Graduation!!

Summa Cum Laude /High Distinction Grades by Lindsey Claire.

Diploma by Colorado Christian University.

Curls and Graduation Cap by Rachael LaJo. ;-)

Class of 2025 College of Adult and Graduate Studies

CCU Commencement Ceremony - May 9, 2025

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Mom took the pic on the right - the sun flare and curly hair makes it everything I wanted it to be!  I got several compliments on the cap, and one of the CCU photographers even stopped me and asked me to turn around and look up. lol  So I'm super grateful to Rach for taking the time to make it awesome!!  Most of the graduates stuck with the plain black cap, but there was one other graduate who had a great decorated cap and sparkly pink high heels, and I believe she and I would be friends if we got to know each other! lol

Okay, let's start at the very beginning... a very good place to start! ;-)

Me, Lauren, and Amy sharing pics in the Roomies text group on our way to Colorado on Thursday!

A brief tour of the CCU Campus with Mom! ❤

We ran into Lauren and her fam while touring the new Armstrong Center chapel building!

(Pic on the right is in the Anschutz Student Center.)

Our Southwest flight and Budget car rental (silver Chevy Blazer) went pretty smoothly.  Driving in Denver traffic is never my favorite, but I did fairly well over the past two days!  Mom and I shared an In n Out Burger for a late lunch near the CCU campus, and we had plans to meet Holly Dei for an early dinner at the Cherry Creek Grill.  We shared a couple appetizers and meals there, and Mom loved their deviled eggs and BBQ ribs!  We had a good talk catching up on life, took a quick driving tour of the Cherry Creek area - a really nice suburb of Denver, then checked out the Modera Apartments rooftop view before touring Holly's apartment!

Holly's place was really nice, and we got to meet her new rescue dog, Jack, which was fun!

She had a steamer we borrowed for my Graduation gown and hood, so that was awesome!  

Since I had it all out anyway, I got a cap and gown pic with Holly Dei!

Rooftop pic with Mom and Holly overlooking downtown Denver!  After that, we had an hour drive to our hotel - the Marriott Courtyard in Loveland... we were there for such a short time, but it was one of the nicer hotel rooms we've had (with a couch and living room area, three chairs, two queen beds, and two TVs).

I really felt God's love and kindness in this being the verse of the day that popped up on my phone notification - gracious, I receive that!  Leaning into the idea of being anchored in Him while deliberately untethering myself from the soul ties and expectations of others has been helpful and healing for me!!

*Also, God was kind in clearing up the marathon-induced breakout - a small thing that mattered to me, and He knew that, and I'm grateful!!

Top left pic is in the hotel lobby with Amy and Lauren (Michelle and her fam stayed somewhere else).  Top right is me with Sophie and Amy, then Lauren excited to be near James Brown (from the CBS NFL Live show - our commencement speaker), then Michelle and Amy on their way into the ceremony!

Joy did not make the trip to Colorado this time, but I was grateful to get some more time with these three - Michelle, Lauren, and Amy!

Michelle in her comfy slide shoes, Amy and Lauren, selfie on our way over to the Blue Arena!  The ceremony started at 9:00am, but they had us arrive by 7:45 to check in and mill around at the building next door - mostly pointless and disorganized, but a good time to snap a few pictures pre-ceremony!

In the middle of the main commencement speech, a child pulled the fire alarm, and it took them a while to get things going again... definitely memorable!  The left pic is Mom's view from her balcony seat - the crystalled cap was definitely helpful in spotting me, as I knew it would be!!

Jeremiah 29:13 is one of my favorite verses, so I was happy to see it up there.

A classic "Oklahomies" pic with Michelle and Amy!

And this sunset pic was pretty - an illustration as Dr. Brown was talking about the importance of depth relative to height - having really strong roots and a firm foundation when you want to build something big with your life!

They used name cards to know how to pronounce our names - the way they did them phonetically made it feel more confusing, so I rewrote mine. lol. They did well! =)

Footwear pic: Lauren, Michelle, Amy, and me -- they emphasized comfy footwear, and I briefly considered switching to the slip-on tennis shoes, but it wasn't that much standing around in the end, and I'm sooo glad I stuck with the original diamond boots decision!  Two pics during the ceremony and one on our way in.  Shea (going on to get her PhD in Sports Psychology) and Austin Britton (met and really admired him at Res 3, and yesterday was also his birthday) joined our group and sat with us through the ceremony.  I assumed we'd be required to walk alphabetically, but they gave us name cards and said to sit wherever we wanted!

Mom and I after the ceremony! ❤

So grateful she joined me for this trip at the beginning of Mother's Day weekend!  She was super frustrated that she didn't get a good video of me walking the stage, but that problem was resolved quickly with a phone recording from the online ceremony video!  There should also be a few professional photos taken by CCU photographers coming soon. 

A kind note and grad gift from Lauren!  Love our pic outside after the cermony!

Matthew Stock, a long-term Cambodia missionary and one of my favorite men of CCU, with me and Lauren!  (Sadly, Jonathan didn't make the trip for this ceremony.). P.S.  I didn't get the memo to buy the white sash and blue and white honor cords, and I so would have if I'd known!  The communication was not great on all that.

Pics with Michelle, Lauren, Amy, then Michelle and Amy!

This video = Amy, Michelle, me, Shea, Lauren, and Austin graduating!  I sincerely couldn't love it more that Austin sets his diploma down to make a heart-hands gesture to his family!! lol  It brought me so much joy to see that... he's the best!  Also, I posed it up for the photo with Dr. Burkhart handing me my diploma - which of course you don't see in this video because they move quickly, and it's while Michelle is shaking hands with the University President, but I so didn't realize there was a second photo op there. lol  Hopefully I'll be smiling and it'll at least be a good candid.

A goose family of 7 whilst we stopped to share a lemon bundtlet before heading back to the Denver Airport, then one final pic with Mom on our flight home!!  Shoutout to Southwest Airlines for on-time flights and awesome wheelchair assistance in both airports - it made our trip so much smoother and more enjoyable!

 It was a short and sweet Colorado trip this time, and I love that we still have the full weekend ahead!  I'm so grateful for the memories and photos above, and I am grateful to feel more hope and confidence that God is working on my behalf and will open the right doors at the right time as my life moves forward!!  I slept in past 10:30 then unpacked this morning, and now I'm gonna get ready to go watch Miss Parker Elizabeth in her presh ballet recital!  God is alive and actively at work - I hope and pray that you feel His love and kindness in new ways this Mother's Day weekend!!

"It is with passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world... remembering that first impressions are not always correct, you must always have faith in people, and most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself!"  ~Elle Woods ;-)

Congratulations, Class of 2025 -- We did it!!

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A Family Dinner to Remember

'Twas a memorable fam dinner last night... 

We had a delicious breakfast for dinner meal + the chocolate cake with Oreo icing - all good!  Mom and I are flying to Colorado tomorrow morning, and I wanted lovely curls for Graduation.  It always takes me forever to get them right, so I brought my Halo extensions hair for Rach to curl.  Naturally, I'm holding that hanger and flinching every time the hot curling iron gets close to me whilst Rach elevates and ices her bleeding ankle (the same varicose vein that erupted during Kyndal's birthday party).  Somewhere in there, I was struck by the comedy of all this and asked Mom to take our photo! lol

Apparently, this is normal for varicose veins that start bleeding openly.  Once again, Rach bled through multiple towels and used pressure and ice to try to slow and stop the bleeding...

Rach:  "I didn't think it would be this bad.  This is INSANE!!"

Mom:  "Dad's getting towels to help, and Lindsey's grabbing her camera!" #accurate

Rapidly soaked riiiight through the gauze and layers of paper towels and medical tape!  Sorry if you're squeamish about that... maybe skip this post. lol

Twice, it stopped for a tiny minute then started back up when she put any weight on her leg.  After a literal hour and 20 minutes of that, I insisted that we go to the nearby ER/Urgent Care.  Mom took J&K home while I took Rach to Saint Anthony's.  Comically, we got seated inside, and it stopped bleeding fairly quickly.  I encouraged her to walk on it, and again, the bleeding started back up immediately... then she echoed my "Take some steps" in a mocking tone. lolol

After bleeding through several small kitchen towels, we had taken a huge beach towel from Mom and Dad's house on our short drive.  Rach was filling out the paperwork when I noticed blood dripping onto their waiting room floor.  She got blood on the pen as she bent down to clean that up, then she somehow knocked one of her press-on toenails off her other foot.  She was angry-laughing as she put that in her pocket, saying "WHAT ELSE!?" whilst I was laughing too hard to be super helpful!  The officer came over to grab her paperwork, and Rach told him there was blood all over the pen, so he let her keep that as a special souvenir. lol

(A couple minutes later...)

Rach:  "Oooooh, now he's sanitizing the clipboard.  This is so embarrassing!"

Me:  "Don't worry about it - I'm sure you're not the first person to bleed in the ER."

We waited about five more minutes, and in that span of time, the bleeding actually fully stopped and she was able to walk around on it without issue.  Thennnn the doctor came out to get her.

Doctor (realizing Rach was joking around about it all):  "Those varicose veins just bleed like crazy!  You can follow up with your doctor to get that fixed...  You're welcome to check in if you want, but all we can do for you here is amputate your foot!" lol  (Pic = the angry veins once it finally stopped bleeding. Woof.)

The whole thing was fascinating and entertaining.  Rach is often funny to me, but never more so than when she's mildly flustered or irritated, which she definitely was by the end of the night!  Earlier, while Rach was curling my hairpiece - LOL - I freaked out about the curling iron and dropped it on the ground right where she'd just cleaned up a pile of blood.  Five second rule!? lol  I just washed it that morning, and now it may smell like blood and/or bacon, but whatevs, you can't smell a photo!! lol  In the end, we laughed a lot and all was well.  And we spent zero dollars and less than 30 minutes at the hospital, and Mom got to help a bit with the laundry and packing for Kyndal's 5th Grade Creation Nation trip (in progress right now - hope she has a total blast)!

Way back Wednesday:  The 2-year-old Jace Michael, 11 years ago today!

And the 24-year-old very blonde Lindsey Claire, 17 years ago today! =)

Suggested shortly after my marathon, I'm in a new FB group called "Slow AF Running Club." lol  It's mostly fun and supportive and inspiring posts, and I'm enjoying that.  This one made me laugh!

Another post from that group.

Just me using ChatGPT for some free therapy as Mother's Day approaches.

Not getting into that more here, but it's been a whirlwind of unanswered questions lately.  Here again, I'm reminding myself to stay tethered to Jesus and anchored in eternal hope!!  Easier said than done, but our walk with God is worth every bit of effort we put into it.

He is with us.

One day at at time.

God's grace is sufficient.

Today's trouble is enough for today!

Okay, I'm headed home to pack soon.  Excited for our Colorado trip ahead... prayers appreciated for safe travels!

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The Anchor Holds

Almost five months into this job search extravaganza, and if I’m honest, I’m a little discouraged and confused... and increasingly curious about what God is up to in this season.

Chet jokingly said I’m “rage applying” at this point — and, as usual, he’s not too far off.  My backup plan was to ease into private practice on the side while keeping my court reporting job with its steady pay and benefits.  But after talking with Amy, my former supervisor, it’s clear that most private practices in Oklahoma are too slow right now to take on new LPC-Candidates.

Okay.  Another closed door.
In the 4.5 months since I finished grad school, I’ve had ten interviews:

• CREOKS – (Zoom interview with Jessica) - Accepted a school therapist role; prayed and changed my mind about moving and working with kids - no regrets
• Charlie Health – (Two Zoom interviews with Dominique) - Recruited on LinkedIn; eventually passed over
• Red Rock – (In-person interview with Stephanie) - Froze on a difficult question; eventually received a rejection email
• Counseling & Recovery Services – (Zoom interview with Sara) - Realized it was for a school therapist role and withdrew my application
• Family & Children's Services – (In-person interview with Koreena) - Thought it went great; got a rejection email - they do say they prefer LCSWs
• Moore Counseling – (In-person interview with Dr. Ward; Zoom interview with Brandie)  - Really encouraging interviews, but their part-time offer wasn’t feasible right now
• Colorado Christian PhD – (Zoom group & individual interviews) -  Great experience - I'm in; the program begins next month!

I was also excited about the Maternal Mental Health Therapist opening with FCS, but they filled that position before we even scheduled an interview.  In addition to all of these interviews, I've spent loads of time and energy on job searches, resume updates, networking, cold applications, follow-up phone calls, website building, discussions with potential supervisors, and several processing talks with Mom, Chet, and Kristin - grateful for their abundant wisdom and patience as I wade through this messy season.  The internal pressure is real, and the hustle has been exhausting, especially for a classic introvert.  The closed doors and continuing questions from others are beginning to  feel a bit embarrassing, and this holding pattern is forcing me to ask some hard questions:  Am I climbing the wrong mountain?  Is God using rejection to redirect me?  Should I double down on counseling… or embrace the practical benefits of court reporting again?

