Nikki Humphrey (00:00)
Friend, radiance grows when we allow God's love to touch every part of us, not just the parts that we're proud of. As you reflect this week, remember, awareness is not condemnation. Honesty invites healing. God meets us exactly where we are. Let his truth shine brighter than any lie you have
ever believed. As we continue this journey together, take it slow, be gentle, and remember, radiance begins within. Until next time, stay open, stay grounded, and stay equipped.
Hi I'm Nikki.
Hope Mangiafico (00:42)
Hi, I'm Hope. Welcome to Equipped Fellowship, where friends become family through Christ. We're two Jesus-loving friends on a mission to share personal stories, resources, and real talk about our triumphs, breakthroughs, struggles, and setbacks. Why? Because we believe you are called to live victoriously, and we're here to equip you with Holy Spirit-led tools and strategies to strengthen your faith, transform your mindset, and walk boldly in God's promises. Because here's the truth.
You have been given great and precious promises by God. So grab your coffee, lean in, and let's grow together. It's time to step into everything God has for you.
Nikki Humphrey (01:20)
Ooh, we are so glad you all are here today because this episode right here marks the beginning of something sacred. Not a race, not a self-improvement project, but a journey into wholeness. Y'all, this is week one of our Equip for Wholeness journey. And this week, we're gonna be talking about all about assessing your current radiance.
Hope Mangiafico (01:30)
Mm.
Hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (01:49)
So if you wanna enhance this episode a little bit, go to the show notes and there's some supplemental resources that you can check out to really dive deep in this with the Lord. But before we move forward into greater healing, freedom and radiance, we always need to pause. We talk about that a lot on the podcast.
And the reason why we want to pause is because we during this whole assessing your current radiance, we don't want to judge ourselves. We don't want to criticize where we are at in our current journey, but we want to become honestly aware and invite God into every part
Hope Mangiafico (02:39)
.
Nikki Humphrey (02:40)
of our story because this week assessing our current radiance, we're starting
with awareness of our mind, our body, and our spirit because transformation doesn't begin with fixing. It begins with seeing.
Hope Mangiafico (02:59)
that's a great place to start that, lack of a better term, taking inventory and you talk about the pause and I think about my own personal journey with the Lord when it's, when we started I should say, Him and I, the healing journey to wholeness. Once I started pausing and like looking into my body and my mind and my spirit and where all that was, I was able to then quickly
tell when I was heading in the wrong direction and how to pivot, you know, into the right direction. You really can't begin any journey, truly begin the journey to actually push you in the direction you desire without a pause.
Nikki Humphrey (03:43)
That's right, because when we're talking about assessing, anytime you assess yourself, things are gonna come up in that pause. And it's critical that you don't judge what comes up. You use it as information, as a personal download from God of where you're at, so you can plan on where you're heading with God and let Him download the next step for you.
Hope Mangiafico (03:56)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (04:11)
Because I know for me in the past things would come up and I'm just evaluating it or judging it or condemning myself for it. Just let it be, let it come up and that's your starting point and that should get you fired up.
Hope Mangiafico (04:27)
Yes, you used a really good term that I know I've been really guilty of so I wanted to highlight it before we actually move further and you said you'd be
guilty of evaluating it. And we have to trust our relationship with our heavenly father that he's gonna highlight all of it, all of it that is pertinent to you right here and right now.
And speaking of the now, something that I also wanted to emphasize is that there is no better time than now to assess where you are, your body, your mind, your spirit, because there is no such thing as a perfect moment. And I've actually said in the podcast before where I thought there were moments, like you had to force these times aside and do these things and there's no perfect time. And the beautiful thing as a reminder as to why there's no perfect time.
is because scripture says we go from glory to glory or what my brain said was from radiance to radiance. So right here, right now, take that radiance where you are now and know that now is the moment to propel you into that next level of radiance.
Nikki Humphrey (05:31)
I love that. This is a perfect opportunity to define what radiance really is. And when I hear that, when I hear the word radiance, our culture often ties it to appearance. How someone looks on the outside like, she's so radiant. she's got the Jesus glow, right? Which is not bad things. But scripture points a very different picture of radiance.
True radiance flows from the inside out. It comes from a heart that is healing, a mind that's being renewed, and a spirit that is aligned with God's truth. Proverbs 4.23 reminds us, above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.
Hope Mangiafico (06:23)
Absolutely.
