“NIKKI, YOU LOOK LIKE A DIFFERENT PERSON”

That was from my friend, Mabel, yesterday. I told her that she has been a significant part of my transformation as she was the one to introduce me to smoothies, but she corrected me saying, “No. It’s the work of God.”

HERE’S THE DEAL:

God makes us BETTER! I’m amazed when I look back on the Nikki that I use to be to the Nikki God has helped me become. I asked my daughter, Julie, to have an appointment with God with me, and the page she just randomly opened to blew me away from our kids’ devotional:

“Jacob had come face-to-face with God and it changed his life.

When Jacob began to cooperate, God started working, and the first thing he did was give Jacob a new name, a new identity. God changed Jacob from a cheater and schemer to a good man with the name “Israel,” a “prince of God.” God knew Jacob’s potential, he saw through Jacob’s attempt to be a tough guy. God saw all of Jacob’s weaknesses, but he also saw beneath the surface. “That’s not the real you, Jacob. You’re actually an Israel. You are a prince.” God saw the prince in Jacob and changed him into that kind of guy.

When we’ve had personal encounter with God, we can no longer be the same. The good news is this: beneath all those things that you do not like about yourself, God sees an Israel. He sees the prince or princess. He sees what you can become. He sees your potential, and he wants to change you from a Jacob to an Israel. Let God do his changing.” – The Purpose Driven Life Devotional for Kids

After discussing this with Julie, I said to her I feel God was speaking to me to stop feeling sad over a particular situation and get back focused on the BIG PLANS He has for me. She said, “Mom, what did you say?” I repeated myself that I needed to get back focused on God’s BIG PLANS for me like writing my book on marriage. She replied, look what this prayer I just read says:

“Lord, I’m glad to be a part of your BIG PLANS.”

Wink! Wink! And once again, and entirely out of the blue, everything lined up a little bit too perfect to be coincident. It was another LOVE NOTE from God to remind Julie and me (and you!) that His Presence is always with us, even as I sat in our bathroom tub having an appointment with Him! TMI!!! Told ya! God is intimately involved in our lives! (SMILE!)

Who we were five minutes ago, does not define who we have to be going forward. Let’s ALL become the prince and princesses God has created us to be. What weaknesses do you have to work on? I’ve now made three words my goals for the year: LOVE, DISCIPLINE, AND FOCUS. May God help all of us. Amen.

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“GOING THROUGH HELL WITH A SMILE” (REPOST)

That’s me all the way! All the disappointments, frustrations, challenges, losses, defeats and anything else “negative” that may show up, you’re girl is turning them into CRUCIAL LESSONS THAT GOD HIMSELF WOULD HAVE ME TO LEARN. I’m going HIGHER with God! And I want you here with me; when life throws us lemons, we make some extra sweet lemonade. We’re ROLLING with God, Who knows how to turn all evil INTO SUCH GOOD. (Wink! Wink!)

CASE IN POINT:

I got a very disappointing phone call last night. But I’ve decided to shake it off and leave the people involved in God’s hands. We can’t control anyone, but God can. I simply keep my eyes on HIM asking what He would have me to do in every situation. Some battles are for me to fight, and some He says, ‘Nik, leave this one with Me.’ Life is way too short to be fighting unnecessary fights. The wiser Nik is handing MOST of the battles over to God, like ‘God, this is Your child, you deal with them!’ Which gives me the time and energy to FOCUS on the fights God has for me to contend with. Like I was so inspired by a new mom at my kids’ school who sent me a text that this week before some big tests, her and her kids will be diligently preparing for them at home. My kinda mama!

So, guys, anything that comes our way that wants to throw us off our groove, we simply say, ‘Devil, NOT TODAY!’ and we keep our eyes on God. We stay on the HIGH ROAD being our best, most loving and beautiful selves KNOWING GOD IS OUR ULTIMATE BOSS.

Yesterday I had to leave work early to be with my Joshie at home who was not feeling well. This morning when he complained about hiccups, I said, “Boo, thank God you’re feeling better.” I call him and the other kids my FANTASTIC FOUR. How ya feeling vro (very rare treasure)? is the question I continually ask and they reply, “I feel fantastic!” The BLESSINGS FROM GOD get better and better. What anyone does is between them and their God. Nik, over here, is going to suck up to God as much as possible living my BEST life with Him as my personal Guide and Partner. Woohoo! The stumbling blocks have become my stepping stones!

