Tim's Blog

Recent Happenings.... A Blog Post Finally!

2013-05-21T11:53:00Z

(Click to follow links to photos)

I built and delivered a whole set of furniture for a friend's rental cabin out in Luray, VA
Maryanne got some fertilized Canada Goose eggs and incubated them their full time and they actually hatched! We're thinking about training them up as guard geese for our chickens.
Some "portrait" photos I took of my chickens recently.

-Tim

House Progess / Dad's Surgery

2012-04-28T22:51:00Z

Dad had his surgery on Monday and came back home the same day. Yesterday he was feeling so good that he decided to go out and check on the bees. God is blessing the healing progress.

Tim has been working on bathroom #4 and the tiling is almost done. The shower wall and floor are done, Becky and Tim grouted the floor today. Em has been working on the Living Room. The walls are painted and the trim is 75% done

A Hynes Family Update!

2012-04-19T15:09:00Z

A lot has happened in our family over the months since I last wrote. Here is a quick summary:

Dad is retiring from his government job in about a month.
We have been fixing up the house to sell, large items being:
- Replacing a huge deck (finished last summer)
- Sodding the front yard (finished last fall)
- Renovating 5 bathrooms (we have the master bath left)
- Repainting all of the rooms in the house (this is about half done)
The Body has blessed us by families coming out and helping us with these projects. Halbach Family: Its too bad we didn't get any pictures with you. You were an electrifying help to the project!
We're planning to move out to the country where we can own more land and work toward a self sufficient lifestyle.
We have looked at some farm real estate in the area with Grandaddy(Mom's Dad is a real estate agent)
Dad is having foot surgery next Monday (the 23rd). Please pray that it will go well, and be safe and successful.

Hynes Family Newsletter 2011

2011-12-28T18:43:00Z

To all our friends and family, greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We always look forward to hearing about what the Lord has been doing in your life during the year. This letter is a brief summary about what He's been doing in our family.

Our family motto for this year was “Lay treasures in heaven in twenty-eleven”. As we've pursued living out this motto, God has motivated us to invest in relationships. There have been many opportunities to invest deeply in people we know, and also to go out of our comfort zone in starting few relationships. We’ve made mistakes along the way, but the Lord is showing himself faithful toward completing the good work he’s begun in us. In February, Allen and Jennifer traveled to Wake Forest, NC for a couples only conference hosted by Scott Brown. They arrived in the general vicinity after dark, but could not find the exact location. After driving up and down the stretch of road several times looking for the address, they noticed there was another car that seemed to be doing the same thing. The next time they passed the other car in criss crossing the target area, Allen rolled down his window and the other driver did too. Allen and the man asked each if the other was looking for the NCFIC conference, and the answers were yes. The other couple found the place and led us there, and we spent the conference sitting at the same table and getting to know each other, and several other Godly couples. The conference gave important guidance and testimony on building for marriage and strengthening existing ones. Allen and Jennifer were deeply blessed. Then in October, Allen and Jennifer re-met and introduced our whole family to this family and several other couples from the February conference who brought their whole families to a follow-on marriage conference just outside of Raleigh, NC. It was the NCFIC conference called “Gospel-Centered Marriages for a Glorious Church.” This conference explained many fascinating facets of marriage, with topics including: Getting Married Early, Friendship in Marriage, Preparing for Marriage, and The Role of Romance and Emotions. You can get the recording of this conference at www.ncfic.org. This conference sent us home with many ideas to talk and think about. During the conference we made opportunities to meet several new families and deepen relationships with families we already knew.

