Something to Hold You Over

I promise I'm alive. I just haven't had the chance to breathe in the last couple of months. :) I love my job, but I think I've had a total of 2 days off since February (not counting a few Easter days). Not Cool. So of course I have a hundred million things to write about and only a hundred millionths of a second to write about them. But something new is coming. And in the meantime, you can ooo and ahhhh with me over my new nephew (first grandchild on both sides) that was born this past thursday. Precious. Haven't met him yet. Dying to. Get to in 16 days. :)

Luke Russell Hinton


No time for a bath...need pictures first. :)


Ahh, much better. :)


That's right...Carolina IS #1.


So tiny with my daddy.


So cuddly.


My favorite.


Me and mommy.


Sweet.


Happy Family :)

The Presence of Greatness

{“Greatness or pre-eminence is a concept heavily dependent on a person's perspective and biases. The term can be used to emphasize perceived superiority of a person or thing.” - www.wikipedia.com}

{"Most of the trouble in this world is caused by people who want to be important." T.S. Eliot}

I have been pondering the subject of greatness for a while now.
What does it mean to be great?
Why do people strive for greatness?
Assuming we have an answer to the first question, how do you know if you even possess the qualities necessary to attempt greatness?

Because greatness, much like beauty, often lies in the eyes of the beholder, this presents a whole new set of questions.
To whom do you wish to be perceived as great?
Are those who are the object of your desired proclamation of greatness, also deemed great in other’s eyes? Or just yours?
What are you hoping to achieve when you have successfully acquired the label of “greatness” to your societal resume?

I think everybody wants to be great in some way. Most people strive to be great in at least one area—to look great, feel great, be great at their job, or work at a certain characteristic until the word in question can be applied to it as well—great listener, great servant, great teacher, great artist, great musician, etc. We even apply the word to temporary items like “that piece of cake was so great”, or “they have great coffee—the best”.
What is so appealing about the word GREAT? At some point in history this word has been applied to people in the human race in such a way that gives us a longing to also be placed in a category with a similar form of recognition. What people come to mind when you think of the word great? Martin Luther King? Abraham Lincoln? Rosa Parks? Albert Einstein? George Washington? Alexander the GREAT? Brad Pitt? HAHA. Jk…he and I are going to have words one day. With the exclusion of the last one, these people (according to my yahoo search) are all considered great people in history in some way-Inventors, presidents, those who stood up for rights, and those who just seemed to encumber the word great for nearly it’s entire meaning. (And if you are a large Brad Pitt fan, I must clarify that I, myself, am not saying that he isn’t great by someone else’s standards--movie critics? Angelina?—lol I’m stopping. He just doesn’t fit for this post….but no hard feelings. ☺ )

So what would the definition of greatness be as it pertains to each individual and their ability to achieve the essence of it, without seeking to contort themselves into something or somebody that they weren’t created to be, just to win the label of such among a group of peers or those whose opinions they desire?
In my pondering this question over the last few weeks, I have come to several conclusions. In the presence of greatness, you can't help but be inspired to be great yourself. Because greatness is not condemning or belittling, it doesn't call you out on your mistakes or try to embarrass you in front of your peers. Greatness doesn't try to one-up his friends, or intentionally make anyone jealous, because greatness understands that the very qualities that make it "great" are not natural in their mortal self, but are in fact gifted and meant to be shared for the purpose of inspiring, for building up, for expanding happiness, starting a revolution of sorts inside each individual heart. Those who are able to possess the quality of greatness do so while, in my opinion, also fully encompassing humility. Without the combined product of greatness AND humility, I would have to ask if a person who only grasped the first of those, indeed was wholly that, or if everything in his/her life that pointed to the manufacture of such a quality was lost in the absence of the second. I guess this depends on your definition of both greatness and humility, but I seem to think that without the latter, one could be perceived as somewhat of a gloat, only seeking the attention that his greatness produced rather than seeking to be great for a higher purpose and one that benefitted others above, or at least in addition to, himself.
So based on my opinions, if greatness and humility are equal parts of a whole, then the simple equation can be made that greatness=humility. In which case, there is no longer a need to struggle through history to find the best example of one such case. His name is Jesus.
I was reading some articles on Wikipedia about “great” and “heroic” men, and stumbled across an article by Thomas Carlyle. In one part of his work he was discussing a Thibeten people group and their particular beliefs about the divine and it’s relation to great men on earth. Here is a short excerpt that sort of sums up their idea:

