The Quiet Quill

Feb 25
2 min

Let's Talk Toast... and Jesus

Funny thing about toast—when you smell it, you want it. Ever notice that? I mean, there was a time when I would sooner eat dirt than toast, and I still can't deny its magical property of being appetizing in any and every context. It's just one of those things. Innately appealing, we need only to experience a whiff of it to crave it. Something in us just wants toast. What if I told you that Jesus and toast have a lot in common? See, the Word of God calls us to follow Jesus, bu

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The "Hammering Process:" Too Hard, Too Soft, or Just Right?

nikiflorica

Jan 26
3 min

The "Hammering Process:" Too Hard, Too Soft, or Just Right?

The 39 books of the Old Testament paint a picture of what C.S. Lewis calls the "hammering process—" centuries of God's hard-line training program to show Israel just what kind of God had chosen them and what He expected of them. "Hammering" seems like the right word. I mean, I'd be the first to admit that the Old Testament account, while bound together with the theme of God's tireless mercy and lovingkindness toward sinners, can also seem pretty, well . . . harsh. Those of us

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nikiflorica

Dec 15, 2020
3 min

Ahikam's Lead

Jeremiah—what a book. I mean, really, what a story. Like so many of God's prophets, he was thrown into a role he felt ill-equipped for, only withstanding the hostility and depravity of his people by God's supernatural provision. I can't imagine being given a job knowing that 90% of it will feel like a waste of time. To be tasked with proclaiming a message daily that no one (almost literally) will listen to. Jeremiah was known as the Weeping Prophet. Considering the emotional

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nikiflorica

Nov 25, 2020
2 min

Glorify Thy Name

I had a beautiful weekend. My brother gave his life to Christ, my other brother from a couple of provinces away was here to witness it, and God is always and ever good. One line from the sermon clung like a burr, though, a blog post waiting to happen. "God is glorifying Himself today." If I step out of my upbringing and personal relationship with Christ, I can see how words like these might send a confusing message to those who don't know God. I mean, among human beings, glor

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nikiflorica

Nov 17, 2020
2 min

Problems, Prophets, and Progress

We think of progress as something linear—an arrow from present to future, improving all the time, always a step ahead of where we were before. We think of progress as the "new" and regress as the "old." And in the world's eyes, that paints a bad picture for the Word of God. I mean, how many times have we heard Christianity pegged as something "old-fashioned?" Something that worked for the pioneers, maybe—but society has moved past that now. We've grown. We've improved. We don

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nikiflorica

Sep 22, 2020
2 min

Floating

Sometimes we prefer our messages minced—into soft little bite-sized pieces that go down without much thought or pain or conviction. Painless. Isn't that just the human way? To crave the sense of virtue that comes from hearing the Word preached, but shy from any obligation to be changed by it? To be convicted? This world and Satan have a grip on us, even if we're free of their condemning chains. This world and Satan nurture a love of the wrong things in us, an aversion to the

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nikiflorica

Aug 18, 2020
3 min

100% His—Reaching for the Next Level

God is so much bigger than I've always known, and He's beginning to show Himself to me in ways I hadn't imagined before. I and people in my life are seeing miracles, feeling true Spirit-filled convictions, hearing God's will with a clarity I'd only groped for before. God hasn't changed, so I know it must be me. My perception of God's power has grown, and the more I believe He can do, the more He does. Yesterday, I needed to make a choice—a choice between acting or waiting. I

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Counted With the Stars, by Connilyn Cosette: Review

nikiflorica

Jul 4, 2020
2 min

Counted With the Stars, by Connilyn Cosette: Review

Sold into servitude to cover her family's financial disgrace, Kiya's life of Egyptian luxury is replaced by enslaved humiliation. When plagues begin to ravage Egypt at the hand of the Hebrews' mysterious God, Kiya has a slave's-eye-view . . . and if joining the Hebrews will save her older brother from death, so be it. Thrust into the Exodus alongside a people that despise her and a God she does not understand, Kiya is caught between loyalty to her family, her feelings for the

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nikiflorica

May 26, 2020
2 min

Wait for It, Wait for It . . .

