In The Words of Matt Morris: We're Goofy Sometimes ;)

Happy New Year! Hope you guys have had a wonderful holiday season! DANYA is gearing up to have one of our best years ever, with new songs, new videos, and new events, and we hope you guys enjoy every minute of it as well! Here's our behind the scenes/blooper video for our Christmas video - thank you all so much for your support - we made it to over 500 views just 3 days after we put the video online! You rock!

Merry Christmas!

We're excited to share this Christmas video with you! But most importantly we want to share with you the gift that we've received already. Even though we didn't deserve it, our God came and rescued us, redeemed us, and gave us love, purpose, and hope. It doesn't matter what you've done, who you are, or where you are right now. Jesus loves you. And we do too. Merry Christmas from DANYA. :)

Everybody's Talking...

Here's a clip of our new song "Scandal" performed at the Limelight in Nashville! It was the first time we ever played it out - hope you enjoy!

New Podcast!

Where Gratitude Begins

Matt and I recently got to attend a community Thanksgiving service. Usually, these services are centered around a message of being thankful - go figure. I've been to a few of these services before, and it always seems to fall a little short of life-changing. I mean, how much can you really do with a message about thankfulness? It seems cheesy and cliche; and as much as we'd all hate to admit it, Thanksgiving has become about the food... not necessarily "remembering our blessings" ... that's just what we feel obligated to tell people as we eagerly stuff our faces. Pastor Brandon Petty from Generation Church gave a message about gratitude at this service that really put perspective back into things for me. One thing he mentioned was that our culture grows up learning to say "please" and then "thank you" and very often, we approach God with that. We'll ask and ask and ask and then thank Him after He does what we want. But God is not a genie and He has given us more than we deserve. Psalm 100 verse 4 says to enter God's presence giving thanks - in other words, thank Him before you do anything else. Pastor Brandon went on to share some points about gratitude based on a message given by Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church and I wanted to share them with you today. Gratitude is a bigger deal than slapping a thank you at the end of our prayers. It should be an essential part of our walk with God and our relationships with other people. Check it out, and have a wonderful holiday! :)

1. Gratitude is never invisible or silent.
There is no such thing as silent gratitude. If you’re really grateful for something, you’ll say it and show it. Unexpressed gratitude is a lost opportunity to give God praise.

2. Gratitude sustains joy and blessing.
In the same way that you can relive an offense through bitterness, you can relive a blessing of God through gratitude. It is possible to relive the joy of yesterday’s gifts with today’s thankfulness.

3. Gratitude begins where my sense of entitlement ends.
To keep a high sense of gratitude, you must keep a low sense of entitlement.You can’t be grateful for something you feel entitled to. And the truth is, you’re not entitled to anything. 

You woke up this morning. Someone else didn't.

You received a standard Christmas bonus. Someone else is still looking for a job.

If that wasn’t enough, for the Christian, anything short of hell is God’s miraculous, overwhelming, and sufficient grace. We’re not entitled to salvation. It’s a gracious gift that demands a grateful response.

4. Grateful people can find a blessing, enlarge a blessing, or create a blessing in almost any situation.
The opposite of this point is that negative people can find a burden, enlarge a burden, or create a burden in almost any situation. It might sound crass, but some people are crap factories. It doesn’t matter what you put in them, it just comes out crap. They’ll always find a reason to complain. They’ll always find the worst in every situation.

But then for other people, they find crap, put a seed in it, and let it grow.
Who do you think possesses more joy?

Your situation doesn’t need to improve for your gratitude to increase. Gratitude sees the best and the potential in every situation.

5. Gratitude increases favor and creates opportunity.
Gratitude will make you magnetic for miracles. Joseph preserved his gratitude even after unjustly spending over a decade in slavery and prison. And God used him to save a nation and preserve His people.

If you want the favor of God to flow through your life, keep a grateful heart.

From DANYA to you - thank you. Thank you so much for your support of our ministry, your friendship, and your encouragement. We are blessed to have great friends and fans like you. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

In Constant Danger

Tonight we are staying at a beautiful church in Adairsville, GA, that has graciously offered to let us overtake their youth facility. North Pointe church always blesses us, and we are so encouraged every time we're here. It quickly became one of our favorite churches when we played here about 14 months ago, and we've been trying to get back ever since! We are so excited to share our new songs and new show with everyone tomorrow night! 

As I (Danya) sit on one of the extremely comfortable couches in a small group room, with my old but functional laptop, an instant coldpack at the ready for my oddly swollen knee, and my iPhone within arm's length, I began reading 2 Corinthians. I planned to begin preparing for tomorrow and praying for wisdom to know what to say and share... when I ran across where Paul describes what kind of situations he lived in. 

"We are pressed on every side... we are perplexed... we are hunted down... we get knocked down... we suffer...yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus." (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)

And here I am, sitting in a church building that will be full of people who will come and freely worship tomorrow. I'm on a couch when people in other countries are hiding in caves. I'm reading any book of the Bible I please when some countries have only a page of the Bible, or only stories of a God Who loves them that they can hold onto. Paul lived in constant danger of death because he served Jesus. I live in constant danger of people thinking I'm... weird?...

Here's the point of the blog post. 

Don't take what you have for granted. Don't let freedom to worship become a routine you get used to. We have the privilege to worship the living, breathing, almighty God; we live in a country that allows us to boldly express our beliefs. Why are we losing this generation to apathetic, mediocre faith? It's time to step up. It's time to realize that having freedom to believe is no excuse for laying down our swords. Tomorrow, we're going to be worshipers, we're going to step up as leaders, and I pray that we will in no way water-down or dance around the bold truth and passion found in being a follower of the living Savior. We see lives touched everywhere we go, and it's not because we're some great musicians! It's because we are willing to let God move in us. I pray He moves more powerfully than ever before... I pray that we are blown away and captivated by the great and glorious love He freely gives us. I pray that He starts a fire in the hearts of every person that we encounter tomorrow. 

We're about to take the world. 

"For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:19

At The Pure In Heart Conference

The boys discovering their inner royalty...

How We Pass The Time

"We're On The Frontlines"

A lot of you have probably noticed that DANYA has gone through some changes over the past few months. Well, we're still pursuing this dream God has given us, no matter what happens. One thing that is never going to change about us is the passion we have to see this generation rise up and be who they were made to be in Christ. We wanted to share with you guys our band statement. This is what we strive to define ourselves by. Enjoy! And we hope you are inspired. :)

DANYABAND

STATEMENT

The single most important priority of this band is the individual relationship we each have with Jesus Christ. Whether we are onstage or offstage, playing a rock song or leading worship, riding in the van or hanging out on our days off at home; whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we will do it all for the glory of God.

(Colossians 3:17) (Philippians 3:7-9) (Matthew 22:37)

We believe that Jesus, Who died for our sins and rose to life again victorious over death, is the Way, Truth, and Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him, and anyone who does believe in Him will be saved.

(John 3:16) (John 14:6) (Romans 10:9) (Colossians 1:16-20)

We consider our music a ministry. We reach out to people where they are, sharing with them the message of salvation found in Christ; and we encourage them to go where God has called them to be.

(2 Corinthians 5:14-19) (Matthew 9:12-13) (Matthew 28:19-20)

We will not be intimidated into ever hiding or limiting the amount of light that we let shine through us, even when in rough areas or playing with non-Christian bands.

(Romans 5:5) (Matthew 5:16) (Ephesians 5:8-10)

We will not be intimidated into compromise or mediocrity, especially by promised rewards of fame, money, or power.

(Psalm 51:10) (Matthew 6:13) (Philippians 2:3-5)

We will not, under any circumstances, promote in our music what the Bible identifies as disobedient or sinful.

(Ephesians 4:29-5:6) (Colossians 3:5-10) (Psalm 101:3) (Psalm 19:14)

We strive to maintain integrity that is above reproach.

(Eph. 4:1) (1 Peter 2:12) (Ephesians 5:15)

We consider excellence an essential quality in everything we do.

(Luke 19:17) (Philippians 4:8) (2 Timothy 2:15)

We value the experience and proposals of each member of the band and we maintain an atmosphere of love and respect for each other.

(1 Peter 2:17) (John 13:34-35) (1 Corinthians 13)

We protect each other.

(1 Corinthians 13:7) (Proverbs 18:24) (Proverbs 16:28) (Proverbs 27:6) (John 15:13)

We hold each other accountable.

(James 5:16) (Matthew 18:15-16)

We pray.

(1 Thessalonians 5:17) (James 5:13-16) (Jeremiah 33:3) (Matthew 7:7)

We will always remember that God is the One Who has given us our talent, and our music belongs first to Him. He is able to do more with us than we could possibly imagine.

(John 15:5) (Ephesians 3:20) (Jeremiah 29:11)

What Could Happen?

“Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”
Ephesians 3:20-21

DANYA has signed with SeventhDay Entertainment.

(http://www.facebook.com/SeventhDayEntertainment)

We love you guys so much and thank you for your support and encouragement. We’ve got a long and hard road ahead of us, but we believe that God can take our dreams and use them to make a difference. We don’t just play music to be a great band – we believe God has given us this opportunity so that we can reach people with the love of Jesus Christ. We will be posting our Band Statement in our next note, so you guys can see what we stand for and also help keep us accountable.  

We are scheduling shows, finishing up our EP, designing our new merch, and bracing for impact. God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, and we believe that He will. Thank you for standing by us on our journey thus far. We ask that you continue to go with us! None of this would be possible without you.

Check our tour dates for upcoming shows, and come out and hang with us soon!

“What could happen if we dreamed like we meant it? We could take the world by storm.” – DANYA (Take The World)

Sincerely,

DANYA (www.twitter.com/DANYABAND)

Asa Wiggins (www.twitter.com/asawiggins)
Danya Powell (www.twitter.com/danyamusic)

Mat Poole (www.twitter.com/matpoolemusic)

Matt Morris (www.twitter.com/mattmoreismusic)