“MERRY CHRISTMAS, BEST MOM!”

That was my little sweetie, Joshie, this morning! I climbed up on his top bunk bed and gave him a big hug and kiss. I’m learning so much from this eleven-year-old son, guys. Like having this joyful, light, playful, funny, genuine, loyal, enthusiastic, kind, and extremely loving personality. I left him calling his dad, and when my husband picked up, he said, “Merry Christmas, Oga Sir,” in this fun Nigerian accent. Let me tell ya, I’m taking lessons from this son regarding his personality, and I tell my other kids to do the same. When my husband called me, I took a line from Joshie’s playbook and said, “Merry Christmas, Better than Best Husband. You’re our gift every day of the year. We’re enjoying this gorgeous life with you!”

Joshie is teaching me to access God’s tact, personality, and charisma, every day, all day! This year, my favorite advice was from my brother, Kevin, who said that the best thing he could tell me was to get closer to God. To make God my top priority! And, boy oh boy, I wasn’t expecting this closeness! Like this morning, I woke up to this old post in my appointment with Him:

“‘I FEEL GOOD’

Let me tell ya! I’m having the best time listening to Beres Hammond’s song, as if God is singing to me:

“I feel good
When you’re wrapped up in My arms
Dancing to a reggae song
Feel good, feel good
I feel good cause your perfume isn’t loud
That only I can talk about
Feel good, feel good”

God said I should find new ways of enjoying Him, and I’m doing exactly that, imagining that I’m going through my life wrapped up in His arms dancing to a reggae song, with only Him smelling my perfume. (SMILE)”

A few minutes after reading this, my daughter, Ember, came to hug me, and I smelled her perfume. I felt God in my spirit saying, ‘Nik, this is the closeness I want with you. I want you walking through life wrapped up in My arms, with Me smelling your perfume.’ A GOD PERSPECTIVE CHANGES EVERYTHING!!! Life doesn’t get any sweeter than this, knowing you are walking with God in every moment as your constant Helper, Friend, Strategist, Counsel, Protector, and LOVING Father.

On my run with Him today, I pretty much played one song that God went through so much trouble for me to hear waiting in a pharmacy one day. I immediately downloaded it, and it’s even my phone’s ringtone:

“I must make you understand
I want to be your Man” – Zapp and Roger

And He wants to be your Man, too, where you are rolling with and leaning on Him more than ever. Everything we say, everything we do, everywhere we go, learning His voice and listening to Him in the 1,000 decisions we make every day, bringing our Tom Brady (GREATEST OF ALL TIME) mentality with us as we take on being the most extraordinary spouses, parents, and people in our own little worlds.

Please take Kevin’s advice and start seeking God. Then make sure you have alone times with Him reading anything spiritual that makes you feel close to Him and encourages you to stay on the high road, by being your most excellent, courageous, strong, yet gentle, forgiving, and loving self, all for the glory of God. I promise you, the best life is close to Him!!! Wink! Wink! Say this prayer with me, ‘God, I want a closer walk with You! Amen!’

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WHAT KIND OF LOVE IS THIS?

God blows me away with the love and attention He shows me! Like this morning, I went running to my God tree, and this song was the first to play:

“I like you, girl, in particula
You in particula” – Major Lazer

Let me tell ya, I started dancing, feeling God was singing this song directly to me! Fast forward a few minutes later, I’m sitting down on the curb under my God tree at 16 minutes past the hour (and, no, I don’t look at all insane! (SMILE)). I go to page 16 of our family’s website and look what incredibly showed up in an old post there:

“I LIKE YOU GAL IN PARTICULA!” (Wink! Wink!) That was, believe it or not, God singing to me out on my morning run with Him!”

Again, this lined up too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence! God Himself confirmed His message that He likes me, baby, in particular!!! A huge smile came across my face, and I truly felt like the most loved person in the world.

“Every day is Christmas for us!” is what I told Julie today! God has guided our lives on such a gorgeous path that we can genuinely celebrate like a memorable holiday every day. Those runs every morning in our neighborhood wake me up to all the beauty in my life, like God is saying, ‘Nik, you have so much to appreciate. Look around, look at your life.”

I’m especially enjoying a white Audi Q5 that I felt God wanted me to have after I’ve felt that this car has been a special wink from Him for the past month or so whenever I saw one. However, my husband purchased a white Range Rover for me, saying that was the car he wanted his wife to have, but in my heart, I still wanted a white Q5. Long story short, I ended up returning the Range Rover back to the seller, and I finally got the vehicle that has been special to God and me. I sent hubby a pic of it with a message saying, “Spoilt wifey got the white Audi that she wanted!” (HUGE SMILE)

Speaking of this hubby, though. He is a big part of why we can celebrate every day. I call him “better than best husband” because he goes overboard with his love for his family. We may go through our battles, but in the end, I feel we come through with more love and respect for each other. Go figure! And that’s our testimony to the world on God’s behalf that our families are crucial to Him, and He wants us to stick together. Hubs and I may go through the darkest nights, but we still have this hope that our best days are still out in front of us.

