The Skin and Bones of Grace
Love Is The Welcome
Times Like These
In Silence Waits
Ring Them Bells
Ago Pasolay
There Is A Painting In The Skies
Come and Find the Quiet Center
Waiting for Lightning
Show The Way
BlackbirdThe Skin And Bones Of Grace
I walk on these feet of clay,
Sometimes I make a mess.
Still I try to find my way
To your sweet tenderness...No one to sing, no angel wing, at someone's holy place,
The firefight that saved my life, the skin and bones of grace The skin and bones of graceMy eager hands, my stumbling phrase,
Redeemed but left to choose,
This journey toward the cliffs of praise,
I can't seem to refuse...No wasted breath, no cheated death,
no laced up botoxed face,
The firefight that saves my life, skin and bones of grace,
The skin and bones of graceThis cup of hope and tears of rage
Dares dreams not laid to waste.
With moments left to take the stage
And only truth to taste..No photo op, no twisted plot, and nothing to erase..
The firefight that saves my life, the skin and bones of grace The skin and bones of graceNo one to sing, no angel wing, and nothing to erase,
The firefight that saves my life, the skin and bones of grace, Just the skin and bones of grace.F. McKendree © 2007 Neath Music BMI
“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” ~ Anne Lamott
RETURN TO TOPLove Is The Welcome
Love is the welcome that comes from the heart
And opens its door to the stranger,
And makes of its house a resting place for all
For the sake of the babe in the manger.Love is the journey whose reason is faith
'Tho its step may be faint and hesitating.
But 'tho the march is long and the courage be not strong,
In the end its fulfillment is waiting.
Love is the struggle for justice and peace
That the cause of the weak may inherit,
And the poor of the earth see a new day brought to birth
In the strength of the gentle in spirit.Love is the touch that does not draw back
From the maimed and the hurt and the broken,
But embraces their pain and calls them by their name
That the word of compassion be spoken.Love is the life that responds to a call
And chooses its truth as its treasure,
To walk with the one who says 'come and follow me,
For to show you the way is my pleasure.'Love is the table set for the feast
At the meeting of sisters and brothers
In the bread that is shared and the wine that is poured out
Is the life that was broken for others.
Words: kathy galloway music: loch lomand scottish traditional ©2003 wild goose resource group, iona community, scotland gia publications, Exclusive north american agent 800-442-1358Times Like These
I look across the river here,
It's wide and calm and running clear before me.
I used to come here as a child, And let the water flowing will Restore me.
Tired school bus on the shore, Released now from it's daily chore Lies rusting.
'Tho I question everything, I place my faithful offering, Entrusting.I'll take my chances with the one
Who brings to me the rising sun,
Who stirs the wind that shakes the trees,
Who shouts the truth in times like these
That bring me to my knees, Oh, times like these.I'm choking on the front page news
How have we come so far to lose Our way?
Cold arrogance that paints the face
Of those who rule here in disgrace While we pay..The power that rears it's ugly head
And markets everything not dead,
The thoughtlessness that reigns supreme,
Manipulates our every dream,
It brings me to my knees, Oh, times like these.The money that now owns the room
Sensing our impending doom, Entranced.
On the grave of our civility,
greed shredding our humanity, Says 'dance'But hope is breaking through somehow,
And shattering their sacred cow,
The curtain's pulled back all the way,
Exposing little minds at play,
It brings me to my knees, Oh, times like these.In sacred moments what I hear
Is spirit will not bow to fear,
A voice that comes from deep within,
And whispers that 'love always wins'
says 'rise up from your knees, Rise up, in times like these.'F. McKendree Neath Music BMI ©2007
In Silence Waits
When echoes of the anger will not fade,
And the gods of darkness trade in bitter hate,
Hear the rage of nations crashing at the gates.
For God alone my soul in silence waits.When children of the light divide the claim
And the rhetoric of righteousness berates,
Hold the empty cup we offer at the gates.
For God alone my soul in silence waits.Chorus
A whisper spoken to the wind
Becomes a still small voice within you saying;
“I am with you, do not fear,
The arms of God enfold you here.”When shadow falls on this unwary heart,
My prayer is none that Grace should contemplate,
Still the arms of Love enfold me at the gates.
For God alone my soul in silence waits.Chorus
A whisper spoken to the wind
Becomes a still small voice within you saying;
“I am with you, do not fear,
The arms of God enfold you here.”words; Rev. Brian Grantz music; Fran McKendree © 2007 Neath Music, BMI Charles Milling © 2007 Eziah Music, BMI
Ring Them Bells
Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams.
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries cross the valleys and streams.
For they're deep and they're wide, and the worlds' on its side, and time is runnin' backward and so is the bride.Ring them bells St. Peter, where the four winds blow.
Ring them bells with and iron hand so the people will know,
Oh, it's rush hour now, On the wheel and the plow,
And the sun is going down upon their sacred cow.Ring them bells sweet Martha for the poor man's son.
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one.
Oh, the shepherd is asleep, Where the willows weep,
And the mountains are filled with lost sheep.Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf,
Ring them bells for all the ones who are left,
Ring them bells for the chosen few,
Who will judge the many when the game is through,
Ring them bells for the time that flies, For the child that cries, When her innocence dies...Ring them bells St. Catherine from the room.
Ring them bells from the fortress for the lilies that bloom.
For the line is long, And the fighting is strong,
And they're breakin' down the distance between right and wrong.
Yeah, they're breakin' down the distance between right and wrong.Bob Dylan Special Rider Music ©1989
Ago Pasolay
Ago pasolay, ago pasolay,
Ago pasolay, la, la, la, la, laMoyo, moyo,
Moyo, moyo,
moyo, la, la, la, la, la.Traditional West African arranged by Fran McKendree Neath Music
There Is A Painting In The Skies
Another chapter now unfolds,
There is no map that shows this road,
You were just waiting on the Light,
You were just trying to get it right.There is a season to these things,
Like dying winters, coming springs.
You plant your rows and pray for rain,
You're hoping something will remain...I saw the birth of who you are,
I walked beside you to that star,
Breathing life into your heart and soul.Ten thousand miles come and go,
There is no reason that you know,
Why, hand outstretched you kneel somehow,
At the edge of here and nowThere is a painting in the skies,
Reflects the longing in your eyes,
Horizon widens, river bends,
Awakening that never ends....I see the birth of who you are,
I am within you, never far,
Breathing life into your heart and soul.Enfolding everything you've seen
there is a glimpse of what you mean...Fran McKendree © 2007 Neath Music BMI
Come and Find the Quiet Center
Come and find the quiet center
In this crowded life we lead,
Find the room for hope to enter,
Find the frame where we are freed.
Clear the chaos and the clutter,
Clear our eyes that we may see,
All the things that really matter,
Be at peace and simply be.Silence is a friend who claims us,
Cools the heat and slows the pace.
God it is who speaks and names us,
Knows our being, touches base.
Making space within our thinking,
Liftting shades to show the sun,
Raising courage when we're shrinking,
Finding scope for faith begun.In the spirit let us travel,
Open to each other's pain.
Let our lives and fears unravel,
Celebrate the space we've gained.
There's a time for deepest dreaming,
There's a time for heart to care,
In the Spirit's lively scheming,
There is always room to care.Come and find the quiet center
In this crowded life we lead,
Find the room for hope to enter,
Find the frame where we are freed.
Clear the chaos and the clutter,
Clear our eyes that we may see,
All the things that really matter
Be at peace and simply be.Shirley Erena Murray ©Hope Publishing Co. arranged by Fran McKendree
Waiting for Lightning
Standing at the edge of the truth
Looking out at the view of all you used to believe,
From where you are,
You can see you're far away from home.
Echoes of a life you once knew,
Call out to you from across the divide,
and you know it's time
To step over the line..Are you waiting for lightning?
A sign that it's time for a change?
Are you listening for thunder?
While God quietly whispers your name... Whispers your name.Night falls and the curtain goes down,
There's no one around,
except for you and the truth,
As you lie and wait for the Spirit to take you by storm. Somewhere in the depth of your heart,
It may be empty and dark,
There's a flicker of light,
And the Spirit calls..do you hear it call?Are you waiting for lightning?
A sign that it's time for a change?
Are you listening for thunder?
While God quietly whispers your name... Whispers your name.Oh the sign and the word
Have already been given,
So now it's by faith,
You must look and you must listen..Are you waiting for lightning?
A sign that it's time for a change?
Are you listening for thunder?
While God quietly whispers your name... Whispers your name.Steven C. Chapman/ Tony Elenburg EMI Christian Music Publishing
Show The Way
You say you see no hope,
You say you see no reason we should dream
That the world will ever change
You're saying love is foolish to believe'Cause they'll always be some crazy
With an army or a knife
To wake you from your daydream
Put the fear back in your life..If someone wrote a play
Just to glorify what's stronger than hate
Would they not arrange the stage
To look as if the hero came to late?
Almost in defeat, it's looking like the evil side will win
So on the edge of every seat
From the moment that the whole thing begins..It is love who mixed the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones.
And it's love who made this stage here, tho it looks like we're alone,
In this scene set in shadows,
Like the night is here to stay,
There is evil cast around us but it's love that wrote the play. For in this darkness love can show the waySo now the stage is set
You feel your own heart beating in your chest,
This life's not over yet
So we get up on our feet and do our best,
To play against the fear,
We play against the reasons not to try
Playing for the tears
Burning in the happy angel's eyesFor it's love who mixed the mortar
It's love who stacked these stones.
And it's love who made this stage here, tho it looks like we're alone,
In this scene set in shadows,
Like the night is here to stay,
There is evil cast around us but it's love that wrote the play. For in this darkness love can show the waydavid wilcox ©irving music
Blackbird
Blackbird singin' in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly,
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.Blackbird singin' in the dead of night,
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see,
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.Blackbird, fly...
Blackbird, fly...
Into the light of a dark black nightBlackbird singin' in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly,
All your life,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.Lennon/McCartney Sony/ATV/ EMI
©Copyright 2008 Fran McKendree
Design by Wendy Leaumont Graphic Design