Ken Young and Hallal are finally bringing “Stream” to Dallas – Fort Worth! “Stream in the Desert,” out in Midland, has for years been the annual worship and spiritual formation highlight for thousands of disciples. I’ve never been to a “Stream” weekend. But I’ve always been envious of those who have. They always come back talking about it the way I talk about Tulsa. They come back from “Stream” energized, on fire for our Master and his Kingdom. They rave about the singing. They gush over the preaching. Most “Stream” regulars claim it’s the one thing that keeps them going. “Stream” expanded to Tennessee a few years ago. And now they’re bringing it to North Texas.
The dates are August 28-30. It’ll be held at the South MacArthur Church of Christ in Irving. Grady King and the great people over there hosted a bunch of us preachers and worship leaders yesterday for a kick-off lunch. And I’m excited about this.
From what I understand, it’s tons of singing. Lots of singing. Joyful praise and worship. Singing. And then Session One with Jeff Walling. That’s followed by more singing. Lots more singing. Ken Young and Hallal leading us in exhuberant singing. And then more Jeff Walling. I think it runs like this from Friday evening, all day Saturday, and through Sunday morning: singing and Walling, singing and Walling, singing and Walling. I think five or six different inspirational sessions. What’s not to like? Singing and Walling? Two-thousand saints raising the roof? One of the best preachers — ever — challenging us with the Word? I’m in!
And I’m hoping you will be, too. We’ve thrown Legacy’s support fully behind this thing. I hope we can all be a part. Over the next few weeks they’ll be looking for volunteers to work in all kinds of different capacities to help pull this off. They’re especially looking for Small Groups leaders to help facilitate some of the break out sessions. I know we have plenty of those here. Go ahead and put it on your calendar. If you’re reading this from anywhere in the Great Southwest, make plans now to be there. Much more information will be coming in the next few days. And I’ll keep you posted. I’ve also added the “Stream DFW” website to my blog role there on the right hand side of this page.
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We got drove! I’m grateful we don’t have our last names on the backs of our jerseys or “Legacy” on the front. We have real jerseys now with real numbers. But Team Dyniewski didn’t play like a real basketball team last night. We even brought in a ringer to run the point. But once we gave up our lead with six minutes to play in the first half, it was over.
We have plenty of excuses. John had never played with us before. Josh was out of town on business (thankfully, he wasn’t there to berate us). We lost Coker and his Herschel Walker shoes about 90-seconds into the game with a pulled calf. I think I went 0-8 from the field. Aaron was quadruple-teamed every trip down the floor. And we still couldn’t get a rebound or hit an open shot to save our lives. Bad game.
We trailed by nine at the half, 16 with six minutes to play, and wound up losing 50-41.
Whatever momentum we had in this league on the heels of last week’s great come-from-behind win is gone. And we might not get it back. The bad news (yes, it gets much worse) is that the team we’re playing next Monday beat the team that beat us last night 96-32. Oh, yeah. They’re going to hang a hundred on us next week. Josh, you might want to stay in San Antonio.
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A couple of you have asked about my bracket. I went into this NCAA tournament bound and determined to defeat Whitney who unseated me as undefeated Beast of the Brackets in a tie-breaker last year. The good news is that I’ve defeated Whitney. There’s no way she can catch me. The bad news is that our outcomes are already determined because our two brackets are done. Busted. Blown up. It’s over. Whitney picked none of the Final Four teams. I have one: UNC. And I don’t have Carolina advancing to the title tilt. So I’ve finished with 70 points to Whitney’s 63.
But we’re both on the sidelines now watching a new champion emerge at Stanglin Manor.
Right now, Carrie-Anne has 72 points but can only pick up another potential five because she had Duke winning the whole thing. Valerie‘s sitting at 65. But she has three of the Final Four and could gain another 16 points this weekend if Carolina wins and UConn takes the trophy. Carley‘s racked up 70 points right now and can add another eleven if the Huskies win it all in Detroit. If Carolina beats Villanova AND UConn wins the title, both Valerie and Carley will finish with 81 points. And the winner will be determined by a tie-breaker based on the final score.
How is it that it’s going to come down to the two in our house who care absolutely nothing about the games or the teams or even the sport? I’m rooting for Nova and Michigan State. That way it won’t be a blowout.
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Dawn (Stanley) Shelton has written a nice article about me and my family in the current issue of VISION, the alumni magazine at Oklahoma Christian University. I was surprised when she contacted me a couple of months ago about the piece. I was honored, certainly. Flattered, even. And somewhat hesitant. My years at OC weren’t exactly my greatest moments. In fact, Dawn joked that they thought about headlining the article “Allan Stanglin’s Doing What?!?”
But it’s a very nice article that, hopefully, illustrates by my life that our God is overly-gracious and kind, that he never gives up on his children, and that he keeps calling us to do his will. I hope it also communicates that our Father will use us in his Kingdom to do more than we can ever ask or imagine. All we have to do is submit to him and his will.
We haven’t recieved our copy of the magazine yet. I’m anticipating getting it today. But it started hitting mailboxes on Saturday. Retha Stark, a kind, sweet sister here at Legacy phoned Carrie-Anne upon reading it this weekend. My sister, Rhonda, called me last night from Edmond. She had accidentally stumbled upon it, flipping through the pages to see if any of her old classmates had birthed any more babies. After she read it, she gave it my 12-year-old nephew, Caleb. He carefully studied the article, soaked in every word, and then looked at Rhonda and said, “I still wish Uncle Allan was in sports radio.”
Peace,
Allan
I feel the need to comment on each section of this:
1. Count Lance and me in for Stream! What a fabulous weekend!
2. Nowhere in your narration of your basketball game did I get any credit for chasing kids, rescuing a basketball that matched Coker’s shoes from half-court about 5 minutes into the first half, or being the only one who actually KNEW the score when the game ended. Oh – and I held your keys too! No credit at all.
3. Lance’s bracket still looks pretty okay… and I’m piggybacking on his because I forgot to fill one out this year. (I would certainly win if I had. Certainly.)
4. I took that picture. I was promised photography credits. Any royalties from that article are due to me – let’s be clear.
Oh, and Lance and I discussed – we are hoping that the 96-32 team will skip your game to watch the NCAA playoff game. A forfeit still counts as a victory…
I read the OC article with my wife last night and I have to say… Allan is doing what? ….. I am starting to see myself reflect on alot of those things you mentioned when talking to them and just hope one day I can work it all out the way you have as well. I can definitely see how doing sports everyday could be a dream job though, lucky for us you chose the Lord’s team to cover on a daily basis now though.