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noticing when Zealand was two,” she says, “but the official diagnosis came in 2nd grade. When they told us it was Autism,
I went through a time of mourning the death of the dreams I had for him.” It took some time, but she began to dream new
dreams for her son, “harvesting the gifts I could see in him.” Today, at 9, Zealand excels in music, in both singing and piano.
“His ear is even better than mine,” his proud mom says.

“Everybody has faith in something,” says Jaci, who served as the 2013 spokesperson for Autism Speaks’ Tennessee Walk
Now. “But at the end of the day, if you’re looking to yourself to keep everything under control, God isn’t part of the equa-
tion. That’s where trust comes in, understanding that God loves your children even more than you do.”

Trust features 10 anthems that sing of God’s faithfulness, a modern worship and pop hybrid sure to resonate with anyone
caught up in the chaotic uncertainty of the everyday.

“I don’t know a lot about worship as a music genre,” Velasquez freely admits, “but I know how God can use music to move
people. What we experience in church, in worship, we want to have that experience every day… at home, in the car. In the
middle of the day, God uses it to meet us in the middle of our chaos, to move us closer to him, to remind us of who we are
and who He is.” In fact, she really wasn’t convinced a worship album was meant to be until she found herself comforting
her youngest son, Soren, 7, in the middle of the night, after a bad dream.

“When you’re scared and don’t know what to do, I want “Everybody has faith in something,” says
you to remember this,” she told him. Then she played Jaci, who served as the 2013 spokesper-
son for Autism Speaks’ Tennessee Walk
“God Who Moves Mountains,” written by David Leonard, Now. “But at the end of the day, if you’re
Dustin Smith and Richie Fike. Standing in his room, she
closed her eyes and, as the words washed over mom looking to yourself to keep everything
under control, God isn’t part of the
and boy, she raised her hands. When the song was over,
they both had tears in their eyes. “Our lives were changed equation. That’s where trust comes in,
understanding that God loves your
in that moment because God met us there in a song,” children even more than you do.”
she says. “Music is powerful and healing.”

Slow me down enough to hear your voice / Speak your
words of mercy over all the noise

“Rest,” a melodic ballad co-written with her husband Nic When my body’s shaking, my faith won’t be broken / You
Gonzales (Salvador) and Greg Sykes, will undoubtedly res- lift me up, my heart is wide open I know you are my light,
onate with mothers and fathers who hit the ground running and I trust you
all day, every day. Sitting down at 10pm for her first meal of
the day, looking at a 4:20am wake up time for the next day, “Trust You,” which Velasquez wrote with Aruna Abrams,
Velasquez realized she hadn’t even talked to God all day James Slater and Bobby Hamrick, encapsulates the heart
long. “If I don’t rest, I’m just spinning my wheels,” she says of the album.
of the song’s origins the next day. “It’s not going to mean
anything unless I give it all to him.” “I remember, before Zealand was diagnosed, sobbing in
the office of the school,” Velasquez recalls. “All I could do
A percussion-driven joyride, “The Sound of Your Kingdom,” was cry, my body was shaking in fear. It took a while to lay
written by indie-artist Ryan Corn, is as contagious as a song it all down, to trust God with my sons, to trust God with my
can get. “I fell in love with it, not only for what it says, but for marriage, walking that out as a child of God, as a wife and
how it makes you feel,” Velasquez says. “When God sees a mom, trusting him to make all things possible, to move
us, he hears what we offer back to him—our worship, our the mountains in our lives….” It’s the underlying theme of this
joy, our laughter, our honor, blessing and praise—that’s the record, she says, but more than that, “it’s everything.”
sound of his kingdom.” One of her boys’ favorites and a
great reminder that we’re part of something really big and For all the latest Jaci Velasquez news, go to:
ongoing, she says. www.jacivelasquez.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

From “Praise The King,” a phenomenal Easter-every-day cel- Trust (CD), only in English, is available through CUM Books
ebration, to “Great Are You Lord,” an ethereal anthem/duet and other leading retailers.
with her husband, to Martin Smith’s “Great Is Your Faithful-
ness,” to “Never As Dark As It Seems,” a powerful reminder
for tumultuous times written by Michael Farren, Mike Gray-
son and Seth Moseley—Trust echoes the courage that rises
from understanding the One we worship.