#hope

nikiflorica

Jun 17, 2021
2 min

When the Stakes Are High—Smile!

I'm usually pretty good at laughing at myself. You know, when the stakes are low. When things get stressful, though, and nobody else is laughing? Yeah, that kills my good humour. The past couple of months have marked a struggle to build competence in what I do. New tasks are always daunting, but new tasks along with the weight of dozens of people's expectations are crippling for someone like me. I wish I could say I'm a cauldron of confidence, but that would be a bald-faced l

8 views0 comments

Troy, Gabriella, and the Terrifying Future

nikiflorica

Feb 1, 2021
3 min

Troy, Gabriella, and the Terrifying Future

Anyone who's watched High School Musical or the Teen Beach Movie or any such Disneylicious teen drama know that at some point or another, the heroes and heroines always get hung up on the idea of the future. I never got it before. I mean, I've seen High School Musical a bajillion times and for years, Troy and Gabriella's anxiety about the future never resonated with me like it does now. Because now, I find myself where they are—older, actually, which is too terrifying to even

19 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Jan 4, 2021
3 min

Here's What We Know About 2021

So, I could write an entire post on the ups and downs of 2020 and its multiple dimensions of weird/difficult/sobering/painful/illuminating, but I think we've got that topic pretty much covered, haven't we? The trials of 2020 aren't over, and we must continue to be in prayer for those who are suffering, grieving, struggling to make ends meet, or physically/mentally/spiritually burdened as a result of those ongoing trials. But, though the difficulties may be ongoing, one thing

20 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Aug 10, 2020
3 min

Life is Pain—And What to Do About It

The past couple years have been hard for me. I'm sure they've been hard for you, too. We're all going through something, hiding it behind "o

15 views0 comments

nikiflorica

May 18, 2020
3 min

Tattered Scraps of Truth

Jesus ... can take the tattered scraps of truth we brought to that flopped conversation, and use them to plant a seed in that person ...

9 views0 comments

Shout It, Sing It, Weep It If You Have To

nikiflorica

Apr 28, 2020
2 min

Shout It, Sing It, Weep It If You Have To

It's one thing to be convicted and motivated by a devotion. It's quite another to seize that conviction and follow through when the trials come. I write from experience: how many beautifully-articulated devotions have I read on the subject of trust, only to despair the moment I felt a tremour in the ground beneath my feet? Trust is tricky. It requires an understanding of our lack of control before it can be activated, but sometimes we might be fooled into thinking that trust

14 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Apr 16, 2020
2 min

The Worst Three Days

In the past, I've been pretty quick to judge the disciples for their lack of faith throughout the gospels. I mean, as Christians of today, we haven't seen Jesus in the flesh; we haven't witnessed his miracles or looked into his eyes or heard his voice speak our names, but the disciples had. Their relationship with Christ was tangible, visible, measurable. And yet, they still despaired and lost hope. Take the crucifixion for example. Jesus had warned the disciples on more than

36 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Mar 30, 2020
2 min

A Message from the Prophets of Old

I'm fascinated by the concept of ancient prophets. Men and women selected by God to be the mouthpieces of divine messages—often outcast from society, ignored or called foolish, feared or hated or both, and always sustained by the very hand of God. What would it have been like to experience that calling? To spend days spouting messages that you might never see manifested, that you might never understand? A sermon brought that to my attention recently, and it fascinated me all

16 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Dec 21, 2019
2 min

The Night Hope Was Born

In sifting through ideas for today's snowy Saturday Spotlight, I couldn't seem to decide on one that befit the theme of the season. With Christmas so close, a post on The Great Gatsby or Florence Nightingale seemed out of place . . . so I decided to put the spotlight where it should be this time of year. On Jesus. But how to give justice to the Light of the World, the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Counsellor in 3000 characters or less? I'll speak from the heart. This year es

10 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Dec 17, 2019
2 min

Come and See Jesus!

At the start of the semester, a friend of mine took the initiative to resurrect a Christian club at our high school from a group that had existed in past years. It's been such a blessed and rewarding experience to meet with Christians every week within a school setting, and today more than usual, since, in the spirit of the season, it was the day of our Christmas service! Shaking up our usual proceedings for the occasion was a lot of fun. We met in the school music room, sang

16 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Dec 4, 2019
2 min

Blind and Blurry

Sometimes answers come slowly, through doubt, like an ice-blurred windowpane that melts into clarity one steady droplet at a time. We don't tend to think in those terms, especially when it's our prayers soaring to heaven for relief. We tend to want the answers now, this minute—instant healing, instant direction, instant results—forgetting that sometimes we need to endure a time of doubt before the answers are made clear. Jesus healed a blind man in Mark 8 in a way that may se

13 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Nov 26, 2019
2 min

The Perfection Problem

It's always been a tendency of mine to lapse into perfectionist habits, but the grade-pressure of senior year has hardly improved the issue. With university applications up in the air and a real sense of urgency lacing school and marks, it's becoming harder and harder to put it all in the Lord's hands. Naturally, that's just what Satan wants—and it's certainly not the first time he's caught me in this struggle. But as I find myself stressing over the pursuit of perfection, I'

24 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Nov 6, 2019
2 min

Cutting Spiritual Clutter

Sometimes when the hectic pace of life kicks up a notch, it's the most fundamental things that get abandoned first. Take cleaning for example. Your bedroom may be a pristine sanctuary of cleanliness, or a jungle of clutter balanced precariously on the line between order and chaos. Either way, there are times (and we've all experienced it) that something so basic as cleaning gets pushed to the bottom of the proverbial priority list. Depending on what type of person you are, th

28 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Oct 24, 2019
2 min

Looking Out and Giving Thanks

One temptation that seems prevalent in our luxury-cushioned first-world is the urge to dwell on ourselves. Whether it's that nagging cold, or that way-too-early morning, or that hurtful word we just can’t seem to smooth from our memories—how much time do we spend, do we waste, looking inwards, at our own troubles, instead of looking out? It’s not an easy concept—forgetting ourselves. It’s true and authentic selflessness. But when we do step out of the grey cloud of our proble

16 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Sep 26, 2019
1 min

Thankful Thursday: Hope Ministries

Today I'm thanking God for the faithful men and women who face the fiercest spiritual warfare on the mission field each day. Missionaries are an inspiration in so many ways. While we enjoy the luxuries of first world life, they sacrifice comfort for the greater calling of spreading the gospel to people in all corners of the earth. Gospel for Asia is bringing hope and joy to the masses in Asian countries; Lifesong School in Zambia is teaching children about Jesus and giving th

25 views0 comments

My Exceeding Great Reward (vs. the Hopes-and-Dreams Trap)

nikiflorica

Sep 23, 2019
2 min

My Exceeding Great Reward (vs. the Hopes-and-Dreams Trap)

When years ago I imagined myself as a career novelist, I had a clear purpose in mind. I knew that God had given me a passion for writing and storytelling, and that He had commissioned me to use that passion to glorify and point hearts to Him. My calling was black-and-white, and so was my goal. I wanted to honour God first and foremost, and to reach the lost of this world for Him. It's frustrating how Satan finds a way to corrupt everything that is simple and true. The further

9 views0 comments

nikiflorica

Sep 10, 2019
2 min

When Seeds Don't Seem to Sprout

Sometimes people come into our lives and rest on our hearts like a burden. It's not that they need Christ more than anyone else we meet, or that their souls mean more to us than the others we come across . . . but it's a deep kind of feeling, a deep kind of love, almost difficult to express until you've experienced it for yourself. It's a passion for the lost, and a gift from the Father—a glimpse of His great love for us. I have a list of people who affect me that way, and so

25 views0 comments

NIKI FLORICA

The Quiet Quill