Identity

I am Lacy Craig; daughter of the caring, sweet and forgiving Jill Craig; sister of the talented, passionate and confident-in-Christ Brodie Craig.. I am a writer, and a painter, and I love to laugh and talk with my friends.  I love being girly but surprise people by my affinity for the outdoors.  I go to the good ole’ Samford U. and love my journalism major.

I’m a pro at owning that self-description.  When asked the timeless interview question, what are three words to describe you, I am ever prepared to answer ‘creative, a leader, and outgoing.”  But that’s not who I am. 

Beneath the surface of that bubbly people-person is a wildly insecure girl.  Who’s surprised? No one? I figured as much.  I’m not very good at hiding it.  Like so many women, and men even if they deny it, I struggle with feeling unwanted, undeserving, and worthless.  I’ve searched for my satisfaction and self-worth in the approval of others, in the love of my absent father, in my weight and appearance, and I’m here to tell you I never found Waldo on those pages of my life. 

So as a Christian I’m not defined by my appearance, by my popularity, by my earthly dad’s love or lack thereof, by how interesting I am to others, or by who wants to know me…that list could go on forever. But instead my relationship with Jesus Christ means something so wonderful it’s all I can do not to shout it. 

In Christ I was made a new creation. The old has gone, and the new has come. 

II Corinthians 5:17

Because of Christ, NOW I AM….

…a receiver of God’s grace that far supersedes my worst sin. 

“Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Romans 5:20

I am forgiven all my sins.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which he LAVISHED upon us.”  Ephesians 1:7

I am able to walk worthy of the Lord. 

“so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”  Colossians 1:10

I am blameless.

“And you who were dead in your trespasses, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us.”  Colossians 2:12-15

I am ACCEPTED in the Beloved. 

“We are adopted as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.”  Ephesians 1:6

I am CHOSEN.

“For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you…” I Thessalonians 1:4

“And by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain.  On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was NOT I, but the grace of God that was with me.”  I Corinthians 15:10

Big-Mac People

"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." My cool Aunt Traci taught me that song when I was somewhere in my pre-teen years. I'm sure she never thought I'd be singing it in my head while actually working at McDonald's. Neither did I. But it's a good thing she was there to fill my head with useless (at the time) knowledge, because its allowed for grand success at work.  Today was my first day on the grill line, so I was part of the team that so carefully and sanitarily puts together our devoted customers food.  Good thing sarcasm doesn't come across well in writing...


If there was a Big-Mac stacking component to the summer Olympics I'd for sure take the gold.  When orders are slow there's not a lot to do so I've perfected the perfect placement of the patties, the precise combination of lettuce and onions, the exact alignment of bun on bun on bun. That wasn't a typo, for those of you who got scared by the movie Super-Size Me, the Big-Mac has a special middle bun that really gives it the edge over other burgers.


Big-Macs are my favorite thing to make for sure, but I hate when people ask for one without onions, or pickles, or with extra sauce, etc. It completely destroys the perfect original design.  During my long streak of Big-Mac making today I thought about how each ingredient offers a different flavor to the sandwich.  In the same way, each member of the body of Christ brings a different flavor, or gift, to the Kingdom. That knowledge is pretty common, it seems like every church does a sermon series on I Corinthians 12:12-31 about the necessity of different parts of the body. But I had an obvious revelation today. Not only does the body work best as a whole, instead of separate parts, but God is most well pleased then too.  Just like I hate when people change the flavor of the sandwich that is so genius in its design, God must get frustrated when the members of His church don't all adequately use their abilities to serve Him as best they can.  Some of us are onions and add a little heat, some of us are pickles for a little zest, and we all know those 'special' brothers or sisters in Christ that we can't make fit in our minds, but they might just be the special sauce that makes the burger what it is. It's not my decision where anyone else fits into God's plan, and it isn't theirs either. It's God's.  When we try to take away the importance of other's roles, it's like subtracting from a Big-Mac. It ruins the quality. God can still use it, but His original design is always better than our own.


All that from a Big-Mac.  Needless to say, the grill line isn't a very social place...

