The Quiet Quill

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

Nov 12, 2020
2 min

And Bob's Your Uncle

I do not have a spontaneous bone in my body. I mean that in the most literal sense. I am not impulsive. I hate making decisions and usually go out of my way to leave the big ones up to other people, and most of my life happens within a comfortable status quo that I have no problem with 90% of the time. When the idea of a bob haircut first struck me, it was almost laughable. Inspired by one of my favourite characters from Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles, and later by anot

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nikiflorica

Oct 5, 2020
3 min

Even the Fearful

I've done it! Finally! After too many years of eyeing it on my shelf, I have completed The Pilgrim's Progress and checked it off my mental TBR. Interestingly, having now read both Part I and Part II, I can say that both pilgrimages are profound works of spiritual allegory, but Part II—Christiana's journey—struck me most deeply. The Pilgrim's Progress is the allegorical journey of a Christian on the road to Heaven, leaving all behind (including his family) to pursue the Celest

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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

Sep 14, 2020
3 min

"Going Nowhere" & the Real Adventure

While sifting through blog ideas this morning, I came across one line in my daily devotion and knew I had found my Monday Musing. "Although you may feel as if you are going nowhere in this world, your spiritual journey is another matter altogether, taking you along steep, treacherous paths of adventure." ~Sarah Young, Jesus Calling Interestingly enough, my thoughts were running along these lines at church yesterday, comparing my spiritual journey to my efforts as a writer, an

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nikiflorica

Sep 10, 2020
2 min

Time Keeps on Slippin'

I feel like I've spent way too much of my life watching the clock. Despite my early enthusiasm for it, I realized quickly as a six-year-old that school was not my favourite place to be, and as soon as I learned to tell time, I imagine I spent a lot of classes doing just that. Watching that minute hand tick slowly, slowly toward the next period, the next bell, the next end of the day. It's a nasty habit that's followed me through all of elementary and high school, and now with

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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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nikiflorica

Aug 13, 2020
3 min

Life is Joy—And What To Do About It

Earlier this week, I blogged about the inevitable reality that life is pain, and that we have only two options in that regard: to suffer, or to suffer with Christ. It's as true now as it was days ago, as it was months ago, as it was two thousand years ago . . . but that doesn't mean there aren't other facts of life that are equally true as well. Life is joy, for example. A contradiction? I think not. It's the kind of paradox that can only exist within the infinity that is God

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nikiflorica

Aug 5, 2020
2 min

The First of Many Wonders

The past few months have taught me a lot about myself—for one thing, that I spend way, way too much time in my own head. Novel-writing is my passion, but it can be an all-consuming one, and once it reaches that point, I usually start to feel it. It's the same with any task, any undertaking. As long as my physical goals are kept in perspective and balanced with my spiritual life, things feel manageable. I have God's peace with me, His Presence beside me, and they keep my goals

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nikiflorica

Jul 7, 2020
2 min

Self-Hatred: That Dark Indulgence

To indulge, by definition, is to "allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of" something. And it really can be anything. We tend to think of it in terms of chocolate or entertainment, but the rules are much broader than that. In fact, we can indulge in things that, on the surface, may seem completely unpleasant. Self-hatred is one of them. In a recent Sarah Young devotion on judging, I was struck hard with a warning against "indulg[ing] in self-hatred." It may seem counter-intuiti

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The Importance of Peace: Why Do We Need It?

nikiflorica

Jun 1, 2020
2 min

Sealed in His Name

There is something so nostalgic about snail mail. A couple days ago, I received a card in the mail from a friend, and it just infused my day with that dose of encouragement I can always use more of! Being the creative gal she is, she even sealed the envelope—as in, with a seal. A wax seal. I, for one, thought that was fantastic. I've always loved the idea of having my own seal. There's something so official and authoritative about it. It's not just a symbol: it's a declaratio

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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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nikiflorica

May 14, 2020
2 min

From Failure Vortex to Victory

Failure is one of the most unpleasant phenomenons to grip our world since Adam and Eve's fall in the Garden of Eden. Whether magnanimous or minute, the feelings of worthlessness, disappointment, grief, pain, and guilt that so often accompany failure can be crippling . . . and damaging to our spiritual mindset. Failure has the power to distort. It can shrink the grand scope of life and inflate the tiny speck of one mistake, until all we see is the task we couldn't fulfill. Som

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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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NIKI FLORICA

Problems, Prophets, and Progress

And Bob's Your Uncle

Even the Fearful

Floating

"Going Nowhere" & the Real Adventure

Time Keeps on Slippin'

Passion Is a Puppy

100% His—Reaching for the Next Level

Life is Joy—And What To Do About It

The First of Many Wonders

Need a Reason to Rejoice? Keep Reading.

Because Prayer Works

Self-Hatred: That Dark Indulgence

Here in the Land of the Living

The Importance of Peace: Why Do We Need It?

Sealed in His Name

Wait for It, Wait for It . . .

Tattered Scraps of Truth

From Failure Vortex to Victory

One Step, One Decision, One Challenge at a Time