3:00 am and wide awake...

Most anyone who knows me knows that I am running at full speed most all of the time. So sleep has never been a problem for me. When I finally get in the bed at night - I am out like a automatic switch until the alarm clock goes off. However, at 3:00 am (one and a half hours before the clock is to go off) I am wide awake yesterday.

Fighting it was no use - I was awake - no chance of going back to sleep. So I let me mind begin to access the daily list of things to do and found that this would be a good time to talk with the Lord about a few things. Now normally my prayers always include request for various folks that are having difficulties, the world that we live, the problems of the day and of course a short thank you for all the blessings in my life Amen.

But this morning was different. As I still laid in bed, I could not help to talk with the Lord about all my blessings. A wonderful God fearing man sound asleep beside me, a cozy place to sleep, Lil Ben and Arthur snoring away on the bed with us. Annabelle just outside the bedroom door sleeping on her zebra pillow, in the room across my beautiful Jesus loving daughter in peaceful slumber - who can ask for anything more. My talk continued with thankfulness of a nice house, transportation, jobs that put food on the table, a memory that allows me to use the poverty of my past to help others now.

I thanked Him for my health and for the health of my family. I thanked Him for my son who also knows the Lord and has tender heart. For my friends who are truly just angels that He gave me to help get me through the trials and temptations of this world that we live in.

I found myself with tears streaming down my face for I realized that I am blessed far far more than I deserve to me. I apologized for taking so much for granted and not always taking time to give Him the credit He deserved for my life.

I ended my quiet time with a final thank you for His son - how hard that must have been to send Jesus to carry the weight of the world literally on his shoulders to save a poor sinner like me. As the songs - when He was on cross I was on His mind.

May I never take this this for granted especially when the world steps in and tries to show me different. My prayer will always be - "Lead me, guide me along the way. For if You lead me I cannot stray. Or just open my eyes that I may see I am lost if You take Your hand from me. I am blind without Your light to see. Lord just always let me Thy servant be. Lead me 0' Lord, won’t You lead me. Lead me, guide me along the way. For if You lead me I cannot stray!" Amen!

Again time has flown by..

How did I get so far behind (see picture above) on my postings? I have so much to put in print that I am afraid now that I will leave out some of the details.....It is now November and the last time I posted was about something that happened in March... I am going to try and recount the major things that has happened over the last 6 months in the coming days....so much to remember! Hope this posts are not boring but they are so precious and important to us.

One thing I do know is that the Lord has blessed us tremendously this year - sure we have had our share of trials and difficult situations but we have also had numerous victories and we are still careful to give God the glory in the good and the bad.

The one thing that really needs to be said today - is this - THANK YOU LORD - for all the blessings in my life, for my family, my friends, my health, my job, my dogs, and so many other things but most the number one reason that I thank You is for Your son - Jesus Christ- who died for my sins and who saved me from the eternal fires of Hell.

Picture perfect...Snow in March in Alabama

Alabama does not see much snow so when we got a good dusting of it on the first Sunday in March 2009 - everyone got their cameras out. I must say that this was the first time in my forty plus years on this earth that I had been to church while the snow was falling. The picture attached is at the back of our church- Wilton Baptist and it includes an old building that is no longer in use (actually it is to be removed from the site soon). However, it sure made for a perfect picture on this beautiful Sunday morning.

I stand amazed at the wonder of God's endless imagination - his artistry is beyond words. If earth can look this beautiful - I can only imagine the wonders of heaven.

Counting my blessings...

Last night as I was traveling home from work - in a fury to get to a meeting that I had called - a meeting that was important and I hated to be late. I was stuck in terrible traffic - the kind that does not move at all. I am not a patient person - I was late and needed to be on my way and yet here I was stuck in traffic no way to exit the interstate.....I fumed and fumed....waited and waited - finally we were slowly moving at a snail pace....slowly...slowly. As a reached the accident site, I was horrified at the thought of the families that had just been changed forever. The cars involved were unrecognizable -clothes were scattered in the trees - lives were lost. Chills ran all over me and suddenly I thanked God for the traffic, for the alone time in my vehicle, for everything. I am so selfish - I prayed for forgiveness and I counted my blessings.

Tomorrow I will probably be fussing about the traffic again but today I am thankful for all the obstacles that drop into my life......

GOD IS SO GOOD all the time!

Where did time go?

Where have I been? Why have I not updated this blog? Where did the time go? Just yesterday it was March - we were waiting on the new love of our life to come home....now it is July - Lil Ben is SIX months old....Was I kidnapped by aliens? How did I neglect posting for sooooooo long? I have loads of information to share....good times, bad times - all of them GLORY TO GOD times.... Get ready your are fixing to be on Burns information overload.... I will recapture the last 4 months soon....Life is changing for me in the next couple of weeks and I will have plenty of free time to blog...

Remember God is good all the time and all the time God is good! Have a wonderful day!!!

Anticipation!!!!!

By this time tomorrow, the Burns household will have a new member. We are SO excited....a precious new life to love and adore! It has been rather lonesome since #1 son moved out to college and #1 daughter is a full-time working woman with her own agenda. Now don't get me wrong - we have TWO wonderfully funny english bulldogs at home -patiently waiting for us at the door - we don't know what we would do without them. Cant imagine life without them....but once you have become smitten with a bulldog - one or two is not enough........SO tomorrow we bring home our THIRD - Benjamin Athens Burns - aka -Lil Ben - aka - Big Ben (he weighs 13 pounds and is 8 weeks old)!!!!! We are so in love with him already and we have yet to meet him. The breeder that he is coming from (same one as our other bullies) has done an excellent job of keeping us posted on his growth.

Tonight is like the night before Christmas and you dont think that morning is ever going to come! We are so blessed - I cant say that enough! And tomorrow - we indulge in pure satisfaction of loving another bulldog - God is SO good!

God is so Good!....

All the time and yet most of the time we take it for granted. This week has been an emotional rollercoaster for the Burns household. I have never seen someone so certain of what they were called to do on this earth like my husband. Coaching football has been his one and only desire as long as I have known him. He loves it! The past couple of years have seen a series of ups and downs as to his career - going from an all time high to an all time low with no fault of his own to blame. Anyway, he patiently waited on the Lord to show him the way. He responded with all the actions that a Christian should seeking wisdom and strength- praying faithfully for God to reveal the much needed answers - bottom line - he trusted in the Lord totally and completely.

To make a long story short and I still cant reveal the ending yet, I have seen God's handiwork in my husband over the last few years and I have never been prouder to say that I am in love with a God fearing - God loving man who seeks to honor and praise the Lord in all that he does and especially in coaching football.

Love is....

...the saving grace of Jesus Christ!
...the way a newborn baby skins feels
...the familiarity of home
...good friends who always have your back
...children who grow up to be special adults -I have two of the best!
...a husband who you would choose over and over again no matter what
...a family of friends and loved ones that you cannot imagine life without
...freedom - the price of which cost so much
...the wagging tail of an English Bulldog
...the commitments that we make and dare not break
...heaven with the ones gone before waiting on us
...THE GREATEST OF ALL THINGS!

Happy Valentines Days to all!

A Night in Bethlehem

For the past couple of years, I have had the privilege of being involved in one of the most rewarding and satisfying productions of my life, A Night in Bethlehem. Wilton Baptist Church - a very small Southern Baptist Church just outside of Montevallo AL - is home to us. On an average Sunday morning the sanctuary has about 70-80 folks worshipping. So a production of any size can be overwhelming to say the least. They are costumes to make, sets to build, food to prepare, drama roles to be filled, parking duties to attend - you get the picture....I am so proud of our Wilton folks - we had 55, yes I said, 55 participant on each night of the production - which consisted of one closed performance for WBC only and three nights open to the public. WOW - AWESOME - WILTON!!! That is amazing to say the least - especially during the busiest time of the year - the holiday season. Wilton members from the youngest - Ella (infant daughter of Dave and Amanda Roper) to the oldest - Gran Fran Hunt (who is a young 80's) gave of their time, their talents, their smiles, their money, and most importantly their love of the Lord...I could not be more proud.

The Bible tells us to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and his saving power - yet that is sometimes hard in our day to day working world but for three/four nights in December 2008 everyone involved with A Night in Bethlehem was doing just that - easily and proudly and boldy.

Happy Birthday Jesus - may we always continue to tell the wonderful story of your life, death and resurrection!

Thank you Wilton Baptist Church - what a testimony you have!

Well as the title of my blog states....it is a wonderful life. I am so blessed that I cant begin to tell you everything. I have a precious relationship with Jesus Christ - my savior. I am married to a awesome man who keeps me safe here on earth. God has richly blessed with me with two children - a boy and a girl. Both are adults now and I could not be prouder of them.

Completing our family are our pets - Arthur (the King) and Annabelle (the sweetheart). They are both registered English Bulldogs and we are in love with the breed. Now we are thinking about adding another one to our family......