Category: Faith

destiny, finding God, gifts and talents, God, journey, Life Coach, life worth living, mission, purpose, the butterfly journey, women

I Want to Die Empty

livingwholecoaching

I admire those famous people in history that used their entire life serving people and making the world a better place. Those that we had the opportunity of knowing because their lives were showcased to the world. Some that come to mind are Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Theresa and there are countless more, many more.

But there are ones who we didn’t get an opportunity to know through history or Are you living your life fully on purpose,mainstream media. Those that weren’t written about in books. Those ordinary people like you and me, just living out their purposes, using their God-given gifts, talents and life experiences to serve others and making their communities something better than what it was before them.

I always knew that I was born for something. I just couldn’t believe for a minute that God would create me just to exist. It took me almost a lifetime to figure out what it was, but here I am today striving to live my life until I am empty. No not empty in the way you may be thinking, but empty of everything that God gave me and created me for to complete while here on this earth. I wish that I could have had someone to come along side of me to help m figure it all out before now. But God always had a plan. (Jeremiah 29:11)

When I first saw the words “die empty” it confused me; as I asked myself, “Why would anyone want to die empty?” But see God has given me a mind that is able to look at things from a whole different perspective.

To die empty to me means to use all that God has blessed me with and all that He created me to be to serve people in a unique way. It means to be passionate about using my gifts, talents, skills and every life experience (good and bad) to help someone else. It not only means to make the world a better place, but ultimately it means to build up God’s kingdom for His glory!

The discovery of my purpose came during one of my life’s storms. Yep, I discovered my purpose through my pain. It wasn’t very clear at first, but the revelation came after the storm, during my healing process. I went through a lot during that time and even though it was a painful experience, I am glad that God allowed something beautiful to come out of it. (Romans 8:28)

For me to find my purpose, my reason for being here was the most wonderful thing to happen to me! It gives me a specific reason for living, it gives me direction and it gives me peace!

The more I seek God, study His word and follow His guidance, the more I learn about life, my life that is connected in Him! I know for sure that I am here to help people “die empty” and most importantly to know God, for He is who we live and die for!

Love Lisa

The Butterfly Journey

http://www.thebutterflyjourney.com

believer, Faith, God, the butterfly journey

Can You Imagine?

livingwholecoaching

believe2Can you imagine what our life would be like if we truly believed in God for who He really is?  That is a question that I have pondered over the last several weeks and the other night I was having dinner with a close friend of mine and she asked me this same question!

What if we really believed in the God that we serve for who He really is?  What would our lives and the lives of those around us look like?  Yes, I know what you are thinking, if we are Christians then we do believe.  But go along with me for a minute.

How many times in your life have you wavered in your faith?  It is easy to believe when things are going well and blessings are flowing freely, but what about the times when things get a little scary and unknown?  Do we still hold to the same level of faith and belief in God that we should?  I am just asking the question because in my own life I have wondered and doubted my own faith when things came out of nowhere to “test” what I believe.  My stance wasn’t so sure, my confidence wasn’t so strong and truth be told I was pondering will this all work out for my good?

As the world in which we live becomes more and more complex and troubling will we have the level of faith that Israel had when they found themselves stuck between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army?  Would we have stepped into the sea to escape or would we have retreated back to the place that threatened our freedom?  I often wonder if I would have been so trusting in such a scary situation.

But the hope is that we can believe and trust in God!  We can build our faith and belief to limits that go beyond our own understanding, if we just continue to believe.  We can believe that God is who He says He is by having a “true” relationship with Him.  We can stand firm in the midst of trouble, pain and the unknown if we position our hearts to know Him (God).  Trust begins with knowing and knowing starts with realizing that we can’t live this life alone outside of God.  He is the one who holds the future and knows all things!

As your relationship with God develops and you begin to see that He is faithful and gracious to us, we begin to build a bond with Him that can never be broken unless we decide to turn away.

If we begin to believe God for who He is then and only then can we be a force that could change the world!  Will you believe with me?

The Butterfly Journey

birth day, God, grace, journey, love, the butterfly journey

Celebrating My Second Birth!

livingwholecoaching

Happy Birthday to me!  Today is my birthday and I am blessed to have turned. . .well no need to go into the details there.  I was reflecting on how blessed I am to see yet another year of my life with all of its experiences, milestones, celebrations and challenges.

I am grateful for having another year of opportunities that  have come across the paths of my life.  I am thankful for my earthly birth in all its splendor.

But I am more excited about my second birth in Christ, where my life really began.  Through the unexplainable love of a God that saw His broken creation and gave me another chance to really live life!  I am excited about this undeserved grace that God extended to me through His son Jesus, so I could live the life that He had originally ordained just for me.

I marvel at the plans that God has for my life today and the vision that He has shown me for my future in Him.   Every part of my earthly journey is preparing me for my eternal journey.  So as I celebrate my earthly birth, I recognize that my spiritual birth is the one that I work toward, the one that will last long after my flesh is gone!

Happy Birthday to me!  Thank you Lord!

Lisa ~ The Butterfly Journey

Faith, God, journey, self-discovery, the butterfly journey, vision

Wings Spread Wide!

livingwholecoaching

Well I’m back!  After a 2 month sabbatical, I am finally back with wings spread wide!  I decided to take some time off from the Butterfly Journey in order to get clarity and direction from the Lord.  Like Joseph, I knew the dream and vision God had given me, but still something didn’t feel quite right.  I was struggling with the details.

I read and prayed a lot for the direction and clarity that I needed and boy was it refreshing to hear from the Lord on so many levels.  He is so wonderful, He gave me what I needed and more.

These are the things that God shared with me:

  1. This journey (ministry) is my life’s purpose!  Keeping the end result in mind at all times; winning souls back to God.  Helping people be “free” in understanding just how much God loves them – priceless!
  2. There is a preparation stage.  That means “testing”; we need to allow God to perfect our gifts and the spiritual things that we need in order to complete the assignment.
  3. There is a process.  God is a God of order and every step needs to be followed through His instructions.
  4. Keeping the Faith.  God will give us, ask us, tell us to do things that we may not understand at the moment.  Prayer is essential for the journey.
  5. Conquering Fear. Allowing fear to come in to the equation will stop you dead in your tracks.  We have to know and read the word of God to remove fear.
  6. Commitment.  Never, ever, ever give up on your journey!  Press!
  7. Rest.  God rested on the 7th day and we should too, don’t allow the “things” of life, even ministry to consume all of your time, remember that it is all about the Lord and we need to refresh our spirits, mind, and body every once in a while.  Don’t love the gift more than the Giver!

I pray that you will find answers and understanding for your life as we journey together.  Be steadfast and unmovable in your faith to God!  He has so much to show you and give you, open your wings and find freedom in living your life to the fullest through Him!

Be blessed!

Lisa ~ The Butterfly Journey

God, journey, purpose, vision

The Vision Will Come

livingwholecoaching

In our microwave society, we want everything yesterday.  Time is of essence and we can’t waste a minute of it.  Work harder, move faster, get it done all in one step.  That’s what I was allowing to happen to me.  God showed me my purpose and the vision for the ministry and I want to hurry to get there.

But a good friend reminded me today to enjoy the journey.  Wow, my mother told me that about 3 years ago when I first started dating my now fiance.  I listened to her for the most part, but now I find myself doing the same thing with my ministry.  Perhaps it is because I finally found out what my purpose was so late in my life that I feel I have little time to see its manifestation.

But wait a minute, I can’t get in front of God!  I don’t even want to because that my friend that will be disastrous to say the least.

I need to learn to enjoy this journey that He has me on, every aspect is wonderful and a learning experience for me.  I need to take a step back and marvel at the awesomeness that He is revealing to me.  I need to slow down, because if I don’t I feel the whole thing could just fail.  I don’t want to get weary, because I am doing things in my own strength.  I don’t want to miss an opportunity to draw closer to God.  I want to be obedient with every step of faith that I take.

So thank you Lord for using my friend to tell me to slow down and enjoy the journey, because you are faithful and the vision will come.

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

Challenges, coach, depression, Faith, purpose, seeking God

Every Day A Challenge

livingwholecoaching

Even though, I am living my life on purpose now and far from the land of depression that I suffered a short few years ago, I still have challenges.

