When I first started writing these songs, I had no thoughts of recording an album. I was (and am still) living in Siberia, and I wrote songs, because, to borrow Rich Mullin's expression, I had to write them. I was writing for myself, not for an audience - unless, of course, the audience is God. I write to understand what I am reading in the Bible, and to understand what it has to do with me. I write to understand what I'm feeling. I'd like to think that writing helps me to understand - in a limited way, of course - that which cannot be understood, like the love of God.
One of the recurrent themes for me while living here has been the struggle in learning to love and give yourself for/to others. Of course, that isn't something specific to Siberia, and there are other places and situations where the struggle is much more intense. I almost said, "and more at stake" but I can't say that, because PEOPLE are always what is at stake, no matter where, no matter what the situation. It is the cost to oneself that varies with each situation.
These songs aren't about where I live. I wrote most of the songs on A Few Small Fish while reading 
through the gospel of Mark, and each song explores from a different angle the implications of attempting to really love others (wherever one may be), reflecting both what I was reading in the Bible and what I was experiencing or feeling at the time. The song order is intentional, giving direction to the exploration so that it is, in the end, a journey that leads somewhere - like learning to love should be. I hope that the songs will encourage others who are learning or struggling to learn to participate, at least in a small way, in the love with which Jesus loves - in the love of God.