theHeart produced it's first-ever music album in 2018. And as you might expect, there's a story to be told. Worship Director Erin Deuel shares it here.
Throughout 2017, theHeart spent 150 days journeying together through the Psalms, a book which invites us to explore and experience the complexities of the human soul intertwined with the reality of the living God–all through the medium of poetry and song.
The Psalms have inspired our musicians, as they have for many through the generations, to connect with them through our own songs. To record them as a collection together felt natural–an overflow of the way God was (and still is) at work in us through these words of Scripture.
So we asked our team to share with us their Psalm-inspired songs and spent the next months bringing a selection of them to life for our first album as a church family, Heirloom: Reflections on the Psalms. All of these songs were written and performed by members of our church, and were produced, recorded, and mixed here in Boone, North Carolina by my husband and long-standing member of our worship team, Glenn Deuel. They were recorded almost entirely in our home, between work hours, on weekends, between sips of hot tea, and gatherings over chicken tacos. This album was made by our church family, for our church family.
"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done." – Psalm 78:4
An heirloom is something of great value that is passed down from one generation to the next. We believe the ancient songbook of the Psalms is just that - an heirloom for the people of God, passed down to us through Scripture. It is always inviting us to reflect on our shared humanity, past and present, and the deeds of an everlasting God–through expressions of grief, doubt, victory, anger, love, remembrance, and ultimately praise of the Almighty One.
There is so much more to say, and so much more that cannot be put into words–but that is where I believe the power of music comes in. I hope these songs spark your imagination and bring a fresh perspective to the words that inspired them. I hope that they inspire you to continue to reflect on the Psalms, and to experience God's love and power through them. But mostly, I hope you'll see just a glimpse of the kind of beautiful things that can come when you do all of those things in community.