Blessings.

 Sometimes after a long and exhausting week of work, all you want to do is sit at home on the weekend and do NOTHING. Just relax. Weekends where you don’t worry about getting fancy, or dolled up for anything, because there’s no need. Well, that is NOT at all how my weekend went. After my extremely long and trying work week, I decided to jam-pack my weekend schedule with friends, church, more friends, and more church, and it was quite possibly one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time, despite fighting off this devil of a cold.

I will start off with Friday night, but Friday was actually pretty uneventful. I knew my weekend, was going to be a busy one, so I stayed in for the evening and relaxed. I sat in bed, watched Batman Begins and I talked Dad into ordering my new favorite pizza for dinner – chicken alfredo pizza with feta cheese, tomatoes, and spinach! Jay even stopped by to work on the computer for a minute, so I got to visit with him. Overall, a nice, relaxing, uneventful evening.

[Best way to pass time on a Friday night]

SATURDAY! Saturday started off with the best possible way I could think of starting it. My wonderful best friend Cori came back in to town for the weekend, and I was privileged enough to dine with her at The Egg and I for breakfast, and then do some thrifting at Plato’s Closet. It was some nice quality best friend time. I am so blessed to have her in my life! 

"Your feet don't anchor you, your friends do"
Love her always! 

After saying “see ya later” to Cori, I trekked on over to the church to get ready for rehearsal for the worship set for the weekend. Let me just say, I always enjoy serving on the worship team. I’m always playing with a different group of people, but every group is amazing. I got to play on an electronic piano instead of the keyboard, so my heart was melted into a puddle all weekend [in a good way]. After church, I got to hang out with Beth and Clare for a good 5 hours. We went down to the park to watch Tim and Joey play sand volleyball. We ventured over to the playground and unleashed our inner-child before heading over to BDubs and unleashing out inner-man for wings and baseball. After that, Beth and I made it back to her place to crash on the couch for a little sleepover before beginning our super busy Sunday.

[Cornerstone Christian Church | Momentum]

Sunday morning started with a drive to Troy to pick up Maggie. Lucky girl got to head to church with me at 7:30 in the morning, and be there for all 3 services. In true Maggie fashion though, she was totally cool with it all, and the even got to sit in the Jr. High Sunday school for the first time. She loved it. I knew she would, and she’s finally making friends. I am so thankful for that girl. It is because of her that I decided to get involved with the youth group in the first place. You are all probably going to get tired of reading this next statement, but I don’t care. I am going to LOVE being a youth coach. I am so excited God is blessing me with the opportunity do get involved with these kids. That brings me to the second part of my Sunday. I got to go out to Middle School Mania (with Maggie) and hang out with the 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th grade students.  We had 9 square in the air, kickball [adults vs. students – adults won!], sand volleyball, and water wars. I participated in all of them. I’m not an athlete. Never really have claimed to be either…but I gave it my all and I didn’t completely suck. The sand volleyball was a challenge though, since the sand felt like lava. Just another reason the water wars were wonderful. Just a disclaimer—the water wars were NOT planned, but they were thoroughly enjoyed considering the 90° weather. This ginger was NOT prepared for the sun, but was smart enough to mooch some sunblock off one of the students [Thanks, Anja!] No sunburn for me. Poor Bethy and Timmy got a little rosy, Ali just got a little freckled [which isn’t new]. My main point is that Middle School Mania was a success.

[Iris in my back yard]

After that was finished, Maggie and I traveled [drenched from the water wars] back towards Troy to take her home. After I dropped her off, I headed back to church to help Beth get dinner ready for 18-24. We all ate, had a good lesson and discussion, greeted new faces, welcomed back old ones. Summer is here y'all. I love having everyone back. It just feels right. After we finished up the lesson, we all migrated to the sanctuary and played a little 9 square in the air...again. It is no wonder my body hates me today. You know how hand sanitizer, or a lemon can make you aware of a little bitty cut that you had know realization of beforehand? Well middle school mania made me fully aware of the muscles that I have [that I haven't been using]...and I am feeling it now. So worth it. Absolutely worth it.

I am blessed. Blessed beyond what I deserve. I am loved by my Savior, by my friends, my family. I have a nephew on the way. Not everything is the way I would have planned for it to be, but life would SUCK if that's how it worked. We wouldn't be able to realize for ourselves the true grace, love, and glory of our Savior.



[Washington County State Lake, Washington County Illinois, photo taken and edited by ACLackey]



“For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison to the surpassing glory” - 2 Corinthians 3:10

That's my next tattoo. It's happening. Soon.

Until next time, readers.

God Bless you all!

"Let me tell you about my best friends..."

So I've been meaning to do this for a while...actually, to be honest, I've wanted to do this for the past five and a half months, but I haven't. However, I think that I've procrastinated enough that God has let me know what I want to say now...so here it goes.

