A Few Things I’ve Learned: Marriage advice from Jennie Riddle (30 year anniversary)
Recently People & Songs Founders Jennie Lee Riddle and Darrin Riddle celebrated 30 years of marriage. Here is a list of 10 pointe of advice regarding marriage from Jennie Lee Riddle herself.
Recently People & Songs Founders Jennie Lee Riddle and Darrin Riddle celebrated 30 years of marriage. They have impacted all of us in indescribable ways. One of these ways is how they model Godly marriage and service to Jesus. Here is a list of 10 points of advice regarding marriage from Jennie Lee Riddle herself.
1) Just do it. Get married. Figure all the rest out together. TOGETHER.
2) If you can, do it young before your frontal lobes develop and you start over thinking everything.
3) Don't look back. Hold the hand next to you and use the free hand you each have left to get stuff done
4) Be a safe place to fail- don't expect perfection - could you bear up under that expectation?
5) A marriage license gives you the legal right to build something awesome - it's not a right to inherit awesome - build awesome together.
6) There is no back door. There is no escape hatch. You either live together happy, live together miserable, or kill each other. Divorce is not an option--- so live together happy. How?
7) Let go of the need to be right, first, best, top, etc. Be grateful to lift up, follow suite, make the way, consider others, forgive quickly, forgive completely, laugh at and with each other, on repeat [things I learned from my husband who says "you just can't go wrong serving"]
8) Give each other permission to be themselves and expect nothing less than their “best selves."
9) Forgive first and forgive fast.
10) Love Jesus. Love Him by the way you love your spouse.
New Album from The Emerging Sound
This album includes “House United,” “Praise God,” and “I Believe You Can."
THE EMERGING SOUND VOLUME 2 IS HERE!
Volume 2 features the voices and writing of Jennie Lee Riddle, Dustin Smith, Corey Voss, Benji Cowart, Travis Ryan, Crystal Yates, Melanie Tierce, Micah Tyler, Sean Carter, Jade Lundgren, Charity Gayle, Kevin Jones, Bryan McCleery, Jake Richards and The Emerging Sound students.
This album includes “House United,” “Praise God,” and “I Believe You Can."
RAISING UP THE NEXT GENERATION OF WORSHIP SONGWRITERS
My desire to invest in the lives of songwriters has never changed and has only increased. It burns hotter with each passing day...
“SING A NEW SONG,” SCRIPTURE REPEATEDLY INSTRUCTS.
Perhaps it is because we are born to grow from faith to faith (Rom 1:17), glory to glory, (2 Cor 3:18) and strength to strength; (Ps 84:7) and song is one of the smartest all-purpose tools for the journey.
Song helps trump our circumstances with a current hallelujah. Song is a tool that enables the right response at the right time. In the moment of challenge, when flight or fight reactions rise, we don’t always have the presence of mind to remember where we left our Bible. Praise Jesus, for the presence of His Holy Spirit who calls to memory God’s Word (Jn 14:26).
The Emerging Sound 2015
With that said, The Holy Spirit can only call to memory what actually resides in memory! The Holy Spirit is our Helper. But God asks us to bind the Word on our hearts (Prov 6:21). We should make sure we are not asking God to do what He has asked us to do! Then the command to sing a new song begins to make sense. Via the tool of music, we can easily digest the right response in advance of the need. With the powerful aid of meter, rhyme, and melody we can assimilate a continual influx of the right information; The Word of God – “living, active, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Heb 4:12 .
When I craft scripture into song, Truth becomes part of who I am. I become sharp. The Holy Spirit is able to make a withdrawal when I need it most, and out comes a new song in the night full of overcoming, double-edged-sword power! And I grow again. Over time, rich with the indwelling Word, a muscle is developed for creating song in the moment and we grow into unstoppable, joy-filled, overcoming giants with mouthfuls of pre-existing “It Is Finished” victory.
MY DESIRE TO INVEST IN THE LIVES OF SONGWRITERS HAS NEVER CHANGED AND HAS ONLY INCREASED. IT BURNS HOTTER WITH EACH PASSING DAY.
