Day 361: The 50's Here

Today could have been more eventful, but.... it just wasn't. What is it with Hispanics and their tendency of being lazy sometimes? Man, I thought I was doing alright breaking that stereotype, but now I'm back at it full speed. I can say that it was a good day thanks to my latest addition to my camera's eye collection, the Canon 50 mm f/1.8. I know that sounds super complicated, but it's just a simple lens with loads of awesomeness inside. Plus, I get the perfect opportunity to practice at the "happiest place on earth"", so you know it's going to be good! This was a family day; despite my laziness and lack of effort to do something more productive, it was still a blessed day. This last week of 2010 is going to be good; sometimes you just know, even if it involves Disneyland =)

God bless,
Steven

Day 360: The Feed

So Christmas was yesterday. Just like that it's over, and there's six days of the year left. Today was the last Sunday of 2010; wow, has time flown. Today we visited a church that our cousins Jorge and Rosie go to, and I enjoyed it a lot. It's cool to get a different perspective every now and then. After that, the family (Derek included; you know what, let's just go with him always being included in the family.) went to have lunch at this place called Everett & Jones. Apparently, it was so good the last time they went that they HAD to take me there. All I can say about Everett & Jones is that it just may be some of the best barbecue I've had in my whole life. My WHOLE LIFE. I tried their chicken, beef brisket, and ribs, and sweet mother of Jehosaphat are they good; I made sure to save some to have tomorrow. Coming home was nice and simple; all I really did was hang out with my dad, watching movies and video editing. Not to mention the dogs, who are great company when you dismiss their tendencies of being absolute lunatics sometimes. You'd think that after a massive lunch I'd be done with eating for the day; well..... it wasn't the end just yet. I ended up having an evening run to Taco Bell, where I used a bunch of coupons to get a bunch of food to sustain me for the next couple days. I'm pretty sure I'll be running on a full tank of fuel this week; I just need to try and regain my composure so the American eater within me doesn't transfer over to Australia. I say that mainly because I ate differently over there; it actually benefitted me too! I don't really ever keep track of my height, weight, etc.; but I certainly felt better throughout this year. There's just something about Australia.... guess I won't be finding out the secret to it's success anytime soon.

God bless,
Steven

Day 359: CHRISTmas

Christmas day. Everyone looks forward to it. I mean, why wouldn't you? It's Christmas!! We're celebrating the birth of our Lord JC! This time of year has always been one that I enjoy; I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a Christmas I didn't enjoy. Today was a family day; I literally spent the entire day with family and relatives. In the morning, my family went to Pittsburg to see grandma; as tradition, we took her for breakfast at IHOP (I'm really taking a liking to IHOP now; who knew ten months away from here could make their food taste SO amazing?) After that, we took a trip to Mi Pueblo, which is basically a massive Mexican supermarket where you can find lots of food for super cheap prices. It's cool to be in a place like that, because it's full of Latin American culture and the kind of food my parents are familiar with from their childhoods. After spending a couple hours with our relatives, we dropped off grandma and came home. Throughout the day I kept practicing with my new camera, and so far it's going well. I spent a good 20 minutes just going through the manual, and I had to stop due to an overflow of info to my brain. I could have picked just about anything to do once I got home, but I found myself in front of my TV reliving one of my favorite pastimes: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus on the Playstation 2. What was originally going to be a small play-through of the first and second levels ended up being me playing for about 4 hours and eventually beating the game; frankly, I'm surprised I beat it so quickly. Looks like I'll be playing through the second one pretty soon =)

Okay, so maybe this Christmas wasn't like the ones you see in the movies or television, but the fact that I got to spend it with the most special people in my life was well worth it. One thing I would complain about is that today's society is moving away from Christmas's purpose and inspiration. I guess I don't really see what's so controversial about saying "Merry Christmas"; obviously me being a Christ follower can make me feel uneasy when I hear modern America saying "Happy Holidays" as if they're trying to take away the deeper meanings and spiritual connections of Christmas out of the picture. All I can really say in the end is I'm going to stick with the way it was meant to be from the beginning. Think about it; 'tis all.

God bless,
Steven

Day 358: New Toys!!

"It came!!! It finally came!!! The Big One. [cue dramatic strings] Extremely dangerous, keep out of reach of children.... cool!"

This is one of those scenes from Toy Story that I remember because of how many times I've seen it. Today, I could have easily quoted this over and over again. Today was one for the history books, as my present to myself from myself arrived this afternoon. What was it, you may ask. A Canon Rebel T2i camera kit, I may answer. I GOT MY CAMERA!!!!!!!!!! It's about time, man!! I basically got to show it off to the family after months of researching and getting input from all the camera experts in my world. It's more beautiful than I dreamed; I seriously can't wait to start reading the instruction manual to figure out how to use the darn thing!!

My Christmas Eve was definitely one of the best ever; lots of time with the family, lots of great food, lots of camera testing, and even Lotso' Huggin' Bear making me detest evil toys that hide behind cuteness (Never... ever.... trust a bunny. Or a pink bear that smells of strawberries..) My family is really the best gift of my life; I thank God so much for them and everything they do for me. God, thanks for an amazing year; and Jesus... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 357: Christmas Eve Eve?

Let's just say that God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. Sounds like a pretty good summary of today to me!

God bless,
Steven

Day 356: Alone, Not Alone, and Never Alone

In the morning I found myself in a place where I was determined to really getting this SFC Christmas Program DVD finished. I published each video with around 20 minutes between each just waiting for the video to finish. Eventually they were all done, and I went right to work on the DVD menu. It took a while, but after all the imports it was done. I then decided to check the videos, only to find that the audio quality wasn't as good as it was on iMovie. So, I had to pretty much scrap everything I did, and I have to re-publish the videos with better audio so it can be heard well on the DVD. I consider that a video editing FAIL, but let's just move on before I get sensitive.
Later in the afternoon, I had a dentist appointment; it's cool to see the people you trust with your teeth, especially when they already know so much about Australia. My mom and I both got some extra strength cleaning done, so I feel pretty clean at the moment. After that, I was deployed downtown to meet up with some of my SFC peeps. I was there very early, so I went to Borders and got lost in a few comic books; it was a very reminiscent hour, since I had a knack for collecting them. What really surprised me was how far the comics have gone since I last got one; take the New Avengers for example. I think the last volume I have is 6 or 7, but they're already on 12; it's amazing how much happened in the Marvel universe in one year. Once I decided I shouldn't jump ahead to other big stories, I went downstairs to find someone I knew; this mission came with little success; but after a while, I eventually found them. We pretty much spent the night walking around the city, sharing laugh after laugh, story after story, and more laughs; I love my friends. All of them. Even those of you that join me on this life adventure by reading this right now. You're awesome =) As Tobuscus would say it, "Bless your face. If you sneezed during this video (or in my case, this blog), bless you. Peace off."

God bless,
Steven

Day 355: The Friends You Know and Love

So today was interesting indeed. I didn't really have plans (I tend to not have plans to begin with), but a plan came my way around 10-something this morning. I woke up to the ringing of my dad's phone because my mom was calling to check on us. I went through some unread messages and found a message from Kazemi (I gave him my dad's phone number for when we were planning on filming my project for the Exchange, but that didn't go to plan at all) letting me know about plans to hang out with some peeps in Daly City. So without hesitation, I got ready and went over to reunite with one of my best friends; we were the only ones on time (naturally), so we spent about an hour just catching up on life and what was happening. Eventually the rest of our group came and we watched Tangled in 3D (absolutely love this movie; much better than Narnia hands down). It was loads of fun watching it again, and even better seeing Katherine tear up during the emotional scenes haha. After that, the group (minus the Garcias) went to the V's house to say hello to our ol' advisor/friend and his wife. We spent a couple hours there, telling what's going on in all our worlds (apparently, I've missed out on a lot, because so much has happened this year that I only just heard about today!). Eventually, the entire Valenzuela family came, and it turned into somewhat of a family reunion. Once I got home, it was chilling with the family until bedtime... which is now...

God bless,
Steven

Day 354: Kong Lives

Today was the first day that my dad had off for the next couple weeks. I can't say how great it is that I can spend pretty much the rest of my break with him, and I'm looking forward to it. All we did today was chill, taking care of the dogs and other random things around the house. At one point I decided to try out Derek's Wii, since I wouldn't want it to sit here and not go to waste (In case you don't know who Derek is, he's my sister's new fiancee.) I tried out the new version of Donkey Kong Country, and I have to admit this game is awesome; it totally brought me back to the days when I played Donkey Kong 64 every day for like 6 months straight (and I never even beat it...). In the evening, the whole family was in the living room talking over some family business things, and now that the hour is late, everyone is asleep except me. Now that I think about, I always found myself to be the one that stayed up last; I'm sure I'll find a good reason to stay up this time.

