Leah Mari's "All I Have Needed" - A Review

Leah Mari has the remarkable potential to bridge the generation gap of those who only listen to traditional hymns and those who wish to be reintroduced to the classic hymns. Her slower songs embody the concept of elegant simplicity with the simplistic instrumental background. This allows for empathize on the lyrics. In the more upbeat (or fuller sounding) hymns, the organ is replaced with more contemporary praise and worship instruments without being offensive to the more traditional or contemporary audience. As a special treat, I would say, in the inside cover of her album, she saus how each song speaks to her. I love when artists do this. 

Leah goes a step farther when giving credit to the hymns. In some cases she reveals a little of the story of how the hymn came to be.
Here is just a tease of this gifted musician...

PLAY - ALL CREATURES

"I love the way St. Francis explains how creation praises God. One of my favorite line from the song is, 'Thou rising moon in praise rejoice, y lights of heaven find a voice. ' As a mother of four, I have the tendency to not take the time to look up between taking the kids to school and putting them to bed. For me, this song is a reminder that creation is proclaiming the glory of God. To see it, all I have to do is look around. David writes in Psalms 19, 'The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.' I encourage you, when life gets busy - take a moment to look around and join creation in praising Him." Leah Mari

All Creatures: words by Francis of Assisi sometime around 1225 but was not published for close to 400 years. Translated to English for a children's festival by William H. Draper, the song first appeared in a public school hymnal in 1919.