement - Electric Guitar

4. Heaven’s Eyes

I’m standing under the waterfall of your approval
And I find that I don’t need anything else or anyone else but you
Your mercy’s a song that I know by heart but I
Forget the words the moment I start to trust
Anything else or anyone else but you

Show me how to stay here, stay here, stay here
I’ll just wait here, wait here

Speak over me
Tell me again
That I’m someone you love
Let it sink in
Tell me a million times
Who I am in heaven’s eyes

So I’m letting go
Of all other names
That I gave myself
When I heard you say
Come and find yourself in heaven’s eyes
Heaven’s eyes

I wanna know
See what you see
Past all the versions and layers of me
Nobody knows, nobody knows me like you

A child you chose before I took a breath
Every last detail like the back of your hand
Nobody knows, nobody knows me like you

I am always seen
I am always known
Always understood
You call me your own

Speak over me
Tell me again
that I’m someone you love
Let it sink in
Tell me a million times
Who I am in your eyes

So I’m letting go
Of all other names
That I gave myself
When I heard you say
Come and find yourself in heaven’s eyes
Heaven’s eyes

Written by Jillian Edwards, Jonathan Smith
Engineered by Lucas Morton
Mixed by Buckley Miller
Lucas Morton - Bass, Piano, Synth, Percussion, Programming, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Cara Fox - Cello
Bobby Chase - Viola, Violin
RJ Brachitta - String Arrangement

5. Trusted

Running through the rain
The sky just fell down
You whisper my name
I hear it loud

Don’t know where we are
Don’t know how this ends
But even in the dark
I’m leaning in

If the storm doesn’t blow over
If the clouds never part
You will hold me in your arms

This is where You can be trusted
This is where You know the way
This is the part where You carry me and I bury my face
Deep into your shoulder, and I just need to get closer
You’ve already won my war, and I’m the one you’re fighting for
This is where You can be trusted

I can feel your heartbeat
When you pull me to your chest
You’re the place where I can breathe
Where I can rest

Your footsteps on the ground
Are steady in the night
Your voice is the sound
Keeping me alive

If the storm doesn’t blow over
If the clouds never part

There’s never been a moment
There’s never been a day
You ever let me go
You ever looked away

You’re holding it together
When the pieces come apart
You’re pulling me in closer
Cause that’s just who you are

Written by Jillian Edwards, Jessie Early
Engineered by Sean Moffitt, Lucas Morton, Evan Redwine
Mixed by Buckley Miller
Jessie Early - BGVs
Will Chapman - Drums, Percussion
Lucas Morton - Bass, Piano, Synth, Percussion, Programming, Ukulele, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Hi-String Guitar
Courtlan Clement - Acoustic Guitar
Cara Fox - Cello
Bobby Chase - Viola, Violin
RJ Brachitta - String Arrangement

6. Weak, Proudly

So is it alright to let you take the floor
I don’t wanna sit on this throne anymore
Finally found my home here at your feet
I lift my head and our eyes meet
I expect you to look away and find somebody better suited
But you keep on looking at me

All the sudden I’m proud of the emptiness inside me
Proud of the way you fill me up

All the better if I’m at the end of myself
the end of myself and I need you
All the better if I don’t know where I am
Other than your hands
your strength lies inside my weakness
So I’ll be weak, proudly

I’ve been stuck in my reflection, knocking on the glass
Thinking I’ll find my own way, I can move past
All the filth and mud stained on my skin
Guess I’ll work on myself, try it again
And I expect you to be polite, wait outside while I clean up
But you bust down the door to me

All the sudden I’m proud of the emptiness inside me
Proud of the way you fill me up

You covered yourself, you covered yourself with me
All my stains
I cover myself, I cover myself with you

All the better if I’m at the end of myself
The end of myself and I need you
All the better if I don’t know where I am
Other than your hands
Your strength lies inside my weakness
So I’ll be weak, proudly

Written by Jillian Edwards, Peter Groenwald
Engineered by Sean Moffitt, Lucas Morton
Mixed by Sean Moffitt, Warren David
Caleb Chapman - BGVs
Will Chapman - Percussion
Lucas Morton - Bass, Piano, Synth, Percussion, Programming, Electric Guitar
Courtlan Clement - Electric Guitar

7. Mighty God

Mighty God
I will follow you
You keep me safe
In the palm of your hand

You guide me up the mountain
You lead me in your will
My father you are the fountain
There’s power when I am still

Mighty God
I will follow you
Sovereign God
I will follow you
All power is in your name

Mighty God
I will follow you
You made a way for my soul to stand
You crowned my head with glory
You tore apart the veil
You brought me into your mystery
You’re bringing me deeper still

Mighty God
I will follow you
Sovereign God
I will follow you
All power is in your name
Mighty God

Surely your goodness and mercy
Will follow me all of my days

Mighty God
I will follow you
You keep me safe
In the palm of your hand

Written by Jillian Edwards
Engineered by Sean Moffitt, Lucas Morton
Mixed by Buckley Miller
Ellie Holcomb - BGVs
Will Chapman - Drums, Percussion
Lucas Morton - Bass, Piano, Synth, Percussion, Programming, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Courtlan Clement - Electric Guitar