Every day is a challenge for me; something is always evolving from situation that I would rather not have to face.  But this just life.  I have to face my challenges and I do, sometimes with zeal, prayer and supplication.  Other times not so much.  I run to my friends for encouragement (while nothing is wrong with that), I come to know that really I need to seek God first in everything.

All of us have challenges we face on a daily basis, but our choice in how we face them is the key to getting through them in the shortest, most productive way that we can.  For me it’s prayer (conversations) with God directly.

Sure I can call on my friends, however, they have their challenges too and so they may not have the energy to deal with me at that particular time.  So  now I feel left out, I feel not valued or loved, but no I need to understand that my issues are just that – mine.

Trust me when I say that when I was engulfed in my depression there was no one and I mean no one that could come to my aid.  But the lesson I learned from that is that God wanted me to look to Him for everything that I needed during that time.  It was a lesson in FAITH and it has prepared me for the things that would come my way.

Find your comfort in facing your challenges, but do face them.  The worst thing that we can do is bury our heads in the sand, or couch and try to pretend that they don’t exist.  It will only get worse.  But next time seek God for the answers of how to deal with your challenge in a more spiritual way and see how He will orchestrate the outcome for you.

Join our new Life Coaching Program – STAGES to give you  the tools to navigate life in a more excellent way and catapult you into a life of purpose.  Email – lisa@thebutterflyjourney.net

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

dreams, Faith, purpose, the butterfly journey

The Dream – Living on Purpose

livingwholecoaching

I had a dream the other night, which left me discovering something amazing.  My dream was about my life and I was living it out on purpose, just how I have envisioned it for many years.  You see I am a dreamer at heart and I have been for as long as I can remember I loved to day-dream about the ultimate life that I would live.  Well the other night when I had the dream again, of course it was different from the ones I used to dream when I was younger.  It had purpose at the heart of it.  I was living each day as if it was my last day on earth.

The humbling thing is that could really be the case.  I don’t know when the Lord will call me home and I should be living each day as if it is my last.  I want everyday to be filled with purpose and discovery.  Discovering the world, exploring new adventures, serving people in need, and living out exactly what God has ordained for me.

It’s going take some courage to do this I know, but I really feel the desire to do so.  I want to live an abundant life that God promised to me.  Now it seems is the time, what am I waiting for?  Tomorrow is not promised to me.  I want my legacy to be that I lived on purpose and I fulfilled my God-given destiny!  That I lived with extraordinary zeal.  I want someone to say; “I want to live my life to the fullest, just like Lisa.”

If I die tomorrow I want to have lived my life on purpose, to the fullest!  Much prayer is needed to forge into the unknown world, to try new things, to step out on faith; to live!  But friends, that is what I am going to do.

What is holding you back from pursuing  a life of purpose?  Join us on The Butterfly Journey Facebook page as I share my experiences and encourage you to live on purpose and with God.  www.facebook.com/thebutterflysjourney

I hope to see you on the road of purpose and living each day as if it was your last!

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

Faith, God, Joy, the butterfly journey

Can’t Steal My Joy!

livingwholecoaching

Trying to remain in a positive state everyday is challenging to say the least.  We are often faced with bad vibes, bad attitudes and just plain unruly people and situations.  But I am learning to be patient with myself and with others.  It is hard sometimes!

I woke up this morning having slept through the night peacefully.  I have insomnia and sleep is one thing that I do not get enough of normally.  So you can imagine how relaxed and refreshed I was feeling when I woke up to the sun shining and my body feeling oh so good.  At that very moment nothing could have spoiled my mood.  I was praising God for a good nights sleep and started thanking Him for all the blessing He has given me and others.  I was praying for my friends and family and all was well.

As soon as I got logged onto my workstation to begin my many hours of making calls to clients, an emailed popped up.  Still smiling I opened it up and my whole demeanor changed.  What in the world is this?  I felt myself begin to get tense and my whole body started to feel stressed.  So I closed the email, took a deep breath and walked into my living room.  I started to allow the words in that email take my joy, but I said no wait a minute Lisa, stop right where you are and pray.

And pray I did for about 15 minutes before I went back into my home office to resume the daily tasks before me.  Then after about and hour I decided to address the email, I was positive and professional in every sense.  I started to feel good again, because one thing I know about myself I am a great worker, knowledgeable about what I do and always, always have the client’s best interest in mind.  So I sent the response with confidence in my abilities and hope for a better future.  A future that would allow me to flourish in my own business doing things that I love!

