Music Scrapbook

Credits

In terms of music, I would like to thank:

• God the Father, who gave me the opportunity to work with music in the first place (Genesis 2:7).
• God the Son, Jesus Christ, who is my hope for the present and the future (John 11:25-26)—my Lord (Romans 10:9-11), Savior (John 3:16), and Priest (Hebrew 4:15).
• God the Holy Spirit, who teaches me (John 14:26), reminds me of God's Word (John 14:26), and convicts me of sin (John 16:8).
• My Dad, who instilled in me an appreciation for music—but also instilled in me the importance of lyrical content—and gave me the opportunity to take piano lessons relatively early in life. Thankful for his encouragement over the years in terms of music.
• My Mom, who instilled in me the importance of playing/singing music and gave me the opportunity to use her violin for orchestra at school. Thankful for her willingness to listen.
• Stephen, my brother who has encouraged me over the years in the area of music and creative efforts in general. Thankful for his willingness to give comments and feedback, too.
• Joe, my brother who has also encouraged me over the years in music and other areas. Glad to hear his input and thankful for his willingness to listen.
• My Grandpa M., who played music a lot himself over the years.
• My Grandma S., who was willing to listen to me play hymns on the piano long ago.
• Uncle Ernie, who helped me learn the importance of looking into God's Word (The Bible) and "seeing what is there" (loosely paraphrasing the words of Steve, his son). This is especially impactful for lyrics in songs and life in general.
• Keith Green, who—though I never met in this life—indirectly impacted me both musically and spiritually as I listened to his music over the years thanks to my parents.
• Mrs. Dunlop, my piano teacher for many years. She taught me a lot along the way, but I wish I would have practiced more on my own during those years. Something that really stuck with me in terms of music performance from her was (and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the actual wording): "Even if you make a mistake during a song, end on a good note."
• Frosty, a kind man at a local care home for elderly people who listened to me play hymns at his care home and even gave me a hymn book as a gift.
• Mr. Koehler, my orchestra instructor for at least a few years (if I remember correctly). Thankful for his persevering, cheerful attitude even when it must have been hard at times to help people how to learn stringed instruments like violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.
• Grant, my friend who let me borrow one of his electric guitars in the past. Thankful for his encouragement over the years regarding music and songwriting.
• Brad, my brother who I've known since college days who has been willing to listen to songs and give feedback over the years. Thankful for his encouragement.
• David, my friend who is gifted on the classical guitar (and guitar in general), who has encouraged me for a long time in terms of music.
• Pat, my friend who encouraged me a lot in continuing with music (especially live music) and was willing to spend a lot of time with me at live music attempts.
• Ben, my friend who came up with some funny musical ideas during some of our time at school. Thankful for the time he spent listening to me trying to sing live music in the past.
• Chrissi, my sister who was willing to listen to a lot of my music over the years even though it was probably hard to listen to at times. She even made a music video for a song of mine! Thankful for her time.
• Udai, my brother who indirectly taught me a lot about playing acoustic guitar—thankful for his encouragement with music over the years. Glad to have the opportunity to play with him at open mics and praise night(s), too.
• Mike, my brother who has encouraged me over the years in music and in my spiritual journey.
• Michi, my brother who helped me to be (hopefully) more humble on worship team at church—and who also gave me some tips and feedback on bass guitar. Thankful for the opportunities he allowed for special music performances over the years at church.
• Kenji, my brother who gave me many encouraging words over the years. Thankful for his cheerfulness even in tough times.
• Tom, my brother who gave me the opportunity to play at Family Christmas (a talent show type event) over the years at church. Thankful for his enthusiasm and honesty.
• Peter L., my brother who also gave me many encouraging words over the years. Thankful for his reminders about my identity in Christ.
• Emily L., my sister who showed me more of what it looks like to worship God with music and songs.
• Andy N., my brother who spent so many hours of his life helping me with music and song attempts. Thankful for his encouragement over the years and his help with audio engineering fundamentals and techniques.
• Hiromi, my sister who was bravely willing to try singing with me for some live performance songs in the past at church.
• Takuya, my brother who helped with a lot of behind-the-scenes audio work over the years for special music events and worship music sets. Thankful for his example of service.
• Sasagu, my brother who indirectly taught me a lot about how piano could be played (I think jazz was a big part of that) and demonstrated a humble attitude in using his musical gifts.
• Satoshi, my brother who indirectly taught me a lot about how bass could be played—but also about how having the right attitude can make a big difference. Thankful for his enthusiasm even in tough times of life.
• Kei M., my brother who was willing to play drums for a musical event before a special trip to the land from far away. Thankful for his consistent timing on the drums.
• Ivan, my brother who was also willing to play drums for a special music performance at church. Thankful for his musical insight.
• Andy H., my brother who taught me a little about pinch harmonics (if I recall). Thankful for his encouragement.
• Mike Rathke, my brother who provided opportunities to play some special open mic events. Thankful for his encouragement and glad he is using the musical gifts he's been given to serve the Lord.
• Khanh, my friend from later college days who has been willing to listen to some of my music. Thankful for his encouragement and his cheerfulness.
• Rich Mullins, who—though I did not meet in this life—indirectly impacted me both musically and spiritually as I listened to his music a lot during seminary days (and even growing up, when his music was played on the radio more often).
• Yuma, my brother who played cajon with me for some special songs at church. Thankful for his encouragement over the years.
• Jim A., my brother who encouraged me about some past and current personal songs and encouraged me to get out there and share the music more. Thankful for his kindness and willingness to listen to a lot of past work. Also, thankful for the opportunity to play at a music festival for many years as a result of Jim's invitation.
• Friends who have generally been an encouragement to continue growing in how to use creative gifts. Thank you, all!

Note: Please let me know if I've forgotten you!
Note: The Scripture references were looked up using the ESV Bible translation.