Fry-Girl

Today I was the fry-girl at good ole' Mickey D's.  Usually I work the front register and constantly get to flash customers a smile, slyly bring up our ministry in Destin this summer, and draw conversations back to the Lord.  It isn't much, but it's just enough to feel like I'm fulfilling the goal of showing people the gospel at work this summer.
But being fry-girl was a totally different job description. I stood with my back to everyone else and the most conversation I had was to shout, "30 more seconds on the large and two mediums!" in response to a call for more fries for an order.  My sole companion was a scalding stainless steel monster.  My hands and face were covered in a film of oil by the end of the day, but don't worry I've already dug out the ProActiv to fight it.  The worst moment was when I got a little too enthusiastic and swung the metal fry basket straight onto my fair skin.  I now have six raised lines burned into my arm from wires that melted right into my skin.  
The silence of today allowed for time to reflect on all those trying aspects of being fry-girl. But a bigger struggle today than grease and heat was with humbleness.  Of all the jobs at McDonald's making fries has by far been my least favorite.  I just kept thinking how pointless it was. I am a strong Christian for crying out loud. Shouldn't God have been using me to witness like every other day? I didn't even get to mention beach project once.  How could that have been a productive day for the King? They should have put someone else there, that job was not the right place for me...
Those were my my thoughts as the day progressed. It wasn't till the drive home as I was about to open my pompous mouth and complain that I realized what a perfect picture of the Gospel fry-girl was for me.
Every time I filled fry orders more had to be made. My job was never done, there were always more orders to complete. No one said thank you, most people didn't even acknowledge me or the work I was doing to make their lives easier. Isn't that exactly what Jesus does for us every day? He constantly forgives and loves us, with no adequate thank you's or even acknowledgment of His goodness.  My single day of struggle is a miniature image of what Jesus feels every day of my life.
Tomorrow when I go in, I'm going to offer to be the fry-girl again. Not to beat the evil fry machine in the battle it waged today, but to take another shot at living like Christ.  I'll smile, be cheerful, and not show a single bit of discontent with my down-trodden position, because when I'm labeled a Christian, or little Christ, it means acting like He would. Loving and giving without expecting anything in return.
And when I take the bandage off my burn maybe I'll post a picture. It's the cool kind of gross.

Whirldwind Two Weeks

Summer Beach Project has been a draining two weeks.  I can personally say I will never again silently look down upon a fast food worker when they fail to get my order right or don’t take it quick enough.  The emotional conversations here are enough to make me want to sleep for 10 hours every night, but for those of you who know me you know I’d never do that. It’s possible I have permanent sunburn, and my freckles have made a roaring appearance.  My feet need some attention, after standing on them all day and not taking the time to re-paint my toenails they are screaming at me to buck-up and pay for a pedicure. But I don’t get paid till Friday, and I’m practicing being a good steward of my money, so I doubt that will happen.  To top it all off, even as I write this the local ice cream truck has made its daily appearance.  It may sound just darling, but the song blaring from its car-top bullhorn is enough to make me want to pull a Carrie Underwood and take a Louisville Slugger to it. 

But I don’t ever want to leave. Nothing I’ve mentioned is bad, I truly love it all.

McDonald’s is such a humbling experience.  I am more educated than many of the people I stand across the counter from everyday, but they treat me like scum. Why? Because I am scum.  God has really been showing me this summer that I am no better than anyone else. If I truly believe that all sin is the same like I so often claim to, then I will never again look at someone else and think to myself, ‘Well, at least I don’t do THAT. God must love me a little more.’  I’ve been taken down a peg or two, and even though I didn’t realize I needed that I am forever grateful to the Golden Arches. 

My relationships at Beach Project are deeper than I ever thought relationships could get.  Everyone is so vulnerable and lays all their cards on the table.  The Godly relationships being built daily are such a wonderful gift from the Lord.  My Christian community is getting so much stronger and as I think about heading back to Samford in the fall and having to live for Him instead of myself, I am so thankful I’ll have many of these new relationships alongside me to hold me accountable each and every day. 

A better writer than myself would have a creative bit about how the ice cream truck relates to their relationship with the Lord and therefore they are thankful for it. But sadly, I just want to tear out its mechanical vocal cords.  I’ll work on my hateful feelings and get back to you though. God has revealed Himself everywhere else this summer; I don’t doubt He can use an ice-cream truck too. 

Abba Father

It's a good thing this isn't for a grade anymore. I really should post more often. Don't fret though, my laptop is full of blog's that I never got the energy to edit and therefore never posted.. Someday maybe I'll be one of those obnoxious nobody's who publishes a book. I won't have enough to say, so I'll include my saved but never published blog entries and then you can read all about the last month and a half of 2011.


Tori, I miss you. It's hurting me how far away you are right now, and I wish I could spill all the things the Lord has shown me out on the floor in front of you to dissect and gush and pray over together.  Don't worry, I'm keeping my journals with a feisty vigilance this summer so you won't miss a beat when we're reunited.


Father's day just passed. I lived through it. I wish I had more poetic words but all the perfect descriptor is pretty simple. Bad day. It pains me that the man I should love more than any other man in the world at this stage of my life may not  be spending eternity with my King. I ask for your continued prayers that my daddy will come running back to Christ's arms and starts living for the Lord.  I am desperate for him to know God. I have full confidence that God is so sovereign that He will restore my relationship with my dad someday. I can't wait till that happens, and if you're praying I'd ask that to be on your hearts as well.


I spent most of yesterday in prayer, even when I was around others. I celebrated my Heavenly Father on Father's day, and thanked Him for all His blessings and His constant presence even in the times it seems nothing could ever be good again. God is just so GREAT. If you're reading this and lost, I urge you to find out more about my Abba Father.


Another blog is about to follow this. I realize the kosher thing is to spread them out...but I only have internet every so often so you'll just have to read twice as much. Sorry:)