A Father’s Heart

Don’t you love Joseph? He took care of Mary, he saved the day... and I like to imagine how he loved the baby Jesus. I love this Brickey painting of Joseph. It is what I think of when I read the lyric’s for “Joseph’s Song.”








My dear friend Ric Starnes, who has a father’s heart himself, came out from Utah to record this one. I’m not putting up the whole song... like I said, there have to be some surprises for the CD. But maybe later I’ll put up a little piece of it. Hmm...

Joseph’s Song

In a thousand anxious moments
I have seen this very night
I’ve imagined how I’d feel now
And I’ve wished with all my might
That I’d know you when I saw you
And I’d love you as my own
Though you’re God’s son born to save us
You’ll be mine until you’re grown.

In this city full of strangers
There is no place left to stay
But a stable meant for cattle
And a manger full of hay.
Not a place I would have chosen
For your long awaited birth,
But it’s quiet and it’s safe here
As we welcome you to earth.

Lay your soft head on my shoulder
Sleep until the night is done.
Hear my song and feel my heart beat,
You’re my little baby son.

I have seen how in an instant
Things can change like night to day.
From the moment you arrived
Life transformed for me that way.
When I held you for the first time,
Angels sang and shouted praise.
Then a new star burst from heaven
Bathing earth with silver rays.

When I gazed then at your mother
My heart swelled; tears filled my eyes
For her beauty burned like fire
As she smiled and soothed your cries.
In the glory of that evening
I fell on my knees to pray
Thanks to God for my sweet family
And this Savior come to stay.

Lay your soft head on my shoulder
Sleep until the night is done.
Hear my song and feel my heart beat,
You’re my little baby son.

Lay your soft head on my shoulder
Sleep until the night is done.
Hear my song and feel my heart beat,
You’re my little Jesus son.

Turning Simple Beauty Into Pure Magic

Friday I held a rehearsal for my “choir.” It is actually six people: Dillon, Drew, Michael, Tandy, Stephanie and Cambria. They are singing on three of the songs, and it was so, so fun! Love those guys, and they sound amazing. So I am recording them this week. I am also recording Ric, who is coming out from Utah, Rachel, and possibly Michelle. Crazy, crazy week.

I just wanted to tell you a little story. One of the songs my “choir” is recording is backups for “Did You Know?” You can listen to it over on my other blog, The Welcome Mat. When Garry was here last summer, he recorded it in between some other numbers that we were working very hard on. It was almost an afterthought, but somehow he made it so pure and beautiful that it is my favorite thing he recorded. I have listened to it practically every day since then.

But I have had a special vision for that song ever since last December. I was asked to put together a musical number for a baptism for a very dear friend, Ruth. She was a young mother who found the true gospel of Jesus Christ and wanted to be baptized. I had originally written “Did You Know” for my son Dillon’s baptism, and then a year later added the first verse to make it a Christmas song. So I got my “choir” together (pretty much the same people a year ago, except that Ethan was still here, and he sang, too) and we rehearsed “Did You Know?”

It came time for that musical number, and the small group stood in front of Ruth, who was all dressed in her white clothes and holding her little baby, and they began to sing. By the third verse, several of them were singing in harmony. It built from a very tender beginning to a very powerful third verse, and I don’t even know how to describe the spirit there… it truly felt magical. Everyone shed tears that day. The next day in church was the Christmas program. Bishop Gregson stood up right before the last song, and asked that in place of the closing congregational number, that we perform that musical number again. I figured that in that much-larger setting it would not be the same, but they all stood around the microphone in the chapel, and gave it their best. And by the time we got to the third verse, it felt like an electrical current was going through my body. The spirit was so strong there, that I looked out at the congregation, and again, they were all moved to tears. So what we are doing this week is recapturing the magic. We are adding vocals and strings to the already breathtaking performance that Garry laid down two months ago. And I promise I will give you a sneak preview by the end of the week. Meanwhile, you can read the words here, and enjoy Garry’s performance on the Welcome Mat. Merry Christmas! Are you feeling the love? I’m sending it out there…

Photos are 1:Garry recording and 2:Ruth; gorgeous painting by Joseph Brickey.