Why is it called Butterfly Beginnings?

I want to share the reason behind Butterfly Beginnings. I've been doing internet research to see what other type of businesses are called Butterfly Beginnings, or have a similar name.

So far I've came across Butterfly Beginnings- an addiction recovery group/program and Butterfly Beginnings- a Douala service in Australia.

I did not check this out before I named my ministry, in fact there were several other potential names I was thinking of:

F.O.T.S (Fruit of the Spirit..... this one would have sounded weird to say)

Hope.Wish.Dream (overused and not specific to my calling)

Live Love Faith (again overused and vague)

and then,...Butterfly Beginnings

I don't remember how the name came to me, just that when it came to me, I knew that was it.

Butterflies have been part of my life for most of my life. I remember my great grandma always loving butterflies. She gave my mom a picture that had the "butterfly blessing" on it.  My brother read that blessing at my wedding, and we had a butterfly release by the lake at my reception (side note:if anyone reading is considering a butterfly release, make sure that you have several of them or prepare to shake the box because otherwise you will open it and only one or two will come out...yes this happened to us and I have a picture of my husband shaking the box to try to get them out)

Here is the original Butterfly Blessing my great grandma gave my mom

Some of my favorite verses:

Bless me with the ability of a butterfly to endure the changes that will happen to me in my lifetime.

Bless me with the butterflies' ability to pollinate your flowers, so that I may cultivate your human garden with love and compassion.

When we think of a butterfly we imagine

New Life.

Transformation.

Rebirth.

Butterfly Beginnings captures the essence of a new life created in the image of Jesus. It illustrates the idea of the caterpillar as the past life and the changes we undergo to emerge as a beautiful child of God!

Butterfly Beginnings is about finding your identity in who God says you are and about realizing and living out His purpose for your life everyday.

Everyday I aspire to cultivate others with love and compassion.

Everyday I look to transform my heart. 

Everyday I reflect the colors of my soul, being and individuality and look for these things in others. 

Everyday I try to create and instill the feeling of wonder, passion and excitement in others.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17

*UPDATE:My mother just told me it's my great grandma's birthday today, she would have been 97. I did know this until AFTER I wrote this post. God works in mysterious ways!

The Secret to Falling Out of the "If....Then" Trap

"If only I was 30 pounds lighter then I would be ready to wear this."

"If only I could look like her then I would be more confident."

"If only I had more money then my problems would be solved."

"If only....... INSERT YOUR CONDITIONAL STATEMENT HERE."


I've recently been exploring a different approach to eating that is changing my core beliefs about myself and my value. Everything I have ever thought or taught myself about what I eat and how to eat has been challenged by this idea of "intuitive eating".

Intuitive eating is essentially listening to your body and eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're satisfied. This refers to recognizing food as food and not as "good" or "bad". It is not patting yourself on the back for choosing carrots instead of cookies, or feeling guilty if you choose the cookies instead. It is being in-tune with yourself and not entertaining the thoughts planted by the enemy (last post discusses this in further detail).

Intuitive eating has so many different facets and pieces and parts that revolve around changing your mindset about yourself as a person. Realizing that number on the scale doesn't define who you are and that you can love and accept who you are now instead of waiting to love and accept the person you are 20 pounds from now.

In order to fall out of the "If..Then trap" there is one thing we must learn. It is so important that the enemy will do everything in his power to prevent you from learning and practicing it.

CONTENTMENT.

It is being content right where you are, in the circumstances you are in and the body you have. It is realizing that God created you just as you are and you are a masterpiece.

Contentment is showing myself grace and compassion and appreciating the season of life I am in.

Paul says it best in Philippians 4:11-13.

 "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

He knows the secret to being content in any and every situation is strength of the Lord. This means being satisfied with the house you live in, the car you drive and the job you have. This means being satisfied with the money you make and the clothes you wear. This means being satisfied with the body I have, even after gaining weight.

We can be content with what we have and where we are right now through the Lord who gives us strength and the Spirit to do so.

The enemy of contentment is comparison. Comparison stems from judgment.This is where conditional statements come from. It is when we are looking to find contentment or satisfaction somewhere outside ourselves; such as in a material possession or financial gain.

We can't find contentment in the outside world, and doing so is like chasing the wind.

"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;  I refused my heart no pleasure.My heart took delight in all my labor and this was the reward for all my toil.Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;nothing was gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes 2:10-11.

Sometimes we get busy trying to do everything we can to try to fill that void, so we start to tell ourselves "If only this, then I will be satisfied". 

You don't have to wait, your "If only" is here. You can choose to be content right now through your relationship with Jesus.

This relationship starts with accepting He died for you and knowing that through Him you have the same Spirit that raised Jesus out of the grave inside of you. 

"The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you". Romans 8:11

Falling out of the "If.. then" trap starts with the Spirit inside of us that gives us the strength to remain content in all circumstances. We can be content when we don't compare and we can stop comparing by not judging.

The same grace that God showed us we need to show ourselves, forgive ourselves of the past and move on. Contentment is a choice we make moment by moment by accepting and loving ourselves just as God accepts and love us.

Contentment can only be achieved by calling on the power of the Holy Spirit to provide the strength we need to remain satisfied in the season we are in.

Dear friends, I challenge you, (just as I challenge myself) that this week we will lean towards accepting instead of judging or comparing where we are to where we think we are supposed to be. Let us choose contentment in each moment and ask the Lord for the peace that only he can bring.

God Bless, and Happy Easter!

Part 2 of 3: The Transformation Process

Ok so I am finally ready to write the next part of the series, LET GOD.

We talked about trusting God in the first part and now we are going to talk about what happens after we have decided to trust, not taking the thing we surrendered back and trying to do things for ourselves.

So I woke up this morning with a strong desire to run. Like more than just a wishful thinking type desire, I had this feeling that running was going to put me closer to God. (I know it's weird, but I ended up "running with it"- pun intended) As I was running and reflecting when I made it 2.5 miles to the lake, the idea for this post came to me.

We've probably all heard the phrase "Let go and let God", and I am sure that you agree that this is easier said than done. In theory, being ready for a change and surrendering everything, including your stubborn self and fleshly ways COMPLETELY to God is a beautiful thing, but in reality it is a messy thing.

We are born again with the spirit inside of us, so now not only do we have our human nature but we also have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Again, this is a beautiful blessing to be able to walk by the Spirit, but it is a little more complicated than that. 

Have you ever just been spiritually exhausted? Like tired of fighting this battle in your head over and over again? Surrendering a part of you to God only to take it back out of fear? I've talked about fear in several blog posts, but I really want to talk about this battle going on inside of you.

When the Spirit is inside of us, there is a war that wages in us. This war, at the core is God vs. Evil. It is God against the world, the desires of the flesh and the advancements of the enemy. We know from Ephesians 6:12:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

So this includes temptations of the flesh and attacks from the enemy himself. What this has to do with letting God is that we can not fight this battle on our own, in fact if we try to fight this battle in our strength we will be defeated, so we need to LET GOD so he can fight the battle for us complete the transformation within us.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:11.

So God wants to work in us to complete his purpose in us, but we get sidetracked and bogged down with this "veil of responsibility". We don't need to carry these weights, or burdens or hassles or stresses, we have our Heavenly Father to take the weight off of our shoulders for us. Human nature leans towards wanting an answer for everything and we also want to be able to control what happens to us and our circumstances, but in reality we don't control our lives, God does. Now I know there is the topic of free will (and it is quite a hot topic!) But my main idea here is that when we LET GOD we realize that he is in control.

In fact, the very notion that we can LET GOD take over and carry our burdens is a choice itself. We choose to take on our problems or pray and give them to God. 

So if we make a choice to let God lead our lives, can we also choose to live by the Spirit?

YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES. We choose to live and walk by the Spirit. Each tiny decision you make is either Spirit-driven or Self-driven. The only sense of control you need is the control you feel when you decide to submit your life to Christ.

Run with me for a minute with this, when we surrender to God and let him lead in each area of our life, the stresses of doing everything ourselves melt away and it allows us to keep running the race.

"let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us," Hebrews 12:1

Of course, In the process of not trying to fix things ourselves or control our circumstances, the enemy comes after us. He is ready to again tell us that we can't do this and that it is a lost cause. The good news is that just like we control surrendering our worries and troubles to God, we also control the ability for Satan to attack our mind. Consider 2 Corinthian 10:5:

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Take captive every thought, we can do this by asking ourselves some truths behind what we are thinking. First we know the enemy came to "steal, kill and destroy" so my dear friend came up with these questions to ask yourself when you feel you might be thinking some questionable thoughts.

