Category: Cowboys (Page 46 of 54)

Typing Above The Growls

September 9, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

“While the human body can survive only a short time without air or water, it can go for many days without food before starvation begins.” ~Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

We generally think of fasting as an individual spiritual discipline. The first words Jesus said about fasting question the motives of those who fast as part of an individual routine. “When you fast…” he says in Matthew 6. But there is great benefit and great biblical example of corporate fasting as a group of God’s people who want to focus their corporate energies toward a common matter of importance. Just as the congregations in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch prayed and fasted during the appointment of their elders (Acts 14:22-23) and before the commissioning of their missionaries (Acts 13:2-3), the Legacy church today is fasting and praying together as we begin our process of selecting new elders. We’re using our normal eating time to pray. We’re allowing our hunger pangs to remind us that we are submitting our wills to God and not to our growling appetites. And we’re making ourselves open to God’s direction during this time as we seek his guidance for Legacy.

There’s something neat about feeling my stomach growl and knowing I have hundreds of other brothers and sisters here who are going through the same thing today for the same reasons. It’s encouraging and inspiring to know we’re all doing this together. I got a text message from a buddy late last night:

“Fasting prep—big dinner, three chocolate chip cookies, Snickers, and two bowls of cereal. I hope I make it. If you don’t see me Wednesday, check the morgue or Pizza Garden.”

Isn’t it great to be going through the same thing and thinking the same things together with the whole church? No donuts or breakfast burritos at the Bible study this morning. We spent all of our 75-minutes together today talking about and praying about the elder selection process, asking for God’s guidance and wisdom. The corporate fast can be a wonderful and powerful experience when the people are prepared and are of one mind.

To the folks here at Legacy, let’s use this time to also consider your part in this body. Your voice, your vision, your discernment in this very important matter is no less important than anyone else’s. Your participation is critical. Please take your responsibility to the body seriously. And you men who will be asked to serve as elders: you, too. Take your role, your calling, your responsibilities to this branch of God’s Kingdom seriously. We need you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A powerful time with my brothers down in Waco yesterday. Nine preachers and an elder. We’ve been getting together monthly since March for mutual edification and study and prayer. Yesterday was the first time we were all together in the same room since David Hunter’s wife, Denise, died. David is the preacher at the church in Robinson, just south of Waco. Not a dry eye in the house as David re-told and re-lived that awful week. And as we gathered around him for an intense period of prayer and blessing, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude to our Father for giving us friends and family to minister to us when we deal with life’s injuries and injustices. And so thankful that his Son has overcome all those things in his life and death and resurrection and that we can all participate fully in that awesome victory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legacy is the organizing church, the hub—I’m not sure what you call us—for the Lifeline Chaplaincy program that’s being established now in Tarrant County. We had over 125 people here for a kickoff breakfast and meeting Saturday morning representing 12 different congregations. Praise God in advance for all the wonderful things he’s going to do with us and through us as we join together to visit and minister to the sick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ll write more about the Cowboys next week. My policy on the Cowboys is that if I can’t say anything bad, I shouldn’t say anything at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of football, The Kingdom, The Kids, and The Cowboys Top 20 College Football Poll is out. I posted it late last night on the “KK&C Top 20” page. And I’m adding it below in this post.

USC retains its stranglehold on #1. Florida jumps up three spots to #2. Georgia drops to #3. OU stays at #4. And Missouri’s in at #5. Texas and Texas Tech retain their positions at #8 and #13. Of course, some of our panelists are unable to keep their biases from impacting the integrity of this thing. Paul puts OU (zero u) at #20 in his poll while Jerry puts Texas (tu) at #19. And Richard won’t rank USC #1. He puts Southern Cal and Georgia as two #2s at the top of his list.

East Carolina debuts today at #16 while South Florida shows up for the first time at #19. Jim G’s not the only one casting votes for Fresno State this week. Ohio State fell hard from #3 to #7. More of our pollsters are talking smack, mostly against the Buckeyes and the Longhorns, although a nice theological debate is brewing over the Arizona State mascot. Larry attached the audio from the Mississippi State fight song to his poll. And I’m not publishing anymore comments about Oregon’s uniforms unless they’re really funny or really original.

