GOD SHOWS UP AGAIN TO REVEAL HIS PRESENCE WITH US (HUGE SMILE)

This is another one of my God winks, where everything lines ENORMOUSLY TOO PERFECT to be considered an ordinary coincidence. This one started yesterday morning in a conversation with a friend about her marriage. I kept telling her that she had to set the tone for the house, being her most loving self, going the extra mile, and staying on the high road with God, no matter what her husband was doing. Then, by her showing up with that spirit, her husband would be motivated to change. She should do her best and leave the rest with God because nothing was too difficult for Him. No matter how terrible the situation may seem, she should keep giving her best for God.

Fast forward about an hour later, I randomly opened my meditation book of Bible verses, and God confirmed what I said when this was the very first verse that I opened DIRECTLY to:

“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

I immediately sent a pic to my friend and called her. But she freaked me out when she told me that she had just read the same thing five minutes before. I told her I didn’t believe her and that she should send me a picture of what she had read. She sent this:

“If matters of conscience come up, an unbelieving husband is more likely to respect his wife’s position if it is presented with a “mild temper and deep respect.” Some unbelieving husbands have been won through the conduct of their wives (Wink! Wink!), because of having been eyewitnesses of (their) chaste conduct together with deep respect.” — 1 Peter 3:1” – The Happy Family

Wow! The love of God in action! See how He is so deeply and personally involved in our lives! How could this be some mere coincidence? For me to open this book of over 300 pages of Bible verses and read THAT specific one first, then to call my friend back saying this is God’s marching orders to us, for her to tell me in an entirely different book this same message from 1 Peter 3:1 showed up only 5 minutes before, was completely and totally orchestrated by God to make us ALL aware of His invisible Presence with us. It brought such great comfort to my friend, letting her know that God was there with her helping her to fight and stay strong for her family.

And that’s the love and connection I want the world to feel, knowing that there is never one moment when God is not with us. In every thought we think, every conversation we have, everything we do, and everywhere we go, God is there standing with us. That’s what gives me the courage to keep going no matter the challenging situations I come up against with the mentality of “if my God is with me, who can be against me?” And having that bravery and strength to joyfully tackle my life, walking by FAITH and not by sight.

Like I told my friend, nothing is too difficult for God! It’s just for us to keep moving forward, holding onto His hands as tightly as possible, asking Him on a moment-by-moment basis what He would have us to do. Sometimes that means walking with great pain, but we do it as a sacrifice for God (handing the hurts and disappointments over to Him and keep going!), who is doing so much for us that we can’t even begin to count, hiding the pain behind a big smile. (Wink! Wink!)

Life is not only about our happiness; it’s learning to think of others and continually asking God to help us do His will, not our own. We can then respond to disappoints with love, forgiveness, hope, optimism, mercy, courage, and purpose to spread more goodness in the world. I promise you; this is how God lovingly guides us on the best paths. Not always pretty, but always worth it!

I loved a conversation with my brother, Kevin, yesterday, who said life is like you’re flying a plane. Sometimes you get to land on a nicely paved landing strip, and sometimes you have to land in some messy bushes, but wherever you land, you must keep recalibrating and figuring out how to GET UP AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

And once you know that God is there with you, wherever you land with whatever the challenges, you hold on to Him for guidance and direction on a moment-by-moment basis, asking what He would have you to do (or not do), where He would have you to go (or not go), and what He would have you to say (or not say) following His voice with you! WE FACE NOTHING ALONE; GOD HIMSELF IS WITH US! It’s a practice of learning to go to God in every move you make! KK? “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27 God, may the entire world learn Your voice and direction for our lives. Amen!

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6

These verses have become the foundation of my life. Meaning I don’t have to have the next 100 steps of my life all figured out; I can simply go to God each step, acknowledge him by asking what he would have me to do, and be obedient to him and go to the next step. Again, ask what he would have me to do, be obedient to Him, and then go to the next step. Got that? My life has become a continual conversation with God as to where to go, what to do, and what to say. And if I get it wrong, God even knows how to use my mistakes and failures for my good, teaching me crucial lessons that He Himself would have me to learn.

