Posted in General Posts by Hannah Latimer on 5/1/2012
“As“As we try to paint a picture of Calvary, may we dip our pen in the blood that atoned for our sin.”
“As we try to paint a picture of Calvary, may we dip our pen in the blood that atoned for our sin.”
I’m paraphrasing a Spurgeon quote here but these words have been resounding in my head and heart so i feel the need to write about them. My Pastor handed out a first edition copy of Spurgeon’s sermons to his little flock of fellow Believers because he wanted us to feel the history of the pages, and indeed those pages were brittle and fragile and you could almost feel the pages being turned by eager hands in the 18th century. It almost gave you the feeling that Spurgeon had just wrote this book of wisdom and handed it directly into your hands. And as I sat in my little Church listening to my Pastor read 1 Corinthians and speak on the Passion of our dear Savior, I stumbled upon the quote above and my heart was moved to imagery that I had never thought of before. There was something about having someone audibly speak in my ears a picture of the Via del Rosa along with reading this very old piece of literature that laid a heavy weight of gravity upon my heart and for once sober my very distracted thoughts.
My thoughts were upon the divine blood of a spotless Lamb. I imagined myself actually taking a portion of His precious blood and if it were possible to take my heart and lay it out flat like a sheet of papyrus, I imagined myself scratching upon the surface with my pen dipped in innocent blood, “But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed.” And just when the ink made of blood dried to the page of my heart, I imagined myself taking the portion of blood that remained unused and saturating the papyrus in it, for not a single drop of the blood of Jesus Christ was spared in the atonement of my sin. Indeed the copious and costly blood of Christ covers us completely.
How great the pain and suffering of Christ yet how deep the Father’s love. I feel my sin that brought the blameless Lamb to slaughter, and indeed it weighs heavy upon my heart and mind. I see the cup of wrath that was given to Christ on my behalf and the blood that appeased such wrath and the body that was broken for my transgressions and nothing but awestruck wonder fills my thoughts. How could He who is the High King of Heaven, who is perfect in every way, humiliate Himself and come serve and save the sinners and scoffers, like myself, who hung Him upon His tree a torture? But then, Christ by His sweet unabated love, who is the picture of all beauty and selflessness reminds me that where this was His tree of torture, it is indeed to me the tree of life and by it I get to rejoice in the Resurrection, where indeed all my hope and allegiance lies. It is through Calvary that I have freedom from the bondage of my sin that I was once enslaved to, the liberty to celebrate and bask in the knowledge of eternity spent with my Redeemer, and His sweet forgiveness that completely erases my sins and casts them as far as the east is from the west. It is by the nail pierced hands and feet that affixed our Savior to Calvary’s Cross that made intercession for us, reconciling us back to the Father. I can’t help but stand in awe at the collision of such love, pain, and sacrifice that my heart breaks down all its barriers and yields in submission to a mighty God that made an end to all my sin and a ransom for my forsaken soul.
This is the Good News that we have to proclaim! May God always quicken our hearts to have the same compassion, love, and forgiveness that hung Him upon the Cross, ever drawing our hearts closer to His and may we always with zeal and love proclaim the Good News of the Gospel that we have in the hope of the Resurrection to all nations.
11 different countries in 11 months. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I get everytime I think about the World Race! If you would like to donate to my mission trip you can do so by clicking on the “Support Me!” link in the side panel.
11 different countries in 11 months. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I get everytime I think about the World Race! If you would like to donate to my mission trip you can do so by clicking on the “Support Me!” link in the side panel. we try to paint a picture of Calvary, may we dip our pen in the blood that atoned for our sin.”
I’m paraphrasing a Spurgeon quote here but these words have been resounding in my head and heart. My Pastor handed out a first edition copy of Spurgeon’s sermons to his little flock of fellow Believers because he wanted us to feel the history of the pages, and indeed those pages were brittle and fragile and you could almost feel the pages being turned by eager hands in the 18th century. It almost gave you the feeling that Spurgeon had just wrote this book of wisdom and handed it directly into your hands. And as I sat in my little Church listening to my Pastor read 1 Corinthians and speak on the Passion of our dear Savior, I stumbled upon the quote above and my heart was moved to imagery that I had never thought of before. There was something about having someone audibly speak in my ears a picture of the Via del Rosa along with reading this very old piece of literature that laid a heavy weight of gravity upon my heart and for once sober my very distracted thoughts.
My thoughts were upon the divine blood of a spotless Lamb. I imagined myself actually taking a portion of His precious blood and if it were possible to take my heart and lay it out flat like a sheet of papyrus, I imagined myself scratching upon the surface with my pen dipped in innocent blood, “But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed.” And just when the ink made of blood dried to the page of my heart, I imagined myself taking the portion of blood that remained unused and saturating the papyrus in it, for not a single drop of the blood of Jesus Christ was spared in the atonement of my sin. Indeed the copious and costly blood of Christ covers us completely.
How great the pain and suffering of Christ yet how deep the Father’s love. I feel my sin that brought the blameless Lamb to slaughter, and indeed it weighs heavy upon my heart and mind. I see the cup of wrath that was given to Christ on my behalf and the blood that appeased such wrath and the body that was broken for my transgressions and nothing but awestruck wonder fills my thoughts. How could He who is the High King of Heaven, who is perfect in every way humiliate Himself and come serve and save the sinners and scoffers, like myself, who hung Him upon His tree a torture? But then, Christ by His sweet unabated love, who is the picture of all beauty and selflessness reminds me that where this was His tree of torture for Him, it is indeed to me the tree of life and by it I get to rejoice in the Resurrection, where indeed all my hope and allegiance lies. It is through Calvary that I have freedom from the bondage of my sin that I was once enslaved to, the liberty to celebrate and bask in the knowledge of eternity spent with my Redeemer, and His sweet forgiveness that completely erases my sins and casts them as far as the east is from the west. It is by the nail pierced hands and feet that affixed our Savior to Calvary’s Cross that made intercession for us, reconciling us back to the Father. I can’t help but stand in awe at the collision of such love, pain, and sacrifice that my heart breaks down all its barriers and yields in submission to a mighty God that made an end to all my sin and a ransom for my forsaken soul.
This is the Good News that we have to proclaim! May God always quicken our hearts to have the same compassion, love, and forgiveness that hung Him upon the Cross, ever drawing our hearts closer to His and may we always with zeal and love to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel that we have in the hope of the Resurrection to all nations.
11 different countries in 11 months. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I get everytime I think about the World Race! If you would like to donate to my mission trip you can do so by clicking on the “Support Me!” link in the side panel.
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Posted in General Posts by Hannah Latimer on 2/29/2012
Piano Concert to Cover the World.
Hello All! My Name is Hannah Latimer and I am having a piano concert in hopes to raise funds for my mission trip through the World Race. For those of you who may not know about the World Race it is an 11 month Christian mission trip(s) to 11 different countries all over the world. I will be backpacking across most of these countries and sleeping in tents and simply living and loving on the people. This mission trip is certainly not glamorous and is meant to help lead people to a life of abandon for the hope and deliverance of the Gospel. I will be going to Bulgaria, Romania, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This is an incredible opportunity to experience the desperate need of the Gospel all over the globe and to carry the call and urgency of the Gospel to all nations and peoples. The World Race works in partnering with churches and ministries to preach the Gospel to the local communities in a deep and relational way. My team and I will be ministering to orphanages, church plants, working on community development projects, and will be counseling women and children who are enslaved to the cruelties of human trafficking, all in hopes to deliver the redemptive love of our dear Savior to hurting and poverty stricken nations.
The piano concert will be featuring Canadian pianist Benjamin Bertin in performance of some of the great composers for the piano: Bach, Brahms, Haydn, Rachmaninoff and Chopin. Accompanying him will be piano composer Robert Hardie.
It will be on April 29th at 6:00pm and will be held at First Baptist Church of Newnan, 15 W. Washington st. Newnan, Ga, 30263.
Pre-sale tickets are $15.00
Tickets at the door will be $20.00
Pre-sale tickets are available at First Baptist Church of Newnan or at Espresso Lane in downtown Newnan.
Thank you so much for checking out my blog! And if you feel led to give now you can do that by clicking on the "support me" link!
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Posted in General Posts by Hannah Latimer on 2/22/2012
My squad mates ask everyone to give 100 facts about ourselves so that we can get to know each other ..so here are some little factoids about myself! Hope you enjoy getting to know me!
1. I am a sucker for cheesy sitcoms.
2. I love winter and wearing sweaters.
3. My dream is to have a cabin on a remote mountain.
3. I plan on having a library in this cabin.
4. I will bake pies and cook stew all day long in it.
5. And I fully expect all the woodland creatures to help me bake and clean the cabin.
6. I want more than anything for Middle Earth to be real ..I think I have accidentally convinced myself that it is. Whoops.
7. I want to live in the trees. Like a tree city where the lights never turn off and it's just a magical sparkly dream to look at.
