“BE ON CHILL FOR LIFE”

That’s the FANTASTIC message from my brother, Kevin, that I will be RUNNING with from now on!!! “On chill” is used to describe a relaxed state of mind where there isn’t anything serious to worry about (urbandictionary.com). Not only was this a message from Kevin, but God confirming that this is where HE ALSO WANTS ME TO BE (and you too!). I wrote a post a couple of days ago about how God speaks to me through this song:

“Maybe we can be ON CHILL tonight…I’m trying to hear all your problems so I can lighten the load. Know you’re not fighting alone because I’m protecting you from them (SO CHILL)” – On Chill, Wale

Fast forward that afternoon, extremely jetlagged after flying from Nigeria, I go to bed early and decide to catch up on weeks of The Housewives of Atlanta episodes. I continued watching from precisely where I had last left off weeks ago. Amazingly, five minutes in, Cynthia brags about receiving a necklace from Eva with one word: “CHILL.”

God, I get the message! See how He has such a funny sense of humor! This just lined up TOO perfectly to be an ordinary coincident. It was all orchestrated by Him to let me know that He is with me, and He doesn’t want His girl stressing about ANYTHING.

So, I’m officially on chill. Relaxed mode. The challenges are still there, but I’m trusting God is behind the scenes helping me, giving me the solutions, people, courage, stamina, and Himself tweaking situations on my behalf in the spiritual realm (Wink! Wink!). I DO MY BEST AND LET GOD DO THE REST. The disappointments are also there, but I immediately SHAKE THEM OFF and return to counting my blessings.

Like one of my fav cars I’ve EVER driven was a black Honda Odyssey. I loved it! I was so sad when we sold it (life of a car dealer!). Coming back from Nigeria, though, what was the first car I see at our gate: an even nicer, newer, black Honda Odyssey. It was like God Himself saying, ‘Nik, I got this for you!’ It’s perfect for taking my mom and four kids around, starting hopefully to church tomorrow. The strange thing is my husband didn’t like me driving it because he thought it suited a nerdy mom. Hello, that’s me, a SUPER nerdy mom! No shame in my game! “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Wink! Wink! On chill for life, baby, with my eyes fixed on God!!! Ain’t worried bout nothing! Are you with me?

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“THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE!!!”

That’s from my girl, Porsha, from The Housewives of Atlanta. She found out very publicly that her fiancée had been cheating on her.

HERE’S THE DEAL:

RELATIONSHIPS ARE SUPER TOUGH!!! But God has beautifully been my Guide in helping me navigate them all. From the people I work with, my kids, my handsome hubby here, close relatives, and friends, God has been my Wonderful Counselor. I can go to Him at any moment, asking for His advice on handling situations, even the most difficult and hurtful ones. I can feel Him in my spirit, nudging me as to what He would have me to do. This is precisely where I want all of us: Not making any move without talking to God about it first!!!

“We’re sticking with you, boo!” That was me and my son, Emmie, to my husband recently. “You guys better stick with me. No one will treat you better than the way I treat you.” And it’s the honest truth. I have new respect and love for him. HE SHOWS US HIS GENUINE LOVE. But most importantly, I feel how much God loves him. So much so, that even if I get upset with him, I FEEL God saying to me, ‘Nik, forgive. Focus on all the wonderful things hubs does. Be patient. Nobody’s perfect.’ Even when I want to turn into the crazy lady, with one glimpse at God, I know what He would have me to do: Calm down.

Following God’s lead has brought me to a happy place in my life. Not only in regards to my husband, but in all my significant relationships. Like Pitbull taught me, “Ain’t nothing perfect, girl.” God is teaching me, through my appointments/alone times with Him, to focus on the good in others and His values:

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.…”

I don’t know how God does what He does, but all I know is that He has brought me and hubs through some pretty rough times with even MORE love and respect for each other. I pray Porsha will have lots of conversations with God for herself as to what HE would have her to do. God’s ways are always best! Sometimes that means enduring some hurts and humiliations, but we do it all for the glory of God. We can go through the darkest nights, yet still stay strong and committed, with our hopes high that everything will work together for our good. God Himself is our reward! Wink! Wink!

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FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE LORD HAS ________

I don’t know about you, but He has EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS in every aspect of my life. I’m always freaking out, asking Him, “How did this happen?” God has been faithful, and I fall more and more in love with Him every day.

Last night I went to sleep with all four of my kids under one roof. I’m not lucky; I’m blessed! Even I had no problem with my terrible sleeping sons coming to bed with me. The girls and my mom did a terrific job taking care of each other while I traveled to Nigeria to pick up the boys to spend the holidays with us. God made it happen!

And I want you with me, more in love with God every day. Yesterday, I had a busy day, even though I said I wanted to get some rest after the long flight. We needed to do a BJ’s run to stock up on foods that my sons like to eat, and as I went into the car, I said to God, ‘Sorry I didn’t think about you so much today.’ A few seconds later, the lyrics in a song on the radio said, “FALL IN LOVE,” precisely as I looked down on the screensaver on my phone saying the same thing, “FALL IN LOVE.” Wink! Wink!

That was another one of my God winks, where out of the blue, everything lines up too perfectly to be a regular coincident. It was God revealing His invisible Presence with me as if saying, ‘Nik, you might have forgotten about Me today, but I will never forget about you, not even for one second.’

The song playing on the radio has also been a special one between God and me, lately. I play it over and over and over again as I imagine Him saying the lyrics to me:

“We’ve been on a tragedy for months… Maybe we can be on chill tonight…I’m trying to hear all your problems so I can lighten the load. Know you’re not fighting alone because I’m protecting you from them (SO CHILL)” – On Chill, Wale

The tragedy for months parts has been no joke! The separation from hubs and my sons has been off the charts difficult. It’s a good thing that I’ve given up alcohol because I would’ve been right back there to numb all the depressing thoughts. But God stood with me:

“I will guide them along paths that they have not known. I will make the darkness become light for them, and the rough ground smooth.” – Isaiah 42:16

All the stressful, painful, crazy, and depressing thoughts that were weighing your girl down, God has melted them away, saying, “Nik, let’s be on chill. Relax. Stop all the worries and anxieties. I got you.”

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I FINALLY GET IT!!!

At every moment, we have God’s love, power, generosity, strength, wisdom, patience, charm, personality, influence, Spirit, angels, warmth, and friendship backing us up. Are you guys getting this???? God is intimately involved in every nanosecond of our lives, just waiting for us to remember that, although invisible, He is there with us. SWEET!!!

It took a conversation with someone early this morning that brought this idea home. I have a way of making some pretty cutting, hurtful, and rude remarks sometimes, and in that conversation, before making one of those awful comments, I held my tongue, looked to God, and asked, ‘What would please You here?’ I felt Him respond through my Spirit, ‘Nik, don’t say that!’ And I didn’t, and instead responded with gentleness, kindness, and love, all for God’s happiness and honor. Love is not rude.

The BIG lesson is that I need us to up our game in doing an even better job of continuously going to God and responding to EVERYONE and EVERYTHING from His perspective. Trust me, like in that conversation today, instead of saying the wrong things, God gave me His tact, charm, genuineness, and charisma to respond from His loving and kind character. And it’s ALWAYS available to us. GOD IS OUR GREATEST FRIEND.

I so enjoyed talking to a priest recently. We summed up God in three words: GOD IS LOVE. And He is counting on us to reflect that to a watching world. That’s what I believe would please Him greatly. The more beautiful we are, in our words and deeds, the more beautiful God looks. Wink! Wink! NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE SAID, EITHER. People should want a relationship with God because of us and not vice versa.

Even with problems. I so want to figure out how I will handle the difficulties of my life, but God is showing me that I don’t have to have everything all figured out. This message showed up on WhatsApp, and I knew I was indeed a message from God to me:

“But God is saying to you…Be still and know that I am your God. I will fight all your battles and give you victory.”

That means relaxing (not in a lazy way!), confident, and having a continuous thought of God being with us and for us, seeking to do what He is asking of us. His constant advice as to what to do, what to say, and where to go, leads us to a life of joy, purpose, peace, success, and victory no matter the challenges – may no darkness weight is down by the grace of God!

Let me tell ya, His direction hasn’t failed me yet! I LOVE MY LIFE WITH GOD! WILL YOU JOIN US?

“Grant me the grace, O Lord and Saviour, to never allow time to elapse between the desiring and the putting into practice that which You want. Amen.” – The Imitation of Christ

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“WHY IS IT TAKING YOU THREE HOURS TO BEGIN YOUR RUN?”

That was my brilliant son, Emmie, yesterday. I kept telling them I’m going for a run, I’m going for run, when he finally asked that. But I’m so happy he did! Why did it take me three hours to begin a 20-minute jog? And if I’m honest with myself, it because I’m back THINKING THE WRONG THINGS. ‘God, I thought I had this problem handled!’ But obviously, NOT.

No shame in my game, though, I’m back beating my head with a stick. When those negative thoughts come up, I want us politely referring them to God, keeping our eyes FIXED on Him in every moment. I’m talking taking every idea DIRECTLY to God, asking for His guidance and direction AS WE LOOK AT THE SITUATION FROM HIS ALMIGHTY PERSPECTIVE. I want us owning whatever situations we find ourselves in, giving an even stronger mental effort to always seeking God’s direction and what He would have us to do.

When the negative thoughts pop up that want to make us sad, worrisome, fearful, frustrated, annoyed, depressed, and anxious, we simply, beat our head with a stick and say, ‘No, no, no, I’m rolling with God, the Creator of the entire Universe. I’m KEEPING MY EYES FIXED ON HIM AND NOT THIS CRAZY WORLD. He can carry oceans in one hand!!!’ From there, we simply do OUR best with what God directs us to do, and trusting God to do the rest! Kk?

Like this handsome son, Joshie (pictured here), dragged me out to their school early this morning to see him get recognized for Math and Honor Roll. Shortly after that, I met with my husband on some ideas on how to take our business to the next level. I told him the other day that we are in legacy mode, leaving behind some significant values to our kids to pass on to their kids, to hopefully pass on to their kids, and so on. FAITH in God is number one on the list. He hasn’t disappointed us yet! ALL EYES ON GOD as we continue to be the excellent, going the extra mile in love, full of faith people He is calling us to be, NO MATTER WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND US. Amen!

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“HOLD MY HEAD UP HIGH, I’LL STAND TALL”

Were the words I fell in love with from the Boyz to Men’s song, I Will Get There, while working on my book again until about 2 a.m. It has to be in a particular format and instead of wasting time complaining about it, I’m doing what my DVD exercise trainer, Shaun T, has taught me – to dig deep, having the endurance for exercising as well for my life. Honestly, I’ve become very lazy, but I’ve decided today that I will accept God’s invitation to play life at a higher level and areas where I’ve been weak, I will become strong.

And about this playing life at a higher level, God has challenged me again through the rapper, Prince EA, to answer a vital question: “Who am I in the deepest sense?” He spoke about us being loyal to conditioned thoughts passed on from generation to generation. Thoughts that we’re so loyal to that we’ve fought over, killed over, gotten angry, sad and depressed over. Me included! I get sad and depressed over the same crazy thoughts over and over again. I’ve had enough! I’m going to the next level of focusing on important goals like bringing humanity closer to God, seeing my children grow up to be the superhumans they’re capable of becoming, helping my husband take our businesses to new levels of success, and becoming the most awesome version of me.

That means no more constantly thinking crazy thoughts such as worry, fear, and insecurity; They’re not becoming of superhumans rolling with God! Instead, we pray, work hard and let God worry, doing our best and leaving the rest with Him. That also means we’re spiritually and mentally disciplined to new levels of thinking about our lives, goals, dreams, and aspirations and we’re constantly, constantly, constantly catching ourselves when we find ourselves thinking negatively and saying, No, no, no! We’re not going there! and reprograming our minds with new thoughts with the best and most beautiful outcomes.