“Let us be very sincere in our dealings with each other and have the courage to accept each other as we are. Do not be surprised at or become occupied with each other’s failure; rather see and find the good in each other, for each one of is created in the image of God.” – Mother Teresa

“Dear Human: You’ve got it all wrong. You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. MESSY LOVE. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity.”

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” – 1 John 4:16

FIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILY! DON’T GIVE UP! PRACTICE PATIENCE, FORGIVENESS AND LOYALTY, ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!

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I LOVE GOD’S SENSE OF HUMOR!!!

Like the other day, I was getting dressed and decided to listen to some music. I needed to connect to our speaker’s Bluetooth, and IMMEDIATELY I CONNECTED, of all the over 800 songs in my music library, these lyrics popped up, and I knew it was God having some fun with me:

“I’m tryna connect to your body, girl, like it’s Bluetooth (Wink! Wink!)” – Mood by 24KGoldn

No way was this some random coincidence! It was God revealing His deep and intimate involvement in every tiny detail of my life. How sweet is that? That we all can walk through life knowing that we are walking with God as our Constant Companion and Guide.

And about this God connecting to us like Bluetooth, it’s the perfect way to describe how we can have our entire lives intertwined with Him. “For in Him we live and move and exist, baby!” We can pick up on what He would have us to do, say and go on a moment-by-moment basis. Like this week, at one point, He was telling me to STAND FIRM, then next thing I knew, He was telling me to STAND DOWN, regarding the same issue. He has been training me to be both soft (gentle, loving, patient, and forgiving) and hard (tough, strong, brave, firm, never giving up, courageous, fearless). So I’m listening to Him in my spirit as to what He would have me to do depending on whatever situation I’m facing. God is my Strategist, Teacher, and GREATEST FRIEND EVER!!! Feelings of peace, excitement, enthusiasm are His way of saying, ‘Yes, this is the way to go.’ However, feelings of stress, uneasiness, doubt, and anxiety are Him saying, ‘Hold up! Wait a minute! Let’s rethink this!’

Are you connecting to God’s Bluetooth? I promise you the best life is close to Him when we are constantly seeking His guidance! He is an expert in everything! I’m even thanking Him for a problematic experience recently because I see that He was training me to be brave and less worried and fretful all the time. He used it to toughen me up and my entire team. We made some mistakes, but mistakes are OK when we use them to make needed corrections and see how we can be better. GOD STRONG!!!

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“DADDY, MOMMY TALKS TO GOD!”

That was my son, Joshie, yesterday to my husband! That made me so proud and happy that my eleven-year-old son is learning firsthand about having a close relationship with God. Woohoo! Let me tell ya, I’m having face-to-face conversations with God. He gives me specific instructions as to what He would have me do on a moment-by-moment basis. Like yesterday, I asked Him what He would have me to do about a difficult situation, and I felt Him saying to go to my book, ‘Keep Calm, You’re Rolling With God.’ I used the scroll key, and these words randomly showed up:

“My child, STAND FIRM and trust in me,” – The Imitation of Christ

I said, “OK, Boss! Whatever You say!’ A couple of hours later, I then go to my God tree for my run/walk. Once there, I looked at the time, and it was 44 minutes past the hour, and I went to page 44 of our family’s website and look what incredibly showed up:

“…This means that love bears every trial with a positive attitude. It STANDS FIRM in hostile surroundings.” – The Joy of Love by Pope Francis

And if that’s not enough for you, I woke up this morning for another appointment with God on our website, and it was 47 minutes past the hour. This incredibly showed up on page 47:

“Do not be afraid. STAND FIRM and you will see the LORD’s salvation (deliverance from harm), which He will accomplish for you today…The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” – Exodus 14: 13-14”

For these words “STAND FIRM” to show up from three different books so perfectly was God talking to your girl here face to face, baby! ‘Nik, stand firm; I am standing with you!!!’ Heehaw! What kind of love is this? For God to go to all this trouble to orchestrate the timing of all these appointments, letting me know that He is with me as I go through some deep and troubling waters.

