Reflections on 2022
January 2, 2023
Happy New Year! And may you continue to live in the blessings of grace that surround us.
I have a friend/ life coach/ advisor who tells me, in a loving way, that I need to get over my ability to over share:-) I so want to sit with you, listen to your stories and share mine.
So, this year, I’m creating a short front page, full of bullet points…boiling the year down to a few insights, letting you taste the pudding if you will. And then following is an explosion of pictures…people and places captured to enhance your ability to reach out and ask me, “ What happened here? “
Some will love the brevity. Some will zoom their phones and computers up to 200% and explore the hundreds of relationships that this year touched on. And both, are good!
In review…
We are building a program to support the creative expression of young adults in their faith journey. We are crafting two vehicles…one to haul artists and the other a traveling stage and recording setup and going on the road.
Folks died this year and we had the privilege of sharing the journey with several families.
I walked across Spain. Took two months. 10 men joined me for the long walk and talk.
Doing it again in 2025.
It’s About Time is an album we are working to finish. Songs that tell stories.
Did our first concert with the Big Red Bus…thanks Kim, Brian, Jared, Chelsea and Bob.
Spent 5 months on the road. Had hundreds of conversations. God was good.
Coming…
Finishing up the buses and appropriate sound gear. Working on getting 6-10 artists to do a month long tour…50 concerts in 30 days…middle of June through the first week of August. Thank you, Ben, Bill, Louis, Dan, Jeff and all the others who have stepped up to labor in love.
We figure it will take about 20K to make this happen.
Finishing the It’s About Time project.
Full concert in Portland on February 18 as a fundraiser for Inner Anvil.
Continue having a dozen conversations a week that encourage folks to live their best lives.
When you have a moment….reach out. I’ll come to you. Let’s find a time to share stories and encourage each other in this life that is meant to be deepened in love.
Phone- 971-570-2253
Blessings,
Kevin
Connections…
Donation Access https://www.inneranvil.org/support-or-donate/
The Ask https://youtu.be/oXoxHinPju4
The Camino https://youtu.be/kAei0QCTf_o
Christmas Reflections https://youtu.be/cDUn2WkIR3k
And for those who have a little extra time…let’s cruise through the last year!
January…We continued working on the Big Red Bus, started a small men’s retreat and my father died. I had the privilege of having my pastor drive from Portland to Redding to be with me and my family at the beginning of the grieving… which is never really over. And having time with the small group of men who gathered to work on the bus and get deep into life and Jesus was a rich blessing in the midst of that grieving.
February and March were a long stroll in forward motion. The bus continued to be shaped towards the dream we had…taking young musicians on the road to develop their character, spiritual and music skills. And then another bus was added to the party…which is a huge blessing and another cost to cover.:-) Nonetheless, super grateful for the gift and the opportunity to have God show up and lead us forward…even though it can be incredibly stressful…but that’s where faith comes in, right?
These two months saw us continue to make progress on a new album, It’s About Time, which is going to be another opportunity to inspire, invest and create opportunities to serve the communities I’ve been connected to. Along the way, I stopped in to savor a broad swath of relationships…friends from the beginning blending with others found along the way. Always the conversation lends itself to living an intentional life and the spiritual journey. And always the invitation is out there…I’m always good for the 3 C’s….coffee, conversation and Christ.
April, May and June were wandering months. First the drive to Minneapolis…with stops in College Place. Boise and Salt Lake.. and then the flight to Paris…a day or two with our son, Caeden, and then it was off to Saint Jean Pied de Port…the beginning of the Camino de Santiago…500 plus mile pilgrimage across the Pyrenees and through the north part of Spain. I invited 80 men to join me…10 did. It was a time of deep conversation, spiritual speculation, love, laughter and pain. I was broken at the beginning…recovered. Walked over 200 miles before my shoes and feet gave out on me. Spent 10 days in hotels in Ponferrada and La Coruna before getting back on the path at Sarria…finishing the last 120 plus miles.
I walked with Jeni and Melissa from Texas. Jeni runs the GLOW non profit that funds educational opportunities for women in Africa. I sat with Ron, David and Valma around a pot bellied stove…singing songs of comfort and sharing stories of adventure…getting invited to David’s house in Ireland because he wanted me to play in the pub he frequents. Ron said he might have some frequent flyer miles to help me get there. I walked with Susanne from Germany. We met just outside of Viana and walked together into Logrono…and then connected several times throughout the next several hundred miles. One evening, in the middle of nowhere, while I was walking with the Bennie Bro’s, she made this spectacular german dish and fed us all. The Camino was a gracious teacher if you were a willing student.
June through December was full of relationship building via every opportunity that God presented…funerals, retreats, hospitals, cafe’s, coffee shops, churches and bars were all elements of the continuing dialogue around living an intentional life and engaging in a life of love emanating from an experience with Jesus.
Stuff on the horizon…a concert February 18th at the Village Ballroom in Portland, OR.
a summer music tour with high school and college kids…50 concerts in 30 days.
finishing up the It’s About Time project and marketing it to help fund the summer tour.
And continuing to serve whomever God brings into my circle of influence…
Thank you for your ongoing support…both fiscally and spiritually…it’s an amazing journey! Kevin
And then it starts, anew. What will be different about this coming day, week, month and year? We start with beautiful intentions…and if they aren’t encompassed with the effort of action…then slowly but surely our hope starts to lose it’s glimmer and shine.
Choose to live the days you get, with active intention…full of glorious failures and delightful successes. And then, share your journey so that those of us who are fighting our own battles can be encouraged by your resilience, stick-to-it-ness and blossoming, hopeful faith.
We are all in this day, together.
With nothing but love…
Kevin
Free Range, Cage Free
