The Archives
Jill Phillips
Guest writer
Album Release: Jill Phillips’s Kingdom Come
by Jill Phillips 29
[Editor's note: Jill Phillips's hymns album, Kingdom Come, has been out of print for quite a few years. This fall, Jill recorded a couple of new hymns to add to the track list, then re-designed the artwork, and has just re-released the whole package as an expanded "second edition" of the original album. Here's what she had to say about it.]
The idea for Kingdom Come came about in 2005 when I was signed to Fervent Records. We were trying to come up with a specialty record that could be featured in a certain chain of bookstores and I kept coming back to the idea of a hymns record. I grew up signing hymns in the Baptist church but when I became a songwriter I gained a new appreciation for their poetry and beauty. Andy and I looked through familiar songs and even found some old hymn texts that we set to new music. The record was made during our kids’ naps in the bonus room of our old house–quite an experience! I think I expected to feel a little less connected to the record since I didn’t write many of the songs, but I found the opposite to be true. It felt wonderful and refreshing to be singing songs people have been singing for centuries. I also got to work with some great friends like Andrew Peterson, Derek Webb, and Sandra McCracken. Christine Dente, a childhood hero, even came in and sang on a song which was a dream come true. I think I wore out that Ashton, Becker, Dente record back in high school.
The original album had a limited run and has been out of print for a while, so this year I decided to reprint it and add a few new songs. “This Is My Father’s World” has been very meaningful to me as I have become involved with the Christian environmental organization A Rocha. The last verse of that hymn is absolutely perfect, and I think about those lyrics often: “Though the wrong is oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” “The Lord’s Prayer” is a song Andy and I wrote specifically for our church in Nashville, and we sing it as part of the liturgy before communion.
This is the song “Man of Sorrows” which is an old hymn text set to new music.
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Thanks, as always, for your support of independent music. Hope you enjoy.
[The new release of Kingdom Come is available in the Rabbit Room store.]
Because Two Albums are Better Than One
by Jill Phillips 27
Hello, friends. I released my latest album, In This Hour, back in November, and I’m excited to announce a new limited-time offer (“limited-time” sounds fancier than “we don’t know when this is going to end but it won’t last forever”). Here’s the deal: If you buy a CD or download of In This Hour you’ll also get a free download of my last record, The Good Things. I am very proud of these projects, both produced by Cason Cooley, and would love to see them reach some new ears. If you can help out by spreading the word to your friends I would be incredibly grateful.
Thanks for your support, and thanks for helping me get the word out!
“That’s Not Who You Are”
from In This Hour by Jill Phillips
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Album Release Day: Christmas
by Jill Phillips 23
Hello, my dear Rabbit Room friends. Our Christmas CD is officially out today so we wanted to give you two more songs from the album to sample.
Andy found a beautiful old hymn titled “Nations That Long In Darkness Walked” and set it to new music. (Matt Conner says it sounds like Yoda talking and I [...]
Inefficient Love
by Jill Phillips 09
I’ve been re-reading Andi Ashworth’s beautiful book Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring with a great group of women from my church. There are a million books on parenting and motherhood but I’ve never found any quite like this one. Andi focuses on caregiving and how that [...]
The Things that Matter
by Jill Phillips 22
My husband and I recently took a trip to my old hometown. (I went to my first high school reunion and yes I am insane. That’s a topic for another post). I see my mom often for living 12 hours away, but a lot of the time she’s traveling to see us. I hadn’t been [...]
All Saints Day
by Jill Phillips 09
This past Sunday was All Saints Day, the day in the liturgical church calendar we remember and honor those who have died in the Lord. This has always been a really meaningful service for me, but this year I walked into our little Anglican church in Nashville with some trepidation. Our pastor, Thomas, had sent [...]
Featured
Facing the Truth
I went to the doctor yesterday for the first time in years. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been sick; it means I’m the kind of stubborn fool who doesn’t like to take an ibuprofen for a headache, the kind of crank who would rather walk around squinting and snappy than to take the blasted aspirin. I just don’t like medicine. I prefer sweating it out, however inconvenient that is for the people around me. So after ten days of coughing and sniffling and whining I finally decided it must be a sinus infection. I have a show in a few days, and I can’t afford to be sick. So I bravely did what any man in my shoes would do: I asked my wife what to do. She told me which doctor to visit and I drove to the offices with a steely resolve. The nurse behind the sliding glass window handed me the clipboard with the dreaded New Patient Paperwork, and then the thing happened that made me want to write this.
The questions began. “Do you have any allergies?” “Do you drink caffeine?” “Do you use tobacco?” “If so, how often?” “Do you exercise regularly?” “Is there a history of heart disease in your family?” “Have you had any surgeries?
Rabbit Room Radio
You can now listen to Rabbit Room artists and podcasts every waking hour of your day—assuming you have a good internet connection. Rabbit Room Radio is available through the player below, through iTunes (look in the “Religious” category), or through any internet radio player. Sunday morning programming coming soon, as well as Saturday morning kids’ music. Let us know what you think.