Do you have appointments with Him? This life is rough! WE NEED GOD! Notice how I go looking to hear from Him to get His perspective, and He finds ways to specifically answer what I’m concerned about and remind me that His Presence is STRONG with me. This gives me the confidence to take on whatever challenges come my way, courageously, peacefully, and joyfully. Yesterday, this verse showed up three separate places for me as well:

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” – Mathew 1:23

My husband and two sons are named Emmanuel, y’all! And this is our testimony that we worship a God who is always with us no matter the battles we face. He is with us in our high moments and our low moments. May we all finish 2021 STRONGER with Him! Amen! Make sure you have your alone times seeking to learn His voice and direction for your life. HE ALWAYS KNOWS BEST!!! Wink! Wink!

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“I HAVE THE BEST HOUSE!”

That was surprisingly from my son, Emmie, yesterday! He and Joshie were entertaining their friends, and I was hovering in the background when I heard him say that. There I was feeling like our house was a complete disaster, but my son felt the total opposite. It’s another testimony to the greatness of God in my life: My help comes from the Lord, baby!

I told you guys how I’ve been in such a rut lately, but God is beautifully at work in the background, assisting me to keep everything on track. Like one night, I went in to pick my sons from church and saw them enjoying playing a game there. The next day or so, I said let’s recreate it on our front porch. I took the boys and their friend Sammy to buy tape and a ball at Target. It takes four people to play, so on the way into the store, I asked them who would the fourth person be. They said it would be “Isaiah.” We get into the store, and minutes later, asking the first store attendant we saw after finding the ball where we could get tape, his name was amazingly “Isaiah.” And just like that, God revealed His invisible Presence with us. No coincidence!

We set it up, and the next thing I knew, our house became the hang-out spot to play this game, along with the basketball hoop in our driveway. I would come home from work and meet the boys playing happily, running all around the neighborhood with no shoes. Yesterday, I got them pizza to share with their new friends. They went swimming. They played video games. They went fishing at the lake at the back of our home. And they played the game on our porch with the ball and tape until very late into the night.

I say all that to say, don’t go through life without God. I know without any doubt that it was Him directing me in my spirit to set up that game for my sons. And to see all the beauty and joy that came from it, reminds me that God has my back, even when I feel like such a loser. His way of saying, ‘I got you, Nik!’

My life is this intimate journey with Him. When I’m weak, He is my strength. When I feel good for nothing, He says, “Give me your nothing, Nik. Didn’t I create the world from nothing!” Don’t miss out, finish this year saying, ‘God, I want a closer walk with You!!!’ He lovingly whispers His secrets to us when we’re open to involving Him in every aspect of our lives! Wink! Wink!

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“HE ALSO BROUGHT ME UP OUT OF A HORRIBLE PIT”

That’s the line written by David some 3,000 years ago in Psalm 40:2 and also what God has done for me! Yay! I’ve been in a terrible rut lately, but by the grace of God, I’m slowly getting myself back together like a REAL SOLDIER. This life is not easy, but that’s where a relationship with God comes sweetly in to help us get through anything that will come our way. GOD STRONG, BABY!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1-2

Whatever you have going on, pray all day, every day, for His help and guidance through any storm! Even in feeling good for nothing, God keeps inviting me to give Him my nothing, reminding me that He created the entire world from nothing. (HUGE SMILE) He shows me such love, from my lowest moments to my highest ones. His invisible Presence is ALWAYS with us!

He showed up for me in the tiniest of glimmers like “311” showing up early this morning as I searched for inventory for our used car business. There is a shortage of used cars in the US right now, and that “311” was His way of letting me know He was on our team to help us find some. I went out for my run early, and the first car that passed was a white Audi Q5, which has been like a special wink between Him and me lately when I see them. Can you guys believe that a white Audi Q5 was one of our first purchases of today? Just His way of reminding me that I’m not handling the demanding situations of my life alone. He is my right-hand Man!

This “311” this morning was also His way of saying that I should continue staying on the high road with Him by staying calm, SILENT, being the glue that keeps my family together, and allowing Him to fight some battles behind the scenes for me. Ok, Boss! Time and energies are precious, and it’s crucial we don’t waste them. I’m wisely learning to OBEY GOD and leave some complex matters with Him so that I can spend my life joyfully and at peace and not burdened and stressed out.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

And talking about not giving as the world gives, God exceeds my expectations. I can’t get over a call yesterday that my daughter, Julie, received from a top university in New York asking if she needed their assistance in applying to attend there. She received recognition as one of the leading African American Scholars for her impressive high school performance. “Do well, and people notice,” is how Oprah Winfrey put it, and my daughter has worked extremely hard, and this university has noticed. That’s why I say everything is between God and us, not between us and anyone else! Keep giving Him your best at every moment and proudly claim this verse with me:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” – Psalm 23:6

Amen!

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