The Upside of Down by Chris August Review

 Every once in a while you hear a song that makes you stop everything that you are doing and listen.  This is what happened to me when I started listening to Chris August's new release, "The Upside of Down."

The music was playing while I was busy cooking dinner, and absent-mindedly straightening the house when something about the music seemed familiar.  We have attended a Contemporary Church occasionally, but we haven't been in a while, and I was listening to the song thinking I know I had heard that before, but I knew that couldn't be true since this is a newly released album. The song that was playing was "This Side of Heaven," and although I think it is a great song, it was the song that came on next that really got my attention. Maybe it was just God's way of saying, "Slow down, you have to hear this."

The song title, "Restore" is a story about a couple who is madly in love, they get married, and then their relationship crumbles a few years later. I will be the first to admit that being married is not easy. Every day seems to be a battle of who works the hardest and who isn't doing their share. We feel taken advantage of and start feeling resentment towards the one person in our life who is supposed to be the most important.  Instead of trying to understand why we feel this way, we let it build up until the darkness reaches the surface and boils over. It's not that we have stopped loving each other, it's just that between going to work, and raising our children we had forgotten what was really important.

The song brought tears to my eyes as I realized that the bitterness needed to come to an end. I couldn't make demands for change unless I were willing to make those changes first.  People shrug off religion and mock those who openly discuss their religious beliefs when the truth is we all need help from a higher being at some point in our lives. The song reminds us (that)"God is a God that knows how to heal, so just give up to the Lord and He will restore."

Chris August has just released his new album, "The Upside of Down" on August 21st.  Although this album has been in the works for a while, the release seems miraculous as it comes less than four months after his tragic skateboarding accident on April 25th, 2012, when he suffered from a severe brain injury. This album is a reflection of his healing process, which followed the accident, and serves as a reminder that God is always with us through both our ups and our downs as we go through life.

You don't have to prefer contemporary Christian music to the classic gospel or prefer a contemporary church to a traditional service in order to appreciate this music. The CD is perfect for playing in the background while you are cooking dinner, helping the children with their homework, or even while your sitting in traffic.  The message is refreshing and uplifting without being "preachy"; and it is the kind of music that we would all love to hear our children "rocking" out to. My children love the song, "1989", I think they can relate, as it makes reference to riding bikes and the joy of just being a kid.

 

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