Christmas Time Is Here! ! ! !

Christmas is here! !

Well pretty close. We are only three weeks away from Christmas Eve and the season is in full swing. I am unusually excited about Christmas this year. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas but I have been in a choir or performing group for the last nine years so I usually had to start singing Christmas songs in August. That coupled with the way retail starts shoving commercial Christmas down your throat right before Halloween (did I mention that I work in retail), by the time I get to December I am a little burned out.

But this year for some reason I am extremely excited for Christmas, especially since I get to come out to Utah and my wife and I get to have Christmas with my family.

I have been looking forward to seeing snow but so far there has been no snow in VA. So hopefully there will be snow in Utah when we get there. Or is there snow there now? Someone from Utah tell me quick! Oh by the way did I mention that Bree and I will be in Utah on December seventeenth and that we will be in town for eleven days. If you guys want to hang out please let us know.

Some people have said that they can't get a hold of Bree and I on our phone. Just in case you might have the wrong phone number here it is : 434-258-3200.

You can also email me at kevinleviking@yahoo.com or you can message me on my facebook or myspace pages. Bree and I are stoaked that we will be in Utah. We want to hang out with all of you. Just let us know when you are available and we will do likewise. We miss you all.

To bring everyone up to speed, my grandma has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. I am not exactly sure what the plan of action is to treat it but I do know that the options that they have are very hard on a young person and for the elderly it can be ten times worse. Please be in prayer for my grandma that she would be healed and comforted.

Bree's grandpa is on the road to recovery. After loosing forty pounds he has gained between six and ten back and his appetite is off the hook. Because of his medication and sun downing he is suffering from some delusions and he is still doing a lot of physical therapy for his hip so please keep praying for him.

So that is everything for now. I will be in touch. I can't wait to be back in Utah for Christmas. Later.

K

What is up. . . . .

What is up. . . . .

Bree's grandpa is getting a little better. He can sit up and they are trying to give him liquids now. They are putting him in Physical therapy (for his hip and head injury) and Mental therapy because he has short term memory loss. Please continue to pray for him as he recovers and please pray for all of our family during this time.

We are still waiting to get the test results for my grandma. For all that I know she is still very, very ill so please be praying for her and the rest of our family during this time. Pray that we would get her results soon.

Sometimes we take life and our loved ones for granted. The truth is that we never know when one of those family members or friends is going to become ill, get hurt or leave this world and you never think that it will happen to you until it does and there is no going back.

Check this link out. It is for a video by Anberlin called Paper Thin Hymn. Watch it all the way through, it might help you see what I am trying to say.

http://http//vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=2146429

Tell them what you need to tell them while you still can. Show as much love as you can to everyone, real love. Real love loves when you don't feel like it, it looks past differences and sees the person on the inside, real love tells someone what they need to hear not just what they want to hear. Real love is not focused on itself.

Please pray for Bree and I as we are coming to the end of the semester during the next month and a half. This Fall it has been tough to keep up with school with everything that has been going on plus trying to work full time and try to have some sort of relationship with God and each other.

I'll be in touch.

K

Flame to the fire. . . .

So my blog from last week let everyone know that some incredibly crazy things went down the last couple of weeks and that it has been really rough for Bree and I. . . . . Well there is more.

I got the urge last Friday to give my dad a call and and just see how he was doing (it was a God thing). So I call him and we talk for a little while and then I find out that my grandmother is waiting to hear back on some tests she had done. She had been so sick this past week my dad went to stay with her, to make sure that she was okay. Her blood pressure dropped so low the doctors were surprised that she was not in a comma (60 over 38). So all of this happens and she is still waiting for her test results that will let her know if she has Lymphoma or not. The doctors were leaning to her actually having lymphoma before the tests were taken.

Now here is the really sick part. Her doctor decided to take a vacation this week and refuses to let her or anyone else see her test results. So this doctor is making my very sick grandmother (again 60 over 38 blood pressure, so sick that someone needs to go stay with her) wait and worry about the results of her lymphoma tests so he can go off and relax. He won't let any other doctor know so she can have the results. He won't tell her daughter (even though my grandma says that it would be perfectly acceptable to do so), so that she can tell my grandma her results.

What is going on in this persons head? My grandma may be in a life or death situation and he refuses to let her know the results and start getting the care that she needs so he can go chill somewhere. What is happening with the medical care profession in this country? This is ridiculous.

So my grandma needs a lot of prayer and so does the rest of our family. Please pray that she would be able to have peace of mind until she gets her results. Please pray that our family would have peace during this time. Pray for the healing that she may need. Finally please pray for Bree and I as we try to do everything we are supposed to be doing during this time.

Bree's grandpa, is doing better and he is able to talk for the first time since the brain surgery he underwent on Halloween. He is having some circulation problems and his fingers are turning black. If this doesn't improve he might loose them.

The doctors also found out that when he fell and hit his head he also broke his hip and yesterday he went into hip surgery and is now recovering. Please pray for his healing and for Arthur and our family to have peace for this situation.

We found out that the reason Bree's grandpa was walking around was that he was told to go find his wife when his dialysis was over. You don't send someone who has just been in a procedure like dialysis out to find their wife when they are in a strange place without a walker (he requires a walker to get around the house let alone a clinic).We don't know how long he wandered around the clinic with no one to point him in the right direction or ask him if he needed any help. He ended up outside face down on the pavement covered in blood.

What has happened to the health care profession in this country? This is ridiculous. Two different health care facilities in two different states on separate coasts and there is this incompetence and apathy. This is unacceptable.

This blog probably sounds very angry, and I am but I feel that I need to clarify. I am angry not for my sake but for the sake of my family members who had to deal with this garbage. I am angry at the actions and the behavior of the these clinics and their workers who are doing a very poor job of taking care of my family and possibly many others. I am pointing out the problems so that someone might make a solution. How many of our grandparents, parents, children, family and friends in this country will have to be injured or killed until this industry wakes up and gets a clue? One is too many.

Please pray for all of our families on all sides that are dealing with everything that has happened in the past two weeks. We all need it.

Crazy Times . . . . . When it rains it pours . . . . .

The last couple of weeks have been a very rough ride for Bree and I. A week ago today Bree found out over the email that one of her aunts had passed away from breast cancer. There had been some issues with one of the other families on Bree's mom's side of the family and Bree and Cyndi have been ignored by that side of the family for around three years. They didn't even know that she was sick and one of Bree's cousins let her know. They also live in Utah so even if we were invited to the services we would not be able to show our support, love and respect.

It goes without saying that this is extremely hard for Bree and Cyndi and that they need a lot of prayer. Please also pray for the family of Bree's aunt, it is no small thing to loose someone you love, especially to something like cancer.

Yesterday was Halloween, and it was also a very crazy day. Around 12:30 pm we were called and informed that Bree's grandpa, Arthur Johansen had been in an accident. He was receiving his dialysis treatment at a hospital in Virginia Beach, while they were on vacation. He was not being watched very closely and he woke up in the middle of the procedure (very disoriented) and pulled the stuff (needles, tubes etc.) out of himself and began to walk around. At some point he fell and hit his head.
They ran some tests and found sometime later that he had a blood clot in his brain. They are still not sure if it caused the fall or if it was caused by the fall. Once they found the clot they rushed Arthur into emergency brain surgery and gave him a fifty fifty chance of survival. A little while later we were informed that he was out of surgery but his chances had not improved and we are still (@ 8:43 am eastern time the next day) waiting for any news.
Please pray for Bree's grandpa and all of our family during this time, we all really need it.

To top off our Halloween, after I got out of class at 4:30 I got in a wreck and my car got banged up a bit. I had the green arrow for a left hand turn and the guy wasn't paying attention and he slammed into me while he was making a right hand turn.
Nobody was hurt, that is the most important thing. He was very apologetic and helpful which made things a whole lot easier and God kept me very calm and very polite (which all the praise goes to him because as most of you who know me can attest, I am not the calmest of creatures on a regular day) so it was not as bad as it could have been.
The guys name is Isaac so please pray for him also that God would bless him and that if he is not saved that God would work in his life and send someone to lead him to salvation.

So yeah, kind of a crazy stretch of life. Please continue to pray for all of these requests and also for our school and work during this time.

thanks,

K

The Playlist.

The Playlist - check it out

Anberlin - Godspeed
Black Eyed Peas - Where Is the Love
Matisyahu - Message In A Bottle
Hush Sound - Wine Red
Swithcfoot - Oh Gravity
Grits - Ooh Ahh
Toby Mac - Boomin'
Reliant K- Fakining My Own Suicide
Matisyahu - Jerusalem (new version)
Flyleaf - Perfect
Toby Mac - Ordinary Life
Red - Breathe Into Me
Anberlin - Unwinding Cable Car
Matisyahu - Warrior
Switchfoot - Awakening
Red - Pieces
Reliant K - Deathbed
Flyleaf - Fully Alive
Bliss - Not Quite Paradise

Where its at. . . .

Yo. (I am still not cool enough to say this but please overlook it).

I am sitting in the LU computer lab studying for a Greek quiz and getting ready to take my Principles of Youth Ministry quiz as I bring to you this important message.

I WANT SLEEP! ! ! !

Thank you. And now for the rest of the blog.

What is up, so this is the second post today but the first post in a couple of months so I need to bring everyone up to speed.

I am in school (Greek, Principles of Youth Ministry, New Testament, Music) at Liberty and working at Gamestop as a 3rd key. I got promoted in July and I am really tired but I am loving school, work, my new life with my wife and my walk with God.

I am currently leading worship about three times a month in my church on a volunteer basis and I teach the college age Sunday School class once a month.

Bree and I have been blessed with the time and money to see some movies this summer and I have had a blast with these:

1. Live Free or Die Hard
2. Harry Potter and TOOTP (huh. . . .)
3. Transformers
4. Pirates of the Carribean At Worlds End (shut up, I liked it)
5. Spiderman 3 (shut up it was not as bad as everyone says it is)

I am in to some awesome bands right now:

1. Matisyahu
2. Anberlin
3. Red
4. Flyleaf
5. Toby Mac (his new album rocks)

I am excited because after a four week period with 3 days off I get to go on a vacation tomorrow. Bree and I are heading to Lancaster, PA, to see a church production of Creation or Noah's Ark (I can't remember which one). Apparently this church has a theater so huge that when they do Noah's Ark (I am not sure if this is the one that I am seeing) that they use live elephants and many other animals. Plus I get some days where I can relax and just take in some life instead of rushing from stop to stop.

Bree is doing well. She is working at New York and Company and working on her Business Administration degree.

We miss so many people that the list would be too long to include in this blog. Know that we love you all and we are praying for you all.

Bree and I will be visiting Utah for Christmas and we are looking forward to chillin' with our hommies there.

God is working in our lives in amazing ways. We have seen more answered prayer this last summer than we have in two years. We are so thankful.

Well that is all for now. . . . .

Take care and God bless.

K

Huzah for Team Wedlock!

Today is Monday, June 18th, 2007 and today I have been married for an entire month!
Married life is awesome! Bree and I had an amazing wedding, thanks goes out to all of our family and friends who helped to make awesome.

Bree and I went to Virginia Beach on our honeymoon and had a fantastic week. The weather was perfect.

After the honeymoon Bree and I flew out to Salt Lake City for our Utah wedding reception. A special thanks to Jamie, my mom and the Johansens for making our Utah reception so awesome.

Bree and I have been working a lot in the last little bit but we have also had time to get most of her big stuff moved over to my apartment. We have relaxed a little bit and I have been able to get her addicted to Full Metal Alchemist. If you don't know what that is you are missing out on a very entertaining experience.

Bree and I would like to thank everyone who came to our wedding and Utah reception, we love all the presents and really appreciate your love and support, your thank you cards are on the way! We would also like to thank everyone who was involved in making our wedding what it was. Sean, J.J., Tyler, Pachel, Jamie, Courtney, Susan, Rochelle, Kings and Johansens, you are all amazing we could not have had the amazing wedding that we had without you.

We love you guys. There will be more coming soon! ! ! !

Best Show Ever

Have you ever been to a show and felt like the only way it could be better would be if they gave out free CDs, money and Jesus was just chillin with you? . . . . . That is how I felt about the Toby Mac, Portable Sounds Tour.

In April I had the privelege of seeing the Portable Sounds tour. . . . . and it rocked my face off! BEST SHOW EVER! ! ! !

The show opened up with a word of prayer and FAMILY FORCE FIVE! I have never seen a band with so much energy. Who else can rock with Giant Hulk Hands? The lead singer gave it all over to God and explained the reason that they rock so hard is because they believe that everyone should be that excited about Jesus and being with Him in Heaven.

Next on the list was Building 429. Disclaimer: Everytime I go to a show with 429 I have this thought, "Their a pretty good band and their heart is right but they are just keeping me from (insert the band that I really want to see at the show here), can they just hurry up already?!" I had this same thought again last Saturday but after their amazing and spirit filled show I was reminded of the other thought I always get when I go to their shows.(This thought comes after they play their set), "I need to give them more credit. They are a great band." Nuff said. . . . .

Then Thousand Foot Krutch was on. This is the second time that I have seen TFK and again they were awesome.

And finally, Toby Mac took the stage. His show is really what set this concert apart from every concert I have ever been to. I have never seen a show with as much energy, Toby Mac was off the wall! He was all over the stage, doing back flips and he sounds just as good live as he does on CD. Not only did his show rock but he brought a message from God through a testimony in the middle of the show. With his awesome music, his unparalelled energy and his amazing heart Toby Mac takes the top of the list when it comes to an awesome show.

Perilous Days

A roommate that I had when I first lived in Charlottesville Virginia, Rev. Manney Murphy once said "We live in perilous times."
I used to nod my head in agreement but the truth of that statement really hit me this week.
In convocation on Wednesday, Jerry Falwell reminded us that no one is safe,
"What happened at Virginia Tech could happen to us or any campus in America."
Liberty has sent many of its pastors and and counselors to the VA Tech campus to help those involved cope with the loss.

I am not in shock that something like this has happened. This is the fallen world and the time that we live in. I am not shocked that people with a political agenda are taking this moment not to offer condolences or prayers for those involved but to try and gain some ground in their career.
We often don't focus on what is really important in this life. Sometimes things like this can help us gain a proper perspective on life and the things that we value.
What is really important? What is at the top of your list?

We need to love as much as we can and I mean real love not butterfly feelings or infatuation.
Real love. The kind of love that hurts sometimes to show. The kind of love that costs something. Love on those that are rejected, picked on, left out. Love the "uncool", the unfashionable the unique. If someone needs help don't be afraid to stand up for them or get them the help that they need even if it might make them angry for a moment. You might save their life or the life someone else

We need to make the most of every moment that we have. This fragile life is short,
"Life is a vapor that is there one moment and gone the next."

You only get one life, LIVE IT! ! ! ! LIVE IT WELL! ! ! ! LIVE IT RIGHT! ! ! !

Say what you want to say today, tell the ones you love how you feel. Don't go to sleep mad don't let someone leave your presence hurt by you. Don't let anyone you love doubt whether you love them. You are not guaranteed tomorrow.
"Do not boast yourselves of tomorrow."

Last but not least. Know where you are going. When this life ends for you, and don't be deceived, it does for everyone. Where will you go when you pass from this place? You get two choices, Heaven or Hell.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23
By our own choice we all sin and fall short of Heaven, by our own choice, we choose Hell.

"For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23

The last is verse is very clear. Jesus wants you to have eternal life in Him, but you get to choose where you will go. He will not force you to do anything. A loving God won't send you to Hell, you do. He has made a way out for you but you have to take it and once this life ends you have lost your chance. There is only one way,

"Jesus answered him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."

If you have any questions I would love to talk to you about this. The choice is yours.

My heart goes out to all who are suffering after what has happened at Virginia Tech. You have my prayers and my deepest sympathy.

If you do know someone who has lost someone, love them. Do whatever you can for them. Help them cry. There life has changed forever.

I would also like to encourage anyone out there who has not lost someone because of this tragedy to pray for those who have, don't point fingers. Do something to help, give blood, volunteer, help and love all people wherever you are.
"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." -- Chinese Proverb

Remember to live everyday like it is your last. We live in perilous times.
Take care and God bless you all.


Kevin King