THIS WAS PRETTY FREAKY!!!

God found a fun way to reveal His invisible Presence with Ember and me today. This God wink started with this post I wrote two days ago:

“God, did you send this customer here just to remind me of “311?” I had some fun with God yesterday. Whenever I see “311” it’s my reminder from God to stay on the high road with Him (to be still and allow Him to fight battles on my behalf). And yesterday was a day I wanted to lose it and go on the low road, forgetting the high road. But this specific customer showing up was my reminder from God to stay on the high road because his telephone number ends in “311.” I remembered this because God had him to call me one day requesting some information, and I took down his number to call him back. As I was telling Ember about the famous “311,” showing up (we sold her fav car to him), I looked down at the time, and it was precisely 3:11 (Wink! Wink!) as I was talking to Ember. God is fun and talkative once you get to know Him!”

Fast forward two days later (today), I have my fierce daughter, Ember, here with me at work, and I’m showing her how to help the momma with a project I’ve been procrastinating completing. There are three numbers I’m showing her that should add up to “365,411,” and I promise you, the calculator incorrectly shows:

“311,311” Wink! Wink!

WoW! God totally freaked me out after telling you guys like a crazy lady all the time about this “311.” How could this possibly be a coincidence? The numbers are not even close! GOD IS REALLY REAL!!!! Believe it! We did the addition the second time, and it correctly showed the “365,411.” Ember is here with me as I type this, and she says that it is no doubt God.

“Now you see your momma is not crazy, right?” She is a witness to some of the things I take the high road to follow this “311” sign from God Himself. So many major decisions I’ve made because of this “311” and they’ve all paid off beautifully! She legitimately questions me like any loving daughter would when she sees her momma getting all sad and depressed by them, but I explain that I’m being obedient to God and being wise like my brother, Kevin, taught me. I follow God’s lead, and I’m so happy that my daughters get to witness a super wife/momma/person doing her thing for her family, God, and the world by sharing my dramas with you guys.

Staying on the high road with God is the best way to go! I told you guys about the 10,000th punch I received yesterday (not real blows), but I’m happy to suffer them for God, who exceeds my expectations in every aspect of my life. No one has a perfect life! I take the good with the bad, and trust me, God makes sure that His girl here is well taken care of. (Wink! Wink!) A customer told me this week that I’m overly blessed! When he asked me a question as to what was going on with our business, I told him the truth: my biggest problem was that I have a husband (and God!) who spoil me. (HUGE SMILE)

On the way to our office, I had the best drive ever with Ember. She has been talking about transferring from the university she now attends (the one I have no doubt God picked for her!), and I had to stand firm with her that I won’t support her with downgrading. She has now changed her tone, saying she will stick with this university. If the university is better and is offering you an excellent scholarship package, no problem. Other than that, forget about it! You better! This was just another example of God fighting my battles for me and giving me the wisdom and strength to stand firm with this tough daughter (I wouldn’t have it any other way, though! I want my kids fiercer than my husband and me!) Tom Brady and Mike Tyson combined wife, mom, and person, all the way for the glory of God!

“I WANT TO REMEMBER GOD IN EVERY MOMENT”

That was from our great friend, Chief, who is no longer with us, but these words from him live on in the God maniac here. Are you learning this crucial life lesson of involving God in every single moment of your life? Every relationship. Every decision. Every circumstance. EVEN WHEN IT’S DIFFICULT! This life is hard, but I’m wisely learning to suck up to God and follow wherever He leads me.

God, did you send this customer here just to remind me of “311?” I had some fun with God yesterday. Whenever I see “311” it’s my reminder from God to stay on the high road with Him (to be still and allow Him to fight battles on my behalf). And yesterday was a day I wanted to lose it and go on the low road, forgetting the high road. But this specific customer showing up was my reminder from God to stay on the high road because his telephone number ends in “311.” I remembered this because God had him to call me one day requesting some information, and I took down his number to call him back. As I was telling Ember about the famous “311,” showing up (we sold her fav car to him), I looked down at the time, and it was precisely 3:11 (Wink! Wink!) as I was talking to Ember. God is fun and talkative once you get to know Him!

So, remembering God in every moment means following His lead on critical and minor issues. So, that customer coming in on that crazy day I had yesterday was all God getting my attention to stay on the high road with Him. GOD, THIS IS HARD!!!

Obey God and leave the consequences with Him is the message I’m stealing from Dr. Charles Stanley. By remembering God in every moment, I do whatever He asks me to do, and I trust that He will take care of the rest. If He went to all the trouble of sending this customer to remind me of this yesterday, I lovingly say to Him, “No problem, God, I got You! The high road it is, going the extra mile in love, mercy, and patience.”

But this pic of my daughters has shown up in two separate places and appointments with God today with this verse:

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within…” – Ephesians 3:20

And this has certainly been my experience with God! I told someone yesterday that I don’t bother praying for anything because God always exceeds my heart’s wishes. I’m blown away by his love. Even with the “bad” that I ask Him to remove and He says, “no,” I see the hands of a loving God who knows what is best for me. Situations don’t happen to us; they happen for us. To help us become all that God has designed for us to be. Amen!

“THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD…

… THEN SELF! HE HELPS THE SELF TO BE ITS BEST SELF!” That was a comment to my sweetie-pie, Glory, on Facebook after she commented, “The most important relationship is one with yourself.” Let me tell ya, speaking from someone with great experience, we can indeed be our own worst enemy (ME!!!!). No joke! That’s where the relationship with God comes sweetly and crucially in because He lovingly helps us with all our weaknesses and humanness. Hey, He is the manufacturer, after all! LOL!

So, the wiser Nikki has learned to go to God in every moment asking for His perspective on my life and this has been the best thing. Honestly, I don’t know where my life would be if not for God holding my hand and helping me through all the challenges and difficulties that come my way.

And I love how He finds the sweetest ways to let me know He is with me. Like yesterday I was at work on a Sunday, and I felt God saying in my spirit that I should go home and get some rest. I ended up watching and enjoying Travis Scott’s documentary on Netflix. After I keep saying I’m getting back in my Tom Brady mode (having the discipline to be the greatest of all time wife, momma, and person by training myself like an athlete every day), I instead stopped for ice cream and apple pie before going home (not at all Tom Brady mode approved).

But let me tell you guys about how funny God is. Of all the people for them to show a text message from to Travis Scott, can you believe it was from Tom Brady? It was just God’s fun way to say, ‘Nik. What’s going on here? I thought we were in Tom Brady mode?’ That’s just the sweetness of God I’ve come to know and love. Of all the content on Netflix, for Him to have me watch that documentary, and of all the people for them to show Travis receiving a message from, was all orchestrated by God to reveal to me a tiny glimmer of His Presence with me there. He is quite talkative once you have the ears to hear Him and the eyes to see Him. God, I’m back in Tom Brady mode!!! May my life bring glory to You!

But one of my best surprises from God EVER was when my daughters and I thought we were going to a DJ Khaled concert but ended up at the Sports Illustrated Awards Show, and guess who was there live and in-person to receive his Athlete of the year award? TOM BRADY!!! This was after that very day I recorded a YouTube video going all crazy about what Tom Brady has taught me. When Tom Brady came on that stage, your girl lost it! God totally set me up so perfectly for that surprise!!! See the love I receive from God? Even meeting with my brother, Kevin yesterday was all designed by God. Kevin taught me one crucial thing recently: NEEKS, GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE SECURE IN HIM. That’s what gives us true joy and peace, KNOWING that God Himself is with us, continually holding our hands, even when our own selves become our worst enemies. (HUGE SMILE)

Make sure you are making God a priority by having alone times with Him by reading or listening to anything spiritual where you are getting to learn His voice for yourself. And then by going to Him all day by making Him the center of every move you make (FOCUS ON GOD!!!) – what you eat, what you drink, what you think, what you say…everything! God, what is Your perspective here? Doing to the best of our ability whatever He asks of us, then leaving the rest with Him. God is in control of everything and everyone! (WINK! WINK!)