I will write songs that will impact my sphere of influence. However, if I will also be purposeful in sowing skill into others, the multiplication effect of the gospel through God’s people and songs could be exponential. I can’t think of anything more important than raising up the next generation of worship songwriters; servants who will write to fill the lips of God’s Children with the Word and awesome high praises of God (Ps 149)!
The Emerging Sound, is a non-profit 501c3 dedicated to making disciples through music. What began in Texas, as a summer songwriting intensive for teens, has now steadily blossomed. We have added a location in the Maritimes of Canada and are adding two additional states in 2016. Additionally, an internship program for college-aged and career has been formalized as well as multiple retreats for adults.
PLEASE VISIT WWW.THEEMERGINGSOUND.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.
The Emerging Sound 2015
HEAR OUR PRAYER
So many Christians have given their lives for their faith in Jesus. So many more will. Let’s stand with them and pray that they stand strong as they glorify God through their suffering. We are The People Of The Cross...
HEAR OUR PRAYER
This blog post was originally published on CCLI.com June 2, 2015.
People of the Cross, by Jennie Lee Riddle, Todd Smith and Jordan Merritt. Performed by Selah.
CCLI Song #7040175 Available on SongSelect
"Here at CCLI we recently received an email from Jennie Lee Riddle, one of our favorite songwriters and a good friend. In it she said,
I wanted to let you know about this song, “People Of The Cross” that we wrote the day ISIS executed the 21 martyrs.
“We also wrote the attached prayer. Would you please consider sharing this with the Church? I believe we need to begin instilling a new level of courage in these days. It was written by myself, Todd Smith, and Jordan Merritt, and recorded by Selah as a means to garner the prayer of the Church for the persecuted and the persecutors.”
Jennie, we’d be honored to. Here it is:
Jesus said “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” Jn 15:20 (ESV) So many Christians have given their lives for their faith in Jesus. So many more will. Let’s stand with them and pray that they stand strong as they glorify God through their suffering. We are The People Of The Cross.
We pray with the families whose loved ones have been abducted or martyred.
God we ask that You would strengthen, comfort, and embolden them in this hour. Please surround them with Your saints to help lift and carry their burdens. Give them faith-filled intercessions and hear them according to 1 John 5: 14-15.
Give them the grace to forgive, so that they may be free from carrying the bondage of hatred.
We stand with them and acknowledge You, Jesus, as the One to whom every knee shall one day bow. We rejoice with them in the knowledge that this world is not our home and that there will come a day when every tear is wiped away. We look forward to that day along with them. Psalm 147:3,Matt 5:4, Matt 6:14-15, Luke 23:33-34, Acts 7:59-60, 1 Cor. 13:4-7, Phil 2:5-11, Heb 13:14, Rev. 21:4,
God, we hold up the persecutors before You now and ask that You would remember the persecutor, Saul.
Your mercy overcame Him and as You converted Him, You gave us Paul – a great gift to the Church. We pray that those like Saul will come to know You, God, through the suffering of those they are persecuting. We pray that complete transformation would occur by Your Spirit, and that they would be made willing to suffer for the name of Jesus as laborers of Your Kingdom. Matt 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-28,Luke 23:33-34,Acts 7:59-60
We pray for our brothers and sisters facing persecution.
We know that You number our days. We remember the way You opened prison doors for Your saints. We remember their song in the night. We ask for Your mighty and full deliverance until the time of Your return. We remember the way You walked through angry crowds until Your time had come. Like You, Jesus, when the time comes, we ask for Your strength and courage to not give in or waver even if facing brutality or imprisonment. We pray that their spirit would not be broken, their faith would stand strong, and that Your Holy Spirit would rise up in them.
Give them joy in their homegoing with no fear or shrinking back. Give them grace to finish well.
