This is a line from our new song Captivated. Is God’s love really unconditional? Really? I guess I find this astounding. What does it even mean?
I’m not used to that sort of love. Who is?
It’s no wonder we have difficulty with believing, much less receiving this unconditional love from our Papa.
Love without conditions. You can do whatever you want with it. Receive it or Ignore it. Cherish or Spurn it. Run into the arms of love or Run from it by choosing sin instead. Honor this love or Insult it. But, nothing we choose to do could ever make him love us any less! We can’t mess this up because his love doesn’t depend on our response. He will still love you… completely. Infinitely. Forever. He is Love!
This song Captivated will appear on our new album Reflect Love. When people ask me what our new album is about I tell them the theme is, “God is Love, in whom we live and move and have our being.”
God can’t help it. He just IS Love! He can’t escape it. And the awesome thing is, we can’t escape him. We are in him! Love is God’s character, his DNA, his very essence. He will always do and act and think in the most infinitely loving way toward you and everything and everyone else he has made!
So, what is love?
Recently a friend of mine challenged me to “meditate daily on Corinthians 13…above all else, love is what we need” (he sent me this link). It really made me think. I am fairly familiar with that passage of Scripture, but his challenge took me deeper into it and to ask the really hard questions. Is this what my life looks like right now? Is this what people see in my responses to convos on Facebook? How I treat my wife, kids, friends, or even enemies?
Let’s take a look at the passage:
Love Is the Greatest
…So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. Let love be your highest goal! (1 Cor 13 NLT)
The apostle whom Jesus loved (John) informs us that “we love because he first loved us.” We love each other because He first loved us. We love God because he first loved us. So receiving his love is a pretty big deal as we cannot be expected or even begin to love if we don’t first receive the love of God, right? We must connect to the vine, our source of life and love. “Abide in my love“, Jesus says.
I love to tell everyone I meet:
“It is the primary responsibility of every human being is just to let God love you!”
That’s it. Once we are good receivers of God’s love, everything else falls into place. When I was first learning this concept I would drive around and pray, “God, I receive your love… I receive your love.” I would very often feel what I call the sunshine of heaven coming into the widows of my soul and warming me. Even now I am praying this and feeling the Lords love.
Enjoy this worship song! We hope it connects you to the Lord and his love in a really special way:
Forgiveness. Nothing can heal and even protect our heart from all wounds like forgiveness. In fact, nothing else ever will. And though forgiveness is vital to healthy spirituality (and our salvation) let’s not pretend that it is easy.
Forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. Where is the justice in just letting someone off the hook? To let them walk free after what they did to me? To forgive their debt? Where is the justice in that?
Well, one needs to look no further than the cross to find the answer. The justice for all wrongs and wounds was meted out and inflicted upon the LORD Jesus Christ as he was brutally tortured and nailed to a suspended wooden beam to suffocate in agony. His heart literally exploded from all the pressure and stress and strain of not only the physical torture he endured, but also of bearing the hellish torment of every sin ever committed. Because he loves us that much Jesus experienced the hell (the justice) that you deserved. He experienced the hell (the justice) that those who have wounded you deserve. He forgave us once for all at the cross and so, he asks us – No, he even requires – that we forgive those who have sinned against us.
Here is our latest song Forgive:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAhYZCptck0&w=560&h=315]
(adapted from a poem by Rosamond Herklots)
This song “Forgive” is about how forgiveness is such a vital element of the Lord’s Prayer:
“…forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” Luke 11:4 NLT
Do we think about the fact that we are asking God to be as forgiving to us as we are to others? Hmmm… that should make us stop and ask ourselves, ‘God, is there anyone I am not forgiving? Will you help me to learn to forgive everyone fully from my heart?’
Jesus was once asked by his disciples:
“Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 NASB
I think about that as it relates to forgiveness as well. I would suggest that apart from a move of God and a profound act of grace from God on our behalf, it would be impossible to forgive. But with God…
I think about my friend Jon Stoffel. As they were out for a family outing, Jon, his wife, and his daughter Olivia were shot in a random act of violence by a distraught man. Jon and his daughter were killed and his wife survived. His last words to his wife in his parting moments were, “Forgive the shooter.”
I think about the families of the nine victims who were shot and killed by Dylann Roof in the South Carolina hate crime shooting who, by the grace of God, extended forgiveness to him. “This is how we deal with hate crimes”, they said. What the devil intended for evil God turned into good as the healing message of forgiveness went out across the world.
I think about Jesus last words to those who crucified him:
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 NLT
I think about Stephen, the first martyr, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit was able to say in his last moments:
“Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” Acts 7:60 NLT
I don’t pretend to suggest that forgiveness is ever easy. Our wounds may run very deep. But God’s love and grace can run deeper still and by His grace we can experience a “peace that passes all understanding” and extend that peace to others.
Who wouldn’t want that?
I have written many other blogs on Forgiveness. Here are a few of them:
Download this song (and more!) for “Name Your Price” Here: www.reflect.bandcamp.com or you can visit here and learn more about our efforts to get this album into nursing homes.
