Day 29

Welcome Back!

I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with me while I embarked upon this journey to listen to only Christian music for 30 days. As I have said numerous times, it has been life changing, and it has 100% been worth taking the challenge. If this is your first time checking out my blog, then I suggest that you go back to my very first blog and read that so that you can find out why it is that I have chosen to take this journey, and what it was that I was expecting to get out of it. And if you are wondering as to what kind of changes that I have seen in my life during that time, then I suggest that you go read any other blog and see firsthand for yourself what changes have came upon me. Now, let’s get into our second to last blog of the challenge.

We are going to continue with the theme of highlighting songs from prominent artists in the Christian music scene that I have not covered yet, and I can’t believe that I haven’t covered this artist yet. This artist is literally the single biggest reason why I ever started liking Christian music, and that is because he was one of the first people to make Christian music “cool” for kids listening. I am of course referring to TobyMac, and before I get into the song for today, I want to share a little bit about how Toby has influenced my life. As I said, TobyMac was the first artist who I was proud to listen to, and when I was a 10 year old kid who’s parents were going through a divorce, it was Toby’s music that I actually enjoyed listening to when I was with my Dad. After my parent’s divorce, my dad would only play Christian music in his car, and for the most part, my siblings and I did not like it. But it was TobyMac’s music alone that all three of us could agree on that we like, and I think that is a testament to the ministry that Toby has been called to. For as long as he has been around, Toby has been making fun, impactful, and meaningful songs to promote the kingdom, all while using up-beat and catchy beats and music. And it is because of that formula that he has been able to make work so well that he is even bigger now than he was when I first started listening to! And he has not changed the heart of his music at all. Earlier in this blog I mentioned how I got away with playing Christian music in our school, and the reason I was able to do that was because the songs I was playing sounded like mainstream music, they just had uplifting words of God instead of the poisonous lyrics you hear from the other songs. Well a lot of the songs I was playing were Toby’s songs. And when I talked about how some of my kids were going to a Christian concert, and they were excited to tell me? That concert was a TobyMac concert. It was the coolest thing to be able to talk to my students about a guy that I first discovered when I was their age, and know that he is still making music that is going to change the lives of kids like my students, and kids like me. So for me to wait until today to highlight his music can really only be classified under the idea of “Saving the best for last”. Now, let’s get into his actual music today.

With this being such an impactful blog for me, I think that I want to do things a little differently today. Instead of taking a deep dive into one song of his, I want to instead give you a list of songs that you can listen to if you are ever needing encouragement, or if you are in a particular kind of mood. These songs will be from everyone of his albums, and I think that if you just listen to one of these songs, you are not going to be able to keep from listening to the rest of his songs. So with that being said, let’s start this list of with songs for:

Joyfulness: “Feel It” is probably the best song that I can think of for this category because the only thing that you are going to want to do is dance when you hear it. It is such a positive message, and such a fun beat, and such a catchy song, that you are not going to want to stop listening to it when you are feeling joyful! Or really anytime for that matter..

Alone: If you are ever feeling alone, or abandoned by the world, then you need to listen to “I Just Need U”. This song speaks to the biblical truth that we really only need Jesus in our lives, and when we have him, that feeling of being alone just kind of melts away. Of course, the Bible is not saying that we should become a hermit and close ourselves off from other people, in fact it says the opposite, but it is saying that the most important relationship we can have is the one with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Hopelessness: Whenever you feel hopeless about the world that we live in, I want you to just listen to “City on our Knees.” This is a song that speaks about the power that we have to change the world, and what the next world will be like. It speaks about how we can come together, and for the city on the hill that Jesus talked about in the Bible, and be the people who live under one kind. The people who live in the city on our knees. It is a call to prayer, and a call to action, all rolled up into one.

Lacking Purpose: “Made to Love” is the song that you need to hear if you feel like you are lacking purpose. Sometimes in life it can feel like you don’t know what your purpose is here on this earth, and you don’t know what you should do. Well this song speaks directly to that problem. And a quick side note, this was the first song by Toby that I hear, and I absolutely loved it immediately.

On Fire for God: Boy do I have a song for you! If you ever get to the point where you just feel so on fire for God that you don’t know what to do, then I want you to listen to “Burn for You”. This is a sweet song that speaks to the feeling that you are feeling right now!

Struggling with your Tongue: “Speak Life” is the song you need to hear. The song speaks to the truth that we all have the power to speak life into other people’s lives, and when we do so, we are following in the way that Jesus wanted us to live. This song was actually the song that I was going to do a full spotlight on because I feel like it is that impactful of a song.

Of course, there are a bunch more songs that you should listen to, but those are the ones that I feel you should start with. And those are the ones that I think will have the biggest impact on your life if you are feeling any of those feelings. I am glad that I have gotten to share with you about one of the most influential artists in my life, and I pray that God will use this blog post to stir you into listening to some of his songs are well. Thank you for reading, and God bless you.