“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

ARE YOU ENJOYING GOD?

“SMILE IN YOUR SOUL WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME (GOD).”
That was my little message from Him a few minutes ago reading my meditation book. It’s actually what I’m learning to do more often, smile whenever I remember that His unseen Presence is ALWAYS with me. He has become “MY LOVE.” And I’m learning to RELAX and ENJOY every moment of my life with Him. Are you here with me ENJOYING God?
My exercise time has become “OUR” time. I usually put the music on shuffle and allow Him to be my DJ. I pick up so many messages from Him through the lyrics that “randomly” show up. I know through my spirit when He’s speaking to me. I’m telling you, He’s quite talkative once you learn His voice.
Like yesterday, I was thinking about how to resolve a situation. I came up with a solution, and I was texting a message to someone on what to do. Amazingly, in the background playing, was a song with the lyrics saying what I had just typed about sending someone to cash a check. I smiled with God. He’s always ahead of me and that solution that I came up with was no doubt DIRECTLY from Him. He has us in the palm of His hands. He knows what we need, and He has everything all arranged out for us before we even ask.
That little so-called coincident, when everything lines up a little bit too perfectly, I call my God winks. They’re my sweet reminders from Him that His invisible Presence is always with me. They give me the PEACE AND CONFIDENCE to RELAX and KNOW that whatever problems that may come up, God already knows about it. His INFINITE WISDOM can HELP US RESOLVE ANY CHALLENGE! That has certainly been my experience with Him!
This morning, when Secret Garden played, I knew the lyrics were Him singing to me:
“I wanna read your mindKnow your deepest feelingsI wanna make it right for you.”
And He wants to make it right for you, too! Start talking to Him just like how you would talk to any friend and start paying attention to what He would have you to do.
When I vented about a frustration to Him, wanting to tell someone off about it, with one glance at God I knew how to respond: LOVE, FORGIVE and IGNORE. No more fighting useless battles! And I replied, “YES, MY LOVE!”
KEEP CALM AND ENJOY GOD

THE PRAYER THAT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE:

God, I want a CLOSER walk with You. Amen.

I think I said it back in 2010 or so, and to see how God has changed me from a sad, anxious, bitter, unforgiving, fretful, overweight, starving for love, crazy lady into a happy, loving, forgiving, peaceful and fearless warrior, has been nothing short of a complete miracle. I still have some ways to go, but I’m not the Nikki who woke up so depressed that all I looked forward to was having a beer with breakfast. It wasn’t pretty!

That was until a friend told me she was giving up chocolates for lent and I decided to join her and give up drinking. IT WAS A LONG LENT, and I couldn’t wait to have a drink, but unbelievably, by the time Easter (the end of lent) came, the cravings for alcohol were all gone. God, thank You!

God also went as far as putting another great friend into my life as a part of His get Nikki sober and happy mission. I think her positive influence played a huge role along with our standing weekly appointments with each other that me and the kids looked forward to, slowly took away my sadness and the drinking.

I feel God created us humans to connect with each other. I was listening to something how so many people are addicted to painkillers and I personally believe NOT having friends and other close relationships and connections is a big reason why people are sad and look to drugs and alcohol. So, if you’re depressed, find some good friends!!!

And not to forget about my regular appointments with God! Mornings, noon and 5 pm. I would set the alarm on my phone so I didn’t miss these essential times with Him. Unbelievably, He would always find some way to let me know that He was there with me. And if you have God with you, tell me, what is there to be sad about?

Little by little, with every alone time with God, He has been transforming me to see life from HIS ALL loving perspective. I HAVE FAITH IN HIS LOVE. He even sent my son, Joshie to teach me how to love others. The way he shows in his sweet little eight-year-old way, “Mommy and Daddy, I just want to be with you.” In such a genuine way is mind blowing. He inspires me to love others from a God-inspired heart, not judging or criticizing them, just showing them God’s unconditional love. Finish.

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

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD

DON’T GET IT TWISTED, I’M BRAGGING ABOUT GOD, NOT MYSELF!

And how HE has beautifully led me to a VERY HAPPY LIFE!!! But, WE (me and God) want YOU along with us—Hey, I don’t want to be this joyful by myself! Like between God and my hubby, they have me spoilt! This morning, seeing some mangoes on our kitchen counter from yesterday, I didn’t want them; I requested fresh ones from our tree outside! Spoilt, I say! Not that I have a perfect life, either, but God has been teaching me such valuable lessons like GRATITUDE, PATIENCE, CONTENTMENT AND KEEPING MY HOPE IN HIM, that I think I can spend my entire life saying, “Thank You, God!”

So, here’s an example of how God guides me. After yesterday feeling like He was saying not to wash my hair, today it felt like He said yes I should. I thought I could quickly get it done, and get right out to work, but I ended up doing some other stuff. I then called my hubby/boss and asked if he still wanted me to come in. He then asked me if I wanted to, and I quickly responded, “Whatever MY KING wants!” He said I should come, and I came.

HERE’S THE DEAL:

RELATIONSHIPS ARE TOUGH! But with God’s and a good friend’s guidance, I’m enjoying a pretty successful marriage, if I do say so myself! The wisdom that I want you to obtain from this little story is how God has taught me HUMILITY, not arrogance and self-interest.

It was years ago, and I was having an argument with hubby that was lasting for a few days when I finally went to God and asked what HE would have me to do. It was no coincident that I opened my meditation book directly to a page saying something like even though my way is good, it would PROFIT ME MORE to FOLLOW the will of another. And I’ve ran with that advice. Years later, it’s still PROFITING ME MORE to follow my wise husband.

I consider myself hub’s Vice-President. One day I told him that I completed a task for him, he immediately corrected me and said, “You’ve completed it for yourself!” Meaning this is how he makes money to take care of us, so technically I did the work for myself.

I’m so loving our dinner every night together with our sons. Again, this was wisdom from God. I said to hubby one day, “I’m not eating until you get home.” This was after a God wink from someone who told me a story about fasting and a wife waiting until her husband came home to eat. As if God was saying, “Wink! Wink! Nik!” I PAID ATTENTION! And since then it has become our nightly routine. I wait until he’s home so that I can enjoy my one cooked meal of the day with him. When someone called last night asking him why he was home, he said, “I’m here enjoying looking at my wife’s beautiful face.” And in today’s time, I don’t take it for granted that I have a hubby who wants to spend evenings with his family. Thank You, God!

God is still talking, folks! This is only one aspect of my life where He has successfully guided me. Through my meditation books, advice from others, thoughts and impressions that come to mind, can all be ways in which He communicates. It’s up to us to learn His voice and to be OBEDIENT to what HE would have us to do in every moment! Wink! Wink! What are you waiting for? Pray and invite Him into your life! He loves getting involved!

KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD