But the great thing is tonight, it ends. 2011 is finished.
I’m not a fan of top 10 lists, so you get 11 highlights from me.

In no particular order:

1. Live recording with other worship leaders at the LIFT Conference
   
   Discovered a massive worship leader collective taking place in Atlanta around mid-February. Matt Redman was doing a live recording with a new batch of songs. I didn’t have to think — I just booked my place and went! Gathered with 1000+ worship pastors/leaders for teaching, songwriting, and above all, worship. Too amazing.
   .
2. A trip to Taiwan (finally)
   
   I’ve never been, always wanted to go. So my Mom thought it was time and the three of us (my dad held down the fort) visited the mother’s motherland. Outside of Taipei, I remembered how calm and refreshing the countryside was like. Walking down the same streets my mother grew up on was ridiculously humbling and gratifying. God has been so good to us.
   .
3. Concerts, concerts, concerts
    
   I think I went to four, but I’ll settle for the big ones. Hillsong United “Aftermath” tour in a sold out Staples Center and David Crowder*Band “7 Tour” (featuring John Mark McMillan, Gungor, and Chris August) were some of the best I’ve been to. Rocking out to Jesus and being alive in this world is priceless.
   .
4. Last ministry successes
    
   Despite some major setbacks, I was able to pull-through in a few ministries from my last church. These would be the youth worship team and the senior high school fellowship. All things considered, both were successes because we finished the school year and came out on a high note. We all grew and I’m proud of everyone involved.
   .
5. Go-Karting at a bachelor party
   
   My friend Garth was getting hitched and to celebrate his last days as a single dude, we went golfing and go-karting. Since some of us suck at the first one (including me), it was a total BLAST for the go-karting. In mid-May, if you found a bunch of grown men in their late 20s or 30s bouncing around the race tracks and screaming like schoolboys having the time of their lives, see if any of these guys in the picture look familiar. It was probably us.
   .
6. Canyoneering in Utah
   
   Two year ago, a couple buddies and I scaled Half-Dome and much of Yosemite to take in some spectacular sights and fun climbing. We felt it was time to take another trip of that sort and we weren’t disappointed. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then be prepared to have your mind blown from what to say from these sights we saw.
   .
7. Catching up with old friends
   
   As the years go by, it becomes pretty tough to keep in touch with friends you made in college and before that (unless they are in some way part of your daily or weekly living). But with a little initiative and some good timing, I caught up with several people I haven’t seen in years. I think the thing that gets me every time is how much we’ve changed and yet, how easily to reconnect if we try just a little bit. I’m grateful for friends to walk through this crazy journey.
   .
8. Surviving ALL of  ”Insanity” without losing my mind
   
   Yes, I actually did ALL 60 days of this madness. No shortcuts. All hard work and determination. Someday, I will make a post of some of my personal advice and key ways to get through it. But for now, here’s to good health, ’cause that’s something we have to look out for as long as we’re alive.
   .
9. Weddings
   
   More years passing means more people getting married. Simply math (not really). I lost track of the exact number, but I think it was five or more for this year. In addition to DJing for Garth’s wedding, I also had a chance to attend my vineyard wedding in the beautiful town of Saratoga. Fine wine and some great dining with my college fellowship buddies made for a very pleasant celebration of my friend Jen.
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10. Music
    
    I’m a worship leader and aspiring artist. I really think that any good thing that comes out of music for me is proof that God’s hand is on it, not because Albert is talented. I wanna serve the local church and help people see the Jesus behind the sounds. Whether it involved playing songs in different gatherings and getting a chance to lead people to His throne monthly, it’s only too gratifying to have a part in it. Songwriting is so soul-soothing too. Just keeping at it like it’s a devotional.
    .
11. Laker game on the last day of 2011
     
    Check this. I get a message at 1:21AM this morning from an ol’ floormate friend of mine from college. We haven’t made contact for at least 8 years, but she has an extra ticket to the Laker game today and asked if I can go. Um, no freaking way. Oh. Heck. Yes. Many hours of catching up over a closely contested game and I am seriously loving the spontaneity of it all. Thank Lyn for perhaps the best surprise I ever had on the last day of a year.
    .

Whew, that’s it.

Peace out, 2011.
Bring it, 2012.

Marketing, marketing, marketing…

Can’t believe it.

If you were hoping for a deep, thoughtful post about aging, celebration plans, or how parkour can make your life 67% more awesome (something I hope to do one day without knocking out any teeth)……sorry, you’re not gonna get it here. At least right now.

Instead, you get the know-how that I’m completely, utterly thankful for this life. Everything. The good, bad, awesome, ugly, and so on. Nothing is perfect and there’s still beauty to be found in tall of that.

God was, is, and will always be good.

–

I don’t really want anything this year but if you want, here are a few things on my mind: http://amzn.com/w/26R6P7GLZ87IK

I remembered driving to high school in the morning and turning on the radio to hear some tunes. All I heard was talking about a plane crash in New York and the host was scared. No way, I thought. This can’t be happening. Then I stumbled into class where all pairs of eyes were glued to the TV screen. The air was thick with disbelief and grief, and I could only add to it with my own. I came home that evening learning my mom was crying through most of the day when she saw people jumping off the towers to escape the inferno. There were no words from my dad and sister.

What about 10 years later?

Today and always, I am thankful to be part of country where firefighters, police officers, emergency workers, and many other brave citizens run into burning buildings instead of away from them.

A blog post is very small and shallow place to express such gratitude, but thank you for those souls who reacted so deeply to these events and even made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

My prayers to the countless people affected by the September 11 attacks.

Albert

Not gonna lie.
I kinda want one too.

The end of an era. What an accomplished career.
Thanks for all the wonderful toys to help people connect and make the world a better place.

In honor of today and since I haven’t done one of these in a while:

[ht:loswhit]

This is beautiful.
Caption Please.

So much to look up to and learn from this response.
The key thing for me was, “Jesus taught a better way”. Truth.

What did you take away from Bill’s response?

It definitely wasn’t easy getting to this point since September.
Some services went well and some really didn’t.
But these guys (& gal) brought it every single time and OWNED these songs. Well done, friends.

How do I feel?
Fun/challenged/humbled/blessed/grateful are just some of words coming to mind.
But the last one sticks out to me the most because it was serving God the way I desired to bring Him glory.
The way He has blessed me and in the way I enjoyed serving Him.
What a freeing thing to have.

Take a risk and live out your passion. Use your gifting. Finish well.

For His glory that is not ours,
Albert

Keep dreaming.
Enjoy the ride that is life.

When we wrapped up today, the feeling was almost laughable – never had there been a disastrous time.
No, it wasn’t bad enough that people wanted to leave the room. But I wanted to bounce. I wanted to cry.

After lunch and some downtime, I wrote this email to my team:

Hey everyone,

First and foremost, I want to say a big thank you for staying with it today in worship — [I address each team member by name here].

Yes, the sound system and cables failed us. Yes, the mix was horrible. Yes, we missed cues that we got down during our rehearsal yesterday (no doubt in my mind at all, that we prepared great). We could have quit in our set and left with our heads down.

But you guys showed up anyway….and we did our best. So when I went home today, I have only thankfulness for God and each of you in my heart.

What I learned in worship over the last years is this: we can’t look at it as a success or failure….we see it as a learning curve.  When things go well, there are still more things to learn.  When things aren’t so great, then there’s even MORE things to learn for all of us!  We shouldn’t be afraid or shamed at all…our God is for us…

Having said that, M helped test the monitor cables after service, and found 3 of the 4 we used were not working.  There we go…part of the problem solved!  J said he will help order more cables.

If you ask me what I personally felt…if the sound system was working well and setup was good…I wouldn’t change a thing from how we prepared in our songs.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Hope this encourages you guys in some way.  I look forward to the next leading and for what lessons can come when we serve others in worship. You’re great ppl to serve alongside.

Have a great week!

I do believe what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.
We only get better by learning and living and believing in Jesus.

Keep doing these three and don’t give up…