WORKS OF HEART

I wrote this for Janai (my fiancé) when she was going through a difficult time. Upon getting some bad news she (I believe through the Holy Spirit) was reminded that God will use it to her advantage and was instantly revived.

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Janai

Standing at the railing, I froze when my eyes met her. Unable to move, I just stood there and tried to look cool. You know, trying to strike a cool guy pose in case she glanced over at me. She did. She was the one who introduced herself. From there on out we both knew we were on a divine appointment.

This piece is about 2 people "trudging through the wilderness" with God in their hearts. Each living separate lives on parallel paths filled with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The second part is about how God all along was preparing a single path ahead of them so that they no longer had to live glorifying God alone.

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Olde Towne Stroll

There is a special charm to small towns and the one Janai and I moved to is no different (Pop. 700). It's perfect for us because we can both explore our creative natures amongst the silence of peace and calm. For her, creating Christian clay and cement art and for me, composing music.

We also both enjoy walking long distances. Our longest walk in the bigger metropolitan city we moved from was 15 miles. (Yes, just for the fun of it). We love the time together holding hands, the conversations and the continued bonding. However, this town is about 10 blocks long so we have to take our stroll on country roads.

On one late night adventure we ended up at a Pilot truck stop where we dined on chicken fingers and wings at a table watching our favorite TV show (King Of Queens) waiting for a sudden downpour to stop before heading back.

This piece represents the walk back home down the quiet country road while engaging in wonderful conversations under a now dark moonlit sky. There is a little town-square park with a gazebo that we rested at before strolling through the 2-block business district, over the railroad tracks and back to where the nights journey began. God gifted us our perfect date night.

Dance Of The Dolphin

While dolphins are not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, they are celebrated as symbols of rescue and protection, demonstrating God’s care. In Christian art, literature, and symbolism, dolphins can be linked to various spiritual concepts such as Christ, resurrection, salvation, guidance, protection, purity, innocence, harmony, and unity.

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Peace In Chaos

You know how we can go along our peaceful day and all of a sudden chaos erupts? Well (when we LET Him) God will step in and restore us back to peace.

Therein lies the peace in chaos - we can find peace that He is with us through it.

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Promised Comfort

After performing for a crowd waiting to go see Fidler On The Roof, a lady comes up to me and grabs my forearm.

With tears in her eyes she introduces herself: “My name is Sophia. I’m 90 years old. I recently lost my husband and I’m hurting, but your music soothed my soul and calmed my spirit. I thank God He brought you to me tonight.”

Well, I thank God He brought Sophia to me that night for many reasons. One of them is, she reminded me that sometimes God uses us because he promised someone else comfort.

This piece depicts that brief encounter and ends (much like that night) differently than when it began.

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Good Morning God

The next best thing to waking up is waking up with a big stretch saying, "Good morning God. Lets do this!"

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My Teacher

I originally didn't have a title for this piece then a friend suggested that I name it My Teacher because you can hear the repetition in places as if God is showing me what to play and me responding by duplicating it.

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March To Freedom

I wrote this piece while God was in the middle of healing me from a stroke in 2016 that took out my right side, everything from my nose to my toes. At this point my shoulder and fingers were still struggling. Within a year I was back to about 90% normal.

This is the completed song. It's about letting God help us to save ourselves...FROM ourselves.

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Solitude

Solitude is positive feeling which helps us to be in a state of balance. Solitude allows us to get in touch with ourselves and reflect on our lives.

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Batalla de Tacámbaro

This is a true story of a general in the Mexican army (1865) who was tasked with securing a key weapons route from Tacambaro, Mexico into Puebla, Mexico.

One day in the midst of battle his enemy rides up to him with an ultimatum, "We captured your wife and three little children. Surrender now or we execute them."

Knowing full well that if he "surrendered now" him and his family would be killed anyway, so he chose the only option he had to save their lives; fight on and WIN! Which he did. Afterwards, he went on a successful search & rescue mission to find his family.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, in the early morning hours before the battle began his wife was dragged out of prison half-naked and thrown into a trench to be used as a human shield against him.

The general's name is Nicolas de Regules, my great great grandfather.

THE MORAL OF HIS STORY

We all have battles we fight everyday. For some it's alcoholism for others it's addiction. Whatever it is, our only hope in emerging victorious over them is to let God help us fight those battles as if our lives (and the lives of our loved ones) depend on it.

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Celebracion de 1865

A grand ball was held by the president of Mexico to honor general Nicolas de Regules as a national hero. Mexico to this day celebrates him with a town named after him, statues, street names throughout Mexico, annual parades and they even gave him a special place in the Cemetery of Heroes.

This piece depicts his wife and him dancing the first dance with the attendees joining in soon after.

QUESTION: Who is YOUR hero? A stranger? A friend? A family member? Jesus Christ?

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If Not Now...When?

If you are sitting on the fence trying to decide if you should proclaim Jesus Christ as your personal savior then ask yourself this question, "If not now...when?"

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Dare To Dream

I originally wrote this for a friend of mine who, when he met the love of his life, would always tell us, "I'm going to marry her one day." Well, that one day came and I was able to play this for him and his bride at their wedding.

Although I wrote it for him, this piece really is for all of us. It's for you, it's for me, it's for anyone in earshot who has ever had a dream come true because at first, they dared to dream.

In 2000 I dared to dream that one day I would get sober by growing closer to Christ and in 2016 I dared to dream that one day I would be able to play the piano again, all of which came true.

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Machesney Park

My brother Gary and I were really close however, as life would have it, we had gone our separate ways. He moved to Machesney Park, Illinois and I went on a journey to find sobriety. After a reunion of sorts at his home, I sat down and wrote this piece that depicts my emotions from that visit. Today, we are as close as we ever were. (An example of God's power to heal).

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