Colorscape Chenango

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Linda Bonney Olin

Bookmark Front Come chat about my music, my ministry, my writing, my plans for world domination … well, maybe not that one … at the 2018 Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival in beautiful Norwich, New York. The festival runs the whole weekend after Labor Day, but you can find me Sunday, September 9 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the Literary Arts Tent outside Guernsey Memorial Library (3 Court Street).

Church musicians and pastors, please stop by and introduce yourself. I will happily gift a Musicians Edition of Now Sings My Soul: New Songs for the Lord to any church interested in new hymns and faith songs. Unfortunately, my assigned time slot falls smack dab into prime time for local worship services. I won’t go so far as to suggest cutting the sermon short, but hopefully you can make a beeline from church to my table before 1:00 to say hello and pick up your free book. ♥

Bookmark Back New bookmarks are on the way, to hand out at my book table. Do you like the design? If they arrive in time, I’ll add tassels in various colors for an extra spiffy touch.

My laptop will be playing music videos of my work sung by soprano Theresa Olin, tenor Tony Villecco, and harpist/vocalist Kristy Garlitz, and perhaps a few of Andrew Remillard’s piano recordings of my musical compositions. Talented performers, all.

Here’s a sample video, one of my very favorites: Diva Daughter singing my words and music. “Only Then”

Hope to see you soon!

Blessings,
Linda

Faith Songs with Andrew Remillard

Posted on May 12, 2018 by Linda Bonney Olin

I’m tremendously excited to announce that pianist Andrew Remillard has completed the project of recording the hymns and faith songs in Now Sings My Soul: New Songs for the Lord. One hundred sixteen in all!

The recordings are posted as videos in a special playlist on Andrew’s popular YouTube channel. (A playlist is a collection of videos that YouTube will automatically play one after the other if the viewer selects the autoplay option.)

Andrew’s recordings are strictly instrumental, no singing. However, he displays the score (music + lyrics) as the visual on his videos, as you can see in the screenshot of his video for “Now Sings My Soul a New Song.”

In this way, my lyrics are being presented along with the music to a worldwide audience they never could have reached otherwise. Andrew’s Now Sings My Soul playlist has attracted more than a thousand views already. What a gift!

3,000 Hymn Milestone

Incredibly, Andrew Remillard recently passed the milestone of 3,000 (yes, three thousand!) hymn recordings, encompassing seven full hymnals:

To celebrate, Andrew and I decided to share a conversation with you all here on Faith Songs.

Chat with Andrew Remillard

Linda: First of all, Andrew, tell us how you got started on the path of recording hymns for YouTube.

Continue reading →

Meditations on Calvary~Book Launch

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Linda Bonney Olin

In 2016, Harpursville United Methodist Church and Nineveh Presbyterian Church hosted my new Lenten devotional series based on the old spiritual “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.” Each weekly session explored the experiences of people who were present when Jesus Christ was arrested and executed, plus a few who were conspicuously absent. Those scriptures, songs, and meditations touched hearts. So I resolved to bring the series to a wider audience in book form.

It’s finally here!

Were You There When They Crucified Our Lord? Meditations on Calvary is now live on Amazon, in both Kindle and paperback editions. Companion resources for readers, presenters, and musicians are ready for free download here on Faith Songs, too.

Book details
Music resources
Study resources

Blessings,
Linda
(Post edited 11/6/17)

Songs for the Lord~Free Days

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Linda Bonney Olin

My first-born book, Songs for the Lord, is free on Amazon, starting today through Saturday, December 5, 2015. It contains “sheet music” and companion Bible verses for twenty-four original hymns and faith songs. Although you are buying a Kindle book, it also contains instructions for downloading a PDF file to print the sheet music on ordinary paper.

The songs cover a wide variety of styles, from traditional hymns to musical prayers to hand-clapping bluegrass gospel, even a humorous piece or two. You might not like them all, but I hope you’ll find one or two songs, at least, that you enjoy. Regardless of the music, every song and its companion Bible verses make fresh devotional reading.

SATB parts and/or accompaniments for the melodies in Songs for the Lord are still under construction. I’ve also rewritten a few of those songs, setting them to music written by other people. Buyers of the book are welcome to contact me to see if I have an accompaniment or new musical setting for your favorite song.

Since publishing Songs for the Lord, my Holy Ghostwriter and I have moved to different kinds of writing. I still love to write faith songs, but now I almost always create new lyrics for existing music instead of original melodies. You can see some of my new titles, and hear the tunes I selected for them, on the Faith Songs Audio page.

If you’re a new friend here at Faith Songs, you might enjoy the backstory in earlier posts: how a musical know-nothing (me!) came to write songs in the first place (“Writing Songs for the Lord“), how and why I published my first twenty-four songs as a Kindle book (“To the Ends of the Earth”), and a few things I’ve learned about the Lord along the way (“Confidence in the Prophecy”).

If you’d like to try your hand at writing new hymn texts for existing tunes, check out my related posts in the Writing Craft category.

But first, go snag your copy of Songs for the Lord, FREE through December 5!

Merry Christmas!
Linda

’Tis the Season~Lots of Seasons

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Linda Bonney Olin

Thanksgiving

This is a special time of gratitude for blessings past, present, and sure to come. Thank you, dear family, friends, and fans for being the tremendous blessings you are! Thank you, Lord, for making all blessings possible!

This family photo was taken at my parents’ 25th anniversary party. My sister, Marie, passed away less than two months later. We’ve since lost Ma, Dad, and Aunt Annette too. But they all loved to have a good time with family, so lots of love and laughter echo through the years.

Words for a new song I titled “Thankful” were rolling through my head as I woke up this morning. That’s verse 1 in the picture. If you feel like singing, you can listen to the tune at hymnary.org. (HE LEADETH ME)

Harvest season on our farm is coming to a close. If the weather, equipment, and husband hold out, all the corn should be combined within a week or so.

Deer hunting season is on. Mostly that means I don’t go out walking around on our fields, even in my neon pink vest. You never know when some yobbo might have an attack of buck fever (or Bud fever) and decide to bag that purty pink deer for his girlfriend!

The Christmas season has been in full swing for a while now—at least, the shopping and schmaltzy-Christmas-music-playing part of it. The “real” part is almost upon us, too. Advent, the season of spiritual preparation for the arrival of Jesus, begins this coming Sunday, November 29, 2015.

Then there’s the gift-giving season of Lent.

Wait a minute! Lent? Gifts?? In November?!

Well, sort of.

My latest holiday gift-giving binge starts Thanksgiving Day and runs through Monday, November 30, 2015. The featured giveaway is the Kindle edition of Giving It Up for Lent~Leader Guide: Bible Study, Drama, Discussion. Grab a book for yourself and gift one to your pastor or small group leader, while the price is as right as it’s ever going to get. It’s available on Amazon.com.

Before I get busy peeling a pile of potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, let me also thank all the folks who downloaded free copies of my single-script Transformed Resurrection Drama ebooks during the giveaway that just ended. Stay tuned, because I’m still in a gift-giving mood! At least one more book is already scheduled to be offered free in early December. Check back soon for details.

Speaking of thanks … You may have seen my plan to send thank-you books to the folks who took the time to post reviews of my books during the holiday season. Sad to say, I had to cancel that idea. Word is out that Amazon is penalizing authors who “compensate” reviewers in any form, even for an honest, voluntary review. Sorry! As far as I know, though, verbal expressions of appreciation haven’t been outlawed yet, so THANK YOU, reviewers!

Blessings of the season (all of them!) to you and yours.

Linda

James the Brother of Jesus ~ Transformed Again

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Linda Bonney Olin

Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Mark 6:1–6 (NLT)

As I prepared my sermon, songs, and prayers to go along with Mark 6:1–6, James the brother of Jesus struck me as the ideal “poster boy” for that Sunday’s topic of belief/unbelief. Not only was James mentioned by name in this scripture passage, but verses scattered throughout the New Testament reveal his transformation from unbelieving brother to ardent believer.

When I fill in for the pastor, I like to bring new music or a bit of drama (the good kind!) to the worship service. Why not a guest appearance by “James”? I’d already written a play in which James tells his faith story on a cutthroat TV talk show. But that was an edgy, half-hour musical comedy. To fit into a worship service, “James the Brother of Jesus, Transformed” needed a major transformation of its own.

Goodbye, comic characters! So long, songs! See ya later, subplot!

Trimming the dialogue to a straightforward, ten-minute interview perfectly suited my “Late to Faith” message.

In fact, the interview format is so versatile that I went the extra mile and added this version of the script to my books James the Brother of Jesus, Transformed and Transformed: 5 Resurrection Dramas. The updated editions are now “live” on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and CreateSpace.com (my paperback printer). For information about the Transformed series, click here.

FREE bonus resources!

Let’s go an extra two miles! For a limited time, buyers of either book can receive a copy of my Mark 6:16 worship plan and resources:

Bulletin (modified)
Hymn selections for congregational singing
Call to worship, drawn from my song lyrics “Faith Isn’t Just a State of Mind” (I’ll throw in the sheet music for good measure)
Unison prayer
Scripture readings
Musical meditation for soloist, “Peering into Faith’s Foggy Window” (sheet music & mp3 accompaniment file of the tune PICARDY) You can play the mp3 accompaniment file to help you learn the song; or burn it onto a CD if you don’t have a live accompanist. Note that the sheet music is in F; the mp3 is in G flat to accommodate a lower vocal range.
Youth message
Sermon
Benediction

To request your free bonus bundle, forward your purchase confirmation email from Amazon or CreateSpace to Linda@LindaBonneyOlin(dot)com, and ask for “Unbelief Resources” in the body of your email.

Now, my Holy Ghostwriter and I could use your help getting the word out to churches, small groups, and individuals who might enjoy using the Transformed Bible-based dramas for performance, reading, and/or discussion. Please mention my books to your pastor or worship leader. Better yet, order them a gift copy. Christmas is just around the corner!

And, as always, your prayer supported is greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much!
Linda

P.S. 11/19/2015 All five of the single script ebooks in the Transformed series, including James the Brother of Jesus, Transformed, will be on KDP FREE DAYS promotion starting Friday, November 20 through Tuesday, November 24. Details and more giveaways on my post Tis the Season for Gift-Giving.