The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” – Exodus 14:14

“I’LL BE THERE IN ONE HOUR”

That was me to my brother, Kevin, waking up this morning! I didn’t even have time to go to my God tree but to meet with Kevin to discuss us being God’s superstars by taking this crucial message to the world that we have God with us in every single moment. Like if you’re not rolling with God, you’re missing out on His love, help, support, kindness, mercy, strategies, strength, personality, protection, charm, tact, grace, boldness, imagination, joy, peace, approval, power, wisdom, calmness, and encouragement backing us up in this crazy world. THE GREATEST NEWS EVER!!!!

As I type this, can you believe God figured out a way to let me know He was there in our meeting? Kevin pointed out a server to me who has a bad memory. I said to Kevin that this server taught me an important lesson. That I needed to wake up every day and put on a shield so that the disappointments of life don’t get to the inside of me. And as I go through two email accounts trying to find one message from Kevin about being a boxer, look what showed up right under Kevin’s message in an old blog:

“It was my brother, Kevin, who said to me under my God tree one day something like, “Neeks, you’re like a boxer right now. After getting hit in your head like 10,000 times, you eventually get numb to the pain.” That’s what has happened, the figurative (not real, guys!) blows don’t affect me the way they did in the past. The emotional, weak, and wreck of a person, needed to go! This was all God’s LOVING way to help me become the Neeks He would have me to be: courageous, tough, brave, strong, confident in Him woman, but at the same time, loving, gentle, loyal, faithful, enduring, kind, and going the extra mile wife, mother and person HE WOULD HAVE ME TO BE. Thanks to the pain!

I was at brunch with Kevin one Sunday, when an elderly server said, “You have to have a shield on so that nothing gets through to bother and upset you.” I wake up now and put on my shield. The disappointments still come, but with my shield on, I don’t let them get to me anymore the way they used to. I now live from a space of having one foot on earth with the hurts, disappointments, messiness, clutter, challenges, and brokenness exist, and the other foot in heaven FOCUSED ON GOD.”

That was no coincidence that that story about that server showed up right under the one I was so intent on finding of me being a boxer. God directed me there to tell you guys that His invisible Presence is always with us. Still, it hasn’t been easy, but I lovingly carry the weights of those hurts every day. This is the spec of a cross that God has asked me to carry, and for all that God does for me, I say, ‘No problem, God, I got you! I will joyfully and lovingly take this cross for you! What cross is God asking you to carry for Him? May His will and not ours be done. Amen.

God, however, lovingly changes my perspective on situations. Mother Teresa taught me to love until it hurts because eventually, it becomes only love. Unbelievably the knocks on the head have done the trick. I see how God sees us, from all our different angles, the good, bad, and ugly sides, but He still loves us all UNCONDITIONALLY.

Like I told Kevin today, we don’t have to get all clean up to be God’s representatives in the world. That’s our message that God meets us exactly where we are in all the messiness of our lives, and He meets us right there, loving and approving of us, NOT JUDGING US. He knows the worst of us but still loves us completely. Even if we’re at our lowest (me these last three years!) He meets us and says, ‘Come My child, take My hand, and let’s keep going, living our best lives together.’ He can help get any situation back on track, one step at a time and little by little. I told Kevin that I’m so proud of myself that I didn’t run to drugs or alcohol. I ran to him and God, and it turned out that those falls and punches brought me directly into God’s arms, and trust me, there is nowhere else I’ll rather be. (HUGE SMILE)

“NEEKS, I’LL STOP EVERYTHING I’M DOING TO MEET WITH YOU”

That’s my brother/angel from God, Kevin, to me today under the God tree. I told him I don’t like bothering him too much because I know he has a lot going on, and he continued, “You’re my sister. I love you, and I’m here for you. You say you want us to take this God thing serious, so let’s meet to discuss it.” Kevin is another one of my unique gifts from God. The way he has been there for me over the last three years, holding my hands and helping me get through my little dark period, has been extraordinary, including the advice he gives (He is definitely a messenger from God! No joke!).

He has become an essential adviser in every aspect of my life. Even with trying to get our business back on track here, I was blown away by what he said one day, “Neeks, I’m sorry that I didn’t have time to think about what you have going on, but I feel you have the wrong inventory for your area. You need cars that people could just make cheap payments on and have transportation to get up and down to work with to feed their families. And they don’t have to be perfect, either.” I was so amazed by what he said that I excitedly replied, “That’s it! That’s what I needed to hear!!!” I ran with that advice, and honestly, it worked so well that I’m pretty much completed sold out of cars! So, as I look for inventory again, I keep EXACTLY what Kevin taught me at the forefront of my thoughts, ‘Would this be an affordable car for someone to get up and down to work with?’

See the out-of-world kindness I’m talking about? Neeks, I’ll stop everything I’m doing to meet with you. Neeks, I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to think about the problem you are having. Apologizing that he didn’t reflect on my problems!!! Unbelievable right? Who says stuff like that?!? In a world where everyone is so caught up with me, me, me, God sent me a brother who is concerned about his little sister being OK. Wow! And, of course, I see God’s hand and love all over this! It’s like He planned my life out from beginning to end and knew that during this challenging period, I would be down and need Kevin to help me stay strong. Kevin even jokes that his job from God is to keep me happy!!! (HUGE SMILE)

So much so that I tell Kevin that with the love and support he has shown me, I want to do the same for others, going overboard in loyalty, gentleness, patience, kindness, and love. Can we all be God’s hands, feet, and voices in the world the way Kevin has been for me? Everyone is going through a rough time right now, AND WE NEED TO DECIDE EVERY MORNING WE WAKE UP TO BE MORE LOVING, no matter what anyone else is doing, especially in our homes. That may mean overlooking, pretending we don’t see what we see, keeping silent, and being gentle as an act of love towards the other person. Everyone is on their own path with God. Let’s just practice being God’s angels for each other like Kevin so wonderfully does for me.

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17

FORGET KIM K; WE’RE INFLUENCERS, BABY!

That was me to my brother, Kevin, this morning on my way to my God tree. I was begging him to record another one of his helpful voice notes that guided me to make some significant decisions. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF THE PEOPLE YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH!!!!

The most important lesson from Kevin that I cherish was one day under that tree when I was trying to process some messy things going on in my life. He incredibly said, “Neeks, all I can tell you is to make God your priority. Get closer to God.” THAT WAS THE BEST ADVICE EVER!!! The love and intimacy God shows me are so beautiful. He truly makes me feel as if I’m His favorite girl. Every morning I open our blinds overlooking this beautiful lake, and after mentioning that He now uses ducks as a symbol of His Presence (and strength) with me, I notice a duck always camping out under one of OUR trees (not any of the neighbors!) and I just smile with God.

Then, last night, I was so happy when my son, Joshie, noticed a little wink from Him. We were watching the movie ‘Hustler’ on Netflix, and my hubby called, so I put the film on pause exactly when there was 1 hour and 17 minutes remaining with my famous “1:17” showing up with God revealing another glimmer of His invisible Presence there with us. Joshie was amazed! He said, “And daddy never calls us this late!!’ Hubs woke up in the middle of the night to make that phone call to see if I had made it home safely after I told him I was staying late at work to focus on an important project. (Hubs is truly one of my gifts from God!)

Joshie didn’t know the value of that God wink to his momma, though. We were both snuggled so closely under one blanket, watching and enjoying that movie, when my husband called. It was another special reminder from God to me to stay on the high road with Him. That everything was between Him and me, not between me and anyone else. It was like God was saying, ‘Let’s keep going, my Nik, being the best wife, mom, and person. My Presence is right here with you (Wink! Wink!).” God said all of that with that “117” showing up! He is pretty talkative once you get to know Him and He COMMUNICATES ALOT THROUGH NUMBERS. It’s crazy but 211 now has one meaning, 311 another, 411 another 711 or 117 another, and recently, 811 another! Start paying attention!!! Hubs calling all the way from Nigeria when it was that specific amount of time remaining on that movie was no coincidence!!!

