book, Faith, God, Harvest, Healing, hope, hurting women, life, love, motivated, purpose, reap, September, sow, the butterfly journey, women, worthy

September

I love September!  Not only is it my birth month, but it is the time of harvest.  For farmers and gardeners this is the time to reap what they have sown into the ground.  It is literally the fruit of their labor.

In the spirit we also sow and reap.  Whether it’s good or bad.  We will all reap what we have sown into our spirits.  As one of my good friends and I were talking the other day she reminded me that I have planted seeds of faith into the spirit  and one day I will reap a harvest!  I got excited about that!  What will my fruit look like?  Will it be desirable to the eye and satisfying or will it be rotten and of no use?

As I finish up my first book, I want the words to be seeds that are planted in the hearts of hurting women near and far.  I want it to reap a harvest of healing and purpose for each person that reads it.  I have to continue to remind myself that sharing my deepest pain is not about me, but it is all about God and His healing grace.  It is about the women who will read it and feel motivated to press on to see what the future holds.  It is for that person who feels unworthy and unloved to understand their true worth in Christ.  It is for the ones who desire to live out their purpose.

So I won’t make anymore excuses that I don’t have enough time to finish the book in 2011.  I will make every effort to finish this book of seeds so that they will be planted and grow and reap a harvest of righteousness for God’s sake, not mine.

What are you sowing into your life today?  Are they seeds of goodness and love or are they seeds of discord and unrighteousness?  What will your harvest look like come harvest time?

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

be all you can be, bucket list, life, live, New, potential in God, start living, women

Start Living!

Are you satisfied with your life today?  Are you stuck in the normal routine rut and can’t get out?  Well try something new!  It doesn’t have to be something elaborate just different.  If you have always driven by a store on your “normal” route to and from work but never stopped in to see what they offer, today go inside.  If you want to change careers or desire to start your own business but don’t know where to start, sign up for a class at  your local community college to get more information.

I believe it is each person’s civic duty to be all that they can be.  Or is that in the army?  Anyway, you get my drift, start something different in your life and live a little.  We all know that life is short, so why leave this earth without ever experiences some of the exciting moments it has to offer.

I had a friend that passed away a year or so ago, she had worked and retired, she had raised her children and had the short opportunity to know her grand-child.  She was just getting started to live her life but unfortunately death came to knock on her door and she had to go.  Don’t have regrets at the end of your time.  Use your life to its fullest potential.  Take risks and find your “sweet” spot in life.

Create your “bucket list” of things you want to accomplish before you die.  Don’t wait, do it today!  Life is worth living!

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

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Radical Change

The strangest thing happened this morning while writing my blog.  I completed what I thought was a pretty good blog and hit “publish”, all seemed well until I went to view the post and only the title was there.  Technical glitch or something else?  I understand that the opposite of good is evil and we can’t remain naive to the fact that the adversary is lurking around to try to “halt” the mighty plans of the Lord.  Unfortunately for him that is not an option.  Whatever plans the Lord sets in motion will prevail!

The ones close to me know that my life today is nowhere near where I was over 2 years ago.  I was stuck in a place of depression with little hope to make it through to the other side of sane much less a place of purpose and abundance.  But you see the journey that the Lord placed me on was a divine intervention of my life.  I truly have been transformed by the renewing of my mind.

It has taken an emotional toll on me to write about the place of desolation that I was in but God knew that was where I needed to be in order to be radically changed for His purpose in life.

I could have wasted away in my place of darkness, but instead God had plans far brighter than my most horrific days of depression.  It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11 ~ “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God has great plans for your life too.  A radical change is waiting to take place in your life right in the middle of your struggles.  Will you embrace it?  Will you die in your place of desperation?  Or will you decide to live out your true purpose and have an abundant life full of promise, healing, and restoration?

I am here to help you through your journey; to coach you, to help you find the resources that you need to catapult you to the next level, and to pray for you in the midst of your storms.  Are you ready for your radical change today?

Join The Butterfly Journey Facebook page by clicking the “like” button and begin to live out your God-given plans!

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