Tag: love

the butterfly journey

The Problem

livingwholecoaching

The problem that the butterfly had was not knowing her value or worth as God had ordained it to be. The enemy is great at distracting us from the truth.

That was one of the biggest problems the butterfly had: not understanding who she was. And from that misunderstanding, she built all her decisions and based all her relationships on a lie.

She fought to be everything that she believed would bring her love. But what it actually brought her was pain, trauma, shame, and guilt. God never intended for her life to be this way, but she wasn’t listening to Him. She depended on the world’s systems to evaluate who she was supposed to be. And that was “the problem”.

Unfortunately, it took the butterfly years to finally get to a place where she could look to God. She would spend many years living an unsatisfying life, walking in brokenness. But God didn’t leave her in that space. He had a plan to divert her from the destructive, broken life to a place of wholeness in Him. But it wouldn’t be easy for the butterfly.

Even in the place of being transformed, the butterfly was kept in the wilderness, a place where her whole dependence had to be on God and nothing else. None of her old patterns would work in this situation, so she had to surrender.

The journey was a hard lesson for the butterfly, and it wouldn’t be until she was safe in her deliverance and healing that she would understand the full scope of what God did for her.

I find it amazing how God works out the bad things in our lives and turns them into something good. He does it even when we have decided to go our own way!

The butterfly is my story of redemption and love. I have spoken to, ministered to, and walked with women who were in the same sort of place that I was in. Being lukewarm in our walk with God is not pleasing to the Father. It is our responsibility to work out our soul salvation (and as Paul says: “with fear and trembling”). It’s time to consecrate ourselves to God and begin the process of sanctification.

I pray that you will desire to move past where you are and allow God to begin bringing you to a place that is pleasing and glorifying to Him. Time is of the essence. Jesus is coming back for a bride (church) that is without spot or blemish, and I don’t know about you, but I want to be there at the wedding with “the bridegroom,” Jesus.

Today is the day of salvation and repentance. The King is coming!

In Christ,

Lisa M. Walker

the butterfly journey

Chasing Holiness – Part 4 Pursue

livingwholecoaching

“Pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14 NKJV

The biblical definition of pursue signifies actively striving with intent and determination toward spiritual goals, righteousness, peace, and a deeper relationship with God. (reference – Bible Hub)

When you want to know about something or someone, you will pursue more knowledge about the matter or person with urgency and intent. That is what God wants us to do with Him. In order to know Him and develop a true intimate relationship with God we need to earnestly seek Him. As Jeremiah 29:13 states; “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” NIV

My experience with pursuing God happened when a stirring from the Holy Spirit moved me to know more about Him and draw closer. When I was first saved, I didn’t know a thing about walking in this Christian faith. But the other thing was I didn’t pursue knowledge or wisdom from God either. Which lead me to backsliding and getting a lot of bumps and bruises from the enemy. But the Holy Spirit prompted me to seek more of God. I am so very joyful that the Lord has me in a position to seek Him now. Like I feel like years have passed me by, without having that intimate relationship with God. But I am glad that God can redeem the time and gives me another chance before I leave this earth to really know His love in full.

One of the main reasons I write this blog, is to perhaps spark an interest in others to know God more. Perhaps my words can inspire someone to begin to diligently seek the Lord and in doing so they find so many treasures, promises, and hope hidden in His word and in the gloriousness of His presence. God wants us to be close to Him, He adores us! And if you don’t yet understand that fact then keep seeking Him in prayer, His word, worship, and fellowship with other believers. You will definitely find God in all His glory and holiness.

As the spring season unfolds, with the blooming of trees and flowers and the brown dormant nature start to turn green again; I challenge you to refresh your relationship with God. Seek Him more and with intention. Join a local bible study group in your area or church. Take a discipleship class. If you don’t have a relationship with God and are seeking one; please reach out to a local church in your area or talk to someone you trust that is a Christian or even message us and we will be glad to help you in your pursuit of God.

In pursuit of God,

Sister Lisa Walker

the butterfly journey

Chasing Holiness – Be Holy Part 3

livingwholecoaching

This conversation I had the other day with another believer left me confused. I was sharing with them about the journey I was on learning from Holy Spirit about holy fear of God and holiness. I always get super excited when God reveals His word to me in an intimate way, because it shows me that He loves me and trust me if He would allow me to mature in His grace and develop more intimacy with Him. But when I share with other believers and their attitude is lukewarm to the things of God, especially His word, it confuses me. How can you say you belong to the Lord and love Him, but you don’t seek Him. How can you not desire to please Him in the newness of your life that you received when He gave His son, Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice for you so you didn’t have to go to hell because of your sins?

The person’s position on being holy was that it is not attainable. But I beg to differ, because not only does God say it in His word; it is a command. 1 Peter 1:13-16 says: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be bought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written be Holy, because I am Holy.” And the latter part of this scripture Peter took directly from the Old Testament scripture; Leviticus 11:44-45 “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be Holy, because I am Holy. I am the Lord, who bought you out of Egypt to be your God; therefore, be Holy because I am Holy.” My question would be why God would command us to be holy if it was not attainable?

Let’s dive in a little deeper. Perhaps our perspective about what Holy means is incorrect. Let’s see what the biblical definition of Holy states. The first thing that the definition starts off with is that there is over 430 times that the word holy or holiness is mentioned in the Old Testament only and over 180 times it’s mentioned in the New Testament. So needless to say, the meaning of word holy and holiness is important to God. The Hebrew word for holy is “godesh” which means apartness, sacredness, or separateness (God is set apart from His creation) above Him there is no other. The Greek word for Holiness is “hagios” which means pure, morally blameless or set apart. (reference: http://www.whatchritianswant toknow.com)

With this additional information about what the word holy or holiness means in the biblical sense perhaps we can begin to understand what God meant when He co mmands us to be holy. Holy doesn’t mean that we are perfect and to me I don’t even believe that it means we reach the completion of holiness while still in the flesh. What I do believe it means is that we are set apart to God and if we truly have been born again, embracing the free gift of justification through salvation because of what Jesus did on the cross, then we would desire to please God in every area of our lives.

When we allow Holy Spirit to have His perfect way in our lives then we are allowing the process of sanctification to be fulfilled through us. Holy Spirit will convict us of our sins so we can repent and then point us back to Jesus and His attributes which we should also develop. Being holy and walking in holiness is a daily process and we need to crucify our flesh daily as the word states. If you desire to build your intimate relationship with God and walk in holiness then you should develop these daily habits; read and study the Bible each day, develop a daily prayer life, and serve the people of God with the gifts and talents God gave you to glorify Him.

Back to my conversation with my friend, I don’t understand why a believer would want to only have the bare minimum life that God has for us. For me I want all that He has for me in every aspect. I seek Him with my whole heart, and He wants you to do the same. God longs for an intimate relationship with all of us who love Him.

Question to ponder: Are you seeking God and His holiness?

Father God, we honor and adore you! We worship You for who You are in all of Your holiness and sovereignness. We thank you Father that we can know You intimately. We ask Holy Spirit to come into our lives to lead and guide us to all Your truth that is in Your word. We repent for not seeking You with our whole heart because we do love You and want to please You in our new life as Your children. In Jesus Christ precious name we pray. Amen.

In His service,

Sister Lisa Walker

the butterfly journey

On One Accord

livingwholecoaching

Dear God, It’s me Lisa.

I have been thinking a lot about how I can be on one accord with you. I understand that continuing to develop my relationship with you through reading your word, communicating with you, through prayer, and listening with my whole heart will enable me to understand my assignment, as it pertains to your will. To be honest; I struggle with doing those things on a consistent basis. I repent.

Father, how do we become on one accord as believers? I read Acts 2:42-47, which gives me some idea of how the early church operated and developed fellowship and like-mindedness. The word says that we need to be willing to be taught, come together in fellowship, breaking bread together, and prayer.

I read and meditated on Romans 8:5-11. This is really the meat and potatoes of the way we get to be in sync with your will God. We need to walk in the Holy Spirit and not in our flesh. The word says that the mind that is governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit leads to life and peace. Ok, God now I am beginning to understand the assignment!

Lastly, 2 Corinthians 5:17 lets me know that now that I am in Jesus, that I am a new creature. I need to be focused on changing my mindset from a fleshly viewpoint to a spirit-filled mind. That will give me and my fellow believers a roadmap to being on one accord! I know that this will please you God, when your ecclesia is walking on a true path of righteousness!

Thank you as always Father for helping us understand what we need for today!

Love and blessings L

brokenness, encouragement, God, health, the butterfly journey, women

Heart Healthy

livingwholecoaching

brokenheartFebruary is heart health month.  During this month you can find helpful information about how to have a healthy heart, or about warning signs when something is wrong with your heart.  It is all about the well-being of your physical heart.

February is also the month of Valentine’s Day.  A day set aside to show love to your significant other and others you love in a special way.  Usually we adorn each other with chocolates and roses.  Valentine’s Day is one of the most celebrated and lucrative holidays that we engage in.

What about your spiritual heart?  Is it healthy, do you know the warning signs that something may be going wrong with it?  Do you have the information on how to keep it healthy?  Or have the arteries of life circumstances caused plaque to build up and the flow of love and joy are having a hard time reaching your heart to keep it healthy?

Have you been exercising your heart muscles by showing love to keep your heart strong and in a position to receive love?  Your spiritual heart is just as important as your physical heart.  It warrants your every effort to make sure that nothing foreign comes in to make your heart beat irregularly or cause damage.

We place things in our heart from experiences that we have encountered in our lifetime.  Some things are good, others are bad, but God wants us to make sure that what we put in our hearts are things that will help us live life to its fullest.  Good things that will catapult us into a relationship with Him and others.  When we have experienced something that was not good and we place it in our hearts, it stays there until we release it.  As long as it stays there the more miserable you may become.  You will live your life not fully being free to love or receive love.

That’s why God said in His word: Proverbs 4: 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. NIV

The good news today is that God can help you release the bad things that you have placed in your heart.  The things that will keep you from experiencing a true flow of love and joy, but you have to give God all the pieces of your brokenness.  He will replace those things with wisdom and love.  Trust Him, I do!

Blessings Lisa

 

friends, make a difference in someone's life, relationships, the butterfly journey

Are You Investing in Your Relationships?

livingwholecoaching

A new year, a new you, a better version of you!  One of my goals for 2015 is to invest in the relationships that I hold dear to my heart.  I would admit that I have not really taken a close look at my relationships until my husband said, “in order to have a friend, you have to be a friend.”  Wow, ok that made me look deep within myself for the answer to that statement.  Had I really been a friend?

I searched over the relationships in my life and concluded that yes maybe I hadn’t been such a good friend.  At my age, I don’t believe that I would be making many new friends, acquaintances maybe, but real friends no.  So I looked back over the years for those who had been positive, encouraging, influences in my life.  Yep, I found them all in the history of my life.  Those who never were far away during the real struggles on my journey.

relationships

I thought back to the milestones that we had shared with each other; the good ones and the bad.  We never missed a beat.  We may have missed birthdays or anniversaries, but we never failed to reconnect at the most important times.  So I searched my heart and knew right away that I had to do something different.  I wanted to make the next leg of my life’s journey with them by my side.

I wanted to celebrate them, let them know how incredibly important they were to me and the world.  I decided that I would invest my time, money, and life to these few folks who God had so meticulously placed in the path of my life.  I work in the funeral industry and all too often I see people regret missed opportunities to cherish those who were important to them.  But once they are in our office it’s too late to change the pattern of the life that is now gone.

