The Bubble

Last weekend I was speaking to a youth group in South Florida (Port St. Lucie) and the theme was: Living Out the Word. I spoke under the topic of: Living out Word when you need a Word. The question was this:

HOW DO YOU LIVE OUT THE WORD WHEN YOU’RE IN NEED OF A WORD?

I want to share a little bit of what I spoke about. Maybe in a future post, I will get to the second part of the topic which was the study of The Shunammite Woman in 2 Kings 4:8-37 and it meshes well with what I will share today.

 

 

IPhone Bubble

There’s a feature that iPhones carry that allows you to see when someone is responding to a text you’ve sent out. It’s “the bubble with the 3 dots.” Know what I’m talking about? It’s actually called the “typing awareness indicator” but we all know it as (the bubble): the time between text messages or what I like to call it, the waiting period.

That little grey bubble can cause some serious anxiety.

I was reading an article from The New York Times and the title was: Bubbles Carry a Lot of Weight, the author was saying that this feature was causing too much anxiety “It’s giving monumental weight to matters of a text message.” The issue is not even the text messages, what gives people anxiety, it’s the “time between text messages”- it’s the waiting period. It’s waiting for THAT response, for that answer. She says her therapist ordered her to disable it on her phone because it was affecting her.

Maryam Abolfazli, a writer in Washington says this: “The three dots showed while someone is drafting a message in iMessage is quite possibly the most important source of eternal hope and ultimate letdown in our daily lives.”

Paul Dourish, a professor at the University of California says: “The awareness indicator as implemented on the iPhone is a curious beast- it conveys that something is being done, but it won’t say what.”

I don’t know if you’re following me, but just hang on for a minute.

As believers, many times the Holy Spirit conveys that something is being done in our lives but He will not reveal it to us just yet. We are in a bubble, in that waiting period.

And as I said, this can be a frustrating feature, why? Because all sorts of emotions can go into waiting for a response. Let’s say you send out a text message:

• You get happy when the bubble pops up because the other person is responding…But then the bubble takes a long time and you’re like.. Wow! Let me brace myself because I am about to read something deep but then what happens…

• The bubble disappears  and you’re left in a total and utter confusion (what happened? Weren’t you responding?) So at that point, we begin to get upset, sad, confused, and ignored. Then when you least expect it, all of a sudden the…

• Bubble comes back up, after 20 minutes, you're thinking, "there is hope", we are back on track now, the frustration turns into a sigh of relief … to only receive a ONE word: “K”… WOW! Really?!! All this for a “K”.. You couldn’t even type the full word, OKAY or OK, you type “K”. Or the response is: Yes, Cool, Good or even worse, the dreaded emoji (thumbs up!)

We’ve all been there, we can laugh about it because we can all relate, at one point or another, we’ve poured out our hearts to the Lord and cried out to Him as Jeremiah 33:3 says and we have not heard back. We can quote scriptures till we’re blue in the face but the real question is, how do you live the word when you need a word? And I would add.. when you're in the bubble?

Waiting on God can sometimes cause some serious anxiety because by nature we do not like to wait. We hate to wait in lines; we despise being stuck in traffic. Who has time to be patient and wait? We live in such a busy society that demands our time and attention but when God demands our time and attention, we can't comply. Oven cooked prayers do not result in microwavable answers. It doesn’t matter how long you have been praying, it’s all in God’s timing, not ours. Trust me, you will thank Him later, even if you don’t understand now. Delays are tough when you don’t know why they exist but if you could get a little insight, a  glimpse, a tip, some kind of information then the waiting process would be a lot easier to manage. Sometimes God reveals something, sometimes He reveals nothing.

I want to encourage you today, do not get discouraged if you find yourself STUCK inside the bubble! If you still have not seen anything; begin to PRAISE Him because God is up to something. That bubble indicates that something is happening. God is working it out! That bubble conveys that something is going on even if you don't know what's going on. Trust God in the bubble! It doesn’t matter what your present situation looks like, live out your life by believing what the Word says! Live out the Word!! Walk in total confidence and with the boldness God has given you to declare His promises. 

If you are in a bubble:

• Of uncertainty, continue to believe

• Where nothing happens, keep waiting (something is happening)

• Where everything is upside down and completely opposite of what God spoke to you. Keep pressing through, your bubble will soon pop and you will see manifested God’s Word over your life

The bubble is an uncomfortable place to be in but it is a necessary place to be in. Why does God keep us in the bubble?

1. So we can learn how to trust and whole-heartily rely on Him and Him alone. He is our only source.
2. To increase our faith. If you want to believe God in a deeper level, you have to go through deeper situations.
3. To develop us. Sometimes we simply need to grow up. We are not ready to receive YET what has been promised to us. He wants to develop us and get us ready. Sometimes we are too immature to handle the blessings. Take this time as training.

BUT THE QUESTION IS THIS:

How are you going to react inside the bubble? How you react inside the bubble will determine the outcome when get outside the bubble.

You may be in a BUBBLE of:

• God, I need a miracle
• God, I need healing
• God, I want a family
• God, I want to see my family serve you
• God, I need a job
• God, I want you to use me
• God, my business
• God, my ministry
• God, my future

Your reaction will determine God's action.

If you’ve been praying about something, start PRAISING and change your vocabulary to IT IS WELL! Speak Life. (Read the story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-37)

When you find yourself in the bubble, think of the three dots as: It. Is. Well. because God is up to something!
 

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!
Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

 

Less is More

Everyone likes to be noticed for something. I’m no exception. We all like to be recognized for the things we do well, and we prefer not to be recognized for those things we don’t do so well.

In the gospel of John, chapter 3, John the Baptist (two different people named “John,” by the way!) gives his disciples a quick lesson about this desire to be noticed.

He must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30).

 

Ok, up to this point, John the Baptist and his disciples have been the superstars on the scene. John is preaching repentance and preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah. They’re super busy baptizing people day in and day out. John is getting people stirred up before Jesus even appears on the scene to start His ministry. John is the “It” guy and his disciples are enjoying the recognition.

Then Jesus appears to start His ministry and now the tables are turned; everyone is going to Him to be baptized instead of John. Ouch! Even some of John’s own disciples joined up with Jesus–remember Andrew, Peter’s brother? A few of John’s other disciples are getting a little stab to their pride because everyone has noticed Jesus, and they’re no longer in the spotlight.

They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here He is baptizing, and all are going to Him’ (John 3:26).

I like The Message version -they go to John with the complaint that Jesus is doing the same thing John was. “He is now competing with us and everyone is going to Him instead of us.” Did they just say Jesus was "competing" with them? Ok.. moving on!

If you read the verse, it seems to me that they were complaining, they had kind of a whiny tone of voice, perhaps a bit of an attitude--well, you can just imagine the drama! John’s disciples were hating a little bit, well maybe a lot because they weren’t the hot new thing anymore. But I love John's composure and attitude toward this whole situation, he reminds them that he specifically stated that he, John, wasn’t the Messiah and that he had only come to prepare the way for the Messiah. Bam! I bet they felt pretty stupid after that! It was evident in John's mind that now that Jesus was here, it was time for his role to shrink and for Christ’s role to grow. And what's cool about it is that John was happy! Really? To have lost his prominent role? His ministry that had cost him hard work to build, many years, tears, sweat and blood. He was ok with losing it? Yes! The bible says that he “rejoiced greatly” (John 3:29). John knew from the beginning that his time was temporary and that his job was only to prepare people until Jesus got there.

The Three M’s

1.       Mission

Even though John’s disciples seem alarmed, but it didn’t bother John one bit. John would not allow envy or the rowdy crowd make him forget his MISSION: to announce that the Messiah had come, and then to step back.  John the Baptist lost his “congregation, church, crowd, followers” - and he was happy about it! John was happy because he lost it to Jesus.


2.       MUST

The “must” of John 3:30 is a crucial one. John is showing deep humility, he is also saying that this is the way it “must” be, the way it will be—because this is the plan and the purpose of the sovereign God.  It was the “must” of a servant. We are His servants and the master must be greater than the servant. Jesus must be greater than us!

