so i know it's february already. i've been up to other things this year and have been lazy in getting this post out. time to spill my guts on what music got the most airtime and what albums i really really liked from two thousand and eleven. posting what i listened to the most is easy really. i use last.fm and have an app on my computer, iPhone, and iPad that tracks what i've listened to. the site puts all that info into some charts and you can sort a couple of different ways.anyhow. strap in and get ready. here we go!

take a minute and check the new album by kutless out. it's really good (and I'm not saying that because they're cool guys the album is really good!). I'm looking forward to having it!!

Check out this preorder album on iTunes:

Believer (Deluxe Edition) Kutless Christian & Gospel Released: 2012

i spent the last part of two thousand eleven and the first few days of two thousand twelve in the great city of san diego. i had several friends join me for this little vacation to celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. one of the many things we did on our trip was eat together. the most enjoyable of our eating experiences was a place in little italy called buon appetito. the atmosphere was perfect, the service was some of the best in san diego, and the food was fantastic. we sat around the table laughing, eating wonderful italian food, and retelling stories from the night before. during the course of the evening one of the girls asked what our high and low of the year was. a couple people spoke up and then conversation turned to some other topic. the question stuck with me the rest of our trip.

i personally have had quite the year in two thousand eleven. there were so many highs. i got a new job, became an uncle for the first time, got to see my cousin marry the love of his life, spent time in boston, and was there when my sister said yes to her boyfriend's proposal of marriage. there are many more beyond these mentioned. it was a year filled with more highlights than i deserved. there were plenty of lows as well. the passing of friends, people moving away, struggling with a terrible work environment, and heartbreak. to say the least the past year was one amazing ride.

the highlight of my trip to san diego was our dinner at buon appetito. it will be the memory that stays with me when the others begin to fade. this memory stands out because of a moment. everyone was talking, eating, and laughing (some were mixing two of those actions at a time). looking at the people around me i knew i had been blessed. though all of our experiences this past year were unique to each of us we could share in each others moments. many of us at the table had experienced the pain of heartbreak, the joy of new life, and relief of laughter when laughing was the only thing left to do. my community of friends is vast and this past year is marked with friendships as the exclamation point to every high and low. my friends around the table that night were just a sampling of the community of people God has surrounded me with. that moment of realization during dinner was the high point of my trip to san diego and it will be how i describe my two thousand eleven.

buon appetito means enjoy your meal. food is good but what makes it a meal is sharing it with someone or someones. life works the same way. life is good but life becomes great when we share it. i'm beyond blessed to have such amazing family and friends who share in my life and let me be apart of theirs. two thousand eleven was an incredible year but i have no doubts that God has an awesome year planned for me. here's to the year past and to the year yet to come!

this comes from an email i sent recently to a friend to catch them up on some things in my life. this portion is in regards to a possible job at a super cool church in southern california.

so, i'm not coming. that's basically what came out of my mouth to tommy a couple of weeks ago when we talked for the first time after my visit. i hung the phone up, swiveled in my chair to face my computer, and the words that came out of my mouth to no one but me and Jesus were "i'm not going." that statement was followed by such calming peace.

until that moment i had no idea how God was pulling on my heart. i could hear His voice both here in fresno and there at RH. as i explained it to one of the few friends who got to be apart of my processing, i was excited and nervous about the possibility of both outcomes. there was never a thought or concern about community (both leaving or finding), church body (RH is amazing and if i lived within an hour of RH i'd be family there!), or living situation. the comparison that was in my head and got communicated whenever i processed out loud with someone was the difference in what i'd be doing. i don't love my job at chase. i love what my job at chase lets me do. i would love getting paid to do ministry in the church (especially to help point kids to Jesus through their talents and passions in music). i would have to give up some of the things i get to do now because of my job at chase. i was so torn. no leading. people who i thought would be for me moving forward with this weren't into the idea and those who i thought for sure would be opposed to the RH thing were so for it. lots of prayer. lots of prayer.

tommy called and told me (first time) that it had been changed to a honorarium and wasn't going to be an hourly gig. honestly that probably would have made it easier for me to make a transfer with chase (keeping the benefits and retirement intact) and i told him as much when we talked. he said he was going to get more details from the elders and i said i was going to pray about it for another week. we hung up. and thats when my first paragraph happened.

God is good and faithful. i'm excited to be here in fresno because that is where God has me. being apart of His plan is the most exciting, adventurous, and thrilling thing anyone could ever do. i'm looking forward to this adventure He has for me!