May the Beauty of God utilizes the beautiful prose from John Birch to create a song of praise. I learned about John Birch while I was searching for poetry that I would like to set to music. I found his work at www.faithandworship.com where there is a bit of a bio and access to a … [Read more…]
Showing Up is one of those expressions that seems to be used more now than ever before. Frankly, I’m not a fan. When I ask people what they mean when they say they want to “show up” they usually can’t really explain it. Labels and expressions such as this one seem to interfere with self … [Read more…]
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Bah Humbug. Poppycock. Rubbish. I am proud to call myself a lifelong learner. As an old dog, I am committed to learning new tricks in a variety of subjects. I have spent a large part of my life in formal education. From kindergarten through graduate … [Read more…]
My God Accept My Heart This Day was written by Matthew Bridges (1800-1894). According to songsandhymns.org he was born in Maldon Essex and raised in the Anglican church. He later converted to Catholicism. After residing in Canada for a while, he moved back to England. He then lived at the Convent of the Assumption at … [Read more…]
Savior, Teach Me Day by Day was written by Jane Eliza Leeson in 1842 and it has been included in Hymns & Scenes of Childhood. It is considered a hymn of obedience to God. Jane Eliza Leeson was born in 1807 or 1808 in Wilford England. She was christened at St. Mary’s Church in Nottingham … [Read more…]
The title really says it all. Dementia sucks. This is more than a general observation. Like so many others, dementia has touched my family. According to the Alzheimer’s Association more than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s Disease, one form of dementia. 73% of them are age 75 or older. About 1 in 9 people age … [Read more…]
Anybody feeling stress recently? Loneliness? Anxiety? The Lord Be With Us As We Walk is a hymn offering comfort that we are not facing the trials of living alone. God is always with us. The words to this hymn were written by John Ellerton. You can find a brief bio of John Ellerton here. This … [Read more…]
Where is home? It seems like this would be a pretty easy question to answer, but it turns out to be more complicated than I had initially thought. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/home offers multiple definitions of home, including: The above list of definitions adds very little clarity about what home is. Consider these quotes: “The ache for home … [Read more…]
When I started composing choral music I spent time going through old hymnals (I have a lot of them) and picking hymns that I didn’t know, were in public domain, and I liked the words. That seemed like a good place to start. One hymn I discovered was This is the Light of Day by … [Read more…]
Hi everyone. I’m back. I know I’ve said this many times. I always mean it too. Then life gets busy and I fall off the path. That sounds like life has been a struggle, but in many ways I’m living my dream. While I’m still working a full time job, and a part-time job, the … [Read more…]