Story & Lesson Highlights with Tiffany Hines

Tiffany Hines shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Tiffany, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
For a long time, I’ve been afraid to fully lean into God. Not because I doubted Him, but because of what that choice might cost me. The truth is, when you start walking in God’s way, you start losing people. You notice how choosing His way often means saying no to the things that bring more attention, success, or business in this world. The “ideal” way of doing things — chasing trends, blending in, doing what’s popular — seems to reward everyone else. But when you choose to walk with God, it can feel like you’re walking alone.

Breaking fear isn’t always about not caring what people think. You can live completely outside of God’s will, and still be fearless — but that’s not courage. The real battle comes when your fear is tied to obedience, when you know following God’s path means being misunderstood, left out, or even rejected.

Following God often feels lonely because few are truly walking His way. Some people try to play both sides — to live for the world and still claim to serve God. But when you choose the narrow path, you start to see the difference between comfort and conviction. You become the black sheep — not because you think you’re better, but because what you won’t participate in exposes what others choose to accept.

It’s not about judging anyone. It’s about choosing what aligns with your spirit, even when it costs you connection, opportunity, or approval. And that choice offends people who are trying to hold on to both worlds.

I’m not perfect — no one is. But the deeper I lean into God, the more my conviction grows. The things that used to feel normal start to feel heavy. The more I seek Him, the less I can tolerate what separates me from Him. And that’s hard. It’s a refining process — stripping away everything that doesn’t belong so your life reflects His presence, not your preference.

Leaning into God means letting go of fear — not because it disappears, but because faith gets louder. It’s learning to trust that what you lose for His sake will never compare to what He gives in return.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Tiffany Hines, and I’m from Washington, D.C. I’m the founder of Gifted One LLC and I AM Ministry — two separate entities with one united mission: The Gift of Love.

Through Gifted One LLC, I serve ministries and organizations by helping them express their message with excellence and creativity — through graphics, photography, clothing designs, websites, and more. My goal is to promote God’s work in ways that inspire, attract, and uplift others.

Through I AM Ministry, I take that same creative passion and pour it back into the next generation. I help youth discover healing and purpose by teaching them to release their emotions through the power of art — guiding them in digital design, photography, and videography. It’s not just about creating art; it’s about helping them see that their gifts have meaning, that their voices matter, and that God can use every part of their story.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was fearless.
I was doubtful at times, yes — but still full of joy, laughter, and freedom. I was a child who believed without question, who saw beauty in everything, and who didn’t measure her worth by approval or applause. I didn’t worry about perception, comparison, or expectation. I just was.

That child — that version of me — didn’t know fear in the way adulthood teaches it. She trusted easily. She dreamed loudly. She loved without caution. I’ve realized that’s who I’m trying to find again. Not the naïve version of myself, but the pure one — the one who existed before the world told me to shrink, perform, or harden to survive.

The world didn’t break me.
Experiences did.
And people — people with hidden agendas and unresolved pain — cracked parts of me I didn’t know could break. But I’ve also learned that when people don’t know who they are, they often mishandle who you are. Their confusion becomes your collision if you’re not careful.

That’s why I’ve learned to guard my spirit, not out of fear, but out of wisdom. Because so many are still searching for themselves, hiding behind titles, trends, relationships, and entertainment — masking emptiness with noise. And in that search, if you’re not rooted in who you are, you’ll start to lose the essence of who you were created to be.

But before we were ever corrupted by comparison or wounded by betrayal, we were free. We didn’t care what people thought. We didn’t question if we were enough. We just existed — full of light and curiosity.

I’m grateful now, because I’m finally getting back to that place — to the child in me who was happy, fearless, and free. But this time, I’m walking in that freedom as a mature woman — grounded in purpose, guided by wisdom, and covered by grace.

The child in me is healing daily. She’s learning that it’s safe to laugh again, to trust again, to create again without the weight of perfection. I’ve had to learn to live much of my life without physical protection — without someone always shielding me — but I’ve come to understand that God has been my protector all along. He’s kept me from what wasn’t meant for me, even when I didn’t understand why.

Now, I see that healing isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about returning — returning to who God designed you to be before life tried to define you. And every day, I thank Him for leading me back to that little girl inside — the one who still believes, still loves, and still trusts that everything is working for her good.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
The defining wound of my life has been unforgiveness.
For years, I didn’t even realize how deep it had settled within me. I thought I had moved on. I thought I had healed. But the truth about unforgiveness is—it’s tricky. It hides itself well. It can sit quietly inside you, disguised as strength, independence, or indifference, when really it’s pain you’ve learned to live with.

I’m just now, today, beginning to truly heal from it.
Because unforgiveness doesn’t always look like bitterness—it can look like distance. It can look like silence. It can look like trying to protect yourself so much that you stop allowing yourself to fully live.

The thing about unforgiveness is that even when you think you’ve forgiven, the memories still whisper. You don’t forget. The hurt lingers in familiar spaces—in conversations, in triggers, in quiet moments. But I’ve learned that healing isn’t just about forgetting; it’s about releasing. Sometimes you have to allow God to go into those hidden places of your heart—the ones you’ve learned to ignore—and remove what doesn’t belong there anymore.

Holding on to pain doesn’t protect you. It only binds you. When you carry what’s already been done, you start to make that hurt a part of your identity. You become guarded, fearful, and hesitant to live freely again. Unforgiveness builds walls where there should be doors.

But today, I’m choosing something different. I’m choosing to let go. To stop letting pain have a permanent home in my heart. Because life is too precious to live halfway.

Never let pain make you fearful of life.
Never let betrayal convince you that love isn’t worth giving again.
Never let what broke you convince you that you have to stay broken.

Keep living.
Keep forgiving.
Keep loving.

And no matter what—don’t let anything or anyone turn you into somebody you are not.

Because who you are, at your core, is love.
And when you choose forgiveness, you choose to become free again.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes the public version of me is the real me.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
The thing I understand deeply now is this — Jesus Christ isn’t looking for us to be a god.
He’s not asking for perfection or performance.
He’s simply asking us to serve, show up, and walk in alignment with truth.
That’s it. That’s the core of it.

It’s not hard to live right — the world has just made it easier to live wrong. We live in a time where everything that feels good is glorified, and everything that is good is questioned. The world caters to emotion — it feeds instability and calls it freedom. Most people are so emotionally unstable that they choose indulgence over discipline, comfort over conviction.

And I get it — it’s a hard fight. Because choosing God’s way means denying the parts of yourself that crave control, validation, or revenge. It means sacrificing what feels good in the moment for what’s right in the long run. That’s why walking with Christ is always up for debate — because humility doesn’t trend, and ego gets more attention.

But to follow Jesus is to surrender. To humble yourself when pride wants to speak. To stay silent when your flesh wants to prove a point. To forgive when your heart wants to hold on. To show love when it’s easier to walk away.

The world will tell you that kind of restraint makes you weak. But the truth is, it’s strength — the highest kind. Because those who turn the other cheek aren’t cowards; they’re conquerors of self. They’ve learned discipline. They’ve learned peace. They’ve learned that real self-love means protecting your spirit, not your image.

To walk in truth is to live in alignment — not perfection.
It’s about showing up daily, even when no one sees you, even when it costs you comfort, even when the crowd chooses differently.

Jesus doesn’t need us to impress Him.
He just wants us to trust Him.
To serve faithfully.
To love deeply.
To live honestly.

That’s the kind of life that reflects Him — not through words, but through the quiet strength of obedience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bygiftedone.com
• Instagram: thinesofficial
• Linkedin: Tiffany Hines