Easter eggs, part I: the books
I post to social media sparingly (although that’s changing) but I recently posted a 30sec video hinting at upcoming projects.
The first two “Easter eggs” are…
A copy of the ELW (Evangelical Lutheran Worship) hymnal.
This is the hymnal from which I extracted some of the texts I’ve set for choirs (that sentence feels weird, but I’m keeping it).
It’s a beautiful, thoughtful compilation of Scriptures, liturgy, Psalms, and hymnody.
This hymnal isn’t part of the traditions in which I was raised, personally, and perhaps that makes it feel all the more special: cracking it open as an adult, immersing myself in its language and richness.
An ESV Journaling Psalter.
I can’t believe this is out of print, but it appears to be! Gasp!
My Psalms journal (as I call it) is covered with the tiniest little print, where I’ve abbreviated words and notated chords and melody lines in a sort of insane fashion.
During COVID, Josh was in grad school, so I’d put the kids to bed and sit at the piano for hours, finding melodies and emotions that felt as true as possible to the text.
At that time, I wasn’t feeling as equipped as I do now to write my own lyrics. Setting 50 of the ESV Psalms to music was an incredibly beautiful exercise of artistry.
But most of all, that precious time with the Lord grew my dependence on Him and reflected aspects of His justice, righteousness, and grace I hadn’t seen as clearly before. It also gave me a space to reflect on my love for life, my love for my family, my love for the church, my love for Jesus, my love for our broken world. I could feel Christ’s earnest desire for justice, and peace, and mercy, and goodness, and righteous living on every page.
I’m preparing to rewrite the Psalms into speech that feels 1) true to the translation: looking across translations, comparing texts and word usages in other passages; 2) emotionally resonant with the writer’s moment, mood, and tone; and 3) fluent in modern speech.
I hope that, through my work, you find blessings in Christ, as I have! That’s my most earnest prayer and desire.