If you believe everything happens for a reason, then my first full time teaching position after college was a blessing in disguise. Tucked away in the Monongahela National Forest, I spent the Spring Semester of 1993 counseling, teaching and tutoring junior high students who were considered career underachievers. The learning never stopped, continuing through breakfast, lunch and dinner. My only true break was for 40 minutes, from 12:20-1:00 pm, Monday thru Friday. Titled 20/20 Time, students and teachers spent 40 minutes in solitude either on a hillside, in the valley or along the banks of a stream. The goal of this exercise was to spend 20 minutes reflecting and 20 writing. To my amazement, I developed a love for journaling; eventually inspiring 12 songs that formed my first album, A Simple Confession.
For those of us who love food, eating is like a race to see who can devour a meal the fastest. Yet, for businessmen, savvy entrepreneurs and relational individuals, meals are maximized to get work done, explore new opportunities or develop permanent meaningful lasting relationships. Prior to the rise in youth sports, families spent 30-60 minutes a day at their kitchen table talking . Now, some households eat out breakfast, lunch and dinner, working meals around busy schedules. Although hunger is a natural part of the body, appetites can vary from delicacies to worldly obsessions. Realizing this truth, Jesus introduced a new concept for his listeners to digest, “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Matthew 5:6.
The Psalms of the Bible illuminate how to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Beginning in Psalm 1:1-3, the author compares this type of individual with an evergreen, a tree that stays green throughout the year. Known as conifers, the key to this tree is its root system. When planted near a creek, river or stream, daily nutrients are widely available. The spiritual dimension to this analogy can be found in Joshua 1:8, where meditating on the Bible day and night results in a similar outcome. Therefore, if you want to maximize your own meals, start by consuming the Word of God before every breakfast, lunch and dinner. If this concept takes ahold of your heart, soul and mind, then will resemble the tree in Psalm 1. This leads me to the chorus from one of the first songs the Holy Spirit inspired me to write, Psalm 1.
“I want to be the tree, down by the river”
“I want to be the tree, down by the bank”
“I want to be the tree, that walks and talks like Jesus”
“Reaching out for nourishment by staying in God’s Word.”
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 