“OH YES!!! I’M BLESSED!!!”

That’s me this morning singing along with Charlie Wilson in one of my fav songs, ‘I’m Blessed.’ Woohoo! This year started with me saying to God that I wanted to do HARD things for His glory, but when the hard stuff came, I was like, ‘GOD, WHAT IS THIS?!?’ God had your girl here in His school of HARD LESSONS, AND I’M SO HAPPY FOR THE EXPERIENCE. Yayy, God is about to turn my worst year into my best year because I’m getting closer to Him, as He promises never to leave or forsake me. Amen!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33

Whenever this verse shows up for me anywhere, I feel like it’s a special message from God saying, ‘Nik, relax! Trust me. I’m sovereign over the entire world, remember. Wink! Wink!’ My latest fav verse from Him is this, though,

“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10

In other words, ‘Nik, chill, I got this one.’ I’m beginning to learn God’s voice so clearly that I know the battles He would have me to take on and the ones I should leave with Him. I can put specific challenges in an imaginary package and say, ‘Thanks, God. You can handle this one.’ I can then go on with life, fighting the battles He would have me to wholeheartedly tackle, enjoying every day like a birthday, while trusting His direction to guide me through any storm like He has so many times in the past. Heehaw!

I had such a great time talking to my sister, Verona, this evening. I told her that I’m going with a prayer I heard from Devon Franklin: “These are my expectations, Lord, but give me Yours.” Amen! We should then spend enough time with Him so we can hear what He wants us to expect. Forget all the low expectations, God gives MORE than we can ask or imgaine. That has certainly been my experience with Him! The God stock always goes up, baby! Today, He reminded me of this so many times.

That’s why I don’t want us to grow weary in doing good, but, instead giving God more than He expects from us by being the excellent, loving, forgiving, brave, courageous, loyal, mannerly, going the extra mile kind of people He is calling us to be in every moment. Kk? Forget the former things, God is doing a new thing!

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ARE YOU ENJOYING GOD?

I am! I am! I am! He has the sweetest ways of showing up to let me know that He is involved in EVERY detail of my life and that I’m not going through life alone.

Like on Friday at work, I heard the song, Rockstar by DaBaby, play on the radio. I immediately downloaded it on my phone and had the best time listening to it repeatedly. Then on Saturday, still playing the song, I called my brother, Kevin, in the Bahamas and said, “We have to be God’s Rockstars.” Fast forward to Sunday, this was the first song I played on my morning run with God, and I was so happy, feeling like I was really God’s Rockstar. I even ended up going TOO hard on myself!

So, I get home, thinking the run was over, when Coach Bennet, from the Nike Running Club app, snuck in another 30-second interval of running on me. I was already home, and I thought, ‘I’m done! No more running!’ But something in me told me to finish out the last 30 seconds STRONG, and I did. At the end of it, Coach Bennet says, “YOU’RE A ROCKSTAR!!!” Wink! Wink!

Once again, and out of the blue, everything lined up extremely too perfectly to be some ordinary coincident and I was reminded that God’s invisble Presence is always with me. From hearing that song play on the radio on Friday, to me calling my brother the next day, to me beginning that run to that very song, and for Coach Bennet to say, ‘You’re a ROCKSTAR,” was all God’s sweet way of letting me know that I AM HIS ROCKSTAR, baby!

And for me, that means Heaven and God are my audiences as I go through life with my eyes fixed on making Papa God happy in every moment: ‘What would You have me to do here?’ It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing, I MUST be obedient to God seeking my love and approval from Him, not from other humans who can love us one day and hate us the next. Kk?

That was the message to my daughter, Ember, after midnight last night when she came to my bedroom crying. We read this from the Bible:

“So live like children who belong to the light. Light brings every kind of goodness, right living and truth. Try to learn what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the things done in darkness which are not worth anything. But show that they are wrong.” – Ephesians 5:8-11

I told her how I feel God in my spirit, nudging me along the path He has called me to walk. When I do that, He gives me more than I can ever ask or imagine from Him. Will you be His Rockstar? We may not get it right all the time, but can we aim to reflect God’s character of LOVE to a watching world?

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That’s our testimony, baby! We ain’t perfect, but we’re damn close! (SMILE) And those imperfections are all still a part of God’s perfect plan as, hopefully, you all get to see that He doesn’t require perfection to be a part of His royal family – He loves us ALL unconditionally – we’re His peeps! We can fall a million times, and He will help us get up a million and one!

He also wants us to know that true love can still exist within imperfections – ain’t nobody perfect. Hubs and I may go through our ups and down, but we don’t give up on each other. God has taught me that we can go through the darkest of nights and still have hope that better days are still ahead of us. We can trust that there is light shining beyond the dark clouds. As we do our best, we’re trusting God to do the rest. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Another SMILE)

Our job is to stay focused on God, doing what He would have us to do in every relationship, every circumstance and every decision:

“Trust the Lord with all your heart,

and don’t depend on your own understanding.

Remember the Lord in all you do,

and he will give you success.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

“But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.” – Galatians 5:22-23

I feel God transforming me into the person He would have me to be. When I want to be rude and unmannerly, He gentle nudges me in my spirit that this is not who He has called me to be. And I say, ‘Ok, God, anything for You,’ doing my best to stay on the difficult high road with Him. When thoughts of worry come, I ask myself, ‘Has God ever let you down?’ He has not.

I had such a rough yet beautiful day with Him. Again He exceeded my expectations when He guided me to the perfect doctor to take my mom. Within minutes he figured out the problem with a test confirming his suspicions. It was incredible. A GPS guided route took me to pass a big building with the number 1175, and I knew this was God’s way of letting me know I was on the right path. Whenever I see the 11 and 7 together, they are my winks, letting me know that God’s invisible presence is with me. I just checked on her, and she’s doing much better. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Amen!

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