Voices In My Head Podcast #246: Wonder, Coco, and the Most Moving Voices In 2017

In this solo episode of the Voices In My Head podcast, host Rick Lee James reflects on his career milestones from 2016‑2017, celebrates the success of his album Hymns, Prayers and Invitations, and recounts memorable guest episodes with Stephen Tobolowsky, Shane Claiborne, and Rich Mullins’ brother. He shares the experience of recording an unpublished Rich Mullins song (“Thunder”), announces an upcoming exclusive LifeWay release, and outlines a $10,000 crowdfunding campaign for a new 2018 album, including limited‑edition vinyl incentives. James also recommends the book and film Wonder and the Pixar movie Coco, discussing their spiritual and cultural relevance. He previews future podcast guests (Jesse Middendorf, Joshua Broward, Randy Cox, Phil Nash, Lowell Alexander) and projects, promotes Audible and Podbean, and invites listeners to support the show through reviews, social media, and donations.
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Hymns, Prayers and Invitations, the latest album from Rick Lee James, has garnered praise from CCM Magazine, Worship Leader Magazine, UTR Media, and more. Featuring the new holiday favorite Advent Hymn: Watching, Waiting, Longing, Hymns, Prayers and Invitations is a refreshing soundtrack for your busy Christmas season. Listen to Hymns, Prayers and Invitations by Rick Lee James on Spotify today. Today's podcast is brought to you by Audible. Get a free audiobook download and 30-day free trial at audibletrial.com/voicesinmyhead. That's audibletrial.com/voicesinmyhead. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle, or MP3 player. That's audibletrial.com/voicesinmyhead. Give it a try today! Welcome to Voices in My Head, the official podcast of me, Rick Lee James. I'm a recording artist, a singer-songwriter, an author, a worship leader, and an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. The Voices in My Head podcast is your source for discussions on music, literature, movies, pop culture, theology, and more. Now sit back, relax, and listen to the latest episode of the Voices in My Head podcast. And don't forget to let the voices in your head be heard by following me on Twitter @RickLeeJames and sharing your thoughts about today's show. Welcome back to Voices in My Head. As always, I am your host Rick Lee James, and I'm so glad that you could be here with me today for this episode. This is an episode that comes to you from my rolling office, also known as my car. Trying to figure out what that scratching noise is. I'll try not to have that happen too often. I'm driving today. This is one of those episodes where I wish I had a guest, but I don't. It's just me today, and I wanted to take some time to share a few things with you that are coming down the pike in 2017, and maybe even share with you a couple things that have had a big effect on me in 2016, just from the, the standpoint of things that have really moved me and have been influential in my life. I hope it's been a good 2016 for you. It's been an interesting year for me. I I think it's been an interesting year for many of us. For me, in many ways, it's been a milestone sort of a year career-wise with music. There's just been a lot happening for me, a lot of really amazing things that I'm so grateful to God and so grateful to everyone who's been so supportive of my music, coming along with me on this journey. So it's been a really great thing. So right now I'm looking at 2017 With all that's happened up to this point, everything from being featured in numerous places like Worship Leader Magazine and CCM Magazine and CCLI and a number of other places, getting radio opportunity to be able to not only have my music played in some places but being invited to do some guest hosting and things like that on other shows. This year has been sort of a milestone year for the podcast that At one point, I actually don't check the charts very often, so I don't know where we are now, but we did break into the top 10 for religion podcasts in 2016. I keep saying 2016, don't I? It's 2017. See, I'm a year behind. That's how far I am off. In 2017, sorry, we broke into the top 10 for religious podcasts. And at one point we even, I think the highest we got, somebody told me, I think they saw us up around number 4. Which, which is just incredible because there's so many really good shows out there. So I'm so grateful that we had that in 2017, not 2016. But really, we saw our numbers grow as far as this podcast goes. We've got a lot more listeners every week than we did. I used to have, you know, a longing that we'd be able to get the message of this podcast out to more and more people and to be able to through this podcast find a way to share music in a deeper and more meaningful way and some of the different creative things that we have going on with Voices in My Head Productions. And it happened this year a lot bigger than it had before in the past. And at one point I think we were— I haven't checked downloads in a while, but I think we were getting close to 1,000 downloads a week, which was pretty great for me. That's— I've never had that before, so it's been really wonderful. And we had some wonderful guests this year on the Voices in My Head podcast, and I've been trying to relive those things through Facebook. I'll post some things each day leading up to New Year's Day, but just different things that to me have been special, like having Stephen Tobolowsky on the podcast. That is to this day probably my very favorite episode that I've ever done, not, not for any other reason than the conversation that we