Bryan's Blog

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2010-05-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Here's another clip of a song I'm working on inspired by skiing amazing snow at Bridger Bowl.

Our Complex World

2010-05-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

Here's something I heard recently that I thought was really cool. I love spending time outdoors in the mountains or by the rivers. There is a peace out there. There is majesty out there. Its really hard for me to imagine the world as we know it in all its complex beauty to just form itself out of nothing. All religious views aside, when I'm out in nature I know there has to be someone or something that made it with a design in mind. It couldn't of happened by chance. It works too well together. Its too beautiful. I feel like if people are really intellectually honest with the world around them, there has to be some sort of "god" that designed it.
The quote:

If people would just be intellectually honest, they would have to believe that there is a God.

Everything begun must have had an adequate cause.

Hebrews 3:4 says it plainly when it says, "For every house is built by some man..."

That ought to be patently obvious.

Nobody times nothing can't equal everything.

There has to be a cause and effect relationship.

The Cause of limitless space must be infinite.

The Cause of endless time must be eternal.

The Cause of perpetual motion must be powerful.

The Cause of complexity must be omniscient.

The Cause of consciousness must be personal.

The Cause of feeling must be emotional.

The Cause of will must be volitional.

The Cause of ethical values must be moral.

The Cause of religious values must be spiritual.

The Cause of beauty must be aesthetic.

The Cause of righteousness must be holy.

The Cause of justice must be just.

The Cause of love must be loving.

The Cause of life must be living.

Order in a system implies an intelligent originating cause and since the universe has order and arrangement, it must have an intelligent, outside cause.

Lunchtime Symphony

2010-04-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Ran home for a quick lunch (my wife's amazing pasta) and out popped this music child:

\\\Detour///

2009-11-22T22:51:00.000-08:00

Hey! I don't know how many people actually read this blog, but I thought I'd let you know that I haven't been updating the blog because Megan and I have switched our focus over to another blog that is capturing our adventures in New Zealand. Check it out here!

Lets stay in touch - for FREE!

2009-08-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Megan and I will be out of the country for most of the time between now and the beginning of January on a crazy adventure! You can click the image below and call me for free no matter where we are! Google will call you and then connect you with me so it doesn't use your minutes and its not long distance or international. If we are online we will pick up, otherwise leave a voice mail which we'll check frequently and get back to you as soon as we can. Hooray for being able to stay in touch - for FREE!

Sleepy Time

2009-08-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Often times when I am having trouble going to sleep it helps for me to visualize something I enjoy doing. I recently noticed that although I enjoy doing many things, the activities I always find myself visualizing when trying to go to sleep are skiing in deep, deep powder or playing an intense game of basketball with friends. I think this is an indication to me that no matter how busy or crazy life gets, the best way for me to stay relaxed and at peace is to make sure I take the time to do in real life what I find myself visualizing at night.

The SLAM: REMIXED

2009-03-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

This year I have been helping out with a group of middle school students called "The SLAM (Students Living A Mission)." Its been a lot of fun. Every week I lead worship songs, and last week I found out the night before the meeting that no one else in the band was going to be able to show up. I didn't have much time, but I thought it would be fun to record some tracks that I could sing along to so that it would still be like there was a full band there. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to finish it, but I wanted to share it anyway. I played all the sounds you hear, and keep in mind this is for middle schoolers - I tried to appeal to their hip hop tastes...

its the most wonderful time of the year

2008-12-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

One week 'til Christmas! Things are very exciting and festive around the Walthall house. Meg and I had a bunch of fun running around in the mountains looking for our Christmas tree, making ginger bread houses (out of graham crackers of course), putting up lights on the tree and around the house, making presents, and trying to stay warm as the temperature dropped to -20 F! The winter is here! The whole family will be together this year - Joel and Tay will arrive from Nashville on Saturday, and Paul & Betsy (Meg's parents) will arrive on Tuesday. We are planning on enjoying much needed time with family, skiing, snowmobiling, sledding, sipping cider, and catching up with family. I am really really excited. Being with family is an amazing treat and is always a lot of fun. Its what I like most about the holidays. :)

This is crazy....

2008-12-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Really?!

2008-11-21T11:51:00.001-08:00

A lot of my work is developing inventions for people, and so naturally I see a wide variety of unusual ideas that most likely won't catch on. However, these bicycle variations just make me look at them and say, "Really?!"

Halloween Masks Predict Future!

2008-10-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Fortune Magazine posted an article stating that in the past 7 elections, the sales of halloween masks (in certain stores) have accurately predicted the winning political candidate! Pretty crazy. Although there is still some time left in the polls, Buycostumes.com lists the current sales as 55% to 45% in Obama's favor. On their site they say "This poll can be bought!"
We'll see how things end up, but I thought it was quite interesting.

