Her Royal Highness

See this cute adorable woman?

I stood two feet from her last.

Yes, yes that's right. Two feet from her.

No it does not matter that she was in her green jag. I was still two feet from her.

How did this happen you might ask????

Well, my brother-in-law has a thing for always being in the right place at the right time. One morning in London we got up and thought we would go to see the changing of the guards. As we got closer to the palace I saw that there was no one standing around and figured there would be no changing of the guards that day. I have been once previously and it was full of people.

We walked right up to the gates only to find a handful of people standing around. A few of which happened to be secret agent people. Well, Aaron being Aaron walked right up to one of them to ask about the changing of the guards. After almost being killed by looks, Aaron crossed the street back to where we were standing. And would you know, right then the procession of the Queen's crew drove out. Her car stopped right in front of us. We bent down, looked in at her cute red outfit, waved and smiled, and off she drove.

Two seconds later...... "Did that just happen?!?!?!?!"

What are the odds that we would be there right at that moment?

Go places with Aaron and you are bound to be in the right place at the right time for meeting those people more well known than the most of us. :)

Cheers!

My trip in bullet points

I will write more details in the days to come, but just for a preview....

• Stayed in the Westin Paris. nice
• Christy brought me nice treats
• Riverboat tour through Paris
• Ate real good food
• Went up the Eiffel Tower
• Met Barbara and "Mona" Wade
• Rode bikes through the royal grounds at Versailles
• Had me a crepe in Paris
• Rode the tunnel train from Paris to London
• Sat with a plastic surgeon from Rome
• Saw some mummies at the British museum
• Watched a jazz band in a crypt under a church in London
• Ate some amazing berry muffins everyday from the hotel in London
• Stood two feet from the Queen of England. yep. I did.
• Saw Wicked with Christy. :)
• Had tea and scones in Windsor
• Had my first Bed & Breakfast experience
• Worshipped at a church in Windsor
• Hung out in a GNC. great feeling
• Did some debriefing
• Ate food cooked by the cooked of a food blog I follow. hehe

In all, very good trip. Glad to be home.

and the weather is real nice. :)

My week and next week/s..... :)

This week was pretty exciting and eventful. It consisted of our first meetings of English club. Students actually showed up and we made new friends. Friends from our English club invited us to go to a British Community night. Apparently there is a group that meets every week to speak English. As English speakers ourselves.... we joined in on all the fun.

I've met up with a student from our English club, Valeria, to help her with some last minuted preparations for an upcoming English test.

I'm loving my favorite bar this week, as I occasionally get my cafe for free. :)

Do you feel rushed in reading this blog?

Sorry, I know. I'm rushing you.

It's because I'm rushing myself.

O yea, tomorrow I leave for Paris.

Christy, here I come!!!!!

I'll be traveling to Paris and London to spend some time with Christy and Aaron and then I'll wrap up my time with some debriefing in London.

All that to say..... see you when I return!

Perseverance and Pocket Lint

I still have not sat down to write through all of my thoughts from Highland's week in Naples. But I am afraid that I can not put this blog off any longer.

I am a seeker of wisdom. Notice, I said "seeker" and not possessor. I love to be around people who are wiser than myself; those that make me question my actions and motives; those that make me seek God harder just because I saw their life. I pray that some day, when I'm older, I will be wiser. Sure, God can grant me wisdom with the snap of His finger; but until He does that I must continue to seek out those who are wiser than myself and put myself in a learning position.

I asked of one wiser than myself to leave me with a "thought", "word", "encouragement", etc., (mostly, I still can't think of the word in English to describe what I was asking for) before they left to return to America.

The word I got:

Perseverance

Shortly after this word left his lips, I heard something else.

"Oh look, pocket lint!"

Thus begun the strange workings of my brain.

Perseverance and Pocket Lint

It was 5 a.m. and I was a bit tired. I caught a 6:30 a.m. train back to Naples and had much time to think and meditate on this "Perseverance and Pocket Lint" phrase. The more I thought, the more it fit.

As believers, we will always have good times and tough times in our lives. There is a season for everything. Naples is a tough place to do ministry. It's old; it's traditional; it's Italian. These people don't want or welcome change. But that does not mean they are not still in desperate need of the gospel. If I had 6 years left in Naples, I would seek to persevere. If I had 1 week left in Naples, I would seek to persevere. I have 4 months left in Naples, so I will persevere.

"...we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:3-5

No matter what the tribulation is, we persevere, because perseverance brings on much more. Through all of the tough things that may have happened here in Naples, I have learned. What may have seemed bad in the moment, will down the road be seen as beneficial and has spurred on growth. The end goal is not success. It is God. So I persevere, knowing that whatever it happening is an opportunity to know God more; and His love has been pour out within my heart, so I have no other needs.

Whereas perseverance may be a more weighty word, pocket lint is not so much. At the moment though, it holds the same weight. How can pocket lint compare to a thing such as perseverance? When I think of perseverance, I know it entails learning new things and learning more about God. Around of all the things I must persevere through, there is also "life." Everyday life. Which for me, here in Naples, I can describe as POCKET LINT.

Pocket lint. It is the stuff that just sort of collects in your pockets from day to day. Usually you aren't even aware that it is there. But it is, and it's accumulating. Then one day, you stick your hands in your pockets and pull out some pocket lint. Let's stop there with the analogy, because if you think even further through it, pocket lint is no longer of any value. :)

I learn so many lessons for life just by living here. Things like building friendships, learning languages, managing a home, parenting, child psychology, cooking skills, etc. Pocket lint. Yes, most of the time I am aware of the new lessons I am learning. But many times, I am unaware of how important some of these lessons will be later in life. They just keep accumulating in my pocket. One day I will pull them out.

And so, without putting much time and thought into it, and without proof-reading, I have written on Perseverance and Pocket Lint. In my time with Campus Outreach, I was taught how to label periods in my life. To help classify different times and to be able to remember what God was teaching me at different points.

Napoli/Journeyman ~ Perseverance and Pocket Lint

Behind in times...

This is a two-fold title.

First, Italy is behind in times. I just thought I would let you know that.

Yes, the Italian country side is perhaps an appealing life-style, but then one day you wake up to a cold-water shower and myth believing neighbors. My wet hair never made me sick in America, only in Italy.

Second, the real reason I am writing this post....

I am behind in times. I have been absent from the blog. Due to some of my favorite Americans being in Italy. Yep, you heard it; my favorite Americans were in Naples. Therefore, I had no time to write; and therefore, I now have much to write.

Vi lascio qua.

Small World

This is the world.

Small isn't it?

You don't agree?

I'll prove it to you.

This is Kuwait

Wait, let me pull out some to give you perspective....

There we go.

Do you still see it? It's marked with the red arrow. See it? Ok good.

MOVING ALONG

This is Louisiana.

Oh. Crud. Wrong picture.

There we go.

Sorry, I'm around too many people who have Texas pride. It seems that Texas PRIDE has rubbed off on me. Only, pride for the right state that is. :)

I was saying.....

In Louisiana there are Ragin Cajuns.

They eat things like this

and this

and this

Oh, sorry. I got distracted.

ANYWAY

This is Lisbon, Portugal

This is a piazza (I only know the Italian word for this type of space now) in Lisbon

Now. What is the point of this blog? Well, I'll tell you.

In this very piazza, in Lisbon, Portugal, I, Cortney, a true RAGIN CAJUN, from Louisiana, met a guy, whose name I do not remember because of it's difficulty, from Kuwait, who also graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2006 in engineering, with some very close friends of mine.

Now do you see?

I told you. It is a small world.

Gospel Choir in Italy

I miss Isaiah Gee Dugas and Kaelyn James.

I miss their music too.

But I'm grateful that God loves His children and sometimes we get blessing greater than we can imagine. Like Italian gospel choirs.

It just so happens that my church started a gospel choir right when I started going there. I love it. So I thought I would share it with the world.

Give Thanks [HQ]

Trading My Sorrow [HQ]

I Need You To Survive [HQ]

Haleluja [HQ]

Why I should always have a camera with me

After I wrote the title, I realized that technically I do always have a camera with me. I have an iPhone. Duh. Does anybody say that anymore?

So, actually a more appropriate title would be, "oh how I wish is was socially acceptable to take pictures of strangers at any time".

Tonight as I was walking home, I saw a lady on her scooter with her small child standing on the floorboard in front of her, which is normal, and her cell phone sticking out of her helmet, which is also normal, all while she was talking and driving at the same time.

I wish I had taken a picture and sent it to the American government.

They only think that texting while driving is unsafe.

Clearly they have never been to Naples before.

NOTICE: this blog does not condone the practice of texting while driving.

Last Week: A CAJUN

Last week, or the week before last as I have gotten behind on the blogs of that week, a visitor came to town.

But not just any visitor.

A cajun one.

Yes, it pleases my heart to have people that speak my language in this city.

sha, i miss dat bayou yea. yu jus don know

Last Week: FOOD

OK so this post might be a little late. As will the next few to follow. But at least you got them right?!?!

Food.

The thorn in my flesh.

Who would have thought.

I will choose to not get in to my opinions on food right now, and spare you the long, drawn out, misery-filled complaints that I can come up with. Just get the point: a lot of food happens here in Italy.

Worthy week was no different. So here is the blog about the food from week.

Bruna and Stefano were coming over one night, and we needed a dessert to "ospitare" them. A quick one too, since we didn't think about it until the last minute. Too bad they ended up bringing a whole plate load of the best sfogliatelle in the city. I should blog about those soon....

Chocolate chip cookie dough brownie with Caramel topping

Somehow I didn't take pictures of a lot of food in between. Like the zucchini risotto that I made; amazing. Or the new recipe of pigs-in-the-blanket dough that Shannon made. Just pretend you are looking at those pictures right now, and that they look awesome.

NEXT

Saturday night we had a dinner party. I didn't take a picture of the first plate, which was eggplant pasta, because I didn't eat it. :)

But for second plate this is what we had.

Again, that afternoon we decided we needed a dessert for the dinner party. So I went surfing my favorite blogs to find something new to make. I found this

It's an OREO cake. Luckily Shannon had the American ingredients in the pantry that we can't find here. It was rather yum. Except, I'm pretty sure that there are a whole week's worth of calories in one bite of this cake. Whoops.

I saved these two pictures for last. Because they lead to other blogs, of course.

Pizza Surprise birthday cake

Last Week: GOD LESSON

Look at Emma's massive pizza

This picture has nothing really to do with this blog post; other than the fact that Emma was what spurred on these thoughts.

On Saturday, I met Charlie, Scott, Dana, and Emma at Sorbillo for lunch. After we ate our massive pizzas (well not me; I just had a few bites of Scott's) the plan was to go on a short version of the city center tour. It was raining and cold and poor little Emma had been walking in it all day. So she opted to have me take her back to the house. I made her walk all the way to my apartment to drop something off and then walk all the way back to the metro in that cold, rainy, dreadful weather. We finally got onto the metro after 20 minutes. We sat down and Emma curled right up to me and laid her head in my lap.

Here starts my lesson.

Outside was rainy, cold, ugly weather. She was miserable and couldn't feel her feet. The metro was warm and toasty (I'll leave out the part that is was full of stinky Italians though), and she was curled up, nice and cozy in my lap. For some reason I thought of God.

I often see God through life's analogies, or in nature. One of my favorite things back in America was the thirty minute drive to school every morning. It was a sweet time with God for me. Some mornings I would sing my little heart out all the way to school. Some mornings I would pray my little heart out; but I never cried my little heart out, because, well, that just doesn't happen for me very often. But regardless of what each morning's drive consisted of, on the mornings that the weather was clear blue skies... the same thing would happen... at the same spot... always.

There is one place on this two lane highway that opens up to sugar cane fields after being lined with trees for a few miles. I would pass this spot at around the same time everyday; when the sun had just popped above the tree line and shined right into the cane field. On those clear blue sky days, when I reached that spot of my drive, no matter what I was doing, I would stop and think about how amazing God is that He made the blue color of the sky match so perfectly well with the green color of the sugar cane.

At this point you may be thinking, "what an odd thing to think." Yes; perhaps. But I love nature. I love the sun and blue skies and green grass. I love those two colors together. I think they are perfect for each other. And when I see them together I think of the awesome Creator that I serve. He made those colors to be that way, and I stand amazed when I see them.

That is one of my favorite ways to see God in creation and life.

I told you that long story to tell you this story:

(back to Emma)

As Emma laid in my lap, I couldn't help but think of how she was content to lay in my lap and rest. Outside was a world of misery for her (if you consider being wet and cold and not feeling your feet misery); but inside; inside was nice and comfy. As I was beginning to think about this, she looked up at me and asked:

"Cortney, how many stops are left?"

" Just 5."

"Oh. Cool. Ok then."

Then she put her head back down on my lap and snuggled up closer to me. I was floored. Jesus talks about childlike faith in the gospels. I've never personally experienced a better analogy than this. Well, ok, maybe I have; but currently I can't remember it.

Why do I not snuggle up to God in this way? Why do I not lay my head in His lap and go along for the ride? Outside, the world is cold and wet and nasty. Inside, in God's lap, everything is nice and toasty and I can be content with no worries.

I just need to lift up my head, ask how many more stops, and lay back in His lap. Content. Trusting that the course of life will continue to run and I need not worry about anything because I am in the care of the God Almighty.

Last Week: WORTHY

This blog will be the first in the series of "Last Week."

I have lots of things to blog about that happened last week. So I thought a series would be the appropriate way to approach them.

Part one of the series is entitled WORHTY. Why? Because I spent last week at the casa di Worthy. Charlie was in London all week for the International World Changer meeting, so I stayed the week with Shannon to help out with the kids.

and now I'm going to blog about it.

It began like this.

You see, perhaps Shannon thinks I just wanted to be a good friend and help out. But that's a lie. I just want to use her to learn big mama skills.

OK just kidding.... but maybe it's a little bit of both.

Ok fine, I'm not using her.

The truth: Duh, I do it to help, but with it comes many lessons that I need to learn. You see, Shannon likes to think that I will learn all of the things not to do as a parent if I hang out at her house. But in reality, I see strengths in Shannon that are weaknesses in me. Therefore, I learn and grow in areas of weakness.

Let's start with my first picture.
My first thought would have been this:

AH! OH NO! PAINT = REALLY BIG MESS THAT I DON'T WANT TO CLEAN UP!

But instead, when you have patience and consider the fact that your children are more important than your OCD tendencies, you end up with this...

Really cute pictures of your children.

OK fine, you end up with happy kids that have exercised their creativity and freedom. Important things in the life of children.

Then there is drinking "cafe" like the big dogs.

Again, I would naturally wet my pants over the thought of having to clean up a mess if this cup was shattered.

But look how cute he is drinking "cafe" just like the big people.

and look how content he is.

Maybe you are a slow learner like me. So I'll help you out with this lesson.

Give the kids some freedom and let them learn and grow and experience.

It's worth it, even if I have to clean up on little mess.

Another of the week's lessons.

Homework is stressful.

When you have to help your kids with homework in another language, it is really stressful.

So what do you do?

You call in the reinforcements.

Just let the Italians teach them Italian. :)

There are probably millions of lessons that I have learned that will stay with me forever. If I have children, those lessons will come in handy. And if I don't have children, well then maybe other people will let me babysit their kids or something.

But let's just hope that someday God will bless me with some little babies.

Then I'll remember how He blessed me with the Worthy clan. Where you learn more lessons in one day then you think possible sometimes.

Shout out to the Worthy's cause I know you are reading this. :)

Preview to next blog:

Pandoro

Every culture has it's holidays.

Every culture has it's holiday traditions.

Some people live cross-culturally.

That's me. I live cross culturally.

What do you do with tradition when you live cross-culturally?

YOU COMBINE THEM!!!!!!

This is a pandoro.

I don't like pandoro. Nor do I like panetone. But it's the gift to give here in Italy during Christmas time. So naturally, as an American living in Italy, when I received a pandoro I made a special dinner for roommate movie night.

I used these ingredients......

and this is what happened

Yes sir! Pandoro french toast. Quite yummy I must say. In fact, this pandoro had chocolate chips in it; so really I made chocolate chip pandoro french toast. Yea. Yea it was good.

Great, now I'm sick just from thinking about food. Ugh!

:)

p.s. I just realized, I'm not even sure if I spelled pandoro right. But being as I am too lazy to check, I'm posting it this way.

2010 Reading List

This morning, a friend of mine blogged their 2010 Reading List. I was inspire to do the same. Mainly because I have despised reading for most of my life. Just within the last year I have begun to like reading. So it's an accomplishment in itself that I have decided to like reading. And it is a great accomplishment that I have read as much as I have. Therefore, I my blogging my 2010 Reading List.

We Would See Jesus ~ Roy and Revel Hession

Fireproof Your Life ~ Michael Catt

Being an Aroma of Christ ~ Karen Pearce

Lifestyle of Discipleship ~ Jim Peterson

Radical ~ David Platt

Spiritual Warfare ~ Jerry Rankin

Questioning Evangelism ~ Randy Newman

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World ~ John Piper/Justin Taylor

Ask Me Anything ~ J. Budziszewski

A Christmas Carol ~ Charles Dickens

The Chronicles of Narnia ~ C.S. Lewis

The Shack ~ William P. Young

Twilight ~ Stephanie Meyer

New Moon ~ Stephanie Meyer

Eclipse ~ Stephanie Meyer

Breaking Dawn ~ Stephanie Meyer

Jane Eyre ~ Charlotte Bronte

Emma ~ Jane Austen

The Great Gatsby ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Picture of Dorian Gray ~ Oscar Wilde

Persuasion ~ Jane Austen

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ~ Mark Twain

Wuthering Heights ~ Emily Bronte

The Scarlet Letter ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Jungle Books ~ Rudyard Kipling

Around the World in Eighty Days ~ Jules Verne

Gulliver’s Travels ~ Jonathan Swift

Through the Looking Glass ~ Lewis Carroll

Romeo and Juliet ~ William Shakespeare

These next books were all seminary reading. But nonetheless, I read all 5000 pages of them and therefore will include them in the list.

Baptist Faith and Message 2000: Critical Issues in America’s Largest Protestant Denomination ~ Ed. by Douglas K. Blount and Joseph D. Wooddell

Helping Hurting People ~ Asa R. Sphar and Argile Smith

The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness ~ H. Leon McBeth

Christian Counseling ~ Gary R. Collins

There you have it. My reading accomplishments.

2011 looks promising too.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

If you don't know already, Naples can become quite the war zone on New Year's Eve. By that, I only mean that when 5 million people start shooting fireworks it gets a little crazy.

But if you stay indoors, on the top floor, with a camera and tripod, you can stay safe and get some shots like these.

Happy New Year World