5 Christian Music Albums for Soul Care

Hey loves,

I’ve always been someone who has used the power of music to tend to my soul and offer healing. Truth is, I actually started writing songs because I had challenges sleeping. Well, I started off by listening to other artists whose honesty I admired. I’d listen to 97.1, a local radio station here for adult/contemporary music, because the songs spoke about love and the writers seemed honest and emotive in a way that I could resonate with. Eventually, I started to write my own songs. I’d write songs for my own mind and heart, so that I could fall asleep listening to exactly what I needed to hear. I’d record the songs on my hand-me-down cassette player  (so retro!) and I’d listen to them over and over until I fell asleep.

Over the years, I’ve discovered some of my favourite artists that have tended to my soul in many different ways. These albums honestly gave my heart language with God that I didn’t realize I needed, and have cultivated in me a deep appreciation for honest, faithful songwriters who offer their vulnerability to listeners like me.

So, here are 5 of my favourite picks for albums that have tended deeply to my soul over the years.

Steffany Gretzinger’s “The Undoing”

Stef was probably one of the first worshippers I heard that showed me that what I was doing with the Lord in my bedroom, writing songs to heaven on my floor at 3a.m., was an acceptable form of worship. This album offered me a kindred spirit who worships like me. It also spoke to the longings of my heart and showed me that there were longings I had that I thought were connected to depression but were actually my God-given longings for God and intimacy with Him.

I can feel the rising of the sun
Mercy sings me the promise of Your love
And I'm reminded how far we've come
You're the One that my heart is beating for

So centering <3

Amanda Cook’s “House on a Hill”

This album met me curled up on the floor with depression, grieving some deep heart losses and wounds. It reframed depression for me, and reintroduced it to me as a meeting place with the Lord, where I could let myself get quiet enough for Him to speak to my pain and minister to me.

You won't leave when what You see is still a mess
You won't leave when fear is standing on my chest
You won't leave when pride is swimming in my head
You won't leave when I am falling, You're the net

You're not going anywhere, not going anywhere, not going anywhere

*CRIES* Need I say more?

United Pursuit’s “Simple Gospel”

This album was the repeat playlist for my final year of college. It gave God and I a language of intimacy that was honest and intimate.

You're full of life now
And full of passion
That's how He made You
Just let it happen

And He calls each one of us
By our names to come away
And He whispers to your heart
To let it go and to be alive

It just spoke so much life to me in a season when I was going through very deep identity work with the Lord.

Jonathan and Melissa Helser’s “Land I’m Living In”

This album found me after a few years of doing heart work with the Lord. It’s my thanksgiving album. It’s been an anthem to my heart, reminding me of the deep lessons of identity and belovedness God has taught me over the years. But it also rises up the mother inside of me that is passionate about building a legacy of intimacy with God that is passed down my children and my children’s children.

Sing it to the daughters
Sing it to the sons
To every generation
Look at what the Lord has done
Sing it to the darkness
That the light has come
Sing it to the nations
Look at what the Lord has done.

I sing this album often with several generations in view and it fuels the Spirit of prophecy inside of me to rise up and speak out God’s truth over my life and the lives of those to come. 

John Mark Pantana’s “Love Secrets”

This album was a favourite discovery of mine in 2021. A friend introduced me to his song “Made for Jesus” and it became a sort of sweetness that serenaded my days with God. There is so much unfiltered love for Jesus in this album, and there is such a sense of his own belovedness that John Mark captures. The album sings like a testimony, which is my favourite thing. It’s so personal in a way that reignites an excitement about my own story with Jesus. I listen to this album way too much, because it always reminds me of the deep truth of my belonging to God, and the work of Jesus, and of His heart towards me.

You formed the seasons and fixed the time
You gave me smiles in the morning light
Creation flowed from pure love

You were crafting, I was breathing
You were laughing, I was reaching out for You

I was made for Heaven
I was made for Jesus
I was made to walk in the cool of the day with You
With You

These are some of my favourite picks loves! I’ll definitely do a follow up post with songs and albums that are much more recent, as there is such a wealth of amazing Christian artists sharing their songs with us to enjoy.   But I’m curious to know which albums have been a big blessing for you along your faith journey! Let me know in the comments below :)