The Manager of Our Marriage

We’re asking you, Lord,
To be a partner in our marriage;
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the one whose will comes first.
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the Love and the Truth
That keep us on your Way.
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the partner in control.

Be the manager of our marriage, Lord;
Be the manager of our home.
Be the manager of our words and deeds;
Our life belongs to You alone.

We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the one who blends our separate styles;
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the guardian of our hearts.
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the reason for each
Decision that we make.
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the partner in control.

Be the manager of our marriage, Lord;
Be the manager of our home.
Be the manager of our words and deeds;
Our life belongs to You alone.

We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the trustee of what we call ours.
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the keeper of our time.
We’re asking you, Lord,
That you create in us dreams
And values that will last.
We’re asking you, Lord,
To be the partner in control.

Be the manager of our marriage, Lord;
Be the manager of our home.
Be the manager of our words and deeds;
Our life belongs to You alone.

About This Song:

My wife and I had both been married before. But we found in one another what we’d lacked previously.

We didn’t enter into re-marriage lightly, however. We knew that even though a Christian man needs to be the head of his household, the real head should be God. That’s the only way a man can do his part properly. Or a woman her part.

I wrote this song for my wedding to Kathleen; we’ve been married nineteen years now.

She and I actually had two wedding ceremonies. One in jeans and denim shirts on a Wednesday night during what was normally the prayer service time at our church. (That was the legal one.) The other was later that month in a Methodist church in Arkansas (we dressed up for that one)–so Kathleen’s family could be present along with our girls.

We sang this song together both times to an accompaniment I’d recorded. We recorded it in my home studio. Enjoy it here. A free PDF lead sheet is here.

If you’re planning on getting married–or if you’re already married–I invite you to consider these lyrics seriously. And to determine who’s in charge of your marriage. Who’s really in charge. And who you want to be.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

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ALMOST YOU’RE SMILING

NOTE: Because this song has such a special meaning at this time of year, I won’t apologize for posting it every year. I’m sorry I didn’t get it done closer to Christmas, but between having a bad cold and foot surgery, I haven’t been very alert. You may listen to an audio recording here.

Little baby in a manger, almost You’re crying.
Can it be You feel the coldness of the world You’ve come to?
Do You somehow miss the warmth You’ve left at home in Heaven?
Little baby in a manger, almost You’re crying.

Do You see Yourself as just an ordinary baby,
Or do You somehow recognize that You’re the Son of God?

Little baby in a stable, almost You’re smiling.
Can it be You feel the joy of those who wait Your coming?
Do You somehow know what hope You’ve brought to earth from Heaven?
Little baby in a stable, almost You’re smiling.

Do you see Yourself as just an ordinary baby,
Or do You somehow recognize that You’re the King of Kings?”

(instrumental third stanza)

Do you see Yourself as just an ordinary baby,
Or do You somehow recognize that You’re Emmanuel?

About This Song

If you’re like me, you’ve often wished you’d been around two thousand years ago to witness Jesus’s life and ministry in person.

But wishing doesn’t change the fact we were born two millennia too late. Rather than fret about it, let’s imagine we were among the shepherds who saw and listened to the angels’ spectacular announcement of Jesus’s birth. No Super Bowl commercials will ever come close to matching it. And let’s imagine we’ve come to the stable and are looking at Jesus as a newborn.

Hmm. No matter how special the angels said He was, He looks pretty much like any other baby, doesn’t He? Or does He look a little bit more peaceful than a regular baby as he lies there sleeping?

He opens His eyes. He appears to look first at you and then at me. Strange. Newborns aren’t able to focus that way, are they? More amazing still, He appears to be deep in thought. But babies can’t think yet; thought requires a knowledge of language, something  babies aren’t born with.

Of course we know Jesus is both human and divine. So isn’t it possible He can observe things a normal baby can’t observe? And think or feel things babies shouldn’t be able to think or feel?  Alas, the Bible doesn’t tell us.

I speak to baby Jesus, aware that He shouldn’t be able to understand me. Yet He appears to be listening to my words. Perhaps even comprehending them. As if He might truly be more than just an ordinary baby. After all, fully human and fully divine is a strange and powerful combination. Not to mention a unique one.

Yes, Jesus is unique. Even so, I’m certain He won’t be able to answer my questions or comment about my observations.

I don’t know how Jesus differed from ordinary babies while, at the same time, still being quite ordinary. It doesn’t  matter. Even as a baby, He deserved and deserves my praise and adoration during the whole year. Not just at Christmas.