We ask for Your light to shine forth; and that Your name, Jesus, would be ever on the lips of Your saints. We pray that the life they sow would yield a great harvest and reward. We praise You as The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Matt 5:10-12, Matt 26:38-39, Luke 4:28-30, Luke 22:15, Jn 8:48-59, Jn 14:6, Jn 15:20-21, Jn 16:33, Jn 21:15-19,Acts 6:8-7:60, Acts 12:1-19, Acts 16:16-40, Eph 6:19-20, Col 4:2-4, Heb 10:32-34, Heb 11:35-40, 1 Peter 4:13
We pray for the Church in America and around the world.
We ask for faithfulness and resolve to stand with those in persecution. We pray for revival. We confess our sin and ask You to forgive us. We acknowledge that we have not been mindful of the hour in which we live. We have been selfish and blind. Where we have claimed our lives are Yours, we have nevertheless lived them as our own. We humble ourselves at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. We ask for Your healing, power, and grace to obey. We ask for unity. We stand with You, Jesus, and give our lives to You all over again. We ask for grace to live well and die well, and that from the rising of the sun to it’s going down, we would be found faithful and You would be ever praised. 2 Chronicles 7:14,Psalm 51:10, James 4:6-10, 2 Tim 3:1-5, 1 John 1:9
We pray for those in places of authority and government and ask that You would embolden them to protect innocent lives.
That they would not be afraid to carry out holy and swift judgment to rout out evil. We ask that You would give them clear eyes, super-natural wisdom, discernment, understanding, and knowledge. Help them to embrace responsibility and act. We pray that the fear of You, the One True God would keep them moving to decree, promote, and work righteousness. Psalm 146:5-7,Romans 13:1-4,Hebrews 11:32-34, 1 Peter 2:13-14
EASTER PLAYLIST 2015
Songs we're playing and listening to this Easter...
Painting by Robin Oas - RobinOasDesigns.com - Inspired by Passion Song
written by Charity Gayle, Jennie Lee Riddle, Melanie Tierce and Brandon Collins
For personal connection to the power of the cross we have chosen Divine Exchange. "On the cross hung my pain", "He took my place", "Grace is mine" are truths worth meditating on, and allow the worshipper to really exalt the work of the cross, where Jesus took our place, and in doing so, made us heirs of salvation. The bridge turns to a decisioned response, "I lay down all lesser things for greater gain." In 4 min Divine Exchange shares the whole of the Gospel, sinks it deeply into the heart, and compels it to respond.
iTunes - Charts - CCLI Song Select
PASSION SONG
written by Sean Carter and Tyler Ellison
An incredible telling of the events of Holy Week told from the narrative perspective of John the Beloved. The ground covered in this song makes it a perfect consideration for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. The visual and emotional poetry in "Passion Song" allow the listener to almost see the crowds on the triumphant entry of Jesus, taste the last supper, and even feel the heartbreak of John at the last words of Jesus, and the Joy of finding an empty tomb.
iTunes - Charts - CCLI Song Select
IT IS FINISHED
written by Jennie Lee Riddle and Matt Papa
A victory shout for Easter Morning, "It Is Finished" paints a picture of the power in the final words of Jesus. "It is finished, It is done, To the world salvation comes! Hallelujah we're alive! Hell was silenced when You cried "It is finished" The bridge is a powerful celebration that reminds us that the veil was torn, darkness was defeated, and the keys of the kingdom were given over to us! If you are looking for a great Easter closing song this is it!
Mp3 (Magen Thurman) - iTunes (Matt Papa) - Song Select
WHEN LOVE WAS SLAIN
written by Jennie Lee Riddle and Crystal Yates
"When Love Was Slain" has a timeless hymn-like quality that even at first listen feels like coming home. The verses are sweet confessions "My home's been made at heavens throne" "I am His and His alone" "Come now walk with me" and these verses stand on the powerful chorus "Now ransomed, I am freedoms slave. My Jesus raised me from the grave". Connect your congregation to their own personal security and resurrection by including this in your Easter playlist.
