Fire Music

I've been listening to some new bands lately, which is something that only happens like once every ten years maybe (add it up, I've only been alive for seventeen years......yeah, this has never happened to me before). It's interesting, that's the only way I can describe it. Before I was into Skillet so much that I didn't allow for new bands to take root in my heart. Now that I'm over my obsessive Skillet phase (it lasted for four years at least), I can allow other songs by other artists to have some meaning to me. If you're really that interested, my new musical diet consists of Fm Static, Stellar Kart, The Letter Black, Lecrae, and Matt Maher mostly. My mom's going to roll her eyes, but we will be focusing on Matt Maher for the remainder of this blog.

Another thing that has been changing along with my musical intake is my relationship with God. I have really been desiring God's word like I never have before. It's crazy, I'll be in church and something will become so clear, like someone had their hands over my eyes and now the hands are gone, and I'll want to shout or something. Every time I open the Word, it's like another piece of the puzzle is slowly being crafted, fitted, painted, and finally placed in the proper place. Then I can see God's plan or his love as a whole, how he was indeed faithful again, and I fall a little deeper in love with him.

Why did all this awesomeness start happening after I stopped obsessing over Skillet?

So anyway, I've been listening to Matt Maher after I saw him in concert. I had no idea who he was, and honestly, with Thousand Foot Krutch yet to hit the stage, I didn't want to know. But I was drawn in by the sincere worship coming out of this guy, and how can I not want to worship my God! Check it:



Yes, I'm just showing off my pictures, thank you for asking. Long story short, I decided to pick up his album sometime in the near future. Well, I just did that very thing this past Saturday, and it was worth my money.

His worship is different than most contemporary Christin artists. Most of the time, I find myself listening to K-Love or some other Christian radio station, and I agree with everything the lyrics say, but it's....shallow. If I'm going to listen to something slower, it needs to have some, some, what's the word, *makes squeezing motion with hands*, muchness. Ugh, why did I say that? I hate that movie.

What I'm trying to say is Matt Maher challenges me. It sounds to me like most artists on K-Love are speaking to the unbeliever, or perhaps the believer who is feeling like giving up. Matt Maher (can he make his name easier to type?) seems to be talking more to me, as someone who is on a God high right now, wondering how I can get more of him. "We lift high, the banner of the cross! There is no greater love than this, no love but this. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, there is no greater love than this, no love but his!" Yes! I want to shout that to some guy on the street or something, you know? It's a matter of getting even more excited, even more in love, even more on fire. Because I am doing pretty good right now, but I know I can be better. I know there is more love and fire in me, waiting to get out.

"Sing, sing for faith. Sing for hope. Sing for what great love has done. What was lost, he has found. Shout it out!" HAA! There it is, the shouting! I knew I wasn't the only one.

For me, right now, being on fire is a matter of attitudes toward my family, getting my chores done, doing the best I can in school, and giving all my effort in the worship team. Do I always enjoy doing it? No, but it's becoming easier, like I'm building some muscles. Sometimes I'm sore, and I don't feel like using those muscles, but God reminds me how good I feel when I tell my mom I love her, when my school's completely finished, when I put that last load of laundry away, when I see someone with their hands raised to the Lord, and suddenly, it's not so hard.