Omer Redden

Learning the Impact of Music

What is the impact of music on our lives?

This is a question I’ve been pondering lately. Here are a few thoughts, works in progress, if you will:

Music with Restraint

Had to talk with two of my kids about how we need to tone it down on the rap music. We can only listen to clean rap in the car as a family. Especially with a precocious two year old listening and parroting almost every word he hears.

Is there a time for some edited Kendrick Lamar and Eminem? Don’t get me wrong. But even edited, there are some things a 2-year old or 14-year old shouldn’t be singing along to. Sad day to hit pause.

New Music with Wordplay

This new shift came at an opportune time! This week I’ve listened to two new albums from two of my favorite clean rappers, Connor Price and NF. Amazed at their abilities. Marveling at their wordplays.

Timeless Music with Harmonicas and Solos

In my early adult years, I fell in love with Bob Dylan’s music. So raw, so honest, so edgy. The harmonica plus the guitar. Wow!

I also enjoyed John Mayer, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds with their wild guitar solos, electric or acoustic didn’t matter to me. I air-guitared all of it!

Old Music with a Mood

Over the weekend, I was the DJ for a hockey game. The playlist was set up for me by the team manager. It had some great hockey jams and throwbacks. The refs commented how much they liked it and I saw people in the stands dancing, all ages.

Ancient Music with a Mood

Just read about David in the Bible and how he had such a vibe on the harp. He was recruited, recommended, known throughout the land as a great performer. So much so that the royal officials brought him into the palace to play for King Saul. How soothing the best harpists are! Mmm, mmm, good.

And how about a few of those Psalms he wrote? I can’t imagine some of those on harp or lyre.

Study Music

Then there’s Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, and all the great symphony style masters. Hans Zimmer and movie soundtracks. Explosions in the Sky. I listen to that music on the daily as I work.

Other-Worldly Music

Then I came across this work called Quartet for the End of Time by Messiaen. Such a wild ride. Bizarre. Beautiful. Awe-inspiring. It’s 50+ minutes long and I haven’t even finished it all yet. The story behind it, though — it will blow your mind.

The Role of The Performer

I know a few people who have tried to start a band or start a music career, only to end it a couple years later.

I know another who has played for 20+ years, toured the US and beyond, and just recently retired.

I know a couple others who still play “recreationally” into their 70s and 80s.

Some guys and gals have ghostwriters, but do such an incredible job performing it, you’d never know unless you dig for it.

Others write all their own lyrics and music, and you can feel it.

The Role of The Listener

I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the music I listen to.

Music is such an amazing gift.

Whatever your style, whatever your vibe, whatever the occasion calls for…

Enjoy it, embrace it, get more of this good stuff in your life!

It heals the soul.

Making Old Things New

Old you vs. current you.

Along the road of life, you pick up frameworks that are helpful for a time, but then they aren’t helpful anymore.

You pick up beliefs that are helpful for a time, but then they aren’t helpful anymore.

You pick up behaviors that are helpful for a time, but then they aren’t helpful anymore.

You pick up routines that are helpful for a time, but then they aren’t helpful anymore.

Ten years ago, I published a book. Feels like I need to do an anniversary edition for it and add some new lessons.

Eight years ago, I published another book. Feels like it needs a major overhaul and title change. It never sold as well as it should. The people who read it loved it, but it needs improved.

Five years ago, I published another book. Feels like it needs a facelift and extra materials attached. It’s the only one I’m not really proud of because I didn’t put in my best effort. Just threw it together and uploaded it.

How To Work From Home - Omer Dylan Redden

Four years ago, I published another book. It sells a lot of copies at this time of year, so I’m not going to touch it… yet.

On The John - A Devotional For Men - Omer Dylan Redden

The trouble with publishing is that a book becomes an artifact and stuck in time. But you keep growing and evolving, improving and changing.

You go back and read something you wrote 10, 8, 5, 4 years ago. Parts of it feel old, stale, crusty, musty. Other parts of it feel really good.

It’s not that you were bad at writing. It’s that you have matured. That was the old you, 10 years ago you.

Current you is in a better state.

It’s time to make some old things new again.

If baggy carpenter jeans and cargo pants can make a comeback, you can too.

Make old things new.

Dumb Boy Stuff

Parents of teenage boys – what’s the biggest problem these days?

The Dumb Boy Stuff List

Cussing to look cool?
Being mean to each other?
Backtalk and disrespect to teachers or parents?
Video game or phone addiction?
Stealing petty stuff?
White lies?
Arrogance and entitlement?
Driving like idiots?
Girlfriend obsessed?
Drinking underage?
Smoking?
Drugs?
Pornography?

What’s the biggest challenge these days?

I’m curious because one of my sons is entering this phase. I know what the challenges were when I was that age. Seems like from 5^th grade to freshman year, boys just “do dumb boy stuff” as my friend says. Some boys snap out of it, while others just keep “doing dumber boy stuff” all through high school and college. Some keep going even into adulthood.

My Teenage Boy Era

As a teenage boy back in the day, I can vouch for how dumb my friends and I were. We made tons of dumb decisions: One of our friends would dress up in a gorilla costume and we’d go into Kroger or Walmart and try to eat bananas in store. We’d pull up to a gas station, open the trunk, and have him jump out and run. We’d chase him around, yelling like banshees, throw him back in the car, and speed off. We’d stay up until 3 or 4am playing video games, making obnoxious songs, eating all the junk food.

We thought we were absolutely hilarious. Maybe 20% of the time we were; but the other 80% would have just been obnoxious idiocy.

We were considered the “good kids” and we probably hit 75% of the list above.

Now as my daughters are in middle school and high school, I’m seeing the boys in their classes excel in stupidity. A couple of them seem to be good humans. But they still aren’t immune to that list of “dumb boy stuff.”

It’s a weird phenomenon. It’s almost like in order to enter middle school, there’s a brain cell tax and they have to lose half of them to enter. Pre-teen and teen years are messy for both girls and boys. But it seems the brain cell tax is worse for boys.

Proverbs 3

I think it’s been this way for centuries. And that’s why Proverbs 3 is so pertinent and so needed, generation after generation.

Proverbs 3 has this refrain of “my son.”

It’s an older man, a dad specifically, writing these words for his son. It’s advice to the next generation.

The first couple verses reinforce the point that listening to these Proverbs and actually following them will prolong your life and bring peace and prosperity.

There are reminders to not forget this stuff. Reminders that these will help you win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

There’s the famous verse, 3:5-6. So good.

And it just keeps on. All of chapter 3 is amazing, really.

In the words of my Twitter friends, this would be a banger thread!

Go give it a read. See what you learn.

Friday Night Fiction (Part 2)

It all started in a no-name town. The type of town that no one has ever heard of, that no one ever comes to visit, that no one ever leaves.

That kind of town.

The little church in the country was quaint, just like an old story book. White, square, straight, rigid inside and out, empty except on Sunday morning. That was the building, yes. And it was also the ethos.

No blue, just red.

Red like Republican.

Red like blood.

Red like power, authority, dominance.

That was the men of the congregation.

That was also their god.

In this little village church, the gospel meant good news… for us, only us, forever us. Not “them” whoever “they” were.

Our family attended for a few months. Young and hopeful, I wanted to make a difference. But I couldn’t make a difference. I’m not sure God Himself could make a difference. The walls to get to those hearts were miles high, meters thick, and topped with barbed wire.

So our family found another church: a safe, conservative, glory be to God church. Still had hints of red, still had hints of white, but it was better.

At least you could breathe, sense some love and care in the air.

It was everything we needed for the decade ahead.

Parenting Babies

Before you become a parent, you have all kinds of judgments of other parents, don’t you?

I did.

When I’m a parent…

I won’t let my kid throw a fit like that.
I won’t let my kid throw food or spit out what they don’t like.
I won’t let my kid watch TV.
I won’t give my kid a pacifier that fell on the ground.
I won’t let my kid pull their sibling’s hair.
I will, for sure, put them on a schedule. None of this eating at obscure times, napping whenever they want, waking up whenever they want.

Then you have a kid and all hell breaks loose.

You aren’t sleeping because the baby isn’t sleeping. Some days you’re up at 4:32am some days at 7:22am, some days at 9:03am. Bedtime could be 6:30pm, it could be 10:48pm. How on earth did that happen? You’ll let them take a nap whenever, just in hopes that you can get one, so you don’t walk around like a zombie.

Your kid won’t eat at 6:30am when everyone else is, but is crying from hunger at 7:40am when its time to leave the house. Then is hungry for lunch at 10am on Tuesdays but won’t eat lunch until 2pm on Wednesday. The kid started throwing handfuls of Cheerios for the dogs at snack time. They also throw their drink cup and pacifier on the ground to clear off everything!

