Please Pray

I have never met this family. Mrs. Tuley used to teach with one of the ladies in our Sunday school class and she has been asking us to pray for this family for a while. While this baby has surpassed many expectations, he has a long road ahead. Please join us in praying for this little boy as well as his family and doctors.

Cooperisms

For those of you that have kids, you know that they can say some of the funniest things. Cooper is no exception. This week Cooper was sick, so I was home with him Tuesday and Wednesday. While I was home with him he said some of the funniest things.

Tuesday during the Inauguration, each time President Obama would come on the screen I would say "That is our new President, Barack Obama," but I didn't really think he was really paying attention. Then, as President Obama stood up to take the oath of office Cooper said, "That's our new President?" I said yes, his name is Barack Obama. President Obama took the oath and then music started playing. After the music was over Cooper stood up and said "Yay Barack!" I am not sure I agree with Cooper's politics, but it was funny.

Cooper can't grow up in our house and not hear Rocky Top during football and basketball seasons. Allison and I have also been known to sing it when a touchdown is scored or when a game is over. This morning, at 6:30 a.m., I woke up to "Rocky Top, whoo! Rocky Top, Whoo!"

Those are just two examples of the most recent. I am sure there will be more posts to come as more Cooperisms happen.

For These Tough Times - A Book Review

I received a copy of Max Lucado’s book For these Tough Times recently. It is a very short book, but in the pages there is a great message. The message is: if we rely on God, we can get through tough times that may appear as though we can’t make it through. Max Lucado uses a phrase in the book that I think sums it up: “God is for us.”

Currently in the United States there are many people going through really tough times. This book is perfect for them. There are also many people in the United States that are not going through any tougher times than they were two years ago. This book is perfect for them also. In my opinion, this book can be great to pick you up in times you need just a little bit of guidance or a little bit of encouragement. This book is short and to the point. God is for us and we just need to rely on Him.

For these Tough Times is a very quick read with a very powerful message. This book is definitely worth the small amount of time it takes to read it and I definitely recommend it. Get your copy here today.

Lead Like Jesus

I got a new devotional for Christmas called Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. I had heard a little about it and someone I know told me that she uses it at work and often times finds herself looking at it several times a day when she needs to just take a step back and gather her thoughts. I have been reading through it since January 1st and I can say that for someone who leads others, or aspire to, this is a great devotional. I have been inspired most days by the devotional, however day 9 has really stood out. Below is a quote from that day.


"Jesus modeled the role of a true servant leader by investing most of His time in training and equipping the disciples for leadership when His earthly ministry was over."


This the attitude that we should all have. I don't think it matters whether you are leading a company, a Sunday school class, or you own family, we should all be striving to help the people we are leading become leaders down the road.

What are some of the things we can all do to better to equip the people we are leading to be leaders at some point down the road?

Musician in the Making?

Cooper loves to sing and dance. I am definitely not musically inclined, but I would love to learn to play the guitar. I have a guitar, and can play many chords, it's the rhythm thing that trips me up, but that's not the reason for this post. Last night we were playing Rock Band on our Wii and Cooper wanted to join in. He loved "playing" the drums and the guitar. Most of all he loved carrying the microphone around and singing into it. Sadly, I didn't get any video of him singing, but I did get some good pics as well as video of him and the guitar. However, for some reason I can't get the video to load. I will try and again later, so check back for video of Cooper playing.