Enjoying the Journey

Before the weekend approaches, I learned another valuable lesson that I wanted to share.

When I write my devotionals, I typically write out everything and then go back to fix, rearrange and edit it. Many times after sending it, I realize that there were several typos and grammatical errors. I get irritated and beat myself up over it and then if someone sends me a message pointing out the errors, mainly one of them being my sixteen year old. She loves grammar so much that she is nicknamed “The Grammar Nazi.” I have learned more about grammar from my sixteen year old than I ever learned from school.

I appreciate the art of grammar and value the literary world but I also often tell her that sometimes while focusing on the imperfections you miss the message. While focusing on the flaws, you may lose appreciation of the beauty. While being so busy with details, you can become distracted and lose the lesson. While walking down a broken, dirt covered path, you forget to look up at the beautiful scenery surrounding you.

This can come in many forms.

For example, I love to be a hospitable host. When people visit, I like to have the food perfect, the atmosphere relaxed and I want them to feel welcome. Sometimes I am so busy focused on perfecting that I never really get to enjoy their company.
I have witnessed many bride- to-be’s doing the exact same thing. They get so focused on the details of the wedding planning that the engagement period is diluted into stress and worry taking focus off of the marriage. The wedding is the ceremony that is in celebration of the marriage and only lasts a few hours but the marriage is a lifetime.

So I ask you before leaving for the weekend, “What is more important- The journey or the destination?” I encourage you to enjoy your life’s journey and all of the flaws, mistakes and trials that come along with it. Embrace those that you love and enjoy their company and embrace those that challenge you as they make you stronger. The beauty of our life is that it is unpredictable, our mistakes become our lessons and we never know when it is going to end.

If you see typos in my devotionals, just laugh it off. One thing I know for sure is that my typos are there to remind me that I still have a long way to go on my journey, but I am enjoying the ride!

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42

Have a blessed weekend!

© Copyrights, All rights reserved

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

Take a Stand. Spread the Word. Save the Butterflies ♥


"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 Fall 2010!

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

The Attack on Families

As I reflect on today’s society, it appears to me that it just doesn’t seem as innocent as it was when I was a child. And I’m sure the generation before thought the same thing. So what does that mean then? I believe it means that with each passing generation, as my friend John would say, “a snowball is now becoming an avalanche.”

Although I grew up in turmoil, there still seemed to be some discretion in society. The marriages and families seemed to be more solid, the standard of beauty wasn’t as shallow as it was today, and there was more censorship in music, media and movies and the youth seemed to more inspired and respectful. Things were the same but it not as extreme.

I believe this may be occurring for many reasons. I think as we move closer to the second arrival of Christ, the enemy is planting seeds/parasites into as many people as he can because today’s generation are more vulnerable and have more to offer. We are the generation of awakening and change. We are a generation are called to spread the gospel planting seeds of hope, truth, wisdom and peace more than any other.

What is the best way that an enemy gains victory over his opponent? He gets in their mind. For the second wave of destruction? He takes all of his enemies that are allies and pit them against one another.

So what seeds/parasites is the enemy planting? I believe he has a weapon and strategy for each of the targeted victims. They are all different and have different vulnerabilities.

Allow me to elaborate:

Men

Pornography/Lust- The pornography business is the most profitable business in the world and the target audience is men and even some women. Pornography divides husbands from their wives and men start to lose their attraction to their spouse. It causes friction and makes them think women are objects for the purpose of fulfilling a lustful desire and it is an insatiable desire at that. It becomes worse and worse until everything they love has left and they almost find themselves in a false perverted reality. They quickly find out that due to their lustful appetite and submission to temptation, they are now all alone and they went from being the priest and leader of their household to a fool seduced by the devil himself.

Women

Beauty/Body Image- Women were created with a desire to be loved. They seek stability and security. They naturally seek to feel desirable to the opposite sex. The same holds true even in the animal kingdom. The standard of beauty today has become so distorted that it is impossible to uphold. Scripture clearly states that beauty is to flow from within but the world we live in, doesn’t follow that same standard. Instead of women focusing on their inner beauty, they have evolved into correcting their slightest flaws, so much that it has now grown to an obsession. We have almost turned ourselves into plastic dolls. Cosmetic surgery, fake hair, fake contact lenses, fake nails, fake eye-lashes, you name it. What God gave us wasn’t enough. What a perfect plan for the devil. To make women feel that they are never good enough in the eyes of man and to compete with our fellow sisters in Christ.

Children/Youth

Music/Mind Control- The devil was the “Minister of Music.” The best way to get in the mind of a child/teen is to get to them through music. Music has a way of molding and shaping our children. Be careful what you allow your children to listen to and the videos that they watch. Pay attention to the lyrics, the connotations, the symbolisms and the insinuations. Much of the music today that is very popular among the youth are very explicit and inappropriate for a young child mind that is in the midst of maturing. Believe it or not, your child’s brain and spirit is much like a computer. Every time your child watches a video or listens to a song or exposed to some experience, they are downloading information into their minds and spirits. And when it is consistent, it becomes part of who they are.

