“OUR EYES ARE ON THE PRIZE, BABY GIRL!”

I just sent this in a text to my daughter, Ember, along with a pic of a bag I now cherish with “New York” printed on it! I’m taking it as a special God wink at my daughters and me. They want to go to university there, and I want to meet with a book agent to help me spread this GREAT news that God is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives, it’s just for us to learn His voice and to be obedient to Him.

But like I explained to Ember yesterday, that sometimes means doing some difficult things. Like going the extra mile in love, forgiveness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. SUPER HARD! But, trust me, this is the way God leads us on the paths to the best lives with Him. God is so good to me that with one glance at Him, I simply say, ‘God, ANYTHING FOR YOU!’

So, like my brother Kevin said to me, ‘Nik, I want you to work on being wise.’ For me, that means PAUSING before I do or say anything, always asking God through my spirit what He would have me to do. If He says, ‘Nik, I need you to be patient right now.’ I say no problem, ‘God, I got You.’ If He says Nik, just pretend you don’t see what you see or hear what you hear, I say, ‘No problem, Boss! Whatever you say!’ If He says, ‘Nik, say anything to Me, but to others learn to practice silence and kindness.’ Again, ‘No problem Papa!’

When others are unfair to me, I remind myself that God’s ways are more than fair! When offenses come, I don’t let them get the best of me anymore. I’ve learned to shake them off and hand them over to God immediately. This verse has become my crucial mindset:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8

I loved an appointment with God yesterday when He says He loves all of me, including my weaknesses. This is where He wants us to be with others, not overly focused on judging them and where they are going wrong, but loving them extravagantly. All for His glory! Nobody’s perfect!

And Ember is such a fine example of why I go the extra mile for God. She is my gift from Him. I’m calling her every morning to congratulate her on her last week of high school. She has set the bar extremely high for my other kids to follow. I said God knew why He gave you to me first. I’ve been annoying her all day with issues I need her help with and she lovingly follows through for me. A BIG reason why I say, ‘God, anything for You!’

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