Listen to the song; #4 on THE SOFTER SIDE OF ME
1995 - Songs to me are almost like children. You raise them up in the way they should go and hope and pray they become fruitful, active participants in the Kingdom of God. It may take many years to instill in them some tidbit of wisdom you, the parent have written on your own heart. Such are my feelings towards this song in particular. It is one of those that didn’t just flow out easily, but took many years of playing with the chord structure and lyrics. It was born in the days when I was playing with Mark Crafford and Sam Pagano- doing jazz renditions of praise tunes and old hymns. I had this beautiful Ibanez hollow body guitar that felt like an acoustic but had an amazingly fat sound with it’s dual humbuckers. Back then the song was just a few chords and it took over ten years to finally form it into a completed work.
When I returned to San Diego from a short-term missions trip to Venezuela, my old best friend Mike Lessard was living on a 25-foot world-class sailboat named “THE DREAMER”. From his stories of sailing down to Cabo from SD, I drew comparisons of the Christian walk to being out on the open sea with nothing but the wind to propel you. Ever since my surfing accident in 1980, I have had a strong respect for the power of the ocean which is somewhat akin to my fear of the Lord. In the world of sailing, the harbor is a safe and sheltered place (The walls of protection), but one cannot fully know the exhilaration of sailing without leaving the harbor and moving out into the open sea. Out in that vast expanse of water and weather, you feel so insignificant and vulnerable. It is like being at the foot of God’s throne and yet he reaches out to us and calls us by name! How awesome is that? So I hope this song conveys these kind of parable-like comparisons to you- the listener. And to anyone reading this and/or listening to my songs, I am honored and humbled that you took the time to do so. May the wind of His Spirit always fill your sails and lead you back safely into the harbor of His Kingdom.
IN THE HEART OF A CHRISTIAN MAN
© 1995 Words & Music by Reginald M. Michaud
I rode on a boat in an ocean full of emotion
Danced on the deck of the Dreamer her stern to sea
Brought her about with a wail and a shout on the main sail
Leaving the harbor was very unusual for me
Out in the open the crew was all hoping and praying
Like thunder and lightning the waves were crashing her frame
But something inside her was quenching the fires of the ocean
And into her voyage she seemed to untangle the strain
And she was tearing down walls of protection
Making me see the way it ought to be
Moving ahead in a beautiful direction
Feeling the Spirit stirring inside of me
When you’re out to sea….Un-ha
You’re perfectly free……Oh-ho
In total harmony…………Un-ha
That’s just the way it should be…
In the heart of a Christian man
Walked with the Lord in a world so full of deception
Knelt at the foot of his throne where I love to be
But He sent me out with His Spirit to rescue the dying
To show them redemption was very unusual for me
And He was tearing down walls of protection
Making me see the way it ought to be
Moving ahead in a beautiful direction
Feeling the Spirit stirring inside of me
When you’re out to sea….Un-ha
You’re perfectly free……Oh-ho
In total harmony…………Un-ha
That’s just the way it should be…
In the heart of a Christian man
1995 - Songs to me are almost like children. You raise them up in the way they should go and hope and pray they become fruitful, active participants in the Kingdom of God. It may take many years to instill in them some tidbit of wisdom you, the parent have written on your own heart. Such are my feelings towards this song in particular. It is one of those that didn’t just flow out easily, but took many years of playing with the chord structure and lyrics. It was born in the days when I was playing with Mark Crafford and Sam Pagano- doing jazz renditions of praise tunes and old hymns. I had this beautiful Ibanez hollow body guitar that felt like an acoustic but had an amazingly fat sound with it’s dual humbuckers. Back then the song was just a few chords and it took over ten years to finally form it into a completed work.
When I returned to San Diego from a short-term missions trip to Venezuela, my old best friend Mike Lessard was living on a 25-foot world-class sailboat named “THE DREAMER”. From his stories of sailing down to Cabo from SD, I drew comparisons of the Christian walk to being out on the open sea with nothing but the wind to propel you. Ever since my surfing accident in 1980, I have had a strong respect for the power of the ocean which is somewhat akin to my fear of the Lord. In the world of sailing, the harbor is a safe and sheltered place (The walls of protection), but one cannot fully know the exhilaration of sailing without leaving the harbor and moving out into the open sea. Out in that vast expanse of water and weather, you feel so insignificant and vulnerable. It is like being at the foot of God’s throne and yet he reaches out to us and calls us by name! How awesome is that? So I hope this song conveys these kind of parable-like comparisons to you- the listener. And to anyone reading this and/or listening to my songs, I am honored and humbled that you took the time to do so. May the wind of His Spirit always fill your sails and lead you back safely into the harbor of His Kingdom.
IN THE HEART OF A CHRISTIAN MAN
© 1995 Words & Music by Reginald M. Michaud
I rode on a boat in an ocean full of emotion
Danced on the deck of the Dreamer her stern to sea
Brought her about with a wail and a shout on the main sail
Leaving the harbor was very unusual for me
Out in the open the crew was all hoping and praying
Like thunder and lightning the waves were crashing her frame
But something inside her was quenching the fires of the ocean
And into her voyage she seemed to untangle the strain
And she was tearing down walls of protection
Making me see the way it ought to be
Moving ahead in a beautiful direction
Feeling the Spirit stirring inside of me
When you’re out to sea….Un-ha
You’re perfectly free……Oh-ho
In total harmony…………Un-ha
That’s just the way it should be…
In the heart of a Christian man
Walked with the Lord in a world so full of deception
Knelt at the foot of his throne where I love to be
But He sent me out with His Spirit to rescue the dying
To show them redemption was very unusual for me
And He was tearing down walls of protection
Making me see the way it ought to be
Moving ahead in a beautiful direction
Feeling the Spirit stirring inside of me
When you’re out to sea….Un-ha
You’re perfectly free……Oh-ho
In total harmony…………Un-ha
That’s just the way it should be…
In the heart of a Christian man
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