You take them down from the table, they’re mad about it, and you tell them to put that dirty pacifier in their mouth, and tell their sibling to watch them so you can get this mess cleaned up.

The older sibling is back-talking you and doesn’t want to watch the toddler. The toddler pulls their sibling’s hair, just for fun to see what response they’ll get. You think, “Yeah, serves the big kid right. I wanted to pull their hair too. I’m glad the toddler did it for me.”

Later, you take all your kids to the store to buy more Cheerios and the cute little monster decides it’s time to throw a fit and humiliate you in front of everyone. You’re mad, burnt out, and feel like a dunce.

When you get home, you turn on baby Einstein and set the kid on the couch in front of it to unload the groceries.

You sit down exhausted, wishing it was nap-time and it’s 5:54pm on a Wednesday. Maybe I could just fall asleep for the rest of the night?

You’re reflecting on the day and realize, I just did it all:

Threw a fit
Threw food
Watched TV
Gave a dirty pacifier
Pulled sibling’s hair
No semblance of schedule

And suddenly the realization hits, “Yep, that’s me. I am that parent I always judged.”

…

First, be honest with yourself. We’ve all been there.

Second, realize you don’t have to stay there. The trick is to get beyond that point, to get better as a parent. Less fits, less pulling hair, less TV babysitter, less food throwing. The toddler should mature gradually and so will you.

Third, give yourself grace in the process.

It may take you 2 years. If you have multiple kids stair-stepped, it may take you 5-8 years and you’re trying to get progressively better with each one. It just depends. Remember though, it’s a quick phase. Baby stage goes fast and toddler stage goes fast too.

Get out of diapers, get out of strollers and car seats, then you experience a massive exhale.

When you enter the next phase, you enter a whole new world with whole new challenges. More on that another time.

Wrong Turns, Wrong Exits

Have you ever taken a wrong turn in town?

What’s the setback? 5-10 minutes?

It can be the difference between being on-time for an appointment vs. being late.

Ever taken a wrong exit on the interstate?

What’s the setback? 15-20 minutes?

On a long trip, you probably have a buffer of time so you might not be late. But who wants to be in the car for an extra 15-20 minutes when you’re already in the car for 2-3 hours, 8 hours, etc.?

I’ve done both of these in the last week. It is so frustrating! I need that time! Nobody wants to be late to an appointment. Nobody wants an extra 20 minutes in the car when you’re in it for hours.

With a few deep breaths, I can get over it and you can too.

Let me ask you this, though:

Ever taken a wrong turn in life?

What’s the setback? 3 weeks? 3 months? 3 years?

How long does it take to figure out you went the wrong way?

How long does it take to get back on track?

As we approach the end of the year, I encourage you to do some inventory. See if you took a wrong turn in some area of life. See if there’s a fork in the road and you need to choose right or left.

Save yourself the time.

Learn to Walk

Some of you may have been intimidated by yesterday’s post, “Learn to Run a Marathon.”

A marathon is a huge commitment. You may even be scared to “like” it because your feed could start coming up with all kinds of running ads.

Running shoes for Christmas.
Fitness watches and smart rings.
Recovery supplements.

Shoot! Turkey Trots are a dime a dozen right now. You could hit one blindfolded.

My wife even asked me, “Are you going to start running?”

“Maybe cycling.”

From Helpless to Walking

There’s a progression we all go through as humans. We start helpless.

Then we learn to crawl.

Then we learn to walk.

Then we learn to run.

Then we learn to jump.

If you’re reading this right now and thinking, “Duh, Omer, we know that! And of course, I know how to walk,” –Good! I hear you.

But I want you to learn how to walk. Like a real walk.

I’m not talking about the simple act of walking from the couch to the fridge, or from the kitchen to the garage, or from the parking lot to the store.

I’m talking about long walks. 15 minute walks, 30 minute walks, hour long walks.

When was the last time you went for a long walk?

I have taken three long walks this week.

The people I admire for their creativity and their writing ability — they took long walks daily.

You may have heard of a few of these daily walkers:

C.S. Lewis
Steve Jobs
Dan Koe
Ramy Vance
Henry David Thoreau
Albert Einstein

The Benefits of Walking

It’s such an easy practice.

Your body starts to burn a few calories.

Your head goes into a different space.

Your heart and soul open up.

Your energy improves.

Walking is therapy. The cheapest form I know of. Even cheaper than pen and paper.

I’m posting this and then I’m going for a long walk.

Will you join me and join the greats?

Go for a walk today!