Free to Struggle

 If you haven't guessed already, Tenth Avenue North is my favorite band. A few weeks ago we got the opportunity to go see them in concert again, this time a little closer to home, and without it being 95 degrees standing in the sun.. but, we were a lot further away from the stage.

My sister-in-law texted me late on a Monday telling me about the concert that Friday night, and by the next morning five tickets had been bought. Exciting? Very! So we headed down on Friday night to see Tenth Avenue North, Rend Collective, and Audrey Assad. It was a great concert. There was an energy surging through the air, and so much was talked about. Mike Donehey (lead singer from TenthAve) spoke in between songs explaining some of the meanings. The man definitely has a way with words, and a way with conveying God's love in a way people can relate and understand. I think that sometimes we are so used to hearing about God's love only in sermons that we start to just think "yeah, God loves me, I know" but we don't process it, act on it, and really bask in His love. I mean, hey, we are His children. He died for us, knowing that we may reject Him.

He also talked about how many of us have hurts, shame, and so many other things that make us feel far from God. Friends, the fact is, God is never far away. In fact, He's so close we can't even imagine His proximity. He died to forgive the things that we feel shame for. He died to give us life. He died out of love, and that same love is waiting for us to run to Him and ask Him to heal our hurts. He longs for us to come to Him, and He will always be there, never giving up on us, or failing us. Our egos, shame, sin, and so many other things make us feel like we're not good enough, that we we're not worthy to come to Him. But He died for those reasons, so we can come to Him. He's there, and always will be. He loves us. And always will. I pray that you not only believe that, but act on it in a way that gives love back to Him.

The new album is called 'the Struggle', and talks about how we're free to struggle, but we're not struggling to be free. Christ has already set us free. We're free to fail, because we fall into an ocean of grace. What a huge relief. I think so many people are afraid of failing... terrified, of failing. So, they don't act. But we can miss out on so many amazing things if we fear failure and don't do anything. We're not perfect, we're going to fail; but when we fail, it means we tried. God doesn't call us to be idle. Don't fear failing.. fall into an ocean of grace.

Check them out here:  http://tenthavenuenorth.com/home

"Hallelujah we are free to struggle

We're not struggling to be free

Your blood bought and made us children

So children drop your chains and sing"