Rebecca St. James has plenty to be thankful for.
Her talents allow her to create music that inspires, encourages and worships. However, there’s something else she’s grateful for right now — and it’s thanks to you.
“I’m very supportive of everyone in Iraq and [servicemembers] around the world. They are really fighting for our freedom … They are awesome,” the 26-year-old Christian pop/rock singer said. “Thank you so much.”
To help express her gratitude to the troops, St. James has remixed her song “I Thank You” and created an accompanying video.
“It was a song that was written as a thank you song for God. … It seemed to be very fitting,” she said.
The new version of the upbeat song begins with a prayer for the troops as they are at war. It adds clips from President Bush and regular Americans expressing thanks to troops for their efforts.
Americans’ desire to show support for the troops “was really something that seemed to come very naturally out of a need,” said St. James, who was born in Australia but now lives in the United States.
“I think the sentiment was that sometimes, when they’re out there working, they aren’t sure what their home country is thinking or feeling,” she said. “Especially with this particular war, there was a lot of confusion about how supported they actually were.”
You can listen to the track or see the video at St. James’ Web site. Go to: http://rsjames.com/media and select “albums” or “video.”
The remix is only one of St. James’ recent projects.
She recently released “Wait For Me: The Best From Rebecca St. James.”
The CD contains 18 songs, among them “I Thank You,” the edgy “God” and last year’s worship hit “Song of Love.”
St. James also has been working on the follow-up to her first book, “Wait For Me: Rediscovering the Joys of Purity in Romance.”
Finally, she’s been preparing to play a role based on Mary Magdalene in the upcoming rock opera “!Hero,” which will tour later this fall.
There will be more on that in a few weeks.
On the charts
Top contemporary Christian albums as reported by SoundScan, according to The Associated Press:
1. “Worship Together: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever,” Various Artists.2. “Almost There,” MercyMe.3. “Throne Room,” CeCe Winans.4. “Stacie Orrico,” Stacie Orrico.5. “The Beautiful Letdown,” Switchfoot.6. “WOW Worship (Yellow),” Various Artists.7. “A Capella,” Gaither Vocal Band.8. “Fields of Grace,” Big Daddy Weave.9. “iWorsh!p A Total Worship Experience Vol. 2,” Various Artists.10. “Spoken For,” MercyMe.— Today’s Praise is a roundup of news and reviews from the contemporary Christian music industry. It appears every other week on the Religion page.