8. I work in a coffee shop and I absolutely love it.
9. I plan on mastering latte art before I live for the World Race.
10. I had 5 jobs last year.
11. I'm what they call a workaholic.
12. I had three jobs at once last year, Chick-fil-a, Red Lobster, and Hastings.
13. I want to live in the woods and be a pioneer women.
14. I worked at a summer camp for underprivileged children on Tybee Island. It was amazing.
15. My youth group use to take winter retreats to the Shepherds of the Ozarks in Arkansas, and it will forever be one of my favorite places in the world.
16. Any car I touch literally turns to shambles. I'm convinced my ancestors left some kind of curse on my family.
17. My first car was a mini van and the only door that would open was the driver door, so if you wanted to get into my car you had to climb through my door ..or the window. It was amazing and I loved it.
18. My sisters first car didn't go in reverse.
19. My other sisters car looked like a cow.
20. My last car, you had to jam a plastic hanger between the battery post and the water tank (I think it was the water tank) ..crank the car, remove the hanger, and then you could go on your merry little way. I loved this car as well.
21. My Father is one of the jolliest, amazing human beings that I know. I am instantly happy when I see him.
22. Nothing makes me happier than rainy days and reading books by a cozy fire.
23. I think music is one of the most beautiful expressions of our souls. (I sound like a psycho hippy, I'll go ahead and apologize for that.)
24. I did however win the Camp Hippy Award, and every where I've worked people have given me the title of hippy or flower child. I don't really understand why. I promise I don't sit around listening to Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane.
25. Bands I do sit around listening to all day would be The Counting Crows, Radiohead, Brighteyes, and Taylor Swift.
26. I have some of the craziest and funniest friends in the whole entire world. They are also some of the most talented people in the world.
27. I think it's hilarious when people fall. I have horrible slapstick humor, so I will go ahead and apologize if I laugh when you fall or hit your head. I really am sorry.
28. I have always intended to travel the world and I'm pretty certain the World Race was created for me. A friend told me about it and I applied a week later. I cannot express how excited I am about this year!
29. I think it's really funny when people get angry. I really don't mean to laugh, it just happens.
30. I plan on reading all of Kurt Vonneguts work before I die. I'm half way finished with this goal.
31. I love people and listening to them. I feel like I'm most at home with myself when I can listen to others and help them.
32. I am probably the most awkward and clueless person you will ever meet. And proud of it.
33. I am probably the most passive person you will ever meet. I really don't think I know how to get angry. It's a problem.
34. I like to think of myself as adventurous, but in reality, I'm pretty low key.
35. I am so very fascinated with abnormal psychology. My Strange Addiction and Taboo are two of my favorite shows.
36. I want to see the Northern Lights more than anything.
37. I am afraid of whales. It's an irrational fear, but they are just so stinking big!
38. The ocean scares me in the same way.
39. But I love the beach at night.
40. Pans Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies, along with Lord of the Rings and Groundhog Day.
41. I want to meet and hang out with Bill Murray more than any other celebrity.
42. Green and grey are my favorite colors.
43. I am having just a little too much fun making this list.
44. Some of the most beautiful people I know go to my little Church called Ecclesia.
45. They are very much family to me and I love them dearly.
46. I'm on a sunrise kick right now and loving it. Christ is so beautiful and I love feeling like I can breath when I see His creation around me.
47. I love how walking around in the woods can make you forget about time and schedules.
48. I think Brunswick stew tastes and looks like vomit.
49. I have been watching documentaries like a psycho lately.
50. I watched one about Graffiti Art and I kind of want to be a Graffiti Artist now.
51. I am so unbelievably excited about living in a tent and out of a back pack for a year.
52. I drink coffee more than any human should be allowed to.
53. I am very idealistic but not very proactive.
54. And that is why I have an amazing best friend who keeps me on track and ambitious.
55. I plan on going to Culinary school. I have said this for the past 3 years, and it WILL happen one day.
56. Sushi is my new found addiction.
57. I like to crochet.
58. Nothing cracks me up like a funny little puppy or kitten but I am in no way a pet lover.
59. I do however think pet lovers are funny and awesome.
60. I could listen to people talk about philosophy and religion all day long.
61. I've wanted to play the fiddle ever since I was a wee child.
62. I have 3 older sisters and an older brother and I am absolutely in love with all of them.
63. We are all completely different. And I like that.
64. My mother is the sweetest and the funniest.
65. I love going to local shows for local bands.
66. I love hearing new music.
67. I love it when my friends get together and have dance parties to Dubstep, Taylor Swift and Ke$sha. No shame.
67. I love anything that brings nostalgia or childhood memories. Like watching a classic Disney movie or going to a childhood home.
68. I watched Anastasia last night.
69. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie.
