Hello, from Colorful Colorado. We’re on the summer family vacation and I’ve promised I won’t blog until we return to the Great State of Texas on July 6.
Grace and Peace,
Allan
Category: Stanglin Family (Page 19 of 26)
Our youngest daughter, Carley, is quite the artist. She’s always drawing, always creating on the computer, always painting and coloring. And she loves to read. She’s insatiable. Voracious. She’s the kid who won’t put her book down while she walks from the couch to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She walks and reads. She packs a book for every four-minute trip to Wal-Mart or seven-minute ride to church.
And, she’s very talented. Of course. Duh.
Now I’ve been blown away by a poem Carley wrote for a 5th grade contest at Green Valley Elementary. She read it last night at their poetry recital in front of over a hundred students and parents. And, yeah, it’s very good.
Faith will spread through hearts and minds;
Oh, a feeling so divine.
It lifts you up to higher ground,
saving you from yourself.
Though hope is gone and love is dead,
faith still lives on strong.
So walk with pride, but do not test;
come from the shadows and from the dark;
let this feeling fill your heart.
Come with me; keep your eyes on the prize;
walk on water; fly above.
But come with me, oligopistos,
ye of little faith.
That’s right. My eleven-year-old daughter incorporating some New Testament greek into her fifth grade poem. What could possibly make her preacher daddy more proud? If she ever finds a word that rhymes with homothumadon, look out!
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The trash-talking started long before the Mavericks had completed their historic sweep of the Lakers. My sister, Rhonda, who lives in OKC with her basketball freak husband and kids, began texting Whitney and me with predictions of doom for Dallas if they were to meet their beloved Thunder in the conference finals. Once the Mavs beat LA, I started it back up again with, “Would you rather your Thunder beat Memphis in seven games and get swept by Dallas, or lose to the Grizzlies and avoid the humiliation?”
Rhonda and Geoff were in the arena up there in January when the Mavs beat the Thunder in a regular season game in OKC. And they took exception to the way Jason Terry celebrated and, in their words, taunted the crowd. So I get this picture from Geoff on Sunday:
Oh, yeah. It’s on. I’m a little concerned about Kidd and J. J. Barea because the Mavs are facing a young athletic set of guards for the first time all postseason. And there’s no way Dallas will have the same open looks at three-pointers that they got against the older, worn-out, slow to rotate Lakers’ front court. In the end, though, OKC doesn’t have an answer for Dirk. And Tyson Chandler ought to get about five blocks per game. Kevin Durant may average 30-points in this series. And this may very well be his coming out party. But the Mavs will prevail. It just won’t be easy. Dallas in six.
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We hauled the girls out to the Dallas Arboretum on Saturday to take in the beauty of White Rock Lake and all the blooms of spring. We also wanted to check out my great friend Kevin Henrichson’s Little Mermaid castle. Kevin’s architectural firm, GHA, designed and constructed the grand-prize winning castle last February as part of the Dallas Blooms exhibits. And it’ll remain on display there with the other fairy tale castles at the Arboretum through the remainder of 2011.
The castle was nice and all, Kevin, but, honestly, I’m much more interested in your other major design and 
construction project. Please hurry up and get that In-N-Out location built on Precinct Line!
Peace,
Allan
“God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.” ~Old Jewish Proverb
On a literal level, we certainly disagree with the proverb. God is most definitely everywhere. But in a symbolic sense, I dearly love what the proverb proclaims. For we do see our God in our mothers.
When our mothers cook for us our favorite meals, sew the patch in the knee of our blue jeans, and slip us the cash for the movie, they are reflecting the provision of our God who always meets the needs of his children.
When our mothers hold us closely through the thunderstorm, watch us as we cross the street, and insist on meeting all our friends, they are mimicking the protection we’re promised by our Father.
When they wipe away the tears and apply the band aids and force the cough medicine down our throats, they are shadowing our God, the Comforter and Healer.
Our mothers love us unconditionally, despite the messes we make and the trouble we cause. Even when we don’t listen and we don’t behave, mom’s love never wanes. She disciplines us when we stray from the path. She forgives us when we wreck her carpet or her drapes. And she encourages us to be everything our God has created us to be.
Our mothers teach us right from wrong. They listen inexhaustibly. They rejoice in our success. And our setbacks cause their hearts to break. They know what we’re going to say before we say it. Our mothers brag about us to their friends and they defend us to our peers. They believe in us even when we don’t believe in ourselves. They lead us from in front and they push us from behind.
And there’s nothing that could ever separate us from their love. Ever.
