Proving that nothing is ever wasted – even on 3ABN

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I don’t watch much television – and unless it’s “Lost” or “The Office” or my daily dose of “Good Morning America,” I am content to leave the TV off. I don’t have cable – just bunny ears – and from what I hear, I will be forced to buy some sort of converter box come February when the entire nation switches to digital.

[We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Just know that, what with my current financial state and strong aversion to change, it’s probably going to be ugly. Prepare yourself.]

But the bunny ear antenna isn’t so bad – I get all of the basics (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Fox), plus whatever that channel is that plays dinnertime reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Also, blame it on living in the Bible Belt, but I get at least 5 Christian channels.

For free. Just like salvation.

In flipping through stations, I rarely, RARELY, stop on one of these channels – which typically feature a sweaty televangelist, or an alarmingly plastic preacher, or smiley children in overalls singing “He Has Made Me Glad.” But the other night, in the midst of flipping, I stopped on 3ABN (that would be the Three Angels Broadcasting Network) while I walked into the other room to get the popcorn out of the microwave. When I walked back out, this was playing:

And there, in the face of a cheesy living room set and unglamorous musicians, I was spellbound. This woman’s voice is GORGEOUS. And what are they singing? William Cowper’s “There Is a Fountain” – the hymn that killed the spicket.

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10 Comments

  1. Rebecca on October 9, 2008 at 8:42 AM

    Wow. That was GORGEOUS. My favorite part was close to the end when the piano dropped out and it was a cappella. Mmmm….

    xo

  2. Greta on October 9, 2008 at 9:12 AM

    Isn’t there some Bible verse that talks about the danger of dismissing words, based solely on their source? As in… children have good things to say; don’t dismiss them just because they’re children?

    When I first started listening to the song/watching the video, I thought, “Oh, gag me. Christian TV? This shmaltzy stuff is representing my faith, and how many people are disgusted because of it?”

    And then I listened to the song. And remembered that God has spoken through all kinds of strange entities before. And even if I don’t like Christian Televangelism, that was beautiful. And how many people are edified because of it…?

  3. Hope on October 9, 2008 at 4:01 PM

    i saw the still for the video and was ready for a good ‘ole christian television laugh fest, but this is beautiful!

    totally having a moment with jesus at my desk right now. :)

  4. Deborah Barnett on October 9, 2008 at 9:54 PM

    Did you ever find out who she is?

  5. Tad on October 9, 2008 at 10:59 PM

    Wow!
    You guys have all just seen proof that God can use ANYTHING, no matter how corny, weird, broken, lame, or unattractive it is on the outside. That woman was singing from her heart and it was beautiful.
    Annie, I think that’s why we all love to hear you sing. It’s because you also sing from your heart and God makes it beautiful.

  6. Greta on October 10, 2008 at 2:58 AM

    (And also because it’s objectively beautiful.)

  7. Annie Parsons on October 10, 2008 at 7:50 AM

    Haha, thanks Greta. :)

  8. kimberly on October 10, 2008 at 4:59 PM

    i want to be friends with the man that’s singing.

  9. Anonymous on October 10, 2008 at 10:19 PM

    The song is beautiful. The girl singing is blind. Her name is Stephanie Dawn I think.

  10. [not the] Best Blog Ever on October 13, 2008 at 8:32 AM

    Thanks for posting this. One of my favorite hymns of all time!

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