Category: love

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

God, hope, Lord, love, prayer

Today I Pray

livingwholecoaching

The only burning thing on my heart today was a prayer for you!

Oh Lord our God how excellent is your name in all the earth, how marvelous are your works.  Father, I thank you for the liberty to say a prayer for those that are out there in internet world that I don’t even know.  I thank you for being a God who is wonderful to me!  I thank you for being God!

I pray for those whose hearts are breaking in a million pieces at this moment from some tragic situation.  I pray that you will guard their hearts and minds and comfort them through to the other side of pain.

I pray for those who don’t know how they will make financial ends meet for their children/family.  I thank you in advance that you will provide every provision that they stand in need of and that you would send an unexpected blessing to give them hope.

I pray for those who are sick and dealing with illness and depression.  I ask that you reach down and touch them with your healing hand and set them free from the infirmities that cause them to be in a place of dispair.

I pray for the wayward son/daughter that has lost their way and has landed in a pit of vipers.  I am asking that you would deliver them Lord back unto yourself.  I ask that you hold back the night so that they can make a conscience decision to be free from the dangers of the evil one.

I pray for the spiritual leaders all over the world.  I pray that you would protect them as they share the gospel of life.  I ask that you would cover them with angels of protection so that no weapon formed against them would prosper.

I pray for the soul who has given up and wants to end it all tonight.  I ask that you would whisper in their ear that they are somebody and that you love them.  Send a ministering angel to them right now!

I thank you Lord for allowing me to bring this humble prayer to your ears and that you would be faithful to answer!  And I thank you in advance for what you are going to do!  We love you tonight Lord!  We worship and adore you!  We give you all honor and glory!  In Jesus name, amen!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

affirmations, arousing Adam, being a man, being a woman, Christ, God, love

I Can’t Validate You!

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I can and will give you inspiration, motivation, and affirm you through my words, but one thing I can not do is validate your soul.  The one thing that lies empty in your spirit that is longing for validation can only be filled with the love of Christ.

I have been reading a chapter from: Captivating – Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul by John & Stasi Eldredge, to prepare for an upcoming BlogTalk radio show.  The most interesting thing about this chapter entitled: Arousing Adam is a great eye-opener to what we as women fail to do in our relationships with the men in our lives.  Yeah at first glance the title might take your mind somewhere else, as it did me when the hosts of the  show invited me to join them as a guest host to talk about “Arousing Your Man (Adam)”.  Immediately we think carnally about arousing a man in the natural, but this information is much deeper.  A spiritual arousal that we as woman can do for our men.  But one of the most amazing important revelations of the chapter was that we can’t validate Adam’s soul and neither can our Adam validate ours.

But we often turn to each other to do just that and that is when we miss the mark of our role for each other.  However, the part that we should be playing is the arousal of Adam’s spirit and soul to seek out it’s true validation from God.  We have a wonderful, perfect role to play as  women and when we understand that place we can experience the type of love that God created for a husband and wife (women and men) to have.  We can affirm, inspire, and motivate our Adam that he is a man in every sense.  We can need him as our help mate and we “believe in him”.  This sisters is our role.  And from the man, he can affirm, inspire, and motivate us to know that we are a woman in every sense.  Our femininity arouses his masculinity.  We allow him to be the hero that he is born to be, the man.  He in turn can inspire us to be feminine as he is attracted to the beauty inside and out that makes us a woman.  God created us to be that for each other and it is wonder to behold when we get it right!

Join us on January 22, 2012  at 6:30 pm EST @ www.lifes-journey.org/talkshow.htm, host Life’s Journey: Woman to Woman.

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

book, God, love, relationships, the butterfly journey

Relationships: You Still Have Time

livingwholecoaching

I was super bummed when I finished writing a lovely post about relationships this morning and clicked on the publish button and to my surprise or perhaps my demise half of the post was missing.  I had to trash what was left and decided to walk away until this evening.

But in the efforts to post something of wisdom, something positive, something motivating everyday I am re-doing my earlier post in hopes that I capture the essence that I wanted to.

Relationships are a huge part of life that shapes who we are, who we become, and how we handle all the other aspects of our lives.  I was not at all great at relationships.  Not that I didn’t have any but I didn’t have healthy ones, at least not for me. I called myself a chameleon.  I would change myself into whatever type of person that relationship wanted.  I hid my heart, my dreams, my desires and wants deep inside.  It really didn’t matter, no one seemed to want to know the “real” Lisa anyway.  But just like any other woman I wanted a relationship where I could be me; the real me.

It didn’t come until after the healing process started during my depression that I began to understand the why’s of my unhealthy relationships.  God had to show me that I was worthy.  Me, Lisa, was worth something more than what I had experienced in these unhealthy relationships.  But I didn’t know that then and that was my problem.  I equated my worth with how pleased the other person was with me.  And since I wasn’t even sharing the real me I didn’t realize that what they were giving me in return was not equal to my worth.  Whatever they offered I thought that was all that I was worth!  But God said no!  That is not who you are, you are beautiful, lovely, and unique because He made me that way.  I was worthy of great things because God said so.

When God gave me the man of my dreams, I didn’t know if I could pass the test and use my new-found wisdom to cultivate the relationship in a healthy way.  And sure enough the old me came slipping back into play, but God stopped me every time I tried to revert back to my old ways.  Craig, (my fiance) is a wonderful man of God and he was very patient with me in my learning stage.  He has taught me a lot about love, patience and friendship and today he is my best friend!

I explain more about my experience with relationships in my upcoming book: The Butterfly’s Journey coming soon!

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

Christ, family, friends, God, love, mother, thanksgiving

Unconditional Love – Priceless

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After spending almost an entire 24 hours in the hospital with my mother yesterday, who was having chest pains early Wednesday, we were blessed to find out that her heart is in great condition!  It was a blessing to spend the day with her even under those circumstances.  It bought to my attention how blessed we really and truly are.  My family and extended friends were there for us and for that I am truly thankful!  It reminds me that it’s not the big triumphs in life that make it all worth while; but it is the little things that we often take for granted.

My siblings and I are not used to seeing our mother in such a vulnerable physical state and it brings to our minds that she is getting older and her body is showing those signs.  We have always seen her as this strong woman of God not letting anything stop her from doing what she needed to do.  Often times putting her on needs aside to tend to ours.  Now she needs us to come along side of her to help her through these physical issues that have decided to change her body.

As I watched over her resting in the hospital bed, the thoughts of her doing the same for me when I was a child touched my heart.  I thanked God for allowing me to have such a wonderful person as a mother and father in my life.  Not only has she touched my life in a positive way but she has deposited lots of love and inspiration into my daughter and my grandchildren.  They are blessed to have her in their lives.  She is our best friend, our advocate, our mom!

Take the time today to reach out to your loved ones wherever they may be what ever the circumstance of your relationship and try to make it right.  Life is too short to harbour feelings of anything but love.  I challenge you to choose to move past any hurt or pain and begin a new life today with God with you.  You won’t regret it.

Today I am thankful for the unconditional love of my mother, my family and friends and most of all the love of Christ who died so that I could be free!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Butterfly Journey – Lisa

God, God has ordained, Jesus, journey, love, purpose

More Clear Every Day

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Writing is my passion and even though I never thought about it when I was growing up, I have come to love the way words shape our lives.  I find comfort in expressing myself though words written on paper or typed out in this blog.  I pray that every word that I use will be of some pleasure or part of some type of healing for someone else.

I realized today that my purpose involves having a servant’s heart to those that God loves.  It is a tremendous sacrifice to those that I come in contact with.  It  has nothing to do with me personally, but what God purposed in His heart for those that He loves.  This ministry may have me praying for and with others.  It may have me cleaning a sick woman’s home.  I may need to give someone some money for bills.  It is all about service.  Jesus was a servant to those around Him and He met them in their time of need.  That was the way that He showed His love unconditionally.  He showed it not just talked about it.

So my view is now clearer in my heart for what my full purpose is and it is to help hurting women wherever they are in life.  I may need to hold them as they cry or coach them in their journey.  I may need to pray for them and keep them encouraged as life sometimes gets tough.  I understand all too well how a need keeps you from experiencing the greatness of God and what He has in stored for you.  Sometimes when life is beating you up,  you can’t see how wonderful God really is.

But I am here to be that servant partner with you in your needs.  I pray for the strength that I will need physically, emotionally, and spiritually to deal with all that may need it.  But I won’t stray from the purpose that God has ordained for me to do.  He loves you and me much more than we can ever imagine.

Sacrificing myself for the better good of my sisters is a humbling task, but with God I am able to do just what He needs me to do.  I pray that you will open your spirit and heart to receive all that He has for you!  God is real!

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

Day 4, destiny, Down the Path of Worthy, God, journey, love, the love chapter

The Journey Day 4

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Day 4 of our journey to find understanding about our “true” worth and we are doing pretty good.  Our energy level is high and we can’t wait to reach our destiny!

On Day 4 we completed an exercise that I found on another blog (What Would Jenn Say?!) a few months ago.  We read 1 Corinthians 13 (The Love Chapter) and we had to then re-read it and insert God were the word love was used.  We also had to insert other names in the place of the word love to see how those around us measured up to the word of God!

This was an eye-opening exercise for most of us.  Just starting with replacing the word love with God gave us an instant understanding that God truly is “love” and He wants the best for us.  Moreover, when it came to inserting our own names it was a humbling experience that showed we all have work to do in the love category.

We have all heard this chapter read many times, especially during weddings.  But have we really measured what it is saying to us?  We discovered the depth of what this chapter is telling us what “love” really is.

Many of us said that when we hear this scripture read that we will never hear it the same from this point on.  It really came to life for us and it will be used as our measure of real love from this day forward.

Try this exercise for yourself and you will be amazed of the understanding of  “real” love as God has ordained it to really be!

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa

destiny, God, journey, life, love, prayer, purpose, seeking God, the butterfly journey, travel, women, worthy

The Journey Part I

livingwholecoaching

Today a group of adventurous women have set out on their “butterfly” journey!  Our first trek is “Down the Path of Worthy”; were we are seeking clarity and understanding of what our “true” worth is.  Until we understand this foundational point we will not understand our purpose.

We live in a world full of things to connect our worth to, but unfortunately those things are not our “true” worth nor do they hold any substance.  They are temporal and once they fade away then our worth goes along with it.

That is why it is so important to understand what God ordained as our worth.  The way He classifies us as worthy is much more than anything or anyone in this world.  It is of an eternal substance and will not wither away with the passing of time.

Our “true” worth is directly connected to our purpose.  So once we understand that pivotal point we are well on our way to understanding our destiny!  There is no better feeling than to walk in one’s destiny!  Until you are walking in your destiny your life is ordinary and feels like it has no basis.  Do you ever ask yourself what is it all for?  Waking up, going to work/school, back home to start all over again.  If God created you don’t you believe He had something marvelous in mind for your life?

Well He does, but you need to get deep into the things of Him to understand  and start living it.  That is what the butterfly journey is all about.  This month is only the beginning of a series of journeys that we will take.  There is a definite process to finding your true destiny.

I pray that you will join us on one or all of the journeys as we discover life!

The Butterfly Journey ~ Lisa