For our family, it was a conference kind of year. Another conference we attended was the second annual Family Economics Conference. This conference emphasized entrepreneurship and fathers working in home-based businesses instead of external corporate jobs. The conference thoroughly covered these subjects and elaborated on them in subtopics including nuts-and-bolts instructions, Biblical principles, and life stories told by people who've really been living out family economics. Kevin Swanson started off the conference with a passionate talk on where we are as a nation, encouraging us to build fruitful families on the ashes. Until recent times, nations were composed of a family economic base. When dads left the home for employment, a chain of events began that resulted in some of our present societal problems. As dads choose to return home and to lead their families economically and spiritually, they'll be present to disciple their families. We were blessed to fellowship with other families who were serious about serving the Lord. Another overarching principle presented in this conference was that there is no secret recipe for success. We must go back to God and to His Word as we make our plans and start our businesses. The only way our nation is ever going to be changed for the better is through repentance and humility “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land”. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The Family Economics Conference helped us solidify some plans and strategies to the point where we're actively planning and working toward Allen's retirement and transition into a home-based family farm business. As a result, we have been gearing up for some new and exciting changes in our family. One of the implications has been major chores in getting the house ready to sell so we can move to a farm. The larger projects being: Replacing a 5000 square foot deck, laying sod in the front yard, and renovating 5 bathrooms. The whole family has been busy fixing up the house in preparation to sell it. Tim has been learning some new skills while remodeling our bathrooms. He is laying ceramic floors, installing tile and shower walls, and doing the required plumbing. Tim just completed the first shower. Others have done tear-out, dry wall preparation and painting.

Children’s Overview:

Jon is still working for DRG and is using his free time to program small applications – the one he is working on right now is a smart ergonomic keyboard for the Android Tablet PC.
Emily grew and canned more than 100 quarts of tomatoes and some other fruits and vegetables. She was Dad's main garden helper, and they learned and extended their gardening experience together. She's also getting lots of experience on painting accent walls and ceilings.
Tim worked on developing a woodworking business, but has recently has been focusing his energy on home renovation. We see his woodworking business as a potential contributor to a family economic model and a small farm. A few of this year's notable projects for Tim are an adjustable height computer desk (raised and lowered by two sets of scissor bars riding in rails, with garage door springs that offset the weight), custom built-in cabinets, and wood burnt driveway signs.
Becky finished her high school academics, is focusing on piano performance and Pedagogy, and is continuing her viola lessons. She's also pursuing further education in music and accounting. Accounting will be particularly helpful in our family business.
Maryanne & Suzi are working with mom on their school work, and are excited about farm life and caring for animals.

Another exciting activity has been investigating all sorts of plants and animals for a future farm. Beef cattle have had particular interest. In the past several months we have been reading some of Joel Salatin’s books as a family to glean from his alternative farming techniques. One thing we learned about was a better way to care for our chickens. Instead of cooping them up all of the time, we're giving them a fresh airy place to roam and enjoy the healthy sunlight. But if we let them free-range they would be a perfect dinner for a fox, raccoon, or hawk, so we needed something to protect them. We've been trying out a portable electric fence which protects them from most varmints, and can be easily moved for fresh forage daily. We may also get a few guard geese to protect from hawks.

We wanted to move some of our horticultural investments of the last 10 years instead of losing them when we sell the house. We've built up over 240 row feet of hybrid thornless blackberries, 10 large blueberry plants, some fig trees, 5,000 square feet of Zoysia grass, fruit trees, nut trees, and other significant items. A family from church generously volunteered for us to put some of our plants on their farm temporarily while we get ready and sell our house, so we've moved some of our of plants there.

We are intrigued by the idea of running a small family farm for more reasons than one and believe it can certainly be a workable economic model. We see it as a venue through which we can invest in what is really most important in life – relationships.

Our family is learning to accept whatever situations and difficulties the Lord brings our way, and to be thankful, and joyful in them. Please pray for our family to grow in unity and anticipate what God has in store for us next!

In Christ,

Allen and Jennifer
Jonathan, Emily, Timothy, Rebecca, Maryanne, Suzanna

Hynes Family 2011 Motto

2011-01-26T12:45:00Z

Put treasures in heaven in 2011.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
(Matthew 6:19-21)

Immortal Quotation 2

2011-01-05T11:44:00Z

“Don’t learn safety rules simply by accident.” -Anonymous

Immortal Quotation 1

2011-01-04T17:09:00Z

Why quotations? Quotations can effectively communicate ideas quickly. Many famous orators and authors have used quotations to their advantage.

"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." -George Bernard Shaw

Colonial Williamsburg

2011-01-03T12:30:00Z

We toured Williamsburg with the Wilkes family. Here are some photos of the event. One interesting fact I learned was that books were extremely expensive in the 1700s - like $300/book(today's money). Why? Because it was so time consuming to make them and paper was so scarce in the colonies.

