DAY 4:

Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have

I really wish I didn't pick off my mascara at the end of each day. I wish I took it off with makeup remover the way I'm supposed to. I've been doing this since I was 16 as a nervous habit. Even when there's no mascara I continue to pick and play with my eyelashes. I'm always so ashamed with some fall out and you can literally see gaps :( one day I'll quit!! haha

DAY 3

Day 03- A picture of you and your friends

I miss days like these...

DAY 2

Day 2: the meaning behind your blog name

That Italian Girl... pretty self explanatory. I really loved the 60's series, "That Girl".
So I altered it as That Italian Girl. I'm very proud of that part of me, that I can find my family's name at Ellis Island when they came to America from Italy. And I always made sure my friends knew I was proud of it as well. And a lot of them would introduce me as such. They were even proud to have an Italian in the mix ;)

I also wanted to invoke a sense of the common man. That I'm just a girl when it's the end of the day. I'm still human. And I'm another person adding their thoughts and dreams to the abyss that is the internet.

DAY 1

ok so I'm doing this 30 day survey I thought was pretty cool

Day 1: A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

this pic was taken a few weeks ago at TNT's :)

15 facts:

1) I'm half Italian/ half European mut (british/scottish/swedish/irish/dutch/french)

2) I hate mayonnaise, stereo types, and wasting time

3) I love kids, irish spring soap, and sitting down with a good book or magazine

4) I always try to go to a movie by myself at least once every couple of weeks

5) I seem to involuntarily tilt my head back and close my eyes when i hear gorgeous music

6) I write my own music/sing/play piano

7) I'm a full time youth/worship pastor @ Lakeport Christian Center

8) I've been waking up around 5:30 lately just in time to see the orange sunrise over the lake out my window.

9) I live alone and I'm not scared; always thought I would be

10) I'm thankful for the things that transform me and make me a better person: change, trials, even suffering, brokenness. True beauty only comes through pain first.

11) I am absolutely determined to go skydiving within the next year

12) I've been to Jamaica and I want to go back

13) I'm a total Daddy's girl

14) I love to write

15) I love taking pictures for other people

It just sits there...

It just sits there quiet,

not allowed to be what it was made to be,

to do what it was made to do.

Only used to copy, never to create.

Sometimes I wonder if it was alive, what it would think of me.

Gazing at me going back and forth, wondering why I avoid it so.

Wondering why I try and pretend it isn’t a part of me…

That we go together like a painter and his brush.

A writer and his pen, a craftsman and his tools…

Then there were those rare nights when I couldn’t fight any longer

I’d sit over it… and weep, leaving only tears behind without melody

I become discouraged that my heart’s song cannot be translated

That it always seems to become cheapened when audible

And that its output is limited by my talents.

For it relies on me just as much as I rely on it.

Its mere presence in a room reminds me of who I am

Yet I turn my back on what I need to be me daily

Oh how pain and joy, despair and hope, and shame and atonement can come hand in hand

Me and my piano…

Stubborn Little Girl...

A stubborn little girl was sitting in the wilderness where He brought her, legs and arms crossed pouting and unwilling to move.

She's mad He brought her there, away from everything she loved.

Yet there He is smiling and almost chuckling at her.

Then calls her precious child...

He sits there everyday not even two feet from her, arms and legs crossed as well, just marveling at her.

Just watching, smiling, sometimes crying with her, waiting for her.

Living for the moment when she will jump into his lap and let him be her Daddy.

Pieces of her heart, of her past, of her hopes and dreams are scattered all around her.

She sits there trying to make sense of it all.

She stares for hours, studying and calculating, trying to act like she knows what she is doing.

All the while having no clue, and trying to hide her surprised face by some pieces she was unaware of, not wanting to admit they belong to her.

Hiding others in shame..

He reaches out his hand to try and help but she whacks it away out of her own frustrations, brushing tears from her hot flushed face.

She claims, "I know myself, I can fix myself. I'm strong and can do this!"

So he sighs, leans back, and waits again.

This goes on day after day.

He, never tiring, while she wears herself out, going on her own strength.

She has no choice but to accept water and food from him when she needs it because there is no one else now.

Sometimes she gets so mad she tries to walk away from his presence just to clear her head and he's always two steps behind her.

She walks faster and faster, even beginning to run.

But there he follows closely behind.

Until she plops down, crosses her legs and arms, and the cycle starts over again.

He waited and waited until she had spent all of her strength and could do nothing but cry for hours. Weeping...

She was startled by His gentle hand wiping away her tears, like precious diamonds.

She surprised herself as she caught up his hand to her cheek and held it there.

She closed her eyes... and felt Him for the first time...slightly leaning into his hand

It took everything in him to not scoop her up in his arms... but He stayed very still

She opened her eyes, scooted near him, inch by inch, crawled into his lap, looked up at him, leaned her head back into his chest, and was finally at rest.

He hugged her so tight and never let go, kissing her forehead and calling her his beautiful princess.

She sat in his lap and dragged her puzzle pieces up to them and finally let him help her piece it all together.

Hours went by like mere moments

Tears faded into smiles, contentment, and laughter.

Each piece was dealt with, repaired, some were even thrown away forever to be forgotten.

A beautiful picture of her heart and soul started to form and she gasped.

It was too beautiful to be of her, she thought.

She looked up at him in disbelief.

He looked down at her and said, "now you see what I see. this is who you are. this is who the world tries to keep you from seeing. accept my love. don't fight me. I want to piece you together when you're broken. I want to hold you when you're crushed in spirit. I want to carry you when you're weary. Let me be your Father. You can't do this on your own. Let's not have to do this again. I'll always be with you. And I'll never let you go, even when you can't hold on. You're mine and I am yours."

About me section on Facebook

important things to know about me..

I just graduated from Bethany University with my BA in Music Ministries Leadership
I'm a youth/pastor at Lakeport Christian Center
I sing/play piano and write my own songs.
I love to ride horses, be out doors, and play tennis
I'm split city girl (born in San Fran) and country girl ( a lot of fam in Montana)
I'm split tomboy and "princess"
I love it when I find those few who get my sarcasm and can handle my jabs
I really hate mayonnaise
And I really love caviar
Looking at the ocean or a night full of stars lets me breathe a little easier
I adore animals
I loathe insects... except butterflies, rollie pollies, and lady bugs
I love photography and making people happy through that
I love journalling and blogging - they put my emotions into words and are a form of release
I'm still unsure if I'm an introvert or an extrovert... all the personality tests say I'm an extrovert. I'm very outgoing and love to be social, but I also find true rest and contentment in solitude as well. I think me and my brother are in the exact middle of my parents haha
I'm very emotional, something I can't change! But crying is a healing outlet for me.
I'm very transparent and am not afraid of vulnerability
I can't take a compliment well
I say sorry too much
Sometimes I smile or laugh when I hear bad news, it's a nervous thing, but highly unfortunate..
I get nervous and anxious very easily
ok I can go on and on lol


-God is my everything.
-He's my friend, father, and lover.
-Learned that dark nights are followed by glorious sunrises
-Learned that tears are a precious form of worship
-Learned that I can't do anything without his grace and His empowering Spirit
-Learned that some friends are truly for a season
-Learned that He is the same as he was in the early church.
-Miracles still do happen. Our healing is found in Him
-Learned a lot about myself and am learning to view myself the way God views me
-Learned that forgiveness isn't for the other person so much but for your own freedom
-Learned that judging negatively is a waste of time. Just love them where they're at. Only kindness leads to repentance
-Learned that only God knows the heart of man. I do not.
-But I also learned that we are called to confront one another in love. and there is a fine balance that we can only find with God's love.
-Learned that God wouldn't call us to love unconditionally without empowering us to do so
-Learned to thank God for my trials rather than ask why
-Learned how weak I am and how easily I fall - but also learned the need to forgive myself and how He is made strong through those weaknesses when given to Him
-Learned that I will always be learning, not just about God and people, but about myself.
-I like the mystery of life and the faith it takes to walk through it
-Learned that you have to submit everything to God, not just 99% of it.. He wants all of us and is a jealous God for our time and love