For Tasha Layton 'Life in Me' a Five Loaves and Two Fish Moment

Tasha Layton | Photo image courtesy TashaLayton.com
Being obedient to God is something that all of us ascribe to but so few of us always follow through. Sometimes the simplest things seem to get in our way. With our best intentions, we often fall short in our quest to please others, satisfy our sinful desires, or walk the fine line between love and hate.

Singer/songwriter Tasha Layton believes that when you are a follower of Jesus Christ your life is not your own. If we are obedient, He will take our loaves and fish and multiply them. Doing so may not guide us in the direction we desire, but being in His will is far more important than our selfish pursuits.

It is that spirit that has fueled Layton’s twisty-turny journey of obedience the last 15 years, one that has included earning a Master of Divinity degree, being an American Idol contestant, a backup singer for Katy Perry, and even serving as a college professor. All before signing her first Christian recording contract in 2018. But Layton doesn’t regret any of it, for she believes it was all part of God preparing her for the current season she is in.

Recently, the South Carolina native has released her second full-length album called Life in Me. This dynamic collection of songs represents where the last 15 years of living for Him have taken her. It is a journey Layton is thankful for, not because it has fulfilled her heart’s desire but because she has consistently followed God’s leading along the way.

I recently sat down with Layton to reflect on the last 15 years and how each song from the new album helps the listener to identify with the freedom and joy that only He can provide.

As a singer/songwriter, there always seems to be a trigger, a tipping point, a moment, where you say to yourself, “I have to make this record!” For Life in Me, what was that moment for you?

A lot of the songs draw from my own pain. And so, I think as an artist and a creative person, I often draw from my own pain. But I don't want to stay there either. When I wrote this record, I wanted people to feel like they could understand devastation in another human's life and identify with that. But I also wanted them to identify with the freedom and the joy that I feel now. I have some really exciting features on the record. Rachael Lampa and Colton Dixon contributed to it. There's a worship leader that influenced my life greatly. I redid one of his songs and he's on it. And so, I'm super excited for everyone to hear that. It just means a lot to me. There are a lot of songs on this record that mean a lot to me, and so I don't feel like any of them are throwaways. I feel like they're all pretty special.

You have had such an interesting career in music. Could you share a bit about your circuitous route to where we sit today, talking about this new record?

Here's the thing. When you're a follower of Christ and your life is not your own, He will take your loaves and fishes and multiply them. I think what I have done over the years is just to say yes. I wasn't afraid to do whatever He asked me to do. I always felt a call to ministry and always felt an evangelistic call. And sometimes that took me to places that looked different for the normal churchgoer. They didn't always understand. Sometimes I would get a lot of judgment for doing what I was doing, but I had to obey the voice of the Lord. I think about Paul and some of the disciples where the Holy Spirit would tell them where to go and where not to go. And they were so keen to that voice that they obeyed and it provided for them.

It protected them. And I think it was His way that they wanted to follow. That has been a theme for my life. That my life is not my own. I am sent. That means if tomorrow He tells me to do something that's not music, then that's my responsibility to say yes to that. It's taken me on a lot of different routes. I can't say that I was always happy during those seasons because I didn't quite understand what He was doing. But I was trying to be faithful and bloom where I was planted. Whether that was teaching college or being on a church staff or singing for Katy Perry, I just tried to be faithful to what I felt Him leading me to do. And I wouldn't take back any of that.

You may or may not know him as he has been out of music for a little while, but many years ago, I used to interview Bebo Norman a fair amount. Do you know who Bebo is?

Are you bringing this up for a reason? Because he is my son's ENT doctor.

Are you kidding?

He's out of music and he works in healthcare now. My son was having sleep apnea, and I took him to the doctor. Bebo was his doctor. And I was like; you have got to be kidding me. I walked in and I told him, “I saw you with Jennifer Knapp multiple times on that tour of hers back in the early 2000. I was a huge Bebo fan and I know all of his songs. And so, I had to be the super fan in the moment and tell him that I knew who he was.

That's crazy. He's been out of music for probably 10 years anyway. At any rate, many years ago I was interviewing Bebo about an album that he had out at the time. And he said, and it has always stuck with me, ‘You know what? Any new record I ever make is really just a reflection of the last year or two of my life. It's like my journal, or a snapshot. So, my question is, is Life in Me a reflection of the last year or two of your life?

Absolutely. I think it's a reflection of the last year or two, but also, I always draw from the pivotal moments in my story. And because there's such deep emotion there, I feel like it's a well that I can always pull from. Some of the songs that are full circle moments for me are just fun. They're songs that I felt like, you know what? I've always wanted to do this, and this is just a tribute to this person or this worship leader. So, some of it is just fun. And I think when life gets hard, joy is often the first thing to go. We have to restore our joy because what does the Bible say? The joy of the Lord is our strength. And I think a lot of people feel weak because they're not belly laughing enough in life. Jenn Johnson (Bethel Music) said one time, “Life is like rafting. Sometimes you paddle, sometimes you coast, and sometimes you get out of the boat and jump in the water and have fun.” And I think that is soul care for me, being able to have fun and jump out of the boat and not take myself or life too seriously.

During this time of crafting the new album, what did God reveal to you?

Throughout the last couple of years I have had to face some hard challenges that I had no control over. These were some things that weren't my fault. And to have to carry weight that's not your fault is hard sometimes. It's sacrificial and Biblical too, to carry that. And so, I think I have had to have immense trust and I have had to rely on staying connected to the Father no matter what. I've had to fight for that time every day in Scripture in prayer. And if I miss a day, I feel it. I feel walls closing in if I don't have that time with God every day. And when I do, I feel like it's this wall of fire around my heart. I think what I've learned in the last couple years is to just trust. I think that comes out in the music for sure.

You had several collaborators on this album. In addition to Rachael Lampa and Chris Brown; Colton Dixon, The Choir Room, Chris Brown, and Tim Hughes also took part. Why so many of these folks?

When my first record came out, I didn't do any collaborations. I didn't know that many people because I had just moved to Nashville from California. But I also think I needed to sort of figure out who I was on my own and forge the path I felt like God was showing me. But recently I have moved into this space a little bit more. I have discovered what a joy it is to do things with people. It gets you fired up and you're so excited to do it. And so, I was kind of waiting for the chance at this point to do some things with some folks.

All of those people are people that I love dearly. And so, to get to do things with Rachael (Lampa), Chris (Brown), Colton (Dixon) and Tim (Hughes); I was so honored that they said yes. The Tim Hughes song is very, very special to me. So that was a big deal for me, for him to sing on it. When I heard the first mix, I sat at my desk and just ugly cried for about 20 minutes out of gratitude for where God's taken me. I heard that song at a very low point in my life and it carried me. And then to be able to share that with Tim and to have him sing on it was so full circle.

After people have had a chance to listen to Life in Me, what would you like audiences to take away from that listening experience? What is your greatest hope for the record?

I want them to feel closer to God at the end of the record. I want them to feel like they're a little different after they hear it. That it brought them to an encounter with Christ in a way that maybe challenged them, inspired them, exposed things, and brought them to their knees. And in a way, that brings freedom and joy and takes the power of shame away. So, I hope that people just go on that journey with me and that they leave differently after they've heard it.

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