Please feel free to share a comment.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

 

 

A Special Brand-New Sun

The Lord is so giving and forgiving.
Long years ago He made a wondrous star to shine
On a world so lost in death and darkness,
Yet still it leads to a manger bed of hope.
Yet still it leads to a manger bed of hope.

The Lord is so merciful and tender.
He made a special brand-new sun to rise and shine
On a world lost in death and darkness
And guide our footsteps in His path of peace.
And guide our footsteps in His path of peace.

The Lord is so loving and so caring.
He sent his only Son to die so we can live.
He leads us through the darkest of our valleys
And points the way to the light at Heaven’s gates.
And points the way to the light at Heaven’s gates.

NOTE: The video shown below was taken at the Ashland (Virginia) Convalescent Center several years ago. The third stanza hadn’t been written yet.

About This Song:

This is one of my several original Christmas songs, although I’ve written two or three songs that talk about both Christmas and Easter.

When we think about the Star of Bethlehem, we usually think about the so-called wise men–the Magi–who followed the star from the east. The Bible includes these references:

Matthew 2:2
and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (NIV)

Matthew 2:7
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. (NIV)

Matthew 2:9
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. (NIV)

Matthew 2:10
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
(NIV)

When I did a Bible search on “star” in the four Gospels, I was shocked to discover that the Scriptures didn’t say anything about the shepherds seeing the star above the stable. No wonder I’d always thought otherwise, though. The typical Nativity Scene features shepherds and wise men worshiping Jesus together around the manger.

In reality, the wise men didn’t arrive on the scene until a year or two later. Mary, Joseph, and infant Jesus were no longer in the stable.

Although the first stanza of this song references the Christmas star, the second stanza refers to Luke 1:78-79:

78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
(NIV)

I’ve watched a wonderful video that explained the Star of Bethlehem as a natural phenomena. Such a scientific explanation of the star in no way diminishes my faith or my fascination with the star as a special sign, however.

If anything, a scientific explanation makes the story of the star even more special. Would a star just happen to reveal Jesus’s exact location unless God had arranged the circumstances for it to happen?

No way do I consider that a coincidence.

What about you, though? What are your thoughts about the Star of Bethlehem? How about leaving a comment?

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page, where you can also find the books that didn’t fit on the multi-book graphic.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

             

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

Righteous Livin’

When I’m driving up a steep hill,
Sometimes I think my car won’t make it.
But when it comes to righteous livin’,
God gives me all the power I need.

When I’m trying to move the sofa,
Sometimes I find I cannot budge it.
But when it comes to righteous livin’,
God gives me all the strength I need.

When I get up in the night time,
Sometimes I trip on things I can’t see.
But when it comes to righteous livin’,
God gives me all the light I need.

When I go to spend my money,
Sometimes I find it doesn’t buy much.
But when it comes to righteous livin’,
God gives me all the worth I need.

When I buy some special gadget,
Sometimes it’s not all I was promised.
But when it comes to righteous livin’,
God gives me all the truth I need.

When I’m looking at a newscast,
Sometimes the violence jumps right at me.
But when it comes to righteous livin’,
God gives me all the peace I need.

When I’m driving up a steep hill,
Sometimes I think my car won’t make it.
But when it comes to righteous livin’,
God gives me all the power I need.

About this Song:

Randy Trail, a missionary friend from years past, didn’t just play guitar. He bought, sold, and swapped them. He used to tickle me saying, “I’ll never sell this one, though.” And two months later he would.

But Randy had one little Fender guitar amplifier he was especially fond of. Said he, “I’ll never get rid of this amp. It has all the power I’ll ever need.”

I don’t know if he still owns that amp or not–I haven’t seen Randy in many years–but his words inspired this song. It’s somewhat bluesy in style, and the words are more repetitive than I’ve indicated above. It’s a FUN song to sing and play. You can find a recording of it here. Hopefully you can listen on equipment with good bass. A free PDF lead sheet is available here.

More than fun, though. I think the lyrics say so much about some of the special gifts God gives His children: power, strength, light, worth, truth, and peace.

If your life is lacking any of these things, let me assure you that God is waiting for you to turn to Him, place your life in His hands, and ask for what you need.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

First and Second Mile Blues

If you’ve come to walk just one mile
And to tell me what you’re taught to say,
Go on home; I’m not gonna listen.
I don’t think you’ve a thing real to say to me.

But if you’ve come to walk all the way
And tell me how you really feel,
Have a seat; I’m ready to listen.
I think you might have something real to say.

About this Song:

I was visiting my original in-laws in November of 1979 when the ideas for two songs came to me. This is one of them. What you can’t tell from just looking at the words,  however, is the rhythm was so tricky–so challenging–that I never bothered to write the tune down until 1993. And even then it was just an approximation.

It was as much a challenge to play as to write down, and the effect of age on my hands has made it impossible to record. How I regret that! Nonetheless, I managed to do a self-video a few years ago. Feel free to watch it here.

I’ll never forget doing a program at Allen Memorial Baptist Church in Salisbury, Maryland, one Sunday evening closer to 1979 than to now. I was sitting on a stool. “The First & Second Mile Blues” made me so nervous that the guitar bounced up and down on my knee from start to finish, and I’m not sure how many right notes I hit–if any. No wonder I decided never to do that song in public again!

But my friends at the Ashland Convalescent Center are pretty low key and uncritical, and I don’t get as uptight about mistakes as I used to. So sometime within the last ten years I chanced doing it for them. It not only went well, they actually seemed to like it.

Enough about that, though.

If you’re familiar with Jesus’ teachings, the idea of voluntarily going the second mile in doing something distasteful for someone rather than just the required first mile–that teaching can be applied to so many aspects of life–then you understand where the idea came from.

None of us is in a position to try to pass our wisdom along to others in a forceful and distasteful way. Especially if it’s unsought. No wonder we tend to describe people who witness that way as “Bible thumpers” and accuse them of hitting listeners over the head with their Bibles.

They can’t seem to understand that nobody wants to listen to them until they’ve established themselves as genuine examples of what they’re proclaiming. As Christians, that often means going the second mile to establish a credible relationship.

Do people willingly listen to your Christian witness or are they too busy running from you because of the way you’re trying to ram Jesus’s love down their throats?

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

I Come Believing, Lord

[I never recorded this simple song, but a free lead sheet may be found here.]

I come believing, Lord,
That You’re the God of Light,
And as I go my way,
Help me to shine.

I come believing, Lord,
That You’re the God of Strength,
And as I go my way,
Help me be strong.

I come believing, Lord,
That You’re the God of Truth,
And as I go my way,
Help me be true.

I come believing, Lord,
That You’re the God of love,
And as I go my way,
Help me to love.

I come believing, Lord,
That You’re the God of life,
And as I go my way,
Help me to live.

About This Song:

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I like to write songs about God’s attributes–and how He is the source of whatever goodness we have.

If you have any doubts about our need for goodness, look at the low moral condition not just of the United States, but of the whole world. More and more, “progressive” world citizens are denying the existence of God. In the process, they are also ignoring the codes of conduct based on God’s Ten Commandments and inviting everyone to do his own thing.  It would seem that everyone has his own set of rules for what’s right and wrong. So that ultimately means everything is right and nothing is wrong.

Hmm. Tell that to the fetuses (and even some live babies) who’ve been tortured as they were put to death.

I make no apologies for being a Christian and believing that God’s way is the only right way to live. He is the only source of light, strength, truth, and love. And ultimately of life itself.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

Perfect Peace

[You may listen to an old recording of this song here. Get the lead sheet here.]

When I feel like running away
From all the things that keep troubling me daily,
I fall at the foot of the cross
And bathe in God’s perfect peace.

As God’s love floods into my soul
And washes those things that keep troubling me so,
I watch as they shrink in His hands
Till they seem so harmless.

I no longer feel like running away;
Troubles are real, but they look small in God’s hands.
When I place my life in His care,
He gives me perfect peace.

As God’s love floods into my soul
And washes those things that keep troubling me so,
I watch as they shrink in His hands
Till they seem so harmless.

I no longer feel like running away;
Troubles are real, but they look small in God’s hands.
When I place my life in His care,
He gives me perfect peace

About This Song:

I recall a time when a dear friend was undergoing an immense amount of pressure. She had to temporarily step back from her official responsibilities to keep from going off the deep end. She wasn’t running away, though; she was just taking time to “fall at the foot of the cross and bathe in God’s perfect peace.”

What about you? Do you have a problem that makes you feel like giving up and running away?

If you take them to God expecting Him to magically solve them for you, you may be disappointed. But be assured He wants to give you a sense of peace about them.

You recall the old spiritual “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”? In hands as full of this world’s troubles, how much smaller your problems look in comparison. Yet how reassuring it is to remember that He always has room for your problems and mine.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

Because He First Loved Me

[The lead sheet for this song is here. You may listen to it here.]

God wants me to love Him with all my heart,
And He wants me to love Him with all my mind.
God wants me to love Him with all my strength;
Yes, He wants me to love Him with all my soul.
God wants me to love my neighbor as myself,
And He wants me to love my foe as my friend.
God wants me to love because He first loved me.

About This Song:

This song may be short, but it’s full of Scripture.

