GLive (Gracepoint Live) 2009 Photos!

The long anticipated GLive (Gracepoint Live) has come and gone.  It was so amazing to see the whole church pull together to make this event happen.  From the sound, lighting, video, stage, acting, props, food, etc. it wouldn’t have been possible had so many people not given up many days, nights and weekends.  On April 4, there were 3 showings with more than 1900+ RSVPed guests to attend.  Guests only!  In any case, I can’t wait for the DVD!   I took some photos with my friend Dennis and Nelson.  I shot 90% of my shots at the foot of the stage and I could just feel the excitement and looking back out at the audience, I was so overwhelmed by how many people came!  There were some really hilarious moments, intense moments and some really powerful scenes.  My favorite (it’s OK to have favorites..) was the Junior Skit “What If…” but all of the skits, including the testimonies were all great.

So check my photos on Gracepoint’s Flickr site and I think Nelson and Dennis should have theirs up soon too.  Photography is just a hobby of mine and I’m thankful that God has given me this great pleasure of taking photos and being able to do it for something greater than the life of Eileen Ahn or landscape or something like that. Not a diss to the greats like Ansel Adams.. but you know what I’m saying..

Oh, you can also take a poll at SFSU Koinonia’s site for which was your favorite sketch!

By His Wounds…

Isaiah 53:4-5 |  Surely he took up our infirmities, and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Sans the Backstreet Boy (once you cross the boyband line.. there’s no turning back)… this is a great great song.  Ok, so I like his voice, but it’s just tainted you know?? But yeah, Mac Powell, Mark Hall, Brian Littrell (cough) and Steven Curtis Chapman.  Older song but good anytime of the year.. but especially today..

Looking forward to Good Friday and Easter Sunday service at Gracepoint.

“Undo” – Rush of Fools

So, this song was released back in 2007 I think.. and I remember hearing it here and there, it’s on one of my playlists somewhere.  And this past weekend, this song was played at Gracepoint Live!  It was integrated into one of the skits, my favorite one of the night, the junior skit.  About this overachieving, hardworking guy who has always been told to make the most of his life who is now visiting his shrink and recounting his life…mainly the regrets of his past.  Realizing he can’t undo his life, realizing he lived a life that touched no one else except for himself he sees the kind of person that he is. It’s sad because the beginning of the skit opens with him saying he’s about to send his son off to college and has a letter for him.  After his appointment is over, he reads the letter..and you’d think after all that you saw of his past, that he would tell his son to live differently.  The sad thing is, he doesn’t…

So after he sends his son off… he sits and the curtains on stage open and the band is there and they play this song.

Check it out on YouTube (can’t embed)

Undo 
I’ve been here before, now here I am again
Standing at the door, praying You’ll let me back in
To label me a prodigal would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be 

[Chorus]
Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become

I focused on the score, but I could never win
Trying to ignore, a life of hiding my sin
To label me a hypocrite would be
Only scratching the surface of who I’ve been known to be

[Chorus]

Make every step lead me back to
The sovereign way that You 

Turn me around pick me up
Undo what I’ve become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, need Your help
I can’t do this myself
You’re the only one who can undo
What I’ve become

Blog Blog Blog

There’s this song by Rockapella called “Blah Blah Blah” – When you talk all I hear is blah blah blah.

For me, I feel like saying, “When I talk all I hear is blog blog blog”  But you may be wondering why there are no updates here… well because there are many updates on other blogs that I manage with my two other good friends.  We’re known as the E-Team (Edwin, Erickson and Eileen).

SFSU Koinonia – College Campus Christian Fellowship group that I am now serving as a staff member on

Gracepoint Fellowship Church SF – Though our church is now mainly just two college groups, we still update this blog with our events  both churchwide (including Gracepoint Fellowship Church Berkeley) and our small SF events.

Praise Team – SFSU Koinonia - a new one for our worship team that serves for our SFSU Koinonia bible studies.  And as the praise team, that means we have a lot of love for music.  Here’s our iTunes iMix!

But we the E-Team have a huge project ahead of us that I admittedly am behind in doing my research.  Can’t talk about it much here.. but coming hopefully in the summer.

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John Mayer’s cover of Free Fallin’ – can’t embed this guy. Amazing guitar and control over vocals in my book.

Solmadison – aka: Charlie and the Tree aka: Charles Kim. Nice cover of “Superstition”. souful and nicely done on the Fender.

