Song Stories… written by Jacob McGinniss

Never Again is the opening track because it coveys our primary message. The song encompasses so much of what The Turning is about: being free. The song was written out of the first-hand experience of learning to tear down the walls that I had built around my heart. God has given us the freedom to be ourselves; we are free to be the men and women that He created us to be. “Never Again” is about tearing down our hearts’ defenses and letting others see God in us.

Home to You was an interesting write for us. It was the first song that Matt started writing when we moved to Nashville. It had a new feeling and life to it, and we knew it would be special. The original lyric idea was negative and critical. I wanted to move the song in a more vertical direction. In trying to become more positive, I started thinking about how we love a God who is always at work. Even during the course of rewriting the song, so much changed in our lives and hearts that the song just came alive.

Out of My Hands started out of a feeling instead of a story. Driving home from the music store one day, I felt as though God’s hand wasn’t on the dreams that the band had invested so much into. I remember feeling exactly as the lyric in the song says; “my heart’s hope will rise and fall with the wind. A gentle breeze will blow me over again.” The smallest thing could throw me into a state of depression and hopelessness. God laid it upon my heart, that the things that are our dreams, aren’t always the same as the dreams that He has for our lives. A “turning” occurred driving home from work that day, and my heart began to seek out what God would have for our band.

Through All the Earth was written as a heart check for the group. The lyrics were written in the studio with a lot of help from our producer. We really just wanted to make sure that the album had a strong focus on worshiping and honoring God. “Through All the Earth” was a natural fit for the record.

Numb is a song about far more than it seems. Life has a way of desensitizing our hearts. Some friends had spent so many years saving themselves for marriage. After a few years in college, they started becoming numb to the Holy Spirit. They lost a special gift that they could have given to their future spouse. The song is not just about premaritial sex, it’s about so much more. I wrote the song about how we become numb to all sin in our life, and how often God has to break our hearts in order to wake us up.

Change is simple in explanation, but deep in meaning. A lousy day left me feeling out of place in this world. God reminded me that we have such a better home in store for us and that this world and all its fears and stresses are passing. One of the telling lines says, “These days that I fear, cannot change what I know.” God’s Word and his promises will not return void. No matter how I feel, I know God has a bigger plan for me.

Lift You Down was inspired by the “give it to me now” attitude that we often have. It was a song that we thought would never make it to the public. Nathan (our producer) heard it and said he loved it and thought the world needed to hear this song. I think spinning your wheels—spiritually speaking—and feeling stuck between a jump and a landing is a common human emotion. Matt and I were blessed to be able to co-write this song with an amazing writer named Robert Ellis Oral. He helped us stretch out of our typical mold so that we could write an amazing song that adds some varitey to the album.

Escape was originally played with a full band. The drums, bass, lead guitar and piano were great, but we felt like they stole the spotlight from the heart of the song. We knew the soul of the song was strong enough to carry it, even if the music was simplified. What ensued was an intimate vocal that is perhaps perfectly vulnerable.

Everything Matters was actually the title of the EP that we released when we moved to Nashville. When we allowed Dave Clark to critique some of the songs at GMA Academy, he glanced at the EP title and mentioned he would love to hear a song called “Everything Matters.” He encouraged us that there was a song hidden in the thoughts of that title. As we started recording the album, I sat down to write the song and decided to take a different angle than previously intended: Sometimes everything doesn’t matter. God has called us to love him and to love others, period. Everything else falls into place when we live by His two commandments.

For You is simply the song that I had written as my proposal to my wife. It is also where the album title was born. “I raised my voice to fight a war but lost the will to speak, I’m learning to lose.” Sometimes the price you pay for winning far outweighs the cost of losing.

In My Mind is about finding the dream that God has given to us. We often go through tough times and despair when we are pushing towards a goal, but certain things are always worth the cost.

Heart Is Free was a song that took a few years to write. “When the world is on your shoulders let him in” was the lyric that had been in my head for a while. When it was time to record the album, the rest of the song seemed to pour out of my heart. This song captures the passion and heart we wanted to close the record with.