Author: Helen Sanderson White

Songwriter, artist, writer and music teacher (singing, piano and music theory) from Buckinghamshire, UK.

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Sometimes you have to grow into a role…

Sometimes you have to wait a long time to get the work that you want. We may not understand the waiting time, but it has a purpose. In 2009, I decided to do some extra training to further my career so that I could widen my work portfolio; so I started a course in Life Coaching with a view of coaching and mentoring artists and creatives. I loved the training, passed the course and then started advertising for new clients. For years, there was a small stream of clients and then it would fizzle out, a cycle that repeated itself many times. I even joined forces with a business partner but the project never got off the ground. I was continually frustrated that this didn’t take off, and that the work was patchy and inconsistent. 

However, what I didn’t realise was that I was being prepared for this work. Over the last 17 years, I have been through many professional and personal situations that have given me a deeper experience of the artistic journey and life. Not only have I gained experience, but God was working on my character to make me into the artist that he wants me to be. Every project, performance, sale, failure, and success was giving me insight that would build my character and integrity not just in the creative world but in my spiritual life too.

Fast forward 17 years on, I received an unexpected email asking if I would like to mentor Christian artists. To be fair, the answer to the request was a no brainer, but as I reflect on my journey, I can see that I was being developed and prepared in response to a prayer that I prayed many years ago. And that’s the truth we don’t always want to hear: the answers to our prayers can often take decades because we need to become the person who can withstand the weight of the responsibility we are asking for. 

I also believe that there is a unique timing for this work too. We are coming into an era where Christian artists are needed more than ever, to express God’s love to a world in chaos. It is a privilege to be able to help artists hone the craft and develop projects that will bring joy and peace to many people. 

Development doesn’t happen quickly and God often develops our character in the dark. It’s the challenging times that can lead to the greatest growth as we wrestle with ourselves and our human nature. Like the process of a clam making a pearl, the waiting time though fractious, creates an irritant that produces something priceless and unique in us. By seeing the waiting time as a necessary training ground, we can become ready to receive the answers to our prayers. 

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There’s nothing wrong with being a multidisciplinary artist! Here are some of my thoughts on being a multidisciplinary artist and how we can truly be the artists that God has called us to be. It’s important to not be led by the opinions of others but to listen to what Jesus is saying to us. Also there’s an update on my latest projects including a jazz gig, my adventures with watercolour painting and my trip to Oxford to hear Amie McNee speak.

Read the blog: Becoming an artist, becoming you… https://helensandersonwhite.com/2019/05/15/becoming-an-artist-becoming-you/

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Come and enjoy an evening of symphonic jazz with English Jazz Orchestra, featuring singer-songwriter Helen Sanderson White and the strings of Enfield Film Orchestra.

We’re playing a great mixture of swing classics, evergreen ballads and some original arrangements. We’d love to see you there!

Date: Sat 11 October 2025

Venue: St Luke’s Church, Enfield, EN2 0HL

Tickets: £10 per person – available here

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Thank you to everyone who has helped me celebrate 30 years in music education this weekend! It’s been lovely to have so many people pass through the house for a chat.

I started teaching in 1995 in my year out before I went to university. My first job was teaching music in two primary schools in Torquay. I went on to teach singing, piano, music theory and songwriting to children and adults at FE colleges (Morley College, London and Kensington and Chelsea College), Oxford Youth Choir, art centres, theatre schools, holiday clubs, churches and private practice. I’ve taught in Devon, London, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire.

After 30 years, I’d say that my specialisms are pop music (no surprises there, after having a successful pop career myself!), and teaching and mentoring students who are broken by the education system. Schools operate on a “one size fits all” system, which tragically fits very few people. I am proud to offer a teaching service that is tailored to individual needs and desires, and I have the 100% success rate to support that this approach works.

