I can only Imagine

   I can only imagine what’s going on in heaven right now. The angels are probably doing last minute tune ups for the Praise and Worship session tomorrow. Abraham, Moses, and many other Prophets are preparing their sermons. All of our beloved dead in Christ are as edgy as if preparing for their first High School football game or Beauty Pageant. All of this is going on in preparation for what must be an event that I can’t even put words too. Tomorrow is the Birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

   Throughout my lifetime I have had many wonderful Christmas days. My parents were never wealthy but somehow they always managed to get me the one thing that I wanted most each year. That sacrifice by them led to much joy for me. My family has always lived in or near Gardendale so we all got together every Christmas. These things plus the warmth, safety, comfort, and love my parents gave to us made Christmas very special. 

   This year for the very first time I will wake up and not ask Katie what she has gotten or be able to see the joy on her face as she opens her presents. I will not have her, Andrew, and Jackson streaming into the room in a line with a present behind their backs for me to open. That is something she made happen each year. I will wake up tomorrow and not see what in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful faces in the world on Christmas day. But that’s okay. 

   You see, many of you have called, E-mailed, or came by to say, “we are praying for you”. My heavenly Father has heard those prayers and let me know that in no uncertain terms that Katie Burkett is experiencing that very thing that was mentioned in the first paragraph of this blog. I am in awe of the fact that she will be celebrating her first Christmas with the King of Kings. She will be hearing music that would make Celine Dion sound bad. She will see beauty that I cannot even imagine. But most importantly she will be shown more love than I could ever show her here. God loves her that much. 

   Last year on Dec. 24^th, I would have never thought that I would be here without her. I learned on July 20^th that God has his time frame and plan and it doesn’t necessarily go along with mine. I also learned that he will not give us anything that we can’t handle. With that being said I would like to offer these words of advice. Please understand that I am not trying to be a know-it-all, just trying to give from my life experience. Love your children like there is no tomorrow. Love their mother. Most importantly, please do all you can to lead them to Christ. That is the only thing that makes it possible for me to be happy, and guys I really am happy about what she is experiencing. Our God is an awesome God and he will never forsake us. God bless each one of you and I hope you have a very merry Christmas 

Yours In Christ

Mike “Buckett” Burkett

Merry Christmas

     I would like to take a moment and say Merry Christmas to each one of you that read this blog from time to time. You guys have been witness to change in a man and his family that was brought on by tragedy and the circumstances around it. While most of my blogs have been centered on my emotions and feelings in the absence of my daughter, this one will be about our whole family. 

   We have grown closer to one another because from the beginning we had to lean on each other to make it day to day. It became clear to us that there were no guarantees of tomorrow for any of one of us personally or as family members. That in a blink of an eye our world could change. That realization has made it where there are fewer arguments over petty things. We are also spending much more time with one another and focusing on the good. We have been very blessed to all live close together. Where before I was somewhat reluctant to do all the running that we had to do to fit everyone in, this year I am looking forward to it. 

  I have often wondered how marriages survive after the death of a child. I am glad to say that Shelley and I are as close now as we have ever been. She was with me at a moment that was as close to a nightmare as one can imagine. She was my Rock and let me know that in no uncertain terms that we were going to get thru it. She has been an angel to me when I have needed love and a drill instructor when I have needed a kick in the pants. She has been doing all of this and at the same time being pregnant with Jamison. 

  Andrew is dealing with the loss of Katie from Day to Day just like I am. Buggs was the one constant in his life because Tynette and I divorced when he was very young. We have a new friend in our life named Jamon Grubbs. He is helping Andrew understand that its ok that he doesn’t understand what happened to KK. He looks forward to spending time with Jamon and according to Andrew, “Schooling him at X-Box”. Jamon, you are an Angel in that big ole 300lb body and I thank God you’re at GFBC. 

   Jackson has the best outlook of all of us. He misses Katie but thinks its good that she is with Jesus in heaven. In his own simple way he knows that it is all of our ultimate goal and he trust God to know that KK is in good hands. It kind of makes me jealous because I know that I should look at it in the same way he does. I am selfish and can’t get past the earthly side of me missing her. 

  All of the Burkett’s say thank you to all of you that have supported us. Please continue to pray for us because the hurt is still there. We will do all we can to remember that Katie Burkett is having her very first Christmas with the King of Kings and what an awesome thing that must be. We also hope all of you have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. 

