GOD SHOWS UP TO COMFORT ME ON A ROUGH DAY

The tender love I receive from God blows me away! I do not doubt that His invisible Presence is with me at every moment of my life. He knows every thought we think, every conversation He is there, and every possible move we make; He knows all about it. I’m with David, who wrote this some three thousand years ago:

“Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” – Psalm 139:7-12

But back to how He showed up today! I had just read this in an appointment with God, written as if He was speaking directly to me:

“As you go through this day, look for tiny treasures strategically placed along the way. I LOVINGLY GO BEFORE YOU and plant little pleasures to brighten your day. Look carefully for them, and pluck them one by one.” – Jesus Calling

So, this morning my daughters were talking about getting an apartment in New York, precisely one in “SOHO.” I brushed them off, saying that was too far ahead into the future for me to think about! Can you believe that, minutes after reading about God planting little pleasures to brighten my day, I debated what to wear out running around with my sons, and a thought came to mind, “Wear that black romper!” Honestly, I haven’t worn it in close to two years. I pulled it out of my closet, only to find the tag inside unbelievably saying it was designed by “SOHO NEW YORK (Wink! Wink!).”

See the tender love I’m talking about, God planted that label with those words from my conversation with my daughters a few hours before to reveal another glimmer of His Presence with me and comfort my frazzled nerves on a difficult day. This lined up extremely too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence! It was God Himself who had that thought to mind for me to wear that specific outfit to say, “Nik, I’m with you, I’m with you, I’m with you! My Presence is always with you! Whether you are in Nigeria or the US or wherever you go, you can count on me to be with you!!!!’

That’s the love I want us all to know and love! That we can have the peace that passes understanding, knowing that God Himself is the One standing with us no matter what comes our way!!! Make sure you have many appointments with Him so you learn His voice and what He would have you do moment by moment. His sheep know His voice, and they follow Him!

About all those future plans, my daughters, keep all plans tentative, knowing that God’s plans are always way better! I came to Nigeria with one set of ideas, and God completely changed the script for me! To see how deeply God is involved in our lives is truly mindblowing! All I can say is don’t play around with your relationship with God! PRAYERS DO CHANGE THINGS!!! Let’s keep giving God the space to direct us one step at a time while we give our best and do everything for His glory! So help us, God!

“I need not, I must not trouble myself about anything except the task of this moment.” “I still live, says the Lord; ready to help you and console you more than before, if you put your trust in me and devoutly call upon me.”

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH. THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY THEIR FAITH. STAY WITH GOD EVERY MOMENT, MAKING HIM the center of your life – every relationship, every decision, every circumstance. OUR GOD IS WITH US!!! Amen!!!

“I WANT TO BE YOUR MAN!”

That’s the message from God through this song by Zapp & Roger! It’s a close relationship God wants with each and every one of us. Meaning we can know without any doubt that He is walking with us at every moment of our lives. We can tap into His confidence, courage, wisdom, plans, strategies, strength, love, favor, direction, abilities, resources, help, and support.

I loved a wink from Him a few minutes ago when everything lined up too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence. I ended last year with this post:

““DO NOT FEAR; I WILL HELP YOU”

This is God’s continual reminder from Isaiah 41:10 that is forever showing up all over the place and where I want our MINDSET FOR 2023: KNOWING THAT NO MATTER WHAT WE FACE, OUR HELP COMES FROM THE ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF. That’s faith, baby! As we show up in the physical realm, doing our best, God is at work in the spiritual realm, tweaking and tackling situations on our behalf. “DO NOT FEAR; I WILL HELP YOU” Wink! Wink!”

Can you believe God went to the trouble to confirm this? While waiting for some water to boil for some coffee, I opened up my meditation book, Jesus Always, and look what unbelievably showed up, written as if God was speaking directly to me:

“As you go along your path, hear me saying, “Do not fear; I will help you (Wink! Wink!).”

Wow! For me to tell you guys like a crazy lady a few days ago that I feel this is God’s continual reminder to me and for Him to go to the extent of confirming it through this meditation book that was written years ago blows my mind to the intimate involvement with God in our lives. And this awareness of God’s invisible Presence will give us the confidence and courage to continue moving forward! Heehaw!!!

Like right now, I’m like a hated mom, but in praying to God about some decisions, I have to follow His lead even though my kids are not happy about them. I’m following what I always write about, going to God in every decision and following through with the one that gives me peace when I think about it. When I present the different scenarios to God, I can feel Him deep down in my spirit saying, ‘Nik, this is the way to go, or Nik, don’t go this way.’ Super unpopular with my kids, but I’m hoping they will eventually know that their momma only always wants what’s best for them. A momma gotta do what a momma gotta do (even when it’s super hard!)! My brother, Kevin, told me one day, “Your kids are not your friends right now, but one day they will be when they look back on the decisions you made for them.”

And speaking of Kevin, I’m seriously thanking Him and God for teaching me this difficult lesson of patience. Even up to yesterday, God took my attention to a sign somewhere that said, “Please be patient.” I’m with Kevin, who said, “I made a lot of good decisions because I was patient.” While we’re patient, God is at work on our behalf, fighting battles, lining up situations for us, and teaching us important lessons that He Himself would have us learn.

“And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” – Romans 5:3-5

“WHAT’S MY MESSAGE FROM GOD FOR TODAY?”

I asked someone who I hear from God through. His response was one word: “EVOLVE.” And this was indeed a message from God! I’m in Nigeria, and although I had two hair brushes to pack and bring, I ended up leaving them in the US. Can you believe that the only brush we have here, I feel God continually nudging me in my spirit to pay attention to the word printed on it: “EVOLVE.” God is pretty talkative, and that’s His message to us all today: “EVOLVE.”

Someone helping me to evolve is a young yet very wise friend of my daughters, Mo. When my daughter, Ember, questioned him about being a Muslim and having multiple wives, he responded, “That’s all men; it’s just my religion allows for it.” Honestly, I told you guys recently how out on a day with my husband, this post showed up in an appointment with God on our way to where we were going on our family’s website, and it showed up again on the way back when my electronic book reader freakishly opened on its own to this precise post in my book:

“And about this playing life at a higher level, God has challenged me again through the rapper, Prince EA, to answer a vital question: “Who am I in the deepest sense?” He spoke about us being loyal to conditioned thoughts passed on from generation to generation. Thoughts that we’re so loyal to that we’ve fought over, killed over, gotten angry, sad, and depressed over. Me included! I get sad and depressed over the same crazy thoughts over and over again. I’ve had enough! I’m going to the next level of focusing on important goals like bringing humanity closer to God, seeing my children grow up to be the superhumans they’re capable of becoming, helping my husband take our businesses to new levels of success, and becoming the most awesome version of me.”

I laugh when I read back old posts of me getting so crazy and angry over these thoughts that bring me down too often. I published that book five years ago!!! The time and energy I’ve wasted! But God is calling us all to play life on a higher level asking, “Who are we in the deepest sense?” I want us to be God’s people, making tough decisions from His Almighty and wise perspective. GOD ALWAYS KNOWS BEST!!! Meaning sometimes we have to pretend that we do not see what we see, or hear what we hear, focused on the good of others, and keep our eyes fixed on God, asking for His moment-by-moment guidance of what He would have us to do.

My decisions no longer come from a place of me seeking my happiness. My happiness sometimes must take a backseat to ask instead, “What is best for my family (our team), and what would make God happy here?” It is not easy, and it takes superhuman strength at times (especially when crazy lady wants to come out!), but this is how God leads us on the best pathways for our lives with Him. And trust me, God gives far more than we can ever ask or imagine when we live life from the perspective of following and being obedient to Him! Obey God and leave the consequences with Him! Wink! Wink!

Another conversation with Mo was about having a positive attitude. If I’m honest with myself, doubts, insecurities, anxieties, and negative thinking constantly knock me down. Mo said you must keep replacing those negative thoughts with positive ones. But what freaked me out was when I questioned him about where God fits in with all this positive thinking, and he wisely responded that FAITH IN GOD was why we could think positively, knowing that He is with us, supporting us, helping us to fight battles. We must learn to let go and let God control what we can’t. I couldn’t believe this young man was teaching me (the God maniac here!) to think more positively and have more faith in God. Incredible!

This is my prayer for us all, to evolve to be these superhumans God has called us to be in our homes and in the world by having MORE faith, thinking positively, knowing God Himself is with us in every moment, helping, guiding, and supporting us, believing the thoughts He Himself would have us think while obeying what He would have us to do, and leaving the consequences to Him. So help us, God!

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

“DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WAS GOD SHOWING UP FOR US?”

That was me to my new God connection yesterday. We call ourselves “The 311 Girls” because it is our reminder from God to stay on the highest road with Him, being our most loving and best selves, all for His glory. And unbelievably, God gets in on these conversations about the 311. Like our birthdays are the same month, she is on the 13th, and I’m on the 31st. So after meeting her, I needed to go to a car that I was selling to get the mileage, and the miles were exactly 113311, with her 13 and my 31 showing up, followed by the 311. I told her this was no coincidence but God confirming He was the one to connect us, and He wants us both on the 311 bandwagon.

Then, after another conversation with her, I immediately went to buy cars at the auction, and the first car to show up was being sold with this run number 3/111, out of thousands of cars. I sent her a picture and text that we’re 311 strong. Then, after another talk with her, I immediately went to my computer, and on the screen was a report I had left off working with from the night before, and the last date was 3/11. Again, I sent a pic to her!

Yesterday, we talked again, and immediately after hanging up, in the WhatsApp group I was in, there was a voice note from a Pastor for 30:11. I again sent her a pic! We even ended that conversation talking about this 311 as I encouraged her to be her best self no matter what anyone else was doing. So for this 30:11 to appear on my screen immediately after talking to her is a message to us all today: TO BE OUR BEST SELVES, ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!!! No matter what anyone else is doing, we’re to keep showing up as our best selves for God! KK? This God who is so loyal and faithful to us, let’s shine brightly on His behalf!

Can you believe I just stopped writing to give my husband a call to remind him of something urgent and the word count was precisely 311? That’s, again, God making us all aware of His Presence! And speaking of this husband, he inspires me to be my best self. What I called to remind him about, he said he was already on top of it! I keep telling our kids that we’re here in Nigeria to overwhelm their dad with love, appreciation, and respect for all he does for us. He is our gift from God! Nobody gets it right all the time, but the 311 is about loving others unconditionally the way God loves us and going the extra mile in love, mercy, gentleness, faithfulness, and patience. So help us, God! Where our human strength fails, God will help us to keep going.

Pray and ask God for help with anything you are struggling with. Just how He makes Himself available to my friend and me to remind us that He is with us as we seek to be the best wives, moms, and people for Him. He is there with you to help you with your struggles. Let’s pray more than ever this year, and in any area we find ourselves failing, let’s reach out to God. PRAYER CHANGES THINGS!!!

“THANK YOU FOR LETTING GOD USE YOU TO THIS EXTENT”

It was a Facebook comment I loved recently! But to be honest, forget about you guys; these posts help me! They’re my crucial reminder that I’m not going through life alone and that I have the ALMIGHTY GOD WITH ME AT EVERY MOMENT, HELPING AND GUIDING ME. Let me tell ya, this God-perspective changes everything!

Like this morning, having an appointment with God with my husband, I prayed, asking God what He had to say to us through my meditation book of Bible verses. I took this one as our high five from God after hubs and I have seen God show up and fight so many battles on our behalf in the past:

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

God even went to the trouble to confirm this when this old post showed up 20 minutes past the hour on page 20 of our family’s website:

“In a down moment yesterday, I had an appointment with God reading Day 209 from my book, Keep Calm, You’re Rolling with God, and this message showed up:

“God has these unimaginable plans for our lives when we stick close to Him, not leaning on our own understanding… I love a cartoon picture with a little girl walking along a path with a huge hand holding her little hand with the caption: “IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?” (ROMANS 8:31) Fast forward two minutes later, I then went to my meditation book, Jesus Always, which is written as if God is speaking directly to me, and it incredibly said: “IF I AM FOR YOU, who can be against you?”

See how deeply God is involved in our lives! I remember sitting on a step in our home almost a year ago, feeling overwhelmed and down, asking God where I could go to hear from Him. He first took me to my book where I shared that story, and TWO MINUTES LATER for me to randomly open of all my meditation books, that specific one and page asking, “IF I (GOD) AM FOR YOU, who can be against you?”
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These all lined up too perfectly to be ordinary coincidences! From the appointment with God with hubby this morning for that verse to show up and for God to take me back to that post from almost a year ago is Him making us all aware of His Presence that is always with us. That we can ALL be the little girl in the story, walking along a path with God’s huge hands holding ours as we bravely, courageously, boldly, joyfully, wisely, lovingly, faithfully, and hopefully tackle whatever comes our way. Showing up in every moment doing our utmost best, listening and being obedient to God, then leaving the rest of the battles for Him to fight on our behalf, taking life one step and one moment at a time. Wink! Wink!

“DO NOT FEAR, I WILL HELP YOU”

This is God’s continual reminder from Isaiah 41:10 that is forever showing up all over the place and where I want our MINDSET FOR 2023: KNOWING THAT NO MATTER WHAT WE FACE, OUR HELP COMES FROM THE ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF. That’s faith, baby! As we show up in the physical realm, doing our best, God is at work in the spiritual realm, tweaking and tackling situations on our behalf. “DO NOT FEAR, I WILL HELP YOU” Wink! Wink!

I’m not going to lie to you, 2022 has been an extremely rough year, but it left me with some great lessons to share with you. Like I can’t get over how I went all crazy in a post yesterday writing about how God showed up to reveal His Presence with a friend and me through this verse:

“Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives. – 1 Peter 3:1

So, it’s a little fun thing I do with God, every day asking Him what He has to say to me in this book of over 300 pages of Bible verses. After writing that post about how this was the very first verse God took me to in that book day before yesterday, about four hours later, I remembered that I didn’t ask God what He had to say to me that day through it. Can you believe that was the very first verse AGAIN I opened to when asking God what He had to say to me through it? It was even quoted on an entirely different page! It lined up too perfectly to be coincident. I freaked out again, sending it to my friend with this critical reminder I took from it: “THIS AGAIN IS GOD LETTING US KNOW HE IS WITH US.”

And this awareness that God’s invisible Presence is always with us is the firm foundation on where I want us to build our lives. In every moment, we have access to God. His wisdom, love, favor, strategies, guidance, protection, help, and support. It’s just for Him to become the center of every move we make. Even when He asks difficult things of us, we can do everything by His strength within us. Doing everything for the glory of God!

But God revealing His Presence to us, continually showing up for us, and letting us know how much He loves us is another BIG lesson of 2022. His deep, steadfast, and unconditional love and approval of us, no matter our mistakes and failings, is what I want us to take into 2023. Even at our lowest, He is there to help us get back up and KEEP GOING. And this unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness that He shows us is where He wants us to be with ourselves and others. Nobody’s perfect! GOD IS LOVE, and I want us all to reflect His love in the world. Let’s use all the negativity and evil in the world as our motivation to spread even more goodness and love on His behalf. So help us God. See ya in 2023!!!