Families

Greed/Consumerism- Let’s face it. We live in a society of instant gratification. It’s is a consumer mind-set. Consume means to devour, spend and indulge. The main-stream media and technology tells us to upgrade when something better arrives. Dispose the old and welcome the new. It is the opposite of the fruits of the spirit which a few are patience, gratitude, contentment, self-control, humility. It encourages us to store up “stuff” that will rust instead of investing and giving to people. We serve God by serving others. We serve the enemy by becoming slaves of currency. I think we all know what God says about becoming slaves of money.

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13

On top of the consumerism mind-set, technology also divides families. They spend more time on their iPods, cell phones, video games and lap-tops than they do with their families.

Don’t get me wrong, God gave us each these gifts but the very things that we were blessed with, the enemy uses it to his advantage. God wanted us to have a lustful appetite but for the purpose of loyalty in a marriage covenant. Music can be used to heal wounds, dance and for praise and worship. Beauty is intended to shine from the inside out to attract a man for, again, the ultimate purpose of marriage. God wants us to have money to provide for our families but not at the expense of causing a financial strain on your family to to you lack of self-control. Technology is a huge benefit to people and businesses alike. Our desires aren't bad, it's when we take advantage of the gift. It’s just like giving your child a cell-phone for emergency purposes and next time you check the bill, they have totally abused the privilege by going way over their minutes.

In conclusion; God created the earth for one reason.

Family

It was the reason for it all. It is what He loves above all things so it is no wonder that it’s the family unit that is under attack. We were created to be allies, not enemies. How do you reverse it? Pray, love and surround yourself with good things.

"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" John 14:13-14

"Love covers a multitude of sins" 1 Peter 4:8

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8


Be blessed this weekend!


© Copyrights, All rights reserved


Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

Take a Stand. Spread the Word. Save the Butterflies ♥


"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 Gift of Life

Spring is here! One of my favorite parts of spring are the sunrises and sunsets. I love to drive over the Eagle Creek bridge to catch a glimpse of the sky overlooking the lake that God paints every morning and evening. It is absolutely breath-taking.

My kids and I enjoy watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. It amazes us to watch animals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, insects and their journey through this life. There is a new series on the Discovery Channel called Life and we have been anticipating it's premier.

After watching the first two episodes, I couldn't help but think about the creativity, tenacity, intelligence and beauty of these creatures. They also evolve just as we do, but no matter how much evolution takes place, two things are still certain. All creatures struggle to survive and they have a strong desire to reproduce. That's life.

Wow. How could you not witness all of God's marvelous works and beauty and not believe or submit to Him? Maybe it's just that we are too distracted by small things that don't matter.

It makes you wonder the point of it all. You know, that thing called the food chain and the tragedy of the unfortunate species that have a very low spot on the totem pole of life. The irony is that humans place the top spot on the food chain, having dominion over all of these billions of species, but yet it seems that they, the creatures have it right.

They live and survive on pure instinct and take a breathe of life for the primary reason of their purpose. To give to nature and to take from nature. To seize and to sacrifice. They give with their work ethic, survival skills and often their lives and providing nourishment for the creature that is a little higher on the food chain, but before they leave, they typically reproduce, thus allowing the cycle of life to continue. Then, even when they take, they are really providing. When they take a life for by hunting for food, they are keeping that specific creature from over-populating the land enabling others to share it.

Even the storms, the sunrises and the sunsets serve their purpose perfectly. The storms come to give water for all species to drink and to water the plants and trees, the sunlight gives light to see and heat for warmth and growth. The sunsets to provide rest to the weary and camouflage for the night-time hunters.

They serve their purpose so perfectly. All of this was created as a perfect and divine gift for us, for God's children. We are to be just as the creatures. To have a purpose. To seize and to sacrifice in this life. Even though the cricket, who has about a million more species looking to devour him and at any moment, he still survives from day to day without worrying about tomorrow. We are at the very top of the food chain yet we seem to worry more than that little cricket.

Take a look over your life. Do you seize more than you sacrifice? Do you take more than you give? Is there a natural balance? What's your purpose? Do you know what it is?

Only God can give you that insight.

I encourage you to take a walk in the park, change the channel to The Discovery Channel or visit your local lake. Drown out the distractions and noise and just pay a little bit closer attention to what surrounds you. It's called the gift of life.

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name." Isaiah 40:12, 26

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:26

"You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." Nehemiah 9:6


© Copyrights, All rights reserved
March 2010

Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

Take a Stand. Spread the Word. Save the Butterflies ♥


"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