Josh Hines
Host Of Praying Mamma
Meet The Host Of Praying Mamma, Josh Hines
Welcome to Praying Mamma. My name is Josh Hines and I am really glad to see that you found this website.
I created Praying Mamma in 2020, a year that a lot of us lost a lot of hope and I wanted to remind people of all the good things our Lord has done.
As I am writing this right now, I remember back 8 years ago on November 11, 2012 when I first started attending church at 26 years old. I grew up believing there was a God but I didn't have any relationship with Him.
My mom's mother was an avid woman of prayer and was always there for me growing up and telling me I needed to get into church but I was one of the prodigal sons who ran away from home and was dealing with a lot of pride and pain I didn't want to give up.
Where Jesus Found Me
As I alluded above, Jesus found me 0n November of 2012. After a long streak of seven years of living in the world diving deep into partying, drugs and living a wild care-free life, I found myself in a really dark place.
Growing up my father and I fought a lot and there was one moment where he said, "you are never going to amount to anything" and that really stuck with me.
For me, I burnt the candle at both ends for seven years hard, working relentlessly trying to prove my father wrong while at the same not being able to feel like I amounted to anything, so I dove deep in vices as a means of escape.
Eventually in 2012, things got really dark when I got my dream job and ended up absolutely dreading it. It was at that moment I took a job, to pay the bills, but spent most of my nights just mad at the world and myself.
It eventually got to a point where I would get drunk on the weekends by myself and, living on the third floor, would look over the ledge of my balcony and ask myself, "I wonder how much this would hurt?"
November 9, 2012
On November 9, 2012 I found myself in Raleigh, North Carolina at a bar with friends celebrating a birthday party. At that time when I went out, I went out, the goal was to black out every time.
On this night, things would dramatically change and I would soon be shifting my entire life. On that night while taking shots, I found myself sitting alone at the bar while my other friends were sitting at a table.
In that moment, all I was really wanting was to not be alive anymore and just escape this world, but a voice I had never heard before spoke to me and asked,
What the hell are you doing with your life? You're not where you're supposed to be.
I ended up partying the rest of the night but that question and statement kept ringing in my head.
November 10, 2012
The next day I remember being at home and still thinking about the night before and I decided what do I have to lose and I said, "God if you're really real and you really have a different plan for me, I need you to take all this trash that is destroying my life away."
That same night I went cold turkey on everything. I dumped out all my beer, I threw away my cigarettes and I believed that God had a different plan for my life and that there was still something for me in this world.
Later that night, I did a Google search for churches in Durham and after looking at a few of them I decided on King's Park International Church (KPIC).
November 11, 2012
What is really cool about KPIC is it is literally right down the street from where I live and service doesn't start until 10 AM so that was the first great thing.
I remember the first time I attended KPIC I met one of the pastors, Charles Kieffer, and told him I was new to the church and he said I could sit behind him, he would later become the man who baptized me.
I remember at the end of the service they did the usual prayer of repentance but they also asked people to dedicate their gifts and skills to the Lord. I didn't hesitate, I wanted something different so badly and He promised me something different so I wanted to commit and go all in.
The Next 8 Years
The next 8 years have been an absolute whirlwind. I know what it's been like to live like Paul, living with nothing and living in plenty. To describe everything that has happened would take entirely too long but I do plan on writing a book that explains my first 7 years walking with Christ.
This is just a little about me and my testimony but I want to keep this website focused on mother's testimonies, so this is enough about me.
One thing I do want to add, my father and I have a great relationship and I have forgiven him for everything.
My Personal Values
I feel like personal values are largely overlooked these days, a lot of people don't seem to stand for much these days or hold themselves to a standard. Personally, I try to live by the following 5 values and I am consistently trying to improve on each of them daily.
01. Transparency & Authenticity
I believe the best ways to help people all around you is by living a transparent and authentic lifestyle. Too often we see people sharing one thing on social media but behind the scenes they are a mess. If I am having a bad day, I'm going to share it but I am also going to share with you my reaction and how to handle the things I've gone though, often times more than once, so that you don't make the same mistakes I do.
02. Empower Others
I love sitting down with people and listening to their struggles and goals they want to obtain in their lives and then working with them to create a plan and help them to stay encouraged along the journey. It's only if we are transparent and authentic with those struggles and where we currently are though, that we can discover what the next step is.
I love sitting down with people and telling them everything they need to accomplish their goals, they already have. That they simply need to believe in themselves and be resourceful and they can accomplish anything that they put their minds to with enough time.
03. Consistently Improving
I am one of those type of people who is never satisfied with the status quo. I love challenging this is the way it's always been and always making a point to sponge anything and everything that can help myself and those around me.
I make a point every year to read books, binge YouTube channels, attend conferences and pray about ways I can help those around me.
04. Massive Contribution
I once listened to a Tony Robbins live event where he shared that the most satisfaction and happiness comes from giving and I really resonated with that.
Even if you don't have the money or experience there is always a way to give, it could be as simple as sitting down with someone and just listening to them, their struggles, their dreams, their hopes and giving them a chance to be heard.
We live in such a "busy" world, just giving your time and undivided attention to someone, often times, is more than enough.
The missions I have lived since 2012 was simple, at one point in my life when I was really struggling, I was anxious, I was depressed, I was losing hope by the second, I remember praying and asking God,
If you help me get through this, I'll help anyone you put in front of me however I can.
From that moment forward, I've had this unstoppable drive to sponge and learn everything I can so that anyone who comes in front of me I can help them somehow, even if it simply means, just listening.
05. Community Builder
Most of my life I've always felt like I was on my own. I felt like I had to learn everything the hard way through trying and failing and I always wanted someone to mentor me or come alongside me to teach me things but I always seemed to have to figure things out on my own.
Because of this, like the massive contribution above, I've always made a point to look for the outsiders, the misfits as Steve Jobs would call them, and make a point to try to figure out what their interests and goals are and seeing how to bring them in the inside.
I know what it's like to feel lonely, to have a million thoughts and worries on my mind and not have anyone to talk to or share them with, I don't want people to feel like that, I want them to feel like they are a part of something and that they belong and are heard.