August 9th, 2008 by michaeljames

Dear Friends,
Thank you for visiting www.fortydaysofpraise.com This was a project that was started in 2007 as a part of my lenten sacrifice. Each day of lent, I posted a new worship song, lead sheet, and tutorial video as a resource for worship leaders. I have been overwhelmed by the response of this endeavor, as the site has had over 50,000 unique visits in the past two years. The scope of the project was always limited to the forty days of lent for the year 2007. Up until now, all the songs have remained archived on this site. You are still able to access the songs through CCLI and the videos remain on youtube, but the original posts have been deleted.

My desire to provide a resource for worship leaders was then projected onto a related ministry www.modernpsalter.com. Modern Psalter is dedicated to providing the Church with contemporary psalms, verbatim from the Catholic Lectionary. These psalms are designed for liturgical use—download them and use them at your church. Each psalm comes with a PDF songsheet and MP3 recording. It is only through the generosity of my collaborators that Modern Psalter is able to make a three-year commitment to post weekly psalms. Please visit, utilize, and support this ministry.

Personally, God has sent great opportunities my way. Since this project’s inception, I have recorded an EP, “Consume My Heart” and moved across the country to work as a full-time youth music minister in St. Louis. I am currently working on another studio album, which is due to release in January of 2010. Recently I have had opportunities to share the Gospel message with teens throughout the nation. I have dedicated a separate website to my personal music ministry. Please visit www.michaeljamesmette.com. You will find recent photos, videos, and a preview of some of the tracks that will be on the new album.

This lent, I have taken a leave of absence from my job at South Side Youth Ministry to tour for the “forty days of praise.” My goal is to play live in 40 different locations (churches, colleges, youth groups, coffee shops, etc.) in order to share the Gospel with as many people as possible. My excitement is overflowing as more and more of the dates are getting booked and lent approaches. My intention is to use this website as a complement to the tour, sharing the preparation and blessings along the journey.

Thanks for you interest and may God bless your work!

peace,
mjm