1. Does this steal my joy?
2. Does this kill my contentment?
3. Does this destroy my peace?

Guess what? If the answer is yes to any of the questions, WE DON"T HAVE TO CONTINUE WITH THAT THOUGHT! Instead we can choose to reaffirm the truth and kill that thought planted by the enemy. Actually, every negative thought we have we can make obedient to Christ by aligning it with the truth of the grace and love of God.

Again I thought I was going a completely different direction with this post, but alas, it is heavy on my heart to let you know that you are not a prisoner in your mind and you don't have to entertain thoughts that steal your joy, kill your contentment or destroy your peace.

LET GOD take over in your life. LET GOD handle the problems and worries you face. LET GOD show you His way. LET GOD defeat the enemy within you. LET GOD quiet your fleshly desires. LET GOD so you may live by the spirit.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

Thanks for reading friends! Please also check out my website butterflybeginnings.net for more on how I can empower you on your spiritual journey! I am offering 3 FREE coaching sessions to help you get on the right track, please email stephanie@butterflybeginnings.net to get started! 

Part 1 of 3: The Transformation Process

It's been on my heart and mind to explore this topic lately, so hopefully everything comes out the way it is supposed to and the Holy Spirit will use these words to speak to someone who may be on the fence about taking the next step and needs a gentle push!

Going into my third month of coaching and the launch of Butterfly Beginnings along with the small group I started at my house, I've noticed that several people express interest in changing, but they don't follow through with it. For this post I want to focus on taking that leap of faith, jumping in head first, taking the bull by the horn, biting the bullet, however you want to phrase it. ACTION. FOLLOW-THROUGH. 

What takes someone from wanting something and saying they will commit to it to actually DOING IT?

So many reasons and excuses and justifications come to mind, and for so many different areas of life. That is what it is, right? We have expressed an interest and the desire is there, but there is a catch that is stopping us. It could be as simple as "I would if I had more time" or "I don't have the money", or  "I don't know how". In each area, we all have goals and ideas of how we think things should be and what we need to do to get us there, the problem is all the wishing in the world isn't going to move you from point A to point B. You need to take ACTION. I think to best address this issue we need to look at from two different perspectives. Not ready to give up what we have vs. Not ready to not know what is ahead.

Not ready to give up what we have
When we don't do what we say we are going to do we may just be being selfish and stubborn. If you look at this in terms of  a healthy eating and exercise plan, sure we want to be healthy BUT we may not want to give up our daily muffin or cupcake or glass of wine or soda or (insert food here). This begs the question, "Are you not ready or are you not willing?". We may like our life. It is predictable controllable and uneventful (in a good way), and when we entertain the idea of a new way of eating or living or thinking it can be scary. I've said it before, but it's worth saying again, THERE IS COMFORT IN THE FAMILIAR, even when it is not healthy. 

To be ready is not the same to be willing. Let's look at John 5:5-9 where Jesus heals at the pool of Bethesda.

"One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”  At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked."

Even as I read it now, I smile to myself because I so glaringly see the excuses the man was trying to give. How many times do we make excuses like this? The man SAID he was ready to be healed but he did nothing to show that he was ready. We say we want to eat healthy, we say we want to have a better relationship with a spouse or family member, we say we are interested in knowing God's plan for our life, but when it comes down to it, do our actions match our words, or are we caught up in our own pride and sense of self that we are not willing to more forward?

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17

So what does it take for us to forge ahead? In terms of not doing something because we are still holding onto selfish wants and desires, this can be sign that the enemy might be uninvited guest in this area of your life. He is telling you don't have time for this, you have more important things to do and it is a waste of money. He is telling you that you've done everything and it doesn't matter what else you do it's not going to make any difference. This reminds me of someone who reached out to me to be coached, and expressed extreme interest, but backed out when it was all said and done. Something (someone) had prompted her to respond to me, she even said it was out of character for her to do so, and felt that the Holy Spirit was leading her to me, but she didn't see it through. We need to get out of our own way, but we can't do it by ourselves. We need to have faith in order to do that.

Not ready to not know what is ahead

I'll be the first to admit, personal and spiritual growth is a scary thing because you don't know what to expect. You can't CONTROL the outcome, and quite frankly it is like wandering around in the dark with only a little light to see what is just before you so don't fall or trip over something. We don't like it when we don't have control, but FAITH is letting go of control, and really realizing that you never had it in the first place. When Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to get well" he knew the answer, but he needed to see the man show faith by following the direction he gave him. Yes, not knowing is scary, and I'm sure when the man heard Jesus tell him to walk (meanwhile knowing full well that he was paralyzed), he thought of 10000 excuses and reasons not to do it. But he chose to get up and walk. Jesus empowered him to take that next step (literally) but he had to trust in him first.

