“THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE”

Sing with me…

“This is the day, this is the day.
That the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice,
And be glad in it, and be glad in it.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord has made.

We are the sons, we are the sons,
Of the living God, of the living God.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice,
And be glad in Him, and be glad in Him.
We are the sons of the living God.
We will rejoice and be glad in Him.
We are the sons, we are the sons
Of the living God.”

Didn’t that feel good! We are the sons and daughters of the living God and it is my hope and prayer that we rejoice in every day He has beautifully created for us.

I’m all excited from reading the book, ‘Winning the Story Wars’ by Jonah Sachs. The subtitle is “Why those who tell—and live—the best stories will rule in the future.” He has totally inspired me to keep spreading my story with the ALL IMPORTANT AND POWERFUL MESSAGE:

GOD IS WITH US AND FOR US!!! And we can live the most fantastic lives with Him as our Partner and Guide!

Once you get this, there is no such thing as an ordinary day anymore, every day is alive with His Presence. God, what’s on the agenda for the day? Is what I ask Him now and I’m excited to see what He has in store for me.

And not every day may be a rolling over with happiness day, but in every day there’s so much going on in my personal journey with God. Like He’s always calling me forward to a better and happier life. He incredibly uses everything for my good. Like my hubby snapped at me the other night and I realize that there’s so much pressure on him that if he gets upset at me, it probably really isn’t all about me. God used that to challenge me to be more forgiving. This morning he probably thought I was crazy when I jumped on him and thanked him for my beautiful life that I GET to enjoy with him and our phenomenal kids. “You told me you were going to take me to travel the world and you have!”

“This is the day, this is the day.
That the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice, we will rejoice,
And be glad in it, and be glad in it.”

God, I want to win the story war, spreading the sweet fragrance of You everywhere!

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“O DAUGHTER OF LITTLE FAITH, WHAT DO YOU FEAR?”

I love when God talks to me! I was feeling really anxious about some stuff last week and I went to one of my fav places to hear from Him, Tumblr.com, and like usual, He had the perfect message waiting for me in a post there:

“Fear is a greater evil than the evil itself. O daughter of little faith, what do you fear? No, fear not; you walk on the sea, amid the winds and waves, but it is with Jesus. What is there to fear? But if fear seizes you, cry loudly, ‘O Lord, save me.’ He will give you His hand: clasp it tight, and go joyously on. To sum up, do not philosophize about your trouble; do not turn in upon yourself; go straight on. No, God cannot lose you, so long as you live in your resolution not to lose Him. Let the world turn upside down, let everything be in darkness, in smoke, in uproar—God is with us. And if God dwelleth in darkness and on Mount Sinai, all smoking and covered with the thunders, with lightnings and noises, shall we not be well near Him?
— Letter from St. Francis de Sales to St. Jane de Chantal, 6 August 1606 (via catherineaddington)

Did you get that? “But if fear seizes you, cry loudly, ‘O LORD, SAVE ME.’ He will give you His hand: clasp it tight, and go joyously on.”

And that’s exactly what I did, I handed the issue I was worried and fearful about over to God, doing my best with what I needed to take care of and I left the rest with Him. I noticed He’s training me to trust Him more and to let go of so many things I try to control in my little world. Like He’s saying, “Be brave and courageous, my daughter! Come out on this limb with me holding My hand, letting go of fear and live the best life with Me, afraid of nothing!’

This morning I had an extra special moment with Him reading from the new Jesus Calling Morning and Evening which reinforced this lesson of being courageous:

“COWARDLINESS IS NOT OF MY KINGDOM. When you are feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances, remember who you are—a child of the eternal King! Invite Me into the very circumstances that are intimidating you, and let the Light of my powerful Presence strengthen you. When you choose to live courageously, I am pleased—and I respond by strengthening your heart.

Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24 NKJV

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“SOPHIA LEFT”

That was the notification from WhatsApp that Sophia had left a group I started about living our best lives with God. We had a little argument about playing pranks on April Fool’s Day from a Biblical perspective and I’m guessing this was a part of the reason she decided to leave the group, but whatever her reasons every experience always has so much to teach us.

Like the lesson that people leave! Whether we want them to or not. My meditation book taught me that at one point we have to say good bye to everyone in our life. Life is like we’re walking along a path and people will come and go. My goal is to suck the most enjoyment out of the people who are on my path now because tomorrow they might not be there. I enjoyed the interactions I had with Sophia while she was a part of our group and I learned a lot from her. As I write this I’m here gisting (Nigerian for talking) with my super daughters, enjoying every moment we’re together.

Another lesson is that you can’t please everyone, no matter how hard you try. Not everyone will understand you or want to be around you. “If you consider well what you are within, YOU WILL NOT CARE WHAT MEN SAY ABOUT YOU. They look to appearances but God looks to the heart. They consider the deed but God weighs the motive.” If you look to men for your peace, you’ll never find it because they can love you one day and hate you the next. We’re to keep our eyes fixed on God doing what He would have us to do and in doing that we’ll have great peace.

“That’s a blessing from God,” I just said to my handsome eight-year-old son, Emmie, who just brought me a cup of my fav Nigeria Highland Tea. Every blessing is ultimately from God and a fav quote I love says:

“Keep your eyes open to the beauty that surrounds you. God has placed many blessings upon your path. Gather them with joy.”

And this is really where I want us, focused on all the blessings in our lives, not the negatives. God wants us happy, so let’s live lives pleasing to God, doing what He would have us to do and enjoy peaceful, happy lives.

And Sophia if you read this, thanks for all the great messages you shared about exercising and eating healthy! I appreciate!

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON GOD”

That was advice to my sweet momma yesterday and to you today. She was feeling hurt and disappointed by the actions of a close family member and I said to her that people WILL disappoint us and we’re not to look to other people for our peace, but our eyes should stay fixed on God because He’ll never disappoint us.

When the hurts, disappointments and frustrations come our way, we have to IMMEDIATELY shake them off, forgive and ask God to direct us on what He would have us to do. I was telling someone yesterday how sometimes I could be so upset with my hubby, not wanting to even sleep in the same bed with him, when one glance at God and I would know exactly what He’s directing me to do – Nik, get to bed with your husband! I would then hesitantly go and sleep on the very edge, edge of the bed, as far away as possible away from him. But listening to God in those tough moments being loving and forgiving have been the utmost best decisions. I now don’t look to human relationships for perfection, I keep my eyes steadily fixed on God who has never ever disappointed me when I stay on the high road with Him.

In those difficult moments I could’ve slept away from my husband, stayed upset with him and allow bitterness to grow and grow in my heart, but I didn’t. I handed the disappoints over to God and let me tell ya, the new hubby that has shown up has been a miracle. And I’m asking God, How did this happen? Super proud wife here!

My point is that when we keep our eyes fixed on God, we also have to stay on the high road with Him, making sometimes the difficult decisions to be loving and forgiving when we want to choke someone. But when we make those decisions we know that this is what God wants and He will be our Partner assisting us to get everything back on the right track again, step by step. THIS IS THE WAY TO THE BEST LIFE, CLOSE TO GOD.

Don’t worry about what anyone is doing or not doing, surrender everything over to God being your gentlest, kindest, calmest, most loving, merciful and forgiving self and then watch what God does on your behalf. Wink, wink!

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“I WISH AM CLOSE TO HIM TOO”

Now you see, this is the reason I do what I do! I got so excited reading this comment on Facebook last night. I wrote back, “Draw closer to Him and He’ll draw closer to you!” And it really is as simple as that. God knows everything about us, including our deepest heart desires and once we make that decision that we want more of Him in our lives, BAM, He’s there! I remember praying years ago, God, I want a closer walk with You, and let me tell ya, He has shown up and shown off. THIS IS THE BEST LIFE RIGHT HERE, close to God.

The troubles, trials and frustrations will still be there, but He’s our Back up who says, let’s fix these issues, step by step – TOGETHER! Sounds too good to be true, right? But it is! I have been through enough challenges and situations where I KNOW without a doubt that it was God working behind the scenes of my life. I’ll never forget a gentleman I found through Google who helped my husband and I answer some tough questions in dealing with a big issue. He met with us for 3 hours for free and everything worked out better than expected. He gave us such good advice like, FEAR NO ONE and at a certain point after you’ve done all you can, you have to simply let go and let God take over. The situation only made my GODFIDENCE stronger!

So of course I want you here with me with SUPER GODFIDENCE – it’s a must for all super humans! Waking up every day knowing you have God as your Partner and all of His power, wisdom and strength is available to you will give you such joy. You learn to do your best and hand over all burdens to Him – God, I’m handing this over to You.

Having more God in your life should be a no brainer, people! But I get that some people will feel life with God is a boring life, but it is everything but BORING! He’ll take you on some unimaginable life adventures with the best people and you’ll be asking, How the heck did this happen? I used to joke about my hubby that when he married me he promised to take me to travel the world, but he had only taken me to Disney world, but I can’t joke that anymore. I’ve travelled all over the world and I especially love our life in Nigeria.

Tell God right now – God, I want in on what Nikki writes about every day – I want a closer walk with You.

