Category: Carley (Page 10 of 11)

As A Mother Comforts Her Child…

November 3, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

My kids run to me all the time. They run to me when I get home from work in the afternoons. They scream from upstairs and from the living room, from the dining room table and the computer room. Wherever they are they yell, “Daddy!” And they usually come running. Wow. I love that.

They run to me when they want to go to Sonic to get a Dr Pepper float. When they want to play, they come to me. When they want to spend the night at a friend’s house, they run to me. When they’ve learned a new trick or made a good grade, when they have a difficult question or a problem at school, my daughters come to me.

But when they get hurt…..

…they go to their mother.

When they skin their knee, they go to their mother. When they’re sick, they go to their mother. When they have a fight with a friend, when they don’t make the team, when they smash a finger in a kitchen drawer, they run to mom.

Because they know how I am. “Suck it up, girl! Let’s go! What? Are you crying? Come on! I’ve had bigger scratches on my eyelid! Walk it off! Rub some dirt on it! What’s the matter with you?”

When children are hurt they go to their mother. Physical pain. Emotional pain. When it’s deep and it’s real, they go to mom. Because mother will meet you with a Band-Aid. Mother has a hug. Mother wipes away all the tears. Mother will just hold you and kiss you and carry you. Mother always knows exactly what you need. A mother’s love is warmer. It’s more sensitive. It’s more in tune. When you’re really hurting, you need your mother.

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” ~Isaiah 66:13

Have you ever pictured God as a mother? God does.

When God’s people are at their lowest — the temple’s destroyed, the holy city is in ruins, they’re scattered in exile, they’re experiencing deep separation, pain, loneliness, and despair; when the only memories they have are bad and the only future they have is bleak — God says, “I will hold you and comfort you. Just like a mom. I have borne you and I will love you forever. Just like a mom.”

In Isaiah 49, God’s people say, “The Lord has forsaken me. The Lord has forgotten me.” And God replies, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

And that’s reason for joy.

“Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion
on his afflicted ones.” ~Isaiah 49:13

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

An emailed comment from a loyal reader regarding last week’s picture of the 24 elders from Revelation 4-5 casting their crowns down at the heavenly throne: “Great comments, awful picture. Old white guys as elders? Really?”

OK, that’s fair. You got me. I’ll forever stand on the biblical picture of elders being old(er) and guys. There’s no debating that. Ever. But you’re absolutely right on the absurdity of all 24 elders being white. That doesn’t hardly capture the revelation of Christ as these elders representing “every tribe and language and people and nation.” Not at all.

Sorry. Good catch.

If anyone can email me a picture or a link to a picture which represents the elders around the throne as from every color and language and nation, please do.

Peace,

Allan

Happy Birthday, Bear!

September 10, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

It was ten years ago today, September 10, 1999, that God blessed our family with Carley Renae. In Wichita Falls. Our only child not born in Austin. The only one we knew was coming the day she came.

An alarm clock woke us up at 7:00 that morning to drive to the hospital, not water breaking and painful contractions at 3am like with the other two. But the delivery took just as long. It wasn’t until after dinner that Friday evening, after we ran Granny and Grandpa and Gram and Gran-Gran and Pop-Pop and Aunt Pam out of the room that Carley made her first appearance. She just needed a little privacy. We thought maybe she was shy.

We were wrong. There’s not a shy bone in Carley’s body. Never has been.

Carley’s been given plenty of nicknames in her ten years—that’s just part of being in our family, I think. Carl. Carley Sue. Gnarley (which Jimmy Mitchell took to the next level when he started calling her Gnarles Barkley). Little Bit.

But Carley has always been and will always be The Bear. It began early in her life. She wouldn’t just cry when she needed something. She screamed. When she was wet. When she was hungry. When she wanted something. Anything. She would scream in a way the other two never screamed. Like she was furious. Carrie-Anne was the first one to call her a bear. And it stuck. It was her attitude and her angry screaming as a baby that started it.But as it turns out, Carley is our most sensitive child. She cries at the drop of a hat, as often in reaction to the pain of others as for her own pain. And she is our most affectionate. She loves to hug and cuddle and play. She’s always grabbing our hands or jumping on our backs. She went from angry bear to cuddle bear in a hurry. But we just call her Carley Bear.

Carley is a sweet, funny, outgoing, loud, compassionate little girl. She keeps us constantly entertained with her singing and dancing. She says exactly what’s on her mind, which also keeps us very entertained. She’s a voracious reader. She’s a great artist. She likes Sponge Bob and ponies. She is a beautiful gift from our God. And she fills our lives with joy.

