Great Dane Faith, by DianaDee Osborne

GREAT  DANE  FAITH
ALBUM:      Amazing  Creator 'n' Critters   
Song location:   http://DianaDeeOsborneSongs.com/Songs-2008-2012.php
Song Story:  THE  MUSIC:   (well, actually two stories :)
          The concept of this song was actually written in the High School/College Age Sunday School classroom.  I was trying to figure out how to explain that God loves people who take longer to trust Him just as much as He loves those who quickly "got faith."  The idea of my two dogs came to mind (prayers for wisdom!).  And it is true --

I am much more honored that my once-fearful Great Dane 

now trusts me.  Jacob's sweet, but 

he'd love anybody...    no food briberies required.                

          In case the music seems familiar... It is the music for AMAZING GRACE RAG ("Amazing Grace 'n' Tears" album). Amusing story: I really had no plans to put the song NO CHURCH SHOULD HURT on the first CD album, "Amazing Grace 'n' Tears." I'd planned to make this song, GREAT DANE FAITH, the 12th song. But I worked and worked (and worked) for six weeks and just could not find either the exact melody or the chords that I liked for this song, whose general melody and lyrics I had written six months earlier.

         The date to begin CD mastering was only 2 weeks away, and the only other non-Lullabies song I had ready was NO CHURCH. I did not really want to publish that one yet.  I planned to wait until my 3rd album, when people I knew would be paying less attention and would not start asking  “What happened – who hurt you in church?”  (The answer being that pretty much *everyone* is hurt in a church at some point in time, because churches are full of people who make mistakes.)  After much prayer, I finally decided to give in to what I felt was God's leading. NO CHURCH went on the first album  (Amazing Grace 'n' Tears).

         Soon after, I was practicing the lyrics for GREAT DANE FAITH one day while sorting church praise music pages – and I suddenly realized that during this multi-tasking, I had started singing the melody of GDF but the words of the song “Amazing Grace” that I was filing. We used GDF's melody and recorded AMAZING GRACE RAG and loved the sound so much that we made it a 13th song on "Amazing Grace 'n' Tears."  And thus, John Newton's fantastic prayer song has become the lyrics for an exciting ragtime melody.

       The story ends with more amusement:    Within a few days after I had given in and recorded NO CHURCH for Album 1 and we started the final mastering process, I sat down at the piano.....  and found great chords and progressions for GREAT DANE FAITH ......  within an hour.   God has a sense of humor .......

Dedicated to our Lord, 8 Oct 2008   -- one of my very earliest song giftings from Him.

GOD's SUPPORTING WORDS

 “...Those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”  -- Psalm 9:10

LYRICS

VERSE 1
Poor Merlyn was a sad Great Dane – a puppy full of woe.
His owner tied him up all day and never let him go.
Before he came to live with me, four years had trudged on by
         That poor Great Dane slinked to the wall and
         growled and ran to hide for months (and months and months and months),
and months (and months and months),  BUT now He trusts me)....VERSE 2
Jacob was a glad collie who never met a foe.
He'd loved me from the day we met and go where I said so.
Of course, that's not a compliment-- He'd love a burglar, too.
      As long as you say "Hi" to him, Jacob will trust you through --
                 Through all you do, Jacob will trust you.....VERSE 3
I can't help but think that God must surely understand
That some of us have Jacob Faith and trust all that God's planned.
But some of us have Merlyn Faith and need more time to trust.
But when we've learned to trust our God, we're His and we won't budge!
        for months (and months and months and months),
        and years (and years and years and years)
        and decades....  and centuries...   (and that's a lot of years!)
        We   LEARN   to trust God.          VERSE 4
Perhaps it seems that Jacob faith would give God greater pleasure,
Because Jacobs so seldom doubt and in their faith are so sure.
But Merlyns surely please God too (though our faith took so long).
God patiently draws us to trust His love 
and just to "hold on."
Through all God does,   we can trust God's love.

ECHO:
We can always trust our God and
We know God keeps His promise that
         He will always love us and so
                We can always trust God's love FOR US.
©2008 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved.  FREE personal usage; see website