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Wow two songs in one week! Look out Mandy Thompson!

This is a song right out of Psalm 93 and has some Matthew 8 and 14 references as well. I love the references to the mighty oceans (floods) and crashing waves in Psalm 93. The gist of the Psalm is that God is mightier than even the oceans and that He is eternal. I thought that went hand in hand with Jesus (God with us) walking on the waves (Matthew 14) and also calming the storm (Matthew 8).

The challenge of writing a “The Lord Reigns” song is that it is such a familiar phrase with several popular songs already using the phrase as a hook. I hope this is a fresh take on that phrase for you. I think it’s simple, catchy and singable which is what I strive to write when I write songs for worship.

Listen here: http://twt.fm/337786

Psalm 93 (The Lord Reigns) Key of G (I capo 2 for A)
2009 Russ Hutto

Em           D/F#       G
You have always been
You will always be
You set the world in place
Am7             D/F#
You are God, You are God

Em  D/F#       G
You are the eternal One
You are clothed in strength
You are robed in majesty
Am7             D/F#
You are God, You are God

G     G/D# Em  D    Asus7(add3)
Your Kingdom reigns forever

Cmaj7     G
The Lord Reigns
Cmaj7     G
The Lord Reigns
Em7     D/F#
The Lord Reigns
C         G
The Lord Reigns

Em           D/F#        G
You will quiet the storms
You are Lord of the sea
You have walked on the water
Am7             D/F#
You are God, You are God

Em        D/F#          G
You will silence the wind
You are Lord of the waves
You thunder above them all
Am7               D/F#
You are God, You are God

G     G/D# Em  D    Asus7(add3)
Your Kingdom reigns forever

I’m still writing! Though it looks like my goal of 50 songs is beyond me. However, ANY songs are better than NO songs so I’m happy with this year’s output!

Glory

Based on Psalm 29. You know, the one that talks about ascribing glory to God? Well, I wanted to write that notion without using the word ascribe. In fact, I just wanted to sing “glory” without singing “ascribe” at all.

I think it turned out nicely. I had a little bit of lyrical help on the last line of the chorus. Thanks, Jon (my brother) and also on one word of the second verse (thank Mandy Thompson!! you’ll get your check later).

Which word? You’ll never know. Unless Mandy spills the beans.

I’m always torn between throwing down a quick acoustic guitar scratch track and pseudo-full-band demo’ing a song because I actually hear a sound when I’m writing. But I don’t want to pigeon hole a song either so I go back and forth.

For this song, I decided to go ahead and try and capture some of the sound I hear in my head. So, armed with a guitar and my macbookpro (no fancy studio equipment for me!!) I demo’d it out. Hope you like.

Listen here: http://twt.fm/336067 (opens in new window)

I’m using twt.fm to share music via twitter and track my plays. If you like this song please leave a comment here and use twt.fm to retweet!!

Chord chart and mp3 available on request.

Glory
2009 Russ & Jon Hutto

(v1)
The God of glory thunders
His voice a burning flame
The Lord of endless wonders
Holy is His name
Holy is His name

(c)
Glory
Glory
Glory
To the King of all the earth (repeat)

(v2)
In lightning bolts He flashes
He sets the sky aflame
His voice like thunder crashes
Holy is His name
Holy is His name

(c)

(b)
And the Lord is enthroned above all
And the Lord is exalted forever
And the Lord is enthroned above all
Glory to His name
Glory to His name

Well, I’m waaay behind on my goal to hit 50, but I’m still writing so that’s good, right?

This is a tune I wrote yesterday morning. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 63.

Wanted to write in the vein of Rich Mullins (Step by Step). Mainly for simplicity. I like the repetitive nature of the chorus. It’s a first person song, singing to God. It could be used in a corporate setting, but it’s written more of a personal song of praise to God.

Of course, this is a quick and dirty recording, nothing fancy schmancy about it. There’s a few things I might sing a little differently if I spent a lot of time on recording. By my goal with this is just to share it, not make a production out of the recording (like my rap tunes).

Let me know if you’d like to use this in your place of worship.

 

 Psalm 63: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Chords & Lyrics Chart (pdf)

Psalm 63
2009 Russ Hutto

(Verse 1)

I will sing Your praises,
I will bring You honor,
I will glorify You
As long as I live

I will lift my hands to
Surrender to Your greatness
To offer up my everything
It’s all that I can give

(prechorus)

And I will sing

(chorus)

God,
You are my God
And I will follow
Follow after You
You are my God
And I will follow
Follow after You

(verse 2)

You have satisfied me
You have quenched my thirst
You have filled my hunger
With a rich feast

You have held me closely
In the palm of Your hands
You have kept me safe
You watch over me

In the midst of this crazy hectic time, I carved out 30 minutes to “write.” Of course, this isn’t a full song, and may never be useful to me, but then again it might.

This is just me noodling around on the acoustic in a “round” of sorts. Kind of playing with my improv and counterpoint skills. Most of the lines that come in are improv’d.

The key is D. The tuning is DADGAD.

The singing is just me goofing off. I could actually hear those parts as a string quartet or something.

There’s no purpose to this tune other than to have done something creatively in the middle of a whirlwind of trying to organize and pack and move this weekend.

Kind of has a whimsical feel to it. 6/8. Another compound meter diddy. I could hear it possibly as the intro to a Christmas carol arranged in 6/8 or something. Or possibly an original Christmas tune. We’ll see.

Hope you like.

 

 Guitar Noodling in 6/8: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here’s an update on where we are in our big life transition.

1) Our last day at HOJ was Sunday Aug. 30. A few months ago we felt strongly that it was time for us to move on. It was one of those rare moments in life when things are going great and it’s just “time” to move. We will be closer to family and Lydia has a much better job.

We love HOJ and will continue to give financially for the next 2 years. We pledged to give monthly for 3 years and have made it through a little over a year. We believe in the vision and the impact that HOJ is and will be making in Valdosta.

One of the hardest parts of leaving HOJ is leaving the friends we’ve made behind. Honestly, I, personally can do without “leading worship” or designing graphics, but it’s leaving the small group family, worship team hangouts, and even bootcamp workout sessions with HOJ friends that make this move hard. But God is walking with us and we’re super excited about the next season in our life.

2) Lydia started her job in Brunswick a little over a month ago. That’s a little over 2 hours away from Valdosta. It’s been an adjustment for her but she’s knocking it out of the park.

One of the major stresses for her has been having to be away from me from Sunday night to Friday. Our lease is up next week, so I’ll be “moving” our stuff from Valdosta to Jesup, which is our interim location until we get a home bought or rented. While we’re home shopping and closing we’ll be staying with Lydia’s family.

Financially, we’re in a place we haven’t been before and we’re looking to knock down our debt quickly (student loans mostly) and buy a home.

3) I’m doing design full-time now, working with a company that publishes community oriented magazines. I love designing ads and laying out articles.

4) Music: Because my primary “job” isn’t Worship Leader/Music Director anymore, I’m finding that I have a stronger desire to write and share congregational worship that is USEFUL to churches. In the coming months I’ve committed to going on a tear and writing the fire out of some worship tunes! Would love to have you help hold me accountable and would also love it if you used my songs in your place! I’m not stingy!

I’m also looking at joining forces with my good buddy Fred McKinnon and the team at SSCC. Just want to help out a little here and there.

I can see myself traveling a little bit as well. If you’d like to have me come in and worship with your church/team/small group/etc. please contact me and we’ll set something up.

5) Blog Design: because of the transition I’m finding it hard to do a lot of extra design work now. That being said, I would LOVE to design you a custom blog header or banner. As we get settled in the next few weeks, things we’ll be going a bit more smoothly for me and I’ll knock it out of the park for you.

6) Coastal Life: We’ll be moving to the Brunswick/St. Simons Island, Georgia area which is on the Southeastern Coast of GA. I can’t wait.

7) Collaborations: Look for opportunities to collaborate with me in the future in several areas. Most obvious would be songwriting and design, but I have a few more ideas brewing that I’d really like to get going on and I think as fellow worship leaders and worshipers you’ll be excited!

Stay tuned!!