Later in the day the Lord began to show me things in my favor and I had to smile and say; “thank you Father”!  He restored my joy for the rest of the day and only a short moment was I displaced in my spirit.

It just goes to show you that praying in all situations, at all times is important.  But what I think was more important was my realization to my actions right from the start.  I can’t allow every thing that comes my way steal my joy, I have a right to have joy that God gives me even in the little accomplishments.  And the thought that I have learned a valuable lesson is icing on the cake.

Well chalk one up for me that I am one step closer to understanding how to live in a world that is not so nice and still have my joy and faith in God.

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

God, hope, journey, life, perseverance

And We Journey On. . .

livingwholecoaching

Everyday God is showing me new things about life, my life.  I realize now that when He began to show me things about myself that helped to heal me from the dark place of depression it would not be the only lessons that I would learn.

To say the least, it has been a learning experience ever since I opened myself up to Him.  When I decided that my own way of living life was limited and literally a mess, I finally turned wholeheartedly to God.  And when I did the “real” journey began.

It has not been easy!  But everyday as life plays out before me, I try to learn what it has to tell me.  What is it that God wants me to understand about the situation I am dealing with.  Sometimes the answer comes quickly and sometimes not so much.  But I continue to persevere to find out.

More and more I am understanding that we don’t just reach a point in our journey and stop learning.  We continue to evolve with each new challenge, every triumph and even with every failure.  One thing I know is that God is consistent in who He is.  He never changes, His promises are true.  He doesn’t lie.  I can trust Him with everything.

There are a lot of things that still leave me wondering what am I supposed to do with that?  But God always has the answer and if I seek Him, He will reveal it to me in due time.

The reason I blog is to tell my story as it unfolds, not scripted or rehearsed but just like it is.  My prayer is that something that I share will help someone else as they travel the road of life.  With God I can be me, the real me.  He knows me better than anyone and He loves me.  Just knowing that for me is priceless!

I will never stop learning and asking God about my life.  I won’t stop because I need to know in order to live my “best” life on this side of heaven.  I want to please my God with my life, it is all I have to offer back for what He did for me!

So as you continue on your journey of life, keep an open heart and mind toward God.  He will give you everything you need to make it.  Yeah, it may get hard some days, but the reward in the end is greater than the worst day you have to live.  One day we will understand it all.

I love you God and thank you for loving me!

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

change, destiny, Faith, God, journey, prayer, purpose

Enjoy the Journey

livingwholecoaching

This week has been a whirlwind of excitement!  I met with my editor for the book (The Butterfly’s Journey) and she said the book is awesome!  I started to cry because I never dreamed of writing a book, but when God put it in my spirit to share my testimony in a book I felt unworthy to do so.

I am no Toni Morrison to say the least, but I really want to produce a product that is life-changing for women all over the world.  But as I began to think about the task at hand each week and each month that went by, I started to convince myself that it wouldn’t work.  I couldn’t do it.

The rollercoaster of emotions that I felt along the way were hard to handle.  Almost everyday I had to ask God to give me direction and clarity.  I began learning to walk in faith last year (for real this time) and it has been one of the hardest things that I have taken on in my life!  It seemed as if one thing would be working out and then something different would come along to squash my confidence and joy.

But I am learning each day to trust in Almighty God for every aspect of my life and it has been an amazing journey thus far.  I decided this year I would start a journal of my experiences with learning to walk by faith and not by sight with the Lord.  (just a little secret. . .this will be the base of my second book)!

As I challenge myself to live the best life that I can live; I want to also challenge you to do the same.  Tackling this project is not for the weary at heart.  It is going to require a lot of dedication, commitment, and praying in order to make it through.  I know that if we keep God first and focus on Him we shall be victorious.

My prayer for you and I is to keep our faith strong and never allow the doubts and fears of life stop us from accomplishing the greatest things that God has for us to do.  I pray that whatever comes to slow us down from making the necessary positive changes for a better life, will dissolve before our eyes as we lift up prayers to God.  I pray that every day brings us closer to working in our purpose and walking delightfully into our destiny.

Always take the opportunity to learn life lesson from your every day experiences and enjoy the journey!

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa