Author Archives: Dr. Crystal Grimes

Nettleton/Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing #Music

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In the United States, This popular hymn is commonly sung to the tune called “Nettleton.” Though often attributed to John Wyeth or Asahel Nettleton, its true author is unknown. Wyeth was a printer, and though Nettleton was an evangelist, it is not clear whether he composed this melody.

The lyrics were written by Robert Robinson in 1758. They were published along with the “Nettleton” melody in 1813, in “Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second.”

This is a beautiful hymn, and I hope you enjoy my lyre arrangement!

Summer Wings #Writephoto #Poem

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Play or download the poem with lyre accompaniment.

A wide Summer landscape
That stretches before,
A vista from hillsides
That promise still more.

You can’t see the promise
Through hovering haze,
But only your vision
Has narrowed the way.

For bright Summer sunshine
Can blaze through your mind
And point out the pathway
You’re trying to find.

The valley is broad,
And the hillside is great;
You realize the truth
Of your inner landscape.

Though it may be clouded
By dark mental fog,
The height and the depth
Of your Self is beyond.

There’s more to the mind
Than the mind can conceive,
A Universe giving
For you to receive.

Your journey is inward,
Eternal and vast;
By seeking it first,
What you need comes to pass.

Discover your Spirit,
Your Nature, your Right;
Ascend to the hillside,
And carry your Light.

Return to your vista
Of everyday things,
And share who you are
On your sweet Summer wings!

—
Written for Sue Vincent’s
Thursday #Writephoto Prompt, Vista.

It Is Well with My Soul #Music

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“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

Horatio G. Spafford’s realization is as timely today as when he wrote this text in 1873. He wrote this poem after the devastating loss of his four daughters. Traveling to Europe with their mother, ahead of Spafford, their ship collided with another vessel and sank rapidly. Of Spafford’s family, only his wife, Anna, survived. This hardship came soon after the death of their 4-year-old son in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, along with the economic and property loss the family suffered due to the fire.

Philip Bliss, a friend of Spafford’s, originally named the melody “Ville du Havre,” after the lost vessel. This is possibly one of the most popular pieces Bliss composed.

If Spafford, at such a despairing time in his life, could look beyond it to the peace and safety of his own soul, then what an encouragement it is that we can choose to do the same!

I hope this zither arrangement allows the peace of your soul to flow from within you!

Seed of a Dream #Writephoto

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Every soul has the seed of a dream,
Planted within by the Spirit unseen.
Let it grow into a fruit-bearing tree
Over your path of life.

Your path may be winding through heather and hills.
You might become lost in the forest at will.
But seek and you’ll find it, the path to fulfill
The dream for your tree of life.

Repeat from beginning.

Seek and you’ll find it, the path to fulfill
The dream for your tree of life.

—
A song on lyre, written in response to
Sue Vincent’s #Writephoto Prompt, Dream.

Amazing Grace #Music

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Please enjoy “Amazing Grace,” played on a lyre with nylon strings. This is why it sounds so much like a harp and is perfect for this beautiful melody, which is the traditional tune entitled “New Britain.” The words were written in 1772 by John Newton, an English poet and clergyman of the Anglican Church, from his personal conversion experience. This melody is often used in harp therapy, on its own and also with improvisations. I hope you find this lyre arrangement peaceful, relaxing, and comforting!