I believe that we all have special gifts - we came here with our own unique abilities to contribute to this world, and to others. Even if right now you don't think of anything off-hand, I bet there is something.....and with God's help, you can find a way to bring it forth, and shine as the beautiful spirit you are in this world...
(There are two versions of this song; one is a slow, melodious, with a harp background and lots of harmony,
the other is a "catchy" country version - however the lyrics are the same)
JUST BELIEVE
written by Mary Elder, Deb Haworth, and Gail Gerdin - copyright 2010
Do you recall
From your days gone by
All the dreams you had
Did you help them fly?
Did they build you up
Or did they make you cry
Did they fade away
With the sands of time
Now put your dreams, in the hands of God
So they raise you up, on your golden wings
Now just believe and come alive
Take those dreams you have, and let them fly
God knows we all,
Have gifts to bring
So find your song and sing, let your spirit ring
When we live our dreams, we are most alive
So bring your gifts to God
And come lets fly….
When you put your dreams, in the hands of God
He will raise you up, on your golden wings
Now just believe and come alive
Take those dreams you have, give them life to fly
Come-on just believe, now come alive
Allow your trust in God, and come let’s fly
So just believe and come alive
Now just believe, and come alive
Just believe, and come alive
Come-on just believe
And come alive......
(There are two versions of this song; one is a slow, melodious, with a harp background and lots of harmony,
the other is a "catchy" country version - however the lyrics are the same)
JUST BELIEVE
written by Mary Elder, Deb Haworth, and Gail Gerdin - copyright 2010
Do you recall
From your days gone by
All the dreams you had
Did you help them fly?
Did they build you up
Or did they make you cry
Did they fade away
With the sands of time
Now put your dreams, in the hands of God
So they raise you up, on your golden wings
Now just believe and come alive
Take those dreams you have, and let them fly
God knows we all,
Have gifts to bring
So find your song and sing, let your spirit ring
When we live our dreams, we are most alive
So bring your gifts to God
And come lets fly….
When you put your dreams, in the hands of God
He will raise you up, on your golden wings
Now just believe and come alive
Take those dreams you have, give them life to fly
Come-on just believe, now come alive
Allow your trust in God, and come let’s fly
So just believe and come alive
Now just believe, and come alive
Just believe, and come alive
Come-on just believe
And come alive......
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This one is a catchy folk style; It’s funny how God does things – I THOUGHT I was writing a song about how music can
bring peace to the world…but when I went to write down the song, nature somehow managed to get in there!
PEACE IS IN OUR NATURE
It’s peace that’s in our nature
With a song that stirs the soul
A melody that lifts your spirits high
As the eagle soars aloft on waves of wind
Music's joy can bring you up and make you whole
The music of nature is a language for all people of earth
It can bring calm & peace, a joyous soul’s rebirth
An orchestra from God’s creation,
A touch of the song of Heaven
From the dancing notes in a rippling stream
To a chorus like a sigh of wind in the trees
Chorus
As we reflect nature in joyous gratitude we sing
With harmony & love, eternal peace can ring
The softest note or the smallest flower
can melt the hardest heart
For each soul has it’s own glorious song
A way to use our gifts to bring the new dawn
Chorus
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This song is more of a guitar -slow country style - and also goes along with the concepts of how important our vibrations are to
our surroundings, our lives, our visions of the future, and of our world....
REVOLUTION OF YOUR HEART
(words and lyrics by Mary Elder, copyright 2010)
Do you think what you are feeling, doesn’t really matter at all
Don’t you realize your thoughts are self-evolving
The Universe responds to your vibration
Your vibration is what you think and feel
We are made in His image; power of word, power of thought
Images we hold in time, become our future
So don’t dwell on the negatives that happen
Cause your feelings, can make yet more come true
Turn your mind and heart away; focus on a brighter day
You think it, you feel it, now believe that it will be
Only love can change the world, one person at a time
With forgiveness, we break the cycles of pain
Our thoughts and actions, they hold eternal power
Yet, He's willing to wipe our dark slates clean
A revolution of your heart, It’s the truth of your vibration
It’s a way the world becomes, all the good that it can be
Even tho things may seem rough right now
Don’t buy into the illusion
Use your gifts, live in love
Make that world we all want to see
Turn your mind and heart away; focus on a brighter day
You think it, you feel it, now believe that it will be
============================================================================================
(words and lyrics by Mary Elder, copyright 2010)
Do you think what you are feeling, doesn’t really matter at all
Don’t you realize your thoughts are self-evolving
The Universe responds to your vibration
Your vibration is what you think and feel
We are made in His image; power of word, power of thought
Images we hold in time, become our future
So don’t dwell on the negatives that happen
Cause your feelings, can make yet more come true
Turn your mind and heart away; focus on a brighter day
You think it, you feel it, now believe that it will be
Only love can change the world, one person at a time
With forgiveness, we break the cycles of pain
Our thoughts and actions, they hold eternal power
Yet, He's willing to wipe our dark slates clean
A revolution of your heart, It’s the truth of your vibration
It’s a way the world becomes, all the good that it can be
Even tho things may seem rough right now
Don’t buy into the illusion
Use your gifts, live in love
Make that world we all want to see
Turn your mind and heart away; focus on a brighter day
You think it, you feel it, now believe that it will be
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YOU CAN'T BE A BEACON (IF YOUR LIGHT DON'T SHINE)
* A great song written by Marty Cooper and made famous in 1974 by Donna Fargo. I kept the song pretty original in the recording, with minor modern country "tweaking". The song was great as it was originally released - it didn't need to be remade - I am honored to give it a "second run".
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine.
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine.
There's a little light in all of us by God's design,
But you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine.
How can you ask for truth when you do not truthful live?
How can you ask forgiveness when you don't forgive?
I don't mean to bring you down or speak to you unkind.
But you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine.
Chorus
How can you ask a child to be honest and true,
When he can only judge what's right by what he sees in you?
How can you offer vision yet walk around blind?
No you can't see a beacon if it’s light don't shine.
(key change)
May God's love surround you, may you find a brighter day.
May He grant you the peace you seek in every way.
God's light burns in each life, yours and mine,
And you can be a beacon if you just let it shine.
You can be a beacon if you let it shine,
You can be a beacon if you let it shine.
There's a little light in all of us by God's design,
You can be a beacon if you let it shine.
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BE STILL
Be still and know I am always with you
Be still and know, I am always there
I am the ripples calling to you from sparkling waters
I am the breeze that’s singing to your soul
Like the mountain, strong and sturdy to support you
In our love, together we are whole
I conduct a chorus of nature to sing you harmony
I paint that rainbow you see soaring thru the sky
I bring the sun shining warm upon your shoulders
I carry the bird that flies with the wind on high
(Instrumental "chorus")
I am the sunrise that wakes you every morning
It is me that is holding you in the night
My fingers of wind caressing thru your hair
My arms the blanket of love that holds you tight
I stand here on the brink of forever
Waiting to hold you, don’t you see?
We’ll meet again soon face to face
Our paradise in Heaven, when you just believe
Be still and know I am always with you
Be still and know, I am always there
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This is a song that was from a poem called "The Journey" that a singer friend of mine, by the name of Elaine Peacock, wrote. The lyrics are basically hers, all I had to do was arrange them a bit, and then wrote the music. It starts with a melodramatic sound and feel, and then progresses to a happier sound......
I’M A WINNER
copyright 8-2011
(lyrical poem by Elaine Peacock, arranged by Mary Elder, music by Mary Elder)
It was a cold snowy day, that day in December
My life changed in an instant, I will always remember
The Doc came in, said "I need to make you aware"
"You have Cancer"; I sat stunned, in despair
I cried to God, "For this I don’t have time!"
I felt him smile, saying “Trust me, 'O child of mine”
The Cancer had spread – chemo, radiation in store
I prayed; ”with you I can do this” as I walked thru that door
Caught early they said, many decisions to make
Couldn’t plan for the future, only God’s hand could I take
Yet thru it all, loved one’s words so comforting;
“We’ll get thru this, think what you’ll share when you sing”
Sometimes we never know, the reason or the rhyme;
His plans are ever -perfect; and He’s always right on time
A path I did not choose - could only trust in God above
One day at a time, with his guidance strength and love
My prayer to Him brings peace;
“Lord, your will and not mine”
For no matter what the outcome…
(I'M A WINNER !!!) (spoken)
Forever with God, I win, His all the time
Bridge:
On this journey to new life, unexpected blessings received
The love, cards and calls so plenty,
many dear friends did I meet
Every treatment means one day closer to healed
With Him all things are possible, in His glory revealed
Chorus
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Everything we do in this world creates a vibration that travels through the universe; even things that seem so mundane, such as thoughts and words have lasting vibrational resonance. The more positive our thoughts, words, and actions, the more positive the vibrations are that we send out. Make them good and we can change our world together!
This song has a "melodic piano" as the main accompaniment emphasis....
CANVAS
(music and lyrics by Mary Elder, copyright 2010)
Your life is but a canvas; that you paint your spirit on.
The brushstrokes are the messages from your heart
The paint is the emotion
The way you use your colors
The impressions that you make
Become collages of our world
One day we’ll see our pictures
Displayed on Heaven’s walls
The paints we used on others
Did we raise them up or make them fall
Our life is a parade of colors
The different hues and streams of light
Everywhere you go, everyone you meet
Is another dab of paint in this canvas we call life
The only problem with painting
There’s always mistakes we seem to make
The strive for artistic perfection;
We just get in our own way
With blessings and help from our Creator;
We can undo things of our past
With forgiveness love and kindness
Bad images they just can’t last
One day we’ll see our pictures
Displayed on Heaven’s walls
The paints we used on others
Did we raise them up or make them fall
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This song I wrote while at a camp in the hills of western South Dakota...and got thoroughly scolded by a squirrel while doing so - God finds so many ways to make us laugh...it is a "folk style" guitar, with harmony, and some countermelody for accent...
HEARTS IN HARMONY
(words and lyrics by Mary Elder, copyright 6-2011)
In the hills, there’s a place, where my heart longs to be
The cheerful sounds of the ripples in the stream
Where the birds love to sing
And the squirrels – they’ll scold anything
You never know what God uses to heal our hearts
The distant sigh of the wind, singing sweetly in the pines
Majestic rocks; what have they seen ‘oer time
The fragrant smell of the rain
The forlorn whistle of the train
All the mem’ries where God’s love and light can heal
A place of hope a haven of love
His glory streams down from up above
Bringing lives together in peace and joyful song
We’re just hearts in harmony
Reaching out, helping others to see
A better way, sharing truth and hope and love
In your heart, hold this place where your soul can be free
That inner world, where anything you can achieve
Soar your way thru the stars
O child of God, recall who you are
His gift of love, with the power that changes hearts.
Raise up your hopes spread out your love
Share His glory from up above
Let’s bring lives together in peace and joyful song
We’ll all be hearts in harmony
Reaching out, helping others to see
A better way, sharing truth and hope and love