Here’s how I made an important decision recently. After begging my husband to come and visit with us in the US from Nigeria, he insisted that me and our four kids come to him there. After seeing I wasn’t going to get him to come to us, I said let me have an appointment with God about it. The message I received was that we were to overwhelm the leaders who work so hard for us with love, appreciation and respect and I said that’s my husband. And I took it as my cue from God that we should go and make the long journey to see him.

Before making this final decision, hubby had already asked a travel agent to search for fights, and she found seats for us to fly on Qatar airways. Fast forward to me going back to my desk about thirty minutes later after that appointment with God and deciding to fly on Qatar Air, a Google screen suddenly appears on my screen as if I had typed this in the search bar: “world cup Qatar 2022.” I promise you guys, I did not type this, and no one else did. It just suddenly appeared on its own as God giving me a personal confirmation that this trip to Nigeria was what He Himself would have us to do.

Trust me guys, I have no interest in The World Cup and I would not have typed it into Google. This was God letting me know that His Presence would accompany us on this trip. Even when there was rough turbulence on the flight, I was at peace knowing God Himself was there with us. Again, that’s the peace and love you can’t buy, knowing God is personally involved in your life.

It happened again today when we went out with hubby. On the way to where we were going, I had an appointment with God reading back an old post from our family’s website about a time I was working on my book until 2 am in the morning, and I wrote about the Boys to Men song, ‘I will get there.’ I promise you guys, as we got in our car to leave from where we were going, my electronic Nook reader again open by itself to this exact post in my book, Keep Calm, You’re Rolling with God out of 366 posts there, with God revealing and confirming His Presence with us. The peace and joy you cannot buy with God making you aware of His invisible Presence with you. Are you getting closer to Him? Make sure you go to Him in every decision and begin feeling and listening to Him deep within you as He directs your path, one step at a time. Peace!!!

I’M IN LOVE WITH THIS POST!

This one sentence is where I want us all: I will trust in God’s faithfulness! No matter what comes our way, I want us holding on to God’s hand knowing that His Presence is always with us. Even if we have to say it 1,000 times a day as a reminder: I will trust in God’s faithfulness!!! I have lots going on, but this was my high five from God!

“WE BELONG TOGETHER”

That was me to God, dancing on my way from my God tree this morning, singing these lyrics to Him:

‘Who am I gon’ lean on when times get rough?
Who’s gon’ to talk to me ’til the sun comes up?
Who’s gon’ take Your place? There ain’t nobody better
We belong together ‘– Mariah Carey

I WANT THE ENTIRE WORLD HERE, SINGING THIS SONG TO GOD!!! I was extra happy this morning after two early morning God winks. AGAIN, everything lined up a little bit too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidences with God sweetly revealing glimmers of invisible Presence with me. (HUGE SMILE)

Like right before going to sleep last night, I read these verses on our family’s website:

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” -2 Corinthians 4:8-9

The old post reminded me that no matter the troubles I face – hard pressed on every side – I could hold my head high, knowing God is with me to get me through any storm. I said, ‘God, high five!’ Fast forward to this morning, I have a book that my friend Mabel recently gave me with Bible verses, and can you believe these verses showed up on the second page I opened today? In this thick book, God took me specifically to these verses just to let me (and you!) know that His invisible Presence is always with us to help us take on any challenge that comes our way.

Also, yesterday, I decided to have an extra long appointment with God on Tumblr.com, just saying to Him, ‘God, I want to be with You! What do You have to say to me here?’ Honestly, there were so many posts that spoke to me, including this one that I shared before:

“I will not give up, give in, give out or give over ’til that healing takes place. I made a vow, I said the words, I gave the pledge, I gave a ring, I took a ring, I gave myself, I trusted GOD, and said the words, and meant the words… in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad…so I am standing NOW, and will not sit down, let down, slow down, calm down, fall down, look down or be down ’til the breakdown is torn down! I refuse to put my eyes on outward circumstances, or listen to prophets of doom, or buy into what is trendy, worldly, popular, convenient, easy, quick, thrifty, or advantageous… nor will I settle for a cheap imitation of God’s real thing, nor will I seek to lower God’s standard, twist God’s will, rewrite God’s word, violate God’s covenant, or accept what God hates, namely divorce!

