I know I should write tonight. I want to write tonight.  And that’s more than enough.

Yes, it’s small. Yes, it’s girlie. But this is not just another butterfly tattoo.

You see, I love butterflies.  I read this story over ten years ago, and since then butterflies have become a symbol of my faith and my struggles in it.

I would never imagine seeing a butterfly trying to cram her way back into that cocoon. That’s simply ridiculous !

When I look at my butterfly I want to be reminded of the transformation and regeneration Christ has done in my life.

Below are just a few scriptures that I am encouraged by with thoughts of my butterfly.

Do you have any you would like to share?

Revelation 21:5

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new ” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” ( HE makes all things, not somethings, not just improved, NEW)

2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. ( old things are passed away, a butterfly can never ever go back into the cocoon and regress to be a caterpillar)

Philippians 1:6

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (He began the good work in me, he will perfect it, it’s a process that continues “until the day of Christ Jesus”)

Ephesians 2

Made Alive in Christ

¹And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ²in which you formerly walked according to the course of  this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

³Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶and raised us up with Him, and  seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  ⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Titus 3:3-7

³ For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, ⁵He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,  ⁶whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,  ⁷so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

“How does one become a butterfly?” she [a caterpillar] asked pensively. [the butterfly replied] “You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar. What looks like you will die, but what’s really you will still live. Life is changed, not taken away.” Trina Paulus, author, “Hope for the Flowers.”

Moving Forward,

Julie

Ohh and also, thanks to Matt over at Ink Link Tattoos, I am sure you could do something more elaborate and artsy, but you did exactly what I wanted.

If you are in the West Palm Beach area, and are interested in getting a tat, call Ink Link! 561.712.9009 !!

Should be….

Sleeping, yep. Right now. I should be, sleeping.

But I’m not. At some point tonight, I thought that tonight would be a good night for an all-nighter.

But it’s not. At some point I need to realize that there are only 24 hours in a day for a reason. My body was created to rest each day. It’s not good for my mind to be “on” this long.

I’m tired. Of being frustrated with myself for letting others control me. Of being frustrated with myself for being frustrated about stuff that shouldn’t matter now, and is only a big deal because I let it be. Of waking up at 3:13 some mornings and not going to bed some nights. Of getting ticked when things still don’t change. Of being torn between doormat and doulos. Of trading the truth for lies. Of not reading. Of not writing.  Of not working out. Of not hanging out. Of doing things because I think I have to, not because I want to. Of serving two masters. Of feeling stuck in parts of the past while catching glimpses of the future. Of fear. Of things I can’t wrap my mind around while feeling surrounded by people who can. Of encouraging others to do things I haven’t been doing myself.

Yeah, I should be….

“Imagine…..

What would your life be like if…

Peter and Paul and everyone who came after them up until the person who lead you to Christ had said….

“It can wait till later.” I’ll do it tomorrow.” or my favorite… “I will never effect change so why bother.”

GIRL, GO DO IT!!! GOD HAS ASKED YOU TO. AND HE’S ASKED YOU TO DO IT NOW!!!!!! NOT WHEN YOU THINKS IT’S GOOD OR WHEN YOU CAN… NOW… GO! DO IT!!!!!

I am praying you will not rely on humans to move your ass, I pray you stand this week and produce for the Lord!

Di and I believe in you!

We know you can, you just have to do…….

Luv you!”

JR sent me that email just hours after leaving his and Di’s home while in Ohio….

I had just tried to get him to do all the leg work for my Nike idea for me…. I was convinced that he could and should, he would do a way better job… He told me to my face that I was making excuses, and that at this point I was not doing the one thing I know God was leading me to do…  and that it is SIN, and I need to confess it and turn from it….

John 5:6

 ”When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 

The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”

Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. “

I’ve lost 20 pounds, just since New Years.

Walking, and quasi jogging, with her picked up pallet,

Julie

This has been brewing for awhile but thanks to Jess D and Stephen Ley I must blog about this today.

My disclaimer is that I do love  my part time job, with benefits, and great, funny as all get out, and diverse coworkers at a company that cares about it’s workers, the community, it’s farmers, and the environment, giving you a quality assured product, made in a clean and sanitary shop, and all the free coffee I could ever dream, that is my disclaimer.

I love to serve people – up until I am treated like a servant. (different blog for a diferent day)

*clears throat*

Dear Starbucks customer,

Because of our Starbucks “yes I can” policy, I have not been able to address this with you in person.

Please, put your cell phone down while ordering, acknowledge us lowly baristas as at least human enough to do more to than grunt an order at while on your phone, put the money on the counter then walk away. We welcome you with a smile, please at least try to do the same.

Learn our names, you see us everyday, we make your customized drink, everyday. Learn our names – we know yours.

Coming in however many days later, to whatever Starbucks you want, and asking for your 54 cent refill in a nasty cup – is nasty.  The official refill policy is within an hour, on premises. I worked the drive-tru all morning. You have not been here today.

If you want a refill, take your lid off and throw it away. I don’t want to touch it,  again – that’s nasty.

Don’t ask my co-worker “What are you stupid?” after she hands you the drink that I myself doubleconfirmed with you that it was the right drink when you were ordering. She is not stupid. She puts up with alot for the $8 or so an hour she gets paid (and that includes the tips that don’t get stolen out of our tip  jars.) And she sure didn’t need for you to come in and talk to our manager. We already talked to him in the back room about it, and we were all wearing a headset when you ordered. She is not stupid.

Please don’t order a Quad Espresso, over ice, in a Venti cup and then go to the condiment bar and fill it up with milk and sugar. That is called a latte. And I know you know that. As I read yesterday “Do you go to a restaurant and order noodles and expect them to bring you the marinara sauce and meatballs for free on the side?  No – pay for what you get.”

Don’t come in today and say you had a problem with your drink yesterday and always expect a free one today. If you tell us what is wrong with it when it happens, we will gladly figure out what happened and make you another one the right way, sometimes we make mistakes and will most likely give you a coupon for your next drink on us. Coming back an over hour later, with it half gone and still warm because it has been in your car that whole time – is rude and not ok.

I know you ordered your drink first, but they got theirs first because it was an iced coffee and just needed poured into a cup. You got a different kind of drink that took more time to make.

I love working at Starbucks. I know you love go there. Be thoughtful. Please.

I stood there sobbing on the phone.

She said it again “Miss Stein your debt is paid in full”

I sobbed not only in celebration of the freedom of bondage to American Express for the first time in 8 years - but I sobbed because it is a glimpse of the eternal significance of being Paid In Full.

One day I will stand in judgement and God will say “Julie, your debt is Paid in Full”

My debt of sin is so great, and the wages of sin is death.

Unlike my budgeting and cutting back to be able to pay back my debt to one my creditors and then being released from my obligation because I kept the terms, no amount of good works would have ever been enough to cover my debt of sin to God.

My salvation is by God’s Grace, through faith. It is all in Christ.

This world is not my home. And although I can be glad about almost being debt free here on earth. I hope it never determines my joy – and that through trial or triumph I never loose an eternal focus of Christ.

And for that I give thanks.

cornucopia:  A hodge podge of plenty

In order to catch up with myself. Here is a cornucopia.

Perspective: All this AND Jesus too?

Being a part of a biblically based church and Bible Study.

Laughter.

Adrianne: (Changes on Palm Beach Lakes 561.683.1000) blessing me with a haircut – all the rest went to Locks of Love

The humbling honesty, patience, and unconditional love of true friends.

People supporting me in my training for the Race for Faith, weight loss and other life goals.

Paid in Full. (will be it’s own blog soon)

Getting a promotion at Starbucks.

Turning off the air – and sleeping with the windows open. And being “so cold” when it is 70 out.

Being back in the black.

More to come……

Part of me is thankful that I grew up sheltered in a nice little suburb in Ohio..

Part of me feels bad that I have been oblivious to so much, my entire life.

All of me is glad that I am involved at Urban Youth Impact.

The Stats and facts:

More UYI Videos: (Kudos Aaron)

Ok so not really garbage picking but recycle bin by the mailbox picking… I may get slightly obsessed.

RaceTrac gas station just remodeled, and they sent a coupon, and I noticed that many of my neighbors just “recycled” their coupons…  so for about 3 or so days last month, I would go through the recycle bins, and take out the coupons.

One sheet has a coupon for a free sandwich, a free hot dog, a free slushie, and a buy one get one free hot cookie coupon.

For about three years I have been saying I need to put together little food zip lock baggies to give out for people who request money at the intersections……  best of intentions, never happened… 

So I am glad now that I have an abundance of coupons to share with people.

That’s what I am thankful for today…. recycled bin picking…….. and being able to help provide from someone elses “recycled”

Ohio.

I miss my family, and I miss my friends, and I miss my home, and the snow, well at least that first day with the pretty glisten and icicles.

I have never missed a Christmas with my family, and they are generous to bring me home again this year !!

I will be in Ohio… Soon…. I am excited.. and that is what I am giving thanks for today…..