Bless These Hands

O maker of the garden, hold these handsGive them the patience that they needto press the tiny seeds into the dirtand wait … wait … for new life to show God, you turn a burial into a seed’s new chance at lifeYou draw us from the darkness to the light O life within the garden, help these handsgive them the tenderness they needto feel the velvet petals of a roseand love … love … the new life that shows God, you turn a burial into a seed’s new chance at lifeYou draw us from the darkness to the light Hands that pray, hands that love, hands that serveHold these hands, help these hands, bless these hands. I wrote this song for the DASD class of 2004.More album notes, plus purchasing information. © 2004 Katarina Stenstedt

Sewing

You were sewing for mebolts and bobbins, scissors, fabric, bright debrisNo other project could fiton the table of my life while your work covered it You hold a dream, in colors you conceived for meimagined long agoAnd your thread holds across eternity — You were looking at meDid I see some mischief in your smile, some irony?And as your needle pierced the cloth,your plans were coming trueas all those plans of mine were lost…. I have never been so sure before that you were herebut I have never understood you less. You hold a dream, in colors you conceived for meimagined long agoAnd your thread holds across eternity — You’re still sewing for meyour ancient hands can find a place for every mismatched pieceheld within your loving gaze, one by one the pieces fitand nothing goes to waste You hold a dream, in colors you conceived for meimagined long agoAnd your […]

Mary and Mary

Mary and Mary cried through that long, hellish nightAt last day was dawning, the grey dissolved in the lightThey ran to the grave. …where they were shocked by an angelwho shook the ground with his newsHis face sparked like lightning, flashing & blindingHe said, Don’t be afraid: Jesus lives, he lives – let his life spark life in youLet what is cold in you be warmed anewHe lives, he lives. Mary and Mary, still seeing spots from that lightTheir grief in crazy disorder – could that angel be right?He said, Don’t be afraid: Jesus lives, he lives – let his life spark life in youLet what is cold in you be warmed anewHe lives, he lives. So Mary and Mary, their blood still rushing with frightLooked in the tomb and saw nothing – could the dead rise to life?They ran back to town – And who had walked out to […]

Words of Life

The starving were crowding him, he spoke of eternal breadHis very own blood and flesh – shocked, people leftBut he turned to the twelve to ask how they feltWould they leave like the rest? Then Peter confessed: You have the words of eternal lifeWhere else would we go? He left the crowds by boat, asleep in the stern he rodeAs light rain rose to a squall, he slept through it alland when waves swamped the boat, his disciples lost hopeWhen Jesus was sleeping, it was hard work believing You have the words of eternal lifeWhere else would we go? Through grief, through doubt, through deathwe can glimpse our eternal restThough questions aren’t resolved,with our small faith, we can confess: You have the words of eternal lifeWhere else would we go? Jesus, return to us; dig us out from the dustWe won’t need faith once we gaze in your faceOnce you […]

You Set My Heart Free

I used to think the rules were thereTo save me from my freedom and make me goodTo keep my feelings in their place, and never let my will escapeTo never choose, but just obey – I thought surrender was that way. I used to think that freedom meant to leave the trail and wander by myselfTo make my way through the weeds – let my feelings take the leadWhat to do, how to be – it would all be up to me. I have longed to be free, so I have run, I’ve run, I’ve runI’ve run, I’ve run. But now I know that to follow you I must be freeAnd to be free I must followYou made me free so I could choose if I want to follow youYour will will always set me free so I can truly become me. You set my heart free, and so I […]

Psalm 42

I say to God my rock, “Why have you forgotten me?Why must I go about taunted by my enemy?”Voices question me, saying, Where is your God?Where is your God? Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfallsAnd all of your waves have swept over meNo piece of myself is the way that it was beforeThe roar of your voice tells my soul that it’s free.and voices question me, saying, Where is your God?Where is your God? Why are you downcast my soul?Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise my healer and my GodI will yet praise you, the God of my life, you’re the God of my life. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfallsAnd all of your waves have swept over meNo piece of myself is the way that it was beforeThe roar of your voice tells […]

Kristina’s Song

Tomorrow is your day—sleep tonight and know you’re safeAnd as you fall asleep, the angels who protect you will be singin’ … Kristina is loved, she is lovedKristina is loved, she is loved. Tomorrow you will meet the people in your familyAs you take your first big breath, the angels who surround you will be singin’ Kristina is loved, she is lovedKristina is loved, she is loved. And there are so many people who can’t wait to see your faceYou’ve got friends all around you who’ve been saving you a place… Kristina, you’re loved, you are lovedKristina, you’re loved, you are loved. Tomorrow in the sky will be a new star way up highthe heavens filled with joy, and angels celebrating you and singin’ … Kristina, you’re loved, you are lovedKristina, you’re loved, you are loved. Purchasing information and album notes © 1995 Katarina Stenstedt

The Canvas

Let’s make a day that we will never forget – out on the riverYou be the sailor, and I’ll be the blueof the sky in the summer at noon. Honey, you be the water, and I’ll be the sunYou’ll be my canvas, and before the wind we’ll runYou be the waves that everyone can seeand I’ll be the current that moves us from beneath. Let’s make a picture of our life from now on – down by the riverYou be the painter, and I’ll be the joyof the picture that’s coming to life. Honey, you be the colors, and I’ll be the brushYou’ll be my canvas, and I’ll cover you with love.Yes, you be the colors, and I’ll be the brushYou’ll be my canvas, and I’ll cover you with love. Purchasing information and album notes © 2002 Katarina Stenstedt

Grounded by the bare copper cross (Lent)

I have a vivid memory of being shocked when I was 11 or 12 years old. We’d just shampooed the livingroom carpet, and it was evening. In my bare feet, in the dark, I shuffled across the wet carpet to a lamp. I fumbled with the switch, but the light didn’t come on. Maybe there wasn’t a bulb in the socket? I felt around under the lampshade to check, and when my finger went into that empty light socket—wow. In recent years my husband Gene has done a lot of electrical work on our house, and he’s told me about the role of ground wires. Copper conducts electricity beautifully, so it’s often used for all the wiring in a house, including the ground wires. Let’s say a live wire comes loose in a lamp and the wire is touching the metal of the light socket. And now let’s say someone sticks […]

If I repair a little of myself

“…Those wounds stay with you, and you turn them into a language and a purpose.” Gesturing toward the band onstage, he said, “We’re repairmen—repairmen with a toolbox. If I repair a little of myself, I’ll repair a little of you. That’s the job.” —Bruce Springsteen, as quoted in The New Yorker.* When my aunt Marjorie was dying of lung cancer in January 2006, there was one message I wanted to give her: Go in peace. I wrote my message into a song that I sang with my sister, cousin, and niece at Marjorie’s memorial service. Creating and offering the song helped me move through my own sadness at losing my loving, funny, irreverent aunt. It gave me something to do with my sadness, someplace to put it. I repaired a little of myself: Go in peace. Late in 2006, I recast the song so it wouldn’t refer specifically to the […]