THE HUSTLE IS REAL

This pic is of my handsome hubby and me at work today! Let me tell ya, when we first got married, someone advised that it would be better for me to get a job working independent of him (for financial reasons), but thank God, I said, “No way, I’m sticking with my boo!” It hasn’t been easy, he’s a tough boss, but that one decision to work with him has led my life on the BEST TRACK. Hubby is continually correcting and criticizing me (that won’t ever change!), but at the end of the day, he’s made me better, and vice versa. Eighteen years in, we’re a super team, all for God’s glory! I’m holding on to God’s promise:

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” – Psalm 27:13

Amen! This is why I want us learning to filter every decision through God. His ways are not our ordinary human ways, they’re so much better. I want us learning to go to Him in both the BIG and SMALL decisions. When I thought about working in another office away from hubby, God’s Spirit within me said, ‘NO WAY!!’ That is how I make all my decisions now, based on His voice. If I get a nudging from Him that says, ‘Don’t do that!’ trust me, I pay attention.

God is pretty talkative once you get to know Him! Mostly I hear from Him through my feelings. I’m talking about constant conversations with God about EVERYTHING! Have you ever had a nudge within you saying not to do something, and you went ahead to do it anyway? Then when it didn’t go so well you said something like, ‘My mind told me not to do that.’ That was God’s voice within you trying to keep you from making a wrong choice. The wiser Nik now PAYS ATTENTION.

Staying strong means holding on to God’s hand in every moment KNOWING we are never alone. WE HAVE HIS WISDOM, STRENGTH, FAVOR, AND LOVE BACKING US UP! Being self-employed for me and hubs means we have no regular paychecks coming in, but God has been faithful. I’m amazed at the people He sends into our lives to support and help us – Not by might, nor power, but by God’s Spirit. Wink! Wink! As we seek to do our best, God shows up and does the rest. THE HUSTLE IS REAL, but God blesses us even while we sleep when we stick with Him – guided by doing the right and excellent thing He would have us to do in every moment. We’re not perfect, but we work at constant and never-ending improvement seeking to be the people God would have us to be!

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ARE YOU LEARNING GOD’S PERSONALITY?

I am! I am! I am! And I can’t get enough of His cool, loving and so sweet character? Like yesterday, I was chatting with my friend Kira, all the way in the Bahamas from Nigeria, and we were talking about Psalm 91. Another friend of hers had said that was she was the owner of that particular Psalm, and I said, “No way! That Psalm belongs to me!!!”

So, fast forward to late that night, I was up late working and decided that I had had enough of listening to my husband’s phone read the Bible to him to help him fall asleep (his nightly ritual that I’m so thrilled about!). It was playing for over a good hour and a half, and I figured it was OK to now turn it off. I go to the phone, exited the Bible app, and I put back his phone next to him, thinking I had turned it off. Next thing I knew, a voice from the phone says, ‘Psalm 91…” Can you believe this was exactly where I had stopped it? As if God Himself was saying, YES, NIK, THIS PSALM IS FOR YOU!!!’

And this is my confidence, a God who shows up in the most unexpected places to let me know that He is always with me. That He knows EVERY step I make, every conversation I have, and that He Himself is familiar with ALL my ways. That Psalm 91 showing up exactly where I had thought I was turning off hubby’s phone was no coincident, it was all loving arranged my Him to let me know how intimately He is involved in my life – I mean down to every nanosecond! Perfect timing! Claim the words of Psalm 91 for you and your family as well:

“Those who go to God Most High for safety will be protected by the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection. You are my God and I trust you.” 3 God will save you from hidden traps and from deadly diseases. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you can hide. His truth will be your shield and protection. 5 You will not fear any danger by night or an arrow during the day. 6 You will not be afraid of diseases that come in the dark or sickness that strikes at noon. 7 At your side one thousand people may die, or even ten thousand right beside you, but you will not be hurt. 8 You will only watch and see the wicked punished. 9 The Lord is your protection; you have made God Most High your place of safety. 10 Nothing bad will happen to you; no disaster will come to your home. 11 He has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you wherever you go. 12 They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock. 13 You will walk on lions and cobras; you will step on strong lions and snakes. 14 The Lord says, “Whoever loves me, I will save. I will protect those who know me. 15 They will call to me, and I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue them and honor them. 16 I will give them a long, full life, and they will see how I can save.” A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.”

