GOD KNOWS EVERY THOUGHT I THINK!

Your girl was up early today running in the dark, just thanking God that Kevin told me that we ALL have our crosses to carry. Still, my cross was a little speck of a cross, and I should, therefore, enjoy my gorgeous life. I started thinking in my head, is “spec” one word and “speck” another? Like random thoughts, you know. So, fast forward to having my sit-down session with God, reading through some old posts on our family’s website, look what incredibly showed up out of 146 pages there:

“Kevin tells me my cross is a spec (should be speck!) of a cross (Wink! Wink!) compared with other people’s crosses! So, I run with that! I carry my spec of a cross joyfully on behalf of God with the hopes that my life will glorify Him.”

NO ONE CAN TELL ME THAT WAS A COINCIDENCE! It was again God revealing another glimmer of His Presence that is always with us, down to every thought that we think!!!!

Did you see what it said though: “I carry my speck of a cross JOYFULLY on behalf of God with the hopes that my life will glorify Him.” This was also on that page:

“What then will the cross be for us? Look: what do you find most difficult in your everyday life? Well, that’s the Redeemer’s cross for you. Those tough temptations you meet, your ill health, your heavy demanding work, the defects of the people among whom you live, who hurt you…. Have supernatural outlook! All this, for you, is the cross of Christ…CARRY IT JOYFULLY, LOVINGLY. Carry it generously and you will learn to hide it from those around you, as you would hide a treasure. Hide it behind a generous smile and you will discover in the depths of your soul, what our Lord’s words mean when he says, ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Mt 11:30); for he, the good Cyrenean of souls will help you carry it.” – Jesus As Friend by Salvatore Canals

Got that? Whatever those crosses God has asked us to carry, HE WILL HELP US CARRY them. All we must do is show up every moment, giving our utmost best, and we can trust that God is faithful and will take care of His part. This also showed up:

I really have to thank our friend, Ceri, who made one crucial statement to me one day: ‘You have kids.” I thought that meant that the sad, emotional, crazy lady needed to say bye, and the strong, focused, mature, handling her business woman needed to come out. Today on that run, I wore my greatest of all time (GOAT) shirt, meaning I’m going for God’s top prize of being the best wife, mother, and person He would have me to be. When I die, I imagine Him saying, “Well done my good and faithful servant.’

Don’t worry what anyone else is doing, let’s be God’s representatives going the extra mile in love, support, patience, faithfulness, and kindness doing our thing for GOD, OUR FAMILIES, AND THE WORLD! Under the tree today, praying with hubby, I just asked for one thing: STRENGTH! So help us, God!

“I will seek to honor God, obey His word, and do His will.” – Courageous

EVERYBODY NEEDS A KEVIN AND A CERI IN THEIR LIFE!

So, it’s my mission to teach you guys what they teach me! They both have an extraordinary gift of wisdom, and I am blessed to have them in my life. I just called Kevin to thank him for teaching me to stay in the ring and take the 10,000 punches (it was really God speaking to me through Him because I felt God in my spirit telling me to listen to Kevin. God’s sheep know His voice!). I don’t know who would advise their baby sister to do such a thing, but he later explained that life will throw you 10,000 punches, and you must stay strong and MANLY take them. MOST IMPORTANTLY, BEING WISE AND OBEDIENT TO GOD AND WHAT HE WOULD HAVE YOU DO.

In a very low moment, though, he told me that the only advice he could give me was to focus on God and prioritize God. Months later, my brother, Jason, introduced me to Ceri. I began having church with Ceri daily, who has become like another messenger from God. I stalk him in this Clubhouse app, and I promise you, it’s like a private meeting between God and me with God saying, ‘Sit down, Nik, I want to talk with you.’ No joke!

That’s the kind of love I receive from God that I don’t want you guys to miss out on. HE SENDS PEOPLE TO SUPPORT, UPLIFT, ENCOURAGE AND ADVISE US! All the advice I’ve received from Kevin and Ceri led me to this morning looking to purchase vehicles with my husband for our business, which we had to put on pause for a little bit. TO GOD BE THE GLORY, we’re confidently moving forward in FAITH, trusting God with all our hearts. This verse is becoming one of my favorites in the Bible:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” – Psalm 32:8

Don’t play around with your relationship with God! Make sure you wake up daily to some type of God morning routine, making Him your top priority. Eventually, you will learn His voice and, incredibly, what He would have you do on a moment-by-moment basis! God is so amazing in how He will find all these unique ways to let you know His Presence is with you.

Like I was working late in my daughter Julie’s bedroom last night, and as I stood next to where my phone was charging, I had my thumb between my front teeth in a tense moment. God had me look a few inches away, can you believe out of the hundreds of celebrity photographs Julie has posted on her bedroom wall, God took my attention to Michael B. Jordan with his thumb in his mouth between his teeth exactly how I had mine own at that precise moment? Tell me, how could that possibly be a random coincidence? God had Julie post that pic precisely there because He knew that I would be in her room at that time, needing a little wink from Him to let me know His invisible Presence was with me. See the love and sweetness of God that I don’t want you to miss out on! Wake up every day to read or listen to something that connects you to God and His principles for our lives! GOD ALWAYS KNOWS BEST! Wink! Wink!

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” – Colossians 3:14-17

NOTHING CATCHES GOD BY SURPRISE!

I told you guys how I started calling my sons in Nigeria to have appointments with God with them, and yesterday, Joshie called me to have one with him, and he read this from our Jesus Calling Devotional for Kids:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me. – Psalm 23:4

“I (God) go before you as well as with you into this day. Nothing surprises Me. I know exactly what will happen—both the good and the bad. Trust in Me and don’t be afraid.”

I started screaming! Joshie, that’s the same verse that showed up under my God tree today! I then told him that nothing catches God by surprise because of the way He showed up for me the day before in this HUGE wholesale club. Of all the things to buy for my dinner, I purchased a Rotisserie chicken and a bag of Ceasar Salad mix. The place was filled with people, but at the very line where I decided to enter to pay, I looked up, and directly ahead from where I was standing was a menu item at the snack bar with the words and pictures of precisely Rotisserie chicken and Caesar salad! THAT WAS NO COINCIDENCE!!! God Himself was saying, ‘Nik, I know you so well! I know what you would buy and where you would be standing to pay for them!’ I just started smiling with Him, blown away by the love and attention He shows me! NOTHING INDEED CATCHES GOD BY SURPRISE!

Fast forward to today. I’m under my God tree and decided to read the Jesus Calling adult version. I took the scroll button at the bottom, asking God to pick what He wanted me to read. I read this verse:

“… to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:19

Then it said this:

“Set your heart on living steadfastly in my Presence, as a tree rooted in Me.”

I looked at my God tree and imagined the roots growing that keep the tree steady despite all the storms that come through Florida, and I thought how I must get my roots down deep with God, that nothing can shake me.

Fast forward to this afternoon, I’m listening to Ceri’s message that he had recorded earlier, and he incredibly spoke about these verses:

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong (Wink! Wink!). And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. – Ephesians 3:17-19

For Ceri to quote the exact verse that showed up under my God tree and the whole part with “YOUR ROOTS WILL GROW DOWN IN GOD’S LOVE AND KEEP YOU STRONG” was again God Himself revealing a glimmer of His invisible Presence and letting me know just how long, high, and deep His love is for me! NO ONE CAN TELL ME THIS WAS JUST A RANDOM COINCIDENCE!!! God was letting me know that He saw me staring at that tree this morning, imagining my roots growing into Him.

Ceri’s message was about how he prays that we all experience God’s deep love for ourselves. I do, too. Amen! Make sure you wake up every day to some God routine! PUT GOD FIRST!!! Even if you start with just one minute. Read or listen to something spiritual that connects you with God! Peace!

“HOW MUCH DOES THIS WIFE LOVE YOU?”

That was me to my hubby just now! At first he said 5%, then 100%, and then I responded, “Wrong answer. Infinity percent!” And our son, Joshie, added in, “Infinity percent and beyond (HUGE SMILE)!” Our families are so important to God, guys! But we need Him to be at the center of every relationship, every decision, and every circumstance, with us continuously asking for His guidance and perspective. This is how He directs our paths on the most beautiful ways (ANOTHER SMILE)! It isn’t always pretty, but it is always the best! Wink! Wink!

And about God guiding us, I can’t get over how He had us to buy this home in this area almost 20 years ago. After looking for a house for months, hubby and I finally agreed. Honestly, this home has been such a blessing to our family! My sister-in-law casually told me one day in Nigeria that her daughters missed out on scholarship opportunities because they didn’t graduate from schools in the US. A few months later, the girls and I left my hubby and sons in Nigeria, and they were enrolled in a nearby high school. Long story short, this high school pushed my daughters extremely hard with advanced and college-level classes. The next thing we knew, they got great scholarships from top-notch universities in New York. This verse has been spot on our experience with God:

“I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Hubby and I were like little kids when we were purchasing this home! Like so excited and enthusiastic! That’s how God leads us. His answer is always a big “YES!” when He directs us in a particular direction. Doubt, uneasiness, and stress are His way of saying, ‘Hold up. Let’s rethink this before moving forward!’ And honestly, this house has been an enormous blessing for us, and I can go on and on with stories! That pic is of me running in our gorgeous neighborhood today, where I meet with God under my God tree. Even the planting of that tree was all orchestrated and planned out by God, especially for me! That’s the intimate love and attention He shows us!

So, involve God in your 1,000 daily decisions, seeking His perspective. Also, pay attention to the nudges from Him throughout the day. He was the one I felt saying to call hubby in Nigeria, not from a space of crazy lady and wanting to track his movements without the wifey around, but from a space of ‘Hey, do you know how much this wife loves and appreciates you?’ This message from Ceri has genuinely inspired me to show up as the best wife, momma, and person on behalf of God in the world:

“… You got to be kind. It reverts back to what they said Paul said in this verse. He says to make allowance for everyone for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. When you make allowance for something, you prepare yourself that people will fail you. Ain’t nobody perfect. And even when people mess up, you must give them that Grace (wiping the slate clean daily for others the way God does for us!!!).

Remember now, we cannot keep asking God for grace and mercy when we don’t extend His hand to each other. Whatever it is that God gives us, he provides us with the opportunity to reflect that onto our fellow man. Hence, he told us he made us in his own image. What He’s given to us, we have the opportunity to give to other people. Every day, we see the love that God has given us. From the moment we wake up and have our eyes open, we now have the opportunity and the ability to Grace others with what God has been so gracious with us. God helped us to wake up to see another day. He shows us love continuously. He tells us once we wake up, ‘Hey, that’s what I did for you; now go out there and do for others.’ And forgiveness is one of those things.

Remember, it’s something that I always used to preach here from when I first started preaching in this room. Forgiveness is something that God gave to you. He gave that to you. Forgiveness is for us. Nobody cares if you forgive them or not. Trust me on this one. Nobody cares. The only person to be affected by you not forgiving somebody is you. You’re going to walk around with a spiteful heart. You will walk around with hate in your eyes. You will be having sleepless nights because something this person did to you upset you. Do you think they care? They don’t care because they can repeatedly run into the same problems. They can keep running into people who either forgive them or who don’t. Do you think that like they are going to stop at you? Nah. It just doesn’t work that way.

The forgiveness is for us. The forgiveness is for us to say, ‘Hey, I forgive you.’ You don’t do it because we want God to forgive us. That isn’t just the reason. You have to honestly search deep down inside you and realize that whatever this is, I am bigger than this. I’m not gonna let this consume me. This isn’t a part of me. This isn’t me. This isn’t what I’m going to focus on. I need to focus on the word of God. I need to focus on loving other people. I need to devote my energy to something more important than what this person did to me. And that’s just what it is. So today, let’s remember to go out there with exactly what God asked us to do in these particular verses when He asks us to clothe ourselves today with love, mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God our Father.”

“AS YOU HELP OTHERS, YOU HEAL YOURSELF!”

I called my son Emmie on Sunday, completely angry and spewing that anger out on my poor son! The crazy lady was out feeling so hurt, overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed! Fast forward to today, Friday, I called him for our daily appointment with God, and out of 366 posts from my book, he picked the perfect one for me to discuss what had happened with the momma on Sunday.

_“LIVE AS HUMBLY AS YOU CAN” _

That was my message from God one morning leaving a store. I was thanking the gentleman who paid after me for the kindness he showed the lady who was behind him, and he responded (I paraphrase here):

“We have to live life as humbly as we can, doing God’s will. We’re not here to judge anyone but to leave all the judging to God. He is the only one who can judge us. No one is perfect.”

This was truly a message for crazy lady here from God Himself. This stranger perfectly articulated my latest lesson from Him. I want to judge all the imperfect people in my life instead of focusing on what God would have me to do, which is to love them.

A couple of days ago, frustrated and angry, I go to work on the final editing of my book, and there was another perfect message on the screen from my meditation book this time:

“You know well how to excuse and gloss over your own deeds, but you will not accept the excuses of others. It is better for you to accuse yourself, and excuse your brother or sister. If you wish to be borne with, bear also with others. See how far you still are from true charity and humility, which knows not how to feel anger or indignation against anyone but oneself.” – The Imitation of Christ

Here’s what I wrote in that post: Can you imagine getting to a place where you do not feel anger, insulted, offended or annoyed by anyone for what you believe is unfair treatment by them and having such feelings only against yourself? Wow, what a wonderful life that would be, but is that even possible humanly speaking?!?”

Well, God is truly trying to get me there, and I want to challenge you to get there with me. We’re to love others, stop judging them. Everyone is on their own path with God.

We must be professional ignorers; otherwise, we will go through our lives always offended, insulted, and frustrated. When others disappoint us, we must immediately shake off the hurts and disappointments and keep walking humbly with God, extending grace (pardoning without punishment), forgiving endlessly, and becoming better instead of bitter and loving extravagantly.

We can do this! Superhumans we shall be, all for the glory of God!

I explained to Emmie that this has been a real challenge for me, but I listen to this message just about every day from Ceri, and it’s helping me with this constant judging I have going on:

“And that’s why God told us in this particular verse, like how could you look at somebody and tell them that they have a speck in their eye when you have a log in your own? THE REASON WHY IS A SPECK IN THEIR EYES IS BECAUSE THAT’S ALL THAT YOU SEE. You judge someone by the little bit you see when God knows all, and he isn’t judging that person. But we come right here with our big eyes knowing all the bad things we do, and we’re quick to point fingers at somebody and say, ‘Oh this person ain’t living this way. This one ain’t righteous. This one ain’t doing this. This one is doing that. But what have we done to repent for our sins? Have we changed? Have you woken up this morning to do something and intentionally not do it again because you know you already promised God that you won’t do this anymore?”

“AS YOU HELP OTHERS, YOU HEAL YOURSELF!”

GOD, I UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT!

So, I know I be getting on my support group’s nerves, but they’re really helping me figure out my purpose from God: to live my best life with Him and, hopefully, inspire the world to do the same! Heehaw! Like how to hear God’s voice so that we can tap into His wisdom, love, and guidance on a 24/7 basis!

And when you tap into God’s wisdom, forget about it! You have access to knowledge about everything – having more joy, fulfillment, peace, financial blessings, health, strength, favor, great relationships, including the best relationship with God Himself, and purpose! THIS IS THE REAL SECRET: GET TO KNOW GOD BETTER!!! I’ve even decided to up my appointments with Him to mornings, noon (with my sons), and nights before I go to bed. I suggest you do the same! God gives up beyond what we can ever ask or imagine when we stick with Him! (WINK! WINK!)

Now, don’t get it twisted, though! I am not saying life will always be easy! HARD THINGS ARE HARD! But with a relationship with God, we can indeed have the peace that passes all understanding and out-of-this-world joy, knowing His invisible Presence is always with us. Today, in my appointment with Him with my son, Joshie, God said He wants us to enjoy His company, even when no one else is around! And as we give our utmost best in every moment, we can trust that He is at work in the spiritual realm working on our behalf. That’s faith!

I’m so grateful to my brother, Kevin, who said to me one day, “Neeks, I want you to work on being a wise woman.” For me, that means learning God’s voice and His ways and principles for our lives so that we can best respond to any situation we face. BUT WE MUST TAKE TIME TO HAVE APPOINTMENTS WITH GOD WHERE GOD TEACHES US. For example, these verses have become some of my guiding principles from God Himself:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” – Galatians 5:22

“Don’t ever let love and loyalty leave you. Tie them around your neck, and write them on your heart. Then God will be pleased and think well of you and so will everyone else.” – Proverbs 3:3-4

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”- Exodus 14:14

“Honor those leaders who work so hard for you… Overwhelm them with appreciation and love.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

In God we trust, baby!

“YOU HAVE MENTAL PROBLEMS!!!”

Can you believe that’s what my 311 girl said to me today? She hates that I “lecture” her! I asked her what about our conversations would make her think I had mental problems. Is it because I tell you to be strong for your family? To be a wise woman and support and encourage your husband and not give up on him because your kids are counting on both of you to support them. Is it because I tell you to stop repeating and constantly replaying the same hurts and disappointments repeatedly and forgive your husband? Is it because I tell you to wake up every day and have appointments with God so He can give you the wisdom to make better decisions and assist your husband in doing the same? What can I say? I’m a tough friend to have, but it’s entirely out of love I correct her! I told her, though, as I was “lecturing her,” I’m talking to myself too!!! NO ONE GETS IT RIGHT ALL THE TIME!!! (HUGE SMILE)

I’ve asked her to listen to the Ceri recordings on our “We Roll With God” YouTube channel because they are helping me to wake up every day and work on myself. I especially love this one:

“Matthew 7: 1-6 says:

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged, for you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.”

.. I’m pretty sure that I fell asleep self-reflecting because reading this back just now, it jogged my memory just thinking about some thoughts that I had earlier, and that’s just realizing how important it is to clean your own act up. Right? I’m not perfect. You know I’ll be the first person to sit there and tell people that I’m not perfect, I’m far from it, but most importantly, I don’t pretend to be. I know that I’m a sinner I know that like I am not perfect in the eyes of the Lord. I’m not perfect in the eyes of man, but every day I get up, I work on myself. I try just a little bit to be a better person every single day. I try not to repeat what it is that I did before. And you know that’s what really technically the definition of repentance is, you know. Repentance doesn’t mean that I go to God, and I say sorry. Repentance means that you repent from it. You don’t do it again. You go to God, and you say, ‘Hey, I’m sorry for this,’ but you intentionally go out there and try to intentionally not do whatever it is you did again… Repentance is you constantly changing yourself. And that’s why God told us in this particular verse, like how could you look at somebody and tell them that they have a speck in their eye when you have a log in your own?

The reason why is a speck in their eyes is because that’s all that you see. You judge someone by the little bit you see when God knows all, and he isn’t judging that person. But we come right here with our big eyes knowing all the bad things we do, and we’re quick to point fingers at somebody and say, ‘Oh this person ain’t living this way. This one ain’t righteous. This one ain’t doing this. This one is doing that. But what have we done to repent for our sins? Have we changed? Have you woken up this morning to do something and intentionally not do it again because you know you already promised God that you won’t do this anymore?

At the end of the day, many of the responsibilities carried on in our lives as humans have to do with how we treat others and, most importantly, how we look at ourselves. If we are Christians, we have to live Christ-like. Christ reminded us to do two things: love him and love others. Loving others goes unconditionally if we want to be Christians. If we want to be with the definition of a Christian is, that requires us to remove that log from our eye. To look at people with love. To add just a little bit more kindness, no matter how mad they make you. No matter how hurt you feel because at the end of the day, what we see in them, what we mad at them for, is just a speck. And God isn’t mad, and God forgive them, and God offered them the luxury of repentance the same as he did to us. So why would we sit back and judge them for the little that they do. The little that we see, knowing within ourselves that we continuously sin every single day? So, that is something that I’m mindful of in my life. That is something that I know that I have to work on in myself. And in my act of repentance, I try my best to not do the same things that I do over and over again.”

PLEASE DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING!!! WE’RE ALL IN THIS HUMAN EXPERIENCE TOGETHER!!!!

THIS WAS PRETTY AMAZING!!!

I met this beautiful soul, Jennifer, on Saturday, and she said to me:

“God prefers obedience over sacrifice.”

Fast forward a few hours later, Justin Bieber incredibly says in an interview from three years ago:

“Faith is obedience.”

The next day, I’m telling my brother Jason, “You will not understand my decisions because, most importantly, I MUST OBEY GOD.”

Fast forward a few hours from there, I’m posting in my support group, including a picture of Ceri’s YouTube video, entitled,

“MOST IMPORTANTLY, OBEY GOD”

Fast forward another few hours, my son/spiritual guy called me saying, “Mom, I’m calling to tell you about the Ceri message I listened to, and he said:

“MOST IMPORTANTLY OBEY GOD.”

I started screaming!!! Joshie, how are you telling me this right now!!!! He said he searched through the videos (398 of them were there!), and that was the one I felt I should listen to! Oh my gosh, this Joshie amazes me with His closeness to God. This is not the first time God has spoken to me so clearly through him. Like Ceri taught me, “GOD CAN EVEN SPEAK TO US THROUGH A CHILD!!!”

That melted my heart, guys! To know that God, only the Creator of the Universe, would go to such trouble as to have all these people confirm that this is where He wants us all — obeying Him! Wow!

And how do we know what it is God is telling us to do? A verse in the Bible says, “My sheep know my voice. They listen, and they follow Me.” As soon as Jennifer said that God prefers obedience over sacrifice, a tiny spark went off inside of me. That statement struck a chord, deeply resonating in my spirit. That’s what these messages from Ceri do, it’s like a vibration I literally feel from God saying, ‘Yes, Nik, this is Me speaking to you!’

For example, Jason doesn’t understand when I tell him that I must be submissive to my husband, I can’t make critical business decisions without him. I explained how one day I met this email on my screen, referring to this verses from the Bible, when I came into one work morning:

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” – Ephesians 5:22-24

Again, I felt a vibration in my spirit, saying God would have me do this. Nobody else has to understand me, but God had that there for me to see. To be honest with you, hubby has beautifully guided our family as our leader! I’m sticking with you and God, my boo! Ride or die wifey all the way, baby!

Justin Bieber explained that the Holy Spirit leads us, and we must follow God. He tries his best to be obedient, but sometimes the temptations are hard to resist. Tell me about it, Justin! The devil is coming at us from all angles, guys. He knows our weaknesses, but we must be like Jesus when he was being tempted by him and say, “Be gone, Satan!”

We must make God the foundation of our lives and wake up daily to alone times with Him! No joke! I highly recommend the messages from Ceri where you can learn more about how God speaks to us individually and His principles and ways so that we make better decisions when we’re back out in the world, following God’s lead! I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED FOLLOWING GOD! He exceeds anything we can ask or imagine! Even with the disappointments that come our way, His love is more than fair with us! Wink! Wink!

“NIK, EVERYONE IS DEALING WITH THIS FORGIVENESS ISSUE!”

That was my sweetie, Martha, a few minutes ago! I told her I was embarrassed that I was the God maniac here but still seriously struggling. So, today, I want to share a Ceri perspective as to why we need to be more loving, compassionate, kinder, gentler, patient, and forgiving with each other:

“1 Corinthians 9:22 says:

“When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.”

_This particular verse, I bookmarked it because the context behind it really stood out to me. It’s just one word that automatically came to my spirit when I read this verse: compassion. It’s so important for us to be compassionate towards people when they’re going through things. As Christians, because of our faith, we have developed a strength that a lot of people who may not have our faith, don’t have. And if we don’t see that. We expect people to be as strong as we are. _

_That’s the thing with strength, like a lot of times, when you are strong, you expect somebody to be able to handle things the way that you handle things, but you have to realize that the strength that we have is extra-ordinary. The normal human without faith is actually a pretty weak creature. They don’t have the strength that we have to bear and endure things. _

They don’t see the purpose like what we see. They don’t realize that it’s a light at the end of the tunnel. They often sink themselves into holes a lot deeper than what they already are by allowing their mind to wander without having something telling them inside (God’s voice), ‘Hey listen, man, you know I have you. I’ve got you.’

In this verse, the Apostle Paul reminds us that you have to be compassionate in sharing their weakness. And that is so important. It’s easy for you to bring somebody to Christ (God), especially when they’re weak, but you must put yourself in their shoes. You can’t just tell somebody to suck it up. When they hurt, sometimes you have to hurt. You have to live through that pain for them. You gotta be compassionate and tell them, ‘Hey, it’s gonna be alright.’ When they ask how do you know, you just tell them because my faith tells me that. God has already shown me that. I have faith in God to know that He’s going to bring you through this. If God brings you to it, He will take you through it.”

It’s so funny that years ago, I thought I was pretty loving, but God told me, “When you are ready, I will teach you more about love.” Oh my goodness, God, I wasn’t expecting all these tough lessons!!!! But that’s my assignment from Him to teach you as I learn them. So, like Ceri teaches me, God extends such love to us, and when He wakes us up every day, He says, “Now go out there and share that love with others!” So help us, God!

“YOU GUYS ARE FOCUSING ON THE WRONG THING!!!”

This WhatsApp group keeps asking me the name of my God. I said ‘My God is God!’ and I started to get really annoyed with them, to be honest with you, but then a group member asked these crucial questions:

“How can one maintain a relationship with God? What way? How?”

Now you are talking my language because that’s my beautiful assignment from God I have to teach you guys precisely this! The first step is sincerely asking God for a closer relationship with Him. I said the best prayer over 15 years ago, ‘God, I want a closer walk with You!’ God hasn’t disappointed me. As I take one step closer to Him, it’s like He takes one hundred steps towards me.

Next, we must have some spiritual practice where we take quiet alone times by ourselves to hear from God and learn His voice, values and principles for our lives. I have an entire morning God routine! This morning, I listened to my daily Ceri (my God influencer!) motivation playlist on our We Roll With God YouTube channel. I don’t play with these recordings because my mind is my own worst enemy, and if I don’t keep reminding myself of these messages from Ceri of God’s Presence with me, my mind literally gets stuck on the same negative, sad, and depressing thoughts all day.

Honestly, it’s a big struggle for your girl, but like my brother, Kevin, told my mom today, ‘Don’t worry about Nikki; she will get better every day.’ As I reprogram my mind with messages from Ceri of joy, peace, love, forgiveness, strength, courage, working on being better every day, and not allowing my mind to drag me down, slowly, the depressing thoughts are going away. It hasn’t been easy, though, but every day, like Ceri taught me, I get up and work on myself.

He repeats to me every day that I can pray for the strength to be strong for the people who are counting on me. Like my son, Joshie, who listened to one of the messages today and called me saying, “Mommy, I learned to be strong and courageous.” LISTEN TO THOSE MESSAGES FROM CERI!!! I feel like I hear from God directly about the wife, mother, and person He would have me to be in the world through Ceri’s messages because they are based on biblical/spiritual principles.

This sermon from Bel Air Church has also become my crucial mindset:

“Jesus (God), what is your perspective on every moment of my life? Every relationship. Every decision. Every circumstance. And how can I enter into it to glorify you?”

Down to every thought, I want us to involve God! Like Ceri is teaching me about forgiveness. Your girl is back beating her head with a stick after I saw a lady in my rearview mirror patting her head as I looked back at her yesterday. Believe it or not, this was a sign from God that He wants me to get back there of beating my head when my mind gets stuck on unforgiveness. Ceri said we must switch those thoughts of unforgiveness to thoughts of our blessings instead because they keep us down. I honestly can tell you that I am not my best self when I don’t forgive. Ceri shared this message on his wall today:

“One of our most important responsibilities is to keep our heart pure. It’s easy to let what’s on the outside get on the inside. It takes discipline to say, “I’m not going to dwell on that offense…” Maybe you need to forgive somebody… You only have so much emotional energy each day. It’s not an unlimited supply. Do you know how much energy it takes to hold a grudge, to go around offended? That’s wasting valuable energy that you need for your dreams, for your children, and for your
destiny.”

See the love of God? He meets us exactly where we are in our struggles. He beautifully had Ceri to record these messages and placed that one today on his wall as if they were done personally for me. God had that lady patting her head so I can see her as a reminder to get back there of me beating my head when these thoughts are getting the best of me and stealing my joy and emotional strength to take on my life. The love God shows me, I feel like the most loved person in the world by Him. So, please take my advice! Say that prayer and then wake up daily to have appointments with Him. I promise you, He is able to help us with our individual struggles as well as guide us on the best paths for our lives when we learn His voice and follow Him!!!! Trust me, God’s ways are always best!

“Jesus (God), what is your perspective on every moment of my life? Every relationship. Every decision. Every circumstance. And how can I enter into it to glorify you?”