Tag Archives: tenth avenue north

Message Mondays – Fear and Trust, and How We Need to Trade One For the Other

Maybe it’s time to confess- often I tend to worry and obsess more about situations more than I should. As my parents have often said to me, there’s 365 times that the Lord says in the bible for us not to fear and worry- therefore, one for us to reflect upon each day. That that is entirely true. Because when we look at it from an objective standpoint, we are indeed a fearful bunch. Afraid of politics, afraid of religion, afraid of people of other races, creeds, different kinds of faith, different sexual orientations…the list goes on. And then there’s things that people are afraid of that are on a personal level- heights, spiders, snakes, bombs, volcanoes, flashing lights, noises, crowds, war movies, metal music, tomatoes, eating healthy, the gym…you get the picture. Why are we so afraid? Sometimes I wish that Adam and Eve never took that apple- but that doesn’t change that the fact that it indeed happened, and because of sin, there are things in our lives that we want to change. One of the biggest things I’m sure people want to eradicate in their lives is fear, but sometimes I think- maybe we all are afraid because we’re not fully confident in what has been promised to us and given freely by the One who created us in the first place.

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Message Mondays and Worship Wednesdays – Slowing Down To Realise that God Has Been With Us All Along!

What we fail to realise is that we were not made to do everything. I know that sounds like I’ve said the deadliest thing ever, but really, we weren’t made to do everything. Think about that. Really. When have we as a human race tried to fit whatever we can, within a 24 hour day? Because honestly, just because we see superhero shows like Batman, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, X-Men or Ironman on TV, that doesn’t mean we can emulate them in every aspect of our lives. Because if you end up doing everything that you’d like, you won’t do anything well. That is our crime as a human race. We are rushing around and undertaking whatever we can, in fear that our days are numbered, therefore, what we do with them ought to matter. But then in not slowing down, we often miss out on what the Lord is trying to speak to us through the circumstances and scenarios we find ourselves in. I know in my life there’s been moments when I’ve had to catch myself, consciously slowing down because I’ll know that if I don’t, I’ll run myself to the ground. What about you?

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MESSAGE MONDAYS & THROWBACK TUESDAYS – The Light Meets The Dark

Yes, as you can see from the title, I am a very much avid fan of CCM band Tenth Avenue North. Or rather, a fan of Mike Donehey’s devotional youtube messages about his songs that he has released on the internet throughout the years. In fact, Tenth Avenue North has to be one of the best bands that CCM offers to us at the moment- starting their career way back in 2008 when they signed to Reunion Records, the band delivered chart topping albums like Over and Underneath, The Light Meets the Dark, The Struggle, Cathedrals and more recently Followers. To say that Mike the lead singer has a way with words in how he imparts heartfelt and poignant truths to listeners is very much an understatement. And while I know that their latest album Followers can arguably be the quintet’s most emotive and encouraging yet, I can’t ignore where it all started. It was in 2009/10 when I started listening to the band and their music on a regular basis- safe to say that The Light Meets the Dark is a momentous album for me- with songs like “Healing Begins”, “You Are More”, “Strong Enough to Save”…it was then when I realised that Tenth Avenue North and their music was something special.

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TOP 10 ___: (30 Songs to Have an Impact in 2017)

Another year, and you know what that means- another batch of songs that are going to be going to radio, songs that are going to be heard by millions of listeners on the radio, that impact into people’s homes throughout the course of the next 12 months. Now to predict which songs to release to radio, and songs that could be poised to have an impact in people’s lives can be a difficult, yet I’m willing to give it a good stab. Mind you, these songs that I list are in no way an indication of what could be on WOW Hits 2018. We all know that WOW Hits has their own formula and they’re not always right. And so, there are 12 months ahead of us, which songs do I reckon will be sung on a regular basis in homes around the world during that time? Read on to find out.

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Is There Anything stealing our joy, and how do we set about reclaiming that for Jesus?

I have a confession to make. Something has been stealing my joy recently. Yep, you heard me, and yep this is not a typo. It’s time to be real, and declare that over the past few weeks and months, I haven’t been as happy or joyful as I would have liked to be.
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BEST OF 2016- PART 4: TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2016

Another month (or so) gone, another best of post. Sounds about right? Yeah, I reckon so too. It is nearly towards the end of the year, and while during December, many movies are releasing just in time for Oscar period, albums tend to be winding down releases, in the Christian industry at least. So I guess it’s fair to say that my top 30 albums of 2016 probably won’t change between now and a month from now…if they do change, I’ll just amend it in the comments of this post. Now, without further ado, here’s my favourite 30 albums of 2016. May you have many happy hours listening to great music and enjoy the remainder of 2016.

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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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BEST OF 2016- PART 3: TOP 30 SONGS OF 2016

It’s been about a month since my favourite 20 EPs of the year were posted on the site. Now towards the end of October, I figure it’s time to make my choices. Below are my favourite 30 songs of 2016. Obviously there are a whole lot more songs that sadly couldn’t be represented within my top 30, considering the amount of music that is released each week throughout the year. Yet hard choices were made. Feel free to comment below about what your favourite music of the year is. Below will be the song, as well as a lyric/audio slide/music video of it, so that you can listen along as well.

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Message Mondays (Tenth Avenue North’s ‘What You Want’)

Tenth Avenue North have been one of my favourite Christian CCM bands of late. In fact, with songs like “Healing Begins”, “By Your Side”, “For Those Who Can’t Speak”, “Strong Enough to Save” and “Worn” to name a few, this quintet from Florida whose debut album on Provident Label Group was in 2008, have quickly become 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” is 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). “Stars in the Night” is also a comfort, as we focus our eyes on Jesus and remind ourselves that in the darkest of nights, it is the stars, or rather, 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. Now as the band ready for their new album Followers releasing October 14th, they have released a new radio single- “What You Want”.

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