Yes, our God is everywhere. But so too, it seems, are our mothers.
There’s another old proverb out there that says an ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. I’m not touching that one. 
Happy Mother’s Day!
Beat LA!
Allan
“My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” ~ Philippians 4:19-20
We are still riding the incredible wave of Spirit energy and enthusiasm generated by our God’s kind and gracious actions with his people at Legacy on Sunday. It was our annual Missions Sunday. We had prayerfully set a pretty lofty goal of collecting $250,702 to fund our entire local and foreign missions budget for 2011. And on Sunday, our Lord blew that number right out of the water. And he blew us all away with many powerful reminders of his great love and faithfulness.
Our God came through big time on Sunday: $273,327!! And the money is still coming in!! Give him all the glory and praise!!
But that doesn’t even begin to tell half the story of our Sunday with God and his people at Legacy.
Our assembly time began with our kids. All our precious kids, from two-years-old through sixth grade, inspired us with their dramatic offerings and bold proclamations of what God is doing through them. The congregation burst out with audible gasps as each class announced their total offerings. $64! $298! $101. The second grade brought in more than $900! And they gave with such joy. God showed us through our children what cheerful giving looks like.
David and Olivia Nelson shared the Word with us from the middle of their evening assembly in Kharkov, Ukraine. As we listened to the words from Acts 2:42-47, the camera panned around the Nelsons’ living room to show us that they were packed to the gills. Standing room only. In fact, the Father’s provision is forcing them to begin planning for a second congregation due to the sheer numbers of people who are coming to study the Bible. God showed us through David and Olivia what faithfulness to his mission call looks like.
Then, my great friend Manuel Calderon captivated us with stories about what our God is doing in the Hispanic communities of the Rosemont area of South Fort Worth. Melissa brought tears to the eyes of everyone who heard her stirring testimony to God’s transforming power that has changed her from a lost and lonely lesbian to a saved sister in the Lord’s Kingdom. Then, Irvin moved us with his undeniable witness to the Spirit’s work that has rescued him from a life of alcohol and drug abuse and gang violence to one of eternal salvation and peace in Christ Jesus. God showed us through these two disciples what “new creation” really looks like.
All of this is further proof to our church family that our God is alive and working with his people. It’s further testimony to our God’s faithfulness to his children. It’s lasting evidence that his Holy Spirit is convicting and transforming the world.
We are at our best on Missions Sunday. We are thinking about others instead of ourselves. We are sacrificing and giving of ourselves and our resources for the higher causes of Christ. We arrive at the building with great expectations and we are unified in our communion and worship. And blessings just seem to pile on top of blessings.
Our Father is keeping his covenant promises to Legacy and to all of his creation. May he be glorified and may his Son be exalted for ever and ever. Amen.
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Allright, all you facebook fanatics who keep telling me to get an account, watch this video. It’s an Onion parody that presents facebook as a CIA enterprise meant to collect and compile information on everybody in the world. One of the funniest lines in the video is about the government’s disappointment with Twitter, another of their attempts at spying on the public: “400 billion tweets, and not one useful bit of data has ever been transmitted.”
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Finally, March Gladness of a different strain. I have reclaimed my crown as the college basketball king at Stanglin Manor. It wasn’t pretty. Nobody in the house picked a single Final Four team. So, the final results are in and, for the first time in four years, I’m back on top. I finished with 58 points by correctly selecting five of the Elite Eight, barely edging Carley who finished with 57. Whitney came in third place with 53 points, followed by Carrie-Anne’s 52 and Valerie’s 31. This means I get to pick where we dine when we break our Missions Month fast from eating out. I can smell and taste those buffalo chicken strips at Cheddar’s right now.
Go VCU. Whatever.
Peace,
Allan
I had the great honor of planning and preaching yesterday’s funeral service for Carrie-Anne’s grandmother who died on Thanksgiving Day. Gran Gran was the center of that family’s life. Everything we did on Carrie-Anne’s side of the family revolved around Gran Gran. She was a rock of strength and a fountain of joy. She laughed loudly and often. She hugged fiercely. She loved everybody with everything she had. She was the kind of grandmother you wish all children had. She was the kind of grandparent I want to be someday.
One of Carrie-Anne’s younger cousins asked me after the service, “How in the world did you manage to keep your composure while you were talking about Gran Gran? How did you not start crying?”
“It’s easy,” I told her. “I really do believe the things I talked about.”