[“They have their belief, these poor Thibet people,
 that Providence sends down always an Incarnation of Himself 
into every generation. At bottom some belief in a kind of 
Pope! At bottom still better, belief that there is a Greatest
 Man; that he is discoverable; that, once discovered, we ought 
to treat him with an obedience which knows no bounds! …the ‘discoverability’ is 
the only error here.”]
Well they were right about one thing. There is a Greatest Man, and He is discoverable. Where they have sadly missed out is in the “once [he is] discovered” part. Oh the many ways that even those of us who know Him, miss Him on a daily basis. But that is another day’s topic. Jesus is arguably the most accessible man on the planet, yet in our complicated and distracted minds, we make it appear as if He’s the farthest thing from us. The other interesting point that the Thibet people seem to be spot-on about is that this great man they deem discoverable, yet undiscovered in their minds, should be treated “with an obedience which knows no bounds!” They are unaware that the object of their affections already exist, yet they have a better understanding on how he is to be treated when found than most of us are able to grasp, and keep, as faithful followers of Him.

I pulled another quote from this same article that is as equally resounding to me:
[“One comfort is, that Great Men, taken up in any way, are 
profitable company. We cannot look, however imperfectly, 
upon a great man, without gaining something by him. He
 is the living light-fountain, which it is good and pleasant to
 be near. The light which enlightens, which has enlightened
 the darkness of the world; and this not as a kindled lamp
 only, but rather as a natural luminary shining by the gift of
 Heaven; a flowing light-fountain, as I say, of native original
 insight, of manhood and heroic nobleness; -- in whose
 radiance all souls feel that it is well with them.”]

Though Carlyle is speaking of great men throughout history (not intending to represent Christ in his explanation), I think you can see there is quite an exact depiction of our Savior’s essence described in what was he is suggesting these “great” mortal beings somehow possess. For, if looked upon with understanding eyes (be they literal or of the heart) one cannot dismiss the qualities of Christ that we indeed gain from if we allow ourselves to be influenced by Him, simply by being the presence of our heavenly Father.
“…He is the living light-fountain….good and pleasant…light which enlightens, which has enlightened the darkness of the world…natural luminary…gift of heaven…in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them.”

Let’s look back to some of our original questions:
What does it mean to be great?
Why do people strive for greatness?
Assuming we have an answer to the first question, how do you know if you even possess the qualities necessary to attempt greatness?

By worldly standards, there are all manner of opinions about what greatness is and represents and how we are to go about obtaining those qualities to achieve such a status. But for those of us who know Christ personally, maybe the longing inside us to be great is that of our spirit wanting to know and be connected more deeply to the light of Christ. To grow, to learn, to be drawn in closer to Him and told the secrets of heaven. We are urged by Paul in 1 Peter 2:12 as aliens and strangers in the world to live our lives in a way that others “may see your good deeds and glorify God”. Most of us have a natural, normal desire to be successful in worldly terms-in our human bodies-because everybody likes an accolade or a good pat on the back. And we should support and encourage each other in our attempts to grow as people in the world. The trick is to not let our normal desire to find acceptance, love, and praise in others, overshadow our very purposeful desire to be closer, know more deeply, and point others toward God. To continue being, as you’ve probably heard 100 times over, IN the world but not OF it. We have been blessed with gifts far exceeding what any of us deserve--gifts meant to edify the body as a whole unit, so the unit can work with one purpose. The better we each are at our gifts, the better the body works, and the better we are at accomplishing the work of God’s kingdom together. [“There is one body and one spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6]