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THE BABOON WAS UP WORKING UNTIL 1 AM LAST NIGHT

That’s what my hubby calls me, while he is the monkey working hard to take care of me! At first, I used to get really upset by this (his way of saying I’m lazy!), but now I run with this baboon title KNOWING God sees everything I do and He is well pleased with me – no human approval necessary! I’m good! That’s GROWTH, baby!

And that’s where I want us all, with our eyes PERMANENTLY fixed on God in every moment doing what we feel He would have us to do, going the extra mile in love and dedication, all for His glory. When we do this, God joins in to help us.

Like I was up working late on getting a package together to sign up with a bank that would greatly help us get lots more business. After getting to a little bump in the road, I called our new manager saying maybe we should hold off for now and send the package in another time. But then I thought, ‘We’ve gotten this far, we should just go for it!’ I immediately sent out the requested information to the bank, and I ended up sending him a text right before sleeping, “We do our best and then leave the rest with God.”

First thing this morning, I woke up with a strong nudge to have an appointment with God reading through my Tumblr.com posts. I searched for “God” and look what incredibly showed up:

“Do your best and God will do the rest.” Wink! Wink!

This was even what I had written on our business’ vision board one day after my nephew said I didn’t have much I was working with. I asked, “Didn’t God create the entire universe from nothing?” Anything is possible with Him! And I confidently wrote, “We do our best and God does the rest.”

Here’s the deal: God is intimately involved in our lives. He knows how to tweak situations in our favor. It was a former employee that God just gave me another nudge to say hello to and tell him about some people that might be able to help him and he turned around and gave me this bank that he felt could assist me. You see how God works –Nik, just contact___ and tell him about this connection you found.’He ended up helping me! Those who trust in God will not starve! He know the connections we need!

So, God is at work guys on our behalf in every area of our lives, its just up to us to get Him involved making Him the center of every move we make. Off to eat with hubs and the boys!!!

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“IT’S A GOOD THING I’VE STOPPED DRINKING!”

That was me to my husband talking about the rough time I had coping with leaving him and the boys in Nigeria. It’s been hard. But thank God for God. He knows what’s best for us, and on a morning out for a run, He pushed me to go and talk with a neighbor. I argued with Him, but He didn’t take “no” for an answer, and I ended up running back to talk with her. Long story short, she ended up taking me to church with her, and that was the changing point. Every Sunday, the sad, depressed, crying for no reason Nik, got stronger and stronger with each visit. I believe this verse describes what happened:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” – Ephesians 3:16-17

He strengthened me in my inner being in those church services. On the first Sunday, I rededicated myself to God. The next Sunday, I rededicated myself and my family. Another Sunday, I rededicated myself to my work for God, and honestly, every week I felt myself getting stronger, happier, and slowly becoming a better version of myself. All thanks to God PUSHING me to go and talk to my neighbor that morning. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning!

Again, that’s the God I’ve come to know and love. He accepts us EXACTLY AS WE ARE. Even if we’re at nothing, He says no problem, didn’t I create the whole world from nothing. Even today, as I complained to Him about some nagging thoughts that get the best of me, I felt Him say, “Offer them to Me all the same. They’re something of yourself. Give so that I may restore. Keep yourself often before Me, My very little one.”

See how accepting He is of us completely and unconditionally – even the bad sides of ourselves He wants us to bring to Him!. And He’s waiting for us to come to Him with open arms JUST AS WE ARE. And to come often. In every moment we can go to God, rest with Him on His heart when the world gets too much for joy, strength, and His amazing love.

And notice how He spoke to me through my Spirit to go back and talk to my neighbor. I want you getting here with me PAYING ATTENTION TO HIS VOICE WITHIN US. That’s how He leads us on the path to the best life. He knows the people we need in our lives (and the ones to stay away from). He knows where the opportunities are (and the ones that are a waste of time). He knows the best solutions to all our problems, but we must get in the habit of RUNNING to Him and seeking His input for our lives! Off to study with these two handsome sons!

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NIKKI, ARE YOU CALLING TO TELL ME ABOUT A GOD WINK?!?

That was from my beautiful friend, Kira. I called to ask her permission to use this picture of her. She’s been my friend since 5th grade and I was thrilled to see her looking so young, healthy and happy – I’m inspired! You rock, my love!!!

