The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

AllanStanglin.com

Author: Allan (Page 191 of 492)

Rocking Our Priorities

May 8, 2018 / / 0 Comments

“I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the Law I became like one under the Law, so as to win those under the Law. To those not having the Law I became like one not having the Law, so as to win those not having the Law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel.” ~1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Do you really own the Good News of the salvation we have from God in Christ? I mean, do you really have it inside you? Do you understand that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace? Do you comprehend that your salvation is based on Jesus’ righteousness, not yours? Do you get that it’s founded on God’s holiness, not mine? Have you grasped that eternal life is an undeserved, unmerited, by-God gift?

Because, when you do, it changes everything. It rocks your priorities.

Suddenly, church traditions take a back seat to grace. My feelings and preferences defer to the needs of the lost. My idea of justice is not as important as forgiveness. Rules and regulations take their place behind mercy and patience. And love for God and love for neighbor far surpasses all of it!

“I have become all things to all people.”

Depending on circumstances and who was involved and what the issues were, the apostle Paul could come across as really inconsistent. And he was fine with that. Whatever it takes to save people! In one case, Paul insists that Timothy be circumcised and in another case he demands that Titus not be circumcised. Do you have questions and doubts about that? What about Timothy!?!

Paul would do almost anything. He would change his mind, he would adjust his methods, he’d relax his rules, and confront the traditions. He’d do anything to make sure people could hear the Good News about Jesus.

Paul was not a chameleon because he had no conviction; he had a conviction about the Gospel that allowed him to be a chameleon. He would do anything to win people to Christ.

Peace,

Allan

Third and Last Senior Sunday

May 6, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Dearest Carley,

We’re beaming today, sweetie. We’re so proud of you. We admire so much your unique talents and abilities and we’re amazed by your single-minded determination to live your life with excellence. It’s been an exciting four years at Canyon High School, the fun “experiment” with the golf team, all the retreats and mission trips, your expanding circle of great friends, and your wild success at Palm Beach Tans. We have so enjoyed every minute of watching you mature and flourish into a beautiful, confident, godly young lady.

Our God has placed kind and loving people in your path, Carley. Those friends and those teachers who love you so much are a gift from our God. Jenise Blankenship is a blessing from God. So are Dale and Karen, Steve and Becky, and Aleisha and Blu. Craig and Donna. Tanner. Derrell Havins. They all love you very much. And they have each played important roles in shaping you into the Christ-like woman you are becoming.

We clearly see our Lord’s servant heart reflected in your acts of compassion and concern for others. We see his joy in your smart sense of humor and your hearty laugh. We see his peace when you handle teenage drama with a more even keel. And we see his grace in the way you take care of others.

Some parts of you, Little Bear, will never change. You’re probably always going to eat potato chips in bed. You’ll forever love Sponge Bob and The Lion King. You’ll always melt and say, “Awww…” when you see a puppy. You’ll always enjoy listening to Tom Petty and Aerosmith, watching 1980s movies, and eating grapes. You’ll keep drinking exotic waters, reciting Seinfeld lines, making salsa, and taking 45-minute showers. And you’ll never stop blessing our family and filling our lives with your inexhaustible love, joy, and laughter.

There’s no denying that you are grown up and equipped and ready for everything that’s coming in your future. We are so proud of you and what our God is shaping in you. You are a beautiful, talented, funny, super-smart, wonderful daughter of God. He shines out of every facet of your complex personality and adorable little quirks. You reflect Jesus. And it’s fabulous. We’re very proud to be Carley’s parents.

May our God bless you richly, daughter. May he strengthen you and empower you by his Holy Spirit to live the rest of your life the way you’ve lived these first few years. May he continue to work through you to spread his love and grace to others. May your life bring him eternal glory and praise. And may you walk with him always, Carley, faithful to the end.

We love you.

Mom and Dad
Senior Sunday 2018

Fifteen Years in Dallas

May 3, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Third down and six and Dak Prescott is now looking for Dalton Schultz on a seven yard hook. Or is it Geoff Swain on a seven yard out? Maybe Blake Jarwin finds a seam or Rico Gather hits a crease for the first down catch. Or maybe Prescott gets sacked for a seven yard loss because he’s frozen in the pocket looking for Jason Witten.

All Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks from Drew Bledsoe to Dak Prescott, including all the Matt Cassels, Tony Romos, Stephen McGees, and Brad Johnsons in between, have looked to Jason Witten as their security blanket. Since 2004, there has not been a more consistent certainty at tight end in the NFL than Witten. Dependable. Constant. Steady. Whatever adjective you want to use, Witten was always there — the rock in the midst of the chaos that is Jerry Wayne’s Cowboys.

After 15 solid seasons, Witten today has officially announced his retirement to join the Monday Night Football booth at ESPN.

After 1,152 catches (4th all-time in the NFL), 12,448 yards (most in franchise history), 68 touchdowns (third in team history), 239 starts (235 of them in a row), and eleven Pro Bowls (most in team history), he’ll be remembered most for this one play: (Since it’s the NFL, I’m unable to post the video to this site; just Google “Jason Witten No Helmet”)

However…

…there’s an emptiness here, right? There’s regret. You feel it, don’t you? It’s undeniable. Everybody is celebrating Witten’s greatness — including me — but there’s a cloud hanging over this whole thing:

No Dallas Cowboy should ever play for 15 consecutive seasons and never even win one single divisional playoff game.

