Skittles and Ice Tea

As a response to all the terrible things happening in Ferguson in Missouri, I want to get better at using my voice, my words, and my songs to actively speak out against injustice that I see in the world.  After Trayvon Martin died last year, I wrote a song in his memory.  I never got around to recording it and I still haven’t yet done so although I want to.  I figured I’d at least share the lyrics and hope that it might connect with someone else who has a heavy heart in the midst of all the unnecessary loss of black lives that happens on such a regular basis.  The song is called “Skittles and Ice Tea.”  If I do get around to recording it, I’ll plan to update this post with a link.

A Theological Foundation For Multicultural Musical Worship

I recently had the honor of co-leading an incredible worship team at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s (IVCF) Northwest Regional Winter Conference (whew, that’s a mouthful) alongside my good friend, Thomas.  There were around 400-something students there from all over the Northwest.  It was easily one of my favorite worship experiences I’ve ever had and it was really encouraging to see so many students transformed and excited about their faith.  One of the singers on our team really captured the diversity of our musical selection when she posted on Facebook:

“I NEVER thought in one weekend I would be leading Praise and Worship songs representing Rock, Folk, Hip Hop, Go-Go, Gospel, Grunge, and Spanish…..but here I am! LETS GO!”

While we were there, Thomas and I also were able to lead a workshop on multicultural worship, and we got such positive feedback from that time that I figured it might be worthwhile to share some of the content from that workshop with others who are looking to grow in this practice, either from a worship leader’s perspective or as anyone out there who has an appreciation for worship. 

New Cho State of Mind

So this week was my pastor’s 40th birthday. I wrote/recorded a song about it, yes I did. Like to hear it? Hear it goes.

Last name, EVER. First name, GREATEST. Middle name, MOM.

So today marks my mom’s (censored)th birthday.  I know that a lot of folks claim to have great and wonderful mothers but… my Mom is amazing and has given me some fantastic memories. 

Getting Older, FTL

There are many moments in my life that have been chiseled into my memory banks.  My 16th birthday, where my mom threw a surprise party for me and brought over my half-sister, aunts and cousins from out of town that I hadn’t seen in years.  My first kiss.  The day that I graduated from college.  My wedding day.  Sunday, June 27, 2010 will forever be another one of those significant days in my life.  It was the first time that I really had to face the fact that I’m actually getting older.

3 Things I Love About Being Married

I liked it, so I put a ring on it.

I cannot believe it is already June.  As a student, I could hardly wait for summer to come and the months seemed to drag on by as midterms and finals terrorized my piece of mind.  I am a true believer that during the summer, Seattle is the most beautiful place in the country.  Am I biased?  Most definitely.  But the combination of greenery, lakes and sunshine is almost too much to resist.  Granted, Seattle summers don’t usually actually start until about mid-late July but I’ve enjoyed the bits of sun that we’ve been getting already.  I’ll admit it: I am most definitely a better person across the board when the sun is shining.

Definitely my favorite thing about the month of June in particular is that the 9th of this month is my wedding anniversary.  3 years ago, I was blessed to marry the most amazing woman I have ever met.  Our entire 2 year pre-marriage relationship was long distance (she lived in Texas) and so we had a special appreciation for finally getting married.  In honor of 3 years of marriage, I present to you 3 things I absolutely love about being married.  A warning to the squeamish or to the cynical: there will most definitely be some gag-worthy sweetness going on in this post.  Just letting you know for the sake of full disclosure.

5 Reasons Why I Shouldn’t Be Blogging

So I’ve finally decided to get back into blogging. I’ve been thinking about it for a good while now and I’ve finally decided to take the plunge. Why now? Well I’ve been sick for the last 3 days and don’t have much else I can do. That’s good enough motivation for me! Anyway, there are several reasons why I’ve been hesitant about entering into the blogosphere. Which leads me to this first post: 5 reasons why I shouldn’t be blogging. I’ve found that self-deprecation is a great way to either ease tension/lighten a mood or to make things awkward. If this first entry has either of these effects on you, then I will call this a successful entry. So without further ado: