ANOTHER SACRED CONVERSATION WITH MY BROTHER, KEVIN

I began telling him how my daughter, Ember, went a little crazy on her dad, which surprised me. After we chatted about it for a bit, I told Kevin that the real point of our conversation, though, was that we really have to take this work for God more seriously. It was not only to teach Ember all that he has taught me, but it was really about us teaching the entire world these crucial lessons about having a God perspective for life.

I’m so grateful to Kevin who always said, “Neeks, you have a husband who respects you and takes great care of his family. You can’t ask for anything more than that. Enjoy your gorgeous life!” Honestly, just like Ember, I had lost it with hubby for about 15 seconds one evening, and he came and sat with me and said, “Nik, I’m here with you every night. All day I’m at work doing my best for you guys. What more do you want from me?” Honestly, there is nothing else I can ask of this man! Only to ask God to give me the strength and ability to be an even better wife, mom, and person.

God even got in on our conversation when the next day, a song by Babyface played as I was getting dressed to go out:

“I give good love…
I’ll cook your dinner too
Soon as I get home from work’

Can you believe after calling hubs all day to ask what he wanted for dinner, I got back from my outing and meet hubby in the kitchen, still in his work clothes, cooking dinner for us? That song playing was God Himself saying, ‘Nik, Nik, Nik, Nik!!! Look at this beautiful husband I’ve blessed you with! Don’t take him for granted!’ Hubs prepared that food with such love, and I ended up cleaning my plate and hubby sharing some of his with me.

Ember was upset that her dad didn’t take me out for our anniversary, and I told her that I was the one saying that we didn’t need to go anywhere because every evening, the restaurant comes to us. We have a date night every night with our cook preparing us better than restaurant food! We shower, come down in our pajamas, and enjoy the best food. Like Uncle Kevin says, “Your mom has a gorgeous life!”

The moral of this story is that there is enough anger, hate, unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, and evil in the world. May we be God’s representatives out there reflecting His love, mercy (forgiveness without punishment and learning to KEEP SILENT and venting our frustrations to God), kindness, faithfulness, loyalty, gentleness, and patience with the world.

We are really too hard on each other! I told Ember to open her eyes to where she was, at this gorgeous country club university in New York – Your dad’s hard work did that for you! Overwhelm him with your love, respect, and appreciation! He has gone above and beyond his responsibility as a husband and dad. May more men show up for their families the way your dad does for us. Anyone can find the dirt in others (that’s easy!); may we be the ones to find gold! We must keep forgiving, keep forgiving and keep forgiving because none of us are perfect! The same love God shows us, we’re to reflect to others!

Thank you, Kevin, for being my guard rails and keeping me from making bad decisions! May we share your gift of wisdom with the world! A message from Ceri yesterday was about how God is strategic in the people He brings into our lives. I have no doubt that God Himself planned for us to be on this adventure together for the past four years of you holding my hands and supporting me through my rough patch. Every conversation has been sacred, and I’m more motivated than ever to finish our book! Everyone needs a Kevin in their life!!!!

GOD WANTS US TO BEAR OUR BURDENS WITH HIM!!!

That’s the message He confirmed today! Waking up, I went to our family’s website. It was 14 minutes past the hour, so I went to page 14, and this showed up:

“And speaking of being FULL of anxiety, that was me yesterday, and I immediately RAN to Him AGAIN. I reread some old posts, including my fav lately:

“Come to me all you who labor and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, here you will find rest for your soul. FOR MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT.” – Matthew 11:28-30

She (a priest) called our attention to the image of the yoke, a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals, such as oxen, are joined at the heads or necks for working together. She said she could imagine Jesus (God) already wearing the yoke and inviting us to let Him be our Partner as we bear our burdens together with Him. She said when things get harder (and they will get harder), Jesus (God) would not let his side of the yoke go.”

Fast forward to the drive on the way to work, a few hours later, the very verse from that early appointment was Joel Osteen’s email for today:

“FOR MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT (Wink! Wink!).” – Matthew 11:30

The Most High God is arranging the good breaks, the healing, the favor, the promotion. He has the right people lined up for you. He knows how to change people’s minds to be for you. You don’t have to do everything in your own strength and ability. You have to stay strong and fight the good fight of faith. It may not happen overnight, but keep believing, keep declaring the promises, keep doing the right thing.”

