- They're the band with the name

that sounds like an address.

Tenth Avenue North

Over the years the group has produced

seven albums and 22 singles.

And now lead singer, MikeDonehey, has a new release.

And guess what?

It has nothing to do with music.

- [Narrator] The leadvoice of the popular band,

Tenth Avenue North,belongs to Mike Donehey,

songwriter and the band's founder.

As his lyrics attest, hethinks deeply about faith

and the Christian life.

♪ So if I fall and if I fail ♪

♪ I will trust your mercy is ♪

♪ Greater than all of this ♪

- [Narrator] In his firstbook, cleverly titled,

"Finding's God's Life for My Will",

Mike uses humor andvulnerability to tackle

the questions we all haveabout God's plan for our lives.

- And now, here's MikeDonehey, of Tenth Avenue North,

singing "Greater Than all my Regrets".

(audience clapping)

(guitar music)

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ When the past it comes to haunt me ♪

♪ It tells me what I've done ♪

♪ It reminds what's gone wrong ♪

♪ When my sins are laid before me ♪

♪ My Lord, you take them on ♪

♪ Yes, my Lord, you take them on ♪

♪ So if I fall and if I fail ♪

♪ I will trust your mercy is ♪

♪ Greater than all of this ♪

♪ And if I bend and if I break ♪

♪ I'll trust the hands who hold me are ♪

♪ Greater than all my regrets ♪

♪ You are greater than all my regrets ♪

♪ You are, you are ♪

♪ Father, I know I break your heart ♪

♪ When I choose my way ♪

♪ When I doubt your love ♪

♪ But you take me as I am, a child ♪

♪ Yeah, You whisper in my ear ♪

♪ Let's get up and try again ♪

♪ So if I fall and if I fail ♪

♪ I will trust your mercy is ♪

♪ Greater than all of this ♪

♪ And if I bend and if I break ♪

♪ I'll trust the hands who hold me are ♪

♪ Greater than all my regrets ♪

♪ You are greater than all my regrets ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ Hallelujah, You are right here with me ♪

♪ Hallelujah, You have always been there ♪

♪ Hallelujah, You willnever stop chasing me ♪

♪ You're chasing me, yeah ♪

♪ So if I fall and if I fail ♪

♪ I will trust your mercy is ♪

♪ Greater than all of this ♪

♪ And if I bend and if I break ♪

♪ I'll trust the hands who hold me are ♪

♪ Greater than all my regrets ♪

♪ You are greater than all my regrets ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

(audience clapping)

- Well, while Mike ismaking his way over here,

I want you to know thatthe song you just heard

is called "Greater Than All My Regrets".

It's from Tenth Avenue North's latest CD,

called "No Shame".

And Mike is now a first time author.

He's just released a book called

"Finding God's Life for My Will".

Both are available nationwide.

Great to have you with us today!

- Glad to be here.

- Love the book, love the title.

I mean the journey you wenton to writing all of this

is one that I think lots of people on.

Almost a fear of doing the wrong thing,

taking the wrong step.

But a lot of people thenhave regrets about things

in their lives.

How did this song come about?

- Yeah, this song is justan honest piece of regret

that I dealt with, you know.

And regret is sort ofthat voice that says,

"Hey, that mistake that you made,

"God can't make yourlife beautiful again."

And for me it was, we cut backour touring almost in half

a couple of years ago, becauseI have four daughters, and--

- [Terry] Say no more (laughs).

- Pray for me.

But people were like, "Areyou praying for a boy?"

And I'm like, "No, Godgives girls to a family

"that already has a man."

- [Terry] Oh, I like that!

- That's how I come back at it.

But to be home more, we hadto cut our touring in half.

And I just had a lot of regretthat I didn't do that sooner.

- [Terry] Really.

Looking back on what you might've missed.

- Cause God came through, right?

And I went, why was I soscared to make that decision?

Why was I so precious?

And I was crying on my kitchen floor

and I felt like God just whispered to me.

He said, "Hey, Mike, I'mgreater than all your regrets."

"Let's get up and try again."

And he kinda sounded likeBob Ross when he said that.

(laughing)

You know Bob Ross, the painter?

- Yes.

- You know what he used to say?

Because all of us, we lookat a regret like a painting,

and we have this paintstroke on our canvas.

And we go, oh if only Icould just take that off

- Yes, it would be perfect.

- and start a brand new painting.

And what Bob Ross used tosay when he painted, he goes,

"Remember in art, there's no mistakes,

"just happy little accidents."

And I felt like God said to me, he goes,

"You need to stop tryingto erase what's been past,

"and you need to letme embrace your past."

- And so often, also,God teaches us things

that we absolutely needto know and keeps us

from repeating the samefoolishness down the road.

You really struggled with,as the title of your book,

I love it, "FindingGod's Life for My Will";

you were on a desperatesearch to find God's will

for your life.

How did God turn that aroundin your heart and mind?

- Well yeah, in the book Italk about how I struggled.

Is this girlfriend of mine

the woman I'm supposed to marry?

And I was paralyzed withfear of going, what if I make

the wrong decision and Ijust ruin my whole life?

So God, "Is she the rightone, is she the right one,

"is she the right one?"

And God goes, "Hey, how wouldyou treat her if she was?"

And I went, Oh, so thisisn't about you changing

my circumstance, this isabout you changing me.

- [Terry] No writing on the wall.

- And the thing is, like with marriage,

I know a lot of guys whoprayed and prayed and prayed

and said, "Is this the rightone, is this the right one,

"is this the right one?"

And then they stopped praying,

"How should I love this woman every day,

"now that she is the one?"

You know?

So my book is like, quitobsessing over what the plan is

and maybe let God invade your plans.

Like, quit going, "God,change my circumstance."

And maybe for a second go,

"Okay, God, what do youneed to change in me?"

- In your book over andover again you kind of stop

in the midst of thesemoments of contemplation

and question and even regret.

And it's in that place ofstopping and just connecting

with God that he speaks to you.

When we're agitated, likeyou're talking about,

either through regret or tryingto figure everything out,

we don't realize, He's it, He'sthe answer, He's the source.

He's the goal.

- Yeah, this might sounda little provocative,

but I wrote this book when I realized,

I need to stop blackmailing God.

So many of us, we come to God

so God will give us this thing.

And God's going, "That's idolatry."

"I want to be the thing", right?

"I want to become the treasure,not give you a treasure

"so that you forget me."

- What's the subtitle of your book?

"His Presence is the Plan"

- Yeah, that's it.

Have you ever been drivingand you have a friend

in the passenger seat who'sgot all the directions.

Maybe they've got them printed out,

and they don't tell you the next turn

until it's almost too late.

And you're goin', thiscould be so much easier

if you just plugged it all in.

Like, buy me a Tesla.

Let it auto drive me all the way there.

And I said that to God.

I said, "God, why don't youjust give me a 10-step plan?"

"Give me the whole picture."

"That way I'll know what's coming."

And God said, "I can't do that."

I said, "Why not?"

He goes, "Cause then you'dstop listening to my voice."

- [Terry] Yes.

- And I've realized, it'staken me a long time,

and I'm still realizing this,

that God's not reallyafter performance from me

as much as he's after intimacy with me.

- [Terry] Absolutely.

- And so He kinda wantsme to lean in and go,

being with you is whatthis drive is all about,

not getting there.

- And in a crazy mixed-up world,

with so much clamoring around us,

being with Him has to bevery intentional, doesn't it?

- I mean it's no mistakeHe says to Mary and Martha,

he goes, "Hey, Martha thanks,you're doin' a lot of great

"stuff for me, but Mary haschosen what is necessary."

And it's almost offensivein an accomplishment-driven

culture and an accolade-drivenculture, to go,

the necessary thing isto be intimate with God.

I actually have a chapterin the book called,

"Prayer is wasting time on God".

Because in our culture,if you actually just stop

and are just with God, you can feel like,

"Oh, I should be doingsomething with this."

- Actually it takesawhile to enter into that,

because we are so used to thefray and to the craziness.

- Totally.

- Yeah, being with Godis what it's all about,

it's what this book is all about

and I think you'd really enjoy it.

It's called "FindingGod's Life for My Will".

The subtitle, "His Presence is the Plan".

You can't miss the message.

It's clear and it's in here.

It's available wherever books are sold.

Highly recommend it.

Thank you for your music.

Always a message, always wonderful.

- Absolutely, thanks for having me.

- Great to have you here.