God bless,
Steven

Day 353: Learning to Worship

This morning while I was getting ready for church, my mom was watching a message from Dr. Charles Stanley, one of the big time teachers in the Bay Area. I started listening about halfway through his message, and he started talking about how he had spent years teaching and preaching, but at one point he got a revelation that he never really learned how to worship. Sure, he believed in Jesus as his savior, he studied the Bible, and he was an anointed speaker; but he was never really shown how to worship. I've accepted for years now that worship shouldn't be limited to the music we play in church; instead, it should be the way we live every day. I've been trying to apply this into my life for years, but I feel like I still haven't quite "got it". Hearing Charles Stanley say that made me really think about what I've chosen to believe. Sure, I believe that worship should be our lifestyle, but have I lived that out? In all honestly, I can say I haven't enough. Yes, I've had those small periods where everything goes well, but then I get one small lazy break, and I find myself in the laid back setting where I just don't follow up to it. Today I set out to work on that; it went well, but I know it could have gone better. I find myself getting renewed energy when I pray; like really sitting down and talking with God. Those moments really show the potential of how my relationship with God can be, and those are the moments that keep me pressing on. My ultimate desire for the last couple weeks of this year is that I can start to be much more consistent with that; I can go well for at most a week, but then it starts to decline thanks to my lazy and procrastinating nature. Now that I think about it, it's amazing that even with 12 days of the year left, I'm still trying to accomplish things in my life. I guess I thought I would have life figured out a bit more by now, hey? But that's life; you can never really have it all figured out, can you? That's why I find myself constantly grateful that I have a God that's got me covered for the long haul. And to think that Christmas is coming up.... time sure does fly....

God bless,
Steven

Day 352: If I Had An Identity Disc...

Today was a movie day, pretty much. I watched 4 today, which is potentially a record, but I'd rather not try and calculate that. In the morning I woke up to the sound of Iron Will, one of my dad's all time favorite movies. This movie has been dear to us because of the connection we have to it; I grew up watching it, but I still enjoy it every time I see it. Then I watched the Taking of Pelham 123, which I actually thought was a good movie; it was done well, and I still think Denzel Washington is one of the best actors I've seen. After that one, my dad asked if I wanted to see a movie called Upside, so I did. It's about this kid that gets a concussion that damages his brain in a way that causes his eyesight to flip everything upside down. It's one of those Christian movies that people could easily put off, but it was actually really well done (not to mention there was a Family Force 5 song in the background of one of the scenes!). By the time that movie was done, we were getting ready for the main event of the day, which of course was watching Tron: Legacy (finally). All I have to say about this move is that it was exactly what I expected. It was by far one of the best movies I've seen all year, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Sunday marks the 4 week period I have left here at home; how amazing to think that a week from today is Christmas, and the day after is the halfway period of my break..

God bless,
Steven

P.S. Tron is still my favorite program; the dude is an absolute legend!

Day 351: Family Ties

Today was pretty great. It was a different spin on the week thanks to my sister, who stayed with me and the dogs. We had a good time just chilling and watching random TV shows that have no real purpose in my terms. I got to finally use a couple Taco Bell coupons and save some moolah, which was sweet; It was most satisfying. My afternoon wasn't very different from the morning, but that doesn't mean it wasn't as good. In the evening, my family (new addition Derek included) went to a church dinner, where we had a great time with the Garcias and the rest of the church family. Every time I see these people, I tend to appreciate them more, because I get to see what amazing people are part of this church. I can only pray that the same amount of blessing they have been to me will return to them soon; I know God has a plan for this church, and I hope that those plans will work out to the best. Also, Tron: Legacy is in theaters now; excited is one of the biggest understated adjectives I've ever used to describe how I feel now..

God bless,
Steven

Day 350: White Christmas Fever

For the sake of my head not overheating, I'll keep today's brief. I visited my high school today and got to see Louie Giglio's "The 12 Words of Christmas" message with the high school/middle school kids, and it was awesome. I come home to find the house colder than ever, so the dogs and I made a penguin huddle in the living room while watching Pan's Labyrinth. Surprisingly, the winter sure is coming, and it's colder than i remember (you know it's interesting when even your house is almost colder than the outside). I ended up randomly getting a fever that was really annoying; I'm still feeling some after effects right now. But God is good, and this whole thing helped me get some good quality time with Him while my family was out of the house. It's amazing how God can use the most unusual circumstances to get your attention; you really gotta love the guy for looking out for us at all times. I will say that I'm feeling much better than I did a few hours ago, thanks to prayer and a little help from Tylenol. Now I just gotta start praying I'll wake up feeling much better.

God bless,
Steven

Day 349: Hot Chocolate!

So today was good, blessed like every other day this year. It didn't do much, other than hang out with the dogs, reorganize my music library, and approve a couple new artists (I am now a fan of Dave Barnes and Jadon Lavik; you should check them out). The best part of today was revisiting SFC to help film the Christmas program; this program has always been dear to my heart, so it was super cool to see it again. You can never underestimate the power of a Flip camera; this little guy's got guts, and it did a fantastic job of capturing the event. Seeing some old friends was great too; it just makes me realize how long it's been since I was in the place of these kids. Now the guys I got to know in my senior year are the big guns, and their voices dropped a lot (they almost sounds manlier than I do haha). But it was a pleasure to help Mr. Mateyka make this whole program something to remember (literally, because I recorded it). Yup, it was a good day; tomorrow should be just as good, if not more.

God bless,
Steven

Day 348: She's not a Christian AAAAAH!!!!!!!

First off, let me explain the title. My sister was watching this show called Trading Spouses, and she asked if I had seen an episode of this Christian woman who apparently went crazy. Seriously, seriously, out of her mind crazy. So I watched it, and I am pretty much speechless. The one clip they kept repeating in the "coming up" part was where she shouts "SHE'S NOT A CHRISTIAN AAAAAH!!!!!!!!" I got scared the first time I saw it, but by the time it actually happened I was laughing about it (still scared, but laughing).

Anyways, it was a good day. My grandma celebrated her 90th birthday today; she never ceases to amaze me. This whole year she's been praying for me while I was away, and I really appreciate her for that. I'm grateful for both of my grandmas, because they're the ones I got to know most; I love them very much, and I look forward to seeing them more during my break.

God bless,
Steven

Day 347: Am I a Fruitcake?

I've personally never been in a situation where I could lead someone to Christ based on who I was and how I lived. It's always been my dream to do something like that, where my actions, words, and thoughts could make someone interested in learning about God. If there's one thing that's kept me from doing that, it's my flesh; my personal ambitions, desires, and selfish nature. How many times do we end up doing things based on our personal choice? I find it really easy to not do something God-centered, you know? I'll have an intention to spend some time with him, but then I could find an excuse to do something else. That bugs me a lot, yet I still find myself in that situation almost all the time. It makes me wonder to what level of a relationship with God I would need to be able to not only overcome that nature, but also to develop the God nature I know I have. I know deep down inside I have that potential (I've seen it many times before), but I don't want it to be an occasional outbreak. I want this God nature to be my default setting. This morning I watched Louie Giglio's message called Fruitcake and Ice Cream (if you haven't, I highly recommend checking that out.), and the Christian in this story was referred to by the main girl as a "fruitcake". Basically, this meant that she was unusual (at least that's how it translated to me, because I find fruitcake unusual..). After hearing parts of her journal entries that Louie was reading to the congregation, I couldn't help but understand why this girl called her Christian roommate a fruitcake. Sometimes, Christians can come off as unusual, socially awkward, and/or just plain rude, especially the ones with a judgmental attitude. It's people like this that give the rest of us a bad rep; if we could find it in ourselves to be more like Christ in the way we live, I believe that could change the way others see Christianity. Simply calling Christianity a religion to me is incorrect; I've heard it said many times before that "Jesus didn't come to give us religion; He came to show us love." What many people don't understand is that it's not mainly about living up to commandments, meeting a certain quota, or trying to convert as many people as possible by any means necessary; God connects with us through a relationship. He wants us to connect with Him on a more personal level, not one with statistics and regulations. I don't want to be a fruitcake. You know what I want to be? A cheesecake. Yup, I said it. If you know me, then you're probably not just laughing but also getting what I'm trying to say. I find cheesecake to be one of the best things created on this planet. In my humble opinion, I wouldn't mind believing that after God rested on the seventh day of Creation, He treated Himself to some cheesecake and kept it a secret from the people of the first generations for the sake of not causing them to worship a false (but delicious) idol. Just saying...
Let's not be fruitcakes, people; let's be legitimate people that have the potential to reach out to people by living. Good pastors are doing it. Faithful leaders of God's church are doing it. Bands like Anberlin, Relient K, Family Force 5, and Switchfoot are doing it. Ordinary peoples around the world with a God nature are doing it. So why can't we? I challenge you (and myself especially): let's live our lives with purpose, so that we can show others what real relationships with God can look like.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. I recently got a revelation that I'm probably going to come back to Australia fatter than the first time I went; this chocolate cake I'm chowing down may or may not play a big part of this revelation...

Day 346: Dawn of Reunion

Today was special, and not just because it was Sunday. I got to see one of my very good friends, Brian, and it was a fun time hanging out with him in Spanish church (I attempted to translate, but fortunately for us they got Abraham to do the translating for me). After a good afternoon in church, my family (Derek and Brian included) went to Taqueria Guadelajara to chow down on some burritos (which were awesome; it made me think of how much I truly appreciated Mad Mex for giving me a small piece of home.) After that, I went with Mandy, Derek, and Brian to watch Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which I will say was alright. The only complaint I had was the voice of the cousin; this kid probably could have been more annoying, but man it was a test of my patience for sure haha. However, Liam Neeson delivered a fantastic role as Aslan (as he always does), so that for me was a worthy redeeming factor. It's days like these, where everything is just good, that I appreciate life the most. We even have a tree now!!! Our place is looking very Christmas-y; this I can get used to.

God bless,
Steven

Day 345: All Tangled Up

Today was an outside day pretty much; it's nice to get mass amounts of fresh air in comparison to not as much in your house. M family went to Pittsburg to see my grandma; she's been struggling with a mental illness, so my mom has been helping her all year (she's one of my heroes for that). We had breakfast at IHOP with my cousins Sandy and Sarah, and after that we went to Target and Graceland, a Christian bookstore. As custom to this trip which happens regularly over weekends, we went to a Spanish market to get some food for my grandma; I like it there, it's nice! When we got back, it was a sort of down time until I went with my sister to see puppies that belong to our neighbors down the street. They are extremely adorable; right now, they fit into the palm of my hand! AGH, CUTE!! The evening was my favorite, because my parents and I went to see Tangled. All I have to say about this movie is that it's definitely one of my top favorite Disney movies now; it was excellent, and I would love to see it again. Even when we got home, it got better by watching Tron in preparation for the sequel coming out this Friday!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 344: Christmas Pageant

Today, I took my dad to a Family Force 5 Christmas concert.

God bless,
Steven

Day 343: Shadow of the Cross

Today was one of the best, I think. This morning, I went to SFC to say hello to all my teachers; it felt great to be there again, because from what I've been hearing, the school is doing fantastic. Pastor Mike was telling me all about how the students have been heading up worship for chapels, and I was so happy to hear that; I was hoping that worship could continue, so I'm very proud of those students and what they're accomplishing.
After that little trip, I went on a small mission that ended up being one of the most powerful moments of my year. I was going to Mt. Davidson, the highest peak in San Francisco, to do some pre-visualization for my next video project (just the word pre-visualization makes me feel like I'm taking this a little too serious haha). I got directions before I left home, but when I got there, it was blocked off by a house's backyard; I was honestly super confused at that point. I decided to drive around the mountain to find another way in; eventually I found a small staircase that went up into the woods and started the climb. It was a tough 25 minutes, but when I got near the top and looked out to the city, it made me think back to the last time I was on that mountain with my ministries class and P. Shawn (good times, good times). I finally made it to the cross and started to get my pre-vis. shots, but when I began to look at the cross, I felt a warmth in my heart. Right then and there, I felt God speaking to me. This is a summary of what I received: In the same way I went through a lot to get to the top of this mountain and to the cross, God's been leading me along a path day by day that will eventually lead to the "top". As long as I don't give up, but keep pressing onward, I will get to the top, and I will see His face. It put me to tears inside, and I spent the rest of my time there just talking to God and praying over my family and personal battles. I felt loved up there; there's just something about the cross and what it represents that really hits me. It's not just a symbol or monument; it's the reason we're even here, right now. It's the reason we have the opportunity to connect with God on a personal level. It's the reason I celebrate life and all that's come with it. Selah.

God bless,
Steven

Day 342: Pursuit

I'm thinking of calling my next film project Pursuit, since that's pretty much what the video is about. I spent a lot of time thinking about what this film is going to take from me, and I want to make sure I'll be ready for it. I've got two days to make it happen, because I've enlisted the help of my good friend Josh Kazemi to help me out; he can only help for two days, so I need those days to count. I've got a lot of traveling in mind, and I just hope I can be fuel efficient about it. Today in general was good; I got to relax and spend time with the dogs again. My sister's away for a few days, and I'm looking forward to her return.

God bless,
Steven

Day 341: Next To Me

So today was the beginning of what will be the majority of my time here: just chilling in the house with the little Narnians that don't talk. It was very peaceful; all I really did was surf the web, practiced bass for next year, and worked on the first draft of the finale of 223: The Series. There were many points during the editing part of my day that I realized exactly how much the past 10 months impacted me. Honestly, I love being home; I love seeing my family instead of just hearing their voices because of a dodgy camera (which I need to fix so I can see them on Skype next year!), and it feels great to see my home city in all it's glory (despite staying true to it's standard fogginess). But something inside me kinda wishes I was in the land down under... I assume this is natural since I got so used to it having been there a whole 10 months, but I don't really know what I prefer. There were a few moments in my day where I just wanted to go back, but when it comes down to it, this IS home. San Francisco is where I've been born and raised almost my entire life; I couldn't possibly love any other place more. I'm just.... in a very high thinking mode, 'tis all.

God bless,
Steven

Day 340: An Advent Distraction For Distractions

"A teenage girl and her soon to be
A simple trip far as they could see
The sky was clear and the hour serene
But did they know what the night would bring
Lonely hearts strewn across the land
They'd been waiting long for a healing hand
My heart was there and it felt the chill
When Love came down and the earth stood still

Shepherds stood under starry skies
Tasting grace that would change their lives
Angels trembled and the demons did too
For they knew very well what pure grace would do
The hope of the world in a baby boy
Remember him well like I was there that night
My heart was there and it felt the chill
When Love came down and the earth stood still"

When I first heard these lyrics to the song The Earth Stood Still by Future of Forestry, I was captivated by what Eric Owyoung was trying to express. For centuries, people have celebrated Christmas, but it seems like people have forgotten why this momentous holiday is even celebrated. Today, we live in a world where society is trying to remove the CHRIST from Christmas, and as much as I dislike that, there isn't much I could do about it. Tonight, I had the sincere privilege of being part of something that this world needs (but in a symbolic sense): the Future of Forestry Light Up the City Christmas concert. What this tour represents is to re-establish what Christmas is truly about, and to turn it into a form of worship; a "distraction from modern day holiday distractions". Eric spoke on how we stress over all the regular things from the holiday season: gifts, decorations, vacations, etc. It's so easy for us to get caught up in the material things that we can forget the reason this holiday exists. That's why I loved this concert so much; not only was it one of my all time favorite and most influential bands of my life, it was also a sort of wake up call. I felt God tugging at my heart saying, "Son, remember what I did for you. Remember the One who came to seek and save that which was lost. Remember the day Love himself came to earth to be the Savior of the world. Remember..." Well, I sure ain't gonna forget now! I got to take my dad along for this experience, and there's no one else I would have wanted to share it with (other than my mom and sister, who didn't want to go. Mom and Mandy, I forgive you). Plus, I got to meet the genius man of God himself, Eric Owyoung; just to be around him, you could sense God's anointing. I don't know if you listen to Future of Forestry, but these guys got it. The message of hope to the world? They got it. The passion to see people get saved? They got it. The skill to draw attention and tell others about Love? They got it. This is why I look up to them so much; they don't need spotlights or mass attention. All they need is a small, intimate setting where they can lead the audience to a place of worship. That's the kind of legacy I want to leave behind. That's the kind of fire I want to burn. That's the kind of servanthood I'm working towards. This is Love.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. do me a favor and check out Kye Kye; they were the opening band for Future of Forestry, and they impressed me heaps. They've got the same passion, so I'll be spreading the word; if you like them, you should too.

Day 339: Culture Shock?!

Ah. the return of a traditional Hispanic Sunday. I surprised myself today by waking up at 10 a.m. (which if you know me, is a bit unusual..) My family's been going to the Garcia family's church, and from what I've heard so far it's going well there. To be completely honest, being in a Spanish church environment took a little while for me to get used to again; Hillsong culture is so different that when I got to a place I've known for years, it was actually a bit weird. Then again, I don't worry about rosters or fieldwork or assessments here at home, so I guess it balances out by not being as overwhelming. It was great to see more of my spiritual family, and it'll be a great time to catch up on what's happening. The highlight of my day was finally watching Iron Man 2; if you remember, I said I would wait until I could see it with my family to watch it. I'll admit it's been a tough time since it came out, but now I can be at peace. Home cooked meals are also a blessing; just throwing that out there.

God bless,
Steven

Day 338: Paths

Tonight, I opened up my Bible to read about wisdom, 'cause wisdom is something I've been asking God for more of. I don't necessarily want it to the degree King Solomon did, but anything close to that would be great; just saying. Yesterday, I randomly opened my Bible to Proverbs 2, which talks on the benefits of wisdom. It's a profound passage, and it had all kinds of words I needed to hear; it's amazing that this book can be read over and over again, and you can get something different every time you read it. Only a one, true God could come up with a book this intricately designed, right? Well today I decided to read the very next chapter, where it talks about how wisdom results in general well being. Even from the first couple verses, I was drawn in: "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commandments in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity." I stopped right there and just reflected on that. My son is a personal note for me; I like that He addresses me in this book that's addressed so many others for centuries, yet I can still make it personal. The next part was great too; I mean, how could I forget the past ten months of teaching I received with amazing impact?? I've never heard God's voice and direction so clear before this year, and now it's up to me to keep it all in my heart. I'm sure it will be difficult, but the best part is I don't have to remember it by myself, thanks to a big spiritual family beside me and around the world.
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and humankind." I liked these too, mainly because of what I got from it. I've received a lot of love my entire life, from many people, different places, and under many different circumstances. And faithfulness? Well, there's only One that's been consistent with that (Selah). I always wondered why it said specifically to bind it around my neck; but I think I got it just now. Is it just me, or is the neck one of those things that you just don't put away? If I put it in my hand, I could let it go at some point. If I placed it over my head, in my pocket, etc... there's a possibility that it could get lost there as well. But the neck? That's a strategic spot. The only time I think you could lose something around your neck would be if you removed it yourself. Then I think about favor. That's something I figure we all seek. We want to be recognized and respected. We want our names to be familiar in the world. I've dreamed of being known for something, but this year showed me that my life isn't about my name being made known. In reality, it's His name that should be known because of mine. When you hear names like Billy Graham, C.S. Lewis, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, and many others, people think of them as influential people of the faith. I know I'm not called to be known for the kind of work they did, but whatever I'm called to will be my platform to proclaim His name.
Then there's the most familiar verses in this chapter: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." When I read it this time, I got it. After years of reading and quoting these verses, I got it. This is God's desire: that we would rely on Him to live, and not try and live on our own. I'm sure you're thinking "well yeah Steven, that's the point!" and I agree; but I just never really took it to heart until now.

