Show at Moxie's

Last night my band played a show at Moxie's in downtown Vancouver. This was our very first show (well...where we played more than 3 songs) so it was quite exciting for all of us. We ended up playing for about an hour and a half which is a big accomplishment considering our short repertoire of songs two weeks ago. My friend Amanda took a few video clips so here are two of them. The first is from a song called, "Essence of the Beach" which is an original song I wrote a few months ago. The other song is from a cover of "All or Nothing" by O-Town. Hopefully we'll get some full recordings of our songs at our next performance.





PS - We still don't have a name for our band so if you think of some cool creative names let me know!

Grad school here I come

It's a Saturday morning and I've spent it applying for grad school and studying for the GRE. My brain hurts already. I hope I know what I'm getting myself into next year. Lol. For those of you who don't know, I'm applying for a masters in Pastoral Ministry at a joint program with University of Portland and Gonzaga University. I start this fall and the program lasts for 3 years. Even though I know it will be a lot of work I am getting really excited for it. I love being a student and learning new things. Plus two of my friends who are also youth ministers will be taking the program in the fall as well. So at least I will have friends in my classes.

Inspirations

I love Colbie Caillat. Her voice is so relaxed and beautiful. Everytime she sings it makes me think of a relaxing day, sitting on the beach and playing guitar. She inspires me and I hope one day to be like her.

D Update

Man, it really has been awhile since I've written. I really have come to like blogs more and more but I guess I tend to do more posts on my other blog for my youth group. But since this is my blog and all about me, well, this is what I've been up to.

I've been getting more into music lately. My friends and I started a band, well I guess you could call it more of reuniting our band since we used to have a band in high school. I play guitar and sing backup vocals, my friend Jen sings lead vocals and my friend Kristen plays bass and sings backup vocals. We've been practicing a lot and finally had our first gig a few weeks ago at an open mic in Vancouver. It was so much fun and it reminded me of how much I love performing. It was really cool because since we had invited a lot of friends and family, they were cheering for us as we went up to the stage. They made us look like we were a really big deal...I mean, we are a big deal...

I've also been getting together with my friend Jenny to collaborate on music. She plays piano, I play guitar and we both sing. We played for the first time last week at a coffeeshop in Salem. I've been having a lot of fun playing music with her. She's very silly like me and one day we made a commercial for our gig in Salem. I think most people watch it and wonder about us. I just laugh.



The more i get into music, the more I want to spend on fun toys that will help me improve my musical abilities. The other day I almost bought a Ukelele because I thought it would be fun to learn. Right now I really want a loop station. I almost bought one today but then realized that I have no money. Eventually I will have one though. They are so cool. I mean just watch this video and you will want one too.

Here Comes the Sun

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright

Little darling
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling
It fells like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright

Little darling
The smiles returning to the faces
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling
I see the ice is slowly melting
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
It's alright

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
It's alright
It's alright

Hope vs. Optimism

So I’m writing today because I have writer’s block for a talk I’m writing and I thought this might be a more creative way to get out my ideas than in an outline. Here, my ideas can just flow out in whatever form they want to. So here goes…

Hope and Optimism
What is the difference between hope and optimism? They seem to be similar. In fact, when I googled the term “hope,” several entries came up with the idea that hope is a belief that one’s circumstances in life can turn out positive. But I think it goes deeper than that. I believe that the correct term for that definition is closer to optimism. Optimism is when you believe things will turn out great and life will get better. Hope, I feel is a more long term idea. Hope is knowing that not everything in life will turn out great, but knowing that there is good that will come in the end. Our hope is in Jesus, knowing that while we suffer on earth, there is redemption and salvation for us. We go through our lives with hope because we know there is good coming our way at the end. Jesus promised us this and Paul speaks about it in Romans 8:18, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” That is why if I didn’t have faith, if I didn’t believe in God, I would not understand this world at all. What would be the point of living? Why would I go through trials and suffering without hope of some kind that it would all come out good in the end? I don’t think I would want to live in a world without hope.

Suffering and Goodness vs. Free Will

OK, so it's been a long time since I've written a real post...something with substance and thoughtfulness. I guess I don't write that often because a lot of it would be too personal to post here (that's what journals are for!). But that's no excuse...there's plenty to write about, it just takes some effort on my part.

Anyways, lately I have been thinking a lot about the idea of suffering and goodness. I recently had a Theology on Tap night about, "how can there be suffering in the world when there is a good God who loves us?" The summary of the night was that God doesn't give us suffering but merely allows it. Sometimes people say when a loved one dies that "God wanted to take them, it was their time." I really don't believe that. God doesn't take people from us but he does know it will happen and he allows it. It all goes back to having free will. If God stopped suffering, he would have to take away our free will.

So then I got to thinking, if God doesn't stop suffering because he can't take away free will, then how does he work good in our lives? What I mean by this is, how does he have people do things to bring about good? For example, everyone has always told me that God has a specific person in mind that God's going to put in my life someday and it will be the person I will fall in love with and marry. But how can God do that if he doesn't interfere with our free will? He can't make that person do something or be somewhere at a certain time in order to meet me...can he? Then how does it work? Does he plant an idea in our heads and we have the choice to listen or not? It's hard to understand how it works because I know that personally I am not very good at listening to God sometimes. I bet I've missed a thousand suggestions from God. I guess God already knows that sometimes it will take a thousand hints until a person finally listens. Maybe he has already planned for that and somehow it all works according to his plan anyway. I still don't quite get it though...