So I vowed that I am going to be the best friend, wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, and person that I can be.  I want to give each of my relationships their flowers while they are living to enjoy them.  I will invest my time, money, and talent to bless their lives.  I want them to know without a shadow of a doubt that they matter to me!  And I want my life to reflect that I loved those dear to me and that I gave all that I could to make this world a better place.

Here are some of my ideas in blessing others:

  1. Send a card with flowers just to say “I love you and you matter to me”
  2. Take a day off work to spend the afternoon with my grandchildren just to laugh
  3. Buy a Valentine’s gift for my sister
  4. Take my mother to get a mani/pedi
  5. Have lunch and facial with my best friend

These are just some small things that you can do for someone special in your life.  You would be amazed of how something small becomes a “big” deal to someone who deserves it!  It’s time to invest!

Blessings,

Lisa

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

blessed, Momma, mother

Momma: We Love You!

livingwholecoaching

Momma is for me and my siblings a word of endearment for our mother.  There so many different names that people call their mothers; mum, mother, mommy, ma and the list goes on.

But it really is the character behind the name that we love so dearly.  And with it being close to mother’s day I thought I would express what my mother means to me.

A mother is someone who nurtures, loves unconditionally, inspires, motivates and so much more.  For most of us our mothers were our first friend in life.  After all our very life came from her.  She shared her body as a safe haven for us when we were yet born.  She fed us the nutrients that we needed to not only survive but to grow.  Some mothers sing to their babies while still inside which makes another strong connection to our closeness.

Still there are women that have never birthed a child from her womb that are called mother.  She is the one that took care of the children that some other mother didn’t know how to love.  Her natural instincts kicked in to show love, to nurture and to inspire a child that was not their own.  She is a rare gem in the world of motherless children.

There are others that we call mom, who are not our biological mothers.  They have taken the place for those who have lost their mothers in some way, shape of form.  It could be that they died during our youth, or they were lost in the world of addiction, or they could have given you up to adoption because they could not care for you.  Whatever the reason, these stand-in mothers are no way any less than your “real” mother.

During slavery, most of the house slaves (or at least some) were responsible for taking care of the children.  The master would choose one who had children herself so that she could continue to breastfeed the master’s baby along with her own.  Oh how sad it was to have raised a baby to adulthood to have them treat you like a second class citizen because of the times they were in.  Even though treated badly they still had love for those children that they nurtured.

My mother you see is a great lady.  Having suffered many hard times in her life she always loved and cared for us the best way she knew how.  After being raised in a time when women, particularly black women were treated so poorly, she never thought she was less.  Teased because of the color of dark skin, never held her back, it only pushed her forward.  For many years at the hand of my own father, she was abused physically and emotionally.  She never failed us.  When she had to raise us alone (all 6 of us) when my father passed away, she keep on moving forward.

I never forget her telling me the horrible stories of her life and I would cry to think that anyone could or would treat my mother so badly.  I can distinctively remember her telling about looking for a job right after my father had died.  She didn’t really have any skills, but she went to the interview for a secretary’s position anyway.  She got the job!  But she didn’t have a car and the company was more than a walk away, but she made it there every day catching rides to and from.  She worked there for over 30 years.  Her final position was Head Secretary to the Vice President of the company!  The only black woman in her time to reach such a high level.  Oh, most of her days she spent crying during her lunch break because they were so mean to her, but she stayed with it.  And God blessed her diligence!

My mother was always my best friend and still is.  At 76 she is still the wind beneath my wings.  I adore her for all that she did, for all she endured, and most of all for all she has taught me about life.  She is my biggest cheerleader and she is that for more than me and my siblings, she has lots of other children that she is a mother to.

It is a good time of year to tell your mother how wonderful you think she is.  For one day we will not have the opportunity.  Momma, I love you!

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