Wow! I hope all is well with all of you.
It has been a while since my last blog entry. It was kind of crazy time! I have two new songs, some great news, and more to share with you in this blog post!
MUSIC
1. The Night in August
This new song may be short, but it is packed with a lot of energy. It took a lot of effort on my part to produce the song. I worked hard on every aspect of the song, most especially the vocals. I really made sure that everything that went into the song was top notch quality. The guitar and banjo were recorded by me. I also added some electric piano and ambient background pads to add more feel to the song. I also edited and put together the lyric video.
I was able to connect with a talented session musician named Matt Macleod through a Facebook group of Indie Christian Singer-Songwriters. He specializes in drumming and percussion. He added the percussion to this song. It is great that he is a fellow Christian. I am looking forward to working with him in future projects!
This song was inspired by an important decision I made when I was 17 years old. My friend had just committed suicide. I was mourning his loss, questioning the existence of God and Christianity, and found myself for the second night in a row at an underage drinking party. Unlike the first night, I decided this time to say no to alcohol to try to fill the hole in my heart. I told my friends “I’m not drinking tonight… I’m going to pray!” I went outside and sat under the clear beautiful night sky (we were out in the country) and I began talking to Jesus and sharing my sorrow with Him. He gave me peace beyond understanding. I knew my life would have to be different from the ways of the world. I knew that I wanted to follow Jesus instead.
If you like it, please like, comment, and share on my YouTube channel! (If you hit YouTube on the bottom left, it will play the video on YouTube)
2. Your Will
This song was inspired by the Our Father prayer. I put together the vocals, guitar, and banjo. I again had Matt Macleod record the percussion. I hired a Cellist who put together something pretty special with multiple harmonious tracks. I think it all came together beautifully.
The idea of having God’s will become our own will is from the spirituality of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. She is known as the “Little Daughter of the Divine Will.”
You can learn more about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisa_Piccarreta
The video description on YouTube reads: I want to do God’s will in my life. I pray the Our Father prayer every day. I stumble but keep getting back up. I made a song about it.
If you like it, please like, comment, and share on my YouTube channel! (If you hit YouTube on the bottom left, it will play the video on YouTube)
3. Esto Vir Conference
I was able to go to the Esto Vir Conference with two friends Charlie (left) and John (right) from Iowa! Charlie heard an interview I did on Relevant Radio a few years back and has been part of my Support Team since. Our families were able to hang out last year in Iowa. He has become a good friend and I am thankful for him encouraging me so much in my music and also by his strong example as a Catholic husband and father.
The Conference was held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. I was able to play my original music during adoration! It is at 2:38 in the video below. (See the timestamps on YouTube in the description) It was great to pray with so many other Catholic men. I also was able to sell some CD’s and meet people. It was great to hang out with Charlie, John, and also my brother Eric!
FAMILY
1. New Baby Rudd
We have a new baby! God-willing he or she will be born in November 🙂
Calena has been very weak and nauseous. She has been strong despite this and the kids have been overall getting along together well despite Mommy not being able to do as much each day. She is taking medication in low doses to help her to be able to function.
2. New Cousin
My brother Eric and his wife Sarah had their first baby. We were blessed to meet Michael and he shares the same birthday as our daughter Ksenia. Our son Blaise also celebrated his birthday earlier this month.
3. We Sold Our Animals
We have been reflecting upon God’s will and what’s best for our family in regards to homesteading.
I have been blessed to get a gig playing the music for a weeklong high school retreat that will take place in the Rocky Mountains (near Colorado Springs)!
This was one of a few reasons why we decided to sell our animals. We do have friends who are willing to watch our animals here and there, but they live in town which is about a 20 minute drive. Additionally, our road became unusable for a good junk of time as the snow melted and made it thick with mud.
Another reason is because it was becoming too much for Calena and I as her feeling constantly sick during the pregnancy. It worked out well that our friend bought a bunch of our rabbits and chickens. He is moving to a 40 acre property in the UP where he hopes to do full-time homesteading! Though he will be two hours from us, we do hope to keep in touch with him and continue our friendship. Below is a picture of him with one of his new chickens!
Now that we only have our dog Teka, we are much more mobile. We did learn a lot from our time having animals. If we do decide to have them again, we not only have the infrastructure, but also the necessary knowledge to manage them.
Below you will see two videos we made about our experience with goats.
Please keep my family and my work in your prayers. It has been a challenge with Calena feeling so sick without much relief. She has days where she can’t do much at all and then some better days where she is like 75%… Pray also for my migraines to go away…
Jesus I trust in You!
I was able to create this content thanks to my support team. If you are interested in joining or learning more about it: JacobRuddMusic.com/support-team
