The Problems With Christian Music

       I recently read this article about what a lot of Christian music is like today. About why a lot of it is so blaaaah, and why we can pretty much tell right away whether we`re listening to a secular or Christian song. It`s written by Michael Gungor and it`s somewhat lengthy, but I really think you should try and read the whole thing, if you have time. http://awakengeneration.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/michael-gungor-on-the-problem-with-the-christian-music-industry/

Now, don`t get me wrong either. Although I do agree with what he is saying, there are a lot of Christian artists that I enjoy listening to who have good lyrics and music. So, I`m not shunning Christian music or anything like that. But in general, it seems as if Christian music has slowly become a marketing term rather than God-glorifying art. But just go read the article before I tell you everything. ;)


--Rye Bread

Time to focus

         Hello, it`s me posting again. And (drumroll please) I am not posting a video or song!!!!! *crowd applauses* Impressive right? Haha anyway, just been thinking a lot lately on what`s really important in this life. Because we Americans live crazy busy lives and it`s all too easy to get caught up in that. But our eyes are to be fixed on Christ! Not on trivial things that will disappear one day anyway. Christ is our life, our hope, our joy. And when we forget that, we`re forgetting everything that matters. We are so fickle, getting distracted time after time. Just when we`re about to spend some time in the Word and in communion with our Father, we remember, "Oh yeah, I still have to do *fill in the blank*." And guess what? There`s no time for God Almighty. Sometimes we just need to STOP! and look to our Father. To lay aside every weight and sin! And at the same time "looking to Jesus"! (Heb. 12) In our Christian lives, we just need to slow down and simplify sometimes. Stop obsessing over doctrine and theology and be with the One who the doctrine and theology is about. (Side note: don`t get me wrong, doctrine and theology are the bomb and they are very important, but they can also become a burden.) There`s so many times where I just need to take a step back, and glory in what Christ has done for me. To be still and know that HE is GOD. To simply praise Him. 

         So yeah, first let us be thankful. Thankful for Jesus. Thankful for the cross. Thankful for a personal relationship with the Almighty God. And then let us press on. Press on toward the goal. Putting all distractions aside. We are called to "RUN" not "jog at your own leisurely pace." And let`s encourage one another. Even just hanging out with friends, do we ever ask how their race is going? I am directing all of this at myself, by the way. And I`m not saying it`s bad to goof off and have fun and laugh and joke. But isn`t the state of your eternal soul a somewhat important subject? Hmmm….

Anyway, I`ll try to wrap this up, sorry if this was a depressing post. I hope you didn`t see it that way. ;) And it was also kinda rambly, but whatever. And it`s ok to be busy, because I know I am. But may our eyes always be fixed on the prize! Even in the busyness. 

Have a great weekend!

--Rye Bread

For now...

  So, it`s been forever. I know. But here we go. I`m not even really posting anything exciting because I don`t really have time, but just thought I would say that I will hopefully be back sometime soon to post an in-depth something or another. Maybe. Hopefully sooner rather than later. But anyway, I`ll just leave you with this "song" by Beautiful Eulogy. Although it`s more like a sermon jam. But anyway, you should definitely check out their music, reeeeeaally good stuff. Gets you thinking. In fact, you can get BOTH of their albums for FREE on Noisetrade right here. Anyway, I`ll post the video now.





--Rye Bread

A song...

  There is this awesome band called Rend Collective Experiment and I`ve been listening to them quite a bit lately. One of their songs called "Desert Soul" is one of my favorite songs right now!! It`s pretty sweet, so I`ll post it for you so you can listen to it. :)




--Rye Bread

"Acedia"

    So, there's this pretty cool music that I've been listening to by Ancient Mariner. I don't know whether to say "group" or "band" or what because its just one guy who calls himself Ancient Mariner, although he does have a drummer now ANYWAY...really sweet tunes, go look him up on Spotify or iTunes or whatever other doo-hicky you like to use. :) And actually, it's kinda weird cuz this guy is and has been my cousin's best friend since childhood (the cousin with the crazy guitar skills) so I kinda sorta have met him but anyway, rabbit-trail...so anyways, it's pretty cool, good lyrics, cool music and I'll actually post some lyrics to one of his songs called "Acedia" and if you look up what that word means you can probably figure out what the song is about. :)

