Tag Archives: control

Message Mondays – Tenth Avenue North – Control (AILO Remix) / Control (Acoustic)

Reunion Records/Provident Label Group

Release Date: March 9th 2018 [Control (AILO Remix)] / March 16th 2018 [Control (Acoustic)]

Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre

Tenth Avenue NorthControl (AILO Remix) (iTunes/Amazon mp3) / Control (Acoustic) (iTunes/Amazon mp3)

Track Listing:

  1. Control (AILO Remix)
  2. Control (Acoustic)

If you were to ask me which song has snuck up on me in the last year or so, I’d say ‘Control’. Yes, ‘Control’ from Tenth Avenue North’s 2016 album Followers. And while I may have thought that a song with much more radio marketability, like ‘Revival’ (Third Day), ‘Love Won’t Let Me Down’ (Y&F), ‘Even If’ (MercyMe) or ‘He Still Does’ (Hawk Nelson) would’ve impacted me within these last few months, this certainly wasn’t the case…and I’m glad for it. Because ‘Control’ is a track and a song that vulnerably speaks to the heart on the subject of…yes, you guessed it- control and the need of rest, and the ability to set everything down and give things to God that we have held onto for far too long- a theme that is very much relevant and necessary to hear about as society is in its current economic and political state. And as I have been hearing this song more and more within the last year, I have had the privilege of the Lord speaking to me about a few things.

Continue reading Message Mondays – Tenth Avenue North – Control (AILO Remix) / Control (Acoustic)

Message Mondays: The Power and Need of Rest

To rest in today’s culture almost seems foreign to practically everyone. There I said it. We as a human race do not know how to just be still and have a rest. We’re always constantly on the go. Whether it is moving from one task to the next, having multiple jobs, being parents, thinking about work at home on your days off…whatever the case, to carve out that time for intentional rest when all we’re doing is just thinking about nothing and just enjoying life for just what God intended for us to do, we almost need to be intentional about the rest we so desperately ache for, need and is a necessity for us to survive this crazy thing called life. Because without rest and without times where we enjoy life just because, we’d go crazy. This life is busy enough as it is. The pressure of performance, the pressure of keeping up with the joneses, the pressure in keeping up with fashions and trends, of being up to date on social media and making sure that everyone in the household is taken care of…you get the picture. If we just don’t take a step back and just assess our lives and think about what needs to be changed and what needs to be altered for us to have a happier and healthier lifestyle, then we’re just going to continue along the path towards the erosion of family values, relationships and sanity, all at the betterment of increased economic productivity in mainstream society.

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MESSAGE MONDAYS – FOLLOWERS

Quite arguably one of the best bands that CCM has to offer, Tenth Avenue North started their career on Reunion Records way back in 2008 with their chart topping album Over and Underneath. Now 8 years and another 4 albums later, we see the quintet release one of their most emotive and encouraging albums to date, Followers. One of the most underrated and heartfelt bands over the last 5 years, Mike Donehey, lead singer, has always had something great to communicate across to us all through video devotionals about the band’s songs over the years. And while their most recent 2014 album Cathedrals only spawned 2 devotional videos (of their singles “No Man is an Island” and “Stars in the Night”), as opposed to the 5 from The Struggle (“Losing”, “Where Life Would Never Die”, “The Struggle”, “You Do All Things Well” and “Worn”), we are nevertheless blessed with what the band have to say for these two tracks. “No Man Is an Island” was a reminder to always live in community with one another, as we remember that we were never meant to live our lives outside of fellowship and relationship with our fellow man- we were meant for community just as God Himself is a community (of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit); while “Stars in the Night” was also a comfort- that as we focus our eyes on Jesus and remind ourselves that in the darkest of nights; it is the stars, or rather, the One who created the stars, that will lead us on, from despair into hope, from uncertainty into moments of clarity, from indecisiveness to direction and focus.

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Sentimental Saturdays and Message Mondays (Control, and How The Story of Relinquishing Control is the Best One to Ever Tell and Be a Part Of)

Every time when you hit the hay, you think about control. How the next day is going to pan out, how you want it to go, how you want events to proceed. Call it what you want, I see it as trying to control the next day as much as possible, trying to make the day go ‘as according to your plan’ as much as possible. And I don’t think that it is that terrible, I mean, God did make us as wanting to make sure that we’re concerned about our future. Thinking about our future can be beneficial in some senses, as it puts our present life into perspective and makes us realise that our everyday worries shouldn’t be that strenuous. God set on our hearts worries about starting up a family, buying a house, paying a deposit for a car or a business, raising your kids, taking care of your spouse, and looking after your parents during retirement so that we know that present day worries such as whether we receive a distinction, a credit or a pass in a certain subject is immaterial and regardless of whether we are successful in the long run, or whether we are going to be successful at all. Think about it, do you think that the people who live in the largest houses in the richest suburbs are well and truly happy? We’d like to think so, that the more money we have or the more control we have, or the more power we have, or the more friends you have, or the more wealth and degrees you have, the happier and more successful you will become.

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Dark Has Turned To Light and I Will Celebrate (What’s the Big Deal About New Year’s Resolutions?)

2014

Wow, 2014 has flown by don’t you think? We’re all one year older, one year wiser, and hopefully we have all learned from our mistakes. If you haven’t read my previous blog about an update detailing a few of the important and impacting events that occurred this year for me personally, and relaying them back to how God has shaped me as a person and a believer today; then you can read the blog here.

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Message Mondays And Throwback Tuesdays: You Could Turn It Up Loud, As Loud As It Will Go, But It Will Never Make It’s Way To Your Soul Until… (Abandon’s “Feel It In Your Heart”)

abandon

Welcome to another combined post of Message Mondays and Throwback Tuesdays. Today we’ll be talking about one of my favourite pop/rock songs- Abandon’s “Feel It In Your Heart”! That’s right, we’re only going back 3 years!

Continue reading Message Mondays And Throwback Tuesdays: You Could Turn It Up Loud, As Loud As It Will Go, But It Will Never Make It’s Way To Your Soul Until… (Abandon’s “Feel It In Your Heart”)