2010 in review

january
favorite blog post: undefined
what i read: "confessions" - st. augustine
best live music event: 12th & porter's healing haiti benefit concert on 1/27 with matt ridenour, heidi rojas, melinda doolittle, matt wertz, josh hoge, dave barnes, tommy sims, marc broussard, and jonny lang. jonny.freaking.lang. i waited 12 years to see him live, and i got to do it from front row of a small intimate venue. i dig.
summary: january was a month full of the promise of new beginnings. though i didn't make any specific new year's resolutions (i never do), i had hope that 2010 would be a year of growth.

february
favorite blog post: questions and coffee
what i read: "to be told" - dan allender
best live music event: the help haiti benefit on 2/27. not only did it include some of my favorite artists (the lineup: brandon heath/matt wertz/dave barnes/mat kearney/needtobreathe/jon foreman/alison krauss and union station/jars of clay/big kenny), but it was at the ryman, one of nashville's most beautiful and historic venues.
summary: i learned a lot about myself in february. i revisted my past and looked ahead to my future. i stepped out of my comfort zone in a few different areas, and while things didn't always turn out like i expected, i'm glad i put myself out there.

march
favorite blog post: identifying my boston(s)
what i read: "to be told" - dan allender (it's not a long book, but it's heavy, and must be read slowly)
best live music event: the three amigos [steve moakler, andrew ripp, ben rector) at 3rd & lindlsey on 3/21. these boys are all incredible on their own (though andrew ripp can't sing worth a darn [insert sarcasm font here]), the energy they had on stage together was memorable to say the least. what a fun bunch of guys and a fun night out in nashville.
summary: looking back on march 2010, i remember feeling disappointed that things didn't fall into place like i had hoped they would. but i was able to look beyond that and was reminded that my maker knows what he's doing and that things will work out in the end. i reminded myself that i really want what he wants, whatever that may be.

april
favorite blog post: living my story
what i read: "to be told" by dan allender. yeah. (see: this month's favorite blog post)
best live music event: i'm cheating and picking five. because all five were part of the same week-long event: hanson's five of five. five albums in five nights.
summary: planning for and being excited about our road trip to new york for the five of five concert series previously mentioned.

may
favorite blog post: buses, music, bombs, and floodwaters (part 4)
what i read: nothing. it was a busy month.
best live music event: andy osenga, stacy lantz, and eric vinson at 12th & porter on 5/27. i'm picking this one because y'all really need to check out my very talented and beautiful roommate stacy. and this was her first show in nashville in several years.
summary: on may 1st & 2nd nashville suffered from a 500-year flood. but we didn't suffer for long in that we rose above the flood waters and came together to help our neighbors. when i think of may 2010, i think of nashville defining community, and as such i fell in love with this city all over again. i was also busy moving amongst all the post-flood chaos.

june
favorite blog: so many thoughts, so little time
what i read: "no compromise: the life of keith green" - melody green
best live music event: "3 out of tenn" (trent dabbs, andrew belle, and andy davis) at 3rd & lindsley on 6/12. just check these boys out for yourselves, and you'll understand.
summary: change. living in a new house with new roommates, i found that june was a month of change. some change was directly related to the move, some not. some were conscious changes, some were not. but they were all good and necessary. i feel like i grew up a lot in june.

july
favorite blog: a lesson from the bachelorette
what i read: "the irresistible revolution" - shane claiborne
best live music event: mat kearney at rhythm and brews on 7/31. mat's hilarious. i had no idea.
summary: july was very relaxing in a busy way. i house-sat for 10 days and i went on several weekend road trips. granted it was hot, but i really enjoyed the month.

august
favorite blog: wanderlust and dreams undreamt
what i read: "journey of desire" by john eldredge & "sacred romance" by brent curtis & john eldredge
best live music event: any of the four hanson shows i saw during the month.
summary: august was a month of travel. i was gone almost every weekend. i loved it.

september
favorite blog: i'm a hypocrite
what i read: "wild at heart" by john eldredge, "tom sawyer" by mark twain, "captivating" by john & stasi eldredge, & "a cry for mercy" by henri nouwen
best live music event: it's a tie. erick baker & andy davis at 3rd & lindsley on 9/12 - erick blew my mind away with his voice, and andy always puts on a fun show. also, lots of inside jokes were created that night and it was a night full of side-splitting laughter. also andrew ripp at 3rd & lindsley on 9/19 - andrew is stupid good. the end.
summary: a lot of music. a lot of reading. a few healthy changes in life. freaking hot for being almost fall (up until the last week of the month, we were still in the mid-90's).

october
favorite blog: look for me on the big screen
what i read: i started re-reads of both "unstoppable force" by erwin mcmanus and "blue like jazz" by don miller but did not finish either
best live music event: todd cary/seth philpott/nathan angelo on 10/9 at 3rd & lindsley - i had never heard todd before, but he was great. it was my first time seeing seth after his long absence from music city, and nathan always puts on a great show. it was also a fun night hanging out with old and new friends.
summary: october was one of my biggest "music" months, and i also squeezed in two road trips. october is always my favorite month and this year was no exception.

november
favorite blog: the fear of no fear
what i read: i finished "blue like jazz" and read some more of "unstoppable force" but still didn't finish it. it's a good, slow read.
best live music event: the means/clayton graham fike/stacy lantz on 11/20 at the darkroom. the darkroom is a new venue in town, and it was a great night to just sit back and watch my friends do what they were made to do.
summary: november. what a whirlwind of a month. many hours were spent as an extra on the set of the "blue like jazz" movie. my car broke down just before thanksgiving, which also happened to me last year with a different car. thankfully this was easily fixed at a decent - though still very much painful - price. thanksgiving was spent with family and the whole month was very reflective of all that god has given to me. even the trials.

december
favorite blog: "an open letter to me, from ten-years-into-the-future-me"
what i read: finished "unstoppable force" by erwin mcmanus. also read "humility" by andrew murray
best live music event: tyler bryant and andrew ripp at 12th and porter on 12/16. that much talent in one room should be illegal. it was also a goodbye party for a really good friend.
summary: december definitely went by way too fast (the whole year did). i would sum it up the way most decembers are summed up: full of christmas festivities, memories, and trying to make the most out of what little time is left in the year.