We Roll With God

That was my text message to a friend a few minutes ago.  Yesterday I was extremely angry with some people God has placed in my life and I prayed the whole day, asking God why I have to be nice to them, when they’re so terrible to me.  I tried going to my tumblr.com website, where I go to hear from Him, and I also tried reading all my go to meditation books, including my fav calendar, but nothing worked to get me feeling back to my kind, loving and forgiving self again.  I was super upset!

The kids came home from school and Joshie, my five year old, came and sat next to me on a loveseat in our living room and laid is head on my shoulder, just happy to have mommy home with him.  Next my seven year old, Emmie, joined us, too wanting to be close to mommy, putting his legs on my lap.  And in that moment I got the answer why I’m to be kind:

Every blessing is from God and everything is ultimately between me and Him.

Having my two sons snuggled next to me was the reality check I needed.

Then I final remembered to read through my old posts and God used my own words to reinforce the lesson:

“STAY ON THE HIGH ROAD WITH ME (GOD)” was my awesome reminder. Guys, we don’t go wrong with God when we stay on the high road with Him, doing the excellent and right thing you feel God would have you to do from moment to moment. I’ve figured out that this is how He leads us on the path to the best life. It’s not between us and anyone else, it’s all between us and God and He’ll pay you back more than what anyone has taken from you, as long as you stay on the high road with Him, forgiving immediately, loving extravagantly and trusting Him to direct you one step at a time.

“He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it.”

I love this quote because I’m learning that nobody’s perfect and therefore we can expect disappointments sometimes.  And when we are disappointed, we don’t have to be so bent out of shape. Brilliant!!!  But the good news is that God never disappoints when we stay on the high road with Him.”

WE ROLL WITH GOD

 

Was me to a friend yesterday, even though she said I’m looking older!  God surprised her with twins and I enjoyed every moment holding them and thanking God it’s her, not me that He surprised!  LOL!  I don’t see this friend too often, but it seems as if every time I do see her, I leave a changed person.  She is very wise and brutally honest and what she told me was really my big miracle of the day! She always gives me a fresh way at looking at my life.  There I was complaining to her about something, something I’ve complained about for years to God, and by the time I left her, I was thanking God for it!  My love, we have to get together more often!

I’m loving all my relationships on a totally different level lately and I’m filled with joy.  Having my appointments with God have made such a difference in that He’s teaching me such important lessons like humility, loving extravagantly, forgiving endlessly, overlooking the faults of others, calming down, focusing on the positives, enjoying every sacred moment, not sweating the small stuff and being grateful for everyone in my life.  My joy of God is spreading to my joy of people!

I love a book I’m reading, ‘The Joy of Intimacy with God,’ by Dr. Bill Bright.  He wrote:

“If you are struggling with relationships in your family, in your workplace, or in your established friendships, the first place you should check is how you’re getting along with God. As you remain in Him with every part of your being, you are fully dependent upon Him… Your relationships become richer. Your work becomes more excellent.”

So true!  My relationships have become richer and I caught myself smiling at work this week, totally thrilled to be there working with God as my Partner. Seeking His advice on what to do from moment to moment, brought excitement to even my most boring work that I hate doing. Ideas flowed as to what He would have me to do. I enjoy the people I work with and I try to encourage a happy work environment, where we give our best, working for God, not man!

God, I’m grateful!

WE ROLL WITH GOD

I love a quote from a meditation book given to me by a friend years ago:

“Cry aloud – for that cry is the folly of one in love:  “Lord, even though I love you… don’t trust me!  Bind me to yourself, more closely every day!”

And this is exactly what He’s doing, I feel closer and closer to Him.  Yesterday I wrote about a conversation with my Facebook friend Vincent, and to be honest, I was not in the chatting mood when I saw a message from him, but I paid attention to the nudge from God to have that discussion.  An hour later, in thinking about what book to read for my 12 pm appointment with God, the feeling was to read  Tim Storey’s book and to simply continue from where I had last left off.  To read in that book almost exactly what Vincent and I had just chatted about was so astonishing to me and remember saying, ‘God, you’re too much!’  That was such an incredible God wink, where out of the blue, everything lined up perfectly and God again reminding me that His “unseen Presence” is a constant in my life.

Yesterday it was reading the following from Marianne Williamson’s book, ‘A Year of Miracles’ that did the trick:

“Believing in a separation between myself and God is the core of all my problems.  For no such separation exists.  I am not alone, for God is always with me.

There is no problem that God cannot solve.  He guides me to right thought and action whenever I request it.  He parts all waters and calms all storms, through His spirit that lives within me.

No matter what I go through today, I need not fear.  For God is all-powerful and God is here.  I am never separate from the one who created me.  There’s nothing I can do to make Him turn his face away from me.  I am loved, I am cared for, and I am totally safe in the arms of God.”

WE ROLL WITH GOD

God continues to blow me away.  He is so intimately involved in our lives that I ain’t worried about nothin. At exactly 10:53 am yesterday, I had the following conversation with a fellow Facebook blog writer/friend, Vincent:

Vincent:  “You see, I have learned a great deal from you and your post. I see that you don’t complain about the way others treat you, but rather you live in such a way that it reflects on them how they ought to treat you. They see the light in you and just change on their own. wow!”

Nikki: “You’re giving me God winks today because I said to my friend Sal this morning: “Our lights must shine!” We have to be God’s representatives.”

Vincent:  I realized that what God wants from us is to live in such a way that even in silence, someone can be inspired and serve God.  Yeah…one day, I can remember now, but I was just thinking, and a thought like a voice came to me, and said, “look, this thing you want to do, this writing you are doing and teaching others how to live, you must live it yourself, because ppl are watching you, if you don’t live it, you are a fraud.” It startled me. And since then, I try to watch myself. I have to catch myself doing wrong.

Nikki:  A lady said to me a few weeks ago, “I’ve been watching you.”  I was at my children’s school fair picking up garbage and doing whatever I could to help and she was there watching me. Trust me-they are watching!

An hour later, my alarm for my 12 pm appointment with God sounded, and this is when He blew me away, as if HE had something HE wanted to add to Vincent and I’s conversation.  I got the feeling to continue reading from where I last left off in Tim Storey’s book, ‘Comeback and Beyond:’

“The way you act and the choices you make influence everyone around you, even those you least expect to influence.  You may not be aware of who is watching you, and only years later hear of the impact you had on their life. (The way how I shared recently how my sister Kelly has so influenced me!)

What will the next generation see in you?  What do the people round you see in you?

If you want the next generation of believers not to cover or back down, to fight for their comebacks, to cover each other’s weaknesses and lift each other up, and to stand strong in the midst of crisis, then we need to show them how it’s done!  We need to walk the talk.  Is what we say we believe what the people in our lives see us living?”

… Ain’t Worried About Nothin

I told ya…

WE ROLL WITH GOD

I jokingly said to God this morning!  There I was lying in bed with my three Emmanuels (hubby and two sons), just waking up, when out of the blue my hubby says to me, “Nikki, you’re the best wife in the world.”  THIS IS A MIRACLE because my husband’s specialty is in giving criticisms and he rarely has anything complimentary to say!  Good thing I was lying down, I might have fallen out! We used to have arguments about it all the time, “You never have anything nice to say to me!” I complained.  With God’s help, though, I’ve grown a lot from the person who longed for praise from my husband or anyone else, and I now focus on running my own race and simply being the best version of myself.  Constant and never ending improvement!

I loved this quote I read this morning in my meditation book:

“We might have much peace if we would not busy ourselves with the sayings and doings of others, and with things which do not concern us.  Blessed are the simple of heart, for they shall enjoy much peace.”

Hearing a compliment from someone should only add to how we already feel about ourselves.  Thanks, Hon, you’re the world’s best husband!

