Life and Lyrics

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Photo Courtesy of Fire At Will Photography

Life and Lyrics
By: Sydney Fontaine

I love music. I love the feeling of strings against my fingers. I love it when you can hear the audience lifting their voices, and see them stomping and clapping to the beat. I love when you can feel a buzz in the air from the music resonating with the people in the room. I love it when the message we bring to the stage impacts people. I love that music is such a diverse art form.

Music isn’t just a string of words to communicate a point. It pulls you into the emotions of the artist. You’re not only hearing their convictions and passions, but you’re experiencing the emotions they’re experiencing. You’re drawn into the picture that they’re painting. That’s a powerful tool, and the effect that it has on us can be life-altering.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned as an artist is that my words carry a limited amount of authority in the lives of those I interact with. What really matters to people is that your actions are in line with the convictions you sing and write about. This realization can be intimidating. It’s easy for me to string together eloquent words on how you can make a difference in the lives of those around you, but until I show you proof, none of it matters.

I pray that my life exemplifies surrender.

That’s why I travel around, casting off the familiar and comfortable and replacing it with a life that demonstrates what I believe. That’s why I play music. I believe God has a plan for our lives that’s bigger than what we could every imagine. I believe that He calls us to love others more than our reputation and personal comfort. I believe in giving it all up to Him every day.

As I’ve had the pleasure of writing for RYFO, it’s spurred me into contemplating what defines the voices that RYFO works so hard to serve. Why do we put up with sleeping on floors and in vans, and driving through the night to get to shows that we may or may not break even at? Because we’ve been a given a platform to bear our hearts to people. We have their ear and we need to take it. For the sake of what we’re called to communicate, we must take that risk.

A lot of people I’ve talked to on the road seem to think this kind of radical obedience to a call is out of reach for them. Don’t fall into that way of thinking! You have just as much (if not more) capacity than I do to live with passion and conviction. Find a way to communicate the message you want your life to convey and go for it.

Music is my medium. What’s yours?

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Comments
  • ChristianBandHelp.com
    Reply

    Living with passion and conviction seems all to uncommon in this bland vanilla ice cream world. Give me sprinkles and chocolate coating and waffle cones any day! Christian artists are called to live lives that stand out, not to blend in. We are the salt and the light in a tasteless, dark world. But we can only truly be salt, light or sprinkles when we are surrendered to the God who loves us more than He loved His own reputation or personal comfort. Great article Sydney!

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