Category: WorldVenture

Coffee With Nikki Postponed Til Next Week

It’s been too hard this week to create another “Coffee With Nikki.” Plus, I am having issues with my video editing software. This means I’m going to have to bite the bullet and get a new video editing system. I’m also struggling with my current camcorder as the audio is terrible.

So, stay tuned for next week when I get another episode up. I may get a regular vlog up, but with an appointment later today, one tomorrow, and an evening presentation, I am not sure I am able to do video this weekend.

Look for a new episode next weekend.

Finding Courage

Meeting churches, picking up new clients, and telling people about what I do doesn’t come without a fair amount of anxiety as I seek out courage. When this new life becomes overwhelming, I think, “I could be a person with a regular job, not working ministry, not serving, with more time to read or bake or something.”

Yet, that person wasn’t happy. 

I am happy following God’s will in my life. I didn’t see how far He would take me when He asked me to join a church’s prayer team, then lead it. I thought stepping beyond being the wallflower was the limit of His calling. I didn’t see that He would bring me this far.

As I write, I am sitting in the lobby of the Doubletree Denver Tech Hotel among so many great people–people who have experienced things I haven’t yet. People who have sacrificed whole lives to be uprooted and live somewhere else. The common question people ask me is, “Where are you going?”

“Online,” is too simple of an answer.

The width of ministry while working full time makes my own head whirl.

  • I fear failure, but I face it with faith.
  • I fear rejection, but my skin is thick enough to take it.
  • I fear being quieted by those who who fear change, but I speak up because I can’t be quiet.

The typical length of any of my co-workers raising funds has been two to three years. I am a year and a half into this journey, having just been released in March, 2016 to raise support.

I’m looking for people who want to see the church empowered and united to share the Gospel online and who are willing to support me, even with just a small amount per month. I’m looking for partners. I’m looking for people who are tired of the status quo with how the church is acting online and want someone to get involved and train them.

Today, I picked up a new client. I will be helping him get his ministry online. It is all a part of the vision of getting the church involved in the new mission field called, the internet. It is time-consuming to train churches and people on social media, much less do it for free.

Are you with me?

CLICK HERE

Current Support: 16.12%

This Week’s Posts…

This week I will be posting from Denver, Colorado as I attend WorldVenture’s Renewal Conference.

We are thankful that a friend is available to house sit our cat and how our neighbors promised they would also be watching our home. It’s friends like these that make me feel better about having such a public life online.

Will you be praying for travel safeties? Snow came this weekend and we have a long drive to the airport. Please be praying today for my support numbers to go up and for possible new friends to meet at Renewal. Pray for networking!

If you are in the Denver, Colorado area, and would like to meet up with me to talk about what God is doing through Social Media, please email me. I would love to carve out some time with you. 

 

Why Firsts Change People’s Lives

He made me feel empowered when he brought me into his office. I sat down across from him, a nervous twenty-something year old, with the thought in my mind of, ‘What did I do?’ 

My boss ran the whole floor at Bank of America. As I sat down, he looked me straight in the eye and asked, “What can we do to improve things around here?” He held a pen and a pad of paper.

For the first time in my life, someone took me seriously. For the first time, someone believed in me. Someone thought I had value to contribute to a larger than life organization. That’s powerful. For the first time, I wasn’t Nikki who barely got by in High School and laughed at college. That was just the beginning of many firsts in my life that God would show me as He led me to Him. I was reminded of this recently after an extended video conference call. It caused me to think about the path I took since then, and the many mistakes I made getting here.

My old friend, Fear, likes to poke his head out from the shadows and say, “You are stupid. You are foolish.” He represents a very old enemy that, at one time, held power over me. Fear made me spend money I didn’t have, choose friends who weren’t healthy, and date people I knew would leave me anyway. Why should I be courageous when no one would help me if I fail? I was alone.

Yet, God would bring people in my life to prove He had never left my side. From the time Gwen Beatty saw me enter FBC Prescott (now Solid Rock Christian Fellowship) to when God brought a man who would become my husband that would start an unstoppable awakening in my soul. It is because of the people God brought in my life that I changed. Fear is everyone’s enemy.

What stops you from reaching out to people who make you uncomfortable? When I think of the American church, I share with others grave concerns about its ability to be like the courage of the persecuted church. Those concerns made me take a hard look at myself.

  • Am I friends with people who disagree with me?
  • Can I put a name to a different religion? Or in other words, have I ever had dinner with someone from a different religion, even country?
  • Is my Facebook “preaching to the choir,” or am I allowing God to use me on social media to do the hard work in building relationships with people who are different than me?

