As difficult as it is to accept, time marches on and history unfolds itself in every man's life with very little concern for our feelings. That's a lesson that struck close to the heart of Reunion recording artist Michael W. Smith. While in the middle of recording his 13th album, This Is Your Time, Michael, much like the rest of the nation, found himself watching in stunned disbelief as news reports from Colorado brought a shocking and terrible story to the world.

Most artists never expect to find themselves participants in the throes of a national trauma, but for Michael, the shooting tragedy at Columbine High School last April spun the artist into a worldwide spotlight. His participation in the widely telecast memorial service found him in the company of senators, governors, the vice-president, General Colin Powell, Franklin Graham and fellow Christian artists. "All of a sudden you're just thrown into it and wondering what am I doing here?" he recalls of that day. "You begin thinking I'm inadequate, I can't do this, and all these things start going through your head. But in the end I believe I was there because God called me to be there."

While participating musically in the healing process for the families, the students and an entire country in mourning, Michael was particularly touched by the surfacing story of one of the massacre's victims, Cassie Bernall. Bernall was a 17-year-old student of Columbine who, during the unfolding drama in the school's library, was asked by the gunmen if she believed in God. Her answer? She said yes--and was immediately gunned down, becoming one of 15 to die that day.

That riveting scene became the touchstone for Michael's album, which was already in progress. Shaken but also inspired, Michael heard a new voice and saw a new vision emerging for what he wanted to say on this record. Inviting friend and songwriter Wes King to collaborate with him on a song he was working on, the two ended up penning the title cut. Michael calls King's contribution "the lyric of a lifetime" and believes that the song is even more than a tribute to a brave young girl. "I believe there will be many people who come to the Lord through This Is Your Time," he says emphatically. "I don't say that too often. I'm very careful about saying that. But I think it is definitely a God thing and He is going to use it."


Courtesy of Reunion Records Site

Review on This Is Your Time

Coming off last year’s highly-acclaimed Live the Life and busy with his growing record label, Michael W. Smith deserves some down time. But alas, Smith is a restless creative: He never seems to tire of cranking out well-crafted pop or encouraging his younger listeners. To that end, This Is Your Time picks up where Live the Life left off, exploring similar themes of seize-the-day spiritual urgency.

The title track—Smith’s meditation on the Littleton, Colo., tragedy—illustrates how saying yes to God can uphold life in the face of death, or rescue the sin-weary from walking death ("This is your time/This is your dance/Live every moment, leave nothing to chance’’). Smith moves toward an all-encompassing musical scope as well; the gentle acoustic guitar intro swells into orchestrated waves before the song fades on the sound of a single bagpiper. This Is Your Time unfolds in movements that could be characterized as mini-sets.

After a Celtic-flavored curtain-raiser comes a trio of infectious pop ditties (Hey You It’s Me, Worth It All, I Will Be Your Friend). This Is Your Time ushers in grander, anthem-like peaks and valleys—and by cut eight, Smith gets wild, rocking out on Reach Out to Me and I Still Have the Dream.

Then there’s I’m Gone, a funky love song that can barely contain itself, what with its flirtatious whistling. Fun touches like that adorn This Is Your Time, signaling that for all its pop majesty, this is not a disc to be taken too seriously.

Just as the poet Walt Whitman once concluded, "I contain multitudes," This Is Your Time is serious and silly, strong and sensitive. And sometimes, it moves best by saying nothing at all. Cassie closes the album as it began, instrumentally. This reworking of the title theme, a tribute to Littleton victim Cassie Bernall, illustrates Smith’s undeniable talent for yanking heartstrings in all the right places.

—Lou Carlozo