Let's get to know each other. You can use this format: Hey, I'm from _____________ . For fun I like to _____________ . Here's a pic of where I write.

Greetings all, Here's one that I cowrote with my friends Michael Logsdon and Barbara Chen. Verse 1 What did the cross achieve When Jesus bled and died No greater love to see Than Christ the crucified And do I come in vain No Jesus took my shame And all my guilt is cast away In the shadow of the cross Verse 2 Where is the King of kings Who wholly justifies Behold he here redeems And justly satisfies Who else could pay the cost Who else would bear such loss And take the wrath of God for us In his wounds upon the cross Verse 3 O death where is your sting That fruit of Adam's doom Is crushed at Calvary And buried in the tomb The finished work of grace Will be our hymn of praise All glory be to Christ who saves Hallelujah for the cross Tag 1 The finished work of grace Will be our hymn of praise All glory be to Christ who saves Hallelujah for the cross

Hello! @Sarah Steele and I have been working on this song about Jesus' second coming, based off of Malachi 4:1-3 and Zechariah 12. We would love your input on the lyrics more specifically, there are some spots where we can't find the right phrase. If you have any other input about the overall song that you think should be reworked please let us know. Thanks! VERSE 1 When you appear in glory, You will break open the skies. All of your foes will tremble, For the Victor has arrived! And when you appear in power, You will set creation free. All of the earth will worship And will shout its jubilee! // For the end of suffering --or-- And when you appear in power With a voice of roaring seas We will fall down and worship At the sound of your decree --or-- And when you appear in power With a face of blazing sun We will fall down and worship For the/our victory is won CHORUS On that day, we will see the Living Cornerstone. On that day, you will wipe our tears away. On that day, every knee will bow before your throne Oh, how we long, how we long — for that day! VERSE 2 When you appear with fire, You will rectify all wrong. Sin will be crushed forever, For your righteous hand is strong. And when you appear in splendor, Mighty angels by your side, You’ll bring us home to Heaven, For you’ve purified your bride. BRIDGE Come, Lord Jesus, come, oh come! (We are waiting here for you.) Come, Lord Jesus, come, oh come! (Come and make all things new.) Come, Lord Jesus, come, oh come! (We are waiting here for you) Come, Lord Jesus, All: Jesus, come, oh come! FINAL CHORUS On that day, you will rise with healing in your wings On that day, the dead will rise in victory?? // we will stand before our King?? On that day, ever near, you fin’lly will appear. Oh, how we long, how we wait To see the dawn of that day When you will make all things new—on that day!

When I studied jazz improvisation in college, one thing I learned is that creativity thrives in boundaries. "Do anything you want" is a creativity killer. BUT "You get one note to play over a 12-bar blues form" forces you to get creative. You still have things like dynamics, length, articulation, rhythms and space to play with. AND it actually frees you up to experiment within those boundaries. So for this month I wanted to give us a couple boundaries. I'll explain below. One thing I like to do on occasion is look to see what songs are being most widely used by churches on CCLI's SongSelect. Now, of course that's not a measurement of a song's worth or value or usefulness, but it does show what songs worship leaders are choosing to use the most (at least among those that do reporting.) I think there's a lot to be learned as we notice patterns or similarities of the songs. What are the song forms, melodic structures, themes, even tempo and time signature. Ultimately all those things are there to serve a purpose for the content of the song to be a vehicle for God's people to worship and sing to Him. So for this month I took a look and here are the title, time signature and tempo of the top 5 songs today: 1) Goodness of God - 4/4 | BPM - 63 2) Holy Forever - 4/4 | BPM - 72 3) Gratitude - 6/8 | BPM 104 4) Trust in God - 6/8 | BPM 148 5) Great Are You Lord - 6/8 | BPM 144 Your May Challenge - write a song in either 4/4 with bpm between 63 and 72 OR write a song in 6/8 bpm between 104 and 148 (eighth note) You have freedom to experiment within those boundaries. Can't wait to hear what we all come up with!

I was thinking about how one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy, and how I long for joy to be present through life's uncertainty and pain. -I sang "loose" (as in "release") since it's a nice active verb, but something about it isn't sitting right - does it sound too demanding? Too easily confused with "lose"? 😅 -Seemed like it needed a refrain as a break from all the words, but I'm not sure about it... -I've tried several different melodies for this thing and am still not sure! I think I accidentally recycled a bit of melody from my last song...help! -I appreciate help with anything else you notice! Loose (Let/May?) your joy, O Holy Spirit, Like (Be?) a never-ending stream Through our brightest days of blessing And our darkest nights of pain, Flowing, steady, through our deserts Of anxiety and doubt; Lord, refresh us through our journey On this hard and holy ground. In the shadows of unknowing, In the shifting of the sands, When our lonely path is hidden And we cannot find/feel your hand, Let your fountains of rejoicing Sweeten even every fall, When we find our every misstep Fit your purpose all along. Placeholder: Spirit, loose your joy Spirit, loose your joy Through the fire of our trials Let it mingle with our tears, Through (For) the sting of loss and sorrow And the ache of wasted years Nothing can undo the promise (Cannot burn away the promise) Sealed with Jesus’ precious blood: All our grief will turn to gladness In an/your everlasting flood. Spirit, loose your joy...