The three parts of this "series" (if you want to call it that) are: TRUST GOD, LET GOD, and SHOW GOD.

What I've talked about above is trust in God. You trust that he has something better planned for you, and that he is with you every step of the way. You trust him by not only saying but by doing. You trust him by neglecting you self-focused ways to take the next step that he has called to do. In trust, we only get a small amount of light (direction), which still doesn't tell us how everything is going pan out. But that little light is enough to get us to where we need to go, one step at a time, and we just need to stay out of our own way.

I really thought that I was being prompted to write a message about why you need a spiritual life coach and why you need to make the investment to better yourself, but now I see that he has empowered me to encourage you to take that next step yourself. You want to be well? You want to know and live out God's purpose for your life? Pick up your mat and walk. Be ready and willing to commit to what he has placed inside of you, no matter what the cost.

Next post will be in a few days, thank you for reading! I leave you with this:

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet, a light for my path  Psalm 119:105

So I made a Youtube video........

I have launched my Chazown small group over facebook and this video is what I uploaded to explain God's vision for my life to my group members. It is crazy how a lifetime of everything I've experienced and the transformation tha has occured over the past few months was able to be summarized in under 12 minutes. ENJOY!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldc-vnSQ-T8

The Time is NOW!

Have you ever started something and then stopped after a short time? Do you have all these grand plans and never start them?Where are you in your walk with the Lord? Do you feel spiritually "stuck" or even stuck in a phase of your life that you feel like you can't get out of?

We've all been there. I've been there. I'm taking the opportunity in this post to discuss all the things I've been up against, fought against and how the Lord is working in my life.

After my own personal coaching journey I've continued my "quiet time" in the mornings. It is in these moments that I am able to sit in silence, pray and journal and reflect on myself and my relationship with God. I wouldn't trade this time for anything in the world but I certainly wasn't always this way. It wasn't until after my coaching experience that I was able to have consistent quiet time.

My life coach challenged me to think beyond surface level excuses as to why I had no time to pray or journal or that I was too "tired". When I first sat down with her to set a goal I knew that in an ideal world I wanted to start my day off with the Lord, but I was afraid that I wouldn't really stick to it or not have time for it. She challenged me to explore the reasons I wasn't already doing it. Through these types of questions, I discovered it was fear that was holding me back. I've shared my past insecurities in previous posts, but this fear was that I wasn't good enough or didn't know enough about God to have quiet time. With my life coach I was able to explore small steps to take to connect with God and not feel like I'm undeserving or unable to perform contemplative prayer the right way.

There is no way to accurately explain the transformation and growth that occurred in my spirit after I realized my identity in God and his purpose for my life. The Holy Spirit was present in every coaching conversation I had and I was determined to "live by the spirit." I prayed that I would live by the spirit and not be ruled by fear. I prayed that I would fearlessly walk and welcome any situation that would transform me so that I can fulfill what God has called me to do.

God gave me a very clear answer: "The Time is Now!"

Of course this is also the title of a series that a small group I am in is going through. It is a study of the book of Haggai and it's been clear that everything related to this study is directly for me.

1. God gives us steps one at a time to follow and we may not know the big picture, but it is when we are obedient and follow steps 1,2, and 3 that we will be able to continue on to 4,5, and 6.

2. Resistance and opposition is stronger when you are following God's plan for your life  When the naysayers are everywhere and  people are looking at you like you're crazy, you're on the right track!

3. When that resistance comes, and it gets hard and we want to give up, we need to be strong in the strength that is not our own, and continue to do the work.

Following God's will does not mean that it will be easy, but it be worth it. (Just think of the Apostle Paul!)

Everything I have faced in my life, every circumstance, every decision and every obstacle has prepared me for what my kingdom purpose is. I would not have known that had I not started on a journey with a christian life coach to help me discover these things.

My life is not my own, it belongs to my heavenly father and time spent away from Him is time wasted. You are not living unless you live for him and his purpose and I can help you achieve that. My mission is to help those of you that may feel "spiritually stuck" or wish to live out your purpose that was given to you by him.

There is no better time than NOW to start opening your heart and allowing him to transform you. That is what Butterfly Beginnings is all about. It is about complete transformation, It is when who you were and who you are in Christ no longer look alike. The butterfly no longer looks like the caterpillar and once it is transformed it has faith and is given wings to fly. Please look at my page on facebook  www.facebook.com/butterflybeginningsgrowthcoaching and strongly consider participating in a free book study that will start to answer some of the questions about God's vision for your life.

