Mary Rooney Armand is an author, speaker, and the founder of http://ButterflyLiving.org , a faith‑based community dedicated to helping women embrace their identity in Christ and live with confidence, humility, and freedom. With a heart for discipleship and spiritual growth, Mary encourages others to deepen their relationship with Jesus and thrive in their God‑given purpose.

Her passion for identity formation led her to write the Bible study Uniquely Made: Understanding and Embracing Your Identity in Christ, available on Amazon. She also created the devotional Life Changing Stories, a collaborative work featuring 33 authors sharing powerful testimonies of God's transforming grace.

Through her writing, teaching, and online ministry, Mary walks alongside those seeking to grow in faith, strengthen their relationships, and live out their calling with joy. She invites readers to join her journey at http://ButterflyLiving.org , where she continues to explore what it means to live fully and freely as God's beloved.

Welcome to 12 Minute Converse with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, His creation.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Praise God for you, Mary.

How are you doing today?

I am doing wonderful.

Thank you.

How are you?

I'm excellent, as excellent as can be.

What part of the world are you in today?

I live in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Do you know that yesterday I saw that that's the best food location in the entire US?

I would have to agree.

We have so much good food and hospitality.

Not only is the food delicious, but when you go to dinner, you're greeted with such warmth and it's so welcoming.

It's really, really a great combination.

Food and faith go well together, don't they?

Oh yes, they do.

Tell me about your faith and how you encountered Jesus.

So I encountered Jesus as a child.

My mother was from Honduras.

And so when I was younger, I spoke Spanish and English and we attended a lot of Spanish churches as a child.

And so that's where I first encountered Jesus in a Spanish church with my family.

And then as I got older, I joined a youth group, an American friend that invited me and I really got to see Jesus in community for myself and make my own choice.

Where did the love for community come from?

I think something in me, I love people.

When we go to dinner, I start a conversation with our host and with our server.

I love to meet new people.

That's why I love your ministry.

So I think some things are just born in us.

And then it was fostered by the Spanish churches I attended.

There was always a potluck and the whole church was centered around community.

And then the youth group I attended was centered around community as well.

When did you come across the importance of understanding your identity?

Late teenager, say I started testing substitutes.

I wanted to find my own way and I lost my way.

I didn't leave faith, but I was not growing in my faith.

And I really, in my young 20s, was struggling.

What could my identity be rooted in?

Because everything I was trying was failing.

So I started really a lifelong pursuit to discover what should we root our identity in to find true joy and true community.

And it's really only through Christ, which led me back to my first love.

And I've been really discussing identity since then.

Coming from Honduras, have you returned to Honduras or not?

I returned to Honduras every year.

I actually take a trip with my church and Compassion International.

And I wrote collaboration with 34 authors in 2023.

And the proceeds from that go to the children in Honduras through Compassion International.

So I'm still very much connected.

And I still have family in Honduras as well.

When you see the difference between the two countries, do you see the challenges of where one is heading to versus the other?

Or are they both going in the same direction when it comes to being able to identify with the importance of understanding your identity?

Of course, the two countries are very different.

Honduras is plagued by poverty.

I was there in October, and I will be going back this October.

My heart just breaks.

Because what I do is very little.

I'm doing a part, I think more people can play a part to change the circumstances, not just in Honduras, but any country that is struggling with poverty.

And I really have a heart for the children.

But what Compassion does, it teaches them the word of God while meeting their basic needs.

That's why I like the program.

And it's very different than America.

America, our problems pale in comparison.

We don't, you know, most people here, there are so many safety nets that people in third world countries just do not have access to.

So I'm very aware of that.

And it's very humbling to me, that Lord, use me, because the most important thing, whether we are in a third world country, America or anywhere else, is to know you, because through you, we can walk out whatever our mission is on earth with you by our side.

And that's my goal.

Yeah, like I've done work around identity, studied around identity.

And there's a stark difference between finding who you are in the world, period, versus finding yourself in Christ.

For me, it feels, finding myself in Christ gives me an anchor that feels as though it's the size or the magnitude of the earth.

Finding myself in only myself, or who I am, or my skills and my talent feels more like a small river.

Yeah, it's good.

It's sizable.

It could be used for the rest of my life.

But oh my, the love that emanates from an understanding of Christ.

It's just amazing.

Yeah.

And I've tested it.

What's been your experience?

Well, I've tested it as well.

And that's why I'm so passionate about finding your identity in Christ.

And I agree with you, it is our anchor.

It is our foundation.

And you know, I just wrote a book called Uniquely Made.

And I speak about a rose, it's called the Katrina Rose, that despite the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans, this one rose survived.

How did this rose survive?

Well, it was anchored in the soil, deeply anchored.

And so I love that visual that we have to be deeply anchored.

We have to stay rooted in Christ, abiding in Christ, by worship, by prayer, by Bible study, by community, because there are so many temptations and distractions to pull, even as faith, you know, people of faith, our identity can get pulled away, even by good things.

So I every day, thank you, Lord, thank you that you're my identity, not my failures, not my mistakes.

You're my identity.

And it gives you really the new hope for each day, the new joy.

What are other safety measures we can put in place that ensure that we don't fall away to those good things?

I think as Christians, sometimes we can do checklists of things we have to do.

And I look at reading the word, okay, Lord, I want to sit with you.

Can you teach me today?

And when you have that posture of not just checking something off a list, but of communing with the creator of the world, you can read one verse, and it's like, oh my gosh, Lord, you just spoke to me through this verse.

It's so powerful.

When we listen to worship music, it's not just listening to music, it's like connecting.

It's just like anything or any other relationship that we connect, we have to spend time connecting with God.

Is there a community that you form that people can connect with you to learn more about what you've created for them?

Yes, I have a community called ButterflyLiving.org.

It is a blog.

It is also a Facebook community that if you type ButterflyLiving.org, you should be able to find where you can connect with me and my community.

And it's all based on Romans 6, 4, that we can walk habitually in newness of life.

And that's the vision for the butterfly.

Yeah, I love that.

Metamorphosis.

I love that.

Yes.

Tell me five years from today, you're listening to this conversation, what's a message you'd leave for future you?

This is something I tell myself, do not make decisions based on fear.

Be courageous.

Live today fully thriving in Christ and let him dictate my path, not fear.

Mary, is there any question that I could have asked that I didn't ask that would have helped you serve us better?

I think your questions were wonderful.

I really appreciate you passing by and having a conversation with us.

Mary, in closing, is there anything else you'd like to share?

I would just read John 5, 4, remain in me and I will remain in you for a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

Well, Mary, I do pray that God continues to bless you and refill your cup as you pour out to others.

It is such of an important role that you've taken to be intentional with the community you serve, where you are, and then to return home to serve those.

By no means is it an easy feat as what you're doing, but being an example to others, being an example to those who are listening, I want to say thank you for the work you do for the kingdom.

This has been a pleasure.

I treasure.

Thank you for being on what is inspired by Tourmaline Converse.