Author: Allan (Page 12 of 482)
The boys and their parents are scheduled to come home from the hospital later today, and we’re all ready for them!
Little Sammy had to pass a 90-minute car seat test late last night. He’s borderline premie-sized, so they had to verify that he can do the ten minute drive home safely. Valerie’s been cleared this morning by her doctor. There’s also the technical matter of a couple of circumcisions this afternoon. Those of you at GCR in the middle of our sermon series on Galatians know that I only have one circumcision joke, and I’m not going to publish it here. But after the boys recover from that–just one hour? are you sure?–then they’ll load up and come home.
Both little guys are doing great and, it seems, so are the parents. Honestly, we’re not paying much attention to Valerie and David–everything’s directed toward these precious angels straight from heaven. These amazing little gifts. We feel so thankful and blessed by our gracious and loving God. What a joy!
Peace,
Granddad
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
Probably less than an hour away from greeting those beautiful grandsons!
Let’s goooooo!!!
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
“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
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