Hey guys, I wanted to share with you a song I found a few days ago that has really helped me. It's by ZOEgirl, maybe you've heard of them. Anyways, it's called "Scream", and it's about cutting. I've listened to ZOEgirl before, but I found out about this song through Brio Magazine. I was moved to tears by the article and song because I feel like they describe so much of what I've felt. Here's the article if anyone's interested, I hope it brings you as much encouragement as it did to me:
You've seen her. You may know her. You might even be her- the Christian girl who seems to have it all together but is silently struggling with a deep, dark, and destructive secret. This girl totally loves God. Serves others. Makes decent grades. Has good friends. Most people would look at her and think, Hey what could be wrong?
Well, most people would be surprised. At least ZOEgirl was. We recently talked with Alisa, Kristin, and Chrissy about their album Room to Breathe, and how the Lord has been giving them opportunities to build relationships and get real with teen girls. "On tour we got to meet a lot of girls at concerts but could really only shake hands and then go our separate ways," Chrissy remembers. "We didn't get to spend much time with them."
That is until ZOEgirl started going on missions trips with Brio. "That's when we were really able to get to know the girls who listen to our music," Alisa says. "As team leaders on these trips so many girls opened up to us and shared with us some pretty heavy things they were going through- things like secret drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, depression, and most alarming, self-injury, or cutting- things you'd never dream girls like these who have strong, living and active relationships with Christ, would struggle with. That was a total eye-opener."
These converstions not only opened the three ladies' eyes to the truth that many godly girls are hurting and purposely involved in self-destructive behavior, but it also inspired the way ZOEgirl wrote for their albums from that point on. Room to Breathe is a great example of songs that go deeper to the heart of real struggles and issues such as "Scream."
"Cutting is something I couldn't understand at first," Alisa admits. "I prayed for the longest time and talked to people who struggled, because I really wanted to know the motivation for something like this. I've just started to share this publicly, but I've struggled a lot in my life with depression. I received Jesus when I was 5 and have lived a passionate life for Him. But the one thing that would always come on me was this heavy depression, so that at times I couldn't get out of bed."
"About a year ago, I was having a really bad day. But instead of turning inward with self-destructive behavior such as raiding the fridge or becoming reclusive, I thought I'd just pour my heart out in a song. I knew so many girls who had cut themselves that I soon began to sing and think specifically about a few of them. I prayed that God would give me something for these girls."
The song "Scream" is Alisa's hearfelt response to all that the Lord began to reveal to her about the serious issue of cutting. "What I learned is that we all have deep, dark stuff we don't know how to deal with, like abuse, neglect, divorce- anything we may have gone through that causes so much pain. Sometimes we're afraid to bring up these feelings to church because we think we should have it all together. So, for some people these struggles get pushed inward. More and more young people are using cutting as way to self-medicate or distract themselves from the enormous pain, guilt and shame they face."
In her book A Bright Red Scream, journalist Marilee Strong reveals that approximately 2 million Americans are believed to cut themselves. She writes, "Cutters are often very sensitive, very creative. They are often perfectionists, people who put high demands on themselves. [They'll use] anything sharp to turn their ulterior emotional pain into something undeniably physical."
But why? Is a young girl is already hurting, why would she inflict more pain on herself? Some cutters say they experience a form of release from overwhelming emotions. An escape. Cutting allows them to pinpoint the pain into something manageable and gives them the feeling of being in control of uncontrollable emotions. But really, cutting is sometimes a cry for help- a way of saying Please see me, please hear me.
ZOEgirl gets it. The lyrics to "Scream" reveal the troubled thoughts of someone in the depths of this struggle.
Do I have to scream for you to hear me?
Do I have to bleed for you to see me?
'Cause I grieve you're not listening to me
Do I need to scream?
Sadly, any form of release from cutting is only temporary. The good news is, there is hope, and ZOEgirl gets that too, and offers it in this song. "Reminding these girls that God sees and cares is what 'Scream' is all about,"Chrissy says. "We believe the only way to bring healing to this area is to help the person understand that Jesus bled so you don't have to. He called out to God in agony so you don't have to. He asked, 'My God, why have you forsaken Me?' so that none of us will ever have to ask that question."
