If human beings are made in God's image, in what way are we most like our Father?  Unlike other creatures that do not bear the imago dei, we have the ability to talk.  We share with God this uncanny gift of using our words to create.  This is why in the ashen drag of one's wintery season where hope seems to be claustrophobic and faith seems to be camouflaged in a lead-laden cloud, an apt word seasoned by God's truth can create such a difference.  Our words can be like a rudder, as the Biblical author James puts, to stir us out of our spiritual winter.  The words of some of the great hymns and worship songs of the church have the same rhetoric.  Augment to these hymns is Kathy Troccoli's voice.  Her weathered-nuanced alto has a way of identifying with us through all the variegated seasons of life.   Yet, in a time when the spiritual blitz has bleached our lives into a ghostly white, Troccoli has a way of adding color and warmth that nimble at our soul with Godly comfort.  "Worshipsongs: 'Tis So Sweet" is Troccoli's follow up to her 2005 "Draw Me Close" where she revisits some of the evergreen hymns and worship songs of the church.  

For fans of pop and Contemporary Christian music, Kathy Troccoli needs no introduction.  Like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, Troccoli is one of the few Christian artists who could straddle between the secular as well as the religious market.  In 1991 her Diane Warren-penned "Everything Changes" blasted into the upper echelon of Billboard Hot 100 chart as well as securing her a firm position in Christian music.  Over the years, she had become a frequent flyer to the top of the Christian charts with hits such as "Help Myself to You," "Go Light Your World" and "A Baby's Prayer."  Just like her preceding "Draw Me Close" album, Troccoli has trawled her song choices to include some newer worship songs other than the hymns.   It is refreshing to hear Troccoli's take of Marie Barnett's "Breathe."  While leading worship with her husband one Sunday in 1995, Barnett felt so close to God that she felt that she could not even take another breathe if she didn't hear another word from God.  It is in such a humble, simple and God adoring situation "Breathe" was written.  And with just the gentle pull of the violin and the soft underpinnings, Troccoli expresses such a passionate plea for God's presence in an indispensable way.

One of the reasons why some of these worship "choruses" (as it was formerly called) have such an endearing tenacity is that they are simple, memorable and they are inviting.  Try listening to Marty Nystrom's "As the Deer" and you will find yourself tacitly lifting up your hands and humming along.  Also, one has to appreciate the depth of Amy Bessire's "The Steadfast Love of the Love."  After being emotionally and psychologically mauled by the images of the holocaust, Bessire was bereft of any joy until she read the Jeremiah's words in Lam. 3:22-23.  As a result, she wrote "The Steadfast Love of the Lord" choosing to ground her hope in God in the midst of human cruelty.  If a poll were taken on what are some of the most comforting worship songs from the last 30 years, Don Moen's evergreen "God Will Make a Way" will certainly rank highly.  The words "He will be my guide/Hold me closely to his side" still bring tears of comfort even today.

While Darlene Zschech has given the hymn "My Jesus I Love Thee" a bombastic stadium-like rendition, Troccoli gives this a more subdued worship read.   Gentle and measured in her delivery, Troccoli teases out the Savior's sacrifice beautifully in the Cross-besotted "Jesus Paid It All."  In sum, "Worshipsongs: 'Tis So Sweet" avails for us a soundtrack that helps us to worship when the gelid blast of winter's icy winds blow.  These Scripturally-informed worship songs tell us that even though the storm rages, our Savior can calm them... and He can do it with His words.