Month: January 2012

facebook, God, peace, satisfied, the butterfly journey

Are You Satisfied?

livingwholecoaching

This was the burning question that I posed to our Facebook fans this morning.  Are you satisfied with you life where you are?  If I had asked myself this question a few years ago, I would have answered a resounding NO!

I have been a Christian since I was 15 years old and though I believed in God, it wasn’t until I was well into my life that I really understood how much knowing Him and having a relationship with Him could make me feel so satisfied.  Being satisfied with my life doesn’t mean that I have everything in control or all the answers to life.  It simply means that with God in my life I can depend on Him.  He is there for me when I need Him.  I am not worried about  people, things, or situations that I may have to face, because God gives me the feeling of peace.

The experience of God is so amazing and although I can write about it and share, it’s something that you have to experience for yourself.  I can’t really put the words together eloquently enough to give Him the due credit that He deserves.

Let me tell you, like most people I have tried to feel satisfied with my life without God, but there was nothing that could fill that void.  I was like most people searching for that something to make my life seem worth living.  I searched for it in the clubs, looking for a husband.  I looked for it in drinks, drugs, and sex.  I looked for it in work, in friends, in things.  I couldn’t find it anywhere, all that stuff was temporal and didn’t last but for a specific time period.   But with God, He is steady, faithful, He encompasses the very essence of “real” love.  I didn’t have to perform for Him, I didn’t need to make a certain amount of money, I didn’t need to be perfect. . . He loves me regardless of my past.

I understand why people end up in way that they do, because they have not come to the realization that God is the one and only solution to a satisfied life.  Until we get tired of being on the wheel of life, just getting by and the feeling of the void growing stronger within us, then we will turn to God.  I feel  sad to think that over the years I put Him last, but I am glad that I did finally come to Him and He was still there waiting for me!

I am so satisfied with my Savior and nothing can take His place in my life!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

God, Joy, love, overcome, past hurt

I Can Overcome!

livingwholecoaching

You don’t have to allow your past to define who you are today.  Past hurts from people you loved or people you didn’t even know can leave a deep wound upon your heart that you may feel can never heal.  But I am here to tell you it can and it will if you open yourself to the healing process of God’s love.

Most people I know have suffered some sort of pain, loss, or brokeness that have left them in a place of deadness.  It is easy to just stay in a place of mourning than to seek healing and work towards moving past that place.  It takes effort and work and sometimes reliving the very thing that caused so much hurt.

For me it wasn’t a good feeling to have to go back over my life and examine the things that had happened to me by others and also realize that some of those things I caused myself.  But if I wanted to become everything that God wanted me to be I had to go back and bury the feelings, bury my past hurts.  At first I had to acknowledge the pain and the cause.  Then I had to forgive the person(s) and then myself.  Sometimes I experienced as much pain as I did when it first occurred, that was the hard part.  Some things were burned into me so deep that I had forgotten that it even happened to me.  My mind had placed it in a box so tightly closed that I was afraid to even open the memory.

Through it all God was there to help me sort through the toughest parts and together we buried each one.  Today, I have overcome!  I don’t have to worry about those things coming back to hurt me again.  I learned from my own mistakes and I can truly say that I am a new person.  My life changed because of the greatest love that I ever known – God!

I want to encourage you today that you do not have to be defined by your past any longer.  I don’t care what it was that happened or what parts you may have played in your own past mistakes.  I am here to share with you and encourage you that no matter where you are in life things can change.  You don’t have to be in the church building, you don’t have to know all the scriptures in the Bible, you just need to ask God to enter into your life and take control.  It’s not easy!  I will be the first to tell you that your life is not instantly going to be wonderful, but what I can say is that God can turn your ashes into beauty.  He can exchange your tears for His joy.  He will help you bury those terrible things in your life that have caused you so much pain.  I have overcome of my past!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

 
affirmations, book, love, The Help

You’re Important!

livingwholecoaching

When I read the book The Help one of the things that stayed in my mind was not the horrible way they were treated, but the way in which they carried themselves in the midst of so many injustices.  The one “help” named Abigail was raising the daughter of her employer and I was so happy that the little girl had “Abbie” as she called her in her life.  The little girl’s mother didn’t even want to be bothered with the child because she was a little chubby and not the most pretty little girl of the bunch.  But what Abbie did everyday was told her  positive affirmations about herself.

Abbie having lived in a time when she was treated differently and sometimes unjustly because of the color of her skin she knew all too well the negative affects it can have on a person.  She wanted to make sure that if there was something that she could do to change someone elses self-worth that she would, just by saying those same little affirmations to a little girl in hopes that she would continue to believe them as she grew up with a mother that didn’t seem to love her.

Those little words of confirmation, uplifting phrases that we can deposit into someone elses spirit can mean a whole difference in that person’s life.  Hopefully, that little child grew up remembering those words that Abbie spoke into her and she believed them no matter what life threw her way.  I hope that deep inside those words would reverberate back to her remembrance in those times when she didn’t feel so beautiful or loved.

The same concept holds true for most of us today and that is why I believe it is so important for us to tell our children, grandchildren, and even someone elses child that they are wonderful, smart, and important.  You just never know how important those words can be for them in life.  We can still deposit positive affirmations to one another in our adult life.  It holds the same strength to an adult as to a child.  Just like the effects of negative verbage that comes to us through life experiences whether true or not we begin to believe what people say to us and about us.

That is why I love the Lord so much because His love is so perfect and He affirms us with it everyday.  He doesn’t change His mind about us even when He should.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

depression, God, Joy, people pleaser, purpose, women

Women It’s Your Time!

livingwholecoaching

When I began my “butterfly journey”, I didn’t realize how many women in the world were suffering with the same issues that I myself had dealt with for so long.  But I am noticing that it is a common theme for most of us to lose ourselves, our worth, our purpose, and our faith while doing life.

You know when I think about life it is so much more than just working, cleaning, taking care of others etc.  God created it to be a time to understand who He is, understand of ourselves, our worth, our purpose and each other.  One of His greatest commandments is to love thy neighbor as thyself.  But we fall short on this because we lose the ability to love ourselves.  Our society is full of the message that it is selfish to do things for yourself, especially women.  But we must if we are ever going to reach the full potential of our lives as God has planned.

We are expected to have a career, raise a family, be competitive, have a great shape, complete our education, do the laundry, clean the house, serve in the church, take care of our extended family and whole host of other things!  Whew, that made me tired just typing it out!  And nothing is wrong with any of this, we do have responsibilities, but then where do we fit God in all of this?  That’s the missing link!  We end up doing all this and more and we lose our relationship with the one who can give us everything we need.  That’s what happened to me and I am not proud to admit it but it’s the truth.

My personality is one of “people pleaser” or so it was.  I had to fit in and make people pleased with me and my abilities.  What happened was I could finally take no more and I shut down; emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and physically.  I was a wreck!  I suffered a deep depression for over 2 years and tried desperately to figure out what happened to me.  That’s when my “butterfly journey” began. When I could suffer no more, God showed me my life using the analogy of a caterpillar’s journey to becoming a butterfly, to illustrate where I had gone all wrong. (The Butterfly’s Journey book to be released April 2012)!

The main thing (a relationship with God) had become a secondary, or really even third or fourth place in my life.  I was literally in a place of hell (separated from God) and it was horrific to say the least!  I didn’t understand my “true” worth in Him; I only knew what my worth was to others and to them I was disposable, even to some I was garbage.

I let the God of my creation heal me from the inside out and my life has never been the same.  Through my pain He gave me my purpose, through my tears He gave me joy, and through my newly established relationship, He showed me my worth!

It’s time ladies to take your rightful places in life and live a transformed life with purpose in God!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

encouragement, God

Encourage My Soul

livingwholecoaching

Often times we go along in life with expectations of what we would like to do or see happen in our lives. Sometimes things don’t turn out quite the way we had planned.  Or little set-backs come along to steer us off course.  Things happen to get us down and out and disturb our souls.  Every time something happens that I didn’t plan for (and that is often) I  start to feel discouraged.  Like it is just another thing to hold me back from accomplishing the things that I set out to do.

We must have the wisdom to understand that life is not always good and things do come along to knock you down.  But we must have the resolve to encourage ourselves and others.  Did you realize that when you encourage someone else your own troubles start to feel less intense?  I mean you walk away feeling great about helping someone see the possibilities in themselves.  You actually begin to see the possibilities in yourself!

It amazes me that little words of encouragement can go such a long way.  Just think if we all paid it forward the encouragement that someone has given to you!  What kind of world would we live in?  Where people all over would be affirming one another, coming along helping you to see the endless abilities that you possess.  This would be a wonderful place!  And it can start with you.

If you know God and the wonderful promises that  He has stored up for you, then you can even encourage your own soul!  You can speak to yourself about all the good things that God has given you, has placed in you, has stored up for you and get yourself in a place of expectation!

Please take the time to look outside of yourself and encourage someone along life’s way.  You will be amazed at how it makes you feel.  Encourage your soul today, the world needs what you have!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

change, depression, God, healing and deliverance, prayer

Only God. . .That’s All I Need

livingwholecoaching

One thing that I noticed about myself since I was delivered from the depths of depression, is that I am very aware of my feelings more.  I know when I am about to feel that overwhelming feeling that causes me to start to feel defeated.  I don’t like the feeling at all, but I am glad that now I can recognize it very clearly and act appropriately.

God has given me a censor (discernment) to know when I am getting in a place that is not good for me and I stop.  I stop right where I am and I pray and ask God to give me the strength and wisdom I need to push pass that place.  You see before I didn’t understand what that feeling meant and I would allow it to take over me and put me in a place of despair and if I wasn’t careful, it would take me right back to depression.

I am so glad though that God loves me enough to help me in every situation whether big or small.  I am glad that He is there for me when nobody else may understand.  I can depend on Him.  That is one of main lessons that I learned when I came out of my depression was I didn’t have to rely on a person to be there because God was there with me every single day of my 730 day journey in depression.  He was the only one there as a matter of fact and I never would have made it if He wasn’t there with me.

Wow, I could go on  page after page telling you about God’s goodness towards me especially during that time because it changed my life.  But  I will leave that for you to read in my book:  The Butterfly’s Journey, releasing in April 2012.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

 

2012, destiny, Faith, New Year, purpose

2012: Accountability

livingwholecoaching

Yesterday I spent some quality time with my best friend, my mom!  She is so full of wisdom and love for me and others.  I adore her.

As we were taking our adventure trip to her  doctor’s appointment, she gives me some ideas to becoming financially savvy.  She then goes on and says that she will be keeping me accountable and that she will be my accountability partner.  I started to laugh because I didn’t ask for an accountability partner, but am thankful that she has decided to take the position anyway.  You got to love mothers for giving you what you need, not necessarily what you ask for.

So as the New Year unfolds I see a common theme that God wants me to incorporate into my plans; accountability.  Without even planning for this I now have a prayer partner, a bible-study partner, a ministry development partner, an organizational partner, business development accountability partners, and a financial accountability partner!  God is grand!  He knows what I need and He made it all fall into place.

Having someone or others to come along side of you to help you stay on the course that you desire to see for your life is priceless.  I have always had a problem with staying on tasks and this year I vowed that I would be FAITHFUL and walk by FAITH, then God decided I needed one more level and that is ACCOUNTABILITY.

If you need someone to push you into your purpose and help you figure out your destiny, consider joining and participating with The Butterfly Journey ministry.  What is it that you want to accomplish in 2012?  We are here for you!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

 

2012, expecting greatness, Faith, New Year, the butterfly journey

2012: Expecting Greatness

livingwholecoaching

Bishop T.D. Jakes said; “don’t just go into the New Year waiting to see what’s going happen, but go expecting great things to happen!”  I am going to do just that!

I decided to take off the first week of the New Year to focus, communicate with God, organize my life, and plan what I expect to see happen in 2012!

In the midst of working, going to meetings, running errands, and a host of other everyday tasks; we lose the time to be quiet and still in the presence of God.  This year for me is all about my faith walk.  Everything that I expect to see happen in 2012 can only come through the power of God.  And in order for me to have clarity and direction, I need to depend solely on the Lord.

You may think well if she is a Christian that is a given, but not true.  Life itself is designed to keep you busier than busy and fall away from the foundation of depending on God.   Walking a faith walk isn’t easy.  Quite the contrary, it is the hardest thing to do in my opinion.  But from experience I know it is the only way for me to live.

I can’t begin to understand all the things that I will face in 2012 and nor do I know how to figure most things out that require divine intervention, so in order to keep myself sane, I have to rely solely on God’s direction.

So that’s why I am taking the opportunity to be still, focus, and seek the face of God for 2012.  I am going into the New Year expecting great and mighty things that I can’t do in my own intelligence or strength.

To God be the glory for the great and mighty things that He will do in 2012!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

2012, Faith, New Year

2012 A Year of Faith

livingwholecoaching

Happy New Year!   We are turning the page to a new chapter in our lives today!  It’s nothing like a new beginning, a fresh start, an opportunity to do things better!

I took a few weeks before the New Year to reflect on the past year.  I thought about all the trials and triumphs, the lost opportunities and the opening of doors, the unchanged habits, obtained goals and I vowed that this new year would be different.  I decided not to make any resolutions, but promises to myself and God.  I didn’t write a list of the must-dos, but I simply decided to focus on one word FAITH.

If I am faithful and I look to God for all my direction, everything else will follow.  I will meet all the goals, aspirations, and changes that I desire to see for myself and others.  If I walk in FAITH, my own limitations will not interfere with what God has in store for me.  If I continue to believe in the things that I can not see or understand with my limited mind I will succeed!  I will win because God is well-pleased with those who are faithful!

I am going into this year with huge expectations and with child-like FAITH!  I choose to walk by FAITH and not be sight because my sight is limited, but God’s ideas are limitless!  I choose to live an extraordinary life today with God!

My resolve reminds me that of Noah, when he listened to God and began to build the ark.  Friends and family laughed at him when he explained what God had told him to do.  They had never even seen rain before so to imagine it raining for 40 days and 40 nights and eventually destroy the earth as they knew it was way out there.  But Noah believed God even though his mind probably couldn’t even fathom the idea!  But his FAITH, moved him to be obedient and look what happened!

That is the type of FAITH that I want to experience this year and beyond!  I desire to see people laugh at me for stepping out with no finances and launching a ministry that God said for me to do!  I want to see the women that the ministry will touch, s change their lives from ordinary to extraordinary.  I want to see the manifestation of every good thing that God stored up for me to come to life right before my eyes!  More so I want to see people come to know the God that I serve!  I want them to say; “Wow, how did you do that?” and I can tell them it was through FAITH in God!

And my heart can hardly contain the joy and praise that I will explode into just thinking about the goodness and faithfulness of God towards me.

What will your New Year theme be?

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa