An acoustic songwriter's journey through the depths and heights of life this side of heaven, with bold honesty and bright hope.

13 MP3 Songs in this album (56:39) !
Related styles: SPIRITUAL: Contemporary Christian, POP: Folky Pop

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Growing up in America is a beautiful and devastating experience. We donât all think about it, but I think we all know it. I wanted to make an album that told the story, and I wanted to be honest.

As a songwriter, you feel like a painter without all the colors, without the brushes you need to make this stroke or that one. As hard as you try, you can never tell the whole story. But you feel called to try.

The thirteen songs on the album have grown up with me the last few years. I wrote them all in the privacy of my room, but most of them have found their way out in a community of high school students that Iâve had the privilege of shepherding for the last four years. I never would have written many of these songs if the Lord hadnât called me to this church and to this body of people.

If the ï¬rst half of âGrowing Up In Americaâ is different shades of night, the second half is the hope of dawn to the full light of day. If the ï¬rst half paints the picture of the mess weâve made of this place, the second half paints the picture of Godâs rescue in Jesus. If the ï¬rst half declares, âWe are more messed up than we could ever imagine,â the second half screams, âWe are more loved than we could ever dream.â

If the ï¬rst half is our need, the second half is Godâs provision. The gospel.

All of our stories are different, but I hope that you might ï¬nd truth in these songs that resonates with your experience. I hope youâll ï¬nd that, even though the darkness can be overwhelming, the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never overcome it.

I pray that what Iâve seen and heard, the pictures Iâve tried to paint in these songs, might be a blessing and encouragement to people. So I invite you to listen to these songs and the story they tell. But listen all the way through. If you only hear the first half, you might end up in despair. And if you only hear the second half, you might not realize why we desperately need hope...and why our hope is so beautiful. So take a listen, and if you believe thereâs something to the album, I hope youâll pass it on.

At the beginning of his ministry Jesus uttered three beautiful and devastating words. âRepent and believe.â No matter where we are or what weâre doing, that might still be exactly what we need to hear as weâre all growing up in America.