The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Twice as Nice

July 8, 2025 / / 0 Comments

One of the great things about having twins is that it cuts the wait time for holding a new baby in half!

Elliott Walker and Samuel Heath made their long-awaited arrivals at 7:44 and 7:45 this morning in Tulsa to great acclaim and wild unabashed adoration. The twin grandsons were delivered without a hitch and immediately transformed our family dynamic and our lives for the better. And for a whole lot more fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elliott made it out first at 7 pounds even and 19 inches long. Sammy came a minute later and a whole lot lighter at 5 pounds 3 ounces and 18 inches long. Both sets of grandparents and two aunts and an uncle waited patiently for the boys to get cleaned up and for Valerie to recover a bit before we stormed the gates and started passing those babies around like we’d never seen one before (as always, click on the pictures to get the full size).

Both babies are healthy and good, they’re both eating and doing the other things babies are supposed to do, and they’re both just absolutely perfectly beautiful. We all feel so happy today, so deeply grateful, and so graciously blessed by our God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also feel so very well loved and supported by our Lord through his Church. All the texts and phone calls today, all the expressions of love and encouragement, all the well wishes and advice and wisdom — it’s overwhelming. Thank you! And the support Valerie and David have from their friends at the wonderful Jenks Church. The perfect ending to our long day together was hanging out in the hospital with Hailey, Corley, and Amanda, some of Dave and Val’s best friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrie-Anne is CoCo, and I am Granddad, For now. You’re never really sure how those things are going to stick. Val and Dave might be able to bring the boys home late tomorrow, but it’s more likely they’ll be released Thursday morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May our merciful Lord bless these sweet boys with good health, with great courage, and with an abiding faithfulness to him. May he grant David and Valerie everything they need to raise these sons, our beloved grandsons, in the nurture and admonition of our Lord. And may his holy will be done in and through this precious family just as it is in heaven.

What time does the hospital open in the morning?

Peace,

Allan

My New Favorite Thing

July 7, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Whitney and I took in Midland’s annual Fourth of July celebration in Centennial Park Friday night, along with thousands of other West Texas folks who love live music, food truck food, and a good fireworks show. We had a great time, of course–the Whitster and I always have a good time. But I was pleasantly surprised–no, blown away!–by the young guitar player who fronted the evening’s second act.

Leon Carrasco is my new favorite thing about Midland.

This 19-year old phenom owned the stage for his 45-minute set, wowing us with his blistering guitar, his impressive vocal range, and his unabashed joy. He’s just so much fun to watch! A local Midland kid, Carrasco played baseball at Legacy High and still lives in town. When he talks, he sounds like Chris Rock, kinda funny, in your face, not angry, just high pitched and committed. But when he plays, he sounds like Stevie Ray. Oh, man, this kid can play guitar. It’s deep Texas blues. A lot of soul. Depth. Intense and easy at the same time. And it’s infused with such joy. He’s just happy to be on that stage doing what he’s gifted to do.

Here’s a video from Friday’s show. Watch the whole two minutes. What else are you doing right now?

I don’t know anything about him yet. After three songs, I started texting people I knew who were somewhere in the park with me. “Are you watching this?” “Who is this kid?” “I don’t think the crowd knows what they’re seeing.”

Whitney and I left our seats to get closer and ran into a couple of people who’ve known Leon since he was a kid. They just gushed about Leon’s attitude, his personality, and his extraordinary gift. I was mesmerized. This guy’s good.

He hasn’t cut an album yet. I don’t know where to get his songs. But I’m on the lookout for the next time he’s playing around here.

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We’re all in Tulsa today, counting down the hours until the births of our twin grandsons in a scheduled C-section tomorrow morning. There will be a family dinner this evening with our side from Texas and David’s side from Virginia, and then I’m assuming a massive gathering at Hillcrest South tomorrow for the arrival of these two highly-anticipated boys. God bless Valerie and David with his divine comfort and peace. And God bless Elliott and Samuel with a safe delivery and good health.

Peace,

Allan

People of Promise

July 3, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“If the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.” ~Galatians 3:18

We are not a people of the law, we are a people of promise. And that matters. It matters big time.

If we believe we are saved by the law or by rules and regulations or by behaving correctly, then we’re going to treat people harshly. We’ll be arrogant and judgmental, we’ll be unbending and unforgiving. We’ll be nervous or unsure about the correctness of our own performance, so we’ll fight and divide over the weirdest things. And we’ll turn off a lot of people.

When we know we are saved by the gracious promise of God in Christ, then we’ll be a people of mercy and love. We’ll give others the benefit of the doubt. We’ll be flexible and forgiving, we’ll seek to bless others, we’ll be kind and hospitable. Our words will be encouraging, our actions will be inviting. We’ll be unified by a focus on the really important things. And we’ll inspire a lot of people.

We are not people of the law. We are not people of rules or people of regulations or people of the guilt trip or people of the coercion. We are not people of correct interpretations or proper practices. None of those things save us! Those are things we use to gain control. Or to be right. Or to be better. Or more prominent. Those are the things that divide us and separate us, those are the things that lead to strife and condemnation.

The Good News is that your forgiveness, your salvation, your eternal life rests solely in the unchanging promise or our God through Christ alone.