We can debate whether hiring Witten is a lazy move for ESPN. We can discuss how his retirement shocked the Cowboys, caught them totally off guard, and will set their 2018 offense back several steps. We can argue how Dallas might replace him. We can congratulate Witten for being such a great guy and modeling everything it means to be a team player and a stand-up human. We can observe that the Cowboys have now lost Witten, Dez, and Romo in one calendar year. But don’t let this sorry fact elude you: Witten played in Dallas for fifteen years and never won a divisional round playoff game.

Maybe on third down and six next season, if the Cowboys are playing on a Monday Night, Prescott’s best bet would be to chunk the ball towards the press box.

Nah. Still wouldn’t matter.

Peace,

Allan

Amarillo Dusters?

April 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

The AA San Antonio Missions are moving to Amarillo to begin play in our brand new downtown ballpark in April 2019 and they’re holding a team naming contest as part of the move. The winner of the naming contest will receive two season tickets to this inaugural year, a personalized team jersey, and the privilege of throwing out the first pitch for that initial game.

I’ve entered the contest.

“Amarillo Dusters.”

Hang on. Don’t judge it yet. Say it out loud a few times. Let it hang there in your brain and your heart for a second. Amarillo Dusters. The Dusters. Amarillo Dusters. Let it grow on you.

The team is looking for a moniker that will honor the panhandle region. The names will be judged in the areas of originality, creativity, uniqueness, and regional relevance — I think Dusters is perfect. Not something made with ostrich feathers to clean the blinds and not the car manufactured by Plymouth in the ’70s, but Amarillo Dusters.

This is what I wrote when I submitted my entry which contest rules state had to be less than 1,000 characters:

The cattle ranchers who most embody the Amarillo spirit and Panhandle values were once called “Dusters.” The full-length leather coats worn by cowboys and ranchers in the 1800s, and making a bit of a style comeback now, are also called “dusters.” It’s not clear if the ranchers were called “Dusters” because of the coats or the coats were called “dusters” because that’s what the cowboys and ranchers wore, but it’s appropriate both ways. Of course, the term can also apply to a violent sandstorm which, around here, is just as appropriate.

I can envision team photos or promotional posters in which the players are sporting these long dirty-brown leather dusters and cowboys hats. Toughness. Determination. Grit. The term can be applied to the rancher and/or the clothing and/or the weather. It’s beautifully flexible and regionally relevant. It’s us: the people who live and work here and the baseball team we cheer!

The deadline to enter the contest is this Friday May 4. If you think you can do better than “Dusters”, you can submit your own entry by going to the baseball team’s website. Team officials are going to select the top five suggestions, then I think there’s a public on-line voting phase to determine the winner.

We’re getting double-A affiliated baseball back in Amarillo for the first time in nearly four decades. And it won’t really matter what the team is called. As long as it’s not Armadillos.

Peace,

Allan

Fifty and Foxy

April 27, 2018 / / 0 Comments

I woke up this morning with a 50-year-old woman in my bed.

Carrie-Anne today hits the half-century mark, joining me in my fifties now, together, and beginning her sixth decade of life as an adorable little ball of fire with big hair, big opinions, and a big heart.

Valerie is coming home from OC today, just in time for our traditional family birthday dinner. Carrie-Anne is wearing her Mama Bear shirt today proudly. She loves our three daughters fiercely. And they all take after her in different ways: Whitney has her mom’s tender heart, Valerie has her mom’s looks and facial expressions, Carley has acquired Carrie-Anne’s relentless drive. They all three demonstrate C-A’s greatest attributes and character traits.

Me? I’m a much better man because Carrie-Anne is my wife. She keeps me grounded and humble, but she also encourages me and protects me. She shows me what it looks like to love our Lord faithfully. She reveals facets of God’s nature and his great love and grace I would never see nor experience without Carrie-Anne showing me.

She loves sleeping in, Blue Bell Buttered Pecan, and This Is Us. She wants foods of several different colors on the dinner plate every night, she bleaches everything, and she can’t find her keys or her phone. Carrie-Anne hates the Amarillo dust and loves the low Amarillo humidity — it keeps her hair, um, less big. And she unflinchingly reflects the glory of our God to every family member, student, friend, and neighbor she knows. What a beautiful, beautiful woman — inside and out.

I love you, darling. Happy Birthday.

Allan

One Word

April 25, 2018 / / 0 Comments

A lot of the time it only takes one word.

Jesus would say just one word and people would be healed. He heals the deaf and the mute by just saying, “Open.” He stills the storm by just saying, “Peace.” He just said “Come” to a guy named Peter and that guy wound up walking on water. One time Jesus was going to a soldier’s house to heal his servant when the soldier stopped him and said, “You don’t have to come to my house; all you have to do is say the word and my servant will be well.”

You just have to say a word.

Your saying a word has the potential to eternally change the lives of the people you know and love. The Holy Spirit puts the person directly in front of you, the Holy Spirit tells you what to say, and the Holy Spirit does with your conversation what’s going to be best, what he’s already planned. If we’ll only trust the Good News.

Colossians 4 says “Pray that God will open a door; pray that we proclaim Christ clearly; make the most of every opportunity.”

Peace,

Allan

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