My words spill onto the floor

They lose their taste when they're lukewarm

They don't mean a thing

I've sunk into the room and lost heat and the dead air and I don't feel a thing

In apathetic torpor

I'm lost in quiet torture

I can't feel a thing

I watch the future unfold

Plans and emotions seem futile

It wouldn't change a thing

I couldn't name the demon

The noonday sloth that creeps in

Into the abbott's mind

Exaggerating time

There's danger in passivity

The lion pounced and swallowed me

Trapped behind the teeth

Of foul Acedia

From the end of the earth I call

My heart is faint with no more strength

Bring my soul out of this prison

And then I shall praise Your name

--Rye Bread

Vacation(s) Part 2

  Okay, so the title is pretty self-explanatory. Here`s pictures of our family reunion at Johnson Lake!! :)

These two were in the water pretty much right when we got there!!

And, naturally, TUBING!!!!!!!

The sun looked super cool behind this cloud one evening. Made for a pretty legit pic.

Me and Eddie Joe getting ready!!!

YEAH!!!!!!!!

Chillin` by the fire

Peaches and Eddie Joe love hanging out with their cousin Lauren!!

Oh and there happened to be a few national sail-boat races while we were there. Crazy!! So if you saw a sail-boat race on ESPN, we were there. Haha :)

  Yeah so there weren`t really that many pics, but it was a really good time!!! Well, thanks for reading!! Have a great rest of the weekend and dude God is awesome!! Find your joy and satisfaction in Him. Cuz that`s where it`s truly at!


--Rye Bread

Vacation(s) Part 1

  Okay, so this year, we kinda sorta had two vacations, but you could probably count them as one too, but, you know, whatever you want. Haha anyway, we went to South Carolina for the first "half" of vacation for a week. Basically, the ocean was in the backyard of the beach house we were staying in. Pretty sweet!! I`ll just post some pics of that. :)

On our way!! Waiting at our gate...

First evening at the beach..the waves and the sky screaming praise and glory to the King!!

Wave jumping!

Eddie Joe - what a stud!!

We found a couple good-sized spiders our first night

We went into Charleston one day. Stopping for lunch...

Sunshine loves lampposts!!

T-bird - swag city!!!

Fort Sumter--where the first shots of the Civil War rang out!

After our little tour, we were pretty pleased with ourselves to find this lovely fountain where we happily dipped our feet until we read the sign below...

Hehe...

We went down to the battery next. Some HUGE cannons!!

There were some pretty cool trees in the area. I wasn`t really feeling well enough to join the climbing though. Oh well. :)

We took some family photos.

Not quite ready for this one...haha

More swimming!!

All in all, a pretty awesome week!! Hope you enjoyed the pics! I will try to post some more of Vacation Part 2 sometime soon. :)


--Rye Bread

Endings and Beginnings

   So, whether we like it or not, the summer is drawing to a close. Soon, the leaves on the trees will be turning all sorts of beautiful colors and falling to the ground below. The end of summer. The beginning of fall. Right around that same time, school-books will be "dusted off" so to speak, and the school year will be upon us once again. The end of summer vacation. The beginning of school.

   But, the saddest of these endings and beginnings is the end of my sister living at home and the beginning of her life in a college dorm room. Sunshine is moving her stuff in this Saturday. Then she will officially move in the next weekend. Just the other day I think I finally realized, "Wow. She`s going to be gone for nine months." And, eesh, that`s no fun to think about. :( Thankfully, Omaha isn`t horribly far at all, but still...no more goofing around while making lunch, no more talking late into the night, no more watching SpongeBob together. Hmph. Well, thankfully, I serve a God who is bigger than anything. I serve a God who controls the atoms and molecules of every tiny square inch on this earth, and holds the universe in the palm of His hand. And if this same God says that He will take care of me, who am I to doubt Him? So, yeah it is an ending. And yes I will miss my sister more than you can know. But Sunshine moving out is also a beginning. And God has it all in His hand. That`s a pretty cool thing to know.


