The Quiet Quill

6 days ago
2 min

Happy Resurrection! What Now?

I shy away from blogging on Easter weekends—probably because the greatest point in history needs no commentary from a first-year geek at her Macbook. It speaks powerfully enough without my help. It's Monday. Easter has come and gone, and it's amazing how neatly we tuck the climax of history—Jesus' death and resurrection, HALLELUJAH!—into one weekend. We've spent a few days appreciating it; now it's back to work. Life goes on, doesn't it? It does, but that doesn't mean that th

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nikiflorica

Mar 15
3 min

Lifeboats and Tigers and Fears, Oh My!

“I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary ... It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. It begins in your mind, always ... so you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't ... you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.” Why did I choose

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nikiflorica

Mar 10
2 min

I Need You to Carry On

I'm trying to start a new habit. I love going for walks down my country road when my head feels crowded with the things of this big ol' world we're just passing through. Sometimes I pray while I walk, but sometimes, especially lately, I listen to worship music. And though part of me itches against the idea that I need tunes to go for a walk—(FYI, I don't always)—most of me is thrilled about a new discovery I've made. The discovery that worship can happen anywhere, anytime, to

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nikiflorica

Mar 2
2 min

Life Lessons from a Rubber Band

Life threw me for a loop this week, y'all. One minute I'm rolling along, feeling reasonably in-control of my routine, and the next I'm buying a car, job-hunting, preparing for my driver's test, and frantically trying to ready my latest manuscript for this year's #PitMad event—just to name a few of the surprises that, of course, had to fall within the same seven days out of 365. Naturally. At various points in this week, I felt absolutely out of control. Even now, I'm not too

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Writer Probs: Doing the Next Right Thing

nikiflorica

Feb 16
3 min

Writer Probs: Doing the Next Right Thing

One thing I've been awful at since day one—discerning God's will when I don't know how to move forward. Especially in the publishing world, there are so many avenues an aspiring author can take, each with its own pros and cons. There are gazillions of advice websites, how-to-publish books, and social media accounts to get totally lost in. There are horrible, horrible odds of success when it comes to traditional publishing, specifically. And there are stakes, too—high ones, in

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nikiflorica

Feb 10
2 min

Jesus Laughed.

I can happily say that my new favourite show is officially The Chosen—not only marked by quality acting, sweet costumes, killer screenwriting, and loveable characters, but also featuring Jesus. Yeah, that's right. Jesus. Need I say more? As far as cinematic Jesus depictions go, The Chosen paints my favourite picture. Unlike in the original Ben-Hur film, he is not a faceless figure who floats through scenes on strings of otherworldly music. And, unlike in the film version of T

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Troy, Gabriella, and the Terrifying Future

nikiflorica

Feb 1
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

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nikiflorica

Jan 18
3 min

It's Not All Your Brain's Fault

I don't abide by everything in my psychology course, but here's a fun fact (at least as I understand it): between ages 15 and 25, the limbic system of the human brain is maturing more rapidly than surrounding sections. The result? Until roughly age 25, we tend to be ruled by our emotions. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Psychologist is talking about me. What rules you? Is it your goals? Your logic? Your morals? Your personality? Or is it your emotions? Th

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Here's What I've Learned About Expectations

nikiflorica

Dec 30, 2020
3 min

Here's What I've Learned About Expectations

I think it's fairly safe to say that we've all had expectations drenched in a cold wave of reality. Human beings are creative. We're blessed with vast imaginations that allow us to envision our dreams in vivid ways, but unfortunately, those dreams and expectations are a bit like chalk on a driveway—pretty to look at on a sunny summer day, but quick to melt into streaky asphalt as soon as it starts to rain. It's a miserable feeling. Watching something we imagined, anticipated,

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nikiflorica

Oct 21, 2020
3 min

For the Introvert: Better than One

I used to be a social butterfly. I know—GASP. There was a time when I would get together with friends at least once a week, back when we could spend hours in far-off fantasy worlds together without coming up for air. Now, I go to my fantasy worlds alone. In fact, I do a lot of things alone. If you had asked me to predict what kind of person I'd become at 18 years old, I don't think I ever would have predicted introversion to the degree I now know it. I mean, I can go for mont

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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

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 4, 2020
2 min

When "Humble" Goes Too Far

The book of Numbers tells us that Moses was extremely humble, "more humble than any other person on earth in his time" (Num. 12:3) in his time. Take a moment to consider that in light everything else we know about him—mainly his role as the leader of a massive, infamous group of Hebrews—and perhaps you'll agree that humility in a figure of such importance must have been an extremely admirable trait. Moses' humility protected him from the pitfalls of pride and arrogance, true.

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nikiflorica

Apr 20, 2020
2 min

Off the Safe Path

I've been thinking a lot about courage. It's not something I have in abundance, and in truth, it's not a trait that I often think to strive for. The word conjures visions of dragon-slaying and sword-fighting and setting off upon wild adventures, and though I love to write about things like that . . . I don't have much experience with living them. So in day to day life, I focus on practicing other traits, like patience and kindness, honesty, fruits of the Spirit. Maybe that's

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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

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nikiflorica

Apr 7, 2020
2 min

Change of Plans

Well, at 7:00pm today by my calendar, I would have been conducting a signing/reading/meet-and-greet at The Bookshelf in downtown Guelph . . . were it not for the current COVID-19 situation. I must confess, I'm pretty fortunate in that self-isolation has not (thus far) thrown many horrendous wrenches in my year. Others are suffering far more crushing disappointments as COVID-19 shuts down even the best-laid plans, but there is still a part of me that wishes I had waited, inste

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nikiflorica

Mar 24, 2020
2 min

Look at the Birds

These are exceptional, surreally strange times, but maybe it takes an exceptional, surreally strange time to get our undivided attention, and take us back to the basics. Lots of people are anxious about the government's decisions regarding COVID-19, some criticizing social distancing initiatives or diminishing the virus in resistance to emergency measures. It's understandable—making these kinds of cataclysmic changes means huge impacts on all our lives, especially on financia

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NIKI FLORICA

Happy Resurrection! What Now?

Lifeboats and Tigers and Fears, Oh My!

I Need You to Carry On

Life Lessons from a Rubber Band

Writer Probs: Doing the Next Right Thing

Jesus Laughed.

Troy, Gabriella, and the Terrifying Future

It's Not All Your Brain's Fault

Here's What I've Learned About Expectations

For the Introvert: Better than One

"Going Nowhere" & the Real Adventure

Time Keeps on Slippin'

Life is Pain—And What to Do About It

Need a Reason to Rejoice? Keep Reading.

Wait for It, Wait for It . . .

When "Humble" Goes Too Far

Off the Safe Path

The Worst Three Days

Change of Plans

Look at the Birds