New Song - Just for Fun

Yeah, I know I haven't posted anything "deep" in a while, but hey, I don't get paid for this! Hahaha. Actually,
I have been somewhat productive these last two or so months, as I've been washing windows with a local
company. So, for now, be content with me and Blane's latest offering, a cover of "Sound of Silence", written by
none other than the inimitable Simon & Garfunkel, of course. 8)



(Stay tuned for more originals by us in the next few weeks)

New Song - Cry No More

Here is our latest recording, an original by Blane:

By the way, the "Battle of the Bands" went great! We didn't win anything, but it was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to like us. Hopefully there will be some video clips available soon!

"The Room"

I've been reading Joshua Harris's book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" (which I heartily recommend), and was struck by his narrative of a dream that he had. It still gets me every time I read it. Here it is:

The Room by Joshua Harris

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed."

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I Have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger," "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my 20 years to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus.

I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

"No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

By Joshua Harris. Orginally published in New Attitude Magazine. Copyright New Attitude, 1995. You have permission to reprint this in any form. We only ask that you include the appropriate copyright byline and do not alter the content.

(You can read more about this story at Mr. Harris's website)

Poster Post

I found this poster for the "Battle of the Bands" competition on the official "Mrs. Hyatt's Music House" Facebook page:

Just FYI!

Check This Out...

Yesterday was Jed's birthday; go see "Jed's Story" to read about how we celebrated.

Big Happenings

I know, I haven't posted in forever, we've been kinda busy lately...
  ...Which leads to the most exciting news by far, Sunny and Brandon's wedding.

I'm sure those of you who follow Sunny's blog have already seen her latest post, but of course I must chime in.

It was truly a happy event, one that has been prayed for and, might I add, highly anticipated! I praise God that

they both seek to honor Him in their union, and I'm proud of them both!

  Me and Blane jr. were asked to play at the reception, and we were able to record most of the songs we did. Here's one; Carolina In My Mind by James Taylor. (I will post more as they become available to me)

  On another note, we were able to compete in the "Battle of the Bands-Unplugged" here in WNC, and we made

it into the finals! We'll be playing along with several other bands on June 1st at the 9th annual Jamfest at the WNC AG Center. 10:30 am., be there or be square!

  On another-nother note, we've done a few videos that I haven't posted, so here you go:

We did this one at the reception:

Have a blessed week, internet people!

"But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me." - Psalm 13:5-6

Four Whole Years

I totally forgot, while writing my last post, that Sunday we celebrated our church's fourth anniversary! God has definitely used our little fellowship to benefit us all. I know that it has benefited me. After lunch, we all returned to the sanctuary where me and Blane Jr played a few songs:



After that, we scrunched together for a picture and had a time of sharing about the blessings the Lord has brought us through our fellowship. It has surely been a blessed time!

"I was glad when they said to me,

'Let us go to the house of the LORD!'"

- Psalm 122:1

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near"

- Hebrews 10:24-25

Just For Fun...

We got together to record yesterday and didn't have any new songs ready, so we did a fun Bass/Electric duet.
The song is called "Sleepwalk", and it was written and recorded by "Santo & Johnny" in 1959. It has since been
covered by everybody from The Ventures to Chet Atkins to Jeff Beck.



Back to more serious subjects in the near future...

God Does Delight In You

In reformed circles, I think it's very easy for us to over-accentuate the law and the importance of personal
holiness in a Christian's life. Perhaps, in some cases, to the exclusion of any kind of grace and love on God's
part beyond our initial salvation. May it not be so!

On the same subject, here is our latest song, a cover from Sovereign Grace Ministries:

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love;

He will exult over you with loud singing." - Zephaniah 3:17

Songs New and Not-So New

Here's our newest song from yesterday, my arrangement of "Hallelujah What a Savior" by Philip Bliss, the writer
of "It Is Well With My Soul": (This is our first song using overdubbed harmonies; there are five in all!)




1. Man of Sorrows! What a name; For the Son of God, Who came; Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

2/3. Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned He stood; Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Guilty, vile, and helpless we; Spotless Lamb of God was He; Full atonement! Can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

4/5. Lifted up was He to die; “It is finished!” was His cry; Now in heaven exalted high.
When He comes, our glorious King, All His ransomed home to bring, Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Here is one we did a few weeks ago, but I forgot to post:

"He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

- Isaiah 53:3

A New Year and a New Song

I know, I haven't posted in a coon's age. I won't make any lousy excuses, either; I've just been procrastinating.
Anyway, I don't have anything prepared for this post, but I do have a thought or two.
  The dawn of a new year is a milestone, a marker. Why don't we take some time to think about where we were
a year ago? Prayerfully consider how we've changed, how we've progressed (or regressed), and what lessons
we might take from the experience. Instead of making resolutions that we may or may not be able to keep, why
don't we pray that God would show us our faults, and give us the faith/strength to follow Him?
  Lastly, I believe we should look on this occasion as an act of God's mercy; having extended this age another
year and given more people the chance to repent and believe, and as a further opportunity to preach the gospel
to all men. Let us serve the Lord with bold and willing hearts in 2013!