Then, immediately upon getting to work (less than 15 minutes later) and feeling a bit overwhelmed, I went again to our website. It was 35 minutes past the hour, so I went to page 35, and the verse incredibly showed up again:

Then, I continued reading about what had me in tears before leaving – my hurts – that have become my cross to carry for God:

“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, ‘FOR MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT (Wink! Wink!)” (Mt 11:30); for he, the good Cyrenean of souls will help you carry it.” – Jesus As Friend by Salvatore Canals

You can’t say these were all random coincidences! They were all God confirming to me and you that He is deeply and intimately involved in every second, every moment of our lives! It’s just for us to keep seeking Him, praying for His perspective, strength, and guidance to tackle every situation we face.

Today, I had a good time laughing about one cross He has given me to handle. When I looked at everything from His respective, I was reminded to keep silent, vent my frustrations to Him, and show up as the loving and wise woman He would have me to be. When I ended our conversation, I thanked and praised God! Joshie woke up complaining, and I said to Him, “Joshie, every moment, let’s just praise and thank God! We have nothing to complain about!” and I sucked up every moment being there with him. God, thank You!!! (HUGE SMILE)

Make sure you invite God into every moment of your life to seek His perspective! He has the best plans for us, but we must learn His voice AND be obedient to Him. Like when He told me today to be silent! No problem, God! You always know best!

“NEEKS, I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY IT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO GET THE MESSAGE I TOLD YOU ABOUT YEARS AGO!”

That was my angel/brother, Kevin, yesterday! Honestly, God makes everything beautiful in His time. Not a minute early or a minute late! I had called him to say that we must ignore our 90-year-old mom, who keeps saying we should replace the lady who so wonderfully takes care of her, Shelley. After my mom went as far as locking Shelley out of the house one day, even after all my preaching to her to please be on chill mode (not taking anything so seriously!) and enjoy her gorgeous life like Kevin has been teaching me, yet the crazy lady STILL came out. Turns out that I needed to speak to my mom the next day, and Shelley became MY messenger from God. Here’s what Shelley explained (I paraphrase here!):

“Nik, I have friends that take care of elderly people, and they tell me that if the person were to hit them, they would hit them back, but I explain to them what the Bible says, “Revenge is Mines, says the Lord. And Don’t repay evil with evil; repay evil with good. The fruits of the spirit are love, kindness, gentleness, patience… This is where God wants me to be with your mom!!!”

So back to this lesson that Kevin is saying I took so long to get, it was God trying to teach me these very items Shelley perfectly addressed! It was like God Himself was saying through Shelley:

‘Nik, revenge is Mines! I don’t want you showing up anything other than your most loving self in the world on my behalf. Anything you do is between you and Me. What anyone else does is between them and Me. You keep showing up as My Fav Girl/Rockstar and let the world see Me through you! Let Me be the One to deal with anyone who does anything to you! I know what I’m doing with every one of my children. Your commandment from Me is to love Me and love others! Spread love, My Nik! Finish!

Nik, I want you to be even more committed to spreading good worldwide. Use whatever evil comes your way as motivation to spread even more goodness in the world on my behalf. No more hate for hate or tit for tat! No! Use all the evil news stories as your reminder to be even more focused on doing my will in the world. Step up your game in making the world a happier, more loving, and closer to Me place!

Nik, teach the world the values I’ve been demonstrating and teaching you:

“But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.” – Galatians 5:22-23

Exactly how I treat you, I want you to reflect that to others!’

Got that, my peeps?!? With the intimate love God shows me, like sending people like my mom, Kevin, and Shelley into my life, I want to ask these questions continually:

“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?” – Bel Air Church

BOTTOM LINE: LOVE! LET’S BEGIN IN OUR HOMES AND SPREAD OUT FROM THERE!!!

“OFFICER, ARREST THIS MAN!”

I had fun with my husband and a top police official/great customer and friend at our office yesterday. We ended up talking about the Catholic church, and I shared how Pope Francis has been my incredible marriage counselor who has importantly taught me that even if hubby and I were going through our darkest times, we must remember GOD’S LIGHT IS STILL SHINING BEYOND THE DARKNESS.

Fast forward to this morning, it was 7:03, and I decided to go to page 73 of our family’s website for an alone time with God, and a huge smile went on my face when I read the caption on one of the pics there:

“GOD’S LIGHT IS SHINING BEYOND THE DARKNESS (Wink! Wink!)”

That was no coincidence! Of 146 web pages, for me to go specifically to this post about Pope Francis from over three years ago was all God orchestrated to remind me that His Presence is forever with me. Every conversation. Every thought I think. Everywhere I go. He goes before me, ahead of me, and beside me. And He is with you, too!!!

God also showed up through my God influencer, Ceri, today with this same message that even in our darkest times, we can still have HOPE that better things are still ahead of us despite how things may seem. This God wink began with me discussing with my husband how inspired I was listening to Michelle and former President Barack Obama talk about the importance of having hope. We also had an appointment with God reading a daily devotional, and the message was again about hope. I left hubby to go and do my run, and instead of listening to music, I just shuffled Ceri’s playlist on our We Roll With God YouTube channel, and out of 117 videos there, YouTube incredibly picked the very one entitled “Our Hope is in God (Wink! Wink!).”

Again, this was no coincidence, but God again revealed another glimmer of His Presence with this crucial message of having hope. Ceri defined hope as believing that good things will happen with faith in a higher power (God!). If I am really honest with you guys, the first time I heard that message from Ceri, I was out running literally and figuratively in the dark (your girl was not in a good place!), but the message from Ceri just reminded me that my hope was in God despite how awful the situation seemed.

Fast forward five months later, God has shown up BIG TIMEl! As Ceri explains, God is working behind closed doors on our behalf. I do not doubt that now! How God brought me from that dark place to last night, sitting in our dining room having the best dinner ever with my hubby and sons, is just another testimony of the greatness of God. NO SITUATION IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR HIM! God has never left my side! Moment by moment, while I showed up doing the best of my ability, God was doing His part behind the scenes in the spiritual realm. DON’T PLAY AROUND WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!! It’s just for us to learn God’s voice and obey what He asks us. What time are your appointments with God?

I’M FEELING SO CLOSE TO GOD!

Like the other morning, I had a mini panic attack during my run, debating whether my daughters should get an apartment in New York to stay and work over the summer. I had to stop the run, sit down for a few minutes, and have time with God to talk about it. I had run 2 miles, so I said, let me go to page 2 of our family’s website and see what God had to say to me there. Out of over 140 web pages, look what incredibly showed up in the first blog at the very top of page 2, written months ago:

“So, this morning, my daughters were talking about getting an apartment in New York.”

THE VERY ISSUE I STOPPED MY RUN TO TALK TO GOD ABOUT!!!! It was another one of my God winks, where God is saying this:

“As you go through this day, look for tiny treasures strategically placed along the way. I LOVINGLY GO BEFORE YOU and plant little pleasures to brighten your day. Look carefully for them, and pluck them one by one.” – Jesus Calling

See the love of God! He lovingly went ahead of me and planted that post there on page 2, knowing I would need that glimmer of His Presence to increase my faith in Him and remind me that we’re not tackling this parenting alone-God is with us! God is DEEPLY involved in our lives!!! The next morning, still not knowing definitely whether that meant the girls should or should not get an apartment, He spoke again in the appointment with Him that I had with my husband:

“Trust Me to take care of your loved ones. They are safe with me. My Presence never leaves them—just as I never leave you.” – Jesus Calling Devotional For Kids

See how God can use everything for our good! Even my anxieties were an opportunity for Him to pull me closer to His heart, saying, Nik, not only I am always with you, I’m with your daughters too!!! My Presence will be with them whether they are in New York or with you! Phew! See how God fills my life with His joy, peace, and Presence? Don’t miss out! Make sure you are having your alone times with Him!

“I MUST TRAIN MYSELF LIKE AN ATHLETE TO BE YOUR WIFE AND BABY MAMA”


That was me to my hubby a short while ago! Honestly, it’s my honor and privilege to show up for him as my best self because this hubby goes the extra mile for us. No joke! Even though I told our son, Joshie, not to bother him about making burgers for them today, my hubby insisted on jumping up from resting to go to two different food stores to track down this burger meat to make our sons happy. Honestly, hubs has earned the name Joshie has given him: Better than best hubby and dad!

And in all that, let me tell ya how God showed up for me! So, I was in our bedroom searching for a hair product to try a different style I saw on YouTube that I felt God nudge me in my spirit to give it a try – I’m His influencer, so I gotta be looking cute, right? As I’m looking, hubby walks in and says he’s going to the store, and I said I wanted to come too. The first store didn’t have the desired product, but I got another one. The next thing I knew, we were off to another store. Get to the store, and their telephone number included my famous 7 and 11, and of course I took it as another wink from God that His invisible presence was there with us. As soon as we got inside, I went to the hair products section, and can you believe they had one more jar of the exact product I wanted. Call me crazy, but that’s the love I receive from God. Anything that is a concern for me is a concern for God. God even got hubby up from resting to take me to this new store to find what I was looking for! (I don’t drive in Nigeria!)

That’s why Julie said if you look up spoilt in the dictionary, you will find a picture of my daughter Ember and I holding hands. Between God and hubby, we are pretty spoilt, I’ll admit, and that is why I was being tough on her to get a job and why I’m even tougher on myself to push myself harder.

Joshie just asked if I wanted some of the burger and fries, but I told him no, that I’m back on my Tom Brady mode (The greatest of all time mode, doing everything for the glory of God!). I felt God pushing me in my spirit to start back up after I’ve had too many cupcakes and sodas lately. I really want to up my game as a wife, mom, and person for God in the world.

I began a new 50 days of running the 5K (3.11 miles) every day at the request of hubby this time. It is God’s way of challenging me to be better, and training me as an athlete to be stronger (mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally). God, let’s do this! I’m a soldier in God’s army, baby, to make the world a happier, more loving and most crucially bring humanity CLOSER TO GOD! That includes you!!!

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

‘GOD THIS IS HARD!!!’ (REPOST)

That has been me to God a lot lately. But God has such a great sense of humor because, in one of my appointments with Him, He took me back to this old post from January when I sent this text to my daughters after running for two and a half miles to Starbucks:

“Made it. Let’s do HARD THINGS this year for God.”

And now that the hard things are here for me to do, I’m like, ‘God, what is this?!? I didn’t want it to be this hard!’ LOL! But, I love how I have this relationship with Him where we can have fun with each other. I say no problem, God, when the going gets tough, the tough (ME!!!) gets going. I got this handled! I know that this difficult and sometimes overwhelming stuff I have to deal with is God’s way of challenging me to be better, training me as an athlete to be stronger (mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally). God, let’s do this! I’m a soldier in God’s army, baby!

I know I will come through it happier, more mature, more disciplined, more focused, and more at peace. You can’t beat God’s school of HARD LESSONS! It’s a constant struggle and a strong fight to be this person who I know He is calling me to be, but that’s the challenge for us all: For God to be or Guide of our hearts and to make some super tough decisions from His GOD IS LOVE perspective. He wants to remove the weeds from our hearts like bitterness, envy, jealousy, hate, greed, selfishness, temptations, evil thoughts, anger, doing and saying hurtful things and replace them with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience bearing with and forgiving each other, clothing ourselves ALWAYS in love. Phew! Did you get all of that?

SUPER HARD, I KNOW!!! But that’s where the PRACTICE, PRACTICE, and more PRACTICE comes in. Looking to God in every moment and seeking to please Him. With all the training from Him, we’ll have a heart and mind filled with His love, joy, and Presence knowing He is our intimate life Partner and Guide.

Everything is between God and us, not between us and anyone else – His BLESSINGS amaze me. A strong run today with my daughters had me going crazy over His love. Those who hope in God will not be disappointed! AMEN!!! Hard stuff here, but we can do all things through Him who strengthens us! Amen.

WEROLLWITHGOD.COM

“GET A JOB!!!”

That’s been me to my daughter, Ember, for about a month! She’s an exceptional university student, but I wanted her to also have experience working (tiger mom!). “Let’s maximize this time in New York,” I lovingly harass her. Finally, God put it in my spirit to leave her alone and be patient with her. So, she called me this week so excited, saying, “Mom, I got a job!” Not only did she get a job, she believes it is precisely where God wants us.

This God wink started before Ember even began university! Whenever we both would see the numbers 11 and 7 together, we would take it as a special wink from God that He is revealing His invisible Presence with us. We get to Ember’s university for the first time, and these two huge signs are directly outside the entrance saying “117!” Guys, such peace came over me feeling those signs were God Himself saying He would be there with her. Even when Ember wanted to transfer, I strongly said, “That’s the university God has placed you in, so until we hear from Him, you’re not doing any transfer.”

So fast forward to her getting the job this week. Can you believe the same “117” signs are outside her new job? She felt so loved by God! Like God Himself again revealed His Presence with her, giving her a special wink and saying, ‘Yes, Ember, this is where I would like you to work.’

I had a great talk with Ember yesterday, explaining where her crazy momma has been getting it wrong. I’ve been looking too much to my husband for his love and approval, and God has been saying, ‘Nik, I love and approve of you, and that’s enough, my sweetie.’ I told Ember not to play around with her relationship with God – we need Him!!! God placed those signs at Ember’s job for me, too! Reminding me just how intimately He is involved in every aspect of my life and every worry – including parenting! God, I will sing of Your love forever! From generation to generation!

But God really blew me away yesterday when I went all crazy in my video saying how He revealed His Presence to me through a Facebook reel that appeared on my feed of a Justin Bieber’s live performance of him singing his song ‘Purpose.’ Just an hour or so before this, Lillian, my videographer, commented that I had found my PURPOSE (sharing this great news with you guys!) So, if you read these posts, you would know I am a huge Justin Bieber fan, and just the day before this I was running around our home singing this very song, Purpose.

For our anniversary yesterday, I celebrated with our staff some small Nigerian snacks, and I called one of our staff that I saw coming my way inside to have some of the cupcakes. Of all the songs in the entire world, he was playing at that very moment the very song ‘Purpose’ by Justin Bieber. No one can possibly say that this was a coincidence. It was all perfectly orchestrated and timed by God Himself to let me know how much He loves me and how closely He is involved in every second of my life.

That’s the peace you cannot buy! KNOWING THAT GOD HIMSELF IS ALWAYS WITH YOU! Forget chasing love from other people; God’s arms are wide open to welcome and receive us at every moment – that’s the love we need for our lives!!! I now continually ask this better than best husband, “How much does this wife love you?!?” The answer always being “Infinity (can’t put a value on it!) percent!” He is my kind of perfect! Like my brother, Kevin, wisely put it, “Neeks, your husband respects you, takes care of his family, and there is nothing more you can ask for other than that!’ God even sent me a wise brother/angel to be the guide rails of my life so I don’t mess up! (HUGE SMILE)

As soon as you wake up, have your appointments with God!!!! GOD EXISTS!!! Make this your year to get closer to HIM!

“IF THE SAME PERSON HAS HURT YOU OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN…

…If the same person betrayed me. The same person hurt me. If the same person just continues to reject me over and over again, he or she could be an instrument of the enemy to destroy you.” – Pastor James Edwards

I loved this from a Facebook reel yesterday! I loved it because that’s his take, but my take is entirely the opposite. That person, he or she, has been sent by God to MAKE us, not break us! (Wink! Wink!) I agree with Jesus, “If your enemy is hungry, feed them.” Welcome them! These people have been sent as gifts from God Himself to help us become all that He has created us to be – stronger, wiser, braver, bolder, more loving, more grateful, and most importantly, bring us closer to God! HEEHAW!!!

Yesterday, I had the most beautiful conversations with my brother, Kevin, and his wife, Verona. I was thanking Kevin that I was in Nigeria with my husband and our two sons were there with us because, in my lowest moments, Kevin has been there holding my hands, helping me to stay strong, and giving me the best advice. Like the day his only response was, “Neeks, get closer to God. Make Him your top priority!” I ran with that advice, and the most unexpected thing happened: GOD HAS TURNED MY MOURNING TO JOY!!! I’m back celebrating every day like a birthday! What was meant to destroy me, God used it for my good!!! Thank you, pain. Thank you, betrayals. Thank you, hurts.

