Nikki Humphrey (00:00)
That was convicting.
Hope Mangiafico (00:02)
In ways I wasn't expecting.
I actually would claim that I often push back on phrases that people say when I hear them a lot. I like push back very quickly. But as we were discussing and talking, I'm like, well dang, they still show up in my life, even if I don't agree with this statement.
Nikki Humphrey (00:25)
He sure do.
Or you can reflect back on a season where you're like, Yeah, I believe that.
Hope Mangiafico (00:30)
Absolutely.
Nikki Humphrey (00:31)
Yeah, at one point I was like, I got hot. I was like, my skin was all prickly. I was like, yeah, that's the Holy Spirit telling me something.
Hope Mangiafico (00:42)
Well when you mention in the episode, just for a listener backstory, like we just got off an episode talking about like common phrases basically that Jesus didn't say but we act like it it's biblical and backed by scripture. And in the episode, Nikki, where you were talking about your skin getting warm, it was really about like basically believing and telling people and also believing about ourselves, like if you'd have enough faith, you'd be healed. And I have had
I won't say a weekly basis, but it's more frequent than I care to claim that conviction that for years of so I've been like following Jesus pretty hardcore for almost a decade. Probably seven of the years of falling into that category and belief. And believing because of what I learned, I held the answers, which is disgusting.
To admit to
Nikki Humphrey (01:38)
Remember, hope we both did it. There was a time where we would look up a prayer for anything. We'd be like, I found this prayer. Girl, we gotta do it today. Like I'm laughing because it seems so ridiculous now, but it was a tool that we used back in the day.
Hope Mangiafico (01:57)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (01:57)
To try to kick sub start something, a healing, a d whatever, praying for somebody, helping you know.
Hope Mangiafico (02:04)
So here's another one. You're saying that, and this actually came up recently the other day. Faith faith the size of a mustard seed, right? That scripture is actually how do I say this? Has to some degree.
Caused me, through false understanding and misbelief, I guess you could say, to act that way. When in truth, that verse actually really means like a mustard seed has to be so persistent and break the ground to grow because it is so tiny. That's what that scripture really means. It doesn't mean grab whatever you can, put your faith in this thing and that thing and another, and that's just you need a little bit, and you're just gonna rocket ship. That's how I interpreted it. But in truth.
Faith that is so persistent and doesn't let go of the savior is the faith that changes a life.
And and that's scripture that has been misinterpreted.
And you can make it sound good.
But it will cause to some degree this trying to muster up and do and grab, just like you said, Nikki, grasp at whatever you can find.
Nikki Humphrey (03:16)
What just came up as you were talking about the mustard seed and the breaking through and all of that, and then leading into what I was first saying about all the tools. I also thought I had to use those tools, or I was doing something wrong.
Like I couldn't do it by myself, and I'd feel guilty or some kind of negative way.
if I didn't do that thing like right then and now, like my whole life was gonna go oof or something.
Hope Mangiafico (03:47)
Yes.
Nikki Humphrey (03:47)
And I got so intertwined with all these things that it really got me further away from Jesus and developing my relationship with God. Then the intent of these tools was to probably cultivate a closer relationship, but it didn't. I trusted the tools, the things, the prayers, the resource instead of God, our source.
Hope Mangiafico (04:17)
I feel though, Nikki, to that point though, is often because a Christian
Find something that works and they become an expert on it, then they go and teach that one part. And they're still teaching about a tool, about Jesus pointing back, but it's an extracted piece. Whereas all of us as children of God, followers of Christ, we have to stay zoomed out into the big picture. We talked about this in the episode.
But that's where the problem lies, is so many individuals within the body have a tool, they run with it, then they teach it. And so they focus on that tool instead of the big picture of Jesus.
That's what I found to be true.
Unfortunately. But I mean I can't point fingers and blame because it was also interpreted by me because of my own brokenness. So it's it's a two way street in all of it. A lot of times people that teach what they know, it changed their life and they were excited and ran and built.
And that's where it's so important for anyone listening, including ourselves. Your greatest job as a follow of Christ is to teach about Jesus.
It's actually that simple.
I remember years ago, I think I told you this, Nikki, years ago, someone that you also know would call me and they would spiral into the million and ten things that they were trying to do to get closer to Jesus to heal and all these things. And they were using terms at the time I didn't know what they were because I was a little baby. And all I knew, and this is exactly what I told him, I said stop. It's Jesus. The answer is Jesus.
And that has been so etched in my heart. Because one, they needed to hear it abruptly, but then as I'm like yelling at them, I'm yelling at myself.
Because we've all been there.
Nikki Humphrey (06:23)
Yeah. And we need we as people, we need to hear these stories of hope, of healing, of transformation,
Hope Mangiafico (06:30)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (06:31)
getting out of the pit, renewal, all of that. Those are all great things. But you hit the nail on the head. It was Jesus. We need to
Hope Mangiafico (06:41)
Exactly.
Nikki Humphrey (06:42)
make that abundantly clear. It doesn't matter what I did. Jesus came in. This is we got into the nitty-gritty. I followed.
Each step I was one percent better at a time and this is here I am today.
We try to break Jesus down to a formula. It's no formula because it's we are all like you said way back at the beginning, we're all a study of one. So what works for hope won't work for me. I might get something from it, but I'm not gonna it's not gonna be the same for her as it is for me.
Hope Mangiafico (07:08)
Yeah,
Nikki Humphrey (07:19)
hope and I have tried to be the same season.
Thanks.
Hope Mangiafico (07:24)
It's embarrassing, but hopefully it's also encouraging. And and through all of that trying to, you know, put Jesus in a box and in a formula, something that I have become more convicted on, still growing in it, is I have become more confident in the Father's character that I know if I do not move, he will show up.
Nikki Humphrey (07:44)
Mm-hmm.
Hope Mangiafico (07:45)
He can show up better in your pause and not rushing to find the answer to do something than he can when you rush to try and do something.
But what is that rooted in? Trusting the Father, knowing his character. So I mean, like I'm saying, I'm still growing in that, but I feel so much more confident. And and Nikki, in the beginning of this episode, you were talking about how we like had a prayer for everything. Wouldn't you know the Father is so good that when I finally let go of that stuff and let him do the work on my heart?
Those tools that I have used, incredible prayer books like you and I have talked about and used in our own lives. We had a family emergency, if you will, recently. And I told my husband, I pulled out the prayer book. I said, You pick out a name that stands out to you, because there's some interesting names in it. He did. That thing was fire. But I didn't go running to the book.
I said, okay, Lord, what do we do? Like do we just pray a normal prayer? Do we just sit? D what do we do? And he directed me straight there and 'cause it was related to my husband's family. My husband took the reins. So just because I'm not doing it for everything anymore and because the thing of my past, he will truly use the thing of your past.
That's really important to remember. They're not all garbage. It's just half equipping.
Nikki Humphrey (09:10)
Right. That's I said we need those
things. We need those things, but it's just
Hope Mangiafico (09:15)
For quipping.
Nikki Humphrey (09:17)
Half
equipping. We need to be wholly equipped. And God will bring it to remembrance of what you're supposed to use.
Hope Mangiafico (09:24)
I mean A that's
Nikki Humphrey (09:26)
I I hadn't
used that book in a while either and one of my past students reached out and was really struggling and I'm just like again, I was like, God, what do I do? Like there's so many directions that I can go. Like what is the direction? And it was into that book.
But Earthly Me was thinking of something, I don't know, different. But it was it was like into the book. That's what
Hope Mangiafico (09:46)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm,
Nikki Humphrey (09:49)
I did.
Hope Mangiafico (09:50)
yeah.
And all of this said, I think Nikki and I can attest, life is so much more cool and exciting and fun when you say, Okay, someone's struggling, so it's heavy, they're reaching out, but you're like, What are you gonna do? Papa, what are you gonna do? How are you gonna show up, Jesus? I'm yours. Here I am. Nikki has said that before in the episode. Here I am, use me.
And let him do what he wants to do. It's really fun.