Mike “Buckett” Burkett

Merry Christmas

  Christmas will have a whole new meaning at the Burkett household this year. The loss of Katie and my 1^st Christmas without her in 18 years will definitely be challenging. There were many things that made Christmas such a very special time of year for the 2 of us. I am left here to continue traditions that have been a piece of our tradition for many years. While I struggle to cope with the selfishness of wishing she was here, I am going to make myself remember what she is enjoying during this very special time. 

  Our whole family would gather in the Living room on Dec. 23 and take the time to watch Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. As the years went on many of our group quit doing it but Katie and I continued the tradition. Last year in an ironic twist of fate Buggs had Katie Mitchell come and spend the night with us and watch it. She took some pictures of our event last year so on the 23^rd this year we are all gonna pile in the living room floor and take out those pictures and carry on our little tradition. 

  Katie was going to get a car this Christmas. We were going to break down and get her a new one to drive back and forth to Alabama. I can almost guarantee you that she would have ask for a Sugar Bowl ticket. She was not only a fan but she knows Alabama tradition as well. She knows how many important games Alabama has played in the Sugar Bowl. We have spent lots of evenings watching the Ala. Vs. Miami 1992 game. 

  Our time this Christmas will be getting together and talking about KK a good bit I am sure. However, I am going to spend a lot of time playing with Jack and Andrew and whatever they get this year. I am going to spend time with my Grandparents. I have never mentioned it before but my faith has been directly affected by them. I owe them much. I will also make sure that my parents know how very much I love and appreciate them. When you go thru something like what we have had to endure this year, Knowing that unconditional love that your parents have for you will help get you thru. 

  I can’t bring up the topic of unconditional love without saying one more time how much I know God loves me. My daughter left earth to go to heaven on July 20. I know this because the two of us had many conversations about her faith. Was she perfect? No, but she was a Christian and loves the Lord very much. I know where she is because as I have stated before my heavenly Father spoke to me on that Interstate and told me it was OK to let her come to her Father. He did that for 1 reason, to allow me to get thru this. To let me know that Katie is safe in his kingdom and he wanted to make my pain as easy as possible. You see, he knows of the pain that I have because he watched his son die a horrible death on the cross. He actually sent his son to do that for Katie,  For me, and everyone else that would have him as their Lord and Savior.  If you have not accepted him as your personal Savior, My prayer for you is that you would find someone to explain the Gospel to you or go in the bible and read John Chapter 3. Nobody knows for sure when their July 20^th will be, but I am oh so very thankful that Katie was ready. 

Yours In Christ

Mike “ Buckett” Burkett

What an Incredible witness

I have not had the will or words to Blog in the last few weeks. Facing the holidays as well as finally having to deal with Katie's passing on my own, I have been confused, Down, sad, and just wondering how I can continue with the pain I have in my heart. Satan has attacked me on many fronts and while I know Katie will be spending the most incredible Christmas imaginable in the presence Of our Lord, I miss her more with each passing day. I have found myself crying more times than not. Out of the blue, a message from someone who knows pain that I cant even imagine, comes by E-mail. I thought I would share this with you guys. This is a message from Siran Stacey after I sent him an E-mail saying that I was praying for him on the anniversary of their accident.

Indeed its a brotherhood that no one wants to be a part of, or should have to endure. You know thats what we really do. We endure it, I don't know or limit what God can do, yet I feel I will never be able to get over this. Its something that lives with me on a continual daily basis...I endure and Trust God...On June 5 of this year, (My 2 yr old birthday) I broke, I went to the cemetery where they were buried and just laid there crying and suffering...It was midnight when I got there and I did not leave until 2-3 hours later...I ask God to take away this suffering, I could not endure it any longer, I hated my life, I groaned for death...I kept seeing my 2 yr old baby in that casket... when I left, I went to my mother house, woke her up, yet there was nothing she could do for me, I left her house and eventually made it home where I continue to be in a time-warp state of mind... I finally pass out. I awoke the next day, and just was weak, and a word from The Lord came to me...The Apostle Paul story of him asking God to remove the thorn out of his flesh came to me, God said he would not remove it, yet "My Grace is Suffient for Thee" I got my answer Mike, God was showing me I would always live with this pain, yet His Grace will be more than enough to carry me through the fire.