--Rye Bread

By the way, I will be posting pictures of our crazy vacation(s) in the next blog post. :)

The Fourth and stuff

    Here I am again! Two consecutive posts two days in a row?? Is that even possible? Apparently. Anyway,   I will just post a few pictures of our Fourth of July fun and such. All photo credit goes to my father.

The punk is lit!

Lighting smoke bombs!! Those things are the bomb. Haha, ok that was really lame.

Probably discussing what to light next...probably another smoke bomb.

Looky here, Jack! I`m drinking from my Uncle Si tea glass!!

   Okay, so there weren`t as many pictures as I thought there were, but oh well. Thanks for reading! Or skimming. Or just scrolling really fast down the page. Whichever you did is appreciated. :) Now to go swimming and then go help out at our church`s first VBS tonight!! Whoohoo super pumped! Keep your eyes on Christ y`all. He`s everything. Later...


--Rye Bread

Rye Bread's Random Rambles

Hey guys!! So, it's been awhile. And I'm basically here to tell you that I will soon be posting a more in-depth post about our Fourth of July. Pictures and all that jazz. And hopefully SOON! Because we're leaving for South Carolina a week from today!! We'll be there for a week and then 2 days later we're off to Lexington, Nebraska for a family reunion. 5 days there, then we're back home, Sunshine will be off to college, school will start...no, no, no! I'm gonna cry!! No, not really, I don't normally get emotional. Although it is sad to think of Sunshine leaving...but we'll save those thoughts for a later date. ANYWAY, I really need to stop typing now. Thanks readers for reading rambly, rambunctious, run-on, random rambles. Try saying that 5 times fast. Haha just kidding. Okay, I really need to sign off now. Before I think of a good joke. Seriously, until next time...

--Rye Bread

Hopeful Lamentation

  In my quiet time, I found myself in Lamentations, a very sorrowful book if you haven't given it a read. I was reading the third chapter, which, although it is one of my favorite passages, I had read it so many times that I thought I couldn't possibly derive any more from it. But everything that I had ever found to be sweet in this chapter before, returned again, this time almost sweeter. The whole first bit of the chapter is, to put it bluntly, depressing. The author writes of despair, hopelessness, a sense of distance from God, even comparing God to a hunter who is determined to take him out. But then, the author recalls God's faithfulness. He recalls God's steadfast love. He remembers that God's mercies never come to an end. And this should be so encouraging, especially to those who are going through a time when they have no idea what God's up to. Because we don't need to know. All we need to remember is that God is faithful and that whatever He's doing right now, He's doing it because He loves us and wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son. At the same time, I hope you understand that I'm not trying to encourage a "sit-back-and-watch" mentality where we do simply just that and hope that God takes care of us. Does that make sense? Anyway, I think one of the most beautiful parts is verses 55-57. God is so loving and gentle to say to His children, "Do not fear!" And yet this same God is holy, almighty, and terrifying. That's one of the things that you will see in the Bible; fear and love, severity and kindness, lamentation and hope.

Romans 11:22

--Rye Bread

Legit blog

  Hey, before I leave for Bible study, I`m gonna say: GO LOOK AT THIS BLOG!!! It`s written by our very own homeschool drama teacher. Some really, really good stuff on here. So, what are you waiting for??
The Kandt Khronicles

--Rye Bread

Mr. Nmit...again.

   Ah, yes folks it`s that time again. A time to enter into the ever-entertaining life of Mr. Nmit. Here is the third Nmit video that we just released yesterday. There are many more that we have filmed, but these three are the only ones that we have made public. So, without further ado, Mr. Nmit: Lemonade. Watch, if you dare.




Yeah, we`re kinda crazy, I know. You never know what`s gonna happen when we get together with the E`s. =)




So, yeah, I hope you all have a good weekend and such. And I will try to get my brother to post sometime so y`all can read something awesome. :D Oh and speaking of awesome, I`m just gonna leave you with one more video of my cousin`s senior recital. He is a beastly guitar player. I mean, BEASTLY. So, it`s kinda super long, but you have to at least listen to one of the pieces. And if you do just listen to one, make sure it`s the one called "Autumn Leaves." The rest of them are awesome as well, but that one is my fav. And if any of you readers play guitar, you will appreciate how crazy his skills are.





Sorry both these videos are kinda big. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed! Oh yeah, and if you want to download my cousin`s album, here`s the link: http://bennoble.bandcamp.com/album/faith-again-ep


Hopefully that link will work. He`s got some groovy music. ANYWAY, I`m really going to sign off now. :)





--Rye Bread

It's been awhile, eh?

Yeah, like I said, it's been awhile. I have been doing school like a madman and stuff like that. But it's all good. :)  Although, a lot of the time it's hard to focus on that stuff when I just want to sit and think on all that happened on the Ethiopia trip. All the people I met. All the kids that I played with. All the needs. How on earth do you go back to America and resume your daily life? As if nothing's happened? Those people are still there. They are still real. Those kids are not statistics. They're real kids with real laughter, real tears, real smiles. They're just like my little siblings. They're also kids with real needs. Don't get me wrong. The orphanage they are in is the best place that they can be right now. But they need a mommy. They need a daddy. One of the little guys that I really bonded with constantly wanted me to hold him. He would let me know by raising his arms and saying, "Uppa! Uppa! Uppa!" And he was so content to simply sit in my arms. He and all of those other kids are still there. Still without a family. Their faces constantly come to my mind. But above their need for a family, they, like everyone else in the world, need the gospel.

We all inside of us have a need, a hole, a desire for something to satisfy.

Nothing but grace.

Nothing but mercy.

Nothing but Jesus' blood.

Nothing but the gospel can fill us.

And oh does it fill us! Daily, faithfully our Father reminds us of this hope. There is always hope while you draw breath. That includes these kids. It includes every person on this planet.

There is hope for the lost

Hope without cost

Hope for the orphan

Hope for the forgotten

The sound of His Name turns the night to day

Father show Your face

Show Your face

Lift your eyes, lift your eyes

For hope and joy are on the rise

No matter what you've seen, child

No matter where you are

There is always hope

--Rye Bread

Until next time...

    Hello again! This is basically a post to let you all know that I am leaving for Africa tomorrow!!!!! Therefore, I won`t be posting for awhile. :) I`m not really sure how much I can say about the trip in this public setting, so I`ll just say that it`s a mission trip to Ethiopia. Exciting stuff!! I am super pumped! And definitely nervous too. But hey, my God`s bigger than all that. Looking forward to seeing how He`s gonna stretch me, grow me, mold me, and challenge me on this trip. So, anyway, this will be my last post before the big trip and we arrive back home May 6th. So you can probably expect a post sometime after that. Or not. :) Well, until next time...


--Rye Bread

P.S: Just by the way, prayer would be greatly appreciated while we`re there!! Don`t want to be all demanding or anything, but it really would mean a lot! Thanks. :)

"His sweet voice soundeth..."

Jesus calls us o`er the tumult of our life`s wild, restless sea
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, saying "Christian, follow Me."

Jesus calls us from the worship of the vain world`s golden store,
From each idol that would keep us, saying "Christian, love Me more."

In our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and days of ease
Still He calls, in cares and pleasures, "Christian, love Me more than these."

Jesus calls us: by Thy mercies, Savior, may we hear Thy call,
Give our hearts to Thy obedience, serve and love Thee best of all.

-Cecil Alexander

Just thought I`d share this...have a great day! :)


--Rye Bread

Two years??

         So, today, crazily enough, is our 2 year fami-versary!!! Meaning that two years ago today, "Peaches" (6) was brought home from Ethiopia to be part of our family. Officially. And right now all I can think is, "What?!? Two years? Impossible!!" It`s pretty weird. But anyway adoption is super awesome. Knowing where my little sister came from and what she went through at such a young age is pretty incredible. Knowing where she would be now if we hadn`t adopted her. Wow. Praise the Lord that adoption is possible!! And man what an amazing picture of what our heavenly Father has done for us. So yeah. Two years. Still can`t get over it. Peaches is such a blessing in our lives. She keeps us on our toes, that`s for sure. We love you Peaches and we are so thankful that God put you in our family!!!!!

--Rye Bread



Another song...just a cover of a Jon Foreman song this time, if you want to check it out.

House of God, Forever (Cover)

New post...finally

Tear-Filled Eyes Hey everyone! If you`re wondering, to your left is a random song that I felt like recording, so if you want to check it out, go for it! :) Anyway, there has been quite a bit of stuff going on in my family`s life lately. Such things as T-bird and I doing drama (it`s been super fun and I encourage you all to come to the performances), everyone doing school, school, school, birthday parties, basketball practices/games, youth group and AWANA, and in a week from today T-bird and I will be attending the IGNITE conference with a bunch of awesome friends. But it seems all this was kind of put aside and forgotten when we got a call Monday night and were informed that my mom`s dad was in the active stages of dying. Scary thought. And not something we often like to think about and dwell on. After all, we would rather think ourselves invincible than what we really are: weak. The scariest thing of all about this phone call though was the state of my grandpa`s soul. It has been very apparent his whole life that he has not put his trust in Jesus. So, really, that was the most shaking thing to think that if my grandpa dies tonight without Jesus Christ as his mediator, he will face God`s wrath. Eternally. A word we will never fully grasp until we are experiencing it. But. There is still hope. While he still draws breath, and he does as of now, God is still able to save him. And while he is not audibly responding to most things, one thing that Mrs. Henn told me and T-bird the other day that I found so encouraging as I thought about it was that when our bodies are dying, the last thing to fade away is our hearing. Did our Creator not design it that way? So that even while living out his final days, God can still use vessels like us to speak truth to his ears? Wow. Our God is so good. Our God is so kind to even use us as ways to plant seeds in people`s lives. So, anyway, that`s kinda what`s been going on in our life. But God is always faithful. And He does all things well.


--Rye Bread

Just musing

Hello again readers. Before you begin to think that at last their computer is fixed and perhaps they will begin posting more regularly!, let me put those thoughts to rest by saying, no our computer is not fixed and, really, even if it was, the posts would still be anything but regular. :) But either way, here I am typing. Or tapping, that is, on the iPad. It seems that many things have been running through my mind lately, and I've felt a need to "blow off some steam" if you will. So, therefore, a blog post mainly for musing. For the past few months, it seems as if the brokenness of this world we live in has made itself more prominent to me. Not necessarily actually affecting myself, but affecting those around me, opening my eyes to it more and more. I've naturally always known as a good Christian kid that yes, the world is messed-up and yes we will suffer. But what happens when it's right around you? What about when it becomes reality rather than just something you've heard over and over? Well, for one, it certainly reminds me where my soul belongs. Not here. It also shows me that in the midst of trials and not-so-easy things, God still mercifully gives us glimpses of the beautiful things that He is doing. The One who is breaking the bones, also heals them. Not exactly the way that we humans normally think. Check out Psalm 51. And hopefully, these things will also cause us to run to our Father in the quiet place perhaps more than we would in normal conditions. They would cause us to "swim in the Word" as John Piper once put it.

I'm going to shift gears here for a second. If you guys could, I'd appreciate it if you would pray that my love for the Word would increase. That I would desire more to spend time "in the garden" with my Abba Father. I seem to be going through a season where I just feel cold and dead as far as my relationship with the Lord and without any desire to read the Word. I know you guys probably don't normally get prayer requests on blog posts, but I would really appreciate it if you, as my brothers and sisters in Christ, could pray for me in this way. Sorry that this has been such a seemingly depressing post, but it's just kinda what's on my heart right now. Thanks to all of you guys!! I really appreciate it.

--Rye Bread

It's okay! I am alive.

Hello dedicated readers. I am truly living and breathing and this post is basically just to let you all know. Our computer has been out of commission for quite awhile now, therefore the lack of blogging. But we hope to have it fixed soon, so, stay tuned. I will hopefully give a rundown of happenings-of-late and so forth. So, I apologize for not posting for a really long time (not that that's abnormal). At least I was desperate enough to blog on the iPad. Not my favorite thing to do. Anyway, more reading to come after our computer starts computing again. :) Thanks for reading my boring post.

--Rye Bread