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A note about WORSHIP HYMNS from Kristina
 Hymns - that's all I ever sang as a child, growing up in a Mennonite Brethren church. I must admit that I didn't pay much attention to the words. As much as I loved to sing, my worship experiences grew stale and I associated all hymns with joyless and inhibited worship. As praise choruses became more popular in the churches I attended, I sang the hymns less frequently. When Billy reintroduced me to the old hymns, I was astounded to find songs that I could genuinely identify with as a vehicle for expressing my praise to God. Then when I began to understand the hymns and the stories behind them - knowing who wrote the words, and what occasion prompted the writing - these beautiful hymns became a more vital spiritual force in my life. When I first learned of Anne Steele for instance, I was struck by the powerful way she dealt with her intense suffering and found that her cries became my cries, and her tears joined my tears, and that her faith encouraged my faith. To see that I can connect with an English woman who lived in a small village 300 years ago and feel what she felt is powerful!
I have learned that there are a lot of reasons why we still need hymns today. Writing new arrangements or new music allows us to connect with the hymns and yet still be relevant and authentic to our own culture. Singing old, familiar texts to new music also causes us to slow down and think about what we are actually singing and the meaning can take on fresh life, as it did for me. I LOVE singing these hymns. I hope they bring joy and blessing to all who need the message of the gospel in song. It is my sincere prayer that this album will be used by God to kindle not only a renewed appreciation for these hymns, but a renewed love for Him.
"Do not seek the excitement of intoxication, but the joy which comes from the Spirit's indwelling, so that you may edify one another with devout songs of praise to Christ, accompanied by the melody of the heart." Ephesians 5:18, 19 (Paraphrased by Dr. G.B. Stevens of Yale in 1898.)
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