That was me having some fun with our business manager yesterday. This board is where we place the names of potential customers and their telephone numbers. I questioned him about the first name there and decided to call the person myself. Can you believe that within 30 minutes, this gentleman came and purchased a vehicle from us?
“He said, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Your help will not come from your own strength and power. No, your help will come from my Spirit.’ This is what the Lord All-Powerful says.” – Zechariah 4:6
We show up to our offices to give our 50%, and God takes care of the rest! Don’t play with God! He is at work in the spiritual realm on our behalf, baby! A life lived close to God cannot fail! My hubby and I witness the most incredible people showing up in our lives to help us and support us. We know without a doubt that it’s God. We’re not lucky; we’re blessed!
“Thank you for your positive influence on our family,” I said to one of those people yesterday. My hubby just handed me the phone to say hello to him, and there is something I’ve been seriously upset and disagreeing with my husband on that I jumped on the opportunity to mention to this wise and older friend. God has been telling me to BE STILL and leave the battle to Him, so I no longer fight with my husband about it. After explaining to this family friend the situation in my husband’s presence, he then spoke to my husband on my behalf to please consider what I’ve been saying. He told him what a great wife I am and how he sees our future grandchildren thanking us in our graves for making these crucial decisions that we are making right now on their behalf.
Wow! That conversation blew me away as to God’s deep involvement in my life. I was just at the right place at the right time to speak to this friend who spoke so beautifully to my husband. When I was out walking and venting my frustrations to God last week about it, He whispered clearly in my spirit, “Be still, Nik, trust Me to handle this matter.” On the way home, I decided to see what God had to say to me on our family’s website based on the minutes past the hour, I went to that specific page, and look what incredibly showed up with God confirming His whisper to me:
“BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD”
Just know that God is always with you and He is working for us in the spiritual realm. He is there to help us in every aspect of our lives if we stick with communicating to him and seeking Him in all our decisions. We don’t have to figure out everything for ourselves. We must learn God’s voice, though, and follow where He is leading us. Super hard sometimes to obey God, but when we do, this is how He leads us on the path to the best life with Him. Wink! Wink! I love how that friend put it that our future grandchildren will be thanking us in our grave for the decisions we’re making today. I pray we all go to God and make such wise decisions, not allowing the devil in our lives to set us on the wrong paths. Amen.
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
“THAT’S THE DEVIL”
Those were the exact words I needed to hear under my God tree today. I confessed to that person how I had stopped going into our office to avoid being around my critical husband. We have different managerial styles, and when he is around, he seems only to want to criticize all my decisions, feeling his ways are always superior. To avoid confrontations, I’ve stayed away. But yesterday, under the tree, I felt God saying to me not to do that anymore. That I must go and face my husband’s fault findings and stand STRONG, and crucially, He would be my strength when I’m weak.
So, yesterday, we were the ones opening up together. Hubby, my daughter, Julie, and our two sons, Emmie and Joshie. And honestly, it was such a beautiful day. Hubs shortly left with Joshie, and Julie and Emmie had some excellent bonding time working together (our middle children!). When they returned, I hoped in a car to take the kids for some lunch. They love this 7 Eleven pizza, and the first one we went to had run out, so I looked up the other closest location. On our way back, I made a whole big thing about how they were stressing me out. They started to laugh at me, “Mom, the place was two minutes away. Stop being so dramatic! You act as if we asked you to drive for hours!” We had the biggest laugh over the drama mama here!
Let me tell ya, these sessions I have with God under that God tree are sacred. Julie and I ended up staying late with a customer who hubby convinced to buy a truck from us. While waiting for the insurance, we had the best conversation with the customer’s nephew. He talked about his pastor, who is focused on ministering to men. I told him about my blogging, which is mainly aimed more at women to be the LOVING AND FORGIVING wives, mothers, and people God has called us to be. Especially about being the glue that keeps our families together.
At the end of the conversation, though, we agreed that a God-centered life is the best way to go. Asking Him to be our Director and Guide, following His voice and where He leads us – being obedient to Him! At one point, he made me cry about finding his father in Venezuela and forgiving him. This was five years into his marriage, and at that point, they were unable to conceive children. But as soon as they got back from seeing his father, his wife got pregnant, and now they have four beautiful kids. Two girls and two boys. Just like us!
After all my talking about this “311” that I feel God speaks to me through, there is now a HUGE billboard on my way home with this 311 printed on it. It is my reminder from God to stay on the high road with Him being my most loving and forgiving self. God is pretty talkative once you get to know Him. And to be quite honest with you guys, when I saw that sign, I was NOT in a good place. I was furious. But immediately upon seeing it, I knew it was a HUGE wink from God as if He was saying VERY LOUDLY, ‘NIKKI!!!!!! STAY ON THE HIGH ROAD WITH ME, REMEMBER!!!’ In a fun, playful way! I gave God a big smile, and I continued home happy, deciding to leave the battle I was upset about in His competent hands. God’s ways are the best!
Don’t let the devil get us off track! See how I stayed away from our office until God corrected me! Don’t let the devil get the best of you! The devil wants to keep us angry, bitter, frustrated, not being our best selves, but God wants us happy, living our best lives with Him. Wink! Wink!
EVEN DURING MY WORST YEAR, GOD MADE ME FEEL SO LOVED (REPOST)
I can’t get over how I complained that it felt like I fell like a million times, but yet God was there in those million times to wrap His arms around me and let me know that His invisible Presence was always with me. That’s the love I’ve gotten to know from Him. Unlike human love that cut you off when you’re not what they expect you to be, God’s love is unconditional, and it never fails. It’s a love you must feel for yourself!
Like yesterday, I pushed myself out to work despite not feeling too well. I complained to God that even with His work, I didn’t do that well. Can you believe He read that slightest little thought from me? Someone on Facebook liked this old post, and I decided to read it, not knowing it was a message from Him:
“MOMMY, EVERY DAY YOU SAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO THAT!!!”
That’s my Joshie to me again today after I promise that I will take care of something for him. My son has found out one of my weaknesses – PROCRASTINATION! I even apologized to my husband the other day that this year, performance wise, hasn’t been my best. The proud Vice-President fell A LOT. But even in my weaknesses, lack of focus and drive, God shows up in my morning appointment, letting me know that HE IS PLEASED WITH ME:
“I AM PLEASED WITH YOU, MY CHILD…You don’t have to perform well in order to receive My love (Wink! Wink!). In fact, a performance focus will pull you away from Me… It can also be a source of deep discouragement when your works don’t measure up to your expectation (me lately!).
Shift your focus from performance to My radiant Presence. The Light of My Love shines on you continually, regardless of your feelings or behavior. Your responsibility is to be receptive to this unconditional Love.” – Jesus Calling
Are you receptive to God’s unconditional love? I’m talking the slightest thought about not doing His work well and He figured out a way to get that message to me minutes later from 4 months ago. Here’s what else that post said:
“When I say God’s ways are not our human ways, trust me on that! Here I am apologizing to my hubby for not performing up to my expectations, and God sweetly says, ‘Switch those feelings of discouragement, My Nik, to my unconditional love, regardless of how you perform!’
AND GOD SHOWS ME HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!!! Like I can’t get over how a book showed up at a friends’ house on Saturday. I wrote this in yesterday’s post:
“Of all books in the entire world for God to take my attention there was just Him revealing His invisible Presence with us. This lined up EXTREMELY too perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence! It was God saying, ‘Nik, I go with you, I GO BEFORE YOU, and I’m familiar with all your ways.’ Wink! Wink! “
Can you believe God went as far as confirming that this was Him? This also showed up in my morning appointment with Him:
“As you go through this day, look for tiny treasures strategically placed along the way. I LOVINGLY GO BEFORE YOU and plant little pleasures to brighten your day. Look carefully for them, and pluck them one by one.”
What kind of love is this? For the Creator of the Universe to go to all this trouble to reveal His Presence with me. From planting the book there, having me sit three feet away from it and pull my attention to the book at the precise MOMENT I was asked its name. It was unbelievable! God is too much!
MORAL: STOP FOCUSING ON PERFORMANCE AND FOCUS ON GOD’S LOVING PRESENCE THAT IS ALWAYS WITH US!!! Amen!!! The world and ourselves condemn if we don’t perform up to expectations, but God loves unconditionally!!! He says, let’s keep going. Try to do better next time. Even if we fall a million times (like I feel I did this year), He helps us get back up, and back on track step by step and little by little. The sweet life with God continues DESPITE THE MANY TIMES WE FALL AND FAIL!”
