Francis Chan sermon

     I highly recommend listening to this sermon. If you don`t listen to the whole thing, at least listen to the first 10 minutes or so. God really used this to reawaken me to the massiveness of the gospel. The outrageousness of what He did. He sent His only Son for His enemies. And forsook Him, while He was left bleeding on the cross? For us? "I scarce can take it in." Or as Francis Chan puts it, "God, I can`t BELIEVE what You did!!!!!!" We need the gospel every day. Preach it to yourself. Meditate on it. And I really do recommend listening to at least the first few minutes of this:





I do hope you find that encouraging. Anyway, as I promised in the past, I will now share with you more music! :D It makes me happy to do so. :)

Check out "Joy" by Page CXVI. It`s an interesting song all around because the lyrics are from a more happy-go-lucky VBS type song. But the way they re-did it is very minor and dark sounding. It`s so very well-done. The words don`t seem to quite match the music, but here`s a little explanation of the song that might help you get past it: http://blog.pagecxvi.com/post/683764188/joy It really is a beautiful song. I would also recommend listening to all of Page CXVI`s music. They do some really good renditions of different hymns.






Anyway, thanks for sticking around! Until next time...




--Rye Bread

Simplify

     Hey people! I can`t believe I`m posting again so soon! But this time I am actually doing a post for a specific reason and that is to officially tell you guys my "album" has been "released"!! I sort of eluded to it in my previous post, but just to give you a refresher.

     Okay, so, the photo credit for the cover goes to the awesome Zhenya! She`s a fantastic photographer!! And, I will have physical copies sometime, but for now I just put the whole thing on a playlist on SoundCloud which I will put at the bottom of this post. Also, I will hopefully put it on Noisetrade or Bandcamp or something sometime. Yeah, so, physical CDs coming if you really truly want one, but for now, check it out on SoundCloud! You can download it for free on there, and then you can just burn your own CD if you want. Or wait until I can burn one for you haha. ANYWAY, I`ll post the link now. https://soundcloud.com/ryan-nordstrom-1/sets/simplify

So, check it out if you want, and be in awe of our great God. Worship Him.


--Rye Bread

Momentary

                 Psalm 103:14 "For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are but dust."

There are times in my faith when I feel so strong. There are times when I feel invincible. Times when I have such a bring-it-on mentality. These times are some of the sweetest times. But they can also be the most dangerous. For though God always remembers that we are dust, we are quite capable of forgetting. I know I forget. And it`s almost always in those strong times that I do so. I begin thinking things that suggest that I am self-sufficient. That I have the strength I need.

                                       "I`ve gotten this far, why not a little more?"

When all along, I have done absolutely nothing, and my Father has done absolutely everything. And God is slowly, bit by bit, taken out of the equation. Of course, we would never admit that we would ever think things like this. I mean, that`s not what Christians do. Right? So, even thinking about thinking those things is completely ridiculous and impossible. Ridiculous, yes. Impossible? Eh...

God, by His grace, has been showing me and reminding me of my weakness. Teaching me humility. After all, when I think of how weak I am, humility is really the only proper response.

We are not invincible.

We are not here forever.

We are but dust.

So, let`s give thanks. Let`s give thanks that we`ve been given breath today. Let`s give thanks that, despite the fact that we were in sin and darkness, the Almighty God sent His only Son to redeem us.

Also, let`s pray that He might give us strength to fight against dependence on ourselves. After all, we now call Him Father. Think on that. Hit your knees. And tremble.



