Melodies & Musings

Where music, poetry, and storytelling meet. In this space, I share short videos of myself singing a favorite song or reading an original poem, paired with personal reflections and the heart-stirring backstories behind the words. It’s daily musings, set to a melody and spoken from the heart.

A Hymn of Grateful Praise

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Melodies & Musings

When English poet Folliott Pierpoint sat on a hilltop overlooking the countryside in 1864, the surrounding beauty inspired him to write a simple song of gratitude—one that still speaks to us today. That hymn is For the Beauty of the Earth.

The melody of this hymn is beautiful. But the words really help me be grateful for the many blessings I have in my life. I especially love the words to the first verse.

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.

I have always loved the beauties of nature. Looking at the beautiful mountains in Northern Utah where I live fills my soul with gratitude. The beautiful blue skies and even some puffy white clouds help me be grateful. But what really fills my soul with gratitude is the love of my Heavenly Father who loved me before my birth. He loves me no matter what. He will love me with a perfect love I can’t even begin to imagine throughout eternity. He created this earth for me and for all of us to enjoy its beauty.

What is one small detail in nature or your daily life that made you pause and give thanks today? What is one line from a hymn that always fills your heart with gratitude?

Here’s a YouTube Short of me singing the first verse:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0Fy-2XZinaM

Lord, Save Me

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

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Melodies & Musings

I have been thinking about Jesus being my refuge and strength. I wrote a poem a while back about Jesus being our lifeboat when the waters of life are stormy. I have always loved the story in the Bible of when some of Jesus’ disciples were in a boat and a big storm came. They saw a man walking on the water and they noticed that it was Jesus. As Jesus came closer to them, Peter asked Jesus if he could come to Him on the water. Jesus told him to come. As long as Peter kept his eyes on the Savior, Peter was fine. But the moment his gaze strayed from Jesus, he started to sink. Then, in despair as he was sinking, Peter cried, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately stretched forth His hand to lift Peter up. This story can be found in Matthew 14:28-31. The show The Chosen does a really good job of portraying this story.

One thing I find interesting about this story is that as long as Peter had his eyes on the Savior, he wasn’t afraid and he could walk on the water. But as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus, he started to sink and he was afraid. This can be applied to our lives. Even though we have trials that are hard and sometimes scary, as long as we keep our eyes on our Savior, we shouldn’t fear and we can endure anything that comes our way. But if our gaze strays from Jesus, then we will be afraid and we won’t know where to turn for help.

Another thing that is interesting to me about this story is that when Peter cried out to Jesus to save him because he was afraid and sinking, Jesus immediately lifted him up out of the water. He didn’t wait so that Peter could learn a lesson; He immediately came to his aid. When we are in the midst of hard trials and we reach out to the Savior for help, He will be there in an instant to save us from the troubled waters.

Have you ever felt like Peter, beginning to sink beneath the troubles of life and crying out, “Lord, save me”? How did you see the Savior’s hand reaching for you? What helps you keep your eyes on Jesus when the storms around you become frightening?

Here’s the poem I wrote a while back about Jesus being our lifeboat: https://faithcenteredinspiration.com/2026/01/17/our-ultimate-lifeboat/

Here’s a short video of me reading part of the poem:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hJq7kg-J6AM

Abide With Me Every Hour

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Melodies & Musings

For a long time, I have loved the hymn I Need Thee Every Hour. I especially love the words to the third verse. 

I need thee ev’ry hour,
In joy or pain.
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need thee, oh, I need thee;
Ev’ry hour I need thee!
Oh, bless me now, my Savior;
I come to thee!

The reason this verse resonates with me so much is because I really do need my Savior every hour. I need Him when I feel joy. Most of the time, He is the source of my joy. Without Jesus, even happy moments are fleeting or without purpose. I really need Him when I feel pain. Because I have a chronic illness, pain is a part of my daily life with my body. But I think it’s also talking about pain in my heart or soul. Jesus can help me with that kind of pain more than anyone can. He has felt the pain and emotional trauma that I experience, so only He can help me heal. Without Jesus, suffering would feel purposeless and unbearable.