We must beat our minds with a stick, becoming mentally disciplined, focused and strong like John Joseph taught me.
I can already see my husband and me at our kids’ college graduations and me doing significant work in the world for God. I have faith and like the Boyz to Men song says, “I will get there!”

“Hold my head up high, I’ll stand tall. And I swear this time I won’t fall.”

Dear God, help us to dig deep and become the superhumans You intended for us to be. Amen.

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

GOD IS IN ALL THE MESSY DETAILS OF MY LIFE!!!

Like this week, I called a friend all the way in the Bahamas from Nigeria about a frustrating situation that seems to never want to go away. We’ve playfully referred to this as our “WEEDS.” “The weeds are back!” I complained to her. No matter how many times we think we have the “WEEDS” handled, some more pop up! To the point that we’ve just agreed to turn the entire matter over to God because it’s just too much for us to handle without Him! God is BIGGER!!!

Fast forward a few hours, God lets me know that He was in on our conversation, and He had this to add:

“You turn over the soil and bury the WEEDS.” Wink! Wink!

And this was the perfect message for the crazy lady that day because I have so much soil (blessings, excellent things to think about) in my life that I can literally turn over the soil and quickly bury those weeds. God has guided my life on such a beautiful path that I have no right to complain about anything – including the weeds.

I loved another message from God some years ago about this same weed matter:

“Don’t let the weeds overshadow the wheat.”

We live in a broken world where, unfortunately, there are WEEDS EVERYWHERE, but we must not let it dim all the good. With our eyes fixed on God, we must continue to be the superhero wives, husbands, parents, and people He is calling us to be, committed to LOVE AND LOYALTY no matter what is going on around us.

“Who is full of compassion like the Lord? The Lord cast our failures in the deepest sea and they will not remember you.” I believe this is where He is calling us to be with ourselves and loved ones. Sometimes you have to just to swallow some BITTER things, move on, and focus on being happy and full of hope. Yes, Father. I’m in! LOVE WINS.

“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.”

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“SAY, “HI, GOD!!!””

“Hi, God.” That was the cute little conversation I had with my sons as we waited for hubby IN OUR CAR yesterday evening. One asked, “Is God really here? Where is He?” I answered, “God is everywhere, and He is always with us.” “Will God answer us back?” another asked. “Sometimes He does,” I replied. Can you believe God did answer?!? He figured out a way to let me know that His Presence was INDEED with us IN THAT CAR.

Fast forward a few hours, I’m in bed trying to sleep. But because my body clock still has not adjusted to the Nigerian time zone, I couldn’t. I then decided to listen to Rich Roll’s podcast, but for some reason it refused to play. I then go to listen to Bel Air’s Church’s, and boom, it surprisingly worked. However, the one that played, I ended up changing to play another episode. Listen to what the Pastor unbelievably says a couple of minutes into that other sermon:

“We CAN imagine that God is in the same room OR THE SAME CAR WITH US…” Wink! Wink!

Again, for that to line up sooooo perfectly, out of the blue, like that, was no ordinary coincident. It was God revealing His invisible Presence that’s ALWAYS with us. Of all the podcasts I could have listened to, for Rich Roll’s one to refuse to play, and for me to listen to THAT specific one after my sons wanted to know if God was really in that vehicle, was another one of my God winks, with Him sweetly answering, “Yes, I was there IN THAT CAR WITH YOU.”

And this is the love I’ve gotten to KNOW from God. He stoops down and comes to our level and our little lives to let us know that He’s REALLY there. Right after that, I smiled with Him, and I drifted happily off to sleep.

Are you getting to know God’s voice and His communications with you? You see that smile on my face in this pic? No fake smile over here! This is the smile of someone with REAL joy who KNOWS she’s incredibly loved by her God/Heavenly Father. I USED to be STARVING for the love and affection from others. No more! His joy. His love. His peace. EQUALS MORE THAN ENOUGH. God, fill our lives with even more of Your Presence. Amen.

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GOD EXCEEDS MY EXPECTATIONS!!!

That’s my testimony for sure! His blessings and favor follow me wherever I go! But, of course, I want you guys in on this good loving, too, DIRECT from God Himself! Wink! Wink! So, here are my three key points for living the BLESSED life:

IN ALL THY WAYS FOLLOW HIM! I’m talking constant and never-ending conversations with God about everything! Today, I was in a little bit of a sticky situation, and I prayed, ‘God, help me!’ I debated all the different options, and I landed on one, which I felt was God approved, and I did that. He is helping me to learn that I can go through negative experiences, TOLERATING some frustrations, but still hold a positive attitude, with a love and HOPE that NEVER GIVES UP. Phew! We’re to reflect God’s faithfulness with our loved ones! No matter what we do, God loves us unconditionally. We must do the same for others. Nobody’s perfect! And like my sister-in-law taught me, sometimes that means pretending we’re DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND. Wink! Wink!

DO GOOD, IT’S FOR YOU. DO BAD, IT’S FOR YOU!!! God has never failed me. Always, any issue I have, He’s at my service to help me navigate through any rugged terrain! “GOD DEY!” As they say in Nigeria. All the challenges and trials your girl has fought have been so good for me. I’m forever seeing God show up and show off. He knows how to teak situations in our favor. And for everything He does for me, I regularly ask, ‘God, what may I render to You?’ Yesterday I said to hubs, “You know God has stolen me from you, right?” The days where we were united at work and home are now over. God has taken our marriage to a new place where hubby is free to do his thing, and he has freed me to do my thing, including this work for God. Hubs response was, “Anything for God!” He is a witness to God’s goodness. I say I work for God, but in reality, He is seriously working for us!

DO YOUR BEST!!! Work as if God is your Boss because He really is! Every blessing is from God, and He rewards those who seek after Him doing the right and excellent thing in every moment. Whatever anyone else does is between them and God (Like today – that’s on them!). I keep my eyes fixed on Him, seeking to please Him in everything I do. This is how He astonishingly guides us on the path to the best life with Him as our Helper and Guide. Even our mistakes are transformed into beautiful and crucial lessons that He Himself would have us to learn.

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“NIKKI, YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT”

That was this incredible husband to me this morning. Despite all the ups and downs we may go through, bottom line: I trust him. More importantly, I know God Himself is behind the scenes of our lives guiding us on the right path. Like last night I questioned him about how he found out about some wrong someone close had done to him behind his back, and he responded, “I don’t know. My mind just told me I should ask about it.” That’s God in action! He’s very much involved in our lives, whispering to us exactly what He would have us to know, what to do, where to go, and even what to say. START PAYING ATTENTION!

A few weeks ago, though, I was saying to God, ‘I didn’t need to know all of that!!!’ But I believe it was to teach me, and hopefully you, a crucial life lesson: MERCY (forgiveness without punishment). Hubs had admitted to making a mistake (nobody’s perfect!), and as I listened to God as to how He would have me to react, I felt Him say to me through my spirit, “SHHHH. Quiet, Nik, leave it alone.” I accepted the fact that we all make mistakes, forgave hubby, and I haven’t mentioned it since. Which was the same thing hubby did with me when I made a very costly mistake recently. “Let’s not talk about it anymore,” he lovingly and forgivingly said to me.

And that’s the place where God has beautifully guided our marriage, that we both can mess up, and we still can say, “It’s OK, boo, I still love you.” Granting each other constant grace and forgiveness.

“How are you able to forgive?” someone asked me the other day. And I responded that it’s not me, it’s God’s strength and power coming through – I can do all things with Him! My appointments with God are helping me to learn His character so that I can follow Him when I’m back out in the world. God is love. I’m slowly becoming much more loving, kinder, gentler, and forgiving. I loved a wink from Him today, “You see, when you become more beautiful, I become more beautiful.” Can we all make God more beautiful by demonstrating His love in the world?

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