GOD GETS IN ON OUR FAMILY JOKE

Yesterday, I told our daughter Julie that if you look up spoilt in the dictionary, you will find a picture of her sister, Ember. Julie quickly responded, “No, it would be a picture of you and Ember holding hands!!! Both of you are spoilt!!!” Guilty as charged! In fact, when I told hubby what Julie had said, I thanked him for spoiling us because he goes overboard in his responsibilities as a hubby and father. I mentioned that he didn’t even wish me a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday, but I said to myself, no problem because every day is Mother’s Day and Christmas with him and God both spoiling me.

Fast forward to my time with God under our tree, look what showed up in an old post:

“..and I’m listening to DJ Khaled’s song, where I took these lyrics as God saying this to me: “It ain’t nothing for me to spoil you.” Wink! Wink! And spoil me is what God and hubby do best! (HUGE SMILE)”

Notice God’s fun and playful personality to get in on our family joke! Super spoilt God’s girl here!!! He gives me more than I can ever ask or imagine! He exceeds my expectations in every aspect of my life. Despite so many things being off track right now, I’m confident that God and I can TOGETHER get things better, step by step and little by little. Not that my life will ever be perfect and I’ll ever have everything together, but I keep my focus on God, asking for His moment-by-moment guidance as to what He would have me do, where He would have me go, and what He would have me to say.

Like I went into a little bit of a silent mode with my brother/angel, Kevin. I explained that some things were going on with me that I felt God wanted me to come directly to Him about, not to Kevin. He even confirmed it today in this song that played on my run with Him:

“I’m selfish, I want you all to Myself
You don’t need nobody else…
Now, that I gotcha here, girl
I ain’t gon’ play with you
Because there’s a lot of things
That I wanna say to you” – Selfish Song by PnB Rock

This is God’s message to us all! He wants us to Himself where we’re going through every moment of our lives with Him as our loving Partner and Guide. That’s the lesson He told me yesterday under our tree together:

“Practice the discipline of walking consciously with Me through each day.” – Jesus Calling

Yesterday, that meant holding His hand super tight when a situation arose for me to manly and bravely resolve. I felt God in my spirit saying, ‘Nik, let’s do this.’ I got to the place I needed to go, and He drew my attention to a license plate there with the number 477. Believe it or not, this was His way of letting me know He was with me with the 4 and 7 totaling 11, and the 7 next to it was my 117 combination for me to know that His invisible Presence was there with me. First thing this morning, I got the reply that everything was resolved. God’s spoilt girl here for sure!!!

Problems and stresses are a part of life, but I want our eyes fixed on God, doing our best to bravely and lovingly handle whatever we have to do and trusting that He is at work in the spiritual realm on our behalf, tweaking situations and protecting us with His love and favor. Amen!

“AND THEN SHE GREW UP”

That was the message on the back of a car yesterday that I took as a wink from God at me. This post from two years ago explains what God has been trying to do with us all:

46-YEAR-OLD ME VERSUS MY 16-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER IN A 5K RACE

Who do you think won? ME, BABY!!! LOL! We have these unspoken races, and she always wins, but this morning, your girl here was on fire, and I’m giving all the glory to God. I started this fasting with the Muslims for Ramadan asking God to please help me because it felt like I was losing my mind with all the crazy talk I had going on in my head, and God has LOVINGLY come to my rescue. I’m feeling so close to Him right now. (HUGE SMILE)

Like after sharing one paragraph in my post yesterday, He used it to reveal His invisible presence with me. I wrote:

“When I saw that “we will no longer be babies,” I knew God was talking directly to me saying, ‘Nik, I want you to grow up to be the mature, loving, confident in Me woman I DESIGNED YOU TO BE.”

Immediately after posting, I had some time with God and just using my scroll button at the bottom of my screen to randomly select something to read, this incredibly showed up:

“In closeness to Me, you are transformed more and more into the one I DESIGNED YOU TO BE.” – Jesus Calling

How could that possibly be an ordinary coincidence for my very words to show up from this over 700-page book? It was another one of my God winks where, out of the blue, everything lines up extremely TOO perfectly with me going DIRECTLY to that date to confirm my sentiments EXACTLY. God, thank You for the transformation. Your girl is getting her happy, peace, strength, and focus back. (ANOTHER SMILE).

