As promised, I’d like to give a bit of additional background on how my songs came to be.  Lord, Accept our Offering was written during a difficult period in my life.  I was a first-year teacher and a new father, and when I did get the rare opportunity to write, my work was generally uninspired.

To relieve some stress, I decided to begin writing hymns in each of the common meters.  I arbitrarily started with 7-5-7-5 meter and jotted down the text, beginning it as a hymn specifically about fasting.  I jotted down the first sketch of the hymn in Sacrament Meeting one Sunday.  As it developed, I wrote the first three verses, called the text complete, and forgot about it for a while.

I later rediscovered the lyrics in my pocket.  The fourth verse was added during revision, while I was writing the music.  7-5-7-5 meter makes for quite short verses, so I wanted a simple, memorable tune with uncomplicated harmonies.  I wrote the music during my lunch breaks at the school where I taught.  I was teaching in a modular building at the time, so I enjoyed a great degree of solitude.  The hymn brought me comfort as I wrote and sang it.