I wrote a song this year titled "Break The Chains." This song has slowly been transforming since I wrote it, and taking on all kinds of meanings. It started while I was reading a few books. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis played a huge role in my writing. If you don't know anything about Screwtape Letters, it is a collection of fictional letters from a demon to his nephew (who is a demon in training). It it all about how to trip up humans, and get them to fall. It's almost like a diary from a soldier in a war, talking about how to win the battle. This got me thinking about my own life, and how sometimes it really does feel like a war. 

The other book I had in my mind was The Magic Bicycle by John Bibee. It's a children's book about, well, a magic bicycle. John [the main character] stumbles upon an old bike, that ends up being more than ordinary. It eventually leads him to see beyond the average realm we are accustomed to. He notices that some people have chains around their necks, and some have been taken off. The only problem is that those who were freed are constantly being agitated by some kind of creatures who try to put the chains back on.

These books, though very different, actually have some pretty similar ideas in them. I wrote this song, because everyday it seems I remove the chains that so easily get put back on me. We actually grow so used to the chains being on, that we prefer the chains to the freedom. Wouldn't it be great if the chains were broken, once and for all? 

I would give anything for them to be broken. Not just temporarily relieved from the chains, but truly freed from them. If I had to give up my name, I would. If I had to deny myself, I would. (At least, I would like to). I would give up everything, to be free from the chains that bind me. There are many more layers to this song, and I'm sure it will continue to surprise, encourage, and change me, as I hope it does for you.