The study is "Chazown" by Craig Groeschel and it will start on February 1. To sign up just message my page or even like the post on my page.

If you are interested in growth coaching or want to learn more information please also message Butterfly Beginnings, I would love to help you get started on your own transformation!

Yes I am a personal and spiritual growth coach. Yes I am new to this career, but experience pales in comparison to what God has placed inside of me. Connection. Community. Consistency. My coaching and my book study will provide these crucial elements necessary for a healthy spiritual relationship.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 
2 Corinthians 5:17.

2016 - What is in store for me?

I officially graduated when I coached my trainer one last time just to iron out the details on December 21. I felt a sense of joy and relief, but it was soon coupled with worry and uncertainty.

Ok so I completed the training, NOW WHAT? WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

I prayed hard and looked for signs and answers and made up things I thought were signs and answers all the while something much better was taking place. I hate admitting this, but it was like I was giving God an ultimatum in a way, or at least putting contingencies on his power and plan for me. (Lord I know that if this person responds after sending her this then I know this is a sign to take coaching into a business)

Ha. Who am I to to make such demands? I am not going to tell him what to do because he is not going to do it. Ultimately I don't want him to give me what I want, I want him to give me what is best and what he has planned for me. It is worth mentioning that even though my official internship is over ,I still meet and talk with my client, as we have somewhat adjusted our relationship into that of peer accountability". After talking with her the other morning, I also called my mom where I openly shared the above realization with her. Not a second later than me saying " I am going to stop trying to make things happen and just let them happen" does the other line ring in and it is a women that I had emailed the previous night asking if she would mentor me.

We spoke for about an hour, she asked me questions about my vision, my goals, my ideas and my passion for where I wanted to take my coaching. I could not really answer those questions, but I told her that money was not really important to me. It is more important that I would be able to help people either rediscover or discover their purpose and God's plan for their lives. I want to work with "spiritually stagnant" people and help them grow closer to God. As my internship client said that once God was number one, EVERYTHING else in her life improved. (Side note that on the last day of formal coaching I asked her to rate the areas in the wheel of life again and in all areas she rated much higher). This is the same message I want to share with other people I coach.

The mentor coach I spoke with gave me ideas of how to proceed through her own story of getting started and how that changed slightly from year to year. While I do not have a background in offering retreats as she did,  I do have the acknowledgement that while in prayer I have felt that I should start a small group (I have felt this way for awhile now, at least a few months).

I thought that having a small group would limit what I did with my coaching into a specific ministry, however while researching bible studies over the internet I learned that it will just be the beginning,

After the study on "Chazown", participants are asked to come with a SMART goal. It is from this goal that they are to take the next steps to fully embracing God's chazown, or vision for their life. It is also from a SMART goal that coaching journey is born.

So there are the next steps, I am taking coaching into my church to fully help people embrace their unique purpose by doing the "Chazown" series and I am also offering additional one-on-one help with SMART goals and accountability after the program is finished.

Much like the decision to pursue coaching, I feel a sense of excitement and calm about the next move. I know that eventually I may also take the Chazown study and do it online, offering the exact same thing to people all of the world who want to discover God's vision for their lives. So if you are reading this and interested, stay tuned because a website, facebook page and online bible study offering will all be in the works!

I have named my "business" Butterfly Beginnings. This symbolizes the transformation that occurs when we become reborn as a result of the holy spirit inside of us.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again" John 3:3

As 2015 comes to a close I am grateful for many things, and the main one being my heavenly father taking me and reshaping me and transforming me as his disciple. I have no "New Years Resolutions" (as research says they will mostly likely fail). Instead I have promises to uphold Christ-like character and be obedient to him.

These "promises" consist of 21 days of prayer and fasting that start on Sunday. I am ready to commit to 21 days of prayer and pray for whatever is laid on my heart. I am committed to the fast, because it will be a fast from sugar, caffeine, meat, dairy and gluten. I will eat only fruits and vegetables and nuts and seeds for 21 days. I do this not as a way to lose holiday weight, but in utmost devotion to my Lord and Savior.

I will continue to arm myself  and protect against inferior thoughts, not letting the enemy infiltrate my mind anymore with lies and false truths. In everything I do I will honor and respect my body and myself as they do not belong to me.

 "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." ! Corinthians 6:19-20