Things to seriously consider

2008-10-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Joel Rosenburg had an interesting blog about the current economic decline that I found sobering. In response to the Dow dropping 733 points, here are a few comments by world leaders:

“U.S. foes gloat over financial crisis” (Associated Press)

“Iran hails world financial crisis as ‘end of capitalism’” (Agence France Presse)

“We are witnessing the collapse of the American Empire.” – Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

“We are happy that the U.S. economy is in anarchy and the anarchy is reaching Europe. They are seeing the result of their own ugly doings and God is punishing them.” – top Iranian cleric

Pretty crazy. Joel is an expert in how the world will end as declared by the Bible. His thoughts:

The big question now: What does it all mean and where do we go from here? A few thoughts on the implications of this financial apocalypse:

First things first: our national security is inextricably tied to our economic security. Economic weakness is an invitation to radical Islamic terrorists to hit us again. It’s also an invitation to other rogue nations to pursue their evil plans while thinking we are unable or unwilling to stop them. The U.S. cannot lead the world in defeating tyrants and terrorists and creating an environment of peace and prosperity if we are collapsing at home. Stabilizing our economy, reforming our financial institutions, punishing and imprisoning those who have criminally undermined our economy, and getting us back on the road to free market growth and entrepreneurial health and vitality must be the top priority of the next Commander-in-Chief.
I don’t believe one U.S. political party or the other is specifically to blame for our own financial crisis. There is plenty of blame to go around and the problems have been developing for years. That said, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the U.S. stock markets are tanking especially hard right now in part because investors believe Sen. Barack Obama is going to win on November 4th. As polls for Obama and Congressional Democrats have risen — and Americans have begun to sense that Obama’s election as president and expanded control of Congress by Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid and their liberal allies is inevitable – investors’ fears have not been calmed. They have been exacerbated. True, investors don’t see a complete and convincing economic rescue plan from Sen. McCain. But they see disaster in Obama’s plan and the likelihood of full control of the U.S. government by the Democrats. The Obama-Pelosi-Reid prescription, after all, is the worst possible medicine for the economy — $1.3 trillion in new federal spending, dramatic tax increases on small businesses, dramatic tax increases on big businesses, dramatic tax increases on those who create wealth, a major new tax on energy producers, as well as nationalized health care system. We are not simply on the brink of a serious recession; we are on the brink of another Great Depression. How, then, will massive tax increases and massive government spending help us fight our way out of this crisis? Answer: it won’t. And Main Street and Wall Street know it. Just ask Joe the Plumber.
Are there prophetic implications of this financial crisis? It is hard to be definitive. The U.S. does not show up specifically in any end times Bible prophecies. But this fact alone raises a sobering question: If we are really in what the Bible describes as “the last days” before the return of Jesus Christ, then how is it possible that the United States of America — the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the face of the planet in the history of mankind — does not play a significant, notable role in Biblical end times events? The honest answer: I don’t know for certain. But here’s what I wrote in Dead Heat (p. 154): “What Bennett had never really considered carefully until now was the possibility that something else might devastate the American people, rendering them ineffective heading into the last of the last days. A financial downturn on Wall Street. The sudden collapse of the dollar. The beginning of another Great Depression. A series of devastating earthquakes. Or hurricanes. Or other natural disasters, like a tsunami. [Or ] the most cataclysmic terrorist attack of all time — five nuclear warheads. And there might be more to come. None of it was clearly prophesied in the Scriptures. Not that he could find. But perhaps he should have foreseen the neutralization of America by more carefully reading between the lines. If so, what else was he missing? What exactly was coming next?”
Finally, let us consider the possibility that the Lord is allowing this economic meltdown in part to shake our confidence in anything but a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Is it possible that God is trying to shake us loose from trusting in our wealth, from trusting in our political leaders, from trusting in our own ingenuity and our own hard work? Is it possible that He is trying to get us to shift our focus from worldly, materialistic things to how much He loves us, and the truth that the only person we can truly trust in life to never leave us or forsake us is Jesus Christ? Is it possible that He is trying to get us to read the Bible more, and the stock tickers less? To pray more, and to worry less? To store up our treasures in heaven, and not concentrate so much on our treasures on earth? Anyone who is feeling fearful during this turbulent economic times would do well to meditate on the words Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:19-33, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also….No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Blog Templates!

2008-10-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

Check out btemplates.com for sweet free templates for your blog! Found this one and thought it was pretty cool, so I'm tryin it out for a while.

Week off at the office

2008-10-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be sweet to take a week off of working at the office and just not show up?! So sweet. Unless of course you are the boss of someone that skipped out for a week, and you were relying on them. Then it becomes not so sweet. This happened to me today...

The Office was not aired on NBC this evening because of the vice-presidential debates. They could have at least called or put it on the calender. Cripes.

Shaka Brah!

2008-10-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

My wife and friend started a design company a few months ago called Shaka Creative. Its pretty sweet. You can check it out at www.shakacreative.com. Pass the word on if you know anyone who is interested in a website or needs any design work done!
I'm very proud of her. :)

chuckles

2008-09-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

i find myself frequently laughing at myself. i just had a birthday this past weekend, and with our family's usual tradition i gave out a birthday list for those that wanted some help thinking of gifts i would like. i laugh at myself because the things I really value the best weren't even on my list. despite the fact that I received many of the items on my list, the things that meant the most to me were the incredibly fun time hanging out with my friends while eating good food and watching the season premiere of "the office", talking to my brother on the phone from tennessee, spending time with my wife, enjoying nature, having a wonderful evening with my family, and finally fruit salad. next year i'll have to rethink my list.