In a world of filth, I will stay pure; surrounded by lies I will speak the truth; where hopelessness abounds, I will hope in God: where revenge is easier, I will bless instead of curse; and where the odds are stacked against me, I will trust in God’s faithfulness. I am a STANDER, and I will not acquiesce, compromise, quarrel or quit. I have made the choice, set my face, entered the race, believed the Word, and trusted God for all the outcome. I will allow neither the reaction of my spouse, nor the urging of my friends, nor the advice of my loved ones, nor economic hardship, nor the prompting of the devil to make me let up, slow up, blow up, or give up ’til my marriage is healed.” Tumblr.com via lnrevolution

So, that was yesterday evening, and this morning I get to my God tree (in the darkness of the morning), asking God for a page number to read for our time together, and He leads me to page three of our website and can you believe this very post I just quoted is at the top of that page. Out of 141 web pages, God took me specifically there. Let me tell you, God is pretty talkative when we listen and pay attention to what He has to say.

I love this post on so many levels, though! Not only in regards to my marriage (I’m sticking with my vows, too, to the best husband in the world) but in regards to my ENTIRE LIFE:

“…and where the odds are stacked against me, I will trust in God’s faithfulness…where hopelessness abounds, I will hope in God…I have made the choice, set my face, entered the race, believed the Word, and trusted God for all the outcome.”

Our God is faithful! I can’t get over how He can use everything for our good when we keep our focus on Him (not the world and what may be going on around us!) and are obedient to what He asks of us. I’m on this wilderness experience with Him right now, and it has been challenging, but I’m extremely happy for this alone time with God.

This morning, I got on my knees just thanking Him for sticking so close to me that I know that in every moment I have Him by my side and by His strength, everything I have going on will be successfully handled. Faith is knowing God has your back!!! And that gives me the peace, joy, and courage to take on my life, KNOWING MY HELP AND SUPPORT COME FROM GOD HIMSELF!!! Heads high, my peeps, OUR GOD IS INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN EVERY DETAIL OF OUR LIVES!

“YOU SHOULD NOT WRITE EVERY DAY”

That’s the advice I got yesterday talking to a new reader of my blogs. “Nikki, you say the same thing every day. It always has something to do with your tree. They are very long and boring. Make them shorter!” Can you believe God got in on our conversation? I turned over a book that was next to my laptop, and it was already opened to this:

“Among the virtues which leave the deepest impression on the human spirit, which is the clearest of was influence the life and activity of men, is the Christian, theological, virtue of hope. In other words, if you take the same man and see him living in the fresh air of hope or lying under the weight of despair… In our relationships and contact with others, WE ARE EVERY DAY (Wink! Wink!) WITNESSES.” – Jesus As Friend

No way, after all those brutal remarks from my friend yesterday, that this book was opened to that very page next to my computer where I type these blogs. That was a message from God Himself to me – Nik, you’re my EVERY DAY witness!!! And honestly, it’s my honor and privilege to share my relationship with God and how He shows up for me in every aspect of my life so that hopefully, you will feel STRONGLY His Presence with you, too. That we’re not going through life alone and that GOD HIMSELF is ALWAYS with us! So instead of being overwhelmed and weighed down by the circumstances of our lives, we can have hope, baby! That the LORD Himself is on our side helping us! That’s my testimony!

I have to tell you about a special God wink I got under the tree yesterday, though! I started the day sending this message to my support group, saying to my brother Kevin that I’m ON CHILL mode like he taught me. Fast forward to going to my tree, I’m on the phone with my mom, and Kevin shows up there with her. I spoke to him for less than one minute, saying I was ON CHILL MODE FOR LIFE, and I hung up from them. Within thirty seconds of ending that call, in my library of close to 1,000 songs, look what song played:

“Maybe we can be ON CHILL (Wink! Wink!) tonight
Tryna hear all your problems so I can lighten the load
No you’re not fighting alone
‘Cause I’m protectin’ you from ’em, so chill”

No way this was some ordinary coincidence for this song to play within 30 seconds of that conversation with Kevin! God again found a sweet and fun way to reveal His invisible Presence with me and you with that vital message! And this awareness of God’s Presence is what gives me the courage, joy, and peace to take on my life. God wants us all here on chill mode, not taking anything too seriously because we are trusting Him. God Himself is behind the scenes of our lives, fighting for us and protecting us! THAT’S FAITH, BABY!

After speaking with this new friend, though, I needed to talk to her husband about some business, and honestly, he gave me such good advice. He pretty much said that we women are too emotional and we need to be more logical. Wow! That sums up where his wife and I get it seriously wrong and something that God has been trying to teach me for years now. God even brought it up AGAIN under the God tree today:

“Like this morning, I sent a text to another one of my angels saying they are teaching me this:

“Not to be the emotional, crazy lady reacting but a wise woman responding.”

Fast forward to a few minutes ago, looking for that message from Kevin, this showed up in the same email that came up:

“The goal is to develop spiritual stamina so when a problem occurs, I don’t react out of emotion but out of wisdom.” Wink! Wink!

This friend keeps repeatedly bringing up the same frustration, and I keep telling her that this situation was not her business to be concerned about (Let go and let God, my sweetie!. I said a big part of being wise is to know the battles we’re to fight and the battles to leave with God. Our job is to show up in every moment, asking God to give us the strength, guidance, and abilities to take on the battles that HE HIMSELF WOULD HAVE US FIGHT and not get distracted by the petty issues that make us all emotional and crazy. Me included! Stay focused on God! Amen!

“JOSHIE, I WANT YOU TO BE A WITNESS TO THIS!”

I brought out my book of Bible verses that I feel God shows up in every morning to let me know that He is with me. I said, “Joshie, watch! I will just randomly open to something!” I ended up opening to a verse that I knew was God speaking directly to me, saying that He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; in other words, ‘Get working on your next book, Nik!’ He is really on my case now! I continued reading that chapter, and on the very next page, I freaked out when this verse showed up:

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

I freaked out because right next to where we were standing was the hoodie I had just selected 20 minutes before this when I debated on what to wear on my day out with Joshie, with this exact verse printed on it. I’m even wearing it in the picture to show you guys proof, baby! See for yourself! In this book of 335 pages of Bible verses, this was no coincidence that God had that particular one to show up in Joshie’s presence. It was another one of my God winks where everything lines up enormously too perfectly, all perfectly orchestrated by God as another little love note to my son and me letting us know that His Presence is ALWAYS with us.

And that’s the good news He has anointed me to preach! That there is never a moment that God’s Presence isn’t standing strong with us. It’s just for us to develop a relationship with Him, where we can suck up to His wisdom, love, approval, favor, support, kindness, strength, personality, protection, and JOY.

“Can I hug you?” was the question a customer asked me last night when he left all teary-eyed in a car he had just purchased from me. Honestly, I wasn’t going to sell him that car, and I was praying to God for guidance. The wiser Nik is learning to PAUSE and ask for God’s input before doing any deal now! After getting high quotes from so many insurance companies, I was about to give up. I know you guys will think I am crazy, but God Himself took my attention to my mouse pad from a top-rated insurance company. I felt like He grabbed my head and had me look directly down. The customer even noticed me looking at it, and because I felt so strongly that this was God, we called. They gave us a good quote, and I felt God in my spirit saying to move ahead with the deal.

I say all that to say, GOD IS INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN OUR LIVES. From the exact verse on my hoodie to randomly open in that big book of Bible verses to God showing up in my office to assist that customer to purchase a vehicle by nudging me to call that insurance company. I promise you, God Himself took my attention to that mouse pad.

This customer has lost both his mom and dad, and life got a bit rough for him and he had a hard time coping and lost a really great job. He has a new one now, and I encouraged him to take His relationship with God seriously because this life is too hard to do on our own. Instead of running to alcohol or drugs or getting depressed and sad, we can run to Him to help us cope with anything that comes our way.

Notice how I paused to seek God’s input before selling that vehicle. He is available to us in every moment to tap into His wisdom and guidance for every aspect of our lives. He knows the past, the future, and He knows the best decisions for us to make in every circumstance. And the more you practice listening to Him, the better you get at it!

The best advice I can give you is to start developing a relationship with God. Learn His voice, like how I knew it was Him directing my attention to that mouse pad. HE IS OUR GREATEST FRIEND EVER, AND WE DON’T HAVE TO DO LIFE ALONE. As we show up doing our best in the physical realm, God is in the spiritual realm fighting battles on our behalf. We can confidently relax (not living anxious and stressed!) “because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Wink! Wink! We can be joyful in every moment because we’re trusting in God! Amen!

“WE BELONG TOGETHER!!!”

That was me dancing outside my office when Mariah Carey’s song played with me singing my heart out to God:

“Cause We belong together
Who am I gon’ lean on when times get rough?
Who’s gon’ to talk to me ’til the sun comes up?
Who’s gon’ take Your place, there ain’t nobody there
We belong together”

And I want the entire world here with me singing our hearts out to God saying, ‘WE BELONG TOGETHER!!!’ Are you with me? HE MUST BE FIRST PLACE IN OUR LIVES!!! Let me tell ya, the love God shows me is unbelievable. Like I have a meditation book by my bed from my friend, Mabel, that God uses to speak directly to me and make me aware that His invisible Presence is always with me. GOD STRONG, BABY! I open it asking what He has to say to me, and the messages are crystal clear to me from Him. And He proved it to me this morning when I randomly opened it this morning DIRECTLY to this in a chapter about wives:

“Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.” – Proverbs 31:23

Fast forward to me getting to my God tree to call my husband to pray together there, but he didn’t answer. Can you believe he ends up sending videos of a wedding in Nigeria that he is attending with one of the current Governors?

“Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.” – Proverbs 31:23

That, again, is the Presence of God in our lives. That’s our testimony, baby, that we’re a family rolling with God; we’re not perfect, but we’re pretty close! Wink! Wink! My husband was invited to that wedding because of his hard work and conducting his affairs wisely by doing his best to honor God. He has earned that respect! Proud of you, my boo!

God also used some other portions of that page I opened to speak to me and let me know that His invisible presence is with me. Also, regarding the wives, it said,

“She perceives that her merchandise is good” – Proverbs 31:18

Guys, they laugh at me to the extent that I go to make sure that I’m selling good vehicles in our family business. It’s a big part of my struggle to buy inventory, I’m too picky! I told you guys about me looking for the special coolant that a vehicle I was selling needed. It had some already, but I wanted to go the extra mile and fill it to the max level. Someone working with me said to add water, and I said no. They then go to the gas station to purchase the correct one but are brought back twice with the wrong one. Only for the customer’s friend to have an unopened bottle of the specific blue coolant the vehicle needed in his vehicle. See why I’m singing to God? No way I can run this dealership without Him! He had that coolant there for me! Like, ‘Here you go, My girl, the correct coolant you are looking for!’ That’s the deep, deep, deep love I’m feeling from God!

But more from that book I opened to this morning in the chapter about wives:

“She also rises while it is yet night” – Proverbs 31:15

That’s God letting me know that He sees me waking up to run in the dark so that I can drop my sons out early to school and get straight to work. I see you, My Nik! Tackling this business is the hardest thing ever, but it is bringing me closer to God where I have no doubt He is with me – the peace you cannot buy in knowing GOD Himself stands with you!

I tell you guys how when I see 117 or 711 together, that’s God letting me know that He is with me. So, I recently sold a car to some great people, and the bank (God!) adjusted the price to $11,700. I took it as a wink from God that everything would be fine with the deal. But I was blown away when the bank called me to say that even though the income was considerably less than I submitted it and the rent turned out to be higher, they would still fund the deal with everything working out much better than I expected. That’s the favor of God in action: helping me buy vehicles, prepare them for sale, send us good customers, and have great banks to help finance them. God got us! I’m excited about next year being our 30th year in business, all by the grace and favor of the Almighty God!

I say all that to say, TAKE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH God seriously. Not one moment of running to that tree is wasted where I pray and seek God’s strength, wisdom, favor, love, support, protection, and guidance. I invite Him to spend the rest of the day with me, where I do my best to do everything for His glory! Even my mistakes He is using to bring me even closer to Him! May we do it all for His glory! If God is for us, who can be against us?