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

Empty Nest

Our family will be celebrating an important event tomorrow afternoon, my little (not so little) baby brother will be getting married!!!

It's still hard to believe that Ronny, the baby of the family is all grown up and will be embarking on a whole new journey will his lovely wife to be, Elissia. I am so proud of the man he has become and I know he will be a wonderful husband and the coolest dad (someday). 

I know that tomorrow will be a day full of different types of emotions (Kleenex please!) Our friends and family along with our church will be celebrating their union as man and wife.  There will be a lot of tears (of course, it's Papa we're talking about.. 96% of the church saw him in diapers..) there will be laughter, happiness, joy but especially, the family (my parents specifically) will be experimenting the "empty nest"... again! And although, it will be tough, but I know that my parents and our family as a whole is so happy to formally welcome Elissia into our family.  She makes my brother complete, brings out the best in him and makes him happy and that is all we ever wanted for him, happiness!

So, as I write these lines, I think back at our childhood together and how much fun we had growing up together, laughing, crying, playing pranks on each other, fighting... etc.. the joys of having a sibling.  And something my sister and I always tell him is that He will never be too grown for us, we will always be his big sisters (in age.. obviously not in height) and we will always love him, give him an earful, pinch him, punch him, hit him.. in other words, he will still endure all of the sisterly abuse he endured during his childhood.  His wife will see that things have not changed one bit in our relationship as siblings and they will never change because we have a special, unique, weird bond that only we understand!! Lol

Ronny, I want to tell you that I love you so much, you are the BEST brother anyone could have, although you are the youngest, many times you acted as the oldest because your young years are full of wisdom. I know that God will continue to bless you and your new family in this new chapter of your life.

God Bless you baby brother! xoxo

Landy Perez-Feliciano ♥

Dance to your own music

The keys on a piano are necessary to create beautiful melodic rhythms, yes even the black keys. These sharp and flat notes are what complete and compliment the entire piece, without it music would not be the same.

Without the minor scale in our lives, we would not be the same. Often times, the sharps and flats that arise in life is just a reminder of how beautiful the music will sound at the end. It is in those disheartening and lonely moments when we actually learn and grow from our experiences. It's like the old saying, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." It is in those troubled times where we learn to make lemonades out of our lemons, we learn to "dance in the rain." We basically grow up!

 

Psalms 23:4 says: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

It does not matter what your valley may look like, just know that you shall fear no evil because you are not alone. Don't lose hope; there is someone (God, your Shepard, Your Father, Your musician and composer) who is with you every step of the way. He has composed and is orchestrating a beautiful song that only belongs to you; He wrote it with you in mind!

Those sharps and flats may sound sad, gloomy and depressing right now, but do not lose heart, He has not finished His great work. Your notes, your feelings, your situation, your problems, your minor scale full of flats and flats are ready to have an encounter with the other side of the scale. Because when they meet with the happy and cheerful notes of the major scale, then and only then will it bring completion to the musical masterpiece God has been preparing for you. Do not fret or get anxious because soon you will be hearing a beautiful song and when you do, get ready to dance to your own music!

Be Encouraged, Be Blessed

LandyPF