Listening for God: A Sibling’s Journey After AU
BY REBEKAH HISLE ’24
2 MIN. READ
Upon graduating from Anderson University in the early 2000s, siblings Ally West and Anna Hodge started the musical group Alanna Story.
West graduated in 2009 with a degree in communications while Hodge graduated the next year with a degree in English and fine arts.
While at AU, West was involved in the ministry 10:07, participated in chapel worship, and led Vision Revision. By combining English and fine arts, Hodge focused on songwriting in college. Both sisters found a community of believers at Anderson University that allowed them to fall into Alanna Story.
The group began in 2008 while they were playing at Anderson. Their first producer, an AU alumnus, was standing in the audience.
In 2016, Alanna Story released “We Hymn,” an album of reimagined hymns. On the album is the Church of God heritage song, “I Am The Lord’s I Know.”
Recently, Alanna Story, along with their brother Stewart Long, published “I Am The Lord’s I Know Children’s Book.” The lyrics from the song serve as the words of the book accompanying Long’s illustrations.
The sisters said this book was “in-season” for them in their current stage of life as moms.
Although labeled as a children’s book, “I Am The Lord’s I Know” is meant to bridge a generational gap. The sisters say that as moms reading to their children, they hope others can read this book to their children or grandchildren.
This is the same vision of the “We Hymn” album, to connect the new generations to old-fashioned hymns. Hodge said, “[The book is] bridging a generational gap because it’s targeted for the kid, but you have to have somebody older to be able to relay it, which was the whole heart of the hymn album.”
The sisters have seen the reaction to the song “I Am The Lord’s I Know” internationally. West remembers, “The chorus of it says, ‘I won’t be afraid. I’m the Lord’s I know.’ And it sort of was a tag that seemed really fitting for younger children.”
Because so many younger people wrestle with fear, Hodge’s inspiration came from asking questions, “What’s God saying? And how can we bring those kinds of revelations into like, practical, artistic expression?”
With their six released recording projects and now the children’s book, West said, “We always have said it’s been our journey with the Lord, and that’s where we write from. That’s where I think most of what we’ve done is inspired.”
Rebekah Hisle is a senior from Saint Joseph, Mich., majoring in public relations and minoring in writing and sport marketing. Hisle is an associate with Fifth Street Communications®, a student-run public relations agency at Anderson University.
Anderson University is on a mission to educate students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 60 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized among top colleges for its business, computer science, cybersecurity, dance, engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs. Anderson University was established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God.