IN THE WORKS

These are songs that I’ve recorded on-the-go and often at my very out-of-tune piano with all the noises of daily life in the background. Eventually, I hope to convert several of these songs into more polished recordings, but for now, I hope they speak to the realness of our everyday need for Jesus.

If you have a scripture or another educational text that you want to commit to memory, contact me! I’d love to compose new music that can help you to do just that!

FAMILY LITURGY

The priestly blessing has become a parental blessing in our family that we regularly sing over our boys when we tuck them in at night. I set this scripture to music for my sister’s girls on the occasion of their baptism. My 3-year-old at the time sat in my lap at the piano at the front of the service because he wanted to sing it with me to bless his cousins. This scripture was also sung as the recessional for our wedding (to a different tune), so it holds many meanings in our lives. I hope it can in yours, too. His Word is living!

A song for a meal shared with friends. I wrote this for a small group of 4-year-olds I was teaching for what I called, “Four School.” This was the song we sang before our snack, but it has since been sung around many a family table with a bounty of friends and food.

A song of thanks and a call to worship! This recording was made at the breakfast table with three kids under 4 who guest featured as percussionists in the second verse. :) This is the song we sing most often at our house to begin a meal together.

Oh, my Mama heart! This is how we learn our songs together. I recorded this with my 3-year-old at the time. This song will launch soon in a more polished form as part of a 26-song collection (coming end summer 2019!). As the one above, it is a regular bedtime song for our family.

Well, here we are in all our toddler glory. :) This is a scripture I put to music for my Dad’s retirement from full-time pastoral ministry (which lasted a few months… ha!). He has used this verse for 40+ years as the benediction for any service he leads. When I was a little girl, I remember lip syncing it as he pronounced it at the close of a service (I really thought I knew a special secret that no one else could possibly know!) Since my family now lives overseas and couldn’t attend my Dad’s “sending” service, we sent this recording as a benediction for him as he left the full-time pastorate. I love to use this as a congregational sending song.

EVERYDAY SCRIPTURES

I love this text. It defines God’s completeness and how we ought to respond to Him completely - loving Him with our hearts, our souls, our minds and and our very lives: we should talk about this at home and away, with our children, when we lie down and when we rise. Above all else, the truth of who God is should guide how we think, what we say, what we do and how we order our homes. The last line from verse 12 strikes me every time: “…take care that you don’t forget the LORD.” Oh that we might never forget! But, alas, we will (forget) and we won’t (love completely)… and so, we need Jesus. Thanks be to God for his complete sacrifice for our forgiveness!

This scripture just struck me when I read it and I wanted to remember its truth: that ALL scripture is God-breathed and that it equips us for EVERY good work. The grand scope of these simple verses reminds me that God’s Word really is truly life-giving and has purpose beyond the page.

When my sister was confronted with some health concerns for her sweet daughter, this Scripture seemed to offer hope for the anxieties that can plague our mama-hearts. I wrote this arrangement for her, but I come back to it many times myself when I need to be reminded to take my eyes of the worries of my days and set them on the One who guards my heart and mind with peace.

I wrote this melody for a friend who asked for this scripture to be put to song to help her family memorize it together. I listen to it often when I feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or just plain tired, and I am reminded to re-attune my heart to the way of Jesus. This scripture reminds me of a quote by A.W. Tozer, “When God is exalted to the right place in our lives, a thousand problems are solved all at once.”

An unexpected hospital stay left me with hours of alone time, and, to be honest, a feeling of listlessness. Wanting to keep myself purposefully occupied, I texted a friend to ask if she had any Scriptures that she would like to have put to music. She sent me this Scripture and shared that it serves as a reminder to her of the incredible privilege and joy we have as mothers to disciple our children in the way of Christ. Having a Scripture song to write was a great encouragement to my heart, both to keep me worthily occupied and to encourage me in my role as a mother. I hope it does the same for you!

My husband read this to me alongside my hospital bed at a particularly unsettling and unexpected time of life. It was immediately a song playing in my mind and lilting my weary spirit to a place of peace. I reached for my computer and recorded it right there. I remember it often in thanks and as a prayer of comfort and promise.

Probably one of the most well-known scriptures, Psalm 23 is frequently memorized as a reminder of the peace, comfort and hope that is ours in Christ Jesus. A friend asked me to put this passage to music for her family when they were learning it together.

I was asked to lead worship for a small women’s conference, with this scripture as a focal point. I wrote this simple tune so that the group could sing to memorize this incredible promise. As with all of the songs on this page, this one is horribly out of tune and imperfect. I hope it doesn’t matter to you. :)

A friend who had lost her young son to cancer shared that these verses were holding her up in her pain that particular year. As a mama of four sons, this is a pain I can only imagine but cannot possibly fathom. Oh, how my heart aches at the thought of the depth of that grief. I knew I had nothing to offer as a salve to her pain, but I wanted to be able to put this hopeful scripture to song so that the promise of these verses might be easily committed to memory for my friend and might add to the beauty of the hope that she has and professes in Jesus.

This is the entire passage of Ephesians 6 (i.e. verses 1-24). I set it to music for an elementary school to learn the whole chapter more easily.

LENTEN LITURGY

Click here to access “Family Devotions for Lent” by K.C Ireton. Note that the start date of Lent is different each year.

I wrote this simple call-and-response song to open our family’s daily devotional time throughout the season of Lent. The words are from Psalm 51:10 (NIV): Create in me a clean heart, O God / and renew a right spirit within me. We sing the song a cappella as we light a candle to begin. Whoever is lighting the candle sings the “leader” part and the other members of our family sing the response. If you are not comfortable singing, you can use our recording or simply say the words rather than sing them!

We use this call-and-response song to end our daily Lenten devotional. The lyrics are Jesus’ words recorded for us in John 14:27. After we have sung it together, we “pass the peace” by saying to each family member, “Peace be with you,” and each responding, “And also with you.” This has proven to be a very special time when we acknowledge each family member, look them in the eye and/or embrace them in some way (a hug, a touch on the arm) - a simple but meaningful way to connect with one another.

This is a simple song to be sung a cappella and in unison at the end of each reading / station in the observance of Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. It is slow and solemn, as is the occasion. The words are a bit tricky to make out in this computer recording, especially with all the beautiful night sounds, but hopefully the tune is clear: Holy God / Holy Mighty / Holy Immortal / Have mercy on us.

PERSONAL SONGS

A slow a simple song. I wrote this when I was overcome with anxiety about a problem that was humanly impossible to solve. I was overwhelmed and exhausted, but I wanted to claim my belief that Jesus was enough for any and all problems I was facing. As my husband put the kids to bed, I slumped in front of my untuned, hand-me-down piano from the late 1800s and plunked out this heart song. And, in case you’re wondering, He solved it. In His infinite wisdom and mercy, God solved the problem. This is a song that directed my wandering mind to faith in God’s infinite future grace.

NIF KIDS’ SONGS

Here’s a fun one! Clearly, as you will hear in this recording, I am NOT a ukulele player, but the goal here is to enjoy learning scripture together, not to be perfect! :). I hope you have fun learning this one! Here are the lyrics if you need them:

A friend, A friend is always loyal, Oh yes, it’s true / A brother is born to help in time of need, He’s always there for you

Oh, Jesus is a friend who will help you anytime / Even when you feel like no one cares, He’ll always be right there / He’s a friend