Then the next part of the verse includes my Word of the Year, Abide. I need my Savior to come quickly to my aid and abide with me. I don’t ever want Him to leave me. I researched the line, “Or life is vain”, and I learned that vain in this context means empty, futile, without substance, or lacking true purpose. I feel this deep in my soul. I can’t imagine my life without Jesus. Life would feel empty and without a purpose if I didn’t have Jesus to abide with me. If it weren’t for Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, life would be empty because there wouldn’t be hope for me to change, repent and become better.

When Annie S. Hawks wrote those words, the line “Or life is vain” can be understood as a declaration of total dependence. It expresses that without Christ’s presence (abiding with you through both the bright moments of joy and the heavy seasons of pain), all of earthly life’s achievements, efforts, and experiences ultimately lack permanent weight or eternal meaning.

Then the chorus expresses my feelings about my Savior so well. I need Him every hour. I feel like this is a prayer to Jesus telling Him how much I need Him, every hour of every day. Then it asks Jesus to bless me and stay with me when I reach out to Him.

When have you felt your Savior’s presence most strongly in your life? What does “I need Thee every hour” mean to you personally?

Here’s the short video of me singing this verse acapella:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lfDmm8t_mGM

When Jesus Calls

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

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Melodies & Musings

A while back, I wrote a poem about how Jesus is our Good Shepherd and we are His beloved sheep. You can find the link to that poem at the bottom of this post. As I reread that poem and thought about the message, I wondered if I am in tune enough with Jesus to hear His voice when He calls me?

Sometimes we get so distracted by other things in this life that we might lose track of the important things. Even though the things that we do for our home and family are important, listening for and hearing Jesus’ voice should be among the most important thing in our lives.

We should prioritize spiritual things above anything else. As we learn more about Jesus and learn from His example, I think we will become more in tune to His voice. Then when He calls us to do something, we can be ready.

What helps you stay spiritually in tune with Jesus when life becomes busy and distracting? Have you ever felt Jesus guiding you toward something you might not have recognized if you hadn’t been listening?

Here’s the link to the poem about this topic:https://faithcenteredinspiration.com/2026/01/17/the-good-shepherd/

Here’s a link to the YouTube video of me reading part of the poem:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5Kr4_vOyTvA

Other Refuge Have I None

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Melodies & Musings

Another one of my favorite hymns is Jesus, Lover of My Soul. I have always loved the music to this hymn, but the words are especially powerful. I love the words to the second verse:

Other refuge have I none;

Hangs my helpless soul on thee.

Leave, oh, leave me not alone;

Still support and comfort me.

All my trust on thee is stayed;

All my help from thee I bring.

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of thy wing.

What makes these words so powerful is that it sounds like a prayer to Jesus, telling Him first that we don’t have anyone else who is our refuge. Our souls would be helpless without Jesus and His Atonement. But we do have Jesus, so our souls are never helpless. Because of Him, we can repent and become better. That’s such a sweet and amazing testimony to all of us. For me, Jesus has been my refuge many times in my life, but especially these last few years living with chronic illness symptoms. I can always turn to Him and He will be there for me.

Then, we plead for Him to never leave us, and we put all of our trust in Him, that He will “abide” with us and never leave us alone. There’s my word of the year again, “Abide”. As soon as we reach out to Him, He will be there for us. He is ready to be there at a moment’s notice because He loves us so much.

I got really excited when I found that one of the scriptures that inspired this hymn was Psalm 62:6-7, which reads:

6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

The book of Psalms has been one of my favorite books of scripture for a long time, probably because it sounds like music and I love music! From these verses, Jesus is our rock, our salvation, our defence, and our refuge.

What does it mean to you to know that Jesus can be your refuge? When have you felt Jesus supporting and comforting you during a difficult time?

Watch the short video of me singing the second verse of this hymn here:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TVdJK2A-s4Q