Tag: encouragement

Let Him In

Posted on by mrsmonarch

My Dear Friends,

If you are young, thin, and beautiful… fully confident that the world is your oyster longing to make you a necklace of priceless pearls…
If your marriage is on solid ground and your kiddos are all walking as they should…
If you can climb out of bed without aches and pains and look in the mirror naked without wincing …
If your kitchens counters are bare and tidy, and all your laundry is folded and put away…
If you can go to the grocery store without having to wait until pay day and you pay your electric bill before the cut off date…

This post isn’t for you.

But if those conditions don’t apply in your life, pour yourself a cup of hot tea and keep reading. I’m here to tell you that God sees you!! He hears you!! EVERY tear you have cried, every moan that has welled up inside your weary soul… He knows it all.

Take a deep breath and look around your house with a critical eye. Many of us are behind on a lot of projects. It takes every ounce of our energy to accomplish even the most necessary of chores. There’s dirty laundry piled up in the floor, dishes to be washed and put away, sticky fingerprints left behind by wandering little ones to wipe down. There might be dust on the furniture that’s thick enough to write a message in. 😉

If that’s you— God wants you to sit down for a moment and take a few deep breaths. He knows this motherhood thing is challenging. And… tho it is wonderful to have a clean house and to feel like you’re on top of your to-do list, He wants you to know that—in the long term scheme of things— dusting won’t really matter. Your family won’t be better adjusted or feel more loved if your house is dust free. It doesn’t work like that.

He wants you to do what you must to meet the needs of your family. Focus on quality food and quality time. Read and Live His Word to your children. Strive to make your home a place where your family feels safe, peaceful and loved. All the other things we tend to stress over really won’t be as life-changing as that. Now, take another look around your house. Each family has a different love language. What can you do in the next 30 minutes that will say “I love you” to your family? Do THAT thing. Make that your priority for today.

Your marriage? My sweet friend, whether your husband leaves or stays, Yahweh wants to be the top priority in your life. He wants you to know that in the darkness, as you curl up alone on your side of the bed and clutch your pillow in utter despair… He longs to be your husband.

God is not built of human flesh. He will not succumb to the pressures of life. His desire for you will never wax and wane. His love for you can never be undermined. He will never compare you to another and leave you feeling inadequate. He knows you were created to bring a unique beauty into this realm and you will forever be the apple of His eye. You are HIS— purchased at great cost. You are valuable beyond your wildest imagine. In fact, He utterly adores you!

Give yourself to Him completely. Fall into His loving arms and pour your heart out to Him. He has seen it all… and He understands. Allow Him to comfort you. He will lead you, guide you, protect you and provide for you. He will never leave you or forsake you. His loving Spirit will fill-in all the holes that life has punched in you and turn your shame to glory.

He also wants you to know that He loves your kiddos. Believe it or not, He loves them even more than you do! He knew their names before the creation of the universe, and He chose you to be their mother. Yes, you! With all your many faults and shortcomings— He still chose YOU. He didn’t choose you because He expected you to be perfect. He did it because He knew you were the perfect mother for the children He was building, even though you would occasionally fall short.

He took flesh and bone from your body, knitting it into your womb and then breathed life into the tiny being. You were granted the miracle of feeling the spark of life rustle inside you. Do you remember the day you first discovered you were pregnant? The excitement, mingled with a terrifying fear? You were scared you weren’t ready. You weren’t sure the timing was right (but is it ever really “right”??) Yet when the dust settled and your heartbeat stopped racing, the idea really took hold of you—-mind, body and spirit. You quickly grew to love this little being, long before you laid eyes on him. Yahweh knows that feeling well— because He experienced the same joy as He watched you grow in your own mother’s womb!

Motherhood is the highest calling He bestows, and yes— He knew in advance that there would be times when you would screw up. He knew it… and He chose you any way! Since the Creator of the Universe is confident you can do the job He’s given you…. then Momma, maybe you need to move past the doubt and into the quiet, humble conviction that, with His help, you really are qualified to do the job at hand.

God wants you to know that your children have a mighty purpose— and He is going to weave every event into something that will eventually bring benefit to them and glory to Himself— even the waywardness and mistakes that you are so grieved by right now. Ask for His forgiveness where you have messed up, and for His wisdom in the days ahead. Get on your knees and lift your family up in your prayers. They are fighting battles we can not even fathom!! They need their momma’s constant prayers!! ASK for Him to pour out His goodness upon your children; for Him to meet their needs, heal their wounds and pave the way for them to find their way back to Him! He is eager to pour out blessings upon those who search for Him with their whole heart. (And nothing will make a person search for Him like the desperation they feel over a wayward child! Am I right?!)

Don’t be discouraged! Instead, Use this season to your advantage! Allow it to re-ignite the relationship you have with the Creator! Pour your wounded momma’s heart out to Him and let Him put the shattered pieces back in a way that brings beauty and sense out of the brokenness.

For those with financial issues: It is a heavy responsibility to carry the physical needs of your family on your own human shoulders. God wants you to know that He understands the weight you carry. He wants you to know that He understands you have needs, and that He can make a way where there seems to be no way. He wants you to search your heart and ask Him for what you truly need. He wants you to trust that He can (and will!) provide. And He wants you to prove it through offering Him a portion of your First Fruits.

It will be one of the hardest lessons in trust that you will ever face! But your tithe will be like seeds planted in the garden. You will reap what you sow. If you don’t have money right now? Tithe your TIME. It is a valuable resource to the Kingdom of Heaven! But don’t cheat God and then expect for Him to pour abundantly into your life. It just doesn’t work like that. The sowing and reaping analogy is miraculous. Test it for yourself and see.

God wants me to mention that there are some of us who are living with frail and failing bodies. We have been betrayed by the ravishes of time. The days of youth and good health are behind us. The future looks dim and disheartening. For those walking that path right now? He understands that we are only dust. He wants you to know that He cares. He wants to remind you that this body, which encases our spirit, is nothing more than an earth-suit, doomed to decay. The exercise, the rigid diets, the treatments, the supplements—- eventually, they will each fail to perform the miracles we demand. But He also wants you to know that won’t be your end! It will be your new beginning—the start of eternity in His presence!

The process is scary only because we can not fathom the love Yahweh has for us! Turn to Him and share your heart. He understands the fear, the pain, the questions. He’s just waiting for you to talk to Him. Ask Him for ministering angels; for peace and surety and a sound mind. He is waiting for your last breath to leave your earthly confines— where your eyes will finally be able to see the fullness that has previously been hidden from them. He’s been there all along, my friend. Even during those dark and lonely seasons. When your eyes are fully capable of seeing all that He has done for you, the fear will melt like snow in the spring and burst forth into a joy that surpasses all comprehension.

I don’t know who this message was for—specifically. But I do know I was prompted intently to write it. It’s His love letter to you. You are the daughter of the King of the Universe and He utterly adores you! Pull yourself up by the boot strings and wipe your eyes. As long as you’re still in your earth-suit, you have work to do! Get on your knees if you can— if not, just close your eyes and get to a quiet place where you and God can have a pow-wow. He wants to love on you. All you have to do is let Him in!

Until Next Time,

 

 

 

Choices

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Hello my friends!

A couple of months ago, an event occurred in my life that has had a ripple effect. It’s taken a while for me to process through the many layers of emotion it brought about. Much like an onion, I’ve had to peel away at it, layer by layer, shedding a few tears along the way. I think I am finally ready to share the experience with you, though I give you fair warning—it’s quite different than most of the cutesy, feel-good things I write.

I’ll spare you all the boring personal details of the “who, what, when and where” and get to the nitty gritty. I set off on a journey, with the intent of doing something nice for someone I am close to. But when I arrived at their home, I found myself in a very uncomfortable— and potentially dangerous— situation. There was a third-party there that evening; someone I have had negative encounters with many times before. Everything in me bristled. I wanted to leave—but my friend begged me to stay. She had planned for us to watch movies and share snacks. She’d really put herself out. Plus, it was her birthday and I hated to disappoint her.  So, I fought back the pulsating waves of common sense and settled in for the night.

As the evening progressed, the situation I had been concerned about continued to disintegrate. Before the night was over, I found myself in a life-threatening situation that was completely unacceptable.   You see, the “third party” in the home that night is an addict, who had seriously over medicated himself and become a raging lunatic. He was throwing things and cursing up a storm. Seething frustration welled up inside him and bubbled over. About that time, he tore his shirt off, threw it to the ground as if to challenge me. He began beating his chest like a giant, silver-back gorilla.  All the while, he was screaming at me to shoot him!

If it sounds like an insane course of events— it was.

So by now, are you probably asking yourself why on earth I would walk into a situation like that? And if I hadn’t known in the beginning it would be like that, why I didn’t leave the moment things started to unravel?! Those are fair questions.

Well, my friends— not all things are clear and simple. We each have a filter we run our experiences through. A clean relationship filter gives us the ability to accurately assess a situation and quickly determine if it meets our relationship criteria. Oh… but a dirty processing filter is like driving a car with a filthy windshield. It blurs our vision, making it virtually impossible to safely navigate the roads of life!

And mine? Well… I have come to realize that my filter —the way I process human interaction—needed a serious cleaning! That’s the only sane explanation. People with healthy boundaries and clearly defined rules of engagement don’t allow themselves to be boxed in to interactions like that. It’s just that simple!

But I wasn’t ready to accept that a few months ago. I just kept pretending that if I tried a little harder, put myself out there a little more, kept pretending things weren’t as bad as they were… well… then eventually, the scene in front of me would change. Now that is the very definition of a dirty filter! I just didn’t want to see it that way…

You see, that raging lunatic— he’s my kid brother. And worse yet? The “friend” who begged me to stay— in spite of how insane the situation had become—she was none other than my elderly mother.

I know. I started off saying that the “who” didn’t matter, but the reality is— it matters. A LOT. Dear friends, you should never have to feel unsafe. EVER. Particularly not in the home of close friends and relatives. They should be your first line of defense; your “go-to” people when you have a need. So yes. The “who” matters. If I can’t face the ugly facts, what kind of a hypocrite would I be to expect more of you?! That’s why I’m bringing this story to light.

When I told my mom that I was uncomfortable staying in the house any longer, she offered a solution—“Go into the bedroom and lock the door. He won’t bother you there!” I was so dumb-founded by her response that I stood there with my mouth wide open but no words would come out. Why on earth would I stay over night in a house that required me to sleep behind locked doors?? My mother grew up in an abusive home. She knows better than to encourage behavior like that.

I remember looking over at my dad, who was standing two feet away from me while this barbaric scene unfolded. He had always been the voice of reason in an otherwise dysfunctional house. I expected him to say something— DO something. But he just stood there, looking down the steps at my brother with the strangest look on his face. I’m not sure what mixture of emotions he was feeling. He didn’t seem consumed with fear. Perhaps, looking back as a parent myself— it was sadness. Despair. Defeat. Hopelessness.

I don’t know because we don’t talk about those kinds of things in my “family of origin”.  As a side note here, I want to say that I really like that term, “family of origin”. A psychologist friend of mine gave me that one! I like it because it helps me distinguish between the family I came from (and had no choice in) and the family that I have built and created for myself, as an adult. There is a huge difference— and I make the distinction every chance I get!  

I was faced with a really difficult situation that night. It was one I didn’t want and one I did not bring on myself. Yet it forced me to make a choice. I had to ask myself if I was going to deny reality and pretend there was nothing wrong, or… if I was going to take a stand against the insanity that has hoovered over my family of origin for decades.

I took a deep breath. Whatever choice I made, I knew it would be “expensive”. You see, we have an unspoken rule in my family of origin. We don’t speak about dirty things like addiction, especially not when it comes to my brother’s ‘problem’. Breaking the rule makes him “feel bad” and has serious consequences. On the other hand, getting into a physical brawl with my brother, who out weighs me by fifty pounds, probably wouldn’t end well either! What’s a girl to do???

My wild-eyed brother was blocking the front door, still screaming and beating his chest. I had to threaten to call the sheriff before he wised up and cleared my path. It was a call that I was absolutely prepared to make. Thankfully, even as stoned as he was, I guess he could see that. He snarled, bent over to retrieve his shirt and stormed off to another room.

I begged my parents to leave with me, but they refused. They said they couldn’t /wouldn’t leave him like that.  If all that wasn’t bad enough, my mother turned on me that night, and screamed nasty things at me for daring to take action against my own brother. I knew the rules! How dare I threaten my brother with consequences for his behavior! I was a guest in her home!! I “had no right to call the sheriff,” she screamed. Didn’t I know that would get him in trouble?! My dad? He stood stoically silent through the entire ordeal.  He never said a word. Not one word. To me, that was the worst part of all of it.

Whew! O…….kay now. Where do I go from here??! I’m known the world over as “the Butterfly lady”… the lady who always tries her best to strengthen, encourage, and inspire others through her simple, light hearted analogies. So really— where do I go from here??! This is anything but light hearted!!

Well my friends— this one has been really close to home and painful to write about. But I believe with my whole heart that any experience can birth something useful. My painful life experiences are not exempt from that truth. So, here’s where I’m taking this…

I want to talk to you about Choices. The situation I was in left me with a choice to make. My brother made a choice. My mom made a choice. My dad made a choice. We each made choices that evening. Mine ended with me rushing down the stairs and out the front door as fast as my legs could carry me. I haven’t been back since. My mother has chosen to continue to pretend there isn’t a problem. My father has chosen to remain silent. My brother? He’s chosen to continue to blame everyone but himself for his current life circumstances.

I don’t like the choices they made. I don’t think they were right, or fair, or justified. I don’t even think they were logical or sane! But the only choice I have control over is the one I made. Me. My choice. And I stood firmly and made my choice! My brother wasn’t going to bully me out of my choice. My mother wasn’t going to manipulate me out of my choice. And my father? Even amid grievous disappointment, I was not going to allow his silence to invalidate my value as a daughter or human being. Nor was I going to allow his silence to void my right to feel protected. And I absolutely was not going to allow his silence to quelch my choice.

Friends— I have a saying. It’s kind of crass considering I’m a “conservative, Christian, home-school mom”. (Geeze! I hate boxes SO much!) But the saying—however crass you feel it is— is still entirely true. Ready? Here goes: “So much of the time, people think we have a choice between ‘Good’ and ‘Sucks’. But that’s not always the case. Some times, we simply have to choose between Sucks and Sucks WORSE!” 😛 Was that crass? Probably. It’s also true! 🙂

And that was the case in this situation. I didn’t get to choose between “good”, “better”, “best”. I got to choose between “sucks” and “sucks worse”! 🙁 But at least I was finally brave enough to make a choice!

My choice didn’t change my brother. My choice didn’t wake my parents up. Their world is still every bit as dysfunctional as it was the night this happened. But my choice DID change ME! It kept me safe. It was a step towards establishing healthier boundaries in my relationships. It drew a line in the sand and clearly delineated what I would—and would not— accept.

And guess what? My world hasn’t fallen apart the way I have always feared it would if I broke the “rules”. In fact, there is a peace that has settled over me that I have never had before. Almost like a spell was broken.

Friends, it wasn’t easy—- but I am pleading with any of you who are in the middle of a chaotic, unhealthy relationship— even if that relationship is with a parent, a spouse, a child or your oldest, dearest friend— consider making a choice and getting free! If you need help finding resources to do that, please reach out to me via email. Remember—change always starts with a choice! And the choice is YOURS.

 

Until Next Time,

 

 

 

Where It All Began

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Ah… This is where it all began: “Just” a home-school mom with a limited budget, who wanted a fun science project that would excite her children. Humble beginnings, huh??! (I’ve come to realize most really awesome things start like that.)  🙂 

The tiny eggs hatched into hungry caterpillars. Within a few weeks, the little fellas had grown from minuscule to as thick as a man’s thumb. And then? When my children and I awoke one morning, our little caterpillars were gone and all we saw were five chrysalis, dangling from the top of our butterfly cage.

Over the next few weeks, we observed those motionless little pods, with hopeful assurance that in due time, they would each emerge as the beautiful butterflies— just as the science magazine they had been ordered from had promised.

That sweet story was my first blog post. If you would like to revisit it, you may do so here: https://builttobeabutterfly.com/2017/01/

It’s hard to believe that blog post was first published over five YEARS ago! I want to ask “Where did the time go??!” But then, doesn’t that make me sound… old??!! LOL.

Time has marched forward with what feels like break-neck speed. It seems like I blinked… and everything has changed! Whew! The fact is… the five wonderfully curious little children I wrote about in the post linked above are all grown up now. Two are military men; both who have been serving in places outside the U.S., under circumstances which have pained my mother’s heart. My daughters have finished college and married. 

My “nest” is empty now and my time is more my own. In my last post, I explained that I have been praying about where my time and energy should be spent now— particularly in regards to the BuiltToBeAButterfly website and ministry. I also shared with y’all then that I was working on a manuscript and that I would be taking a little time off from writing here while I was working on the project.

Well…. the manuscript is finally finished and it is currently in the proof and editing phases! I’ll let you know more as the details become clear. 

I’m still uncertain about what the future holds for this website. Its creation was a huge leap of faith for me—-a real s-t-r-e-t-c-h for me and my (very) limited technical skills! It has also been a real time consumer— mostly because I have had to learn as I go (and I’m a very slow learner!) haha! And then there is the expense of maintaining a website and all that involves. I probably would have given up long ago, but so many of you have been kind enough to say that it’s blessed you over the years. It has made it hard to consider letting it go by the way side.

So for now? I’m still considering this a “Pause”; the proverbial semicolon that will be a place holder until I hear clearly what direction to take. Until then, I will still be popping in here occasionally to keep in touch. I would absolutely appreciate your prayers in the next few months as I explore this next season of writing and investigate which doors of opportunity I should walk through (and which ones I should let slam shut! LOL)  😉 

As always, I will keep you guys posted! I appreciate you so very much!

Until Next Time,

 

 

 

What Is Success?

Posted on by mrsmonarch

I have been struggling with a troublesome question the past few months. It’s whirled around in my mind like a harsh winter wind, sneaking around the corner and rustling the dead leaves in a fitful fury.

The burning question is: What IS “success”???
Maybe it seems like an odd sort of question. I mean… success is… ummmm….. it’s…. ummm…

Exactly! You see, the meaning of “success” is an elusive thing; deeply personalized, according to our own unique set of priorities.

“Success” in the corporate world means “climbing the ladder”, from position to position, each increasing one’s responsibility, importance and financial compensation.

“Success” in the business world means finding wildly popular goods or services which will bring the company popularity and financial reward.

“Success” in the educational world equates to fancy pieces of parchment paper with words written in fancy print that declare you an expert in a specific field of study.

“Success” in the worldly sense usually translates to “stuff”. A big house. A new car. Exotic vacations. Stylish clothes. A bank statement with lots of zeros– in the right places, of course. 😉

To a writer like myself, “success” could easily be defined by numbers. “How many books have you sold?” or “How many subscribers do you have?”, a potential supporter might ask. If the numbers meet or exceed their expectations, they would consider me a “success”. Yes, even in a field like mine, “success” all boils down to “the numbers game”.

Occasionally, you will find people who define success in less materialistic ways . Those people will equate success as a happy marriage; a close-knit family; healthy children and grandchildren who are walking in the ways of God.

Each of these different definitions of success is accurate— at least by the world’s standard. The problem is… Believers aren’t supposed to be judging themselves according to the world’s standard! We are supposed to be lining ourselves up with the Word of God!

“Oh, Come on, Ledonna. We already KNOW that!”

To that, I’d say—- “Then why aren’t we living like it!”

Friends, I know that “ouches”! And trust me—I’m preaching to the choir here! I’m struggling with this… and have been for some time now. 🙁

You see, recently, I’ve been trying to determine what success means to ME— mostly because how we define it has a huge bearing on whether or not we experience the peace and deep satisfaction of a job “well done”.

The reality is— there is nothing wrong with corporate success. There is nothing inherently wrong with money in the bank or the nice things it can buy. A formal education can open a lot of exciting doors for a person. And I could make a strong argument for the fact that YHWH WANTS us to each have a strong, vibrant marriage, good health and abundant prodigy; proving that these non-monetary blessings are “successes” in their own right!

But the big question is: How does our Heavenly Father define “success”?? And more importantly— Does OUR plumb line for success measure up to His?!

  • Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
  • “Do what the LORD your God commands and follow his teachings. Obey everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will be a success, no matter what you do or where you go” 1 Kings 2:3
  • 1 Timothy 6:10-12 tells us, “For the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of Elohim, flee these things and follow after righteousness, holiness, faith, love, patience and meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou are also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
  • “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” Proverbs 3:1-4
  • “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26

It seems pretty clear: Spiritual success is defined as obedience to His precepts. It’s possessing and modeling the fruit of the Spirit which resides in us, granting us the gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

The ultimate spiritual “success” is the attainment of eternal salvation, made possible by the atoning blood of His Son. Everything else in this world pales in comparison to “success” in this area!!!

While transformation of our spiritual life is God’s goal for us, He is still faithful to abundantly provide good things to His children in the physical realm (good health, food, clothing, houses, family, etc.). In fact, He loves to do these things for us! Matthew 6:25-33.

But He also warns us to be prudent because: “Where your treasure is, there also is your heart” Matthew 6:21.

So—-I’ve been asking myself…. “Where is my treasure?” and “Does my idea of success line up with the Father’s??”

Here’s some real transparency for you! I am a writer; and like most writers, I have a dream of publishing a book. To those of you who know me, that’s no big surprise. But humor me a few minutes and take a walk down this little path we’ll call “What If”…

Let’s say that this future book is destined to become a New York Times bestseller, but the publisher won’t agree to publish it with the chapter on salvation intact because she doesn’t agree with my statement that Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah) is the only way into the Kingdom of Heaven.

What if getting my manuscript into the hands of a world renown publisher means that I have to water down my message to the point where its original purpose is lost? If I agreed to that chapter being removed, and the book went on to sell a million copies, and I made enough money to have that condo on the beach I’ve always wanted— would I be “successful”??

Hmmm. The world would say “YES! Of course! A million books is a HUGE amount of success! Your book will help soooo many people! That one chapter being removed won’t even be noticed!”  And maybe that book would help a lot of people, even without that particular chapter. I can certainly hope for that. But remember… I’ve invited you to play “What If..” with me…

What if my life’s PURPOSE was to write a book that ministers to the spiritual needs of an unsaved lady named Susan—a mom in her early 30s, living in rural Kansas, who’s struggling with depression and the weighty demands of raising children in the scary times we are living through?

What if — in the big galactic picture—Susan was scheduled to walk through a Goodwill store one day and pick up a 69 cent paperback book on the clearance shelf that’s cover caught her eye, and in that book she would see the glorious, life-altering plan of God clearly laid out before her for the first time in her life?

What if Yahweh’s perfect will for His precious child, Susan, was for her to find salvation through a cast-off paperback book, sitting on the clearance shelf of a local thrift store? That is inside the realm of possibilities. He has certainly worked in grander ways than that!

Now, consider this: What if she walks through that Goodwill store on that faithful day and that book isn’t there? What if that particular life-changing book was never written the way God intended because…. the publisher insisted on excluding the most important chapter and I agreed to that change because I was so eager to attain worldly “success”?

Would I be “successful” then? I mean … I’d be sitting on the balcony of my high-rise condo, clad in my sage green straw hat, clutching my favorite flavored coffee, looking out over the emerald blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. And friends, that scenario certainly checks a number of boxes on my bucket list, for sure!! But could I consider myself “successful” if it comes to me at the cost of missing my purpose???

It should be no surprise that the Messiah left a warning about such “success” in his words to the Laodicean church found in the book of Revelation (v 3:17). This church was full of people who had money and lots of “stuff”. Yet he told them that they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” because their “success” came in ways that contradict His truths. Those are sobering words coming from our King!

As I have pondered that warning and its implications in my own life, I have come to understand that if attaining my ideal lifestyle means selling-out—- altering the words the Father gives me so that they will be popular instead of effective— then no!!! That’s not success!

If I have to write in such a way that sin is over-looked or perhaps even glorified— No. I am not successful. If I have to trade the life giving, eternity-altering words of the Living God for fluffy, feel good, best selling ones? Nah—- I’ll pass. Not only would that make me UN-successful, it would make me a total failure in the one area that is more important to me than anything else!

So as I have pondered the question of what success means to me, I have come to the conclusion that I would prefer two people read the uncompromising truth the Father has given me than have a million people purchase a book that misses the mark, defies the law or promotes sin.

But why has getting to that conclusion been so HARD for me???

My bible fell open to Matthew 8:19-20. Scripture is pretty clear. The Messiah—the Son of the Living God—and the very One I am supposed to pattern my life after—lived a life of miracles, yet had no place to lay His head. He was despised by those in “high places”, yet never let that distract Him from His purpose. He was never concerned about “the numbers”. He spoke to that solitary woman by the well just as passionately as He spoke to the crowd of five thousand the day He broke the bread and the fish. (John chapter 4; Mark 6:44)

Dear friends, I am writing today to confess that I’ve really struggled with this. I want to be “successful”— to be considered “good” at what I do; and able to use my God-given talents to provide for the needs of my family!! There’s nothing wrong with that!

But I am equally desperate to say that “It doesn’t matter!! Whether 2 people or 2 million people read this blog— I have been faithful to do what the Almighty has asked of me. The words are HIS— He can do whatever He wants with them!”

I WANT that kind of steadfast dedication! I LONG to be confident that He is using me in WHATEVER way He deems appropriate—without doubt and insecurity sneaking in and toying with me just because I don’t have a long subscription list!

But the enemy is a real pro at knowing how to attack us! He has snuck in to my little world and filled my head with all sorts of lies: Lies like:

  • “You’re not making any kind of difference here!”
  • “Nobody reads this stuff!”
  • “People aren’t interested in spiritual things any more!”,
  • “If you were actually DOING something for the God’s Kingdom, as you claim, shouldn’t it be OBVIOUS by now?!!”

Yep! This past year, Satan has been busy sowing discontentment, discouragement and even envy into my spirit because I feel I’ve been faithful and yet I’ve not experienced any sort of worldly “success”. The enemy has used these unchecked emotions to taunt me— to the point where I’ve found myself wanting to give up! Have you ever found yourself “there”???

That’s pretty sneaky!

But friends—during this difficult season, the Father has blessed me with a small but powerful inner circle of trusted believers. Occasionally, He prompts them to call or text me with scripture and life giving words of encouragement. This has been like … receiving a cup of cool water in the middle of the desert!!! The words are always just in time…and have been just enough to keep my tank from running empty. If you are one of those dear souls, thank you for being open to the Spirit’s prodding and making the time in your busy day to reach out. Please know that you were used to make a difference— and I am so very grateful for you!!

You see, we have to keep reminding one another that this exhausted, defeated, discouraged, rattled, overwhelmed, terrified, disorganized, brain fog we are struggling with is a crafty spiritual attack perpetrated for one purpose—-TAKING US DOWN!!! And that’s why I write with great passion and painful transparency— because it pains me to see so many WORN OUT saints, feeling like they are trudging through quick sand, without recognizing why!

The truth is— whether Almighty YHWH uses us to win over thousands of souls for His Kingdom… or … whether He chooses to use us in our own homes, quietly ministering to the needs of our immediate family— we are HIS. We’ve been created for a purpose; and bought with a price. We need to get okay with Him using us however He wants!

**I** need to get okay with Him using ME however He wants!

I’m going to end with this: What is success?? It’s getting to the throne of the Almighty God and hearing the words “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt 25:23) So my friends— let’s pull ourselves up by the boot strings and strive for that! Any thing else is fluff that will eventually get blown away by the wind!

(Personal Note: ***Dear friends, In the 5 years that I have hosted the BuiltToBeAButterfly website, I have never charged for my material. But there are costs involved in maintaining the site that I can no longer cover without receiving some outside help.

If this website has blessed you at any time in the past several years, please consider making a small donation to help me cover those costs. There’s a PayPal link on the home page that should make that easy. I am also asking you to take a few minutes out of your day to lift me and my family up in your prayers. Those prayers are the “gas in my tank” that keep me going. And when my tank is full, I am better equipped to help fill the tanks of others! Thank you in advance!)

Until Next Time!

 

 

Standing in the Gap

Posted on by mrsmonarch

This is Pearl, aka “Good Baby”. She is the “other woman” in my husband’s life. 😉

He claims she is some special breed of dog called a “Stafford Shire Terrier”…

Hmmph. But ***I*** call her a “Holy Terror”! LOL.

Every morning, this dog stands at the back door… literally SHAKING like she’s undergoing detox… waiting, not-so-patiently, for my husband to open the door and let her go on her morning run.

The reason she is so anxious to get out the door is that there is the cutest little chipmunk who lives under a giant forsythia bush by the driveway. This adorable little fella spends the majority of his morning running back and forth from his burrow under that bush, across our driveway, under a storage shed, into the great beyond—and back!

I have no idea why he didn’t just make his home closer to what ever it is he fetches each morning… But whatever the reason, he faithfully makes a journey of about 150′— each way— every single morning and again—just about dusk every afternoon.

His journey is perilous!!! He instinctively knows that dog is out there, waiting for him so he wisely breaks the journey up in to short segments, like the swat teams do in movies when they are trying to avoid detection from the bad guys. He runs from the bush, to my car and waits while he catches his breath. If the coast looks clear, a few seconds later, he will dart out from under the car and head to the storage shed on the other side of the driveway.

Pearl either knows his routine or she can smell him from inside the house! The second that door flings open, she goes flying outside, tail wagging, ears flapping and nose to the ground in a frantic but systematic search to flush him out. There have been days when she has only missed him by inches!! I’ve watched this scenario unfold so many times from the porch.

Of course, I’m always cheering for the chipmunk! (Yes, I’m on “his” side— even tho the little rascal wrecks havoc on the flower bulbs I plant each year.)

Maybe it’s because most days I feel like that little chipmunk!! LOL. I relate to him! I know first hand what it’s like to be going about life; list in hand— rushing through my day, gathering supplies, feeding my family, taking care of business. And I also know what it feels like to have the enemy hot on my tail, chasing me around, waiting for me to make one wrong move so he can devour me!!

Yep! I get it! That’s undoubtedly why I always cheer for the little chipmunk! 🙂 I see him scurrying around—minding his own business and doing his thing— and then, I see this 100 pound hound dog come out of no where, in hot pursuit, with nothing on her mind but his demise. And for me? That experience immediately registers as a spiritual analogy! That’s just how I roll!! LOL. As I watch this scenario unfold every day, I see myself and my own struggles. I see myself trying to just stay ALIVE— while the devil is hot on my tail, doing everything he can to take me down.

PLEASE tell me I’m not the only one who can relate to this???! 😉

I mean… I’m sorry. Forgive me. It’s not that I WANT you to feel like this!! I just don’t want to be the ONLY one who feels like this!!

But I’ll be honest. I feel this way—more often than not. And because so many of you have come out and been openly transparent right back, I know a lot of you feel this way, too.

I can’t really help the chipmunk. Well… that’s not true. I have started cracking the back door and shouting, “RUN LITTLE CHIPMUNK!!! RUN!” before my husband lets the dog out each morning!! HAHAHA!! (Seriously­– I DO THAT!) It doesn’t enable the little chipmunk to run any faster, but it does at least give him a 10 second head start, and some days, that has been the difference between life and death for him. I’m pretty confident he’s grateful!

Okay, so that works for a silly chipmunk. But what can we believers do, as we experience our own set of frantic close calls with the enemy?

Well—for starters, we can commit to be the “Gate-Keepers” and “Watchmen on the Wall” for one another! An Intercessor! Kind of like I am doing when I crack the door open and make that announcement just prior to letting the dog out.

We need to be reminding one another to stay alert and to be diligent because the enemy is real and he IS out there—looking for an opportunity to take us down.

The Word of God puts it this way:

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (-Ephesians 6:18 NLT)

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT)

Friends— did you catch that? Both verses clearly tell us that we aren’t going through anything unique. The hurts, challenges, difficulties, fears, stumbling blocks, insurmountable looking situations that you’re facing?? Believers all over the world are struggling in similar ways. And as we told to be earnestly and persistently praying for them!!

Our Heavenly Father wouldn’t tell us to do something unless it was important! My friends, I have become convinced that there are days when our personal prayers are the ONLY thing standing in the gap between a struggling loved one and Satan himself!

I was prodded to read through Ezekiel 22. The chapter shares Yahweh Almighty’s frustration with the sins of Jerusalem. It’s hard to read that chapter and not recognize my own country’s terrible sins— but the really tough part came when I got to verses 29 and 30.

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone … so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I FOUND NO ONE.” (Eze 22:30 NLT)

Guys—that broke me! I mean… it reduced me to heaping, sobbing tears! The thought that the Almighty God—KING OF THE UNIVERSE—would care enough to stop what He was doing and search for someone—-ANY ONE— who would stand in the gap for others——-and not just those who are having a “hard time”— but for those who were facing utter and complete destruction—– and He could find NO ONE who would answer the call????!

Something happened in me. Something… snapped! I can’t really explain it. But suddenly, I didn’t feel beaten down; exhausted; over whelmed; or “too busy”. The thought that He was searching for someone—any one— who was willing to DO something… and realizing that the people He was searching for would actually have made a difference…. and STILL no one could be found??! whew…..

It’s made me cry out, “PICK ME, Father! I’LL DO IT!! I’LL STAND UP!! I will encourage others! I will warn others! I will pray, plead, beg and cry out for others!! I WANT YOUR HEART! Your passion! I want Your LOVE for others that will propel me to pray on an entirely new level than anything I’ve experienced before!! YES DADDY!! I will write… and ask for You to set the hearts of your people on FIRE so that they will be provoked to stand up, TOO! Yes, Father! I WILL STAND!”

So… HERE I AM!!! Using everything I have— including a lame analogy about an ol’ hound dog chasing a stupid chipmunk— to provoke you to STAND!!! It’s what YHWH Almighty wants His children to do!

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

How do we “share each other’s burdens”? We start by saying, “Yes Father! I WILL STAND! I will stand in the gap and pray for others so that the thick fog they are living in will lift and they will have a chance of finding you!”

If you’re weak, tired, fearful, lonely? STAND UP!! Throw off the selfishness; the self-pity and despair and come to terms with the reality that a dying world needs your faithful prayers!! Decide (that means CHOOSE!) to Stand in the Gap!

If you’re beaten down, frustrated, angry at the way things in this world are going? STAND UP and say “YES FATHER!! I WILL STAND IN THE GAP! I ask for You to take all of my agony and do something useful with it!! Help me, Father so I can pray with passion, energy and useful determination! Yes God! I will Stand!”

Friends— if you are 80 years old, holding on to your oxygen tank, barely able to stand on your own two feet without help— you can still answer this call and cry out, “FATHER I WILL STAND— Spiritually, I will stand! I will pray with great faith and fervor! I will commit to making a difference!! I WILL STAND IN THE GAP AND FIGHT FOR MY FAMILY… FOR OTHER BELIEVERS AROUND THE WORLD… AND FOR THE LOST AND DYING WHO CURRENTLY HAVE NO HOPE!!”

Being a prayer-warring intercessor really can change the course of eternity, folks! And it all starts with saying, “Yes Father! I will STAND!”

Until Next Time,

 

 

Who Is Our Enemy?

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Hello again dear friends!

It’s such an honor to get to spend a few minutes with you today! I want to start off by proclaiming a hearty and genuine THANK YOU to each of you who took the time to track me down and comment on October’s blog post, The Olive Press. It encouraged me greatly to hear from so many of you. Thank you!

