Rebel to Redeemed…Sharing HIS Kind of Love
This week’s hymn was inspired by a very special man, who had a great love for music but an even greater love for God. Although I only knew him the last year of his life, that love of both God and music was still evident. His children introduced me to this beautiful hymn and informed me this was one of […]
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God wants to show us His faithfulness, but sometimes we have to surrender all before He can prove that He is faithful to us. Great is Thy Faithfulness was written by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm as a “testament to God’s faithfulness through his very ordinary life.” Chisholm was born in 1866 in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky to James Washington […]
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This week this song has played through my heart and mind over and over again. I have performed this song numerous times over the years, but this week the song has ministered to me. The song was written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. This well-known couple have written numerous Southern Gospel songs of our day including Because He Lives, He […]
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In honor of the 4th of July yesterday, I wanted to share the story behind one of our beloved Patriotic hymns. My Country Tis of Thee is a popular Patriotic hymn, after our national anthem and God Bless America. Samuel Francis Smith wanted to write a song to bring the nation of the United States to God. In 1831, […]
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Surrendering it all to God is not easy. As I’m sharing my Rebel to Redeemed story, I am sharing my struggle to surrender it all to God over the course of my life. Many of us have struggled with this same decision. The author of this beautiful hymn, Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter, definitely struggled. However, from his struggles came a […]
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If you watch the Gaither’s Homecoming Series, you may recognize the Ball Brothers. For me their performance at church on Sunday was my introduction to this amazing group. The group started out with four brothers. As of this time two of the brothers, Stephen and Joshua, have left the group to pursue other ministry opportunities. The remaining two Ball brothers […]
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Yesterday, was Father’s Day. This is always a bittersweet day. Fifteen years ago, life was finally getting back on track. I was moving forward and putting my divorce behind me. I’d returned to college and was obtaining my basic courses. I would be moving to a nearby university that fall to pursue my music degree. I’d questioned whether or not […]
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I recently heard someone publicly say they did not like the song, “I Can Only Imagine.” Their reason was that they could not imagine dancing when we get to heaven. The scriptures include several references of dancing before the Lord. These include: “And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.” […]
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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 years I was Daddy’s accompanists on the piano. This was a song we performed on a regular basis. After his death, I took the Easter […]
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Occasionally, a song will just grab my heart, and minister to me. When this happens, I’ll say “this is a song I have to sing.” That was my reaction the first time I heard the Oscar nominated {and later rescinded} “Alone, Yet Not Alone.” The music has a haunting quality, which fills your soul. There are so many times that […]
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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 hymn was written by George Barnard, a minister ordained by the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. Bernard began his ministry in the Salvation Army. While going […]
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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; and the mystery remains to this day. Some reprints show the author was Kenne. Dr. Rippon’s musical director was R. Keene and it’s believed he […]
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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. Mustard poultices were applied to treat the inflammation, damaging her optic nerves and blinding her. Her father died the same year she was born and […]
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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 appeared in the Brightest and Best Hymnal, which was compiled by William Doane and Robert Lowry in 1875. The song was not much a big […]
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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 of the New Testament” hymnal. The music is believed to be adapted from parts of Handel’s Messiah by Lowell Mason. “And heaven and nature sing” […]
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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 wrote the text. The original text consisted of four Latin verses, which were translated and used in the hymn we now know today. The composer […]
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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 Tyrol Alps of Austria. Father Mohr and Franz Gruber, the village schoolmaster and church organist, were discussing the fact that they believed the perfect […]
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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 was composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir and soloists. Charles Jennens compiled the scriptural […]
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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 book, Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul. In the book Helga Schmidt tells the story of a young brother and sister trying to buy their […]
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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 natalis, meaning birthday. The song is a narrative of the birth of Christ. The First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol. Researchers believe the […]
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