Table of Plenty
By Dan Schutte
With all 15 songs in Table of Plenty, Dan sets a table for us where we can all rejoice and feast on God’s blessings!
This collection presents songs that spread a joyful mood, such as “Table of Plenty,” with upbeat, inviting tunes from Dan’s guitar, and “Join in the Dance,” a festive favorite that celebrates the journey from shame to glory with the risen Lord. “Hosanna to the Son of David” features a spirited style, the jingle of a tambourine, percussion and string instruments set the perfect mood on Palm Sunday. “Sing, O Sing” becomes a mighty tune with drums and trumpets that not only fill our senses, but also fill the skies, inviting us to dance at the feast of thanksgiving to the powerful God for all the blessings that overflow us every night and day.
“Let Us Go to the Altar” is another example of Dan using his musical gifts, and an abundant number of music instruments, to sing God's greatness. And “Lives Brought Together” is a beloved musical piece to cheerfully ask God to bless a union between a man and a woman.
With “Give Thanks to the Lord” and “For the Beauty,” Dan gracefully reminds us to thank God for his gifts of mercy, love, shelter and kindness, and those blessings found in the world: the beauty of the land, the skies and the nature that surrounds us.
The collection also includes several easygoing songs with a choir that gives life to Dan’s lyrics. “Like Cedars They Shall Stand” lets us rejoice in the fact that we can sing to our God, thanking him for his kindness and love. “My Soul Thirsts” and “Ever on My Lips” peacefully remind us that we, as Catholics, need to experience moments of thirst and patience “like a song that fills my day, the Lord is close to those who wait.”
Through “Holy Darkness,” Dan gracefully inspires us to be strong believers, knowing that God is also with us at night, trusting that grief and affliction are also moments where we can find God’s love because his answer to our prayers is sometimes hidden in the silence or the storm.
The collection culminates pleasingly with the songs “Christ, Circle Round Us”, where a piano presents a soothing background to the voices expressing that Christ now fills our hearts with love and light, and if there is ever a moment to be thankful it is now -- as sung in “River of Glory”, for the glory of God overflows our lives. “Lover of Us All” is the ideal song to finish this collection, when we as children of God acknowledge that talks to us, protects, guides, heals and loves us every day.