This first selection is of songs I wrote as I was interacting with the Holy Spirit about the needs of the African children that my wife and I went to live among in Mozambique. At the time that we lived there for 6 years, Mozambique was tied for the poorest country in the world and was in the middle of being hit very hard by the AIDS crisis that left millions of orphans in its wake. Staggered by the needs surrounding us, and only too painfully aware of my own shortcomings in any attempt to make a real difference in such a complex arena, I continued to find hope and life and equilibrium in the words of scripture and the constant presence of God.
I hope to soon upload my (amateur) recording of those songs for you, but for now perhaps the lyrics and related scriptures will speak on their own.
1. Come! (Isaiah 55; John 6:25-59)
2. Any Wonder (Isaiah 4:5-6; Hosea 14:3; Amos 5:24)
3. Look Away (Luke 5:31,32; Matt. 25:31-46)
This song was inspired by my wrestling with the Western Church’s hesitation to engage with the AIDs pandemic
4. Mercy Aire (Psalm 42; 122)
5. I'll Cry For You
6. Postcards
7. Joy in the Morning
The tune and words of the chorus for this song literally came to me in a dream, our first night in Mozambique; it left me feeling that God was there ahead of me, inviting us past all the tremendous difficulties that we would face living in the bush for the next 6 years, urging me to focus on the joy set before me. Pondering the phrase, “joy in the morning”, for quite a while, I ended up crafting the remainder of the song from the gifts offered to overcomers in the letters to the churches, found in Revelation 2-3.
8. Edge of the promised land
9. Your Rest (Matt. 11:28-30)
I hope to soon upload my (amateur) recording of those songs for you, but for now perhaps the lyrics and related scriptures will speak on their own.
1. Come! (Isaiah 55; John 6:25-59)
2. Any Wonder (Isaiah 4:5-6; Hosea 14:3; Amos 5:24)
3. Look Away (Luke 5:31,32; Matt. 25:31-46)
This song was inspired by my wrestling with the Western Church’s hesitation to engage with the AIDs pandemic
4. Mercy Aire (Psalm 42; 122)
5. I'll Cry For You
6. Postcards
7. Joy in the Morning
The tune and words of the chorus for this song literally came to me in a dream, our first night in Mozambique; it left me feeling that God was there ahead of me, inviting us past all the tremendous difficulties that we would face living in the bush for the next 6 years, urging me to focus on the joy set before me. Pondering the phrase, “joy in the morning”, for quite a while, I ended up crafting the remainder of the song from the gifts offered to overcomers in the letters to the churches, found in Revelation 2-3.
8. Edge of the promised land
9. Your Rest (Matt. 11:28-30)