Happy Birthday, little girl. We love you.

Doing Love

July 21, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

I’m re-reading C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity for our Tuesday morning men’s Bible study here at Legacy. Today’s chapter on “Christian Marriage” was centered on the promises we make — to God, to the Church, to our families, to the witnesses, to ourselves, and to our spouses — when we get married. The vows.

He focuses, of course, on the permanence of marriage. He refers to divorce as “something like cutting up a living body, as a kind of surgical operation…it is more like having both your legs cut off than it is like dissolving a business partnership or even deserting a regiment.”

But my real interest lies in the distinction he makes beween “being in love” and “doing love.” He doesn’t use that term, “doing love.” That’s mine. What I hope it communicates is that love is a verb, not a feeling. It’s an action, not an emotion. Here’s Lewis:

The promise, made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even if I cease to be in love. A promise must be about things I can do, about actions; no one can promise to go on feeling in a certain way. He might as well promise never to have a headache or always to feel hungry.

Love is not merely a feeling. It’s more honestly realized and experienced in the doing.

I recall a huge fight Carrie-Anne and I had in our first year of marriage. We were going at it. Raising our voices. Saying things to each other we shouldn’t have been saying. We yelled and screamed at each other in that little rent house on Magnolia Lane in Pampa to the point that there was nothing else to say. And we both went into that silent mode. We didn’t talk to each other for several hours. She in one part of the house, me in another. Upset. Mad. Not liking each other at all.

And then when dinner time rolled around, Carrie-Anne started cooking. For an hour, she made dinner. You would think she was making dinner only for herself. That’s what I was assuming, too. It would only make sense. I was being a punk. Why would she cook a meal for me? I was on my own. That’s what I fully expected. And then she brought me a plate. A hot meal. A really delicious meal. She didn’t say anything, but she made my dinner and served me. My heart was broken by her act of kindness. At that moment Carrie-Anne was not in love with me. But she still loved me. She showed me that love, that fidelity, that proof of her vows, by taking care of me, looking out for my best interests. She loved me with a verb. She was doing love.

And I fell in love with her all over again. And we talked and kissed and prayed and made up.

I can’t remember for the life of me what we were fighting about that day. I have no idea. But I’ll never, ever, forget Carrie-Anne’s act of love for me right in the middle of it. It changed my life. It changed my outlook. It radically impacted the ways I treat her.

We’re still in love. Not the crazy excitement of the in love that you feel the day before your wedding. As C. S. Lewis says, who could bear to live like that for even five years? No. Our love is much better than that now. Our love is manifest in the doing of thoughtful and gracious deeds, an active love that seeks the other’s best interests. It is a “deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God.”

It’s not pefect. But it is underpinned by our growing understanding and appreciation of love as an action verb.

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

There are 54 days left until the Cowboys kick off their historic 50th NFL season. I’m sure there’s a commemorative patch out there that they’ll wear on their shoulders all year. I haven’t seen it yet or read about it anywhere. Does anybody have any info on that? Will the patch, will the team, pay more homage to the new stadium than to the 50 years of Cowboys history? My money’s on the new stadium being prominently featured in whatever patch they’ve designed. As my dad says, “hide and watch.” (I still have no idea what that means.)

As we count down the long summer days to that first game against the Bucs in Tampa Bay on September 13, we recognize the second-best players in Cowboys history according to jersey number. And while the debate usually centers on the merits of second and third and fourth best players, with the top player generally being very obvious, that is not the case today. The Cowboys have employed two of the best #54s of all time.

And the KK&C Red Ribbon Review is going with Chuck Howley as the second-best.

Howley was drafted out of West Virginia in the first round of the 1959 draft by the Bears, the seventh selection overall. After two seasons in Chicago, Howley retired from football with an injured knee and, incredibly, began working at a gas station near Wheeling. The expansion Cowboys, desperate for any kind of help, called Howley and worked out a deal with the Bears in which Howley would attempt a comeback in Dallas.

It worked.

Howley went on to play 13 superstar seasons with the Cowboys. He was an integral part of Landry’s Doomsday Defense, taking the Cowboys to two NFL Championship Games and two Super Bowls. As a super-quick and super-strong outside linebacker who played sideline to sideline, Howley was highly respected by his peers as a five-time All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowler. In the Cowboys first ever Super Bowl appearance, Howley collected two interceptions and forced a fumble, earning him game MVP honors. He’s still the only Super Bowl MVP to be named from the losing team.

Howley was the fourth Cowboy inducted into the team’s famed Ring of Honor. He’s the one against whom all Cowboys outside linebackers are measured. And he’s still only the second-best #54 in Cowboys history.

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

I’m borrowing from Kipi’s blog while she’s at Three Mountain taking pictures of the Legacy kids at camp. If you want to see pictures of your children, click here. If you just want to see pictures of mine, click here.

Peace,

Allan

The Great Exchange

July 20, 2009 / Allan / 0 Comments

The Gospel is all about changing places. It’s about substitution. Someone taking my place. Me filling in for someone else. Christ paying a debt he didn’t owe. Me bearing the burdens that belong to my brother. An exchange. A switch-out.

The Gospel is this way because our God is this way.

God is love. And love — real love, intimate love, liberating love, gospel love — is all about this exchange.

Think about your small group that meets Sunday night. Think of the emotionally wounded person in that group. There is no way to listen to and love that person and stay completely emotionally put-together yourself. As you listen to him and attend to him, he will probably begin to feel stronger and better. But that won’t happen without you being emotionally drained yourself. There’s an exchange. And it takes its toll.

Parenting is the same way. We sacrifice and give and serve in order that our children may live. We decrease so they will increase.

God’s salvation through Christ works the same way. He submits to man. He leaves his heavenly home. He serves. He suffers and sacrifices. He takes on shame to give us glory. He dies so we can live.

John Stott wrote:

The essence of sin is we human beings substituting ourselves for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for us. We put ourselves where only God deserves to be; God puts himself where we deserve to be.

If we’ll open our eyes and look for it, we’ll see that the exchange is happening all around us. We live in this exchange. Praise God for the great exchange!

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

Busy weekend. Thanks to J and Laurie Bailey, we were able to watch the Rangers at the Ballpark Saturday night with their sweet family and some other guests. Another Rangers loss in which Texas scored only one run. But this one was a little easier to take since we were in J’s super suite directly behind home plate. Whitney, of course, hung on every pitch, while Valerie and Carley took books to read and mostly laid around inside the suite, reading and eating cotton candy. They even managed to get one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies on the big screen TV. How embarrassing. Thanks, Baileys. We had a blast.

We dropped the two little girls off at Three Mountain Camp just south of Lake Whitney yesterday afternoon. This is Carley’s first camp, so Carrie-Anne got a little weird. Thinking about Carley sometimes makes me a little weird, too. Two weeks ago Carley finally jumped up in the hallway at home and hit the top of the bedroom door frame with her hand. She’s been trying for over year. Now she’s hit it. And now she jumps up and hits the top of every door frame in the whole house, everywhere she goes. Just like I did when I was her age. She’s big now, right? No more little kids. They’re all able to hit the top of the door. I suppose the ceiling’s next. I think Valerie’s still a year away.

Thanks to Kipi Ward who’s managing that 3rd-4th grade cabin down there for taking and posting some pictures.

So, it was just the three of us last night: C-A and Whitney and me. Just like it was for almost four years. We got back from Three Mountain just in time to take in a late night concert in Dallas. I know, Gene Paul, that singing “Sharp Dressed Man” with 25,000 people isn’t the same as singing “Hey, Jude” with 80,000 people. OK, you’re right, it’s not even close. But we had a great time.

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

Yesterday was Aaron and Jennifer Green’s last day here at Legacy. This really stinks. They’re being forced to re-locate to Katy, Texas in the Houston area. They fought it. But, now they’re gone. Aaron and Jennifer are those kind of people that, as a preacher, you really, really, really appreciate. Jennifer was up here at least two or three days a week, every week, for as long as I’ve been here, working in and for our children’s ministry. Aaron jumped immediately into the middle of our move to weekly Small Groups Church, serving on the planning committee and co-leading his own groups during both cycles. He also plays a vital role in the leadership of our young families class here. They both work tirelessly behind the scenes and show up for everything. Man, they’re leaving a big hole here at Legacy. It was a tough day around here because of that. But they’re going to bless a lucky group of Christians somewhere down in Katy.

We love y’all, Greens. We send you to Katy with our love and our prayers and our appreciation. We send you with the grace and peace of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. We send you to the disciples in Katy to bless them and encourage them, as you have us. And we send you to join them in redeeming the world back to our God.

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

There are 55 days left until the Cowboys kick off the NFL season. Probably less than 55 minutes left until Jerry Wayne holds another press conference about another event coming to his new stadium. But we’re concerned with the start of football season here. And we’re counting down the days with our Red Ribbon Review, a look at the second-best players in Cowboys history, according to jersey number. Before today’s #55, we’ll catch up with yesterday’s #56.

Eugene Lockhart. “Mean Gene the Hittin’ Machine.” A sixth-round draft pick in 1984, Lockhart became the first rookie to ever start for the Cowboys at middle linebacker when Bob Breunig was lost halfway through the season due to injury. Lockhart stayed there for six more seasons and became one of the very few bright stars on some pretty bad teams. He made over a hundred tackles in every season but his broken leg year of 1987, and still holds several team records for tackles, including the single season total of 222 he set in 1989. That was the year Lockhart racked up double digit tackle numbers in all 16 games, including a team-record 16 stops against the Cards. That was also Jimmy Johnson’s 1-15 first year in Dallas. So Lockhart’s accomplishments mainly went unnoticed. He was traded to the Patriots following the 1990 season for a number one draft pick that turned into Russell Maryland. As he was cleaning out his locker at Valley Ranch, Lockhart was heard to say, “It’s a cold business — a cold, cold business. And it’s even colder in New England.”

Today’s #55 is another Cowboys middle linebacker, Robert Jones. Jones was Dallas’ first round pick in 1992, the 24th player chosen overall, and the first from East Carolina University to ever be taken in the first round. He played only four years for the Cowboys. Just 56 total games. But they were the four glory years of the Cowboys’ dynasty that decade. Jones was named the NFC Rookie of the Year in ’92. And the Cowboys went to four straight NFC Championship Games, winning three conference titles and three Super Bowls. He went on to play for the Rams and the Dolphins. But for four years, he was the defensive signal-caller on the NFL’s best team.

Peace,

Allan

Birthday Bear

September 10, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

It was nine years ago today, September 10, 1999, that God blessed our family with Carley Renae. In Wichita Falls. Our only child not born in Austin. The only one we knew was coming the day she came.

Carley’s been given plenty of nicknames in her nine years—that’s just part of being in our family, I think. Carl. Carley Sue. Gnarley (which Jimmy Mitchell took to the next level when he started calling her Gnarles Barkley). Little Bit.
But Carley has always been and will always be The Bear.

It began early in her life. She wouldn’t just cry when she needed something. She screamed. When she was wet. When she was hungry. When she wanted something. Anything. She would scream in a way the other two never screamed. Like she was furious. Carrie-Anne was the first one to call her a bear. And it stuck. It was her attitude and her angry screaming as a baby that started it.But as it turns out, Carley is our most sensitive child. She cries at the drop of a hat, as often in reaction to the pain of others as for her own pain. And she is our most affectionate. She loves to hug and cuddle and play. She’s always grabbing our hands or jumping on our backs. She went from angry bear to cuddle bear in a hurry.But we just call her Carley Bear.

Carley is a sweet, funny, outgoing, loud, compassionate little girl. She keeps us constantly entertained with her singing and dancing. She says exactly what’s on her mind, which also keeps us very entertained. She is a beautiful gift from our God. And she fills our lives with joy.

Happy Birthday, little girl. We love you.

Lessons From Chad Johnson

September 11, 2007 / Allan / 2 Comments

Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter of his team’s win over Baltimore last night and whipped out a replica Pro Football Hall of Fame blazer with the words “Future H.O.F. 20??” on the back. He strutted around the sidelines wearing the coat, much to the delight of photographers and commentators who’d been guessing for weeks how Johnson would celebrate his first TD of the season.

Johnson is dumb. His agent must be dumber. If he really has designs on the Hall of Fame, this was a dumb move.

This was not a spontaneous celebration. This one took plenty of foresight and planning. His agent was in on it. Several of Johnson’s advisors must have known this was coming. And apparantly they all told him it was a good idea. And even if they advised him otherwise, Johnson obviously overruled them.

Forget for a moment any opinions you may or may not have about how those kinds of staged celebrations call attention to the individual and disrespect the other 52 members of the team who helped score the touchdown. Forget the way those kinds of things alienate teammates and lead to disharmony on the bench and in the lockerroom. Let’s think for a minute about how the Hall of Fame Selection Committee views this.

The Hall of Fame Selection Committee, a fairly exclusive group of sportswriters and former players, mainly grizzled old-guard veteran types who see themselves as protectors of the dignity of the game, work unashamedly at keeping guys out of the Hall, not putting them in. It’s a brutal process. They disect every aspect of a man’s career, including off-field issues and whether anybody got along with the guy or not. If a man ever brings disgrace to the game or attempts to set himself up above the game and the teams, that man will have a very difficult time getting in. These guys on the committee hold grudges. They vote with bias and partiality. It’s not easy to get in. And if you violate any of their written or unwritten codes of honor, you have to hold a dozen league records and a couple of Super Bowl rings to even sniff a chance of being voted in.

I promise you, when Chad Johnson becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame, five years after his retirement, whenever that is, the stunt he pulled last night will come up. Some will claim he poked fun at the process, that he made light of the committee’s serious work, and that he desecrated the sacred beige blazer. Right or wrong, it will happen.

And as I thought about that while watching the game last night, I was reminded of a sermon I heard Jeff Walling preach at WinterFest and at Tulsa a couple of years ago. Making decisions based on the dot, not the line.

Walling had a bright red posterboard circle, probably two feet in diameter, and told us it represented “right now.” The dot represents the present. Today. And then he had a volunteer run a string of twine from the podium all the way down the center aisle, out the back of the foyer, and into the parking lot where we couldn’t see the end of it. The line. He called that “eternity.” And for 30 minutes that “dot” was up there on the stage and the “line” hung over our heads.

And he talked to us about making decisions based on eternity, not based on the here and now.

Adam and Eve were thinking only about the present when they messed up in the Garden of Eden. They were not thinking long term. Samson continually made decisions based on right now, not based on the big picture. When David was in the middle of breaking over half the ten commandments with Bathsheba, he was making the call based on the moment, not based on the future. The rich young ruler. Judas. Ananias and Saphira. The list of Bible characters who made decisions based on the dot and not the line is long.

And we would do well to learn from those lessons.

The decisions we make regarding how we spend our time. How we spend our money. What we say. What we do. Are we making those daily, hour-by-hour decisions based on the dot or the line? Do we take into consideration the eternal aspect of everything we do or are we driven only by what seems to be good at the moment? Do we reflect on what our actions mean for us and for others in the long run, in the big picture? What are the Kingdom ramifications? How does this impact God’s eternal will for my life? When we’re making our choices, do we consider these things at all?

What will this action do to my wife? How could this choice eventually impact my family? Could my spiritual well-being be compromised by this decision? Is there a chance, down the road, this could harm the Church?

It’s like the end of Moses’ great sermon in Deuteronomy 30, and the end of Jesus’ great sermon on the mount in Matthew 7. It’s like in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2. And it’s like the prophet’s answer to the king in Jeremiah 21. God always gives us choices. He always lays out the options in front of us. Life and prosperity or death and destruction. We make the call. Every day. Every hour. The choices are there. And they are ours. Choose life. Let us make our decisions based on the line, not the dot.

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

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

We’ve always celebrated our children’s birthdays with a family dinner at the restaurant of the birthday girl’s choice. And so far, every kid, every year, we’ve avoided Chuck E. Cheese. Until last night. Carley was adamant. We couldn’t talk her into anything else. And so we went.

Carley and Valerie use their tokens on everything. They try it all. They especially enjoy the skeeball (Carley banged in four or five off the top of the game into the little 10,000 point loop) and they took several whirls on the roller coaster simulator.

Whitney, I think, spent every single one of her tokens shooting hoops.

Carley was absolutely thrilled with the Hannah Montana Barbie dolls, one for Hannah and one for Miley. You parents of elementary school girls understand. Everyone else, I don’t have the energy to explain. All I know is that Disney could take cauliflower and broccoli, turn it into a TV movie and a 30-minute show with a catchy tune, and sell millions and millions of pounds of it to pre-adolescent girls and their parents all over the world.

We couldnt’ find any candles in the house before we left so we actually stuck eight matches in the cake and lit them. You can see from the picture (notice the blackened matchsticks on the right of Carrie-Anne’s hand) that it wasn’t very smooth. Carley was blowing them out as we were lighting them.

And then to cap off the evening, Mr. Cheese actually sang Happy Birthday to the Bear.

We cashed in our nearly 300 tokens for three little toys that we could have purchased at Wal-Mart for 35-cents each. And we listened to Hannah Montana all the way home.

Next up, six little second graders for a sleepover / party Friday night. How do I get out of this to attend the Birdville-Richland football game?

Help.

Allan

Category: Carley (Page 10 of 11)

As A Mother Comforts Her Child…

Happy Birthday, Bear!

Doing Love

The Great Exchange

Birthday Bear

Lessons From Chad Johnson

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Categories

Archives

Allan's Links