A verse caught my eye the other day from Ephesians 3:14-21:

This is why I kneel before the Father. Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God.

Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen.

Firsts in life are important and life changing. You play a part in other people’s “firsts” whether you serve the homeless, internationals, or just go to church. Mentoring is important.

The above verse is my prayer for you and your church.

Can I pray further with you about something?

Goals for 2017

When New Years comes, I look at the coming year and reassess my priorities. It’s been a difficult year. We lost our dog in 2016; I ended up in the emergency room and was out sick for a week on medication; and financial things became tighter. I feel like 2016 had become a blur. I don’t believe in resolutions, but I try to find ways to have a better quality life so I can be a better person. My goals for 2017:

  • Once or twice a month, I will take the time to do a trail run. Instead of rushing my run like I did in 2016.
  • Regain my better eating habits and work out at the gym once or twice a week consistently.
  • Practice patience.
  • Once a week, enjoy quiet moments that are deeper with my God.
  • Try to be a better wife.

What are your goals?

You Are Part of the Story

“Will you actually raise 100%?” She asked in a voice full of doubt.

“Yes.” I answered and recalled what WorldVenture said in training–it is not IF we raise 100%, but WHEN. If God has been opening doors to make this appointment possible, then why wouldn’t He raise the full amount? This conversation also reminded me there’s another part of this journey I haven’t considered: How raising full support builds other people’s faith.

You are a part of the story. When you pray with me and/or support me, you are making full support a reality, not a dream or a wish, but a vision fulfilled. You are bringing an umbrella to a prayer meeting that is praying for rain. You are waiting with me in expectation of an answer to prayer. When I get to 100% support, you will be part of that faith story, how God’s people prayed, showed up, and celebrated together a fulfillment of that prayer.

How can you be part of that story?

Why I Stopped Being a Clown

On the journey to discovering who I am, I started my own business at 19 or 20 years old. I was a clown for hire for $20 an hour. The career choice was as bizarre as how I chose it.

I wore a handmade clown costume and cheap grease make-up one Halloween and learned how to make balloon animals from a book checked out from the library. A neighbor asked if I could come to her child’s birthday party as a clown. I thought, “This is a good income.” The public relations person for Safeway also saw redeeming qualities in clowning.

Safeway took a handful of volunteers, including myself, and had a clown from Barnum and Bailey’s circus train us in make-up and acting for parades. So, I bought professional make-up and items to go with my costume from a store on Broadway in Tempe, Arizona. For $20 an hour, I was hired at parties. It was the shortest career path in my life.

The first party, not affiliated with friends, was a woman in a wealthy neighborhood. She took my $20 an hour literally and practically pushed me out the door the minute the hour was up with no tip. I changed my rules. I charged $20 an hour for minimum two hours to make the time it took to apply and take off the make up and drive to the destination worthwhile.

A corporation hired me for their annual parties. I had a different costume–long johns, oversize pants, and a tall Cat-In-The-Hat candy striped hat. The sexual harassment and innuendo from the “old men” at the party were more than I could stand. I persevered through it.

Finally, an apartment complex hired me for their party. This was a disaster! It was what ended my career. Their children were out of control and violently grabbed my wig off. Another child took my bag, which had my keys and wallet, disappearing with it somewhere around the complex. The adults watched and laughed. When I was done with the party, retrieved my bag, I took my money and never did another job again, especially for that place.

I think it takes a very special and patient person to put up with the kind of people female clowns encounter. What I loved were the looks I got as I drove my beat-up old chevy car to the next party in full costume. I also enjoyed doing fake magic tricks for small children and making them laugh.

Years later, I would create a ministry called, “Clowns for Christ,” at the church I attended. We even walked in a parade. This, too, had a short life. One person called attention to how much he didn’t like it. With little support, I ended this ministry.

I still know how to do balloon animals and recall how to wear and apply the make-up, though the only item left from my clowning days is my balloon pump. For a church or a ministry, I would do this again. Professionally, I have hung up my big floppy feet and have turned to other more pressing matters. For a little while though, it was fun to have a creative side job that started when I was on the brink of adulthood by accident on Halloween. It is also symbolic of how God will use the creative side of ministry to reach the lost or to bring a smile to the faces of the weary. Just because a ministry doesn’t look like how you would do ministry, doesn’t mean it isn’t legitimate.

Here’s a few creative ministries from WorldVenture: 

What strange careers or creative ministries did you do? Explain in the comments. 

 

I Need a Silent Night #Christmas

While Amy Grant sings,

“I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night,”

…I am driving to work. The rain is falling in gentle sheets and the clouds lay low over the city. My windshield sparkles like Christmas lights, reflecting the headlights of oncoming cars in the rain drops. It’s been a crazy week, and as we near 2017, I can say that 2016 has been hard. A mixed bag of blessings and the death of our dog.

My husband and I have had many conversations in 2016 that sometimes go deep into the night, discussing ministry, being a husband to a missionary, and accepting that, from this point on, nothing will ever be the same. 2016 changed both of us, and I am glad to say, we are growing together as we embrace this new future. As I drive to work, I look over to my left through the wet drivers-side window.

Predawn light hits the low clouds, making a beautiful mixture of pearl gray and dark gray shapes hovering above the casino.

“Thank you, Lord,” I whisper as I focus again on the road. A friend told my husband to take in new experiences, breathe, and remember. Close your eyes, smell the smells, experience and feel the moment you are in. An Andy Andrews webinar said to notice the little things in your life, like the beauty of those clouds and the different shades of gray marked by the glimmer of dawn.

“To end this crazy day with a silent night,” One of the song lyrics say. Silence is overlooked. Being still is almost forgotten. My cat has the being still thing down.

As I make the left turn down a dark side street, I recall him sitting on the arm of our easy chair last weekend, mesmerized by the lights of the tree. He stood there for ten minutes, not moving, being still.

Then, he made me laugh when his little white paw carefully came toward a dangling bulb. Even he has his limits.

This and next week is the deep calm before the rush. As I pull into a parking place and shut off the engine, I look towards my work place. My ministry ends the moment I walk into work and begins again when I go to lunch, when I leave to go home, and when the weekend comes. Investing in online relationships to develop them into something meaningful is time consuming. There’s an urgency here. The church is behind in the digital age. Much work has to be done!

This weekend I am creating two videos on my new desktop: “Miracle on the Mountain,” and a video specific for a church in Chandler (A heart-felt thanks to the folks at Solid Rock Christian Fellowship who contributed to the Christmas Offering. My portion of it helped me get a much needed new desktop that can handle the heavy workloads of online ministry).

I plan on baking this weekend, too. My Christmas Day could be a white Christmas with fresh cinnamon rolls in the oven made from scratch.

Our Christmas was different this year (Grand Canyon backpacking trip) so there are no presents under the tree. Nothing can top the gift God gave us in Luke 2:

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Chaos and craziness will melt into Christmas peace by the time the weekend arrives.

I can’t promise I’ll be still, but I can promise to be in the moment.

Christmas Eve and Day: I Am Available

I didn’t send Christmas cards this year. With all the communications I do with WorldVenture, the Christmas card becomes meaningless. Social Media makes the Christmas letter unimportant and even extraneous because we’ve already read everything you’ve done this year on your Facebook. What is important, however, is being available for conversations.

If you are having a hard time this Christmas, please know that I am available for private chats, email, or on social media. My phone will be with me.

Christmas Day or Christmas Eve…talk to me. I’m here.

Merry Christmas, Friends!

Now on WhatsApp!

Nikki

Joseph: A Shepherd or Livestock Tending? #Missions #bgbg2

Reading the Bible Like a Love Letter: Genesis 46-47

Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “Let me go up and inform Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have arrived. The men are shepherds, because they own livestock. They’ve brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ When Pharaoh summons you and says, ‘What do you do?’ say, ‘Your servants have owned livestock since we were young, both we and our ancestors,’ so that you will be able to settle in the land of Goshen, since Egyptians think all shepherds are beneath their dignity.” Genesis 46:31-34

This passage reminds me that, in order to blend with another culture, you have to use different words to describe what you do. Joseph asked his brothers and fathers household to say they tend livestock rather than explain their job title as shepherds.

Genesis 47 shows how Joseph’s brothers and their household didn’t listen. God prepared the way anyway, opening doors that would have otherwise shut, so Joseph and his family could settle in Goshen and be shepherds.

This passage speaks to me. Though my online presence is overtly Christian, God will open doors where He sends me. I have chosen to use different words to describe what I do while maintaining truthful relationships. It’s only practical. Saying I am a mentor is more welcoming than saying I am a missionary. Both words mean the same thing, but are looked at differently according to a person’s worldview.

I’m not in a habit to Bible thump my way into a relationship. A good cup of tea isn’t drunk the moment the tea bag sits in the hot water. It is allowed to steep. Friendships require work and time. Like I said in Friday’s post, Americans aren’t good at this. We want everything fast and distant. Mentoring takes time and requires effort, even pursuit. I’ve had the privilege of mentoring college kids and teens over the years. It is very rewarding, but like everything, it had its end. They moved on, but we remain friends.

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