At midnight Thursday night—the first minute of Friday—our next song releases to music-streaming services: “Don’t Sing Me Your Blues (Psalm 18).”
The title may sound a little tough. But the song is really about hope.
Psalm 18 is an old song credited to David, a man who knew fear, loss, danger, and loneliness. He called out to God when he couldn’t handle life by himself. And he said God heard him.
That’s the soul of this song. When trouble comes—and it does—we don’t have to welcome it into our lives, give it the guest bedroom, and feed it three meals a day. We can tell God we don’t want it. We can ask others for help, too. We can push forward in our lives.
The music starts with acoustic guitar and grows from there, adding drums, guitars, and male and female voices. It’s not trying to knock down a wall. It’s trying to sit with someone who is having a hard day and remind that person: this is not the end of your story.
Here’s a short preview:
Critics: A few honest reactions
Before a song comes out, I sometimes send it to playlist curators, people who build online playlists. They listen to songs and decide whether a song belongs with the very specific kind of music their listeners expect.
I enjoy comments from people who accept the songs, of course. But I also appreciate honest comments from people who decide the song is not a fit for their playlist. A song can be good and still not be the right song for every room in the hotel.
Here are a few responses that caught my attention.
“The warm vocal tone and natural delivery give the song a really inviting feel. I enjoyed the acoustic guitar work and catchy melodic phrasing, especially how smoothly the instrumental layers support the vocal without making the arrangement feel crowded. The production feels clean while keeping an organic character throughout.” — Melodify Records, which added the song to its playlist
“Your song is great and this would be a perfect fit for our playlist — Nice job!” — Eric Champlin, Top Christian Hits 2026 [over 100,000 followers]
“Hello Stephen thanks for sharing this track. I enjoyed listening and I’m adding it to Fresh Acoustic Indie Folk & Pop.” — CazMusic
One curator thought the song took too long to reach its biggest moment. But even that review noticed what I hoped listeners would hear:
“The guitar solos bring a very beautiful moment to the composition, as does the female vocal entrance… adding sensitivity and a new dimension to the track. However, we feel it lacks a climax earlier on.” Signed as simply “The.”
Another curator said the Christian message, the writing, and the production all worked, but the song did not fit a playlist built around beach-country music. That’s fair enough, I guess. But I’d play it on the beach. I’d play it while I teach. I’d teach it as a song. I’d sing it all day long.
No, I wouldn’t. But I just couldn’t resist the rhyme.
I’m grateful for all the curators who responded and will in the days ahead.
Next-gen Ezekiel atlas
I just finished updating our Ezekiel Atlas. This update is an experiment. I’m trying to create a template for the next generation of Bible book atlases.
As we’ve done with Ezekiel, we’re going to upgrade the maps we think could use it. We’ll add illustrations when we think they would help. And we’re adding more background material to most of the maps.
Ezekiel can be a hard book to picture in our minds. Much of it takes place after Babylonian invaders deported people from Judah, an ancient kingdom in what is now the Holy Land (Israel and Palestinian Territories). Many were exiled to what is now Iraq, Babylon’s homeland.
These maps can help you get your feet on the ground. They show where people lived, where they were taken, and the world behind the words.
The updated Ezekiel Atlas is the experimental model for the next generation of our Bible Book Atlases. We are making them clearer, fuller, and easier to use—whether you are teaching a class, preparing a sermon, or simply reading the Bible at home.
To see every page in the atlas, go to the following Casual English Bible page and click the tab
Take a look. Click Ezekiel Atlas and select the tab, “Preview Every Map.”
Over 400 single maps, when you need just one
Big atlases are useful. But sometimes all you need is one map for one story in one chapter, for one Bible lesson.
That’s why we have been steadily adding individual Bible maps. We now have 414 of them, and counting.
Search for the available single maps on the Casual English Bible’s Single Bible Maps page.
You can download one for a Sunday school class, a sermon, a small-group discussion, or your own study. You can put it on a screen in PowerPoint or Proclaim, for sermons in the local church; for streamed or broadcast sermons, you’ll need an affordable license. With that, you can print it out and pass it around the class.
The goal is simple: when you come to a place in the Bible with geography going on, we want to help you see it.
Fixing glitches in the paraphrase
We are continuing to proofread the Casual English Bible. That means carefully going through the Bible, line by line, to catch mistakes and make sure the writing is clear and consistent.
It is slow work and tedious. It is not glamorous work. But it matters.
We are raising money book by book so every part of the Casual English Bible can receive the same careful attention. Bible books are available to sponsor for proofreading.
If you decide to help, you will be helping us take another solid step toward completing this project.
Sponsor a Bible book or chapter for proofreading.
A new song.
A better atlas for Ezekiel.
Over 400 individual Bible maps for instant download.
And another step forward in getting the Casual English Bible® proofread.
Thanks for making the journey with us.
—Steve
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