The Story Behind the Songs



The story behind the songs:

Many years ago, God put it on my heart to write a song. Since then, I've written many more, finding time between tending to children, homeschooling, and building a home (and many houses!) with my husband. Although it's not always easy to find those spare moments, I know that God has given me this ministry of writing songs....songs of worship, songs that minister to people going through times of struggle, and songs to celebrate special occasions. 

 In 1995 I wrote the words to a song about foster children. Since I didn't know the first thing about music,  I asked my daughter, Dana, to compose some music for my lyrics. Before long she had a beautiful melody. We took that song to a  friend who was a foster parent, and also happened to play guitar. We made a recording of him playing and Dana singing. That song, and another that Dana and I wrote together were played at a foster family conference.

 Some time later I wrote Christian lyrics for the music Dana had composed. That song became, "My God, My Strength." That was how I got started writing Christian songs. I had always liked to write, but had never written lyrics before. I discovered it was a wonderful way to express my thoughts about the Lord, and to share my faith. Soon I was writing more lyrics than Dana had time, or the desire to compose music for. Out of necesssity, I had to learn to write my own music....and it wasn't easy! For the first six or seven years, I had absolutely no understanding of timing. Dana tried to teach me, as did a friend, but having never taken music lessons it made no sense to me. I just sang what came to me, gave it to Dana and Christie  (my other daughter) and let them fix it up! I also didn't have a clue what chords were, so they filled those in for me too.
Then in 2002 we moved to a different city, and I no longer had my girls there to help me. Soon after moving, I took a voice class with my Pastor's wife. Somehow, when she explained timing, it suddenly made sense. I still didn't understand chords, so I depended on my Pastor's wife to help me with those. Over the years I've learned a little more here and there. I use a computer program, Coda Print Music to create my sheet music, which has also helped with knowing what chord to use. Several years ago I started using  Band In A Box to create music for my songs. I still don't play an instrument, other than to plunk out a melody on the piano....but I'm getting better with the computer! 

Over the years there have been many times I've wondered if writing these songs is a waste of time. I've even tried to stop writing, but then a scripture jumps out at me, or a message speaks to me, and soon I find myself searching the scriptures, and scribbling down words, trying to express what the Lord has put on my heart. So, I keep writing, and leave it up to God to use them as he will.

It is my hope and prayer that my songs are a blessing and an encouragement to others, that they bring glory to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and that they might be used to draw others to the Lord.


   All of the songs on this site are original compositions. By clicking on a song title in the sidebar, you can read the lyrics as you listen. Many are recorded with vocals....not professionally, but by myself or friends. Others are just the music, created with Band In a Box. I'd prefer to have 'real' recordings for all, but these BIAB recordings will give you an idea of what each song sounds like.

 If you find a song you're interested in, sheet music (pdf) and MP3s for most of my songs are available free of charge. These are just simple lead sheets with the melody and chords, not full arrangements. If you happen to record one of my songs, I'd like to feature it here.