Be Thou My Vision is a song that comes from an unknown source during a spiritually rich period of time after St. Patrick (385-461 AD) brought the Gospel to Ireland. Patrick’s story is one of my favorite stories of history and I will attempt to give you an interestingand accurate account of his life and impact upon Ireland and subsequently the world.
(Incidentally it is difficult to weed through all the legends and folklore that have arisen around Patrick’s story. So, in order to arrive at the truth – and be a good journalist – you have to find credible sources for the facts. Thankfully we have a few surviving documents that were written by the man himself. Any information you find in this blog are from those sources.)
If you want an amusing and quasi-accurate account of his story please watch the following video. They did their homework but of course it does take some humorous artistic license:
Rome at the time of St. Patrick was about to fall. It was withdrawing troops from outlying regions back to protect Rome. The problem was that Rome provided stability. They protected the people from raiders and pirates and slave traders. Once they were gone the pillaging began in full force. At the age of 16 St Patrick (whose real name was Maywin Socket) was captured in a massive slave collecting campaign. He was loaded onto a ship bound for Ireland along with thousands of others. Prior to this Patrick was running with the wrong crowd. Even though he was raised in a Christian home, his father was a deacon, his grandfather a priest, he had no interest and was, I suppose you could say, part of a gang of thugs and troublemakers.
Once he arrived in Ireland he spent time in a village where he got to know some of the other prisoners. These prisoners possessed a faith that intrigued Patrick. He also spent much time out in the elements caring for cattle and other animals, sometimes in very wet and cold conditions. It was this hardship that caused him to cry out to God and his faith began to take root and grow.
Soon he was praying quite often and getting (and giving) encouragement with other believers when he could. He began to love his captor and the people of Ireland and learned their language.
After six years God gave him a dream that told him his ship was ready, indicating that it was time to make his escape.
This gave him the courage to make an over 200 mile journey to the coast. It took courage because slaves who tried to escape were flogged and sometimes killed. He indeed found a ship that was preparing to sail and asked to be taken aboard. At first the captain refused and sent him away but then a crew member encouraged him to come aboard.
He had a subsequent dream in which Jesus told him, “He who gave his life for you, he it is who speaks within you.”
In fact, I was surprised by how much of his life was guided by his supernatural and visionary experiences with God. Eventually he returned home and served as a priest for many years until God once again gave him a dream in which a man (an angel?) named Victoricus came bearing letters from the people of Ireland and he heard the voice of the people say, “We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk again among us.” He obeyed the heavenly vision and returned with several other missionaries to live among the people of Ireland and share the good news of Jesus with them. He had a long and successful ministry even though heavily persecuted and harassed by both unbelievers and those “in the church” alike.
During the early period of his life he did something he was extremely ashamed of. Later on in his life and ministry he confessed this deed to someone he trusted. His trust was misplaced as the man then turned on him and told his superiors in the church of his deed. This caused him a great deal of trouble but it is the reason we have one of his documents (Confession – which relates to his confession of faith, not of sin).
It is an interesting read, please click on the above link to read and learn more!
This song is the third most popular hymn in the world by my sources and rightfully so. It is a beautiful prayer that God would be our vision. This is the most noble vision statement of all.
Be Thou My Vision
Be thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light
Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, and I thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art
High King of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all
Words and Music by Eleanor Hull and Mary E. Byrne
Public Domain
Download this song (and more!) for “Name Your Price” Here: www.reflect.bandcamp.com or you can visit here and learn more about our efforts to get this album into nursing homes.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” (Revelation 4:8 NLT)
So why “Holy”? Why is “Holy” the word the angels choose to unceasingly declare in the presence of God? I have often asked myself that question. What does it even mean? It certainly must mean something more amazing and beautiful than most of us understand. Even the Bible dictionary hardly helps us understand the depth and beauty of this word:
That definition doesn’t really do it for me. How bout you? (This article helped!) I like how in this article the author adds “otherness, transcendent and totally other”.
Transcendant. I like that.
This following video is a must watch. It was interesting and extremely informative:
He is the Transcendant Source. The Creator and Sustainer of all that is. My best way to explain Holy is to say that God is absolutely perfect in every of his most wonderful attributes. His holiness contains them all. Love, Joy, Peace, etc… He is absolute perfection in every way.
And then, he commands us to be holy.
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.” (1 Peter 14-17 NIV)
I have to believe that within His command lies the ability. Just as through his command the heavens and earth were created, so too by his command are we made holy.
Here is where my mind goes with this: When your Creator says to you, “Be Holy”, it has an effect on you. It’s like when Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3) His command actually does the cleansing work. His command changes reality. He has made it so. And yet, the Scripture says God alone is holy: “For you alone are holy.” (Revelation 15:4)
So what exactly is happening here? What does that mean for me and you?
God alone is holy and yet he commands us to be holy. Jesus is the answer to this dilemma. Scripture teaches us that Jesus has brought us into God and made us partakers of his divine nature. He has made us one with God if we have received Jesus as our Savior. His prayer in John 17 was answered!
