Where to begin?

How do I even begin to describe the myriad of things that took place this week?
Seriously.

I'm assuming you've already read the post about Tuesday.
That was just the beginning. I am going to lead you on a countdown to Sunday, highlighting some of the most exciting moments of one of the most exciting weeks I have ever had EVER.

Wednesday was pretty chill, but I felt like a super star because I walked six miles, moseyed along international food stands and just generally felt very pretty while going through Milan's historical center on my way home.

Thursday, no band practice turned into impromptu aperitif faith activation. Basically, a friend invited friends to come so that he could sow into/evangelize them, and then invited one of my friends who then invited me and another friend so that we could help out. These two friends and I form quite the notorious trio, but that's another story for another time. Needless to say, the friend who organized the "event" was super happy at the end of it.
I shared part of my testimony and then with the other two parts of the trio, went down a list of recent miraculous healings and divine encounters we had seen or been a part of.
It was a pretty epic list.

As is natural with Jesus, people got interested and wanted to see this for themselves. So, the large majority of us decide to meet the next day and that brings us to Friday.
We meet in the Colonne di San Lorenzo around 9:30PM, right when things are hopping and the beer bottles are out in full force. We gathered in our little group, already plus one because of a Polish woman we had just met who I invited to sing with us, and we began to worship. Long story short, we had jam sessions with drunk people, some of who played our guitars, and though it was wonderful, I personally learned quite a few ways in which I needed to grow in love.

More than that though was a hunger for something more. That came out in a song I wrote during quiet time on Saturday morning, which was basically a prayer for love. I was reviewing some notes from my Bible study time and "the fervor of love" stood out like a beacon. This was Jesus turning over tables in the synagogue, full of zeal--the fervor of love. This was a good thing! Love isn't always mushy gushy, and as I meditated on what Jesus did, I knew I wanted that. I wanted to be like that. I wanted the perfect love that cast out fear, so that I could stop saying "My friend loved on this drunk guy...prayed for someone and he/she was healed...modeled Christ to his classmates, etc." No more miracle mooching for me!

This leads us to Sunday. After a day of too many divine encounters to recount here, God provided the opportunity for me to become aware of the work He'd done in me. Because my two friends and I weren't all three in the same city for Sunday service and the activities that followed, we headed over to one of their houses for dinner and testimonies of the incredible days we had. God had one more thing in store for me (and really, also for the kid I met). I had begun to take more initiative in our divine encounters throughout the day, but this last one was just for me. Well, like I mentioned before it was really for the guy whose name was so prophetic I almost fell over laughing when I heard it.

Basically, he had hurt his foot playing soccer and when I asked if I could pray for him, he was rather chill about the whole thing. So I prayed for him in the name of Jesus, and when I asked him to try his foot and tell me how it felt he looks to me a little less nonchalantly and says, "Bene... Cos'hai fatto?!"

Good... What did you do?!

So then I say, "I prayed for you in the name of Jesus. This is called a miracle, and you've just been healed! God loves you so much! Jesus loves you!"

Well, we all got off the tram at the same stop, and when I look back his family (who were Muslim and who had I noticed were there I might not have had the guts to approach the kid) is smiling like they won the lottery. The kid is still shocked and his family stand on the other side of the road looking at his foot for a good five minutes before moving on.
WHEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have an awesome week folks :D

Super

We're all 'super', really. All of us.
The Pearl of Great Price.
That's how much it cost to buy us.

Do you ever stop to think that you're worth Jesus?

I've heard it said that it's not that we were worth a lot so much as paying off our sin cost a lot. Honestly, I think paying off the cost of sin wouldn't have happened if the prize weren't worth it.

Get that?

God loves you. God loves you. God loves you!

A Night to Remember...

Last night I talked with a Norwegian model/musician about the importance of memories and the joys of the songwriting process. I shared my guitar with a Philippine and heard some of his original music, I shared some of my original music, I jammed with southern Italians, and I got to talk with a girl from Turkey. I didn't want it to end!

Milan never ceases to surprise me with these sorts of moments. In all, between old friends and new, eight countries and four continents were represented in a little square in center city as we played and sang our hearts out and got to know each other better.

When people ask me what it is I like so much about this often dirty and graffitied city full of a culture that is all too often superficial, I can point to moments like this. It's the people, and more than that, it's the heart I have for the people here. Here in this fashion capital it can get really deep, often because few expect profundity in such a place. I have had wonderful jam sessions in places other than squares in Europe, but my heart burns for this country and for the region of Europe.

As my friends and I finished practicing for an event we were invited to sing at, it was the most natural thing in the world to fill up on some love with a little more worship and then go pour it out on some unsuspecting strangers. It was almost like the prophet Jeremiah. The impulse to go and share God's love was so strong that had we not gone, it would have been like a fire shut up in our bones. We would have quickly wearied of holding it in. This is too good a thing to be kept secret!

And like moths to the flames, people were drawn to us as we went to them. They opened like something poetic that I can't think of at the moment, all because of the love of God they saw in us. It was that simple. It was amazing.

There was prayer, invitations to church, and we eventually moved toward an atmosphere of worship as me and the Philippine guy shared our songs toward the end, but by then we were already buddies with everyone. When you love people and want to get to know them, you want to get to know what they love.

So yea. Last night was a night to remember, and I am 100% sure that something really special happened for all of us present.
Here's most of us in a pic.

The Dreams that You Dream...

Hello Folks!

Lots has happened since my last post. As usual...
This past week was literally a whirlwind of activity, much of it concentrated in the end of the week. I'll just do a few highlights.

Friday was interesting, to say the least. I had a full morning and afternoon, a show during the evening and no time to go home between activities, so I lugged around my guitar and a change of clothes all day. I stopped by my friend Alisa's house after my last class to change into my singing clothes and do my make-up. It turned out to be the perfect opportunity to celebrate some good news: I'm officially a member of European Faith Missions/Go Missions! In Europe I am now partnered with Alisa Brown and Sally Davis. There's like, a post about it on the website and business cards have been ordered for me. Legit.

Basically, as a member of EFM/GM, I am a missionary who supports other missionaries in addition to the other work I do in Milan leading worship, evangelizing, and the like. You need prayer for something? Hit us up. Need help with English, Italian, worship leading, arts and crafts, a much needed place to stay in Milan? I'm your girl. The dream here is to be able to do this work full time, and for that I'll need lots of support, both spiritual and financial. I am believing for God to work a miracle in my financial situation.

Anywho, Friday I talked with Alisa, cleared up some details and took a selfie for the website update.
Then I hightailed it clear across town to my church where I was singing at the singles' event, thanking the Lord I hadn't sweat through everything or tripped over myself.

The night was fabulous. I sang well and felt pretty, so for all accounts and purposes I started the evening on a high note. I got lots of compliments and was even offered a wedding gig (through a friend, since the couple in question was not at the event). I won musical chairs (never mind that one of my besties was the DJ...). I had the usual good time dancing and being my extroverted self, and then someone came up to me and said I was the princess of the evening. And there you have it.

While I did not finish then evening on the arm of some dashing, debonair, tastefully tanned Italian, I'm still pretty satisfied with the evening. ;)


Saturday was similarly packed. I got up bright and not-quite-early-enough for a trip to evangelize in a bar (cafe) in a nice little section of Milan on the other side of town. In a sense, this was the first outing as the new official EFM/GM. Despite both me and another member being at least 30 minutes late, we worshipped, prayed, and believed in God to show up and be glorious.
Now, if you are curious as to what evangelism in cafes in swanky neighborhoods looks like, maybe I can give you an idea.

Here's what we did:
1. We set up one of those double sided chalk signboards that restaurants often put out, setting on the sidewalk. On it was written in English and Italian: Free Service, Miracles, Healing, Dream Interpretation
2. We waited for people to come in and ask what on earth was going on

Crazy right? To give credit where it's due, this was Sally's idea. But what an idea!
One woman came in, a little unsure of what the background of all this was. She asked quite a few times to ensure herself we were Christians.

Sally prayed aloud for her while Alisa and I interceded quietly. As I felt led to pray for her heart God showed me what it looked like. I swear, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. This woman literally had a heart of shining gold, and I just knew that she was dearly beloved. I shared this with her, telling her that she was a jewel for God, but I didn't push it too much because I could tell moving in the Spirit in that way was scaring her off a bit. She thought I was clairvoyant or something, and immediately said that this was not the first time someone had given her that word.

Eventually we packed up shop, went back to Alisa's for a group photo, since we only had my selfie from the day before, and then I chilled a bit before heading back home with Alisa's son, who's visiting for the summer.

He came with me to the first ever concert of the Iberville Band, which is the Blues group I sing in. The name is a reference to New Orleans, a fairly legitimately bluesy/jazzy place where I lived for about a year and a half, but it still somehow lends me legitimacy as an American blues/jazz singer. I guess you could call them my blues band, especially since two songs I wrote are on our set-list. Alisa's son and I were both super tired, me from my packed schedule, him from jet lag (he literally arrived 3-4 days ago from the US), but we still had a good time. Iberville Band got great reviews and we were offered other dates to play, so on the whole I'm super happy about how the evening went. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and this Friday we play again! I want to be able to be a bit more settled in Milan so that we can keep up regular practices as needed, and play regular shows.

So much has happened so fast! Really, dreaming is seeming less and less a foolish thing to do.

Questions and Answers

What do you want?

What do I want?

What do I want?


It's time for you to spread your wings and fly...
Caged birds spread their wings but they don't fly.

Presence

I want to wear You about me always, like a cloak of many colors reflecting the fullness of your dreams for me, inspiring others to step into the fullness of Your dreams for them.

I want the fragrance of You on me, picked up from a mile away. Yes, I want to be saturated with it, with You.

I want the fullness of me paired with the fullness of You.
You created me wonderfully, oh so wonderfully.

Why would I want less of that? No, I want more and more.

You've created me as a woman of great joy. A woman of great calling. A woman who, surrendered to You, is limitlessly capable through a limitless God. As I go deeper in You my joy is made complete and the calling placed on my life is answered resoundingly.

You are the Naomi to my Ruth. I will follow You.
Like King David, I will worship You always.
Like Deborah, I will prophesy and ride out to battle, victorious in Your great name.
Like Samson, my faith in Your saving hand will remain secure, unfailing as You are.
In the unique combination of who I am in You I fall at your feet eyes raised in adoration, tears falling and oil flowing, with damp hair and nostrils filled with rich perfume.

This is it.

Falling down, reckless abandon, pouring it all out... this is where I take You on and become not only a lover of Your presence, but also a carrier of Your presence.

How ya doin'?

It's been quite awhile since my last blog update. As is typical with me, I've had quite a bit to process. I couldn't possibly lay it all out here! Given my wordiness coupled with my natural tendency toward introspection and reflection, it really quite possibly would take a book.

Anyway, since I also have the tendency to process through any medium available to me, I made a conscious decision to hold back on the blogging until I could talk through certain things with my mama. It wouldn't be fair to her to read what I'm going through here on this blog before actually talking to me about it. So! We finally got to google chat and see each other. It was so good! We've only been able to email and send pictures because my horrible internet connections, so last week was wonderful. And as a result, I can now share my updates with the world!

1. I got a nose piercing!
This may not seem all that awesome, but when keloids run in the family and you've never done any piercing of any kind ever, praying and then getting your 1st peircing on your face is pretty epic. Also awesome was the 20% discount  I got because a former student works in the shop and remembered me fondly. Yaaaay. :)

                 1b. I'm just gonna tag on another fun update. Let's just call this one "Oh Snap!"
        While praying with friends and hearing testimonies of people healed of keloids, in the car on my way to the train station (another long story to explain), I mentioned how I was never able to snap with my right hand. We had just believed for me to have no keloid problems with my nose piercing, and then bam! I'm snapping with my right hand. Gotta love God's sense of humor.

2. This may not come as much of a surprise, but I toootally want to be a missionary in Italy. I'm trusting that God is going to make a way for that to happen. I'll update that in due time.

Heaven

Heaven

Heaven touches earth in a a kiss of epic proportions

This kiss holds the promise of every fulfillment. The fullfilment of every promise.

hands lifted in praise hold on to this connection, reach through the veil and touch realms unseen

new visions

new mind

new
renewed