Let peace begin with you

January 3, 2022 | 40 comments

Let There Be Peace on Earth
By Vince Gill

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.

With ev’ry step I take
Let this be my solemn vow
To take each moment and live
Each moment in peace eternally

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.

40 thoughts on “Let peace begin with you”

  1. Good reminder at the beginning of this new year that our peace comes from God and sustains us. Enjoyed the article too, Angie. Thank you both!

  2. Interesting how this song has been front and center in thought for a couple weeks now❣️
    And now amplified!

    Perfect…thanks Evan

    1. Thanks for the link Brenda. This version of the song led me to several others on youtube, so off I went on a lovely journey of seeing/hearing it sung by college groups, church choirs, zoom gatherings, children and more. Tears and Joy.

      This Peace is baked into us by God, we cannot achieve it, we cannot lose it, but we can pray to see more of its unending presence revealed. So much love to all of you!

  3. Thank you . I love this hymn and think of it often. Another hymn I’ve been cherishing is I am Holding You by Susan Mack.

    Is there a God, a mind beside Me?
    There’s no other god, none else to see!
    I am the first, and I am the last,
    I comm and creation, creation stands fast!

    Chorus
    I am holding you, I am knowing you,
    I am minding you, and causing you.
    I am blessing you, and cherishing you,
    My own image, expression, reflection so true.

    I am in control of all I create
    My works are true, My thoughts are great,
    And you are embraced in such infinite care,
    No thought goes astray, no moment of fear.

    Chorus

    My power and strength are a law to each day,
    I’m guiding and guarding each step of the way.
    No accident, chance, untoward event
    Can ever disturb My all good intent.

    Chorus

    I take unto me my great power and I reign.
    I govern creation without stress or strain
    I delight in the glory of all that I am
    And you are the joy I’m reflecting as man.

    Chorus

  4. I
    Peace is Spiritual poise.
    Spiritual poise is needed in all
    situations.

    My teacher said grace is
    Spiritual poise.
    Living grace-filled is true
    gratitude, and that is peace.
    Not always easy but needed
    worldwide.

    A grateful heart a garden is, Where there
    is always room For every lovely, Godlike
    grace To come to perfect bloom.
    Ethel Wasgatt

    Thanks Evan.
    I haven’t read the articles yet. I hope I’m not
    repeating.

  5. What a wonderful way to start 2022- the New and Improved Year! I am grateful for the replay if the song and have sent it to family and friends to enjoy. Bless you all.
    Much love from Honolulu, Hawaii

  6. Good morning, and thank you to all!
    I’ve been thinking about the first song, and the one Debbie sent, as reminders that peace on Earth begins with peace with oneself, as a loved child of God.
    Wishing grace-filled peace to all, and all within the radius of our thoughts this day and every day.

  7. Thank you, Evan. Have loved this song ever since I learned it in high school as part of the American Field Society. And Vince Gill recorded it beautifully much more recently. But it was written by Jill Jackson according to the CS Hymnal #521.

    1. Thanks Jan, I looked it up and yes this wonderful song was written in 1955 by husband and wife songwriters Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller. This is the inspiring background I found on songfacts.com:

      –“The Millers wrote the tune in California during a mountain retreat with a diverse group of teens, but Jill was inspired a decade earlier after emerging from a dark period in her life. She explained to NPR’s Humankind: “When I attempted suicide [in 1944] and I didn’t succeed, I knew for the first time unconditional love – which God is. You are totally loved, totally accepted, just the way you are. In that moment I was not allowed to die, and something happened to me, which is very difficult to explain. I had an eternal moment of truth, in which I knew I was loved, and I knew I was here for a purpose.”–

      1. Thanks so much Jan and Rose for the credit to the songwriters. As one myself I have found that algorithms (I suspect ) attribute the writing to whomever sang it most recently. It’s s wonderful song and the background information is valuable. Much appreciated

  8. ABSOLUTELY LOVE this Song! Dang it a lot growing up…It was a nice Reminder! I broke out singing it to my Husband this AM…after our study of the Bible Lesson…I think it was a Shocker! LOL Great start to 2022…

    Let there be PEACE on Earth
    And let it BEGIN WITH ME

    THANK YOU! Wishing you all ABUNDANT BLESSINGS FOR 2022…It is going to be a EPIC Year!

