Celebrate Freedom
by Luke Garrett

Saturday, June 30, was an awesome time for me and something I will never forget!! I went to Celebrate Freedom. This is an all-day outdoor Christian music festival at Dallas, Texas. Actually it was at South Fork Ranch, which for those of you who don't know, was where the TV show Dallas was filmed.

For the first three hours, it rained, but God wasn't dampening the fire that was going to burn, he was showing us that just as the sun came out from the dark, so would this concert in so many ways help at least me come back even a little bit closer to him. The bands that were there are Scott Krippayne, Kendall Payne, Russ Lee, Chris Tomlin, Nichole Nordeman, Geoff Moore, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Jump5, ZoeGirl, Stacie Orrico, Jennifer Knapp, Audio Adrenaline, Plus One, Rebecca St. James, Avalon, Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys, Switchfoot, Earthsuit, and The Elms. So, a good mixture of popular and not so popular bands. It was a ton of fun. They just went in that order and it was form 10 am until 12 pm. They all did an awesome job and I had a lot of fun worshiping God and fellowshipping with people I knew and did not know. There were times like when everyone was singing and holding hands and we were all connected, when everyone was praying a prayer together and lifting up God's name, and when Avalon sang Testify to Love, which if you don't know is one of the best Christian songs ever written. It was a time when I saw what I want for all of Christianity, unity between everyone and worship of God and having fun while doing it. A little bit of what Heaven might be like :)

I urge any of you out that there that are not into Christian music to try it. I'm not going to sit here and tell you, "Secular music is of Satan!!!" However, Christian music is a way to grow closer to God and its not boring and lame. There are a lot of awesome Christian bands, so give it a try! God bless you all!