70. I should really be getting ready to go to work right now.
71. Nothing makes me happier than to see people genuinely laugh. Like, they are crying they are laughing so hard.
72. I hate buying people gifts by obligation, like on birthdays, but I LOVE buying random gifts for people throughout the year. It's just so much more exciting and thoughtful that way!
73. I could eat mac n cheese for the rest of my life and be okay with it.
74. I recently watched all the Harry Potters and loved it.
75. I will never understand math. It was made by the devil.
76. I think life is absolutely beautiful and everyday should be embraced.
77. I am so oblivious when it comes to how much money I have. I like to not know so I can't worry about it ..and this has proved very irresponsible, but I am completely stress free!
78. I fully intend on riding a giraffe in Africa. When you guys have to ask "Where's Hannah?" don't be surprised when I'm in the background of every picture riding some crazy animal.
79. I love meeting people and that is why working at a coffee shop is perfect for me. People who drink coffee love to talk apparently.
80. I want to understand music theory but I've heard it has a lot to do with math ..so probably will never happen.
81. I want to play the electric guitar in a rock band more than anything.
82. I love blaring music and screaming the songs in my car.
83. My philosophy in life is that everyone should take at least 5 minutes out of there day to dance. Just bust a few moves and I promise it make any situation better.
84. I could spend hours watching stupid youtube videos of adorable animals.
85. I love hymns. I think they are so beautiful.
86. My front tooth is fake.
87. My sisters and I use to take flour and put it into socks and beat each other with them. I cannot tell you fun this was.
88. My sisters beat me up more than my brother.
89. I have to go to the Red Wood forest before I die.
90. I hate texting. I think it is the poorest form of communication that has been created.
91. I love ceramics. I took one semester of it and absolutely fell in love with it and hope to do it again.
92. M.C. Escher and Salvador Dali are my two favorite artists.
93. Holy cow, if you made it this far in reading this, I commend you.
94. Sometimes, when I can't sleep at night, I sleep on the floor and instantly fall asleep.
95. I looooooove shopping at thrift stores and antique stores.
96. But I hate shopping anywhere else.
97. Wal-Mart on Black Friday is my worst nightmare.
98. I hate sweet tea.
99. I am so ready to leave for the WR!!!
100. And can't wait to meet and serve with you guys!
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Posted in General Posts by Hannah Latimer on 1/27/2012
But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord,
And He answered me from His
holy hill.
I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord
Sustained me.
Psalm 3:4-5
Here lately I've been waking up early to watch the sun rise because sometimes I simply need to be reminded that Christ is my sustainer. There are periods in life when I know that I am being completely self absorbed and allow my mind to become so anxious, stressed, or entertained by things that are fleeting. And Christ by His sweet love and mighty power gives me the gift of something that I so often take for-granted, a sun rise. He, by His sweet grace and mercy, reminds this silly person who wants to worry or be distracted and tells her that all she needs to do is to sit back and feel Him constantly at work around her. And this has been blowing my mind!
It's hard to think that while God is sustaining the cosmic universe, while He throws gas and dust into the cosmos and creates some of the most beautiful works of art you will ever set your eyes on called nebulae, while He sustains every wave the ocean casts upon the shore, and every cloud that drifts through the sky, every tiny little insect that scuttles on the ground or flutters through the air, and every massive whale that swims aimlessly through the ocean, that He is also sustaining my every heart beat while I drift to sleep through the night, and continues to draw every breath in and out of my lungs in the morning when I rise. And He, by His rich mercies allows me to partake in His glory and His majesty by displaying His love through something so constant, reassuring, and extraordinary as a sunrise.
The Creator created because He loves. And He loves because it is apart of His very nature. And we are indeed called to love because this Love sought us out, who were once alienated and dominated by our sins, and with big hearted, compassionate love, loved us first! This is indeed something to rejoice about. I can become so selfish and allow my mind to be so distracted with things that simply do not matter. If I could only grasp eternity and peer into the face of Christ, maybe then I would realize how finite and tiny the things of this world are. If I could only see past this body of flesh and see Him. And I find myself making this plea to God all the time but Christ, knowing my heart better than I do, gently and sweetly whispers in my ear, "Hannah, I have given you small glimpses of My glory through My creation, I remain a mystery so that I that i can sanctify you, My little creature, back to Myself, your Creator. You'll find home in my Love. Look and see that I love you." And this is when I gaze into the morning sky and can take what feels like the first fresh breath of air to ever be circulated through my lungs. I feel His peace. And my restless mind is still.
