blog Archives - Nikole Hahn

Do Not Grow Weary

Mornings are a welcome respite to recent tense weeks. The cat jumps on to the couch and curls up on my lap. I can feel his heart beating through my pajamas. The sky begins to show ribbons of color just on the edge of the horizon. The coffee is hot and fresh.

Moving from this spot stirs the air too much, and stirs up reminders of a day I have yet to meet. If I sit here long enough maybe I could avoid the day, and all its problems can walk past without noticing me in the shadows. Discouragement never gets us anywhere. It’s a dead end.

The cat jumps off to stalk a cockroach. I stand and pick up my now empty coffee cup. It’s time to meet the day. I don’t know how people who don’t believe in God can meet days like this all alone. Human praise and encouragement only last so long, and more often than not, you can’t get enough of it. Without faith, the day can become as dark as night without the glimmer of God’s promises on the horizon. Me and God have these long conversations in the morning.

This morning, it’s me whining.

His response is always the same, “Wait.”

He speaks through the Bible. Like how He used last Sunday’s sermon and a PDX appointment to speak Galatians 6 to me. Those things aren’t coincidences.

“Let’s not get tired of doing good…,” It says in verse 9.

I walk into the bedroom and get dressed in the shadows. I’ve never been great at hiding. In this time of transition, God’s vision to me is still unchanged. I must live it. I must walk the walk. My heart has a passion for nothing else.

I am the wierdo on the block; the person who does things differently. There’s so much to look forward to and so much God has me doing now that life is not boring.

My next newsletter goes out Saturday. Don’t miss it.

Through the Lens of the Congregation #socialmedia #church

When you listen to this webinar, listen as a congregation member, not a leader of a ministry or as a pastor. How can you, as a congregation member, serve on Social Media?

Here are my notes from the webinar:

Some points to consider:

Elevate your brand? Instead, take sermon notes online and tag your church in it. Check in to your church.
For leaders and pastors: It’s not how many “likes” you get, but how you shepherd the people on your Facebook. How are you serving them on social media? How will you pray for them? Do you know them?
Communication: It’s important to respond within a reasonable amount of time to people who leave comments. It’s all about relationships.
Love Africa? Most of the continent is on Facebook.
Create groups to target certain people on your personal friend list with certain needs (set to secret for confidentiality) and create a community.
You don’t have to be on every social network. Pick two social networks that you, “can be all in on.” Michael Hyatt also said this.
Photo posts get 39% more interaction.
Shorter posts get more engagement. Save the long posts for a blog.
Ask questions. Be other-minded.
On posting scripture, don’t just post scripture. Add your own words, too. What does this scripture mean to you?
If you feel passionate about a cause, help an organization promote a cause by sharing your thoughts and stories about the cause.
Tell stories.
Organic reach means no advertising in the wording of your status.
Do auto posts and impulsive posts.
On your Facebook page, post at least twice a day.
High-resolution cover photos that tell a story and attract people on your page. On your personal profile, use the same.
canva.com is a wonderful and free photo place.
What is your vision or mission statement in life? An organization doesn’t have to be the only one creating one. Then, post around that vision or mission statement on your social media.
Post often on your personal Facebook or social media. Engage people. Don’t just share.
Facebook live works via your phone only. Use it to do an online Bible Study and invite people to that “secret” group.

Questions? Let’s brainstorm. Talk to me.

Wilderness Trekking Video Series Coming

The Wilderness Trekking Video Series Begins April, 2016

Based on Isaiah 43:19, the Wilderness Trekking video series will feature stories of people coming out of the wilderness and becoming a new creation through Christ.

The reasons for starting this series will be outlined in-depth in my March newsletter. It was inspired from this video, which is considered a first foray into the idea:

On this particular trail, we encountered people from Brazil, the United Kingdom, and possibly Austria or Germany. The Diaspora possibilities for this series are wonderful, especially when I interview people in their heart language using interpreters. My hope is to encourage engagement.

Tell a story.

Showcase the trail.

Encourage discussion.

There is no better way to bring out a person’s story than trekking through the wilderness among the beauty of the Master Artist’s creation. The mountains and trails have been known to bring out deep discussions, friendship, and the positive side of human nature that isn’t normally present in urban settings.

So when you receive an invitation from us in the mail, email, or by social media, please accept. I want to treat you to coffee and help you share your wilderness experience before you came to know Jesus and accepted Him in your life. This is Man Vs. Wild meets the Travel Channel.

A series like this will showcase the trail and the highlights of the trail with a voiceover and live interview of the person we choose to invite. The hike will be based on the person’s ability so we do not exclude those unable to go longer than a mile.

Until I raise full support as a missionary with WorldVenture, I am restricted through what equipment I can afford like toggling between my tablet and smart phone cameras and using Windows Movie Maker (if my desktop cannot handle better video editing equipment). Also, because I work full time still, my free time will be restricted. In the future, I would like to do these videos once per month. For now, I must only commit to once every other month.

Update on Solid Rock Christian Fellowship Blog Project…

Last year, as a first church project as an appointee with WorldVenture, I collaborated with Solid Rock Christian Fellowship (SRCF) and Christian Academy of Prescott (CAP) to create a multi-author blog. It went live on December 1, 2015 with good responses.

The project leader, Jodi, needs fresh posts. On top of reviewing books and movies, she needs writers who now attend or used to attend SRCF or CAP to consider the following:

Review books. The library gets free books from publishers that are hot off the press for blogging about the books. This means that the library can obtain new books without it costing the church or school anything. The catch to this is: We need people to read them and review them.
Did you like the sermon? Consider submitting, as an infrequent writer, a devotional based on what you learned from the sermon. We will add to your post what books people can check out to go deeper into the subject as well as encourage them to pick up CD copies or click on the video link to listen in.
Review movies. Christian movies get a lot of criticism from both the secular and Christian crowd. Consider checking out a movie at the Media Center and reviewing it. Make it personal.
Interviews. If you liked a book the library has, consider interviewing the author via email. We welcome interviews on the site.
What about that wonderful Sunday School video? If you are videoing your Sunday School teachings, consider writing about what you are learning in Sunday School and recommend some books from the Media Center for people to go deeper into that study. In fact, I can help you set up a system where your Sunday School can take turns writing, while one or two people have access to uploading posts. This way, your Sunday School is represented to the community online as one group. We have a ministry already setting up to do this on the blog, and it’s less time consuming for people.
Create a Team of Writers: Why not help a home bound person review a book or movie by being their hands and feet and posting for them?

The library seeks to use its blogging ministry to enhance and help grow the current ministries at CAP and SRCF through movies and good literature. To become a regular writer, contact Jodi at mediacenter@fbcprescott.org. Regular writers need to attend one writers class and one wordpress user class. This can be arranged on your time.

Feel free to comment with questions and let me help you think creatively on what your posts could look like and how to save time while serving our community and our ministries via online journaling.

VIDEO: Every Journey Begins Somewhere

This is another experiment.

When I raise full funding as a missionary, I plan on getting Video Corel, an external hard drive, and a better desk top. Meanwhile, I am using a cell phone and a tablet to create short videos, and editing with Windows Movie Maker. I’m not as fond of Windows Movie Maker as I am of Video Corel. I use Video Corel at Solid Rock Christian Fellowship.

The purpose of this video is to share our adventures in a missional way; to connect with people who love the outdoors or people from other countries who are fascinated by the outdoors. Woven into this music-and-scenery-only video are words of comfort and encouragement. Please let me know how you think I could improve this.

The video isn’t meant just to showcase our adventures. The purpose is always to bring engagement with the goal of making disciples.

Deadline for prayer requests for my March newsletter is February 29.

The Wilderness Trekking Video Series Begins April, 2016