Loyalty

Allison is a faithful reader of Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest. I do not read it every day, but today I did. Today’s entry is titled “The Test of Loyalty” and I can’t stop thinking about it.

No matter how little attention I give him, how many times I yell at him, or how many times I tell him “go lay down somewhere,” Buford continues to be loyal. If I call his name or even act as though I am going to pay attention to him he comes joyfully running. I consider myself a loyal person. I am loyal to my family, I am loyal to my job, I am loyal to my friends, and I am certainly loyal to my own interests. How much better would I be if I were TOTALLY loyal to God? Instead of relying on my own abilities, rely totally on Him. Instead of trying to figure things out on my own, rely upon Him. Instead of wasting time doing [fill in the blank], fill that time learning about Him and His Word. However, there are so many times where I simply try to rely on my own abilities to get through things. If I were to be completely loyal to God and rely totally upon Him, I am sure things would be much clearer.

Why does it seem so hard for us to be truly loyal to the One that gave us the ultimate attention, Jesus, who never yells at us, and never tells us to just go away?

They're All Up

The day after Thanksgiving Allison and I put up the majority of our Christmas decorations. Last night my brother met me, Allison, and Cooper to pick up our Christmas tree. We always get a live tree so we wait a little while after Thanksgiving to get it so that it doesn't dry out as bad before Christmas. We got the tree home and me, my brother, and Allison set the tree in the stand. After my brother left we decorated the tree as a family. This was the first time that Cooper was able to participate. For the most part, he was very good and we only broke one ornament. He helped with the lights, he helped me and Alli put on decorations, and he watched as I put the star on top. We had so much fun and I look forward to continuing the new tradition that the Bussell family started last night.

This ornament made it up again. Let's see how long it stays.

A Visit to the Fire Station

Many of you know that Cooper is a huge fan of fire trucks. Yesterday we had the chance to take Cooper to the Murfreesboro Fire Department, Station No. 8. I want to especially thank the guys from Rescue No. 26, Chris and Matt, for being so great with Cooper.

Chris is the son of my father-in-law's girlfriend, Terri and he is the driver of Rescue No. 26. He invited us to come visit sometime, and yesterday we met my father-in-law, Terri, and Noah, Chris' son, at the fire station for a tour.

At first Cooper was very hesitant. He was scared of the truck and kept saying, "It's too big." We were there for a while and Chris showed us all of the tools and gadgets that are on the rescue truck. Allison and I even got to work the "jaws of life." After being there little while Chris had his partner, Matt, come out and put on his fire suit for Cooper. Cooper was still a little hesitant, but he eventually gave Matt five and we were able to take our picture with him. After that Chris climbed on top of the rescue truck and Allison followed him up. That was all it took to break the ice for Cooper. After that he wore his fireman's hat and wanted to climb all over the trucks. He got in and "drove" and Chris even let us get in and take the truck out into the parking lot with the lights on. Cooper had a blast, but I think Allison and I had more fun than he did.

Thanks again Chris for letting us come and learn about what you do everyday protecting the people of Murfreesboro.