My favorite, favorite, favorite thing about Facebook is the status feature, which allows you to tell all your “friends” what you’re doing, thinking, etc. at the moment. The only weird thing is that it automatically lists your statuses in third person, aka “Amy…” It also doesn’t recognize “Amy Beth” in my statuses which makes the second half of my name feel left out (or so I imagine).

I happened to be on my own Facebook page earlier this morning as I was looking for a comment a friend left me. I began reading through my own statuses from the last two weeks or so and realized how there’s so much that goes on in my life that totally skips the blog but makes it onto Facebook statuses. And thus, we employ the help of my friend List Format:

“Amy just brought my wee girl to the spa for a “Princess Pedicure.” While she was getting it, she looked me square in the eyes and said ‘Amy Beth, how are babies made?’ HELP.”

“Amy finds it difficult to explain how this could have actually happened, but got pushed out of bed and onto the floor this morning by two puppies who each weigh less than 5 lbs.”

“Amy wishes Facebook gave you an option to have your relationship status change to ‘Amy is in a frienlationship.’ Can we get that option added, please?”

“Amy has either a dead bird or mouse in her driveway but can’t identify it since she won’t get close enough to actually see it.”

“Amy was thinking about how fun it would be to hunt Easter eggs with Jesus but then remembered that He’d win since He’d know where all the eggs were hidden.”

And, my personal favorite:

“Amy just heard words from the backseat that struck fear in her heart: ‘Amy Beth, I forgot to tell you that I needed to go potty and now it’s too late.’”

I dropped by Katie’s apartment after work tonight only to find that groom-to-be Eric had already beat me there.  While we were hanging out, I asked Katie what she planned to do with her stuffed Eeyore that she sleeps with once she and Eric get married in 53 days.  She replied that it was going straight to their marriage bed which got Eric’s attention awfully quick.

“Eeyore’s going to the fire, Katie.”

“Oh no he isn’t!” Then, for good emphasis, Katie elbow dropped Eric.

I headed off to Georgia on Sunday morning so I could go to Katie’s “hometown” wedding shower. One of the bridesmaids, Jenn, was able to go as well so she hopped in the passenger seat and we took off.

I didn’t know Jenn that well before our drive other than a few conversations we’ve had at a Bible-study-ish thing we both used to go to and our frequent meet-ups in Panera. As we were on our long-ish (let’s see how many times I can add -ish to words in today’s post!) drive down, we talked about all kinds of things ranging from boys to boys.

Oh, I kid. We also talked a little about hair styling tools AND LET ME TELL YOU WHY BECAUSE THIS? THIS IS FASCINATING-ISH.

Jenn, our little blonde-haired-drives-all-the-guys-crazy fellow bridesmaid, is getting ready to spend the next year of her life doing missions work around the globe.

AND SHE HAS TO SLEEP ON THE GROUND. EVERY NIGHT. ON THE GROUND.

I’m sorry, but whoa. I mean, I’ve thought dealing with processed nacho cheese was bad but at least I’ve had fresh-ish washed hair whilst doing it. Naturally Jenn and I discussed the possibility of her taking a travel-sized flat iron with her but she may not have room for it in her backpack because, OH YES, JENN ONLY GETS TO TAKE ONE BAG WITH HER FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR.

To further prove that you can’t judge a blonde-haired book by it’s cover, can I just tell you that, when I asked Jenn what classes she was taking this semester (she graduates in a couple of weeks), I got this reply:

“Oh, Systematic Theology, Doctrine of Christ, Thai Language and Culture but they’re all just for fun. I didn’t need those classes or anything.”

Oh yes, Jenn. I too would enjoy taking Systematic Theology for fun. And that Doctrine of Christ class? WHY, THAT WOULD BE A BARREL OF LAUGHS.

As we got a little closer to the town where the shower was being held, I pointed out an aquatic center because I am weird like that. Jenn and I started talking about how I like to swim laps at the local gym and, being completely serious, she asked me if I wear a one-piece bathing suit or if I wear a two-piece one whilst I’m swimming my laps.

Poor Jenn. She must have lost her common sense in that Systematic Theology class, no?