And that’s my advice to you today: LET’S USE ALL THE BAD THAT COME OUR WAY FOR OUR GOOD by using them to up our relationship with God. Kevin said that life WILL throw ten thousand punches at us, no one gets away (so don’t be surprised by them – they’re coming!), but eventually, you will become numb to the hits.

David Goggins taught me that people will hurt you until you decide they can no longer hurt you. He said you form callouses (tough, hard, thickened area that forms over a wound while healing) so that nothing can penetrate through to harm you. DON’T LET THE OFFENCES COME INSIDE OF YOU. DON’T GET BITTER; GET BETTER, AND GET CLOSER TO GOD.

THE MORE GOD IN YOUR LIFE, THE BETTER YOUR LIFE! Present everything to Him, asking for His perspective! God, what is this hurt to teach me? The reason why I call Kevin for advice is that he is pretty wise. He CONSTANTLY told me, “Neeks, enjoy your gorgeous life!” I can honestly do that because all the hits I’ve taken have brought your girl here extremely close to God’s heart, where I know He is with me, for me, and by my side. NO GREATER LOVE THAN THIS!!!

After sharing everywhere like a crazy lady a picture of Ceri, my God influencer, with a caption: LOVE GOD AND LOVE EACH OTHER, feeling so strongly that this really is the way to an extraordinary life, I go to have an appointment with God with my husband the following day and the very verse Ceri was referring to showed up. Of all the verses in the entire Bible, for that specific one to show up was God revealing another glimmer of His Presence with me. That’s the intimate love and attention God shows me. He tells me which of Ceri’s messages to listen to, even what to share with my husband in our appointments together. Every aspect and moment of my life has become a beautiful collaboration with God. Don’t miss out! Make this your year to get closer to God where you’re tapping into His love, strength, and wisdom on a moment-by-moment basis! I don’t want to be this close to Him by myself! (HUGE SMILE)

GOD HAS SENT AN ENTIRE TEAM OF ANGELS TO SUPPORT ME!!!

That’s the love I’m experiencing from God! Like our family friend, Ceri (in the pic!), who I call my God influencer because I’m learning so much from him about God (HUGE SMILE). He calms my mind and keeps me focused on God and GOD’S PATH for my life. Ceri is seriously helping me to be happier, more loving, wiser, trusting God more, courageous, and a better wife, mom, and person (even coaches need coaches!). God even whispers to me the messages from Ceri He would have me listen to! Like a recording from over a year ago from Ceri was my personal message from God yesterday:

“And I’ll read from Philippians 3:13-14 and it says,

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Today, I am grateful for a new year AND I’M GRATEFUL FOR WHATEVER LIES AHEAD. Something that stood out to me what Paul said in this particular verse when he’s speaking of the Philippians was he said, “but I focus on one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” He didn’t say that he had amnesia and forgot about the past, he said but I FOCUS on one thing. That means that he actually took his time and dedicated his time. When you focus on something, you put all your time and energy into that. That’s what focus is like, when you actually focus on something you have tunnel vision toward it.

When we have plans, goals, dreams, we have to focus on it. We have to tunnel vision that! We have to remember that our past doesn’t determine who we are. Our past just is something that we live, it’s a process that we went through. It’s what lies ahead that matters, and the decisions we make today will determine how our future lies ahead, not our past. Our choices today cannot affect our past. What’s done has already been done, but the decisions that we make today, is what will affect tomorrow. And I think that that’s one of the messages that Paul was trying to get through to us in these particular verses.

Another thing what he said that I must highlight is “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the Heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us.” That Heavenly prize is to live with him and obeying his word. But most importantly, following these two Commandments that I always stress: love God and love each other. That’s it. Love God and love each other.

It’s so important for us that while we’re focusing, to remember those two things because they will determine today what our tomorrow is like by loving God and loving each other. We focus on them. Go ahead towards our goals. Head in the direction of our goals, but keep those two things at the center of our life – His Commandments: loving Him and loving each other. That will help to determine how good of a future we have, which will carry us to our Heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us.”

Honestly, following this advice from Ceri of loving God and loving others has led me to a beautiful destination! Thanks, bruh! I love my life and I’m GRATEFUL FOR WHAT LIES AHEAD, AS I FOCUS ON LOVING GOD AND OTHERS. (Wink! Wink!)