Then I also wrote:

“Not being tossed to and fro by every little situation that pops up.’ I love when God talks tough to me! (SMILE) This big, emotional, and neurotic wreck of a train here that keeps falling, seriously needed the reminder. God corrects those He loves.” – Jesus Calling

So, later on that night, after writing so much lately how I keep FALLING, He had this to say to me through another meditation book:

“Don’t you understand that I prefer someone who has FALLEN many times but who despises himself at My feet, to the self-righteous person who thinks he is without fault. My little girl, tell Me every day how sorry you are for any way you have pained Me. Take a steady look at your failures and stains, and offer them to Me so that I may wash them away. Tell Me how weak you are and how often you fail. Say: “My great friend, help me. You know only too well how helpless I am, but with You I can do anything.’ – He and I

That helps to explain my happiness out on that run today, God has washed away so many burdens and failures I’ve been carrying around with me. Today, I want you here with me recommitting your life to Him. Like Devon Franklin explained,

“The commitment to God is what is going to make you stronger, bring you more peace, and it is going to alleviate some of the stress you’re under.”

God, I’m in! May every moment of my life honor and please You. And may I rest the times I don’t get it right at your feet to wash away for me, so that I may keep going and living my best life with You as my Guide and Partner for success in every area. With You I can do anything. ’Amen!

WEROLLWITHGOD.COM

FEELING OVERWHELMED?

Me too!!! But that’s where a relationship with God comes sweetly in. Like this morning, my hubby asked me for some information, and after trying so hard to get it for him on my phone, it didn’t work, and I had to access it from my computer. Next to my laptop was a book on Faithfulness by Robert Strand, and I decided to open it. I found the perfect message from God for us all who are feeling overwhelmed today:

“GOD’S PROMISE OF SUPPORT

Have you ever been faced with a task, project, or responsibility that seemed beyond your strength and ability? Something that simply was overwhelming and too massive to deal with alone? Sure, haven’t we all at some time been confronted with obstacles we didn’t know how to handle?

Stop and think with me about the faithfulness of God and how unchanging He is… You see, He is marked by total faithfulness and perfection. Now, this is the God who has promised His help and faithfulness to all kinds of people in all kinds of situations.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).””

This was no coincidence that He had me to find that message. God is pretty talkative! We’re not going through life alone! Our God is faithful! As much as I tried to get that info for hubby on my phone, even had to leave my running park close to my God tree to get it (trying to be the faithful on-the-ball wife to the better than best husband!) God led me directly to that book to remind me that all the burdens that are currently stressing me, that He is with me to support and help me (and you too!!!). The joy of the Lord is our strength to tackle whatever life throws our way! Amen!

It’s just for us to show up in every moment having constant conversations with God about what He would have us do, what he would have us say, and where He would have us go. Your girl here is learning to lean on Him more than ever. When the going gets tough, I run closer to God. No shame in my game. I just take life one step at a time, one moment at a time, holding God’s hand (super tight!) and asking for His guidance. I then do my best to manly, courageously, and bravely handle whatever He asks of me, and I leave the rest with Him. That’s faith, baby!

“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

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23

Relax and be still… we’re rolling with God!

GOD GETS IN ON A CONVERSATION

Yesterday, I explained to someone about the ups and downs of marriage and how God must be at the center of every move we make. Being obedient to God is how He guides us on the best paths for our lives. I wrote yesterday about God directing my daughters to these top-notch universities in New York that we have no doubt that they were personally picked for them by God Himself (His love is too much!!). It ain’t always pretty, though, and He does ask us to put up with some difficult stuff at times. Not always about our personal happiness, but just constantly looking to God, asking what would make Him happy. I told them all about my meetings with God under our God tree, and he gives me specific instructions. They left with me asking one crucial question that God asks me often: It’s easy to love someone for their strengths, but can you love someone also for their weaknesses? That’s the true test of marriage!

Fast forward to this morning, I felt God saying to me in my spirit that I should go for my run (Didn’t feel like it today!!) so I could meet with Him under our tree. I got there, and I paused the Nike Running Club app. I had jogged/walked exactly .58 miles, so I decided to go to page 58 of our family’s website. Look what incredibly showed up in the first post there:

“Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test.” – Alain de Botton

Is that amazing or what? God figured out a way to let me know that He is intimately involved in every conversation, thought, and word I speak, and our relationships are critical to Him. Is that beautiful or what? No way this lined up so perfectly to be some random coincidence. It was God revealing His invisible Presence with me. And again, these meetings with Him under our tree give me such confidence, courage, peace, joy, love, and approval, knowing God Himself is my Support, Help, Back-up, Strategist, Counselor, Friend, Father, and Protector as I take on my life. And no, I don’t look crazy at all hugging this tree (HUGE SMILE).

This advice about loving people for both strengths and weaknesses goes for all our relationships! We need each other because this life is too hard to do on our own. God gives us the wisdom for every relationship, every circumstance, and every decision. I was telling someone how I went to the Justin Bieber concert without a mask (don’t know what I was thinking!) and ended up sick. Now, I’m trying to get my strength back together. But God has a reason for everything, and in all my weakness, He reminds me that He is my strength. THE GOD PERSPECTIVE CHANGES EVERYTHING!!! May every day bring us closer to Him. Amen!

Today, I’m at work with my sons as we take the family hustle to the next level. No shame in my game! I need God as I bravely take on this challenge not only for my kids but also for my grandkids, great-grandkids, and generations to come. Next year will make 30 years since my husband started this business, and God has stood strong with us. Our motto is “In God We Trust,” and I teach our kids that everything we do should be done to honor God. Not that we get it right all the time, but we show up trying to always give our best.

Julie told me today that I’m her ride-or-die mom. That’s me boo, and wife too!! The boys are totally upset with me right now as I keep finding fault in a car they’re cleaning (if you’re a street cleaner, be the best street cleaner, is what my mom taught me!), but that’s my crucial work from God to be the wife, mom, and person He would have me to be. Our reward is with Him! May we all do everything for the glory of God, especially in our homes. May our lives reflect Him to a watching world.

GOD DELIGHTS IN EVERY DETAIL OF MY LIFE

That’s my testimony, baby! This morning, I reread this in an old post:

“I can’t get over the love of God! Like I wrote this in a recent post: “My other numbers from Him are 7 and 11, showing up together in either direction. This combination is God saying: ‘Nik, wherever you are, there I am – My invisible Presence is always with you- You have my help, support, love, approval, wisdom, strength, favor, protection, and guidance available to you on a moment-by-moment basis.’

Can you believe Ember’s university is located directly off of road 117? See the love of God and how He seems to delight in EVERY detail of our lives. Those signs with these huge 117 on them were all I needed to rest in His peace knowing that even though I wasn’t with Ember, His Presence is there. That lined up too perfectly to be considered some coincidence, even with the hotel we stay at working out to be 1107 miles from our home. Call me crazy, but I have no doubt that God’s invisible Presence is always with us, no matter where we are, He is there. Amen!”

I called Ember this morning after reading this and told her that I have no doubt whatsoever that she is exactly at the university where God wants her. I asked her if she is reminded of God when she sees those signs saying 117 at the university’s entrance. She excitedly responded, “Yes! I see 117, 711, and 1107 a lot!!!” For her to say that “1107,” though, seriously made the God maniac here happy. To read that our hotel was precisely 1107 miles from our home in that old post and for Ember to say 1107 is how God reveals His invisible Presence with her just blew me away with God’s love and attention He pays to our family (HUGE SMILE).

The crazy thing was that I took Julie with me on that trip to drop off Ember thinking I could persuade her to also attend once she saw this beautiful, state-of-the-art university, but homegirl politely said “No thanks! I have my own dream university!’ And God has surprisingly been joining in with her like I wrote about in this other old post:

“Another wink we had yesterday was when the number 211 kept showing up for me, and we got to a university Julie wanted to visit, and incredibly the number on the building was 2011.”

Since then the number 211 has been showing up on the regular that I’ve given up! Julie and God have teamed up against me! See what I mean about God delighting in every detail of our lives? For Him to have a specific university for Ember and another university for Julie. When we talk to Ember about switching campuses to be closer to Julie, she immediately says, “No! I’m happy here!”

Don’t miss out on God’s loving Presence with you. He just asks us to go overboard in love, courage, patience, forgiveness, gentleness, and kindness with each other. Not always easy, but when we write off the disappointments against everything God is doing for us, we must say, ‘God, anything to please You, let me learn.’ I promise you, He gives us more than we can ever ask or imagine. As for me: “I press toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Supermom, superwife, superperson, all for the glory of God!

GOD’S PRESENCE MAKES ME STRONG

He finds the sweetest ways to let me know that His invisible Presence is with me. Yesterday, I took a pic of the lyrics of a song, feeling it was a message from God Himself to me:

“I won’t let go of you”

I smiled with God! That was at 11:58 am. Fast forward to later on that evening, I was hanging out with my son, Joshie, watching TikTok videos and he incredibly says, “Say you won’t let go.” I said what did you just say, “Say you won’t let go!” He was just repeating what one of the videos had said. I showed him the pic that I took on my phone as if God was responding to him: “I won’t let go of you.” We both freaked out in amazement! This was another one of our alignments (God winks!) where everything lined up too perfectly to be considered some ordinary coincidence. It was God Himself finding a sweet way to confirm that message to me from that song: NIK, I WON’T LET GO OF YOU.

Then, today I was talking to a friend and at the very end of our conversation I quickly rushed in these words:

“The legacy continues.”

Less than 20 minutes later, I’m playing music as I dressed for work and out of my entire library of songs, look at what lyrics randomly showed up:

“The legacy continues.” (Wink! Wink!)

Again, God figuring out another way to let me know that His invisible Presence is always with me and He is a part of every conversation, every move I make. No coincidence! And knowing that God is with me is what gives me the confidence to take on my life boldly, courageously, bravely, joyfully, peacefully knowing as I do my best in the physical real, God is at work in the spiritual realm on my behalf.

Notice how I took that pic of the song feeling so strongly in my spirit that it was a message from God to me. This is the closeness I want you guys having with God, knowing what God is saying to us on a moment-by-moment basis. He is quite talkative. His voice can show up anywhere! Like a pastor on the radio, today reminded me that God’s grace (help, favor, support) for my life is sufficient. When I am weak, He is my strength, and I can do all things with Him by my side. It was the perfect message for me all because I didn’t like the songs the other radio stations were playing (LOL!). God wanted me and you to have that reminder that His Presence is enough to tackle anything that comes our way. He got us!

It’s just for us to learn His voice through spending alone times with Him. As you take one step closer to Him, He takes 100 towards you. This life is too hard to do on our own!!! What time will your appointments with Him be? I suggest that you make Him your first priority and focus every day, reading or listening to anything spiritual that makes you feel closer to Him. Then following His leading all day long as to what he would have you to do, where He would have you to go, and what He would have you to say, seeking to please Him in all our actions. Even when He asks us to do difficult things like going the extra mile is courage, love, patience, forgiveness, and being His angels in the world. Amen.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING I’VE TAUGHT YOU?

On Saturday evening, I asked my son Joshie as he ate dinner with my husband and me. He thought about it for a little bit, then I whispered to him, “God.” I explained that this is the best gift we can give him, knowing that God is with him to guide him, stand beside him, love him, protect him and be HIS GREATEST FRIEND EVER. Fast forward to the next day, God got in on our conversation when this message showed up in a calendar:

“The greatest impression a father can leave on his child is the message of his living faith, unwavering hope, and steady trust in God that will be engraved on their heart forever.”

In our appointment with God this morning, I made both of my sons read this message telling them that this is our gift to them to pass on our faith in God. Right after dropping them off at school, I had an appointment with God at 37 minutes past the hour and on page 37 of our family’s website, and look what incredibly showed up:

“And this gift of faith that my husband and I have passed on to our kids is the best thing we can ever give them (Wink! Wink!). To have this confidence that God Himself goes with you and stands with you through life’s stresses and difficulties is PRICELESS. WE NEED HIM!”