I really do believe that Gran Gran is in a much better place, the place she was created by our God to ultimately live. I really do believe that since Christ was raised from the dead, we are all going to be raised from the dead to live forever in the holy presence of the Creator of Heaven and Earth. I really do believe that she is experiencing now the culmination of all of God’s promises and guarantees, the fulfillment of all of God’s eternal plans, that she really does have a new body and a new mind, and that I really am going to see her again very soon.
It’s not just words. It’s indisputable truth. It’s undeniable fact. Death does not have the final word. Death is not the bottom line. Our risen Lord has all power and all authority and he always writes the last chapter.
So we don’t grieve as others grieve. We don’t mourn as others mourn. Yes, there is sadness in her leaving. Of course, there is a heavy sense of loss. Oh yeah, there are tears. But, seriously, it’s more like she’s taken off on another cruise somewhere and we are all going to see her again.
Actually, it’s much better than that. She’s a conqueror today. She’s a victor. The New Testament image of a funeral procession is one of great triumph, like a victorious general returning home to a huge parade of cheering witnesses, that great cloud of witnesses who’ve gone on before. Gran Gran is rejoicing today. And I rejoice with her.
May we always grieve in a way that brings glory to our Father. May our mourning accurately reflect the Good News of our guaranteed salvation from God in Christ. May our responses to the death of our loved ones bring our King, the Lord of Life, eternal honor and praise.
Peace,
Allan
I think God’s messing with me.
A few months ago I was asked by Chance Vanover at Oklahoma Christian University to speak at OC’s chapel. Anybody who had any connection to that school back in the mid to late ’80s understands full well how improbable that is. Me? Speaking at OC’s chapel? If you had told me 20 years ago that I would be standing on stage at Hardeman Auditorium this morning preaching the Word of God, I would have said the Rangers have a better chance of winning the World Series. The men of Delta would have a better shot of winning a social service award (inside joke). But our God is the God who breathes life into the dead and calls things that are not as though they are. So, of course, I agreed.
A few weeks later, Chance sent me the text. 2 Corinthians 3:18. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Chance wanted me to talk about a changed life, a new life in Christ.
Probably just a coincidence.
Part of me wanted to just read the passage to the students and then declare, “Exhibit A!” and point to myself and then sit down. That would probably greatly please the faculty and staff. But their collective sigh of relief would collapse some walls and endanger the lives of hundreds of tuition-paying students. So, I preached.
While I preached this morning, my sister, Rhonda, who lives in Edmond with her husband, Geoff, and their three kids, was standing in the back. She updated her Facebook status while I spoke. “Listening to my brother, Allan, speaking at OC’s chapel.” Almost immediately, a common friend of ours replied, “Does OC security know?”
The moment I finished, Dr. Larry Jurney made a bee-line to the front. Dr. Jurney was our Radio-TV department head at OC. I hadn’t seen him in a dozen years. He greeted me and then, in front of eight or nine others, said, “Here’s what I remember about Allan Stanglin! Allan Stanglin is the reason I had to serve on the school’s disciplinary board! They put me on the board when Allan got in trouble. And after we dealt with him, I asked to be removed. But Dean Mock said as long as Allan was at OCC, they needed me on the board!”
Nice.
I was so pleased to see Jamie and Charley Jo, two of our Legacy kids, at OC today. I’m hoping we can have lunch together tomorrow and catch up. I was glad to see Dr. Jurney and so many others who had a great influence on me so many years ago. I think about Stafford North. Philip Patterson. Tod Brown. Bailey McBride. Even Dean Mock. They loved me. They pushed me. They disciplined me. And they did their dead-level best to keep me on the right track. They gave me every chance. They extended to me every grace. They gave me much more than I ever deserved.
And I didn’t see it at the time. I didn’t recognize it then. I wouldn’t have even admitted it ten years ago. But I see very clearly now how true are the things they told me. How wise is the counsel they gave me. How loving was the rod they applied and the mercy they showed.
I’m thankful for the nearly two days and a night I get to spend with Rhonda. We ate Mexican food at Ted’s today, we picked up the kids from basketball practice, and we’re getting ready for a youth group devo at their house tonight. Maryn played and sang for me a beautiful song she wrote a year ago. She’s a genius. I’m listening to Asa right now playfully argue with his guitar instructor in the living room. He’s hilarious. And Caleb’s hitting the books. Homework and hoops: that’s his whole life. Geoff will be home from work in a few minutes. The Cowboys play his Vikings this weekend. He’ll rag Dallas. I’ll rag Favre.
I’m giving one more message at OC chapel in the morning about what it means to live a new life in Christ and to be transformed by his Spirit. Coincidence, right? At the very least, it’s incredibly ironic.
I think God’s messing with me.
Peace,
Allan
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