The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

Hello, 5-4!

November 11, 2019 / Allan / 0 Comments

The Vikings were without their best receiver and best corner, the Cowboys were totally healthy, Dak threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, Amari Cooper dominated the whole field, and Minnesota still beat the Cowboys in Arlington.

How much are they paying Ezekiel Elliott to average 2.4 yards per carry?

Jerry Wayne says the Vikings game-planned to shut Elliott out, that they should have put a sign up at the beginning of the game that said, ‘Elliott’s not going anywhere.’ If that’s the case, isn’t it up to Moore and Garrett to be more creative in getting the ball to their best player?

Dallas is 4-0 within their division; 1-4 outside the NFC East. The Cowboys have only beaten one team with a winning record.

The Cowboys linebackers were the best unit the team had last season, this year they’ve been neutralized. Jason Witten is a shell of his former self. If Jason Garrett is inserting himself into the play-calling in the final two minutes, he should stop.

The wild-card teams are not coming out of the NFC East, the worst division in the NFL. To make the playoffs, Dallas has to win this division. The Eagles are going to win this division. Dallas will completely miss the playoffs.

There are at least half a dozen NFC teams better than Dallas: 49ers, Saints, Vikings, Bears, Packers, Panthers, Seahawks, Rams. Why do people still talk about the Cowboys as a Super Bowl contender? Why are they even in the conversation?

Hello, 5-4. I can see 8-8 on its way.

Peace,

Allan

Another Initiative Quote

November 6, 2019 / Allan / 0 Comments

Quote of the day from a wonderful hermeneutics session at the Initiative in Dallas:

“Nobody goes to church to learn what happened with the Jebusites.” ~Anna Carter Florence (quoting Harry Emerson Fosdick, I think)

Initiative Quote

November 5, 2019 / Allan / 0 Comments

Quote of the day from the Initiative, an annual gathering of preachers in Dallas:

“Competence is important, but not as important as character and integrity and relationships.” ~Jim Martin

The Initiative

November 4, 2019 / Allan / 0 Comments

Quote of the day from this evening’s opening session of the seventh annual Initiative, a Church of Christ preachers’ conference at the Highland Oaks CofC in Dallas:

“We must have more confidence in the God who called us than in the human power structures and organized religious and political systems that sometimes oppose us.” ~Jerry Taylor

OC Homecoming 2019

November 4, 2019 / Allan / 0 Comments

With two of our daughters at Oklahoma Christian University, we take the opportunity to get back to campus much more often than we ever have before. And we always have a blast. This past weekend was OC’s Homecoming which means the annual Delta Alumni Breakfast at Bob Elliott’s house. I feel really blessed to know as many of the younger Delta guys as I do my own peers. It’s so cool to hang out with Legacy kids like Dillon and Colton, Central kids like Brayden, and my nephew Asa. And it’s so much fun getting caught up with Mike Osburn and Scott Williams and other guys with whom I’ve done jail time. I don’t know what it’s like at the Theta breakfast or other OC social service club alumni get-togethers. But at 10:00, they’re having to run us out. How do you sufficiently cover all the necessary talk about camp outs, knives, political rallies, ACLU lawsuits, pumpkins, parties, cars, float trips, Spring Sings, Homecoming bloats/goats/moats, concerts, apartment furnishings, probations, nicknames, and near-death-experiences in just two hours?

Valerie was in charge of the OC Homecoming parade. I’m not sure how that happens but she got it and she owned it! She had to keep up with all the floats, approve all the designs, secure all the convertibles and antique cars, put everything in order, oversee the script, and get it started and finished on time. She killed it! And she looked super cute riding in the blue convertible VW with David in the seat right behind her.

Peace,

Allan

Halloween Throwback

October 31, 2019 / Allan / 0 Comments

A vintage photo of life in the ’70s at 2512 Terra Alta Circle. This is my sister, Rhonda, and me after Trick ‘r Treating on Halloween night 1972. I had just turned six, Rhonda was four. Notice that Rhonda is wearing a hand-me-down bunny costume I had worn the year before — classic. Notice the Dairy Queen logo on the free gimmee bags — our grandmother worked at the DQ at Prairie Creek Lane and Bruton Road. Notice the elaborate pattern on the curtains and the orange living room (no, this is the den!) chair. Notice the terrible plastic masks, the masks with the tiny little mouth and nose holes that were just big enough to suffocate a small child, the masks that took about 90-seconds to build up on the inside a disgusting warm glaze of sweat and breath. I can feel it now!

Happy Halloween!

Allan