“THE BEST THING I CAN TELL YOU IS TO GET CLOSER TO GOD”

That was indeed the best advice I got from my brother, Kevin, recently. I had one of my awful moments, and I needed a little pep talk from him, and he came through telling me that I should make God a priority. And it turned out to be the best thing! Crazy that the God maniac here who is always preaching to you guys about getting closer to God needed that reminder, but I did.

I ran with the advice by having lots of alone time with God. I found Dr. Charles Stanley on YouTube, and he was like a personal messenger from God to help me through a rough life patch. It was tough talk that I needed to hear to make some significant decisions. So much so that I had no doubt whatsoever that this was God’s way of wrapping His arms around me to comfort me and melt away all my fears, frustrations, and anxieties. Dr. Stanley has built my faith in God so much stronger. He said no matter what we go through, we can know without any doubt that God is there standing with us. He is!!!

Do you have a personal relationship with God where you know that His invisible Presence is with you, too? I enjoyed listening to one of Dr. Stanley’s sermons yesterday with my husband. It was about having a strong life. Where we build our lives on a strong foundation with God and that no matter what is going on we can be strong and not resorting to drugs or alcohol to cope with difficulties. In it, he highly suggested having alone times with God. I’m a living testimony to the greatness of these appointments with God. His advice is always the best! I reread old posts, I have mediation books, and now I have Dr. Charles Stanley on YouTube. (HUGE SMILE)

God is pretty talkative once you get to know Him. He has guided my life on a terrific path, and I would be an awful human being if I don’t share this awesome news with you. Make today the day you start taking your relationship with God seriously. I make many tough decisions following God’s leading, and let me tell ya, those decisions always work out better than I can ever expect or imagine. Nothing better than going through life with God as your Companion and Guide! He doesn’t force Himself on us; He just patiently waits for you to invite Him in. Will you say, ‘God, I want a closer walk with You?’ Then start listening to Him in your spirit. Once we obey Him, we can confidently leave all consequences in His capable hands. Wink! Wink!

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“YOU DON’T NEED NO OTHER BODY”

These are the lyrics from Wizkid’s song Essence I felt God singing to me as if saying, ‘NIK, I AM ALL YOU NEED!!!’ Your girl here has been getting it seriously wrong, and God has been lovingly trying to correct me. The fretful, anxious, and worrisome wife needed to go. I was too paranoid about my husband leaving me, and God was trying to teach me that I can confidently lean on Him – HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE OR FORSAKE ME. That no matter what, He was with me and that He loves me unconditionally. I can depend on Him! God corrects those He loves. (HUGE SMILE)

Now, my relationship with my husband is COMPLETELY different. Ain’t nobody perfect! As hubby accepts me for both my strengths and weaknesses, I accept his. With the love and acceptance God shows me, no matter my mistakes and failures, I offer that kind of love to hubs. I love a massage from Joel Osteen this week:

Be a Joseph

Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery that led to thirteen years of immeasurable suffering, heartache, and pain. Yet after Joseph was made second in command of all Egypt, when those same brothers came before him asking for food, he didn’t say, “It’s payback time!” The reason God could promote Joseph to that level is because He could trust Joseph to handle the power correctly and be good to people who had not been good to him. Joseph wept, embraced, and kissed his brothers. He gave them food and land and took care of his entire family.

Give people the grace to change when they’ve done you wrong. Don’t judge their whole life on one season, one mistake. You don’t have to befriend them and allow them all access, but you need to get to the point where you’ve let go of the offense and you treat them with respect. Be a Joseph. Let God pay back the people who hurt you. You’re not the judge and jury. Leave it in God’s hands.

A Prayer for Today

“Father, thank You for the mercy and forgiveness and protection You have shown me when I’ve done wrong. Help me to do good and to bless those who have done me wrong. I am leaving them in Your hands and giving them the grace that allows for change. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

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WOW! WOW! WOW!

God amazes me with the personal attention He gives to the situations of my life. I traveled last week, and a problem came up with a vehicle we sold (we are in the used car business). My husband was around, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking he would take control. But when the problem wasn’t resolved (hubs has a lot on his plate!), I started giving it some thought. I then felt God in my spirit saying to Google the specific issue. Can you believe Google informed me that there was a manufacturer’s recall for this very issue that the customer stated? There was a telephone number to call and a specific recall code to provide. Long story short, my daughter, Ember, is now picking up the vehicle that was repaired for FREE and covered by the manufacturer. Thanks Mr. Google and God!

“Then he told me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘You will not succeed by your own strength or by your own power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord All-Powerful.” – Zechariah 4:6

Got that? We will succeed by God’s Spirit that’s within us. I’m getting pretty close to Him now, and I have no doubt that it was Him who whispered to me the next step to take to resolve this issue. The wise Nikki here is learning to go to God in every decision asking Him to lead me. He is an expert in everything! No matter the troubles we face, God stands with us. It’s just for us to acknowledge Him in all our ways by pausing and asking for His input. I obey whatever He tells me to do because I know He has the best solutions to any situation.

Through my alone times with Him, I learn His voice. I know when it’s Him speaking to me. And through practical experiences of facing so many challenges in the past where that voice has wonderfully guided me through, I know without any doubt when I hear God’s voice.

Are you taking your relationship with God seriously? Don’t play around with it! This life is too hard to do on our own. I wake up every day now listening to Dr. Charles Stanley, and he is just confirming everything I’ve been learning about God. I then read our family’s website, where I share my testimonies of the greatness of God with us. I’m filling myself up with FAITH, reminded that I have God with me in every moment of my life. No matter the situation, He is there to advise me. As I show up doing my 50%, I trust God with the rest in the spiritual realm working on my behalf! Wink! Wink!

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

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THE PERFECT ADVICE FROM MY TEN-YEAR-OLD SON, JOSHIE (REPOST)

My spiritual guy blew me away when I asked him for some direction yesterday. I had told him about what President Trump’s doctor had responded when asked about the timeline of him testing positive for coronavirus. He said something like, he was not going backward to discuss the past, but he was moving forward. Can you believe my little son remembered that and when I asked him what he thought I should do about a situation, he said, “Mom, do what Trump (meaning his doctor) said, “Leave the past in the past and move forward!” Thanks, my sweetie! Your mom will definitely take your advice!

Especially after watching the Vice-Presidential debate from Nigeria at 2 am with my daughter, Julie, watching it in the US. My husband came down and joined us later into it. We ended up calling Julie together, and I was reminded that I’m to keep my eyes on the prize – God’s plan for my family. I MUST ignore the distractions that want to pop up and take me off my groove. Like someone correctly advised me, sometimes you must say, “Forget you and the horse you rode in on!!!” To get anywhere in this life we must become PROFESSIONAL IGNORERS, (kindly and respectfully, of course), otherwise we waste time fighting useless and unnecessary battles. My eyes are on the prize, baby!

I’m leaving the past in the past, my Joshie, and I’m moving forward confidently with my hope in God, while learning some extremely important lessons for us all. These showed up last night in an appointment with Him:

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8

“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

And when we love deeply, trust me, our reward is with God. I loved what God also had to say through my meditation book, He and I:

“Don’t you know that I give far more than you expect. Haven’t you noticed this spiritually, materially?”

Yes! God, Yes! And why I’m soooo sticking with You doing whatever is pleasing to You in every moment because you give me FAR more than I could even ask or think – protection, health, wisdom, guidance and LOVE!!! God, I’m on your team for LIFE, LOVING DEEPLY and covering LOTS of offenses, all for Your honor and glory! Amen!

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THE PAIN OF REJECTION IS BRUTAL!

But it was the bitter medicine your girl here needed to deal with to get to my happy, confident, brave, peaceful, loyal, and loving place with God. Humans reject and disappoint us, but God’s love is faithful and unconditional. We must hold humans in their proper perspective, not expecting too much from them. I even laugh at myself when I say I’m going to do something, and two hours later, I’m already falling off track. That’s us humans, weak, fallible creatures! I want us all FOCUSED on God’s love, not the love from other humans that can go up and down and all over the place from one moment to the next.

God is different. His love is steadfast and faithful. Even when He takes me through difficult paths, I know it’s from the hand of a loving Father who wants what’s best for me. Like this whole rejection thing I went through, It taught me how to love others unconditionally. To love mercy and walk humbly with God, not constantly judging everyone for every little thing. With God’s love and loyalty, I can turn around and love the people He has placed in my life His way. To be a little softer and gentler. Not everything that I want to say should be said. Somethings I can hold back some words as an act of love towards the other person.

“Thank you for this beautiful life I get to enjoy with you, my sweetie. I’m never leaving you.” That was me to my husband this morning. “Are you sure about that?” he asked. “I’m sure, boo. I’m your ride-or-die chick forever.” These values of loyalty, dependability, and faithfulness are what God has taught me in my appointments with Him. To go the extra mile in love. Instead of repaying evil with evil, God has asked that I use evil as motivation to spread even more love and goodness in the world. God, I’m in!

And when we live these values from God of peace, goodness, patience, kindness, loyalty, love, peace, gentleness, it’s like He goes out of his way to bless and reward us. Are you walking closely with God? Don’t miss out! His ways are not our ordinary human ways; they are so much better! Make God a priority! Have alone times with Him every day, so He molds you into the person He would have you to be, while He lovingly guides you on the path to the best life with Him. Wink! Wink!

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I’M SO EXCITED!!!

About my relationship with God! He is showing me such attention like never before! Like this 311 that I’ve been talking so much about lately is showing up everywhere. I have absolutely no doubt that it’s Him reminding me of His invisible Presence that is always with me AND His deep, unconditional love and approval. (HUGE SMILE)

Like on an early morning flight yesterday, placing our bags on the conveyor belt for security check, the tray directly ahead of us was labeled “311.” I took it as God saying, ‘I’m here on this trip with you guys! We get to our destination and the very gate we go to there are fire extinguishers about 20 feet apart lining the entire gate with of all numbers “311” at the top of every one of them. Imagine, an entire airport gate sprinkled with my 311! I felt like God’s special girl! This gave me such peace and joy knowing God’s Presence was out on this adventure with us.

Then yesterday, I wrote this:

God wants me to know how much He loves me. I try too hard to get my husband’s love and approval, and when he doesn’t give it to me the way I’m expecting, I’m crushed. God has been saying, ‘Nik, my love and approval are enough.’

Fast forward to like 1 hour later, I’m out under my God tree having an appointment with Him, and I randomly turn to this page of my book:

“It’s hard to comprehend how much God loves us because we are all used to human love, we had to behave properly, and we had to do certain things to keep our relationships with people going. People blow you off when you don’t do things to please them as we know that conditional love, it lets you down… With God kind of love, it’s totally different it’s awe-inspiring…May I be lifted above the pain of rejection, as I remember that who I really am cannot be rejected. May God’s acceptance mean more to me than the acceptance of any person, for it is based on my true worth. – A Year of Miracles

As if God was saying, ‘You’re getting it, my Nik! The real you, my girl, can never be rejected. I love you, and I approve of you!!!’ Despite that confirmation from God, I still ended up getting all sad when my husband bitterly complained of an area at our office that I’m not getting right in his eyes. I explained to him that I’m trying my best. I’m not him. I will make mistakes, but I try to learn and grow from them and be fair with people that help us. I asked him what about all the other areas that I get right, but he gets so focused on what I get “wrong.” (Same thing I do with him!!!) Then I remembered my appointment with God: May God’s acceptance mean more to me than the acceptance of any person, for it is based on my true worth. God loves us, and we have to keep His UNCONDITIONAL love at the forefront of our minds, not allowing our emotions to go up and down dependent on how others feel about us at any given moment. Kk?

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GOD SHOWS UP AT THE GROCERY STORE WITH MY HUSBAND AND ME!!!

So, “311” has been showing up all over the place as a direct communication from God to me. It all started driving to work one day, and seeing it. I felt God saying in my spirit that I should pay attention to this specific number combination. I get to our office, and I’m on the phone with an insurance company with a customer adding a vehicle to her policy that she was purchasing from us. The agent gave us the 6-month policy total, and I took it upon myself to calculate the monthly payment for her. It came to exactly 311 (Wink! Wink!). Minutes later, I’m outside talking to my husband over the phone, and seriously about to lose it with him, when God took my attention to the gas station’s sign across the street with the price per gallon of $3.11.

I took that as God speaking directly to me, ‘Nikki, STOP!!!’ because He has been teaching me to vent everything to Him, but to others, I should be silent. I quickly remembered when I saw that 311 knowing it was Him, and I held back everything I wanted to say to my husband. The next day I sent him a text message apologizing and saying I will stop turning into this crazy lady on him. Shortly after that, another message came up on Tumblr.com with God again confirming that it was indeed Him telling me to be quiet:

“Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all.” – Mandy Hale

My husband, who goes overboard for his family, deserves my silence.

Since then, the 3:11 has been showing up consistently, and I’m reminded of God’s Presence with me. On Sunday, though, after picking up hubby from the airport, he insisted on going to his fav food store Winn Dixie. We get there, and in this HUGE store with thousands of items, he calls me over to see one sign. That sign incredible said “3/$11” (Wink! Wink!)

I asked my daughter, Julie, what she thought of this. Why would God go through so much trouble to reveal His Presence with us? I summed it up listening to a sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley. God wants me to know how much He loves me. I try too hard to get my husband’s love and approval, and when he doesn’t give it to me, I’m hurt, crushed, and rejected. God has been saying, ‘Nik, my love and approval is enough.” Dr. Stanley explained that when we don’t have the love of a father growing up (me!), we make the mistake of looking to other men to give it to us. Guilty as charged!

And that’s where I’ve been going wrong. Looking for my husband to fill a void that only I can fill with God and His love, no one else. I have to find joy, fulfillment, and peace for myself, not to put that burden on my poor husband expecting his life to revolve around me. I have to free him to do his thing without feeling he is responsible for my personal happiness.

“No matter how long you’ve been going in the wrong direction, you can turn around.” “Mistakes are OK. Not learning and correcting from those mistakes. Not OK.” Thanks, God, for the needed correction! I’m to get my love and approval from You, not from anyone else. I’m to instead share Your love with others, glorifying you in all my actions. I’m on a mission now to overwhelm my husband with love and respect. Thanks for putting up with the crazy lady, boo!

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