Paths of Mercy: Comforting Christian Prayer Songs is the fifth published album in the Paths Collection of Prayers Songs that the Lord has blessed me with. It features 19 original prayer songs, plus the traditional hymn, “Oh For A Thousand Tongues,” penned by the great hymn writer Charles Wesley.
One night a few years ago I was out with my husband and friends who’s son was performing on the vibes at a local cafe. It was getting late, some young women soaked in perfume came in and sat near us. I immediately prayed that the Lord would protect me from getting a migraine. Scents are one of my fiercest migraine triggers. Suddenly as I was listening to the music, I became aware of all of the colors in the cafe; then everything I saw and heard poured like an uncontrolled river into my brain simultaneously.
I had no ability to focus on anything I heard or saw.
Now the cafe loomed up around me like a room crowded with thunder and giants in a blaze of unrestrained colors. I seemed to see every minute detail of everything ~the people and what they were wearing, every nuance of every color in the room, the windows, what was outside them, what was on the walls, the globe lights ~ and I could smell every odor~ the food cooking, the smoke from the grill, the smell of people and their colognes, shampoo, soap, as well as whatever they were drinking or eating ~ all of which was profoundly nauseating.
And all the while the music poured into my ears along with all of the other information without a director to focus my thoughts. It was like being in a madhouse. As panic arose in my heart, I prayed for the Lord to rescue me. Suddenly I felt His presence holding me close. Although my brain was still in a state of uncontrolled sensory input, now I was no longer afraid for the Lord was guarding my thoughts and helping me to view the experience from a different perspective.
For the Lord had suggested to me, “Isn’t this fascinating, you don’t often get to see and hear things like this. Just think of it as a story you are writing.”
So then I calmed down and was even able for a few seconds at least to focus on bits of conversations around me. If raucous laughter was like nails piercing my ears, even the barest whispers were strangely loud for I seemed able to hear every noise in the room along with the music.
One moment I was mesmerized by someone’s drama only to be attracted by someone else’s saga behind me, and then the music, then the colored lights, then BANG went my head exploding in pain, and the room went spinning and I almost passed out. I don’t even know how Mark got me home. I vaguely remember our friends asking if I were all right. Then Mark saying we had to leave.
“Hush, Be Still, Be Silent...” that is just the right prayer song for a migraine sufferer. :) There are just so many prayer songs on Paths of Mercy that are just right for someone who needs to calm down, to get quiet before the Lord, to return and rest in Christ.
From the beginning the Lord impressed on my heart that He wanted His children to be able to read and meditate upon the words of the prayer songs and the scriptures that inspired them, and to be able to pray them for themselves, applying them to their own circumstances.
I had desperately wanted to publish my Paths of Grace Illustrated Prayer Song Book (my prayer song album was released in 2018) ~ before releasing this Paths of Mercy album, but the Lord had other plans. It took me over a year to create my Paths of Hope illustrated Prayer Song e-Book after publishing my Paths of Hope Prayer Song music album ( 2017), and then a whole other year to publish the print version of my Hope prayer song book. For creating illustrated prayer song books, whether ebooks or print, requires an enormous amount of my very limited energy.
Though it is the Lord’s will for me that every time I publish a prayer song album that I should also publish a companion book with the lyrics ~ it is not His Law. In other words~ He does not ever keep me to any strict rules or deadlines with any of the projects He inspires me to do, for we are under His grace and mercy. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 KJV
The Lord in His great mercy somehow eventually helps me get everything done that He wants accomplished. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ...” Philippians 1:6 KJV
And as I wrote in my previous album notes, with each subsequent album release, my auto-immune illness and chronic migraines grew worse until I became housebound and mostly bedridden.
I accepted by faith that I always could only do what the Lord Jesus Christ did through me, as Jesus said, ““I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5 KJV)
Christ’s words became a miracle I had to walk by faith in if I were ever to allow Him to accomplish His work through me. Nothing was easy.
Every day, every moment became a steep mountain I had to climb. What Christ had said to Paul when he begged the Lord to remove his painful, strength limiting thorn became true for me too, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV
The prayer songs on this album are some of the most encouraging songs that my Savior has ever inspired. Sometimes people ask why they have to suffer. There is a passage in the Bible I cling to that helps me put my own suffering in perspective every time I listen to the comforting prayer songs, poems, and music the Lord gives me.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. " 2 Corinthians 1:3-6 NIV
“Oh Lord, You Know The Way I Take,” is a prayer song that reflects my challenges in just showing up to any task by faith when I barely have any strength to get out of bed.
The“Prayer Song to Jesus My Good Shepherd,” is one I love to listen to and sing often because it encompasses so many of my challenges and presents my needs upon Christ’s Altar of Mercy and Grace.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 KJV
“Hush, Be Still, Be Silent...” the prayer song I referred to earlier, is one I praise and thank my Lord for always. This song truly presents my needs to God when I have migraines and all my thoughts are whirring about in my brain like a blender out of control, and only the Lord can push the stop button and reassemble all the fragments and corral them back into the fold of rationality.
And which of us cannot say that we don’t need to seek the Lord now while He can be found?
I know I harp on this but All of these songs were inspired by the Holy Spirit and the scriptures.
They came to me as gifts from the Lord and I am profoundly grateful and humbled by them.
God's gifts more than anything remind me of the truth of the scriptures that God indeed has no favorites. For if He can give such holy gifts to someone like me who is crippled by migraines and often experiences profound moodiness as a consequence~ He will give anyone any good gift He pleases.
16 "Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16-17 NIV
Why do I admit these faults and weaknesses?
Because some may imagine that God only bestows His favors upon those who live up to certain standards.
And I want you to know that I'm not some perfect saint that God gives His holy gifts to because I am somehow so very good.
No, I am a sinner just like everyone else~ I am far from perfect. Though I keep my eyes on Christ and try to follow His will daily, just like so many other Christians, I still stumble and fall and make many mistakes and have to go to Christ's Altar, confess my sins, and repent and ask my Lord to help me by His almighty grace not to make the same mistake again.