Lyrics:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, bless’d Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Song History:
Reginald Heber (1783-1826) wrote this in 1826 for Trinity Sunday celebration. He died suddenly that same year at the age of 43 and his wife later found and passed on these lyrics to John B. Dykes (1823-1876) who composed the music for publication.
Here is a preview of our song, Come Lord Jesus which will appear on our new album (currently in production):
The inspiration behind Come Lord Jesus came as I was reading a book by C.S. Lewis called the “Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” to my five year old daughter. C.S. Lewis wrote this book as an allegory for the Gospel. There is a white witch who had kept Narnia under her spell for a hundred long years. It was always winter and never Christmas. Everyone suffered under her rule and everyone who opposed her was turned to stone.
Then Aslan, the Creator of Narnia and the Christ figure, returns to Narnia. The white witch loses her power. Everything thaws and Spring comes in a single day. The birds are singing, trees and flowers are blooming. It is beautiful!
As I read that, a thrill came to my heart. I thought about the day when Jesus will come back to this world he created. The devil will lose his power and my prayer is that our hearts, which the devil has kept frozen, untrusting, and suspicious of the true nature of Jesus, will thaw at his return!
This is also what happens to anyone who comes to the Lord. Spring comes into their heart. All your life previous to knowing Christ was the longest, hardest, most brutal winter you’ll ever know and then you meet Jesus. Spring has come at long last!
The first century church had an Aramaic word they used to greet each other: “Maranatha”, which means, “Our Lord is coming” or “Come Oh Lord”.
Jesus (aka Yeshua) is returning soon!
Lyrics:
Come Lord Jesus
The winters passing on and spring has
Come, come, come Lord Jesus
Our hearts are thawing ever drawing
Near to you Lord Jesus
Fill our hearts with love and beauty
Fill our lives now, Holy Sprit
The trees are reaching for Yeshua,
Come, come, come Lord Jesus
The birds are singing Hallelujah,
Come, come, come Lord Jesus
Fill our hearts with love and beauty
Fill our lives now Holy Sprit
Fill our hearts with love and beauty
Fill our lives now, Holy Sprit
Spring rain is falling down,
Spring rain is washing out,
Spring rain is falling down,
Spring rain is washing out,
All the filth, all the things we could do without
All the pain all the stains you are cleansing out
All the filth, all the things we could do without
All the shame all the stains you are cleansing out…
(Instrumental)
Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord Jesus
Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord Jesus
The winters passing on and spring has
Come, come, come Lord Jesus
Our hearts are thawing ever drawing
Near to you Lord Jesus
Come, come, come Lord Jesus
Come, come, come Lord Jesus
Daniel Betters, man of GodA few extra details about this song: I wrote the music for the song after a concert one day at a nursing home. It was first recorded on a smart phone the first day of Spring as I played it for Daniel Bettters, a man of God who was on his way to be with Jesus. He passed on into the next life that day and I later played this very song at his funeral. They had called the memorial service a “celebration of life”. And it most certainly was! I was delighted to hear all the amazing stories of this man of profound faith and love for Jesus. I was so excited and glad to have been there to hear of his walk to remember!
Another detail about the song is that is recorded in the Solfeggio key relating to the frequency 528 Hz – the “love frequency”.
We are now offering both of our Hymns albums as free downloads (SEE BELOW), for you to enjoy! These albums contain many of the most well loved Hymns of the faith, like Amazing Grace, In the Garden, and Old Rugged Cross, etc…
I once walked into a facility and found residents hovering over the CD players singing along to our CD, Reflect Hymn. The nurse told me that they do this every day and, “Do you have another album?” (They had to listen to it every day too!) I was glad to report that I did: “Reflect Amazing Grace”.
Highlights of our album Reflect Amazing Grace are, of course, Amazing Grace, featuring Catherine on her piano accompanied by strings and an all new Hallelujah chorus (watch the video). Other tracks that stand out are the opening track, a Sufjan Stevens inspired Fairest Lord Jesus. You might just find yourself humming the guitar solo of How Firm a foundation for awhile… as I did. Before the Throne of God Above opens with a lush open “C” tuned guitar and also features tasteful drums… I could mention something interesting about all the tracks and our hope is that you’ll take the time to listen to them all!
Our version of I Surrender All was inspired by a song by the band The Civil Wars called Poison and Wine. It has been so freeing for me to see what a privilege it is that we “get to” surrender to love. Love is who God is! Discard all former misconceptions. He is a loving heavenly Papa who accepts you and loves you unconditionally just as you are! His grace is transforming. It is a life changing experience to realize just how very loved you are. This love, and His grace (his smile and loving embrace) is the most amazing thing you could ever experience. This is who we “get to” surrender and give our all to… Jesus. Yeshua (whose name means “I AM Salvation”). God in the flesh who went to the cross for you and me because he loves us that much! Receive his kindness toward you in this very moment.
Our hope and prayer is that you are blessed by these collection of songs and then find someone to share this gift of music with!
Our ultimate goal in sharing this is to provide a free resource for those who serve residents in Nursing Homes and Hospice Care. We want to bring smiles and encouragement to people in nursing homes and also to bring comfort to those in their last moments in hospice care. (See testimonies below)
We need your help to accomplish this goal!