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

GOD, I TAKE BACK THAT PRAYER FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH YOU!!!

That’s me having some fun and JOKING with God, lately! I’m so on to Him now, and I know that the way He brings us closer to Him is through tribulations, challenges, disappointments, pain, hurts, frustrations and LOTS OF SUFFERING. When we’re happy, and everything is going our way, we forget about God, but when the tough times come, oh my goodness, ALL OF A SUDDEN, WE REMEMBER HIM. Then, we go running and asking for His help! I’m I right or wrong?

He even confirmed this through my meditation book, He and I, after I spent a few days agitated:

“If I (God) had another way of bringing you closer to Me than suffering, I would choose it.”

This was His sweet way of letting me know that He sees what I’m going through, but if there was another way of bringing me closer to Him, He would use it. What kind of a love is this?

Yesterday I asked my daughters to watch the Grammy Awards with me, but when we couldn’t find the full show on YouTube, we ended up watching clips and an interview with 21 Savage after he was released by immigration in the U.S. He got my attention with this very deep comment:

“I’ve been through so much in my life that I’ve learned to embrace the times that I’m down because they always build me up.”

Same here. The worst times in my life have been the best times for me because they’ve helped me become BETTER, STRONGER, WISER, BRAVER AND MORE TRUSTING IN GOD. My meditation book, Jesus Calling, really encouraged me today, written as if God is speaking to us:

“I want you to rely confidently on Me…I have already proved how trustworthy I am. Cast all your anxiety on Me because I care for you…Whatever you’re facing, I can help you handle it better. Seek to find Joy in this day I have made for you. I’ve hidden small treasures along your pathway. Search for them, and thank Me for each one you find.”

And today was filled with lots! I hung out with my kids at work with hubby, and it was such a beautiful day. After telling them a few times that we’re going by the supernatural rules where everything is possible with God, we passed a huge billboard with the word “SUPERNATURAL” pasted across it. I said, “See there, ordinary rules don’t apply to us!” We’re thinking only of the best, working only for the best and expecting only the best KNOWING GOD IS WORKING IN THE SUPERNATURAL REALM ON OUR BEHALF. Wink! Wink!

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“HONEY, DO YOU THINK OUR LIFE IS BORING?”

That was me to my hubby after we spent Valentine’s Day watching TV in our living room! BUT, I LOVE OUR BORING LIFE! Wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world! I LOVE OUR FAMILY, BOO! Forever us! ‘Til death do us part!

We ended up watching a TV evangelist here in Nigeria, T.B. Joshua, and it was if was talking directly to me as to what to do when we face trials. He had three critical points I want to share with you:

  1. DON’T PANIC; STAY CALM
  2. BE DETERMINED TO TACKLE WHATEVER THE SITUATION IS KNOWING GOD IS HEPING YOU
  3. PAY ATTENTION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT (GOD’S VOICE IN YOU) FOR DIRECTION

Got that? I’m so on to God, though, He knows precisely the problems each of us needs to get us where He would have us to be – WISER, TOUGHER, STRONGER AND MORE DEPENDENT ON HIM. I told ya, when I have my moments, I GO RUNNING TO GOD, ‘What is this!!!’ And He would always figures out some way to COMFORT me. Count it all JOY when trouble comes your way. They turn us into new people!

Like my screen saver message that showed up on Facebook the other day with this verse at the bottom:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20

And the craziest thing about this screensaver, like two years ago it appeared all of a sudden by itself on my computer. I had no explanation other than it was God who wanted it there. So, whenever I have to boot up my system, or go to my desktop, I’m reminded that God’s presence is always with me. Helping me to tackle ANY situation that may come my way. I just have to listen extremely carefully to His direction and what He would have me to do moment by moment and one step at a time and BE OBEDIENT to His voice. God’s got us!

