Written in 2015 by John and Julie Hershenberg and their friend Stephanie Valderrama, Faithful Eyes is a beautiful prayer song that was sung beautifully by the gifted Sean Robbins. At one point, the track was going to be recorded by one of Hawaii's top female recording artists, but co-writer Julie felt it needed to be sung by a male because of the song's lyrics. The result was lovely.
Changed
Changed was one of the first songs written for the "Prayers and Praise" project and was originally written as a slower worship song. Once a hawaiian-style genre was decided for the project, the tempo was increased to provide a more upbeat testimonial song for the CD. Cory Oliveros was the first artist to sign-on to the project, and eventually provided background vocals to the other tracks as well. This is one of John Hershenberg's favorite songs on the project because he plays it on ukulele for anyone willing to listen.
Jesus You're My Rock
Written in 2015 by John Hershenberg and his son Michael and daughter Julie, this track was sung by the gifted Hawaiian recording artist Sean Na'auao for the "Prayers and Praise" project. The last to join the project, Sean said he was willing to do anything for God and talked of his grandfather being a pastor. As recording began, producer Bob Parr was able to record Sean's vocals just before he left for a music tour in Japan.
Grace and Mercy
Written in 2015 by John and Julie Hershenberg, Grace and Mercy was the first track written for the "Prayers and Praise" project in preparation for the full-time ministry move to Hawaii. Sean Robbins attracted John's attention with his Hawaiian recordings and unmistakable voice. Although most of the artists lending their efforts to the project were believers at the time of recording, Sean didn't say anything about his beliefs. In 2016 after the CD's release, Sean sent a facebook post announcing he had given his heart to Jesus and was beginning his mission work with World Youth With a Mission.
We Will Rise
Written in 2015 by John & Julie Hershenberg and their friend Stephanie Valderrama, this track is included on the Prayers and Praise CD, recorded by the incomparable Glenn Medeiros. Our producer Bob Parr knew Glenn from working on his international hit, "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You", and he asked that he be part of the project. We Will Rise is a standout song for the project and has already blessed many people at our "Feed the Hungry" events in Hawaii.
Wind and Waves
This song was inspired by some amazing journaling by Jennifer Bingham. John Hershenberg was a fellow student of hers at The King's University in 2015 when Jennifer read some of the journal in class. John was touched by the beautiful words about dancing with Jesus during the storms of life. He asked Jennifer to use the ideas for a song, then took them to Stephanie Valderrama and Julie Hershenberg to write the song. It ended up on the "Prayers and Praise" CD to promote the "Feed the Hungry" ministry in Hawaii!