Feb. 3rd soccer playoffs for Dalton and Dylan

Today, Dalton and Dylan played their first play-off game and won, 2-0. Dalton scored the first goal of the play-off season. He was so excited. It was a really exciting game. It was nice just to spend a day with the family on a sunny but cold Saturday. The slideshow has been deleted.

This is an excerpt from servant's unite Blog. http://servantsunite.blogspotcom/ Just thought you would be interested.
Tim

There are 420 kids here from Jonesboro Arkansas area for a service conference (best way I can think to put that. We have a record for this facility with them here with over 500 volunteers at one time. The shower trailers, though cold, have helped and there are people sleeping in the common room and some rooms downstairs which have tarps up over the studs. This is most of them, at Tim Hine's morning devo today: Today was the kind of a day we hope to have here. 70 something with beautiful weather, the last forecast for our stay. By the time we drove from St. Bernard back up to Chalmette this evening, the fog had rolled in and the wind is picking up and gusty. Stormy weather is forecast the next couple days.

Tis the Season to be Working

A lot is going in the month of December. Groups are coming in to New Orleans and Chalmette and we continually are getting calls from people who need help. Youth in Action is coming to Hilltop Rescue, December 26th-30th. There will be 400 people here for that event and another 150 people will be here at the same time. We will have a full house.

A group of 35 will be coming in tomorrow from Pepperdine University and another group of 54 from Ohio, Servants Unite. The groups will be de-mucking houses, working on parks, dry walling, and hauling off debris. Tim is working with multiple groups this month. He is also shipping a container to Honduras tomorrow. And is waiting on some paperwork for an Ambulance to come in so we can ship that too.

We had our 19th anniversary on Dec. 12th and we stayed downtown at the Riverfront Hotel. It was so nice just to get away and have time alone with Tim.

Tim was appointed a deacon at church and is heading up the youth department. He is teaching classes and having a great time getting to know the kids.

Tim is very sick this week. He has the flu. Please say a prayer for him.

Check out Dylan's new web site www.dylanhines.com and my website www.myspace.com/genahines for more upcoming news.

Common Sense

1. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

2. Dear God, I have a problem, it's Me.

3. Growing old is inevitable .. growing UP is optional.

4. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

5. Silence is often misinterpreted but never misquoted.

6. Do the math .. count your blessings.

7. Faith is the ability to not panic.

8. Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.

9. If you worry, you didn't pray . If you pray, don't worry.

10. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home everyday.

11. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.

12. The most important things in your house are the people.

13 When we get tangled up in our problems, be still.

God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15 He who dies with the most toys is still dead. Have a great day!!! The SON is shining and He can certainly use you!

Ever Feel Useless?

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem

Gideon was afraid

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah was suicidal

Isaiah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

Peter denied Christ

The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once

Zaccheus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer..AND

Lazarus was dead!

Now! No more excuses!

God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. In the Circle of God's love, God's waiting to use your full potential.

True Friends!

If you had to describe a true friend, how would you do it? Perhaps you would say someone that accepts you for who you are or someone who keeps your secret or someone you can trust no matter what. Perhaps it is as simple as someone you can be yourself with. Well there are many forms of friends, as we can all attest to.

Some pretend for a while to be your friend and then turn against you. Other friends involve maintenance; they are good to go as long as you give them lots of attention. Then there is the ultimate friend, one that loves you for who you are mistakes and all. They help guide you spiritually; they are genuinely concerned with your health, your life and your relationship to God. They are truly concerned about you getting to heaven with them. You can not see them for months or even years and pick up right where you left off. These special friends are few and far between and I appreciate all the ones that God has put in my life. I know there are some that I haven't even met yet and that is awesome! Jesus said “Greater Love Hath No Man Than To Lay Down His Life For His Friend”. What kind of friend are you?

851 Houses

This was a productive week. God has revealed his awesomeness again, hurdles to serving the elderly and disabled in Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish were laid down as though God himself were standing before us. (He was). The opportunity to finish 851 homes for the elderly and handicapped was laid before us. Who are we you ask? Warriors that will finish the job. When I ask myself WWJD, I must respond in passion and love for those who cannot do for themselves. God put me here to defend the cause of the poor and needy. I cannot change my course because it is not my course. It is the course that was laid out for me. I am not saying it's yours, although we could use your help.

Our goal is this. We have 851 homes to demuck. It takes 12-15 people to do a house in a day. We want to finish by Jan 31st., therefore we need to finish seven houses a day for the next 120 days, that's 106 people a day, that are willing to work hard. Got It?

I am appealing to all who hear the shout and the desperation of this message. This task is achievable. We have enough space to comfortably keep 1000 volunteers a day. We have hot showers, hot meals, and Air conditioned rooms with cots and beds. We have the houses and the homeowners ready to be helped. Here is the call will you answer it?

The work is hard but rewarding. You will leave tired but fulfilled. Show this letter to you boss and organize a company service project. Bring enough people for a team or two or three. We have everything here to do the job except you. Even if you can only come for a couple of days, we'll take it.

We are fighting the good fight. But we need armies of hands to do the work. We will leave the light on so you can find us in Chalmette, La. Or you can call me @ 985-631-8540 and I will gladly address your questions or you can register on the Hilltop Rescue website @ hilltoprescue.org for some scheduled work camps. Feel free to e-mail me @ Waywalker@msn.com .

David's Mighty Men

I used to believe that David had 300 mighty men that lived in caves with him and fought for the nation of Israel by David’s side instead of Saul’s. Well, II Sam. 23 shares some interesting insights to the Three, count them three mighty men. These guys were amazing. If read through the chapter a little you will discover that they take on insurmountable odds because it was the right thing to do. Such were the exploits of the mighty men. I think when you are young everyone wants to be a hero, as a child we wanted to be firemen, Policemen-Policewomen, Astronauts, Doctors and Nurses and all kind of jobs that saved peoples lives. I also wanted to be a hero but more on the lines of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, even Aquaman was really cool. When you are young you admire those that have dedicated their lives to help others, as you get older you tend to admire those who dedicate their lives to help themselves. The Rich and the famous are plastered on all the headlines, the TV and the internet, the malls are all designed to get us to focus on self. Physically we search for what our desires have led us to.

But spiritually, there still exist mighty men. People who will stand their ground no matter what the odds. They are people who accept a challenge that seems impossible. The mighty instill passion in others, they never give up, they push through whatever muck is put in their way. They fight till they are done. I have met many mighty warriors over the last 10 months. Men and women and children, from all walks of life, some that are young in their faith, but willing to be used however needed. Others are older; I have known them for years, I always light up when I see them, I know the battle is easier with them at my side and they instill in me the passion to be brave and fight well.

I would like to thank you people for your sharp sword, your swift feet, your willing hands, and most of all your hearts. You are awesome!

The Face of Disaster.

I wish I could describe it to you. It is truly amazing that America is a part of Louisiana. It is as if the gulf coast has been torn away from the mainland and is being pushed away as an eyesore. It is hard to understand that America has stopped reacting to the overwhelming need of the poor and the homeless. There are a few of you that might read this that are still concerned, but all in all everyone else has gone with the standard, excuse, out of sight, out of mind. I guess that’s the way it was when Jesus came to town. There was something exciting and new to witness and talk about. This particular excitement was like none other, full of adrenaline; people running so they would not miss the show. Much like the excitement that filled the hearts of many in response to Katrina, from Mobile to New Orleans it was amazing, but short lived. They gave their all, like I have frequently said of teenagers, they are quick out of the gate, but they’ve got no stamina. I wonder what the small towns did a year after Jesus had healed their lame and their blind and their lepers and their demon possessed, but most of all I wonder what happened to their hearts. Moved for a moment and then over time, out of sight, out of mind. God help us, we are so blind.

Greetings!

Well, I know some of you are wondering why we haven’t blogged in awhile. I guess it is my fault. I should have been keeping you up to date on the summer happenings, but things have been so hectic around here we just haven’t had the time to do it. So, I will try my best to update you on the latest happenings.
The summer Torch Trips were excellent and each group had Mark Connell and Joe Merillat to help them plan each trip. Tim was busy most of the summer in Chalmette running groups at Hilltop Rescue Disaster Relief Camp. The volunteers came by the hundreds during the summer and with Tim and his team of leaders, Hilltop Volunteers demucked 1,200 homes.
Tim and Gayle were in Honduras at the end of June to remove Tattoos. On that trip, Tim was able to finally get the paperwork for the Children’s home to be officially opened. Casa de Esperanza opened the end of June and is currently caring for 5 little boys. They are about to receive more soon. A special thank you to Karen and Jen for caring for these special little souls. The boys are a handful but they manage to give them the love they have never known before. Tim and Gayle returned again August 22-31, and removed tattoos mostly in San Pedro Sula. Tim had meeting after meeting with the governmental agencies in Honduras where he talked to the New Government to get them to help with more humanitarian aid for their people.
Tim left Honduras to go straight to Orlando to be at Sonquest to talk to people about volunteering in New Orleans. Tim has been quite busy these past few months. He gets up at 5am and comes home at 10pm. The hour and a half drive one way is tiresome but he does it daily morning and night. Sometimes he is so busy and the traffic down to Chalmette is so bad that he occasionally doesn’t have the energy to make the drive home and stays in a FEMA trailer over night to lead devos in the morning and at night. Over 3,800 volunteers have driven from 48 states to help the victims of Katrina, It seems no matter how hard you work, there is a bigger mound to accomplish each day. From now until the end of this year, Hilltop will focus on having three work camps, Oct., Nov. and Dec., while simultaneously taking care of the pressing Honduras matters. Also he is helping to set up the first; Church of Christ First Response Team, for future disasters, For the next three months Tim and the fearless group he is working with, Brendan Hendrix, Lana Cagle, Janet Hines and others, have been asked to head up the demucking of the rest of the elderly and disabled in St. Bernard Parish. 800 plus homes, what a task!!!! Pray for God to give him wisdom and strength to get the job done, Yesterday, he finally got a day off and took our boys fishing. The water was rough and it was rainy but the boys didn’t care. They were just happy to be with their dad.

To view more exciting details, click on these links:
www.hilltoprescue.org
www.calledandcompelled.blogspot.com
http://www.torchmissionshonduras.blogspot.com/