My students have taken grade exams, taken GCSEs and A levels, gone to university or music colleges, started bands, gone on tour, entered competitions, written and recorded their own albums, joined choirs, become music therapists, and starred in shows locally and in the West End and also gone on to be music teachers. And many adult students have made a started a new or second career in music…

Who knows whether I will be teaching in another 30 years… I will be 78 then! However, I believe in music education and will continue to promote the need for people of all ages to access this easily. Keep making music people!

Helen Sanderson White BA (Hons) BA (Hons) LRSL

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A few weeks ago, I lost something dear to me. It’s trivial really, I lost my gym locker token which I’ve had for ten years. Despite not being worth much in monetary value, it has great sentimental value as it supports a charity that is local to where I live and has connections with my children. I was quite annoyed that it had disappeared and was surprised to feel sad about it. I searched everywhere but couldn’t find it, and eventually I became resigned to the fact that it was gone.  

This morning, I got in the car to drive to work and as I put my bag down on the the passenger seat, I could see something metallic poking out from the back of the seat: there nestled in the crease was my token! I’ve no idea how it got there; the last time I saw it was on the counter in my kitchen.  

As I picked the token and put it back in my purse, I felt the Lord say that what has been lost or stolen from my life will be restored to me; even things that seem insignificant or too small to be important will come back to me in time. Having been through decades of unexpected loss, this gave me great hope that the Lord is in the process of bringing change and restoration.  

I then saw a picture of two number eights next to each other. Biblically the number eight means new life, and two of them signifies double new life. I immediately thought of Job 42:10 (NIV): 

“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”  

In the Old Testament, Job experienced great loss: he lost his health, wealth and children but he never lost his love for God and his willingness to follow him not matter how hard his life circumstances were. Job’s character was tested when his friends didn’t understand or help him; even God was angry with the way his friends lacked hope for his situation. However, Job had faith that God would restore his life and at the end of the book we’re told that when Job prayed for his friends, God restored everything he had lost by double the amount.  

I sense that many of us are coming to the end of hard seasons and trials. We may have lost a lot, but we have learnt plenty that will be useful for the season ahead. The Lord will restore double what we have lost and use what we have learnt to bring good in both our and others lives. The key to this double restoration is that we pray for those who have hurt us and forgive them. As we release these people and situations to the Lord, change will occur in unusual ways. Just as the token somehow made its way to my car, restoration will occur through people and places that we haven’t expected.  

As this season draws to a close, it’s time get our houses in order, release those who have wronged us and prepare ourselves for the double restoration that is coming to us. What was lost will be found again! 

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Painting: Breakthrough by Helen Sanderson-White (Copyright 2025 Helen Sanderson-White. Do not reproduce without permission). 

At some point in our lives, we all need breakthrough in a situation. A new beginning, season or provision for projects and plans. Whatever the circumstance, there comes a breaking point where things must change so that life can move on and grow. There are various situations that I have prayed about for years and in some cases decades. Back in 1997, God made me some promises about things to come in my life and over the last 28 years I have seen various parts of these promises come into fruition.  

Promises unfold slowly over time through regular prayer and holding into what God has said. If he said it, it will happen in his timing. But that’s the key: timing. God’s timing is different than our own, and requires patience and a willingness to partner with him in the process of breakthrough. He longs for relationship with us, and this is more important than receiving breakthrough. The journey is more important than the destination because of our growth and development come from knowing God more deeply.  

“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24 

Hope is the route to breakthrough, and breakthrough breeds more hope. The two are inextricably linked together and intertwine to become powerful. If you are waiting for a breakthrough, it can feel like waiting for a wall to crack or a barrier to come down. It can feel like there is partition blocking the way ahead; you know the end result, but you don’t know how to get there. Only God can make the way ahead possible.  

A while ago I had a picture of a glass ceiling shattering to reveal the rainbow colours of God’s promise breaking through. The different size dots representing the hopes both large and small that we carry through life, and also his long term promises to me. This greatly encouraged me that breakthrough is on the way and that God’s plan for my life is happening. The rainbow colours also express God’s love for us and the beauty of his promises which blossom throughout our lives. Only God’s love for us can shatter obstacles and bring the hope and amelioration we require.  