Here are a few ways you can help:
1.) Will you share this link on Facebook or elsewhere to spread the word about what we are trying to accomplish? Copy and paste this link from our website:
or the noise trade link: http://noisetrade.com/Reflectworship/reflect-amazing-grace
2.) Do you have a loved one or know someone in a nursing home? Please download the music, put it on a CD, and send it to them! Of course you can also purchase our Hymns CD’s at our online store (or at Lighthouse Christian Books in Green Bay, WI), and bring a copy to someone in a nursing home.
3.) Do you know someone who works at a nursing home? Please send this message to them!
4.) If you are so inspired, you may Donate to our ministry so we can continue supplying albums for free to nursing homes. Donate button is on the right upper side of this website, or below.
Enjoy our albums Reflect Hymn and Reflect, Amazing Grace!
Since its release, I have been sending out the “Reflect Hymn” CD to various Nursing home facilities throughout Northeast Wisconsin and recently I received back this report about how the Reflect Hymn project is being used:
“Daniel, Having a chance encounter with an old friend who works the night shift at our local nursing facility, I wanted to share with you her comments about your music.
She told me that a copy of your music on CD; Reflect Hymn, appeared at their nurses station, and that they had been playing and enjoying the music. However, she said the greatest benefit seemed to come when your music was played exclusively in the rooms of those patients who were experiencing their last days. She told how the staff all remarked that such a great sense of peace seemed to envelop the room and the people in attendance, that they have a policy of always playing this music for such times as this as it provides such comfort.
I thought you might want to know this, since I know you send out these CD’s as a sample of your work when booking concerts at various Nursing Homes. Even though this facility has never had you there in person, your music is being used and valued, which I just ‘happened’ to find out a few weeks ago during my ‘chance encounter’.
Blessings, Cindie”
I was so moved when I received this report. What an awesome blessing! I would love to see every nursing home throughout Northeast Wisconsin to receive a Reflect Hymn album for their use for the above mentioned purpose, or to use for a church service or bible study, or even just for music therapy. If this is something that you would also like to see happen please donate toward this ministry.
Here is another letter I received:
Hi Daniel…
Recently you came to Shady Lane Nursing Home here in Manitowoc to entertain the residents and I was in attendance with my mother who was a resident there at the time. She just passed away this past Thursday March 25th. I bought one of your CDs and played it for her every night when she was drifting off to sleep. This past week when she had slipped into a deep sleep on comfort care at Shady Lane I played it in her room….it was very soothing. I think the staff at Shady Lane enjoyed it as well. I plan to give these CDs away as a result. If it is alright with you I would like to play it next to her coffin at the funeral.
Thank you.
A Recent Encounter (2015):
I was about to go in and entertain at a nursing home when a lady stopped me and asked, “I am a hospice nurse and I have your Reflect Hymn CD. I use it so often that it doesn’t play anymore. Do you have another one with you?”
I was able to provide her the Reflect Hymn album and also our latest Hymn project Reflect, Amazing Grace. She was on her way to someone who was passing away that very day.
It is our sincere desire to put smiles on the faces of people in nursing homes everywhere, and to bring comfort to those in their last moments. That is why we are offering both our Hymns albums as free downloads (SEE below)!
Even if you simply have a loved one or know someone in a nursing home, please download the music, put it on a CD, and send it to them!
Activity directors, please download these albums (Reflect, Amazing Grace & Reflect Hymn) for your use in activities. The album is already being used for the “iPod project” for music therapy in many facilities. Click here to learn more
The songs we have selected for these recordings include many of the most well loved Hymns of the faith, like Amazing Grace, In the Garden, and Old Rugged Cross. We trust you find it useful. Our Hymns albums has been used for worship before or during church services, as dinnertime music, and most especialy to bring comfort to those in their last moments. See below for Testimonies!
Thanks for listening and please pass on this info on to someone you know who is serving those in nursing home!
Daniel n Catherine
You can also go to www.reflect.bandcamp.com to begin downloading. Be sure to download both albums! Enjoy!
TESTIMONIES:
Since its release, I have been sending out the “Reflect Hymn” CD to various Nursing home facilities throughout Northeast Wisconsin and recently I received back this report about how the Reflect Hymn project is being used:
“Daniel, Having a chance encounter with an old friend who works the night shift at our local nursing facility, I wanted to share with you her comments about your music.
She told me that a copy of your music on CD; Reflect Hymn, appeared at their nurses station, and that they had been playing and enjoying the music. However, she said the greatest benefit seemed to come when your music was played exclusively in the rooms of those patients who were experiencing their last days. She told how the staff all remarked that such a great sense of peace seemed to envelop the room and the people in attendance, that they have a policy of always playing this music for such times as this as it provides such comfort.
I thought you might want to know this, since I know you send out these CD’s as a sample of your work when booking concerts at various Nursing Homes. Even though this facility has never had you there in person, your music is being used and valued, which I just ‘happened’ to find out a few weeks ago during my ‘chance encounter’.