And that’s my reminder to you guys today! Let’s be God’s people out there going overboard in love, mercy, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and patience, no matter the evil we may be surrounded by (it is what it is, folks!). Doing everything for His glory, especially in our homes and spreading out into the world. May we all be God’s influencers by looking to Him to help us make the utmost best decisions in every moment by tapping into His Almighty perspective for our lives. Not always easy, but His STRENGTH takes over where our human strength fails.

I promise you, this verse has certainly been my experience as I know that in every moment I have God’s love, protection, favor, wisdom, and guidance backing me up so that I can joyfully and peacefully hold on to Him, as I bravely and lovingly tackle all the challenges that come my way:

“Instead, You direct me on the path that leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending and I know true joy and contentment.” Psalm 16:11

“CAN YOU PRAY A BLESSING OVER EMMIE?”

I asked my hubby in Nigeria this morning before our son, Emmie, left for his middle school graduation ceremony. Hubs beautifully prayed for God to continue guiding his life, to give him wisdom, and bless him with good health and prosperity. Amen! Let me tell ya, (girls, here I go bragging again!) this son came to the US from Nigeria and didn’t just make the school’s honor roll for the entire year; he qualified for the USA’s National Honor Roll! That’s how we do, boo!

It was a huge fight with my husband for the boys to stay here for school because he wanted them back in Nigeria, but I explained to him that this school was where God Himself wanted them. Can you believe as much as I write about this “117” being a sign from God that His Presence is with me, BOTH of the boys were assigned computer-generated student numbers including the number “117 (Wink! Wink!).” No coincidence!!! All orchestrated by God to let the momma here know that this was indeed the school picked for them by Him.

And we weren’t disappointed. The boys continued from where they left off in Nigeria to learn focus, discipline, integrity, confidence, and courage, AND THAT THEY HAD TO WORK HARD EVERY SINGLE DAY. My daughter, Ember, said to me one day that it looked as if I had abandoned my sons. Ember, look at us now! Joshie only missed the honor roll by three points, and now he is telling me NOT to go easy on him because he wants to get into the University of Miami. Super proud momma here! Doing it all for the glory of God, baby!

I say all that to say that God is PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN OUR LIVES. It’s just for us to pay attention to all His communications that can show up everywhere. It’s really what gives your girl here her courage to take on her life. I feel God’s constant guidance in every aspect of my life. THAT STRONG FEELING/NUDGE/IMPRESSION I felt from God for the boys to stay at school in the US is what I tried to explain to my husband. Those feelings have guided me all my life to a very beautiful place. (HUGE SMILE)

I loved another exceptional communication from God today. We were leaving the graduation this morning, and I commented to the security people that I loved the name of their company, ‘ALMIGHTY Security.’ Not even an hour later, I got this message on my phone from a special messenger, Rani:

“God is saying to you, I will be your anchor in the storm. I will get you through your valley. I will lead you out of the dessert. I will be your provider. You have an ALMIGHTY (Wink! Wink!) Father in heaven who loves you. Have faith in me and know that I will keep my promises to you. Amen.”

That “Almighty” showing up in that message lined up too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence. It was God finding a fun way to speak directly to us. I’ve learned God’s personality pretty well over the years, and His ways are endless in communicating with us. He is very talkative! Like I crazily told you guys about how God uses ducks to symbolize He is my strength. Guess where we were directed to park at the graduation by the attendant? Duck Point. Again, God’s sweet way of reminding me that His Presence accompanies me wherever I go!!! That I can have the strength, peace, comfort, and joy that passes all understanding, knowing He with me (and you can, too!). Our God is with us, and He is faithful!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve been like a broken record telling you guys in almost every post lately what my brother, Kevin, taught me, “God wants you to know that you are secure in Him.” Can you believe God went to the trouble to actually confirm that this is where He not only wants me but all of us?