iTunes - Chart - CCLI Song Select
THE PASSOVER SONG
written by Sean Carter and Caroline Cobb
A beautiful merging of the Jewish Passover Feast and Jesus on the cross. Jesus is our passover lamb, His blood saved us from the curse of sin, just as the Passover lamb freed the Jewish people from the great plagues. "His cross will be our doorway". Just as the children of Israel danced in the streets, "Daughters and sons rejoice in resurrection and death swallowed up in endless life". The Passover Song works well to celebrate the passover, is as perfect backdrop to communion and is easily followed by a congregational singing of "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus", as each chorus uses lyric from the classic hymn to draw its parallel lines of Passover and Easter.
iTunes
COME TO THE CROSS
written by Charity Gayle, Melanie Tierce and Sean Carter
The remembrance of Christ's words in Matthew 19:21 “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Begin the Hymn-like "Come To The Cross". The invitation continues to examine the cross, and then proclaims the empty grave inspired by the words of the angel in Matt 28:6 "He is not here; He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where He lay." The bridge reminds the believer that we have the Holy Spirit, and we too can take up our cross, follow Jesus, and tell the world! As well as inspiring the believer, "Come To The Cross" is a perfect song for an invitational moment in an Easter worship service.
iTunes
CCLITV Top 25 Videos of 2014
CCLITV just released their list of "Top 25 Worship Videos of 2014"...
We are so thankful for CCLI & CCLITV who equip the Bride of Christ with songs for worship. CCLITV just released their list of TOP 25 WORSHIP VIDEOS OF 2014 and we honored to have 3 Videos featured by our People & Songs Community!
#2 Passion Song - Sean Carter
#3 I Stand Before Almighty God Alone - Jennie Lee Riddle, Brandon Collins
#21 Until That Day Comes - Megan Thurman, Crystal Yates, Sean Carter, Brandon Collins
See the complete list at WWW.CCLITV.COM
Jennie Lee Riddle's "Revelation Song" Certified Gold
Integrity Music recently honored Dove Award winning songwriter Jennie Lee Riddle in recognition of the gold certification of Riddle's inspiring worship anthem "Revelation Song" as recorded by Phillips, Craig & Dean...
Post Courtesy of Jesusfreakhideout.com
NEWS SOURCE: Integrity Music
December 3, 2014
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (December 3, 2014) - - Integrity Music recently honored Dove Award winning songwriter Jennie Lee Riddle in recognition of the gold certification of Riddle's inspiring worship anthem "Revelation Song" as recorded by Phillips, Craig & Dean. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song, commemorating over 500,000 digital downloads of the recording. The radio single also remained in the No. 1 position for 17 weeks on Billboard's AC Monitored chart, reached No. 1 on Billboard's National Christian Audience Chart, and also on both the AC Indicator and Soft AC charts. Pictured left-to-right are: Mike Murray, Creative Director for Integrity Music Publishing; Jennie Lee Riddle; Walker Beach of Integrity's publishing partner Gateway Create, and Craig Dunnagan, Vice President of Music Publishing and Ministry Alliances.
About Jennie Lee Riddle: Jennie Lee Riddle is a three-time Dove Award winning songwriter and a BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) Award winner whose songs have been recorded by numerous artists including Selah, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Michael W. Smith, NewSong, Kari Jobe, Dustin Smith, Chris Tomlin, Jesus Culture, Travis Ryan and many more. Her songs include "Revelation Song," "When The Stars Burn Down," "Hope of the Broken World," "You Are My Shepherd," "One True God" and "The One That Really Matters." In addition, Jennie is the founder of http://www.theemergingsound.com and http://www.peopleandsongs.com.
BEHIND THE SONG: I STAND BEFORE ALMIGHTY GOD ALONE
I typed “I Stand Before Almighty God Alone” into the blank space knowing the journey that would begin. I’m reminded of so many saints who have gone before with stories of their own encounters with God alone...
Brandon Michael Collins
There exist in life those moments that don’t give you the courtesy of preparing for them. They move into your home like unexpected guests, remodel it, and then depart, leaving you with the bill and a lack of familiarity. Those moments come in many ways both good and bad – an unfavorable medical diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, the birth of a child, a natural disaster, an encounter with God. Those moments bring new unfamiliarities, redefine cherished memories and past experiences, and require the cost of learning how to find a new normal.
