Release - "I am giving up"

Release : to allow to be known, issued, done, or exhibited: to release an article for publication. ALSO - to give up, relinquish, or surrender.

I was thinking about this word today because it is coming into play with much of my daily interaction especially my thought process this month.  In 7 days from today I am having a release party for my debut solo album.  I have been working on this for 6 years in some form or fashion and its kinda strange seeing it all come into play.  I choose not to say that it is coming to an end because I believe that this is just the beginning.  When you release something its supposed to go out into the world and hopefully keep going.  When reading the actual definition of this word al lot of things came through my mind.  One of the synonyms used to describe "release" was "Give Up".  This word struck me because its exactly how I have been feeling.  I am in the midst of "Giving up" a lot of things in my life.  I am two weeks away from graduating my Advanced School of Worship and Technical Arts at Christ for the Nations. 
          This place has been my home and I have grown to know and love many people here.  I know a lot about this place. When you are somewhere for a long period of time you start to notice everything about it.  I would have a million places to hide if we were to throw down with some "Hide and Seek" and I can tell whats for lunch (by the smell alone) before I even walk into the doors of the Christian Center.  I know most everyone that passes by me in one way or another and I have grown closer to a lot of the staff members than I ever thought I would have.  But in two weeks I am off to a new chapter in my life and I will be giving up the things I have grown to know and love here.  I will always have my memories but I know things change and when I come back years into my future I am sure I will to have that awkward feeling of uneasy unfamiliarity in my stomach. Who are all these people? Where did that wall go? What happened to so in so that was teaching such and such? When did Dr. Seif grow a mustache? When did they start letting students wear jeans? {HINT HINT}
          Back to Releasing; the album that is coming out is a huge part of my life and reflects a lot of ways that I view life.  As you can imagine that's a scary thing to release into the public.  That old thought keeps trying to pop into my mind, "What if people don't like this?"  It takes me back to when I was 16 and I got the nerve up to show my youth pastor my first real song.  Or that time I was in 6th grade and had to play Linus in the school play with my very own dance/singing solo.  Its a personal thing to share your thoughts to the world.  But I keep coming back to those two words, "Give up". 
          "Giving up" - so commonly viewed as a derogatory statement without the potential for good, in my opinion.  We are trained that way from day one.  Everything we seem to know in our modern culture revolves around being first or winning or pushing ahead even at the expense of others.  I started thinking about it and Jesus and His "theology" was obviously the total opposite.  He always gave up and always FOR the expense of others.  He gave up his life so that we might gain one.  He was never worried about what others thought about what He thought.  He knew what He spoke was the truth and when you have an absolute there is no way around it.  So in the end I have decided to give up not only my ideals and thoughts to you but also the right to weather or not you will enjoy and agree with them.  I want to live with the intent of changing my world for the one who changed mine and I know that the words and music that have gone into this album are total truth.  I love you guys and thanks for staying involved with what is going on in my life.

Chris Martin
Order "One More Second Try" right now!
http://www.cfni.org/store/cfnmusic/index.php?cPath=21_152

Album Release Party - December 7th @ Christ for the Nations
Album Official Release - December 10th @ Christ for the Nations (Night of Worship)

What's New? In the Blue!

          So its basically one week after the completion of my debut album "One More Second Try" and I have to tell you, I am ecstatic!  It has been a long two months but now looking back through all the late nights and early mornings, its all been worth it.  I guess that's how anything you work hard for is at the end of the road.  It usually starts out fun and exciting and you can't wait for day one, but then throughout the process things take a tole on you and its easy to grow tired and weary and begin to miss those days where you were lackadaisical and didn't have a care in the world.  There were several times where I was so tired I didn't think I could make it.  On top of recording an album I have been leading worship at an awesome church called Lakepointe Church, leading a student worship team here at school, working with CFN Music during the day and  going to school full time.  There were countless days where I was running on 4 hrs or less of sleep and if you know me then that's not a good thing!!!  I have this thing where if I don't get at least 6 hours of sleep (And that's pushing it) then I turn into this green monster and terrorise the surroundings at hand.
          Through all of this I began to really just pay attention to the lyrics to my songs and one song that really continues to help me out is "In the Blue".  This song is a story about a girl who leaves her home and her familiar surroundings  in chase of a bigger and better life.  She is obviously frustrated with where she is and believes that her true home is "out there in the blue".  She moves out to the "Big Screen" city only to find she had everything she ever wanted back home where she came from.  So in the midst of reading over the actual lyrics of the song and being frustrated due to a lack of sleep, budgets, deadlines and an array of other things I found myself listening to my owns words, looking into the mirror you might say.  Home is right here in the midst of the chaos.  So that's what I hope this blog relays to you.  Even when you have come to the end of the rope, kids are going crazy, didn't get that promotion, car broke down, haven't found "the one" yet, and whatever else may bring you down. . . .take a few min and count your blessings cause one day you will look back and it will all seem trivial. 

