October 23, 2009 8:34 AM
Thanksgiving hymns
First of all, I have to admit I am prejudiced when it comes to hymns. Praise songs are okay, but to me they seem more based on feelings. Hymns have feelings too ;) - but they are so packed with the tenets of our faith that for me they pack a double whammy.
When I was homeschooling a large crowd, we began each morning with hymns. Since no one played piano, we sang a capella (or as my younger kids always said, Alcapulco). Today, even though I'm at best a mediocre singer,my kids are all sensational. When people ask how they got such good voices, we always tell them we sang hymns each morning. God was gracious in return.
When our church bought new hymnals, we bought ten of the old ones so there would always be plenty to go around (our family now includes 12 children, 2 sons-in-law and 9 grandchldren and is still growing, so maybe we should have bought more). But today, you can find any hymn you want at Cyberhymnal - with a history, associated Bible verse, all lyrics, and the melody plunked out so you can sing along at your computer.
In early November, we begin singing our special Thanksgiving hymns. We all memorized them way back when and through the years they've provided a rich backdrop to Thanksgiving, just as carols do for Christmas. Also an excellent way to add meaning to a celebration with nonbelieving relatives.
Click on each of these for the lyrics and music:
We Plow the Fields and Scatter
I hope you have the time to read and sing these wonderful hymns. Gather your kids around the computer to learn their histories and sing the verses together. Do it every day at least for a while - your kids will love it, and soon you'll hear them humming away as they do their work.
By the way, our family hymn - which we always close with is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. You might want to choose or ask God to help you choose a family hymn - one that's emblematic of how your family began, what you stand for, your vision and utmost prayer.
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Comments
Hymns are a huge part of my family's history, too. My parents have phenomenal voices and both have degrees in music. I agree with you about praise songs vs. hymns...hymns just have more substance. There are plenty of times when I enjoying praise songs, but hymns, as you said, have so much more to teach.
My husband is now enjoying his hymn education...I love watching him learn, and I look forward to teaching our son together. Thanks for the encouragement!
Posted by: Erin | October 23, 2009 8:50 AM
I really prefer good strong hymns, too.
I'm so glad you posted this, Barbara. I have to tell you this story:
My daughter had her ring mass last night at her school. (That's where they get their class rings blessed during a special mass). Now I'm a church organist who is also a Catholic convert. The liturgy is so very important to me. Can you imagine my horror when they chose a song from Godspell for one of the communion songs and
"Lean on Me" for the closing!!
Excuse me? "Lean On Me?" We're talking radio secular music. The high school band (guitar, piano, bass, drums) played the song while the people sang. UGH! And then to add further insult...the parents start clapping to the beat. (silent scream here).
Where is the reverence? The priest spoke about being proud to be Catholic in his homily but yet he ok'd this song. This was wrong on so many levels.
(long pause as I take a breath)
Ok. Sorry to hijack this thread. Just had to get this off my chest. It must have been obvious to a couple of people afterwards that I was upset because the principal had a nice talk with me later. She was very respectful and will take it to the people in charge. I so hope there will be a change.
Posted by: Sue from Buffalo | October 23, 2009 10:56 AM
Sue, I'm with you all the way on that feeling of frustration when encountering secularized (or even secular) music at worship. Sigh.
My favorite hymn right now that's been ringing in my ears and working on my heart is the Hosea one- "Come back to me, with all your heart, don't let fear keep us apart." The music is so plaintive and beautiful. Like you can feel God's ache for his children to come home. It reminds me to always keep God in my heart and to find ways to be with Him. Like he's the real Spouse in Heaven that's waiting for me to come home to Him. It's simple, soothing and easy to sing too. I think I'm going to sing it to my baby as his lullabye when he's born.
It's wonderful to have the heritage we have with the hymns that are available! Can we buy hymnals online, and if so, where? For Christmas I've asked my husband to get our piano tuned so I can teach our children to sing.
Posted by: Sarah | October 23, 2009 1:06 PM
Do you have recommendations on which versions/editions of hymnals to buy? I think I could buy off amazon or ebay if I knew which were best. Also what is the art reference you used for this post? Thank you.
Posted by: Crystal | October 23, 2009 3:45 PM
We start our homeschooling day with a hymn, too. I love hymns and the richness of meaning. I use a book called 'Then Sings My Soul' and I believe there are two editions. Each hymn features the hymn, of course, but also a brief history and they are put into chronological order according to the date written.
For years now, I have been singing my two oldest Downsie girls to sleep with 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing' and some other hymns. Whenever we sing 'CTFEB' at church now, my girls excitedly look at me with huge grins while singing along to 'their song.' It's so cute!
Posted by: Jill S | October 23, 2009 5:50 PM
When I was growing up my Mom had the "OLD" RECORDS and played them on the record player. That's how we learned the Hymns. When I grew up there was the 8-Track, Reel to Reel and the phonograph. Christian Childrens music was just begining to come on the market. Our Daughter is Dev. Dis. and Visually impaired, that's how she learned to sing ALL the Christian Music. She can even sing "Adeste Fideles"..Her source of learning Christian music has been from listening to various types of recordings over the years Now at 40 years old she goes to sleep each night to Christian CD's.....HYMNS ARE THE FOUNDATION Praise Choruses and Chants are the extra added greatness of Christian Music....WOW wouldn't it be great if we could all stand together and sing the "DOXOLOGY" all in one voice......
Posted by: Rebecca Wold | October 24, 2009 8:03 AM
