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* Prayers and Foreword from To Trust in Jesus |
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To Trust in Jesus is a collection of piano arrangements that was commissioned by Monarch Music, a division of the Lorenz Corporation. In addition to the piano book, there is a companion CD that features the eight selections with piano (keyboard) and then the eight selections with the MIDI orchestration only. The piano score also includes the hymn texts for each of the selections and a prayer related to that hymn. The publisher's codes for the book, which retails for $10.95 and the CD, which retails for $18, can be found in the keyboard and choral music section.
Below is the foreword from this collection as well as the prayers that were written for each hymn arrangement.
Foreword from To Trust in Jesus
This collection of hymn arrangements was born during a very difficult time in my life. Early in 1998 I was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, an inner ear disorder that dramatically affects hearing and balance. The symptoms of imbalance, nausea, and dizziness worsened to the point that I had to take a medical leave from my church position as minister of music for almost a year. I experienced a hearing loss in my left ear and had - and continue to have - constant roaring or ringing in that ear. As bad as these problems were, the most difficult thing with which I had to deal was that sound, even sometimes the sound of my own voice, would often make me sick and bring on intense attacks of dizziness and nausea. For a minister of music and a composer/arranger, this was my worst nightmare. Creating or even listening to music was not an option for me for several months. However, as the year progressed and as my condition slowly improved, I was able to begin working again in my home studio writing these and other arrangements. Fortunately all of my music writing was computer-based, and I could hear what I was playing through the right side of my headphones - but even then had to listen at a very low level. There were days when I would be able only to write a few measures, and then would be sick for hours - and then other days when I could work for longer periods of time.
I felt so strongly about the tunes in this collection that I asked if I could include the stanzas of the texts I was trying to interpret. These are more than just the words to these hymn tunes. These texts chronicle my journey of faith and helped me cope with the changes that were taking place in my life. Several years ago, I heard the quote that "faith is the white cane of a blind man's existence." With the white cane of faith we both probe the darkness as well as lean upon it to support us when the path ahead is uncertain.
The arrangements in To Trust in Jesus are a musical analogue of that definition of "faith." There are moments of dissonance and unexpected chords and harmonies that I used to probe and explore the texts and tunes I have sought to interpret. However, I also wanted each arrangement to convey a quiet confidence in God's providence and love - and hope for those who are experiencing the "dark nights of the soul."
One of the sessions I have led in several piano workshops has been entitled "Elastic or Steel?" There are times when our playing needs to be metronomic and exact, like steel, and other times when our interpretation needs to be very expressive - bending, stretching and giving, like elastic. Because of the nature of these arrangements, there is a lot of ebbing and flowing and giving and taking in my interpretations on the companion CD recording. If you choose to play along with the MIDI orchestration accompaniment tracks that I have recorded, (also included on the CD) please be aware that staying with these tracks may seem difficult at first. However, I've tried to include solo melodic lines and other musical "hints" throughout the arrangement to make it easier to stay with my MIDI "orchestra." I'm excited about including these tracks on the CD, and trust if you use them you will find this to be a meaningful experience for you as well as your congregation.
Most of all, I hope that you may find in this intensely personal collection hymn arrangements that will help you express your own faith pilgrimage, whether it be in personal devotional times at the piano or when you share these arrangements in worship services.
Best wishes and blessings!
Don
Prayers from To Trust in Jesus
© 2000 Monarch Music
"God Leads Us Along"
Dear Father,
How thankful we are that we do not have to go through life alone. Help us learn to trust Your leadership completely - even when the "night seasons" come. And during those dark times, help us to trust Your unfailing love even though we may not be able to see Your face. May these shadowed times cause us to hold on to Your hand even tighter - and may we rest in the promise that You will never let us go. Amen.
"Have Thine Own Way, Lord"
Father,
We want to be as clay in Your Hands - we want You to mold us and make us what you would have us be - we want to be so like Jesus that others see His life in us. But so often we resist Your creation of our lives, not understanding that pain and suffering are sometimes part of the process. Help us learn to completely yield ourselves to You, the Master Designer, and to realize that even when difficult times come our way, You see the final vessel that we are becoming. Have Your own way. We take hands-off of our lives and trust them to Your care and keeping. Amen.
"I Must Tell Jesus"
Dear Father,
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the burdens we have to carry. How sad it is that so often we try to hide our questions, doubts, and fears - from each other and even from You. Help us to realize that we have a Friend who understands when we are hurting and feel lonely and frightened, a Friend who longs to share in our joys as well as our pain, a Friend whose love is constant and unconditional. Help us learn that we can find in Jesus everything we need to face whatever comes our way - if we will only ask, trust, and tell Him. Amen.
"Precious Memories"
Our Father, Creator,
Thank you for the gift of memories. These memories allow us to revisit the past - to be reminded of how You have worked in our lives through people and events - how You have been with us through the good times and the bad - how You have sustained us and given us Your strength when we needed it most. Seeing how You have taken the bright threads of joy and the dark threads of sorrow and have woven them into a beautiful tapestry gives us hope for the future. For Your love and guidance in the past, present, and future, we praise You. Amen.
"Under His Wings"
Dear Father,
Thank you for being a hiding Place, a shelter from the storms of life, and a very present help in the time of trouble. Help us to remember that nothing - no sin, no pain, no sorrow - can ever separate us from Your love. And because we belong to You, may we rest in that assurance and learn to confidently live under Your sheltering wings of love. Amen.
"'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"
Dear Father,
Even as we acknowledge that it is a sweet, precious thing to trust ourselves to Your care and keeping, we admit that we still often have times of doubt, worry, and fear. We ask for grace to trust You yet more completely; to confidently and boldly claim all the promises in the Bible about Your love and care, and to realize that because You "said so," - that is enough. Amen
"Does Jesus Care?"
Dear Lord,
Those of us who know You as Father know that You love us - and in our minds we know that You care, that Your heart is touched when we are hurting. However, we admit that few of us are "super Christians," - that sometimes during the darkest hours we are human enough to wonder if You really understand the pain we are experiencing. Help us learn to be honest enough to bring even these doubts to You - and then to trust You to give us the peace, comfort, and assurance we need to face the storms of life - knowing that You do care. Amen.
"Trust and Obey"
Father,
Help us to trust You as completely and assuredly as a little child trusts her father - and learn the joy that comes when we know we are walking with You and following Your leadership. We admit that there are times when trusting You is easier than obeying You. May we learn to do both - and to do them well and with abandon. Amen.
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