September 9, 2008

1. USC (9-1st place votes; 306 total) “Will take Jim Tressel’s overrated crew behind the Coliseum woodshed” JimG; “They’re going to destroy Ohio State!” MR; “Trojans are licking their chops!” PD; ”Go USC, but only for this week” JennG; “Sorry MD, too many horses. USC 27, Ohio St. 17″ SF; “They will kill Ohio St” JK; “Needs a better kicker” BW; “The NFL is proving USC is a bunch of frauds” LT;

2. Florida (1; 275) “Listen, you can hear it: Te-bow! Te-bow! Te-bow!” LT; “Defense wins championships-gratuitous cliche’” CJ; “The Florida-USC National Championship Game will be sweet” KW; “Looking good, especially on defense” AG; “Speed kills. Vols may be in trouble in two weeks” SF; ”Has Urban Meyer joined Rick Neuheisel’s office pool?” JimG;

3. Georgia (3; 273) “A shaky 2-0, but still there” JR; “Overrated! Overrated!” CJ; “Number Two in the SEC” BW; “Refuse to put USC at the top when there’s a deserving SEC team” LT;

4. Oklahoma (1; 272) “I voted them number one, totally homer, I know. Cincy’s not exactly a dog” JR; “I like watching them play, but I’m tired of that Boomer song” KW; “Dominant team in Big 12″ AG; “Defense and special teams a bit ragged” PD; “This might be their year” LT; “The Sooner Schooner looks un-de-rail-able right now” JimG;

5. Missouri (250) “Really liking them this year” JennG; “Will get more respect from me if they win in Austin” CJ; “Chase Daniel is one heck of a football player” LT; ”Squatty quarterbacks are cool” KW; “104 points in two games!” AG; “I was tempted to move them way up” PD; “OU and Texas better keep an eye on the Tiger” LT (yuck, give me a break); “Most potent offense in college football?” JimG;

6. LSU (1; 247) “Still packed with athletes” AG; “Still defending champs” BW; “Gustav showed pity on Baton Rouge and I’ll do the same for one more week” LT;

7. Ohio St. (237) “For now” JK; “Mark it down, USC will roll!” JS; “Overrated before Well’s injury…they stink” RA; “Tressel’s failed to live up to ‘big game’ status…this trend will continue Saturday” CJ; “THE Ohio State University is THE most overrated team of this decade. Yes, decade.” JimG; “Will this be six in a row?” PD; “Who’s the beanie counter?” BW;

8. Auburn (198) “Doing it the old fashioned way with defense, special teams, and field position” JimG; “SEC rules! LT; “Enough of the SEC already!” JK;

9. Texas (195) “Way too high” RA; “Weakest schedule of any team in the Top Ten” LT; “Yawn. Arkansas is down. Should be another lopsided win” CJ; “Can they beat OU?” JennG; “Who’s this week’s patsy?” JimG; “That Opie sure can play!” KW; “Will lose to OU” AG; “Texas 34, Arkansas 20″ SF; “Colt back in form” PD; “Needs to start games earlier than 9:15pm” BW;

10. Wisconsin (184) “This may be too low” PD; “Fattened up on Marshall before their trip west to Fresno St” JimG; “Gaining on Ohio St” BW;

11. Kansas (137) “Riding the ‘No one gives us respect’ wave” CJ; “I don’t know about anybody else, but is it weird watching them on TV? Kinda boring” KW; “Will not match the basketball team” BW;

12. Arizona St. (124) “Erickson gives me hope for things to come in College Station” CJ; “I know I shouldn’t, but the devil on the helmet is a mascot I’ve liked since I was a kid” KW; “Why would anyone allow their child to play for a team with a mascot of devils?” JimG;

13. Texas Tech (122) “Defense was better. I have to keep believing” JS; “I’m not buying this team as a legitimate contender in the Big 12″ RA; “They must prove they can win a physical game on the road before I give them props” JimG; “Almost took them out of my Top 20 but they are so dangerous” PD;

14. Alabama (112) “Love him or hate him, Saban’s a good coach” CJ; “Alabama people are fun” KW;

15. Oregon (86) “Genuine” PD;

16. East Carolina (80) “Rockin’ the purple house!” JennG; “Can’t be a fluke if you do it twice, right?” CJ; “Looking like a BCS bowl” KW; “Skip to my Lou!” PD (new front-runner for Skip Bayless line of the year); “Who is this??” BW; “Say hello to this year’s BCS buster” JK; “A skip off the old block” JimG (hold the phone, we have a challenger);

17. Penn St. (73) “Hope Paterno and Bowden are even at the end of the year and settle it in a bowl” CJ; “Number One on most boring uniform poll” KW;

18. BYU (42) “A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ but do you really feel good about how that went down?” CJ; “A poor call by officials keeps them in the Top 20″ SF; “Agree with celebration penalty” BW;

19. South Florida (31) “Did they really stop him?” JS; “Because I couldn’t let BYU and their sham remain in my poll” JimG;

20. West Virginia (18) “…and dropping” JK; “Probably should be further down but East Carolina could be better than anyone thinks” JS; “National title hopes destroyed! Thanks ECU!” CJ; “Will get offense going” BW;

Also receiving votes: Clemson (17); Wake Forest (14); Fresno St. (10) ”Welcome Wisconsin in the most anticipated home game in school history” JimG; California (9) “Boy, those tree huggers sure are fast” KW; Utah (8); TCU (7); Tennessee (6) “Will beat either Florida, Georgia, or Auburn to go 7-4 and earn the 20th ranking” AG; Oklahoma State (6) “The surprise team in the Big 12″ CJ; ”699 yards of offense!” JR; Illinois (3); Nebraska (1) “Bo knows” DM; Mississippi St. (1)

As always, click on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab at the upper right hand corner of this page to see the poll and meet the pollsters.

Peace,

Allan

The Gospel AND Our Lives

June 4, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” ~1 Thessalonians 1:8

We spent a few moments yesterday in our monthly meeting of the Waco Alliance continuing a weeks-long discussion of how, as preachers, we should strive to be transparent to our congregations. It’s a position I’ve taken since I entered the ministry.

No holding back. Hiding nothing. Sharing with my church family all my best and worst. My greatest moments and my most awful. My great faith and my serious doubts. The things I know and the things about which I know nothing. What you see is what you get. Warts and all.

When friends of mine who were on the preacher search committee here or any one of our elders have mentioned to me that’s one of the reasons they hired me—“You’re so open!”— I always counter with, “And it’ll wind up being one of the reasons you fire me.”

Paul’s words to the congregation in Thessalonica reveal his love for the brothers and sisters. Yes, he shared the Gospel of Salvation with them. But he had grown to love them so much he shared with them his very life. No holding back. He gave them everything he had. All of it.

Yes, we get disappointed with our churches. Sometimes the only appropriate response to the things our people do and say is, “What a knucklehead!”

But, like family, he’s my knucklehead. And I love them and I defend them and I protect them with everything I have. Like with my little sisters. I can tease them and get frustrated with them at times. But don’t you dare come in here talking bad about them or treating them improperly.

Paul’s words in this short verse reveal a lot about him. He was commited to that congregation and to those families. He didn’t preach to them because they had a nice building or he enjoyed the town or the pay was right. He wasn’t looking elsewhere. He loved them. They were his family. And he shared with them his very life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve added a new link to the Resource page of this blog. It’s part of the one year anniversary celebration of The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys. (Next year there’s going to be a huge mattress sale at one of the shops on Davis.) This link gets you to the page on the Legacy Church website that stores the streaming audio from our ten latest sermons. The Habakkuk series is still all there. And both of the first installments from the current Servant Songs series are there. You might also notice a couple of new links to the right hand side of this blog’s home page that take you to the blogs of Jim Martin at Crestview in Waco, Terry Rush up at Memorial in Tulsa, and William Willimon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terry Rush’s post from yesterday’s Morning Rush is about the progression of praise during their corporate worship at Memorial. He writes about their congregation learning to really praise God. When they assemble now on Sundays, according to Terry, they “robustly cut loose and get lost in his wonder. We do stand in awe! We do mean it when we say ‘Thank You, Lord!'”

Terry writes, “we have shifted from worshiping and wondering who is upset with ‘over that move’ to wondering if God is loving our gifts of vocal / mindful worship of him.”

He closes his post with this:

“We enter his presence…really. Was it not being done before? I can’t answer that for anyone but myself. For me? It wasn’t being done. I was too focused on who did or didn’t like what was sung, prayed, or preached. I was too interrupted by singing a song and hearing comments regarding observing this note and that chorus. It seems to me the more the church learns to voice the praises of God, whether through song or testimony, the more God unleashes his grand grace upon our gatherings.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was listening to Jerry Wayne and Terrell Owens announce the receiver’s new four-year contract during a 35-minute press conference driving home from Waco yesterday afternoon. Toward the end of the session, a reporter asked Owens about new Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones. Owens said Jones needs to turn his life around, he knows he needs to turn his life around, he understands he needs to turn his life around, and he WILL turn his life around because he’s being cared for and mentored by………..

And I just assumed Terrell was going to say Calvin Hill.

If not Calvin Hill, maybe somebody else on the Cowboys staff who helps troubled players. Maybe the team chaplain. Maybe even Drew Pearson or Everson Walls.

No.

Terrell Owens is certain that Pacman Jones is going to be fine because he’s being cared for and mentored by Deion Sanders.

And as far as I could tell from listening to the live audio, nobody in that crowded room of team officials and reporters gasped or recoiled in shock and horror or fell down laughing.

Peace,

Allan

Sixteen Rules

May 1, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

In studying this week for Sunday’s sermon on the value of our children and the divine ordinance to teach our children and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, I’ve come across a list of Sixteen Rules written by Susannah Wesley over 200 years ago. Susannah Wesley was the mother of 19 children, including the great John and Charles Wesley. She made it a point to openly dedicate each of her children to God, to whom they do actually belong. And she parented all her children by these Sixteen Rules. As I review her rules, I’m struck at once by the antiquated nature of the guidelines and, at the same time, the deep, eternal truths in them. Each of the rules has a big-picture world view behind it, a lasting set of life time values within it, and a future vision of godly living ahead of it. Reflecting on these rules individually and as a whole has shown me where Carrie-Anne and I are doing pretty well with our three girls and some other areas we should probably work on.

I also can’t help but notice that over half these rules could be—should be—applied broadly and forcefully to children and adults in our churches.

1) Eating between meals not allowed.

2) As children they are to be in bed by eight p.m.

3) They are required to take medicine without complaining.

4) Subdue self-will in a child, and thus work together with God to save the child’s soul.

5) Teach a child to pray as soon as he can speak.

6) Require all to be still during Family Worship.

7) Give them nothing that they cry for, and only that which they ask for politely.

8) To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented of.

9) Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished.

10) Never punish a child twice for a single offense.

11) Commend and reward good behavior.

12) Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.

13) Preserve property rights, even in smallest matters.

14) Strictly observe all promises.

15) Require no daughter to work before she can read well.

16) Teach children to fear the rod.

Upon further reflection, Jerry Wayne could probably stand to enforce these among most of his players in the Cowboys locker room, too.

Peace,

Allan

21-17

January 14, 2008 / Allan / 4 Comments

I’ve been out of the study/office just about the entire day. It’s 4:30 Monday afternoon, Texas time, and I’m just now sitting down at the computer.

Cowboys anyone?

Somewhere at about 8:00 last night Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb threw up. To watch Terrell Owens blubber about “my teammate” and “my quarterback” is nauseating at best. In the history of arrogant and selfish wideouts, nobody’s put himself over the team and undermined his own quarterback more than Owens. Whether it’s publicly questioning Garcia’s sexuality or McNabb’s leadership and guts, he’s worked to destroy teams and lockerrooms everywhere he’s been. Even teams he’s never played for have been wrecked by Owens. Remember when he jilted the Ravens at the altar? Billick’s firing this year was merely the final footnote to that catastrophe.

In the end, the Cowboys completely depended on Owens to score touchdowns. The offense was sluggish and inconsistent without him. And when he went down with the ankle three weeks ago, it changed everything. Payment always comes at the end when you sell your soul to the devil, Jerry.

Here’s what happened. The Giants went to the lockerroom at halftime in a 14-14 tie (only the Cowboys could make Eli Manning look like Joe Montana) and looked around and said, “T.O.’s not beating us deep. He’s hurt. Terry Glenn’s not getting open. He’s hurt. Even though our only corners are backups and scout team guys, we can single-cover them the rest of the game.” The Giants decided at that point to stack the line against the run and blitz Romo against the pass. And Dallas only scored three points in the final two quarters. The two hurt receivers couldn’t break free, Patrick Crayton couldn’t catch, Jason Witten had to stay in to block the extra rushers, and Romo didn’t have time to set up in the pocket. Beautiful.

Speaking of Crayton. Gutless. The biggest mouth on the team—and that’s saying something considering he lockers next to Owens—was a no-show when it came time to face reporters last night after the loss. He talked trash for two weeks leading up to this game. But after two drops, a bobbled punt, and a give-up route on the next-to-last play of the game, he was nowhere to be found. If you’re going to talk trash before the game, you need to face the music after the game. Weak. But typical.

Is anybody else questioning the decision to start Marion Barber over Julius Jones and run him like crazy in the first half? Barber was great in those first two quarters. His punishing style and his aggressive attitude and, most especially, his 101 yards were the spark this mis-firing offense needed, I guess. But Marion the Barbarian was spent at halftime. He was done. He’s been most effective all year long running with fresh legs against worn out defenses in the second half. He couldn’t do anything in the second half Sunday because by halftime, he’d already carried the ball as much as he normally does during a full game. He had no strength, no power at all. It looked like a move of desperation. Changing your whole offense for your first playoff game? Was that a reaction to his receivers being hurt? Or was it panic?

Romo’s just completed only his first full-season as an NFL starter. So it’s probably too early to ask this. But I will. Can he get better? Or has he already peaked out? His worst four games this year happened in the past six weeks. That’s probably not fair. We don’t even know if his thumb was still killing him. Nobody’s mentioned that as a possibility. Why else would he look so hesitant in the pocket? Why else would he hang onto the ball so long? How else do you explain that third-down pass across the middle inside the ten that was so far behind Owens? His thumb’s broken, right? If it’s not, then maybe the question’s not so unfair.

Coaches and players and even most of the media seemed so shocked that the Cowboys lost. Why? For a football fan to believe the Cowboys can play so horribly for six weeks and then magically turn it on at playoff time is one thing. But for reporters and writers who cover the game, for coaches and players who live the game, to believe that is crazy. But I think they did. Wade Phillips kept telling us for the past two weeks that they were 13-3. They’re a great football team. Best regular season record in the history of this storied franchise. He kept telling us everything was OK. I think the players bought into that. I think they genuinely believed they could just show up at Texas Stadium Sunday and their 13-3 record and the stars on their hats would be enough to beat New York. Just flip the switch. Just introduce our record 12 Pro Bowlers and the Giants will submit. I know every fan I talked to for the past three weeks believed it. But the players? They acted—before, during, and after the game—like they believed it, too.

Yesterday’s game did serve as a “White-Out” and it had nothing to do with the fans who wore the team color and waved the little towel. That performance yesterday totally “whited-out” that 13-3 Phillips kept talking about. That loss obliterated every part of whatever was good about the regular season. It’s meaningless. Poetically, the Cowboys fans were waving the white flag, throwing in the towel, before the game even started.

Under the current system, Dallas is now the first and only NFC team to lose in the Divisional round as a number one seed. It’s a choke job that rivals that of the Mavericks against the Heat and Golden State. Although, admittedly, we all should have seen this one coming.

And are the questions about Phillips’ abilities as a coach unfair? He’s now 0-4 in the postseason. He has as many NFL postseason victories as you do. Granted, in three of those games his teams were underdogs. But don’t forget he was also the defensive coordinator of that 14-2 San Diego team that bailed out in the first round last year.

21-17 at home as a number one seed. That’s an NFL record sixth straight playoff loss. That’s eleven years now since the Cowboys have won a postseason game.

They scored a total of three points in the second half. (Have I already mentioned that?) And that was on their first drive of the third quarter. They had their chance to win it by getting the ball at the Giant’s 47 with 1:50 to play. They got it down to the 22 with :31 left. But the loss just confirms, really, what anybody watching the Cowboys for the past month and a half already knew.

Comments?

Allan

White Out?!?

January 12, 2008 / Allan / 1 Comment

Just a couple of quick random thoughts on a Saturday morning looking ahead to tomorrow’s Divisional Playoff Game between the Cowboys and Giants.

The Cowboys are calling for a “White-Out” at tomorrow’s game. They want everyone in attendance to wear white so the stands will become a sea of white, so it’ll appear to the teams and, more importantly, to the national TV audience that all of the nation is behind America’s Team.

I see a couple of problems.

One, the temperature is supposed to be 58-degrees at kickoff. In Texas Stadium that’s more like 38-degrees. Have you ever been inside that freezing drafty cave? Every person in attendance is going to be wearing their big puffy coats. And nobody outside of a couple of Mt. Everest pioneers has a white coat. Everybody has white T-shirts. Maybe even a couple of white sweatshirts or sweaters. But not white coats. Even if every single person wants to participate in the Cowboys’ “White-Out” they won’t be able to because of the temperatures.

Which leads me to this: not everybody wants to. Texas Stadium is home to the whine-and-cheese fans. The vast majority of fans at the actual games are only there to show off and to be seen by others. I’m no fashion plate (if you’ve known me for only three seconds you know that) but I don’t think all white has been in style since Don Meredith was quarterbacking Dallas.

As for the game itself, I can’t wait. Do you realize the Giants and Cowboys are numbers one and two on the list of most playoff appearances in NFL history? And they’ve both been in the NFL/NFC since their inceptions. They’ve belonged to the same division since 1960. But Sunday will mark the very first time they’ve ever faced each other in the postseason. Tons of history here. A clash of two great franchises. I can’t wait.

Romo will not be the story. Neither defense will be the story. Neither run game will be the story. Dare I say, despite the efforts of the TV producers, Jessica Simpson won’t be the story. The story will be Eli Manning and/or Terrell Owens. Eli is capable of lighting up the Cowboys for 300+ yards and 35 points. Very capable. Being the QB in NY and his consistent inconsistency, he’s automatically the national storyline for this game. He could go either way. As for T.O., we already know what this Cowboys’ offense does when he’s not involved. Zero. Or, more accurately I suppose, three. Three, three, three. Field goals, not touchdowns. We’ve also seen what happens when they try to force the ball into Owens. Interceptions. Three-and-outs. Frustration. It could go either way.

I don’t have a prediction on a winner or a final score. It could go either way. That’s why it’s so fun to watch. But I will say this. If Terrell Owens has less than 100 yards receiving and less than one touchdown, the Giants win. I think both teams know that. And if the Cowboys (Romo) try to force those magic numbers into a T.O. who’s not 100% with his burst or his cuts, the Giants DBs are going the other way. I see that as more than just a little likely.

I also can just as easily see Manning gagging big-time under the pressure. I can see him throwing four picks.

Go Giants,

Allan

Wednesday Night & A Bunch Of Pictures

January 10, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

We’re calling it “Oasis.” Our new Wednesday night assemblies in the worship center here at Legacy got off to a wonderful start last night.

The idea is one I grew up with. Wednesdays are, to borrow a term Don Graves has used for years down in Marble Falls, our spiritual pitstop. It’s a time to recharge our spiritual batteries. Right in the middle of the week is a perfect time for Christians to come together, share a common meal and fellowship with one another, worship, sing, pray, and meditate on God’s Word together. It’s an ideal time for revival and rejuvenation. It’s so easy to be beaten down and worn out by work or school or whatever you’re called to do during your week. And, for some of us, Wednesday evenings together are the only thing that gets us to the next Sunday.