Feeling like you don’t possess what it takes to be great? If you are a child of God, we are told in scripture that when we receive Christ and are adopted into the family of God, we receive the power and the marking of the Holy Spirit who then lives in us [1 Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 1:13]. And furthermore, unlike biblical times, God no longer dwells behind the walls of a temple building, but takes up residence in your heart [1 John 4:12,15-16, Ephesians 2:22]. In other words, you have 2/3 of the trinity inside of you. 2/3 OF THE TRINITY!!!! We are great because of what—WHO-- is in us. The mere presence of God in us deems us HOLY, WORTHY, and VALUABLE. But it is up to us to allow God to do His thing in us. Aka: get out of the way. Decrease. Seek humility in all things. Seek the character of Christ, who both fully human and fully divine, pointed others to the Father above all else. [“Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:1-2]

If we wish to know Christ’s thoughts on greatness and being great, we need look no farther than the first gospel, Matthew.
[“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?...whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” 18:1-4]

So here’s to humility. Putting others first. Learning how to be servants of the MOST HIGH God. [1 Peter 2:16] Embracing our greatness not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because He who is in us is inherently great, and His very essence calls forth the same response of character out of us.
It is a blast loving Jesus with you.



{ok i can't leave without being honest and saying that this entire post about GREATNESS came to me while at a concert a few weeks ago. the artist would be CELINE DION. need i say more? :)}


web article: (Carlyle, Thomas. On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, Fredrick A. Stokes & Brother, New York, 1888. p. 2.)

A Jesus Year

[(It's now officially Jan 2, but this post was started on the 1st. Honest. :)]

I am having one of those days (weeks). One of those days where you are fully aware of your brokenness. Fully aware of your stupidity. Your mistakes. Mess-ups. Your straight up JUNK. ever have one of those days?! And it doesn't help that I just saw the movie "Doubt" in the theater. Haha...virtually no correlation with the story line but I think there are some overarching themes that everyone could tap into in some way in their life. Anyways, that has nothing to do with the price of tea in China, but the movie was good so if you like good movies maybe you should go see it. :) Meryl Streep rocks. As usual. And Amy Adams was quite awesome as well I thought. Ah, sorry this is not a movie review blog.

Ok, back to my self-loathing (while I eat a brownie...always helpful in that department. Ha.) I don't know, maybe it's an attack of the enemy around this time of year when things are happy and we are to "be of good cheer". Maybe it's the attitude of everyone getting serious and pondering their goals for the new year, and which ones not to attempt again from years past that are sure to end promptly by the 12th day of the year or so...like trying to cut out CHOCOLATE or something. PUH-LEASE. Just eat the darker stuff. Taste awesome. Less Sugar. More Antioxidants. Don't make me go all former-Rocky-Mountain-Chocolate-Factory-shift-manager on you and whip out my excuses for my occasional tiny (HUGE) piece (BAG) of heaven. Stalling. Again.

Today I am 2 years old. ("No you're not you're 24 and in complete denial. You've been babysitting too much.") Ha. No, today is my spiritual birthday. :) (If you want to know more about this you can read my long winded commentary on it here ; or also on the first few posts i ever wrote "an internal battle", "breaking free or tightening the chains", and "and now I'm free")
What a great day for that to happen to land on, huh? January 1. Talk about a New Year's Resolution. I have decided that JESUS is my new year's resolution. I was reading a blog recently where the writer said "I want a Jesus year, don't you?" I remember answering her audibly, as if she sat in the same room with me sharing my cup of 1/2 vanilla nut, 1/2 Swiss almond chocolate coffee (yes, it is divine), but in a whisper saying, "yes, I do." To hear it I think would have sounded like I was pondering my response. Not like a questioned, doubted response, but like "how do i get one of those....a Jesus year." I don't mean He hasn't been around for the last 24 years of my life, the last 13 years since I got baptized, or the last 2 years since I feel like I first met Him face to face. But how do I find Him, no--let Him in to the mistake-prone, sin-driven, straight up ugly areas in me so that I can be changed.