But speaking of miracles, ever since I started reading Marianne Williamson’s book, ‘A year of Miracles,’ I’ve been on the lookout for a miracle every single day and my life is becoming a miraculous adventure with God. When I stay in touch with God (having those appointments with Him!) and following His lead, going to Him in the 1,000 decisions I make every day and doing what I feel He would have me to do, is when I experience the sweetest miracles.

I still can’t get over the miracle from day before yesterday when the nudge from God was to call a friend. There I was feeling sad about a certain issue for a few days and when I called, it was really as if she was expecting to hear from me because it just so happened that she had watched a show that very day where she heard a wife comment about her husband: “Bottom line, I trust him.”  This had such an impact on me that I called my husband to see what he was having for dinner, made sure the house was extra clean before he got home, but most of all, it inspired me to really be the best wife in the world.  Thanks, for being my miracle, my sweetie!

WE ROLL WITH GOD

 

 

Conversation number 1:               “You’re on my list to bring closer to God,” I commented to a friend.  She said that the day before was one of the most stressful days of her life, but she pulled out a book I gave her and read the words I had written:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

She calmed down and committed the next 90 days to have 4 appointments with God every day, saying that she knows she’ll taste His goodness and mercy.

2:            “God gave me a message for you!”  I said to another friend who complained that she was unhappy over the actions of someone else.  I told her she can’t let other people determine her happiness, but God had this message:

“According to St. Augustine, God is the center, the life, and delight of our heart, and our heart will never find peace and happiness unless it rests in him.  Therefore it is necessary to keep our heart detached from all earthly creatures and thus have it find repose in God, who is our sole infinite happiness.”

3:            “Is there anything I should do to give my life to God?” someone asked.  I shared a portion of a book that I had just read which perfectly explained why I recommend having appointments with God:

“The more you look at Him (spending alone time), the more of your life you surrender to Him, the more you will go “from glory to glory.”  You will become like Him and you will catch his vison for your life.”

And His plans for us are the very best!

4:            As usual, a friend had the perfect words, as if she was expecting my call.  She had just watched a TV show with the wife of an NBA player, who have a reputation of being unfaithful.  The wife said, “Bottom line:  I trust him.  I can’t be with him 24 hours a day and that’s where trust comes in.”

After thinking about it, it’s the same with me and my hubby, after being together for almost 14 years, I trust him and he certainly has earned my respect, trust and loyalty. I committed myself to being an even better wife.

WE ROLL WITH GOD

Was me to the furniture saleslady yesterday evening, when I went to pick up a table and mat that I had seen from the day before.  After paying for them and about to leave, I saw another table that I preferred and on debating on what to do, of course, that was another conversation with God!  I thought about the table I had already paid for, then I thought about the other table.  Which one did I go with?  The one that I was most excited about, the other table.  The mat I had also already paid for didn’t go too well with the new table so I ended up returning that as well and I picked out another rug, which again I was totally excited about.  I was only able to bring the mat home with me and I must say, “I love my rug!”  Thanks, Partner!!!

Get God involved with EVERYTHING is my message to you today!  He’s the best adviser!  This requires us to slow down, pay attention and LISTEN!  Just a few minutes with Him made the decision easy as what choice to make.  And if I didn’t get feelings of peace or excitement from any of those tables, I would’ve taken that as God directing me not to get anyone of them!

And notice I’ve been writing a lot about my house lately?  It was a comment from my hubby – a very brutal comment – that got me realizing I need to improve in the house department.  I remembered the advice from my meditation book: If someone says ten thousand words against you, either improve or ignore.  I’m therefore working on constant and never ending improvement!   Not getting overwhelmed anymore, but I’m taking it as I take on any other challenge, little by little and one step at a time. I’m getting God involved and with His help and direction, we’re going to get this house together!  I’m not going to look at the 1,000 things I need to do, just what I can do today, or this week to make things better.  See how intimately God is involved in our lives?  He even cares about my house!

Get God involved with everything.  Pay attention to those feelings. I’m really talking constant conversations with God here!

WE ROLL WITH GOD

 

 

 

My God winks are when out of the blue everything lines up perfectly and God wonderfully reminds me that His unseen Presence is a constant in my life – ‘Relax, Nik, I’m with you,’ is the message I get over and over again from Him. The post yesterday started and began with this blessing I received from Facebook:

“May God bless u and grant u ur heart desire.”

I never got the Bible verse that commands us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,” but after almost 4 years of writing these God posts, I get it!  Big time!  Every day I love Him more and more!

In every aspect of my life, He’s right there with me helping and guiding me to make the best decisions.  Last night, my wonderful daughter, Ember, who I bragged about in a post a few days ago, turned on me, venting to her Dad over a dress I didn’t have made for her.  In that moment I went to my meditation book and randomly opened it to the chapter where God told me that I should be patient with bearing the defects of others.  This morning she apologized and I kissed her and said all teary eyed, “It’s Ok, God said I should be patient with you and the same way you have to be patient with me, because not all the time I may get this parenting thing right.”

We hung out with a friend yesterday and when we were leaving I said to her, “Just being around you, I’m happy.”  This person out of now 180 million Nigerians, God has connected me with her and every time I’m around her, I leave a better person.

I also shopped for cushions yesterday for our house and even that was a conversation with God.  I went with my feelings as which ones to get, and the ones that excited me were the same colors in the flag of the Bahamas, with the beautiful aquamarine reminding me of the beautiful beaches I grew up swimming in.  I woke up today, feeling unbelievable grateful for the home I live in.  (This is a miracle!)

I didn’t go to work much this week and I’m thinking of all the people God sent me to help me there.  Each member of the team I work closest with, I believe were picked for me by God, as again I went with my feelings of whether or not to hire them.  I teach them that they don’t work for me, they work for God and I’m especially happy for one of them who lives very far away, but yet comes to work on time with a super great attitude.  I train them that our job is to assist my hubby and she has done such a great job that my husband decided to give her a lovely, three bedroom, three bathroom apartment to stay in, which is within walking distance to work.

“Lord, even though I love you…don’t trust me!  Bind me to yourself, more closely every day!”

WE ROLL WITH GOD

was the beautiful blessing I received on Facebook yesterday and I feel God is behind the scenes of my life granting me these heart desires.  Today is a holiday in Nigeria, as the newly elected President takes control of the country, and I decided to give my daughters and myself hot oil treatments and as I took my time doing Ember’s hair, I’ve realized how God has helped me, even with my relationship with her, that seemed to be going way off track a few months ago.  I’ll never get over God, only the Creator of the universe, how He is so intimately involved in our lives.  He’s on our side guiding us with His counsel and when we stick with Him, little by little He will help us get things on the right track again, no matter the challenge area, He’s an expert in everything, including parenting.

I have a feeling God was behind us going with this natural hair, without using chemicals to straighten it for about a year now, which is lots more work, but it has brought my daughters and I closer together.  We just decided one day to give it a try and it forces us to spend time with each other with mommy being the official hairdresser!  Thanks, God, I’m loving my daughters on a completely different level!

The lessons from God with Ember, who’s 12 by the way, has been to calm down as a Tiger mom, focus on her positives, to be her biggest encourager and inspire her to be her best self, to be patient with her when she messes up and most importantly to show and tell her how much I love her and how proud I am of her.

But this post is to remind you how if we stay in touch with God, I’m talking constant conversations with Him, he can help fix any problem area in our life, little by little, and in this case He has helped me get closer to my daughter.  My appointments with Him have made me a better parent as I’m filling myself with God’s wisdom each time I have an alone time with Him.  “Prayer is when you talk to God.  Meditation is when God talks to you.”  Sometimes only for 2 minutes, I open my meditation books in the mornings and at 12 pm and 5 pm and I’m amazed how God seems to speak directly to what is going on in my head at the moment, or I’ll pick up some other piece of excellent wisdom to use in a future decision.  He’s too much!  These appointments are the bomb!

“May God bless u and grant u ur heart desire.”

WE ROLL WITH GOD