Wednesday is our “Oasis.”

The word oasis is defined in the dictionary as any place or thing offering welcome relief from difficulty or dryness, a fertile place in the desert due to the presence of water. And it’s an idea rich in biblical imagery. Moses and God’s people in the desert and the Lord’s provision for them. Water from a rock. Manna every morning. Jesus’ time in the desert battling Satan and the angels sent from heaven to take care of him. Christ talked about living water. Isaiah preached about streams in the desert. You have all that same imagery in Psalm 78, which we read last night. We want all these images to guide us as we come together as a church family on Wednesdays. We want to spend that time with each other and our Lord reading and reflecting on his Word, singing praise and encouragement, and praying together. Hopefully our Oasis time together will revive us and remind us for the rest of the week of our purpose and commitments and faith in our Christian community.

Darryn gave us a moving rendition last night of Psalm 18. Brad and Jerry took us straight to the throne room of God with their beautifully worded prayers. Aaron led us in songs that spoke wonderfully to the message of the night which was God’s continued protection and provision for his people. And afterward most everybody hung out and visited for what seemed like longer than normal.

Our Wednesday night attendance at Legacy has averaged 331 for the past three months. We had 410 last night. Over 700 participated in Small Groups Church Sunday evening. I pray that the increased attendance is leading us to an increased sense of fellowship and common spirit and purpose and to a continual transformation of our lives into the image of our Savior.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(As always, click on the pictures to get the full size)

The stone is all up on the outside of the new Legacy Youth and Benevolence Center and most of the work on that building between now and its completion in March will be on the inside. And last night Jason and Lance took all of the youth group and their families inside the new complex to make their marks before the interior walls begin going up. Students and their families were encouraged to write their names and their favorite passages of Scripture on the studs and beams to signify that our building and everything it stands for is based on our God and his Word.

There was a lot of energy in that place last night. It was neat with all the kids and their parents “dedicating,” if you will, the new youth center with the Words of God. All the young people also signed a huge sheetrock “thank you” card to all the construction workers.

And as I’m heading down the stairs at the end of the event, just as things were winding down, I see this.

I immediately blamed Mel Williams, who’d already gone home with his family. I remembered walking up the stairs 30 minutes earlier and Mel had been writing on the wall there and didn’t turn to speak to me when I greeted him. I thought that was odd at the time. And I assumed it was because he was publicly besmirching my name.

I’m telling Lance the story this morning. And he starts laughing. And then he confesses. It was Lance. Lance wrote it. I’m walking over to ask the construction workers to sheetrock that area of the youth center first. Sorry, Mel. It wasn’t you. But only because you didn’t think of it first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to Russ Garrison and his generously offered tickets, the family and I went to the Dallas Stars game Monday and helped them end their four game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Minnesota. The girls were excited to walk through the middle of Victory Plaza and experience all the noise and sensory overload that takes place there. And, once the game began, Whitney and Valerie were into it. Whitney, of course. Valerie just marveled at the skating, specifically how the defensemen are able to skate so gracefully backwards. And she loved the fights and skirmishes. Carley was not so interested. In any of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think Steve Dennis is the one who asked Tony Romo yesterday if he had become Bill Parcells’ biggest nightmare: The Celebrity Quarterback. Romo looked right at Dennis and said, “You’re talking about a celebrity coach.”

Zing! Perfect!

I’ve grown weary of Parcells getting all the credit for discovering Romo and grooming him into the star he appears to be. I’m tired of Parcells’ oft-repeated and reported Ten Commandments for a Quarterback. And yesterday I saw a sign that maybe Romo is sick of it, too.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Cowboys (Page 46 of 54)

Typing Above The Growls

The Gospel AND Our Lives

Sixteen Rules

21-17

White Out?!?

Wednesday Night & A Bunch Of Pictures

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

Archives

Allan's Links