A lot of ideas have been thrown around and we've grown a lot in these last few months since our last blog post. We've done a lot of cool things like getting a bunch of new equipment, writing some really moving and rocking new songs (with some more energy and noise!), and even built some new equipment as well! Part of our band even got the opportunity to perform with a black light group and a Spanish church group! We can't even write it all down. This blog would just be way too long. It's certainly been a season of growth for us in playing shows and gaining new opportunities and insights about who we are as a band.
The most humbling and incredible of these learning experiences came for us yesterday at the Rescue Mission of Roanoke. Long story short, we were there playing three worship sets for their Rally and Chapel services. This place was legit. That last sentence was an understatement. If you really want to know what it looks like to serve and to truly love people, look at this place sometime. They house and give shelter to many homeless in the city of Roanoke and surrounding areas, feed almost a thousand people a day, provide resources and recovery programs for all sorts of struggles, and most importantly--they love the people they serve. We were able to look into the eyes of people who were struggling with things none of us could have imagined, and yet see them with a hope in their eyes that they had come to know while coming to the Rescue Mission. If you want to know what it is like to be humbled and to be reminded about how loved you are, look at this place.
Throughout our day, we had the opportunity to see the building and its resources and to hang out with the staff that make it their number one priority to love the people they serve everyday. We got to hear the amazing story from one of the staff during the three services we led worship at about how in the midst of her battle with years of chronic physical pain, she almost took her own life--only to be spoken to by God saying that He knew her heart better than she did and that He knew she wouldn't do it. God reminded her that He loved her, that His grace is sufficient for each day and that He does not waste pain. She did not take her life and is now a living and breathing testimony to others who struggle with thoughts of suicide. Following her message, and seeing hundreds of people coming through the chapel, we also were floored to be able to see people declare that they were done living a life without direction and accept Christ and jump into a life defined by love instead of whatever issues they were battling.
It was certainly interesting for us being a rock band there. Most of our genre (and the industry in general we think) is so absorbed with being the next big thing and "making it big" and having their faces up on a huge billboard somewhere. Leading worship yesterday was a beautifully sweet way for us to be a band singing about love and letting God be center-stage. We played the background and we wouldn't have it any other way. Most of our set included a mix of upbeat energetic music and slower praise songs but we did get the opportunity to play one of our originals "Letters To Heaven" which is probably our most simple and bare-bones acoustic song. In a nutshell the song talks about crying out to God and not knowing the right words to say to Him--but it's OK because He knows our hearts better than we do. One of the gentlemen we spoke to (we'll call him Clyde in of the interest of confidentiality) told us that he was listening to our song and suddenly found his hands in his pockets, not knowing why they were there and found his notepad and pencil there. He decided then that he wanted to write a letter to God everyday. Clyde, we don't know if you will ever read this blog or not, but if you are, keep it up brother. Shout out to you for being strong. We love you.
The most humbling and incredible of these learning experiences came for us yesterday at the Rescue Mission of Roanoke. Long story short, we were there playing three worship sets for their Rally and Chapel services. This place was legit. That last sentence was an understatement. If you really want to know what it looks like to serve and to truly love people, look at this place sometime. They house and give shelter to many homeless in the city of Roanoke and surrounding areas, feed almost a thousand people a day, provide resources and recovery programs for all sorts of struggles, and most importantly--they love the people they serve. We were able to look into the eyes of people who were struggling with things none of us could have imagined, and yet see them with a hope in their eyes that they had come to know while coming to the Rescue Mission. If you want to know what it is like to be humbled and to be reminded about how loved you are, look at this place.
Throughout our day, we had the opportunity to see the building and its resources and to hang out with the staff that make it their number one priority to love the people they serve everyday. We got to hear the amazing story from one of the staff during the three services we led worship at about how in the midst of her battle with years of chronic physical pain, she almost took her own life--only to be spoken to by God saying that He knew her heart better than she did and that He knew she wouldn't do it. God reminded her that He loved her, that His grace is sufficient for each day and that He does not waste pain. She did not take her life and is now a living and breathing testimony to others who struggle with thoughts of suicide. Following her message, and seeing hundreds of people coming through the chapel, we also were floored to be able to see people declare that they were done living a life without direction and accept Christ and jump into a life defined by love instead of whatever issues they were battling.
It was certainly interesting for us being a rock band there. Most of our genre (and the industry in general we think) is so absorbed with being the next big thing and "making it big" and having their faces up on a huge billboard somewhere. Leading worship yesterday was a beautifully sweet way for us to be a band singing about love and letting God be center-stage. We played the background and we wouldn't have it any other way. Most of our set included a mix of upbeat energetic music and slower praise songs but we did get the opportunity to play one of our originals "Letters To Heaven" which is probably our most simple and bare-bones acoustic song. In a nutshell the song talks about crying out to God and not knowing the right words to say to Him--but it's OK because He knows our hearts better than we do. One of the gentlemen we spoke to (we'll call him Clyde in of the interest of confidentiality) told us that he was listening to our song and suddenly found his hands in his pockets, not knowing why they were there and found his notepad and pencil there. He decided then that he wanted to write a letter to God everyday. Clyde, we don't know if you will ever read this blog or not, but if you are, keep it up brother. Shout out to you for being strong. We love you.