Singer Brandon Lake and Wife Brittany Talk New Children’s Book and the One Thing We Should Start Doing Right Now (EXCLUSIVE)
Plus, their thoughts on worship, self-care, family time and more!
Beloved by millions for his raw, honest and inspiring music, Grammy-award winning Christian singer/songwriter Brandon Lake is living as authentically as his songs portray. Now, he and his wife, Brittany are embarking on a new journey to help even more people — of all ages — understand and experience the power of faith.
After feeling called to help their own sons, Blaise, 9, Beau, 7 and Banner, 1, learn the hope and peace that worship can provide, the duo decided to create a children’s book, Little Lion Lungs, as a resource to teach kiddos about worship and empower them to start their own relationship with God.
Despite being a busy father and passionate songwriter, in just 18 months, Brandon Lake has gone from playing in small venues to working with some of the biggest names in Christian music — like Maverick City Music, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Elevation Worship and Brooke Ligertwood, and will embark on the Summer Worship Nights tour with Phil Wickham this August.
Here, Brandon and his wife Brittany give Woman’s World readers an exclusive look at what life is like on his farm with family, how worship serves as a weapon against self-doubt and negative thoughts and the heart behind his hit song, “Gratitude” that went on to inspire his new book.
Woman’s World (WW): Your new children’s book, Little Lion Lungs is based on your song, “Gratitude.” What inspired you to write that song…then turn it into a book?
Brandon Lake: Well, never in a million years did I think that the song “Gratitude” would do what it has done. It’s affecting millions and millions of people. On my record, it wasn’t even a highlighted track. I even re-recorded it five or six times because I didn’t like it at first. It sounded like every other worship song out there. I wanted it to feel authentic and more like me. We took everything away in the production and just put me in front of a mic and acoustic guitar, and I sang it as raw, passionately and authentically as I could.
Then I felt like we had something special. But never would I have thought that that would be the song on the record that God would breathe on. It became more of a favorite when it landed on the Christmas special for The Chosen TV series. Then Bodie, who’s become a great friend, performed it as his finale song on The Voice.
So there were so many things that like kind of propelled the song. And it was a slow growing song, but then it just took over like by storm. It was so encouraging seeing how young and old responded to the line, “You’ve got a lion inside of your lungs.”
When that bridge happens, people just come alive. We’re lifting up ourselves like David did in the Bible, when he said, “Oh, my soul.” You’re commanding yourself to get up and praise the Lord. You may not see yourself as a person worthy of giving a gift to God, but the truth is, what He wants is your heart.
I’ve also always wanted to create resources that help people worship because worship is so much more than just music. I had that idea of doing a children’s book based on a little lion cub that is tied to worship and educates people on what worship really is. I probably had this dream for a few years and one day, we felt like it was time.
Brittany Lake: When it came together and we got the first edit back, we cried. It just became a tangible way for a child to understand. We’re made to worship and it’s really pretty simple. You don’t have to have all these amazing things. You just have to give God your heart.
WW: How has faith/worship helped you cope with the confusing and painful moments of life?
Brandon: I think worship is: 1) What God is worthy of and 2) I think worship is a weapon. Because when you worship, God is in it. God can change your situation. But even if He doesn’t, worship will change your perspective. How many days have I woken up thinking about the stresses of that day? You can allow the enemy to consume your thoughts or you could choose to worship.
For me, it gets my mind on the anxiety of my situation and gets my thoughts and my eyes on His promises. I start to think: It might be dark right now, it might be hard, but God is faithful. You start singing songs, you start being generous to other people around you, and somehow, your perspective changes and your situation starts to feel a little bit lighter.
Whether it’s loving on someone, singing a song directly to God or listening to Scripture, worship starts rewiring your brain to be who you’re called to be. I think it creates a dependency on God and a trust in God when you do that. So that’s how I see it work as a weapon in my life.
WW: Amid your busy schedules, is there something you do that helps you refocus on God and your purpose?
Brittany: For us lately, the biggest thing is we’ve moved out of Charleston into the country. Brandon can turn everything off when he’s home and just be Dad. We try to be more intentional as a family. I think for us in this season, that’s been very valuable because there’s always something going on.
Brandon: I think our kids experience God more in nature. And with how much I travel and how much the kids sacrifice, when I’m home, I’ve got the have fun, be in nature, throw the football, walk around the farm, go see the cows. They might not be able to articulate it yet, but I think one day, they’ll look back and go, “Wow, I saw God all around us.”
WW: If you could tell our readers or even your own listeners one thing that they should either stop doing or start doing, what would it be?
Brittany: I would say start honoring God in the way you care for yourself. After having three kids and focusing on the boys, I realized it’s time to take care of myself and the body that God has given me. I eat healthy and workout for just 30 minutes a day. I feel healthier, and it’s just been little decisions every day that make really big results.
Now, I’m just like, Why didn’t I do this sooner? It’s not about getting a certain result. It’s about just taking care of myself. And it’s motivated this guy [pointing at Brandon] too by just seeing me do it everyday.
Brandon: I see how much better she feels emotionally and mentally. She’s proud of herself, and I think that’s something that women deserve to have is that sense of feeling like you’re crushing it at being a mom, but you’re also taking care of your health and yourself.
One of the things that has transformed my thought life is something I would encourage everybody to start doing. Recognize, replace, repeat. What I mean by that is: Recognize the lie that you’re believing. Replace it with what God says about you. Then repeat it until that’s what you’re constantly thinking about.
There’s a scripture (Romans 12:2) that says we’re transformed by the renewing of our minds. It’s important how you see yourself because how you see yourself will form what you do. So if you see yourself as a child of God that has been given a temple, you’re going to take care of that temple more because you’ll realize what a beautiful creation you are.
You have to recognize it, replace it, but then the “repeat” part it is really important. When you have a negative thought, whether it’s just you know your own voice or it’s the voice of the enemy, you can’t just stop thinking about it. You have to replace it with something. You have to recognize the lie of the enemy, replace it with what God says about you — the truth — and repeat until you are transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Order a copy of Little Lion Lungs at brandonlake.shop and follow Brandon at @brandonlake and Brittany at @brittanyannlake
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