Both the text and tune {KINGS OF ORIENT} were written by John H. Hopkins, Jr. {B.1820 D.1891} a cradle Episcopalian  whose father was a "big-wig" in the Episcopal scene in Vermont serving as their second bishop and founding the Vermont Episcopal Institute of which the Jr. Hopkins would be the assistant.  He was considered a "down to earth man" (and as one of 12 siblings, you'd assume he'd have to be) and became an ecclesiologist, or one who studies church architecture and adornment.  His list of accomplishments is long and varied and ranges from being responsible for the installation of tile floors and steam heat in the Sunday School Building of a church where he served to providing the Eulogy at the funeral of President Ulysses S Grant in 1885.  Hopkins never married but served the church with his many gifts until his death.

This arrangement was improvised by B. Bordeaux in January 2022.

When I was a kid, every time "We Three Kings" was sung at Christmas, my Dad would chuckle and say, "When I was a kid, we used to sing it 'We three kings of Orient are, trying to smoke a rubber cigar.  It was loaded and exploded...." I don't remember the rest of the lyric and likely it was because that was right around the time my Mom would swoop in with and admonishing "MA-son!" (and the same look of embarrassment I know she has at this very moment reading this on her computer screen) and Dad would get all wide-eyed and say, "What!? That's what we used to sing when we were kids!" and I would sort of fade out of the scene as best I could half delighted and half horrified at the thought of bending the lyrics to a song about Jesus.

I think about the wisemen a good bit during the Advent season actually because of the unique role they play.  The shepherds and angels and the stable owner were all there in real-time to see the blessed event unfold (anticlimactic as it might have seemed to find a baby in a feeding trough). Sure they recognized the Baby as the Savior, but they also were "in the room where it happened."  The wisemen however had a journey.  A roughly 2 year journey.  Through what couldn't have been easy terrain.  I'm always amazed that they saw the star and believed the prophecy of the birth of this Baby King to the extent that they would follow the star, for literally years to find the Christ Child, especially when their visit to Herod was less than encouraging.  I wonder too, how long was that palace encounter?  Did they water their camels?  Perhaps bathe and eat a meal?  Or even have to wait a few days before Herod would grant them an audience?  I hardly can imagine that they waltzed right on in and asked where to go in the space of the few minutes it seems to take in Scripture.  And then the courage to return a different way.  The whole thing is truly a beautiful reminder to me that even when God calls you on a specific journey, it likely will still require courage, obedience, patience and discernment, but the reward will be an encounter with Christ.

Our director of music had originally left this tune out of the Sunday morning order of worship as he planned to include it in a celebration we have the evening of Epiphany.  Unfortunately, bad weather and an uptick in COVID caused that service to be cancelled.  Each Sunday service, one musician provides an instrumental setting so that the rest of the musicians can take communion.  Since this tune wasn't otherwise being used that morning, I chose it as the instrumental communion offering and improvised the version you see here. 

I knew that I wanted to bring you something special for Thanksgiving and was thrilled to have the opportunity to tape a song with my dear friends David and Michelle a few weeks ago when we filmed the CD Release.  "We Gather Together" was the first Thanksgiving hymn that came to mind and I was excited to play it as it is such a beautiful tune.   ​We recorded the song and then I sat down to write the blog and honestly was a little disappointed when I began my research.  The hymns origins, as well as its lyrics upon closer examination, weren't quite what I hoped.

While it holds a place in most hymnals as a "Thanksgiving Hymn," "We Gather Together" was originally a Dutch song written in the 1600's celebrating the Netherlands' victory in their war for independence from Spain.  The lyric talks a good bit about escaping oppression and the like, and while that's certainly something to be thankful for it just wasn't really what I was going for when I was thinking "Thanksgiving."  David Madeira had had the brilliant idea to weave in "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and as I re-read that lyric, I realized I wanted this entire episode to be a little more along those lines of God's provision, wonder at His creation, and celebration of the goodness of God...and a little less of a military victory declaration.  Plus, not many of us are physically gathered together during this COVID season anyway, so it just didn't seem to fit.

And then I started researching the hymn-tune, KREMSER and found the most beautiful lyric to "We Praise Thee, O God."  It made me chuckle a bit that these lyrics were written as replacements for We Gather Together...perhaps I'm not the only one who found the original slightly wanting.  But if ever there was a song written with a posture of thankfulness, We Praise Thee is absolutely it.  Particularly in this season of political tumult, the concept of "with voices united our praises we offer, our songs of thanksgiving to you we now raise" seems especially appealing and beautiful.  And paired with the recounting of all the ways the Lord is faithful to us, I realized the canvas had been painted with exactly the picture of Thanksgiving I had in my heart that I was longing to share with you all.  Our tables and our gatherings might be smaller this year, but the heart of our faithful God is still unfathomably large and for that, I am very thankful.
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The special guests on this episode are David Madeira and Michelle Margiotta.

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Post Script: As a kid, my mom taught me alternative lyrics to this tune to help me memorize the facts about the landing at plymouth rock which I thought I'd post here, just for fun.  I figured we already had 2 sets of lyrics for this tune, why not go for 3? 

"The year 1620 the pilgrims came over
The good ship Mayflower brought them o'er the sea. 
They landed at Plymouth Rock, then built up their houses.  
​At harvest time they started our Thanksgiving Day."

​*underlined portion via Hymnary.org

Two weeks ago my family and I were blessed with the opportunity to spend a week in a cabin outside of Asheville. Our daily routine revolved solely around cups of coffee, endless games of Candyland {heads up for anyone who might be persuaded to play with Clare...as Shakespeare said, “though she be little, she be fierce”} and going for a daily hike.  At 5,300 feet in mid October, the leaves were at their peak beauty and the air was just a little chilly...perfect for a light jacket.  In the evenings a fog would roll in that made everything sort of mysterious and deer lept this way and that, likely to avoid the wild turkey that also were patrolling the woods.  The Appalachian trail snaked through the community where our cabin stood so daily we'd head out on this iconic path and explore for a few miles this direction or that.  If I had a nickel for every time I said, "wow, I just can't believe how beautiful it is here" I'd have enough money to build my own cabin.  The views were absolutely breathtaking.  The Lord certainly created the earth as a thing of beauty and being surrounded by such a majestic setting, it was easy to bring to mind His glory.

Psalm 63 has long been a favorite passage of Scripture for me.  While this Psalm was likely written while David was in the wilderness of Judah, running away from either Saul or Absalom, the passage has a hopeful tone.  Verse two notes "I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory."  Not exactly the words we'd expect from someone on the lam.  I'm not going to pretend to be a Bible scholar, so I'm not going to be able to give you any insight as to what the word "Sanctuary" means in the original text, but when I read this sentence I find that instead of picturing some large room with pews and perhaps a pulpit and a baptistry at the front, I see nature.  I see the waves crashing against the beach.  The fog rolling down the mountain.  Animals scurrying to and fro as I walk through the woods.  And when I consider that David was a shepherd as a boy, I think maybe similar scenes were on his heart as well.  

I think we can all safely agree that 2020 has been a "wilderness year."  David was trying to outrun a number of people who wanted him dead while present day we are trying to navigate a virus, numerous natural disasters, and widespread unrest on a number of issues made all the more volatile by the election.  But amidst his personal danger David remembers that he has seen the Lord and beheld his power and his glory.  I too, no matter the current circumstance have seen the Lord and beheld his power and glory, including in the vast splendor of His Creation.  

Although not a traditional hymn, this tune was written by composer Travis Patton and named after Cade's Cove, a remote valley in the Great Smoky Mountains once a hunting ground for the Cherokee people and later home to settlers before its current status as a national park.  Taken with the beauty of his surroundings, Patton titled this instrumental composition in its honor.  When I first approached our mutual friend Andrew Greer this summer about doing a Hymns From Home episode, he asked if I was open to not-a-traditional-hymn and suggested this tune of Travis' that had recently been included on his own Dove-Award-nominated instrumental hymns album, "Tune My Heart." (which I HIGHLY recommend you download HERE!).  As you listen, I encourage you to read Psalm 63 and reflect on the times you have seen God and experienced wonder.  May it make your wilderness a less lonely place.
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Today I'm beyond excited to have 3 very special guests joining me and I'll give you a little background on each of them.

​Andrew Greer {piano} and I first met through the music community in Nashville and since then I've had the honor of playing with him whenever the stars align.  We've played a few concerts, a wedding on the side of a mountain, a women's retreat on a friend's front porch and a retirement party in a church basement.  A fabulous keyboard player, vocalist and songwriter, Andrew has also dipped his toe in several other creative pools including his new podcast venture "Bridges" with co-host Patsy Clairmont.  When my first record released in 2013, Andrew graciously gave it the kindest review in CCM magazine and thoughtfully included my husband's story in his Winds Of Heaven book on Rich Mullins.  But that is exactly the kind of community-oriented human Andrew is...selflessly celebrating others at every turn.

Travis Patton {violin} is an incredibly talented violinist, composer, arranger, conductor...the list goes on and on for quite some time.  He has a bachelor’s degree in violin performance and a master’s degree in composition and arranging, both from Belmont University. He currently works as an adjunct professor of orchestration at Trevecca University and as the Worship Instrumental Associate Minister at Brentwood Baptist Church where he leads the Student and Young String orchestras.  I've had the pleasure of doing live performances, sessions and such with Travis over the years including playing on three music videos for worship leader Travis Cottrell.  I'm grateful that he was willing to lend both his song and his talent to this project.

Justin Saunders {cello} and I first met through a mutual friend at a pickup soccer game in a local park...the way all good friendships begin.  Upon realizing we were both string players, our friend made it a point for us to connect and we alternated between cheering her on and talking shop.  Our friendship took a bizarre turn at lunch a few years ago when it came up in conversation that we were both from Texas originally.  I mentioned the large company my father had worked for and he remarked that his grandfather had worked for the same large company. I called my dad to see if they had ever crossed paths and his response was, "Of course I know him.  He was my boss for years." Some coincidences are all too crazy...just a couple of kids from Ft. Worth taking on the Nashville string scene.  Justin has played too many amazing things to name and we've gotten to play stages, videos and sessions alike over the span of 14 years of friendship.  He and his wife Abby have 4 of the cutest kiddos I know.

A special thanks to David Madeira and Meg Settle for their hard work editing video and audio mixing respectively.  There's no way this quartet video would have been possible without them.