We arrived at the shower fashionably late, but thankfully there were still some chicken nuggets left on the buffet. Now, I’m well aware that the chicken nuggets were for the kids at the shower but HELLO, I HAVE A CHILDLIKE HEART. Well, that and I don’t like chicken salad sandwiches so it was either the nuggets or nothing.

Also: I tried a Girl Scout cookie for the first time. FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE.

(Thin Mint. Okay-ish. Not a big “sweets” person.)

The shower was delightful and by “delightful” I mean that I enjoyed watching all the people doing shower-ish things. For example, meet adorable Rachel, Katie’s future sister-in-law (and one of our many Starlite volunteers):

Whilst nibbling on my chicken nugget, I had the pleasure of overhearing a woman corner Rachel to ask how her freshman year of college is going so far, specifically “Are you meeting a lot of good guys up there? I mean, there are a lot of boys there right? Are you meeting them? Lots of them? And they’re good looking, right? I bet there’s lots of cute boys there.”

I just ate my nugget and laughed whilst watching Rachel squirm. Delightful!

Next up came a game where they gave us a marker, piece of paper and told us to hold both over and behind our heads whilst attempting to draw Katie in her wedding dress. Here’s my rendition:

I sat with Emily, Katie’s sister, for most of the shower. Here’s a fun little story about Emily: she’s been texting me for weeks now without receiving a reply because she had my old cell number. Once we figured out the confusion, she admitted she thought I was purposely ignoring her and you can imagine how sad that made me so ever since then, we’ve been calling each other “bff” and randomly sending texts to each other, including during the shower once she had to sit beside Katie to write down the gifts:

Speaking of gifts, I did my gift a wee bit different than normal bridal showers:

First I got a few dishtowels, one with their initial and the others with cute little sayings on them that I knew she would appreciate:

Then, I framed a picture of Katie and Eric and got some of the linen napkins and their rings:

I also got some notepads with her new name on them:

And then I put ‘em all in this sweet little thing:

I’m not going to lie — I was pretty impressed with my gift, knowing that Katie would love it.

Well, until I saw what someone else got her and realized that I had been totally outdone:

I’ll try harder(ish) next time.

Me, too.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?  Or am I trying to please men?  If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galations 1:20, NIV

Hey, everybody.

We’re making a big announcement for Starlite today and, although my blog is not linked to Starlite’s website or promoted through Starlite, I wanted to make sure you saw it, too.  I’m expecting a lot of traffic here at the blog over the next few days based on this announcement, so I’ll be waiting a bit to share some of my personal thoughts on this news with you.  I’m also going to close comments on this post so that I can “discuss” this with you after the traffic dies down a bit.

I do want you to know that, as I’ve been walking the road that this decision has warranted, it’s taken everything in me to keep from blogging about it, especially because I know how supportive you all are — especially of me.  As you can imagine, I’m feeling a lot of different emotions right now as the news I’ve known for months finally becomes public.  If you’ve read for any length of time, you know that Starlite is one of the most significant areas of my life.  That will be changing soon and, since you’ve been sweet enough to follow the story of my life, I couldn’t imagine not letting you know that change is coming.

Change is typically hard and, in this case, I know it will be for me at least.

But change can also be the right thing, too.

As we approach summer, all of us at Starlite will be celebrating seven years of ministry to girls of various ages.  We’ve had the privilege of serving girls in grades three through twelve within 12 different schools in Cleveland, TN; Bradley County, TN and Knoxville, TN.  Over these past seven years, nearly 1,300 college-aged women have served at one time or another as volunteers at our programs or events making it possible for us to have served thousands of girls.

As the leader of Starlite since it began, I’ve had the privilege of doing a variety of “jobs” within the ministry ranging from serving snacks at our weekly in-school programs to overseeing all aspects of a ministry aimed at reaching hurting girls – and what a wild ride it has been!

It’s with mixed emotions that I tell you that, as of July 31, 2009, Starlite will cease operations indefinitely.  It’s a difficult decision for all of us, but one that has been in the works for quite some time and has been made after much prayer and discussion.  Our final decision was not based on any one factor but instead based off evaluating each aspect of the ministry as well as long-term goals.  As the person with arguably the most invested in Starlite both emotionally and time-wise, I’m happy to tell you that, although we’re making a hard decision, I truly believe we’re making the right decision.

Ending a season of ministry is never easy, but we know that there is a season for everything – including the transition we’re making at this time.   It’s been our privilege to serve both girls and their families over the last seven years and we’re looking forward to seeing what God continues to do in the lives of the girls we’ve been blessed to serve.  We still believe that the best is yet to come and we can’t wait to watch it happen right before our eyes.

Amy Beth

Amy Beth Bullard
Executive Director, Starlite Ministries

Media Inquiries | media@starliteministries.org

General Inquiries | info@starliteministries.org

Today is Saturday.  AND I LOVE IT.

Here’s why: I’ve dedicated today to Getting-Junk-Done-Because-I’m-About-To-Be-Super-Busy-For-About-Six-Weeks-In-A-Row.  Most of the stuff I’m doing today is completely domestic — WHICH I LOVE — and, since I also love any and all forms of lists, I decided I would make today’s to-do list on my blog.

This also will, um, serve as a gentle push to GET IT ALL DONE.

Let’s begin:

1. Do all laundry.  Including pile of clothes currently lying on bedroom floor.

2. Clean bedroom.  This should involve a vacuum cleaner and perhaps even a dust cloth.

3. Clean bathroom(s).  Avoid cleaning said bathrooms by writing a pointless blog post.

4. Reorganize closet and drawers; reorganize bathroom closet, too.

5. Write two handwritten, long letters, each to friends overseas. Draw little pictures in the margins.

6. Buy puppy food for Snuggles y Cuddles.  Do not stare at cute vet assistant whilst in vet office purchasing said food.  Say yes when cute vet assistant offers to carry bag of food to car.  Do not trip whilst following him to said car. 

7. Pet Cuddles’ head; throw Snuggles’ toy.  Repeat x 47.

8. Clean / arrange massive bookshelf in the hallway.

9. Clean kitchen.  Throw away bananas that are black.  Be ashamed that the internet people know you have old bananas sitting on your kitchen counter.

10. Clean living room / dining room.  This should be easy since they’re rarely used.

11. Go to grocery store; avoid Spring Oreos.

12. Ask the internet people what makes Spring Oreos taste so much better than regular Oreos?

13. Clean out bridal shower stuff from car.  Remind yourself that you’re two weeks late in doing this.

14. Wrap bridal shower gift for tomorrow’s shower.  RSVP that you’ll actually be there.  Apologize profusely.  Find directions to where you’re going in GA for said shower.  Put gift in car today so you won’t forget it.

15. Check Shamu cam.  Explain why you can’t linger due to today’s to-do list.

16. Write in diary.

17. Actually hang up / fold all laundry.  FOR REAL, AMY BETH.  NO EXCUSES.  IT’S ON YOUR BLOG.

18. Answer 38 emails in blog inbox.

19. Answer 22 emails in Starlite inbox.

20. Give Snuggles y Cuddles their baths.  Then, give yourself a bath because you will need it.

21. Pick-up dress for tomorrow’s wedding shower from dry cleaners.  Before they close.  Which is 20 minutes from now.

I remain, ever faithfully yours,

Domestic Darcy

Cousin Cate, Leslie Ruth and I had dinner at a Japanese restaurant tonight; sitting across from us was a guy named Jacob who has played in the band that has traveled with us for various Starlite events over the years.   As we were eating our dinner, Cate mentioned the night Jacob took the microphone at a Starlite event we were hosting for a ton of middle school girls.  I can’t believe I’ve never told you this story, since it’s one of the most significant things that’s ever happened at an event of ours.  When we returned home from that weekend’s events, Jacob wrote a blog post about it; I’d like for you to hear the story in his own words (I’ve edited it for length):

“Fathers, be good to your daughters.

I spent the weekend playing music in Knoxville for the Starlite group again. This weekend was a little different though, at least for me.  After the worship, the band walked backstage and sat down with a group of Starlite leaders.  I sat behind one of Amy Beth’s friends who had her baby daughter with her.  While Amy Beth was talking, I was making faces and waving at the little baby when God started an odd conversation with me.

