Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Stomped Sandcastles



Sometimes I feel like a little girl on the beach building a sand castle and then a few others run up and I look at them with excitement and ask them, "Wanna help me? It's gonna be great!" and they laugh and say "Yeah right, that's stupid, we wanna go play in the water!" Then they stomp on it and run away laughing jumping in the deep ocean. ...sigh...

© Copyright – All rights reserved
December 2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Friday, November 13, 2009

Love covers a multitude of sins



The closer that this ministry is coming to its destination, the more questions I am asked and I am very happy to answer because they are very valid questions. I need to prepare myself for this responsibility as well as set expectations for the community.

Most recently, I have been asked, “What if they some of the ladies are a different religion or don’t believe at all. What if they are homosexual? Will you not allow them to join?”

Butterfly Ministries will not discriminate anyone on the basis of race, ethnicity, cultural beliefs, sexual preference, religion or the lack thereof.

I have a very clear and specific purpose. To spread God's love by empowering young ladies to take a stand and to encourage others to get know Him personally, not to judge them.

Encourage - To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; contribute to the progress or growth of.

We will not push them, force them, scare them nor will we withhold our services if they don't commit their life to Christ.

We will advocate, educate, empower, encourage, inspire, motivate; take a genuine interest in them. Kindness will lead them to God. Not fear. Fear does not encourage Faith but discourages it.

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3

We all fall short in the eyes of God and have our own sins to account for. After they make the choice to bond with God, He will instill something in that person that is between Him and them. Even if they choose not to, it is still between them and God. My mission is to encourage that bond with God, not to play God.

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Matthew 7:2

Another important and very valid question is, “How will you deal with issues such as:

• mental disorders
• teen pregnancy
• addictions
• suicidal thoughts
• physical, sexual or emotional abuse
• express the desire to harm themselves or others

I currently work in non-profit and during the past 5 years that I have worked there, I have grown both personally and professionally. They have put me in situations that challenged my leadership quite often. They made me a more well rounded person overall. I have learned so much from them and because of my experience there, I am equipped to take on this ministry.

I have learned that many non-profits and ministries fail by trying to take on things that they are not staffed, equipped, trained or experienced to handle. They attempt to duplicate efforts that already exist in the community. This is where successful partnerships are very vital to the growth and success of your organization. I have program areas that I will focus on and when the bulleted issues above arise, I will have partnerships with natural alliances in the community that I will make referrals to such as Therapists, Pastors, Social Workers, Healthcare Professionals and Child Protection Agencies.

They will specialize in children’s needs and be fully equipped to intervene as needed.

This reminds me of a partnership that our organization has had with another non-profit for the past 5 years. They build homes for low income families with a mortgage at zero interest making their home affordable and safe. The Family Services Manager and I started both companies around the same time. We contacted one another because we saw that there was a gap that needed filled and our partnership needed strengthened.

We work together to make sure that the families that we serve do not fall through the cracks. If they apply for a home and are denied because they have barriers keeping them approval, she refers them to me and our program helps them with financial literacy, education, resolving their credit issues and budgeting to help them remove those barriers. After those barriers are removed, we then refer them back for approval. She doesn’t try to take on that burden and responsibility, she refers them to us, a trusted partner because she knows that partnerships are what make a non-profit or ministry successful.

In that aspect, she doesn’t just deny a family, stepping on their dream and just let them walk away confused and discouraged. She instills hope and faith in the family and let them know that they aren’t denied, it’s just that they have some work to do before they are approved. We also attend one anothers events, serve on committees and support each others fundraisers.

It is a wonderful partnership.

"To all of you, be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit." 1 Peter 3:8

I feel absolutely blessed to walk the path that God has put me on. Despite ALL of my challenges, I have learned more than I ever thought I would but realize I have alot more to learn. I have met some amazing people that inspire me but have many more to meet. I have overcame and accomplished more than I ever thought possible but God requires more and I am His humble servant!

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2

"Above all, continue to love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8


Be Blessed this Weekend!!!


© Copyright – All rights reserved
November 2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Instruction Manual

There are those of us who were lucky to have a great upbringing and were taught values, morals and ethics. We learned about setting and maintaining expectations and boundaries.
Then, unfortunately, there are those of us who have had to just "wing it." We typically learn by mistakes/trial and error and often become frustrated and wished there was an instruction manual.

Guess what?

Ladies...GREAT NEWS! There IS an instruction manual on how to become a good woman. It's called the Bible. Scripture teaches you the qualities that are important when it comes to growing from a young lady into a woman, and from a woman to a woman of virtue; of noble character. Everything around you in main-stream media tries to push you to be a "wayward" woman but scripture is TRUTH.

Gentlemen...GREAT NEWS! There IS an instruction manual on what kind of man you should be and what qualities you should seek and find in a woman, especially if you plan on marrying her! It's called the Bible. Great men in history all have something in common. A great partner...supportive, loving, dependable, loyal. They made a great team because TWO are much stronger than one. So if you picked a wayward woman, maybe you need to refer to your instruction manual next time.

We all fall short and this woman is hard to keep up with, but this is a great guide!

PRINT THIS when next time you are either doing a self-evaluation (ladies) or evaluating a woman (gentlemen)

The Proverbs 31 Woman ~ Proverbs 31: 10-31

A Noble woman, who can find?
For her worth is far above rubies.

(rare, precious, hard to find)

The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.

(trustworthy, valuable)

She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

(kind, loyal, supportive)

She looks for wool and flax
And works in delight.

(works joyfully with cheer and a smile)

She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.

(goes extra mile)

She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.

(Disciplined, Humble, Leadership Quality)

She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

(enterprising, intelligent, good with money-investor)

She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.

(energetic and healthy)

She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.

(good steward, hard-working, has goals)

She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.

(diligent)

She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

(compassionate, generous, caring for the less fortunate)

She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

(provident)

She makes and wears coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

(Elegant, representative of Gods favor and blessings)

Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.

(influential, chose a partner to compliment her)

She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

(industrious, business-minded)

Strength and honor are her clothing,
And she smiles and laughs at the future.

(Confident, Poised, full of hope and faith)

She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

(wise, optimistic, words of encouragment and kindness)

She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

(manages her home, watches over her children, is not lazy)

Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her,

(praiseworthy)

Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all."

(distinguished, deserving)

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

(Loves God and spreads His word)

Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.

(Honored and favored, her actions speak loudly)


© Copyright – All rights reserved
November 2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Submission

Have you ever been in a place, a place so dark that you get lost in your own state of mind?

A state of disillusion, utter confusion, on the verge of insanity from anger stirring inside.

The devil whispers lies in my ear...
feelings of inadequacy, insecurity and pain consume my spirit,

God is calling me to look in His direction but I'm so caught up in my sorrow, that I can't even hear it.

Dwelling on betrayal of broken dreams and empty promises as time passes slowly...minute by minute, hour by hour...

Suffering moments of desperation which bring on moments of inspiration that finally has me reaching for my higher power.

I plead to God...

"Father, please help me understand... I given and sacrificed so much only for my heart to again and again, be broken,

How much more do I have to sew before reaping the harvest that your word has promised and spoken?"

I feel a quiet force swell within me, losing control, a feeling of complete submission,

a reminder of the scripture of Proverbs 10:12 calms me ...."Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions."

The Lords speaks...

"My child, Be still, I have plans for you, you are a testimony in the making,

but you can't become who I want you to be without FIRST being shaken.

You see I am creating, shaping, molding you into a woman of great virtue,

but you must fully TRUST in ME and know that I will never abandon or forsake you.

You must let it all go and FORGIVE, as it all has worked in accordance to MY divine plan,

for you too have many times fallen short, sins are in the nature of man."

I wipe away my tears, tell my father "Thank you" and finally close my eyes...

I wake up feeling refreshed with an inner peace, knowing that the LORD is by my side... a new feeling of freedom, a new creation...a Butterfly.


© Copyright – All rights reserved
September 2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The Benefits of Empowering Girls

The Benefits of Empowering Girls

Women in Business:

One in every 11 adult women in the U.S. owns a business. Female entrepreneurship has been growing at twice the national average since 1997.
 
Women-owned businesses generate $1.5 trillion in sales and employ 9.2 million people.

Women earn more than half of all bachelor’s degrees.

Women-owned firms in the U.S. are more likely than all firms to offer flex-time, tuition reimbursement, and profit sharing to their employees.

Women dominate the social service fields as teachers, social workers and healthcare workers


Women in Philanthropy:

Women business owners are giving of their time, talent and treasure: 7 in 10 volunteer at least once per month; 31% contribute $5,000 or more to charity annually; and 15% give $10,000 or more.

Women are more likely to serve in volunteer leadership positions than men.

Women are more likely to give to third world countries than men



© Copyright – All rights reserved
November 2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The Butterfly Scholar

The Butterfly Scholar ~ Education


The Butterfly Scholar Program will be an scholarship program in which 11th and 12th grade girls can compete. Five winners will be chosen and each awarded a $1,000 scholarship and laptop. It will be an essay on "The importance of Empowerment, Leadership and Faith in the real world"


They must meet minimal eligibility requirements. A Selection Committee of 10 will choose the winners annually.



© Copyright – All rights reserved
2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Saturday, July 4, 2009

The Social Butterfly

The Social Butterfly ~ Social Responsibility, Community & Consistency

Outreach Program (Chapters seeded at local churches and community centers)– Girls from The Butterfly Movement will meet regularly to learn how to become a young woman of virtue. The program will be biblically based on the characteristics of the Proverbs 31 woman.

Social Networking Website – Virtual social network with pages, moderated forums and blogs, list with alternative choices for music and merchandise

Quarterly Newsletters – Sent to all participants of The Butterfly Movement on a quarterly basis


© Copyright – All rights reserved
2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Friday, July 3, 2009

The Butterfly Effect



The Butterfly Effect ~ Education, Outreach & Advocacy

The name stems from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Meteorologist Edward Lorenz’s theory that a flutter of a single butterfly's wings could inflict a storm of great magnitude. The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations of events. The idea is that one butterfly could eventually have a far-reaching ripple effect on subsequent historic events.

One tiny flutter creates a HISTORIC revolution!

Think about that when you question your significance in the world ♥

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries Inc.

Join the Butterfly Movement!

Coming Soon!

Launching Spring 2010!

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The Butterfly Movement

The Butterfly Movement ~ Awareness & Empowerment

We will address the issue at hand with a reverse marketing campaign strategy.
We will recruit girls by inviting them to visit our website/outreach event to electronically sign a contract. The virtual contract will specify that by signing, they certify:

“By signing this contract, you hereby agree to discard and no longer purchase clothing, jewelry, music and/or other merchandise that is degrading, demoralizing, inappropriate, explicit, and/or exploitive in any manner to women and girls.”

After signing this contract, each girl will receive a complimentary t-shirt, awareness bracelet and certificate that proclaims that they have
“Joined The Butterfly Movement”

We will also create a brand of “replacement” merchandise to encourage change and a shift of the negative influences that market to young girls and to replace them with positive, empowering, uplifting and spiritual merchandise called “The Butterfly Movement Inner Beauty Products.” We will also introduce a women’s selection of merchandise.

All proceeds will go back into expanding the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

Merchandise to include:

• Tee Shirts
• Hats
• Sweatshirts
• Awareness Bracelets
• Backpacks
• Bookmarks
• Bumper stickers


Once we have empowered and re-stored young girls self-esteem and confidence, then we can advance to pollinating seeds of knowledge, wisdom and guidance with our outreach program. These girls will grow to demonstrate all that they have learned.


© Copyright – All rights reserved
2009

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

The Significance of a Butterfly

How does it relate to the issue?

The butterfly fascinates us with their wings of many beautiful colors, shapes and patterns. These colors and shapes are determined by all of the things that they ate and digested as a caterpillar.

This is very fitting as the young girls of today’s generation are digesting information every day that will determine the transformation of their wings. Be aware of what your daughters are digesting. (Music, lyrics, videos, media, magazines, influences, people, places & things, television, movies, toys, clothing, merchandise)

So you may be asking yourself...How can we address such a large scale issue?

Awareness & Empowerment.
Social Responsibility.
Community.
Consistency.
Outreach & Advocacy.
Education.

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries Inc.

Join the Butterfly Movement! Coming Soon!

Launching Spring 2010!

"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."


"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Issue, The Evidence & The Effects

The Issue
A Decade of Behavior 2000-2010

Sexualization was defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) task force as occurring when a person’s value comes only from her/his sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified, e.g., made into a thing for another’s sexual use.
Today’s generation of girls and young women are constantly targeted with harmful influences that attack self image and negatively influence the transition to adulthood.

The Evidence

Virtually every media form studied provides ample evidence of the sexualization and exploitation of young women, including television, music videos, music lyrics, movies, magazines, sports media, video games, the Internet, and advertising. Some studies have examined forms of media that are especially popular with children and adolescents, such as video games, teen-focused magazines and even toys and dolls such as Bratz. (LaFerla, 2003)

The Effects

Sexualization of girls is linked to common mental health problems in girls and women—eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression along with many other negative health, mental and social issues. In addition it can also lead to self destructive behavior such as alcohol and drug addiction as well as promiscuity which can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy. (Adelson, 1980; Arnett, 2000; W.A. Collins & Sroufe, 1999)

With massive exposure to the destructive information that is being downloaded into their minds and spirits, shallow and superficial definitions of beauty are creating generations of girls who lack self esteem and confidence. It becomes so strong that it is suppresses the natural instinct to give and nurture. Instead, their attention shifts to focus on perfecting their slightest flaws. They are led to believe that they are not good enough and physical appearance becomes an obsession.

The pressure of perfection has become so overwhelming that it creates unrealistic standards to uphold. They are misled to believe that outward beauty is more important than virtue and material possessions have more value than people. Innocence is sacrificed and they have trouble looking within to find out who they are meant to be and what their purpose in life is in accordance to God’s will.


"It is the mission of Butterfly Ministries, Inc. to empower and inspire positive transformation in girls and young women by encouraging them to take a stand against gender exploitation and to give rise to a historic revolution."

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

COMING SOON! Join the Butterfly Movement!

Launching Spring 2010!

"Strength and honor was her clothing" Proverbs 31:25