Lord, I choose to trust You. I know I spent many years trying to figure things out on my own, even when I knew You were available to me at every moment; but now, I stop that and I look to You. This is a new surrender. This is a turnaround. This is change, and I pray that my heart holds true to everything You bring along the path. Amen.

God bless,
Steven

Day 337: Home

So today was the big day that I returned to my home of homes, San Francisco. It was around a day's length of travel, but I'm currently typing on my family's giant Mac CPU in my living room. I had an interesting morning, because of the fact that even up to the minute of my departure from flat 223 I was cleaning/moving. Some of my really great friends came by to wish me safe travels. and I'm really happy they did; so Celeste, Valerie, and Megan, if you read this just know that I appreciate you for doing that! The last friends I got to see before I left were Alison, Becca, and Donny; I'm so grateful for them too.

Then came the massive journey back home. The first flight was easy; no problems whatsoever. and I arrived in Auckland in just a few hours (watched Avatar too). Then I spent the next two hours waiting for "the big one": my 12 hour flight from New Zealand to Los Angeles. It actually turned out to be a great time; I got to sleep on the plane for once, made a new friend out of the guy sitting next to me, and I got to see Despicable Me and the Expendables (first one was awesome, and the other was better than expected). When I landed on American ground, it hit me that I was coming home; like it wasn't really in my mind until I was in LAX. The transition between that flight and my last one was... well, one of the most nerve-wrecking moments of my life. I got off the plane around 2:40, and my next flight was boarding at 3:30. I figured I had enough time, so I wasn't in a rush. Then I got to Customs.. and this is where it all got scary. It took around 12 minutes to get to the front of the line, and when I did the guy checking my info said I had to re-do the customs form because I wrote it in pencil and not ink. So I had to go back, find a pen, and fill out the form again. That wouldn't have been that big of a deal... if there was a pen to use. I asked 3 different people that worked there, and they didn't help at all; fortunately, one lady was able to get me a pen, and I got through. The next step was finding where to drop off my checking bag for the last flight; this took a little while, but I quickly found the place. The really scary part was finding the gate. When I got out, it was to the streets; since I'm not used to LAX, I had no idea where to go or how to get there. It was pushing the limit, but with 5 minutes to spare. I got to my gate on time. Once the 55 minute flight to San Francisco ended, I arrived. The sky welcomed me with a beautiful mixture of blue, orange, red, and purple, and boy was that a sight to see! I found my family arriving to pick me up, and I snuck up behind them ninja style (like a legend, might I add); it was such a relief to see my biggest fans for the first time in 10 months (although my dog Albert has turned into a corn dog, all round and fluffy haha). I also had the best meal in ages, thanks to my mom, and now I'm ready to sleep in my ol' bed. I can honestly thank God for helping me sleep on the plane, because I don't feel jet lagged at all; I might start this break off just right.

God bless,
Steven

Day 336: The Last Night of 2010

Right now, I feel like reflecting on the past ten months instead of today. Don't get me wrong, today was great; but after realizing this is my last night here for the year, I want this one to be a bit different. Ten months ago, I didn't know what to expect of all this. I had an idea of what the college was like thanks to the GE trips, but to actually BE part of the college and church, it brought a whole different perspective to my mind. From the first week onward, I was blown away, broken apart, and convicted at the same time; it's been like nothing I've ever experienced. I can only thank God that all these years of my life dedicated to ministry and to the house were everything I needed to be prepared for this year and what it brought me. I've done a mass amount of assessments, served in hundreds of services, volunteered for two conferences and experienced one as an attendee, practiced 3 times as much on instruments compared to the last few years combined, and I've built friendships that could last a lifetime. I guess that's just what happens at college. Lately, I've been thinking about the next season, what lies ahead of me when I'm finished with college at Hillsong. It's full of uncertainty, but one thing I know is that I'm open to all options. Will I get called by God to do a third year? Will I be called to take my ministry experiences back home and sow it into places like SFC and City Impact? Will God send me into a whole other land and do ministry there? Will I end up staying down under permanently? I've asked all these questions, and at this point, they all have the same answer: I don't know. That's what kinda worries me about the mystery of God; He's the only one that knows what's next, and all we can do is live it out and trust that we're on the same page. Am I worried about what lies beyond? Oh yeah. Am I worried about God's plan? Not at all. Am I excited about coming home? Like you don't even know.. regardless, I have a massive extended family now, and I couldn't be in a better place in life. I still have a few weeks left of the year, but to leave Australia feels like the end already; I am super grateful that I can come home for six weeks and share with my family what's happened. Tomorrow's a big day; like literally, because I'm gonna have an extended Friday (since I'll time travel in an instant!) I don't know if I'll have a blog for tomorrow, but just in case I don't, I'm sure that in Jesus' name I'll make it safely home and get to rest.

God bless,
Steven

Day 335: Just a 5

Today, I said a farewell to my friend Melissa and a temporary farewell to my roommate, Lazaro. It was tough, I won't lie; this week has simply been an emotional one. Some of these people I will see again; some others.. I don't know other than eternity. Personally, I find the real hero to be Alison, because she has been dropping people off all week. I'm even going to be one of those people in a couple days! After having lunch with Alison and Donny, I got to Skype with my family again, and that just made me more excited about coming home. My evening was pretty much serving at Powerhouse for the last time; after tonight, I won't be going near Powerhouse again. I don't want to bash it or anything, but I had a hard time being there. I can live without it, so I'm looking forward to whatever else I can do instead. I have one more full day in Australia; getting ready is all I'll be doing now.

God bless,
Steven

Day 334: Another Proposal?!?!

Today was split between a sad morning/early afternoon and an exciting/joy filled later afternoon/evening.

Sad side: I said farewell to one of my dearest of friends, Andrew Cacho, today; I'm sure by now he's almost home. It was super emotional when people started to cry, but I kept my cool and just gave him some encouraging words as he left. A coupe others from my intake left today too: Lauren, who was such a great part of our team, and Henrick, one of my favorite Europeans and fellow TV member. Tomorrow and Thursday won't be any easier, but now that I've seen some great people return home I can handle seeing the rest of them off.

Happy side: my flatmate from 272, Anders, proposed to his girlfriend of 4 years today. Of course she said yes (why wouldn't she? Anders is a freaking legend!!!), and everyone has been talking about it since the news broke out. I honestly couldn't be prouder of them; they are two of the most amazing people here at college, and it will be a bummer to see them go (but now not as much, because they're getting married!!!). I got all this information from my connect group leader, Georg, since he was a part of the whole thing. After connect group I went with a couple guys to a goodbye party for two other awesome people, and I got to hear how it all happened.

All in all, it was just one of those super blessed days. I also just got the word that my two great friends Joe and Rebecca are now officially dating!! What is it with all this romance happening?????

God bless,
Steven

Day 333: Graduation (Not Yet)

Today, a lot of my amazing friends graduated. On one side of my emotions, I was overjoyed, cheering them on and congratulating them on their success here at HILC. On the other side, I feel a bit of sadness over the fact that so many of my amazing friends are leaving towards their new season which God is calling them to. It feels like high school all over again, but this time just feels a bit more emotional. I guess it's different when you get older; you develop deeper, more intimate connections with people since you're more mature and stuff. What I can take out of it all is that the last day for these friends was a great one; it was a wonderful time, and I'm looking forward to when I get to walk across that stage, pick up my diploma, and thank pastors Brian and Bobbie for all their work to make this college possible. It was also one of the highest honors to be a part of the choir for the last 2010 college event; I got so much energy and passion like never before, and it sure was awesome. Not to mention, the talent was off the scale; city campus got to perform the item for the semester opener again, and some of the city team joined with some of the hills team to perform another song for the dance item (which was full on epic). Unfortunately, the closer was ruined due to microphones being off several times during the actual thing; the only reason I'm upset about it is because I had been in hills campus since noon to specifically work on that closer, and it got messed up. However, the team kept their cool and we managed to finish strong (well, that and a mass array of pyrotechnics and confetti blowers. The next couple days will be interesting no doubt,

God bless,
Steven

Day 332: A Photo Finish Finale

This was one of those days where your schedule is packed. I find myself in a place where I'm seriously grateful that God's given me a capacity to handle these kind of days; but just because it was a packed day doesn't mean it wasn't great. My day started a bit earlier than originally intended; my call time for choir was 10:30, but because of a last minute request made last night, I came to church at 6:30 to help out with TV. I got to use camera 1 for the last time until next year, and it was a fond farewell to one of my favorite pastimes here at college. It was also great to work with my TV leaders one more time; I'm gonna miss their wisdom being around to help me out. When the 8 a.m. service was done, I got some time to rest before my actual serving time with choir; it was a bittersweet morning because we sang together as one big choir for the last time, but it was such a good outing. In our debrief, we prayed and gave encouraging words to each other; one of our leaders, Rowena, gave me a word that was very nice. She said that every time she sees me, the one word that comes to mind is kindness; she said that the kindness I have is very genuine and authentic, and that it will be something that people will notice and recognize me for. The last time I got a word was from pastor Brian Paiva from Harbor Light church, and that one is only beginning to unfold in my life; it's cool when God uses others to encourage you and your life. I came home and made some lunch with Donny, and as soon as I was done, I got ready to serve in the two evening services; this time, I got to use camera 3 as my final service. In the evening, we got to hear from Frank Damazio, who gave a fantastic word on being a legitimate church; it was around this time that serving in four services the whole day finally got to me. However, as mentioned above, I have the capacity to handle this, so I finished the night strong. Now I am on my couch, grateful for an amazing day and a chance to go to sleep early.