I know our Redeemer loves us all or He would not have died on the cross to save us from our sins. The prayer song on this album, "There is No Condemnation," is a perfect reminder of the suffering of Christ and how it cost His spotless blood to purchase our forgiveness and redemption.
God doesn't have any perfect children. just broken souls He needs to fix. He is using daily migraines right now to fix mine. It is very much a challenge to be sure. Yet I know He loves me. The pain won't last forever, but His love will. I focus on His beautiful love.
And as for the Prayer Song Book that accompanies not just this album but the one I still need to do for Paths of Grace, the Lord is helping me to get them done slowly but surely.
For it truly is the Lord’s will that His children be able to know and pray the scriptures that have inspired these encouraging prayer songs He has given me to share.
I ask you to keep me in your prayers always even as you are ever in my prayers. May God bless you and keep you ever in His holy love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
All praise, thanks, honor, and glory be to my Heavenly Father, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and Lord Holy Spirit forever for every comforting song on this album and for the holy scriptures that inspired them; may they ever glorify God and bless and encourage His people, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit celebrating the holiness, awe, and fear of almighty God through biblical references, multilayered abstract audible tonal imagery, spiritually challenging chords and rhythms with musical conversations driving deep into the heart
"All Glory To God Forever!" Original Instrumentals Celebrating The 25th Album of Music Inspired by The Holy Spirit since 2013 by Suzanne Davis Harden for The Glory and Honor of God
“But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.” Matthew 9:8
If someone were to tell me back in 2009 that someday I would become a musician and publish twenty-five albums of music for the glory and honor of my Lord Jesus Christ, I would have told them they were insane.
I was passionate about my art and had been my whole life, completely secure that God had called me to be an artist/writer for children for God’s glory. There had never been any question. I’ve loved drawing from the time I could hold a pencil and was always known as “the artist” in our family. Never had I exhibited any special musical interest or talent the way several of my siblings had. I had quit piano lessons after a few required years due to performance anxiety. I dreaded the annual recitals. After about the third one, I informed my parents that no more would I endure those lessons. I just could not bear performing up on stage. What I enjoyed about my piano lessons were the illustrations in my lesson books. I loved the beautiful line drawings, and even the magnificent design of the grand staff and the notes parading up and down upon it.
One Christmas when our children were young, I asked the Lord to give me a tune for a poem I had written to go along with an illustration I’d made.
I wanted to design it as a song like those in my childhood piano books, and include it in a Christmas gift I was making for my children’s cousins.
After the Lord gave me the simple tune for the poem, I remembered the basic notes from my piano lessons which I wrote above the words of the song. Then my sister Kelly, a gifted musician, helped me notate it correctly on the grand staff.
“The Forest Carol” became the first children’s song the Lord gave me in answer to a prayer so that I could illustrate my Christmas gift to my nieces and nephews. The song looked awesome to me, just like those in my old piano books! How I praised the Lord for answering my prayer for a musical illustration. But in no way was I asking Him to become a musician. Art was my passion. Music existed to inspire me.
Unless I got sick. Somehow whenever I suffered, the Lord used music to help heal me. He would give me what I then called “song poems,” that I would just sing privately to Him in my quiet times. But I had no kind of voice to sing well.
In fact, my son howled when I sang “Jesus Loves Me,” once. My husband always points out he was howling because the dog across the street was howling. Somehow this fact never comforts me.
My dad once said when I sang in my quiet time to the Lord, “Turn that blasted radio OFF!!!!” Once after making a joyful noise to my Lord in my own room with my door shut, my younger sister gave me a sour look and made a sarcastic comment. As I reflect on these things now I wonder if it was not so much how I sang that offended my family, as it was about my subject matter and what might the neighbors or passing golfers think if they discovered there was a young religious fanatic in the house? Yikes!!! !!!!!!!
However, in my teen years after I got saved I was not going to be deterred from singing to the Lord in my quiet times by anyone. In fact, I wore their low opinion of my worship as a badge of honor, deciding I was being persecuted by members of my own household for Jesus.
I was passionately in love with my Savior and worshiping Him was absolutely going to happen whether anyone liked it or not.
When I taught art I used artist’s biographies in an effort to teach my students that being talented in one area didn’t necessarily mean that God would use their special gift or talent in the main work He called them to do for Him forever.
This thought always haunted me.
We studied the famous Bible Teacher Oswald Chambers who was an extremely gifted artist and had received a scholarship to study at a prestigious art school when he was young.
But then God called him to the ministry.
I would always thank the Lord that He had called me to be a children’s writer and illustrator -no question - and fervently prayed that He’d never change His mind.
Every day I’d asked Him to use me as an author/illustrator for His glory since my teen years. I always knew that this was His will for me.
My favorite children’s book writer and Illustrator, Beatrix Potter, had up and decided to become a sheep farmer after she got married at around age fifty. Her story distressed me. “Oh Lord, please don’t ever let me change from being an artist.” I couldn’t go anywhere without drawing, or be without a sketchbook and pen. I had no peace if I couldn’t draw.
Then in 2009, I went up to the Altar after the Church Service to pray. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me. He spoke to my heart. He asked would I sing for Him. He asked three times. I was in utter shock. I told Him I’d rather Him take me Home. “My Suzy will you sing for Me?” He knew I could not sing, had no talent or gift for singing and that I was an artist. The Lord simply replied that I was whatever He said I was. “My Suzy will you sing for Me?” The Lord absolutely knew my heart and how I’d literally rather die than be a performer on a stage.
Now the Lord did read my thoughts on the subject for He assured me... I asked you to sing for Me...not perform.” “My Suzy I need your voice...” Well, as long as I don’t have to perform...This thought comforted me to the point where I could agree to sing. If all the Lord wanted was my voice. I figured He just wanted me to lay down my will. To give Him what I most feared. To surrender ALL of me.
Truly, I had no idea what He meant. But I knew I could trust the Lord for He loved me and would never do something to hurt me.