(Here is our latest song, a cover from Indelible Grace's new album)



Before I forget, I hope all you internet people had a wonderful Christmas, and, what else, a happy New Year!

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:21-23

A Sticky Seagull and a Song, or "Braving the Perils of Guitar Maintenence, Part 2"

You may recall my previous post of a similar nature, in which I sought to improve the playability of my ancient
Yamaha FG-160. Those improvements nonwithstanding, I've been playing a splendid Seagull S6 Spruce Top
which I purchased around the beginning of this year:

It has served me well, and I have been very happy with it. But I had a thought: What if I could take the pickguard

off? (You know, that red curvy thing by the big hole.) I don't need it, as I don't use picks, and besides, it would

look neat. B) Anyway, I did some research about proper removal methods, and pulled the trigger today.

  

First, I heated the pickguard with a hair dryer, just to start loosening the glue, and used a q-tip to apply Naphtha

around the edge. When it started to loosen, I pulled the edge up, and starting pulling slowly, applying more

Naphtha underneath.

I then got one of those fake plastic credit cards that you get in the mail, and used it to get more of the

pickguard up, occasionally applying more Naphtha and heat. Pretty soon, it was off!

(You can plainly see the amount of glue left behind)

So now, all that has to be done is to get all that sticky glue off! I accomplished this by dipping assorted rags

into the Naphtha, then pretty much scrubbing it off. This part took a little longer, but in the end, the sticky

Seagull succumbed.

And Voila! She is finished!

There is a tan line, but it will probably fade in time. I am very pleased with the look of the guitar, and of course it sounds as good as ever! B)

And now, our latest song:

New Song

Here is our newest song:



Hopefully, I will post tomorrow, so tune in!

Scripture Tuesday - Romans 12:21

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Our natural bent is to be overcome by evil. When someone does harm to us, we harm them back. Indeed, the

very idea of "turning the other cheek" is repulsive to our flesh. (Of course, there are many things in the Bible
that are offensive, perhaps the chiefest of which is the gospel itself. But I won't go down that rabbit trail.)
  Back to the point, haven't we all seen how effective this principle is? For example, when a small child doesn't
get his way, he usually throws a temper tantrum. Now, when you've got some red-faced little kid kicking and
screaming in your face, you tend to forget anything you ever learned about keeping your calm, and have the
overwhelming urge to let him have it. All joking aside, I have seen myself the power that a calm and loving,
albeit firm, response has to soothe the proverbial beast.
  Paul Washer has also talked about this before, referring, I believe, to 1 Peter 3:1-4. He described a situation in
which he arrives home from work worn out and finds the house in chaos. He then turns to his wife and protests
angrily. Now here is the important part. If she decides to reply in kind, they simply get into a verbal brawl. But if
she responds humbly and kindly, explaining why things are out of order, he picks himself up off the floor,
excuses himself politely, crawls out to the woodshed, and proceeds to whack himself upside the head with a
two-by-four before crawling inside and asking forgiveness!
  In any case, we can see that no matter what our flesh says, if we fight evil with evil, we will be overcome by it. So let us make it our goal to "strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see
the Lord" (Heb. 12:14), for in so doing, we will be able, by the grace of God, to overcome evil with good.

Update

Well, it seems I fell off the face of the earth sometime around last monday. But never fear, for I have returned!
Actually, what happened was that the Wretched Brothers were preparing for a weekend full of "gigs". Amazing,
is it not? Friday, we were able to play at Creatures Cafe, which is a Christian cafe in downtown Asheville.

We played for about forty minutes, but here is a short clip captured on a short camera...



But before that, we were invited to do a brief "interview" and play a few songs for their radio station, called 95.7 "The Choice". (Once again, short clip on short camera)



We were also asked to play a song for a celebration on Saturday that was given by the Fowler Family's (and
ours) adoption agency, Grandfather Home, to honor those who had adopted, and had been adopted, this past
year. It went very well, although no clips were taken. B)

Lastly, our church hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner yesterday evening, having invited people in the
surrounding neighborhoods the previous Sunday, and we were the entertainment! It was a grand time, with
plenty of pumpkin pie, and a gospel message into the bargain.

So, our weekend flurry of fame is ended, and we continue to pray that our music would be used by God to draw
people to Him.

