Singer-songwriter Linda Boles is calling believers to move faith from words into action with her new Christian radio single, What Can We Do, a heartfelt anthem that challenges the Church to respond to a hurting world with compassion, unity, and tangible love. Blending personal testimony with a clear spiritual message, the song reflects Boles' lifelong journey of faith, music, and service while inviting listeners to consider how the love of Christ can be lived out in everyday life.
Q: For listeners discovering your music through "What Can We Do," how would you describe who Linda Boles is today, and how have faith, music, and service shaped your calling?
I am a singer-songwriter who is inspired by God, and my greatest joy is sharing His love with others. My music is a blend of the musical influences from my life of bluegrass, classic rock, country, gospel and folk. I've been singing since I was a young girl, performing with my family's bluegrass band and my journey has been one of faith and music intertwined. Faith, music and service are the cornerstones of my calling. Faith is the very source of my inspiration. Many of my songs come to me in moments of inspiration, sometimes even waking me up in the middle of the night, and I know they are from the Lord if they bring light and goodness. My faith has been my anchor through life's deepest struggles, including the loss of my first husband. It's in those moments that I've truly learned that Jesus is with me through the thick and the thin, and my songwriting has become a way to bear witness to God's faithfulness.
Music has been a part of my life for over four decades, and I see it as a ministry. I was born into a musical family, surrounded by hymns and bluegrass traditions that shaped me from an early age. From performing with my family's band to singing in rock bands and playing in coffeehouses, music has always been the vehicle for my expression. Now, my goal is to use the songs God has given me to touch lives and share a message of hope and resilience. Service is about putting that faith and music into action. For over forty years, I also worked as a teacher, serving others in and out of the classroom.
My song "What Can We Do" really captures the heart of this, asking how we can show the world that Jesus' love is real through our actions. It's about moving beyond words to meet the needs of others with love and mercy. I believe we are all called to be missionaries right where we are, whether at work, school, or in our neighborhoods, sharing God's light with the world. This calling also extends to specific causes, like partnering with ministries to provide life-saving resources for crisis pregnancies. Ultimately, my calling is to use the gifts God has given me to make a positive difference and to share His love in any way I can.
Q: The song asks a simple but challenging question: What can we do? When you first began writing it, what burden or moment inspired that question in your heart?
The question in "What Can We Do" came from a place of deep reflection on how to truly live out my faith. It wasn't a single moment, but rather a growing burden in my heart that I believe was placed there by the Lord. I was thinking about the state of the world and the command we have as believers to be a light in the darkness. It's easy to say we love Jesus, but I felt challenged to consider what that love looks like in action.
The inspiration came from looking at the world through God's eyes and seeing so much need. I asked myself, "How can we show the world that the love of Jesus is real and tangible?" The answer that came back to me was simple: by our actions. The song is a call to move beyond just words and to actively demonstrate God's love through service, mercy and compassion. It's a challenge to myself as much as it is to the listener. It's about asking, "What can I do today, right where I am, to meet a need, to show kindness, to be a missionary in my own community?" The song is meant to be a prayer and a call to action, reminding us that our faith is proven by what we do for others.
Q: Your life includes decades of teaching, deep personal loss, and unwavering faith. How did those experiences influence the compassion and urgency we hear in this song?
That's a powerful question. My life experiences are woven into every note and lyric of "What Can We Do." The compassion and urgency you hear in the song comes directly from the lessons I've learned through teaching, the pain of loss, and the steadfastness of my faith. My decades of teaching put me on the front lines of human need every single day. In the classroom, you see it all-children coming from difficult home lives, facing struggles you can't imagine. You learn that sometimes the most important lesson you can teach has nothing to do with the curriculum, it's about showing a child they are seen, valued, and loved. That experience taught me that ministry isn't just something you do on a Sunday. It's about meeting people where they are with practical compassion. It gave me an urgent sense of needing to act, not just feel sympathy.
Experiencing the loss of my first husband, broke my heart open in a way that forever changed me. When you walk through that kind of valley, you learn what it truly means to depend on God for your next breath. But you also become acutely aware of the suffering of others. Pain has a way of giving you a new lens of empathy. It makes the call to help others feel incredibly personal and urgent. Through it all, my unwavering faith has been the anchor. It's my faith that transforms the pain into purpose. It's what assures me that even in the darkest moments, God's love is real and present. If I truly believe this love is real and has the power to heal, how can I keep it to myself? The song is a reflection of that journey-taking the compassion learned from teaching and loss and channeling it through a faith that demands action.
Q: "What Can We Do" speaks honestly about broken dreams, unmet needs, and people hurting in silence. Why was it important for you to address real-world pain rather than offering easy answers?
Easy answers don't hold up when you're facing broken dreams or hurting in silence. I've learned from my own life that faith isn't about pretending that pain doesn't exist; it's about where we turn when it does. The world is full of people carrying heavy burdens. We see it in the news, in our communities, and if we're honest, we feel it in our own lives. To ignore that reality would be to offer a hollow hope. The Bible doesn't shy away from suffering-the Psalms are filled with cries of anguish, and Job's story is one of profound loss. Jesus himself wept. A faith that can't meet you in your darkest moments isn't a faith that can sustain you. I wanted to create a song that was honest. I wanted people to hear it and feel understood, not judged. When someone is hurting, the first thing they need is to know they are not alone. My hope is that the song validates their struggle and says, "I see you. Your pain is real." True compassion doesn't offer easy answers; it sits with you in the pain and then helps you take the next step forward.
Q: Instead of stopping at awareness, the song calls believers to action. What does "living out the love of Jesus" look like to you in everyday, practical ways?
That, for me, is the entire heart of the song. "Living out the love of Jesus" has to be more than a feeling or a declaration, it has to be something you can see and feel. To me, it looks like being a missionary right where you are, in the small, everyday moments. It starts with paying attention. It's so easy to get caught up in our own busy lives, our own to-do lists, and our own problems. Living out His love means intentionally looking up and seeing the people God has placed in our path. It's the coworker who seems withdrawn, the neighbor who is struggling to carry their groceries, or the cashier who looks exhausted. It's about seeing them not as interruptions, but as divine appointments.
Then, it's about simple, practical acts of kindness. Offering a genuine smile, actively listening, sharing what you have, speaking a word of encouragement, praying for someone on the spot. It also means being a person of integrity and grace. At work, at home or in the community. Do people see us as trustworthy, patient, and forgiving? When we make a mistake, do we own it and ask for forgiveness? How we handle conflict and our own shortcomings is a powerful testimony. Living out the love of Jesus is about making our faith tangible. It's about letting God's love flow through us to bless others. The song asks "What Can We Do?" And the answer is found in these thousands of small, daily choices to love our neighbors in practical, visible ways.
Q: As this song reaches Christian radio, what do you hope it stirs within the Church-and how do you pray listeners respond after the music ends?
My deepest hope is that "What Can We Do?" stirs a sense of holy urgency within the Church. I pray it moves us beyond being comfortable in our pews and reminds us that we are called to be a living, breathing, active force for good in the world. I hope it challenges us to look outside the four walls of our buildings and see our communities-our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our schools-as our primary mission field. I pray it sparks conversations in families and in congregations, prompting them to ask, "Are we known more for what we believe, or for how we love?" After the music fades, I pray that the listeners don't just think, "That was a nice song." I pray they are left with that one, lingering question in their own heart: "Lord, what can I do?"
Watch the lyric video:
Connect with Linda Boles:
https://www.facebook.com/LindaDBolesMusic
https://www.instagram.com/lindadbolesmusic/