And That's my walk now,  I know the heart of a man that has lost his daughter through tragedy, yet We cannot let their lives be in vain, We cannot just say " I quit" I have never met your daughter, yet My spirit tells me She loved her dad very much, and was very thankful of his Love...She wants her Dad to continue being Dad, not some Lost man, who have bought into The Sick Lies of Satan...

I Love you my brother, I humbly thank you for your prayers and words of encouragements

To God be all The Glory

Siran Stacy

Our God Is An Awesome God

QUARTERBACKS ARE CHRISTIAN EXAMPLE FOR TEAM


When the whistle blows on the final Brandon High School football game
and the statistics have recorded the efforts of players, there will be
one stat not written in a book. The leadership, ministry and devotion by quarterbacks Joe Barnes and Caleb Jett will instead leave indelible marks in the lives of those

they influenced both on and off the field.

Both Barnes and Jett said they could never have imagined what God did
this year because they began the year as rivals vying for the starting
quarterback position. The two said they believe God did great work when He broke down the
walls between them and forged them together as best friends and
partners in ministry.

Jett had just moved to Brandon in March because his father David was
appointed senior pastor at Crossgates Baptist Church. Barnes and his
family had attended the church for many years. Both men had heard
rumors of the other but neither wanted a friendship. The transformation happened April 30 while attending a Sunday school cookout."God showed up that day and people were being set free from bondages and sin, and I felt God was pulling at me. I finally broke down in
tears and I knew it was time for me to follow God completely," said Barnes.

"I wasn't supposed to be there that day but I got invited. We were
praying for someone else and I kept getting these looks from Thomas,
the leader. It was like God was looking at me through him. God spoke
to me and it was like I let go of everything," said Jett.

Following the prayer time, the two rivals were left alone to talk it out.

"We both knew that God put us together that day and we agreed to
follow whatever God said. That was the day I met my best friend," said
Barnes.

Jett said the two began praying and ministering at church, at school
and in the locker room."When God brings Joe and I together to minister it's like we just
don't even care what happens or what people think, because we just
want people to step up and be warriors for Christ," said Jett.

On the football field, the two friends share the job as quarterback.
Coach Dan Davis said both Barnes and Jett are great competitors who
always put the team first."I am just so impressed with the way they have their priorities lined
up. It has been an honor and privilege to coach them. They have both
talent and character. I believe when you put those traits together
with a strong faith in God, then there is not any obstacle they have
to fear. I love and respect both of them," said Davis.

Fellow player Seth Power admires Barnes and Jett for taking a stand in
a difficult setting like a high school locker room."I think it took a lot of leadership and guts to talk about God in the locker room and at school. It has made a difference in the lives of
several people," said Power. Senior player Kody Johnson noticed the change in Joe's life."It was time for me to change the way I was living. I just neverrealized how many lives we would impact by the way we live," Johnson said.

Barnes and Jett said their friendship has helped weather the losses on
the field. "After we lost a game I wanted to hang my head, but Caleb was there to
encourage me to keep my eyes on Christ and to remember that I have
God's approval and I don't have to have the approval of others," said
Barnes.

The friends lead a Bible study for the football team, but they want to
give words of encouragement to all students."Don't waste your high school years, but get up each day and be ready to do God's will for your life," said Jett. "Being a Christian is about giving up your life to God and then living to seek His will. It is really about dying to self," said Barnes.

God is Good

              Please forgive me if my last post was a little bit sappy and out of place. I was going through a bad moment and heard that it’s sometimes good to write someone you are missing a letter. I tried that and for a little while it worked. I wanted to take a minute and clarify a couple of things that maybe got misunderstood in my letter to Buggs. 

  I am not mad about the situation our family is in with the passing of Katie. I do not understand our Lords plan in all of this but that really doesn’t matter. My issue is that I miss my daughter and if I knew Gods plan it would not make me miss her any less. Everything we go through right now reminds us of her and what she would be doing during her senior year. The things the two of us shared during this time of year like football and holidays were very special to KK and I. 

  Our Heavenly Father is not punishing us for things we have done. He is not taking payment for sin or anything else in her life. From a spiritual standpoint God is rewarding Katie for a job well done here on earth. I know my baby heard “well done my good and faithful servant “on July 20, 2008 sometime around 10:35 am. While her stay here on earth was short in our eyes, comparatively to what God has planned for us, all of our stays on earth are short. She made a lifetime in her short 17 years. She never walked away from a challenge or never met someone she didn’t know. She laughed, cried, walked, ran, won beauty pageants, lost beauty pageants, stripe fished, Hunted, and did many more things. 

  God’s blessings have rained down on this family since that day. We have found new friends, grown closer to old ones, gotten a new perspective on the importance of worldly things and most importantly learned to take every moment God gives us. I am quick to read a book or play a game with Jackson or Andrew when before I might look for reasons not to. My boss is going to hate me but the after hours meetings and giving time to customers after work has ended. They are important to my livelihood but not my family life. 

  I would like to encourage all of you that think we have been let down or how God could let something like this happen to someone like Katie, to read what the Bible says about heaven. Katie was not punished by God. He was not asleep at the wheel. This was not a punishment. It didn’t just happen from Bad luck. God knew before KK took her first breath when she would take her last one. He knew that the vehicle she was riding in was going to flip and land on her side no matter what side of the car she was sitting on. The only thing he didn’t have a hand in was that when she was a teenager she was going to make a choice that Jesus was her Lord and Savior. That she was going to live for him and the Glory of his kingdom. That her ultimate goal was to somehow glorify God. I think she got acknowledgement that she reached that Goal on July 20^th when he said those seven little words to her in heaven. 

  Daddy loves you baby. Congratulations on a job well done.

update

               It has been three months since you left. I find I am missing you more each and every day. People have told me that time would make it easier, but that just hasn’t been true. There have been many things going on since the worst day of my life. Your Rockets are 3-4. Bama is on an incredible tear. Blakely got Homecoming Queen. We are all making it through the day any way we can. 

   You would be so proud of the GHS football team. They have taken the fight to everyone they have played. There has been no evidence of backing down or being intimidated by anyone. Conner has played well and Trey has been amazing. Timothy, Bobby, and Lawson are making plays all over the field. When we won our first game against Oak Mountain, the players and cheerleaders all ran over to the band. They were dancing and singing and they all pointed to the sky for you. Baby, you are not forgotten 

   Saban has gotten the Tide off to a 6-0 start. We beat Clemson in Atlanta  and then tore Georgia up a few weeks later at their place. Right now we are ranked 2^nd in the polls. If we keep winning we will possibly play in the National Championship in Miami. Carli, Katie, Mollie, and Josh have been going to the games with your tickets. Shelley and I have been to a couple but it just don’t feel the same. It seems like all I can think about when they win is how happy you would be. 

  Homecoming 2008 was almost like you picked the Homecoming court. Blakely won and the senior Reps were Katie, Mollie, Carli, and Natalie. They all looked very pretty. Cassie got to crown the winner. We all took pictures before they left and I even got some with Andrew and the girls. 

   Shelley is going to have you a little sister. We found out last week. I know you always said you wanted to be the only girl but I know Buggs, that you would have spoiled a little sister to death. We are going to name her Jamison. I hope she has your spirit and determination. I hope she is not as pretty though because I don’t want to have to worry about the boys….Just kidding. 

   Andrew is doing well in school. He has had a super year in football. He has your competitiveness after all. Seems like every week he has the biggest kid on the other team on him. Jack is learning well and after he got into trouble the first two days things have settled down. He misses you but thinks its really cool that you are in Heaven with Jesus. Giggy and Pop call and come by all the time. They are worried about us and they miss you terribly. You have had an article in the Birmingham news and your marker has been put in. It has all the people you love on it. Josh is down at Montevallo and his room is one big Katie collage. 

   That leaves me. I never knew anything could hurt so bad. I regret every moment of your life that I didn’t spend with you. I wish I could get on you about a shirt or phone bill or coming in late. I think back to every special moment, the ballgames, stripe fishing, beauty pageants, tryouts, and just wish we could have one more. There is not 1 minute in a day that I don’t think about you. You taught me what love was. I never knew until you were born how much a man could love. I am so sorry that I couldn’t help you that day. I will never ever be able to get over that. I always promised I would protect you and in that, I let you down. I promise you this KK, no daddy ever loved a daughter more and one day we will be together again. I love you baby. 

Daddy