Behind the Song: I Choose
On Tuesday, I shared how this song had impacted my weight loss journey. I first heard this song several years ago in a church service. I was working my way through a very difficult time…
Behind the Song: His Kind of Love
Have you wondered where I got my tag, “Sharing HIS Kind of Love” from? The phrase comes from the song by the same title. His Kind of Love was written by Marijohn Wilkin. For 15…
Behind the Song: One Day at a Time
Many times it is difficult to see the path ahead. All we can do is take things one day at a time. The song “One Day at a Time” was written by Marijohn Wilkin when…
Behind the Song: Touch of the Master’s Hand
I first heard and loved this song more than 20 years ago when released. However, lately this song keeps returning in my life. As I transform with my weight loss and other areas of my…
Behind the Hymn Sunday: The Old Rugged Cross
The Old Rugged Cross is often requested during hymn sings. The message seems to be one that everyone can cling onto. Three different sites claim to be the home of this well loved hymn. The…
Behind the Hymn Sunday: How Firm A Foundation
How Firm A Foundation was published in 1787 by John Rippon. When it appeared in Rippon’s ‘A Selection of Hymns,’ it was signed simply “K”. All efforts to identify this mysterious “K”, have been fruitless;…
Profile of a Hymn Composer: Fanny Crosby
Frances Jane Crosby was born on March 24, 1820 in Brewster, New York. She is best known as Fanny. At the age of six weeks, Fanny caught a cold that caused inflammation in her eyes.…
Behind the Hymn Sunday: To God Be the Glory
To God Be the Glory was written by Fanny Crosby around 1875. She originally titled the hymn “Praise for Redemption.” William Doane composed the music to go with Fanny Crosby’s lyrics. The hymn first…
Behind the Christmas Hymn: Joy to the World
Joy to the World is a paraphrase of the Psalm 98. Originally the Christmas Carol was titled “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom” and first appeared in Watt’s 1719 “Psalms of David Imitated in the Language…
Behind the Christmas Hymn: O Come All Ye Faithful
O Come All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin. No one is sure who the original text was written by. Many people have been given the credit, but most likely an order of monks…
Behind the Christmas Hymn: Silent Night
Silent Night has become a favorite Christmas Carol around the world. The hymn was never meant to be the legend it’s become. Joseph Mohr was the assistant priest at the Church of St. Nicholas in…
The Untold Story: Handel’s Messiah
I love to attend a performance of Handel’s Messiah each Christmas. So where did it begin? Actually, although the oratorio is most often performed at Christmas time, the premiere took place at Easter time. The oratorio…
Behind the Christmas Song: Christmas Shoes
Christmas Shoes came out just a few months after Daddy died of cancer. The song and story really resonated with me and continues to touch me even years later. The story first appeared in the…
Behind the Christmas Hymn: The First Noel
This is my mother’s favorite carol, so I wanted to learn more about the origin of the song for her. Noel is the French word for Christmas. The French word is from the Latin word…
Behind the Christmas Hymn: Away in a Manger
This popular Christmas carol was originally thought to have been written by Martin Luther for his own children and later passed on to German mothers. That legend has since been disproven. The first two stanza’s…
Behind the Hymn: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come is a harvest hymn that was written in 1844. The song was written by Henry Alford. In the days when most people survived off of the land, they understood the…
Behind the Hymn Sunday: Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Have Thine Own Way, Lord was written by Adelaide A. Pollard. Born in 1862 Iowa, she had a gift for writing prose, poetry, hymns and even articles. Her birth name was Sarah, but she strongly…
Behind the Hymn Sunday: Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Thomas Andrew Dorsey experienced tremendous loss and sadness when he received word that his wife and newborn son died. In August 1932, at the time of their death he was at a revival meeting in…
Hymn Story: When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder was written by James Milton Black in 1893. The story goes that when the time came to take roll in his Sunday School class, a little girl…
Behind the Hymn Sunday: In the Sweet By and By
The happy song, In the Sweet By and By, came from a moment of depression. Joseph Webster, a composer, was friends with Dr. Sandford Bennett. Joseph Webster was born in the east in 1819. As…