I had just moved from California to the Riddle’s home in Nashville, where I would spend the next eight months. When I arrived, I was emotionally raw. I was dealing with the realization that the woman that I had loved for six years and had hoped would be my wife wouldn’t be. Though not as drastic as cancer or death or a tornado, a broken heart still produces sorrow. My friend Tim once told me that “Sorrow understands sorrow,” that it’s not about which situation is worse because both situations produce the same result. Jennie knew my sorrow and as we talked one evening, something about the conversation inspired me to sit down at the piano and play the chorus melody.
The next morning, Jennie and I sat down to write and she asked if we could use that melody. We write in Google Docs, so whatever is typed shows up on the other person’s computer in real-time. We sat there for a long time, staring at our screens and trying to find the lyrical direction of the song. Eventually, Jennie typed “I Stand Before Almighty God Alone.” When I saw the line, I was cut to the heart. It simultaneously honed in on the pain of my present reality and showed the goal of that sorrow: a closeness of relationship with God like Adam had in the garden, unhindered by any weight. The song took three days to finish and a great deal of it was spent with God, listening for the right words.
"The song has been costly and relentless. It asks me to invite God into the deepest places of pain in my life."
Writing “I Stand Before Almighty God Alone” was one of “those moments”. I had gotten stuck and it took something as powerful as a song to move me into a new place. The song has been costly and relentless. It asks me to invite God into the deepest places of pain in my life. It demands that I be vulnerable when I’d prefer to put up walls. It tears down any semblance of an idol.
I live in newness but I don’t have the benefit of seeing the end of this story. I don’t have the perspective of Joseph as the second in command of Egypt. I don’t have the name Israel instead of Jacob. I don’t have the benefit of standing on the mountain of God with His people. What I do have is hope: the promise of God’s presence in my circumstances – in the darkness of prison, in the pain of the limp, in the wilderness between the Red Sea and the Promised Land. Calvary is breaking my mourning as I wait for resurrection.
Jennie Lee Riddle
Brandon was raw. Everything in me hurt for him and with him that day. I knew that if I were to risk putting that painful yet life giving truth in front of him it would be a wound to his already broken heart. An altar awaited my friend and I had just been handed a lyrical scalpel as the Lord whispered the words to my heart.
I typed “I Stand Before Almighty God Alone” into the blank space knowing the journey that would begin. I’m reminded of so many saints who have gone before with stories of their own encounters with God alone. Peter stood before Almighty God alone in the utter failure of betrayal, beholding mercy, and receiving a confirmation of his election as he was questioned by the Lord, “Peter do you love me? …Feed my sheep.” The woman caught in the act of adultery found herself before Almighty God alone as her accusers were silenced and she beheld mercy – alive and forever transformed by grace. The accuser who bravely dropped the first stone to the ground did so because He determined to stand before God alone. His was a costly decision to publicly admit his own sin, identify with an outcast woman, and choose to walk away from his friends and peers. Noah stared at every board as the eyes of God and man stared at him. He made the decision to make an ark in spite of the jeering of gawkers, his own doubt and unbelief, and his tired body. He made the decision to stand before Almighty God alone. Mary yielded her rights and everything she believed to God who does the impossible, beyond what could be imagined or conceived. She stood before almighty God alone full of her Savior. We are forever grateful.
"This song leaves me no way out but freedom. I yield my need to cast the blame. I drop my stones. He fills my empty hands with His own. This is enough."
I’m reminded of my childhood spotted with impurity and the ones who believed it okay to rob innocence from a girl. I’m reminded of the One who restores by His word and His blood. I deeply understand the reality that whomever has been forgiven much, loves much. I now stand before Almighty God alone, having released and pardoned those from whom I demanded an account. I am the one made free as a result. This song leaves me no way out but freedom. I yield my need to cast the blame. I drop my stones. He fills my empty hands with His own. This is enough. “I stand here with my God alone.”