Month: July 2011

depression, God, Healing, hurting women, journey, Mirror, Tough questions

The Woman in the Mirror

livingwholecoaching

When I was suffering from depression and beginning my healing process with God; I had to ask myself some tough questions.  Why did I end up that way?  What were some of the things that I personally did that contributed to my situation?

It took all the emotional strength that I could muster up to ask those questions.  I was frightened more by the thought of what the answers were.  But I had to know, I couldn’t move forward in my healing without knowing the truth.  I never wanted to travel to that place again.

As I saw myself in the mirror of God’s eyes it cut me as deep as a double-edged sword.  The darkness that surrounded me was overwhelming.  I didn’t even recognize myself.  But in the writing of my book I now realize now raw those pains still are.  Whenever I share my testimony, I get emotional about the imagery that God showed me of my life.  It grieves my soul!

But still everyday, I look in that mirror of myself to see where I am now.  I see the miraculous changes that only God could do.  I see a woman full of life and purpose.  I see the light of life surrounding me taking the place of the darkness that once followed and plagued me.  I can’t forget that woman in the mirror, she is my sister, my friend, she is me.  I will continue to advocate for her and pray for her and help her to find her place in life.  It is not easy looking at yourself in the mirror; seeing your life as it really is.

But I wanted to endure that so that I can be real for other women who are going through their storms of life.  I want to tell them the whole process; every detail is important to the healing process and growth.  You can’t just give someone  the beginning and the end and never share the middle of your story.  It does them no good at all.  Everyone wants to know that they are not the only one who has suffered, who has gone through bad things.  They want to relate to some piece of your story so they know that you truly understand.

Once they see you on the other side they wonder if they too can be healed.  That is why it is so important for me to share, to minister, to pray with and to love all the hurting women no matter what they face because I know that through it all God can redeem you.  He can and He will turn your ashes into beauty if you allow Him to.

If only I could touch a 1,000 lives then I know my journey would not have been in vain.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

depression, Faith, God, hurting women, journey, self-discovery, worthy

Losing Myself to Find Myself

livingwholecoaching

The darkness was intense.  The eerie soundless space was unnerving.  It was as if all living things had disappeared.  I found myself drowning in a pit of sadness and loneliness for over 730 days of pure torment.  This place of depression had stolen my life as I once knew it and there was nothing that I could do.

As unbearable as it was at the time, I wouldn’t change anything; because out of my pit of despair came life.  When God delivered me from the shame and pain of the place I found myself in, I was different.  I was not the same anymore.

He showed me that through this process, although painful, made me useful for His purpose.  Once healed I am able to share my story with other hurting women and help them on their journey to wholeness.  I found my “true” self.

Now I have hope and purpose!  I have the understanding of who I really am and whose I am.  I no longer have to conform to the people or situations around me that pull out all of my good for their own purposes.  And leave me empty and useless to myself and God.

God I am grateful for losing my worldly self to find my “true” worthy self in you.

It is true it is a process and your journey might not look exactly like mine, but nonetheless it is a process for whatever you are going through.  But you must: 1. embrace your journey, 2. self-discovery – understand your role in the mess of your life, 3. seek your worth from the one who made you (God), 4. repent and change by building a new relationship with God 5. understand and pursue your purpose.

Let’s find the real you today!  Email me @ lisa@thebutterflyjourney.net

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

depression, Faith, journey, Joy, New

I’m New Again!

livingwholecoaching

God is so gracious to us!  When I found myself drowning in a pit of depression I never thought I would make it out.  It was the worst time in my life.   I had no one to turn to; no one reached out to me.  It was just hopelessness and darkness.  But God…

God was not only in the pit with me, but He lifted me up and out as a brand new “me”.   He made me NEW!

It was a tough process, but like the caterpillar’s transformation process, it was necessary so that I could FLY.  I am grateful for the entire experience, as it has made me a new person.  I now have clarity about who I really am, my worth in God, and my purpose in life.

I no longer have to conform to the people or things around me to feel valued.  I am free to be me and I will no longer seek the approval of “man”.  I will be excellent in all that I do, but temporal praise is not my goal.  I thrive now for a more eternal approval.  I no longer worship the gifts, more than the Giver!

I am new again!  I was broken in a million pieces and God put me back on the potter’s wheel and transformed my life.  I am now a useful vessel for His purpose.

You know the joy that is expressed in the Bible; that unspeakable joy? That’s what I have with God.   It is not conditioned to any circumstance or situation but it is there all the time.  Even when the storms of life coming crashing down, it is there.  Follow God, He will not lead you astray.  He will replace your ashes for beauty and give you joy, unspeakable!

Embrace your life’s challenges and seek clarity in what God is trying to show you about yourself.  It will renew your spirit.  It will make you new again!

The Buttefly Journey – Lisa

Faith

Am I My Sister’s Keeper?

livingwholecoaching

To answer that question; Am I my sister’s keeper?  Yes! Yes I am.

God did not create us to travel this road of life alone.  He is the one who we truly need, but He made us to walk beside one another.  He said in His word, “love thy neighbor as thyself”.

We need to be sensitive to each other’s needs and be available when we need each other.  Being in tuned to the Holy Spirit will allow us to feel each other’s pain and be there as a listener, encourager, prayer partner, or just to give a hug.

Words are great and cards are wonderful but sometimes they don’t do the trick like a comforting person to come to see about how you are.

Life has us so busy sometimes that we fail to be there for the people who need us.  We see them every Sunday in church, but do we really see people where they truly are.  I remember going to church every Sunday and was clinically depressed to 2 whole years and no one seemed to notice.

As sad as it may seem, we go through all the motions that we think are expected of us, but yet we by-pass the small gestures that may just make somebody’s day.

I am no therapist but some of the posts that I read on FB are screaming I need help!  Someone reach out to me!  As most people I don’t get involved but tonight, I saw a message that touched my heart and God urged me to reach out.  I didn’t know this person but she is somebody.  I reached out to her with an invitation to call me and talk.  She didn’t call but my prayer is that she felt the love that I extended to her.

Sometimes it is just about showing the love.  No pulpit, no formal evangelism committee, no pomp or circumstance.  Just pure unadulterated love!

What the world needs now is love sweet love!  I am my sister’s keeper!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

 

 

Faith

God is So Amazing!

livingwholecoaching

The protagonist of my book didn’t live a bad life.  Her life was pretty good when you measure it against other people.  She was actually a very strong believer and follower of God.  So why did she become so depressed?  Even if you have never suffered depression you will be able to relate on some level to this woman’s journey.  Even though this book was especially written for hurting women, I can see that it will reach and help a lot of people.  I can’t wait for you to read it!  It will change your life.

God is so amazing!  As He is giving me the words for this story, I find myself crying at the imagery and feeling the pain that she must have  felt, I feel them too.  This book is healing me as I write it!  I am scared and excited all at the same time to know the magnitude this book’s effect will have on the world!  Because I know God Himself is the writer and I am just the vessel.  The Holy Spirit resides in the pages and will meet you right were you are.  This is a must read!

Nothing that God does ceases to amaze me!  He is a wonderful God and loves us so much.  This book is a true testament to His amazing grace and love.  I am too human to even understand the depth of His love for me.

How long has it been since you just thanked God for being Him?   If He never did another great thing for you or I, He is still a great God!

Share with me your experience of God’s great love.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

 

 

 

Faith

The Book

livingwholecoaching

I never intended to write a book, even though I love reading, I never had the desire to write.  But the Lord gave me a book to share with the world and I am so excited about this journey that I am on!

I am currently writing my first book and here is a little back story of how I came to write. . .

One night after talking to the Lord and pondering over my life, God had me start to write.  I wrote for hours and as the words poured out of me onto the paper, I felt a huge heaviness lift off of me.  As I wrote each word, it healed me more and more.  I cried and I laughed as the story unfolded before my eyes.

The story is about a woman who went through a bout of depression.  But it’s not your standard text-book depression; it was a life changing event.  Through her journey she learns valuable lessons about all the areas in her life that led her to her depression.  It is an amazing story of hope, healing, and destiny.

I pray that you will decide to read this book and give a copy to a woman in your life.  I am expecting great and mighty things to happen in the lives of the people who read it.  God does all things well and this is His book to all hurting women of the world!

The book will be available at the end of 2011.  Stay posted so you can get a small glimpse of what is in the book and get ready to transform your life from ordinary to extraordinary!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

Uncategorized

Revelation

livingwholecoaching

Yesterday I was overwhelmed.  Today I am less overwhelmed.  Tomorrow I hope to be more balanced.

You know by now that one of my favorite sayings is; go to the source of my creation – God.  That is exactly what I did when I was feeling overwhelmed with all that I wanted to accomplished.  God gave me revelation almost instantly, as I opened my email and there was a newsletter entitled “Overwhelmed?”  Needless to say I jumped right on it and read every word.

The newsletter said to manage your big projects, one item at a time.  God also told me to focus.  He said know your vision and your destiny so focus on that; if anything comes to take you off course let it go.

That’s why companies have vision and mission statements.  It helps them stay on the course of who and what they said they want to be.  It is their roadmap to an expected end.  Others things might be great and exciting but they are detours that will take you away from your destination.

This revelation made everything clear for me.  Now I know to line up everything else to my destiny and if it doesn’t take me closer to it, than it is taking me away from it and that is not an option!

Stay the course!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

 

Faith

Overwhelmed!

livingwholecoaching

If you have been following any of my blogs lately you will see that I am working on a total life makeover.  I am working on everything from, my spiritual health, my mental, physical and emotional well-being, and my career.  It sounds like a lot and it is.  It is an extreme makeover, no time to work on just one thing.

It is time now to become all that God sent me here to be so why not do it all?  Well now I feel overwhelmed.  I feel frustrated and almost defeated in my efforts.  I know myself and when I feel this way something or maybe everything will come to a screeching halt.  I throw in the towel because it seems too much to tackle.  But this time I will change my outlook.  I am not going to throw in the towel, but I am going to lean and depend on God.

I already know I can’t do any of this in my own strength so why would I even try?  I am stopping right where I am and asking God to direct me to exactly what I need to spend my energy on.  If it is everything in small doses then that is what I will do, or if He tells me to work on one thing at a time then I will do that too.  But most importantly, I will seek Him for direction.

It helps when you have people surrounding you that  understand you.  Some people need that gentle word of encouragement; some of us need the drill Sargeant type to push us to our maximum; others just need an ear along with some empathy.

So don’t get discouraged when things get overwhelming for you, don’t throw in the towel and settle for ordinary.  Seek God for the answers and strength that you need and push through to extraordinary.

Be encouraged and continue to move forward, God will guide you!  And that’s a word for myself.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

Uncategorized

It’s Your Time!

livingwholecoaching

Pastor Joel Osteen has a great book out called It’s Your Time.  It was so inspiring that I bought 10 copies and gave to friends and family.  Hopefully, it gave them new energy to seek out their true purpose in life.

The reason it was so inspiring is more about the timing in which I read it more than the words that he says.  Because most of what is written was nothing new that I had not heard over the years in my life.  But it was something about the timing of when I read the book that stirred something inside of me.  It ignited a fire within me that was laying dormant for years.  But God said; “it’s your time”!

I believe that God is saying it is our time for the “true” church to rise up and help the hurting people of the world.  People all around us, even in our families are suffering with life and don’t know where to turn, but we have the answer. . .God.  But how will they ever know if you and I continue to be complacent in our walk of faith? In our life’s purpose?

I believe that it is YOUR time.  It’s time to move out from the mundane life and into a life of purpose.  If you are anything like me, I got tired of the same old life, I knew God had something greater for me.  But until I sought after it, I continued to walk around broke, busted, and disgusted with myself.

Every since God showed me who I am, my worth in Him, and the job that He wanted me to accomplish, I feel so FREE!  I feel purposeful and passionate.  I feel like I am really living!

Do you know your true purpose?  Better yet, do you want to know?  Do you want to feel like your life matters and that you can make an impact on the world around you?  If you answered “yes” to the last couple of questions,  then let’s talk.

It’s your time!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

 

Faith

Calling All Women

livingwholecoaching

God has a special place in His heart for women.  We are His special gems!  In this season, I believe He is calling all women of all ages and all stages in their lives to seek Him.

An ordinary life is designed to keep us busy, tired, and complacent.  I am challenging all of my sisters to start living to their full potential.  Don’t know what that looks like, well that is why I am here.  God has commissioned me to be your guide, your partner in discovering what your extraordinary life looks like.

God’s wisdom and love, has given me the tools, the compassion, and my own experiences to help you find your way in life.  I want to coach you, cheer you on, and lift you up to the Lord as you progress in finding out who you really are.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve been, God is calling you in this season to be more than you ever imagined.

God and I are waiting for you.  Contact us today! lisa@thebutterflyjourney.net.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa