the land of 10 gallon hats and tumbleweeds.

ok. so i saw neither while in texas. but i did see lots of boots! 
most of you know i just went to dallas for the weekend to see canaan. & boy, what a grand ol time we had! we went to the JFK museum, strolled around ikea, spent some sweet time with prestonwood youth group, ate at in n out, and toured all around dallas. so so fun! i even had an interview at prestonwood thursday. please pray for the Lord's will to be done, whatever that might be! i would love to give the details about the interview, but i want to see if something happens first. please be praying!
but prestonwood was amazing. folks, its huge. but it was so comfortable to be there. i felt instantly at home and welcomed by everyone. it was so neat to sit back and see what canaan does. to finally see where he is everyday and what his life is like there. it was great to see the Lord utilizing him and him be so passionate about it! he loves those kids, and he lets that shine from him. love it. =] saturday night, there was a youth service, and i got to help a little with the kids that came to the youth group that night. the girls i met were precious and made me miss my girls form knoxville so much! after, me and canaan went to big service after. what a good word! sunday, i got to go to the regular service and then hang out with the youth again during their sunday school time. so many kids! it was a blessing to see all of them there. please lift a prayer for their lives, that they will be changed and living for Him!
sunday morning, i got to spend some time at the church on my own, and had some awesome time with Him and in the Word. i was reflecting on the teachings i had heard that weekend. saturday night in the youth service, the youth minister chris talked about acts 3. he spoke about the crippled man and how he had begged all his life. he knew no other way. day in & day out, he begged people walking to and from the temple for money with his head held low. thats all he knew to ask for. then peter offered him something greater than gold or silver. he offered the man something in Christ he thought unimaginable- the ability to walk. he then held his head high praising the name of the Great Healer. this is so parallel to our lives. we ask the Lord for what we think is the best we can get. but then the Lord offers us the unimaginable. life. we then live our changed lives with our heads held to the sky, constantly praising our Savior. 

cant wait to go back! now, here are the pics. =]

 

me & cane at the JFK museum in dallas.

 

where JFK was shot.

 

downtown dallas.

 

wonderfullll way to start the evening.

 

 

just call me crafty cathy.

i know my name's ami. but it didnt sound as good as "crafty cathy". that rolls off the tongue easier than "crafty ami". you see my point?

anyways, ever since pinterest has taken over my life [see last post], ive done some crafts myself. & im going to share them with you today! arent you so so excited?! i know i am. =] ok- here are some fun things. one craft i did will be coming soon. cant post it quite yet. ok here we go.

 

craft 1: coffee filter wreath.

thats right folks. all you need is one of those green styrofoam circles from a craft shop, about a million brown coffee filters [id recommend 2 packs], and lots of pushpins. the thing i like most about this is that it looks so much more difficult than it really is. it was a fun project, thanks to the help of hillary osborne. =]

 

craft 2: baby jar bobby

pin holder.

ok ok. i know this isnt exactly a craft. but i thought it was a novel idea. i found it in my kitchen, and my mom had had it for ages and never used it. it keeps them all in one place and is kinda cute.

 

craft 3: glass shampoo/conditioner bottles

this is an old craft of mine, but i thought id include it. this gives everything a much nicer look in the bathroom. plus i love clear jars and schtuff like that. so i threw out the tresemme bottles after i filled up these glass containers. and these hold a big bottle of tresemme, so you dont even have to keep putting more in until you have to buy new shampoo altogether. genius, i say!

 

craft 4: button heart

isnt this the most amazing thing youve ever seen?? ok- i cant take credit for this one.... yet. i think its neat to take anything youve collected and frame it in a heart shape. i have currency from all over the world, so that what im gonna use. that way its not just under my bed collecting dust, but i can actually look at it and see it. 

thats it for my crafty side. i also have other big news. some of my closest friends are venturing to china today. they will be on a mission trip with my home church, belle aire, and will be gone for about 2 weeks. i dont know what im going to do without them! but im so so excited for them. what an amazing blessing and journey this will be. as children of the God of the universe, we get to share His story and love and Gospel with the world. what a gift! and what peace we have in Him. i pray that this changes them forever and they go share with a people immensely less fortunate than us. they serve a dead god and are held in bondage under this false religion. may our friends and siblings in Christ share the amazing freedom and JOY we have in our Father! it makes me want to dance around just thinking about it! so please be in diligent prayer for them as they are there. to be fed enough to feed, energized, and filled with the Spirit to make His name & glory known. 

