Tim Aynes

Blessed to be a blessing...

[Echoes of War @EchoesofWarYT]

250 years ago today, on June 29, 1776, New Yorkers looked out at the water and saw a nightmare on the horizon. The British fleet had arrived, and so many ships filled the bay that witnesses said the masts looked like "a forest of pine trees" growing out of the sea. The timing could not have been more brutal.

This was the empire's answer to the rebellion, and it was overwhelming. The first wave of around 45 warships and transports dropped anchor off Sandy Hook and Staten Island carrying General William Howe and roughly 10,000 troops. Within days it kept growing. Then his brother Admiral Richard Howe arrived with more. It would eventually swell into one of the largest seaborne invasion forces of the entire 18th century, hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of professional soldiers and German mercenaries, aimed at one city.

Now sit with the timing. While that forest of masts was filling the harbor, delegates down in Philadelphia were in the final days of debating whether to declare independence. They voted for it on July 2 and signed off on the wording on July 4. So at the exact moment America was being born on paper, the most powerful military on earth was already anchored off its coast, getting ready to strangle it in the cradle.

The people of New York understood exactly what they were seeing. Alarm bells rang, panic spread through the streets, and soldiers sprinted to their posts to stare at a force they had almost no hope of matching. Washington's army was outnumbered, outgunned, and about to get badly beaten in the battles for New York that followed.

That's the part that gets lost in the fireworks every Fourth of July. Independence wasn't declared from a position of strength. It was declared with an enemy armada already sitting on the doorstep, knowing full well what was coming. They signed their names anyway.

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@FOXSports @USMNT Alan Parson’s Project. Brought me back to my childhood of NBA on NBC!

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@FreddyLA7 You’re out here like a modern-day de Tocqueville in our midst - and I’m here for it! “Americans are so enamored of equality, they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.” — Alexis

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@gavinmchughh Have had the privilege of watching him play in person 2x. He’s a baller! If he had another 3-4” he’d have a shot at the League!

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@mikemoses9 Thank you for your balanced, thoughtful comments Mike. It is a tricky time to interpret the dire warning signals, while acknowledging the usefulness of the tool itself. Lots of opportunities for pastoral work in helping our people honor God in their spheres of life.

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@CryBabyAubies Moved to Eastern NC when I was 13, 1998. Within a few weeks all the kids at school said “who’s your team?!” I shrugged it off but they were serious! I made an objective choice to follow Duke: team bball, UNC was not appealing, loved watching Battier & co. I was hooked!

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@BlueDevilTalk Duke 78 Texas 72. Cameron Boozer 24 pts.

[Midwestern Seminary @MBTS]

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[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@glenscrivener The rest of the talk is amazing, esp. the “one buttock piano player” comment! 🤣

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@bkauflin Was such an encouragement to hear them sing it at the West Coast SG conference recently. Thanks for sharing it with us, Bob!

[Midwestern Seminary @MBTS]

☕ GIVEAWAY!

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[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@Digitalliturgy I appreciate your careful writing on this subject. I have 2 teen daughters and 2 in elem. and I lead our church’s youth group. Would love to get a copy and pass it along to parents.

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@lukedsimmons Amen brother! We sang it too. For me it was:
Were not the right Man on our side
The Man of God's own choosing
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He
Lord Sabaoth His Name
From age to age, the same
And He must win the battle!

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@MikeHoopsPage I’d love to see the Lakers win it for Luka’s sake. Would be sweet redemption for how Nico and the Mavs dealt him away.

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@kyledhamilton_ The coach in a leg cast falling over on the spinny stool chair as their team wins (Georgia State maybe)!

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@kyledhamilton_ Can I get a Tractor Trailer (U of Michigan) shoutout?!?

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@pwhitt I heard he helped Naismith hang the original peach baskets. You know, with his height and everything.

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@lukedsimmons Helpful, wise and timely. Thanks for thinking through these and sharing them with us Luke. I appreciate your ministry to fellow pastors!

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@MikeHoopsPage Ali F, NIU

[Tim Aynes @timaynes]

@MikeHoopsPage Duke, Florida, Houston, MSU