had. If you don't know who Stephen Tobolowsky is and you haven't heard that episode, If you've seen the movie Groundhog Day, the Ned Ryerson in that film who, you know, "Needlehead Ned! Ned the Head! Ned! Ned!" You know, they— he's like the most annoying character in that movie. And he actually, I think, won an award that year for portraying as best supporting actor one of the most annoying characters on film. But he's in that classic movie with Bill Murray, and he is just an amazing character actor. He's been in so many movies and TV shows and has a wonderful podcast himself. Himself has become a really good writer. And we had him on the show to talk about his book, My Adventures with God, and just to hear the things that God is doing in his life and has done in his life, and the way that even in the present, as he is still seeking to find out what it means to follow God, that the way that God is still moving. And I really felt like we not only had an interview, but I felt like we had some, some really God moments I like to call them God moments on the show, where both of us were sort of overcome in the moment and feeling that there was the presence of the divine with us in our conversation. So that was a really important moment for me this year. Also, it was great to have Shane Claiborne as a guest, and I think it was around the time that Shane was on that our numbers really started skyrocketing on the Voices in My Head podcast. Shane is an amazing minister of the gospel who has a unique way of sharing the gospel and helping us get back to the roots of what the gospel really is and what it means for the gospel to be lived out in its social-political context. That we love Jesus and we show it by the way that we live in our lives. It's not just about avoiding bad movies and not saying bad words and things. It's about actually living the gospel. For too long, I think we have made just Christianity a list of rules instead of being the actual people of God in the world. That our love for Jesus compels us to do work in the world. That our love of Jesus compels us to be peacemakers in the world. So that was a really wonderful thing to have Shane on the show. And on that show we talked about Shane's friendship with Rich Mullins. And that was the reason that I had him on the show in the first place. And that leads into another amazing moment for this 2017 year. Was having Rich Mullins's brother David on the podcast along with Andrew Greer and Randy Cox, who came out with this book together, Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth. And we were able to do that show on the Voices in My Head podcast live from Nashville at the bookstore on the day of the release, which was the 20th anniversary of the day that Rich Mullins passed away. And that was a really great experience for me. It was wonderful that night to be able to be be there for the book release and to get to hang out with Rich's brother and to be encouraged. And, and he's, he's a really neat guy. I guess that's the, the closest thing I'll ever get to hanging out with Rich Mullins is hanging out with Rich's brother, who couldn't have been nicer, who couldn't have been more of a, more of a generous soul, I guess I would say. And someone that has meant a lot to me, and I enjoyed getting to know him a bit. And, you know, hearing people like Cindy Morgan tell stories about Rich that night at the book book release and hearing them do some music live and share some of the music that we never got to hear from Rich Mullins before, like "The Joy of Jesus," which was released on the day that we did that book release. And "The Joy of Jesus," of course, you can find it on the radio now. It's a Rich Mullins song, but it was recorded by Matt Maher, Mac Powell from Third Day, and Ellie Holcomb. They did this really great trio on it, and it's a beautiful song. And then right along with that, in 2017, if you've listened to the podcast, you know I was asked to record one of Rich's unpublished songs, and I went to New York in November. We recorded it along with one other song that's an original that I wrote, and I'm happy to tell you that just minutes ago I heard what I think is going to be the final mix of that song. That's how close we are to being ready for people to to hear this song. And it sounds— I don't know how— I don't want to sound braggy because it's my song, but it sounds amazing. I mean, it's Rich's song, but it's my recording of Rich's song. And I can't believe that I have the opportunity to just sort of be a part of the Rich Mullins legacy in that way by recording his song "Thunder," which had never been published before. So we are close. So in 2017, I get to be a part of publishing an unpublished Rich Mullins song. It's recorded, the mix is almost finished. We're just about ready to put some videos out that talk about the making of, showing you some behind-the-scenes things that we recorded in New York when I was in Old Bear Studios. And I have to give a big shout out to Chris Hoisington, my producer for this new project, and everybody at Old Bear Studios because you did a wonderful job and are still doing a wonderful job. You're amazing musicians and amazing people, and it's my honor to get to work with you. That being said, 2018 is coming. I think I have the year right now, right? We're almost to 2018 at the time of this recording. And by the way, my New Year's resolution should probably be to write the correct year, because if you're like me, every time the year changes and every time you have to put the date down on something, I'm still writing the the year from before. Apparently I'm 2 years behind at this point in my