psalm 105:12-15

 

 

 

pinterest.

so i have a new favorite thing. my friend lindsey jo told me about this website called "pinterest". its a website that lets you "pin" anything you like from the internet onto your own personal "pinboard". at first i was skeptical.

but now, im not hooked at all completely hooked. this website is amazing. you can pin different recipes you find, places you want to visit, things youd like to do in the future, DIY projects, clothes you love but cant afford, dream homes, funny sayings, etc. 

its so so fun! you are even in a network of people and can "repin" /like anyones pins that they post if its something that interests you. my favorite thing that i pin is things to out in my house one day. so fun to think about & daydream about. loving the place that im in now, but its fun to dream a little. =] i encourage you all to get one now. so so fun & its an organized way to keep all of your ideas in one place, no matter what you want to keep track of. g getcha one, people!

 

UPDATE TIME!

ok. i know i have been the worst blogger ever. but much has happened! and here i am to tell you about it!
- in june, i got to shoot a wedding. it was a beautiful wedding & i was honored to be asked to do it. heres a little sneak peek of some of the pictures..... 

 

needless to say, theyre an amazing couple!

- i am now a sales associate at kay jewelers! so tell your fellas to come see me to get you girls something pretty & shiny. youre welcome.  ;]

- student life camp was last week. i got to be with my small group girls from belle aire. david platt was the speaker and it was an amazing amazing week. the Lord definitely moved and was really present there. we had fun on the beach and an amazing Word all week. i love when the Lord moves and causes people to be active in their faith and for Christ! let us no longer have a casual or cultural faith. if we truly know Christ in our hearts, theres no way we could

be casual.

 

- i got to have lunch/spend the day with lindsey jo. it was so great. we had italian, sweet ceces, & shopped a little. we talked a bunch and laughed even more. so so great. and i got to feel the baby kicking! sweet, rambunctious hank!

- canaan officially leaves for texas in 2 weeks. please be praying for him and this exciting new journey. im so pumped for him and know the Lord has an amazing plan for him!

well, thats my catch up. i promise to blog more frequently in the future. peaceandblessings.

kairos.

so i went to this service tonight called kairos. its at brentwood baptist on tuesday nights, & it was fabulous. great worship, great teaching. the guy that has the website "stuff christians like" spoke. hes hilarious. and an awesome speaker. he knows how to be funny, but deep and relevant too. praise God for people who allow Him to use them for what they were intended to do. 

the series is about "plan b: when things on your life dont turn out how you thought". there were some really great truths and some things the Lord taught me tonight. 
my favorite point tonight was that we as humans and sinners have always had this innate ability to hide when in trouble. we got this from our oldest ancestors- good 'ol adam and eve. what role models, huh? from early years until now, we hide from our mistakes. though as we grow older, the way in which we hide changes, its still hoping that what weve done can be overlooked. in life, we can hide sometimes from the people around us. we can hide a fib, something in our past, etc. we can make it look as though it had never happened. the problem is that we take this nasty habit with us into our relationship with Christ, thinking we can pull the wool over His eyes as well. i take this same action of hiding under the bed from my dad when i was little and in trouble, and take it into situations with my Father. i "hide" from admitting to something or changing something or omitting something necessary from my life that would in turn make my walk with Him stronger because its one less obstacle. one less barrier between me and Him. to give up things in my life that WILL feel sacrificial, but knowing its a must for the betterment of my heart. to be able to glorify Him fully. 

but we cant just look at it as difficult. as the speaker so aptly reminded me tonight- we're putting the Lord in a box by thinking that the only way He can teach us or mold us is in failure or hard times. dont just mourn with Him- He wants you to dance with Him. let Him delight in you. like in zephaniah 3:17, it says He is "mighty to save". not "mighty enough in case something doesnt work out the way you wanted it". this means He might will have to save you. get ready for the plan b. get ready for things to change or work on His timing and not yours. but He wants to save you. thats His job. and it continues to say He "quiets you with love". not screaming or harshness. with l-o-v-e. allow Him that. allow the God of the universe to be with you in your secret place with Him and be quieted by Him. 

