Taking a break from the themed blogs and will continue to those next month. Today I want to talk about something very important to me: my faith.
I grew up in a Christian home and was jumping through hoops and going through the motions often. I would go to church almost weekly and then believe that I was keeping myself well just by being a good person. Even though I made my faith my own when I was 16 and started believing in prayer and fellowship stronger at that point, I often thought that if I just read my Bible enough, pray enough, not getting into trouble at all, not swear hardly ever, and stay in a good spot with mostly Christian friends, I would be able to stay within my realm of salvation. This continued through my teenage years and even in some cases into my mid-20's.
When I was in college, I changed dramatically- my worldview changed, my friends changed, my health (mental, emotional, physical) changed and I was brought into my faith at a testable time- always trying my best not to falter and keep myself level and continue to strengthen my own faith to be the best me I could be. Even after all the re-dedications, re-baptisms, and renewing, I was not satisfied. This kind of thinking continued for a while, a mix of this, anger, sin, and mentally lost ideas. In the next few years, I almost started abandoning church altogether, at a certain point only doing the Presbyterian church and eschewing anything else Christian- I was under the impression that I wasn't the "right" kind of Christian and that my open-minded views weren't necessarily viable in the Christian community and trying to use relationships as a tomb to mask it and try to use what I thought was right by my own power. This kind of Ianism thinking continued to plague my mind and was damaging.
The past year and a half has been my best my faith has been ever. I have started to branch out with churches, have stopped drinking after a short time starting again, have been happier, have been better physically, and have been way better spiritually. While I have many Christian friends that sharpen me frequently, I also recognize the need for secular friends to do other things with and the need to do things with friends who are open to the possibility of religion but aren't quite there yet. I have also continued to advocate for the marginalized groups and continued to see that while I am saved, repentance is a life-long process as is continuing to recognize that we are flawed and can't do things on my own but need help from friends and a higher power. I may still sin daily but I continue to get strengthened daily and my frequent fellowship and prayer is helping my faith and I see myself as good soil. I know what it's like to do certain things wrong but we all learn. And my God is a God of love and not hate and second chances so I willingly hope that other people newer in faith accept and choose to do the same. Praise God!
Monday, November 21, 2016
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Top Ten Non-Mainstream Secular Artists In My Opinion
There are a lot of artists that you wouldn't normally hear on the radio who are genuine great. A lot of stuff on the radio is not that great, some of it is but there are a lot of great bands that are not usually even on the alternative radio stations that I listen to often (as I wake up to J-105 in the AM) there are several bands that I really enjoy and several solo artists that make the cut on this list enjoy:
10. Matthew Sweet: His music is genuine, fun, upbeat, and genuinely caring. Girlfriend is a gem and I have listened to a few of his other songs and think that it's great. One of the most genuine artists around.
9. Violent Femmes: Yeah they are on the radio sometimes and are semi-well known but in terms of alternative they are kind of not as well-known as some others. Their kind of genuine attitude and catchy lyrics make them a great band to listen to. And I'm proud to say that they are wonderful!
8. Dead Or Alive: Kind of a one-hit wonder (You Spin Me Round And Round) but they are an amazing band with kind of catchy lyrics and while their song is making a comeback they are not super well-known. They are pretty good though.
7. Lady Lauryn: Kind of popular only with her song Getting Nasty and that is only popular with the Zumba crowd but it is totally amazing song (and Ian-appropriate) nonetheless. It is a fun song and some of the rest of her music that I've listened to (the other song or two) is incredible.
6. Indigo Girls: not a well-known band and one of the last super-popular folk bands and it was only popular in the '90s. nonetheless they are an incredible band with some pretty interesting lyrics and great messages. Bonus points for them being an out band before being outed was socially acceptable.
5. Gayle Chapman: The only Idaho artist on the list besides number 4, she is an incredibly talented singer and one of the most genuine folk artists on the planet because of what she sings about. She is a supremely talented artist and I am lucky that my Mom has an interest in her because otherwise I wouldn't have heard of her.
4. Built To Spill: Simply an incredible band and a wonderful kind of spirit. Extra points for being a fave band of a family member and a simply colossally good run as a band. They are the best Idaho-bred band in history in my opinion and I'm grateful that they have made many good songs that are genuine and catchy.
