Lift up your face - Third Day

Growing up in a Christian home, we listened to "gospel" music more often than secular music; unless you count classical or bluegrass as secular 'cause we listened to a lot of that - not by choice. My dad has always loved music - good music, so the stereo was always on. Records, cassette tapes, radio, and eventually CD's. The gospel music that my dad had was not terrible by any means but as an adolescent it was definitely not what I would have chosen for myself. In fact, my first CD was given to me for Christmas when I was in high school. The album? Steven Curtis Chapman's Live Adventure from 1993. I'm pretty sure I liked one song on the album at the time. My options at that point were SCC, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, dc talk, Twila Paris, and Susan Ashton. So I pretty much listened to the popular music of the day.

It wasn't until 1996, while I was in college, when my brother bought me the self-titled release from a brand new Christian band from Atlanta. You got it, Third Day. They had a good sound, great lyrics and it made me feel good to listen to them. So good, that I started to find other Christian bands like Audio Adrenaline, Caedmon's Call, Rich Mullins, then Jennifer Knapp, Chris Rice, Jars of Clay, Burlap to Cashmere, and Ginny Owens. The bands started to become more and more plentiful. In my opinion, Christian music started to become worth listening to.

As I've matured and my life has transitioned from being single in college to a mid-30s husband and dad of 3, I realize how important it is for me to listen to Christian music. Around the house. In the car. Wherever we are, there are three sets of ears that listen to EVERYTHING. I'm pretty sure our eldest has super-sonic ears. We can be whispering to each other, my wife and I, in the front of the van and she hears everything. Every morning I share a ride to school with Macy, our eldest, and more often then not she's singing along to whatever it is I have on the radio. And because of this, more often then not I'm playing the Fish or my iPod with a mix I've made of the latest Christian hits.

Today if you look at my music collection I have an abundance of Christian music. Pop. Rock. Hip-hop. Metal. Rap. Folk. Singer-Songwriter. Gospel. A cappella. But Third Day is still one of my favorites. And here's their latest. Great song. Great video. Great band. Enjoy.

THIRD DAY - LIFT UP YOUR FACE