CAN I BRAG ABOUT MY FANTASTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?
Oh my goodness! The love and attention I receive from Him are out of this world. Like for over a month or two now, I’ve had a picture of a signed Tom Brady’s jersey as my phone’s screensaver because he has been such an inspiration. He is considered the greatest of all-time athletes, and an interview he did with Oprah Winfrey changed my perspective on my entire life: I want to be the greatest of all time person for God, wife, and mom. So fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, I went to the Bahamas, and my nephew, Mario, showed up this pictured Tom Brady’s jersey (Wink! Wink!). Of all shirts for my nephew to wear that day to match up perfectly with my phone’s screensaver, I took it as no coincidence! It was God again revealing His invisible Presence wherever I go and His deep love for me.
I know this sounds crazy, but I wanted to remove this picture so often, feeling like it was maybe a little disrespectful towards my husband, but I would feel God saying in my spirit, ‘No, Nik, don’t remove it! If this photo inspires you to be a better wife to your husband, a better mother to your children, and a better person in the world for Me, leave it.’
And inspiring me to be better, it certainly has. Yesterday, my manager sent a text that he wouldn’t be coming to work. Your girl had to step up into Tom Brady mode. I went out for my run with God to get myself all fired up to take on my life to the best of my ability. God told me recently on a run that we’re doing everything together, so I grabbed my sons and my nephew and said, “Let’s do this!” knowing God had our back. Can you believe we ended up going in and selling two cars, along with my faithful assistant, Martha? I know without a doubt that both of these customers were sent by God to us. Both said to me, “I may not go to church every week, but God is in my heart.” Another wink from God letting me know WE ARE DOING THIS TOGETHER! How could two different people show up repeating the same statements to me?
God has wonderfully influenced every aspect of my life! The business I want to give up on sometimes, He says, ‘Keep going. Don’t give up. I’m your Partner in labor.’ His prompting me to keep this Tom Brady jersey as my screensaver is His way of reminding me to keep training like an athlete, all for His glory, so that I can show up as the best me possible. No that I’m perfect, but I try to go for my run every day with God, drink my awful tasting smoothie, eat a variety of fruits and veggies, stay focused on the battles God would have me to take on, and leave the rest with Him, and to get proper sleep and rest. Like a real athlete! I try to discipline my thoughts, emotions, what I say, what I eat, where I go, what I do, constantly centering my decisions on what God would have me to do. Again, I’m not perfect, but I try.
And I’m so much happier here! All the depressing and anxious thoughts have gradually diminished, with me trusting God more than ever. IN GOD WE TRUST. I simply show up to my life doing my best and trusting God to do the more difficult parts in the spiritual realm. That’s why I say that the quality of your life will be determined by your closeness to God. Him telling me in my spirit to keep that Tom Brady’s jersey as my screensaver was his way to keep me on the disciplined track (especially in my mind!!!), and it has paid off! (HUGE SMILE)
“For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose].” – Hebrews 12:11
But let me tell ya, GOD STOOD WITH ME!!! That’s the great news I’m sharing with you! That we can go through our share of trials, disappointments, challenges, frustrations, difficulties, hurts, and miseries, but God is always available to guide us safely and confidently through every storm. The battles belong to the Lord!
During a heated moment, I felt Him saying that I should stay calm. I decided that I needed to go out for one of my God runs. This is where my brother, Kevin, perfectly articulated what these times alone with God do for me:
“I don’t know if it gives you strength. I think it gives you wisdom. It gives you time to think, to plan, to focus. You are in a war; you realize that right. Any problem that you have is a war. So, you need to strategize. And I think your runs give you clarity in everything. Keep running. Trust me when I tell you this, I think that is the key.”
I jogged a little bit past my God tree to a bench to ask God what was my next battle move. A picture came up with my daughters that said: “Half the battle is choosing the right battle.” I felt this was God saying, ‘Nik, choose this battle.” Next, an old post came up where I wrote about Joseph and how every time he went through challenging and difficult times, there was a line quoted five times that said, “… but the Lord was with Joseph.” I took that as a reminder to me that God was also standing with me in that difficult situation. Then, there was some great advice about staying calm, not turning into the crazy lady, and going to God in every decision. A Whatsapp message also reminded me that God and I were a majority. Nothing I can’t overcome with Him by my side!