"Waiting" carries so many connotations—tension, expectation, worry, time, patience, impatience, hope, fear—but if we're being completely honest with ourselves, it usually isn't a discipline that comes easily or enjoyably to us. It's true that waiting, at times, can make the final product sweeter: waiting for a wedding day, for example, or waiting for the ability to go to the grocery store and take as much time as you need to get whatever you need whenever you need. In that wa

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One Step, One Decision, One Challenge at a Time

nikiflorica

May 12, 2020
2 min

One Step, One Decision, One Challenge at a Time

When we travel, we tend to plan. That's just good old-fashioned thinking ahead. We may not know exactly what each leg of the journey will look like, but it's important to know that at Copperfield Street we'll take a left, then a right past Fred's Furniture, then another right and a left at the old apple tree outside the city limits, and so on. We're planners. It's a human trait, and a part of it resonates with all of us, even those of us who may not view ourselves that way. W

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nikiflorica

Apr 1, 2020
2 min

Power, Love and a Sound Mind

What's our knee-jerk reaction when we hit an unforeseen bend in the road? When the teacher assigns that horrendously stressful group project, or a family member falls ill, or our plans for the future are altered by a drastic twist or turn of events? Option One: panic. Anxiety. Fear. In the face of uncertainty, human nature latches onto worst-case-scenarios and all the ways in which we are woefully unprepared. The spirit of fear would have us panicking, and I know for myself,

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nikiflorica

Mar 10, 2020
2 min

Fear Not; I Will Help Thee.

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. ~Isaiah 41:13 Sometimes I feel as if I'm standing on the edge of a valley, gazing down from a place of safety to an amphitheatre of dangers, threats, possible disasters, and monsters of uncertainty rearing ugly heads. My path leads right through the worst of them, and though every wise voice says nothing worthwhile is easy, there's a huge part of me that is always, always tempted to

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nikiflorica

Jan 28, 2020
2 min

Addicted to Kingdom Work

The King James Bible can be challenging to interpret at times, but I've often found that the wording in this translation can reach out and grab my heart in ways that others can't. Sometimes all it takes is one word that stands out to reveal a spiritual concept in a new or convicting way. This morning, in my reading of 1 Corinthians, I came across a verse in Paul's concluding statements: "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first fruits of

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nikiflorica

Nov 18, 2019
2 min

"Just Start Walking"

By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. ~Hebrews 11:8 Christians talk a lot about faith, don't they? Walk by faith and not by sight, saved by grace through faith, faith and hope and charity, following in faith. It's a foundational component of a Christ-centred life. The very nature of our spiritual walk demands it. We serve a Lord and Saviour who is pr

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nikiflorica

Nov 12, 2019
2 min

"I Am Making You a Watchman."

“Now, Son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them from me.” ~Ezekiel 33:7 Ezekiel was among the many people of Judah taken into captivity by the Babylonian Empire. I'd imagine he was in a pretty rough emotional place, lamenting the loss of his former life, the destruction of his homeland, and the enslavement of his people. But God had plans for Ezekiel, and chose him to receive something extremely valuable: th

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nikiflorica

Oct 29, 2019
2 min

OT Truth: Facing Attacks for the Faith

Jeremiah 28—a verbal showdown between the prophet Jeremiah and false prophet Hananiah son of Azur. I'm sure Jeremiah had constant dealings with the warm-and-fuzzy prophets of his time, men who preached peace and prosperity in a time of extreme sinfulness in Judah. Why this is one of the few accounts in which we see their interaction, I can't say. All I know is that in this passage, Jeremiah exemplified a self-control that I found remarkable. Jeremiah's life was mottled with s

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nikiflorica

Oct 21, 2019
2 min

To Live is Christ

In Paul's letter to the Philippians, he demonstrates a selfless faith in Christ that is so zealous, so dedicated, so fearless, that I can't help but be a little . . . awed. I mean, the guy's in prison—in literal bonds for the Gospel—put there by those who have no desire to hear what he has to share. If anyone has the grounds to shy away from speaking out, he has certainly faced enough persecution to qualify. And yet, Paul takes just the opposite approach. He declares, "Accord

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NIKI FLORICA

Let's Talk Toast... and Jesus

The "Hammering Process:" Too Hard, Too Soft, or Just Right?

Ahikam's Lead

Glorify Thy Name

Problems, Prophets, and Progress

Floating

100% His—Reaching for the Next Level

Life is Pain—And What to Do About It

Need a Reason to Rejoice? Keep Reading.

Counted With the Stars, by Connilyn Cosette: Review

Wait for It, Wait for It . . .

Tattered Scraps of Truth

One Step, One Decision, One Challenge at a Time

Power, Love and a Sound Mind

Fear Not; I Will Help Thee.

Addicted to Kingdom Work

"Just Start Walking"

"I Am Making You a Watchman."

OT Truth: Facing Attacks for the Faith

To Live is Christ