Expect a Miracle

 Long time no see… Hello again to all my people in the blogosphere. It’s been a while, I know and I apologize for my absence. So much has been going on the time has just flown by.

What have I been up to? Well, some of you may remember that in December of 2023 the Mr. & I moved to an adorable little Hallmark type town in northern PA, called Milford. It sits right where NY, NJ & PA touch. Besides being absolutely beautiful, it also sits right next to the Hudson Valley where we lived for the last twenty years. So it is great to be able to still enjoy the places I know and love so much.

Not only did we move with our nine animals, but we also happened to buy a fixer upper, so we have also been renovating it. As if that was not enough, the Mr. took over an insurance agency in December of last year, and that office, you guessed it - needed renovating. Serious renovating. So the poor thing, his “honeydo list” of DIY projects never seems to stop. We are finally nearing the finish line though and able to breathe.

So, I decided to get back to what I do best. As much as I enjoy HGTV-ing the living daylights out of things, music always has been and always be my number one passion. Finally, we have the opportunity to release a song that is near and dear to my heart…. I recorded it a while back but with everything going on did not want to release it until we could spend the time to properly focus on promoting it.

So here we are. If you guessed that the song is called “Expect a Miracle”, well you guessed right. What’s it about? It is a poppy, upbeat, happy song about expecting the best. It’s a song about faith, hope, and believing that miracles can happen, you just need to be expecting them. The one who holds us all holds our future safe in the palm of his hands. There are miracles all around us, we just need to believe and be on the lookout. Not only to receive a miracle, but also to be able to be a miracle. You never know what a small thing can do, a smile, a nod, holding a door, a kind word. Sometimes it’s doing bigger things.

I wrote the song during a period in my life where things were not going so great. It was actually written around the same time as my song “Don’t Walk Away” which is about “being someone’s miracle”, this one is the flip side. Covering all bases if you will. I hope it will bring a smile to your face and put a happy little bounce in your heart.

These days the world seems so divided. People are busier than ever, and it seems like everywhere you turn there are people needing not only some hope but often times a little help. Kindness goes a long way. It costs nothing and can ripple so far. So here is my small contribution to add some happy to the world. It comes out Friday October 23rd. It is available to download or stream anywhere, and is available for ***Spotify Pre Save*** here: https://show.co/4cBYX68

I hope you will download or stream and share it with your friends and family. The video will also premiere on my YouTube channel the same day, www.youtube.com/avaaston - It would mean the world to me if you would not only watch it but also share it as well. Hope you have a wonderful day. Happy listening!

Blessings, Love & Music!

Ava xo

www.avaaston.com

Can You Hear Me

“Dear God, can you hear me? It’s just me again. I know it seems like, my prayer list never ends. I know you’re busy. You’ve got lots of things to do, but right now I really need to hear from you. 

Can you hear me, let me know. Can you hear me, won’t you tell me so…”

Have you ever been there? Been in a place where you felt like asking that question. 

After the last three years we have all lived through, I know I cannot be the only person who has ever felt this sentiment. We have seen the world change in ways that were in my humble Greek opinion, just unimaginable. I never thought I would experience so much loss in so little a period of time. 

My new song “Can You Hear Me” is a letter to God. It was not written about this tragic time in our history, or even during this time actually. As many songwriters and artists, I have a plethora of songs in my song books. I write about things I experience as they happen, or as they come to me. 

This song in particular was written during a difficult time some ten years or so ago when my Mr. & I were in two close dated car accidents, together. Yes, both times. I know, what are the odds? Besides physical injuries to all the usual suspects that happen in a car accident (back, neck, etc.) we also both sustained a brain injury. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but when someone is dealing with an “invisible” injury, it is difficult for others to understand. You “look” “normal” on the outside, so they can’t seem to understand why you make errors, or have difficulty processing things, etc. Anyhow, this song was written during that period in my life. Recovery and in the process of building back up from being broken. 

As our social society and norms began to change over the past few years I began to feel a nudge that it was indeed time to share this song with the world. We have seen a propaganda campaign the likes of which we have never seen in history. There has been bullying, medical discrimination, people losing friends and even family members over differences of opinion about medical freedom, to people losing their jobs, discrimination in schools, the work place, censorship on social media, basically every part of life has changed since before March of 2020. 

I truly believe this period will go down as a very dark time in our history. But… there has also been good to come from it. New friendships, new information, and a huge learning experience. We sure did learn a whole lot about people, didn’t we? As in everything though, in life after the dark comes the light. I want people to understand that when they are broken and are crying out to God that they are not alone. Further, that is it is OK to be broken. 

Social media is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is connecting with people far in distance, and I for example use it to promote my music. The curse is, it is in many cases, just not real. Anyone who has read my blog since the beginning knows I have written about this topic on many an occasion, but social media can be very detrimental to ones mental health. It lends itself to comparison, which we should all know by now is the joy thief.

There is no such thing as “perfect” people. No matter how “perfect” ones life may appear on social media, it is not. No one has a perfect life. This is where the beautiful part comes in… God loves to use "imperfect" and broken things. He specializes in turning messes into messages. 

So, I felt the time was right to share the song on my heart to let others out there who may be feeling broken for whatever reason, physically, emotionally, financially, whatever it is; that they are not alone. It is OK to be there - in the broken place.

A Pearl is considered to be a valuable treasure. Pearls can not be formed without an irritant getting trapped inside of an oyster. In an effort to protect itself over time, the Pearl is formed. Yes, that is my second grade non scientific explanation. You get the drift though I’m sure. The “Pearl” a beautiful treasure would not come to be without the irritant. 

God uses broken things all the time, beautifully broken, perfectly imperfect, messes into messages. 

The song comes out Friday April 7th (Good Friday). I did this because it is always darkest before the dawn. I thought it to be fitting in this time we are living when so many people feel the same, that it could be a little glimmer of hope to bind us together in a common thread. That we are indeed heard, that we are not ever broken beyond repair, and that we are never, ever alone. 

I hope you will download it and share with friends and family. The official music video, as well as a lyric video will be released the same day on my YouTube page. I am trying to make the iTunes Charts with the song. Your downloads and shares can help make it happen. Below is a one page site with most download options. When the song is live the links will appear, in the meantime it serves as a short promo for the song. 

Thank you for listening and sharing. I hope it helps to heal some hearts. 

https://avaaston.hearnow.com

For a “sneak peek” of the song click here: "Can You Hear Me" 

Blessings, Love & Music ~ 

Ava xo 

www.avaaston.com