God bless,
Steven

Day 331: It Pays Off

How can I even begin to describe today? I can tell you that it was one of the best, but how to expand on that thought is a challenge. Let's start with Street Teams. This morning was my last time for this year (maybe even ever..), and I must say my journey with CityCare ended on such a high note today. We met with a few of our good friends like Rita (who is currently celebrating her 86th birthday), Rina (who I will dearly miss because of her help with my learning Russian), and Maria (who I will certainly miss because of the wonderful friendship I have with her). I left with such a peace in my heart, as well as a full stomach due to all the food we received from our visits and the team leader's barbecue. It was because of Street Teams that I was able to integrate into college life so easily, because it was so close to home (talking about the Rescue Mission). After that, I had a little bit of free time, so I spent that time with Donny and Alison watching Big Bang Theory (which I must admit is one of my new favorite shows; since it's about these nerds, I find it so easy to connect with what they're experiencing as smart guys, so I end up enjoying it a lot.) Th ultimate highlight was what I just returned from: The Japanese Film and Art Festival. One of my good friends Nathan invited me to come and watch a couple of the movies (out of a whole week of films that were playing since this past Monday), and it was significant because he actually composed the music for all the pre-show trailers. Donny came along, and we had a blast sitting in a theater for about 4 hours. The first movie was one of those romantic dramedies that was done in 2-D animation, and I loved it; the director took a smart approach to the film. He split it into two parts: one part from the guy's side of the story, and the other from the girl's side; they were done so well that it seemed for a while that it was a real, live-action movie. It was just that good. The second one was by far one of the best I've ever seen; it was called Oblivion Island: Haraku and the Magical Mirror, and man was it an excellent movie!!! Everything about it was awesome: the animation, the story, the technical parts, etc.; as an animation enthusiast, I couldn't have been prouder of how this one turned out. Donny and I left the theater speechless; it was seriously that good of a movie. After that, Nathan invited us to share on some amazing pizza, and we sure ate like kings.

This whole week was just beyond a degree of awesome that words could express. As always, thanks be to God for extending His love, grace, and mercy over my life.

God bless,
Steven

Day 330: Mixed

Sometimes you get one of those days where you deal with just about every emotion within you. It's like a roller coaster; one point you're on the way up to the peak, then it can speed it's way down and move around in random sequence. Fortunately, despite all that God still blesses me; it's amazing that He does that. My family is one of those things that bring hope back into my day; I am really, really looking forward to seeing them in a week. Right after that chat on Skype, I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with the chapel core team over lunch; it was definitely a fun time, and I'm bummed out that a few of these people are leaving. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about memories of our first semesters and other fun things; apparently, I'm regarded as one of the "big guns" since I'm one of the only two from the January intake on the core team. It's cool! In the evening, I got to direct for Wildlife for the last time; it was a fun time, despite the fact that we had a seriously low amount of people on the team. For real, there were two camera operators, one graphics operator, one producer/pres operator, and myself; that's half a team, and we made it through a whole service. Man, that's sweet. My final weekend in Australia for 2010 has begun; take a second to look awesome, time to go.

God bless,
Steven

Day 329: 223 Disbanded; the Beginning

Today was a sad and happy day. It started off bittersweet with a breakfast; Josh invited only the closest of his friends to a little cafe called Aria, where we got to spend some quality time with him. It got emotional towards the end, but we managed to all leave on a happy note. Laz, Aaron, and I escorted Josh on his last walk to church for the year to get his airline ticket printed; soon after we had a little bit of time before the inevitable. We went to the airport (thanks to Alison and her car), got his luggage sent to the plane and had an extended, emotional temporary farewell; although the way we were acting was as if he wasn't coming back at all. I will admit it was tough; it made me think of how it's going to be for me next week when I have to say bye to as many people as possible..
Afterwords, the guys went to move some stuff and I reflected on the morning. Donny, Laz, and I decided to go to Eastgardens (since Donny had never been there before) and checked out the stores that have a lot of cheap stuff for future reference. The evening, however, was the positive energy time thanks to the graduation dinner. Everyone was looking stunning and otherwise beautiful this evening, and it was a great time with great friends. The big news was that my friend Jarryd actually proposed to his girlfriend earlier today, and now they're engaged!! It was such an unexpected move, but we're so happy for them because they are amazing people, and God definitely has a plan for them. Today really showed me how far we've all come since the beginning of the year; it's been an amazing year, and I'm in a bittersweet mentality about the fact I'm leaving. Most of me is very excited about returning home, but there's that small part of me that wishes I could stick around (especially since Donny is staying out here to raise up the money for his next semester). I'll be fine, don't worry; I just have to make this last week count.

God bless,
Steven

Day 328: The Bar's Been Set

There's something about leadership that astounds me. Some people have the natural ability to lead others in any given circumstances. A few people can take a group of people that wouldn't normally work together and form a strong, legitimate team. A couple others could helm an entire organization and have the potential to impact the world. But only one person I know has the ability to do all this and more: God Almighty. Today was the official end of my first year of college here in Australia; I'm still trying to soak all that in. The reality of it is starting to hit me, now that I see some of my closest friends talking about packing and their trips back home; we're losing a lot of amazing people, people that have truly helped shape this year into what it's been for me. The worst part is I have to say bye to a few of them the day of graduation, because they leave the day after; it was tough saying bye to people back home, but for some reason this is more intense. I guess it's because I knew I would see my San Francisco family again; everyone here, probably not...
If anything I would consider this day a milestone. I can see how much change has come over my life, and when I step back and see how I've contributed to this church and to God's building of the church and His kingdom, all I can do is simply be amazed. There just aren't enough words in the English (or Spanish) language to describe what's happened in my life these past 10 months; scary thing is I still have another 10 to go; in just a few weeks, I'll be at the halfway point of this season. I need to get this off my mind, or I'll start crying to myself haha. So yeah, today was fantastic; we had amazing sessions with Joel A'Bell, special guest Frank Damazio, and the one and only Mark Hopkins. I had a little bit of time before Powerhouse started, so I played some Star Wars Battlefront (which I still and probably always will love) and talked with Josh and Melissa. I need to prepare for what should be an amazing day tomorrow; it'll start sad, but it will get better.

God bless,
Steven

Day 327: Encounter In the City

The word "encounter", according to the Mac dictionary, means "an unexpected or casual meeting with someone or something." Today was all about encounter with God, and today we had 3 sessions revolving around that theme. Because of this, the college wanted a strong team to help pull it off right; so I was placed as senior operator for the TV crew for all 3 sessions. Because of last minute roster changes, half our team didn't come to the rehearsal; usually that presents itself as a problem, but we managed. We got to hear from Catrina, Crishan, and Mark today, and as usual they gave incredible messages. The TV crew was amazing today; if anything I got to see how much the team has grown, both in numbers and in experience. The entire time I was just blown away at how well the team performed; we had very little errors, and everyone was on their top game. I consider myself proud of being part of this team, and I'm looking forward to serving in TV as my fieldwork. I am currently watching season 5 of House (looking good so far) and waiting for Donny to come back from his late night shift. I loved this day; it's seriously one I won't forget.

God bless,
Steven

Day 326: Street Beats

My day off was a bit uneventful, but my afternoon was cool. I got to finally work with Tyson, my old roommate, on the video for Street Beat; we enlisted the help of our good friends Logan and Damien for the filming. We ended up doing some interviews with people from the Street Beat team, and we'll be filming the rest next week. After that, we started moving all the footage onto Logan's computer and then went over to Damien's to hang out. I got to play Little Big Planet for the first time, and now I can see why everyone loves it so much. Now I'm watching How To Train Your Dragon with Donny; he is loving it. Tomorrow's a big day, so I'm gonna go now.

God bless,
Steven

Day 325: Josh is 20

Yup. Josh Reece is officially an adult now. It was a momentous day for all of us, because this guy is seriously a legend; I consider it such an honor to live with him. the morning started with choir; it was a great morning, and I'm looking forward to next Sunday and my last time of serving in choir for the year. My afternoon was pretty much hanging out with Josh and Donny, and eventually going to church. The evening was when we went out to celebrate Josh's birthday; we had dinner at this seafood restaurant and watched this random movie called Skyline (which is one of those movies you're fine watching once and only once). A video of this evening will be in the works soon. I have a day off tomorrow (REJOICE!!!!), but I still need my sleep. So good night!

God bless,
Steven

Day 324: An Answer To Prayer

I just want to share the highlight of the day with you.

So this morning was the second to last time I would serve with Street Teams. It's hard to believe how quickly this year has gone by; I can still remember the initial training day where I learned everything. It was one of the first times I got to talk with Donny, and it certainly wasn't the last. So this morning, we were doing our usual cleaning and visiting, and I really felt the need to visit an old friend. A long time ago, I met a lovely lady named Maria who's been trying to go back to Colombia to help her sister who was arrested for unfair charges; I haven't seen her in a few months, and I've been very worried about her. So when I knocked on her door, I was really hoping she would answer; to my happiness, she did! She updated me on how she has been doing, and unfortunately it hasn't really gotten better. She's been very stressed lately because of really, really noisy neighbors that prevent her from getting sleep, and it got to the point that it was affecting her blood pressure. It was upsetting news, but seeing her feel more comfortable with us as we listened showed me that she really appreciated that we were there for her. We prayed for her and her sister, and what was originally tears turned into a smile and a hope for the future. Just seeing her again made me think of my mom, because they share a similar spirit; I was tearing up just at the thought of it. We promised we would come by next week to see her, and I sure hope she'll be there.

God bless,
Steven

Day 323: First Year: Pretty Much Over

The last day of classes. I've had these days many times before, but this one seemed a little more special. It's amazing how similar years of school can be, yet they can be completely different at the same time. All my years at SFC were a key factor in making me capable of finishing this year of Bible college; there have been so many times where I could have given up, but God as my strength made it possible for me to press forward. So this morning was the rehearsal for our last chapel of the year; that didn't register in my head until it was over. Things would have been great, but the only obstacle was that we were missing two camera operators. After what was an amazing rehearsal, we had our final Christian Doctrine class; Tracy gave us more insight on the end times and how we can talk about it with non believers. It was a very good class, and I'm glad I got to be part of it this semester. Chapel was a whole other story; so my leader Vanessa wasn't with us today because she was performing a special song for chapel (and man did she do a great job!). Throughout the service, there was a whole slew of technical errors that happened; but our leaders said it was barely noticeable so that's fine with me. It was an honor to be the final senior op of college chapel 2010; just making me look forward to next year when I am co-leading the entire team with Josh. My final class of the day was the songwriting lecture; what a great way to finish a whole year of classes.
Then came the evening. So a week ago, I got a message from my good friend Patrick about operating camera 1; he asked if I could put a costume together for when I was on stage. First thing that came to my mind? NINJA. It's happened before, so I decided to make it's return. Let's just say it was a complete success. I managed to pull everything off like a ninja, because you know, that's exactly what I am! It was awesome yo; kinda thinking of doing that more often next year. Good day, good memories, good friends, and good Lord.

God bless,
Steven

Day 322: The End Is Near

Man, today was just awesome. It started on a bit of a sad note, because today was the last Sisterhood of the year (until next February), so it was bittersweet working alongside some of my favorite TV crew friends for the last time. It was an excellent morning though; Bobbie Houston invited Holly Wagner from this year's Colour conference to speak, and she delivered such a good message. After Sisterhood's conclusion, it was time for the final chapel core team meeting. We discussed the last chapel (which is tomorrow) and plans to get together as a team one last time before most of us return to our respective homes. I'm gonna miss these people; if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have merged into this team so well; but now it's time for me to be what they were for me to the new people coming next year (that should be fun!). After that, it was time for the last New Testament Intro class with Duncan. He talked with us about the history on how books of the Bible were chosen, and we discussed how to approach people that know Scripture without having the right context. I got some down time before I had to return to school for the end of year concert. I was asked to open the concert with one song; when you have a one song limit, it's hard to pick what song you want to do. I ended up choosing Chris August's Winter Time, because I love that song a lot and it was easy for me to learn. Based on what I observed, people enjoyed it so I'm relieved; everyone else gave incredible performances too, so I give big props to them. I can't wait for tomorrow; I know it's going to be great!

God bless,
Steven

Day 321: Bus Flow

Today was the first time I've traveled far from my regular college life area in a while. I took a trip to Eastgardens just to get some time to myself and scout for good deals on clothes (Donny's clothes aren't fitting him very well now, so I'm trying to see if there's any place out here that can benefit him without hurting his wallet). The most promising place I found was not much of a surprise, yet came across as surprising: Target. It's amazing that even thousands of miles away, Target continues to give me some of the best deals around; it's not exactly the same, but it's still Target so it's fine with me! I also found K-Mart to be a promising place to shop; when you can get shirts from $8, shoes from $10, and jeans from $20, you know something's up. In a good way. I came back just in time to Skype with my family; but due to my misunderstanding that daylight savings happened in SF a little while back, I meant for the conversation to take place an hour earlier than I planned. But I managed to talk with everyone, so it was alright. After a small relax time, I joined Donny to the city so he could look for a book; the mission was unsuccessful today, but that will change tomorrow. As soon as I got back from there, I got ready for Powerhouse, which was loads of fun; I really got to just chill with my leader Valerie and discuss our opinions on random stuff. I'm a bit tired from so much activity, but I'm grateful to the One who gives me strength to keep going, no matter how tired I am.

God bless,
Steven

Day 320: A Lot of Singing

Oh man, today was just amazing; I just wish I had the energy to explain in detail what happened. I will do my best however. So this morning started off with a chapel rehearsal for our special gospel chapel; I will say that it was one of the most fun experiences I've had in weeks. We brought so much energy into the morning that it woke me up. After sharing breakfast with Aaron, Andrew, and Caio, I got ready for my first class of the day, Spirit Filled Living. It was a bittersweet time, since Anita gave us some great insight on anointing for our last lecture. Chapel was awesome; we really felt the spirit moving in the praise and worship, and we got to hear from the graduating third year students (including Nick, who left pretty much right after chapel towards home). The musicianship/songwriting workshop was exceptionally fun; our original intention was to record four songs as a band and put them on a CD to have as a memoir. What ended up happening was we recorded 3, because we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to play two of the songs; I had the two hardest challenges of my musical career today by figuring them out in less than a half hour. These were tough songs, but I managed. Once the class was done, I had little time before the bus was going to leave for the Hills campus; what ended up happening was we got a ride from our down-the-hall neighbor and fellow student, Alison, and it was much more convenient. Leadership Vision Night was great; we got to hear updates on the current church projects, and I got to help out with choir during the praise and worship. You really don't realize how big Hills campus is until you're on the stage; it's pretty cool! Now I am back here, typing this blog while also trying to finish up some charts for a song I wrote and figure out chords for a song I will be performing on Thursday (more on that later).

God bless,
Steven

Day 319: Musos

This day was the beginning of the end. This week is the final week of classes. After this, it's the final stretch until graduation. And to think that it feels like yesterday I was flying into the country with my mom and sister.. I'm grateful that God is transcendent, because I don't know how everything that I've experienced has happened. Today, I said farewell to New Testament Intro, Musicianship/Songwriting tutorial, and my core tutorial (that one was hardest). I've spent the past 4 months in these classes, and I've received more than enough motivation, knowledge, guidance, and strength from these classes. I won't lie, I'm gonna miss these classes. Afterwards, I went up to the library to hang out with the college administrator, Misha. When I got here, the administrator was a lovely lady named Lisa; she is currently helping her family out back in her home town, and now we've been blessed to have Misha around to help us. She's one of those people that you can just joke around, and it's loads of fun to be in the library. After that, I went with a bunch of fellow musicians for a special dinner downtown; it was both a time to hang out with friends and say farewell and thanks to our dear friend and chapel team leader, Kajsa. Now I am back here, hanging out with Josh and Donny; tomorrow has a lot of expectation, so it'll be great.

God bless,
Steven

Day 318: An A-Team

I am really, really tired, so this one will be brief as well. Sunday morning was great; the 8 a.m. service was excellent thanks to Donna Crouch's message of avoiding being a "shipwreck". My afternoon was nothing but hanging out with Donny and watching the A-Team (which I will admit, I enjoyed very much). Sunday night church was amazing as well; Sanga gave an incredible message about Christ increasing in our lives while we decrease. The past few hours have been nothing but cleaning our place for an inspection tomorrow (hence my being really, really tired). Now, I shall go to sleep.

God bless,
Steven

Day 317: Good to be back

Seems like this will be a short update today. Street Teams started the morning off great, with some amazing pancakes and receiving of awards (I received an award for being one of the four main "clean freaks" of our team, which is very surprising. First thing that came to my head was "I wonder what mom would say about this..."). Instead of going to the Towers today, I was stolen by the Waterloo Streets team to capture their community barbecue using pictures and videos; definitely what made my morning. After that and some lunch with Donny, I decided to invest the afternoon with a game that takes me back to middle school: Lego's Rock Raiders. It's been such a long time since I've played this game, yet I still remember just about everything from it; just goes to show how much I was addicted to it. My evening was pretty much just working on the new episode of 223 (which I apologize for not finishing on time; it was bound to happen eventually), hanging out with some of my closest friends here, and just thanking God for an amazing life that I get to live.

God bless,
Steven

Day 316: I Like to Party

Aw man, today was the day. This morning's chapel rehearsal was amazing; I love being in choir, because it's just so much fun. Christian Doctrine was great too; we just started touching on Revelations, and it's looking to be a great last couple classes. Chapel, on the other hand, was nothing short of amazing. Worship was awesome, and we got to hear from the worship pastor from Hillsong London. My songwriting lecture was great as well; our teacher talked about harnessing our creativity, and it was excellent tips on how to do that. After this class, I was pretty much done for the day; so I worked on a little art project and watched a couple movies with friends. So although this blog was particularly short, there was so much (and so little) that happened.

God bless,
Steven

Day 315: Way out of left field

So today was great. 100%, pure, homegrown great. Sisterhood was awesome this morning; I got to work with camera 1 again (we're practically best buddies now), and Bobbie Houston gave an awesome word for the ladies from the Hills campus; success from the TV crew! The chapel core team meeting was great too; we discussed plans for the last 2 chapels of the semester (a sad subject, but it HAS to be discussed). New Testament was just as great today; Duncan talked about Revelations. It's a tough subject, but the way he presented it made me excited to read it all over again! Later on in the afternoon, there was master classes; we worked on some random funky song from 1976. It was actually pretty fun, because we didn't get to hear the actual song until the very end. So basically, we had to guess how the song went; I liked it! I would normally go to Team Night, but tonight was different. Instead I went with my old roommate, Tyson, to Streetbeat, because I am working on a video project for Streetbeat with my TV leader Logan. We had a great time just getting the feel of what it involves. Looking back at the past couple weeks, a lot of faith has been raised on my life; I can only hope that this faith keeps growing.

God bless,
Steven

Day 314: For My Family

Today was one of those days where I needed a break from the normal, everyday life things. Flat 223 had an inspection to check for cleanliness; I don't even know if they came or not, but I'm assuming it was alright. I left earlier in the morning to work on a video project; it ended up taking about three and a half hours to film since I went just about everywhere (even places I hadn't seen before). The major highlight of it all was that I got to use my friend Ben's Canon Rebel T1i (which is the previous version of the camera I want to get); it was an excellent opportunity to get some practice on using SLRs. When I got back, I put the video together and relaxed for a bit before Powerhouse was supposed to start. IT was actually pretty good; City campus was graced with a visit from Darlene Zschech as our guest speaker; it's amazing the kind of influence she brings to the church. She and her husband have recently been given a position as senior pastors of a neighbor church; they'll be starting next year; how exciting! Now I am going to sleep; so later!

God bless,
Steven

Day 313: Toast to Change

How I loved today!!! I love the fact that I serve a living God; it's just so awesome! Chapel rehearsal was fun today; I was supposed to be producer for TV, but instead I was set to camera 4 (my least favorite camera). However, thanks to Josh giving me some tips, I managed to go through rehearsal without screwing up as much as last time. One of the highlights of the day was a random one; I was approached by Joe (one of my core tutorial guys, and a very good friend) about helping him film a testimonial video for his church back home. He was supposed to get help from one of the other guys, but due to unforseen circumstances, he couldn't; so I did! It was actually pretty fun; it was definitely some bonding time with Joe. I'm gonna miss him when he leaves..
Spirit Filled Living was great today; Anita discussed anointing in the Holy Spirit, and it was so empowering; I feel smarter just listening to her talk about this stuff. After that class, it was chapel time; I did a much better job with camera 4 this time, and I'm very pleased that I didn't break anything.
Last week, we were told that our musicianship workshop was going to be different, and that we needed to bring $5 and an empty stomach. Turns out the reason why we had to do this was because Mary bought us pizza and had us watch The Freedom Writers; it's one of her favorite movies, and I must admit it was great to see it again. During the timeless scene where the students made a toast for change, Mary stopped the movie so we could have our own "toast for change"; we're losing some of our really good friends in about 3 weeks time, so it was an emotional time; we shared tears and prayed for each other, and it was such an uplifting experience. I didn't want to leave..but we eventually ran out of time. So after that sentimental time with our band, everyone went their separate ways. My evening composed of playing a childhood game, messing around with a Canon Rebel T1i (courtesy of Ben Fangmeyer), and chilling in the ol' flat. So yeah.. God's been blessing me with good days consistently for the past few weeks. You gotta love the big guy upstairs!

God bless,
Steven

Day 312: High of 75

So I've had this one line from a song that's very dear to my heart: "And lately the weather has been so bipolar, and consequently so have I". Why is this particular lyric in my head? Because lately the weather HAS been bipolar!! Today started out all nice and sunny and perty, and towards the evening the sky was being attacked by God's strobe light. It was such a quick and random shift, I don't even know what to think of it. But anyways, this day was good; really good. My classes were fantastic; New Testament was nothing but watching a video on the history of the gospels and chowing down on some amazing pastries. Core tutorial was so much fun; we just reflected on our weekend and had a friendly competition with our neighbor core tutorial group, led by Katie Peters. We, of course, won thanks to the leadership of Tracey Barrell. When I got back home, I was able to upload some last assessments (which I am so grateful for) and I got to hang out with some of my neighbors, since Donny and Josh are working on assessments even now as I type, and Laz is asleep. Despite weather being a bit crazy, it was seriously a good day.

God bless,
Steven

Day 311: A God Encounter

You know those days when there's something major happening, and you just know that it's gonna be a good day?

Hillsong church hosted A God Encounter, an evening where the entire church (as in all 4 campuses and all 35 extension services) came together in the Sydney Entertainment Center to full on worship God while recording a new album at the same time. There's not much I can say, considering it was a mind-blowing experience. Well yeah, my morning was great, and the afternoon was just rehearsing and hanging out with good friends, but man the evening was AMAZING. I can't say much about it's technical stuff, but one of the highlights of the night (maybe my week. Maybe even my YEAR) was a specific song that was sung by the one and only Darlene Zschech accompanied by Hillsong Stockholm's worship pastor on piano. All I can say about this particular song is that not only did I cry inside because of the message (and the EPIC PIANO LINE, OH MY WORD IT'S SERIOUSLY ONE OF THE GREATEST I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but I also felt such a peace at heart for the moment. It's awesome to see what takes place in the DVDs, but to actually BE there? It's a whole different experience. You don't get the mass quantity of God's presence in the DVD, but you definitely can see it. I consider it one of the highest honors to have been a part of it. Thousand of hands raised high, thousands of voices joined together in worship, and a bunch of songs that will certainly impact churches everywhere; these are the things that will stick with my memory of tonight. I'm glad they called this evening a God encounter; it's exactly what it was.

God bless,
Steven

Day 310: Men and Their Meat

So Men's Conference is over. It was only 24 hours, but it was a great conference; the leadership of this church are some of the best I've ever known. There's so much wisdom built up from the pastors, elders, and teachers of this church; when you have people like Brian Houston, Joel A'Bell, Robert Fergusson, Scott Samways, Mark Hopkins, Duncan corby, Ian Woods, and Robert Fergusson on the same team, you know there's something heavenly happening. A. R. Bernard gave an incredible word to end off the conference, and we all left impacted and ready to be the kind of men God calls us to be. I also got to have some more bonding time with Josh; Laz had to work all day today, and Donny had to catch up on his assessments, so we were the only ones that went today. When we came back, I relaxed for a bit and then went to the city with Donny and Andrew to check out a sushi buffet we heard about. It turned out to be a very, very good dinner; well worth the trip.

This weekend is one of the most important of the church's year. Especially tomorrow. There's a lot of faith stirring over the city, and there's big expectations to see lives changed. We could really use prayer that the album recording will be an experience that will shake this city; I believe it.

God bless,
Steven

Day 309: You Go, Bernard!!

Today was awesome. Like, seriously awesome. I was supposed to get up super early to be part of a support crew, but I ended up sleeping through my alarm (I actually laughed about that happening). Christian Doctrine was a bit different today, because we had an exam; let's just say I will be retaking that due to my mind having gone blank at one point. After a lengthy break, chapel was next; it was such a great time, and we got to hear from the worship pastor of Hillsong Stockholm. Pretty much, my morning was good, and so was my afternoon. Our songwriting lecture was turned into a small preview of the Theology of Worship class that I'll be taking next year; Mary did a great job of presenting an idea of what we'll be doing for that class. when class was over, I had some time before the weekend REALLY started. Tonight, it was Men's Conference, and man was it great. Dr. A. R. Bernard gave an incredible message about the differences between Christians that live by preference and those that live out of conviction. He talked about how we should be men that live by conviction; with this mindset we can stand firm against all odds instead of being susceptible to pressure. It was an amazing word. When we got back here, I went with Josh to Hungry Jack's (because he was really hungry), and then we chilled with Donny and Becca. It was a nice way to end the evening; tomorrow should be just as good.

God bless,
Steven

Day 308: Taking Out the New York City-s

Today. Excellent. Here's why. Sisterhood was great; I got to work on camera 1 today, and it was loads of fun. Robert Fergusson spoke on the reasons why he love his wife (it was a sweet message, really), and how that reflects what guys like to see in girls. It didn't necessarily affect me, but I always enjoy his wisdom, and it was great that he could preach to the Sisterhood. After that, there was the chapel team meeting, which went great; we discussed the last 4 weeks of chapel and what we're going to do for them. IT's so weird hearing that there's only 4 weeks left of college.... but anyways, New Testament was also a great class; Duncan talked about the gospels and why some gospels are full on different from the others. After that, I attempted to work on the assessments that got marked not yet competent; little success, but I managed to re-upload two (only to find out less than 10 minutes ago that one of them is STILL NYC!!!). All this is going to do is make this weekend stressful for me, because I don't want to have to deal with these man! I can't wait for them to be over and done with... other than that and a nice trip to ol' Mad Mex with some good friends, my day was excellent. I just really prayer that I can get these assessments competent before the finalization day.

God bless,
Steven

Day 307: A Cool Box

Day off. An excellent day off. I got to spend some time to myself, and it was great. I got to go outside and marvel at God's creation, which was great. I talked with my dad over Skype, and even though there were some connection issues it was still nice to hear from him. The highlight of the day was the Box; it was by far the best one because we had it in the 2nd auditorium and aside from Powerhouse. Everyone gave very impressive performances, and I finally got to show my video! I could go into more details, but I am really, really tired, and I want sleep. So..... good night!

God bless,
Steven

Day 306: My Heart Is Overwhelmed

All you need to know about today is that it was blessed, highly favored, and that the upcoming album recording is going to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. Classes were great, chapel was awesome, the musicianship workshop was exceptionally fun, and the rehearsal for the weekend was amazing. I cannot wait for this weekend to just come already!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 305: Gets Me Every Time

I search for You God of strength
I bow to You in my brokenness
And no other King could have so humbly come
To save my soul and heal my heart
I have nothing more than all You offer me
There is nothing else that’s of worth to me

And I love You Lord
You rescued me
You are all that I want
You’re all that I need

I pray to You God of peace
I rest in You my cares released
I have nothing more than all You offer me
There is nothing else that’s of worth to me

And I love You Lord
You rescued me
You are all that I want
You’re all that I need

In Your freedom I will live
In Your freedom I will live
I offer devotion, I offer devotion

This was the first Hill-song that tugged at my heart; I'm pretty sure I listened to it over and over and over for about a month. This song still holds a special place in my heart; always will I bet. Today was... man, just unbelievable. I can't even begin on how epic this day was. I can tell you the massive highlights though!
So number one, I turned in all my assessments on time!!! Man, I was so relieved. Now I only have 3 left before I am done with assessments for this year.
Number two: my core tutorial group. Today, Tracey started off by asking for prayer requests. We started off with a few, but after a while it became a full on church service. Everyone laid down requests, and before we knew it we were praying over each other, praying in tongues, and just living out the Pentecost man!! I was so drawn back from that whole experience; we prayed with each other for about 40 minutes without stop, and we could have gone for much longer. It was such a powerful experience; we spoke over each other's lives and built one another up in love. I've spent an entire year living alongside these amazing people, and I love them all so much. I'm gonna lose so many people after this year's done... I need to stop thinking about it..
Number three: TV awards night! So this evening the city campus TV crew joined together to just hang out and recognize some of the team for their great work. It was lots of fun; we had some of the TV crew perform some live music, had some food, and got to know some of the other crew. The surprise came when I was actually nominated for one of the awards!! So now I have this random trophy:

I have to admit, this is pretty cool. I feel honored to be part of such an amazing part of Hillsong church; this entire year has been an honor, and it only goes up from here. God has really impacted me this past week; I haven't felt more inspired than I am now. Father, you're the best man; thank You so much for all You've done for me.

God bless,
Steven

Day 304: Hallelujah, Not Halloween

Today was October 31st. I don't need to explain what normally happens on this day. However, there was quite a lack of people walking on the streets dressed up like God knows what; turns out Halloween isn't as popular out here. That's fine with me though; my day was very enjoyable. I served in choir this morning, and it was amazing; we sang one of the more recently new songs for the upcoming album recording, and so far every new song that's been introduced has been great. It's truly amazing to see the dedication that goes into every song. After that, I worked on assessments all afternoon and evening while hanging out with the guys. There was also a special birthday party for one of our good friends, so I was able to wish him a happy birthday; he's a really cool guy, and he definitely deserved the attention tonight. God's just so good man... just realized I have 4 weeks left of my first year of college.... oh man..

God bless,
Steven

Day 303: Touching Heaven, Changing me

Sometimes I wonder about God. There's only so much I'm going to be able to know about Him while I'm here on this beyond microscopic portion of the universe He created. It's like He's opened wide the doors to His awesomeness so we could get a chance to be in His presence, but we see ourselves as so tiny that we don't get the courage to even get to the doorstep. Some people are exceptional; like they're so close and synced with God, they're all in, but then there's the people like me, where I want to go inside but can't because of the limitations I've put on myself. Today, I felt like God brought my attention to the door. I got to see a glimpse of the potential I could have if I just walked through the door. For some reason though, I just couldn't find the strength to do that. Don't get me wrong, if there's one thing I want, it's to go through. But then insecurity pops in. Guilt of the past comes up. And all desires of my heart start to get a bit smaller in my mind. It's a constant struggle for me; I want to grow, but this tiny annoyance called my flesh gets in the way. It makes me wonder why life can get so difficult when we make it that way. We can choose how to make our day, but sometimes we just worry too much. The most important I got out of today (possibly even this week) is that I serve a God of peace. I don't have to worry. I have someone mighty right beside me, and that should be enough to strive for more. I'll let you think about it; I have the rest of my weekend to do the same.

God bless,
Steven

Day 302: The Transition

This week has been nothing more than tremendous. God has been so gracious to me; the way that I've seen blessing after blessing after blessing, I just couldn't thank God enough for what He's done for me. Today was no exception. Originally, I was supposed to help with TV, but since I served on Tuesday, my leader switched me with someone else so I could sit in chapel. I couldn't have been happier, because chapel today was amazing. Seriously amazing; the worship was incredible, and Mark gave a great message on not putting yourself down (which is something I've been getting a lot of encouragement about). After that, I had lunch with my good friend Lauren, just catching up on life; it's gonna be sad when she leaves, because she's one of the strongest leaders here. Our songwriting lecture was amazing as well; Matt Capper gave us different perspectives on melodic rhythm, which was great. After that, I just got to lay back and enjoy the rest of the day. I feel super blessed to have amazing friends that I can just chill with; it makes me think back to high school, when I could do that with my classmates. Well, that's about all for now; I have stuff to do tomorrow yo!

God bless,
Steven

Day 301: Being Prepared

Today was amazing, just like the rest of the week so far. Sisterhood was loads of fun this morning; our team did an excellent job of staying together, and it's definitely one for the record books. The core chapel team meeting also went great; we discussed the few major upcoming events within the next two weeks, and there's a lot of preparations being made for them. Today's major activities was video editing: I received a mass amount of clips for a Misterhood promo, and I am currently editing and reviewing the new episode of 223 (to be released this weekend). One cool highlight from today was the amount of prayer I received from people; it was really cool to just be amongst hundreds of people and have good friends of mine just pray for me. It really empowered me for the rest of my day. Not to mention Team Night was phenomenal; we got to hear from Reuben Morgan talk about the differences between a house and a home (very inspiring word). Now I'm off to bed for tomorrow's stuff, which I'm assuming will be amazing as always.

God bless,
Steven

Day 300: THIS, IS, SPARTA!!!

Today was another amazing day; I feel the holy momentum Brian Houston talked about coming on!!! Today's mission was to finish as many assessments as possible; the outcome? I finished 2! That's way better than I've done before, so I consider it a major accomplishment. It was nice to get the place all to myself, since the guys were in class. Around 1, I got to talk with my family; specifically since it's my mom's birthday!! Happy birthday mom!!!!!! It was nice to wish her a happy birthday. My afternoon soon after was just chilling at home and talking with my ex roommate Tyson about a video project for Streetbeat. By the time we were done, it was time for Powerhouse, so I headed over there and helped my leader Valerie out. Now I'm here, having enjoyed what was another blessed day.

God bless YOU,
Steven

Day 299: The Light of Day

You ever have one of those days where everything is just amazing? Like, there aren't any low points, but just good ones? Well, I had one of those today, and it was awesome. In the morning, I started off what I would consider a "right way": being part of the chapel TV crew. Today I was producer (basically the person that communicates with everyone), and I had a blast. We had such a good team today; everyone was on top of their game, and the rehearsal went great. Almost right after, my class's band had a practice time to go over the songs for our worship set today. Mary, our teacher, had some pointers for us to work on, so that's what we focused on. After that, we had our Spirit Filled Living class with Tracy; an amazing class, no doubt. Chapel soon followed, and may I say it was nothing more than an awesome one. TV did such a great job; our team handled our roles with such expertise. I also wanted to bless a couple people that were short on money (as in they don't have any) by buying them lunch; Joe and Lauren are two of my closest friends here, so I consider it an honor to help them out in any way possible. The ultimate highlight was our Musicianship/Songwriting workshop class, particularly because of our worship set. Looking back at all our practicing and teamwork, this was one of the greatest things to happen all year; just the thought of worshipping as a team with songs that we've all worked so hard to put together is amazing in it's own right. I'm so happy with how it turned out and with my friends; we all did a great job. Another cool highlight was the chapel workshop after class; we worked on a new song called God Above All with all the instruments. Funny thing is I was the only bass player (for a while at least; Dave Davis eventually came to help out, and then Masse ended up trying out the bass too), but luckily I had already worked on this with Alex so I was pretty confident. I even got to sing when everyone needed cues for the run-through; it was so much fun! Now I'm relaxing at home with some good friends watching House; all the glory goes to the One that remains faithful. Thank Father; you're the best.

God bless,
Steven

Day 298: It's Been a Long One

This is ultimately what I got out of today:
No matter how stressed I can be some days,
No matter what obstacles I may have in front of me,
No matter where I have to be and why,
God remains God: faithful, true to His word, and uplifting when I can't stand for myself.
If God's been all that for you, then I'd say you're on the right track. We can't live this life on our own; we'd end up wandering aimlessly on this earth trying to find our purpose. Fortunately for us, we have a God that's included us in His plan for the world; I feel special, like I matter, you know? It's so good! Well, I gotta get to bed; it's gonna be one of the hardest weeks of the year, and I'm gonna need all the sleep I can get.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. Just so everyone knows, I submitted both my assessments on time. Now for the 3 due next week, and the other two due soon after. I still need prayer, so don't stop!

Day 297: Busy, busier, and well.... busy.

As the title suggests, it was one busy day. It continues to be busy. And it will remain busy for a while. I really can't spend much time on this, so I'll make it brief: it was a good day. Sound good? It does to me. I just really need to work on these assessments.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. Brooke Fraser's new album is amazing. Just throwing that out there.

Day 296: Way of the Assessment

Because of extreme exhaustion, I will make today's blog brief. Street Teams was fun this morning; I got to work with some new friends from the Wesley Institute, and I got to connect with an old friend in the Towers. I had to leave early though, because I needed to work on my song for the song submission assessment. I figured out the part for half the song, but I couldn't work on it anymore due to a couple friends needing my keyboard to record the parts for their song. In the end, I didn't record anything, but I consider it a willing sacrifice. The rest of my day has been working on this evangelism assessment (which I'm still working on even now). I really hope I can get this done by tomorrow. Pray for me; this is a tough one.

God bless,
Steven