Holy holy, my Redeemer
In blue waters washes me
Holy holy, God my healer
Catches every tear I cry
"Blue Waters"

Sheila Walsh is known worldwide for her contagious personality and Scottish accent -things that immediately endear her to an audience, whether that's in front of nearly a million at the Women of Faith conferences or on the Rejoice! Worship Tour, hosting a radio or TV program, or as an author, song-writer and performer. But the most compelling thing about Sheila Walsh is her message - that the good news of God's mercy and grace in Jesus can revive and satisfy a thirsty soul. This time, the message finds expression in the effervescent sounds of Blue Waters (Integrity), Sheila's first adult contemporary offering in several years.

Infused with the lush, ethereal qualities and lively, intricate rhythms of what is now widely recognized as Celtic music, Blue Waters takes Sheila back to her roots in the seacoast town of Ayr, in western Scotland. And she's brought a few talented friends along, at least in spirit. Producer and long-time friend John Hartley (of Britain's Phil and John), along with Australia's Michelle Tumes, Britain's Chris Eaton, Joanna Hogg of the Celtic Christian band Iona, and Irish Americans Margaret Becker and Derri Daugherty teamed up with Sheila on song-writing (she co-wrote four songs), vocals... and perhaps some unspoken sense of a shared British Isles ancestry.

From the first phrase, the listener knows: this is the music that Sheila Walsh was born to sing. With a comfortable blend of her best stylings, spanning a variety of tempos and traditions, Sheila brings all of her musical ex-perience to the project, from the stirring British Isles folk of "O The Passion" to warm melodic, piano-based ballads and praise choruses like "Throne of Grace" and "Beautiful Scandalous Night." Strong pop sensibilities resonate through-out especially in the Celtic soul pop grooves of "One Sacrifice", "Saving Grace" and "Finally Home."

Blue Waters is 100% pure Sheila Walsh, filtered through a mature faith and flowing joyously into worship that is both contemporary and connected to the ages.

It's a sound that also recalls the beginnings of her ministry. As a teenager Sheila loved the pop-rock music she and her friends heard on the radio, and began to express her faith through songs. "I was the only Christian in my class in high school, and I wanted to communicate the truth in a way they would understand. . . that's how my music came together. It made them think." With her God-given talents and friends like pop star Cliff Richard, she worked with Youth for Christ, the Billy Graham Crusades and other youth ministries as they offered hope to thousands in the British Isles. She took the gospel to a new place when the BBC asked her to host "The Rock Gospel Show", marking Britain's first prime-time Christian program. It wasn't long until her gifts took her across the waters to the United states, where she was signed to a major label and acknowledged in¸ the 1980's as International Artist of the Year by the Gospel Music Association. Subsequent Grammy and Dove nominations helped Sheila earn a place among Christian music's most respected artists.

Since then, she's had a multi-faceted career that's taken her to a variety of places. With Blue Waters, she says it feels like she's coming home. "I've never been this excited about anything that I've done." she says. "I've come to see clearly that any good in my life comes from the Lord, and that has set me free to enjoy what God is doing in me. This project was pure joy."

Its joyful sound, according to Sheila, is flavored with "basic, ancient...soulish instruments" including Indian sitars and flutes, along with the traditional Celtic fixtures of whistles, drums and bagpipes. Naturally, the Scotswoman has a special place in her heart for the nation's musical trademark. "You'll hear plenty of bag-pipes on this record," she says, affectionately. "To me, their sound is like the cry of the soul, like a psalm. . .you almost don't need words for what they express."

There are words, of course, on Blue Waters. And while the lyrics are decidedly vertical in nature - directed solely to the throne of God in worship - the music resonates in a horizontal fashion, with an overall melodic pop feel enhanced by producer John Hartley and her talented friends. Sheila says her choice of contributors was based not only on artistic excellence, but for what she calls "the quality of their lives." "These are people I respect, people I could spend time with and take long walks in the hills."

What is most distinctive about the sound of Blue Waters is also the most deliberate: recording voices to create up to 250 layers for a "wall of sound" that makes a sonic statement of Sheila's thoughts on the body of Christ. "I wanted to put layer upon layer of voices to represent the truth that we don't stand alone and worship. By myself, I can't express the greatness of God. . . I'm just one voice, in a whole sea of voices. We've built so much of our Christian subculture on the power of the individual. I wanted my album to represent community...that's so important to me."

In the last few years, Sheila has experienced the concept of community in a whole new way. Along with her husband Barry, and their baby son Christian, Sheila spends much of her time with some special friends...on tour. While celebrating nearly two decades of ministry as a recording artist, songwriter, author, and inter-nationally-known television host, Sheila recently added "speaker" to her lengthy resume and joined Point of Grace, Kathy Troccoli, Crystal Lewis, Luci Swindoll, Barbara Johnson, Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, and Thelma Wells as one of the key speakers on the tremendously popular Women of Faith conference tours. The ongoing camaraderie of the tour is one of Sheila's most treasured experiences. "I've never been close to women like this...I grew up real tomboy and my best friends were guys," she says. "These women are so amazing....in the midst of all they've been through, they've retained a real joy in being alive."

Like her friends, and so many other believers, Sheila knows what it means to go through tough times. Her willingness to talk and write about her past battles with clinical depression has given hope to countless fellow strugglers (she's received tens of thousands of letters thanking her for her honesty), but she would rather live in God's mercy today than dwell on the past. "God knows us totally and loves us absolutely."

Up to 24,000 women at once hear the message of hope and healing as Sheila unfolds her life as a speaker and favorite worship leader at Women of Faith conferences and the Rejoice! Worship Tour. Now she invites all of us to join her as we "immerse ourselves" into the cool, cleansing waters of God's grace. With the radio-friendly songs of Blue Waters, like "Saving Grace", "One Sacrifice", and the title cut, Sheila returns to the mainstream of Christian music with a sound as pristine and refreshing as the famous lakes of her Scottish homeland. "It's a recurring theme throughout the album, this being plunged into the waters of mercy. We don't have to clean ourselves up before we come to God. Out of that cleansing comes true worship."

Holding back my fears,
You came to win my heart,
There was nothing I could do,
For Your mercy like a flood is carrying me to You
"Saving Grace"