remember this- our instinct is to hide because the world sees things we do as shameful. the world tells us when we look silly or foolish. so we tuck away thinking that He will feel the same. instead, He looks at us and says "where did you hear such things? i didnt tell you that.  youre not silly to me. thats not what defines you- I define you. stop hiding".

the old is gone. the new is to come.

this has been a whirlwind of a weekend. first of all, i would like to say that im back in the good 'ol ruth co [thats rutherford county for all you non-hip folk]. i graduated COLLEGE this past weekend. i cant believe it. i feel so old. i might as well go ahead and retire now. sheesh! after i graduated, i hurried on down to chattanooga for kristen teeters bachelorette party. what a fun fun time! we did facials, ate amazing food, had great conversations, and danced a little. yay for her getting married this weekend! what a beautiful time. now im back, sitting in fido with the one & only katie suggs, writing and trying to figure out the next step.

there are a lot of things rolling around right now in terms of plans for the next season of my life. things i cant go into detail here about, but just needing prayer for those of you that dont quite know. and prayers from those of you that do! i love how the Lord makes Himself known in certain situations. theres no way you cant tell its Him. like an artist leaving their signature on their work, so does the Lord leave His fingerprint on all that happens in our lives. in the past few months, the Lord has chosen His own timing for things in my life, and i have no choice but to strap in and learn to have faith in what Hes doing. i wouldnt change it for anything and love seeing the Lord active in my life. but its still not scary at all scary, nonetheless, and i wont lie about that. no matter how faithful we are, we are still afraid of things larger than us. because in the end we are still human and cant see past a day. but thats why Hes here, holding us. because He can. i had a heartfelt conversation with canaan the other day, talking about situations bigger than what we can grasp at the moment. i told him that all truly good things come at a price, and are hard to fully accept because with them comes sacrifice of self. think about abraham and moses and paul and noah and peter. they had to let go of nothing everything. their families, the city theyd known, a comfortable life, what mattered in society. everything. to be considered followers of Christ and bring him glory. what came of it? huge lineages in history. being the only one that survived. being one after Gods own heart. finding the Lords land. amazing things come from not grasping to our measly opinions of what we think will be a decent life. let us run after Him and His plans with fervor. let our hearts beat wild with love for Him and even in the midst of our fears, continue on because we know the One we serve. and with that knowledge, there is confidence and hope and a loss of fear. 

 

theres me. getting my diploma. somewhere on stage. 

 

the soon-to-be mrs. yeargan!

 

 

thoughts.

- i love "the office". it will never get old, become unfunny, or be the same without steve.

- nothing beats cookies & milk in the evening. 

- i cleaned the downstairs today. it felt really good to have it vacuumed and dusted. 

- i got my hurrrr did today. somehow i get blonder and blonder each time i go. if i go at this rate, itll be white soon enough. better calm it down. but for now, the blonde looks good. 

- if you need a good cry, the notebook will sometimes always help you out. 

- pancake night was last night at the bcm. and i had a dinner with my favorite study group at school at downtown grille as a farewell dinner. it was weird because that will be the last time i see some of those people. reminds me yet again of how quickly this season has come and gone. blowing my mind if whats to come. 

- going home this weekend. last shindiggity doo? check. katies graduation party? check. graduations? check. family time? check. soccer games with my favorite people? check. cant wait!

- only one final holding me back from graduation. cap & gown, here i come. 

- one 2 more weeks of awful knoxville traffic. thank heavens! i think its the worst in the country. fix the dang roads already!

- i want a hammock. maybe a trek perhaps? donations can be made if you feel called to do so. =]

- i may have a bike! thanks to the one & only canaan james. night cruising anyone? 

- i love my red nail polish. its called "lollipop" and its the best red ever. 

- graduation makes me wanna travel. i hope i can go somewhere soon that ive never been before.

- favorite passage of this season.... luke 12: 22-34

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

   ²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

   ³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

i like him. ^