Blessings, Cindie”
I was so moved when I received this report. What an awesome blessing! I would love to see every nursing home throughout Northeast Wisconsin to receive a Reflect Hymn album for their use for the above mentioned purpose, or to use for a church service or bible study, or even just for music therapy. If this is something that you would also like to see happen please donate toward this ministry.
Here is another letter I received:
Hi Daniel…
Recently you came to Shady Lane Nursing Home here in Manitowoc to entertain the residents and I was in attendance with my mother who was a resident there at the time. She just passed away this past Thursday March 25th. I bought one of your CDs and played it for her every night when she was drifting off to sleep. This past week when she had slipped into a deep sleep on comfort care at Shady Lane I played it in her room….it was very soothing. I think the staff at Shady Lane enjoyed it as well. I plan to give these CDs away as a result. If it is alright with you I would like to play it next to her coffin at the funeral.
Thank you.
A Recent Encounter (2015):
Outside of a nursing home I was about to go in and entertain at a lady stopped me and asked, “You’re a musician right? I am a hospice nurse and have your Reflect Hymn CD. I use it so often that it doesn’t play anymore. Do you have another with you?”
I was able to provide her the Reflect Hymn and also our latest Hymn project Reflect, Amazing Grace. She was on her way to someone who was passing that very day.
After extensive research and comparing various lists of most popular Hymns, I have compiled a list of my own!
Here are the Top 10 Christian Hymns
(I have included lyric videos of those we have personally recorded. Please click on the blue titles that are linked to pages that go into further detail containing complete song stories, etc…)
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Abide With Me
Alas And Did My Savior Bleed?
All Creatures of our God and King
All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name
All The Way My Savior Leads Me
Amazing Grace
Are You Washed in the Blood?
At Calvary
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Be Thou My Vision
Before The Throne of God Above
Blessed Assurance
Blest Be The Tie That Binds
Child of the King
Christ The Lord Is Risen Today
Cleanse Me
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Count Your Blessings
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Day By Day
Doxology
Eternal Father, Strong To Save
Face To Face
Fairest Lord Jesus
Faith is the Victory
Faith of our Fathers
Fight the Good Fight
God Leads His Dear Children Along
God Will Take Care Of You
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
He Hideth My Soul
He Is Coming Again
He Lives
His Eye Is On the Sparrow
Holy, Holy, Holy
How Firm A Foundation
How Great Thou Art
I Am Thine, O Lord
I Love To Tell The Story
I Need Thee Ev’ry Hour
I Surrender All
I’d Rather Have Jesus
I’ll Fly Away
In the Garden
In The Hour of Trial
In The Sweet By and By
It is Well
Jesus, Lover Of My Soul
Jesus Loves Me
Jesus Paid It All
Just As I Am
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Lord I’m Coming Home
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Love Lifted Me
Moment By Moment
More Love To Thee
Morning Has Broken
My Faith Looks Up To Thee
Nearer My God, To Thee
No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus
Now We Thank All Our God
O Come All Ye Faithful
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
O Holy Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O Worship The King
Old Time Religion
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior
Peace, Perfect Peace
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Precious Lord Take My Hand
Rescue The Perishing
Revive Us Again
Rock of Ages
Safe in the Arms of Jesus
Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Softly And Tenderly Jesus Is Calling
Standing on the Promises
Take My Life and Let It Be
Take Time To Be Holy
The Old Rugged Cross
There Is A Fountain
There Is Power In The Blood
Till The Storm Passes By
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Trust And Obey
Victory In Jesus
What A Day That Will Be
What A Friend We Have in Jesus
What Child Is This?
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder
When We All Get To Heaven
Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go
Yesterday, Today, Forever
TOP 250 Hymns
A
A Mighty Fortress (featured)
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide (featured)
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended (featured)
Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed (featured)
All Creatures of our God and King (featured)
All Glory, Laud and Honor (featured)
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (featured)
All People That on Earth Do Dwell (featured)
All Things Bright and Beautiful (featured)
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (featured)
Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) (featured)
America the Beautiful (featured)
An Evening Hymn (featured)
And Can It Be, That I Should Gain? (featured)
Angels From the Realms of Glory (featured)
Angels We Have Heard on High (featured)
As with Gladness Men of Old (featured)
At the Name of Jesus
Away in a Manger
B
Baptized in Water
Battle hymn of the Republic
Be Still, My Soul
Be Thou My Vision (featured)
Beneath the Cross of Jesus (featured)
Blessed Assurance (featured)
Blest Be the Tie That Binds (featured)
Bread of the world, in mercy broken (featured)
Break Thou the Bread of Life
Breathe on me, Breath of God
Brightest and best of the sons of the morning
C
Christ Is Alive! Let Christians Sing
Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
Christ Upon the Mountain Peak
Christ the Lord is risen today (featured)
Christ, Whose glory fills the skies
Come Down, O Love Divine (featured)
Come, Christians, Join to Sing
Come, Thou Almighty King (featured)
Come, Thou Fount (featured)
Come, Thou long expected Jesus (featured)
Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain
Come, ye thankful people, come (featured)
Come, ye that love the Lord
Comfort, comfort ye my people (featured)
Comfort, comfort ye my people (featured)
Crown Him with many crowns (featured)
D
Dear Lord and Father of mankind
E
Eat This Bread
Eternal Father! strong to save (featured)
F
Fairest Lord Jesus (featured)
Faith of our fathers, living still
Fight the good fight
For all the Saints, who from their labor rest (featured)
For the Beauty of the Earth (featured)
For the Fruits of His Creation
Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive
From All That Dwell Below the Skies (featured)
From Heaven Above to Earth I Come
G
Gift of Finest Wheat
Gloria Patri
Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken (featured)
Glory to God
Go to Dark Gethsemane (featured)
Go, Tell It on the Mountain (featured)
God Be with You Till We Meet Again
God Is Here
God Moves in a Mysterious Way
God of Grace and God of Glory (featured)
God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand (featured)
God, My Hope on You Is Founded
Good Christian Men, Rejoice (featured)
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah (featured)
H
Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise (featured)
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed (featured)
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (featured)
Hark, the Glad Sound
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
He Is Lord
He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands
Here I Am, Lord
Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! (featured)
Hosanna, Loud Hosanna (featured)
How Great Thou Art
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds (featured)
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord (featured)
I
I Come with Joy
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
I Love to Tell the Story (featured)
I Need Thee Every Hour (featured)
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me (featured)
I Will Sing Of My Redeemer (featured)
I love Thy kingdom, Lord
I sing th’almighty power of God (featured)
If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee (featured)
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (featured)
In Christ There Is No East or West
In the Bleak Midwinter (featured)
In the cross of Christ I glory, Towering o’er the wrecks of time (featured)
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (featured)
J
Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love
Jesu, Thou joy of loving hearts!
Jesus Calls Us, O’er the Tumult
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know (featured)
Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun (featured)
Jesus, Lover of My Soul (featured)
Jesus, Priceless Treasure (featured)
Jesus, Remember Me
Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
Joy to the world! the Lord is come! (featured)
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (featured)
Just as I am, without one plea (featured)
K
Kyrie
L
Lamb of God
Lead on, O King Eternal (featured)
Leaning on the everlasting arms (featured)
Let All Things Now Living
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing
Let Us Break Bread Together (featured)
Let Us With Gladsome Mind
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (featured)
Lift High the Cross
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (featured)
Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (featured)
Lord Jesus, Think on Me
Lord of All Hopefulness
Lord, Be Glorified
Lord, I Want to Be a Christian (featured)
Lord, Speak to Me That I May Speak
Lord, You Give the Great Commission
Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing, Fill our hearts with joy and peace
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (featured)
Low in the Grave He Lay (featured)
M
Many and Great, O God
May the Mind of Christ, My Savior
Memorial Acclamation C
Morning Has Broken, Like the First Morning
My Faith Looks Up to Thee (featured)
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (featured)
My Jesus, I Love Thee (featured)
My Song Is Love Unknown
N
Near the Cross (featured)
Now Thank We All Our God (featured)
Now the Green Blade Riseth
O
O Come, All Ye Faithful (featured)
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (featured)
O For a Thousand Tongues (featured)
O God, Our Help in Ages Past (featured)
O Jesus, I have promised
O Lord, Hear My Prayer
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High (featured)
O Master, let me walk with Thee
O Sons and Daughters, Let Us Sing! (featured)
O Word of God Incarnate
O Worship the King all glorious above (featured)
O for a Closer Walk with God
O little town of Bethlehem (featured)
O perfect Love, all human thought transcending (featured)
O sacred head now wounded (featured)
Of the Father’s Love begotten (featured)
Oh, How I Love Jesus (featured)
On Eagle’s Wings
On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry (featured)
Once in Royal David’s City (featured)
Onward, Christian Soldiers (featured)
P
Parting Hymn
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow (featured)
Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens Adore Him
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (featured)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (featured)
Precious Lord, Take My Hand
R
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart (featured)
Rejoice, the Lord is King! (featured)
Ride on! ride on in majesty!
Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me (featured)
S
Sanctus
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us (featured)
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
Send Me, Lord
Shall We Gather at the River? (featured)
Shine, Jesus, Shine
Silent Night, Holy Night (featured)
Sing Praise to the Lord
Sing praise to God who reigns above (featured)
Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle
Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling (featured)
Soldiers of Christ, arise
Songs of Thankfulness and Praise
Soon and Very Soon
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart (featured)
Spirit of the Living God
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Stand up, and bless the Lord
T
Take My Life, and Let It Be (featured)
Take Up Thy Cross, the Savior Said
Tell Out, My Soul
The Church’s one foundation (featured)
The Day of Resurrection (featured)
The First Noel the Angel Did Say (featured)
The God of Abraham Praise (featured)
The Head that once was crowned with thorns
The King of Love My Shepherd Is (featured)
The Lord Be With You
The Lord’s My Shepherd
The Lord’s Prayer
The Old Rugged Cross (featured)
The Servant Song
The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended
The strife is o’er, the battle done (featured)
There Is a Balm in Gilead (featured)
There Is a Fountain (featured)
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
Thine Is the Glory
This Is the Feast of Victory
This Joyful Eastertide
This is my Father’s world And to my listening ears (featured)
This is the Day
To God Be the Glory (featured)
Trust and Obey (featured)
W
We Are Marching
We Gather Together (featured)
We Give Thee But Thine Own
We Praise Thee, O God (featured)
We plough the fields, and scatter
We three kings of Orient are (featured)
Were You There (featured)
What Child Is This (featured)
What Wondrous Love Is This (featured)
What a Friend We Have in Jesus (featured)
When I survey the wondrous cross (featured)
When Morning Gilds the Skies (featured)
When Peace, Like a River (featured)
When in Our Music God Is Glorified
While shepherds watched their flocks (featured)
Y
Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim (featured)
Wow. I am amazed! The Lord has been so good to me. I have now been serving nursing homes with “spiritually enriching entertainment” for eight years now. I wanted to share the story about how that all began for me in late November 2006.
Early summer of 2006 the Lord distinctly told me, “Get ready”. Get ready for what? I asked. I had no idea. I was working as a framing carpenter at the time, and recovering from a very serious depression (despair is a more accurate word) that had taken me down for seven long years. I had also been continuing to lead worship with my wife in church on a fairly regular basis.
By the end of August my body was telling me it’s time to move on from construction. My wrists throbbed in pain every night. So I got a delivery job with Dunham express.
While out on my deliveries, some of our stops included Nursing homes. Every time I stepped into one I had a very strong impression that I would like to come share music with these people. My heart went out to them. Fast forward to November and my job was now ending. I had also just met Eddie Bieber who for time had entertained at nursing homes for a living. Intriguing… So I mustered up my courage and started cold calling facilities to sell my services as an entertainer.
I knew I was going to specialize in Gospel music. The problem was that I knew five or less Gospel songs that would relate to this audience and I needed to fill up an hour with relevant music. (Speaking their language musically is VERY important. If you play a song that you happen like and no one claps and then one lady hesitantly says, “That was… interesting”, it means that song did not go over well.) I went to work learning the Hymns of the faith.
I started to get a few bookings a week and honestly I didn’t want any more than that at the time. I knew I wasn’t very good yet and would soon “work myself out of a job” if I played more nursing homes and my name became attached to poor performances. I continued to improve musically and vocally and maintained some part time work over the next couple years.
Once I got a handle on what were some of the most loved hymns of those in this area, (and developed a few favorites myself), I went to work recording a Hymns album to leave for the residents.
(click on the CD cover to listen to this album)
I am pleased to say that our Reflect Hymn album is now in most every nursing Home and Assisted living facility throughout Northeast Wisconsin! It is still being used to comfort the dying, as a prelude to Bible studies and services, and sometimes as dinner time music. It blesses me so much to hear how God has been using this album especially when I walk into a facility and a lady with dementia is humming along to it as she sits next to the CD player playing our album. I was told she does this every day by a nurse, who also asks me if I have a new music? Please?!?!
I am so pleased to say that we now do!
I love our new hymns project which we entitled “Reflect, Amazing Grace”. This album features mainly my wife’s vocal talents and her unique piano arrangement of the most beloved and well known hymn of all time, Amazing Grace:
Our goal now is to get this album into every nursing home in Northeast Wisconsin. We are slowly but surely doing just that. If you’d like to help fund this operation you can donate to our ministry at our website: www.reflectworship.com
Here our my journal entries from that first month of Nursing Home ministry which I was pleased to find the other day:
1/4/07
I was at the Fransiscan Nursing Home today and was so blown away by what happened there. There was this woman in the back with her aged mother, and her mother was so touched by the Hymns that she was moved to tears, and then the daughter was moved to tears by her mom and then I was nearly moved to tears watching them both. It is people like that who are so moved and blessed by the music and simple truths in these Hymns that guide me to an appreciation for them myself. I had once again the most profound sense that this is what I’m meant to do. I love it so much…
It makes me think that all those years singing in church, learning new songs, honing my craft was for this. This is the real deal… the other was a biding of time till now.
Thought for the day:
“My being good does not validate God. He remains unchanged. Yet he created us… “
12-20-06
I am in a bit of a spiritual quandary recently. I am content. I am at peace. I am trusting God’s grace when there is most reason not to. This is an entirely new experience for me and quite frankly, I am not sure how I should feel about it.
For as long as I can remember, I never measured up and I was constantly depressed about it and in a funk… but now it doesn’t even matter. I am still a big time loser/sinner (I just spent the last week avoiding God because of a foolish rebellious thing I had chosen to do) but now I don’t have to measure up or feel accepted based on what I do… I feel his delight because of simply who he is. Love.
I have been spending time recently in Christian inspiration section at Barnes and Noble. I order a large coffee and just sit there and try not to cry as waves of God’s blessing soothe and comfort my soul. I don’t even quite know why I have been selected to be blessed like this. It hasn’t always been this way.
The other day I was a Nursing home doing a Christmas concert and one of the ladies in the back shouted out, “I love you!” I could hardly restrain the emotion that came to me when she said it and I had difficulty getting through the next song. It was as if God were whispering the words in my ear and I was melting.
