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After you’ve heard “The Jubilee Singers, Parts 1, 2, & 3,” check out this devotional thought. (If you haven’t heard the episode, check out the Media Player. You can also find a station in your area.)

The Jubilee Singers today

By Catherine Wilson

The Jubilee Singers sang songs like “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” and “The Gospel Train.” Have you ever sang songs like those or “This Train is Bound for Glory,” “Children Go Where I Send Thee,” or “Go Tell It on the Mountain?” I always loved these songs, but for a long time, I didn’t know their history. Christians wrote them in slavery many years ago. When these songs were created they weren’t written down, but they were sung over and over, and memorized.

Now that I know the story behind the music, I like to think that by singing these songs, I have a connection to the authors, and the other Christians who’ve sung them. Now I can sing “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and remember that one-hundred-fifty years ago, Christians were just as excited about Christ’s birth as I am now, even though they were in slavery.

It’s so special to sing these songs because we are brothers and sisters in Christ with the authors of the songs we sing. By singing, we can praise God with brothers and sisters from all different walks of life. And by knowing the history of these songs, we can sing them with even more enthusiasm because we know why they were written!

What are some of your favorite church songs? Do you know their history? Let us know in the comments below!

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Bob and Jesse celebrate one hundred episodes over almost four years of podcasting.

Download this episode to your computer.

Cards from our fans!

Audio greetings from fellow podcasters!

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Audio clip from Album 52 episode: “Stage Fright”

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After you’ve heard “Grandma’s Visit,” check out this devotional thought. (If you haven’t heard the episode, check out the Media Player. You can also find a station in your area.)

Dinner?

By Catherine Wilson

In “Grandma’s Visit,” when the Parker family got to know their strange relatives, it sounded a little too familiar to me. I took some unusual vacations when I was a kid. While other kids were going to Disney World or to a cabin on a lake, I was going to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house. When I got there, the table was always set with raw hamburger, cabbage boiled in lemon juice, hummus, spinach turnovers, and mashed garbanzo beans. These are the kinds of foods that my grandparents ate on a regular basis! After watching all the adults eat this strange dinner and eating all the plain rice that I could stand, it was time for me to do the dishes. Who would call this a vacation?

My grandpa has since died and my grandma can’t cook by herself anymore. And guess what? I really miss those big meals at Grandma and Grandpa’s. At the time, I spent way too long complaining to myself about the weird food. Now I look back and miss the good conversations, and the fun games that I played with my cousins.

You’ll never guess how I connect with my Grandma now. I’ve decided that I really like all that “weird food” now (well, except for raw hamburger). When I go see my Grandma I ask her to help me make stuffed cabbage, hummus, and spinach turn-overs. I never would have thought of those “weird foods” as something I would like, not to mention make it for myself and my friends!

I’ve realized that I love my family, especially the “weird” stuff. That’s really what makes them unique and special. Just like the Parkers, it took me a while to realize how cool my weird family was.

Do you have any unusual family traditions? What does your family do to stay connected? Let us know in the comments below.

As we begin 2012, it’s a good time to look back at 2011 and revisit events of the past year. Go back in time with the Adventures in Odyssey Timeline, filled with almost 25 years of wonder, excitement, and discovery. What events will be added to the calendar in 2012? Stay tuned to the Official Adventures in Odyssey podcast to find out!

Start with reviewing the events of 2011.

NOTE: OdysseyScoop.com is a fan website and not affiliated with Focus on the Family.

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Hope Levy

Hope Levy (voice of Olivia) talks about her singing, acting younger than she is, and her favorite Odyssey episode.

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