The "Right Nows" of Life

For those who follow me on social media; for the past couple of weeks- even months, I have been sharing a lot on the subject of contentment. The Lord has been leading me into this place of contentment, and I know it transcends beyond the “four walls” of my life, He wants everyone to be content in the season they are in.

You may ask why? Why be content when I can do better, I can be better. Aren’t we supposed to have a spirit of excellence and not of mediocracy? The answer is yes, yes and yes. Of course, God doesn’t want us to stay stuck; He wants us to go from glory to glory. It is His desire to see us grow and prosper in everything that we do.

 

What I mean is to enjoy the “right nows” in life, in spite of what season you find yourself in. It’s a choice. How will I react upon adversity? Will I count my blessings or my troubles? Will I look over my shoulder and see how everyone else’s beautiful curb appeal is while my grass is withering? (Maybe they just put really cool filters to make it look greener…I mean, I’m just saying) The point is that contentment starts within. It's a decision, a decision to be happy. Decide to be happy with what you have today without being consumed with the worries of tomorrow. In every season there is a beautiful lesson to be learned and before you can advance to the next level, you must learn the lesson and pass the test. So often we are sucked into this idea that if we don’t have what we want now, we are not happy. I want to make something clear to you today, the devil is a liar. You may have 99 problems, but that one solution, that one blessing, that one ray of light is enough for you to stop yourself and say “Wait a minute, let me take this time and be grateful for this ONE thing.” If you were to take a piece of paper and draw a line in the middle, on one side you put blessings and on the other side you put problems or goals, or dreams; I can assure you that your blessings will outweigh your troubles.

Don’t ever allow the enemy, or people make you feel that you need more. You are enough; you are complete in Jesus Christ. I quoted this a few weeks back on Facebook, “Don’t be consumed with what lies ahead that you forget to enjoy what’s right in front of you. God has provided everything you need for today and new provisions will be added on for you tomorrow. God wants you to be happy with what you have now, instead of worrying about what you need later.”

I strongly believe that God wants His people to be appreciative with what they have today. Celebrate your small victories. Enjoy your every milestone. Be thankful for the small dosages of progress that you’re making each day. Stop comparing your custom-designed journey to someone else’s; you will never fit in because you were not meant to fit into someone else's mold. You’re meant to fit in yours and yours alone.  No matter how little or insignificant it may seem today, if you genuinely decide to be happy with what you have, God will open up the heavens and pour out abundant blessings over your life.

Learning to be content with what you have will bring complete fulfillment. Comparisons create unnecessary voids while contentment offers unconditional joy. Enjoy the “right nows” of your life, no matter how your season may seem. Don’t look for validation in anyone else’s life; everyone has a distinct journey they’re traveling. God has orchestrated every single detail in your life to His perfection. You may say, Landy you have no idea how my life looks like, it’s a mess. I tell you today, it may be a mess, but it’s beautiful. As disastrous as it may seem, as disappointed you may feel right now, it’s still your beautiful life and it’s perfect and fitting for you! A single season does not determine your destiny or the outcome of your life. A season is simply a fragment of your life; it’s not your entire life. It does not define you.

Learning to be content with who you are and what you have, gives you grounds to experience a liberating feeling like none other. You’ll be able to enjoy and savor the “right nows” of your life; leaving absolutely no room for the worries or concerns of tomorrow.

Decide to be happy, decide to be free.

“Learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.” –Jim Rohn

 

For further Scripture readings, take a look at these: Philippians 4:6-7, 10-14,  Matthew 6:25-34, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, John 10:10,

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

landypf

Happiness is an inside job

I would like to express my appreciation to Landy for allowing me this great opportunity to be a guest blogger.  Also to congratulate her on the great achievement that is writing her book.  I am a fan of her writing.

 I would like to write about “Happiness is an inside job.”

 

I have learned that the road to happiness is not something you seek; it’s something that you choose in spite of the circumstances.   

The more you look for ways to make yourself happy, the longer the detour.  Seeking happiness is a dead end street. No “one” thing on earth can give it.  It is only through God and through making a daily decision to be happy, that it can achieved. 

Last year, I experienced depression for the first time in my life.  This happened after many months of horrific events, constant stress and on top of that, the death of my brother.  I reached a breaking point where being or staying strong wasn’t an option.  I cried all the time, could barely get out of bed, had to force myself to eat and could barely sleep.  Hours turned to days, days to weeks & weeks to months. I was desperate, I wanted to be myself; I missed me.  If there is  one lesson I learned from that experience is never to tell anyone that is going thru something like that  “get over it” because as much as I tried, I couldn’t.  I did absolutely everything I knew to do, pray, read the bible, hear sermons, and meditate day & night. I mean it! Everything except VOODOO!!!! LOL

This is a time when only your true friends remain and your family becomes your life lines.  Because the recovery requires so much support and understanding; you must surround yourself with people who believe you will get better. My husband became more than a husband, he became my hero.  He didn’t believe for one minute that I would stay in that turmoil.  He constantly encouraged and loved me in the midst of this dark time. I never felt rushed, misunderstood, or as if I was a burden to him.  He loved me thru it. My sisters, nieces and nephews were my life lines; I drew what little strength I could muster from them.  They never left me; I felt their love and support all the way thru. 