After that concert as I sat in a coffee shop reading Donald Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz” I wrote this poem:
You stir my soul
Deep with the knowing,
The feeling of your love…
I am moved in waves of reassurance,
Of your kind look,
Of your notice of me…
Broken I let loose
The tightness in my chest,
The tears come,
Tears of joy,
And not of sorrow;
For I have found you,
And the sweetness of your comfort
thank you.
But as nice as this is, I can’t stop here or leave it at that. I don’t know if you remember one of the final scenes in “The Never-ending Story”, when the Indian boy is faced with this challenge to make it through this gate. Many brave warriors and knights have tried and failed… they were killed by these sentry guards with laser eyes or something… it’s a vague memory by now, having seen it so many years ago, and I am not going to go to all the trouble to see it again just to be accurate with this illustration.
My point is this: what did they need to pass the guards and get thru this gate?
Faith. Confidence.
I am beginning to realize the great predicament all men are in… we are at God’s mercy, yet so many of us misunderstand him. We think that if we all band together we can somehow outwit him or something… as if to say, “well we are all doing these things worthy of death and it’s now socially acceptable. You won’t condemn us all? Will You?”
This is not coming out right … this is the great misunderstanding. Can you imagine Love wanting to Judge you? Condemn you? I can only imagine Love, well, loving you. Yet love won’t let criminals run rampant. How do I convey what I see in my minds eye?
We are going to die. We will face our Maker at that time. Are you afraid or will you gladly welcome it? I don’t know how to answer that one myself. You see, based on everything I grew up around I would say I am pretty much screwed. But my heart tells me otherwise. I have a peace that passes all understanding. I, who am not even a good Christian, who am selfish and irreverent and given to addictions of the flesh, who drinks a beer while he reads his bible (on the rare occasions that I do read my bible – at least at the time of this writing) have peace. A peace that makes no sense because I didn’t earn it. Now that’s not to say I should just be content in my sinful state, by all means I should “improve” and be obedient and overcome the misunderstandings I have of my Maker.
The thing is, if you read my biography – the real and honest gut-wrenching one, not the cleaned up and sanitized one that might actually sell (hey, my mom might buy one), you wouldn’t like me. You couldn’t possibly. There isn’t anything attractive in a sinful man, but as a lady (who had died of polio but was sent back by God cause it wasn’t her time) told me, “Jesus is the most handsomest man I have ever met, the kindest, most gentle, and wonderful…” and I can’t remember any more of the adjectives that she attached to her description of him.
But let’s face it. He is who is really what is truly most attractive about any one of us. His activity in our lives. His Spirit at work in us.
(Incidentally, this is why our band name is “Reflect”. It comes from a verse that ends like this: “…that we might be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord, and as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we will reflect his glory even more.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT*)
12-21-06
I walked into a nursing home today to play a Christmas concert as the coroner was wheeling a not so empty body bag out the door. I was going to say a person in a body bag but that isn’t quite true anymore. I wondered as I played and tried to bring some Christmas cheer if it was weighing on anyone’s mind.
At one time I was going to collect wise sayings from my visits to nursing homes and write a book with the title, “wisdom from death’s door”. That is really just for shock value. I am not really that heartless… which I will of course explain in the first few pages of the book. But aren’t we all really at deaths door? Just a heartbeat and a breath away from death… it’s amazing that any of us are alive. I am so happy. Do you know why?
Cause I’m getting to know God and learning to trust him and I realize that life and death are in his hands so death really isn’t that big of a deal… of course this isn’t probably what I would say to someone grieving a lost loved one, but it has some merit.
I had this weird dream that I was fly-fishing and I caught a big rainbow trout, only it had a girls head attached to it. As I reeled it in this man standing next to me said, “Oh, looks like you’ve caught my daughter”. I didn’t know how to feel about this, and I’m not one to waste good fish meat so I was putting the fish in a bucket of water and debating about whether to put this man’s daughter out of her misery with a knife, so she wouldn’t suffer. It kind of sheds new light on that passage where Jesus said to Peter the fisherman, from now on you will catch men…. Or not.
How do you think a person might feel upon arriving to a nursing home and being assigned a room where God knows how many have died before?
‘They took me to that place they said they never would. My own flesh and blood. A burden. Old. Neglected. They have their own lives now, their own kids. Don’t they know that one day they will be me? How will their children care for them?
I arrived to the room assigned for me. Like a cheep hotel or hospital room. How many have died here I wonder.
The room smells. This is not my home…’
It was neat to come across this old journal entry and see what God has done. If you’d like to support our ministry, buy a CD, download our music or donate at our website: www.reflectworship.com
Love without conditions. You can do whatever you want with it. Receive it or Ignore it. Cherish or Spurn it. Run into the arms of love or Run from it by choosing sin instead. Honor this love or Insult it. But, nothing we choose to do could ever make him love us any less! We can’t mess this up because his love doesn’t depend on our response. He will still love you… completely. Infinitely. Forever. He is Love!
Here is where my mind goes with this: When your Creator says to you, “Be Holy”, it has an effect on you. It’s like when Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” (
