Let's talk about music and religion. 

***PSA***

This blog is full of a lot of videos, so read/listen if you like Christian music or want to know more. 

Growing up in the bible belt, I was raised Muslim, but my parents still allowed me to go to church with my friends every so often. This was where I was first exposed to worship music and Christian pop. At first, I never knew what any of the songs were about, or what the lyrics were; I merely had a basic knowledge of the bible and who Jesus, God, Mary, etc. were. As I continued going to church and YoungLife, I began to learn more about the culture around Christian music in the bible belt. My favorite part of church was always worship, I loved singing and the way it made me feel closer to God. But today, I'm not sure what religion I'd consider myself as. Right now, I believe I am agnostic or non-denominational. But what are some of the things I learned?

Probably the first song I learned in worship was Tremble, by Mosaic MSC. It is a VERY popular worship song with its simple yet powerful lyrics. I'll embed it below. 

I 100% acknowledge that Christian pop and music in general is not for everyone, so don't feel like you have to watch the video or comment if you don't want to lol. I really enjoy the lyrics "your name cannot be overcome" because I feel that we can apply this to ourselves too. We will not be overcome as people, and as an individual, you have to believe in yourself even when you have doubts and are at a low, don't let your name be overcome, if that makes sense? lol. 

I feel as though we worship before we listen to the preacher because it helps us to get out any feelings or emotions by sort of having a short introduction with God before we go in depth with him in prayer, etc. Worship usually has similar songs, but they have varying lyrics, instruments, choruses, bridges, etc. They're all similar in the way they focus on Jesus and God, but no two songs are twins. Most are sung with an instrumental, or they just have an instrumental and the crowd sings, or they have just the crowd sing. It really depends on the church and the service. 

Christian music was first written around the Middle Ages, but I think it mostly included hymns. Let me get you into some of my more liked songs though. 

My second embedded video is a song made for YoungLife camps that a youth pastor of mine covered, his name is Lee Younger. Hailing from Oak Ridge, TN, he was a YoungLife leader to me in high school and an overall really good role model to have in my teen years. It is an amazing song, and my favorite lyrics are "you love me as I am". 

One of my favorite artists is Lauren Daigle. She had a song that went so popular it was played on pop stations with Justin Bieber and Maroon 5. The song was You Say. You've probably already heard it, but if you haven't, I'll embed it with another one of my favorite songs by her, Rebel Heart. I hope to someday see her in concert. 

A few other favorite artists of mine along with their songs include but aren't limited to: Cory Asbury's "Reckless Love" and "Dear God", Ellie Holcomb's "Wonderfully Made", Andrew Ripp's "You Will Find Me", Elevation Worship's "O come to the Altar" (Live Version), and Tenille Townes "The Most Beautiful Things". I'll link them all below (I realize this is a lot of videos, do not feel pressured to watch any lol). 

Thank you so much for reading if you made it all the way to the end! You're much appreciated :)