We Roll With God

That was my son, Joshie, yesterday to my husband! That made me so proud and happy that my eleven-year-old son is learning firsthand about having a close relationship with God. Woohoo! Let me tell ya, I’m having face-to-face conversations with God. He gives me specific instructions as to what He would have me do on a moment-by-moment basis. Like yesterday, I asked Him what He would have me to do about a difficult situation, and I felt Him saying to go to my book, ‘Keep Calm, You’re Rolling With God.’ I used the scroll key, and these words randomly showed up:

“My child, STAND FIRM and trust in me,” – The Imitation of Christ

I said, “OK, Boss! Whatever You say!’ A couple of hours later, I then go to my God tree for my run/walk. Once there, I looked at the time, and it was 44 minutes past the hour, and I went to page 44 of our family’s website and look what incredibly showed up:

“…This means that love bears every trial with a positive attitude. It STANDS FIRM in hostile surroundings.” – The Joy of Love by Pope Francis

And if that’s not enough for you, I woke up this morning for another appointment with God on our website, and it was 47 minutes past the hour. This incredibly showed up on page 47:

“Do not be afraid. STAND FIRM and you will see the LORD’s salvation (deliverance from harm), which He will accomplish for you today…The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” – Exodus 14: 13-14”

For these words “STAND FIRM” to show up from three different books so perfectly was God talking to your girl here face to face, baby! ‘Nik, stand firm; I am standing with you!!!’ Heehaw! What kind of love is this? For God to go to all this trouble to orchestrate the timing of all these appointments, letting me know that He is with me as I go through some deep and troubling waters.

Do you have appointments with Him? This life is rough! WE NEED GOD! Notice how I go looking to hear from Him to get His perspective, and He finds ways to specifically answer what I’m concerned about and remind me that His Presence is STRONG with me. This gives me the confidence to take on whatever challenges come my way, courageously, peacefully, and joyfully. Yesterday, this verse showed up three separate places for me as well:

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” – Mathew 1:23

My husband and two sons are named Emmanuel, y’all! And this is our testimony that we worship a God who is always with us no matter the battles we face. He is with us in our high moments and our low moments. May we all finish 2021 STRONGER with Him! Amen! Make sure you have your alone times seeking to learn His voice and direction for your life. HE ALWAYS KNOWS BEST!!! Wink! Wink!

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That was surprisingly from my son, Emmie, yesterday! He and Joshie were entertaining their friends, and I was hovering in the background when I heard him say that. There I was feeling like our house was a complete disaster, but my son felt the total opposite. It’s another testimony to the greatness of God in my life: My help comes from the Lord, baby!

I told you guys how I’ve been in such a rut lately, but God is beautifully at work in the background, assisting me to keep everything on track. Like one night, I went in to pick my sons from church and saw them enjoying playing a game there. The next day or so, I said let’s recreate it on our front porch. I took the boys and their friend Sammy to buy tape and a ball at Target. It takes four people to play, so on the way into the store, I asked them who would the fourth person be. They said it would be “Isaiah.” We get into the store, and minutes later, asking the first store attendant we saw after finding the ball where we could get tape, his name was amazingly “Isaiah.” And just like that, God revealed His invisible Presence with us. No coincidence!

We set it up, and the next thing I knew, our house became the hang-out spot to play this game, along with the basketball hoop in our driveway. I would come home from work and meet the boys playing happily, running all around the neighborhood with no shoes. Yesterday, I got them pizza to share with their new friends. They went swimming. They played video games. They went fishing at the lake at the back of our home. And they played the game on our porch with the ball and tape until very late into the night.

I say all that to say, don’t go through life without God. I know without any doubt that it was Him directing me in my spirit to set up that game for my sons. And to see all the beauty and joy that came from it, reminds me that God has my back, even when I feel like such a loser. His way of saying, ‘I got you, Nik!’

My life is this intimate journey with Him. When I’m weak, He is my strength. When I feel good for nothing, He says, “Give me your nothing, Nik. Didn’t I create the world from nothing!” Don’t miss out, finish this year saying, ‘God, I want a closer walk with You!!!’ He lovingly whispers His secrets to us when we’re open to involving Him in every aspect of our lives! Wink! Wink!

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Heehaw!!! And yesterday was no exception! It’s nice having a male perspective. He gives me such great advice like becoming NUMB AND UNBOTHERED by the pain of disappointments, rejections, frustrations, and aggravations that can show up at any moment. Life is rough!

Honestly, God has been trying to teach me this HARD lesson for a long time of learning to hold pain in its proper perspective, but when Kevin said the word “NUMB,” it finally connected – Like YES!!! Neeks, enough of this being tossed to and fro, getting all sad and depressed by these disappointments that CONTINUOUSLY and UNCEASINGLY show up. Have a warrior, you can’t hurt me mentality!!! Whatever anyone else does, that’s between them and God (It is what it is!). Immediately shake off the hurts and disappointments and keep moving forward CONFIDENTLY, LOVINGLY, AND JOYOUSLY with God, baby! Wink! Wink!

But let me tell you how God is so intimately involved in our lives! Almost over a year and a half ago, feeling like my heart was crushed into a million pieces, God had me see someone wearing a T-Shirt that said, “There is no end to the pain. You must be NUMB.” I loved it so much that I asked him if I could take a pic of it. After taking the picture, I ended up again with this same person at the freezer section, with us both looking for the same brand and flavor of ice cream. I said this is no coincidence, but a definite message from God to me in that very low, painful state, sweetly letting me know He was with me as I took on that pain.

But after all that, it’s sad that I still haven’t mastered that lesson of becoming NUMB. But when I heard it yesterday from Kevin, it finally clicked in the head of crazy lady here that this is where God wants us. Life is filled with disappointments, hurts, failures, successes, failures, ups and downs, but it’s ALL part of a beautiful journey with God. We MUST stay in a constant conversation with Him, our Constant Guide and Companion, as to how to handle situations wisely, calmly, skillfully, and tactfully. I love my new mindset that my son Emmie has inspired:

“I want to fill every moment with as much love, faith, forgiveness (of myself and others), patience, positivity, integrity, appreciation, joy, peace, excellence, focus, gratitude, wisdom, and humility.”

Today I will add COURAGE and keep my eyes fixed on God! After that situation a couple of days ago with God telling me in my spirit to stop at a green light, and then watching my daughter come out in front of me, accidentally running a red light, I have NEW love and respect for God for the INTENSE love He shows us. I can write off ALL the disappointments against the HUGE blessings God sends my way. (HUGE SMILE)

I shared with Julie this message from our beloved Mottos for Success calendar where I hear so clearly from God:

“There’s no disgrace in failing—which is just a fact of life—but you should never concede defeat.”

“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit…
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.” – Psalm 40:2

God has truly brought your girl out of a horrible pit! I said to Kevin in that conversation that I went through a war, and he had this wise advice for us all:

“You went through a battle. The war goes on forever and ever. Life is a war. Live every day and put on your armor: GOD.”

Just how God told me to stop at a green light to protect my Julie, He is talking to you too! It’s just for us to learn His voice and be obedient as we live our best lives with Him! Amen!

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That’s what I felt God, surprisingly, in my spirit telling me yesterday when I was at a green light, that I shouldn’t move. The next thing I knew, my precious daughter, Julie, came out in front of me, accidentally running the red light at the exact intersection where God told me to stop. There was a truck in front of her, and she didn’t see that the light had turned red. I can’t get over God’s love for our family to have me, of all people, at that light to stop and protect her from being hit by another vehicle. No way this was some coincidence, but God protecting her from harm. We had an meeting to attend together, but I told her I would meet her because I had a lot going on. God just timed everything perfectly! Thank God for me, guys! His love is too much!!!

That’s why I preach to you guys that we should live a life pleasing to Him! No matter what anyone else is doing, let’s seek to please God because everything is between Him and us, not between us and anyone else. This same Julie, who God protected, was the same person telling me that she disagreed with my decisions recently because she thought it wasn’t fair. I explained to her that God’s ways are more than fair! Look how He took such great care to have me at that light, at that moment, to block another vehicle from crashing into her. No one pays me to write these posts, but nothing I do for God is in vain. His love, protection, support, help, favor, and grace are priceless! We may lose some small battles here and there, but overall, we’re BIG WINNERS with God! Our prayer should be: ‘God, anything to please You, let us learn. Amen!’

I can’t get over a special wink I got from Him yesterday after I wrote this in my last post:

“What’s your passion?” I asked everyone at our dinner the other night. Kevin responded, “My family.” Honestly, that’s me too! I love my family, y’all! I tell hubs that whatever we must go through, we will go through it together by the grace of God. IF I MUST BE THE GLUE HOLDING EVERYONE TOGETHER, NO PROBLEM. My mindset is that I’m God’s little superhero, baby!

Fast forward to the next day, I go to Netflix to watch for a few minutes while having my dinner. Of all the movies and shows there, I go to watch ‘The Shack.’ These lines incredibly show up:

“Mack and Nan had been married for 18 mostly happy years. SHE’S THE GLUE THAT HOLDS THAT FAMILY TOGETHER.” Wink! Wink!

Just for the few minutes I had to watch TV, and of all the content on Netflix, I could have chosen, God found a way to let me know that He sees me and that He was supporting me to be that glue for my family. (HUGE SMILE)

He is pretty talkative once you get to know Him! That’s the love again He shows us! I tell my husband that God Himself put us together and that I’m on His team for life, knowing that God rewards our loyalty and faithfulness to each other.

May we all be passionate about our families! I’m so excited about my son, Emmie, these days. He is aiming for all A’s and I felt God nudging me in my spirit to stop what I was doing and go and talk with him. I decided to pick his brain to see why he was doing so well and why my son, Joshie, was having a hard time adjusting. He said, and I paraphrase here, “I focus. I pay attention to what the teacher is saying. I don’t waste time. Instead of playing, I get my work done. Every day I must give it my best.” Now, I run with this mindset: I want to fill every moment with as much love, faith, forgiveness (of myself and others), patience, positivity, integrity, appreciation, joy, peace, excellence, focus, gratitude, wisdom, and humility. Thanks, my Emmie!!! Super proud momma here!!!

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Said my daughter/future lawyer, Julie, a short while ago. I took the opportunity to explain to her that life is certainly not fair, but we must be obedient to God, following His lead, knowing that His ways with us are MORE than fair. We don’t go wrong with God, guys! A few days ago, I read this on our family’s website, written by me 5 years ago:

“The Julie and Ember (my daughters) that I used to fight with to study, now want to study on their own. Late one night, I walked past Julie in the stairwell studying, and she said, “Mom, I’m here because I need to study, and staying here is keeping me up.” At 1 am when I stayed up with them one morning, she asked, “Is this what it takes to get into Harvard?” I said, “Yes, lots of studying and hard work!””

Fast forward to five years later, I went into Julie’s bedroom this morning, and she is sitting at her computer, applying for Harvard (only one of the top universities in the world!). Whether she gets in or not doesn’t really matter. To have this beautiful, intelligent, healthy, wise, on-the-ball, kind, funny, sweetie pie as a daughter is a GIGANTIC blessing. We may lose some battles here and there, but when we measure them against all the huge gifts from God, we’re winners! (HUGE SMILE)

Like I can’t over how God orchestrated a beautiful wink at me after that chat with Julie. I decided to give my brother, Kevin, a call out on my run. I wanted to tell him how his advice for me to get closer to God when I called him in a terrible moment was the same advice Dr. Charles Stanley had given me in another awful moment yesterday. Dr. Stanley explained that we could look at adversities as burdens or BRIDGES THAT TAKE US CLOSER TO GOD. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m taking all the bad that comes my way as motivation to get even stronger with God! WE NEED HIM AT EVERY MOMENT!

Kevin then gave me some more great advice about a situation saying specifically to me, “Neeks, you must “NIP IT IN THE BUD.” Fast forward just a few minutes, I’m running back home, and the song that was randomly playing by Outkast said: “NIP IT IN THE BUD” Wink! Wink! This song was not even in my library of music, just selected by Apple to play! This was no coincidence, but God’s sweet way of letting me know that He is intimately involved in the affairs of my life. I was filled with hope, encouragement, and strength to take on the situation boldly, bravely, and joyfully knowing God is always with me.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

These runs I do every day with God have taken me so close to Him that I feel we now have face-to-face conversations with each other. I listened to that Dr. Stanley’s sermon again this morning with God confirming everything I have been feeling and writing about all these years. Yay! I’m not crazy! I think that’s why God is NOW introducing me to his YouTube channel to learn this great news on my own first and have Dr. Stanley confirm everything about God’s heart for each of us.

One thing Dr. Stanley and I talk about A LOT, though, are the appointments/alone times with God. This is where God reveals His secrets and directions for us to handle complex and messy situations (It is what it is, folks!). For the words “NIP IT IN THE BUD” to show up minutes after Kevin said it was God agreeing that your girl must get back in her fighter’s stance mode, but knowing the battles belong to Him who has our back.

“What’s your passion?” I asked everyone at our dinner the other night. Kevin responded, “My family.” Honestly, that’s me too! I love my family, y’all! I tell hubs that whatever we must go through, we will go through it together by the grace of God. If I must be the glue holding everyone together, no problem. My mindset is that I’m God’s little superhero, baby! That’s the mission I’m on from Him to tell you guys that our families and significant relationships are important to Him. Let’s keep fighting and not allow the devil in to tear us apart by staying loyal and going the extra mile in forgiveness, gentleness, self-control, patience, and love. NOT EASY, BUT GOD WILL BE OUR STRENGTH TO DO THIS CRUCIAL WORK ON HIS BEHALF. Where my superheroes at?

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