Old hymns for our day

I've written before on this "movement" of putting old hymn texts to new music before. While I don't want to beat a dead horse, I want to express how much I enjoy playing and singing these beautiful texts from past theologians that are in a lot of ways poetic.

Isaac Wardell speaks to the writing of new music to these texts and how it has to capture the emotions of the words and what they mean, rather than just writing music that fits with the words. He says "fundamentally these hymns are, in a way, poems and, it's about the lyrics. But the purpose is for corporate worship. The priority is that the text and emotion being stirred is actually being meshed together in a way that people can sing together." A lot of times we don't take into consideration the emotion that the Holy Spirit is stirring inside of us when we are singing. So it is important that these things are taken into consideration when writing new music to these hymns.

Kevin Twit talks about retuning a hymn that is well known, and why we would want to change something that is not broken. Twit says "every text I believe has more emotional range nuance than any one tune can fully capture. Even when there's a good familiar tune it can be beneficial sometimes to introduce a new tune that helps them hear the words all over again." Many people ask me why you would want to change such time tested melodies, like O for a thousand tongues to sing or The Churches one foundation, and I think that Kevin makes a great point that it can open up that text and show new meaning in a different melody.

Please watch this interview and let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy!

Old Hymns for Our Day from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

ZR1 Corvette bed

I picked up something really cool on craigslist. A toddler bed that looks like a early 90's ZR1 Corvette. It has really cool decals on it, including ZR1 on the side. I can not find anything on the Internet about this bed, other than a few posts here and there on some Corvette forums. So if you have any info about this bed let me know.

I really like this bed for a few reasons. It isn't the cheap plastic car beds you find at walmart, it's fiberglass. It is the ZR1 model. The ZR1 was first introduced in 1991 and was made until 1995. It had the LT5 (Lotus) engine in it that produced 405 hp. This model is now becoming more rare and worth more as time goes on.

My uncle buys and sells Corvettes and parts. Growing up around these cars brings back great memories. Before I got married I owned a 1994 C4 Corvette, so the nostalgia is one of the reasons why I liked this so much.

I hope to share the same passion of cars with my son as he grows older. And what better way than to get him a Corvette bed?

Easy breadmaker Garlic Breadsticks

These aren't the most mind blowing breadsticks, but they're quick, easy, and good. Be creative.

Ingredients
1 1/8 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh basil
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted


Directions
1. In bread machine pan, place the first nine ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 20 portions. Shape each into a ball; roll each into a 9-in. rope. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes or until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Brush warm breadsticks with butter