LOOP COMMUNITY
WRITING SONGS & BOOKS FOR KIDS W / ELLIE HOLCOMB | Matt McCoy
Ellie Holcomb joined Loop Community Founder Matt McCoy to discuss her upcoming album and book ! They also discuss the children ’ s music and books she ’ s written , and tips for songwriting .
SINGING SCRIPTURE
[ Matt ] You ’ re releasing a new book and album All of My Days in April . Tell us about it !
[ Ellie ] On Fridays on Instagram , I started sharing scripture that brought me peace and joy . I was inviting people to hold onto truth , and I realized it really helps to sing it . I started trying to sing scripture to help my kids memorize scripture because it was so helpful for them . So , I decided to write a song for the Psalms I was sharing on Instagram . And more than anything ever people in the comments said please put these on a record . It ’ s been a really sweet thing to get to do that .
The devotional is an invitation to bring your heart into God ’ s Word and the presence of God and look at what will happen . It ’ s 100 days of speaking light into the darkness . All the Psalms in the devotional , will be in the EP All of My Days . What I hope most of all , is for people to bury light and hope in their hearts . So , they don ’ t even have to have a Bible when the darkness comes , it ’ s just recall .
WRITING SONGS AND BOOKS FOR KIDS
[ Matt ] Why and when did you get into writing songs and books for kids ?
[ Ellie ] I was just a Momma . My first book is called You Sang the First Song . I love how curious kids are and I think sometimes we lose that when we grow up . Kids are so unashamed to ask questions . My little girl at four years old came in the kitchen and asked , “ Mom , who sang the first song ?” and then moved on . The question halted me in my tracks , and I didn ’ t know the answer or how I wanted to answer . So , I asked her who she thought . She shrugged her shoulders and said “ Dolly Parton ?” Which was a great answer , but after that question I sat down and wrote my first book .
[ Matt ] So you wrote the book first before the songs ?
[ Ellie ] Yeah , I wrote the book first , and then I was driving around in my minivan running errands and the song of the book came to me , so I pulled over and wrote it . The whole thing is we ’ re all made to sing . Then after I wrote the song for that book , I wrote an EP to help little hearts carry around big truths .
TEACHING YOUR KIDS ABOUT GOD
[ Matt ] Do you have any practices you do with your kids to teach them about God ?
[ Ellie ] There are definitely seasonal things that we do . Every advent we read from the beginning of the Jesus Storybook Bible through the birth of Jesus . That ’ s been pivotal in my kids accepting Jesus into their hearts . We also sing scripture a lot . One of the songs , Ephesians 4:32 , I have a song for that and it ’ s a part of the repair that we practice . The repentance and forgiveness we practice as a family . It sounds more formal than it is , but it is when we ’ re hurting each other , if it ’ s tense with siblings , we ’ ll circle up and sing that song .
Click the video link below to watch the full interview !
Be sure to check out Ellie Holcomb ’ s music and children ’ s books , including her upcoming album All of My Days releasing on April 12 , 2024 .
Matt McCoy Matt is a worship leader , songwriter and Ableton Certified Trainer from Chicago , IL . He has been using Ableton and tracks in worship since 2002 . He ’ s passionate about creating new products and teaching worship leaders and artists how to use technology in live performance . www . LoopCommunity . com 40 April 2024 Subscribe for Free ...