Gracepoint Fellowship Church Thanksgiving Celebration!

Gracepoint Fellowship Church, SF Campus has a new blog site now. It’s been up for a while now and i’d say pretty fun to read.  Maintained by Ecubed (Edwin, Erickson and Eileen). .  check it out!

Photo update

It’s been a while.  Our Gracepoint HG1 site is now going to merge to just become to SF Campus blog site.  However, there’s still a lot of work that some of us have to do to get that up and running.  But with Thanksgiving Celebration around the corner.. it’s not quite happening..

In the meantime.. this was a slideshow I was supposed to show at Koinonia Live of some pics from the Fall semester from both USF and SFSU Koinonia.  Didn’t happen due to some technical difficulties. Enjoy.

sf gracepoint hg1 blog

I started this blog because there wasn’t anything going on with the Koinonia or SF Campus blog and at the very least I’ve been wanting to put up photos.  I’ve been spending my time and energy bringing the SF Campus HG1 blog come alive and it’s doing well.

So this blog is officially retired.  It might be like MJ’s retirement but that’s OK

SF Campus HG1 Blog

Adios.

Element Youth Group – Gracepoint Fellowship Church Berkeley

photos for now. post later.

Gym Nite with SF Campus Gracepoint Fellowship Church!

This Friday after MYT at Gracepoint, we’re going to be holding a Gym Nite at Sunset Rec.  So be ready with a change of clothes and we’ll head out together at 9pm.  Here’s just a few pictures from previous gym nites.

*if you’re interested, Animoto is a free slideshow maker.. 30 second videos under the free account. So you only get about 12 photos in there but it’s free and it does the work for you

re: Church Family Blessings

I was reading Kelly Kang’s latest post Church Family Blessings, and I had to pause for a moment and think about my own life. As I mentioned before, I came to this church a long time ago, almost 20 years now, which means, yeah, I was only 6. I think about my memories with my friends growing up here, learning Bible stories, singing songs, memorizing verses, playing at church, going on trips, etc. And I remember many of my old teachers from the Children’s Dept, now called Joyland, and how I just could not wait to go to church each week. It wasn’t just because it was fun, but it was because as I grew older, I saw that this was like my second family.

I’m so thankful that my parents raised me in the church and that my family is Christian. I don’t think that I fully even understand the blessing and the amount of protection that God has brought to my life through this. And yet, like the prodigal son, I did break away from this many years down the line. It is so true as Kelly said that people in the midst of blessing don’t realize what blessings they have. But still, at one point, I foolishly considered these blessings a curse and I threw it away for the cheap lies of this world. I ran away from God and I ran away from the people he placed in my life. Though physically, I was here every Sunday, every activity, etc., spiritually and emotionally, I had run away. And like the prodigal son, I had made a mess out of my life. But through the grace of God and the many sleepless nights and prayers of others, I finally came back home. And you know, I think about Isaiah 1, at the heart of God and how much he must weep over people like me and so many others that hurt him or run away in rebellion.. I’ll never fully understand that pain I think until perhaps I have a kid of of my own and he/she does the same..or until in loving someone, they decide to do the same thing. But sometimes I feel a small picture of it when I look at our kids or our youth and I just really want to tell them to not make the same mistakes I made. To not run away from this blessing that they might not see right now in their lives. I know that for one of them to read this now it’s like, “Ok, that’s nice. That was you, and this is me.” But man, the pain from my past regrets and decisions sometimes feel fresh if you know what I mean..

But in the end, I am so thankful that I am here, so thankful that God has kept me safe and near to this family. Now that I’m much older, and my old teachers and the staff of this church have grown older too, I can now labor with them in loving others and creating the kind of community that I myself grew up in. It’s kind of funny but my old teachers and people I once thought were SO OLD, they’re not only my spiritual mentors but people that I fully trust and people I want to keep growing older with. And I hope that I can really pass along this life lesson that I have learned the hard way to the younger ones at Gracepoint. In some ways, I can’t wait to have kids of my own so they can experience the kind of life that so many of our children at GFC are experiencing now. It is my prayer that our children and youth can really one day see just how blessed they are.

Below is a picture of the Children’s Dept. many many years ago. We used to have what was called Family Retreats which took place every Memorial Day weekend at Mt. Gilead. I’m in the second row from the top, 4th one over. Not sure what I was looking at but I guess I wasn’t good at paying attention back then too..