To be clear, I absolutely acknowledge that my current frustration is relatively minor compared to what many are going through.  I am not oblivious or indifferent to the pain of friends who are dealing with personal health issues, challenging family dynamics, caring for aging parents, navigating a move, grief, cancer, and more... there are certainly additional elements to my story that I don't feel free to share on the public blog, but all in all, this season of waiting is more frustrating than truly painful.  I am also confident that this entire process is sharpening me — I’ve become better at interviews, more articulate about my counseling philosophy, and clearer about my values over the past few months.  And I'm realizing how much financial stability matters to me, especially if I’m ever blessed to become a mom — (and court reporting currently meets that need better than counseling does).

So I spent the early part of this week in an online seminar to keep up my CR certifications, and I've recently applied for two court reporting positions in addition to other counseling jobs - which feels a little crazy, but we'll see what doors God chooses to open.  It's ironic that I had been so eager to write the “Court is Adjourned” blog as I transition into full-time counseling.  That dream appears to be on pause - I still don't have a supervisor, and I haven’t seen a client since August.  This season mirrors my one semester at OBU — overwhelmed by a long list of VAGUE possibilities, I opted for the security of court reporting school.  That practical decision served me well back then, and I’m grateful for the financial stability it continues to provide today!

Singleness also plays into these decisions.  I sometimes imagine myself as tethered to my family and /or my friends in Tulsa.  (Yes, I know we add great value to each other’s lives.  But if I moved away, their daily routines wouldn’t change much, and that realization is both freeing and quietly painful.)  Recently, I found myself lamenting that and longing to build with and be “tied down” to someone — to feel chosen, grounded, and truly tethered and connected to another person who shares the weight and the reward of these big decisions.

Then yesterday, Kristin Foster shared a clip of Christine Caine speaking on Hebrews 6:19, one of my very favorite verses.  She said: “Jesus is very firm and very secure.  The anchor will hold — but you better be connected to the anchor in order for the anchor to hold you.  Ultimately, it's not that Jesus is unfaithful, but somewhere, we became untethered from the anchor.”

Mic drop.

It definitely caught my attention, as I’ve specifically spoken about feeling "untethered" lately.  It was a sharp reminder to draw near and reconnect.

I am not alone or unseen.  Not groundless or untethered.

My foundation is still rock solid.  

My anchor has never moved.

His love for me has never failed or wavered.

While I continue to wait and wrestle and pray through a stormy season, I am tethering myself to the Anchor - my heart will be rooted in Jesus Christ - and my hope in Him is firm, secure, and unshakable.

God is good and kind, and nothing He allows is without purpose.  So I'm taking a deep breath, praying for renewed strength and endurance, and joining David in declaring:  "You are my God - my future is in Your hands."

“The Anchor holds, though the ship is battered.
The Anchor holds, though the sails are torn.
I have fallen on my knees as I face the raging seas…
The Anchor holds, in spite of the storm.”

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Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Kyndal Faith had her final volleyball tournament with her Charge South 11s team this weekend... they were running a full hour ahead of schedule, so Mom and I made the drive to Tulsa to watch one game, but still worth it to support the Mini Miss K!

Amber (one of the team mom's) had these shirts made with close-up pics of the girls faces. lol. Rach was standing behind a little girl at first - I heard Kyndal say, "You can't even see my face, bro!" so I told Rach to move to the left a little, then she did the sorority squat and had her hands together and Kyndal's face was kinda blocked and scrunched again. lolol

This = Kyndal being annoyed with her right after that! lol

Team pic - Tulsa Regionals tournament!  (This = the one JEM and Chet came to on this exact day last year!)

Aunt Lindsey and Mamaw getting a pic with the volleyball star!

Cheese on a stick... nom nom for us, David!  They had one concession stand that had this, corndogs, chicken on a stick, and funnel cakes -- and they were raking it in with their 4-item menu!!

Two selfies in a row, but whatever - Dad was kind enough to wash my car as we were gone, and Mom was kind enough to order this happy pink sticker for it, so this is me celebrating that!! ❤  In far more annoying news, the next-level-stress + sunscreen-free-sun + humid-salty-sweat combo of the marathon caused a cortisol hormone surge, peeling dry skin, and the worst breakout I've faced since my teen years... all perfectly timed for my graduation later this week.  Sadness.  I've been trying to be extra-zen and meditative to re-regulate my shaken nervous system and calm the breakout, but I don't think it's gonna work in a time crunch, sooo yay, concealer!

Tried out the Moore LC campus for the first time on Sunday.  Craig is doing a sermon series on marriage, but I appreciated the emphasis on how unity is built through a common mission and a common enemy... obviously true for the entire body of Christ, as well!

Thissss applies in a couple places for me, and it's making me think... also, the comma is not needed. lol

I got a post-race hot stone massage at Mokara Spa in the Omni Hotel downtown... highly recommend - the spa atmosphere and amenities there are fantastic!  I hadn't been since approximately a year ago when I had a pre-surgery massage... I was pleased that the robes fit better this time. lol

Crazy rain and flooding in Moore lately... this was Portland and Bryant both being shut down when I was gonna go home for lunch on Monday. lol #changeofplans

But in happy news, the flooding did finally inspire them to replace my disgusting ceiling tiles, and it brought me so much joy to put my office back together after that!

Kudos to Chettles and Mark Anthony, who are training for the Tulsa Tough this summer.  They did 40 miles on their bikes this Saturday!  Pics = Chet walking the bike to his car after getting a flat tire in their previous long ride, Chet sending me a hilarious pic after Mark fell trying to hop the curb, and a FaceTime screenshot while I was on my trip to Tulsa on Saturday. lol

Okay, this post is full of randomness, but I'll feel caught up afterwards, so bear with me.  The Atkinson ladies are currently on a trip to Paris, and I'm loving all the photos and stories!!  Beth bought her first Chanel purse at the original Chanel store there, they had amazing desserts at the fabulous Carette bakery, which is now on my list for my future Paris trip!  Tori bought art supplies and explored Monet's actual gardens and water lily ponds, and they're all living it up and hitting the fun tourist spots!  The pic of Lauren baptizing her daughter was definitely local, not in Paris, but I was collecting these to add to my Board of Empowerment, so yay!!  It makes me happy to see each of them living with joy and passion and using their gifts to make a difference! ❤

Speaking of joy, how freaking adorable is Parker Elizabeth!?

We met the Wilsons and Melissa for a late lunch at Slim Chickens after the volleyball match this weekend... I was so happy to see Chet driving the red truck that once belonged to his Uncle Richard!  And carting tons flowers for their neighborhood planting party this weekend! =)

Jace Michael in his fish-shirt signed by Paul Cuffaro (not sure I'm spelling that right?)

I made a cake with Karli's cookies n' cream icing to bring for our fam dinner tomorrow... I also was kind enough to taste test it first! lol  Yum!

Ran into someone named Kevin Franklin, so I had to text Rach this gif from Houseguest, circa 1995! =)

I could add a few things in each column, but it's a pretty solid list!

Sent this one to Rach! lol

She took J&K to Okana last Tuesday, and they had a lot of fun!

Annie hanging out on the beach with a friend!  It's funny how much I feel like we are real-life friends!

That's all I've got for you today - yay for being caught up at work, and now caught up on my photo documenting!  Hope your week is off to a lovely start!!

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Photo Friday!

Happy Friday, friends and fam!!

Apparently, I was just kidding about that being my last Marathon-centered post... I got my official race day photos back yesterday, so of course I felt compelled to share them and to create a fun slideshow! lol

Even though my arm seems oddly far back here, I love this one going by the outdoor Memorial Wall very early in the race!

"Leaning in" for the first big hill at Mile 2!  

I'm happy to have a couple pics in the navy leggings and pink shoes!

Running by the Capitol building... I'm behind red shoe guy!

This was after Mile 18 (easy to tell from the shoes/leggings change)... the Quarter Marathoners split off around Mile 5 and the Half split at Mile 7.5, then the crowd thinned out considerably.  By the time I reached Mile 18, we were pretty scattered out, so it was very easy to spot the photographer! lol

Headed to the Finish Line - YAY!!

Done, by every definition of the word! lol

And finally, a through-the-years running journey slideshow... mostly celebrating the marathon, but featuring 16 years of memories!! ❤

And NOW I'm really done with that topic for a while. lol

Hope you have a fantastic weekend ahead!

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