book, brokenness, connection, God, grief, hurting women, journey, the butterfly journey, women

Are You Connected?

Con-nec-tion: a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else.

What or who are you connected with?  Are your connections a positive influence in your life?  Are they challenging you to be the best you that you can be?  We all are connected with something or someone at some point in our lives.  So it is all the more important to make sure those connections have your best interest in mind.  It is also great to be a part of something or something that is more than what you can be or do by yourself.

Connections whether big or small allow us to have more ability together than we would have if we were alone.  A three strand cord is stronger than one strand.

As we journey through life’s trials and triumphs we should share with the connection of people who are like-minded in our cause or passion.  Together you can move mountains!  God created us to be dependant upon each other, not in the sense that we replace Him, but sometimes we need that physical connection with others to encourage us through.

When you hear good news or you have accomplished something great, what is the first thing you do?  Call one of your friends.  We are dependant people and it feels good to have someone to enjoy our accomplishments with.   Likewise, when we are going through our toughest hours or some tragedy has occurred, we long for someone to come to hold us and let us know that they are there.  Whether they can help the situation or not, we yearn for that physical connection.

My friend, Denise Hall Brown, just finished writing her first book called; 2Grieve 2Gether.  It is all about her journey through grief from several tragedies that happened in her life.  One of the main points is that we shouldn’t go through this process alone.  We need others to come along side of us to just be there.  It doesn’t matter where the grief comes from because there are all sorts and levels that occur in our lives daily, but the important thing is to share, connect, be there.

Just knowing that you have someone or a group of people in the world that are there to support you when you need to be uplifted or to be there to cheer you on when you are living your best life, is one of the most important parts about life.

That is why God created The Butterfly Journey ministry. God showed me many women in the world suffering with brokeness, grief, unworthiness; alone.  They feel they have no one to turn to not even Him.  And that is my mission to reach those women who need someone to come along side of them in their situations, to listen, help, pray with, and encourage them back to wholeness in Christ.

Are you connected?  Reach out to your connection, your circle of friends or family that have been there for you during the good and bad times and “thank” them for being your connection to God.

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

change, God, purpose

Be The Change!

What would you do to change the world?  Mahatma Gandhi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

We all have some sort of calling on our lives; some mission or purpose that we were meant to fulfil.  Do you believe that the one thing that you were put on this earth to do could change the fabric of the world that we live in?

Share your ideas of what you would do to change the world.  You may not think it much in the scheme of the whole world but if you help to change some part of your community and those around you, it can have an impact on the world.

If you aren’t doing anything ask yourself why.  Do some soul-searching for the answers.

Your life is a thread in the tapestry of life and your position is important to the over-all design of the beauty of what God sees!  Take your place and make a difference.

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

Faith, God, the butterfly journey, women

Faith Without Works…

Life gets rough sometimes.  There are times in our lives that we don’t know what to do or where to turn because our situations seem larger than we are.  What do we do to manage the things that loom over us and we have no control?

As a Christian we know we can turn to God, for He is our help in times of trouble.  But He is also there when our life is seemingly good.  Our faith is strong when things are going well.  It is easy to be hopeful when all things are working right.  But it is the test of our faith when things don’t look so good and we can’t find a solution anywhere.  God is still the same though.  We need to activate our faith more in those times when nothing seems to be coming together.  But is gets hard when the bills are due and you can’t see a way to pay.  It gets tough when your body is constantly in pain.  It gets rough when you can’t walk and do the simple things for yourself.  I know I have been there.  God said that faith without works is dead.  If can stir up a little more faith and push a little bit more, I know God will come to your rescue!  He is faithful!

I have a friend (and I call her a friend even though I have never met her) that has been suffering with physical pain.  I don’t know how long she has been suffering but I know it is a heavy burden on her right now.  I met her through this blog and she shared a little bit about her situation.  I have been praying for her ever since.  I have other people praying for her too.  But what God showed me is I can’t just pray, I need to activate some action behind those prayers.  My friend is in need right now and I need to help meet those physical needs somehow.

It is through the things that we do to make someone else’s life better, to meet their needs that brings glory to God.  As a vessel for Him we can show people that God is real.  That is what I am trying to do for my friend; that through me and other like-minded people God has sent us to help her in her time of need.

I hope that you are reading this right now, my friend (you know who you are), you are heavy on my mind.  I want to help you get to wholeness again through more than just elaborate words on a blog.  I want to share in your journey whether broken or whole.  I want to show the love of Christ.  If you need your house cleaned, we will find a way to do that.  If you need someone to pick up and pay for some groceries, God is able.  Please reach out to me and let me know what it is that we can do.  You have my contact information.

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

book, facebook, Faith, God, hurting women, journey, purpose, the butterfly journey, women

The Time Has Come

If you have been so gracious as to read any of my blogs, you know by now that I am currently writing my first book – The Butterfly’s Journey.  I just received my copyright papers today!  The time has come!  My deadline is set for October 2011.  I am sending another copy to the editor tonight!

Over the course of one week a shift has begun to occur in my journey.  I have been overly blessed to have connected to some amazing, encouraging, women who have been divinely connected to me.  These ladies have already touched my heart and I pray that our journey together will be one of amazement in God.

I didn’t think I was ready for the shift yet, but I knew it would come soon.  God has prepared me for such a time as this.  Now the time has come for me to move out into the territory in faith of ministering to hurting women.  I don’t take my mission and purpose lightly and I won’t move on anything until God tells me where to go, what to do, when to do it, and what to say when I get there.

This is such an awesome responsibility and I pray that I will accomplish all that God will set before me in an excellent way.

If you are feeling generous and have the desire to help me optimize my Facebook page, please go to The Butterfly Journey page and click “like”, as this will help me get the most exposure and reach the women that I desperately desire to touch.  On this page is where I will be holding online discussions, connecting with others, and posting upcoming events.  I am going to also use it to give the progress of my book, unveiling the cover design, and choosing a select few to pre-read one of the first copies to add a review to the back cover.

I thank you in advance for your support!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

blogging, book, God, God has ordained, hurting women, journey, potential in God, purpose, social media, Tweeting, vessel

This is Who I Am

I have been blogging for over 2 months now and I only had a few comments and one subscriber, but I that is not why I started blogging.  I wanted to have another avenue to reach out to other women to share my life as I live it.  It is my online journal of the lessons that God shows me everyday.

Perhaps you can relate to the fact that ever since I started blogging, posting, and tweeting, I have left little time to concentrate on my writing.  I am presently in the middle of writing my first book.  Because it is totally inspired by God I know that He has a fresh, relevant message that needs to reach the masses.  I am just the vessel in which He chose to deliver it.   But honestly I have been slacking back on the writing.  Wasting time on worthless stuff.  I know better than that.

Well on Saturday morning I woke up and as usual I checked all my social media sites to see what was going on.  And to my surprise I had a comment on one of my recent posts.  I was so excited that I accidentally called my mother at 7 o’clock in the morning (I know better than that).  But I couldn’t contain myself.  It was as if I had won the lottery or struck oil.  The reason for my great joy is because I had touched one person with my message that day.

You may not understand my wild excitement, but you see, God has ordained me to encourage and inspire women to live out their purpose in Him.  And to actually have one person touched by my blog meant the whole world to me.  This is who I am, this is what I was put on this earth to do.  And if I can help 1 or 1,000, my journey would not have been in vain.  I will be able to have glorified my God!  I may not have gotten it all right in life, but this one thing is burning on my spirit so deep that I must fulfill it before I die.

So needless to say I need to finish this book.  I can’t spend countless hours just looking at what everybody else is doing.  I need to be about my Father’s business!  I need to be helping hurting women know their true worth.  I need to be helping them discover their potential in God.  I need to be there to pray with them and for them as they go through their storms.  I need to be their sister-friend and encourage them in their dreams.

This is who I am! I am living out the purpose that God predestined for me to be in the world to help transform lives from ordinary to extraordinary in Him.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

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

The Woman in the Mirror

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

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