This is another wonderful history that does not have a sad story behind it.  It is simply about a man who was lost, got saved, and was so sure and thankful for his salvation that he made a song about it.  It cannot get much better than that.

A few admin notes:  The sound quality of the last episode, this one, and the next few are sub-par.  I did not have access to my regular equipment; please bare with me.  Also, this is a missionary awareness episode.  To provide some more context, the missionary that will be discussed is Michael Shaver, who lost his wife to cancer late last year and to whom Episodes 6 and 7 were dedicated.  This is the primary reason for his break from deputation.

Michael's missionary website is https://icelandicmissions.com/michaelshaver.html

With that, please enjoy this episode with all of your heart!

Many of our song's stories are epic by nature.  Some of them are even too good to be believable.  Often, this is the case.  However, that does not mean there isn't some truth worth retelling!  Listen how one hymn took nearly one thousand years to be completed, from pen to music sheet.  While this story may not be as good as well all would like it to be, we can still give God the glory!

Sometimes, life is short.  But that does not mean God should not get the glory.  In this episode, we learn how a crippled young woman who died at an early age glorified God through her hymns.  And it wasn't just her life that led to the creation of this hymn, but it was also the death of another.  Further, we learn how this song was used in one of the greatest missionary stories ever recorded, and how one of those missionaries died at nearly the same age of the song's author.

This song is performed by Grace Community Church of San Antonio, Texas.  You can listen to more of their music here: https://gccsatx.com/hymns/

Here is the link to my new blog site:  https://storiesabouthymn.wordpress.com

Political struggles are never easy, especially when your national identity are on the line.  Jean Sibelius knew this and fought against the chains of oppression in the best way he knew how:  music!

You can listen to a recreation of his finale tableau here:  https://youtu.be/F5zg_af9b8c

The second piece of his symphony, the first tableau, was called "The Song of Väinämöinen."  You see why I couldn't pronounce it?

Fanny Crosby's whole life is worthy of a hymn story.  After writing thousands of songs as a blind woman, her life is full of many smaller stories too.  In this story, it was one particular service in a prison that created the words in this hymn.  Listen and learn how our "disabilities" were given as gifts to us in order to glorify God.