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“MOMMY, I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU…”

That was my five-year-old sweetheart, Joshie Woshie early this morning! He then asked me to close my eyes and he handed me one of my favorite exercise DVDs – Friday Fight Round 2 – that he found in the room I usual exercise, which he and his brother, Emmie, have taken over to play their video games.

And let me tell ya, this Friday Fight workout is no joke and neither is life:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Our job is to keep calm, pay attention to what God is directing us to do and take life one step at a time. We’re not to imagine the worst case scenarios, but the best case scenarios with God fighting on our behalf – Godfidence all the way!

My appointment with Him yesterday was rereading the book, Conversations with God, and it spoke about how God’s always communicating with us and us learning to LISTEN to what He’s saying.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.””

Are you listening? All morning I’ve been listening to Him asking what’s on our agenda for today? As I throw ideas up in the air of things to do, I then feel out (listen to my spirit/gut/intuition) whether it’s a yes or no from God by feelings of peace – No peace, no move. I finally felt He was directing me to take care of some important balls I have in the air. God’s direction is always a big YES, no doubt or maybe.

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

I want us constantly acknowledging God in everything we do, God, what would you have me do here? because this is how He helps us keep our lives on track. He knows everything we do not know. He never says to us, You’re on your own, good luck with this life thing! He instead lovingly says, Come to Me, I’m always here for you, directing you and guiding you on the best life path.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

I’m unceasingly thanking God for this beautiful life path He has directed me on that sometimes feels too good to be true, but don’t take my word for it, let Him direct you on the unimaginable path He has destined out for you. In the 1,000 decisions you make every day, don’t miss out, GO TO HIM FOR DIRECTION!

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

ARE YOU GETTING THE MESSAGE?

That God’s intimately involved in our lives. He proved this quite clearly to a young lady working with us yesterday evening.

This story began yesterday morning when my hubby told me about one staff verbally attacking another staff in our usual Monday morning meeting. When I saw the young lady who did the attacking, I told her that I was very unhappy about what she did and that something like that she should’ve addressed with myself or my husband privately, not in the presence of the entire staff. I gave her my long speech about living lives pleasing to God and treating others how we ourselves would like to be treated.

Fast forward to that evening, the lady who was attacked approached me and said she had a book for me and she’ll bring it in the next day and she left. Twenty minutes later, she came again and shyly asked if she could speak with me if I wasn’t busy. I was working on my book, but I invited her into a restricted area to sit with me. I told her I had heard about what had happened and I was very sorry. I then thought that exactly where I was in working on in my book, is incredibly the same lesson she needed to learn. I asked her to read THE EXACT PARAGRAPH I left off at when she interrupted me:
“This friend I called has been such a blessing to me. The other day I called her complaining that someone doesn’t like me and she even had the best advice then. She said, “So what that they don’t like you?” Again, the perfect words I needed to hear! Everyone doesn’t have to like me, but I plan to continue being my best and most loving self because everything’s between me and God.”

And I asked her, “So what that they don’t like you? Have they removed one strand of hair from your head?” I explained that no matter how hard she tries it’ll be impossible for everyone to like her. I then had her read a paragraph that I had just highlighted in my go to meditation book on my phone:

“For Him (God) and in Him you must love friends AND FOES ALIKE, and pray to Him that all may know and love Him.”

I highlighted this because it’s still a struggle for me, but this is our challenge from God, to love those who hate us and attack us, KNOWING He’s the one to reward us.

“I feel relieved,” she said, amazed how the perfect message from God was on my computer screen waiting for her. If God is for us, who cares who’s against us!

God’s intimately involved in our lives.

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“SUPER HUMANS WE SHALL BE”

That was me talking this morning to my Super Daughter, Julie, in an attempt to get her to exercise with me. She refused, but I said, “I will continue to exercise, eat healthy and take care of myself, if only to set a good example for you and your sister to follow.” She didn’t join me in the exercising, but I was happy seeing her prepare a healthy breakfast for herself instead of indulging in the fried foods my sons were having.

But this whole idea of being super humans is where I want us. When the tough times come, we can hold our heads high and hold on to God’s hand super tight as He helps us through any challenge we can possibly face, worried about nothing and trusting God completely. I’m talking Godfidence all the way!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Super Human Nik is all in her book mode again and yesterday in an appointment with God reading my electronic version of Jesus Calling on my phone, I came across the term, “intimate adventure.” I loved it so much, I went to my manuscript to see where I could possibly insert it because that’s the essence of my entire book – our entire lives can be intimate adventures with God, when we allow Him to take the lead role. He astonishingly knows every intimate detail about us.

