Hope Mangiafico (00:00)
You feeling refreshed?
Nikki (00:01)
Yeah, I am feeling refreshed.
Hope Mangiafico (00:04)
It's so good as we just hopped out of the episode about but Gods. The Bible's got butts I had a feeling as soon as it started that it was gonna be refreshing and I feel it without like being able to pinpoint why, and I think for all of us it just sprinkles some hope over every situation.
Nikki (00:25)
I thought this and for all of you listening or watching, can I tell you how good God is? Like this was downloaded to me months ago, a month ago. I don't know, eight weeks, who knows? Anyway, a while ago.
Hope Mangiafico (00:34)
Yes, Amen.
And the timing.
Nikki (00:39)
And wouldn't God know that I would need this today more than any other day that we could have possibly recorded. He's so sweet. He's so tender. And that's why in the episode we really focused on the comma.
Hope Mangiafico (00:50)
Mm, you may.
Nikki (01:02)
Because but God showed up like Holy Spirit just showed up in a big way for us. And if I would have decided it would have been more convenient just to like kick this episode down the you know, do it another day, do it whatever, because we already did it this week. And that was intentional because God knew I needed this episode more today than I did on Tuesday.
Hope Mangiafico (01:27)
Mm.
What and that's cra that's a wild thought because you just planted such a good seed to remember that like there's always grace built in when you feel like you can't carry the load. So sometimes you have to with the comma you have to just stop and be like, I can't do it and know that he's gonna show up the next time you're able to. And it's it's like we send the episode His Mercy and His Grace, and it's
Nikki (01:46)
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Hope Mangiafico (01:57)
It's hard to wrap your mind around because I don't know how you felt when we didn't meet ⁓ earlier this week. But I know when I've had to cancel for us because of physical health stuff, I'm like, ugh, ⁓ why can't you be stronger? Why can't you push through? you're so difficult to work with, this, that, another. And like, but God will still show up.
And I I've said this before, at least I know I said on like my personal Instagram years ago, and I think I've said it on the episode on an episode, and you can relate to this too. 'cause we've talked about it. I can be so quick before the comma to give all this credit to the enemy.
And then forget about that power that s sits in the second half.
Nikki (02:39)
Yeah.
Hope Mangiafico (02:40)
When we talk about the k kingdom of darkness and and the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God, you have to be careful when you have history, whatever it may be. and it doesn't have to be like you having a negative perspective of self. It's just you have so much yuck past things that have happened that you can focus on the before the comma. And again, we've planted this a little bit, but focus on that more than the after. And then it's empowering.
part that's before the comma.
Instead of putting your efforts, your not just positive thinking, right? Into the but god, the after the comma. And then the stuff in the background, again, I know we can both talk about this. It simmers down. I can't say it gets silent. I've had moments of silent. But the power is I don't give all the power to before the comma as much anymore. I've shifted. It's like the comma's the middle ground, and I just saw myself like
jumping over the comma or going under it depends on the strategy that's needed. And and making it to the other side.
'Cause it you know, it's funny to say that I feel like the Lord's like running with this visual for me. The effort to jump over something's freaking hard. And the effort to dig a tunnel underneath to get to the other side, freaking hard. So it's why we often want to give up because it is not easy to make space for the comma and then wait and get yourself on the other side. There's no straight through.
Nikki (03:58)
Yes.
Right. Well, and I had a vision when you're talking, Ho, what you said in the episode. Like sometimes you're like three, two, one, that like that's enough time. I mean, you didn't say it exactly like that, but when you're straddling, when you got one leg over here and one leg on the other side of the comma, and you just like force it.
Hope Mangiafico (04:39)
Mm.
Yeah.
Nikki (04:43)
And God's like, No, it's not a ten Mississippi kind of thing. Like so
Hope Mangiafico (04:48)
Yeah, right. But that's I mean, if you think about it, this'll be interesting if you're willing to answer it. And you'll answer it now differently than you would have five years ago, but like as soon as you hear the word pause, what comes to mind?
Nikki (05:03)
When I hear pause, I just think of like I don't know. I I feel resistance. I don't even like think of anything, but it's just like, ⁓ man, this is gonna be forever.
Hope Mangiafico (05:15)
Yeah. See, that's interesting. So that that's resistance 'cause you're like, I don't got time for it, right? That's kinda how I heard what you said. And for me, I hear pause, I think, Okay, frozen. But only for a couple of seconds.
Nikki (05:21)
Right. I don't have time for this thought.
Hope Mangiafico (05:31)
So it's really funny that you're like, I ain't got time for it for me. Like, I got three, two, one. Okay, here I go. I did it.
Nikki (05:35)
Yeah.
then you're looking for things that aren't even there. You're trying to make things apply to like what God's saying to you with scraps. Where God's like, you didn't wait for the whole thing to download. That's why you got scraps.
Hope Mangiafico (05:48)
Yeah.
Right.
And that's I think why he just had me ask that question of like how do you define a pause? Because that's what gets us stuck too. Is we have to Nikki said in the episode, he gives us wisdom. It would be so beneficial for all of us to not use anything from the past, any defining words or moments. We've talked about moments plenty, in this moment.
You do the here and now, Holy Spirit bringing the wisdom of God to you. And it's that simple. But we have this memory bank up here that pulls from everything in the past. And so you're talking about putting things together with scraps. So you instantly hear the word pause and you're already filling in the blanks. That's not the wisdom of God. I used to think I used to think it was.
It's knowledge. And going back to the episode I said the first but was in the garden, when you could eat of any fruit of the tree or any fruit of trees except for this one tree, the tree of knowledge. And they ate of that one tree they weren't supposed to eat of. And we have a tendency to put all these scraps together that are nothing but knowledge.
God wants to re mean, it's so interesting, but if you do that full circle, he's still trying to redeem us from our past knowledge, our past experiences, our past emotions, and simply provide the wisdom of God to heal you.
Nikki (07:12)
Yes.
Hope Mangiafico (07:13)
Well we let
Trying.
Nikki (07:15)
Try real hard.
Hope Mangiafico (07:18)
Which is really funny because you know when we met and we used to follow, you know, our main leaders, ⁓ and the company we were with. Was it them? Or no, it was a sixty day challenge that we did. Or maybe both, you know, they were at the same time. try was totally resist yielding to God.
⁓ I just got convicted as I'm like, I'm trying.
Nikki (07:41)
Yeah.
Hope Mangiafico (07:44)
It means I'm resisting something. So a little nugget there.
Nikki (07:46)
That's right. Yeah, me too. Yeah.