Auxano is the Greek word of Increase: it means to cause to grow or cause to become greater in extent, size, state, or quality.

Here John describes the necessity for Jesus to be continually (present tense = continuous action) increasing in every area of our lives, today, tomorrow and every day after. By doing so, we make Jesus a priority in our lives. There is no other way to live for Christ! It is a must, not an option. As William Carey a great missionary pioneer lay dying, he turned to his friend and said, "When I am gone, don’t talk about William Carey: talk about William Carey’s Savior. I desire that Christ alone be magnified." Are we willing to say the same?


3.       ME Society:

"He must increase but I must decrease. It’s hard for a lot of us to grasp that truth and really understand it because of the ME society that we live in. It’s all about me. Look at what I did. We did great because of me etc..  We even have the audacity to get upset if we see others rising and Lord forbid if they’re actually better than us. We have lost the core understanding of what this text means.

I’s not about you, it’s not about me, it’s about JESUS. And as long as His name is being exalted and glorified, who cares who did it better? It’s not about us, it’s about Him. When we learn how to decrease, while Jesus increases in our lives, none of that will ever matter. Did I get recognized? No- well, who cares, as long as Jesus did, that’s all that matters. We need to get out of that ME mentality and get into a  JESUS mentality. John says He MUST increase, I MUST decrease. He didn’t say, I hope, let’s see, if He wants to increase.. NO! He MUST and must is an order, it has to happen, no ifs and or buts about it. It WILL happen!!


A W Tozer said: John condensed into that one final sentence (Jn 3:30) the secret of his own spiritual greatness: “Jesus must increase, but I must decrease.”

John's joy was in fulfilling God's will for his life. He raises the question for all who would be disciples of Jesus, where do we find our joy? It is easy to get distracted by the many blessings of life and we should be thankful for them but our joy's deepest foundation is found in God Himself. The secret to living a successful, happy, joyful life is being in God’s perfect will, doing His perfect will, accomplishing the plan that He has set out for us to do on this earth and while we do it.

True joy comes when we take the focus off of ourselves and focus on Him- we no longer worry about ourselves or others, rather we focus on God.

When we do that, we release ourselves from all competitiveness, jealousy, envy, hate, murmuration, gossip and any evil spirit from entering our hearts and mind and we are free to worship and live the life we were designed to live by God. Our attitude should be that of John, “We don’t want to share the glory with Jesus Christ -- He must increase, I must decrease.”

I truly believe that you may be on the brink of a breakthrough, a blessing, an opened door, an opportunity, an answered prayer, a dream come true and it’s IMPORTANT for you to keep this word resonating in your spirit. If you want longevity and success in all that you do- just remember this, the higher God takes you, the more you need to become less. LESS IS MORE in God’s eyes, perhaps not in today’s society but in His kingdom it is. The more you decrease and step away to the sidelines; the higher He lifts you up because you are granting Him the spotlight, the center of it all. But it’s important that you NEVER forget that principle, because it will be imperative to your success. You must know your mission and stay focused! You must allow God to increase in your life and be willing to decrease. And when you do that, you release yourself from the "me" attitude our society clings to.

What are the areas in your life where you need to decrease and let Jesus increase? Pray about it, ask Jesus to help you decrease so that He can increase. Tell Him to take center stage while you move over to the sidelines.

Be Encouaged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

Exciting updates!!

I’m so excited about all the new things that are going on and I want to share some of them with you. As some may know, this summer it will be one year since the publishing of my Spanish book and God has been great! I am at the point where I am about to re-order more copies because I am running low. So, I thank God for his support and faithfulness throughout this process. And speaking of process, this journey does not stop here, for I am in the finishing stages of translating the Spanish book into English! I have hired a professional to translate it and soon it will be headed to my publishing company. I’ve had a lot of requests and I want to publically say that “A Moment of Silence” is in the works and I will be keeping you all updated on its progress.