--Rye Bread

Another post..for lack of a better title

  This is another blog post. I don`t really have a cool title for it as you probably saw. Because I really don`t even have a game plan for what it`s going to be about. So, brace yourself. Yeah, so here I am again. Typing. Life is busy, so that`s why there hasn't been a lot of it going on lately. :) Lots of things going on, like college basketball! March Madness has begun and (as usual) my bracket is completely destroyed. Haha so it goes. But yeah. Anyway, that`s sort of irrelevant. Just thought I`d let you all know. ;) So, anyway, one thing that amazes me--especially as of late--is God`s faithfulness. And I've probably said that quite a few times, but it really just never ceases to overwhelm me that a holy God would save us wicked people from His wrath. And after this we STILL run from Him, STILL wanting our own way, STILL chasing after vain things, even after all that He`s done for us. But through our rebellion, He still pursues us, brings us back to the gospel, and reminds us that everything we could ever need is in Him. We do not deserve this kind of faithfulness. How many times have I failed miserably and He still brings me back to His arms? O Lord thank You! Does this not cause you to want to shout for joy?? He still loves us! With a fierce, jealous love. Despite our wickedness. Despite our ugly sin. He loves us enough to speak to us through His Holy Spirit while reading our Bible. Causes us to read something that we didn`t even know that we needed to read! Pretty unbelievable. And we are so weak. Just when we think, "Surely I can`t possibly make that same mistake again," we`re right back where we were. We need grace. And lots of it. Lord we need You. Every day, every hour, every second we need You! How I want more of Him in my life! To come and purge me of myself and my selfish ambition. I want Him to be my all in every aspect of my life. Because if Jesus is only in our life and is only important on Sundays and Wednesdays, then we`re embracing Jesus Christ the religion, not Jesus Christ the person. He should be our all in everything we do, including things that nobody even sees. Our God is to invade and affect every decision and every move that we make. Otherwise, how different are we from everyone else? I think there is more to this "Christian" life than we realize. Luke 14:25-33. And I am directing all of this at myself. I sometimes feel so deeply that there is more. There`s more for us to reach out and grab. There`s more than going to church on Sunday and learning good theology and doctrine. We still need those things, but surely we can go deeper in our spiritual lives. But again, this is not something we can do on our own. We need to ask our Father that He might graciously reveal His presence more in our lives. So, anyway, those are just some things running around in my head right now. Also, I`m pretty sure this gets the award for one of the longest blog posts ever. Haha alright, enough rambling. I`ll just leave you with this song by Gungor that kinda ties in with what I was saying about God`s faithfulness. I love the hope at the end of the song. You should give it a listen. Anyway, hope you enjoyed (or painfully endured) reading this post and I apologize for my tendency to ramble! :) Haha have a good weekend!




--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

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

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. :)

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

Dental Care

        So, I`m getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Or, to sound cool, I`m having oral surgery. But either way, I just couldn`t help but think of this Owl City song. Have a listen.

Just some lyrics,
Have a seat, he says pleasantly
As he shakes my hand
And practically laughs at me
Open up nice and wide
He says peering in
And with a smirk he says
Don`t have a fit, this`ll just pinch a bit
As he tries not to grin

I`ve been to the dentist a thousand times, so I know the drill
I smooth my hair, sit back in the chair, but somehow I still get the chills


So, anyway, sorry I haven`t posted in awhile. Seems like I`ve just been busy busy busy...but that`s not much of an excuse. Oh and before I sign off, I just have to share these couple of sibling things that happened recently.

So, Eddie Joe (8) told me this joke that goes like this:
Have you heard the joke about the three holes in the ground?
To which I responded: No.
Eddie Joe replied: Well, well, well...

 I have confidence you guys will figure that one out. I did, after all. =) And then just this morning, The Big Fella (9) comes rushing into the room where Sunshine and I were. He then declares with fury: "Erik (Eddie Joe) called me a burglar!!!" Sunshine, trying to regain composure after stifling several laughs, replied: "What? He called you a burglar?" Big Fella, still quite upset, said: "Yes, he called me a burglar!!!! I am not even kidding!!" It was pretty funny. So, then we explained to both him and Eddie Joe what a burglar really was and all was well.

 Well, I hope you enjoyed reading, and please, have a great weekend. :)

 --Rye Bread

The Plea of a Former Orphan

      Just a couple of days ago we had our re-adoption court hearing for our Peaches. It`s basically the legal process of adoption in the US. As we were in the courtroom, Peaches grew more and more reserved. And as my parents carried her with them up to the witness chairs, she began crying quietly. After the hearing was over, the tears fell more profusely and sobs began to shake her little shoulders. We were wondering, why is she so upset?? Then, snuggled in Sunshine`s arms, she said through her tears, "But--but I wanna stay with you guys." We finally understood. She was scared that this hearing meant that she would be leaving our family. But we explained to her that it was quite the opposite. We continued to console her, saying, "You will always be in our family. We love you. We love you. We love you. You will be in our family forever. That`s why we had to do this." She seemed to understand to some extent and we left the courthouse for some yummy Perkins. Soon, bacon was clenched in her hand, and thus, a smile spread across her face. What an awesome little sister I have. You can read about this in more detail at our family`s blog, here. Have a great weekend!!


--Rye Bread

John Piper sermon jam

     Ok, so I know by personal experience that people don`t usually watch the videos that people post on their blogs. And if they do watch it, they only watch about the first few seconds or so. But I really really really think that you should watch this one. It`s really good. It was something that I needed to hear and I didn`t even realize it. Oh, how sweet it is to KNOW that God is sovereign over EVERYTHING. Lately it`s been kinda hard for me to really trust and rest in this awesome truth due to my bro`s situation for the past six months or so. But it seems that every time I have just a little doubt, or I`m scared, God shoves the truth of His sovereignty right back in my face again. There is not a square inch on this planet that Jesus Christ does not declare: MINE. My God is so good!!! He makes plans to prosper us and not to harm us!! No matter what it looks like to us. So, I know this video is kinda longish, but please give it a listen.





      Cheers,


--Rye Bread

Summer, Part 1

      Okay, I`m back again, this time for awhile. Until I go to Colorado anyway. ;) Anyway, like I said in my last post I will share with you die-hard readers all about my trip to New Orleans and my family`s vacation to Yellowstone and all that jazz. =D But I will only have time for one today. The other will have to wait until part two. So first things first: New Orleans.

Wow. What an amazing trip!! I will briefly sum up what I feel God showed/taught/blessed me those ten days. One of the things would definitely be contentment and joy. The kids we were with at the day camp we ran and the "Challenge Circles" that we did were so happy just to throw a football around with you or even just to talk to you. That just made their day. And they have next to nothing materially. And yet they`re always so content and happy. I look at myself and think, "Wow. I complain and grumble ALL the time!!! And I have all this stuff!! A lot of these kids don`t have one or both parents!!" But the thing that God really pricked my heart with was that I had Christ, and most of these kids didn`t and that as a Christian, I should be one of the most joyful people because I have been given LIFE!!!!! Shouldn`t that make me so uncontrollably joyful?!? Jesus Christ lives on the inside of me!! Crazy. I don`t know if any of that made sense, because I`m not very good at taking what`s inside my head and expressing it clearly to other people, but, I hope you got the gist. Another thing that God taught me during that time was that it is SO important to start off your day with His word. The first couple of mornings, I was like, "Ah, I don`t really have time, we have to leave really soon, I`ll just try and read it tonight." The main reason though was because I didn`t really have a desire to those first couple mornings. But, oh man, throughout those days when I didn`t read my Bible in the morning I just struggled in my spiritual battle. I`m just like, "Why is this happening?? Why am I struggling so much with this?" But then for the rest of the week we started off our morning with our personal devotions first, and then group devotions. And there was definitely a spiritual battle just like there always is, but I felt ready to take on Satan and whatever he threw at me, with God`s strength. And I probably wouldn`t have read my Bible that week, just for lack of desire, but because of those personal devos, I did. I learned that even when you don`t really feel like reading your Bible, it is so important just to do it anyway. Again, I hope that kinda made some sense. There is sooooo much more to tell, but it would probably take up a whole blog, so, if you want to talk to me about it, I`d be happy to tell you guys everything. :) Thanks for reading, and now I will post some pics from the trip.

Luise, Naomi, and Cassandra. Out cold. :)

At the church on the way down in Tyronza, Arkansas. Pretty cool story behind our stay there for the night.

Lots of card playing. This is a rendition of Spoons. Played with pew pencils.

And Ginger turning them into breath-taking art. That`s a cat if you couldn`t tell.

On the road again. FUN FACT: We got over 50 semis to honk on the way down.

The forever bridge. No other name fits it.

Super Dome.

The Yellow House. This is where we stayed the whole week. It`s pretty legendary.

Noah DeRoos up top and Dean in the middle.

FRENCH QUARTER!!

Cafe Du Monde!! Beignets. Amazing.

They were filming a movie while we were there. Pretty cool.

We went inside this really big Catholic church.

It was huge.

One of the guys I met from the Texas group that was there too, Joel. He was a cool guy. And a really good saxophone player. And he hit his head on the ceiling fan spinning at top speed. Yeah. There`s a lot of stories about Joel.

Waterslide at the day camp for Fun Friday. It was actually pretty fun.

And a bouncy house. I didn`t go in there. But I bet it was fun.

Me and one of the other Texas guys that roomed with us named Holden. You can`t really define Holden. Let`s just leave it at that. :D

Picture of all the interns that are there throughout the summer. Amazing, Godly people.

Me and one of the interns, Jordan. Really cool guy.

On the way back home, staying at a college.

   There are a lot more pictures and stories, but those will have to wait. Thank you for reading about our trip and there is a LOT more to tell, so please, ask me or any of the other people who went for more!!! Hope you are all having an awesome summer, and I hope you guys have a great Fourth of July!!!!



--Rye Bread