Chris Martin

Album Release is December 10th, 2010 - following the release party December 7th, 2010
You are Invited! Details to Come........

My First Life Goal Completed

So this has been the most intense, hectic, exhausting, rewarding and uplifting time of my entire life.  I went from going straight home after school to sit in my room and play my guitar all by myself and write songs I wasn’t sure anyone would ever hear; to writing and producing my first album in the matter of one year.  Things are going great and I still find myself stopping and really thinking about how I have always dreamed of doing this and never knew how it was going to happen.  It’s funny though, when you know God has called you to something and has continued to prove himself in his word, it’s hard to have any doubt if you are moving in that direction.  After submitting an application to work alongside Christ for the Nations in their first venture into supporting a mainstream artist, I was chosen.  Undeserving in every way I was humbled to step out onto this new path that God had lain in front of me.  

                2 years ago I was recording an album and traveling in a band called Della Rosa out of my home area in Nashville and the surrounding areas.  It was my first taste as a real musician and really opened my eyes up to what this business really is and how much work it takes to make it on your own.  We really worked hard at putting out good music and promoting ourselves to the local venues, connecting with people in the area, talking with labels and playing as much as possible. Through it all I was still missing something in it.  Though we put out music that blatantly glorified God and all that He was doing for us I still knew that my calling was in something else.  After talking with them about it and seeing their support even after all we had put into the band, I knew God was behind me as well as them.  I hit the road in my beat up 1996 Saturn Le that I had bought for 500 dollars.  Not knowing if I would make it to Dallas alive, I never felt more alive.  Since then I haven’t looked back.  I have been writing and serving everywhere I could just to chase this dream I have had in my heart so long.  Through all the painful sacrifice and lots of frustration I am starting to see Gods hand on my path.  I heard someone say “Anointing doesn’t rest on a PERSON but rather that persons CALLING. “  As soon as you step out of the calling God has placed on you than you step out of your anointing.  I have seen this play out from both perspectives in my own life and I am here to tell you first hand that following God’s plan for your life is the only thing to consider. 

Recently I have been working non-stop in the studio, setting up meetings for art design work, submitting lyrics to all the songs, figuring out web-design ideas and making contacts for booking after this whole CD pans out.  Last year at Christ for the Nations annual worship conference “Responding”, one of the guest speakers (Roland Worton) gave me a word that he felt the Lord give him.  He said this “In the near future God is going to be using you with worship throughout South America”.  This is great but if you had known that I was burdened with Brazil and had been praying that God would use me there for that entire year you might feel differently about it.  Last week, only 9 months from the word spoken over me I began setting up a 2 week tour across several very influential cities in Brazil.  This fell in my lap.  I didn’t go chasing it I only held onto the word God gave me this past year and continued to pray that God would make the way.  I started attending the weekly Brazilian Prayer meetings on Monday nights here on campus and continued to hang out with all my Brazilian friends so I could start picking up on Portuguese (Still working on that….eeek).  So in all of this I can only see Gods hand on this album and I know he is going to use it to touch many people, that hopefully being you and your friends and family, but also these Brazilian people God is sending me to!  Did I mention the Album comes out the day before I fly out to Brazil?  Yeah, tell me that’s not God!

I hope that you get a chance to get your hands on a copy of my FIRST album but please just know that through this whole process my desire is not to “have a CD” or to “Be the next big thing” I just want to use what God has anointed me to do, to impact my world.  My urge for you is to listen to that voice in your heart that is God’s calling on your life and to abandon all to chase after it with all you have. 

Jesus Bless You,

Chris Martin

Here is an acoustic version of my single "Until the Day" that you can check out before you pick up the album on December 7th 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG8cwbZ2co4