Can you guys believe I took all that advice from out on that run and calmly handled the situation, knowing God was right there in the midst of everything with me? And God did it! He helped me to conquer a significant battle. Phew! Thank God for me, please, guys!!! (With tears in my eyes!) This was one that felt like seven times the intensity of anything I’ve ever faced. But all the advice I give, paid off. I calmly, confidently, manly, and courageously faced my storm, doing my best with what God asked me to do, and I left the rest of the battle with Him.
Like I always say, God is with us, for us, and on our side. It’s just for us to tap into His voice and know the battles to take on and the ones to leave with Him. Wink! Wink! Pretty proud of myself. I stood up for something vital to me, and God was right there standing with me! Heehaw! This experience increased my faith in God even more than ever! Where are you with your faith in Him? Make sure you are also taking time out to hear what He has to say specifically to you! He is all up in our business! (HUGE SMILE)
This is such great advice I received through Victoria Osteen! In fact, I’m getting GREAT at overlooking, forgiving, ignoring, and staying on the high road with God. It’s like I’m living life with one foot on earth, where the offenses constantly show up, but one foot sweetly in heaven where I rest and enjoy God. I don’t let the irritations, frustrations, and disappointments get the best of me anymore. I wisely use them to push myself even closer to God. And the closer you get to God, the infinitely better your life gets. (HUGE SMILE)
In my alone times with Him, God whispers His secrets to me. Like today, He had these reminders to pop up:
“Happiness never came from the dependency upon people; happiness comes from dependency upon Allah/God alone.” – Tumblr.com via believeroftheunseen
“Don’t love people so much; don’t rely on people so much. It is deception, don’t love it, don’t love anything here. Allah (God) has made connections in this world like mother, father, husband, wife, or friend to test you. Don’t put too much heart in this matter.” – Shaykh Mohammad Akram Nadwi
God, I’m seriously getting the lesson! I just had one of my sacred conversations with my daughter, Julie. She shared with me how God is teaching her not to love praise so much from other people. And that you should accept compliments the same as criticism because people are so fickle. One minute they can love and adore you, and the next, you are their biggest enemy. So, the trick I’ve learned is not to lean on other people for recognition, love, and approval; I look to God and respond to everything and everyone with His love holding and backing me up in this treacherous world.
So, the wiser Nik has learned to go to God every moment. I seek to be the best person He is calling me to be in every circumstance, every relationship, every decision. Doing this has led my life on a gorgeous path like my brother, Kevin, so wonderfully put it. It’s all because I’ve made God the Guide and First Love of my life. A LIFE GUIDED BY GOD CANNOT FAIL!
All these relationships are tests. Learn the crucial lessons each interaction is there to teach you and keep walking humbly, calmly, and faithfully with God. We need others. Life is too hard on our own. We just have to learn to keep everyone in their proper perspective. God has to be our God, who we’re ultimately depending on, nobody else. So let’s show up as our MOST loving, genuine, supportive, and forgiving selves, giving our best, all for God’s glory. Everything is between Him and us!!! When we shine, He shines, too! Wink! Wink!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
#love #God #faith
“DON’T WANNA RUN RUN”
That was the perfect Nike Running Club choice for me out on my jog/walk with God today. There was a moment where Coach Bennet gave us two minutes to vent about all our negatives and frustrations. But instead of complaining, your girl here just said, “God, I have nothing but gratitude for You. Yes, things are not quite the way I would want them, but I trust You.” Minutes later, I’m at the tree, and at 44 minutes past the hour, I read page 44 of our website and look how God revealed His invisible Presence with me, with these words showing up there:
““When things are not going well in our lives, we have a tendency to want them to be different from the way they are. But things are the way they are because they’re supposed to be the way they are because there is something bigger than all of us and our personalities handling all of this. The trees that don’t ever complain about the moss growing on them, even though it’s discoloring them, and so on. It’s just this allowing and this acceptance of the universe the way it is.
And I think one of the hardest lessons is to reach a state of inspiration. You talked about being in spirit and looking for inspiration, it is to figure out a way to be in a state of gratitude for the things that our minds are telling us shouldn’t be happening…so filled with anger towards whatever the universe is doing to us instead of being grateful for it because ultimately you know that as you look back on your life the things that while you were going through them that seemed so awful and difficult years ago, now from a new point of looking at them, with more clarity and seeing them more clearly now, you realize that you had to go through them to get to the other side.
And being in that continuous state of gratitude (EXACTLY ME AT THAT VERY MOMENT!!!), even for the really really really hard things it’s like to get down on our knees and be thankful not just when things are going right and when everybody smells good, and the money comes in, and so on but to be in that state of gratitude for…everything coming at you is just part of the perfection of what your curriculum is. That is called your life…” – Dr. Wayne Dyer
Then, reading this part: “The trees that don’t ever complain about the moss growing on them,” I looked at my beautiful God tree with the moss growing on it and felt extra loved and supported by God. Again, this was God’s way of letting me know that He is ALWAYS with me.
I left the house not wanting to run, but came back God’s little superhero, ready to take on whatever He sends my way! Heehaw!!!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
“EVEN AT MY LOWEST, I’M PRAISING GOD”
That was me yesterday in one of my YouTube videos, and where I want us all, praising and thanking God no matter what is going on in our lives. Yesterday, I was home alone feeling all sorry for myself, and I didn’t want to call my kids to let them know I was missing them. I was having one of my pity parties feeling down physically, mentally, and emotionally. I thought to instead have an appointment with God reading from my book that I’m currently NOT working on. This showed up:
“I cried yesterday listening to a freshman in high school, Madison, pray this prayer at Bel Air’s church in California:
“Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for waking us up this morning. And thank You for everything You give us. I pray for us to help know Your BOLDNESS. That we will be able to move forward in our faith, in our prayer life, and in everything that we are doing. That you will be at the center of every move we make and KNOW THAT MISTAKES ARE OK. To know that we can move forward and that YOU ARE BY OUR SIDE THROUGH ALL OF IT. And that we will be able to prosper and have abundance and growth and help other people to grow as well through knowing you and knowing your faith and boldness… Amen.”
I smiled with God, feeling reminded that He was by my side through everything I go through, even the low moments. I see His loving hands in every aspect of my life. Yes, sometimes He asks some difficult stuff of me, but when I put them against all He is doing, I just have to say, ‘God, anything for You.’ In fact, I’ve made this my personal challenge from Him and phone’s screensaver:
“I’m challenging you to resist ALL evil with an even STRONGER commitment to love, goodness, and faithfulness.”
Can we all do that for God? Going the extra mile, all for His glory. Someone had really inspired me this week when He said that He sees God reflected in me by how I live my life. I mess up constantly, so that was a nice compliment. He also encouraged me to do a better job in my work for God because He sees how God shows up for us. The more beautiful we are, the more beautiful God looks! Let’s all be His angels in the world. He is increasing my capacity to forgive, overlook, and to be gentler in my interactions with others. Life is hard enough. We don’t need to make it harder for others or ourselves. Wink! Wink!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
“NIKKI, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT YOU ARE CLOSE TO GOD!”
That made me so happy hearing it from my husband yesterday as we flew back from the Bahamas to visit my family there. But hubby questioned my belief that God speaks to me through the psychic Youtuber, Stargirl. I explained to him that the closer you get to God, the more you will pick up on these messages that He is constantly communicating with you. Like in one of her latest videos, she said that my mental health is improving. It has drastically! Also, that I’ve gone through a massive perspective shift. I have dramatically! So, for this lady to come inside my head and tell me specifically what’s going on there, is ALL GOD. No coincidence! This was God letting me know that He sees me and He is personally involved in the details of my life.
Stargirl also had this to say:
“When you see butterflies, this is a major sign for you. If you see butterflies, this is a confirmation and reminder from your spirit guides. And butterflies outside. Or on clothing. On bumper stickers. Just the symbol of butterflies. You are seeing this a lot in October because it is essentially a representation of how you have really bloomed into this beautiful energy successfully.”
So, fast forward to hubs and me going to our hotel room; this beautiful butterfly flashes across this giant screen there. I took it as God’s way of saying, ‘Welcome to the Bahamas, Nik!’ On our way back to the airport, I was telling hubs about how I needed shoes for this trip, and when I went searching in our closet, I found the shoes I was then wearing, still in the box, with these gorgeous glass butterflies on top that I was saving for a special occassion. Hubby still thought I was crazy, though. We then got to the airline counter, and miraculously, the lady at the agent next to us had on a plain shirt with some crystals decorating it with the outline of a butterfly on it. Hubs was still not convinced that this was a sign from God like Stargirl predicted for me to see butterflies a lot this month as a sign from God. We get on board the plane after a very long delay. Guess who sits next to my husband? Of all people, the lady with the crystal butterfly on her shirt! Wink! Wink! I told y’all, God is pretty talkative!
Then, this morning, I noticed a car with lots of bumper stickers. I go closer, and can you believe there are two small butterflies on the license plate of that vehicle? This was another tiny glimmer of God’s invisible Presence reminding me that He is always with me.
I especially loved a God wink on Sunday. Hubby and I made a pretty significant decision. I was explaining to him that this move was what I believe God wanted. I said, “Don’t ask me why God is so involved in our family’s affairs, but He is.” I reminded hubby of the time I told Julie that she was being kicked out of high school by God and me and forced to start college early. I explained to Julie and the rest of the family, who had all turned against me, that this was what I felt in my heart that God wanted. Fast forward seven months later, Julie is so happy with her college life. The teachers are really stretching her out of her comfort zone, and she loves it.
I explained to hubby that this is the same situation and feelings all over again. God is personally saying that this is the direction we should go. We get to my mom’s place, and she is watching my guy Dr. Charles Stanley who incredibly says that God is a God who is personally involved in our lives. He completely confirmed what I was explaining to my husband in regards to this major decision we made. I can’t explain why God wants us to do this, but just like the decision with Julie working out so well, I trust that God ALWAYS knows what is best for us.
And this is where I want us all, going to God in all our choices – big and small! He truly is a God who is personally involved in each of our lives. It’s just a matter of us tapping into His voice and knowing what HE would have us to do on a moment-by-moment basis. God, we pray for Your clarity and direction. Amen! Thank you, Stargirl, for all the personal messages from God to me! (HUGE SMILE)
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#love #God #faith
A BEAUTIFUL DAY WITH MY DAUGHTER, EMBER!
Surprise! Surprise! Working together has been a challenge for both of us. Mostly because she wants to be the boss and I have to check her-You are Junior, I’m Senior! So when she asked if she could hang with me today, I happily accepted.
“Let me change this shirt first!” she immediately said. Another surprise was that she put on one of the God shirts I bought for her that says, “if God is all you have, you have all you need.” Our first stop was at a store where I get my fav nerdy blouses. Next I said let’s look for a shoe store that I remembered. The shoe store was no longer there, but right at the intersection to go back to our car, can you believe we met a young lady wearing the exact shirt as Ember. Same color and everything! We both felt it was no way a coincidence, but God letting us know that His invisible Presence was out with us. For her to go and change into that shirt of all her shirts and for us to meet that lady wearing it was a perfect alignment where everything once again lined up a little bit too perfectly that we knew it was God orchestrated to remind us of His love for us. Wink! Wink! My girls!
“Do you like my life?” I asked her as we left a nail salon. “It could be better,” she replied. “It also could be a lot worse! God has been teaching me contentment and gratitude” I responded.
While she helped me with the cleaning up at the house later on, I asked her what she didn’t like about my life. She thought that I don’t have enough fun. I explained to her that I love my boring life! I don’t like doing too much. A simple life is the best life for me!
I got a chance to explain some of the wisdom I’ve been learning from God. Like the wearing of my uniform shirts every day. It was a part of my strategy with God. I came to the US from Nigeria on a mission: Let’s get down to business!
Ember and I had our eyes on the prize of her attending university in New York. Her protective dad wanted her close by, but we came up with a plan to convince him that we could not hold this fierce daughter back from pursuing her dream. The plan was to simply give our best in every moment and leave the rest to God. Hubby finally gave his blessings for her to go! Praise God!
Then it was our business that got off track again, but I just kept saying, if we have nothing, let’s give our nothing to God. He created the entire world from Nothing! I go there now in amazement from the transformation between when I came and where it is now. I’m giving all the glory to God.
Next on agenda was getting my daughter, Julie driving and attending college. Guys, my baby girl is not only driving, she is flourishing! She loves her college life where she can go to the gym in the middle of the day if she wants. She went for a function at her high school because she is still officially a high school student and she said, “I’m so happy I don’t have to go there every day. This whole early admissions to college while still a high school student was all planned out by God Himself. I have no doubt. Same thing with Ember’s college in New York with a $30,000 scholarship. That’s the God exceeding my expectations that I always write and talk about. Are you rolling with Him? His favor, love, support, approval, guidance follows us wherever we go. Like that tshirt smartly said: “if God is all you have, you have all you need.”Walk with Him. Make your relationship with Him your top priority! Say this prayer, God, I want a closer walk with You! Wink! Wink!
