Marion's Musical Instruments
Marion's interest in music began before she was born, as her parents were 'way ahead of their time, and made sure she heard lots of good music while her mother was expecting her!
Always an eclectic child, she loved almost everything musical that came her way. At home, that meant mostly Classical and Country & Western. Her life included church from an early age, and lots of traveling, where she heard everything on radios and in restaurants, soaking it all in like a sponge.
Marion began singing at the age of fifteen months, while her mother was pushing her stroller downhill. Her first solo was almost her swan song, as Barbara was startled and let go of the stroller! She did manage to catch her before she'd gone very far. Up to that point, Barbara hadn't known any singing babies. First song: "Desus Woves Me." (Well, that's what it sounded like.)
Marion's interest in the piano dates to an early age, but she only made chords until she was three, when she sat down and played "Jesus Loves Me" all the way through, by ear. (Her parents up to this point had not realized she was plagued with perfectionism. God did finally help her to overcome that.)
Although she didn't have any stringed instruments until much later, she was always fascinated with them, making cigar box harps with rubber bands. Her first stringed instrument was her cousin Don's ukulele, which he had outgrown and very kindly gave her. Marion didn't bother with tuning it like a ukulele: she tuned it to the tonic chord, and then started playing Spanish music on it, thumping it like a flamenco guitar.
This prompted her father to get her a cheap guitar on a trip to Japan. The guitar turned into the first love of her life, although she has never gotten entirely away from keyboards.
In the meantime, her quest for music has taken her to the organ, Autoharp, toy xylophones (at school), the soprano recorder, fife, tinwhistle, bagpipes (still working on that one!), Native American flute, fiddle, mandolin (still working on that one, too, especially since the mandolin is broken!), banjo, bass, keyboards, and Celtic harp. If she has her way, this musical adventure will never end!
Marion's Statement of Faith
Marion was raised in church and came to faith in Jesus at an early age. She was raised on the Golden Rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," which she took to mean, "you should be as nice to people as you want them to be to you." That hasn't changed over the years.
Marion's faith went through testings and trials, as life was very difficult for her. She was a sickly child and missed a lot of school. Despite that, she never doubted that God loved her, even when she didn't understand what was going on in her life. Part of a Navy family, she found that church helped the many transitions she had to make from changing schools every few years.
While there have been times that she has had doubts, her experiences with the Lord have always brought her back to the realization of Who He Is and how much He loves her. She is to the point now where she trusts Him utterly and wants to share her faith with everyone. God is love, and He wants us to love one another.
© 2004 - 2023 Marion Faith Laird
All Rights Reserved
Marion Faith Laird has been performing in churches since the age of two, her first church solo. After that, she was hooked, and has never given it up. At the age of nine, she directed the junior choir at her church. Already playing the piano from the age of three, Marion added the guitar to her life at thirteen, bringing a love of classical, country, folk, blues, jazz, and pop/rock to the instrument.
When she was fourteen, she started composing Christian songs along with the secular music she also composed. For a long time, life became too difficult for her to continue composing, but now, later in life, the Lord has blessed her with new music, new instruments, and a new song in her heart, which she wants to share with you.
Marion's love for the written word began early, as well, and she began writing and illustrating stories in school. She has never stopped reading or writing, and not too long ago began writing again with an eye to publication. She sold a novel to Love Inspired Suspense, part of the Harlequin family of romances. No Place to Run was published in 2014. She has written a couple more books since then, one of which is currently being read by her editor. Stay tuned for more developments as they occur.
Marion's music is available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, and just about everywhere.