Day 28: Read Through Hymns

Welcome back to the 31 Days to Hallway Praise challenge!  We're on Day 28.

I know that the past several days' assignments have involved reading, and today's is no exception.  Even though we're doing a lot of reading, I hope you don't skip this opportunity to read through hymns!

You can do this several ways:  you can grab your hymnal (or ask to borrow one from your church if you don't own one) and start reading through all the verses of your favorite hymns.  Or, if you haven't yet gotten a chance to sing out loud, you can sing through them!Another option is to read through the stories behind the hymns - what inspired the hymn writers to write specific hymns.  Many people are familiar with Philip P. Bliss' tragic life story that inspired him to write It Is Well With My Soul.  But there are hundreds of other hymns with amazing stories as well.  Why not read about one you've not yet heard before?

If you need some help, this Hymn of the Week pin from Pinterest will take you to a weekly hymn study with a bit of history and accompanying sheet music.  Although I found some of the lyrics to be different from those that I learned growing up, I found this resource to be really helpful.

Three of my favorite hymns are Be Thou My Vision, Abide With Me, and Nearer, My God, To Thee.  It's been said that the string quartet on board the Titanic played Nearer, My God, To Thee as the ship went down.  I don't know if that's true or not, but it's an excellent hymn to meditate on during times of hardship.

Reading (or singing) through hymns is a wonderful way to lift your spirits and to keep focused on the Lord.  While hymns are not inspired the way the Bible is, many of them contain good theology and remind us of Christ's work on the cross.

Today's action steps:  Find a hymnal or go online and browse through some of your favorite hymns.  Read through the lyrics, especially the verses that you might not sing on a regular basis.  If time permits, try looking up information on the hymn's author and the events that inspired the hymn.