Generally speaking, when I think of skills that I’d like to master, I consider my various careers, leisure interests and spiritual interests. I’d like to have been better at everything. My careers centered around mechanical engineering, teaching, Christian work, and IT. And I’ve always been keen on playing musical instruments – mainly keyboard and guitar.
I’ve never been good at sport. But. watching the World Cup now, I can’t imagine myself being particularly thrilled at being a soccer player. There’s so much disappointment involved. And I hardly know any of the players nowadays. Our big moment in Ireland was 1990, when Ireland qualified for the first time. And my first time watching the world cup was in 1970, which is also the first time that I watched colour television. Back then, I’d have loved to have been Pele, George Best, Bobby Charlton and a whole lot more. Funny that most of today’s players weren’t even born when we qualified for the 1990 world cup.
Another interesting through was how long it’s been since England won. One of my favourite songs from 1996 was Three Lions – with the line “30 years of hurt never stopped me dreaming”.
Strange to think that it’s now 60 years of hurt. I write my prompt replies the day before I publish them. Tonight I’ll be supporting England in their first match. Some Irish people always want England to lose, but I was never like that. Of course, if we were playing them, I would want them to lose 😀.
When I first heard Three Lions, it seemed odd for a football song, but I soon grew to love it. And I apply its mood to other areas of life. In Christian circles, we always long for a great revival, like those great revivals of the past, such as the 1859 revival in Ireland. I don’t need to alter the lyrics to apply its mood to longing for revival.
Anyway, I mention hymns because I’m quite fascinated by those who’ve managed to write 1,000s of hymns. I recently listened to the stories of great hymns on Audible – 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth Osbeck. I was reminded of Fanny Crosby, who was blind. She became blind at six weeks old due to an eye infection and improper treatment. She wrote over 8,000 hymns and gospel songs. And in doing that, you leave such a wonderful legacy. Great theologians do that too, but they don’t always affect people at a devotional level.
I never wrote any hymn. Nowadays, I could probably do it with the assistance of AI, but that feels like cheating. Still, it might give me some kind of a start.
Here’s what I just did with Microsoft Copilot:
Write a poem based on Ephesians 2
Once I walked in shadows deep,
A child of earth, a restless sleep;
The winds of darkness led me on,
And every hope in me was gone.
But mercy found me where I lay—
Not earned, not won, no debt to pay;
Love broke the chains I could not break,
And breathed me life for Jesus’ sake.
By grace alone my soul was raised,
By grace my wandering heart was saved;
No boast remains, no pride can stand,
For all I am is in His hand.
Once far away, now brought in near,
The wall is gone, the path made clear;
He is our peace, our cornerstone,
Who makes one people from His own.
Now built together, stone by stone,
A dwelling place for Christ alone;
Once dead in sin, now lifted high—
A masterpiece of God Most High.
Copilot told me that it generated it afresh – it’s not an existing poem. I wouldn’t need AI to put a tune to it, but I could use AI if I needed to.
I just need to do another few thousand, and I’ll be as famous as Fanny Crosby or Charles Wesley 😀. But seriously, what’s stopping me from writing a tune and using my AI hymns for personal devotional use – and to help me to become more familiar with Scripture. Conservative Christians tend to be suspicious of anything new or modern, but I welcome AI. At the 16th Century Reformation, printing was a new technology and think of how helpful that was in making the Bible more accessible to common people. Not everyone was happy with that. William Tyndale was executed for translating the Bible into English.
Anyway, I’ll be kind to my main competitors; Charles Wesley and Fanny Crosby and include some of their hymns 😀:
Hibernia Gospel 