That’s the name of our bath tissue and EXACTLY where I am in my life at this moment! LOL! You need to be both! Away from overprotective hubby, and having to take control managing our business here in Florida without him, your girl here is learning to be strong, brave, courageous, bold, unflinching, tough, determined, and fearless. On the other side, God is also teaching me these SOFT qualities:
“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 5:22-24
He also sweetly gives the wisdom as to when to be what! Every relationship. Every decision. Every circumstance. I aim to look to God, continually asking, ‘What would You have me to do here? Where would You have me to go? What would You have me to say?’ And step by step, I joyfully follow His lead knowing His invisible Presence is always with me.
Even in a run yesterday, He amazingly showed up. I enjoyed listening to Charlie Rocket in the Nike Running Club app, so much that I paused my music playing in the background. When Charlie spoke of his affiliation with Nike and wanting to inspire a million people, he got my attention. I started dreaming big too about working with Nike. ‘Nike, Nikki. Nike Nikki. I like the sound of that! I could inspire people as they run about having a strong relationship with God. I need to become a partner with Nike too!’ I started thinking. Hey, a girl can dream!
Immediately after having these thoughts, and Charlie had stopped talking, I resumed my music, only to hear Drake say, “Nike.” I thought, ‘Did Drake just say Nike?’ I rushed to see the song lyrics, and can you believe he did say, “Nike, crossbody, got a piece in it.” I freaked out because I knew this was no coincidence, but God’s sweetness revealing His Presence with me. I mean down to the nanosecond, He had me to resume playing that song exactly for Drake to say Nike!
Like my sister in law, Aima, said to me yesterday, “God knows the moment I was conceived, and the moment I will die. My life is in His hands.” And he had me to pause that song and restart it precisely when Drake said that “Nike” just to remind us all that He has all of our lives all timed out, too, down to the seconds!
Incredible His love is for us! Don’t miss out! Remember: Every relationship, Every decision. Every circumstance. Let’s go to God as He leads us on the paths to the best lives with Him. No matter the troublesome situations that come our way, our God is GREATER than anything we will ever face! We can be joyful and at peace, doing our best and leaving the rest with Him to tackle in the spiritual realm! Wink! Wink!
That was the question that started a fantastic chat between me and someone contacting me from Bangladesh yesterday. He crucially asked, “How do you talk to God in this life? And to be honest with you guys, my entire life is becoming a pretty cool conversation between God and me. Like the HUGE decision to leave my husband and two sons in Nigeria to live in the US with my two daughters so that they could finish high school here. Let me tell ya, that was a whole lotta talking with God asking if we should go, and He lovingly directed us step by step.
Like one day, we called the school through the Bluetooth connection in a truck we were driving to make some inquiries. Right after that, we go to play some music on my phone, and the very first song we randomly selected mentioned the name of the school. God is our DJ!!! My daughters and I took this as no coincidence. How could the name of the school show up in a song from my library of over 800? We took this as a God wink! The sweetness of God!
Then there was a Sunday where we had our brunch reading from The Purpose Driven Life Devotional for Kids, asking and praying to God to direct us on this super tough decision. We arbitrarily picked days from this 366 devotional, and this one showed up entitled, ‘Time To Fly:’
“A mother eagle will take the nest of her young and stir it up. She will make them uncomfortable and miserable and force them to learn how to fly—for their own good… When we become motivated to let God do something in our lives, then he pushes us out of the nest so we can learn to fly…Prayer: Help me to trust that you will take care of me.”
Again, no coincidence, all God saying that it was time for the girls to leave the very comfortable nest in Nigeria, and learn how to fly, knowing that He would be the One to take care of them. Wink! Wink!
He also confirmed it when another Sunday my husband worried about our security without him around. God again answered us through the kid’s devotional when my son selected a number (again out of 366) only to read the day entitled, “Wherever We God, God Goes.’ It said, “The Lord is strong enough to keep us safe. Prayer: Thank you that you are stronger and bigger than any trouble.”
Then there was an old friend who had traveled in from the US who showed up to one of our office’s BBQ. He personally went to battle my husband, who wasn’t finding it funny that half of his family wanted to leave him. He spent hours convincing him that if he wanted what was best for his daughters, he had to let them go. That did the trick, and hubs finally agreed. It’s a HUGE sacrifice for our daughters (appreciate you, my boo!), but it’s been totally worth it. They were ready to fly! Let’s keep going higher, by God’s grace, my fierce family!
HERE’S THE DEAL: God is quite talkative! Don’t miss out on the conversation He wants to have with you!
Last night, I wanted to do some work, but after my computer was taking such a long time to boot up, I took it as God wanting me to spend some alone time with Him. I believe He had me to watch an interview with Pastor Dan Hall, the person who really brought me closer to Him. I’m here crying as I type this because my fav Pastor is now paralyzed from the neck down, and I am questioning God as to why He allowed such a terrible thing to happen. But like Pastor Hall explained, life is about how you RESPOND when bad things happen:
“How am I going to respond to being in this chair? I am going to pray that Christ (God) be exalted (glorified). That somehow in this chair, somehow in my responses and interactions, I am glorifying Him. I’m pointing people to Him.”
That’s me! I say my life is a movie that everyone is watching, and I hope that they see God in me. That even is my sad times I can brag about my God winks and how God showed up to comfort me. That in my most challenging times, He will have the perfect people to show up to assist me, or He would give me the clarity as to what direction to take to resolve it. That even when I’m down to nothing and feel my most wretched and awful self, and He sweetly says, “Give me your nothingness. Didn’t I create the entire world from nothing?” Even in my failings, he gently says, “Just do better next time.” No guilt, no condemnation, no love lost.
Even our business that I’m trying to get back on track (A HUGE CHALLENGE that has stressed me out ALOT), God has been showing up to help us. In a conversation with our manager, yesterday, I said, “We’re dancing with our Partner – God.” And he texted me back, “The DJ.” Fast forward to yesterday evening, I decided to have an appointment with God reading a page on our family’s website, werollwithgod.com. I looked around for a number to determine what page to read out of 53 pages, and saw the number 28. I go to page 28 and incredibly read this,
“… and said to God that He was my DJ (Wink! Wink!).”
That was AGAIN God’s sweet and FUN way of revealing His Presence with me when everything lined up a little bit too perfect to be some ordinary coincident. HE IS IN THE FIRES WITH US!!! This is why I’m learning that we can indeed be joyful and at peace when we go through hard times because these are the times we’re learning to RELY on God (OUR GREATEST FRIEND!). And, let me tell ya, He doesn’t disappoint!
“I told you these things so that you can have peace in me (God). In this world YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE but be brave! I have defeated the world.” – John 16:33
I always imagine God winking at me when I read this verse! His love casts away all my fears that even when bad things happen, I know that its from the hands of a loving God who knows what’s best for us.
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
I LOVE MY APPOINTMENTS WITH GOD!!!
They remind me that I’m NEVER EVER alone, not even for one moment. God finds the sweetest ways to let me KNOW that His invisible Presence in ALWAYS with me. Like yesterday afternoon, I wrote this:
“I got to work, and my manager surprisingly says, “You’re the strongest person I know! You’re the closest I’ve ever seen anyone with God.” And believe it or not, it’s these constant falls I have to thank for that. I go running to God, no shame! His love casts away my fears, worries, and stresses, little by little, AND I’M CONTINUALLY REMINDED OF WHO I AM AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHOSE I AM – God’s SUPERGIRL, baby! Don’t miss out on a relationship with Him!!!”
Fast forward to this morning, in between working, I decided to go and have a little alone time with Him reading Jesus Calling, one of my fav meditation books, and look what incredibly showed up:
“When you rush, YOU FORGET WHO YOU ARE AND WHOSE YOU ARE (Wink! Wink!). Remember that you are royalty in My kingdom.”
Again, for my very words to show up, it was no coincidence, IT WAS GOD’S CONFIRMATION – NIK, YOU ARE MY SUPERGIRL!
We are all HIS SUPERPEOPLE!!! I’m just the nerdy, God maniac over here who pays attention to these LOVE NOTES from Him that are sprinkled all over the place for me to enjoy. That’s why I’m going on record to say that God and I are an ITEM – WE ARE ONE. He’s the Lover of my soul, my Partner, my Teacher, my Strategist, my Therapist, my GREATEST FRIEND, and He’s always there to help me in every aspect of my life. Are you and Him an item too (minus the you know what part!)? I want us to accept HIS love and approval, and then to share the love we receive from Him with others. Kk?!?
Then start learning His voice so that you make Him a part of everything you do. I loved another God wink recently when I was feeling overwhelmed at work. I again RUSHED to read my Jesus Calling, and God had the perfect reminder:
“We are assured and know that (God being a partner in their labor) all things work together and are (fitting into a plan) for good to and for those who love God and are called according to (His) design and purpose.” – Romans 8:28
Phew! When I read the “ASSURED AND KNOW that God being a PARTNER in their labor,” I relaxed and immediately stopped stressing, reminded that MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD, maker of Heaven and Earth. What is too difficult for Him?
Let’s reflect Him to a watching world, shall we, especially His GOD IS LOVE character, shining His light BRIGHTLY in a dark world – Where there is hatred, let us show love! Amen!