He asked me “How are you going to treat your daughter; how are you going to show her you love her?”  At this point Amy Beth started talking to the middle school girls about the father that may have never said “I love you” to them or may never have been there for their birthday or gotten her a little gift for Valentine’s Day.  So I just started thinking about what I would do for my daughter for her birthday or Valentine’s Day or where I would take her on a Saturday when she wasn’t in school, just to spend time with her. I kind of went through a mental movie about watching my daughter grow up. Then God asked me something along the lines of “If you could say something to these little girls here, what would you tell them?” So I just started thinking about that until I decided what it would be that I would tell them; I pretty much spent the rest of the time Amy Beth was onstage thinking about it.

Then we came back up to play “The More I Seek You” and “Let it Rain” when Amy Beth came back onstage and pulled me aside for a second. She asked me if I could take the mic and speak to them “as a guy” and stand in for the dad may not have been there or a boyfriend who mistreated her and ask for their forgiveness; she said to say “whatever God laid on my heart.” Then I thought back to what I was dwelling on during the whole message. She gave me the mic and I walked to the front and was pretty much petrified all of a sudden (I know, it’s lame that I got scared in front of a bunch of middle school girls). I always feel like Moses with stammering lips when I have to speak in front of people, especially about God. I tried my best to say what I had been feeling earlier and I don’t know how it came out but here’s what I meant to say:

“God is all-powerful, and He knows everything. He doesn’t make mistakes. He didn’t make a mistake with you. God made you beautiful and perfect just the way you are. There may be people who want you to change; maybe a boyfriend or parent or a group of friends from school, but they’re wrong. Anyone who tries to change you is not good enough for you because you are God’s workmanship and He loves you more than you will ever know. On the behalf of every man who may have wronged you by what they said, or what they didn’t say; what they did, or did not do; or for when they may not have been there when you needed them the most…I ask for your forgiveness and that you forgive them too.”

I wish I had been able to say that. Even as I’m typing this, I don’t think I did what I felt backstage any justice. I just hope I got the point across to those girls because I felt like it may have been something they needed to hear, especially from a guy. Maybe I’ll understand what I was trying to say when I have a daughter of my own. All I know is that I’m always going to be there for her and tell her I love her everyday and do things to let her know it…even if it does embarrass her sometimes!”

I’ll never forget standing on the stage as Jacob spoke to the girls, watching them get out of their seats and just throw themselves down in the altar as they sobbed before God.  In fact, before he could even finish, my assistant at the time came to the side of the stage and motioned for me to come over so she could whisper something to me –

“Amy Beth, we don’t have enough volunteers to pray with the girls; about three-fourths of the volunteers are in the altars themselves!”

As I stood there watching a mass of girls crying for fathers they never had, I was as sure of two things as I’ve ever been in my life:

Every little girl needs a daddy.

And every grown-up girl needs one, too.

Yesterday afternoon, Cousin Cate and I went to an event that was raising awareness about the number of children in the world who are without shoes.  The idea was for various people from our community to walk a mile “in their shoes” — which, of course, meant we were to walk that mile completely barefoot.

Now, typically, this would not be that big of a deal but, as you’ll remember, our Cousin Cate has a broken ankle at the moment.

Actually, for clarification, it’s a fractured-something-something-something but she’s just calling it a broken ankle so she doesn’t have to explain it to everybody which is a good plan seeing as most of us probably couldn’t understand the name of whatever it is she fractured especially if she told us with that accent of hers.

I had thought CC would skip the event seeing as she can’t, you know, walk and all but she was ready and waiting when I showed up at her house.  We drove over to the event and dutifully removed our shoes, leaving them in the car before bunny hopping walking over to where the event began.  We ran into various representatives from other community groups and churches that we partner with for Starlite and, as we talked to each person, they commented on CC’s dedication to still participate even with her injury.  Ever the humble girl, CC would just reply that it was “all for the children,” bless her little heart.

We decided to stay at the end of the group of walkers seeing as we might need some extra time to bunny hop walk our way through the designated path.  We had made it about 1/20th of the way when our darling CC began remarking that perhaps attempting to walk a mile with a fractured-something-something-something wasn’t the best idea.  I can’t remember her exact phrasing, but I think it sounded a little something like:

“WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?” Bunny hop, bunny hop.

I reminded her that it was, of course, all for the children because I just like to be helpful and all.

After a couple more bunny hops, it became apparent that we needed to find a spot to sit down and stat.  And then, in the distance, we spotted a little piece of heaven on Earth:

That’s right: there was a frozen yogurt place nearby.

Now, I realize that we were supposed to be bunny hopping walking for the children and I also realize that we were, you know, barefoot and all but?  HELLO, IT WAS A SIGN AND WE DO NOT IGNORE FROZEN YOGURT SIGNS.

Three minutes later, we were back on the path, this time bunny hopping our way backwards in an attempt  to get back to the starting line so we could leave our mile-long aspirations behind us.  I can only imagine what was running through the event organizer’s minds when they saw the last two participants returning first, each with an afternoon treat of frozen yogurt in their hands.  I wanted to tell them that, in our defense, we had remained barefoot as said frozen yogurt was selected, paid for and consumed but I somehow felt like they might think our commitment to the event wasn’t sincere or something ridiculous like that.

Oh well.  There’s always next year.

You better believe we’ll be back, bunny hopping our way towards the nearest frozen yogurt store.

Four years ago, a guy named Harrison Keely arrived on the college campus I attended.  He was only one in several hundred freshmen students, but quickly became well known around campus for holding the door open for anyone (and I mean anyone) who crossed his path, sunshine or rain.  Some students mocked him, but Harrison didn’t care; he wasn’t doing it for attention or to make a name for himself.  He just liked to serve others as Jesus might and holding the doors open seemed like an obvious choice.

Our paths eventually crossed and we quickly became friends; one night after my date to one of my college formals had to bail due to a family death, Harrison was gracious enough to step in as my date for the evening.  We’ve had a lot of fun memories since then; I’m honored to call Harrison my friend.

Harrison will graduate from college in just a few weeks, leaving behind an impressive legacy.  He’s served in all kinds of clubs and organizations on our campus, perhaps most notably as the editor of the university’s newspaper.  This morning I was on the front row when faculty from the university recognized him as their choice for the top student in his department.  As I sat there watching him receive his award, I couldn’t help but think about just how much he’ll be remembered for when he graduates.

But I think I’ll prefer to remember him standing in the rain, holding open the door for me.

I’m happy to report that Cousin Cate and her ankle are on the mend though she remains on the couch except for a little jaunt we took in my car a couple nights ago.

And yes, she did the bunny hop all the way to my passenger side door.

And yes, I laughed.

Well, until she reminded me that one day it could be me in her place.  That shut me up real quick like.

Cate’s sweet mom presented her with a little reading material to accompany her during her seclusion on the couch — namely, Beth Moore’s book Get Out of That Pit.  Now, I believe I’ve mentioned this a time or two but, just in case you missed it, that happens to be my favorite book.  Like, favorite favorite.

What can I say?  I’ve seen the insides of more pits than I care to count.

Cousin Cate was, at first, not interested in reading the book but, sometime last night, decided to pick it up.  Around mid-morning, I received the following Facebook message from our girl:

“My face has not left Beth Moore since i started it last yesterday.  Get me a ladder!!!”

I wrote back that I was glad she was enjoying it and got this gem in response:

“Listen to this quote: ‘I’ve come to the conclusion that vastly more people are miserable than not.  Far more defeated than victorious.  If pressed, tens thousands would confess that “it” didn’t work as well as they’d hoped.  Masses of believers are totally bewildered — if not in outright despair.  Yep, poker faces aside, they’re in a pit.’”

At the bottom of the message, Cate added lines from a popular song with a little addition of her own at the end:

“My my my poker face, my my poker face, can’t read my, can’t read my no you can’t read my poker face… READ IT!!!  I’M IN A PIT!!!”

Except maybe there was an extra word in that last sentence that, um, provided more emphasis.

I wrote back and, in my response, mentioned that I had found out I have tomorrow off from both jobs (it’s a long story that can be summed up in I-have-worked-way-too-many-hours-lately) and that I thought we should just jump in my car and head to the beach, broken ankle and all.

Cate skipped sending a response back on Facebook and instead went straight to text message:

“Forget the beach.  We’re driving to Texas to personally thank Beth Moore for this book!”

Can you even imagine? Texas would never be the same.

And you better believe we’d have video footage to prove it.