In the last few months, I’ve been blessed to get to know Dana Dirksen, the sister of a friend of ours. At a recent get-together Dana and I had the chance to chat and she told me about her ministry Songs for Saplings.
Dana wanted a way to help her own kids memorize God’s Word. She used the wonderful gift of music that God gave her to set some scripture verses to music and released a CD of those songs – Songs for Saplings: ABC – to her friends and family.
A friend at her church heard her music and suggested that Dana should record a set of CDs putting good theology to music for kids. Based on scripture and the Westminster Catechism, Dana wrote songs to teach answers to big questions we all ask at some point: What is God like? Why did God make me? How did sin start? How is a sinful heart changed? Who will be saved? The “Questions with Answers” series was born!
There is so much good content in these songs but the music is written and performed in a very accessible way – it’s fun for kids and adults. Before you know it, your whole family will have a whole bunch of God’s Word hidden in your hearts and being sung with your mouths! (Read about how one pastor’s family has been using these CDs: Cheerios With a Side of Catechism) Volume 4: The Word of God is now out and there will be two more CDs in this series.
Dana says, “We believe that it is vitally important for kids to memorize God’s Word and to hear deep truths communicated in a way that they can understand. Music is a powerful way to help parents and teachers communicate what they believe to children. Each of our songs contains a Biblical truth, a scripture that supports it, and the reference for the verse. We want to help you train up your children in the way they should go with truths they will always remember.”
Since starting Songs for Saplings, God has taken the Dirksens across the globe to translate and record these songs in other languages. Dana and her husband James have ministered in Zambia and Malawi (pictured below) and recorded an album in the Chichewa language for a people in Malawi who don’t read but instead learn through poetry, story and song. They’ve finished translation work in Polish, are currently working on their first album in Russian and are heading to France in May to record a French album! When Dana and I first talked, we were dreaming about how awesome it would be if they were able to come to Ethiopia and record in Amharic or Oromifa so that the children in our orphanages would learn the Word through song. God knows!
Be sure to listen to samples of the songs here and you can download a CD for free by going to: Free Songs for SaMplings Chords and lyrics are available free on their website here.
Dana is also offering a 25% discount for ‘That We Might Be Adopted’ blog readers who order CD’s from their website Songs For Saplings. Just enter the coupon code YWAM-0403 when you place your order. Churches, schools or mission works receive a 60% discount if you contact this ministry.
Thank you, Dana, for sharing your heart for training up a child and for sharing your gift with us!
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