 

Another great thing that has been happening is that I’ve been introduced to the opportunity of selling some additional products on my website www.landypf.com. My original thought was to have an online store on my website where my book, Un Momento De Silencio is made available for purchase to those who visit my page. Make sense; right, why not have it available and accessible? That was my thought, anyway. So, as I began to create my online store, an opportunity arose where I can make other products available to the customers as well. And that is why I want to introduce to you some jewelry pieces that I will be selling in addition to my books. I do not want to limit myself to “just” selling jewelry but my goal is to have a variety of products such as t-shirts, cups, journals etc. available for purchase. And the common denominator in all of this is to inspire and encourage through my books, blogs, or anything else I make available for purchase.

Last week, I was able to get in contact with a vendor who graciously provided me with some pieces and I want to introduce them to you. If you are interested, please let me know. You can visit my store on the top right hand corner of my page. And if you have any questions or comments, visit the tab that says “contact me”. I am so excited for everything that is happening and I wanted to shed some light to you all in what has been going on lately. My Spanish book and these pieces are now available. Free shipping and a 10% discount will be provided when entering the code that the store will provide for you. Happy Shopping!!

I’ll leave you with this: I (you) can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you! {Phil 4:13}

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano

 

Contactos • Contacts

Si te gusta mi blog y los temas que escribo, ¡podrás disfrutar de mi libro! Un Momento de Silencio es un hermoso libro devocional que incluyen, pensamientos, reflexiones, poesías y promesas bíblicas.

Crea y confié en las promesas que Dios ha hecho sobre su vida y su familia. Quizás estas atravesando un momento de silencio en su vida pero recuerde que Dios está detrás del telón, trabajando a su favor  así que todo lo que le suceda, obrara para su bien.

En medio del silencio, hay una palabra de esperanza que Dios quiere susurrarte, baja el volumen a tu alrededor y escucha la voz de Dios. Si Él lo dijo, Él lo hará. ¡Sean bendecidos, Animado e Inspirado!

Pueden adquirir el libro, Un Momento De Silencio en su librería favorita, tiendas online (Amazon.com) o comunicándose conmigo directamente.

¡Gracias por su apoyo!

Landy Pérez-Feliciano ♥

If you enjoy my blog and the topics I write about; you will enjoy my book! Un Momento de Silencio (A Moment of Silence) is a beautiful devotional book that include, thoughts, reflexions, poetry and bible promises.

Believe and trust God's promises over your life and your family. You may be facing a moment of silence in your life right now but remember that God is working behind the scenes and He is working in your favor because everything that happens in our lives, work out for our own good.

In the mist of silence, there is a word of hope that God wants to whisper to you, turn down the volume that surrounds you and listen to the voice of God.

If He said it, He'll do it! Be Blessed, Encouraged and Inspired!!

You can obtain a copy of the book, Un Momento de Silencio (A Moment of Silence) through your favorite bookstore, online stores (Amazon.com) or contacting me directly.

 

Thank you for your support!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

 

 

 

Russia Love

I love to check my stats to see what countries people read my blog from.  And after the United States, I have to say; hands down, Russia has been such a great support! I see how day after day, Russia is always active and involved on this page. And I love that!  Whenever I see Russia on my stats, I get so happy! =]

So, I wanted to dedicate this blog post to all of my Russian friends to thank them and let them know that I appreciate the love and support.  I would love to engage more with you all.  Send me a message or email me, would love to hear from you!  Like I said, there are many more countries that are such an amazing blessing to my life and I will be acknowledging them all as well. But today, it's all about Russia!♥

Even though I may not know who enters my page on a daily basis to read what I write, I know someone's life is being touched by what they read.  For me, that is more than enough!  We do not know who we may be impacting! It may be people we interact with everyday or people we have never seen in our lives. I want to encourage you to inspire someone today. How?  Just by being you!  Start with sharing a hug or a smile, trust me, it goes a long way!  Encourage someone who needs to hear an uplifting word today.  Ask God how can you bless someone today and He will direct you in doing so.  Today, I want to say, that this FaithBlog has been such a blessing for my life as it has been for yours and I thank all of you for being such a positive influence in my life!

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