I probably don’t have to explain that it’s hard to write so openly. Most of you probably realize that transparency brings vulnerability. But do you realize that vulnerability also creates an element of fear in me??? Why fear?? I don’t really know. I guess fear is my “go to” human emotion; the “default setting” for my personality, when I allow myself to act out of my humanity, instead of my redeemed nature. And because of that fear, I’ve tried—in every conceivable way I can think of— to love on, minister to, and encourage others WITHOUT having to be totally, completely vulnerable.

I have tried to be honest while being guarded; while still preserving my personal, inner-most core— intact and safe. You see, I’ve longed to make an impact in the lives of those around me— yet wasn’t quite willing to pay the price of total transparency, where criticism and attacks are common place.

Criticism? Yes! Attacks?? Absolutely! The spirit of adversity is showing up every where these days! So we can be certain that it will raise its ugly head when we get serious about our spiritual walk!

The thing is— we usually expect opposition to come from “the enemy”. We expect that Satan and his minions will attack us and try to undermine the truths we proclaim. We expect for him to try to discourage and overwhelm us to the point where we might cower under the pressure and retreat.

But we have NOT been fully trained to expect him to use the dirtiest of tactics—

What we are not taught is… He will use any and every source available to him to pull off our destruction!! And that includes some below the belt punches—- like using our spouse! And our children! Our parents! Our siblings! Our “core” group. Those we love, respect, value and treasure the most in this world!

These are actually Satan’s most favorite of pawns because our love for them tends to be a weakness in our spiritual armor—making it the most effective place for Satan to deliver a mortal wound!

OUCH!! I’m going to be completely honest here. That reality makes me want to stomp my feet like a six year old little girl and scream, “BUT THAT’S NOT FAIR!!!”

Is it just me?? Or does that ring true for any of you guys, too??

I mean let’s get real. YHWH Almighty gave us our family!!! He blessed us with parents, siblings, marriages and children. Does it seem unreasonable to assume that these special gifts should be “off limits” to the enemy??!!
We might wish they were. We might even walk in willful ignorance about it. But they are not off limits! In fact, they are Satan’s number one, “go to” tool when it comes to creating stumbling blocks for God’s people!

In fact, we have been told ahead of time that they will be used as pawns in a compelling display of spiritual prowess, even without their knowledge or approval. In Matthew 10:16-23, scripture gives some really disheartening examples of betrayal that believers will face during the course of their lives.

Now friends, division and betrayal always hurt! But experiencing this at the hand of those closest to us… well… that is an especially grievous wound. Not preparing us for that truth is one way today’s church fails us. And that is what we need to talk about today!

Our families are going to be used against us! It was already proclaimed; having been recorded in scripture thousands of years ago! We have already been warned. So, in the thick of the battle, when things seem completely hopeless and we are filled with despair, we must continually remind one another that it isn’t really our loved ones we are battling against. (Ephesians 6:12)

What we are fighting is the power of darkness, manifesting itself in all sorts of creative ways. These forces manipulate opportunities that our loved ones provide through their sinful natures and attitudes.

Remember—the enemy’s sole purpose is to anger, frustrate and discourage us so that we give up and are rendered useless for service in God’s Kingdom. The “fodder” we humans provide makes their jobs much easier than they should be. 🙁

But it isn’t just our families that Satan’s minions will use against us! These powerfully dark forces will use any thing available— our childhood scars, our hidden insecurities, our secret sins and our ingrained personality characteristics against us. They will also try to use society’s humanistic ideas to make us stumble.

How so? Well… how many times has the world told us that “love” is equal to “acceptance”??? How many times has the world told us that calling “sin” a sin is “unloving” and “judgmental”??! Probably more times than we can count!

It is easy for us to be confused by the conflicting voices that scream at us today. Our fleshly, earthly desire to be “loved” and “accepted” by our friends and family often times does make it hard to stand on God’s principles. Most of us would agree to that.

But do you know what? The enemy will even use our really positive qualities like our devout love and commitment and twist them for their evil purposes!!! That’s right!! Even our *righteous* desire to be steadfast in our love– our desire to be “long suffering” and dedicated to our family—even those can become tools the enemy uses against us!!!

Friends, that’s new territory for me! Never ONCE have I ever had a pastor explain that even our most honorable human qualities can be tools the enemy uses to plot our demise!!!

For me? This new revelation knocked me flat! As I investigated it closer, I saw that it was true— well, at least I recognized it as true in the lives of everyone but myself. 🙁

Yep. I could see it negatively impacting the spiritual life of a friend whose husband wasn’t a believer and didn’t want her to go to church. Her deep love for him made her feel “torn” between being a dutiful wife and a faithful Christian.

I could see it wrecking havoc in the life of a close friend whose kids were going off the deep end, into drugs and other worldly pursuits. She was a devout Christian and dedicated mother, but the church taught her that children don’t go astray if we are “good”, “Christian” parents, walking in “confident faith”. If the church was right (and we long to believe it is right!) she must be failing in some way. Guilt was heaped upon her heartache, while Satan laughed hysterically. And that’s how the enemy used a devoted mother’s love to disillusion her and take her family down! 🙁

Yes, I saw these things happening all around me. But some how, I always felt I was…??? I don’t know. I just didn’t believe those kinds of dirty, underhanded tactics would be used on ME. On MY marriage. On MY children. And I certainly didn’t expect that the enemy would be able to use those I love most to knock me off course!

It’s not that I thought I was so great. I knew I was a frail and fallen human being, and that my family was less than perfect. But I also knew that I was faithfully doing all the “right” things. I was praying over my marriage and over my children. I was teaching my kids spiritual truths. I had my family in church regularly. They were fully aware of the gospel message and knew the difference between right and wrong.

For some reason, I falsely assumed that doing these things would prevent my family from being victimized by the forces of darkness. In fact, that was pretty much what the church had taught me to believe! You know— the whole “train a child” thing. And yet… here I was, getting smacked in the face by a spiritual reality check.

Ah. But we are all human. We all eventually stumble. We each fall short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Striving to be good wives, loving mothers and faithful Christians doesn’t change that truth! It just gives us the motivation to get back in the game and the battle strategy we must have to WIN! (Sadly, it took me an embarrassing long time to figure that out!)

So when the “fullness of our humanity” hit me—and Satan’s attacks started to really rock my world— the strain of it all pounded me like a two-ton wrecking ball, and it came terrifyingly close to dismantling my faith.

I felt YHWH had deserted me. I was angry; bitter. Confused… and frankly… scared to death! Why?? Because no one had prepared me for the reality of walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death as a mere mortal. They had taught me the sinner’s prayer and about heaven and hell. They had even taught me that it was important to pray over my family and to raise my children with Christian precepts.

But… the church had never taught me that Satan could ask—at any moment— to “sift me as wheat” and then use the very people I love most dearly as the instrument to thrash me!

Suddenly, there I was, wandering through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, clad as a peasant instead of a warrior! I was barefoot and walking on broken glass, while fending off fiery darts with a tiny little umbrella! 🙁 That’s how it felt, my friends.

I tried to wrap my bloody feet in the rags of compromise. I figured if I didn’t preach God’s truths so hard, the glass I was walking over wouldn’t cut so deeply. I was wrong.

I tried to find sustenance in this dark and dreadful world—some sort of “food” or “drink” that would fill me up ***without being offensive to the unsaved world around me. But the Valley of the Shadow of Death holds nothing but sand and bitter water. The only things you have on your journey through the Valley are the spiritual weapons you bring with you when you first enter it… and friends…I realized way too late that I went in pitifully ill-prepared! 🙁

You know—it’s hard to keep fighting when the enemy is screaming at us. It’s hard to keep pushing forward when he hurls accusations at us and we feel like a fraud and a failure! But that’s why I’m writing today!

  • It’s time to blow the lid off some age old falsehoods that are keeping us in bondage to fear.
  • It’s time for us to learn who the enemy really is, and how to fight him effectively!!
  • It’s time for us to grab the hem of the Almighty’s garment and cry out for the courage to engage the enemy instead of tucking our tail and running!
  • It’s time for us to beg Him for the strength to persevere—all the way to the end of the race!
  • It’s time for us to stand in the power of Almighty YHWH, receive the mantle of our individual spiritual callings and make a difference in the Kingdom of Elohim!! ESPECIALLY IN OUR OWN FAMILIES!!!
  • And it’s time for us to trust that we are walking towards the VICTORY that YHWH has already bought for His people!! (Psalms 60:12; 1 Corinthians 15:57, 29:11; 1 John 5:4)

It took some time, but eventually I came to recognize that the challenges I was facing were distractions the enemy was using to undermine my walk and weaken my resolve. He was using these things as a “smoke and mirror act” to pull my focus off of weightier, spiritual matters that desperately needed my attention!

If he could make me feel unworthy and ill-equipped, then he could prevent me from having a positive impact in this world—INCLUDING an impact on the very family God has blessed me with! 🙁

During that season, it seemed I could hear Satan mocking me!

“You see how tired you are??”, he sneered. “All of that was for nothing! Your marriage will fail! Your children aren’t listening to you! In fact, they are doing the exact opposite of how you have trained them! Ha! And all that do-gooding! HA! You actually thought you were making a difference???! HA!HA!HA!HA!”

Have you ever heard that voice in your head? Satan’s words are like poison to our spirit. There is no love, no joy, no hope in any thought he brings us. It’s all poison intended to murder our spirit!

So how do we deal with this?

1. We have to realize these battles were predicted; stated clearly in God’s Word, thousands of years ago. It shouldn’t shock us that we are experiencing painful trials and tribulations. But we aren’t failures just because we are walking through a season of great difficulty! We are simply human! (Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 1:8)

2. We have to remember that we are called to be a witness; a testimony for God’s tender mercy and unfailing love. If we succumb to outside pressure and are hiding our faith for fear of controversy and conflict… we are missing the very essence of our purpose! (Matt 5:14-16; Philippians 2:14-15; Luke 11:33; 1 John 1:5-7)

3. We have to KEEP PRAYING. We can’t allow discouragement and defeatism to sneak in and steal the promises we’ve been given!! We have to daily commit our family and loved ones to YHWH, without regard for how things appear to our natural, human eyes!    (Luke 18:1, Ephesians 6:18-20)

4. We also have to recognize that those who are an enemy of the gospel will be enemies of ours as well! Remember this, and guard yourself accordingly, using the Word of God as your armor. (Ephesians 6:12-17)

5. The Father has also been showing me that we may have to back away from some people for a season— even those we love dearly. This is especially true if our ties to them are hindering our own walk of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 16:17-20)

6. Friends, those we love need us to be different from the world so that when the solutions the world offers them don’t work—- they will have the hope of something that DOES! You see, the hard cold truth is… we don’t win anyone over by passively dancing around our faith, trying to avoid conflict and division! We have to be be willing to call a spade a “spade”! Sin is sin; no matter what this dying old world has to say about it! We can’t allow those of this world to distract us from our purpose—- not even those we dearly love! (Matthew 10:37)

7. But even in this… we pray continually for their salvation; without ceasing!  (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Believing that He hears our prayers (1 John 5:14-15) and can do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever hope. (Ephesians 3:20)

Friends, let’s end with this: We aren’t crazy! The “enemy” really is among us; oftentimes, dwelling inside the very hearts and minds of those we love dearly. That’s true— but it doesn’t have to remain that way forever. How we choose to do battle with our enemy can—and does—make a difference!

We must continually purge ourselves of Satan’s negative thoughts and renew our minds with God’s promises! (Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8) Only then can we enter the battle— on our knees—clad in spiritual armor—fully aware of who we belong to and completely confident that our Redeemer wins. After all, we don’t serve a dead Elohim!!! And we are NOT a defeated people!

Until Next Time,

 

 

Finding Good Fruit in a Rotten World

Posted on by mrsmonarch

The other day, I was talking to a friend; a beautiful young woman in her early thirties. She is usually full of “spunk and sparkle”; with twinkling blue eyes and a smile that lights up the room. But as she spoke with me on this particular evening, her eyes dropped to the floor.

She let out a slow, heavy sigh and began to share her heart break over the loss of several relationships she has suffered through the past few years.

She asked all sorts of questions:

*Why is it so hard to make deep friendships these days?
*Where are all the honest, loyal people?
*Why do people not seem interested in deep connections any more?
*Why can’t people commit? Dig their heels in and invest in meaningful, long term exchanges?
*When did people become so…. so quick to just “ditch and run”??!

I suspected she was just throwing questions into the wind; not really expecting me to answer. But—-I could feel the pain, ripping and tearing at her heartstrings. I reached over and put my arm around her shoulder and tried to give her a reassuring hug.

Suddenly, the thick walls she had been depending upon to hold back the wave of uncomfortable emotions— broke— and she burst out into heaping sobs. For a few moments, the world stopped and we just sat there together, in the quiet evening hours, sharing the comfort of human touch and familiar heartache. I say familiar because I’ve been hurt like this, too. In fact, most of us have.

Because I am her friend, I longed to squeeze her hard enough to take the pain away. Being an older woman and a “mentor” of sorts, I also wanted some amount of “wisdom” to share that would ease her heartache or … at the very least, offer her hope that a day will come when that pain melts away. But most of all? I wanted to understand why things are the way they are, too!!

I wanted to know “why” for HER—- and “why” for ME, as well.

I’ve heard it said that all humanity shares points of commonality. And that seems true enough. No matter what our color or creed, our nationality or socio-economic level, all humans bleed when their skin is cut. Likewise, all humans grieve when their soul is wounded. We all long for deep connections; for honest, loyal, dependable friendships; For deep and meaningful connections with others.

**So if it’s something we all want—why is finding it so blasted HARD these days??**

1. Well, there is the age old excuse, “We’re BUSY!”

And yes, in truth, perhaps we ARE, for In spite of all the technology around us, we have allowed ourselves to become more tethered to the demands and expectations of this world than ever before!
But sadly, SO much of what consumes our time and energy isn’t even worthy!! A good portion of it (like the negativity and gossip we see on social media) may not even be any of our BUSINESS!! And yet… here we are, giving entire CHUNKS of our very life force away, frivolously spending it on things that don’t matter!!

That should bother ALL of us. But for those of us who profess to be believers, it should really prick our spirit because the scriptures tell us:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

**If our life isn’t intentionally set up to offer us a time to rest & be refreshed, something is wrong.

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands…” 2 Thessalonians 3:11

**If our life is in turmoil or filled with the “need” to know other people’s business? Something is wrong.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7

**If we have a “diet” of gossip and fear mongering that zaps our limited energy and time and leaves little time for family and true friendships? Something is wrong!

**If we have a stronger attachment to our cell phones than the people in our life? (or even if the important people in our life just think they take second place??!) Something is seriously, dreadfully, terrifyingly WRONG!

It’s time for many of us to do a “SELF CHECK UP”: If the things that fill up our life are leaving us “too busy” for meaningful relationships?? Or if the things that fill our time are stealing our peace? It’s time to do some serious scaling back! We must be purposeful about giving our highest quality time and energy to those who mean the most to us! Otherwise— it JUST.DOESN’T.HAPPEN!!! 🙁

2. We are a generation of WOUNDED people, more interested in our current pain than our future healing.

We have allowed previous disappointments to scar us and sear our natural, God-given desire for deep connection. Yes– people will disappoint us. Sometimes they will lie, bare false witness, gossip, break their promises and let us down. Occasionally, they will even break our hearts and leave us writhing in pain as we attempt to glue the broken pieces of our life back together! That’s just part of dealing with fallen, broken humanity.

And yet… we don’t have to let these situations destroy us or severe our ability to make new connections! Scripture prods us with these words:

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you” Eph 4:31-32

**ALL bitterness. ALL anger. That doesn’t mean just the small stuff! Is it a tough thing to do? Absolutely! But our Heavenly Father wouldn’t tell us to do it if it was an impossibility!

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14

**It’s not always possible to live in peace with others. But we must make sure WE have personally made every endeavor to try. That means constantly keeping our nasty humanity in check!

“Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.” Colossians 3:13

**Ugh. Forgiveness. Yep! Forgiveness. When forgiving someone doesn’t feel possible in the heat of the moment, we must try to remember that Yahweh Almighty has offered us forgiveness for OUR sins. This reality can help us humble ourselves and offer that forgiveness to others as well.

3. We humans are innately selfish, and the world we now live in encourages this under the guise of “Self-Love”.

In reality, the roots of “self-love” are selfishness and self-idolatry! (Yikes!) Now before you jump to conclusions–I am not advocating anyone stay in abusive relationships (of any kind). But I DO believe scripture admonishes us to strive hard to work through our relational challenges!!

We should NOT feel comfortable walking away from the people in our life solely because fighting for the relationship is “draining”. We need to remember that the time will come when WE will be the “draining” one, and extend the same amount of mercy and compassion we will hope to find during OUR difficult seasons!

We should strive to be selfless, love deeply and be willing to go the extra mile for others.
Those are hard things to give sometimes!! But the Word of God supports this:

“Do nothing out of selfishness or vain conceit. Rather, in humility regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing” James 3:16
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13

**Is this difficult counsel?? Yes, indeed!! But we have this piece of encouragement from our Loving Heavenly Father:

“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” Galatians 6:9

**The Word of God even offers this encouraging promise:

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

**As someone who strives hard to encourage others myself, I can assure you that He has been very, very generous in the “refreshing” He has brought to me over the years; NOT because of who I am, but because of who HE is! 🙂

Obviously taking these scriptures to heart doesn’t promise us that every “good deed” and sincere extension of friendship will produce the fruit we are hoping for. It does not mean we will never experience disappointment in our relationships. Nor does it mean we won’t ache over the losses in our life when they come.

It simply means that our wise and loving Creator anticipated our short comings and left us wise counsel on how to become an over-comer, capable of forging meaningful and impactful relationships!!

So how do we break the cycle?

It starts by being PRAYERFUL and PURPOSEFUL.

*We should be praying for God to bring the RIGHT people into our life! (And willing to let Him prune the ones He doesn’t want in our life to make room for the right ones!)

*We should strive to become the friend we ourselves would like to have! CALL people. Check in on people. Stop being “too busy” to connect with them! We should be going out of our way to let them know they are special to us and worth our time!

*We should rid our mouths of negativity, deceit, gossip, slander, jealousy, anger and be determined to replace those toxic emotions with the ones that cultivate good, biblical fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that is: “love, joy, peace, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Now who wouldn’t want to be around a friend like that??! 🙂

*We should be quicker to extend mercy. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Ask for clarification when we are hurt instead of being quick to jump to conclusions. We should be willing to forgive, remembering that we often fall short and need forgiveness ourselves. And last but never least—– we each just need to be genuine and selfless in our love for one another, trusting our Heavenly Father to bless our efforts with meaningful connections.

Until Next Time,

 

 

 

Unplugged: The End of a Social Media Addiction

Posted on by mrsmonarch

It was the week before the election. I climbed out of bed, grabbed my phone from its charging station and stumbled towards the coffee pot. As the familiar gurgling sounds of brewing coffee filled the air, I nestled into my seat at the kitchen table and did what I did every morning. I went straight to Facebook.

I can’t really say with absolute clarity WHEN I became a social media addict. But… some where along the way, my addiction had become glaring clear— at least to everyone but me.

I wasn’t always like this. As I think back on my days as a young mom, I remember barely having the time to go to the bathroom! I certainly didn’t have had time to scroll through my phone all day, looking at posts from people in cyber space that I had never even met in person! In fact, the idea would have been laughable had you asked me about it all those years ago. But fast forward two decades, and here we are.

The thing is? I’m not alone in my addiction. Millions of others are right there with me, surfing through pictures of other people’s lives, and tallying up “likes” and “shares” like the greedy banker, Mr. McScrooge.

We sit our phones down for a moment or two… only to find it mysteriously back in our hand again a short time later. It “pings” and “dings” and lights up. It calls for us. Or… perhaps more accurately, it SUMMONS us??! Yes indeed. How many of us can leave it sitting on the table after seeing it light up? Do you feel the pull?? The distraction? The invisible yet very real tugging that almost demands you stop what you are doing and answer?!

Maybe it’s just me? Maybe I am completely out of touch—- grasping at straws? Maybe I’m Hoping that it’s not JUST me. But as I look around, I realize that to some degree, this addiction has infested most of us!

My coffee was ready. I poured myself a cup and I went back to scrolling through Facebook. The posts were dark and unsettling. There was information… and misinformation… and the thing is?? They all looked the same. Though I did try, it was hard to discern fact from fallacy. Frankly, I’m not sure I ever uncovered absolute truth!
The only thing I knew for sure was that my PEACE was gone.

And that is when it hit me. I mean, I knew before. But THAT was the morning that I knew– beyond any shadow of a doubt– that I could no longer allow my peace to be tied to the insanity of a cyber world called “social media”. It was convenient timing, because that is when rumors started circulating about spyware and tracing technology. All of it together, became the incentive for me to do what I knew I HAD to do.

U-N-P-L-U-G.

It’s a fearful thing to think that one’s entire social presence can disappear at the click of a button! Well, “fearful” might be an over statement… (or not! HA!) But that’s a pretty accurate description of how I felt about it.

On more than one occasion, I searched out “How do I delete my social media accounts?” I even posted about it a couple of times. (Though looking back, I have to wonder why. It almost makes me laugh.) I’m not really sure if I was expecting someone to talk me out of leaving?? Perhaps I secretly longed to be “needed”? Or maybe I just wanted to believe my presence would be missed?? That all those “friends” and “followers” I had would rally together and persuade me to stick around because I added so much “value” to their lives???! HA!

It’s almost laughable. Or it would be… if it weren’t so dang sad!

But in truth? The battle in my head and heart really did look at lot like that! Somewhere along the way, I had allowed social media to not only become my ADDICTION– it also had become my judge. Seriously. Just hear me out.
I had allowed social media to “judge” my thoughts, my experiences, my words, my opinions, my goals. Even the pictures I shared were judged—- “rated”—- given the approval of my “friends” or…. sometimes, they were DENIED approval. In one click of a button, people from anywhere in the world could choose to “accept” me… or “reject” me… and they didn’t even have to look at me to do it. And crazier still?? I was holed up in my house, grasping my phone, waiting for the notifications that would confirm… or deny… my value!

Whew! I will spare you all the gruesome, emotional details and jump to the exciting part! Are you ready??

I HIT DELETE!!!

That’s right! I waffled back and forth a lot longer than I should have. I agonized about deleting pictures. I agonized about “loosing friends”. In all honesty?? I wasn’t at all sure of what my day would look like if it wasn’t constantly bombarded with the rush of dopamine I had grown so accustomed to! But I hit delete ANYWAY. And here I am!

I feel like a recovering Addict!! “Hello! My name is Ledonna. And I’ve been off of Instagram a month now.” hahaha.

Facebook was the next to go. Then finally, I took the plunge and removed messenger last week. I have to say that it felt SO good, that I decided to go through my email account and delete an INSANE number of old messages hanging around in there. THAT was a chore! (If this is something you have been putting off, I suggest you google how to do it quickly! There’s a trick to deleting massive amounts at once! It was SO worth it! I had NO idea that this stuff had been weighing me down like it was! IT FELT AMAZING to let all of that crud go!!!)

I was so motivated by the lack of baggage, that I’ve started de-cluttering my phone! I’ve been wondering why it was so sluggish! Now that it’s 2000 texts and 60+ contacts lighter, it seems to be much more efficient!

Now, I didn’t get rid of EVERY body. But I did do some serious pruning. I had to realize that every person I was “holding space for” was taking up room in my head and heart. Let’s be real. Each of us only has so much space!!! Our head and hearts are VALUABLE REAL ESTATE! We need to be purposeful about who we allow to occupy that limited space!

So, I went through each contact, one by one. I was able to see the last we had talked on the phone. I was able to read the last few texts we had shared. I was also able to see the times that I had reached out to someone and heard nothing at all, many times over.

Once I was no longer distracted by the tentacles of social media, I was clearly able to see who was truly interested in maintaining a relationship with me … and who was just … taking up space. And though that wasn’t a painless reality, I am able to see that letting go of those people means I have OPENINGS now for Fresh and meaningful interactions again!

My mind is less cluttered now. The clutter has been replaced by an odd, and somewhat uncomfortable, quiet. Behavioral scientists claim that dopamine addiction is a very real thing, so I imagine it will take a while for my brain to stop craving the interaction. But I’m sure I’ll get there!

Occasionally, I have found myself wondering if I’m “missing” something. But before I get too carried away with that concern, something outside the kitchen window catches my eye and I notice that my little sparrow is back. She’s already making provisions for her next brood.

Seeing her diligently work to build her nest makes my insides smile. And all the sudden, social media—and all the chaos it brings— is the furthest thing from my mind. There’s a great big, beautiful LIFE out here, my friends. And I need to get back to it instead of considering it a spectator sport!

I’ll still be posting things here, as time allows, and you can still reach me via the Built.To.Be.A.Butterfly@gmail.com email address. But I’ll be off the social media radar for a while, and have the faith that those who need what BuiltToBeAButterfly offers will find us in spite of that.

Until Next Time,

A Package of Discontent

Posted on by mrsmonarch

The other day, a package arrived. It was one of those auto shipment things that I had forgotten to cancel. My curiosity got the best of me though, and instead of immediately rejecting it and sending it back for a full refund, I decided to open it and take a look.

It was from one of those clothing companies that pick things out for you based on a lengthy style survey you take. I find it odd that someone I’ve never met can send me things through the mail— and capture my style so accurately, based solely on a couple of dozen questions. But they did.

It didn’t matter though. I mean… geeze. It’s 2020. I don’t have the extra money to spend on luxury items like fancy clothes right now. And… even if I did… where exactly would I wear them?? Nobody needs a new outfit to check their mail box, and that’s about as far as 2020 allowed any of us to go. <Insert a BIG eye roll here>

But something happened as I stared at that box. I can’t really say with certainty what exactly. But before I knew it, I had opened it. Inside, were five neatly folded pieces of clothing, each carefully wrapped in tissue paper, held together by a shiny gold-leaf sticker. I carefully unpacked each piece and laid it out on the bed in front of me. I noticed my pulse quickened a bit. (Looking back, that probably should have been the first clue that opening that box was a mistake. But I ignored it.)

As I unfolded the first blouse, I was taken back by how soft the fabric was. (I’m a very tactile person so how something “feels” against my skin is a really big deal to me.) I decided to try it on. You know… It was already right there, in front of me. What was it going to hurt?

“Of course, I’m sending it back! I just wanna LOOK at it first!” (And other lies we tell our self.)

The blouse slid down over me and caressed my shoulders. Oooooh how delightful the fabric felt against my skin! The sleeves were loose and flouncy. I ran my right hand against the left sleeve. The fabric felt soooooo nice!

One by one, I found myself opening up the seal on the tissue paper which encased the other four pieces. One by one, I found myself longing to try them on—“just for kicks.” Piece by piece, I found myself staring into the mirror, questioning how the stylist could match my personal tastes so perfectly. They were cute! Perky! Stylish! And, they all felt so darn good against my skin! But mostly… they made me feel… HAPPY. It was going to make sending them all back really—really—hard.

So I didn’t!

Well, that’s not completely true. I DID send four pieces back. But I kept that initial blouse— the one with the flouncy, embroidered sleeves and delightful fabric. It had been “so long” since I had treated myself. It had been “such a tough year!” It was “sooooo CUTE”!! And … “I could count it as a birthday gift to myself.” Yep! There were LOTS of justifications that went in to keeping that silly blouse!

So I did.

That was about six weeks ago, and I’ve worn my “most favorite” blouse every week since I ripped open the package it came in. Funny thing though… When I went to put it on today, it didn’t feel quite as welcoming. Oh, it’s still comfortable… but not quite as “delightful” as I described it when it first arrived. It’s been washed several times now and I guess the “new” has worn off. Today, when I went to put it on, instead of feeling stylish and perky and wrapped in delectable comfort, I felt… discontent, deceived, even… down right silly. That may sound Odd— because— it’s the same shirt!

But then it hit me! The package had arrived on a cold, damp, dreary day. I had felt … yucky. Heavy. Sloppy. And I was longing for a “pick me up”. As I opened the box those clothes were delivered in, I was woo’d by the packaging— by the crisp, folded tissue paper and the fancy gold-leaf seal that held it closed. I was woo’d by the thought of “new” and “shiny”. I was temporarily convinced that I could be “pretty”, “stylish”, and “happy” IF ONLY I POSSESSED WHAT WAS IN THAT BOX!

I know, I know. It sounds pretty ridiculous. But at that moment—it seemed that the contents of that box really could indeed fix all my ills. I allowed my temporary state of mind to tear down the walls of rational thinking and— in a state of weakness, I made a VERY emotional purchase.

Now let me be clear. It’s not “wrong” to buy new clothes. It’s not inherently “wrong” to want pretty things or even to treat ourselves to something special every now and then. But when we are using material things to medicate and comfort our self… Well, that’s when we have to take a few steps back and re-evaluate things.

In truth, I knew all along that a new outfit wasn’t going to “fix” all the things I hated about 2020. I am old enough to know that tangible things can’t really “buy” happiness. But I was in such a state that I didn’t really care about “buying” happiness. I was willing to … RENT it for a little while. (smile) And I guess in some small way, I succeeded in doing that.

But as I looked at that blouse today, all I could feel was disappointment. Well… that and frustration with myself! I mean, I’m really too old to fall for marketing tricks! Right??! Well, apparently not. Apparently, we never really get “too old” for temptation to sneak in and tap us on the shoulder. Apparently, we never got “too old” to fall victim to our emotional state of being. In fact, we never get to a place where we can let our guard down because our frail, fallen, human state is always waiting for an opportunity to rear its ugly head.

For me, it was a stupid blouse. For you? I don’t know. Maybe it’s a remodeling project or a new house. Perhaps it’s “just” new living room furniture, but it could just as easily be that promotion you’re hoping for, or maybe a different job all together. It could even be the hope of finding that “special someone”. We each stumble for different things.

I wish I could say that now I’m aware of my short coming, I won’t ever fall for into this trap again. But the reality is, there will be more cold, dreary days in my life! There will be seasons when I feel heavy and frumpy; lethargic and discouraged. Why? Because I’m human!

It’s also quite possible that every once in a while, when I am feeling particularly down, a flyer will show up in my mailbox, promising me that I can be thinner, more youthful, more beautiful, less wrinkled, more stylish, more fit, have more abundant energy or be all around “happier”… if only… I had what the flyer was peddling. It’s inevitable. That’s how marketing works!

When that day occurs, my spirit and my soul will most likely start a new game of tug-o-war with each other. My insecurities will sit in the bleachers and scream out all my short comings, while the glossy flyer will attempt to woo me with glitzy promises and the hope of happiness all over again.

I think next time, I will save myself the disappointment and send the package back unopened. And that pesky flyer filled with stumbling blocks and discontentment will wind up in the trash!

Until Next Time,

Writing a Story of Courage in the Face of History

Posted on by mrsmonarch

I really try to bring a snippet of encouragement … a little ray of joy… into the lives of others through the words I share here in my blog. I make an effort to focus on what is “good” and “right” in the world… even when that is a bit of a struggle because of my personal short comings.

There have been many times when this goal has made me the blunt of people’s jokes; a modern day “Mary Poppins” that some believe is completely blind to the ills of this world. It makes me sigh and shake my head. If only they understood. If only they took the time to really look DEEPER… They might SEE more.

I’ll admit— these days DO look heavy and dark. They ARE filled with apathy; hatred and great evil. It would be easy to fall victim to the anxiousness which seems to be rolling in like a thick fog and covering everything in its path. And yet…

As I look back on the annals of history, I am reminded that these times really aren’t any darker than the ones relegated to the pages of history. There have always been times of great battles. There have been years of plagues. There have been grievous famines and economic failures. The only difference? They occurred in a different time… and… they affected SOME ONE ELSE.

Yes. That ouches. But seriously. Go back and read that again. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS… THEY AFFECTED SOME ONE ELSE.

We really don’t want to go back through the historical accounts of those before us, do we? We don’t WANT to read about struggles, hardships, disease… invasion… starvation… DEATH. We don’t want to read the accounts of those who have faced grave injustice; of those who have suffered horrific crimes against humanity; or of those who have been martyred for their faith. And we don’t want our children to have to hear “negative” stories, either, do we??!! We want to turn a blind eye to the events of the past.

Even those of us who claim to appreciate history don’t really want to read the events as anything more than “stories”. We certainly don’t want to HUMANIZE them and read them with fervor and emotion, for that is too painful. Too scary. Too dark. Too “negative”.

But what if … what if our take on that is wrong?

Bare with me for a minute. Take a deep breath… And let’s look at this topic from a radically different perspective. Can you muster of the courage to at least glance at this from a different vantage point? Please? I want to share something with you that has been on my heart recently and I believe it may help us see the events that are unfolding in a different way.

Yes, the pages of history are stained with blood. They are filled with horrific stories of mayhem; brutality and great sadness. This is true. But those pages are ALSO filled with acts of great courage; of selflessness; of strength and of overcoming!! The pages of history are filled with stories of those who did not lie down and allow the rushing waters of the coming flood to drown them. No, my friends. They SWAM! They FOUGHT! They CHALLENGED! They PERSEVERED! Through great hardship and much suffering, they learned to show mercy; compassion; dare I say they often learned the deeper meaning of LOVE for their fellow human. And they probably also learned the immeasurable value and beauty of life as well.

It was through great hardship that they learned how to rally around one another and protect their livelihoods. It was living in dark times that taught them to help one another. It was in great strife where they fed one another; where they learned the importance of bearing one another’s burdens. It was in dark and perilous times that their strength of character was forged, much like a lump of coal can only become a diamond while being crushed in the belly of the earth.

The character they grew was purified through trials and much hardship. And yet, without this inner strength, they would have never been able to “endure to the end”. They often stood… alone… in the face of tremendous evil… and mustered the courage to cling tenaciously to their faith … even as they faced certain death.

This wasn’t just big, burly men either! There were women, children… elderly. The faith and courage that were cultivated in dark times were enough to strengthen even the weakest, most frail, most fearful of humans. It was in these perilous times of great uncertainty that even children like Anne Frank went on to become the heroes and heroines of our time.

We really need to let that sink in!

It is ironic, yet tremendously encouraging to me that the very things that we whine about living through are the very things that strengthen and prepare us to “endure to the end”!!

My dear friends, through the pages of history, our forefathers are longing to show us that IF we awaken from our slumber— we, too, have strength!!! We, too, have the ability to stand. To help. To fight. We have POWER—- untapped power— but power none the less!

At some point, we were told that one person can’t make a difference—and we believed it— and we allowed our spirits to grow apathetic and indifferent. We have timidly chosen the easy road … and we have done so because it appears “cheaper”. Less costly. And yet… this choice has bankrupted our very souls!

Today, we are at a cross road. We each stand somewhere in the middle of our life’s journey … torn between fear… and glory! Where we end up depends on the steps we take TODAY.

Realizing that, I’m going to be rummaging through my boxes of books again, looking for biographies of men and women of faith. I’m going to be immersing myself in the presence of those who exemplify the character and strength that I long to have. I will be purposefully choosing to feed my spirit the things which I hope manifest in my life.

Then, I’m going to get back to writing the story of my life. It will be a saga filled with great adventure. Oh, it will have some tears and uncertainty for sure. But thanks to the valiant believers in history who have strengthened me with their testimonies, MOST of its pages are going to be filled with Confidence; Courage; Strength of Character; Purpose.

And FEAR will have no place in it!

Friends, every day, we open the book of our life and turn to a new page in our journey. We have 24 hours to write on it. The words and actions we carve out will become our story. When the sum of our life is over, all that we leave our progeny is our name and the testimony of what we have stood for. That reality should give us the courage to write our stories with great purpose and a faith that can endure to the end.

Yes indeed! If “history repeats itself”… so can the courage of those before us find its way back into our hearts and spirits!

What stories are YOU going to write, my dear friends??

Until Next Time,