Not just some of it. Not just what we want to see. Not just what our friends are doing. Not just what we think is the best for us. .... more

When you're intentional to shop with a list, a budget, and a menu plan, your focus is... more

August 5, 2023: Tribes and Bands - we must have bo. . . more

It used to be that you joined a creative group not only because you loved the subject matter, but because you actually valued making friends, sharing common experiences, and championing others in their craft. Over the years I've seen a steady trend... more

I wrote this on social media back in 2014: “Leaders make themselves available to those who need them. A title makes not a leader any more than offspring makes a parent.” 
Some things are just always timely. more

February 7, 2023: I pointed out a sacred cow in a . . . more

July 30, 2022: I have noticed that the designation. . . more

January 5, 2022: I started a painting at church a couple weeks back. As I was thinking about how much of an untamed and colorful mess it looks like right now, all full on display, God and I got to talking about how far I’ve come from the before me to the now me. I have a goal in mind with this painting, but I’m going... more

November 24, 2021: You may have read recently that. . . more

March 17, 2020I just read an article where a journalist seriously referred to restaurant food delivery people as “First Responders.” Folks, ordering wings and pizza is neither an emergency, nor courageously running towards danger. This is just a micro illustration of... more

March 25, 2019: Regardless of office, branch, elec. . . more

October 6, 2018: Ray Hughes shared the below quote today on social media: “I don't like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!' Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going they would reply..." more

Oct 2, 2018: The credibility and theft of one’s word is powerful, whether it be through character assassination or taking the voice, art, or copyright of another and putting your own name on it. As many look on to weigh evidences... more

August 27, 2018: And just like that, the skies opened up and an isolated storm began to dump torrential rain over a small area, which included our house. The sun was shining before, during, and after the downpour. God was. God is. God always will be. more

© August 13, 2018, Nicki Black. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. We had a challenging last week, with three sudden and significant losses. Two of these losses have made me even more aware of the amount of unnecessary things we can collect in life, and how far Go more

Most of you don’t know my past. You don’t know all the labels and hashtags I could wear because of my past. You don’t see me defined by labels, articulated by labels, motivated by labels, or subject to labels. Sure, I can define them, and I can articulate them. But my experiences only motivate me to inspire others up and out of those labels, not keep others imprisoned by them. more

July 16, 2018: (I originally wrote this for a devotional message I gave to a group on March 7, 2017.) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Our daughter didn’t receive her driver's license until she was 18. Neither her, nor us, were in any hurry, but we were very int more

© July 11, 2018, Nicki Black. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. God's creative flow to His Kingdom artisans is unique, beautiful, and specific. He inspires a wide and diverse canvas for His Bride that is as individual and one of a kind as our thumbprint and DNA. more

The other day while doing laundry, a lone, pink sock surfaced within the load of light colors I was about to start. As I removed the sock so it wouldn't taint the other clothes, Holy Spirit reminded me... more

November 10, 2016: Time is short, for we know not the day nor hour. But we have the power to overcome and be the revival now. We don't need to wait. Matthew 24:36 (AMP) “But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, no more

July 27, 2016: Malice only makes the point that one lacks the wisdom to speak with respect and compassion, regardless of disagreement. This isn't a game. If we are going to release the truth and light in the nations, even in our own backyards, we nee more

July 15, 2016: No matter how we weigh the reason and source of the chaos invoking fear and violence around the globe, we are all affected. No person and no generation is immune to the consequences of releasing, receiving, or being indifferent to ligh more

May 31, 2016: I write this on the heels of ministering to a Mom whose daughter is rejecting piano lessons, though the Mom says she has a real gifting for the instrument. The Mom called her daughter's refusal a heart issue. Because the Mom asked for i more

January 1, 2016: I think as compassionate and relational people, we can make the honest mistake of gravitating and assigning ourselves or our loved ones to groups and labels not because it's an ordained and true connection, but because of the deeper more

December 17, 2015: Lives hang in this balance. It is not a delicate balance, for the scales have weight. Emphasis: These scales have weight. We can no longer shelter nor compartmentalize our wisdom, knowledge, nor actions from the reality that until more

June 6, 2015: Said in love. Necessary in this timing. With purpose. My art. My song. My words. It is personal. If it wasn't, then why would I bother at all? If I wasn't personal, anything I do would not be my authentic extension and I wouldn't be doi more

January 23, 2015: A picture says a thousands words. Indeed. Indeed it does. I came across an amazing online portfolio with thousands of absolutely breathtaking pictures, authored by a very well known and seasoned photographer who publishes his work, more

December 30, 2014: Unintentional friendly fire stings, but it can also build a healthy perspective in those who realize that the preferences of humanity are as vast and specific as humanity itself. To all we are not chosen, but to Him we are called a more

November 15, 2013: "Continue to prepare", He said, as I quietly began to clean up the art room this morning. It's been a few weeks since I've worked on any of my unfinished pieces. It's not an overwhelming number of things, but enough that I need to more

September 25, 2013: Note that I am not speaking to the covenant of marriage in my thoughts below. Are all relationships ordained to last forever? I don't believe so. God brings people in and out of our lives in His perfect timing for a host of reason more