Justin and Maggie during pictures before the ceremony. It was an amazing wedding!

 

The ringbearers are ready!

 

The boys huddled together in the breezy times at Coffenbury Lake. :-)

 

Griffey, in all his dog glory, with a piece of driftwood.

 

Noah and his shovel. He dug constantly at the campsite!

 

Kaboom! A cannon at Fort Stevens

 

There's nothing like a rip-roaring campfire!

 

 

testing this out

Here are the Sloan boys rockin’ tuxedos at brother-in-law Justin’s wedding three weeks ago.  A great time and an amazing wedding that gave God all the glory!

Puppies, Toddlers, and Middle School Students

Puppies, Toddlers, and Middle School Students.

They all need the same basic things, and my wife has decided to write a book using this premise (just kidding, I think!?).

But, she has a point. Griffey, our new puppy, is really not all that complicated. He just requires a lot of time, attention, and some wise decisions about how to train him so that he becomes a fun, obedient family dog eventually.

Similarly, we "train" our toddlers to do all sorts of things, and we simply call it parenting. Add tons of love that only a parent can give, millions of short prayers, lots of laughs, some fatigue and tiredness due to getting up at night to care for him/her, many little difficulties, and this suddenly doesn't seem all that different from raising a puppy.

Hmmm, curious...

Further, we "train" our middle school students constantly in the classroom. In order for them to become well-rounded citizens and compassionate people who aren't stuck on themselves, we have to give them a lot of individual TLC.

I see the pattern Jessica was talking about!

It reminds me of a verse in Proverbs that I will loosely relate to this whole thing..."Train up a 'child (student, puppy)' in the way he/she should go and when they are older they will not depart from it." (parentheses mine)

The arrival of Griffey

We're getting a dog!

Through some family members of a friend of mine, we are being "blessed" with a little male black lab. I have named him Griffey, after my childhood hero. Here's a picture of the litter of pups; I'm not sure which one is Griffey.

Jessica has been very gracious in this whole thing, and although she is not excited about the housebreaking part, I think this will be a fun thing for us, especially for the boys.

He will arrive later today! I'll post some pictures!

The Weaver

During one of the culminating moments of my senior year of college, we were challenged by our VP of Student Life, Steve Moore, to look honestly at our lifestyle and the pattern of busyness that wreaks havoc on our devotional life with Christ. He then told us we will never again be as busy as we are in that moment--we will only be busier. In ways that are both healthy and unhealthy, the responsibilities of our life after college will most likely only make us busier as time passes. Family, ministry, work, hobbies, community service, etc. His point was this: amidst the hurried pace of 21st century living, we must daily find ways to focus our hearts and minds to commune with our Lord, so that our life points toward God and gives Him glory.

As I reflect further on this point, I have randomly placed a few pictures from the past year, for those of you who enjoy seeing updates of Jessica and the boys.







I confess, I am struggling with this goal of disciplined devotion. Roughly 14 hours of an average day for me are scheduled fairly tightly between many obligations, big and small. Where is the time spent with the Lord? I find a few minutes here, a few minutes there; I offer up some brief prayers while at work, some moments of adoration while driving.





Yet, I think I am learning what Steve Moore really meant. The omnipresence of our Lord means that the Spirit is with us during every waking moment and every sleeping moment. So, those few-minute time blocks are just as precious as the 30-minute quiet times with my Bible that I rarely seem to find. The prayers that are breathed silently or quietly during my day can be intimate and powerful, just like the times in my brown leather chair with open Bible and open heart.










It has been nearly a year since my struggle with cancer and the two surgeries that were done. Selfishly, I must admit I was hoping that the past year would be one of those emotional mountaintops where I felt really close to God. I wanted it to be not terse and pithy, but profound in dramatic ways. What an odd thing to wish for, in retrospect! Instead, I have seen the Lord's hand work in just the opposite way. I have been growing in ways that are very much like the poem below that was shared by Dr. Moore during that same college denoument. I don't know the author's name, but here it is:

My Life is but a weaving
between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors
He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the under side.

Not til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares,
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives His very best to those
Who leave the choice with Him.

My struggle with cancer is represented by a few of those dark threads. My recovery and all the amazing people in my life who walked beside me are represented by threads of gold and silver. A few threads for my wife, a few for my two boys, a few for my parents and close friends; even a few for that crazy but very capable surgeon.







As the Lord continues to weave the tapestry of my life, I am learning and growing in ways that are only attributed to His grace. As 2009 approaches, it is my prayer that the circumstances of your life can lead you to look closely too at what the Weaver is up to...and I know that because God's love is matchless, your tapestry is beautiful too in some incredibly unique ways. Look for them. Be humbled by them. Grow closer to your Maker and sense His blessings in the middle of your busy life.

Don't Blink

I’ve heard it said that parents of young children often feel like they merely blink a few times and their babies become grade-schoolers.  That’s happening to us already, and here’s proof!  Well, not really, because neither of our boys are old enough to go to “school” yet.  But, Noah is in pre-school twice a week and loves it!  Conner even tried to go along the other day…he grabbed Noah’s lunchbox and headed for the door…!...

Time and Tide Wait for No Man

I heard a great quote today from one of my doctors. He was commenting on his upcoming retirement, and was politely telling me that he would be passing my case along to one of his colleagues...as he put it, "sorry, but, time and tide wait for no man." My first thought was a bit jumbled as I pondered the depth of such a comment by a gastroenterologist in the twilight of his career. Was he telling me that he'd rather be sailing? Perhaps. More likely, he was just sending a kind reminder that humans are frail, temporal, and imperfect. We cannot count on either the rhythyms of career life or the joys of retirement.





Time goes on; the tide comes in and goes out steadily, at once both impeccably beautiful and terribly daunting. Our lives are subject to both of these earthly restraints. Our Creator God, however, is over both. Time is merely man made; the tide is part of His handiwork; He is subject to neither, and therefore able to give us the bits of wisdom to transcend the "restraints" and enjoy the beauty. Indeed, time and tide wait for no man.