Travis Seitler: Web Designer

I probably wouldn’t have thought to mention it, except that I posted a station programming lineup a while back, and people are still visiting the page.

Anyway, for the record: 95.1 FM WRBS (run by the folks behind River Valley Ranch near Hampstead, MD) has bought the AM station, re-dubbed it “WRBS AM” and is now using it as their “teaching and hymns” station so there’s more room for their “contemporary hits” on FM.

So… I don’t think you’ll be hearing Michael Medved on there anytime soon.

From Solari MoneyChanger Calculator:
…when you pay another person in silver or gold, you are giving them real value and substance rather than merely handing off the hot potato of paper money and Federal Credit. Talk about “coming clean!”

Don’t know what they’re talking about? Listen to Episode #68 of The American View. In the meantime, I’m going to find out what my salary really is…

(UPDATE: WITH is now WRBS AM. For more details, follow the link.)

One of the disappointing things about no longer commuting is that there’s far less time to listen to the radio in the car. One of the nice things, though, is that I have an alternative to WBAL 1090 AM. Now that I live in the Baltimore area, I can tune in to 1230 AM… and I don’t have to hear Sportsline with Steve Davis anymore. (No offense, Steve… I’m just not into sports.)

Anyway, I catch bits of all these folks’ programs throughout the day (depending on when I happen to take my lunch break). Here’s a rundown:

9am-Noon: Laura Ingraham

I don’t know what to think about Laura. She can be as obnoxious as Rush Limbaugh, but she’s a she. Obnoxious is moreso coming from the fairer sex…even if she is right quite often.

Noon-3pm: Dennis Prager

It’s hard for me to nail an opinion on Dennis, too. Just when he’s getting into a groove with his cultural commentary, he goes into this “Happiness Hour” thing and takes calls from women who feel insecure about the size of their breasts or something. Kinda weird…

3pm-6pm: Michael Medved

I can tolerate his program, but he sounds too much like an infomercial host. Click that link, and you’ll see one thing I have against Mr. Medved. Sorry, Mike, but you won’t get an inbound link from me until you recant!

6pm-9pm: Hugh Hewitt

Now Hugh… this guy’s cool. Despite hosting some raunchy t-shirt ads, he’s the moderator for OneTrueGodBlog, which is a very cool concept, even if it’s a little hard to read. I usually never hear more than 10 minutes of Hugh’s show, because for some reason I can’t pick up the signal in our apartment.

Hymns have gone through a lot of crap over the past few decades. It seems that they’re either treated like a moth-eaten dress (old and unusable) or a lawn gnome (tacky and sentimental). I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to hear Amazing Grace sung by people who aren’t amazed at God’s grace.

Can I share something with you? Hymns are meant to draw us to understand and worship God, not the singer. How many times has someone gone operatic on In the Garden, without meaning it at all when they sing, “He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing”? Do you not hear the sheer in-loveness in those words? This is someone who is utterly captivated with the Risen Lord. This is not someone who’s trying to sell albums or impress their friends.

Albert Mohler recently posted in his blog about Oh, to see the dawn (The Power of the Cross), a song that appears on the album,
New Irish Hymns 4. The recording has a bit of that Sandi Patty 80s feel to it, but I’m looking forward to singing this in a congregation. (Knowing my church, that won’t be long.)

Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live
Won through Your selfless love

This the power of the cross
Son of God slain for us
What a love! What a cost
We stand forgiven at the cross

This are the folks through whom In Christ Alone came. God bless ‘em; we’re certainly being blessed by their work.

Another album to put on your must-listen list is Sovereign Grace’s Worship God Live. (If you listen closely, you might hear Nicole and me in that crowd. In fact, I may be that top-left guy in the “live worshipers” pic on the album’s page.) While not entirely an album of hymns, they form the majority of the songs here. Among the tracks in this album, my highest recommendations are for: Endless Praises; Count it All Joy; His Forever; Jesus, Thank You; God Moves (in a Mysterious Way); and Receive the Glory — lyrically, my absolute favorite song of the whole year:

All that we’ve accomplished you have done for us
And any fruit we harvest is a gift from your hand
We are only jars of clay that hold a priceless treasure
And we exist to bring you pleasure, O God

Not to us, but to your name alone
Be all the glory, the glory forever
For your faithfulness and steadfast love
Receive the glory, the glory belongs to you.

Amen and amen!