Everything happens for a reason, and it's all apart of God's plan. I have heard this my entire life, and have preached this to so many other people. Five and a half months ago this smacked me in the face like nine pound hammer. I was in a serious relationship for about a year, and in early December, we broke up. It was difficult...in fact it was the most difficult break-up I've had to deal with. And then there's work stress, school stress, and so many other things getting thrown at me. My life has changed SO much in the past nine months, it is almost surreal. This is not about the break-up though, or any of the other junk I've had to deal with...it's about what happened after. See, in that break-up, I lost my best friend. That happens to a lot of people in break ups. You get over it, find a new one, and move on. I however, was fortunate enough to find not one, not two, but SIX new best friends. SIX new people that I can truly rely on in all situations. SIX people that will not judge me for any action or thought that I may have. SIX people that I can call and VENT to in any situation, and SIX new people who aren't afraid to tell me what I need to hear, and not what I want to hear. These SIX people are what this blog is about.

Timothy. Timmy. Tim.

Tim, you have quickly become one of my favorite people to be around. You have such a positive, and hilarious outlook on life. No matter the circumstance, you have a different way to look at it, and it's shown me how to be thankful for even the crap in life that gets thrown at us. I laugh every time I'm around you and that's been some of the best medicine I could ask for.

Marianne.

Mar, I don't even know what to say. YOU have had probably the biggest impact in my mindset of moving on from the negative situations that I've gone through and to buck it up and move forward. Your faith is so inspiring as well as your lack of caring what anyone-EXCEPT for Jesus-thinks about you. When you told me you were leaving, I saw my brand new life with my great new friend changing...and I hated it. But seeing what God is doing in your life now is revealing to me that YoungLife is exactly where you belong. No questions asked.

DeShawn. Damanji.

Bro. I had told myself that I needed a guy friend that I could go to about anything. Vent to about life's problems, and who would just be there for me. I wanted a brother. I got one. His name is you. You're my partner in crime...or I guess it's partner in fighting crime since we're Batman and Batgirl. Dynamic Duo, me and you! Love you, bro!

Ashley. Ditchy.

Girl...the SUPER quick impact you've had on my life has just completely floored me. In the short about of time we've been friends, we've gotten super close, and shared more laughs and death stares from Beth than most people should in just a few short months. Your faith, and passion, and love for Jesus challenges me to grow in my faith as well. I am counting down the days until you get married for multiple reasons, but the main being that you are going to be SO much closer to me and Bethy. And of course, you'll be Mrs. Scott Worley. :) I LOVE YOU!

Beth. Bethy. Bethel.

GAHH. Just like with Ashley, I cannot fully even comprehend how awesome our friendship has become over the past few months. We've shared so many laughs and you and Ashley have impacted my spiritual life more than you girls realize. I don't think there is anyone that I would trust more when it comes to my future children than you. With Cori and Marianne both leaving, you have been here for me with the hardships I have had to deal with in those situations, and I don't think I could have gotten through it without you. We also share a DEEP and FIERY love for anything Disney, which is always a solid foundation for any friendship.

Cori. Corinja Turtle. Corin.

I don't even know where to start. First off...I've never had a best friend like you. Ever. You started squeezing into my life when someone else was squeezing out, and I know that was simply God's hand on the entire situation. Your friendship is so much better than the one I lost. You were the first one I talked to when I got my heart broken. You were the first one I talked to when things got worse than that. I've never had someone who could read my mind word for word. I would say that you could see into my soul...but there's no point in bringing that up. I could go on and on and on with Pitch Perfect quotes, but we'll just continue that in our brain [yes, one brain] and spare everyone else the awesome. I hate that you're not here anymore...and you abandoned me here in this stupid state [thanks a lot, Chicago]. But because you're my best friend, I will forgive you [eventually]. You my friend have been more of an influence on my life than some people who have been in my life for over 20 years. You are not only a great friend, but a helpful co-worker, a phenomenal singer, a dedicated and outstanding mother, and a loving sister. I'm pretty sure I just need to start planning a monthly trip to Cinci, because I hate going this long without seeing you. I love the words of encouragement you send me though, and I can already tell that this distance won't affect our friendship in the least. We're solid...we're indestructible...like the Express mailbox.

So there you have it. These are the people that have shaped my life and changed it so much with in the past 6ish months. I cannot imagine who I would be without these people. And they're not it either. I have my absolutely wonderful family. Mom. Dad. Shannon, Brittani, Bryanna. Their boys. And of course my little nephew on the way. And then there's Alex and Maggie, Joey, Jay, other Maggie, Deidra, Neely, Amie, Kali, Jessica, Scott Worley, Caryn, Jaymee, Alycia, Shai, and sooooo many others that have gotten me through certain messes that have come my way lately. I love you all and can't thank you enough for loving me and being my friend. I know it can be difficult sometimes, but you guys are wonderful.