And what I defined as radiance, or what I asked the Lord for more like definition of radiance, what I felt like the Lord said is, radiance is when what God put in you and saw in you, when he knit you together in your mother's womb, which is in Jeremiah, it makes its way outwardly, just like you were saying, Nikki. There's such an alignment with your heavenly father that your mind and all it entails,
like your emotions and the not so great things that we desire sometimes, it's captivated by his love. And you literally shine and radiate outwardly in your health and to the world around you, you reflect him. And a simple one sentence definition after reading all that, what I felt like the Lord said is, it's God's brilliance in his design of you reaching outwardly.
Nikki Humphrey (07:15)
â I love that. Because it changes you when you have that relationship. It changes you. You know, it says like when when Moses spent that time with God, like he radiated so bright.
Hope Mangiafico (07:17)
Hehehe.
Exactly.
And that was God that he was reflecting because that was God's
Nikki Humphrey (07:35)
Yes, and that's the same thing. When we have that relationship with God, we just glow differently. It changes how we show up, how we speak, how we love, how we carry ourselves, how we experience others, how we handle setbacks.
Hope Mangiafico (07:39)
Mm-hmm.
So good. you know, putting all of that into one bucket, it led me to John 10, 10, where it's the unfolding of what Jesus said in John 10, 10, where he said, I've come to give you life and life to the full, abundantly. That's what all of this is.
seeing that.
Nikki Humphrey (08:16)
Mm-hmm.
That's why it's a great place to start with an assessment of where you're at in each and every one of these areas. Because if we always stay the same and we never evaluate where we're at, it's stuck. There's no growth opportunity.
Hope Mangiafico (08:38)
so important to remember because we talk about the promises of God. They're all available to us, but we don't always tap into them. And tapping into them is part of that radiance and having that reflection of Him. They're there for us. We just have to grab them.
Nikki Humphrey (08:46)
Right? Yeah.
Hope Mangiafico (08:58)
by saying, okay God, where are we and where do you wanna take me so I can have everything you say about me, everything you have for me and to be the light to the world in which you have set in scripture.
Nikki Humphrey (09:15)
right and like Hope said like God wants us to go from glory to glory to glory but if we never assess where we're at and we never want to grow we're just that glory but we want to go to glory to glory to glory and you said hope be full
Hope Mangiafico (09:33)
Yeah. And before we go to the next part, Nikki, that you may have, as you said that, I felt like a stirring of like being afraid of what may be highlighted. just want to break off fear moving forward because
That concept, I think to me of going from glory to glory to glory used to be intimidating to me because it meant more loss, loss of things that I held close, right? And so I just want to say no to fear, that he's a good father. And we may know that in our mind, but may we receive it in our heart as we do this assessment that there's no space for fear in the name of Jesus.
Nikki Humphrey (10:13)
Hope you won't believe this, but I had Psalm 139 23 to 24, which emphasizes what you just said. And it's a prayer that we can all say at the start of this journey together. And this Psalm 139 says, search me God and know my heart. See if there is any offense way in me and lead me in the way of everlasting.
Hope Mangiafico (10:40)
Yes. Yes. So good. I'm fired up. My heart's open.
Nikki Humphrey (10:42)
It's telling, say, God, you are safe to look at every part of me, every inch, every ounce, every hair on my head. And if there is anything that you need to bring up during this time together, bring it up. We are here to receive it.
Hope Mangiafico (11:07)
I'm ready to be investigated. I hope everyone is.
Nikki Humphrey (11:14)
And so part of this assessment, and of course it's, you know, look at the resource materials, check out to see if you want to go even deeper in each of these areas. But at first, this week, we're talking about body awareness and honoring what God created. And the thing to remember in this initial assessment and during the weeks following, we're going to go deeper into each of these areas. This is just a launch pad of where you're at.
You want to remember that your body's not an inconvenience. It's nothing to ignore or fight against. It's a gift that God cares deeply about. And so this week, we gently ask you to evaluate, how am I physically feeling right now?
Am I tired? Am I energized? Am I tense? Am I run down? What habits, stresses or routines are shaping how I feel?
It doesn't have to be just in good ways. It could be negative ways or just ways that aren't going anywhere right now. Am I listening to what my body needs? Does it need rest, movement, nourishment, time with the Father? Whatever God is bringing up, listen to what that is. Because sometimes growth begins simply by noticing where we've been.
pushing ourselves too hard or neglecting what God wants to restore. 1 Corinthians 6.19 reminds us, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Hope Mangiafico (13:00)
Absolutely. And you could take that scripture and say that when you feel while you're taking that inventory and you are like, man, this feels off here and this feels off here and I noticed this happens in my body. Let that be a reminder. That's the Holy Spirit trying to get your attention. View it that way instead of your body being angry at you or, you you being disrespecting your body. All of that like flip the script.
in a partnership with the Lord.
Nikki Humphrey (13:35)
Yes, because if your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and you're just assessing and taking inventory of what's in there, God's going to naturally bring up what needs to be cleared out.
Hope Mangiafico (13:49)
And you know, this is reminding me, I was kind of planting a little seed. I know that what I'm about to bring up is not body related, but it reminds me of our episode when we talked about navigating emotions. And we have historically, as humans, we label things as good and bad. We've created that. In God's world, there's not good and bad in this regard. It's information.
Nikki Humphrey (14:18)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Hope Mangiafico (14:19)
And
so I wanted to, I don't know, link that back to that â episode because even though we've already emphasized a couple times about not judging it and just letting it in, when you have that temptation, because if this is a nudge from the Holy Spirit, there is going to be an opposite voice that may attempt to come in. That's my story. â That's not of God.
Nikki Humphrey (14:43)
That's it.
Hope Mangiafico (14:48)
and you have to remind yourself that he is just giving information to help you, not labeling the information.
Nikki Humphrey (14:59)
So good.
Hope Mangiafico (15:00)
Yeah, it's actually teaching me in this very moment of someone take an inventory of myself of how I'm still labeling manifestations in my in my own body.
Nikki Humphrey (15:12)
Yeah, and I really humbled myself this morning, I took a look at one of my old journals, because we were talking about assessment and inventory, and this journal right here, this is my heart full of God's hard truths, things that come up. And reading through it, like where I was at at the beginning of 2021, I started it.
Hope Mangiafico (15:21)
Mmm. That's good.
Hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (15:41)
until now. And the things that God has brought up and that I work with through him, it's shocking of what God can do with the information that he brings up. And so that's why hope's reinforcing. Don't be afraid about what comes up. You can work through anything with your father.
Hope Mangiafico (15:42)
Hmm.
Yes.
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (16:08)
This could have been a whole notebook full of victim talk and victims and pity parties and condemnation, but God has redeemed it in my life.
Hope Mangiafico (16:09)
Mm.
So good.
Nikki Humphrey (16:25)
And so wherever you choose to answer these questions within the course or in your own personal notebook, keep it as a reminder of how God's going to show up during this time with him.
Hope Mangiafico (16:36)
Yeah.
have every journal I've ever written in and I've gone through some of them but not all of them. But sometimes there will be a pool to just go open one up and it gives you just a glimpse. Especially when you're feeling down â and just again we talk about the history with the Lord and just be reminded of that history. And it's just so encouraging and for the person listening, if you've never been a journaler,
Let this assessment be the kickoff for you to start seeing actively engaging with the father and the work that he's doing in you. It's really exciting.
Nikki Humphrey (17:23)
So after you answer those questions about the body, next turn your attention to your mind, the awareness, the renewing the inner narrative of your mindset. Because remember, we've talked about this in the past, our thoughts shape our self image, our choices, and even our faith. So some questions to go along with it to explore those areas are,
What thoughts do I think about myself every day? Whatever comes up, write it down. And I encourage you on this question, when you think you're done, you've only just begun.
Hope Mangiafico (18:07)
â ain't that the truth. Period.
Nikki Humphrey (18:09)
Because
the good stuff, the all the happy, even some hard things that are obvious will come up. But if you give it a minute, you have that pause that we talked about in the beginning.
God's gonna bring something up that's gonna rock your world. But if you lean into it, it's going to be the biggest blessing.
Hope Mangiafico (18:37)
I'm gonna say it's gonna instead of rocking your world, it'll change to changing your world.
Nikki Humphrey (18:41)
Yes,
better. I like that better. Yeah. And then ask yourself, do past wounds, lies, or comparison still influence how I see myself? Are you dragging around the past like it's your favorite security blanket, your favorite lovey, making it still attached to you? If so, what are those areas? Where do my thoughts feel peaceful?
Hope Mangiafico (19:04)
.
Nikki Humphrey (19:10)
And where do my thoughts feel stuck?
Because renewal doesn't start with pretending everything is positive and great. It starts with recognizing what's been shaping us and inviting God's truth to speak louder than the lies that we chose to believe.
Hope Mangiafico (19:33)
Yeah, that's really, really good. And for this question, I personally see it so integrated and being almost like that connecting point back to the body as well. As you were reading that question, I instantly was thinking about my journey with the Lord and being more aware of when I tend to freeze. And then like, okay, that's a body response. Now, how does that link to my thought? What was I thinking in that moment?
Nikki Humphrey (19:43)
Mm-hmm.
Hope Mangiafico (20:03)
So I wanted to highlight that because as we continue on this journey each week, you'll start to see that inner weaving. And again, that actually is an encouragement of like, okay, this isn't that hard. It's a domino effect, which is really cool. And that's just like.
Nikki Humphrey (20:24)
Yeah, this is just the foundational, this week one is just the foundational things that we're going to be building on in the weeks.
Hope Mangiafico (20:30)
Exactly.
Nikki Humphrey (20:33)
So we're just asking you to let the Lord speak and then we'll work it out. You'll work it out personally with your relationship with Him and we'll be guiding you and encouraging you through that process. So don't feel like even though something comes up, you have to deal with it today. That's what the following weeks are for.
Hope Mangiafico (20:40)
Exactly.
Yeah.
No, please don't I'm super guilty.
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, if you feel like you absolutely have to start working on it now, that's that other voice coming in. And I'm personally very familiar with that secondary voice. Don't allow it. I just got excited to encourage people as they go through that as you build on this, you're going to see how gentle the father is â with the information and how they're all linked. And it takes away that
intimidation.
Nikki Humphrey (21:26)
Yes, yes, the body, mind and spirit. We've said it a lot, Hope said it a lot. It's all linked and that's why it's important that we figure out where we're at as our starting point.
Hope Mangiafico (21:32)
I'm
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (21:46)
And then the third area we want you to assess is our spirit, our spiritual life, noticing our connection with God. Where are we at with that? Again, not from a place of guilt, but curiosity and honesty. I love to get curious with the Father and raw and real about where I'm feeling our relationship is.
Hope Mangiafico (22:04)
Hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (22:15)
because that is a big opportunity always for me for growth.
Hope Mangiafico (22:20)
Hmm. â
Nikki Humphrey (22:22)
So some questions you can ask is like, how connected do I feel to God right now?
close, not close, far away, you know, where is it? Am I experiencing his peace, joy or presence in my daily life?
Hope Mangiafico (22:30)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (22:43)
Are there places where I feel distant?
If so, what are those places? And how has God been speaking to me lately?
James 4.8 says, draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Like we talked about last week.
Hope Mangiafico (23:00)
Yeah.
And that pause creates a space where you start drawing near. And he's right there drawing near to you.
Pause is that gap between feeling, you know, the chaos you feel and where God actually is and that pause just brings it together.
Nikki Humphrey (23:35)
Yes, and I love this area of assessment because any relationship we have, it's good to assess where you're at with your spouse, with your friends, with somebody that you're close to, your people you work with.
Be radically honest about where you're at with God. He doesn't take offense. He already knows. He wants you to know where you're at. â
Hope Mangiafico (23:59)
That's the truth. Man.
In that wild, like, we know that he knows but we act like he doesn't and that is one of those, like, massive hurdles that we all struggle with.
Nikki Humphrey (24:13)
He knows and he wants to talk with you about it. I think two or three weeks ago I said to Hope, I'm like, me and God are having some words right now. I'm well, I'm having some words with God. Like I'm not too happy with them, but I'm going to speak to him about it.
Hope Mangiafico (24:26)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (24:30)
You know, sometimes that closeness is close and sometimes it's not and sometimes it's a loving father. Sometimes it's correction. Where are you at right now?
Hope Mangiafico (24:31)
You
Yeah, it's okay.
Nikki Humphrey (24:44)
Mm-hmm.
Hope Mangiafico (24:46)
It's okay to be though.
That direct access to Him. Thank you, Jesus. The game changer. actually, Nikki, as you're sharing your story and I just shared what I just said, â Jesus said He came to show the Father. And so for anyone that's listening, and they may be intimidated by the Lord, but they find comfort in Jesus. Jesus simply displayed the love and comfort of God.
And that's really important to remember because I have seen and I have heard and I have experienced sometimes moments of an unhealthy fear of God, yet a longing for Jesus. But there is no characteristic of Jesus or in Jesus that isn't God's.
And I finally, finally understood that. And it made me more like what Nikki's sharing of running to my father because all these traits that I labeled as Jesus, they're, they're Abba.
And I think we unfortunately often separate the two because they are separate, but they're not. And I just really wanted to emphasize that because I often run to Jesus because I pictured comfort.
Nikki Humphrey (26:06)
Yes.
Hope Mangiafico (26:09)
But I gotta be careful to not allow that to keep me distant from Father God.
So let this be these questions and this journey that you're walking with us on this to be that continual invitation that Jesus is so good, but the Father orchestrated all of it to demonstrate His own love and made this be that reconciliation and that running to Him for your wholeness.
Nikki Humphrey (26:40)
That's so good.
Hope Mangiafico (26:42)
Yeah, it really is. He's so good.
Nikki Humphrey (26:46)
Thanks
So as from thinking about that, it's really a hope for the journey ahead, the excitement to link arms with your father and let him reveal to you everything that's possible. And I wrote down here, as we begin this Equip for Wholeness journey together, ask yourself.
If I fully open up myself to God's work and my mind, body and spirit, what would I hope to experience by the end? What do you want to get out of this? What's your end goal? Do you want more peace? Do you want greater freedom? Do you want deeper trust, renewed joy, a healing in an area? What is it?
Hope Mangiafico (27:39)
Hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (27:43)
Because whenever we go on a journey, you expect an outcome, right? And we know that our outcomes don't always line up with what God wants us to receive, but it's an exciting part of the process. Is it the same at the end of this as be like, wow, I got some of those things or wow, God really just turned my perspective?
Hope Mangiafico (27:43)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (28:10)
and realize mine was a little off and like he gave me all of this goodness. Like,
Hope Mangiafico (28:14)
Mm.
Nikki Humphrey (28:16)
what is it? It's, love that anticipation when I'm gearing up to go on vacation or whatever. Like, this is what I hope to do. But those bonuses that you get out of it, that is, that's what I love the most.
Hope Mangiafico (28:32)
That's it. I'm excited to see the hope restoration in people. Like, that's like the added bonus to me. Like, there's just so much goodness as you take that pause and really ask yourself what it is you hope for, not what you may be heard.
someone on their own journey or in a podcast episode or whatever like no extraction from others. Only your study of one.
Nikki Humphrey (29:05)
And it's that expectation that ignites the flame of radiance inside of us. Because we're expecting, we know God's going to show up, but we're expecting him to do a good work in us.
Hope Mangiafico (29:14)
Well
Some say hope is expectation. And so there you go. That's it. It's beautiful.
So I think all of that said, ending in hope, it's a great opportunity to transition to a prayer for wholeness and radiance as you take your own time and dig into all of this with the Lord. So we have a prayer that we wanna pray over you and then for you to just stay in agreement with the invitation to the Father.
Lord Jesus, thank you for creating me with purpose, body, mind and spirit, working together as a reflection of your love. I bring all of me to you today. Every strength and every struggle, every wound and every hope. Heal the places of my body that hold exhaustion, tension or hurt. Restore energy, peace and vitality where I have felt weak, worn out or ashamed.
Teach me to honor the physical life you've given me, not with pressure or perfection, but with compassion. Renew my mind, Jesus. Shine your truth on every dark and anxious thought. Break the power of lies that have tried to tell me I am not enough. Fill my thinking with confidence that comes from knowing who I am in you, chosen, beloved, and fully accepted. Holy Spirit, revive my spirit.
Draw me deeper into your presence where joy, courage, and peace overflow. Remind me that I am never alone. I walk every step of this journey with you, strengthening me from the inside out. God, make me whole again. Help me release anything that dulls my radiance, past wounds, comparison, fear, striving, and replace it with the light and love of Christ. Let your hope rise within me and shine brightly through me.
I believe you are restoring me. I believe you are renewing me. I believe you are making me radiant in every part of who I am, body, mind and spirit, exactly as you designed. Today, I say yes to healing, yes to wholeness, yes to the radiant identity you have already given me in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Nikki Humphrey (31:46)
Amen. that.
Hope Mangiafico (31:49)
Mm, me too.
Nikki Humphrey (31:51)
Friend, radiance grows when we allow God's love to touch every part of us, not just the parts that we're proud of. As you reflect this week, remember, awareness is not condemnation. Honesty invites healing. God meets us exactly where we are. Let his truth shine brighter than any lie you have
ever believed. As we continue this journey together, take it slow, be gentle, and remember, radiance begins within. Until next time, stay open, stay grounded, and stay equipped.
Hope Mangiafico (32:33)
Amen. Until next time, we'll see you in the overflow.
