Never lose your wonder

Oh, to live in childlike wonder. No matter what happens to you, never lose your wonder - especially when you´re put under pressure. Some of us have been under pressure more than others and we don´t know why. But the fact is that none of us finds out what we are really made of, when everything is rolling nicely, we actually find who we truly are when hell is pressing in from all sides. If we have any cracks in our foundation, all of them will be exposed. I feel like I´ve been under pressure for some time now and I know it´s all good, because I´m forced to face some things and deal with them now. I guess we wouldn´t go into that place otherwise, since people usually tend to avoid pain, aye.

The past month hasn´t been the easiest for many reasons.. A friend of mine just passed away from cancer. Everyone around her believed in a miracle and I just can´t believe she´s gone. I know she is in a better place now, but I don´t believe it was her time to leave yet. She was still young. Anyways, due to a lot of recent events, I just have to pause everything else(except work) for a while and prioritize - what ever it means for now. Also my MacBook Pro was so old that it crashed for good, so until I can afford to get a new one(or if someone wants to donate me one), I won´t be posting anything. So bare with me now and I´ll get back to blogging hopefully sooner than later!

Remember to never lose your wonder, no matter what happens!


Intricately Yours,

Marjo

Rays of Light

As I walked outside in the morning, the rays of light blinded my eyes. It was so bright - so inviting. And for the first time this year I could sense it, the Spring is about to break forth. I´m thrilled about it, since people here up North have to deal with the intensity of dark days for couple of months. We barely see the sun at all from december to february, but when the sun comes out - people tend to come out from their "closets" as well and they might even smile a little. :)

Some research might show that the "wintertime mindset" has everything to do with our well-being and I bet it is true to some extent(and I do believe in positive thinking especially during the winter). It´s just that I love light and at least for me, it brightens my inner life a whole lot as well. Light ignites new hope and I want to encourage you to take hold of hope for the next season as well. Even if the winter would have been "a dark" season for you, it is time for the Light to burst into every area of our lives bringing new hope and life. Every spring I get reminded of a Scripture verse that I hold on to; "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  I´m glad winter season is swiftly coming to an end it is time for Spring and new things!

I bought this white winter coat from Bik Bok`s sale and thought I would only wear it with my sportier clothes, but it has actually become one of my go-to coats. I´ve never had a white coat, but I actually like it a lot(it brings light as well, since almost everyone over here has a black coat..). The bag is also from Bik Bok, the jeans skirt from Zara and I think they both go well with the coat. :)

Happy Easter time to all of you lovelies! 

Intricately Yours,

Marjo

Photos by Tim Kiukas

 

 

 

S I R E N A

"He is absolutely enchanting and powerfully romantic.

It seems shocking or over exaggerated, especially when I see Him from my places of hopelessness and chronic despair. SO...

Today I have chosen to face every enemy that suggests that God is not "that good."

Today, I will leave behind the ocean of of impossibility to embrace the One who clothes me with gowns made for queens. And...

After I´ve danced with Him and memorized His choreography of goodness I will come back to this ocean of despair, face it, and destroy it with the violent beauty that He has bestowed on me."

-Introduction to the movie Sirena-

I had the privilege to be a part of a short-movie called Sirena, while I lived in California(there´s a link to the movie in the end of the blog). I absolutely loved creating this piece of art - from co-directing, script-writing, photography, styling, editing to sound design. I actually did all of the sound design and even though it took a lot of time, I really enjoyed geeking and playing with sounds! The director and producer, Annette, did most of the photography but I took some too(like the ones above). Making Sirena was such a blast but also challenging. What happened during the process and what I´ve kept in my heart during these years, is, that everything is possible when you just believe. It takes a lot of work, time, effort, courage, money, inspiration, imagination and childlikeness to actually make movies. But when you love something you do, you really don´t care about the cost. This short-movie wouldn´t have been possible without all the effort people put in it, I´m so proud of all of them and the outcome. Even though I don´t have as much time as I would want to for creative expressions right now, I still hold on to every dream of mine and do what I can in this season(like post these projects I´ve been a part of). :)

I present to you dear friends, Sirena.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGMruGZCIAk&feature=youtu.be

Intricately Yours,

Marjo

Real and Raw

Lovely ones, It´s been a while! I wasn´t planning on having a month long break, but I had to prioritize my time; at the moment this blog is just for fun when I have time and energy. In this post I´ll be sharing my heart and talking about some of my recent experiences from last month. The beginning of February was a bit rough, but now I´m back in the joyful track again. :)

During January, I feel like I was "in a bubble" - everything seemed to flow so easily and I was super excited about this new year. It seemed like everything was possible! I was motivated and inspired(and I still am, just need to remember to take the time to rest so inspiration flows). But then in February, it was like I hit a wall. I got an overload of stress and I should´ve known, I saw the signs ahead of time... I had very stressful days at work, I hadn´t slept enough, joined a new business in the spur of the moment and the list goes on and on - in the other words, I had wayyy too many things going on at the same time which I thought I could handle. NOT. I wish I had stopped and taken proper rest before things got a bit out of hand.

Don´t know about you, but for me, It´s hard to admit that I wouldn´t have it all together all the time. Of course we all wish we had it all together all the time, but when we don´t, we need to learn to be vulnerable and to ask for help from others, even if it would only mean to listen and to be there for one another. For me, I´ve accustomed to cope a lof of things on my own during the years(still waiting for my knight in shining armor). But I know I can´t do this life on my own(I know God is with me always but I believe people should be representatives of God) and I don´t want to. I believe we were created to be part of a family, living in complete honesty and transparency. It´s hard for people to really know you if you don´t open up your heart(it´s a risk everyone has to take). Willing to let people into your life also requires humbleness. Of course you better choose your people well and find the ones you can trust. Anyways, I´ve realized over and over again how much we need people that love and encourage us in our lives and how humbling and freeing it is.   

At least for me, It´s many times easier to "escape the reality" than to face it and deal with it, let alone let people know I´m not doing that well. In the beginning of February, for couple of days, I was so exhausted I drowned myself into Netflix and just ate chocolate after work. Now when I think about it, it sounds so silly, but in that moment it was like hell broke loose. I thought that the state of my mind would pass and I would just move on and nobody needed to know. And don´t get me wrong, sometimes it´s ok to watch Neflix and eat chocolate, if your heart is in a good place(not if we just try to numb ourselves instead of facing issues). I believe here comes the importance of letting safe people into our lives to speak the truth to our current situations. If we are not transparent to the people around us, it´s easy to get away with what you are dealing with instead of facing it. Of course we have to be willing to face the things we are dealing with, but it helps a lot when we open up to people. When we can´t see clearly, we need people to speak into our lives and lift us up. I don´t know what would I have done without some of my precious friends who listened to me and spoke truth in love to my heart. Many times when people get stressed out, they tend to be too tired to get hold of their thoughts and that happened to me -  I realized I had started to listen to lies about my life but fortunately people around me broke off those lies and spoke truth to my heart.

We all have different ways to cope with stress. It´s not that I wouldn´t have known eating chocolate and watching Netflix excessively doesn´t help, but sometimes we do things to just cope with stress, aye? But what are some healthy ways to cope with stress? I´ve read a lot of self-help books, studied how to live a healthy&succesful lifestyle and even done life-coaching, but for the most of us - applying all of that info into our lives, would you agree with me, it´s not as easy. Most of us know too much but haven´t put that info into practise. I´m actually just throwing out some thoughts, I´m in the journey and process as well. I´d love to hear your thoughts on coping with stress in a healthy way. Do you exercise? Share your heart with friends? How do you deal with self-condemnation(usually if I know I should have coped differently, I easily go under self-condemnation)? How do you rest? 

I guess one of the reasons why people, including myself, don´t want to ask for help, has to do with pride. Who would want to be "a burden" or seem weak/needy? But NONE of us were created to do this life alone. Of course we need to do our part and take responsibility of our lives but I also believe we need to find the right people that speak the truth in love to us and that stand by us no matter what. I believe that, that is one of the ways what real Love looks like as well. The more we get hold of how Loved we are, the less we listen to lies. A lot of times we need people to be the messengers of Love. 

Lastly, the photo is a bit older but the woolly neck warmer fits perfectly to the current weather here in Finland. It has been freezing cold(-10 to -20°C), so everything woolly is needed. Also, if you wonder, I didn´t knit the neck warmer but bought it from a thrift store, so I have no idea who made it. Isn´t it adorable?! :)

Wishing you a hope-filled beginning of March!


Intricately Yours,

Marjo

Photos by Tim Kiukas

  

Brazil Throwback

I went to Brazil exactly two years ago now, for almost a month. As a world traveller, been in almost every continent and seen a lot of places, this trip was something else. Most people travel because they want to experience different cultures and so did I for many years, but nothing is as fulfilling when you go to places to actually make a change. There´s nothing wrong with having a holiday abroad but this trip wasn´t one of those. I was part of a team of radical lovers of God&people - we loved on people in different cities like Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Lafaytte, Belo Horizonte, Campinas. I´ll never forget that trip, it ruined my life in the most wonderful way, for good. You might be wondering why haven´t I shared these pics and stories earlier? Well, I felt like it was time and to be honest, I didn´t have time/make time to go through all the photos I took before(I like to take a lot of photos and get overwhelmed with them then, haha). But better later than never, aye?

I believe that the Greatest Power in the whole universe is, Love, and His name is Jesus. The Bible talks a lot about love (I highly recommend you to read the Bible and especially everything to do with Love, even if you wouldn´t believe in what I say - it still tends to give people life) and God´s love is referred to as agabe love which is the highest form of love that is selfless and sacrificial, it is unchanging and unconditional. Every single person and creature crave to be loved, right? I believe that every one of us, we were made for Love. In this post, I´m talking about the supernatural, incomprehensible Love of God. I surely don´t have all the understanding about this subject, I´m only talking about my own experiences and this time, what happened in Brazil two years ago. I believe that when we encounter His Love, we want other people to encounter it too(and yes, I wouldn´t be talking about this, if I wouldn´t have had personal encounters with Him, and if you want to hear about my encounters, I will share some later on in a another post too, so stay tuned). I share a couple of true stories what happened in this trip(some of the photos have stories hidden in them btw) and I hope you get encouraged by them. :)

One of the places we went to share the Love, was in a women´s rehab center. Their life stories were heart breaking. You just never know what people have gone through and why they have ended up in the situations where they are at. These women are so precious to God, no matter what they´ve done(many of them ended up using drugs because of abuse or other horrific reason). I believe God´s Love extends through every barrier, through everything - it can break every chain and bring even the most unlikely people back to Life. God doesn´t give up on us, even if we would - He never stops loving us. After our meeting with them, they shared what had happened to them during that time. I had given an encouraging word(one of the things I saw for her in the spirit was that she was a worship leader) for one of the ladies and after that, she couldn´t stop crying. She told me that every word I spoke to her was right on. I just called her out in her true identity. She told me she had been a worship leader back in the day, but because of her downfall, she didn´t think she could be worthy of that kind of a position anymore, to lead people to worship God. But after that, she had new hope and vision for the future! Obviously, I couldn´t have known such a thing without God speaking to me, I had never seen her or talked to her before. God loves to speak to people through us and encourage them. Some of the ladies also testified they had been healed through prayer!

In Sao Paulo, we went to the favelas and streets to love on people. We saw some people get healed while we prayed for them and I sang in the street spontaneously while a new brazilian friend accompanied me. It was so much fun! But one of the most powerful encounters were when we stopped one lady. She was on her way to commit a suicide.. but instead, she had an encounter with the love of God and she surrendered her life to Jesus. I held her in my arms for some time and we both cried our eyes out. It was such a holy moment.
One day we stopped at a grocery store. Meanwhile I thought to go outside and take some photos. I didn´t realize we were not in a good neighborhood and it was actually a really dangerous street to go out alone. I started taking photos and soon enough a man comes yelling at me, behaving violently. I don´t speak portuguese so I didn´t know what he was saying. He clearly wasn´t in his right mind, but I wasn´t afraid. I felt such love towards that man and I wish I could have spoken to him. Soon my brazilian friends ran to me and told me to leave before that man would attack me. I insisted my friend to translate to that man and tell him how much God loves him and so he did. That man calmed down and left, he didn´t want to listen to us. My friend told me that that man thought I was a cop(ha!) taking photos of him, but he could sense an atmosphere I carried and when my friend talked with him, he knew what it was. Apparently he was the most violent and dangerous man in the neighborhood, selling drugs etc. But man, I just saw how God loves that man and I wasn´t afraid. I knew God was with me, I could feel the Love in my bones!

In Campinas we ministered in couple of different places. One of the meetings got a bit wild.. People there started to get in a reeeaally good mood. If you know me, you know that I love to laugh and get filled with Joy. This time, people in the meeting, got hit with supernatural Joy. Those people weren´t exactly the kind that you would think end up rolling on the floor laughing uncontrollably. I bet you can imagine it haha(proverbs 17:22 says "A merry heart does good like a medicine"). By the way, if you haven´t seen Mary Poppins, I encourage you to watch at least the laughing scene! Did you know that imagination is the most powerful tool you have? Your thoughts are like seeds and they produce something always. So think happy thoughts! Movies are just someones thoughts in the screen. :)

So much more happened in my trip to Brazil and I´m forever grateful for the opportunity to go there! I love the nation of Brazil&Brazilian people, they know how to love well and they are really hospitable! I hope to go back to Brazil, hopefully again soon. :) 

Btw, my stripy dress is from Marimekko and it is super comfy especially when the weather is hot&humid.

I wish you have a miraculous week! ;)

Intricately yours,

Marjo

Dream Journey #2

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." - Harriet Tubman

In my last post I promised to give you some simple practical tips how to go on with Your Dream Journey. First off, do not give up on your dreams - that picture of the future you want to live in one day! 

Dreams carry hope&life and that´s why they are so powerful. Though, we all know people that have given up on their dreams for one reason or another. They most likely try to talk you out of them(especially if you are crazy dreamer and believe in the impossible), but don´t listen to them. Some people just haven´t had the guts to step into the unknown, they´ve become too bitter because of their own failures(though if you let, failures can also be used for good). And the fact is, not everybody is going to like it, especially if you start something completely new and risky. But without risks, you never know what could have happened. What if you succeed? What if what you dreamed of changes the world for the better and inspires others? What is the worst thing that could happen if you failed - At least you tried and left your mark in this world! It´s time to think outside of manmade boxes and dream.

In the Dream Journey, we need to take the steps to get where we want to be. Easy steps are: dream - write them down - do an action plan - execute. Of course there may be dreams that require supernatural intervention and that is where God comes in the picture(it is a lot easier, if you start dreaming with Him already from the beginning :)). It may not look the same for you as for me, since it depends on what your dreams are. If one of my dreams is to keep Dream Workshops, there´s a lot of preparing, organizing and advertising to do. I need to know what I´m talking about as well. And don´t wait for other people to do it for you, unless if it´s something you can´t carry on at all on your own. It´s also important to change the course of your life, if it´s not taking you where you want to be(I´m talking to myself too, haha). Many people don´t want to step out from their comfort zones - of their "secure" lives, because it require changes. Change is evitable, because progress in anything is impossible without change. Like Norman Vincent Peale said, "Change your thoughts and you change the world", it all starts from the inside. Cultivate positive and encouraging thoughts - it will take you far in your Dream Journey!

In case if it´s challenging for you to get hold of your dreams, here are some ideas to get you thinking(from Dream Culture by Andy and Janine Mason):

Creative dreams: Write songs/do music, inspire people through art
Big dreams: Become a president, end global poverty, find cures for deathly diseases
Fun dreams: Ride in a hot air balloon, skydiving
Things to be: A source of wisdom to those around me, physically fit
Things to have: My own business, my own home
Things to do: Graduate from college, climb a mountain
Financial dreams: Become debt free, grow many sources of income
Emotional dreams: Overcome fear, restore a broken relationship
Family dreams: Get married, be the best mother/father you can be
Spiritual dreams: See creative miracles, live from love
Places to visit: See the seven wonders of the world
The thing you want to be remembered for: Love, empowering others
The gifts you want to give: Start an orphanage in Africa, give a million dollars at one time

If you would be interested in attending a Dream Workshop with me, contact me. Teaching and activating in the Dream Workshops would obviously be more profound(everything will flow from a spiritual aspect btw). What I´ve been sharing here just scratch the surface. There´s so much more to Dreaming than what I can summarize here! Why I want to keep these Dream Workshops, is because one of my crazy dreams is to see everyone to walk out their dreams(and I mean the kind of dreams that bring forth life&hope), for every person to thrive and live in their full potential. :)

About my outfit! The dress is from Marimekko. I really like Marimekko´s clothes, because the fabrics are high quality(like this dress is 70% silk) and because of the graphics. Shoes are from Diesel.

I hope this post inspired you to dream! :)

Intricately yours,

Marjo














Photos by Tim Kiukas

Dream Journey #1 

"Dreams are seeds of possibility planted in your soul, calling you to pursue a unique path to the realization of your purpose." -John Maxwell

A couple of years ago while I was studying in California, one of our assignments was to write down at least 50 dreams. I thought the assignment was completely crazy then. Nobody had challenged or encouraged me to dream before that. I remember I had some dreams in the back of my mind since I was a young kid, but I never dared to dream big. Why I am telling you the following story, is because I believe we all have had dreams inside of us already when we were small. What were you dreaming of when you were little? What were the things you enjoyed doing in your childhood? Maybe they point out to your dreams.

When I was a little girl, my mom took me to a Conservatory to play instruments. For some weird reason I ended up playing drums and I didn´t really like it, but I wanted to please my mom(fear of man..! Read my last post and you´ll know what I mean by that). It seemed so important for her, so I continued. I didn´t want to let her down. One time I hand´t practiced at all and wouldn´t it be, my teacher smelled like he had been drinking vodka for many days in a row... you can only imagine how a little girl felt by his stinking breath and drunken behavior. After that lesson I wanted to quit, but didn´t have the guts to tell my mom about it. I don´t remember what happened to the teacher not long after the incidence. But I got a new teacher, who was really cool. I got inspired by him and because of his enthusiasm I kept going there. Sadly, that teacher died in cancer. After that, I got offered to change my instrument to piano, which I actually had always wanted to play. So I started to take piano lessons. During those years of classical training, I also started to play the piano spontaneously and compose my own songs. That was what I loved to do. I loved to flow and I still do. And even with the negative experiences, without them, I wouldn´t be the same. They also shaped me to be who I am today.

Later on growing up I started to write my own songs and my dream was to make music one day. I actually applied to pop&jazz conservatory to study music, but didn´t get in. They only took one there and I knew the person that got in, she was a better fit. I didn´t have pop&jazz theory down at all and I wouldn´t have been ready either. Even though I didn´t get in, the evaluators at the school told me to apply again and continue singing, they told me I had a gift. I never applied there again. Nowadays I don´t even believe you necessarily have to go to a school to learn the things you want to(and don´t get me wrong, for some professions you of course have to get a degree in order to do what you want to). Finland is a very degree-oriented country, but to be excellent in the field of arts, you don´t necessarily need a diploma. It all depends on you, what you want to achieve. Schools can give you opportunities and connections, but if you really want to achieve something especially in the field of arts, a lot does depend on what you are going to do about it yourself. It requires effort. I haven´t recently been actively pursuing this dream of mine, making music, but I´m getting there little by little again. A couple of years ago I released an album and that was one of my dreams coming true! But man...it took a lot of energy, planning, time, money etc. What I´m trying to say, is that everything costs you something and most of the times when pursuing our dreams, there will also be obstacles on the way. Many people turn their backs on their dreams because it may seem too hard to get there. But they don´t realize that every obstacle can also be a wonderful opportunity and I believe we can learn from everything. I guess the better we understand the journey to our dreams and what God is doing in our lives in the midst of it, more unlikely we give up on our dreams.

The people you surround yourself with is a major key to getting where you want to be too. It is vital to find like-minded people/community that you can run with. I want to be an inspiration to the people around me. I believe that every person we encounter, can have a radical impact on our lives(as well as we can radically impact others) and I hope you find those people that inspire you and challenge you to be the best version you can be. Remember, this world needs what you carry inside of you - your dreams to become reality! In the next post I will continue with the Dream Journey and share some practical steps. So stay tuned!

About my outfit! I found this dreamy fur hat from a thrift store and I love it! The dress is from the Other Stories and don´t you agree it goes so well with the hat?! My coat is not real fur, just so you know. ;)

Wishing you a dreamy week!

Intricately yours,

Marjo

Photos by Tim Kiukas