2014: My Year in Review

This year has been a very interesting one. It went by quickly, but a lot took place.

Highlights of 2014

I grew as a singer/songwriter/producer. I started the FIRSTUESDAYS audioseries, where I would release a 3-track EP of original music each month between January and July. The main purpose was to grow in my writing, producing and singing: in that regard, mission accomplished.

I took the FIRSTUESDAYS projects down after releasing No Average Journey and To The Sky to digital stores. My thoughts: if God ever leads me down the road to where I’ve collected some notoriety and/or accolades, it’ll be a cool little secret society thing for those who actually downloaded them.

I left my volunteer position at my church. I started attending the church in 2010, and began serving in 2011. By mid-2012, I was a ministry leader. Got burned out around the end of 2013, but I wasn’t released to leave.

Got rid of the offense on my heart in March of 2014 and looked forward to starting what I initially set out to do with the ministry in 2011: executive produce their next recording project. Yet, before I could even start, God started telling me “it’s time to go”. I’m hard-headed, so it took a couple of times for me to actually listen… but I eventually tendered my resignation and stepped down in May.

His timing is super-weird, but I know it’s for my greater good.

…then left that church completely. Once I stepped down from serving, a shift happened. I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but it did. Then I realized: when God was telling me “it’s time to go”, He wasn’t only referring to the leadership position. He was telling me to completely step away from that particular church.

As soon as that revelation hit, I exited stage left.

I don’t think I even told anyone I was leaving. If I’ve learned anything in life, it is to keep moving forward.

However, I truly appreciate my time there: I re-established my relationship with God, learned a lot about myself and my purpose, met some really good people there (including a lot of my close friends), and realized that Kingdom relationships aren’t bound to the four walls of the church.

I helped start a magazine. That story can be read here.

I learned that while I’m ready for love and marriage, I have no clue how to start the process. I mean, I even wrote two songs about it: Vicarious, and it’s remix, Admission.

My friends think I’m extremely picky, but I just consider myself “selective”. I’ve seen what happens when people date (and sometimes marry) people just to avoid being alone, and I’m not about that “unequally yoked” life. On the flip side, I’ve witnessed some of my good friends get married to their perfect matches, and that gives me hope.

My roadblocks: I don’t have much game, I over-think everything, and the pickings in Los Angeles are extremely slim.  Hence, I remain single.

I got the inspiration to start this blog. Even though I hate attention, I know that I’ve experienced everything that I have in order to help others. Most of my lessons were learned by observations, but I’ve fallen on my face a few times to help others avoid those mistakes.

You can read more about why I started this particular journey here.

To Summarize:

I’ve learned a lot about life, about myself, about the world, and about God and my relationship with Him.  I know that I’m further along than I thought I was, but am acutely aware that I have a long way to go.

I’m thankful for the past, appreciative of the present, and optimistic for the future.

How about you?