Giving Jesus My Yes?

Back to back blog posts ~ it's happening!

    Writing happens to be an INCREDIBLE creative outlet for me, and I often forget how life-giving it is for me to collect my thoughts in a consistent stream like this blog is providing. For anyone who may be curious to know, I want to give a glimpse into the inner-workings of my life as of late. There's so much happening and some serious sweetness with the Lord that I feel He is releasing me to share. In the past, I have been really protective of my personal information, but I finally feel secure in my identity in Christ and I'm here to share that the security He offers and that I'm experiencing is available to you too. He loves you SO MUCH and is making a personal invitation into 'REALationship' with you. I'm just here to encourage you in your faith as someone walking it out daily, and in real time.

In real time, we're here because I'd love to give you some of the backstory to fill in the gaps for where I've been since the beginning of 2026 that will hopefully help make sense of where I am now, in May 2026 ~ 5 months into the year! Wow!

    Everyone in my life has been on a wild ride with me since 2024, as I have decided to truly commit my life to Jesus Christ and His love for me and have been walking in the transformation-power that only He can provide. It’s been a steady walk towards the Lord, desiring the life HE wants for me and following after His righteousness; but not without bumps, bruises, and setbacks along the way as I am learning to HEAR from Him, OBEY His commands, and get out of my own way. Back in January, I made a life-altering decision to move out of Ithaca and pursue a good, but different life - different than the one I am currently living, but still good. The Lord in His mercy, showed me that it would in-fact be a good life, but not the one that He is calling me to.

    In it all, He allowed me to truly experience that ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ [Proverbs 9:10]; and from there, I realized I don’t want to do anything in my own power or creation if God didn’t already release me to move in a certain direction. I am in the process of learning that obedience is better than sacrifice’ [1 Samuel 15:22]. I soon found out that fantasizing about or mentally obsessing over my own dreams is idol worship and very dangerously and uncomfortably close to putting other gods before Him. So I completely course-corrected, which brought me to the middle of March when I left my job working as a Community Outreach Caseworker at The Salvation Army Corps in Ithaca after realizing it was time for a shedding of the old and a new phase of growth. In this process, I gave Jesus my “YES” to leave what I knew and was comfortable with, to follow Him and His plan for me and to begin pursuing the dreams I know God has put on my heart. I didn’t know (and still don’t!) what ANY of it will look like, but for the first time in my life, I am willing to let Him lead me.

    

    If you're here to follow the story of my missions trip to Thailand, and I hope you are, 😇 then I want to be brutally honest with you -- the fact that I’m going on this trip has been painfully challenging the things I’ve believed about myself and about God for a long time, which is a wonderful thing; but it’s taking me out of a comfort zone that has protected me in signifcan ways throughout my life. I previously needed these mental and emotional comforts up until now, because I hadn’t yet formed a deep and trusting relationship with God; understanding Who He is and HOW MUCH He loves His creation, and that His love extends to me too. Up until this moment, I have felt like a fraud. Feeling like I haven’t actually been called to missions and not deserving to be accepted on this trip and/or deserving of the financial generosity and kindness that will be needed to pay for it; because this hasn’t been something I’ve previously felt burdened for or desired to do up until this point. But even as I write this, I am reminded of the literal visions and dreams I believe God has given me to live in Costa Rica and lead an expression of ministry that focuses on deliverance and healing. Also, while at Expo, I felt the calling to multiply, was ready to respond and I was commissioned through prayer by 2 beautiful older women praying over me in Spanish, translating to English, saying that I would be “a minister to the nations.” That moment is forever-etched in my memory as the power and presence of the Holy Spirit was so heavy and tangible that I couldn’t stop crying! 

    There have been SO MANY undeniable moments I’ve experienced the Lord orchestrating on my behalf over the last 2 years, especially since this March and I am working to be obedient to the next step forward where God is leading me, despite sometimes being riddled with fear while doing it. My direction and peace come from the fact that the Spirit of The Living God dwells on the inside of me, and my internal compass is now just a conversation with Jesus asking Him how He would operate if He were me. Cute, I know! But not always easy in execution. There are some days that are certainly more difficult than others, especially while experiencing financial hardship, but I have not moved in any directions that God hasn’t released me to. So yes, I am working a part time job that isn’t quite helping me get out of a financial deficit, but I know that my God is JEHOVAH JIREH and I believe THE LORD WILL PROVIDE!

If I may leave you with anything today, or whenever you read this, if of course you’ve made it this far ~ it’s that the Person of Jesus Christ loves you SO MUCH that He came to earth to bridge the gap that separates you from the Father through dying a brutal and inhumane death on the cross. The Gospel proclaims that after His death, he went to hell, defeated death, darkness, and the power of satan and rose from the dead 3 days later. When you believe this truth in your heart, and confess it out loud with your mouth, He is faithful and just to leave you with His Spirit which leads and guides us into all righteousness. But it requires action in the form of RESPONSE. 

    I am currently working to fundraise $4,000, and if you feel called or moved to support me in any way for this trip—whether through prayer, donating gently used clothes or household items for my June rummage sale, baking a sweet treat for the bake sale that same day, helping with organization or operations, or giving a financial gift of any amount—

I AM SO DEEPLY GRATEFUL!! You are an answer to my personal prayers!!

Thank you so SO much for taking the time to witness me bare my soul and thank you for your support - material, emotional, and/or spiritual. Stay tuned for a flyer with more details on the sale and for ways to connect with me throughout this journey!

God Bless and Talk Soon!

~Felicia