Hidden Gems from the B-Side —Matthew West (Week 23)

History 🎵 Get Away

Matthew West’s one of those artists where it just feels real. A lot of his songs are pulled from real-life stories—people writing in, sharing what they’ve been through—and he turns that into something honest. He’s been through it himself too… even lost his voice for a season and had to fight his way back. He’s also written for artists like Casting Crowns, Rascal Flatts, and Mandisa—which says a lot about how strong his writing really is. You can hear it in his own music—nothing forced, nothing fake… just faith, struggle, and redemption showing up in the songs.

First up—
🎵 History
History (2o05)

Next—
🎵 Get Away
History (2o05)

Also I’ve included a cool bonus video where Matthew surprises a fan from Twitter with a phone call… a song… and a prayer.

Hope yall enjoy… 🙌🙏t`’

Matthew 11:28
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~   t`’

Hidden Gems from the B-Side — Matthew West (Week 21)

Only Grace 🎶 Next Thing You Know

Happy Resurrection Day! ✝️

So today I’m starting a new one on Matthew West… I’m a huge fan—especially his earlier stuff. So many songs just put together right… lyrically and musically. His first 3–4 albums are that good.

I saw him live back around 2o08 or ’o9—not exactly sure. It was a wild setup… out in the middle of nowhere… big open field on what felt like someone’s farm in Brooksville, Florida. But man—it was a sweet performance. He’s great live. There were other artists too… might’ve been a 3-day thing—I only went one day… memory’s a little foggy there 😁

Also Matthew is supposedly a super nice dude from what I hear… really loves people and his fans…

Anyway—these two songs are from his second album History (2o05)… super good. Check it out sometime…

🎵 Only Grace — History (2o05)
🎵 Next Thing You Know — History (2o05)

🎥 Also—check this out… i included a great bonus video of Matthew surprising people at Waffle House with a little live performance… awesome moment.

Live Waffle House surprise performance 👇 supercool! 💯

Matthew 28:6
“He is not here… for He is risen… as He said…” ✝️

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

One Pull Away…

*** DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF ***

The 90’s for me…
were just… were just… hmm…
still lookin’ for the word(s)…

For now…
fire and ice.

The middle of the decade—
Burned hottest…
Froze bone…

I was dealin’ with heartbreak…
tryin’ to fix it with drugs… alcohol…
music.

I was strugglin’

So this memory came back to me today…
I just sat there like—
geeees man… what was I thinkin’?

Apparently… I wasn’t.

Back then… I had a few handguns…
used to go to the firin’ range pretty often…
had a couple of 9mm’s…

and this one…

a small .22 revolver—
pearl handle…
looked almost harmless in the hand.

But I noticed somethin’ about it…

You could load just one round…
and if you looked closely—
you could barely see it sittin’ there in the chamber.

So… as you pulled the trigger…
if you paid attention…
you could track it… tell when it was one pull away.

And yeah…

I’d mess with my buddies sometimes…

I would play Russian Roulette with it.

Even though I knew I was “safe”…
keepin’ an eye on the bullet…

it was still—
an unreal feelin’.

hard to explain it.

I never let anyone else handle the gun loaded…
and I absolutely would not let anyone else participate…
and I never shared my secret.

I can’t believe I did it.

My friends thought I was somethin’ else…
and yeah…
I built quite a reputation off that.

But lookin’ back now…

ugg…

what a thing to do.

So grateful God never let go…

*** DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF ***

Job 33:18
“He keeps them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.”

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Shakespeare & Me & Sixx:A.M. (Week 22)

As You Like It

Willy `•.

“Sweet are the uses of adversity.”

Sixx:A.M. ♬…

“There’s nothing like a trail of blood to find your way back home…”

Me `’.,°~

Pain—
is the map.

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted…
that I might learn thy statutes.”
— Psalm 119:71

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

bryanforchrist on YouTube

Darlene Zschech 🎶 Victor’s Crown

https://youtube.com/shorts/GJmOVw9c_Dg?si=xdRHVLWrF7oGQ1xj 👈

Click on thumbnail inside short for full song.

Hallelujah
You have overcome
You have overcome
Hallelujah
Jesus, You have overcome the world…

Every high thing must come down
Every stronghold shall be broken
You wear the Victor’s crown
You have overcome, You have overcome…

…….✝️🌍🏆✨’…….🔥🙌🎶’…….⬆️⬇️💥’

Zechariah 3:4 —
“See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

bryanforchrist on YouTube…

Thousand Foot Krutch 🎶 So Far Gone…

https://youtube.com/shorts/BsiAuQAH7zI?si=XemdgHd5lMAsnU-X 👈

Click on thumbnail inside short for full song… also check out my channel.. and if you like… Subscribe… I pray for all my viewers and subscribers nightly… I only run this channel to hopefully help people and also introduce them to some good Christian music…