As if God Himself showed up AGAIN to confirm this, ‘Yes, Nik, this gift of faith is the best thing you can ever give your kids!’ God is pretty talkative! No way this all lined up so perfectly on its own. From the conversation at dinner on Saturday to seeing that message in the calendar on Sunday to today at 37 minutes past the hour for me to go to page 37 of our family’s website to read this was all orchestrated by God to let us know that His Presence is always with us. It’s just for us to get to know His personality and His voice to know what He would have us do on a moment-by-moment basis. His Presence is what gives me courage, joy, and peace to take on my life superhero style, baby, all for His glory! (HUGE SMILE) God, may your will be done in our lives. Amen.

I loved a conversation my husband had with a friend recently. He had asked his friend his opinion on something we were having a disagreement about, and the friend wisely responded, “Some people would say yes, and some will say no. But, you must tap into your sixth sense (intuition, gut, instincts, Holy Spirit).” That’s what I’m talking about! Going to our sixth sense is DIRECTLY tapping into the voice of God. When hubby and I discussed the matter again yesterday, I said, “Please, let’s do what your friend suggested. Tap into our sixth sense by asking God what He would have us do. God’s guidance has brought our family this far, and I trust He will guide us to make the best decision here.”

Are you having your appointments with God? Notice I had an appointment with Him with my sons, but I also had my own alone time with Him. We must know His voice (the sixth sense is the most important one!) and the person He calls us to be. This life is a war! We need God’s wisdom, love, help, and support. Start waking up and seeking Him, asking what He has to say to you, and then pay attention to Him in the 1,000 decisions you make every day asking for His input. We don’t go wrong with God!!!

I LOVED OUR CELEBRATORY DINNER!!!

We had a great time at our fav Asian buffet last night! It was the perfect conclusion to another beautiful day with God. I wrote this yesterday:

“LISTEN FOR GOD’S VOICE IN EVERYTHING WE DO!!! The more you pay attention, the clearer His voice gets to the point that you will know precisely what God is saying to you on a moment-by-moment basis.”

And I did exactly that when debating whether to leave work early yesterday, but the feeling from God was to stay, and I was so happy I obeyed. I took a picture of my husband working on a car while Julie and Joshie were close by, and sent it to my brother, Kevin, with a message saying, “Thank u.” God and Kevin have been my guard rails to keep me on the right track by making wise decisions, being patient, and going the extra mile in love and loyalty. God’s ways are not our ordinary ways, they’re so much better! Minutes later, hubby blew me away with a comment to Julie on how he would do his best to assist her with her college endeavors. I thanked him later, and he said something like, “I don’t play around when it comes to my family.” So true!

And that has been the constant message of Kevin, “Manny (my husband) may have his ways, but he is a good guy.” The crazy lady here would focus on his faults and failings a little bit too much, but God and Kevin have been teaching me to focus on the positives, and there are so many. So, when the “bad” show up (nobdy’s perfect!) I can write them off against all his great qualities that I highly admire. I joke that God tricked me into marrying him twenty years ago, but those feelings of peace, excitement, and joy that said, ‘MARRY HIM!’ were truly God’s voice saying, ‘Nik, this is the husband I personally picked for you!’ No joke!

We don’t go wrong following God’s voice! That voice that said stay yesterday at work just left me in awe of God. To be a witness to that conversation with Julie and my husband was God again blowing me away with His love for my family and me. This has been our experience with God:

“Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,” – Ephesians 3:20

He goes beyond our human prayers, hopes, or dreams. It’s just for us to learn His voice and be obedient to what He would have us to do. Not easy, but truly the way to the best life with Him! God even showed up at our office for me yesterday to reveal His Presence with me. Our manager quit, but God was letting me know that HE WAS STILL WITH US! Someone sent me a message on WhatsApp saying, ‘It’s well.’ Fast forward to fourteen minutes later, I opened up a book on our front desk, and the words on the same page I opened to freaked me out, written in capital letters:

“IT IS WELL (Wink! Wink!) WITH MY SOUL,
IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.”

No way was this some random coincidence! God planted that little surprise there for me to remind me that no matter who leaves or forsakes me, His presence will always be with me. (HUGE SMILE) May we all work on getting closer to God this year, knowing that He is our faithful Companion who stands firm with us no matter the challenges, hurts, setbacks, disappointments, and frustrations that show up. It’s just for us to keep our eyes fixed on him, obeying Him and leaving all consequences with Him. Amen! God is with us and for us!!!