Christ is perfect. He is the only Thing that we can cling to that will never leave, change, or forsake us. He has given us the unspeakable beauty of a sunrise so that we might remember the risen Son. We are forgiven and get to partake in this Love. Praise God. May we always remember this love and fill our speech, thoughts, and hearts with His Words. May we see the world with the same compassionate eyes that He so lovingly graces us with. Whether is it in 11 different countries or to our estranged neighbors. May we always remember to love beyond ourselves.
Yeah!
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Posted in General Posts by Hannah Latimer on 10/4/2011
"Let us sit down upon the top of this fair hill. The clear sunshine and the bright air flow into us in streams of life and gladness, while our thoughts are lifted up to God, and our hearts quietly expand to love. Beneath us is that beautiful rolling plain, with it's dark masses of summer foliage sleeping in the sun for miles and miles away, in the varying shades of blue and green, according to the distance or the clouds. There at our feet is the gigantic city, gleaming with an ivory whiteness beneath its uplifted but perpetual canopy of smoke. The vila-spotted hills beyond it, its almost countless spires, its one huge many-steepled palace, and its solemn presiding dome, its old bleached tower, and its squares of crowded shipping---it all lies below us in the peculiar sunshine of its misty magnificence. There, in every variety of joy and misery, of elevation and depression, three million souls are working out their complicated destinies. Close around us the air is filled with the songs of birds, or the pleased hum of insects that are drinking the sunbeams, and blowing their tiny trumpets as they weave and unweave their mazy dance. The flowers breath sweetly, and the leaves of the glossy shrubs are spotted with bright creatures in painted surcoat or gilded panoply, while the blue dome above seems both taller and bluer than common, and is ringing with the loud peals of the unseen larks, as the steeples of the city ring for the nations victory. Far off from the river-flat comes the booming of the cannon, and here, all unstartled, round and round the pond, a fleet of young perch are sailing in the sun, slowly and undisturbedly as if they had a very grave enjoyment in their little lives. What a mingled scene it is of God and man! All so bright, so beautiful, so diversified, so calm, opening out such fountains of deep reflection, and of simple hearted gratitude to our Heavenly Father."
-Frederick W. Faber.
I love this scene. The first time I read this my soul felt at ease with the chaos that is humanity around me. Because wherever there are cannons booming or millions of souls working out their complicated destinies, there are birds singing and tiny insects humming. There is creation amongst us whispering in our ears and endearing our eyes with the unfathomable and mysterious thought of our heavenly Creator. While all the toils of life are among us and make us feel so overwhelmed, there is still the tranquility of the tiny creatures who simply exist to glorify their Maker. Christ has given us the beauty of creation for the display of His glory. He gives us beautiful hills to set us aside from the busy city and sober our thoughts to reflect on Him.
My soul needs this ..
I find, especially lately, that I am consumed with time, and how the ticking clock is always prompting me to get ready for work, or run errands, or whatever event that comes my way, and I serve that time. I am a time server. Constantly thinking to the next hour with such anxiousness that I don't allow my mind the beauty of stillness. It seems I am always looking towards the next thing that might entertain me for a fleeting moment, and then I realize I am amusing myself to death. I am literally looking for futile musings in life until I am in my deathbed. I can’t see past the immediate to meditate on the eternal. And it is Christ who comes to me and says with all compassion and love, “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And when I get to this point in the stream of thoughts about existence and what the heck I’m doing with my time, I usually lose it and jump in my car and run away to a mountain, or the woods, or some place where I can see nothing but stars. And then time seems irrelevant and the pang to be closer to this God that is outside of time and that created all this beauty around me gives my soul rest and my mind peace. I am able to take in a deep breath and feel Something in control. I feel the Maker and the order of His creation around me and I can rest in the assurance of His grace by the blood of a spotless Lamb that covers me.
And then I realize ..
People do not know this love,
And then indeed my heart quietly expands to love ..
I feel the Fathers love through His creation and then my heart aches for the many who have no understanding of this divine love. The souls of billions are working out their destinies ..their eternal destinies, and are constantly looking for what might fulfill this void of wonderment at the creation around them. They are searching. Searching for truth, searching for purpose, and searching for belonging amongst 7 billion others. People are searching for love and it’s by the Fathers love that “we who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless.”
He has given us the Gospel ..
And He has given us a commission ..
And so I go ..
Whether it is in 11 different countries or in Newnan, Georgia, I go and proclaim and plead with Christ to grant me the grace to live as He did, to serve and not be served, to deny myself and pick up my Cross and follow Him daily. To love beyond reason so that the Light of the Father might shine so brightly through me, this vessel, this bondservant of Christ, and penetrate the hearts of the blinded. This is why I exist. This is why I was created, to glorify and make known the Creator of all.
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