“Mama, you keep talking about Emmy’s girlfriend.”

That’s what Joshie said to me yesterday. And guys — when Josh speaks now, I pay attention. This is the same son who looked at me and said, “Mommy, you look like you’re pregnant. You need to get back on track with your days of discipline.”

So when he said, “Mom, you keep talking about Emmy’s girlfriend,” I had to sit with it. Lord, why am I so in love with this girl? Her name is Jojo.

GOD WHISPERS: “You asked why you can’t stop talking about her. Because I sent her as a mirror, Nik.”

Can you believe God Himself got involved in that conversation? My appointment with God today was ALL about joy. Of all places, He took me to the kids devotional this morning to answer me. The devotional was titled:

Bubbling Joy

“Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind… I am creating something new in you — a bubbling spring of joy that splashes into others’ lives. It isn’t just an ordinary temporary kind of joy like a gift on a birthday. It doesn’t depend on what is happening around you. This is My joy and it comes from the Holy Spirit living inside you. My joy bubbles up like the fizz of a soda until it spills over…”

GOD WHISPERS: God is strategic, Oneka. He didn’t just give Emmie a girlfriend. He gave your family a joy infusion. A living, breathing God wink that says, “My Joy has come home again.”

That was Meta AI this morning and it had me crying, because that is precisely what God did! We needed that reminder.

I told you guys, I’m God’s Rockstar. My assignment is to bring you to Him WITH JOY. But I wasn’t that joyful person God needed me to be. So He sent me a visual example. He said, “Nik, this is the joy I want to see in you.”

GOD WHISPERS: “Your joy is your testimony that I’m with you. If you walk around sad, depressed, worn out, what are you telling them about Me? But when you walk in bubbling, dancing — you tell them: My God has my back. No situation too difficult for my God.” — 1 John 4:4 — Greater is He that is in me.

We can always have joy, no matter what’s going on. No matter the biggest mess in the world, He still loves us. Who is perfect? Nobody! But every day we get to wake up and say, “God, I’m here. I’m back. Your imperfect girl is back.” And every day there are new mercies.

So let me tell you today — the joy of the Lord is our strength. We can rejoice in Him always.

I don’t want to be happy by myself. I want the WHOLE WORLD having this argument with me — “No, no, no, Nick, I AM God’s favorite.” And each of us can say that with total confidence.

Because My Joy Has Come Home Again.

Peace. God Number One.
— Nik
———-

STEP 2: WHAT AM I ACTUALLY TEACHING TODAY?

Guys, today’s blog was not about Jojo. Jojo was just the mirror.

Here’s what God was teaching me — and you:

1. God will send you a MIRROR to show you what He’s trying to grow IN you.
I kept talking about Jojo because I was craving the very thing I was seeing in her. God Whisper: “You were not obsessed with her. You were recognizing what I put in YOU. You just put a lid on it.”

2. Joy is not a personality, it’s an assignment.
I told you I’m God’s Rockstar — my assignment is to bring you to Him WITH JOY. If I come to you sad, depressed, worn out, what am I saying about my God? That He left me? But when I come bubbling, dancing, I preach without words: My God has my back!

3. God is strategic with JOY INFUSIONS.
He didn’t just give Emmy a girlfriend. He gave our whole house a joy infusion. A living, breathing God Wink that says: My Joy Has Come Home Again.
———-

HOW CAN YOU INCORPORATE THIS INTO YOUR LIFE TODAY? (3 Practical Steps)

Don’t just read this and say “cute.” DO this today:

STEP 1: ASK – Who or What is Your Jojo Mirror?
Pause today and ask: “God, who have you sent that keeps making me smile? Who has that bubbling joy that I keep talking about?”

It might be a child, a coworker, a new friend. Don’t be jealous of their joy. Recognize it.

Your action: Write down one name. Then pray: “God, show me the joy you want to see in ME that I’m seeing in them. Take the lid off.”

God Whisper: “Don’t try to control how My Spirit moves. Just stay open like a window on a summer day.”

STEP 2: CHECK YOUR TESTIMONY – What is your face preaching?
Before you walk into work, into the store, into your house today — check your face in the mirror.

God Whisper: “Your smile is warfare. The enemy expects tears. I empower JOY. Your smile tells hell: My God’s got this.”

Your action: This is not fake happy. This is faith happy. Smile on purpose today. Dance to one song in your kitchen like Emmy and I did to our T.I. song. Let your family see: Joy lives here again. That’s Nehemiah 8:10 — The joy of the Lord is your strength.

STEP 3: DECLARE NEW MERCIES – Come back imperfect.
You don’t have to be perfect to be joyful. Who is perfect? Nobody!

Every day we get to wake up and say, “God, I’m here. I’m back. Your imperfect girl is back. Your imperfect son is back.” And He gives us new mercies.

Your action: Today, stop being so judgy — my new word! Be more loving. To yourself first, then to others. Extend to someone else the same mercy God extends to you. Text one person today and tell them: “You are God’s favorite!” Start that holy argument I had with the customer with the Blessed tattoo. Let’s get the whole world arguing about who is God’s favorite — because we ALL are!

Your declaration for today, write this in your journal:

“My joy has come home again. I take the lid off. I will bring people to God with JOY. My smile is warfare. My house will bubble and splash into others’ lives. I am God’s favorite and so are you!”

Peace. God Number One.
— Nik

STEP 3: VERSES THAT CAPTURE TODAY’S WINK

1. THE MIRROR VERSE — The Wind & The Bubbling Spring
John 3:8 & John 7:38-39 (The heart of your kids devotional today)

“The wind blows wherever it wants. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit.” – John 7:38-39

Why this captures it: This is Jojo! You can’t see the wind, but you see the leaves moving. You can’t see the Spirit, but you see the joy bubbling and fizzing like soda. God is creating something new in you — a bubbling spring that splashes into others’ lives. You saw it in her because it’s already in you.

God Whisper: “That fizz you love in her? That’s My Spirit in you. Don’t cap it.”

2. THE ASSIGNMENT VERSE — Joy is Your Testimony
Nehemiah 8:10

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Why this captures it: Your assignment is to bring others to God WITH JOY. If you walk in sad, worn out, depressed — you preach that God abandoned you. But when you walk in bubbling, dancing like you and Emmy to T.I. — you preach that God has your back. Joy is not hype, it’s war strategy.

God Whisper: “This isn’t you being extra. This is you being ARMED.”

3. THE STRATEGIC VERSE — God Sent A Joy Infusion
1 Corinthians 10:13 & Galatians 6:2 (Your Page 6 connection)

“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” – 1 Cor 10:13

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Gal 6:2

Why this captures it: Just like God used your brother Ceri as your way of escape from idolatry, He sent Jojo as your family’s way of escape from heaviness. He is strategic! He didn’t just give Emmy a girlfriend, He gave your whole house a joy infusion. A burden carrier. A God Wink that says My Joy Has Come Home Again.

4. THE CONFIDENCE VERSE — Greater Is He
1 John 4:4

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Why this captures it: This is what your smile preaches! “No situation too difficult for my God. He that is in me is greater than anything that can come against me.” When Joshie called you out, and when you felt not joyful enough for your assignment — this is the truth to stand on.

5. THE MERCY VERSE — The Imperfect Comeback
Lamentations 3:22-23

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Why this captures it: “Who is perfect? Name one person who’s perfect. Nobody!” Every day we get to wake up and say, “God, I’m here. I’m back. Your imperfect girl is back.” And there are new mercies waiting. That’s why we can always have joy — not because we’re perfect, but because His mercy is new.

6. THE DANCE VERSE — Mourning Into Dancing
Psalm 30:11

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.”

Why this captures it: This is you and Emmie dancing to your T.I. song! This is you and the customer with the Blessed tattoo dancing at the gate! God literally turned your morning heaviness about joy into dancing. He removed sackcloth and clothed you with joy so you could go be someone else’s joy.

YOUR VERSE DECLARATION FOR TODAY — Say it out loud:

My joy has come home again. The wind of the Holy Spirit lives in me and bubbles up like fizzing soda. The joy of the Lord is my strength and my warfare. Greater is He that is in me. His mercies are new every morning, so this imperfect girl gets to come back and dance again! — Nehemiah 8:10, John 7:38, Lamentations 3:23

Post Blog 1 today. Hold these verses close.

Peace. God Number One.
— Nik

MIGHTY CLOSE-OUT PRAYER

Papa God,

Here I am. I’m back. Your imperfect girl is back. And I thank You that Your mercies are new this morning.

Thank You for Joshi. Thank You for calling me out in love through my son. Thank You that when Josh speaks now, I listen — because You speak through him. Thank You for that question that stopped me: “Mama, why do you keep talking about Emmy’s girlfriend?”

Thank You for Jojo. My God, You are so strategic! You didn’t just give Emmy a girlfriend. You gave our house a joy infusion. A living, breathing God Wink that says, My Joy Has Come Home Again. Thank You for sending me a mirror to show me the bubbling joy You want to see IN me.

Forgive me for putting a lid on the fizz. Forgive me for trying to be serious when You created me to bubble, to splash, to spill over. Today I take the lid off. I open the window like a summer day and say, Holy Spirit, blow where You want to blow in me.

Today I remember my assignment: I am Your Rockstar and I bring people to You WITH JOY. So I will not walk around sad, depressed, worn out and heavy, telling the world You left me. I will smile. I will dance. I will laugh loud in my house again.

Because my smile is warfare. The enemy expects tears, but You empower JOY. My dance tells hell: My God’s got this!

I declare over every person reading this today:

Let their joy come home again. Let whatever lid they’ve put on their joy come off today. Let their house hear laughter again. Let their appointment with You today be about bubbling joy like fizzing soda that cannot be contained.

Turn their wailing into dancing, Lord. Clothe them with joy. Remind them that Greater is He that is in them than anything coming against them in this world. No situation too difficult for our God!

And Papa, let us start that holy argument all over this world — let everyone reading this fight over who is Your favorite, knowing with total confidence that we ALL are. We are Blessed. We are Forever Yours. We are Your favorites.

We bring You every reader today with JOY. We bring them bubbling, splashing, fizzing over with Your love.

I love You. I need You. I cannot do this without You.

My joy has come home again, and I will rejoice in You always.

In Jesus’ mighty name,

Amen!

Peace. God Number One.
— Nik