Tag Archives: footprints

Watch Out for The Easy Way Out

One of the more teachable moments in Hollywood comes from a scene from A League of Their Own.  When the Rockford Peaches star catcher played by Gina Davis quits the team, manager Tom Hanks confronts her before driving home with her husband.  Davis’ excuse was that “it got too hard.”  Hank’s response, “It’s suppose to be hard, if it wasn’t everyone would play.”  Thus, whether you are an athlete or trying to make the best of this life, make sure you don’t take the easy way out.

I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense, Proverbs 7:7.

In the past few weeks, I’ve struggled to put my priorities in order,  Subsequently, my time reading the Bible, praying and working out has been pretty lame.  I could take the Gina Davis approach, claiming its just too hard to keep up with, perhaps taking a holiday from God.  On the other hand, each day without God brings me closer and closer to person in Proverbs 7:7, deteriorating what common sense that I still possess.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it, Matthew 7:13.

In the famous poem known as Footprints, 2 sets of footprints become one while walking on the beach.  This imagery suggests that sometimes God carries us when we can’t go any further.  As you read this blog, maybe you’re exhausted, tired or ready to give up the fight.  Before you decide, make sure you don’t succumb to the easy way out.  Pray, show resolve and hang tough!

by Jay Mankus

 

Finding Treasures in Darkness

In the midst of a storm, darkness prevents most individuals from seeing any meaning or purpose in trials.  Instead of reflection, anguish, bitterness and resentment are common responses.  Yet, in my most recent period a pleasant surprise arrived in the form of a special friendship.  After both losing our jobs a month apart, God allowed each of us console one another, finding a treasure in darkness.

I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name, Isaiah 45:3.

In the famous poem simply known as Footprints, the author writes about periods in life where God carries you.  Walking along a beach, the Lord’s footprints disappear as each waves comes crashing into shore.  Yet, somehow, someway, most survive to see another day, hoping darkness will fade.  Job learned this the hard way as he friends began to question his faith, suggesting God was punishing him for something he had done in the past.

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold, Job 23:10.

As you walk through moments of darkness alone, people tend to choose temporary distractions to numb the pain inside their heart.  Nonetheless, the weaker you get, the easier it becomes to trust in an invisible God.  When there is no one else to lean on, faith is refined, smelting the impurities.  However, if you hang on long enough like Job, you will experience God’s divine providence in the form of treasures in darkness.

by Jay Mankus

 

Making the Most of A Run Down Man

According to a 2006 report in the St, Petersburg Times, each season an NFL player spends on a team’s roster their life expectancy declines by almost 3 years.  This article suggests the National Football League is killing their players and is turning a blind’s eye.  However, you don’t have to participate in a professional sport to feel run down.  The wear and tear of life strains individuals in a different manner.

Financial stress, mental fatigue and overwhelming emotions can sap the energy of hard working souls like the summer sun.  Meanwhile, any type of accident, unexpected illness or trial can result in a crippling debt that some families never recover from.  If you reach this state, only a higher power can make the most of a run down man.  Colossians 3:17 and Philippians 4:13 provide a glimmer of hope to prop up these weary bodies.

Knocked down, humbled and fighting to stay alive, maintaining a positive outlook isn’t easy.  Nonetheless, footprints in the sand reveal that God has carried people through the storms in life.  When you don’t have the strength to tarry on, wings like eagles provide a boost of energy, Isaiah 40:30-31.  If you’ve ever found yourself confessing, “I can’t go any further,” the power of Christ thrives in weakness, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.  Therefore, if you want to make the most of a run down body, lean on prayer to lift you to new heights.

by Jay Mankus

No Reason to Pretend

In order to put on a happy face, some individuals feel compelled to hide their misery from co-workers, family and neighbors.  Like a Halloween masquerade party, many profess to be fine all the while anguish, grief and pain collect.  Although the motto “fake it until you make it” sounds logical, there is no reason to pretend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn_QNLEFovg

From a mere vocational point of view, the last 5 years of my life have been like a hurricane, causing flood waters to break through levy’s.  As the storm surge continues to rise, my heart, soul and mind cling to promises of the Bible, hoping the trials subside soon.  When success reigned supreme, life was a piece of cake.  However, as turmoil entered my life through the winds of change, I’m not the same person.

Sure, I try to stay upbeat, but I am a mirage of my younger years, a piece of drift wood transformed by time, wind and water.  Water logged, especially around the waist, I long for dry land, a beach to call home.  Footprints along the shore are obvious signs that God has been carrying me.  When the waves calm, I will arise, perhaps wiser than before.  Like a work in progress, a strand of clay in the molding process, there is no reason to pretend it isn’t well with my soul.  Yet, I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me, Philippians 3:12-14.

Don’t be afraid to be transparent; real so that a hurting world can see the only thing holding believers together, Romans 5:5.

by Jay Mankus

Mountain Dew

As spring fades into summer, a natural phenomena occurs nearly every morning.  Appearing on blades of grass, dew  forms as exposed surfaces cool by radiating its heat through water droplets.  Those who are early risers, walk their dogs before work or play golf at day light either see footprints left by individuals or feel the cooling refreshing remnants of dew on their feet.

By the 1940’s, another dew made its presence known in America.  Now produced by the Pepsi Company, Mountain Dew was invented by Barney and Ally Hartman in Tennessee.  As the popularity of this carbonated fountain drink grew in the south, the brand and rights were purchased by Pepsi Cola in 1964.  The idea was to attach the image of cool and refreshing dew into a product which would quench the thirst of parched souls.

King David uses mountain dew in another context within Psalm 133.  Initially, David opens his song with a heart felt call to unity within the body of Christ in verse 1.  To express how sweet this feels, David paints a picture of being anointed with oil, in the tradition of the Old Testament, verse 2.  To finish his case in verse 3, David compares dew that forms on a mountain with the blessings of the Lord.  Therefore, the next time you see dew of any kind, think of all the blessings God desires to bestow upon those who call on the name of the Lord, Romans 10:11.

by Jay Mankus