There's a little more to this article, but I don't have time to post it right now. You can download the song for 99 cents on iTunes or the whole album for $10. Anywho, I really hope you guys get a chance to hear it...I think it could really help. God Bless.
You've seen her. You may know her. You might even be her- the Christian girl who seems to have it all together but is silently struggling with a deep, dark, and destructive secret. This girl totally loves God. Serves others. Makes decent grades. Has good friends. Most people would look at her and think, Hey what could be wrong?
Well, most people would be surprised. At least ZOEgirl was. We recently talked with Alisa, Kristin, and Chrissy about their album Room to Breathe, and how the Lord has been giving them opportunities to build relationships and get real with teen girls. "On tour we got to meet a lot of girls at concerts but could really only shake hands and then go our separate ways," Chrissy remembers. "We didn't get to spend much time with them."
That is until ZOEgirl started going on missions trips with Brio. "That's when we were really able to get to know the girls who listen to our music," Alisa says. "As team leaders on these trips so many girls opened up to us and shared with us some pretty heavy things they were going through- things like secret drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, depression, and most alarming, self-injury, or cutting- things you'd never dream girls like these who have strong, living and active relationships with Christ, would struggle with. That was a total eye-opener."
These converstions not only opened the three ladies' eyes to the truth that many godly girls are hurting and purposely involved in self-destructive behavior, but it also inspired the way ZOEgirl wrote for their albums from that point on. Room to Breathe is a great example of songs that go deeper to the heart of real struggles and issues such as "Scream."
"Cutting is something I couldn't understand at first," Alisa admits. "I prayed for the longest time and talked to people who struggled, because I really wanted to know the motivation for something like this. I've just started to share this publicly, but I've struggled a lot in my life with depression. I received Jesus when I was 5 and have lived a passionate life for Him. But the one thing that would always come on me was this heavy depression, so that at times I couldn't get out of bed."
"About a year ago, I was having a really bad day. But instead of turning inward with self-destructive behavior such as raiding the fridge or becoming reclusive, I thought I'd just pour my heart out in a song. I knew so many girls who had cut themselves that I soon began to sing and think specifically about a few of them. I prayed that God would give me something for these girls."
The song "Scream" is Alisa's hearfelt response to all that the Lord began to reveal to her about the serious issue of cutting. "What I learned is that we all have deep, dark stuff we don't know how to deal with, like abuse, neglect, divorce- anything we may have gone through that causes so much pain. Sometimes we're afraid to bring up these feelings to church because we think we should have it all together. So, for some people these struggles get pushed inward. More and more young people are using cutting as way to self-medicate or distract themselves from the enormous pain, guilt and shame they face."
In her book A Bright Red Scream, journalist Marilee Strong reveals that approximately 2 million Americans are believed to cut themselves. She writes, "Cutters are often very sensitive, very creative. They are often perfectionists, people who put high demands on themselves. [They'll use] anything sharp to turn their ulterior emotional pain into something undeniably physical."
But why? Is a young girl is already hurting, why would she inflict more pain on herself? Some cutters say they experience a form of release from overwhelming emotions. An escape. Cutting allows them to pinpoint the pain into something manageable and gives them the feeling of being in control of uncontrollable emotions. But really, cutting is sometimes a cry for help- a way of saying Please see me, please hear me.
ZOEgirl gets it. The lyrics to "Scream" reveal the troubled thoughts of someone in the depths of this struggle.
Do I have to scream for you to hear me?
Do I have to bleed for you to see me?
'Cause I grieve you're not listening to me
Do I need to scream?
Sadly, any form of release from cutting is only temporary. The good news is, there is hope, and ZOEgirl gets that too, and offers it in this song. "Reminding these girls that God sees and cares is what 'Scream' is all about,"Chrissy says. "We believe the only way to bring healing to this area is to help the person understand that Jesus bled so you don't have to. He called out to God in agony so you don't have to. He asked, 'My God, why have you forsaken Me?' so that none of us will ever have to ask that question."
There's a little more to this article, but I don't have time to post it right now. You can download the song for 99 cents on iTunes or the whole album for $10. Anywho, I really hope you guys get a chance to hear it...I think it could really help. God Bless.
after I finish my term of service in the Army and age up a little.
