I STILL CAN’T GET OVER MY GOD WINK FROM YESTERDAY! (REPOST)
Two of my fav messengers from Him, Joel Osteen and Devon Franklin, both had the same message for me within hours of each other:
Joel: But God didn’t BRING YOU THIS FAR TO LEAVE YOU.
Devon: …let that be confirmation to you that God’s not going to BRING YOU THIS FAR TO LEAVE YOU.
Right at that precise moment of reading the confirmation from Joel Osteen, I went running to God in an anxious moment, saying, ‘God, I need to hear from You!’ He lovingly showed up as if asking, ‘Nik, what’s the problem here? I will never leave you or forsake you!’
I know we’re so used to human love that disappoints, but God doesn’t! Even the bad that happens, He uses for our good! I loved a comment from a Facebook friend telling me how my running is working for me. I told her it was all the drama in my life that got me running every day with God, reminded that I’m not going through life alone – MY GOD IS WITH ME! So, in the big picture, the drama turned out to be so good, it got me wrapped up in God’s arms where I now know that I’m His girl and crucially that I need Him in every moment.
Don’t miss out! Know that we have God with us on a moment by moment basis for His wisdom, guidance, approval, love, acceptance. That no matter the situation we find ourselves in, we can look to God for His help.
That’s what I’m teaching my daughters lately! They are the ones taking care of my 88-year-old mom in the US while I’m with hubs and our sons in Nigeria. I’m using the experience as relationship training because good relationships are what make life beautiful. I’m teaching them how to go to God and use His tact, personality, and charm to win over their grandma. When my mom complained recently that the girls had done something wrong, Julie took my advice and calmly responded, “We’re so sorry. Ember (her sister), how could we have done such a thing? Grandma, it will never happen again!’ Instead of getting upset at my mom’s harsh criticism, my daughters handled the situation from a God perspective – kindly, wisely, and lovingly! Way to go, my girls! I’m so thrilled they get to be around my mom to learn all the values she has instilled in me, like KINDNESS and going the extra mile.
I loved Ember calling me recently and saying, “Mom, I got you!” And I want these posts to be all of our reminders that God has all of us. Every moment, let’s look to Him and respond to every situation the way Julie did with lots of God’s wisdom, tact, love, and charm! Even the tough challenges that had me running to Him! No shame in my game – God, I need You in every moment!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
“ARE YOU BACK IN NIGERIA ON BUSINESS?”
That was the question from my sweet sister, Juanita, that got me all fired up! She meant office-type business, but I’m taking it as a wink from God to take this time with my hubs and sons just as seriously as I took the challenge I came some months ago to tackle. My sons have some crucial exams coming up, and I’m going to take some time to FOCUS on them to help them be all they can be, by God’s grace! Yes, I’m here on business! To help raise some fantastic sons and spend time with the best husband!
I love this word “FOCUS,” though! Pretty cool that I get to leave the US and everything I have going on there to come to Nigeria and say to my sons, “I’m here to FOCUS on you guys. You’re what’s most important on my agenda!”
Let me tell ya, it was lots of conversations with God about whether to come or not, and I felt Him giving me the nudge in my spirit that this was where He wanted my FOCUS for now. I felt those feelings of peace that I always write about when God wants me to go in a certain direction. However, if I had felt stressed or anxious when I thought about going, I knew that’s His way of saying, ‘Nik, don’t go!’
So, I’ve wisely learned to keep my FOCUS on God and what He would have me to do on a moment by moment basis based on these feelings, nudges, signs and cues that I’ve learned from so many times of practicing listening to Him. Like I now read back on all my old posts and I’,m wonderfully reminded of so many times when I’ve followed God’s leading, and things have worked out incredibly well. In fact, EXCEEDING well!
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you” (Psalm 32:8).
Are you allowing God to be the Guide of your life? Our job is to stay FOCUSED on Him, doing what He would have us to do in every relationship, every circumstance, and every decision. Before you make any decision, start practicing asking God first. If you feel stressed, worried, doubtful, anxious when you think about going in a certain direction, that maybe God saying, ‘Hold up, let’s rethink this.’However, if you feel excited, happy, peaceful, that’s His way of most likely saying, ‘Yes, this is the way!’ It takes lots of PRACTICE to really learn His voice, but it’s worth all the effort! I’m so enjoying boys, hubs, and a yard full of the most delicious mangoes!
“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight” (Psalm 119:35). (Wink! Wink!)
