experiencing grace first hand

           This past Saturday, the 23rd, was one of the most epic days in history for my life. I was an eye witness to the goodness of God and the love He has for His children. This weekend, I saw prayers being answered and joy just excreting from my friends and family. Zack and Chrissy were finally married!!
           The wedding was just as perfect as I expected. The chairs were lined up, the dresses all fit, and the flowers were all in place. Hair and makeup finalized, tables set, and photographer all ready to capture the moments. All the stress was being lifted and the mood lightened. Excitement filled the air between the lovebirds and everyone else who had joined in their previous experiences and knew just how special this marriage was going to be.
           What had happened before they had entered into their relationship makes the world of difference in this situation...at least in my eyes. I have known Zack for over 12 years now and have shared in his heartaches and cried along side him through the pain of his previous marriage. I watched him be disrespected, underappreciated, abused, ignored and to put it simply, not loved for far too long. This had left him abandoned, alone, and crying out for mercy and understanding. I know that these kinds of things really broke God's heart. He does not like to see his children in such pain. It broke my heart so much and I am sure God hated it.
             A crazy custody battle, divorce, and a few tears later, along came Chrissy...all in God's perfect timing. I met Chrissy at some meetings in getting prepared to launch City Hope. We instantly became friends and I loved having her around. Her smile was so natural and she has a sweet demeanor. We had hung out a few times and I always joked  about knowing someone that I had in mind for her whenever she breaks up with her current boyfriend (Who is a very close friend of mine, lol).
          When I say perfect, I truly mean God's PERFECT timing. I love to tell the story of the first time they had really ever talked. Chrissy and I were standing in the hallway at City Hope chatting and Zack comes over to talk to us. A little small talk about iPads and other stuff and all of a sudden, it was like I didn't even exist. I swear they forgot I was standing there. ;) It was adorable. There were sparks....I'm not even lying. I knew right then and there that the universe had aligned and it was beautiful. Okay, all corniness aside, it really was awesome to experience that. I love love...especially for someone I have seen in pain for so long. The thought of a girl loving him unconditionally and the way a wife should just gave me butterflies. Who better than Chrissy? She is just perfect! I knew that Zack was going to truly treasure her and hold her above all else, too.
                Hearing their vowes to each other this weekend just gave me chills and overwhelmed all of us. They were so genuine. Everyone in the room knew that they meant it. They really were vowing those things to each other. I started thinking about how weird life is and about all previous relationships and how they play into our current ones. I realized something very beautiful while they were sharing their first dance. All of the things that their previous significant others didn't like about them is what they absolutely adore about each other. God is just so cool the way he works things out that way. Things that we have maybe had some part in messing up or bad things that have happened to us, He turns for good. Realllllly good. It was a beautiful picture of grace.

Enjoy a few highlights!

                                 Aj and I all ready

                                            My super hott date.

                   Mr. and Mrs. Zachary Lamczyk! EEK!! :D

Small Group

        This past week has been exceptionally difficult for me (wedding, youth ministry, children's ministry/ marriage, body image, all typical things) and the week totally ended in the most beautiful way. On Sunday, I was able to witness some work that God has been doing in a friend's heart. I love it. More on that later.....And.....Last night I fell in love with God all over again. Passionately, maddening, unexplainable love with my creator. I love moments like that where I just take a step back, or shall I say am FORCED to take a step back and glance at the bigness of God.
         Our church just launched small groups last month and I couldn't be happier. Bryce and I are able to be a part of the most awesome small group where people are transparent, genuine, and inquisitive. We discuss real ideas about a real God. I haven't been a part of a small group that I haven't lead or had some part in leading in probably 4 years or so. It is so refreshing to just sit back and fellowship with other Christians and LEARN! I love to learn. Is that weird? ha. Anyway, at small group, we have been doing a brief overview of the entire Bible (WOAH) so that way we can do a more in depth study of specific books in the future. I am just pumped about studying the Bible. Studying God. Learning His character, His stories, His word. Don't get me wrong, I love a good self help book as much as the next person about how to love your husband more or how to be more thankful. Those are seriously great. I am just ecstatic to just study God's word for a while in a group setting.
            I have learned some mind blowing things already in just a few weeks. I have been actively present in church for over 10 years now and been in a hundred different small groups and there is still so much to learn. The mind blowing thing for this week is that when the flood happened, the water and so much pressure from it has made a huge impact on the Earth causing it to age. This really provides a giant link between science and creation. Finding out new things about God is fun! I cannot believe I had never heard this before.
           We watched this video in small group last night called "Everything is Spiritual" by Rob Bell. He explains so many things and really forces you to stand in awe of God and his giant power. One really cool thing I learned from the video is that our blood has the same percentage of salt that the ocean does, 3.4%. If we had 4% or the ocean had 4%, neither would survive. God is just so intricate! I want to know Him.

This is the video if you have time to watch it!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2rklwkm_dQ

Friendship Transformation

                I moved around and changed schools pretty much every year growing up resulting in making new friends and losing touch with the old ones. I learned very early on that to have a sincere friend is a true rarity. When I moved to Pinckneyville in junior high, I met some people that I knew I wanted to keep in my life for good. My wish did come true and I had the same friend group for many years and one girl in particular that was my best friend. It was wonderful to have that one person that I could always count on to eat lunch with and film silly videos together and not be judged.
                 Of course life has changed quite a bit since high school, but I still really value my friendships from then. They taught me so much and really helped shape me into the person that I am today. God has brought me so many different groups of friends so far in my twenties and it has been really rewarding. I am learning more and more just how precious it is to have friends that will stick by your side for the long haul. Life goes by so fast and different people take part along side you depending on the season of life that you are in. I know that things for me have certainly changed just in how I treat people and how I view friendship. This has been a long process of learning that has brought heartache, swallowing pride, and joy all at the same time. When I reflect on all of these times, it just screams GROWTH to me.
                 I want to share a little bit about my journey on becoming the best friend I can be to the friends God has gifted me with now. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes! Ha!

1. Don't let jealousy rule your heart.
    -When someone has something going good for them and you don't it is so easy to get jealous, but soooo dangerous. A new piece of clothing, losing weight, vacations, etc. A very dangerous path!! When you have a friend that is jealous (or in my case, used to be me) people don't even want to tell you things because you will always act jealous. It is just not cool at all.

2. Be happy for people!
    - This one has seriously changed my life!! Recognize that good things happen to you as well! You would want them to be happy for you!

3. Don't turn things around and make them about you!
  - When a friend has great news, is getting married, needs to talk about family or relationship problems, one of the worst things you can do is cut them off in their story and tell them about how your life is worse/relatable or use the expression "If it makes you feel any better, I .....". Trust me, that will NOT make them feel better. Learning this has been revolutionary on being a better listener and then being a better friend just comes naturally out of that. Encourage others to talk about themselves as opposed to the other way around.

4. Try your best to make them feel special.
   -No need to elaborate on this one....duh? Who doesn't like to feel special? I've been trying this tactic out by sending a simple text here and there and making phone calls just to say hello. Also, hand written cards...AHHH! They rule.

5. Serve them with no expectation of return.
   -Because Jesus says to. and it's really exhilarating not to expect the same in return!

6. Support them
   -Go to their concerts, plays, encourage and praise their hobbies, and be there to show you genuinely care.

That is all I have for now, but I will say that the old saying of being the kind of friend you would want was never truer.