Not changed like the first time you believe and begin to understand what it means to live with Christ as your Lord and Savior. But the step after that. Changed in such a way that I stop allowing my laundry list of wish-I-could-redo's to affect my present self which doesn't allow me to see God's best for me, and know how to perceive what that is, based on the truth of God's word--not what any 3rd-party source tries to convince me of or way it tries to hinder the passions of my heart that are the very thing that makes it tick. I hate feeling like some intangible force be it fear or doubt, worry or criticism, opinion or expectation is what speaks the loudest to the outcome of my decisions. [I don't mean ignoring those whispers of wisdom that I believe are meant to protect or warn us (be it your "still small voice" or your "conscience"); I think those little inklings are placed in us for a reason and should be acknowledged like that of a guiding hand of a mentor or otherwise noteworthy voice of reason in our lives.] But I fear that I have spent much of my time the last 2 years listening more to the song of the incapable, than learning how to write my own melody with the tools my Creator has given me.

So maybe this reassessment of self-perception that I began this post with, which previously would have birthed itself into indifference, irresponsibility, and driving myself to numbness of thought, will, and has, projected my heart's thoughts into the world, and so has lost it's power as in intangible force in the form of one or more of the above mentioned emotions. An ending to a season of question frustration, and uncertainty, and a promise of present and future beauty, grace, hope and security in something (someone) who at first glance appears intangible as well, but perhaps is the very definition of the opposite-quite tangible-the WORD MADE FLESH. An uncoiling, unraveling, and undoing of myself to find that I in fact am hand-crafted and hemmed in to God's master plan. (Thus, my new blog header :) )

I want a Jesus year. A year of asking HIM to be my provider in ALL areas, and then LETTING HIM. A year of asking to be humbled, and graciously receiving the opportunity when it happens. A year of chances--of letting God show me how powerful He can be through me, instead of estimating that factor in my head and reassessing my prayers based on what I think He might be able to handle. A year to ask the one who created me who I am, and then BELIEVE HIM when He tells me. A year of being pro-active about sharing my passions with other people, and telling them about the love that makes my heart beat with such purpose. (And for good measure, we'll throw in a year of more exercise and eating green. :) )

With my Jesus year I have also committed myself to memorizing scripture more intentionally. Partially a personal goal already in progress, and partially because of the accountability found here by a group of women who are also in the same life race, seeking to be wiser, and more in love with their Savior. So I wanted to leave you with the verse I chose for my first memorization task.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert, and streams in the wasteland." [Isaiah 43:18-19]

God is doing a new thing. In each of us. Let's not miss it. The Creator of the universe who creates streams of water out of dry ground--that's who I want to know and be loved by. Let's have a Jesus kind of year. And let's have a blast doing it.
Love you to pieces.

Be Still My Soul

Be still my soul
The Lord is on your side
Bear patiently
The cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy God
To order and provide
In every change
He faithful will remain.

Be still my soul
Thy best, thy heavenly friend
Through stormy ways
Leads to a joyful end.

Be still my soul
The waves and winds still know
Still know
His voice who ruled them
While he dwelt below.

Oh what peace we often forfeit
Oh what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOus45dorPU&feature=related

STAY IN YOUR LANE

hi :)
it's getting a little late, and i just drove 6 hours to my parents house for a birthday/early thanksgiving weekend cause i will be with my other family on the actually holiday...(complete with my favorite 2 year old buddy. :) )...so i'm gonna try to type fast but not miss anything. a few weeks ago i was out nannying for this person and i was so blessed to be able to sit in on a devotion by this person. i only say that because i want to give credit where credit is due, and the below thoughts and ideas are mostly his (with a few words of my own...and i do mean FEW)...and I want to point you to the rightful owner of them should they help you too, then you will know who to thank God for. :) ya'll, i can't tell you how many times A DAY i think about this devotion and how much it has helped me to stay on track and begin to weed out the nonsense in my life that is not from the Lord.
i'm sleepy so i'm just going to jump right in :) ....

hebrews 12:1 "therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

we are all in the "race" of life. imagine we are all on a track, and each person has his/her own lane. each lane is specifically marked with boundary lines so that you know the path that your specific lane takes as the road curves and changes. the person to the right of your lane and the person to your left are each in the race with you, as are the others on either side of them, etc. you have one focus, one goal: run the race, in your lane, learning and doing your specific purpose that is unique and specifically designed for you. that lane was made for YOU, and YOU for the purpose in it. when you begin to have feelings of jealousy, envy, coveting, INSECURITIES of any kind, you have crossed over into someone else's lane. you are trying to do the purpose specifically designed for SOMEONE ELSE. STAY IN YOUR LANE. when you cross over into someone else's lane, not only do you attempt a purpose that was NOT designed for you, but you also take your focus off the task that has been gifted specifically to YOU. and if YOU aren't running the race in your lane (because you're trying to be in someone else's), there is NO ONE ELSE to run in your lane for you, so YOUR purpose and design isn't being fulfilled and completed, because you're waisting time trying to be someone else. STAY IN YOUR LANE. allow God to be the one to show you your pace, and how to deal with obstacles (be they distractions, literally something blocking your way, or a pot hole that catches you off guard) in the road when they appear. when we all stay in our respective lanes, we create a bigger picture of God's purpose and plan and how it is designed to work together. when we don't, we are trying to recreate a plan that we don't have the blueprints for.

GIRLS. S.T.A.Y. I.N. Y.O.U.R L.A.N.E God made you beautiful. smart. valuable. lovable. special. unique. holy to Him. we are the WORST at stepping into each others lanes/lives and being catty (sp?), jealous, gossip-y (yes i made that word up), backstabbers to each other when really our actions stem from our own insecurities or cracks in our knowledge of the truth, who God is to us and what that means about our own worth. (more about that in another post.) and not to mention the horrible example we become to our teenagers about how to be solid women of faith and the word when we succumb to any one of the above.
so let's ENCOURAGE instead of laugh at. SUPPORT instead of tear down. cheer each other on instead of hoping the other one falls so we don't feel so bad about our own mistakes.

my best friend and i have started a new habit of asking each other "are you staying in your lane?" i can't tell you what a world of difference this illustration has meant to me. maybe some of you visual learners like myself will benefit from it as well. i hope you are blessed and encouraged today, and homegirl don't forget....


STAY IN YOUR LANE.

On the road again...

what is up. geeze i don't even know where i am. hold on let me look at the sign on the bus...

ok we're in route to Missouri for most of the weekend. last Friday i showed up at my job at 6:00am. we left shortly after for the airport where we boarded a plane around 8 for Los Angeles, California. first time i've ever been to L.A. (well other than the fact that i grew up there..but that would be LA as in "Lenoir Area" ;) (for those of you still lost, that is the name of my very small hometown in North Carolina where i met my best, and most dear friend (who was also my music teacher *grin*), learned to love Jesus, became the Chubby Bunny champ of my middle school spring fling, learned to drive my first car--a red '88 jeep cherokee that belonged to 3 other family members before me, fell in love with the mountains and fall, and spent many summer days walking to the TCBY just down from my house. awww, memories.
so anyways, i had my first for real L.A. trip (well sort of--we were really in Anaheim for a conference) followed by a small detour to MALIBU for 3.5 days to suffer through beautiful sunrises and sunsets, fall asleep to our very own sound machine known as THE OCEAN, eat grilled-cheese poundcake (explain later--sounds gross, but it's HEAVEN), and get a free pedicure walking in the sand. not too shabby for a nanny job, huh?
so yesterday morning i woke up in California (i won't even talk about the 4 hour plane ride with one unhappy twin), spent about 6 hours last night in Nashville, and today i woke up in Springfield. we will head to St. Louis for the weekend sometime much later in the night. then add a drop down to Texas on Sunday and i'll be back in my bed by the beginning of next week. which will be slightly short-lived as we leave again next Friday morning for Sacramento, CA.
things will calm down a tad for a few weeks...although i'm still traveling every weekend, 2 of the next 3 are for personal trips--one home for a wedding, and the other to lead worship at a retreat with 2 of the most amazing girls. (more on that later:))

i have about 5 post that are almost all done that involve things other than my fame and fortune (minus the latter) for my coffee shop photography, and my travel schedule. God is really having a time with me right now which normally would indicate that His child (me) is being bratty and pushing buttons. but this is more of a growing, stretching, learning to trust sort of time that is really hard, and really hurts, but i know will bring a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time when we remain faithful (col 2:9-10). He is faithful to do His part even when we stink at life. speak the truth girls. even when you don't feel like it or maybe even don't believe it for that moment. speak the truth and cling to Him. He is our hope and security.

love you all. dirty diapers are calling..
(malibu pictures coming soon...)
ps...call your local radio stations (ALL OF THEM) and tell them they need to play a song called "Wonder" by Melissa Greene. DO.IT. don't make me come over there. ;)

THAT girl

currently sitting at my computer writing a new post (not this one--one with much more depth and a little less narcissism :) )

i just came to a new coffee shop (well i guess it's new...new to me) in town because they have free wi-fi. um, YES PLEASE. i am all about getting free stuff--especially when it comes to the WORLD WIDE WEB which i can not access from my apartment because the forces that be hate me and my computer.
moving on. before i stumbled into this shop, i went to barnes & noble cause i wanted to buy some new books to keep me occupied in my free time (wait, what is free time?) and while i was there i thought i would just go ahead and make a coffee purchase so i could swipe my credit card ONCE (instead of a second time at THIS coffee shop) and save my cash for my gas tank which is currently on "E". no. big. deal.
until i walk in and sit down with my FREE internet and the barista boy (yes BOY...i looks about the age of some of my nanny children. ok, that's maybe a stretch) comes over and proceeds to try and persuade me to let him make me the same product that i am proudly displaying right beside my computer in my STARBUCKS cup (oops...haha) to prove to me that i should have made my coffee purchase HERE instead of THERE. i didn't feel like explaining to him my brilliant (yet now FLOPPED) plan of only swiping my card once to minimize the amount of purchases on my VISA BILL (does he even know what it means to PAY BILLS?) so i proceeded to explain to him the short version that since i was already THERE buying books, i just went ahead and made my coffee purchase. he was not impressed by my innocently motivated plan and continued to badger me to know what my choice of drink was so that he could humble me with his brilliant plan of convincing me that this hole in the wall shop--which is only open til 8:00--(i'm sorry, is this a coffee shop or a day care? the average night coffee date happens between the hours of 7-10pm...they are losing major 'first date' numbers...pah-lease) is going to somehow be better than my PUMPKIN SPICE YUMMYNESS that is acting as the only source of saneness for this HORMONAL, and quite PMS-y 23 year old woman.
I. THINK. NOT.

he then took it upon himself to walk back to the counter and pretend like he won the battle and talk about me to his co-workers cause apparently we live in a sound-proof vortex where only people with coffee beans in their back pocket can hear the communicating sounds of one human to another. that's ok, i'll be THAT GIRL that brought Starbucks to the local shop. i'll tell the people in the drive-thru that it tastes better too. :) (wow, i'm in a mood.)

*UPDATE* i was just tapped on the shoulder and informed that the (creepy) man who had been taking promo-shots around the shop, apparently shot a really awesome picture of me through the window in my coffee-shopness with my computer, headphones and totally cool hoodie that i got at target like half a lifetime ago...and wanted to know if he could use it on the WORLD WIDE WEB and other promotional things for the barista boy's coffee shop. THAT'S RIGHT barista boy. I MADE THE PROMO MATERIAL. N.O.T. Y.O.U. i dare you to offer me another second-rate latte.

oh, and yes, i did turn down the FREE CHOCOLATE COOKIE the photo man offered me for my cooperation with his use of my rockstar photo. THAT is the definition of self control, all you hormonal beings out there.