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
“AND YOU GUYS CALL ME THE DRAMA QUEEN OF THE FAMILY”
That was me to my daughter, Julie, this morning when she called to tell me something “bad” had happened. That “bad” was that she didn’t get her usual 100% in her college’s Public Speaking course, and instead got a 97%. The horror! (SMILE!) I used it as an opportunity to tell her how life is like that grade. We can either focus on the 97% good and positive things, or we can focus on the negative three percent. “And as I speak to you, I’m really talking to myself. I’m very much guilty of stressing too much over that 3% in my life that I’m not thrilled about instead of the 97% of my life that I’m in love with,” I confessed to her. I encouraged her with this verse that showed up in my morning appointment with God:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8
And we all have so much to be optimistic about no matter the circumstances we face, especially when we look at everything from the God perspective knowing He is our wonderful life Partner who will never leave us or forsake us. Our hope is in God, baby! My appointment with Him was also about trusting Him, leaning on, and being confident in Him. That we can relax and enjoy our lives knowing He is holding us by our right hand as we walk through life with Him as our Guide. Our God is faithful!
“Let’s work on getting closer to God this year,” was the conversation with my daughter, Ember, this morning. She didn’t feel a high five from God in her appointment with Him, and I encouraged her to stay with them until she felt she had heard from Him, like, ‘Yes, God, high five! I know Your Presence is here with me!’
Are you having your alone times with Him? I promise you, He is the best Partner. As you seek Him through these alone times, you will find Him. You’ll begin to learn His voice and specifically what He has to say to you through His nudges, cues and messages that can show up anywhere as He helps you to make the wisest decisions in every aspect of your life. He is pretty talkative! Off to study with my sons with my husband’s voice reminding me in my head, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Let’s do everything for God’s glory! Heehaw!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
GUESS WHO IS BACK RUNNING? (REPOST)
Me, baby! Can’t let a little cold get me down! And I had the best time with my Nike Running Club’s Coach Cory jogging up and down the stairs of our home in Nigeria. He kept reminding me that I was powerful and strong. Yes!!! I have a big project I need to complete, and most importantly these runs are the way I start my day KNOWING that God’s invisible Presence is always with me. Instead of thinking worst-case scenario, I think best-case: If my God is with me, who can be against me! I love this old post:
GOD, YOU KNOW EVERY THOUGHT I THINK
That was me freaking out over God, as usual. I strangely wasn’t having the regular doubts and fears about a big challenge that was going on with me at the time. Suddenly, a thought came out of nowhere, spooking me out: ‘Maybe you’re too confident’! I thought of how I’m always fussing my daughter, Julie, for being overconfident about her school work and refusing to study. Then 15 minutes later or so, I needed to use the restroom, but it was occupied, so I had to wait. I opened my meditation book, Jesus Calling, on my phone, and unbelievably read:
“You have every reason to be confident, because My Presence accompanies you all the days of your life—and onward into eternity.”
Wow! God is so intimately involved in all our lives. I opened it to the perfect sentence for me at that very moment. Here’s what else He had to say about all those worries and anxious thoughts:
“Do not give in to fear or worry, those robbers of abundant living. Trust Me enough to face problems as they come, rather than trying to anticipate them. Fix your eyes on Me, the Author and Perfector of your faith, and many difficulties on the road ahead will vanish before you reach them. Whenever you start to feel afraid, remember that I am holding you by your right hand. Nothing can separate you from My Presence! For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13
And this message was confirmed in my other meditation book that I opened for a brief minute when I needed to grab something from my handbag:
God: “I will go before you and level the mountains” (Isaiah 45:2).
Our Father, thank You for Your intimate Presence in every aspect of our lives. May we always trust You and follow Your guidance. Amen.
KEEP CALM—YOU’RE ROLLING WITH GOD
“WE’VE HIT THE JACKPOT WITH YOU AND GOD”
That was me to my hubby a short while ago! Between the two of them, we’re well taken care of. Even in a down world economy, we feel God sending customers our way. And my husband never stops hustling HARD to make sure everything is good for us. So much so that I told our kids, “None of us have any right to be upset at your father for anything. Whatever he does wrong, we just have to forgive him immediately because he does so much that is right.” That goes for crazy mama over here too! No marriage is perfect but I love that we stay committed to each other, constantly working on being BETTER TOGETHER. Ain’t nothing perfect! Let’s not let the weeds that show up, overshadow the wheat in our lives.
I feel God’s Presence so strongly with our family, though. Like some months ago someone out of the blue said to me that if I needed help with something, I should let them know. Turns out Ember did need some help with it. I stopped in the middle of my run to call them and ask for the help they had offered and they said no problem, and to see them later. I send Ember a text in regards to the situation, “I got you, boo.”
Fast forward to about two hours later, Julie asked to go to Target. We hop in the car, and of all the songs in the world, she plays one entitled, ‘I GOT YOU (Wink! Wink!),’ with the lyrics astonishingly saying “hit the TARGET” as we drove to Target.
Believe it or not, this was God’s sweet way of saying, ‘Nik, I got you guys!!!’ There is no way this all lined up on its own so perfectly to be called some random coincidence. It was God letting us know that He is with our family.
Everything worked out well for Ember and it’s just incredible how God shows up with such love to have that person say that to me months ago. Ember was amazed!
That’s the love from God I don’t want you to miss out on. His invisible Presence is ALWAYS with us. It’s just for us to keep our eyes fixed on Him, making Him apart of every decision we make. This is how He beautifully guides us. I’m so inspired by something I heard Oprah Winfrey say that I’m making this my life statement: To live my best life with God as I inspire others to do the same. Our hope is in God!
WEROLLWITHGOD.COM
‘GOD, PLEASE HELP ME WITH MY SONS’
That was my prayer the other day after my daughter Ember’s harsh criticism that it seems as if I’ve abandoned them. The boys and I decided to take a walk out to buy pizza and stop at the food store that very afternoon, and, unbelievably, God used that trip to reveal His intimate Presence with us.
I agreed for the boys to get only one item each from the store. Emmie picked, out of this huge store and all the items there, ‘MACARONI AND CHEESE.’ We go to that section, and we take out different packs to calculate each one’s unit price and which was the best deal. Like totally making a big deal about what package to buy! We get to the cashier to pay, only to find out that I brought with me the wrong card to pay. I asked them to put the items on hold and that I would be right back with the correct card.
I rushed to call my daughter, Julie, to see if she would meet us halfway to collect the card from her. We go get it from her, and on our way walking back to the store to pay, we passed a restaurant, and a mother is at the door asking her son, “Dad wants to know if you want MACARONI AND CHEESE (Wink! Wink!) for dinner?” And that was another one of our God winks where everything lines of a little bit too perfect to be some ordinary coincidence. It was God revealing His invisible Presence with my sons and me.
What kind of love is this? Honestly, the entire day with the boys was just a reminder from God that I have some pretty awesome sons. ‘What’s the problem here, Nik? Stop beating yourself up, you’re doing a FANTASTIC job with these sons!’ He was seeming to say. While I’ve been in the US with my daughter, God, my husband, their school, close friends, and everyone else helping us with them, they did an outstanding job! I LOVE MY SONS!!!
The next day with my elder daughter, Ember, God figured out another way to let us know He was with us at work. Just as she was changing a password to a capital “GOD” from a lower case one, Drake is in the background saying through his song God’s Plan, “Might go down a G-O-D (Wink! Wink!).” Ember and I were both amazed how this lined up PERFECTLY with us correcting that old password. Again, for the radio station to be playing that song, and for those lyrics to so perfectly line up with our work, was again all orchestrated by God to let me know He is with my entire family and me! God, I’m grateful!
On that note, I’m taking some time off from the posts and videos! See ya again soon, by the grace of God!
That’s our testimony, baby! We ain’t perfect, but we’re damn close! (SMILE) And those imperfections are all still a part of God’s perfect plan as, hopefully, you all get to see that He doesn’t require perfection to be a part of His royal family – He loves us ALL unconditionally – we’re His peeps! We can fall a million times, and He will help us get up a million and one!
He also wants us to know that true love can still exist within imperfections – ain’t nobody perfect. Hubs and I may go through our ups and down, but we don’t give up on each other. God has taught me that we can go through the darkest of nights and still have hope that better days are still ahead of us. We can trust that there is light shining beyond the dark clouds. As we do our best, we’re trusting God to do the rest. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Another SMILE)
Our job is to stay focused on God, doing what He would have us to do in every relationship, every circumstance and every decision:
“Trust the Lord with all your heart,
and don’t depend on your own understanding.
Remember the Lord in all you do,
and he will give you success.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
“But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.” – Galatians 5:22-23
I feel God transforming me into the person He would have me to be. When I want to be rude and unmannerly, He gentle nudges me in my spirit that this is not who He has called me to be. And I say, ‘Ok, God, anything for You,’ doing my best to stay on the difficult high road with Him. When thoughts of worry come, I ask myself, ‘Has God ever let you down?’ He has not.
I had such a rough yet beautiful day with Him. Again, He exceeded my expectations when He guided me to the perfect doctor to take my mom. Within minutes he figured out the problem with a test confirming his suspicions. It was incredible. A GPS guided route took me to pass a big building with the number 1175, and I knew this was God’s way of letting me know I was on the right path. Whenever I see the 11 and 7 together, they are my winks, letting me know that God’s invisible presence is with me. I just checked on her, and she’s doing much better. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Amen!
