Confession time--This will be the 3rd Presidential Election since I have been given the right to vote. This will be the 1st time I will actually exercise that right. Yes, I suffer from voter apathy, but I want so badly to care more about politics and government. It's just when I think about it, I start worrying, and well, that's bad, too. I'm just not sure where to start, I guess. I have some questions stemming from some frustrations. I just don't know what I should do, but I realize I need to do something. Can you help me?
1. I get lots of email-forwards from Christians with politically charged messages. Does being a Christian automatically make me Republican?
2. And in these emails, hearsay, half-truths & quotes deliberately taken out of context are used to slander candidates & deceive voters. As a Christian, in how much of this should I be participating?
3. Obviously, I'm against abortion, homosexual marriages, etc, but I also see lots of proactive peace in the teachings of Christ--not so much war, you know. I agree strongly with parts of many platforms, but not one necessarily over the others. I find myself on both sides of the vote at times...is there an in between? What do you do when you want to make a decision, but can't decide?
Enough of the serious stuff...here's what's been going on!
Got a new apartment. I thought I'd decorate, so when Emily moves in in December it'll all be ready. She thinks I'm doing a great job ;-)
There's 3 new babies in my life! There's Elijah Vernor that belongs to Todd and Roxanne & Annaliese Elizabeth Joiner that belongs to Adam and Heather. Notice how Adam doesn't have a link to a pleo page...yep, he's a loser;) This is my precious niece, Haylee Louise Gillins. A couple weeks ago, I went up to IN to hold her for a while, and establish my presence of "Guncle Kevin" in her life. The Gillins Gang is growing. We've three nieces and gaining an Emily soon.
My church family is growing, too. Our preacher said months ago right after we appointed elders for the first time at our congregation, that it's been his experience that when this takes place, it seems like the church starts really growing. And that it has! We've been having more and more people from the neighborhood coming in resulting in saved souls. We've needed a giant shoehorn a couple times to slide people into pews on Sunday mornings. God is good and causing the growth.
Some sad news...the bestest best dog that ever lived, Kelly Jo Gillins, had to be put down a week ago. It breaks my heart still. We picked her out of a litter 15 years ago. She's now buried in the pet cemetary in our woods next to the bestest best cat, Tinker, that ever lived. Kelly is buried with 2 hot dog buns...her favorite treat.
Last, but by no means, the least, Emily and I are over the halfway mark in our engagement, and just when I think it's impossible to be more thankful to God for her, He shows me another reason why she's the bestest best soul buddy Tailor-made for this dude. God is so good & Life is so Good.
Wow, you posted a new one. I remember the first time I was going to vote when I was 18. I was still at FC and taking Political Science . Needless to say, I did not vote because our teacher got me so messed up too. I have no doubt who I will be voting for in this election. I doubt it is going to make a difference because the country is being lead by the media now. :-0
You make us soooooo happy!!!!!! I am so excited about your apartment, thrilled about the growth in your local congregation and sad :-( about your dog! I'm glad you're getting the experience to work with elders. Plan to be one somd day! And I think prayer for our country beats forwarding emails anyday!!!! love you
Good to read something from you! Glad things are going well for the most part. In answer to your political questions: 1) I am neither a republican nor a democrat. Personally, I would vote more based on economics than anything else. 2) I do not forward things. 3) I will in likelihood vote for neither Obama nor McCane.
hey man, glad to hear that things are going well for you (from your "roommate"). miss you in jamaica this year but hopefully we can catch up at their wedding!
Hey kevin - I don't believe you are automatically a republican b/c you're a christian, although you hold a lot of the same beliefs. I worry a lot about the decisions I make also in voting. There is so much information out there and when I get real fired up and have a billion questions, I take a step back. I know the Lord wants us to care about our government, but at the same time it never seemed to be a priority to Him. No matter what happens to our country, like anything else we still have Him to lean on and protect us. And like Mr. Wilson says, death is a victory. Everything here is just a vapor. I don't know if I'm making any sense - or if I've even helped you in your quest for answers. Sorry...
You and Emily look great and I'm so very happy for y'all. I know I keep telling y'all that, but I really mean it. :o)
Hey...since your a christian doesnt' automatically make you a Republican. I know some Democrats and libertarian christians. From your short description of some your political views you might check into the libertarian party. But the libertarian canidate will not be winning this election so you might need to decide on one of the other two.
You are such an awesome friend to Tom and me! We love you all so much and hope the best for you both!-Hopefully you'll be active in our lives for a very long time. ;) Tom is quite attached to you. Don't know why, I don't see it..Heehee just kidding. :)
Sorry about Kelley and that's cute how you buried her with her avorite treat.:)
See ya soon!
well, you can have him back...he heads home tomorrow :)
i'll tell you that it has been an awesome week though!!! i forgot what it's like to hear so many uplifting lessons...
Oooppss. Sorry, I forgot to mail that either way. We want to try but it's still really up in the air due to the economy putting the crunch on us. :/ But possible good news...five guys quit Yarbrough and so Tom and me are hoping it will pick up some. *fingers and toes crossed* :)
Hey! Had lots of fun with you and Tom loved hanging out again and thanks for all your help!! :) I wil talk with Tom and come up with an answer for you! :)
So, one day this girl named Emily walked through Kevin's front door. Kevin was suspicious. Obviously Someone was playing a trick on him. How could he be so attracted to a string player? By unwritten musical law, brass players and string players march to different drummers. But the overriding Force at play was greater than any of man's musical laws...so Kevin gave in and asked the afore mentioned Emily out for a romantic, lunch-break burrito at Chipotle's followed by donuts & coffee at none other than the original Krispy Kreme. He soon fell head over heals for her, but before she could completely fall in love with him, he had to pass a couple daunting tasks. He first had to grow a repulsive beard, and see if she could still look past the furry dead creature on his face into his eyes. The Zoolander facial expression and undocumented Elvis impersonation proved to be extra credit on this quiz.
The second task was to match 79 of her unmatchable socks...success.
The tasks, despite being both mentally and physically draining, proved only to further knit together their spirits. As time went on and the soul-buddiness strengthened between them, Kevin found himself thinking a lot about a question he wanted to ask her. So, he prayed and prayed, and waited and waited, and his answer came from the prophetic Sharpie of a Chipotle's burrito preparer...
Kevin kept praying and waiting, something he'd never really done before, and God began making things work. Kevin found himself sneeking off to jewelry stores on lunch breaks and planning the details for a night to remember.
It started off with a birthday pizza party at Elizabeth's pizza planned by Emily for Kevin's birthday. Little did she know at dinner, he had something round and sparkly wrapped up in a Jimmy John's napkin tucked in his pocket. The box was just too bulky and not easily concealed. Jimmy John's came through again for him.
They later went for a walk in Old Salem where they often found themselves walking and talking. The moon was bright and their favorite tree that grows mightily in the center of a cemetery was mighty that evening. His heart was beating so hard the throbbing vein in his forehead was causing her to suspect something was happening. So, gracefully he wobbily dropped to a knee, reached for the ring in the napkin...and you can probably imagine what happened next...She gave him the best birthday present he could ever ask for. He asked if she would spend the rest of her life with him, and she said "Yes, I will." Praise God!!!
Life is so good. God is so good. I am so blessed and ever so appreciative to God and to my bride to be Emily. The lesson, I guess, to those who have not yet found a soul buddy, keep praying and waiting, trusting and Hebrews 13:2-ing "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." An angel walked in my front door, and now I'm marrying her...
Wow, its been years since the dentist yanked mine out....did you eat your share of pudding? ;) I remember getting sick of icecream for months after mine were yanked out so I turned to pudding for support ^..^ {hehe}
Aww, you wont be here? *{sniffles}* Awww I was so looking forward to meeting you, Jen has told me all kinds of nice things about you and your lady ;)
Hope Steven and I can meet you soon just the same
Yall have a happy Thursday!
I did recieve the violin!! Thank you. I'm sorry I didn't write you to let you know that we got it. We were out of town and then we had company and I got distracted. How much do we owe you for the shipping and repairs? I REALLY appreciate you getting it fixed. Oh and congratulations on the engagement. :-)
Hey, I have a project that I'm working on, and I really need your help. If you could send me your email address, then i'll send you an email about the project! That would be awesome! Thank you! Tell Emily I said hello!
and if it's a girl? :) actually we do have some names we kinda like, but they're always so out there, that's our real problem, so we need more normal names I think.
LOL, I was just thining how funny it'd be if we did actually name him Mister, i mean if we had a boy because our last name is Rogers, hence....Mister Rogers. That's good stuff. Maybe we should consider it. ;)
Well, it's Friday afternoon, on a 70degree day in January. The birds were really singing outside my shop window today, making me eagerly anticipate springtime, and well, it just felt like a good time to update. I see lots of shirts that say, "Life is good," and that it is. It was this time last year that I had quit my job and decided to go to medical school, and now, well, things didn't work out in anyway that I had planned...and I'm so thankful to God. This year, I've resolved to make less plans. I'm planning to love God, love my families, love my friends, love my enemies, love not knowing how this year will play out, and love Emily. I felt that keeping a theme would help me remember. Some of these, no doubt, will be more difficult than others, but I'm pretty confident that if I work really hard on the first one, the rest will definitely work out. If you get a chance, go say hello to my brother and sis-in-law, Kurt & Patty. Well, thought I'd just make a quick update. The front porch is calling me and my guitar...signing out, Kev
hey, we need to discuss a possible vacation to florida for you, emily, me, kurt & lil. charlie blum told kurt that we can use his house that is on marco island(bout two hours from miami). sooooo, lets plan something!! i think the months we can use it are march, april & may...but we can talk to kurt & make sure : )
i love you, kevin. i cannot wait for your hug on friday! :) your hugs have some sort of healing power ;p thank you for your thoughts, i truly value your opinion & wisdom. please do pray for me!
Holy Cow! So, 7-31-07 was my last entry, and I trust you have all enjoyed your tone baths! As I sit here thinking about how life was back at the end of July, I find myself in perpetual thanksgiving to God. This year started out as less than desirable, and I blame myself for bringing to the table a poor attitude. I was focused so much on career and money that I had been overlooking the most important things and blessings I have been given--both my families, physical and spiritual. Great things have happened and are happening everyday because our Lord is Awesome, and Praise be to Him for His undeserving patience! Here's a list if you're so inclined:
1.) My friends, Nate and Danielle, are about to have their first child, Seth. My sister-in-law, Lori, is pregnant. And my two very dear friends are really trying, and I know deep in my heart, they will be the awesomest parents. Any child would be so blessed to have them as parents.
2.) We have been blessed with an Eldership here in Winston-Salem, and we're actively pursuing a Deaconry (i like this word better than "deaconship").
3.) The band is in full-songwriting gear, and we have our first paying gig at Prissy Polly's, a local BBQ joint.
4.) I had officially reached my breaking point at work, and then Mario, a retired symphony reed player and phenomenal saxophonist, walked into my shop looking for part-time work. We fix stuff, listen to great music, and laugh all day! God is so good!
5.) 1000 Voices is coming up. Check it out.
6.) And last, but most definitely not least and very similar to item #4 actually, a very special someone literally walked into the front door of my house. Unlike Mario in item #4, however, who was just looking for part-time work, what I find in Emily is a great, full-time Christian friend. Her smile is contagious, her heart is tender, her voice is soothing, and her presence is inspiring. Go say Hi, you'll be glad you did. I know I am...
Coolness!! See ya at 1KV!! Could you send me the address of the hotel there? And might I add.....WHAT LORI IS PREG AND SHE DIDN"T TELL ME WHEN I SAW HER!!?? I'll never let her live it down now!! j/k! :) So Emily is staying there? Isn't she the violinist?
Hey man. It was great hangin' out last weekend. Also, it was nice getting to know Emily a little, we just didn't get to spend much time with her, since you wouldn't stop hogging her. JK :) I know that long distance dating is rough, but y'all seem to be handling it well. I really just wanted to give ya a hard time and to tell ya we liked your girl! :)
Hurry back up to NYC. I'm so disappointed I didn't get to meet you last time. Emily is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. She's SPECIAL Meet you soon!!!
hey bro! thanks for the prayers for ang!!! yes, lilly did a cheerleading camp yesterday, with kristin copeland(gilliana). she had fun, your dad took video of it so we were planning on sending you a copy. are you coming home for xmas? we need to get a family photo done. let us know. miss you & love you!!!
Hey Kevin!
We miss you!!!
I would really like to hang out with you and Emily when she's down here. I feel like it's been forever since we've hung out!
Much misses little bro - keep it real!
I'm just really happy it all played out the way it did so you, Jeff, Melanie, Camille, Winston and others were all there after it happened. It felt like the celebrating could go on forever...pretty cool. Ooh, you're going to NY soon! Woohoo; tell Emily hello!
Once a week, it's good to take a good bath...a tone-bath. For the past few years, I've been taking weekly tone-baths, and I've noticed a considerable improvement in my health. What exactly is a tone-bath, you may ask? Well, first find a good piece of music. This is pretty subjective since we all have different likings, but nonetheless find one about 5-10 minutes or so, with a good mix of highs and lows, and not overly fast paced. Then find a chair in front of speakers or close to a nice pair of headphones. Sit, turn it up pretty loud, push play, close your eyes, relax, and think only of what your listening to. Let the bass vibrate and the treble pierce you. Listen for the melody, but then switch to another part, perhaps the trumpet, lead guitar, alto, or cello. Allow it to move you emotionally...goose bumps are a sign of a good tone-washin'. What I mean by allowing it to move you is relaxing when the tones suggest peacefulness and tense up as they convey anxiety or stronger feelings. Most songs will rollercoaster, so just follow along. And remember...don't sing, just listen!
You may think I've lost it, but an older, quite distinguished bellhop once told me, "Music humanizes us." And I've really thought about it a ton, and perhaps he's right. Listening and emoting as tones change in their intensity trains our senses. As we pick up on the nuances of music, and emote appropriately in time, it in a way trains us for perceiving subtle changes in the speech and demeanor of our friends and family, thus aiding us in acting accordingly in time. It sounds nuts, I know, but try it...here's a suggestion:
hey bud i guess ur on...we commented at the same time. anywho, the guitar is okay..i'm trying to meet w/an old friend who plays guitar to help me out. sadly, i've just been so busy looking for work and whatnot. :o/
Hey! Yea, I'm doing good...just busy with teaching. How about yourself? :-) I was just wondering the other day how you were doing. Glad you liked my frog video! *Muahahaha* :-)
Kevin!
you're like the litte brother I never had! Teaching my kids goofy things that I generally don't approve of! You do what Todd wishes he could do! :o)
It really is a cute & funny picture.
(I'm still working on making Timothy burp the way he used to - under his breath with his mouth closed and then saying "excuse me".) So yeah, thanks!! :o)
We won't be back till 1KV. :( Miss you guys more than you could ever know!!! We were home this last weekend and VERY disheartening, especially to find that the Benacs have left and Larry & Julie are now going to Vale. Things just aren't getting better there...only worse, even as much as hoped things would be turning around. :( This makes it even more clear to me that I belong and NEED you guys in my life, for the the next stage at least and hopefully forever!! We belong there and can grow in God there sooooo well!! It's what we always dreamed of the church being like, a lot like camp, but with closer everyday relationships. Not tooo, yes tooo much longer till we see you all again!!! :)
hey sry abt that last comment being such a lame sentence.well the song is abt hope that i had when i was going through a hard time in my life. i wrote abt how my christian family helped me through it all. and also a little abt hope for my husband-to-be. that i know God made him just right for me and i just have to be patient. (kinda out there...) anywho. thats my song. i'll let u hear it when i learn how to sound out a song! love ya and have a happy day! :o)