(I will try to have my usual weekly exposition up tomorrow)

Scripture Monday - Psalm 119:11 (And Song)

"I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you."

God's word is the Christian's primary weapon in battle. Indeed, it is called "the sword of the Spirit, which is the

word of God" (Eph. 6:17). How can we expect to lead godly lives if we do not bother to meditate on, and

memorize, scripture? Jesus said that "temptations to sin are sure to come" (Luke 17:1), so we would be wise to

prepare for them; to have the truth in our minds and on our lips, so that when we are tempted, we may expose

it as a lie (and thereby spare ourselves a great deal of pain). Surely, we all know of the rationalization that

comes with temptation. Its purpose is to dull your senses, to lull you into thinking that sin will satisfy. Yet a well-aimed passage of scripture, being "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12), will cut through this

dark cloud. Like cockroaches that scatter when you turn on the light, evil cannot stand in the face of God's

truth. Let us pray, while we study the Word, that the Holy Spirit will bring to our mind the scriptures that we

need at the right time, and that He would speak with such power that we would be unable to ignore it.

  But I return to the main point of this post, which is that we, as Christians, must be in the scriptures. They are

as food for our souls, a light for our path, and a deadly weapon in the fight against sin. So I challenge us all,

myself included, to search ourselves and discern our weaknesses, then search the scriptures for passages that

deal with those things, committing them to memory, so that the next time we are tempted, we may expose the

lie and put Satan to flight. 

(Now, here is a new song)

New-ish Song

Well, okay, it's a week old. But I'll put it up anyway. Enjoy:

Scripture Tuesday - Psalm 115:3

"Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases."

If we could truly comprehend the size and power of God, we would surely be different people. If we were

constantly aware of His presence, always considering the fact that He is a jealous and just God, would we not

tremble in awe and fear? Were it not for our finite minds, limited and stained by the fall, surely we would! Yet

praise God that He allows His people glimpses, flashes of recognition, although we are thus handicapped. No,

we cannot comprehend His magnitude in this lifetime, but when we enter our glorified state, we will finally be

able to learn with an unfettered mind. Of course, we will never know all there is to know about Him.       

  Nevertheless, until then we ought to strive after knowing Him as best we can, meditating on the scriptures,
seeking Him earnestly in prayer, not so we can have an emotional experience, but so we can carry this
conviction in our hearts; that our God is great, and He is in control. He will be swayed by no one, for His purpose stands firm. He does all that He pleases, and we can be sure that whatever He pleases is good and perfect. So let the Devil persecute us, let him come with his fiery darts! We will not be moved, for "Our God is
in the heavens; He does all that He pleases."

Another One

Today I turned seventeen. At 2:23 pm, to be precise. Sunny baked a carrot cake, we had ravioli, and all is well
with the world. B)
  Anyway, this year has been a good one. I feel like I have matured more not only as a young man and a
christian, but also as a musician. This month marks a year since the Wretched Brothers became the Wretched
Brothers, and next month, a year since we opened our youtube account. This was the year I started writing
songs and singing them. Because of these things, I now know more than ever that the music I make must
glorify God and point people to the truth if it is to be worth anything. My music has a purpose, and for that I am
thankful. I don't know what God has in store for me next, but what I witnessed firsthand this past year is His
faithfulness when I am unfaithful, and His blessings when I obey Him. One thing that was certainly a blessing
was being able to get my Learners' Permit (which also borders on miracle territory, if you ask me!). This is
definitely an important step to becoming a man, and again, I am thankful for for it. Of course, I am grateful for
my family and church family, who have continued to support, encourage, instruct, and love me. This has been a
full year, a gift from God. I can only imagine what He has planned for the next one!

(And now, just for fun)

Scripture Monday - Psalm 40:1

"I waited patiently for the Lord;

He inclined to me and heard my cry."

It's hard to be patient, especially when waiting on God. Our flesh will usually say something like, "He's God!
Can't He just zap me and get rid of my problem?" Obviously, God doesn't work like that, which is just to say
that He is not a vending machine. When a problem comes up, we just want it to go away so we can get on with life. But what if there is a vital message in the problem, one that we would never learn if we just eased through life? I believe that God will send us problems, not to make our lives horrible, but to teach us something. He may teach us to "not lean on your own understanding (Prov. 3:5)", and to "Be still, and know that I am God (Ps. 46:10)". He may also be letting us know that we're getting off track. I ask, how can we expect to have a strong
faith if it is never tested? And how can we expect to be tested without going through some discomfort?
  Maybe God is teaching this very thing to some of you right now. If so, don't lose heart. Wait on the Lord, and you will soon say with the psalmist,

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord."

(Psalm 40:1-3)