 

I wish I could tell you I used a magic wand to get better but I can’t. It took hard work, time and persistence.  I was determined to get better.  How did I do it? I allowed myself time to heal, I rested, and I started to exercise, just walking at first.  But probably the most helpful was talking; talking to my family and good friends. I went to a Christian counselor that helped me put things into perspective.  Slowly but surely I began to feel better.  Because my depression had passed the three month mark, my counselor recommended meds.  As apprehensive as I was to taking them, I was desperate; my kids needed me, I could not remain in this state. For the sake of myself and my family, I was willing to do whatever it took.  Within a week or two I began to see color again.  I felt as if a tiny window had opened up inside my dark place from which a ray of sunshine was peeking through. That’s when my journey to wellness began. I won’t tell you I don’t have bad days, because I do.  But they are rare and far in between.  I choose happiness, joy, and peace every morning. And yes there are days when every one of those is tested and I fail miserably, but I pick up again the next day. 

 

Your road to wellness might be completely different than mine, everyone has their own path.  But the one thing we must all do is, persevere.  Do whatever it takes to get better. We have to realize that we are not the only ones being affected. Our kids, our families, the people who love us, are all affected. The longer you wait to seek help, the more precious time you lose with those you love.  Those months felt like a lifetime to me; don’t waste another minute of your life being unhappy. 

 

That is not the life God intended for us to have;

He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly.

Remember, Happiness is an inside job!

For more information about Millie Perez Gonzalez and her writings,
visit her blog at: http://fourgirlsandalady.blogspot.com/

 

  

Courage conquers

This week I was speaking to the Young Adults about the importance of courage and I started off the discussion with this question and I want you to answer it too.
What is something that you were scared of doing but overcame it? (Think...)

You accomplished it right? Did you die?  Of coarse not. Now, answer this. Is there still something that you are afraid of doing and need to overcome it? If so, what is stopping you?  Yes, I know, fear which in turn, translates to lack of courage.

What is courage?
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. "Physical courage" is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death, while "moral courage" is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement.

Let's face it, we all have fears! Fear about something, uncertainty about the future, something that happened to us in the past which has paralyzed us from moving forward in the future.

FEAR PARALIZES FAITH!

Now, the million dollar question is how do you gain confidence and overcome fear? In order to overcome fear, you must face fear. This isn't an easy task but you can do it. You must look at your enemy in the face and face that bully called Fear. To say “no” is to live in fear. My goal is to continually improve myself, to become better than I am today. One way to do that is to do the things that scare me, to take them on as challenges, and to learn from them — even if I fail. Are you up for the challenge?

In the bible we see many people who were put in very tough situation and had a choice to make. What do I do? Do I take a chance or will I let my fear interfere? And these bible characters were heroes, they were courageous but at one point or another, had a decision to make. God wants you to make a decision. Do you continue to live the way you are living, in your comfort zone or do you shake it off and actually Go For It? The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again expecting different results. It's not going to work! You must do something different in order to see something different. God is waiting for you to take the Courage and step out into the destiny He has prepared for you. It will be scary, intimidating, confusing, and a whole bunch of other mixed emotions but when you know God has called you for something specific you can rely on His support and His blessing. He will be with you every step of the way.

1. Esther made a declaration: If I perish then I'll perish but she was determined to fight for her people, even if it cost her her life. She was called for such a time as this to go before the king and save her people. For such a time as this God has called you for what? Are you willing to risk it all for Jesus? Esther was.

2. Daniel was a young man who decided to be different. He would not eat from the king's food, he would not bow down to his god, he would instead bow down to His God and pray three times a day even if it cost him his life. He was thrown into the lion's den, in an burning furnace, he faced many life threatening situations but he persevered in his faith. He was willing to risk his life and his freedom to serve God. Now, that is courage! Question is, how bad are you willing to defend your faith?

3. Paul was a very courageous man. Before coming to Christ he was a persecutor of Christians but after his conversion he became a passionate Christian, enduring all sorts of pain and suffering for the cause of the gospel. He was beaten, thrown in jail, ultimately killed but nothing ever stopped him from preaching the gospel and fulfilling God's will on earth. What is stopping you today from fulfilling God's will in your life?

Is it fear? These are only 3 of the many examples of people who were in a "fear" setting enviroment but they were able to overcome it because their purpose was greater than their persecution. Your faith must be greater than your fear

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Fear is a spirit that does not come from God, He has not given us that spirit, then why do we choose to accept it? He has given us power, power to overcome fear! Do not let fear get in the way of the great plans God has instore for you. Only you can stop His purpose to be fulfilled in your life.


Confidence is built slowly, one success at a time. Like I mentioned previously, I’ve learned that in order to overcome fear, you must face fear. And once you face it, your faith will propel you to overcome it. And today I want to share 14 steps that will help you overcome fear. I will just list them but not go in depth because this blog is a condenced version of the teaching that I gave so here you go.

1. Don’t dwell on failures.
2. Rehearse a positive outcome.
3. Don’t procrastinate.
4. To think confidently, act confidently.
5. Think like the other person.
6. Maintain a positive mental attitude.
7. Get off your “but”. Learn to defeat a case of the “buts”.
8. Visualize success.
9. Look sharp. Take care of yourself.
10. Do the right thing.
11. Keep things in perspective.
12. Don’t seek perfection.
13. Read the success literature. Research others who have succeeded.
14. Don’t compare yourself to others. Be yourself

With these steps and God by your side, there is nothing that you cannot achieve.
And I'll leave you with these few key bible verses that speak about Courage.

1. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

2. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:7-9

3. And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.
1Chronicles 28:20

4. Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24

5. Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Isaiah 41:10

6. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58

7. Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
1Corinthians 16:13

8. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Ephesians 6:10

I hope this blog blesses your life and motivates you to get up and do it.  Do not allow Fear to paralyze your faith.  You are positioned to do great things that will require you to come out of your comfort zone.  Shake yourself off and GO!

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed
Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