podcasting talk, but I digress. Moving on into the next year, into 2018, one thing that I hate, but we're gonna have to do it— I know it's, it's just, it's always an awful experience for me because I hate it, but it has to be done. It's the only way I can think to get a project made. I have to start doing some fundraising, and so you're gonna hear me talking more about it here on the Voices in My Head podcast because all total we're gonna need about $10,000 to be raised in order to do this project the way that we would like to and to do the release in the way that we would like to. And so we've, we've got 2 songs already recorded, we've got 8 to go. I've already paid about the first $2,500 out of my pocket, so the coffers are, are empty on my end of things. We're gonna have to start doing some fundraising, but I think with that I've got some neat ideas for some fundraising. We're gonna probably be using Indiegogo close to the new year, not right at New Year's, because we're still formulating some plans. It takes an awful lot of work to do a successful crowdfunding campaign. But one thing that I hope to be offering to donors at a certain price is vinyl records of songs from Hymns, Prayers Invitations. I was able to, it looks like, probably get about 10 of those as of right now with music from the songs that we've recorded videos for. And I had enough space on the vinyl records to do some small, some small ones with like, you know, an A-side and a B-side, 2 songs on each side. And, you know, you're really only supposed to do one, but I'm trying to give 2 songs on each side. And so donors at a certain level are going to be able to get those limited release vinyl records of songs from Hymns, Prayers Invitations. So it'll have songs like Christ is Lord, Christ Before Me. It'll have More Than the Watchman, it'll have Advent Hymn, it'll have The Invitation. I believe those are the 4 that have been selected for that vinyl project. So in the funding of this new record, be looking for cool things like that that you'll be able to get as incentives for giving towards this new project. Basically what we do, if you've never seen or been a part of a crowdfunding project before, in order to raise money we ask people to give towards the project, and we give them things in return. Things like free music, or, you know, autographed memorabilia, or things like this vinyl record, which there's only a very few copies made. Or we might give coffee mugs or t-shirts or things like that, in addition to the music that you'll get when the new album is released. And that new album will include the new music from Rich Mullins as well as a bunch of original music by me. So be watching for that in the new year. It's coming. I would always appreciate your help and your advice, any of it that you wanted to give on doing things like that. Once we start funding and doing this campaigning, my listeners out there, I'm gonna need your help to share about it on everywhere, social media. I'm not ashamed to ask for help because I know I can't do it by myself, but I'll need you to post things on Twitter and Facebook and maybe email friends and maybe tell friends about it and just find ways to get the word out about projects like this because it just doesn't happen. You just don't raise $10,000 on your own without the help of other people. I'm nervous we won't get it and I'll have to take out a huge loan or something, but I'm hoping that won't happen. I hope we can treat this like enough pre-orders that we'll be able to pay for the project and then get the order to you first before it releases to the world. Anyway, enough about fundraising talk, a couple more things that have had a really big influence on me. Those are things that are coming up down the road in 2018. One other thing before I talk about things that had an effect on me this year. One thing that I've been told is happening very early in the new year, I'll have to keep you posted. If you have a LifeWay Christian Store near you, I hear that there's going to be a new album called Resurrection Hymns. Just in time as we move into the Lent and Easter season. And the Resurrection Hymns is going to be featuring my song Christ is Lord, Christ Before Me on it. It's going to be an exclusive LifeWay Christian Stores release. So this will be my third, I think, CD where I've had music in the stores at LifeWay Stores where they have been exclusive releases. So I'm really excited about this one. So if you have a LifeWay Store near you, be watching for that. I'll try to make an announcement about it here on the podcast 2 things that have had a big effect on me in this year, things that I have found to be quite wonderful. They are both movies, actually. One is a book that I read first, and then I saw the movie afterwards, and I thought the movie was excellent. I thought the book was even better. And I usually don't talk about young adult books, YA books as they are called, because I just don't read that kind of book for the most part. I try to read things a little bit more on my level, but this was one that was just so intriguing to me because of what it means to people who are followers of Jesus and the way that we are to be in the world. It's a book called Wonder, and if you've never read the book Wonder, I really strongly encourage you to read this book. Wonder is a story of a little boy named August, or Augie, as they call him. And he is born with an extreme deformity in his face. It's actually, if I remember the details right in the book, it's actually— he won like the genetic lottery, but it was not a good win. It was something that could have happened just as easily to his