  9. I love the song and the message! I make this my daily mission, to spread peace, love, and harmony wherever possible. And when I lapse, I go back and make correction whenever possible. As Evan says, Love, love, love! The mission statement for every moment of every day.

  10. May the promise and fulfillment of Christmas stay with you all each day and throughout the New Year!

  11. I have always loved this song and knowing how it came about is such a great example of God’s protective Love and message of truth to everyone. Thanks Rose and Evan for the subject of this blog. Happy 2022

  12. I sang for many years with a 50 voice choir, aptly named the Seattle Peace Chorus. This is one of our standards, and it’s been gratifying how the powerful sentiment has permeated around the world. While perspectives may vary, the understanding that God is Father to all brings healing to our global family. A lovely reminder!

  13. Thank you for sharing this hymn and the musical versions of it. I remember a time when I was a soloist at church and sang this hymn as a solo. One of the congregation (a practitioner) said she thought “Oh, no. Not that”. But after listening to the beautiful words, she was so grateful to get an inspirational view of it. God has given us such beautiful resources throughout His world. May we all be inspired to use and appreciate the blessings we have and so be fit to receive more. Happy New Year to all.

    1. I too sang this song as a solo over the years I was soloist a branch churches and a rural society. It was questioned at first but became a favorite in light of its spiritual meaning. Love is reflected in Love.

  14. Thank you for all the above thoughts ,article and poem referrals. What a glorious feast to start the 1st week of a New Year. Many thanks and blessings to you Evan and everyone❣️

  15. So a huge thank you to all who shared so much added inspiration to Evan’s sharing!
    I especially appreciate the ideas shared by the songs’s author about her attempted suicide failure and all the inspiration gained bc of that experience, as I was first tempted with that aggressive suggestion way back in junior high and quite worried my dear Mum about regretfully I believe mostly stemming from bullying by an older boy which I don’t believe I ever shared even with her for some reason. Anyway, grateful to say I was protected and still here decades later!
    Read a recent organizations newsletter that contained these words that bear repeating I believe as a kind of prayer for 2022
    May all be fed
    May all be healed.
    May all be loved.
    God bless us Everyone in 2022 and beyond!

  16. Thank you Evan , I look forward to Spirit view every day , I try to make it the first thing I read, and thank you Angie , you always post very good articles

  17. How wonderful, love that poem. And it is needed. I experienced it today in a supermarket. A young man in a cew did not let me before him although there was a wide open space. I said , well we should start the year with kindness. He did not react. So I stood wide behind him and thought, He is a kind child of God. . Yes, peace starts with us!
    Thank you Even, for that lovely poem starting the New Year!
    And yes Bill, it is also for me the first spiritual nourishment I take in deeply in the morning.

  18. Ah yes, what a fine musician.
    Thank you for all the comments today.
    Keep eyes, ears and thought open this year.

  19. I can hear the pretty melody for this song in my head – a lilting melody that builds at the end. Thank you for the thought . My favorite Christmas card this year was of a few cats and dogs sitting atop Christmas ornaments and the inscription was Peace on Earth! Happy New Year to you!

  20. Vince Gill recorded this song in 1993, but is not the author. It was written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller and copyrighted in 1955. The backstory: One summer evening in 1955, a group of 180 teenagers of all races and religions, meeting at a workshop high in the California mountains, locked arms, former a circle and sang a song of peace. They felt that singing the song, with its simple basic sentiment – :Let there be peace on earth, and let it been with me,” helped to create a climate for world peace and understanding. They began sharing it and began an amazing journey around the globe. The original group was the International Children’s Choir, Long Beach.

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