Do You Trust Me?

Do you trust me? Then let it go! –God

Allow Me to take over your life completely; every single area, surrender it to me. Do you trust me enough to put your guards down, be vulnerable and just be real for a moment? No front, no masks, no walls; just pure transparency. It's hard, isn't it? 

Trust God with your heart, trust Him with your emotions and let go of everything that has been weighing you down. Let go of the dead weight, it causes fatigue and  unnecessary delays. Let go of the old baggage that is causing frustration because you're not at the level or the place that you know you should be. Do you trust Him enough to let go? Only you know the answer.

With a few days left in 2015, I urge you to refuse to enter into a new year with the old. God cannot give you something new, if you don’t relinquish the old. Make room for the new; it will change your life. Clear out the clutter in your mind and in your heart and accept only the good. The bible says in Philippians 4:8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

This leaves absolutely no room for the negative, the past, or the hurt. Romans 12:2 says "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." To renew our minds is to subject it to the Word of God. It is a daily decision, not just one day, but every day. Filtering our thoughts through God's Word will help us gain grounds when the enemy tries to bombard us with his filthy lies. 

Take a moment to think about the things, the words, the people, and the actions, the past and present experiences and filter them through the Word of God. Be intentional about every thought that consumes your brain and measure it up to Philippians 4:8. Is it true or is it false? Is it honorable or is it untrustworthy? Is it right or is it wrong? Is it pure or is it immoral? Is it lovely or is it hateful? And is it admirable or is it shameful? If the answer is yes, then you're on the right track, continue to indulge in those thoughts because they are excellent and praiseworthy! But if the answer is no; then the question is, do you trust God enough to let go and allow Him to replace it with the good? Only you can check yourself, only you can admit it, only you can desire the change. God is willing, are you?

Today is a good day to unravel layer after layer of  past hurt, deception, unforgiveness and failures; strip yourself completely bare into the presence of God and allow Him to do a new thing in your life. 2016 is around the corner and He has new things lined up for you. When you surrender it all to God, He will give you His all; because you have gotten rid of the old and made room to receive the new.

 

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all." - Proverbs 3:5 (MSG)

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed! 

Landy Perez-Feliciano 

Steps

The first quarter of 2014 is over.

Today we embark a new quarter, a new month, a new day. Looking back on the first three months of the year, how would you evaluate it? Are you proud of your accomplishments? Did you set short term goals and meet them? It’s important to acknowledge small achievements and celebrate your progress, even if it’s one step at a time. Why? Because you’re one step closer to where you envisioned yourself to be. No one can desire it more than you. No one can see the vision as clear as you can. No one can want it more than you. People can help carry out the vision for you, they can assist you in accomplishing your dreams but ultimately it falls on you because the dream is yours not theirs. Everyone has a place they’re trying to get to, everyone has a destination assigned to them, and everyone will be focused on their individual journey.

Image by Designated Disaster

So, as we enter a new phase of the year 2014, I ask you to re-evaluate your life and where it's headed. Ask the core questions that will give you clear and concise answers, because those answers will shed light in areas that are still darkened with doubt and confusion. Have the mindset of a champion that is focused and determined to make it to the end victoriously. Only you know how far you want to go. Only you know where you’re meant to be. We all have a purpose in this life and God is the one who reveals and pin points every detail of our lives. If you’re in sync with Him, you’re on the right path to living a purposeful life.

Beware of the roadblocks and detours that will try to redirect your path. Your path may be under construction and you may have to be redirected into an unfamiliar path but if you’re tuned in and focused to what God has for you, then you will arrive to the right place, at the right time and the right people will be waiting for you. Otherwise, you will end up lost, perhaps in a remote area or even in a place where you do not fit because that's not where you are suppose to be.

When in the correct path, be in expectation of what lies ahead, for God has prepared your grand arrival. You will not have to seek others; they will have already know of you and will be waiting with open arms for you. Everything you need will have already been provided. All of the resources and connections will be at your disposal and granted to you. All you need to do is arrive!

When we are obedient to the voice of the Lord and we walk in His perfect will and not ours, these treasures are made available to us. Psalm 37:23 declares that a man's steps are established by the LORD, and He takes pleasure in his way. Proverbs 16: 9 says that we can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. And Proverbs 20:24 states that the LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

I say all of that to say this, our life is not our own, to God we belong. Our steps are ordered by Him, our plans are to be submitted by Him and our lives are to be directed by Him. He is the orchestrator of it all. When we are obedient to His ways, His path, and His future for us, we become victorious and successful in all that we do, and everywhere that we go. The bible says that He takes pleasure in the steps that He establishes for us because He is so excited for us to see His grand plan for us. Can you imagine, following God’s lead and at the end, when we reach the place where He intended us to arrive at, He’s like: “ta-ra… This is what I had planned for you all along!” I can only imagine because our thoughts are not His thoughts and if I think BIG, He thinks B.I.G.G.E. R. !!!

Trust His Ways • Trust His Path • Trust His Promises

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

 

 

 

Fast Forward to your Future

This past Tuesday I was speaking to the young adults about Fast Forwarding to the future, to their future. And we did a fun exercise which was to fast forward ten years into the future and everyone was to inform their fellow classmates what they were doing in their lives. From that point on, we were no longer in 2013 but we were in 2023. It was fun to hear everyone's experiences, many were already married with kids, others were full into their professions. A lot of them were traveling the world, preaching  or singing and just fulfilling their purpose in life.  For those few minutes, it almost seemed like everything that was being said was true! Right before my eyes were successful and fulfilled men and women who were once (10 years ago) in a small group class in which I was teaching. It was so real!! Why did we do this exercise? Because I wanted everyone to realize that what they profess, has power.  What you declare and decree over your life, that is what you will see.  We were declaring that we will see ourselves in those positions. Our declaration has to be aligned with God's declaration. Our words has to be connected to the word of God. God wants Jeremiah 29:11 to be fulfilled in our lives. He has a beautiful future in-store for us, a future where we can find hope in Him. He has a plan and as long as we walk along side with Him, He will lead us straight to that beautiful path He's created for us.

 

I want you to also go on that journey with me as my students did. Once you start to imagine it and declare what you will be doing and where you will be going in ten years... let me tell you, you will get there! If you believe and declare it, don't you be surprised when 2023 comes along and you're right where you said you would be. 

Ok, here it goes...!!!!

Prepare yourself to go on a ride with me tonight, a journey in which you and I will get to experience without any limits or hesitation. This ride will be quick but will mark the beginning of something great that is about to happen in your life. Are you ready? ARE YOU READY?

Close your eyes tight.. Because when you open them up again, you will be 10 years older than what you are now. If you are 23 you will be 33. If you're 33, you will be 43. When you open up your eyes, you may be married with kids already, you may be a professional working in your career, when you open up your eyes, you will be exactly where God intended you to be; FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE. You will no longer be walking towards your purpose; you will be in your purpose. You no longer have to pray for God to use you, God has already been using you, you no longer have to ask what it is that He wants you to do, you will have already discovered it and you will already be doing it. Take a few moments to picture yourself 10 years from now. What are you doing? Who are you? Many people sitting here today, as in 10 years ago, haven’t seen you in a couple of years, you are about to meet your former classmates, small group, youth group, church group and you will be filling them in as to what has happened in your life over the last 10 years. Are you a failure? Did you not do anything with your life? Are you one of those that just come to church day after day, week after week, year after year and hasn’t fulfilled anything? OR are you one that took very seriously what was said to you 10 years ago in a class called: “Fast Forward: your future” and you’ve achieved great things?

In 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…. 5 seconds until you are 10 years older and you are about to step into your Young Adults 10 year Class Reunion and you will inform and fill everyone in on your life. You should have your goals, aspirations and dreams all figured out, right? You’ve had 10 years to figure it out and make a big impact on your fellow classmates.  What are you up to today? What is your status?

5, 4, 3, 2, 1….Open your eyes!!

Welcome to YOUR FUTURE, we have Fast Forward time to take a stroll not through memory lane but through future lane.

Hi, my name is Landy and most of you knew me as a pastor’s daughter and youth pastor along with my husband. We’ve been happily married for 13 years. We have 2 kids, they are so adorable!! I’m working fulltime in ministry, traveling a lot speaking to large crowds in Women’s Conference and I will always have a sweet spot for the youth so I do a lot of speaking engagements to the youth as well. I’ve written several books already, both Spanish and English and it’s blessed so many people!! By the grace of God and His favor, I’ve met incredible people that have helped me in my ministry. I also own a few businesses; God has prospered me and blessed me financially so I can bless people who are in need. I’ve appeared on television worldwide bringing a message of hope and restoration. It hasn’t been easy but I have seen each and every promise that God has made to me, ever since I was young.  I remember being single and staying in prayer services and just waiting for my husband to come and he came. I remember God speaking to me about how he was going to bless me and how he was going to open doors for me, and I can see it now. I remember speaking to the youth week after week, Tuesday after Tuesday and sometimes thinking, is it worth it? Are they getting it? And my husband and I would pray for the youth and it’s so rewarding to receive letters and phone calls from those who were in our youth group, testify to us that God fulfilled His promise to them. And they would say, Landy Josh.. it was true, everything you guys said.. God is faithful! I thank God for his love, mercy, favor, grace. And I know the best is yet to come!!

One thing that I can tell the young people of this generation? Before I leave, I want to tell this upcoming generation, yes.. the generation our children, you guys are all teenagers now, 10 years ago, I had a group of young people sitting here, I was sitting where you were and yes we had big dreams but didn’t know how it was going to happen and I remember I would always say, just keep believing, keep being Faithful to God and He will be Faithful to you. Many times it was tough, but I promise you if you stick to the word of God and His promises, just like I told my students 10 years ago, YOU will see God’s blessings over your life. Declare it, it will happen! I chose to believe the word of God over my life, and God honored it, now you have to believe what God had promised over your life so you too can see it come to pass.

(Now it's your turn!)