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“GOD COMFORTS ME SO THAT I CAN COMFORT OTHERS”

Those were my exact words to someone yesterday afternoon. Fast forward to a couple of hours later, I’m lying in bed for a few minutes to relax my brain and have a few minutes with God before dinner with my family, and I continued reading from where I had last left off in my earlier appointment with Him. The book, (written as if God was speaking directly to me) had this amazingly to say:

“I comfort you in all your troubles so that you can comfort others.” – Jesus Always

Can you believe that? He confirmed exactly what I had said a few hours prior. I can’t tell you the COMFORT this brought me, coming home from a pretty stressful day.

HERE’S THE DEAL

God is with us! God is with us! God is with us! His invisible Presence is not only ALWAYS with us, He’s the Controller of every event and situation going on around us. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, HE WANTS A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU.

Today, He had this to say to me through another meditation book, He and I:

“Write! I don’t want people to be afraid of Me anymore, but see My heart full of love and to speak to Me as they would a dearly beloved brother.

For some I am unknown. For others, a stranger, a severe master, or an accuser. Few people come to Me as to one of a loved family. And yet My love is there, waiting for them. So tell them to come, to enter in, to give themselves up to love just as they are. Just as they are. I’ll restore them. I’ll transform them. And they will know a joy they have never known before. I alone can give that joy. If only they would come! Tell them to come…”

God is like a shy person waiting to be invited into your life. Will you invite Him? I don’t know about you, but my prayer this year is:

God, I want an even closer walk with You. Amen.

Life is too difficult to do without Him.

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

‘GOD, I THINK I SHOULD TAKE DOWN THAT POST FROM LAST NIGHT’

I had quickly written something after finishing dinner with my family, telling my hubby that I was feeling guilty that I didn’t do my work for God WHO IS SO FAITHFUL TO US. But, this morning, I felt it wasn’t my best work and that I should remove it. However, I felt Him saying, ‘If you’ve only encouraged one person, you’ve done great work,’ and that I should leave it.
Fast forward to a couple of hours later, guess who that one person was? Me!!! I had one of my moments where I needed to RUN to God. No shame in my game! When I’m weak, He’s my STRENGTH. This life is TOO difficult to do it on my own without Him.
A customer shared with me earlier this week a channel to watch, and for five minutes, I felt a lady there speak as if she was speaking DIRECTLY to me, reminding me of the verse in the Bible that says God will never leave me or forsake me. I loved it so much, I included it as part of that quick post:
“.. these messages are God’s love notes to me and hopefully to you, to remind us that His invisible Presence never leaves us and He will never forsake us.”
Fast forward to today when I needed to RUN to God, look at what amazingly showed up in my meditation book that I just randomly opened to:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
Wink! Wink! And once again everything lined up to a liitle bit too perfectly to be an ordinary coincident. From me getting 5 minutes of TV time to hear THAT lady, to me including it in my post to me choosing THAT specific meditation book and to open up to THAT page was again God showing His LOVE and COMMITMENT TO ME.
And if that’s not enough, my COMFORT verses that I’ve written so much about lately also miraculously showed up in the same day’s devotional – TWO GOD WINKS IN ONE:
“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” – Isaiah 41:13
So, whatever we’re going through, let’s HOLD on to God’s RIGHT hand SUPER TIGHT and constantly say, “God, I trust You.” Even if we have to say it 1,000 times a day. When we’re weak, He’s our strength. How God does what He does is NONE of our business! Wink! Wink!
KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

GOD STICKS WITH HIS PROMISE TO HELP ME

In this life, you will have trouble, BUT WE HAVE GOD TO HELP US GET THROUGH ANYTHING THAT MAY COME OUR WAY. God is an expert in EVERYTHING, and His WISDOM, GUIDANCE, AND HELP have never failed me, no matter the problem area. He’s pretty cool like that!

So, I’ve written recently how this particular verse has been my comfort from Him, showing up all over the place as a personal reminder whenever troublesome situations arise:

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13” Wink! Wink!

And God kept His promise. He sent help. It has to do with a complicated matter, and I can’t get over two people who have shown up and have gone OVERBOARD in assisting me. It felt like God had sent two angels to personally support me (SMILE). At one point, they said I would have to take care of one of the steps by myself, and without flinching, I immediately went into warrior mode, ‘Ok, God, it’s You and me on this one!’ I trust that God KNOWS EVERYTHING and with His direction, I’m good. But within 30 minutes, I got a text from one of the gentlemen saying he would be with me in 10 minutes. He came and took complete charge of everything as I just smiled thinking how God is SO GOOD TO ME. I’m His spoilt girl!

HERE’S THE DEAL:

God is intimately involved in our lives. It’s up to us to invite Him in and ask for His help and guidance. HE LOVES when we include Him in our ordinary, everyday life going to Him in the 1,000 decisions we make every day. His WISDOM is off the chain. His ways are not our human ways, His are way superior.

To hear His voice, start listening. He speaks a lot through our feelings. Like my daughter is upset at me and her dad for not allowing her to go somewhere, but both us just said that we weren’t feeling it. Our spirits were uneasy when we thought about her going there. We don’t know why we weren’t comfortable, but we’ve both come to learn God’s voice and when we feel that way about something it’s God saying, ‘Don’t do that!’ However, If we had felt peaceful about it, that’s God saying it’s OK. We trust His guidance.

So, all day, I want us continually going to God and FEELING what He is saying to us on a moment by moment basis. Doubt, stress, anxiety, concern are cues from Him NOT to do something versus peaceful, non-stressful feelings are usually Him saying it’s COOL TO PROCEED. But still move SLOWLY, taking life one step at a time.

And the more you practice LISTENING to God, the better you get at it. With one glance at Him now I usually know what HE WOULD HAVE ME TO DO. I’m happy to report that I’m FINALLY getting much better with knowing what and what NOT to say with me continually going to God and making Him a crucial part of my conversations with others. ‘God, what should I say here, please?

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

DO I USE GOD AS A WAY OF COPING WITH MY TERRIBLE LIFE?

I share my ups, downs, disappointments, frustrations, joyful and happy times, problems and proud moments, stresses and anxieties, weak, strong, brave and courageous moments to hopefully portray the fact that I’m going through this human experience just like everyone else, where we don’t know what to expect from one moment to the next. But, I ALWAYS ADD IN ONE CRUCIAL PERSPECTIVE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING: I KNOW GOD IS WITH ME! That’s what you call FAITH, baby! Wink! Wink!

And let me tell ya, I can boast of my weaknesses because those are the times where I MUST rely on God’s strength EVEN HARDER. Like today, I went RUNNING to Him, ‘God, I need to hear from You!’ No shame in my game! This life gets challenging at times, and I needed to be reminded of the important GOD FACTOR. And He didn’t disappoint HIS GIRL! He found a way to LET ME KNOW THAT HIS INVISIBLE PRESENCE IS ALWAYS WITH ME.

‘Where should I go to hear from You? Is it through reading my old posts, through Tumblr.com, my book or another meditation book?’ I asked Him quietly through my spirit. I felt Him saying a book someone nicely gave me a few weeks ago, He and I  by Gabrielle Bossis. I instantly fell in love with it feeling God speak to me through it almost immediately. I had decided from last year that my words for this year would be “LOVE” and “DISCIPLINE,” so when this showed up in the book, what she felt God saying to her in 1941, I felt it was a message DIRECTLY from God to me, too:

“Your keynote for the year: Believe in love. Have faith in My love.”

I loved it so much that I made it my phone’s screensaver and it has been there ever since.

So, today as I asked God to hear from Him, I scrolled the cursor at the bottom of an electronic version of the book on my phone, and look what incredibly showed up:

“Your keynote for the year: Believe in love. Have faith in My love.” Wink! Wink!

And once again, everything lined up a little bit too perfect to be a mere coincident. This was God’s sweet and intimate way of saying, ‘Nik, I’m with you!’

So, no matter the situations that come our way, I want us with total GODFIDENCE: WE HAVE GOD. FULL STOP. PERIOD. How God does what He does is none of our business! Our job is to LISTEN to His voice, TRUST that He’s with and for us, and OBEY His instructions! We can, therefore, think best case scenarios knowing HE is on our side helping us get through ANYTHING THIS LIFE HAS TO THROW AT US.

“BUT THE LORD STOOD AT MY SIDE AND GAVE ME STRENGTH”

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

“GOD DOESN’T WANT ME TO MISS OUT ON WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR ME”

That was me to my friend yesterday ENJOYING a piece of birthday cake at her house. As I sat down at the table to eat alone, I said let me see what God has to say to me through a kids’ devotional there. It was the perfect message, and I shared with my friend why:

In my last post I had written:

“Then, reading through several of my meditation books, the verse that has been my COMFORT through so many challenges kept showing up:

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13”

The kids’ devotional on her table confirmed this AGAIN, with the very page I randomly opened up to said:

“He (God) is faithful to His promise to help you.”

Earlier, in another appointment with God there with her, I said I want to get her a copy of a new meditation book about conversations between God and a lady who was born in 1874 and how they’re so similar with my conversations with Him. My friend said, “God is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Fast forward to that night, my daughter, Ember, SURPRISINGLY shows up in our bedroom with our meditation book, Jesus Calling. She wanted to share what she had just read, that incredibly was written as if God was speaking to us and CONFIRMING what my friend had said earlier:

“The One who never leaves you is the same One who never changes: I am the same yesterday, today and forever.” Wink! Wink!

And God unbelievably continued with His message to me through my daughter’s appointment with Him. When she was done with the passage, I asked her for the accompanying Bible verses at the bottom. Look what incredibly showed up:

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” – Isaiah 41:13” Wink! Wink! AGAIN!

Wow, that was a double God wink in one passage and another LOVE NOTE from God with Him confirming to me that HE NEVER LEAVES ME, and His Presence is ALWAYS with me, including during intimate conversations with my friend. For Ember to show up with this book and this page in my bedroom last night was nothing short of a miracle. God was confirming His Love and promise to help me.

See what I mean by not missing out on what God has planned for me; He had everything all perfectly arranged. Even Ember’s late night appointment with Him! Another miracle! LOL!

This gives me the confidence to relax and trust that I’m never alone; I have God.

“My help comes from the Lord, Maker of Heaven and earth.”

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WAS A GOD WINK YESTERDAY?”

I asked my NEXT LEVEL friend today! I had debated whether to share with her a story about what happened to my mom and me on a trip when I was a little girl. I got the feeling from God to tell her about it. I explained that the moral I learned from the experience was that any kindness that I offer to someone else, no matter how small the gesture, THAT GOD HIMSELF IS THE ONE TO REPAY ME. That’s my life’s philosophy that’s working for me: EVERYTHING IS BETWEEN ME AND GOD, NOT BETWEEN ME AND ANYONE ELSE.

I went as far as telling her about a BIG argument with my kids over their unkind attitude towards a situation. I was so furious with them that by FORCE we have MORE family appointments with God. In fact, the very next morning, the very devotional we randomly selected was about KINDNESS and even going as far as praying and asking God for His help to love our enemies.

Not even 30 minutes later, God got in on our conversation. My friend has one of the few printed copies of my book (unfortunately, the printer hubby hired passed away before delivery-may his soul rest in peace), and I decided to randomly open it to see if God had anything He wanted to say to me. Can you believe I opened exactly to this?

“A post from the Seventh Day Adventists inspired me with sharing that that weekend in their church was about TEACHING KIDS ABOUT KINDNESS that I wanted to spend time with my children, too, sharing that message that we should be God’s mouth and hands in the world to love and encourage each other.”

Looks like God agrees with me–KINDNESS, BABY! See how intimately God’s involved in our lives. There’s no way this is an ordinary coincident that I’m sharing with my friend about a severe argument I had with my kids over kindness and out of this almost 400-page book, I randomly opened to that. This was God’s SWEET and LOVING way of finding a way to make me and my friend HAPPY AND REMINDED THAT HIS PRESENCE IS ALWAYS WITH US. She has so many books in her house that I usually read when I want to have appointments with God there, but yesterday He gave me the nudge to read from MY BOOK. Heehaw!!!

If you would like a free electronic copy, please inbox me your email address and I’ll be happy to shoot one over. Its GOD APPROVED reading, and the advice I share and live are making me seriously HAPPIER. Suggestions such as going the extra mile in love and overlooking the faults of others have led my life on a wonderful path. MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT’S TEACHING ME TO HAVE FAITH IN GOD’S LOVE–HE WON’T LET US DOWN – He’s with us and for us!

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD