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I woke up singing. That has to be good, right? "Praise to the Lord, The Almighty." It's either the first or second in the Trinity Hymnal, (PCA, OPC) I think. I don't know for sure, because I haven't seen one since I was at Christ Our King. But I sang it through twice. No, I didn't miss any words. It's a staple. If you believe the words of this hymn even a little, you're a different person, a new person. Note to the bishop of Rome: Steal the Trinity Hymnal now. If you are the shepherd of all of Christ's sheep, everything good and true belongs to Him and you anyway, right? I wouldn't mind a little editing here and there. On the other hand, most of the tunes are way too melodic for the average Mass. No offense. So maybe you can use it for kids or something. I was talking to Jesus yesterday, and I remember wondering with him what I'll miss most about the PCA, should I choose to accept this Mission: Nearly Impossible. And I said, "The hymns and the people. But I repeat myself." Isn't this right? What good is a song, if you don't share it? I always hear it in the voices of my friends and brethren, even when it plays in my head. [Of course you would say that; you're dangerously close to becoming known as, 'The Guy Who Sings All the Time.'--ed.] You forget, dear Editor, I barely sang at all until I was baptized. Whatever it is, it's a new thing. [You sang at that RUF men's retreat almost 12 years ago.--ed.] That was a song about a girl. Grace builds on nature; it doesn't destroy it. Anyway, I always hear "Praise to the Lord, The Almighty" in the voice of 'The Real Deal' Joe Choi. We called him 'The Real Deal' because we had attempted to affix it to another member of our group, Brandon Teel, but somehow, it failed, at RUF Summer Conference '99. Jim Frese (say, FRAY-zee) thought it would be funny to try to stick it to someone whose name didn't rhyme at all, and it stuck. To this day. We also realized that we started calling Joe 'The Real Deal' (or just 'Real Deal') because that's the kind of guy he is. Maybe he took it as encouragement in godliness the whole time. In any case, one time, we had come back from some trip, (and most of those were ended officially by Sunday worship) and Joe ended up next to me. We sang the hymn, and I promise you, his voice sounded like the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. So I told him so, minus the superlative. Somewhat embarrassed, he said, 'Aw, I'm not a good singer.' And maybe not. But it made me realize that unlike "AI" judge Randy Jackson, Jesus doesn't care if you are 'pitchy.'

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