What a difference two years can make. Enjoy the Journey lives up to the potential shown in Out of the Ruins and better yet, the "forced bounce" sound is nowhere to be found on the new CD.

The musicians continue to be wonderful and consist of Debbie Zepick (vocals and keyboards), Matt Day (keyboards and accordion), Glen Durksen (bass), Martin Zinger (drums), Pat Spelrem (acoustic guitar and vocals), Was Yaciuk (lead guitar on "I Grew up on Grace"), Eldon Winter (lead guitar), Tony Michael (violin and mandolin), Ed Gavras (woodwinds) and Ian Magnusson (vocals). The sound they create is a simple, smooth flowing one (with one exception). It blends smoothly with Zepick's sweet voice. This combination gives some songs a very quiet strength, "Nothing too Hard for God," being one.

The title track "Enjoy the Journey" is the best measure of the difference the two years made, an up-tempo song that is not forced. Christian imagery and beliefs remains a strong aspect of the lyrics. And these are also present in almost every song on the CD, even if only a line or two. There is a nice variety in how this is approached.

"Evidence of God," for instance, is a song of declaration. ("Nothing too Hard for God" is another.) And then you have "In June," which is a simple song of worship in the small. "Peace in the Night" focuses more on the relational side, and "Irish Blessing" is a song of parting and blessing.

The two songs that don't overtly have these references are "Please," a song to an absent younger brother, and "Lullaby."

In the end, whether or not you will pick up this CD will probably boil down to one thing: whether or not you are interested in Christian-pop/Christian-folk music. If you are, by all means, try to get your hands on this CD. If not, don't. If you are neutral, give it a spin. Whether or not you will skip songs is up to you.