Those were the words from my husband that just made me so happy. ”Give me a kiss for that, boo!” I replied. He puts up with me with all my work for God, but I tell him that God repays us richly with His favor, love, protection, guidance, kindness, and immeasurable support. God has taken us beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined! Wink! Wink!
Today was a beautiful day working with our daughter, Ember. She has been such a huge support for me that I don’t know where I would be without her. Her excellent example as our firstborn has made us all better. Now that she is working with us before leaving for college, it’s my pleasure to pass on some of the values God has been teaching me. Being a person of integrity, dependability, going the extra mile, asking how may I serve, and being a joyful and humble person to be around, have all served me well no matter where I am in the world.
I love how God seems to be getting in on training sessions with her, though. We had a disagreement with me saying to her that not everything she wants to say to me means she should say it. I sent her this quote from my morning’s appointment with God:
“Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all.”- Mandy Hale
Less than an hour later, her dad calls, and he is telling me about a situation that technically he caused, but he was blaming someone else (different perspective!). After hanging up, Ember said, “Wasn’t that his fault? Why didn’t you tell him?” I said, “Remember the quote I just sent you – sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all. Should I argue with your dad and upset him or allow peace to reign, and we go home and have a beautiful evening together? Your dad deserves my silence.”
And just like that, God made her a witness to what I’ve been trying so hard to teach her. It’s wisdom to hold back some words, smile, put on a happy face, and be a pleasure and joy to be around instead of getting angry and easily upset. My daughter Julie said she has learned to vent her feelings in her head, not to other people. God tells me to take it out on Him. And with all that He does for me, I vent everything and hand over all disappoints to Him, and stay on the high road being my best, most loving, and happiest self. Wink! Wink! All for His honor and glory! May we all glorify and enjoy Him!
That was me hugging and saying goodbye to my daughter, Julie, as she was about to enter her car to drive alone for the very first time to her college class. I’ll never get over God’s deep involvement in every aspect of my life. A young lady I met for less than five minutes shared that she was a twelfth-grade student, but all of her classes were at a nearby college. A year and a half later, God reminded me of this with a thought for Julie to finish her last year of high school at that same college. After a huge battle, with everyone in the family turning against me, saying I shouldn’t force Julie to leave high school prematurely, Julie is now flourishing. I see her so happy and blossoming into this confident yet humble, fierce young lady. That one God thought (get Julie into that early admissions college program!), got my daughter on this fantastic life path! Heehaw! The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord!
Then yesterday, I was blown away by God’s involvement in a conversation with my daughter, Ember. She wasn’t happy that we didn’t go out to eat at a restaurant where SHE wanted to go, and she showed it. I explained to her the importance of being grateful for any kind gesture done by anyone for her. I said she should overwhelm her dad with love and appreciation for everything he does for our family. I said that she should learn how to wear a poker face and even pretend to be happy even when she is fuming inside because that’s WISDOM when it comes to dealing with other people. Fast forward a few minutes later, I’m having an appointment with God with my son, Emmie, and look what incredibly showed up:
“A Little Thanks, Please
Saying “thank you” isn’t always easy. When a relative gets you a Rudolph sweater for Christmas or wraps up a big package of floral underwear for your birthday, it’s tough to come up with nice words for that “thank you” card—or when your mom puts a pile of veggies on your plate and is waiting for those magic words: “Thanks, Mom.”
That’s the way it works. When someone gives a gift, we say “thank you.” We write the words. We put the smile on our face. We thank the person because we know that they love us. They are being kind and generous. Even when we really don’t like the gift, we thank the giver.” – A Purpose Driven Life Devotional for Kids
No way this was an ordinary coincidence! This was again God revealing His intimate Presence in the details of my everyday life. Even down to me saying to Ember that she should pretend to be happy, the book said, “We put the smile on our face.” God is pretty talkative once we develop eyes to see Him and ears to hear Him. This was His loving way of revealing His Presence with my daughter and me, minutes after our sit-down conversation to discuss this specific matter.
And with this knowledge of knowing God is always with me, I can bravely and courageously tackle my life doing my best with what God would have me to do, and then I can confidently trust that He is at work at the spiritual realm helping me. And trust me, He is with you, too! Wink! Wink!