So, in the middle of my run yesterday, I felt overly anxious about everything going on in my life and decided to stop my run to see what God had to say to me. The Nike running club app said I had at that point run .41 miles, so I went to page 41 of our family’s website and look what astonishingly showed up there:

“GOD IS PRETTY TALKATIVE!!!

LET ME TELL YOU! I woke up in the middle of the night, and because I couldn’t sleep, I looked for my phone to play my usual podcasts, but I couldn’t find it. I ended up using my son’s Siah’s, and when I noticed that a Joel Osteen sermon oddly downloaded itself, I said I better listen because it might be a message from God for me. After beating myself up so much lately, and asking God what’s wrong with me, He lovingly answered. Turns out, it was a specific communication through Victoria Osteen to the crazy lady over here…:

…Victoria continued: “I believe that God wants us to understand that we are secure in Him (Wink! Wink!).”

Again, that lined up too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence for Victoria to say exactly what Kevin told me that God wants me to know that I’m secure in Him. God Himself had me to stop that run at exactly .41 miles and then had me to go page 41 of our website to confirm that message He gave me through Kevin that I’ve been repeating like a crazy person. See how intimately God is involved in our lives? From over a year ago, He had me to listen to that message from Victoria in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep on my son’s phone (not even my phone!!!). And even to go as far as having me write her words out in a post because He knew that yesterday I would be out feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious, and would need that reminder from Him in the middle of that run.

Does it better than this guys? Knowing that the Creator of the entire universe is always with You, walking with you, guiding you, advising you, helping you, supporting you, protecting you, loving you, approving of you and that you don’t handle life alone? The new message to the crazy lady in my head when she shows up:

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

Start paying attention to God’s voice that is always talking to you. Notice how I felt God in my spirit telling me when to stop that run and where to go to hear from Him. His nudges, impressions, cues, signs, and messages are all within and around us. It’s up to us to develop a relationship with Him, learn His crucial voice, and be obedient to Him. This life is too hard to do on our own; WE NEED GOD!

BACK TO DECLARING THE PRAISES OF GOD, BABY!

My daughters say I brag too much, but I call it boasting about the greatness of God and how intimately He’s involved in every detail of our lives. Not only in my life but also in yours once you have eyes to see Him and ears to hear Him. And that’s where I get my life’s purpose from, sharing with you guys how God is so loving and how He wants to be personally involved in every moment of our lives.

Like I just hung up from my sweetie pie sister, Marilyn. I told her how God is using ducks to remind me that He is my strength to help tackle any challenge that comes my way. Every morning I see them out on my run. They come and sometimes line up on our backyard fence. I went to the mall the other day, and we parked somewhere different, and there was a duck and her ducklings at that entrance. I started talking to them, “What are you guys doing here?!?” I knew this was God’s way of showing me another glimmer of His invisible Presence with me. His love too!!! (HUGE SMILE)

Then driving back from Julie’s graduation yesterday, Ember and Julie told me about a duck that wouldn’t leave Ember alone that started running after her. To a Facebook friend sharing a video of ducks on her morning walk. This all started one day when I had to stop to wait for some ducks to cross the street, and a couple of hours later, my nephew, Duro, called me asking if I like to eat ducks because he was at a duck restaurant. I then Googled the spiritual significance of ducks, and it meant STRENGTH.

Call me crazy, but honestly, I need to tap into God’s strength more than ever. That’s why I go to my God tree every day to remind myself that I have God’s strength backing me up as I take on this super heroic role for my family right now. There is a lot going on, but I’m tapping into God’s strength on a moment-by-moment basis asking Him for the wisdom and strength to help me navigate every situation step by step. This is His loving invitation to each of us:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:28–29

And this yoke that is used to tie two farm animals together by the neck is what I imagine God and I have tied around our necks, as I courageously go through my life with Him. When the burdens get too much for your girl, I just use it as a reminder that I’m taking on too much of the stress and not giving them to God. I constantly remind myself that I’m trusting God, and He hasn’t failed me yet. Like Kevin taught me, “God wants me to know that I’m secure in Him.” Our God is faithful! No matter the difficulties and challenges, He has our back to help guide and advise us through any tough time.

I loved watching All American yesterday when Layla gave me such a great perspective on life, saying something like she takes all the disappointments, betrayals, and unfair things that happen and responds to them with Love, Forgiveness, Hope, and Purpose. That’s what I’ve decided to do. I’m using the negativity to up my work for God to spread His fragrance everywhere. Like if you are not rolling with God, you are missing out on the best guidance, love, wisdom, help, and support available. I want us all going to God all day long, PAUSING and continually asking what He would have us do, what to say and even where to go.

Talking to someone recently about a decision they made that’s not working out too well, I asked, “Did you pray and ask God first?” They honestly replied that they didn’t, and they were just excited about the choice and did not involve God. They are now learning a costly yet very valuable lesson: INVOLVE GOD IN EVERY DECISION! Peace and excitement from Him mean move forward confidently. However, no peace, silence from Him, doubt, mean don’t move. God never answers, maybe. It’s either a BIG YES or NO. A new lesson He has taught me, though, is, “Do it afraid,” as I feel Him taking me entirely out of my comfort zone, knowing I’m secure in Him, and you are too!

“FORGET THE FOOLISHNESS YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND ARE FIGHTING ABOUT…”

…FOCUS ON GETTING YOUR DAUGHTERS TO SCHOOL IN THE US.” Those were the words from my brother, Kevin, three years ago. After that conversation, your girl here was focused, man. The arguments with hubby ended. I became the best wife ever to try and persuade him that the girls should leave Nigeria and finish their high school education in the US. And today, I’m proud to officially announce I have two high school graduates, baby! To God be the glory! God Himself has been walking with us and guiding us along this path every step of the way. It has been the most challenging thing ever because it meant splitting our family into two, with the girls coming to the US with me, and our sons staying in Nigeria with my husband. “HARD THINGS ARE HARD!!!”

But what I really want you to know is that the same God who clearly walks with us is also walking with you. Julie and I have a little argument sometimes when I tell her that I’m God’s fav, but she says, “Everyone is God’s favorite.” I then reply, “Yes, that’s true, but He still loves me a little bit more than the rest of you guys.” (HUGE SMILE) I loved listening to these lyrics from Kanye West today:

“To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
(Jesus (God) walks with them)…
I ain’t here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I’m just tryna say the way schools needs teachers…
that’s the way I need Jesus (God)”

I need Him, too! I love the way Dr. Charles Stanley explains it:

“”I’m going to be with you.”

So, the important thing is that we recognize that God is going to guide us in whatever He tells us to do. You think about all the decisions you have to make in life and think about decisions that pop up that you and I don’t even plan on, things that we don’t even have any details about. But He says, “I will guide you.”

That’s a promise that belongs to every single child of God, that you can’t bring up any issue that He doesn’t know all about it. You can’t bring up any question He doesn’t have an answer for…”GOD WANTS TO BE PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN EVERY SINGLE AREA OF YOUR LIFE.”

It’s just for us to invite Him in! And I promise you, you don’t have to get all cleaned up for God. Even at my lowest moments, I feel His Presence with me helping me to get back up and continue on with Him. It’s just a constant recalibration of where we are and seeking His guidance to get everything back on track, little by little and one step at a time, with our eyes back on the prize. I can boast of my weaknesses because those are the times I see God’s strength coming through to help me more than any other time. Even if I make one million mistakes, HE HAS MY BACK!!! That’s the love I want you know for yourself!!! His mercies are new every second, and He loves us all unconditionally. He even can use all our “bad” for such good! He is pretty amazing at that!

Tell God that today is the day you want to walk more closely with Him. He has the best plans for us, we just need to learn His voice and continually ask Him, “God, what would you have me to do here?” The more you practice listening and spending time with Him, you will get better that on a moment-by-moment basis you’ll be able to discern what God is saying specifically to you and only you. You’ll begin to feel Him directing you in your spirit or through many signs (lately, He has been using ducks to remind me that He is my strength!) and messengers like Kevin.

“The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” – Psalms 32:8

That’s His promise to each of us!