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.

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.