Am I really that bad with the God winks?!? They’re when, out of the blue, things line up just too perfect to be considered a regular coincident. I believe they are arranged by God Himself to remind us that His invisible Presence is always with us.

Like I’ve had this poster on my bathroom door for months

in hopes of improving on some weak areas. One of them was to spend two hours with God every day reading my meditation books and learning more about Him (total God geek here!). Every time I would look at it, though, I would cringe because with everything I have going on, two minutes is difficult, much less two hours.

So, Saturday, I finally took a different spin on it, and instead of feeling guilty, I changed that 2 to 24, meaning I would spend 24 hours with God, making Him the center of every move I make. I was thrilled with this change- no more feeling guilty about not having alone times with Him, my entire life will now be ALL about Him in every moment TRYING to be the Nik He is calling me to be. And just for the pleasure of knowing He is always with me as my GREATEST FRIEND EVER. Through the difficult and happy times! Yayy! And even when I mess up, He always seems to just say, ‘Mistakes are OK. Improve next time!’

So, a couple of hours later, I go to get a 15-minute pedicure on my way to the airport to catch a flight, believe it or not. And in that short time, a song that I feel God sings to me through, played on the radio:

“24 hours… I need more hours with you.”

So, after changing that poster to 24 hours with God, He sings and says, ‘Nik, I need more hours with you!!!’ No coincident that that song played, it was God showing me His love.

And that’s the God I’ve come to know. He has the sweetest and coolest personality and He’s intimately involved in every moment of our lives. See how that song lined up too perfectly for me to tell that lady I have 15 minutes for that pedicure and of all songs in the entire world, for that specific one to play while I was there was all orchestrated by Him.

And not only does He sing to me, but I feel Him working behind the scenes in every aspect of my life. He gives me more than what I can expect from Him, from the right people showing up to help me, to ideas and solutions and what specific steps to take and solve problems seem to magically pop to mind, and even when I’m sad, He ALWAYS figures out some way to comfort me. He fills my life with such love.

Are you getting to know His personality and love for yourself? Don’t miss out on the best life with Him as your Guide, Counselor, Teacher, Advisor, Father and Friend. Repeat this prayer with me, ‘God, I want a closer walk with You. Amen.’

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‘GOD, I NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!’

That was me waking up super early this morning to Him. No shame in my game, I have my difficult moments that I NEED His help to get me through. Those times when I MUST hold onto His hands SUPER SUPER TIGHT, continually reminding myself that I’m with Him, I’m with Him, I’m with Him.

And can you believe He answered that prayer? I was texting my sister in the Bahamas and said, ‘Enough texting, let me call her!’ We ended up having one of our sacred conversations, and I told her that we have to go both with the PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL in dealing with problems – We do our best in the physical realm and leave God to do what He has to do in the spiritual because He knows how to tweak situations in our favor. Kk?!?

I ended up handing my phone over to my mom and left them talking. When I went back to get my phone from my mom, though, she asked if I could charge her phone for her, and the quickest way was just to plug it into the TV. I remember thinking, ‘God, forgive me for wasting electricity in using this big TV to charge my mom’s little phone.’ Like one minute later, on the very station I turned the TV on to, an announcer says something concerning some orphan kids, “We take care of both their PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL needs.” WINK! WINK! And just like that, God shows up to say, ‘Nik, RELAX, I got you!’

That’s was another one of my God winks where once again, out of the blue, everything lines up EXTREMELY too perfectly to be a regular coincident. It was God sweetly revealing His invisible Presence with me.

I cried yesterday listening to a freshman in high school, Madison, pray this prayer at Bel Air’s church in California:

“Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for waking us up this morning. And thank You for everything You give us. I pray for us to help know Your BOLDNESS. That we will be able to move forward in our faith, in our prayer life, and in everything that we are doing. That you will be at the center of every move we make and KNOW THAT MISTAKES ARE OK. To know that we can move forward and that YOU ARE BY OUR SIDE THROUGH ALL OF IT. And that we will be able to prosper and have abundance, and growth and help other people to grow as well through knowing you and knowing your faith and boldness… Amen.”

After she prayed, the congregation was invited to “come forward for prayer, come forward to confess things, come forward to ask for healing.” Will you go to God now with anything You need His help with? He hears our heart prayers.

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GOD ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE FINDING NEW WAYS TO MAKE ME HAPPY

Don’t ask me how He does what He does, but it seems that every time I go through my little hurts and disappointments, I come back a happier, stronger, peaceful, going the extra mile in love, mercy and kindness version of myself – I will rise 1,000 times, baby!

So, when my husband complained that he needed a vital part to complete a job, super wife stepped up to get it for him. Unable to find it by myself, I asked a staff to stop everything he was doing and look for it for me. I kept calling him “Have you found it? Have you found it? Let’s try this place.” I can get pretty annoying at times! LOL! While he did that, I needed to go on another errand for hubby/boss. As I’m driving there, the exact vehicle type that we needed that part for cut right in front of me. I asked God, smiling with Him, ‘Is this a sign from You saying that you’re helping me with this issue?’ And unbelievably less than five minutes, I got a call, “Nikki, I’ve found it!” The person described it as something just telling them, ‘Call this place!’ He called, and they had it and can deliver it to us today!

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. God is working in the spiritual realm on our behalf! Wink! Wink! See how HE located that crucial part for me and whispered to my staff as to where to find it? I know you guys must think I’m crazy, but this is the God I’ve come to know and love. He is concerned about anything I’m worried about. That vehicle cutting in front of me was the exact make, model, trim, and color as the one I needed that part for. It was no coincident, it was God revealing His invisible Presence in every detail of my life as if saying once again, ‘Nik, I got you!’

And God, I got You, too! It’s almost 3 am as I type this. He has asked me to share with you all the love I’ve been experiencing from Him. He wants to share this good loving with you, too! He wants our lives to be uninterruptibly His. With every thought we think, every decision we make coming from a place of including Him in on it. That’s where I find my joy, peace, and strength in knowing that I’m not going through life alone, that God Himself is with me and is intimately familiar with ALL my ways. “Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success.” – Proverbs 3:6

Unfortunately, the hurts and disappointments aren’t going anywhere (sorry!), but the love you receive from God makes up for the losses. You’re somehow (by His strength within you) able to shake them off, keep your eyes fixed on Him (and not this broken world!), being the person He would have you to be:

“But the Spirit (God’s) produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” – Galatians 5:22-23

Again, don’t ask me how God does what He does, I’m only sharing my experiences with Him. Don’t limit happy, say, ‘God, PLEASE, I want a closer walk with You! Amen!”

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THE LORD SAYS…

I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you. – Psalm 32:8

That’s certainly my testimony! From the almost alcoholic, overweight, sad, anxious, unforgiving, frustrated, low self esteem mad lady, God has helped and guided me to become this happy, grateful, loving, forgiving, fearless individual who LOVES her life. No alcohol needed, and I’ve been able to keep off the over 50 lbs (22 Kgs) that I’ve lost. And if He can do it for me, I promise, He can do it for you, too!

I thanked a friend yesterday for being such a shiny, positive example, she said, “It’s your appointments with God that have helped you.” It was the alone times with Him PLUS her real-life example that have influenced many of my decisions AND LITLLE BY LITTLE MOLDED ME into a joyous and peaceful human. “God sent me to you for training,” I said, and not one moment around her has been wasted. I am the mother, wife and person I am through years of watching her in action and listening to God. Now my job from God is to pass on what I’ve learned to you guys.

In fact, God sent me packing all the way to Nigeria from the US just to be around her and learn from her. I felt Him nudge me in my spirt to call her one day over nine years ago. This is after saying to my husband so many times that I didn’t want to have any friends there. So, I’ll never forget that day that God gave me the courage and push to call her (He’s quite pushy sometimes!). And the rest is history! We ended up having standing dates with each other and the kids on a weekly basis. “I will make you wise and show you where to go.” To become wise, hang with the wise! Wink! Wink!

Notice how I paid attention to that nudging from God to call her even though I had made up my mind against having close friends. God knows best, let me tell ya! That’s where I want us all, though, paying attention to where God is guiding our lives, not where we want to go. He knows the people we need, where we need to go (even to Nigeria if necessary!), and incredibly what we need to do and say in every single moment: “If you go the wrong way—to the right or to the left—you will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the right way. You should go this way.”

I loved a wink (smile) from Him on Sunday. I had just finished telling someone at the church how when I see the numbers 7 and 11 together, it’s God reminding me that His invisible Presence is with me. Some minutes later, I had to leave the service and go outside to take a call from my husband. Exactly where I stood speaking to him, I looked at the car in front of me where the numbers 7 and 11 were together on the license plate – I’m always with you, Nik. I smiled back with Him as I calmly let hubby vent something that was on his mind, then I respectfully responded knowing that God was right there with me at that moment. Afterward, I politely asked hubs, “Can I go back into church now?” LOL! PLEASE DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BEST LIFE CLOSE TO GOD. Tell Him you need and want His Presence and guidance in every moment!!!

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“GOD ARRANGED ALL THIS FOR US”

That was me to my daughters this morning as they drove to school. I had called Ember to wish her good luck on her first official soccer game. And, of course, I asked them for us to have an appointment with God together. “The greatest impression a father (or mama) can leave on his child is the message of his living faith, unwavering hope, and steady trust in God that will be engraved on their heart forever.”

Let me tell ya, these daughters are just blowing me away! I opened my computer yesterday to see where Ember had registered for her first college class. YAYY!!! The bill of $1,119 was fully paid by scholarship. Another $1,119 was also paid for Julie’s first course, as well. Telling my sister about it, how the girls are starting college from high school, she was amazed and asked, “How did you find out about all of this?” And all I could say was, “God!”

Honestly, the girls and I have seen first hand God in action. He picked the school, He picked our house 15 years ago that’s close to both their school and the college. He picked the car Ember is driving. We know this because when I went to set up my phone in the car, it said “Amber’s phone.” Amber was the last owner of the car and I took it as a huge God wink, that God selected that car for her because that lined up just too perfectly with almost her name to be an ordinary coincident. After we debated for such a long time as to what car would be right for her. This was His way of showing that this vehicle was His pick!

This is the love of God I’ve gotten to know and experience:
College books: $358 paid by scholarship
College courses: $2,238 paid by scholarship
Hardworking, smart daughters who are not afraid to take on college-level work while still in high school: PRICELESS

God, I will sing of Your love FOREVER! I’m with You, I’m with You, I’m with You! I accept You as my Life Partner in every moment. Amen. May I always follow Your will for my life being the best mom, wife, and person possible, ALL FOR YOUR GLORY.

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I FIGURED OUT THE MEANING OF THAT “AWFUL” DREAM

Like some weeks ago, I dreamt that my sons had a woman in the house with them like a mother figure. Of course, the crazy lady here thought that it meant my husband (who is in Nigeria with my sons while I’m in the US with my daughters) had replaced me with another wife. The horror! I said, ‘God, I rebuke that dream!’ LOL!

But God finally helped me figure out the real meaning. My son, Emmie, called me last week and I overheard our niece, Ike, in the background lovingly correcting my son Joshie, like he hadn’t done his homework properly or something. Just like a mother. Then talking to her mom on Saturday, thanking her for raising such a fantastic daughter, she said something like, “I told her this is practice for her to be a parent.” Then it clicked. I got the meaning of the dream – it was Ike I had dreamt about – she was the mother figure in our home.

And how she showed up so perfectly to help us, was all arranged by God Himself. Let me tell ya, your girl here has been going through a low-key depression. I would just start crying for any little thing, feeling sad and depressed over leaving half of my family halfway across the world. But that dream was God telling me that, like usual, He got me! Whatever I’m concerned about is a concern for God. He knew it was difficult for me leaving the boys, and out of the blue, Ike’s job transferred her to the city where we live in Nigeria. And she has been such a blessing. When I thank her, she says, ‘No, Aunty, I’m the one who should be thanking you.’ God turns my sadness into joy.

See how the interpretation of that dream had me thinking all negative? It’s the same way with life – it is all about perspective and how we see things. That’s another reason why I love my relationship with God. He changes my outlook on everything. Instead of being worried, fearful, frustrated, feeling guilty, stressed, unkind, anxious, sad, depressed, jealous, angry, annoyed and discouraged, I can keep my eyes fixed on God where I’m hopeful, filled with His love and approval of me, happy, grateful, enjoying every day as a gift from Him, optimistic, filled with faith and trust, working on constant and neverending improvement (nobody’s perfect!). Me and God are the majority. There is nothing too BIG for me and Him to handle together. Repeat this Psalm with me:

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” – Psalm 23:4-6

Amen!

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