Fast forward this morning in my appointment with Him, this time reading the hard copy of the same book I keep in our bedroom. I asked, ‘God, what do you have to say to me?’ randomly opening to the month of September. I then turned the page and read the devotional for September 2:

“You consciously live, move, and have your being in Me (God), desiring that I live in you. I in you and you in Me. This is the intimate adventure I offer you.”

Wink! Wink! And once again everything lined up a little bit too perfect, with God reminding me that He is my Partner in everything I do, including my book – a message from His heart, to my heart, to your heart. He’s been getting me up early, and I feel like I’m in training to be a focused and disciplined Super Human, all to His glory.

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

IS YOUR LIFE A MESS?

Having trouble sleeping? Are you sad, depressed, not happy in any area of your life? I have the best solution for you: God.

I showed some friends yesterday an old picture of myself where I was really fat and very miserable. I went from one extreme to the other from starvation diets to gorging myself with food. As soon as I woke up in the mornings, I ran to our bathroom scale and whether I was happy or depressed for the entire day depended on if the number on the scale was going up or down. My thoughts were constantly fixated on losing weight! Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and not knowing what else to do, I prayed, “God, I need Your help with this.”

I would say within two weeks of saying that prayer, my mom burst into my bedroom door early one morning and said, “Nik, I found the perfect guy for us.” She had trouble sleeping the night before and had seen Dr. Joel Fuhrman talk about his weight loss plan, ‘Eat To Live.’ After watching him for myself, I made up my mind to try it out. On Oct 1, 2011 my life changed when my friend Sal and I embarked on his six-week challenge of healthy eating.

Almost five years later, the insanity about my weight is gone. I now know exactly what to eat to keep my weight under control, doing as Dr. Fuhrman suggests, making fruits and veggies 80-90% of my entire diet and exclude all processed oil like olive oil or vegetable oil. My friends laughed at me drinking my veggie and fruit smoothie yesterday, but the Nik who now gets up to exercise before 6 most mornings to is healthy, happy and strong. I was so impressed with myself as I exercised one morning this week, I was feeling extra energetic from all the good foods I’m focused on giving my body.

Like I wrote earlier this week, God answers our specific prayers when we ask for His help. I figure He doesn’t want to intrude on our freewill and this is why He patiently waits for us to come to Him for help instead of automatically fixing us Himself.

“Am I looking younger?” I annoyingly questioned my daughters yesterday. I’m experimenting to see if I give up sugar and fried foods, if would it help my skin to look younger and three weeks in, my brutally honest kids said my skin is looking younger. Woohoo, I may just have to give up sweets and fried foods forever! But, I feel great, so that’s my real motivation to keep Eating To Live.

GOD AND DR. JOEL FUHRMAN, I’M FOREVER GRATEFUL!

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

I HAVE A CONFESSION

The God maniac who’s forever talking about the importance of appointments with God, hasn’t been having them lately. I’ve been very bad and as I confessed this to someone yesterday, I asked if she would have one with me and she agreed. I decided for us to read my fav meditation book when I’m anxious about anything, ‘Jesus Calling Morning and Evening’ by Sarah Young, written as if God is speaking to us. We opened up to her birthday, March 23, and as we started reading, I started screaming and hugging her because it was the perfect message for me:

“When you entrust the details of your life to Me, you are surprised by how thoroughly I answer your petitions. I take pleasure in hearing your prayers, so feel free to bring Me all your requests. The more you pray, the more answers you can receive. Best of all, your faith is strengthened as you see how precisely I respond to your specific prayers.”

The reason I screamed was because this is exactly what happened to me. I was sitting at our dining room table a few days ago, supporting our daughters’ efforts to study for their tests this week. I looked at Julie, my twelve-year-old in complete astonishment. She was sitting down, calmly studying and I incredibly asked God, ‘How did this happen?’ A few weeks ago, Julie and I were on the war path with each other, with her acting very terribly at home and at school to the point I asked her to be removed from her class and placed in a new class. I can honestly say, she literally got me on my knees every day asking God to please calm her down.

Upon her arrival to her new class, her new homeroom teacher has a talk with her and says, “Julie, I don’t believe what they’re saying about you. If I see good behavior this month from you, I will make you student of the month.” And that did the trick! Every day coming home from work, Julie happily showed me her communication book filled with good comments from all her teachers. Instead of fighting, Julie and I are back to our normal, loving, happy selves.

I’m telling you, God precisely responded to my specific prayers. I told her as she left for school today that even if she doesn’t make in the top three of her class, I’m incredibly proud of her for working so hard on improving herself.

“God knows the heart of each person and one’s innermost needs, feelings, and fears. It’s in His power to give each person exactly what he or she needs.”

KEEP CALM, YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD