Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ -- and also in the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit!
I have been a musician all my life, and I had been playing in various rock bands when the Lord Jesus Christ found me on March 14, 1989. (I didn't find Him--He wasn't the one who was lost.) Within a year of that date I wrote the first complete song I had ever written that I could stand; that was "I'm Not Alone Any More." Since then I have been writing other songs and dreaming about making a CD, but I wanted to make sure to wait for the Lord's timing.
On Sunday, October 22, 2000, the Rev. Shirley Stevens was the guest speaker at the church I was attending, and she had several of us come up for prayer, including Yours Truly. She prayed over me that I would "make records--ah, CDs--that would bring people to holiness," and then she tried to push me down while "slaying me in the Spirit." I wasn't sure "the falling-down thing" was really of God, so I resisted. Shirley prayed over me again but kept her hand about three feet away. I was going to say silently, "Lord, if this thing is for real I will do it, but You will have to put me down." All I got to was, "Lord," and down I went, so now I know that "the falling-down thing" can be a real manifestation of the Holy Spirit. I later recalled that there is Scriptural precedent in the Old Testament for the Holy Spirit (or "the glory of the Lord") falling so heavily that the priests could not stand up to do their priestly duties (Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Chronicles 7:1-3).
By this time I had written enough songs for a CD, so I decided that I now had the go-ahead from the Lord, and I "stepped into the Jordan" and got started. The CD featured on this page is the beginning of the fulfillment of Shirley Stevens' prophecy, and since she said "CDs" there will most likely be others in the future.
There is enough variety in the songs that I am providing a song-by-song description--with which the listener is free to disagree:
1. I'm Not Alone Any More - a shout of joy set to '80s piano rock a la Billy Joel--my testimony in a nutshell. I got the signature piano lick in 1984, five years before I was born again; the lyrics began to come soon after, and the song was completed in 1990.
2. Come Unto Me - something the Eagles might have done based on Matthew 11:28-29.
3. Come and Live - an evangelisitic song along the lines of what Bread or Michael Martin Murphey might have done.
4. God's Gift to Man - a tongue-in-cheek takeoff on this expression with a swaggering swing flavor that fits the attitude of one who thinks he is, well...
5. Lord Jesus - a "background tape anthem" typical of the late '80s and early '90s that sums up what our Lord has done for us.
6. You Are My Lord - Motown-flavored declaration of His Lordship.
7. Child of the King - straight-ahead, driving traditional Southern-style gospel with a full-range choir backup. All the other songs on this CD have my voice on backup, but it didn't take me long to see that wouldn't cut it on this song. I was hearing full-range rather than men's chorus, so I needed some women to sing backup. Twelve people from my home church joined me on this song, and we had a great time recording the backup vocals on June 11, 2001.
8. Love Your Brother Man - perhaps the Christian version of "hippie music."
9. Fear Not - reggae-flavored retelling of the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:1-14).
10. Be Still - peaceful fingerstyle guitar song based on Psalm 46:10.
11. Sing to the Lord a New Song - 6/8 praise chorus from Psalm 96:1 and 98:1.
12. Let All Those That Trust In Thee Rejoice - praise chorus the Byrds might have done (if they'd had a piano player) based on Psalm 5:11.
13. Ain't Got No Blues - blues a Christian can sing -- not a slow song.
14. Turn to Me - fingerstyle guitar song from Joel 3:11-12.
By the way...the picture on the CD cover is of Yours Truly at the age of 6; it was taken in February 1966 when I was in first grade. You might say that is what my Inner Child looks like. If you buy the CD and look on the back (or go to my website), you will see how I appear today.
If you have age progression software this CD would be a good way to test it; the age difference is 36 years.
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