sister. It's apparently a gene that both his mother and his father carried, and it was like a one-in-a-million thing. And he had this deformity that happened him. And in the book you see Auggie as— the description anyway— is someone that's just terribly deformed. So much to the point that everyone looks away from him whenever they see him. And he can tell this. Auggie is this little boy, elementary school age. He's been homeschooled his whole life. He's had a number of surgeries to try to correct his deformities, to try to help him even be able to eat and breathe like he is supposed to be able to as a normal human being. And he just has had a really hard time in life. He likes to wear a helmet around so that no one can see him, so that he can hide. He wants to be invisible. And the book is about him being a person who is extremely deformed and has to start school because they just feel like his parents don't feel like they can keep him away from the, the real world, so to speak, any longer. That he's gonna have to get out there and face it. And it's really, if you're a parent especially, it is an incredibly heartbreaking but also hopeful book. Um, it's incredibly moving because you know that there are people out there with this particular disability and it's no fault of their own and, and you feel terrible about it. And you start thinking when you're reading a book like this of all the ways that you have reacted to people that you consider different in your life. You see through the eyes of Auggie that he is just a normal little boy, but to everybody else who sees him, he's almost this deformed-looking monster. And he desperately wants to be a little boy, and he desperately wants people to see him for who he really is. And it has a lot to say about the way that we see other people. I've thought things in my— as I was reading the book— and by the way, for me it was an emotional book, a real, real tear-jerker. And I'm not exaggerating when I say I had to stop reading it a few times to wipe the tears away, because you start thinking in your own life of, have I ever treated people like this because I perceive them as different? As different from me. And you think of everybody, not even just people who are deformed, but just people you perceive as different. People who are bound to wheelchairs will tell you that people often ignore them and kind of look away from them and act like they're not there because they don't know what to say. Or people who are dwarves or little people, they will often tell you that people just kind of ignore them and pretend they're not there. And it really make— it dehumanizes them in many ways. And so this book, Wonder, as much as anything, it humanizes a person that in real life gets dehumanized. And it's a really wonderful story. And the book and the movie both, they don't just stop with the character themselves, but you realize the effect that this has on other people in Auggie's life as well, like Auggie's sister. You see the effect on Auggie's friends. You see the effect of just different people around, and even the people who maybe are the bullies of the story, you start to see from their perspective a little bit. And the book has a real way of humanizing everyone in a story. What we want to do oftentimes when we're reading stories is we put everybody into categories. This is the bad guy. This is the good guy. This is the hero. Everything's black and white. And what this book Wonder does, and the movie does it somewhat too, is I think it also humanizes the villains of the story and shows us that any of us can be the villain if we're not careful. And but for the grace of God, go any of us to that place. So that's something that I just wanted to recommend to you, that as I look back over this past year That is a book that, that really tugged at my heart more than probably any other book that I read. And I think I read 100 books or more this year, and there was a lot of really good ones in that pile. But the book Wonder, if you have a chance to read it, I can't recommend it enough, especially if you're a person in ministry and you're trying to disciple people into what it means to be the people of Jesus in the world, what it means to be a disciple. Part of that calling is to go to those in the world and to befriend and to love and even make family of those who are friendless and those who have been cast aside. And if nothing else, it made me rethink again not only my role as a parent but my role as a Christian in the world. And I know that probably wasn't the intent of the author, but looking at things through the worldview as I do as a Christian, I just can't help but see it there. And the way that we love people like Auggie in the book is the way that we are loving or not loving Jesus in the world. So if you get a chance, read the book Wonder. If you can't get a chance to, to read the book, go see the movie. It's also very good. It might be a really good— it's not a Christian film, like it's not a faith film in the sense that a lot of those corny faith films are made. It's better than most of those, honestly. But it maybe would be a night that, you know, your church, if you could get the licensing, maybe you could do it and have a discussion afterwards, you know, and have your children and your teens and your adults together, because it really is sort of an all-ages movie where they could come together and discuss these things and ask how in your community you could be people who are loving like Jesus and how you could reach out and make people who are left to the sideline because the world has just left them there, how we can love them more. So