That was in 2009. The Lord absolutely was true to His Word and miraculously did give me a gift to sing and play music as He had promised. At first all I wanted to do was sing. I took singing lessons to learn breath control as my husband suggested and these were great fun. They also provided much relief from my chronic migraines. So much so that I began to believe that the Lord gave me my singing gift as an alternative pain reliever for my migraines. Then He blessed me with the gift to play instrumental music. I took piano and guitar lessons for a while. The Lord taught me how to play my dulcimer and little Zither. But instruments I had to tune I disliked. I was in awe of “real” musicians whenever I had to tune the guitar, dulcimer, or the very worst to tune ~ that handmade beautiful sounding little zither. Oh, if anything could make me want to curse it was tuning that little instrument with the wooden pegs~ I never could seem to get it perfect. How did those people do it? I gained a profound respect for musicians that I confess I never had before as I always was of the opinion that Artists were superior to Musicians in every way. God certainly was humbling me with this music thing.
No matter how many lessons I took I could not seem to play by the notes without a major effort. I could play the prayer songs that the Lord gave me and that was His gift. I did not have to do any work to make those songs. They just came as His gifts. He was creating them, not me. I finally had to accept that was His will. Not to learn to be a musician, but to let Jesus be a musician through me. Three years later He asked me to start sharing some of the songs and instrumentals He’d begun to give me from the time He’d asked me to sing for Him.
My first album published in 2013 was “God’s Rainbow Promise” followed by my holiday release, “Christmas Joy.” These works were great fun to produce as the Lord taught me everything about recording and post audio production so that I would be able to produce each album myself. At first I was able to accomplish so many things by God’s almighty grace despite my auto immune illness.
I knew virtually nothing about the music business. My teenage experience was filled with memories of persecution about my voice. I thought I was going to be thrown to the lions. But I loved the Lord Jesus Christ and trusted Him. I had to either believe He is true or walk away in unbelief. So I chose to walk by faith. “We walk by faith not by sight.” 1 Corinthians 5:2 I received very little encouragement in my decision to follow the Lord’s path for me to pursue music.
The astonishing thing was that as I published each of the albums and the corresponding prayer song books that went with them, my auto immune illness grew worse. Somehow despite my deteriorating strength and energy the Lord continued to do many things through His Holy Spirit working within me. Each album, each book, each post on my blogs, everything I created was a miracle from the risen Lord Jesus Christ and for His glory, for I battled and continue to battle daily with chronic migraines, CFS, fibromyalgia, allergies, asthma, and various other afflictions. In the past two years these health challenges have been so severe as to all but isolate me in my home and practically keep me bed ridden some days. But for the grace of God I could do absolutely nothing at all.
From 2013 to 2019 the Lord has given this visual artist ~ who is only a musician through the power and grace of the risen Lord Jesus Christ in me ~ 368 Published songs and 25 Albums of music for His glory and Honor. His immortal songs have gone out to all this world to proclaim the Holy praises of the Most High God. A young woman once suggested to me that the works that the Lord accomplishes through me are not miracles because they don’t compare with the astonishing things she sees people do with merely natural gifts in popular Talent shows on TV and in viral YouTube videos about amazingly gifted people all over the world.
Indeed, the works God does through me may not appear special when compared to those who are gifted performers. The difference between entertainers and myself is that the risen Lord Jesus Christ has imparted a special gift in me that I don’t naturally possess apart from His Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s work. These works are holy creations born out of worship unto the Lord God and are not performances done for the pleasure of man. They exist to honor and glorify God and to communicate a message from Him to all who will listen.
Please know that the Lord Jesus Christ wants all the world to believe that it is HIM and not Suzanne Harden doing these works. He has allowed my body to suffer so that all those who see and hear what He has given me to share will give HIM glory for these works that His Holy Spirit has done in and through me.
I have said “Yes, Lord, You may use my voice and all of me as You wish.” There was no turning back after I gave Christ my voice. I surrendered everything to the risen Lord Jesus Christ so that He could be glorified in me through His miracle anointing of music.
I did not ask anything of Him in return, for a true sacrifice does not seek a gift in return. Jesus Christ gave all of Himself to me already: On the cross at Calvary. How could I not give Him all of me on the Altar that day in Church? How dare I ask Him to give me anything in return but simply to honor Him? And if it means I must suffer and die to myself in order to bring Him glory, then may His will be done.
Privately at home I sometimes attribute my works as done by Jesus really to remind me of the true Composer and Musician within me. In public, when you see that a work is done, “by Suzanne Davis Harden” may you mentally insert “by the Risen Lord Jesus Christ really.” For the Lord Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit is the true author, illustrator, composer, and musician of all I create. All Glory To God Forever!
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, “I believed, and therefore have I spoken;”
We also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 KJV
Soothing, peaceful vocals that glide softly through realms of sleep and dreams until the dawn awakens and the day breaks.
“Until The Day Breaks” is the twenty fourth published album the Lord has blessed me with since He up and made me a musician for His sovereign purposes and glory in 2009.
A lullaby is a peaceful, quiet song or music usually used to “lull” a child to sleep. This is an album of Lullabies inspired by the Holy Spirit. Who better to inspire peaceful lullabies for His children than the Author of Peace? Jesus said, “ Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] John 14:27 Amplified Bible
When I read Zephaniah 3:17, I imagine the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ holding two little children in His everlasting arms singing a beautiful lullaby to them. “The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 CEB)
I began working on this album of children’s Lullabies and songs almost as soon as our first grandchild was born two and half years ago. But the Lord had other plans for it and led me to lay it aside. The Album then got displaced by myriad other projects and paths. Recently the Lord Jesus Christ led me to once again begin working on our vocal lullaby album. What a great joy it was to do so! Lately, He’d been teaching me new ways of creating peaceful vocal music. I’ve discovered that as I continue to abide in Christ, and pray daily for His guidance, His Holy Spirit continues to lead and teach me “how to do the Father’s will.” Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26 NASB)
Now the Lord was leading me to include some of the music He’d been teaching me on our new album of lullabies that He wanted me to publish. Yikes! Jesus Christ is keenly interested in motivating us to grow in our faith in Him. “For we walk by faith not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 He wanted me to demonstrate my love and faith in Him by obeying all that He asked me to do. For I cannot grow closer to God nor can I demonstrate that I have any true faith at all if I don’t obey God’s will. Jesus measures our love for Him by our obedience to Him.
Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments... He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” (John 14:21 NASB) Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him... He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”John 14:23-24
“Until The Day Breaks” is an important album for me in so many ways. Lullabies must be calming and peaceful. I had to test this album many times but every time I tried I fell asleep. So it was definitely peaceful and calming. But music is so subjective an art. What I think may not be what ten thousand other people think. And I take this risk every time I obey the Lord and publish an album of the music He gives me. I can’t worry about what other people think, nor can I allow human approval or disapproval to determine my response to my Lord Jesus Christ whom I profess to love with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I can’t allow other people’s tastes or choices to define the boundaries of my obedience to God, nor manipulate my relationship with the most important Person in my life.
Whatever people might think of me or the music Christ has given me to share is irrelevant.
The only thing that matters is my response to the God who gave me this gift.
For He will look me in the eye someday beyond the shores of this material life and ask me was I faithful to do all that He asked me to do with the gifts that He gave me to share, even when what He asked me to do might not seem to make much sense?
Even if no one seemed to care about what I did or even liked it?
For that was not nor ever could be the point or the goal of His gifts to us.
It is all about Him, the Lord Jesus Christ who gave His life that He might ransom my sinful soul from death and hell.
It is not about me~ Suzanne Harden.
“He must increase and I must decrease,” said John the Baptist.
Whatever He gives me all comes from Christ and exists for His glory.
His gifts all serve a purpose beyond what we personally can comprehend this side of eternity. They all have something to do with God’s dream for the world He created and loves without measure. We just have to lay aside our little “me” ideas and look at Christ and see it is Christ IN US, He is doing what He knows~ and we must allow Him to do it for HIS GLORY.
And I must lay down my will, my time, my resources, my energy~~what there is of it at least, in order to allow Christ to produce this work in and through me to give to this world, to shed His Light and love abroad in the darkness in the hopes that some will come back to Him so that He can save and give them eternal life.
I have sacrificed my life to do all that He asks of me, whether it is an album of lullabies and children’s songs, an instrumental album of serious music, another prayer song album, or even some more traditional hymns. It does not matter what I do, for I do it all for His glory.
I know full well that Jesus Christ is the True and living Composer.
And If no one likes the music God is sharing through me, well, it’s the Lord’s music, it’s His love, its His dream. I’m just His delivery system. If I do my best, He is pleased. He loves me.
My joy is knowing that I have done His will
“Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17 -
I pray that this album will be a very great gift of love and bring a blessing of peace and calm from the Lord Jesus Christ to everyone who takes the time to listen to it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
I give my Heavenly Abba Father, my Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit all glory, honor, and thanks for these beautiful lullabies. Apart from my Lord Jesus Christ, I can do nothing. This album is a gift dedicated from the Lord Jesus Christ to all of His precious little Lambs, and from me to our little granddaughters Vivienne and Vera, and to my beloved husband Mark.
——————————————- Scriptures For Meditation
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” Romans 12:1-2 - Amplified Bible
“Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things] —these do not come from the Father, but are from the world. The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.” 1 John 2:15-17 (Amplified Bible)
Spiritually deep, thought provoking, meditative instrumentals inspired by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“To Everything A Season” is my twenty third published album. It’s music sends me to my knees in holy fear and awe every time I listen to it, as I try to grasp the message that the Lord is trying to convey through each of its seventeen tracks.
While it is true that every song on this album was initially birthed through me in the form of a musical prayer, the Holy Spirit influenced each composition like an invisible musical conductor directing its course and flow as I played and worshiped the Lord.
This is essentially how the Lord Jesus Christ creates all of His songs through me. When I’m finished playing I usually pray and ask Him to please tell me what I should name the music. Sometimes He guides me to make prayer songs about what we have been studying in the Bible. If It is a prayer song for someone I will call it a prayer for that person. The Lord does not inspire me to do things the same way all the time.
Jesus Christ made the following remark about life in the Holy Spirit... “The wind blows wherever it wants to. You hear it, but you don’t know where it is coming from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born from the Spirit.” John 3:8
Because one of the characteristics of God is to keep moving, to not stay static, I have learned in my walk with Christ to not take anything, any gift, any person, position, any privilege, anything at all, for granted because what is true today, can all change tomorrow just like the seasons change.
Summer leaves, so green and full on the trees, in the Autumn turn into myriads of bright colors. Those leaves must not think they will possess their lovely colors forever. They only wear them for a short while. Alas, their beauty fades and dries up into crispy brown wisps that blow away from their once secure estates in the branches of the trees, carried off by the cold, bitter winds when the season moves on into Winter.
As I listen to “Song For My Abba Father - Thanksgiving,” I see in my mind a mighty rushing river of water that flows into many other rivers. That River is ever moving onward and spreading Life, Joy, Peace, and Hope wherever it flows. For who is Abba but the eternal everlasting Father of all life, “...the Lord, The Creator of Heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is, who keeps truth forever...” Psalm 146:6
Why do Christians call Father God “Abba?” “The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, “ Abba, Father.” Romans 8:14-15 What does Abba mean? Strongs G5 ABBA {Abbâ} ab-bah'of Chaldee origin); father as a vocative:--Abba. (In Latin grammar and other languages the vocative case is used to address or invoke a person or thing)
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, used the term “Abba” in addressing His Heavenly Father in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve before His crucifixion as He wrestled in deep sorrow and spiritual pain, fervently praying over the monumental task that lay before Him. “.Abba, Father; all things are possible to Thee; make this cup pass from me; but, not what I will, but what Thou.' Mark 14:35-36 (Young’s Literal Translation)
The Apostle Paul further explained why Christians call God “Abba”~ “But when the right time came, God sent His Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law. God did this so that He could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God’s purpose was to make us His children. Since you are now God’s children, He has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “ Abba, Father.” Now you are not slaves like before. You are God’s children, and you will receive everything He promised His children.” Galatians 4:4-7 (ERV)
The passage in Galations makes much more sense to those Jewish Christians to whom Paul was writing his epistle. They were trying to return to the Law of Moses. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law for everyone, Jew and Gentile, by living a sinless life, and then dying on the cross and shedding His spotless blood for our sins, then rising from the dead in victory over death.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. " John 14:6 (NIV) A new season had begun in God’s Time. … My instrumental songs on the Album “I Am God’s Child” and “My Name Is Written In The Lamb’s Book Of Life,” are both inspired by scriptures that assure me that Christ has made me His child, sealed me with His Holy Spirit, and recorded my name in His Book Of Life...
...As I listened to a couple of these songs on the Album I wanted to bow my face before the Lord in silence and just listen for His still, small voice. Both of the instrumentals “...Judgment Must Begin With The House Of God” and, “...Lord, Lord....” not only echo similar biblical topics, they are closely related in their musical expression. But what astounded me the most was that “...Lord, Lord” appears to be a sort of musical inversion of the instrumental worship song “Christ, We Adore Thee,” from my July 2018 release “Come Worship The Lord.”
These instrumentals are like three river songs that are two parts of ONE holy conversation from the Holy Spirit Of Christ~ our Holy River Of Life.
The Lord led me to compare the worship instrumental song “Christ We Adore Thee,” to the “Lord, Lord” Instrumental on my new Seasons Album so that I could begin to grasp the conversation He was trying to communicate to me through this music.
“Christ We Adore Thee” is a worship instrumental. (Worship is loving Christ, and true love for Christ is obeying Him. John 14-15) As I listened to both instrumentals I realized the Lord was saying that those who say they love Christ and those who merely profess to love Him are like inverted echoes of each other.While one is sincere, its reflection is but an image with no true substance beyond its appearance.
Since they do bear a strong resemblance, how does anyone discern the difference?
Jesus said, “... by their fruits Ye shall know them.” If one listens closely to the two songs, there is peace, self control, love, and stability in the worship song that is lacking in the “Lord, Lord” song.
“...Lord, Lord” ~ (8:14) is like a rushing river, coursing at lightning speed over its path as the drums become the hands of many souls passionately clapping, until all their staccato expressions of praise fall off into a bottomless well...
… hollow, weary claps of the drums become as ten thousand bullets of fury hurled at the Holy One who had redeemed their souls ~ their empty echoes reverberating off towering mountains around the Rivers as their former professions of worship become violent curses of anger now focused on the One who had suffered and died on the cross for them.
…Their echoes ricochet off the endless mountains of eternity to pierce them with the truth of their own self-deception as the violins scream in bitter agony like howling sirens... Christ is weeping "Depart from Me, Depart from Me...you workers of iniquity...for I never knew you..."
To be sure this song sends chills up my spine, and though the Lord created it through me, as I hear it I weep and fall to my knees before Him in Holy fear and pray with the Psalmist, “Search me, Oh God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked (*idolatrous) way in me.” Psalm 139:23-24
Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” ~ Matthew 7:21-23 …
The Lord’s musical conversation in this instrumental refers not only to the Matthew 7:21-23 passages of scripture, but also to Jesus’ words in John 14 in which Jesus measures our love for Him by our obedience to Him.
The music of this album reminds me of the seasons and how transitory they are. We must not take our lives, our merciful God, His grace, nor any of His gifts for granted. His seasons are dynamic and the Holy Spirit is ever on the move. We should always be listening for His voice.
May we listen and move with Him, lest we be left in the wake of that mighty ever flowing River of Life, wondering, gaping alone, “Where did Jesus go?” Was it my River that left, or did I just willingly stop abiding or flowing along in Him?
Is Jesus asking each one us in this season to examine our hearts before Him? Is He asking us to get back into His Word, to read the Bible for ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us without the distractions of the internet, social media, travel, our job, or whatever else is calling our attention away from Him ?
For the past year I have walked this excruciating path with my Lord and allowed Him to examine me. But I can tell you it is better to face these issues now and to be completely honest with the Lord.
“Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. He can clearly see all things. Everything is open before him. And to him we must explain the way we have lived.” Hebrews 4:13 ERV
Dare we ignore the Lord’s voice speaking to us in this season, asking us to turn our hearts back to Him, or will we respond like the rich young ruler? Jesus said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” Luke 18:22-23 -
Listen reverently, prayerfully to the songs on this album. The Lord will speak through this music to all who will take time to listen.
It is with a humble heart and much holy fear and respect that I share God’s gift of this new album with you. “To Everything A Season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens...” Ecclesiastes 3:1 All Glory To God the Father, My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, apart from Whom I can do nothing. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Dynamic Rhythms and soulful blends of jazz, soul, and alternative music harmonize to create beautiful, vibrant sounds that are filled with positive, spiritually motivating energy.
Album Notes
My Sheep Will Hear~ Original Sax, Guitar, & Drum Instrumentals
The name and each of the sixteen tracks of this, my 22nd Album from the Lord to His children, were inspired by many different scriptures in the Bible.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27 NKJV)
Jesus Christ said that He is the Good Shepherd and that those who belong to Him will be able to hear His voice speaking to them.
Many believers say that they never hear the Lord speaking to them, or that they once did, but now no longer hear His voice.
Several things can hinder us from hearing the Lord’s voice. Two of the biggest hindrances that I have found that can keep us from hearing from the Lord are:
Disobedience to God’s Will
Distractions (Not getting alone with the Lord and taking time to listen to Him)
Personal Filters: Filters can distort how we perceive something we hear, our perspective or viewpoint about religion, people, ideas, what we read, and so forth. For example, whenever friends who suffer from an eating disorder hear someone tell them that they are looking well, they panic and become very sad as their minds re-interpret that positive sounding remark to mean that they look like they’ve gained weight, which is about the worse thing in the world you could say to a person suffering from anorexia.
Personal filters like fear, anger, bitterness, unbelief, pride and so many others can distort how we hear from the Lord. That is why God’s word tells us to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Bitterness in our hearts can certainly distort how we perceive others, God’s voice, other viewpoints, religious views, not mention how we interpret the Bible, and do much damage to God's people. Please Read and heed the following verse very carefully:
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
How can we know God’s will for us?
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ~John 13:35
The Good Shepherd said that His will is for us is to love each other. Long ago Jesus told an expert in religious Law what the most important commandment was:
Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second most important is similar: ‘Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.’ All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them. Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying all the others.” ~Matthew 22:37-40 NLT)
If we truly love Jesus Christ with all of our heart, and have given our lives to Him and meant it, then we will do what He did for us. We will lay our lives down for Him as He laid down His life for us.
He suffered undreamed of agony to save our souls. He said, “Not my will but Thy will be done,” to His Father. Jesus was tortured, humiliated and died for our sins and then went to hell on top of it all before He was raised from the dead so that we might have eternal life with Him forever.
Jesus Christ said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.… “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (John 14:21,23,24 NKJV)
Imagine! Jesus promises that both He and His Father will come and make their home in our heart. He said He would manifest or show Himself to us if we would love Him and obey Him!
I can tell you that this promise is true. Apart from Jesus Christ, I could not make any of the music that He gives me.
The Lord Jesus began giving me music in 2009, for reasons only He knows and He has continued to do so because I keep listening to His voice and I keep obeying Him.
If I had not obeyed or listened to Him, He would not have given me this gift. I had a choice. I could have said, “No, thanks, Lord, I am an artist, I cannot possible take the time to do Your music for You; besides, I will look like an idiot since I know absolutely nothing about music. Everyone will say I’m crazy…and so forth…”
But I loved the Lord and knew that He had given His life for me. He had said, "Father, not My will but Thy will be done,.”
And if I really and truly loved Him as I professed to, then how could I deny Him anything? Had I chosen Art, then Art would have been my god, not the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord promised me I would suffer, be rejected, and many other things as have all since come true. “The servant is not above her Master,” the Lord told me.
I have learned that if I have Jesus, my Good Shepherd, then even though I may lose everything else in this world, I have everything I truly want and need. Christ is my Heaven. He is my God.
And every promise He makes about Himself is true. The Good Shepherd meets all our needs. Psalm 23:1 He leads His sheep by the still waters and rests them in green pastures. Psalm 23:2 He restores my soul, i.e heals and makes me whole inside and out (Psalm 23-3).
The Lord is the Great Physician. He can choose to heal us any way He wishes, whether through a miracle, medical science, or through a process or journey with Him where He teaches us many things. We become a work in progress when we invite the Lord Jesus into our heart, His masterpiece in the making, when we ask Him to be our Savior. He will complete us when we meet Him face to face. (Philippians 1:6, 1 John 3:2)
The Bible clearly states that God has no favorites. “ For God does not show favoritism.” Romans 2:11 (NLT)
All of the sheep who are abiding in the Good Shepherd will hear when the Good Shepherd calls them. “…and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” John 10:4 A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:3-5
We will not be able to discern the Good Shepherd’s voice if we are not abiding in Him. The sheep who are deceived by the stranger are those who just don’t know their Good Shepherd’s voice. They have not read or kept His Word in their hearts. They have stopped abiding in Him. They are deceived by appearances.
The song about the Stranger’s Voice is a very appealing song, just as the Stranger’s voice is like the sound of the snake charmer.
What is the Lord saying through this song?
Don’t be deceived by appearances or by what seems right or true. Something that looks and sounds so right can be so dangerously wrong and deceptive and lead to death. Not everything that seems biblical is the Gospel. It is important to read the Bible for ourselves and to pray to the Lord and seek His face. We must put away everything that distracts our hearts away from the Lord Jesus Himself, no matter what it is. The Lord promises in His word to lead His sheep down the right path if our heart is sincerely set on serving Him. “He leads me down paths of righteousness…” (Psalm 23:3)
All of the 16 tracks on this album were inspired by Scriptures that describe the Good Shepherd and His faithful care for us. I pray that those who listen to these songs will hear the Voice of their Shepherd calling to them, whispering to their hearts, and will discern what He is trying to say to them through this music. May the Holy Spirit use this music to draw you ever closer to the Good Shepherd who loves you and gave His life for you so that you might live in love with Him in Paradise forever. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“Let him who has ears to hear, hear…” ~Matthew 13:9
I dedicate this album to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who inspired, created, performed, recorded, edited, and produced all this music in and through me; apart from Him I can do nothing. May my Lord Jesus Christ be glorified and honored forever and ever. Amen.
Spiritually energizing music, featuring original upbeat harmonies that invite the soul to dance before the Lord in adoration and worship.
Album Notes
Come Worship The Lord!
“...and David danced before the Lord with all his might...” 2 Samuel 6:14
I am so excited to share with you my new release, “Come Worship The Lord!”
My new album features music that is a bit different from my other instrumental albums the Lord has given me to share so far. While this music is vibrant and very upbeat, it still somehow manages to be soulful and meditative, just in a different way. I could not have made this album at all had the Lord Jesus Christ not up and decided to teach me how to play the drums~on my keyboard, I mean :) In the past, such music would instantly give me a migraine. My brain simply could not process certain kinds of sounds. So when the Lord led me to add drums to my music, I envisioned having to spend the rest of the day sick day in bed. Yet He kept assuring me that HIS music would not give me any migraines. God had never failed me before, so He finally convinced me to trust that He would not start now. Then the Lord taught me how to play many new songs with the drums, strings, piano, guitars and more! I was amazed that playing the drums on my keyboard was mainly a matter of focusing completely on worshiping the Lord as I played, and keeping in time with Him, i.e., following His direction, no matter where He led me.
These songs were so different from all of my other music that I wondered why the Lord was giving them to me. Then He began teaching me about worship in my Bible Studies. He led me to a bible story in 2 Samuel 6 about King David and how he danced before the Lord “with all his might...”
“And David was dancing before the Lord with great enthusiasm, and David was wearing a linen ephod [a priest’s upper garment]. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing the ark of the Lord up [to the City of David] with shouts [of joy] and with the sound of the trumpet... Then, as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter [David’s wife], looked down from the window above and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she felt contempt for him in her heart [because she thought him undignified]...
Then David returned to bless his household. But [his wife] Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How glorious and distinguished was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself and stripped [off his kingly robes] in the eyes of his servants’ maids like one of the riffraff who shamelessly uncovers himself!”
So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord [that I did this], who chose me above your father and all his house, to appoint me as ruler over Israel, the people of the Lord. Therefore I will celebrate [in pure enjoyment] before the Lord . Yet I will demean myself even more than this, and will be humbled (abased) in my own sight [and yours, as I please], but by the maids whom you mentioned, by them I shall be held in honor.”
Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. 2 Samuel 6:14-16,20-23
It is significant that David took off his “kingly robes” and wore a linen ephod like one of the priests.
Paul wrote that that the things that were written in the Old Testament were examples for us. “The things that happened to those people are examples. They were written to be warnings for us. We live in the time that all those past histories were pointing to.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 ERV
In wearing the linen ephod, David was acting like a priest before the Lord, worshiping Him with all his heart.
True worship is performed by a priest of God. One of the reasons the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross to redeem people was, not only to forgive our sins and save our souls from eternal death (eternal separation from God~ hell ), His Sacrifice also makes those who receive Him as their Savior, priests of the Almighty God.
"Jesus is the one who loves us and has made us free from our sins with his blood sacrifice. He made us his kingdom and priests who serve God his Father. To Jesus be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6 ERV
“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NASB)
What does a priest do? Priests pray to God. They intercede for others. They obey the Lord. And they worship the Lord like King David...”with all their might...”
Jesus said to the woman at the well in Samaria, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 KJV
In other words, true worship is Holy Spirit inspired and it does not care what others think of them. True worship is humble, God centered, unselfconscious, bold, and absolutely free in the Lord, just as King David was as he danced before the Lord “with all his might.”
David’s worship dance that day became a symbol of things to come in the Body of Christ once the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Church on the Day Of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). The priestly gifts that the Lord poured out upon His Church through His Holy Spirit are discussed in detail in 1 Corinthians 12 & 14.
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 KJV
David’s wife Michal’s negative, scoffing response to his worship dancing also became a powerfully prophetic symbol. She did not believe that his dancing before the Lord was dignified and she was filled with contempt for him.
“How glorious and distinguished was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself and stripped [off his kingly robes] in the eyes of his servants’ maids like one of the riffraff who shamelessly uncovers himself!”
David’s unselfconscious, holy worship dance before the Lord is a powerful symbol for all Holy Spirit inspired worship and service to the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father in Christ’s Kingdom.
The picture we have of Michal sneering at David, the Lord’s servant dancing with all his heart before the Lord, is a foreshadowing of the tare in the Church today, objecting vehemently to God’s people who worship Him in the Spirit and Truth, exercising with all their heart before the Lord whatever priestly anointing He has showered upon them to use for His glory and honor.
When we show contempt and hatred for others we will bear no eternal fruit for Christ, even as Michal bore no children until the day of her death.
For when we do not love others we walk in disobedience to Christ's command to love one another. Christ said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34-35 KJV
True worship in Spirit and Truth involves obedience to Christ. "Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching." (John 14:23-24)
“Come Worship The Lord” is an Instrumental worship album. It is a gift from the Lord Jesus Christ. I played the music that He gave me and I never got a migraine! God is always faithful to His word. May this Holy Spirit inspired music bless all of you who, like David, love to dance before The Lord in the gifts He’s given you with all your might! To God be all the Glory forever and ever!
Please take some time to read the Bible for yourself and meditate on the story about King David. Pray and seek the Lord. If you have not already done so, please receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and become one of God’s holy priests. Let Him speak His wisdom and truth to your heart. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:27-28 NASB
Jesus promised to give the Holy Spirit to all who receive Him and guide them into the Truth. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth...” John 16:13 NASB
Spiritually dynamic lyrics blended with comforting, peaceful vocals that evoke the power of the eternal truths found in the Christian Gospel.
Paths of Grace Album Notes
“Paths of Grace” is the fourth album in my Paths Series of Peaceful Prayersongs Albums. The first three albums are “Paths of Peace,” “Paths of Love,” and “Paths of Hope.” The prayersongs in each album maintain the theme that each album focuses on.
The central theme of Paths of Grace is the grace found in salvation offered through the cross of Christ through His death and resurrection for all people.
The central theme of the Gospel is found in Jesus Christ’s own words: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
The Holy Spirit inspires each of my albums. It is interesting to note what He uses to inspire me. My prayersong, “Oh Come To Jesus,” was written while we were on vacation at the Beach. Whenever I see homeless people I am so sad. Jesus is our everlasting Home, our Hope, our eternal Treasure. We are never homeless, hopeless, or lost when we come to Jesus. We may not have a physical home. We may not possess physical, emotional, or mental health. We may not have affluence, influence, or popularity. Our world may be falling apart all around us. But if we have Jesus, we have Someone who holds all things together by His powerful word ~ even you, me and the tiny sphere we live in. When we have Jesus, we have everything. His grace will get us through every challenge. “(Christ) existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” Colossians 3:17 (NLT)
My prayersong, “Oh Lord, Rescue Me,” was inspired by many of the Psalms I read where David was fleeing for his life from King Saul who wanted to kill him. “Rescue Me” was mostly inspired by Psalm 18. When I am suffering from pain from a severe migraine, I pray as David did for the Lord to rescue and deliver me also! And just as God always delivered David, He delivers me, for He is faithful to listen to the prayers of all His children.
When I prayed to understand the apostle Paul’s words in his epistles “the fellowship of Christ’s suffering,” out of my bible studies the Lord gave me the prayersong, “My Beloved, Trust Me.” “...That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death...” Philippians 3:10 (KJV)
Our God is holy. He gave the children of Israel a Law on Mount Sinai. In the book of Habakkuk 3:3 when I read the following verse it intrigued me: “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise... This verse refers to Deuteronomy 33:2: “The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.”
When the Lord appeared to the Hebrew children to give them the Law, His glory covered the Heavens and earth. “God appeared in His glory, so as He never did before or since,” Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary. The Lord gave me a song almost immediately from the bible verses.
Why include a prayersong about the Law in an album on Grace? Because Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s Holy Law that the Lord established on Mt. Sinai.
In order to understand the Gospel of grace, one must understand that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again in order to fulfill the very Law that God established in Israel. The Gospel declares that people cannot be saved by fulfilling the Law. We are saved by trusting Jesus Christ to fulfill it for us. “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” Romans 3:20 (NIV)
Many prayersongs on this album are about Christ’s redemption. The final song, “Someday I’ll Rise,” contains the whole Gospel in one prayersong. I am forever grateful to my friend Karen Mahr for introducing me to the concept of going to sleep at night and rising in the morning as a metaphor for death and resurrection through one of her beautiful handmade Easter Cards that she sent me several years ago.
It is my prayer that the Lord will use the prayersongs on my Paths of Grace album to bless, comfort, and encourage all who listen to it, assuring them of God’s immeasurable love for them, and the timeless truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Dedication *This album is dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who inspired it, and to my husband Mark who never fails to encourage and support me in all my work for the Lord.
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Vibrant original guitar, piano, and string instrumental solos that pulse with spiritual energy filling the heart with a joyful attitude of worship
Where Angels Dance
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels... Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, For He issued His command, and they came into being.” Psalms 148:1-6 NLT
“Where Angels Dance” is a Worship Instrumental album featuring vibrant instrumentals that give glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who inspired each song.
I wasn’t always a musician. My background is in the visual arts and writing. Before, I was passionate about Art. I never sat down without a pen and sketchpad. I had taught art, worked as a freelance artist, and written and illustrated my own books, and earned my undergraduate degree in art & writing.
One day I fell asleep after taking my dog for a walk. I dreamed I went to Heaven. There I saw angels and saints dancing before Christ’s Throne. They were joyfully worshiping the Lord. Beautiful music was playing in the background as they danced.
When I awoke from my dream, the music was echoing in my mind. The Lord spoke to my heart, “You can play that song.”
The keyboard that my sister had given us was in front of me. I felt compelled to try even though there was no reason I should have any hopes of playing that beautiful song from my dream.
Except that the Lord had said I could. And if God said I could, it must be true since He can’t lie. But what if I was just imagining that God said it? The only way to find out would be to try…
I sat down and played that song. It was amazing but somehow, I just knew how to do it. My version wasn’t as lovely as what I had heard in the dream, but it sounded similar.
When the Lord taught me how to play the piano, it was purely by faith. All He asked of me was that I believed His word to me, “You can play that song.” After I played that one song, He said, “From now on you can play any song I teach you. Just believe.”
“He spoke and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:9
I loved worshiping God with this beautiful new gift.
Then the Lord asked me to SHARE the praise music He taught me to play.
Wait! It was one thing to play these songs that sounded amazing to me just for the Lord in my worship time, but quite another to make them public.
DOUBT reared its ugly head and whispered, “You know absolutely nothing! These songs only sound good to you because you don’t know anything at all about music. You are only an artist, you aren’t really a musician. No one will listen to this music from God and everyone will make fun of you.”
It was then that I decided, “Maybe the Lord wants me to take piano lessons.”
However, after going through three piano teachers and never being able to quite finish even one beginner book because reading notes was such a challenge for me, I finally realized it was not what the Lord wanted for me.
“For we walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
One teacher looked at a printed musical score from an original composition from the Lord and just shook her head, mystified. “This is way beyond you.” “But I created it, I mean, God created it through me,” I said.
One great thing did come of my piano lessons though. I loved learning the music scales! Somehow that is the one thing that I could master and the Lord helped me use this knowledge to compose many prayer songs.
Yet my music from the Lord sounded very different from other contemporary Christian music.
I had to come to terms with the fact that its true Creator, the risen Lord Jesus Christ who lives in my heart, was composing His music through me just the way He wanted it. I had to trust Him that it was good enough. This was going to take a significant leap of faith and courage.
When I had been working as a professional artist, I would never submit anything unless it rose to my “perfectionist” standards.
To me, my piano prayers were a beautiful gift from the Lord that I played back to Him in worship. They did not have to measure up to any human standard of musical taste or preference for I knew that Jesus had made them, loved them, and accepted them.
Now the Lord was asking me to share His songs with the public who did measure its music to a standard. I had no idea what those musical standards were. I had no real musical knowledge.
“Oh Lord, I’m just an artist, not a real musician. Do You really want me to share Your songs?”
Suddenly I realized I could say, “Yes or no, Lord,” to His beautiful gift. But then, He had laid down His life for me. He had said to His Father when faced with a humiliating, agonizing death on the cross just to bear all my sins, to be made a curse for me so that I might have eternal life with Him, “Father, not My will but Thy will.” He knew people would make fun of Him, scorn Him, reject Him, that He would even have to face the cold dark waters of death, the stench of hell where His beloved Father, from whom He had never been separated could not come. He faced all of this to pay the ransom for my soul.
How could I, if I truly loved my Savior, not lay down my life, my will for Him? How could I not share His songs, come what may?
True love lays down its life for Jesus.
I realized then, it’s not about me, or my will, but what God wants to do through me, even if I end up looking like a fool.
Love obeys her Lord and Savior no matter what He asks her to do for Him.
The most amazing thing I’ve learned through this experience is that God would choose an ordinary sinful woman like me, saved only by the almighty grace of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and say, “Here is a gift. All you need to do is receive it by faith.” Just like the gift of salvation He offers each of us in Christ.
And then it terrified me that He would take that same ordinary Christian woman, and say, “Now use that gift for My glory!”
I’m not perfect, far from it, nor is any of my music.
But God uses imperfect vessels.
God up and turned me into a musician for HIS glory-not mine. He put in me a gift I knew absolutely NOTHING about.
How I thank the Lord for the way He has used the gift of music to lovingly humble me in all of my other gifts.
"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3:20-21(The Message Bible)
Most of the music the Lord gives me is inspired by the Bible. The songs all begin as prayers, and I will praise the Lord forever for giving me this wonderful way to worship Him.
The Lord has blessed me with many instrumental songs and also prayer songs. I share these songs as the Lord leads me.
All of this music is very special for it truly is a gift from God. It never ceases to amaze and humble me how He plays His music through me.
My fervent prayer is that many people will be blessed and encouraged by this gift of God’s music. For all of the songs are essentially prayers ascending to heaven in a musical form breathed into life by the God who lives in me.
*“Where Angels Dance” is dedicated to my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ who inspired and created it through me, and to my husband Mark who faithfully supports everything I do.