I have been experimenting with melodies lately. Here is one in A from a couple weeks ago that stuck with me, but I have not written any lyrics for. Link to score and recording at 82bpm. https://nextcloud.hutchens.cloud/s/iXHaQQtPdEQ9mCP

I was thinking about how one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy, and how I long for joy to be present through life's uncertainty and pain. -I sang "loose" (as in "release") since it's a nice active verb, but something about it isn't sitting right - does it sound too demanding? Too easily confused with "lose"? 😅 -Seemed like it needed a refrain as a break from all the words, but I'm not sure about it... -I've tried several different melodies for this thing and am still not sure! I think I accidentally recycled a bit of melody from my last song...help! -I appreciate help with anything else you notice! Loose (Let/May?) your joy, O Holy Spirit, Like (Be?) a never-ending stream Through our brightest days of blessing And our darkest nights of pain, Flowing, steady, through our deserts Of anxiety and doubt; Lord, refresh us through our journey On this hard and holy ground. In the shadows of unknowing, In the shifting of the sands, When our lonely path is hidden And we cannot find/feel your hand, Let your fountains of rejoicing Sweeten even every fall, When we find our every misstep Fit your purpose all along. Placeholder: Spirit, loose your joy Spirit, loose your joy Through the fire of our trials Let it mingle with our tears, Through (For) the sting of loss and sorrow And the ache of wasted years Nothing can undo the promise (Cannot burn away the promise) Sealed with Jesus’ precious blood: All our grief will turn to gladness In an/your everlasting flood. Spirit, loose your joy...

When I studied jazz improvisation in college, one thing I learned is that creativity thrives in boundaries. "Do anything you want" is a creativity killer. BUT "You get one note to play over a 12-bar blues form" forces you to get creative. You still have things like dynamics, length, articulation, rhythms and space to play with. AND it actually frees you up to experiment within those boundaries. So for this month I wanted to give us a couple boundaries. I'll explain below. One thing I like to do on occasion is look to see what songs are being most widely used by churches on CCLI's SongSelect. Now, of course that's not a measurement of a song's worth or value or usefulness, but it does show what songs worship leaders are choosing to use the most (at least among those that do reporting.) I think there's a lot to be learned as we notice patterns or similarities of the songs. What are the song forms, melodic structures, themes, even tempo and time signature. Ultimately all those things are there to serve a purpose for the content of the song to be a vehicle for God's people to worship and sing to Him. So for this month I took a look and here are the title, time signature and tempo of the top 5 songs today: 1) Goodness of God - 4/4 | BPM - 63 2) Holy Forever - 4/4 | BPM - 72 3) Gratitude - 6/8 | BPM 104 4) Trust in God - 6/8 | BPM 148 5) Great Are You Lord - 6/8 | BPM 144 Your May Challenge - write a song in either 4/4 with bpm between 63 and 72 OR write a song in 6/8 bpm between 104 and 148 (eighth note) You have freedom to experiment within those boundaries. Can't wait to hear what we all come up with!

Posted this in another thread on accident. Here’s a mid/uptempo idea I’ve had if anyone wants to add lyrics. I’m thinking a call to worship.

This is a song I wrote for trauma survivors; there are many in my church family. I hope to sing this over them one day, in the right setting. I have a working melody but it might be a little predictable, so I'm looking for other ideas. God of comfort, God of healing, We invite your Spirit here. Sit beside us in our grieving, Catch our shed and unshed tears. Help us lay our burdens on your shoulders, Learn to trust you with our pain. You can surely bear our grief and anger And will never turn away. God of comfort, God of healing, May we taste your perfect peace? Give us patience in the waiting For the wounds yet to be healed. When we wrestle with a past still with us, And a body keeping score, You are present in the mess and chaos - Help our spirits to let go. (Help us in our letting go?) God of comfort, God of healing, Through your trauma and your death, Lead us to a deeper freedom We will claim with every breath: Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven, Broken willingly for us, Weaving light through every strand of darkness ‘Til the night is overcome. Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven, Broken willingly for us, Weaving light through every strand of darkness ‘Til the night is overcome.