The Brilliance

Last night I had the privilege of attending the Matt Maher concert held at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church. I first heard about this concert because Elizabeth Hunnicutt was going to be opening up the show. Elizabeth is a beautiful artist who I have been listening to since I met her while attending Open Door Church in college where she leads worship. Her music is a must listen, she writes from such an honest place that anyone can relate to; not to mention she is an awesome person!

As Elizabeth opened the show I knew I was in for a spirit filled night of music! The church was packed with families, groups of high school kids, and young adults all coming from different local churches and denominations. I was expecting to enjoy music from Elizabeth and Matt as advertised online...little did I know I was in for a huge surprise.

Matt Maher was performing with the band The Brilliance. Lead singer David Gungor is brother to the lead singer of the band Gungor, Michael Gungor. Talk about a musically gifted family! Matt left the stage during his performance and allowed The Brilliance to perform their own songs for about 20 minutes. To say I fell in love with their music would be an understatement. Their music both lyrically and instrumentally was food I didn't know my soul was craving. Traditionally backed by a full string quartet they were playing a stripped down versus in honor of the lent season. With a cello, violin, piano, drums, and a guitar they moved me to tears. Their music is based on the liturgist calendar. Many of their lyrics resonate with common prayers I grew up reciting in church. Two songs that I would like to share are "Does Your Heart Break?" and "Now and At the Hour of Our Death".  Earlier in the week I prayer that new music would be given to me that I could use to stay focused in my busy days and to play in moments of grave difficulty to be reminded that our God is right there with me. All I can say is thank you for delivering on a prayer I simply said in my head!

David Gungor (lead singer) and John Arndt (pianist) above promised to be back in the Bay Area this May! I can hardly contain my excitement!

Family and Baseball

Two things I love: my family and baseball, well the San Francisco Giants! This past weekend I traveled with the family (all six of us) to Arizona for Spring Training. I knew it was going to be a great weekend filled with laughter and warm weather!

There are too many stories to share so I have picked some of my favorites!

Friday night we landed in Arizona and were consumed by the warm air! This was a welcomed change from the cold weather that had rolled into the Bay Area as we were leaving! As the sweatshirts came off we learned that our rental car for the weekend was going to be a minivan!! Anyone who grew up in the 90s can understand our excitement! This brought back memories of the blue whale we grew up in! The silver bullet would be our limousine for the next 48 hours!

Kingsley found a sushi restaurant online that had great reviews and made reservations for Friday night! She was hoping the food would stand up to the critics but had no idea we were in for such an entertaining night. We arrived a little after 9pm and the place was packed! As we ordered way too much food and waited with what felt like empty stomachs we noticed that the table behind us was there to celebrate. What appeared to be a group of business men enjoying dinner turned into rounds of sake bombs. As the night went on one gentleman in particular had out partied himself and appeared to have fallen asleep. Leave it to my brother to capture the whole thing! Shortly after the photo below was taken he fell out of his chair and woke up! Thankfully we were close to leaving, it was hard to contain our laughter!

After finally sleeping in Saturday morning after what felt like months of early mornings we headed to the ballpark. Having never been to Spring Training I was eager to see what the hype was about. Giants fans all around! Black and Orange and a little green for St. Patrick's day, it was everything I imagined! I didn't know the games were played in a such a small stadium, maybe 10,000 people. Compared to AT&T park it felt like a college game! This could be my new favorite vacation, baseball games during the day (and some night games) and a great little downtown to explore! Old town Scottsdale is filled with boutique shops and fun restaurants. Don and Charlie's was my favorite, from the moment you walk in you are surrounded with sports paraphernalia.

Two baseball games, two sushi restaurants, an entertaining night at BLT Steakhouse at the JW Marriott and we were returning to the Bay Area. Thank you Mom and Dad for a wonderful weekend amidst all of our busy schedules. I am so lucky to have such amazing parents who never get tired of three (now four) kids with a non stop sense of humor! I am so excited for the season to start and hope the Giants have another great year!!

I think I can, I think I can

Today I get to check off an item from my bucket list: I finished my first 5k! I couldn't have done it without my amazing running partner Chelsea! We woke up bright and early this morning, fought the traffic and then the lines to be in the first heat of the race! After avoiding the volunteers eager to douse us in colored corn starch we made our way through the "Color Run!" As we rounded our way to the home stretch I mustered up the energy to sprint to the finish line! Hand in hand with smiles ear to ear we finished the race!

Griki Returns!

I am so excited to announce my sister and brother in law are moving home to California...tomorrow! Around 4:30pm tomorrow afternoon Kingsley and Grant will land on California soil and I could not be more thrilled.

The above picture is from my visit to Tennessee in June 2011! Can't wait to spend time with you both!!!

I love you guys so much!

What are you afraid of?

I am blessed with friends that encourage me daily via calls, texts, facebook posts, etc. this is a text I received today and loved the truth in it:

I will be more afraid of spirit unrest, of soul disturbance, of any ruffling of the mind, than of earthquake or fire. When I feel the calm of my spirit has been broken by emotional upset, then I must steal away alone with God, until my heart sings and all is strong and calm again. Uncalm times are the only times when evil can find an entrance. I will beware of unguarded spots of unrest. I will try to keep calm, no matter what turmoil surrounds me.
Prayer for the Day:
I pray that no emotional upsets will hinder God's power in my life. I pray that I may keep a calm spirit and a steady heart.

Dr. Seuss... in twelve months

One fish two fish red fish blue fish...

This has been on the cover of my notebook for the past year. This notebook has travelled many places with me- into sanctuaries, on airplanes, numerous coffee shops, one friends house after another and spent countless nights on the table next to my bed. I would often get asked if it was the commonly known Dr. Seuss book and would open the book to show my handwritten notes and post it's. Clearly identifying this book as my own. As I finished my last entry in this notebook I began to reflect over the previous pages. I found sermon notes, favorite quotes, books to read, songs to download, prayer requests, telephone numbers, and drawings. All of which brought back the trials and triumphs of the past year.
All I can say is wow. Which out of curiosity I looked up in the dictionary to find the word defined as: "Expressing astonishment or admiration." I think wow is the perfect word to describe the last twelve months. I do believe it is rare to use a notebook for exactly a year but happened to date both my first and last entries and found the dates to be 2/15/12-2/18/13.
I am astonished at the the events that have taken place over the last twelve months and admire the decisions I have had the courage to make and the failures I am humble enough to surrender to. I hope to continue to grow as I open up the next notebook and pray over the journey I know will take place as I begin to fill up the pages.

42 Life Lessons

A friend posted this online today and I have read it before but thought it was too good not to share.

My favorites are 14, 31, and 39!

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short – enjoy it..
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
10. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
11. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
12. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it…
14 Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
15. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
16. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
17. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
21. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
22. The most important sex organ is the brain.
23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
25. Always choose life.
26. Forgive but don’t forget.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does..
31. Believe in miracles.
32. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
33. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
34. Your children get only one childhood.
35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.
39. The best is yet to come…
40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
41. Yield.
42. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

What's your favorite??