Luke 10:27:
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 5:44:
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. . .

1 John 4:19:
We love because he first loved us.

(all passages from the New International Version)

It’s ironic that so many people on the far-left are afraid of the Bible, Christianity, and Christians. They think we are the worst of haters, and they may be correct about a minuscule minority. But how can “real” Christians be that way? We became Christians because of the truth in John 3:16…

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

We believe in that kind of life, and it requires the kind of love Jesus modeled. He forgave those who were putting Him to death. Can we do anything but love those who hate and condemn us?

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

The Younger Son

[You may listen to this song here. A free lead sheet is available here.]

There was a man who had two sons,
And the younger one said to him,
“Give me the portion of wealth which will be mine,
So I may enjoy life while I am young.”

Then he packed his bags and headed off,
Wasting his whole wealth in every wicked way.
When there was nothing left, he lived by feeding hogs
And gladly would have eaten what they left behind.

Then he thought about his father and his home,
And he repented of all the wrongs he’d done.
So he packed his bags and headed home, a servant hoped to be.
But his father was so forgiving he restored him as his own son.

About this Song:

If you’re familiar with the New Testament, you undoubtedly recognize this song as Jesus’s parable of The Prodigal Son. Although He told the story much better than I can, I’ve done my best to boil the basics down into something more succinct than in any of my other songs. I hope it captures the essence of what Jesus was teaching: We can never sin so badly that God won’t forgive us or welcome us home again–just as a human father would welcome back a wayward child–if we return to Him seeking forgiveness.

I’ve heard sermons that claim this parable is actually about the older brother–the son who stayed home and didn’t stray–but I don’t agree. I think the older brother was jealous of his younger brother from start to finish. After all, unless I’m mistaken about how things worked in biblical times, the younger brother wasn’t entitled to any of his father’s money anyhow; it should all have become the older brother’s at the death of their father. So the younger son was–in effect–stealing from his brother.

Judging by the way the older son reacted to his father’s celebration over his brother’s return, he was still jealous.  And unforgiving.

So I still believe the parable is all about God’s love and forgiveness.

Sin is anything that separates us from God. So–as the Scriptures state so clearly–“All we like sheep have turned away” and “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Nobody is good enough to be friends with God. Not without faith in Jesus as God’s son and repentance of our sins.

As Jesus made so clear in this parable, God is waiting for you, ready to forgive. Don’t put it off if you haven’t already made that commitment.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon

His Father’s Foreign Missionary

(An old recording may be heard here. The free lead sheet is here.]

What father asked his only son to be his foreign missionary
And go to share his perfect love with a world so full of hate?
What father let his son be killed so others could have life?
What father asked his only son to be his foreign missionary?

What only son asked to be his father’s foreign missionary
And go to tell his father’s truth to a world so full of lies?
What son brought such good news that those who believe become his brothers?
What only son asked to be his father’s foreign missionary?

What father asks his adapted children to be his foreign missionaries
And share his love and tell his truth everywhere they go?
What father’s spirit guides his children and helps them do all things?
What father asks his adapted children to be his foreign missionaries?

About This Song:

Not only did I grow up in a very missions-oriented Christian home, I spent almost nineteen of my best non-novelist work years in Information Technology at the International Mission Board in Richmond, Virginia. During those years I went on short-term mission trips to England, Wales, Romania, and Australia. Since then, I’ve also been to Nicaragua.

Although I never felt God calling me to be a career missionary, I had numerous contacts over the years with people God had called to that task. Although they didn’t see themselves as “special”–God’s calling was what made them special–they were a real inspiration to me.

God was a mission agency of one when He sent Jesus to earth to bring the Good News of His love and His offer of eternal salvation. God the Father didn’t MAKE Jesus do that, though. But Jesus felt His Father’s call and chose to obey it, even knowing he would suffer and die a hideous death.

A Southern Baptist missionary was murdered in Jordan shortly before I wrote this post originally. She hadn’t resisted God’s call to go, and she paid with her life.

The same was true with Jesus. He left heaven to carry out God the Father’s assignment, and those of us who’re believers 2000 years later owe a huge debt of gratitude for the way Jesus carried out His assignment.

We can’t pay God back for what Jesus did and–in so doing–turning His followers into adopted children of God and His own brothers and sisters. But if we take our family membership seriously, we want to share the Good News with others. Whether we go overseas or next door, we show God our appreciation by serving as His missionaries.

Are you a member of His family? Are you helping to spread His Good News?

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

    

Links you might be interested in:

• Visit Roger’s website, RogerBruner.com
• Check out Roger’s free Christian lead sheets
• Shop for Roger’s books on Amazon