Wonder, that was one thing. The other thing which I really liked, I saw it for a second time last night. It's not a, it's not a book that I'm aware of. It may be a book, but I haven't read it. But there was a movie that I think is probably the best movie I personally have seen in 2017. And no, it wasn't Justice League. I know a lot of you don't like that movie, but I did. No, it wasn't Star Wars. I know a lot of you like that movie. I didn't. That's alright. The new Star Wars, The Last Jedi. No, it wasn't anything like that. It was this movie with a unique story, and it's like, it's a Pixar movie that gets back to doing what Pixar does best, and it's a movie called Coco. C-O-C-O. I loved the movie Coco, and for many reasons. Over the last couple of years, we have been dealing with a lot of loss in our family. Everything from losing grandpas and grandmas to my wife and I losing 3 babies through miscarriages and I got to take my wife to see it. The first time I saw it, I took my son to see it. Last night, my son and my wife, all of us went, and we had sort of a Christmasy fun night out together. We went to see a movie and had dinner and all that. The movie has a really unique way of looking at the afterlife. I'm not saying that it's like a Christian worldview or anything like that. It's just a good unique take on it. And it deals with the Day of the Dead in Mexico, which made me think like, wow, that would really be something that I'd like to celebrate. Because as my wife said when we watched it after it was over, she said, you know, in our culture we just want to ignore death. We don't want to talk about it. And the movie, it really embraces death. Not that it thinks death is a wonderful thing, but it embraces death death in a way that it shows it as a real part of life, and it embraces it in a way that we not forget those who have gone before us. I kept thinking of All Saints' Day in many ways, how, you know, that tradition that gets celebrated on All Saints' Day around Halloween, where we remember the saints who have gone before us. And that's really what this movie is about. In many ways. The people that we choose to remember or not to remember and the way that their memory lives on and maybe what they're doing in, in the afterlife, so to speak. Now all of that— the movie doesn't even pretend to be a theological work or make any of those statements, but the movie has very strong implications for the way that we remember the dead, for the way that we tell the stories about those who have gone before us, the way that we hold on to them and embrace them, and even the ways that, that we keep them alive in our own hearts. And the music is wonderful. There's a song that I'm just in love with. I keep even bringing it up on iTunes called "Remember Me," and I think of it, that song, whenever I have to be out of town and away from my son, even if it's just overnight. It's a, it's a really beautiful song about us being present for those that we're not with and the way that we keep other people in our hearts. And I just found it to be a very touching movie that has a lot to say. And I think if you go into it expecting a goofy cartoon— I mean, there's a little bit of that in it, and it is funny, and you do laugh at points— but it's a much deeper and much richer film than just a cartoon. Cartoons sometimes get a bad rap, or animated films get a bad rap, because they think they're just for children. I would say in many ways this is a movie that's much more for the adults than it is for children. And I'll tell you the thing that I find most refreshing about this movie and most unique about it. Coco is actually not the main character. Coco is the grandmother who is old in this film. She is possibly dealing with senility in some way. We don't know if she has dementia or Alzheimer's or what it is, or if it's just that she's really old and tired and just doesn't remember things very well. She doesn't seem like she's going to be a key character of the film, but by the time the movie ends, I think that Mama Coco actually steals the show and actually becomes maybe one of the brightest points of the movie. And I got thinking, how often is it that we would see a film that glorifies, um, the elderly in our society and lifts them up especially the elderly who are not really in their right mind anymore, who so often we just pass over and don't give any thought to. This movie is very unique in the sense that it gives her the utmost importance, that she is a matriarch of the family, that she is someone that the family loves and respects and cares for and makes of the utmost importance. And really everything they do is in honor of this woman who is so elderly named Coco. And it's very rare that we find films like that, and I applaud that. And I think it's something that we need to applaud as people in the church who we say we are pro-life. And if we just say we're pro-life just because we care about unborn babies, then we're not really pro-life. We're pro-fetus, I guess. Pro-birth, but pro-life is from the womb to the tomb. And this is a movie that is pro-life, even though much of it takes place in the realm of the dead. It is a pro-life movie, I think. And, and I mean that in the best possible sense, in that it shows all of life to be precious, and that those who have even passed on, that they are, they are worthy people who are worth us remembering. And worth us thinking about because they lived and they breathed and they walked this earth and they offered something and contributed something to us. So if you get a chance, I recommend Coco. I just— that movie moved me in profound ways that most movies hadn't this year, and it was really a refreshing thing to go to the theater and have that kind of experience. And my wife and I both were, you know, wiping away tears at the end of the movie. We're thinking about the babies that we lost. We're thinking about grandparents that we've lost. We're thinking about friends who are even right now suffering with loss. And I think a film like this helps us have those conversations. So I recommend Coco this year as 2017 is coming to a close. Looking forward to what 2018 has. Well, I'm gonna go ahead and end the podcast right here, at least from my talking standpoint because I have arrived at my destination and I want to get this out before the new year arrives. So I'm gonna go ahead and wish you guys a very happy new year. I hope it is a really wonderful 2018 for you. Let's walk this year together. I'd love to get your feedback. Make sure you send me messages on Twitter if you've been enjoying what you're hearing. We do have some great guests lined up people like Jesse Middendorf coming up, Joshua Broward. These are all guests that are coming up on a new show. We're going to be talking about a new book called Edison Churches coming out from The Foundry, the Nazarene Church's new publishing house. We also have some other great guests coming up. We are planning on a show with Randy Cox and Phil Nash and Lowell Alexander, people who used to write with Rich Mullins. We're hoping to do a special pay-to-listen-to podcast with these guests where we're gonna talk about the lost songs of Rich Mullins and the process of getting these unpublished songs made. And we want to do that as something that we can sell as a way to raise funds for the new record. And we're gonna make a really special podcast with it. I have a few other things in the works that I can't talk about just yet, but I think it's gonna be an exciting 2018, and I'm so glad that you're here on this journey with me.. And please journey with me. I mean, I want to hear from you. I want us to make this an interactive thing as much as we can on the podcast. So thank you so much. And I'm gonna end with this promo about Podbean because a lot of you are, are doing podcasts yourself, and I applaud that. I think it's wonderful. So many of you have sent me messages this year asking how to get started podcasting, and Podbean is my way of of helping people do that. It's an easy interface for you to use, whether you're a church, whether you're an individual, whether you want to make podcasts from anything about— I mean, anything. You want to do a comic book podcast, do it. If you want to do a podcast about baptism, do it. If you want to do a podcast about worship leading, do it. Podbean can help. So I'm gonna close out this time with a promo from Podbean that allows you to sign up for Podbean at a reduced rate, but also it gives a little bit of help to my own podcast. So thank you so much for listening. Listening to Voices in My Head, and thank you for being the voices in my head this week. God bless you guys. Happy New Year. Have you ever thought to yourself, man, I'd like to host my own podcast? Well, guess what? You can go to podbean.com/voices and get everything you need to create, manage, and promote your podcast. I use Podbean every week for Voices in My Head. There's easy uploading and publishing tools, stunning templates custom domains, social and promotional tools, an embeddable podcast player, monetization tools, and more. It is your all-in-one podcasting solution. With Podbean, you can create professional podcasts in minutes without any programming knowledge. Best of all, everything is mobile ready right from the start. So go to podbean.com/voices, and when you sign up, use the code voices and you'll get a sizable discount. Podbean, for your home podcasting. Thank you for listening to Voices in My Head. Thank you for joining me here this week on the Voices in My Head podcast. I hope you'll visit me on my website at rickleejames.com, follow me on Twitter @RickLeeJames, like my artist page on Facebook at facebook.com/rickleejames, and keep up to date on what I'm writing at my author page on Amazon.com. Make sure to follow my calendar on the website, and if you would like to have me come to your town to do a concert, a speaking engagement, or a book event, you can book me through my website by clicking on the link for Pare Booking Agency. That's P-A-R-E Booking. And finally, it would mean the world to me if you were to leave me a review of this podcast on iTunes. The more positive reviews that we receive, the more visible this podcast is on the internet. And now the benediction. May the God of peace, who raised Christ from the dead, strengthen your inner being for every good work. And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, rest upon you and dwell within you this day and forevermore. Amen. <LYRICS>Hymns, Prayers and Invitations</LYRICS> The latest album from Rick Lee James has garnered praise from CCM Magazine, Worship Leader Magazine, UTR Media and more. Written and arranged using hymnals and prayer books for inspiration, this collection of 10 modern hymn-like worship songs will inspire individuals and congregations to draw near to the heart of God. Highlights include Christ is Lord, inspired by St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer, Advent Hymn, and the Communion Hymn: The Invitation. Worship leaders will be glad to know that all songs on the album are published through Lifeway Worship. Find Hymns, Prayers, and Invitations on Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music, CD Baby, and at rickleejames.com.
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