From Below to Breath…

Jonah 2:2
From the depths… I cried — and He heard me…

…….B†C→

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Hidden Gems From The B-Side — Faith Side (Week 10)

Sidewalk Prophets 🎶 You Love Me Anyway 🎶 Keep Making Me…

Some bands don’t start on stages…
they start in small rooms… borrowed amps… quiet prayers… and long drives…

Sidewalk Prophets began in 2003 on a college campus in Indiana… just a few friends writing songs about faith doubt and grace while playing worship nights and whatever doors opened…
They toured in vans… played churches and coffee shops… and learned how to carry songs into real lives before anyone was listening…

That slow road mattered… because when their music finally reached the wider world… it already knew how to sit with people…

Two songs from that journey still hit me deep…
and honestly… I think these are two of the greatest Christian songs ever…
I know… that’s saying a lot…
hey… it’s just my opinion… 😁

🎶 You Love Me Anyway
(These Simple Truths 2009 — single 2011)

🎶 Keep Making Me
(Live Like That 2012)

I hope yall enjoy… thank you for your time… have a blessed Sunday…

…….💔→🤲→❤️→✝️→🩹→🕊️
…….🪨→💧→🔥→🫀→🙏
…….🏃‍♂️→✝️→🤍→🌬️→💨
…….🫙→⬇️→✨→⬆️→❤️
…….🌑→🤲→🌟→🛐
…….❤️→✝️→❤️→∞
…….🌬️→🫁→🔥→🕊️
…….🔄→⚒️→🤍→✝️

📖 Romans 5:8
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners… Christ died for us…”

© 2026 Bryan H. All rights reserved.

bryanforchrist on YouTube…

Ben Fuller 🎶 Black Sheep…

https://youtube.com/shorts/DiSRvSTe1WI?si=UjcVHS3FHLSWyKjo 👈

Click on thumbnail inside short for full song…

…….🚧🚧🚧→🛤️
🛟→🕳️🕳️🕳️
🙅‍♂️💭→🏠❌
🏃‍♂️💨→🌪️😈
😰❓→😐🎭
🪨❤️→🚪🚶‍♂️
😢💧🙈
📣✨→✝️🚫🏃‍♂️

🐑🖤←✝️❤️

💔🎨→🖋️🔥
🍺💊❌🩹
😰❓→😐🎭
🪨❤️→🚪🚶‍♂️
😢💧🙈
📣✨→✝️🚫🏃‍♂️

🐑🖤←✝️❤️ 
🐑🖤←✝️❤️ 

⏳❓🔮❌
❤️🐑→🔥🌫️
⬇️🔥❌🚫
🐕🐕🐕→🌎
📣→🐑

😰❓→😐🎭 
🪨❤️→🚪🚶‍♂️ 
😢💧🙈 
✨🕊️→✝️🚫🏃‍♂️ 
✨🕊️→✝️🚫🏃‍♂️ 

🐑🖤←✝️❤️ 
🐑🖤←✝️❤️

Psalm 68:6… God sets the lonely in families…

© 2026 Bryan H. All Rights Reserved

`’.,°~

Saltwater and Second Chances

The Day Me and My Friend Almost Drowned…

It was the summer of 1996…
I had it all figured out—
  until I didn’t…
I thought I could—
  until I couldn’t…

Life shows up at times…
 and will straight wreck your ship—
it’s a beast…
 a leviathan…

You can’t just ebb with the tide…
 if you don’t lead it—
  it will lure you…

Drowning is not an option…
Swim like your life depends on it—
  because it does…

Me…
my friend Terrell…
and his girlfriend Helen
decided to go to Panama City.. Florida
for the weekend…

It was about a six hour drive from Atlanta…
I was really spontaneous back then—
 so were my friends…

We would do crazy stuff on a whim…
 without thinking much about it…
it was Helen’s idea—
 T and me just looked at each other
  and smiled…

Within half an hour…
we were in the car and on the road—
 the highway was our runway…
 we didn’t have a flight plan…

After watching my life race by
like highway lines…
for what felt like eternity—
we finally made it…

That’s a notorious drive…
 it always feels double the time it takes…

So we found our rooms…
 chilled for a short time…
bought beer—
 and headed to the beach…

I didn’t know this but
T brought a funnel…
and he knew I had never done it before—
 so I tried it…
  about choked myself…

No bro…
it’s cool…
thanks anyway…

I like to actually taste
and enjoy a beer—
not shoot it like a rocket…
Down my throat…
to my brain
and insides…

So after a day of brutal heat
and alcohol…
I could hear the Gulf
calling my name—

Deep calls to deep…
 like a favorite song…

The two of us traded
the safety of the sand…
 for liquid turquoise…
oh.. how good it felt
on my body…

Such a beautiful and strange thing—
 is water…
It gives life…
 it can take it too…

We both were excellent swimmers…
 loved it so…
spent a lot of time in the water together—
 we ventured out pretty far…

I started to get a little tired…
Told T we should head back to shore—
 he agreed…
I could tell he was tiring too…

We hit a sandbar…
finally able to stand…
feel the bottom again…

I could feel the alcohol
hitting me more…
 creeping up on me…
  my head was spinning…

As I was bobbing…
 fighting waves…
an undercurrent picked up slightly—
 pulled us off the sandbar…

We could no longer stand…
It was back to treading…

T wasn’t looking good—
 he had way too much to drink…
This was a bad idea…
 things were about to get real…

Suddenly—
we were like two kites
with broken strings…

He started to struggle hard…
 fell below the surface…
  then up again…
   then down once more…

Oh no…
 oh no…

He cried out for me—
 help me…
  then he went under…

I went down after him…
with what strength I had left—
 got him back up…

But he was in survival mode…
 total panic…

He clung to me—
 I couldn’t move
  my arms
  or legs…

Next thing I know…
I was under water…
 he was on top of me…

Stepping all over me—
 his feet pushing me further down
as he fought for his life…
 to stay afloat…

I sank below…

Under water…
 out of strength…
  out of breath…
   far from home…

Fear spun over me
like a dreaded whirlwind—

I thought about the ones I loved…
 my life…
  how I should have done better…

I tried to fight some more—
 but I just had nothing left…
  zero breath…

I noticed the sun above…
 its beams shooting through the water
  all around me…

The fear left…
I was ok now…

I said a prayer…
 then from beneath the ocean…
  I said my goodbyes…

I gave up and breathed in saltwater…

Then—
unexpectedly…

I felt sand under my feet…
With new-found strength—
 I pushed off and up…

My head shot above water…
I found myself again
on the elusive sandbar…

I instantly started coughing…
 spitting out water from my lungs…

I breathed in—
 it was air this time…

I slowly walked
the narrow sandbar
back to shallower water…

I made it back to the beach…

My waterlogged body—
 collapsing…
  surrendering to sleep…

Later that evening…
close to sunset…

I woke…
 I remembered…
  I was so thankful…
   grateful…
    happy to be alive…

But oh my Lord—
 where was T…
  was he ok…

Then—
down the beach…

I saw him
and Helen…

The same thing had happened to him…
He somehow made it to shore…
 passed out…
  and slept…

He had just woken up
the same time I did…

This was all just so unreal…
How blessed
and fortunate
we were to have made it out…

I learned major lessons that day…
 I’m always learning stuff…

My friend T survived the ocean that day…
Only to be shot and killed years later—

Murdered…
 gunned down…
  in cold blood…

Like he was nothing…

over nothing…

He made it out of the water…
 but not the world…

And I’m still out here…

trying to make sense
  of the waves

that never stop coming…

Psalm 42:7 (NIV)


“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls…
all your waves and breakers have swept over me…”

© 2026 Bryan H. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

The Window Song

one broken summer… one beautiful moment…

The Summer of 97`
was rough man…

like couldn’t get any worse…
far as the heart goes…


go read my story First Love
and you will get it… 😁


…but now looking back…
it was beautiful…

So I did three things that summer…

went to work…
played my guitar…
hung out with friends…


killing everything with drugs and alcohol…
straight up gunning my life down…


At the time… I was living in a downstairs apartment…
in the burbs of Atlanta…


That summer… I spent many a day and night…
many an hour…


sitting on the edge of my bed…
right in front of an open window…


strumming my strings…
singing my blues away…


learning new songs…
holding fast to old ones…


I had just finished a concert to myself lol…
when I heard a soft hello…


Then I looked… and there —
at my window —

was the beautiful face
that belonged to the voice…


She lived in the neighborhood…
I didn’t know her…


With my guitar still in my hands…
we talked — through the screen —


She was kind… honest…
open…


She told me that for a month…
she would pass by my window…


hoping I would be there…
singing…
playing…


She told me how much she looked forward to it…
how the music helped her…
because she was dealing with much in her life…

She said she would lean against my building…
beside my window…
just out of sight…


listen for a while…
breathe in deep…


she said my feelings —
that I was giving away in those songs —
she recognized them…
as her own…

She said she’d get lost in my songs…
forget things…
for a little while…


I’ve never had a better compliment…


So I told her…


my window… was her window…
my song… was her song…


and she was welcome… anytime…

`’.°~

…….<~|🜔|~>→🪟→♪♪~…….<~|*|~>→|[]|→~~~♪~ `.°~ @’~~~ that’s what she said…

While writing this I listened to the album Kerosene Hat by Cracker… from 1993…

She was definitely… a hidden gem… from the b-side… 😎`’.,

© Bryan H. 2025 — All Rights Reserved

`’.,°~