“I’M TEACHING YOU HOW TO BE A KING” (REPOST)

That was me to my nephew, Duro, when we drove an hour somewhere and an hour back for work reasons. I said, “Every day we’re hustling and making things happen. Going the extra mile when we must.” I told him how I’m learning to have the courage and to be brave because I’m in charge of our business here, away from my overprotective husband. It’s been so good for me because I’m learning to dance lightheartedly with God, going to Him at every decision point asking what He would have me to do. The feelings of peace are what I look for before moving forward. No peace, no move. Like that long drive, I felt peaceful about going. Moment by moment decisions with God is where I want all of us.

And not that I get it right all the time, but God has a way of turning all my negatives, including what I may call losses, mistakes, and failures, into huge wins. Go figure! Like God revealed Himself with me in a little book I found while cleaning yesterday morning. I knew He was talking directly to me when I read this:

“Isaiah begins to tell the amazing story of God’s servant from His lowest humiliation to His highest exaltation. From it we learn of the price that has been paid to establish God’s kingdom in a rebellious world. How often we overlook the fact that though our salvation is free it is not without cost.” – Every Day With Jesus

This describes me perfectly. From all my embarrassments lately, God has brought me up higher and closer to Him. I feel I got to be a representative of His. That I didn’t always get it right, but I showed everyone watching that we’re called to go the extra mile in love, forgiveness, never giving up, and not getting weary in doing good. Super tough, but we do it for God’s sake and His glory. Our families sticking together is important to God.

I came through it all God’s girl with a greater capacity to love and forgive. And for that, I count everything rubbish compared to this knowledge of knowing God is with me, for me, and on my side. A HUGE WIN in my books! All the times I fell and went running to Him, He would always figure out some way of letting me know His invisible Presence is always with me. You can’t beat that with a bat! As I teach Duro about being a king – brave, wise, fearless, resilient, hardworking, tough, and strong, also I hope to teach him about being kind, forgiving, loyal, gentle, disciplined, and loving. Learning to keep His eyes fixed on God in every moment as to what God would have him to do. This is the way to the best life where God turns everything into a WIN even the awful stuff where we ask, “God, why me?” It’s all a part of Him bringing us closer to His heart. Amen.

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“THAT’S THE DEVIL TRYING TO GET YOU OFF YOUR GROOVE”

I rushed to tell my daughter, Ember, after her sister, Julie, told me she was upset. I told her that the devil is very smart and he knows how to get us distracted and unfocused, but we have to be WISE, alert, and know how to deal with frustrations when they come up. I reminded her of an important call we had planned to make about her attending university in New York that day and we must NOT take our eyes off of the prize. Can you believe God got involved in our conversation when Joel Osteen sent this out in his email message for the day:

Today’s Scripture: He said to His disciples, “Offenses will certainly come.” (Luke 17:1, HCSB)

When Offenses Come

Jesus didn’t say that offenses might come to us. He didn’t say that if you’re kind, if you pray and quote the Scriptures, you’ll be exempt from grumpy people and people who cut you off in traffic. He said offenses will certainly come. You will have opportunities on a regular basis to get upset, to argue, to become offended and bitter, and to try to pay people back. That word “offense” comes from a Greek word that means “to bait,” referring to the bait that’s used to lure animals into a trap. When you’re tempted to be offended, when someone is critical, rude, condescending, or says something derogatory to you, RECOGNIZE THAT THE ENEMY IS TRYING TO DECEIVE YOU INTO HIS TRAP (Wink! Wink!). He’s saying, “Come on, get upset. Argue with them and tell them off.” Instead of letting it upset you, say, “No, thanks. I’m not taking the bait. This is just a distraction. I’m going to enjoy this day and keep my peace.”

A Prayer for Today

“Father, thank You that I can guard my heart and keep it free from all the negative things that try to bait me to let them enter in. I declare that I will not allow offenses to get inside and make me upset and bitter. I declare that I’m not taking the bait, and I’m keeping my peace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Got that? Let’s be alert to the devil and his tricks, staying with our eyes fixed on God. In every decision, I want us to looking to Him and what He would have us to do. Rolling with God all the way, baby! Devil, go away!

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“YOU’RE MY GOD WINK!”

That was me to my daughter, Julie, yesterday. “Why, mom?” she asked. I said, “You remind me that everything is between God and me, not between me and anyone else. You’re such a blessing from Him. I’m so proud of you!” We ended up having such a beautiful conversation about her new college class. It’s a tough public speaking course that is usually 16 weeks long, but it’s now condensed to 8 weeks. This is a big challenge for her because she’s only in high school, but she said, “I’m going to do it.” I told her about a US Congress representative I had just seen on TV who said, “I came to Washington to do hard things.” And I said to Julie, “We left Nigeria to come to the US to do hard things, too.” What hard thing are you doing for God? We all have our crosses to carry, but God will be our strength to help us. Amen!

Getting back to my 50 days of discipline, I’m challenging myself to wake up earlier. I’ve set my alarm for 5:30 and set the song, ‘I Gotta Be’ by Jagged Edge as my wake up music. I imagine God and I singing to each other:

“Is it real?

What I feel

Could it be? You and me

‘Til the end of time

Never part

Take my heart

Hold it tight, it’s true love

You know I gotta be

I gotta be the one you touch

And baby, I gotta be the one you love (I’m telling you that)

I gotta be the one you feel

And I gotta be the one to fill your life with sunshine

I gotta be the one you know

‘Cause I will always love you so (I’m loving you, girl)

I gotta be the one you need

I’m just telling you that I gotta be”

And filling my life with sunshine is His specialty. Even through the darkest storms, His love is always there to stand with me. I know that there is never one moment that His Presence is not with me. That gives me the courage to tackle anything that comes my way, knowing God Himself is with me! He has to be the one we love FIRST and foremost, though. Then we make all decisions from His perspective. Doing our best with following His voice and what He would have us to do, then KNOWING He will do the rest! Wink! Wink! That’s faith, baby!

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HOW TO DEAL WITH THE WEEDS (FRUSTRATING SITUATIONS) OF OUR LIVES (REPOST)

This is how I do it. I imagine that I’m going through life with God. There’s an imaginary yoke (a wooden bar used for joining animals) that ties God and me together. Whenever a situation gets too much for your girl here, and it weighs me down, I know automatically that I’m taking too much of the burden on myself. I then take whatever it is that is frustrating me and stressing me out and say, ‘HERE, GOD, THIS IS FOR YOU TO HANDLE, PLEASE.’ I then continue going through life happy, joyful, and at peace, TRUSTING God to do what I cannot do.

That’s why I say GOD IS OUR GREATEST FRIEND. He is super wonderful and cool like that and READY to take on whatever worries and burdens we have to give Him. This yoke that I referred to is sweet and light. He never gives us too much to carry. He does not create us and then says, ‘Good luck with this life thing.’ He unbelievably wants to be a part of our lives helping and guiding us on the best paths. However, we must get Him involved. Even in the messiest of situations. He. Is. There. Ready to help us.

Our part is to be the best of our ability in every moment with our eyes fixed on God seeking to please Him BEING OUR MOST LOVING SELVES. Sometimes that calls for us to pretend we don’t see what we see or hear what we hear. But that’s cool. I say, ‘OK, Boss!! I’m happy to do anything for You.’ Life is too short to be fighting useless and unnecessary battles, anyway. I leave them for God AND MOVE FORWARD HAPPILY.

God has also TRULY been my greatest friend because He has helped me work not only on talking less (and trying to keep myself out of trouble!), but also with all the nonsense talking going on in my head all day. The Nik who was a professional at THINKING THE WRONG THINGS has gotten lots better. No alcohol needed, either!

Like the reminder on my phone says- “Whatever is true, right, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” I take all the junk, negative, utter nonsense talk, and then look at the situation again from His perspective. It is super easy to complain and to tear ourselves and others down. But when I shine God’s light, I take all the complaints back, looking at the BIG picture with such gratitude. God, I’m sorry for complaining.

And when I do this, I’m so much happier. I take on all the battles GOD WOULD HAVE ME TO FIGHT, with my whole heart giving my best in every moment ALL FOR HIS GLORY. #godslittlesuperhero

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HAVE FUN WITH IT! (REPOST)

That’s the message from God I felt in my spirit yesterday. Your girl here has lots on her plate right now with trying to get our business here on the right track again, but I’m not going to get overwhelmed or frustrated by it all, I’m going to ENJOY the challenge, take it one day at a time, and most importantly, TRUST GOD TO HELP ME. My hope is in Him, baby! This pic is of me and the two future CEO’s, my handsome and smart sons, Emmie and Joshie, by God’s grace! Heehaw! Momma working hard for you guys!

I loved it when my nephew, Duro, asked me something like, ‘How will you do it (get our business going), Aunty? You don’t have much you’re working with.” I told him about an appointment with God where I felt like a total loser and God said to me:

“Even when you feel good for nothing, give Me this nothing. Didn’t I create with nothing? All I ask of you is the will to give yourself to Me at all times, in cloud or sunshine.” – He and I

God, I’m ALL YOURS!!! If God can create this beautiful universe from nothing, I’m giving Him my nothing to work with – no problem! That means every day, asking, ‘God, what would You have me to do?’ and be about doing that! As I do my best in the physical realm, I’m trusting God to do what I can’t do in the spiritual realm, not going by the ordinary rules – I’m under God’s laws! I’m taking to heart what He said to me the other day in another appointment with Him:

“Discuss everything with Me. Take a lighthearted view of trouble (Nik, have fun with it!), seeing it as a challenge that you and I together can handle. Remember that I am on your side, and I have overcome the world.” Jesus Calling

Notice how these two books, Jesus Calling and He and I, are my go-to meditation books for hearing from God. What are yours? They’ve helped me significantly on my journey to a closer walk with Him. I encourage you to find any spiritual literature that resonates with you and continuously make space in your life to hear what God has to say specifically to you. I LOVE MY LIFE WITH HIM as I’m learning to enjoy His company in every moment. Yesterday, that meant singing my heart out to Him in Justin Beiber’s song, One Time:

“So we keep climbing to the mountain top. Your world is my world. And my fight is Your fight. You by my side, them troubles them not trouble me. I LOVE YOU!”

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“WHAT WAS THE BEST THING YOU LEARNED THIS YEAR?”

That was Coach Bennett from my Nike Running Club app the other day! If 2020 didn’t give us anything else, it sure gave us loads of lessons:

A conversation with my brother Kevin recently was a crucial reminder to take with us into 2021. He said something like, “Forget shining bright, I want you to be wise!” And for me that means going to God in every decision asking:

“Jesus (God), what is your perspective on every moment of my life. Every relationship. Every decision. Every circumstance. And how can I enter into it to glorify you.” – Bel Air Church

This is the way to the best life! Seeking to glorify God in everything we do. In fact, I’m to the point with God that I’m not praying for anything other than for His will to be done in my life. I find He knows the ULTIMATE best for me in every moment and every situation. He gives me far more than I can ever ask or imagine! Therefore, the wiser Nikki seeks Him continually in the 1,000 decisions I make every day because I know this is how He guides me on the best paths. Even difficulties and challenges become bearable because I lean on God’s strength.

This brings me to another important lesson from 2020 – DEPEND MORE ON GOD AND LESS ON OTHER PEOPLE:

“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

 

In my weakest of moments, His faithfulness and love are ALWAYS there. The toughest moments of 2020 had me running to God for His direction.

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” – Isaiah 43:2

God was there with the solutions, the strategies, the people to assist me, wisdom and guidance. Even when I made mistakes, He was there to help me get back on track. That’s why, without any hesitation, I can tell you guys that God is indeed our greatest friend. It’s just up to us to seek Him and aim to give Him the best of ourselves. No matter how messed up we are – we all have our faults and weaknesses – He loves us and He is there for us.  God, we’re at Your service!

 

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MY FIRST GOD WINK OF THE YEAR!!!

“Nikki, God loves you more than others.” That was a surprising statement from my hubby this morning. I played it all modest and said, “God loves us all, boo.” “No, He loves you more,” he insisted. I then replied, “Well, to be honest with you, I low key tell the girls that I believe God loves our family a little bit more.” hehehe! Right after that, less than 10 minutes later, I go to get my morning coffee. Instead of getting my regular cup, for some strange reason I debated on using another one, when God incredibly gets in on our conversation, when of all coffee mugs, I picked the one that said, “I LOVE YOU MORE (Wink! Wink!).”

What kind of love is this? That lined up TOO perfectly to be some ordinary coincidence. I rushed up to show my husband, “Look, Hon, what incredibly showed up on my coffee cup! God confirmed what you said!” He said, “See, I told you!” I’ve been using my same coffee cup for weeks, and I don’t know what came over me this morning to change up. I even debated using Julie’s mug, “Don’t stress, do your best,” but pulled instead that one with God showing me such intimate attention to my life. What a way to start off the new year, feeling God’s Presence with me and my family. Sweet! ‘Nik, I do love you more!!!’

“PERSPECTIVE IS THE NEW SUPERPOWER, BABY!” And we’re going through life with the perspective that God is with us, for us, and on our side. We do our best in the physical realm and then trust that God works in the spiritual realm on our behalf. Instead of thinking worst-case scenarios, we’re thinking best case, knowing the CREATOR of the entire universe is rolling with us – “AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.”

Again, I’m just one beggar telling another beggar (you!) where I’ve found bread – AKA God’s love, protection, approval, wisdom, direction, strategies, solutions, and the people we need for living our best lives with Him! I just had the best run with my daughter, Ember, who insisted that we start the year off doing something hard – let’s hustle harder, y’all! I played one song repeatedly:

“Is it the car or is it the house

I’ll give them all to You

Is it the name or is it the fame

I’m nothing without You

What would have become of me?

If I didn’t see Your light

What would have been said of me?

If You didn’t hold my hands

Now I’ve come to realize

That You are all I have

You’re all that matters to me

You’re all that matters, Jesus (God) – All That Matters, Minister GUC

Let’s get stronger with the LORD in 2021!!! Put Him in front of every decision you make, seeking always to please Him. I want us all low key feeling like He loves us a little bit more than He does everyone else (Wink! Wink!).

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“HERE’S TO THE GOOD LIFE WITH GOD”

 

That was me and my son, Joshie, toasting at dinner last night with two cans of soda. Let me tell ya, I only eat one cooked meal a day for dinner, so I don’t play around with it. I enjoy myself! Last night, hubs did the most delicious steaks for us, I made my favorite salad with fresh corn inside, and we ordered a big jumbo shrimp fried rice from the neighborhood Chinese restaurant. I’m talking the perfect combination! 10 out of 10 meal wise!

 

But that wasn’t the highlight of the night! It was sitting at that table with my husband, our four kids, our nephew, and my 88-year-old mom close by watching TV. To God be the glory, guys! This has been an extremely HARD year, but by the grace of God, we made it here TOGETHER, healthy, happy and thanking God. He has been good to us!

 

But I say, let no tragedy go to waste! This HARD year taught me some crucial lessons about rolling with God on the daily. This is something to be learned and I would be a terrible human being if I didn’t pass on what I’ve learned to you guys. I love how one of my fav meditations books, Yes, Father, puts it:

 

“Can there be anything more wonderful than going through life with God as your Companion? …No greater happiness than to be in a continual reunion with the Deity (God).”

 

That has certainly been my experience; nothing more wonderful than knowing God is my Companion as I journey through the ups and downs of life KNOWING His invisible Presence is ALWAYS with me. I’m talking the best life DESPITE the challenges, frustrations, hurts, disappointments, mistakes, failures, sadness, and tribulations that come my way. There is a reggae song by Bad English I sing to God:

 

“Sometimes I wonder

 How I’d ever make it through,

 Through this world without having you

 I just wouldn’t have a clue

‘Cause sometimes it seems

 Like this world’s closing in on me,

 And there’s no way of breaking free

 And then I see you reach for me

Sometimes I want to give up

 I want to give in, I want to quit the fight

 And then I see you, baby

 And everything’s alright, everything’s alright

When I see you smile

 I can face the world,

 Oh oh, you know I can do anything

 When I see you smile

 I see a ray of light,

 Oh oh, I see it shining right through the rain

 When I see you smile

 Oh yeah, baby when I see you smile at me”

 

That’s me! Especially this year where I saw many dark moments, but I would go running to God in my appointments with Him, and He will figure out some way to let me know that His invisible Presence was right there with me in those awful moments. No shame in my game, I can boast of the times I’ve fallen, because in my weakness, the Creator of the entire universe would show up and say, ‘Nik, what’s the problem? I’m right here with you.’ That would then give me the confidence to face the world again!

 

Like as I type this, I have my computer on top of a Minnie Mouse stool in a little, quiet corner of our home which is extremely full at the moment. But this stool has been my go to spot to meet with God whenever I’m having a rough moment and believe it or not, He comes to comfort me.

One of my most anxious moments this year, I sat there asking God for clarity and direction as to the next step when an awful thing happened. Sitting there, asking God for direction and clarity, a friend astonishingly sends me a message from Devon Franklin that said (BTW: this could be a message for you too right now!):

 

“Heavenly Father, we’re praying right now for anyone listening to (or reading) this prayer. There is so much confusion going on right now. There is so much worry. So much anxiety. So much uncertainty. And I’m praying right now that if you are listening to this prayer, that you will know that this prayer is for you.

 

There are so many people who are trying to figure out, ‘What are we supposed to do?’ …There are so many unanswered questions…You may be losing hope…You may be throwing your hands up. But I pray right now, as you throw your hands up, that you will begin to put your hands together. PRAYER DOES CHANGE THINGS.

 

I pray, Dear Lord, that you will provide clarity on what to do. If you’re listening to this prayer, MAY I SUBMIT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION THAT THIS IS CONFIRMATION THAT GOD HEARS YOU. And if God has allowed you to hear this prayer, its because He has every intent to help you. So, I pray, Dear Lord, that you will send the help, you will send the clarity. You will meet the need as only you can do it. If you can feel God’s Presence through what I am saying, let that be confirmation to you that God’s not going to bring you this far to leave you. He will not take you to this moment and drop you. Have the faith to know that God is going to carry you everywhere He wants you to be…”

 

Is that unbelievable or what? I’m sitting on my little stool in that awful moment asking for clarity and direction from God as to what my next step should be and out of the blue, my friend sends me a message as I’m sitting there saying,

If you’re listening to this prayer, MAY I SUBMIT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION THAT THIS IS CONFIRMATION THAT GOD HEARS YOU. And if God has allowed you to hear this prayer, its because He has every intent to help you. . If you can feel God’s Presence through what I am saying, let that be confirmation to you that God’s not going to bring you this far to leave you. He will not take you to this moment and drop you. Have the faith to know that God is going to carry you everywhere He wants you to be…”

 

And God did help! God took control. I didn’t have to do anything else, and the situation was resolved. That was His clarity. Nik, leave this battle for me! I got up from that stool, happy, knowing that God had promised to help me. I joined my daughters at a party we were to attend together, but because I was feeling so down, I told them to go without me.

 

So, that’s an important lesson I want you guys to get about rolling with God: He is pretty talkative!!! He will find a way to speak to you, but you must have ears to hear Him. Notice how in that rough moment, I went running to Him, ‘God, I need Your help!’ and figured out a way to get that message to me. So, an important part of rolling with God on the daily is learning to make space in your life to hear from Him. Jesus has been my example in regards to this. Notice how he always went aside to talk to God. In one of his most difficult moments, he went to God saying, ‘Not my will, but your will.’ And that’s where I want us all, continually asking God, what is His will for our lives. That will take a lot of going aside from the world and seeking Him. Every morning, I start my day reading our family’s website, werollwithgod.com. I go there to remind myself of the person God is calling me to be in the world. Not always easy, but I’ve come to know that this is the way God guides me on the path to the best life with Him. I love Isaiah 41:10:

 

“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.”

 

That has been His promise to me, and repeatedly I see Him helping me with the toughest battles. I have to hold on to His hands super tight, but He gives me the strength to face the world. Yes, there will be difficult moments, but just how He showed up for me through that Devon Franklin prayer, He will be there for you too, to provide the solutions, the clarity and direction, the peace and the strength to take on whatever the world throws your way. The more time you spend with God, the more you will learn His voice so that when you’re back in the world, you will know with one glance at Him what He would have you to do.

 

Make God a priority! Start waking up early every day and seek Him. Then once you’re out in the world, I want us all keeping our eyes fixed on God. My brother Kevin said to me, Nik, I want you to work on being wiser. That for me means PAUSING before I say, do or go anywhere and going to God and asking what He would have me to say, do, or go and seeking His wisdom that is available to be 24/7. It’s a practice that I’ve learned through the experience of doing what I feel He would have me to do. The more I practice listening to God, the better I’ve gotten so that one glance at Him, I get it. ‘Nik, don’t say that. Nik, go here. Nik, do that.’ And I can confidently respond, ‘Yes, Boss.’ He really gives me the courage to take on life bravely and courageously knowing He is my Partner, Guide and Coach. In the 1,000 decisions, we make every day, I want us going to God, and being obedient to what we feel in our spirit He would have us to do. I don’t promise an easy life, but I do promise a life of peace, joy, hope and faith as we roll with God on the daily!

 

Will you invite Him into your heart and into your life as we go into 2021? Can we at least take that with us from 2020, that we committed our lives more fully to God. In everywhere we go, everything we say, and everything we do, we’re inviting God to be our Partner. And what greater job is that than having the Creator of the entire universe as your constant Companion. That He will be with you through the tough times, through the happy times. Like that dinner I enjoyed so much that I could look at the faces of my family, with everyone happy, healthy and TOGETHER, was a huge blessing that I don’t take for granted anymore. So, I see my life as a constant walk with Him, and you’re invited to join us. He is waiting for you to accept the invitation to be a part of your life. Don’t miss out! Say, “God, I want You! I want to roll with you on the daily!” He is like a shy person, waiting in the background of our lives. But I promise a life with Him is the best life. Knowing He has your back. He’s your strength when you are weak. He’s EVERYTHING and ALL we need.

 

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