It has been a while since Tonya's last album "We Cry Out", and "Seasons" is on it's way, but in the meantime she poured her heart into another project. "HYMNS: His Grace Untold" is a collection of hymns accompanied by guitar and vocal. In a way it is a throw-back to a simpler time and place. It is Tonya's hope that as you take in the familiar you will be awakened to the Truths that these songs hold.

Often times we think of hymns as old, out of touch and even put them aside because they are not as cutting edge as what others might be playing, but there is a simplicity and even complexity to be found in hymns that is lacking in some of today's modern worship. Hymns are rich in Biblical truth, they tend not to focus

HYMNS: His Grace Untold
© 2008 Tonya Betz Ministries

so much on our feelings and hopes and dreams, as they do on who God is and who we are in relation to Him.

HYMNS: His Grace Untold came out of a deep longing for Truth in worship. In John 4:24, the Bible reads that we must worship in spirit and in truth, but so often we find ourselves in a place that is man-made and at times contrived all in the name of truth. For years Tonya struggled with leading worship and participating in worship teams because of this "false" sense of worship. She began to really search her heart and ask the questions: What is worship? and how are we to worship? What she found was simple.

Worship is your life. It is not a song, no matter how aesthetically pleasing it is to the ear or your heart, and it is not one action for one time. As Tonya began to find the deeper meaning of worship, she began to see life in a different way. Instead of approaching music and "worship" songs as our act of worship, she could see that these were just another aspect of our worship to God. She began to understand the value of doctrine and music being used in tandem -- spirit and truth. When we have right doctrine we have right worship. We are not accidentally worshipping ourselves, our emotions, or even idolizing something we shouldn't (e.g., angels), rather we are focusing on the truth of God and His Word. There are many songs new and old that can be worshipful, but for this occasion Tonya chose hymns -- specifically, hymns of grace. An album devoted to hymns was bound to make it out of Tonya at some point, given that she was raised singing them, but this time of reflection and revelation expedited the process. For album tracks click HERE.