At the end of the day when we were waiting for the Fife And Drum Parade to come down main street, we decided to sing together. It was very interesting to see the reactions of the people around. There was actually quite a bit of interest, some people singing with us, or thanking us for our singing. What a blessing it was to see how the Lord encouraged others through us just singing a few songs.

A New Years Benediction

2011-01-03T12:25:00Z

We listened to this sermon by C.H Spurgeon entitled A New Years Benediction. It was very encouraging and convicting to us all.

Conquest of Ourselves

2010-12-27T18:21:00Z

"Real glory springs from the conquest of ourselves, and without that the conqueor is naught but the first slave." -Samuel Smiles

The LORD Will Provide

2010-11-27T00:44:00Z

This is the day after Thanksgiving, and as I look back on how the Lord has blessed me this year I can’t help but recognize His hand in bringing me my first large woodworking job. A father from church who works for a drapery company referred to me the job of creating wood molding around an arch window (28ft x 23ft). The location was the National War College at Fort McNair. The main purpose of the wood trim was to provide a secure and stable surface on which to install 200lbs of drapery.

I went for a site visit on August 31st to take measurements, and the installation was 18&19th of November. I’d like to recount some highlights of how the Lord provided & helped me with this project.

Wood Source - One thing I needed to do was find a good local supplier for lumber. I asked some friends and through their suggestions I found an excellent lumber supplier.
Design & Engineering – Early on in the planning stages I had some questions that I didn’t have answers for. After asking questions of some men from church I got lots of them answered.
Safety – During the same time period that I was working on this project I experienced a tablesaw kickback which could have been very serious. The Lord protected me, and I only needed 4 stitches and to take a couple days off.
Stain/Varnish – I planned to put on the stain and varnish the week of the install, but it just barely dried in time to allow me to meet the deadline. I ended up using a fan, a space heater, and two dehumidifiers in the room to speed up the drying.
Installation – I had to use different fasteners to make the molding stay on the wall. Dad helped me locate the best fasteners. I switched from self tapping screws concrete to expanding anchors. Also, the Lord kept me safe up on the ladders and provided my brother as an install helper.

I posted a bunch of photos of the entire project on a Picasa album.

The Mercies Of God

2010-10-11T20:10:00Z

Six horses kicked a board into my face...

This morning I had an accident while working with our 6HP tablesaw. I made my first cut on an assembly like an 18” cube which was made of ¾” plywood. Right next to the running saw blade I tried to rotate the assembly to cut the second side. The saw instantly kicked the whole assembly back into my face. Later I discovered that I had gotten a cut half an inch away from my eye. I got four stitches. I’m praising God for His protection of me, realizing that I could easily have been blind in one eye or worse. The kindness of my family and the medical professionals was such a blessing. There was not a word of criticism. Instead they were just lovingly meeting my needs.

From this experience I believe that God was trying to get my attention –to trust and to listen to Him in everything. I’m so prone to press forward on my own instead of pausing and thinking what would please God and bless others. Oh, and I also learned to be more careful freehanding wood on the tablesaw.

God is good!

Hynes Family Beach Vacation 2010

2010-09-24T12:32:00Z

Last week we took a few days out of our regular routine for some family rest and fellowship. We went to the East Coast for a three day vacation.

The highlight of our trip was meeting another Christian family serious about serving the Lord. Here is how that happened:

On our beach vacations, Dad likes to take “sunrise walks” with each family member. One morning, when Dad was walking with Becky, a man on the beach asked “Are you Christians?” “Do you home school?” Of course, the answer to both questions was "yes". That man and his family were also homeschooling Christians. On the last night of our stay, we were delighted to accept their invitation to dinner. It was a blessed time of sharing of our respective walks in life, and what the Lord has been teaching us.

“Exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13

As usual, I went out every morning to shoot photos of the sunrise. Here are a few.

Here are a some more photos.

A Commissioned Wood Project

2010-07-22T22:37:00Z

A family from church asked for a solid wood driveway sign, and this is what I came up with. It was a great learning experience as I had never done wood burning before. I recently aquired a drum sander, and this was the first big project I used it for. It was a real time saver.

Helping The Wilkes Move

2010-06-22T22:01:00Z

I was blessed to be part of the group which helped the Wilkes move out to their new home in Culpeper. In the big changes as well as little changes it is important to keep our perspective right. We should look at a change in our lives as another step in our journey of faith in which God is leading us.