Breakthrough can be continuous rather than a one-off event. Sometimes we need the big moment of change that ushers in a season of smaller breakthrough moments, whilst in other seasons the changes are smaller but they bring momentum that accelerates change. The answers to our prayers can be unexpected and leftfield because God’s knowledge of how to bring our situations in line with his will is far greater than our own. 

If we keep moving forward with God, trusting him and his plans for us, he will bring the moments of breakthrough, small, big, quiet and loud when we least expect it. The breakthroughs are great testimonies to tell others, and as we share the stories, God’s glory is shown to others around us.  

The painting is acrylic on canvas and was exhibited in the Destination Hope art exhibition at Gold Hill Baptist Church in April 2025. I am currently working on a piece of music to accompany this painting. Check my website for details of when this piece will be released.  

If you have enjoyed this blog, join the mailing list here.

Sketch: Breakthrough by Helen Sanderson-White (Copyright 2023 Helen Sanderson-White. Do not reproduce without permission). 

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A few years ago, I arranged Ruth Carlyle’s poem A Homely Blessing for her to sing. The song was released as a charity single in aid of the Faith in Action Homeless Project in south London. We’ve teamed up again, and I’ve arranged another one of Ruth’s poems Walking to the Beat of My Heart. Again, this features David Barton on the piano and Ruth on vocals. The song tells of Ruth’s early morning walks before dawn where she longs for daylight to break through.  

Walking is one of Ruth’s passions; when she was working for Macmillan Cancer Support, she was part of a Walking for Health partnership with The Ramblers. She believes in the benefits of walking, not just for health, but for wellbeing and a sense that the darkness and shadows pass as people walk with companions. In light of this, the Walking to the Beat of My Heart single is being released in aid of The Ramblers. Ruth’s niece, Lily has created the artwork for this project.  

It was a joy to work with Ruth again as her poems provide so much light and shade to interrupt musically. Enjoy! 

Listen to Walking to the Beat of My Heart here. 

Find out more about The Ramblers charity here.  

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So 2 years ago, I painted a melting snow scene entitled Thaw. This was for an art exhibition that took place at Gold Hill Baptist Church in April 2023. However, the idea of a “thawing” season originally started out as a piece of music in December 2022. At the time, the piece of music didn’t go too far until a friend gave me a word that confirmed this idea; he could see a picture of a snow scene thawing out and a bright, colourful garden of joy appearing from underneath the ice. This friend is sadly no longer with us, but I’m very thankful that he stepped out and gave me that word; later that year my life changed and I moved into a new season.  

So why didn’t finish the piece of music so that I could exhibit it with the painting? There are so many reasons for this, mainly that at the time only the painting seemed appropriate for the art exhibition. I also was strapped for time to complete the painting, so I priortised the artwork. However, nothing is ever wasted, and sometimes projects are delayed so that they are released in Jesus’ timing and not ours. This never makes sense to our human minds, but Jesus always has an appointed time when the work he does through us is most effective.  

In the middle of February 2025, I was working on a different piece of music and stumbled across the Thaw piece on my hard drive. I realised that it wasn’t that far from being finished and just needed a few tweaks here and there. 26 months on from when I started composing the piece, it seems that now is the right time to release it. And that’s the thing with prophecy and prophetic art, sometimes you must wait until the right time to release it. Waiting can be hard, but the right timing brings the greatest impact. Ecclesiastes 3:11 reminds us that God 

…has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

If you’re going through a season when everything is on hold and it seems to be going on for longer than you think, then this piece of music is for you. Prophetic words tend to unfold over a period of time so that they grow with stability and lasting, deep roots. There is a season for everything and eventually the ice will begin to thaw and a new spring will appear.  

To read the blog about the painting Thaw, click here.

You can listen to and download the song here.

If you have enjoyed this song, join the mailing list here

Want to make a donation to my work? Please click here.