Cheri Louise Anderson was born on August 29, 1968 in Los
Angeles, California. She married Phil
Keaggy’s nephew Eddie, and released her solo debut CHILD OF THE FATHER, as
Cheri Keaggy in 1994. She was nominated
for ‘New Artist of the Year’ at the 1995 Dove Awards, but lost out to Jars of
Clay. She put out her second album MY
FAITH WILL STAY in 1996 on Sparrow Records.
It was produced by Charlie Peacock and executive produced by Peter
York. In 1997 it was nominated for
‘Inspirational Album of the Year’ at the Dove Awards.
The title track, ‘My Faith Will Stay’, is up first. Brent
Bourgeois, Molly Felder, and Michael Mellett sing backing vocals on this upbeat
adult contemporary number. It speaks of
spiritual resolve no matter what comes: “The water comes, I try to float/I feel
alone without a boat/But then I look across the sea/And find a rope reaching to
me/And in that moment there’s no doubt/When You come in, the fear goes out/And
then the truth, I finally see/Through the storm, I still believe/My faith will
stay, my faith will grow/Sometimes fast, sometimes slow/Through the wind and
through the rain/By Your grace, my faith will stay”. ‘Keep on Shinin’’ is the only song Cheri has
a co-writer on, that being Randy Stonehill.
This is a country-pop tune of spiritual encouragement: “Keep on
shinin’/Remember what you believe/Keep that light in your eyes/When the world
has you down on your knees/Hold on to the hope of heaven/Don’t lose sight of
the/Glory above/Keep on shinin’, shinin’ love”.
‘Lay it Down’ is the only song over 5 minutes long. It offers hope to the hurting: “It’s things
like pride and anger and bitter seeds/They rob us of our freedom and keep us
from peace/But things like love and patience and a forgiving heart/That’s where
the healing can start/God won’t let go of your heart/He won’t let go of your
heart/He won’t let go, no/’Cause there’s a source of help in every need/There’s
a place to dwell down on your knees, yeah/And if I could tell you just one
thing/You’ve got to lay it down/Come on, come on”. ‘Sweet Peace of God’ is a lovely ballad that
is prayerful: “Sweet peace of God/Come over me like a gift from heaven/Sweet
peace of God/Take hold of me before I lose it forever/For I haven’t been
thinking much about You/And I know I live my life in vain/If I live without
You/Sweet peace of God, come over me”.
On ‘He Will Look After You’ the players are: Steve Brewster
(drums/percussion), Jimmie Lee Sloas (bass), Gordon Kennedy (electric guitars),
Gary Burnette (acoustic guitars), and Pat Coil (keys). It is an adult pop song that assures us in
times of doubt: “I see the sparrow sitting in a tree/And in the eyes of God/He
looks a lot like you and me/Well, if God can see the sparrow and meet its every
need/Don’t you think He can take care of you and me?/He made the sun and the
moon/And the land and the sea/God will look after you and me/With the mountains
high and the oceans wide/Can’t you believe that it’s true?” ‘Heavenly Father’ is a simply beautiful song
all around: “Father, Heavenly Father/Have I told You I love You today?/Have I
told You I need You?/Father, Heavenly Father/If I have not, then I’m telling
You now/I love You, I need You/I know I would be lost without Your love/Father,
You are my God/You are my God/Heavenly Father, be God again today”.
Tim Akers plays Rhodes and B3 on the warm praise and worship
song ‘We All Need Jesus’. Here are some
of the words: “We come to this place of worship/We come with a heart of
praise/We know that the Lord is with us/We’ve come to hear what He might
say/He’s calling us, can’t you hear it?/The angels rejoice above/He’s sending
His Holy Spirit/And opening His arms of love/He’s opening His arms of love/For
we all need Jesus more than anything/Only He can free us/So we lift our voices
up and sing/We lift our voices up and sing”.
‘Beautiful Little Girl (Sarah’s Song)’ is a song gratefully dedicating
Cheri and Eddie’s daughter back to God: “Lord, help us do our part/To give her
a godly start/Teach her what she must learn/And guide her until she’s ready to
turn/Into a woman who loves her Maker/And who knows what she’s living for/So
that nothing can harm or take her from You”.
Michael Mellett, Tabitha Fair, and Joey Richey sing backing
vocals on ‘The Love of God’. It is a pop
song that celebrates who God is and what He’s done for us: “The love of God is
an endless river/Flowing down to our hearts/Reaching high as the sky/The love
of God goes on forever/We need the ever staying, never changing love of God/We
need the love of God/All of us carry some scars/But He has given us new
life/All of us have come so far/Cause we have seen a Holy Light”. The album closes with ‘In Remembrance of Me’. Tom Howard conducts The Nashville String
Machine on this wonderful communion song: “This is my body given for you/This
is the cup that holds the blood of the new covenant/This is forgiveness, simple
and true/This is the way that I have made for you/Before you eat, before you
drink/Take a long look inside/And tell me what you see/He said ‘Do this in
remembrance of Me (2X)’”.
MY FAITH WILL STAY is an amazing album that combines light
pop music with worship and adult contemporary sounds. Cheri’s vocals are sweet, warm, and
inviting. One really could listen to
these ten songs all day long just for that reason alone. The messages most conveyed here are that God
loves us all and that in return we should love Him with our words and
deeds. Our love for God should not be
motivated by an unhealthy fear of what God will do if we don’t love Him, but by
gratitude for who He is and what He has done for us and continues to do on our
behalf. The pictures of Cheri included
with this CD are pretty. I’m rating MY
FAITH WILL STAY 95%. For more info
visit: www.cherikeaggy.com.