3. Ryan Higa (a.k.a. Niga Higa): OK, so his name is racist and I don't know how he's not shot yet but his music is catchy and humorous because of his past and it is simply some of the best most genuine lyrics out there. He talks about real life and has a genuine interest in making things better and continuing to shine light on a lot of problems. His music is wonderful too.
2. Nerdcore: The only rap group on the list (although Ryan Higa does some rapping too), Nerdcore raps about all sorts of scientific and pop-culture and smart things. They are rappers that rap about challenges (Yachtbirds a.k.a. You've Got Aspergers), financial abundance (A Million Dollars), trends in jokes (Your Momma), scientific items (Entropy), Star Wars (Bobba The Fett), Little John (Get Crunk) and other items that are culturally relevant. Extra points for being creative rappers.
1. They Might Be Giants: Everyone knows how me and my 35-year old sister feels about them. They are genuinely long-lasting, smart nerdy sense of humor, pop-culture abundant (including Tiny Toons and Malcolm In The Middle songs and a song from Austin Powers), can play almost any kind of genre of music, and have a varying style from dark/creepy tone to a more happy tone of disco and rapping and some stuff that is almost like country. They are an incredibly versatile group and I'm lucky to call them my all-time fave band. Extra points for creativity in their music and pattern songs.
10. Matthew Sweet: His music is genuine, fun, upbeat, and genuinely caring. Girlfriend is a gem and I have listened to a few of his other songs and think that it's great. One of the most genuine artists around.
9. Violent Femmes: Yeah they are on the radio sometimes and are semi-well known but in terms of alternative they are kind of not as well-known as some others. Their kind of genuine attitude and catchy lyrics make them a great band to listen to. And I'm proud to say that they are wonderful!
8. Dead Or Alive: Kind of a one-hit wonder (You Spin Me Round And Round) but they are an amazing band with kind of catchy lyrics and while their song is making a comeback they are not super well-known. They are pretty good though.
7. Lady Lauryn: Kind of popular only with her song Getting Nasty and that is only popular with the Zumba crowd but it is totally amazing song (and Ian-appropriate) nonetheless. It is a fun song and some of the rest of her music that I've listened to (the other song or two) is incredible.
6. Indigo Girls: not a well-known band and one of the last super-popular folk bands and it was only popular in the '90s. nonetheless they are an incredible band with some pretty interesting lyrics and great messages. Bonus points for them being an out band before being outed was socially acceptable.
5. Gayle Chapman: The only Idaho artist on the list besides number 4, she is an incredibly talented singer and one of the most genuine folk artists on the planet because of what she sings about. She is a supremely talented artist and I am lucky that my Mom has an interest in her because otherwise I wouldn't have heard of her.
4. Built To Spill: Simply an incredible band and a wonderful kind of spirit. Extra points for being a fave band of a family member and a simply colossally good run as a band. They are the best Idaho-bred band in history in my opinion and I'm grateful that they have made many good songs that are genuine and catchy.
3. Ryan Higa (a.k.a. Niga Higa): OK, so his name is racist and I don't know how he's not shot yet but his music is catchy and humorous because of his past and it is simply some of the best most genuine lyrics out there. He talks about real life and has a genuine interest in making things better and continuing to shine light on a lot of problems. His music is wonderful too.
2. Nerdcore: The only rap group on the list (although Ryan Higa does some rapping too), Nerdcore raps about all sorts of scientific and pop-culture and smart things. They are rappers that rap about challenges (Yachtbirds a.k.a. You've Got Aspergers), financial abundance (A Million Dollars), trends in jokes (Your Momma), scientific items (Entropy), Star Wars (Bobba The Fett), Little John (Get Crunk) and other items that are culturally relevant. Extra points for being creative rappers.
1. They Might Be Giants: Everyone knows how me and my 35-year old sister feels about them. They are genuinely long-lasting, smart nerdy sense of humor, pop-culture abundant (including Tiny Toons and Malcolm In The Middle songs and a song from Austin Powers), can play almost any kind of genre of music, and have a varying style from dark/creepy tone to a more happy tone of disco and rapping and some stuff that is almost like country. They are an incredibly versatile group and I'm lucky to call them my all-time fave band. Extra points for creativity in their music and pattern songs.
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