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I hope this exercise helped you! (I know you couldn't close your eyes because you had to read it but you got the jist of it, right?)  Remember the sky is the limit and only YOU can detour God's purpose in your life. Your dreams are God's dreams deposited inside of you so the bigger you dream, the better for God because He has an opportunity to come through for you in extraordinary ways. I challenge you to dream big, God is up to the challenge. Your wildest dreams are a piece of cake for God. That is why, my friends, dream big because God has a big future ahead of you. Are you ready for 2023?

Would love to read your comments!! Xo

Be Blessed, Be Encouraged!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

Never forgotten

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
{Isaiah 49:16}

I love reading this verse because it’s a constant reminder of God’s love for us. You know what it is for God to write YOUR name on HIS palms?  That’s a big deal!

I remember writing a lot of things on the palms of my hands when I was younger, many were good, others were not so good, but that word, phrase or sentence served as a constant reminder because that information was important. No matter how many hours passed by or what type of activity I was doing, I could always look at my hand and see what I had written.  What is written is never forgotten.

 

And thinking of this verse, it serves as a reminder that we are not forgotten, God has written our names on the palms of His hands.  He has given us an identity by giving us a name.  We do not have to walk in shame, anger or bitterness because we have been restored and destined to fulfill our purpose. Forget about the past and everything that has happened and focus on what lies ahead in your future.  It doesn’t matter who let you down or who hurt you, you are special because your name is engraved, it’s tattooed in God’s hands. Just think about that for a minute.. (think) … (think) … how awesome is that?!!!

Yea, maybe you’re not the most popular person in your crowd but God has your name tattooed on His hands. There may be others who are “better qualified” than you but your name is engraved on His hands. Many may look down at you and not value your worth, but whose name is imprinted on God’s hands? Yup- yours!!  Talk about having a piece of artwork, your name on God’s hands!!! And if He’s like most of us Latinos, we tend to use our hands a lot to communicate, so we’re constantly looking at them because it’s always in our face; then just imagine how often God is looking at your name on His hands!

I’m here to tell you today, as we say goodbye to one month and welcome another one, all in the same week; you are special! You are not forgotten. Maybe you had a rough past but I want to remind you that your past will not dictate what your future will look like. Your name has been written, engraved, imprinted and tattooed in the palms of God’s hands-that’s how important you are.  Give yourself the worth that God sees you with.  So, every time you look at yourself, just know that your name, your life, your future is secure because He holds it together in the palms of His hands. Everything is going to be alright!

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

Worrying is Pointless

One of my absolute favorite author, speaker, teacher, preacher (you name it & she's it!) is Joyce Meyer.  She is such an inspiration to so many women.. well ok, men too! lol and it's always a blessing to see, hear or read her stuff!!

This morning, I was prompted to read today's daily devotion by one of her books, "Trusting God day by day." I just have to say THANK YOU to my sister for getting me that book last weekend; thus far it's been such a blessing. And not only was I prompted to read today's message but I was lead to share it with a few of my lady friends and I know it was a blessing to them as well.  But it does not end there; I want to share it with you as well. This is just a small part of what it says:

March 19th

"Relax! God Is Working"

If you know you can't fix the problem you have, then why not relax while God is working on it? If things don't go your way, instead of being upset, you can believe that getting your way was not what you needed. God knew that, so He gave you what was best for you, instead of what you wanted. 
If you are waiting much longer than you had hoped to, you can get frustrated, angry, and upset, or you can say, "God's timing is perfect; He is never late.  And my steps are ordered by the Lord." Now you can relax and simply go with the flow of what is happening in your life.  When it comes to things that are out of our control, we can either ruin the day or relax and enjoy it while God is working on the situation.  As long as we believe, God keeps working! -Joyce Meyer

Isn’t it amazing when we can rely solely on God's plans for our lives?  Want to relieve stress?  Want to let go of the pressure?  Let go and let God.  Yes, I know what you're going to say?  Easier said than done, right?  I'm not saying you're going to be able to accomplish it today, sometimes it may take days, months, and years for you to fully let go and trust God completely.  We want to be in control, I get it, who doesn't?  But the more we let go, the more freedom we gain.  Trust God for those things that are out of your control, He always has your back and your best interest at hand.  The more we trust, the less we stress.  The less we stress, the less we worry and the less we worry, quite frankly, the happier we will be.

 

Studies have shown that there is really absolutely no point in worrying, look at these percentages.

40% of things most people worry about never happen;
30% of what we worry about has already happened and cannot be changed;
22%of what we worry about regards problems which are beyond our control; only
8% of what we worry about are situations over which we have any influence.

Have you ever thought about it?  What is the point of worrying?  It's pointless! You do not resolve anything! Henry Ford said it best: "I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me.  With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end.  So what is there to worry about."  

Instead of exhausting all of your energy thinking.. thinking.. and more thinking then worrying, stressing and getting aggravated, put your trust in the one who has all of the answers!  News flash: We do not know the future, God does! Trust Him, trust His plan. Trust His purpose for your life. Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

He already knows everything about you, about your life and about your future.  You may not see the big picture today but your vision will be a lot clearer tomorrow.  God will make a way as long as you get out of the way.  Don't worry, Be Happy... God has it ALL under control!

And I want to leave you with this:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication , with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7 

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed!

LandyPF