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” ~Galatians 3:29

Peace,

Allan

The Gambler and His Cowboys

July 1, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Almost two years to the day after Netflix announced they had paid the Dallas Cowboys $50-million to produce a multi-episode documentary on Jerry Jones and his historic “transformation” of the Cowboys, we’ve got a title, a release date, and a two-minute trailer. They’re calling it “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.” It will run for ten episodes. And it premiers on August 19. Here’s the trailer, which features Jimmy’s “asthma field” rant, Michael Irvin’s cocaine arrest, President George W. Bush’s explanation for the hole in the roof at Texas Stadium, and Jerry saying he likes to do things “our way.”

Netflix has continually promoted this documentary as the story of how Jerry “transformed” the Cowboys and how Jerry “established” the Cowboys legacy.

First, Jerry didn’t establish anything. The Cowboys had already played in a dozen NFC Championship Games and five Super Bowls when Jones bought the team. They had already been dubbed “America’s Team” by the NFL and were the most popular football team on the planet. That wasn’t Jerry.

Secondly, Jerry did transform the Cowboys, but not in the way his Netflix special is going to suggest. Jerry has successfully transformed the Cowboys from perennial contenders and Super Bowl champs to irrelevant also-rans. In the franchise’s first 29-years under the leadership of Clint-Tex-Tom, the Cowboys went to twelve conference title games and five Super Bowls, winning two. In the past 29 years under the leadership of Jones-Jones-Jones, the Cowboys have not won a single divisional playoff game and have the NFC’s longest championship game appearance drought by a whopping 14 years!

Thank you, Jerry. Great job. You’re right, there should be a documentary. True crime.

The thing that eats me the most is the documentary’s title: “The Gambler and HIS Cowboys.” That title perfectly captures the core of what’s wrong with the Cowboys and the heart of my hatred for the whole scene. Jerry Wayne sees the Cowboys as his, not ours. He never understood that the Cowboys belonged to all of us, collectively. They represented us, stood for us, embodied us. He only sees the Cowboys as his, to do with whatever he likes, to exploit for his own personal gain, to use as an “in” to whatever monetary windfall or celebrity access or boy’s club membership he desires. He shamefully betrayed a public trust. And he brazenly and unapologetically continues that betrayal every day.

It galls me that the very thing that has led to the Cowboys’ demise is being used as the celebratory centerpiece of this puff-doc. Yes, Jerry gambled and, yes, he won and he keeps on winning at the thing he cares about the most: his money, his status, his celebrity, his power. And Cowboys fans keep losing the thing they desire the most: a divisional playoff win, relevance, on the field respect, a championship.

I’m going to watch this show for a number of reasons–I won’t miss an episode. But I’m most curious as to how they’re going to trumpet Jerry’s accomplishments, his innovations, his successes, his genius, while acknowledging at the same time his team’s 29-year divisional playoff win drought.

They probably won’t. They won’t even mention it. Right? We know this. This will be a ten-episode flashback to the glory days of Jimmy and the Triplets and they’ll act like it happened five years ago. That’s another thing that so perfectly captures what Jerry’s Cowboys are all about: pretending like this historic drought isn’t really a thing.

Peace,

Allan

One More Week!

June 30, 2025 / / 0 Comments

The latest measurements from Friday show Elliott Walker at 6 lbs 3 oz and Samuel Heath at 5 lbs 3 oz and Valerie Nicole is ready to deliver. If not physically, certainly mentally and emotionally.

The doctors keep telling Val she’s having a textbook twins pregnancy: the boys are in great shape, she’s doing really well, all the numbers look good, and there’s nothing to worry about. That’s wonderful, but Valerie is ready for this part of the journey to be over. She’s miserable. She’s carrying nearly twelve pounds of baby inside her! She calls them her two watermelons. It makes my back hurt just to look at her pictures.

Carrie-Anne left for Tulsa early this morning to be with Valerie and David during this last week. The C-section is scheduled for July 8, one week from tomorrow. If her water holds, Whitney and I will drive up Monday for the births Tuesday morning. If something breaks before then, Whit and I will head up there as quickly as possible, but we’ll probably miss the births–it’s an eight-hour drive and a C-section won’t take that long.

I’m pulling for her to make it to the 8th, and I believe she will. There are no signs that anything is imminent. In fact, she’s worried she’ll still be pregnant in August. Or September. Like these boys are going to be born with facial hair.

I’ve landed on “Granddad.” I say “I’ve landed…” because Valerie and Carrie-Anne are not thrilled with the choice. It’s not cute enough. “Granddad” is traditional, conservative, historically Texan, and decidedly un-cute. For me, it couldn’t be more perfect.

As the countdown has reached single-digit days until our middle daughter delivers our first grandchildren, here’s a couple of favorite baby pictures of Val.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having grandkids is a lot different from having your own children. When you’re pregnant with your own kids, you fret and worry and you pray a lot. But you really don’t know anything. You’re mostly clueless. You worry about things that don’t really matter and you fret over stuff that never happens. But when you’re having grandchildren, that’s a whole different deal. Now I’ve experienced some things. We’ve been through some stuff. Now, I know a lot. I worry differently. I fret differently. I pray even more than I did then. And for very different things.

Peace,

Allan

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