Tag Archives: song writing

A Man of Few Words

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

Bitterness, covetous, discontent, envy and resentment are words associated with jealousy.  A day doesn’t pass without me envious of individuals blessed with a great personality.  Some people are never at a loss with words, always knowing what to say and when.  Although I spent a decade teaching high school students, day to day conversions have never come easy for me.  While I may a desire to be the life of the party, I am normally a man of few words.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer, Psalm 19:14.

Perhaps, this loss for words goes back to my childhood, born with a severe speech impediment.  Beside being teased, the act of opening my mouth was an adventure.  I never knew when I was going to stutter, but when I started I couldn’t verbalize a coherent word.  These experiences led me to shy away from talking, afraid of another stuttering spasm that often triggered me to hyperventilate.  This embarrassing past has influenced me to become a man of few words.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him, Colossians 3:17.

Yet, one man’s weakness has yielded a hidden treasure.  Instead of speaking, the Lord had another plan for my life.  With a few mentors in high school who just happened to be teachers, a seed was planted for the love of communicating.  As the years past, poetry led to short stories and song writing.  From here, doors opened to publish a monthly news letter which led to a staff writer position.  As words continued to flow from within, a man who spoke few words can’t stop thinking of new topics to write about daily.  Thus, as I post my 2700th blog today, I have come to terms with my own limitations.  It’s okay to be a man of few words as long as I Express Myself for God.

by Jay Mankus

Music and Lyrics

As a former song writer of A Simple Confession, I enjoy watching documentaries on musicians.  When Music Television first launched in 1983, one of my favorite programs was Behind the Music.  This show interviewed lead singers and song writers, revealing the inspiration behind the lyrics of their songs.  When I watched the 2007 film Music and Lyrics, I was inspired to begin working on a new song or album.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God, Colossians 3:16.

Hugh Grant plays a washed up singer living on the coattails of his past, playing wherever fans crave music from the 1980’s.  When his agent receives a call from a famous pop star, Grant is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for this teen sensation.  Drew Barrymore serves as a replacement plant sitter, interrupting Grant’s session with his lyricist.  When Barrymore begins to put these lyrics into a catchy melody, she is hired to complete this song.

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Ephesians 5:19.

The Bible mentions the power of music and lyrics.  When David played his harp for King Saul, the sound uplifted his soul.  The prophet Samuel claims that music soothes the soul.  While Huey Lewis sang about the Power of Love in 1996, the Bible is filled with examples of how music encourages, inspires and uplifts hearts.  As individuals meditate on the word of God, hymns, melodies and spiritual songs, the Lord will put a new song upon or within your heart and mind to share with others.

by Jay Mankus

 

Discernment, a Weather Forecast or None of the Above

My favorite college professor at the University of Delaware taught Physical Geography.  During my interactions with Dr. Mather, he urged my to pursue a career in Meteorology.  Beside a Major League Baseball hitter, what other occupation allows you to be wrong 80% of the time and still keep your job.  Although his teaching made me eager to learn about weather systems, I felt called to go into youth ministry after graduating from college.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them, 1 Corinthians 12:4.

Following a semester of teaching poetry to junior high students at a boarding school in West Virginia, I sensed an ability to discern hidden things.  This gift initially took the shape of writing, ranging from poetry, song writing and short stories.  However, fourteen years ago this week God revealed an a new venue.  One night, I couldn’t sleep, feeling like someone I knew was in trouble.  So I started to pray for everyone I could think of when I heard a knock on our front door.  My next door neighbor went to labor, three months premature.  This time of prayer continued until I got word she and her new daughter were okay.

There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work, 1 Corinthians 12:5-6.

When I was younger, I tried to be well round.  However, the older I become, it’s obvious that they are certain things I was never created and designed to do.  Thus, I press on, specializing in my areas of expertise.  Whether its discernment, a weather forecast or none of the above, strive to excel in what you do best.  As for me, I continue to write, hoping one day to be a successful author or screen writer.  Until this day arrives or my gifts shift in a new direction, I pray that the Lord honors the service of utilizing my God given talents.

by Jay Mankus

 

 

 

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

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

 

Making An Emotional Connection

Whether its a person, place or thing, when you make an emotional connection, experience a breath taking view or recognize an unique talent, a special place opens up in your heart.  I can recall moments in life when I went to a conference, attended a retreat or met someone on vacation that I never knew, yet an instant connection occurred.  Like twins separated from birth, a long lost cousin you never met or divine intervention, there are certain types of people who click with your personality.  Despite a lack of history, some aspect, character or trait unites 2 souls together, making an emotional connection.

Last January, my wife and I returned to the place of our honeymoon for the first time, Palm Springs, California.  Yes, any day as a newly wed is special, but the landscape of the desert, mountains and vegetation of this region became etched into my mind.  Whether you’re visiting Hidden Canyon in the Joshua Tree National Forest, taking the Aerial Tram to the top of the mountains overlooking Palm Springs or hiking along the trails in Indian Canyons, there is so much to do in this section of California.  One week isn’t enough to see the sights with golf destinations, shopping and of course the Salton Sea to explore.

Finally, if you are teachable, every now and then God will reveal to you a gift you never knew you had.  Periodically I dabbled into forms of writing beginning with poetry.  From here I moved on to song writing and short stories as well as trying to write articles for various publications.  While serving as a journalist for Travel Golf Media for 2 and a half years, I began to ponder my connection with writing.  What I’ve learned is that when I take the time to be still, reflect and put into words what you’ve feeling and thinking, a sense of peace fills your soul.  Thus, this emotional connection with writing continues to stir my heart, inspiring me to be a faithful writer for Express Yourself 4 Him.  May you encounter several good emotional connections in 2014.  Have a blessed day!

by Jay Mankus

A Revelation of Worship

Critics of the Bible have made numerous arguments stating their case against biblical accuracy.  One of the strongest points skeptics have made uses the words of the Scripture to enhance their position, Romans 3:9-12.  If mankind is indeed fallen, how can imperfect people become vessels of holiness.  Well, its quite possible that authors of God’s Word may have received revelations of worship.

According to Exodus 24:12-18, the Lord called Moses to go up into the mountains and stay for 40 days and 40 nights.  Despite any hidden motives or prideful moments, it was likely during this period that Moses recorded the first 3 books of the Bible, taking notes as the Lord spoke.  However, half of his job was already done, receiving stone tablets with commands, laws and further instructions for Israel.  Whenever someone meets God in a quiet place, a divine connection opens the door spiritual intervention and perhaps modern revelations of worship.

One of the places on earth where I have experienced God’s presence was at a wilderness camp in Minnesota, during the heart of winter.  In the final days of Tentmaker’s Youth Ministry Trade School, there was a mandatory 24 hours of silence.  Instead of interacting with future graduates, our final assignment was to engage the Lord through prayer, reflection and Bible Study.  This was a lonely time as I realized that my new friends would soon be spread out across the country, taking what they had learned to a new church and community.

A few months later, I spent a semester teaching at a boarding school in the Monongahela National Forest.  Known as the High Scope Institute for Ideas, this school focused on career underachievers who endured difficult living conditions.  Many of these 13-15 year olds lived in poverty with dysfunctional families.  If this wasn’t enough, several girls had already given birth to children while most boys became first time dads by age 13.  Despite these distractions, the mountain provided a special refuge.

During an activity called 20/20, students were forced to spend 20 minutes a day in solitude either journaling, reading or reflecting on life.  Although some slept, I began to write poetry without any formal background.  Soon songs began to play in my head and before I knew it, I received a revelation of worship called a Simple Confession.  The Holy Spirit gave me 12 songs which I later made into an album.  If a spirit of poetry and song writing can fall upon me just because I was still once a day; then I believe its probable that the Bible is truly the inspired words of God, given to men and women through a still small voice.  Practice Psalm 46:1o and maybe you too many receive a revelation of worship.

by Jay Mankus

From A Distance

Julie Gold wrote the song From A Distance after receiving the piano she played as a kid for a 30th Birthday gift.  When the movers informed her not to play it for 24 hours due to the cold conditions during the shipping process, this anticipation inspired the lyrics to the 1990 hit sung by Bette Midler.  From a Distance holds a certain sentimental value in my heart as it was the “theme song” to the first week long mission trip I ever attended.  During a hot summer week on St. John’s Island, South Carolina, I served on the worship team as the male vocalist, singing the chorus of From A Distance to close out each evening.  Although Julie Gold intended to construct a song about the way things seem and the way things actually are, she touches on an important biblical teaching.

Known as the Matthew 18 principle, Jesus introduces readers to how to properly handle any sort of grievance you may have against another person within Matthew 18:15-18.  When an agreement is made between 2 parties, God is watching, serving as a witness from a distance according to Matthew 18:19-20.  In other words, if a handshake is made to settle a previous conflict, God serves as an invisible notary to bind 2 individuals to resolve their matter once and for all.  Unfortunately, modern worship leaders are changing the context of this passage, adding worship into this equation, twisting scripture to make it say what they belief.  When you reflect upon Julie Gold’s lyrics in From A Distance, one is steered back in the right direction, freed from heresy that exists in modern day churches.

The words of the final stanza are posted below.

From a distance
You look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance
I just cannot comprehend
What all this fightings for
From a distance
There is harmony
And it echoes through the land
And its the hope of hopes
Its the love of loves
Its the heart of every man

Beneath the surface, friendships are tested daily by envy, selfishness and regretful words spoken in the heat of the moment.  As long there is a willingness to comply with the regulations and standards mentioned with Matthew 18, peace is attainable.  However, the minute someone holds a grudge, refuses to let go of the pain deep inside their soul and give the devil a foot hold by going to sleep angry, hope disappears.  In view of this, remember that God is watching, from a distance, urging the world to forgive others as Christ Jesus forgave you, Colossians 3:12-15.

by Jay Mankus