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

Yesterday in listening to Rob Bell’s weekly podcast on iTunes.com, he spoke about offering certain moments of our lives as sacrifices to God, such as a marriage of many years that didn’t work out, and that totally blew the God maniac away!  I was left so inspired that I said I want my entire life to be a sacrifice to God, every sacred moment of it!  Whether I’m writing these posts and posting them, whether I’m at work and assisting my husband, whether I’m helping someone in need, whether I’m getting water for my son Joshie at 2 am in the morning, all of it will be my sacrifice to God to be the best wife, mother and person I can be for Him.  I therefore need nothing in return from anyone, including their thanks or praise.  Wow, I’m free!  Everything is really between me and God!

 

I joked with someone yesterday on something I’m doing for God and that when I’m finished with it, God and I will be even because of the stress I’m going through!  But, it’s impossible for me to ever be even with God who does more for me in one minute than I can count: Every breathe, every heartbeat, being able to sit and type this, our baby, Joshie, turning 5 today and much, much more!

 

My 11 year old daughter, Jujupooh, joined me in an appointment with God this week and the selection she picked was spot on for me in that moment.  Someone asked me for help and I thought about the reasons why I shouldn’t until Julie read the following from my meditation book, ‘A Year of Miracles’ by Marianne Williamson:

 

“My doubt, fear, negativity, and judgment have destructive power.  My faith, love, positivity, and blessing have miraculous power.  I will use my power wisely today.

 

Sometimes it’s just and encouraging word, a tender touch, or a friendly smile that can bring hope to someone’s heart.  Such moments represent God’s love on earth.  I will be His representative today, as I try my best to bring hope to any circumstance.

 

Wherever I go may there be more love and peace because I’m there.  May my mind be ever alert to ways I can ease the path for someone.  Dear God, please save me from a life lived only for myself.”

 

And from a beautiful calendar from a beautiful friend:

 

“Blessed are you if you can live each day in such a way that you can say at its close, “I have done the best I could today for both God and man.”

 

WE ROLL WITH GOD

is the question I’ve been asking Him since the God wink with my purse showing up in the TV show ‘Empire’ last Saturday.  In case you’re not familiar with my God winks, they’re as Oprah Winfrey describes them, “When out of the blue everything lines up perfectly.”  And this was a little bit too perfectly lined up for me to have a purse in my closet for almost a year and every time I would think about using it, I would get a feeling not to, and I would put it back.  Then last Saturday, two days after I finally got the feeling to bring it down, I’m out somewhere with a friend and I asked her, “Do you remember when you bought this purse for me last summer?”  A few hours later, we’re together watching this show that of all episodes that we had been watching for about a month, the character, ‘Anika’ stands in front of a car holding this purse for a few seconds so that we can see clearly that out of the millions of purses in the world, she is holding my exact purse (different color).

Well, God answered me as to why He went through all that trouble!  Firstly in a post in Facebook that read:

“I am not afraid of tomorrow because I know God is already there.”

God is constantly teaching me to RELAX and that He holds every moment of my life in the palms of His hands. He knew I would be asking my friend that question that day and that we would be watching that very episode a few hours later. He has demonstrated over and over again that I can trust that He has everything under control and everything and everyone I need will be there when I need them.  Nik, RELAX, I got you!

The second reason I read in my meditation book at my 12pm appointment with God yesterday:

“I want you to experience how wide and long and high and deep is My love for you, so that you can know my love that surpasses knowledge.  This vast ocean of Love cannot be measured or explained, but it can be experienced.”

And these messages are not only for me, they’re for you too, I’m only the God maniac who pays attention to this stuff! God has every moment of our lives all mapped and planned out and we can trust Him because His love for us is wide and long and high and deep and His plans for us are good! 

WE ROLL WITH GOD