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Introduction
Welcome to my song garden. Here I’ve posted the fruits of 30+ years of songwriting. After years of good intentions, always planning (and failing) to get professional recordings made of them, I decided to leave them as rough demos and worktapes, and share them with anyone who wants to listen. Feel free to contact me if anything here has blessed you.
Chorus:
Love the Lord your God
With all your heart and mind,
All your soul and strength
Love the Lord your God
With all your heart and mind,
All your soul and strength
Lay down your life
With your joy and your sorrow
Let your passions not pull you apart
Let Christ be the Master
Of all your emotions
Live your love for God with all your heart
CHORUS
…More than enough
Think of all you've been given
Where another just walks, you have wings
But you won't be complete
Till you give to the needful
This is how you love God with your strength
CHORUS
Long we've lived in darkness; long is the night.
How the powerful betray us
Yet when Messiah comes,
He'll make all things right
Send Your light, o Lord, illuminate us!
CHORUS:
Christ, the Prince of Peace is born.
Christ, the King of Glory
History hinges on this baby boy.
Hallelujah! Christ is born
Strength is given us to shelter the weak.
Wealth for want is Yahweh's story
So when the spring of life pours out, full and free.
Sing hosanna for God's glory!
Step by step and mile by mile
Bring each woman, man and child
To Your called community,
Singing, faithful, bold, and free
Refrain:
Love divine who for us longs
Make us one in morning song
My soul is full of trouble;
I am pulled towards the grave
On the list of doomed and dying,
Weak, forsaken, like the slain
Whom You pull your hand away from
And forget like faded paths
You have put me in the deepest,
Darkest pit beneath Your wrath
Chorus:
Lord, God of my salvation,
I call both day and night
Allow my prayer before You,
Tilt Your ear to hear my cry
Oh, Lord, You are my Shepherd
You give me all I need
Lay me down in greener pastures
To the still waters lead
Chorus:
You are with me, Lord, You are with me
You are with me, Lord, You are with me
Why am I following this Rabbi ‘cross the land,
When I could be somewhere else?
Perhaps it’s curiosity, telling me
To see it for myself
But as I’m following, I cannot understand
How it really fits together
The targets of His woes and blessings seem to flow,
And change just like the weather;
He changes like the weather
Turn to the words of life eternal,
Learn to trust the Speaker
Search if you must, but cling to
The Voice you heard, and find your healing
O heartless puppet king,
You took my children to the grave
But this, my chance to mourn,
I will not let you steal away
The pow’rful clench their fists
And our prospects start to dim
In grief God meets us mourning,
And each morning we are His
Let weeping fill the streets
Let weeping fill the streets
O comfort me no more
My children are no more
Those who walk in darkness will see a great light
Grace and justice meet; love and truth will unite
Every hope and joy meet in this Child tonight;
Waves of great relief swirl with awe and delight
Refrain:
Wow, hallelujah
Wow, hallelujah
Wow, hallelujah
The King is born!
Powerless, we see in the Lord our true hope
Yet the years pile up since the Almighty spoke
Trust in Him; the fullness of time will unfold
Wait and wait again, He is patient, not slow
The Lord is with you; He won't forsake you
Our God is making all things new
So be courageous; be bold and fearless
What He has promised, He will do
Oh, from His wealth he brings joy;
And from His beauty He gives blessing
In our distress we hear His voice;
The Lord is with You.
So much has been taken from our people
Taken from our families and friends
So how can we believe in new beginnings,
When so much sweet comes to a bitter end?
We will find reminders of redemption,
We will speak and sing the sacred truth
That when the darkness on us has descended
The Light will rise again and lead us through
Refrain:
Rejoice! The Lord has done great things!
Rejoice! The Lord has done great things!
The good news is the hist'ry of the healing that He brings
Rejoice! The Lord has done great things.
(Each verse of this song summarizes the Advent Scripture passage listed before each verse. See below for a playable copy of the music.)
Isaiah 64:1-9
Open up the sky, Lord;
Show the world Your power.
May Your presence leave
The nations trembling
You are like no other,
Awe-inspiring Father,
We beg for Your mercy;
Turn away from all our sin
Refrain:
Lord, You are waiting for our repentance.
You hold back the justice of Your wrath.
Your love is patient, longing that we turn and confess
And find forgiveness in Your mercy's path.
When arrested, don't despair—
Make the guards wonder and stare
Fill the prisons with your prayers:
Walk another mile
And when the guns pound at the door,
Boots and blood upon the floor
Sing and pray, love even more:
Walk another mile
CHORUS:
The eyes of God are watching;
The hand of God restores
He knows the miles you have been walking;
He will strengthen you to walk one more
Chorus:
Return, oh Lord, and rescue my soul
Save me in Your kind, endless love
Oh Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
Be gracious to me, LORD, for I weaken;
Oh heal me, LORD, my bones suffer attack.
Pre-Chorus:
My soul is bent and bruised;
Oh Lord, oh Lord, how long?
Chorus:
Answer me quickly, Lord,
My spirit is failing
Do not hide Your face from me
Or I'll be like those in the grave
Let me hear mercy, Lord,
Lovingkindness at daybreak
In Your way won't You lead me
For I trust in You to save
Hear my prayer, oh Lord,
Give ear to my pleading
Righteous and faithful You are
So answer my entreaty
Judge me not, oh Lord,
For I am still Your servant
No one alive is righteous in Your sight
Out of despair, I cry a prayer:
Hear my voice, oh Lord!
Let Your ears be list’ning for me;
Let mercy be my reward.
Chorus:
Oh Israel, put your hope in the Lord
For in the Lord is unfailing love
And full redemption
If You had been counting our sins,
Oh Lord, who could survive?
But You forgive again and again;
We rev’rence You, God on high
Chorus:
Oh, God, I know, I know, I know, I know my sin
So won’t You create a clean heart in me again?
Have mercy on me, God,
Your love is never-failing
Erase the wrongs I’ve done
Through mercy great and faithful
Wash me through and through
From my own sin please purify
I’ve sinned against just You,
I've done what's evil in Your sight
Chorus:
The Lord who loves me whole
Longs to lead me
And guide me into His way
So I will bare my soul,
I will admit my sin
To receive His freedom and grace
Blessed are you whose sins are forgiven,
Whose wrongs are out of sight
Whose slate the Lord has wiped clean
And whose heart is empty of lies
When I was silent and swallowed my sin
My strength was drained away
Lord, Your hand was heavy on me
Like a summer's heat night and day
Chorus:
Save me, O God, You are my refuge,
My only good: You are my Lord.
With You I find the living pathway,
Joy and pleasures forevermore
Godly people spread out over all the world
They are the noble ones who put my spirit at ease
Chasers of idols multiply their sorrows and pain
I’ll never worship or name the idol deities
I can't do this alone
I need you to come near
Sit with me today
There's nothing to say
Just don't disappear
It's a long, hard road
That the Lord walks with us
It's a miracle true
After all we've been through
He can teach us to trust
CHORUS:
In a cold, dark world
That's broken by sin
Any hint of hope
Is like a candle within
We are not alone;
Christ whispers our story:
The threads of our pain,
Tattered and frayed,
He weaves into glory
I got up from the banquet meal,
Ran away from my enemies.
Rejected the anointing that heals
Pushed away the joy You had for me
Chorus:
But through the darkness I see Your light
Your loving kindness and mercy bright
Will follow me for all my life
You’ll keep on searching
To take me home with You one more time
To take me home with You one more time
We live in a lonely people, from sea to selfish sea
Wearing the weight of the world ‘round their necks
Where can they find release?
We feel the darkness so clearly, mostly within our own hearts
But when we return to the only true Light
He gives us hope’s true spark
Chorus:
Let the light of love shine through your life,
Shine wherever you are
And when seeking eyes look to the skies
Be for them a Bethlehem star
Refrain:
We ache and rejoice, we long and we fear
For mercy and justice to visit us here
We tremble and trust as the Day of the Lord comes near
Days of injustice drag on
Corruption and sin all around
But when He returns to make everything right,
Will anyone righteous be found?
REFRAIN
Why does the Lord seem so far
Away from our suffering and pain?
Dear children of God, hear the Spirit and hope
O trust and do not be afraid
Out of chaos comes creation; out of cynicism, hope
A living, breathing, testifying army comes from a pile of bones
A bunch of clay becomes a human; out of he, a she
He turns the mourning into dancing,
As morning follows eve, morning follows eve
Chorus:
And He has reassured me, time and time again,
I cannot chase Him elsewhere, or scare off His right hand
And when I’m feeling dirty, and push everyone away,
He calms and cleans my spirit, and creates a brand new day
One will deny Me, one will betray
The sheep will be scattered; all will run away
(The) Messiah must die; the Scriptures say it’s true
But first let Me share this meal here with you:
Chorus:
Take this bread, now broken, and drink this blessed wine
Whene’er you meet, remember Me,
The flesh and blood divine,
Chorus:
Jesus clears the temple;
Who knew it could be so unclean?
He takes the prophet’s mantle;
Is He the king he claims to be?
I’ve seen Him work miracles,
Speak power and peace;
Now, chasing these swindlers out,
That power again is released—throw out the thieves!
I’m an honest businessman;
I help keep community strong
By offering services we all need—
Is making a profit so wrong? Here I belong!
Father, the time has come
To glorify Your Son,
So He can give glory back to You
For these sheep I plead,
And the ones they will lead to You;
Oh, fill them with joy and grace and truth
Chorus:
Oh, lead them to unity, join them to You and Me,
Healing, revealing, that all might believe
Help them to teach and pray, living out every day
All We have shown them, that all might believe
I am the greatness, it is I upon the throne;
I throw down pretenders, it is I and I alone
I sift out the riff-raff, then I smash them like a stone;
I am the greatness, I and I alone
I am the greatness, I and I alone
We will make our home
Wherever the Lord may lead
Serving Christ alone,
We’ll live as a family
There is hope in the place of catastrophe,
In what we choose this day
How I miss the color of her smile
The living light she'd pour into my day
A breathing of the air again, a whisper to my trusted friend,
A gathering of life upon her face
Chorus:
I want to say this to the children:
Life is harder than you ever thought it would be
But in the darkness of the pain,
Standing on the edge of hell,
What is true may still be hidden,
Like a book high on a shelf
Persevere in love, my sons and daughters,
Do not leave the well
You will find the living water
When you serve someone besides yourself
Waking up is the hardest part
The sound of alarm is the lead of my heart
The silence seduces me back towards sleep;
Desire to have you alive comes, so selfishly
I never thought much before
About the value of your support
The knowledge that you would hold me until I cried
I cannot call up these tears
Though I'm surrounded by so many fears
The missing of your laughter leaves me cold, so cold