Tag Archives: West Virginia

Remaining Fearless While in Transit

Posted on October 8, 2023 by expressyourself4him

Two years ago, due to the ailing health of my wife’s mom, plans were made to move to Aiken, South Carolina. Fortunately, we had time to prepare for this transition from Delaware. As I read God’s call to Abram in the passage below, this was immediate. God didn’t say, “take your time.” Rather, Moses suggests that this move was instantaneous based upon the directions from the Lord.

Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. 3 And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and [a]curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves]. 4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran, Genesis 12:1-4.

In 1993, I lived in 6 different states in the first 6 months of this year. I resigned from a youth ministry position in Maryland so that I could attend a Trade School in Minnesota. While waiting for an interview in South Dakota, I spent a month in Ohio living with my parents. When this ministry opportunity fell through, I accepted a teaching position at a Boarding School in West Virginia. At the end of the school year, a dream job opened up for me in Columbus, Indiana.

Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, Isaiah 43:18-19.

God’s providence during this time of transit helped remove from me the fear of the unknown. The moment one door was shut in my face, another one miraculously opened. I was living the famous poem Footprints without ever realizing it. Just before 1993 came to an end, I met my future wife Leanne at a Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago. Thirty years later, God has prepared me by reminding me of the promises in the Bible so that while I’m in transit, the Lord still provides.

by Jay Mankus

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Trust God to Figure Out the Details

Posted on February 3, 2023 by expressyourself4him

Whenever God calls you to do something, following this by faith will often require details beyond your comprehension. When I was single, I didn’t have to consider how obeying God’s call was going to impact my wife. Subsequently, I lived in six states in the first six months of 1993, following God’s prompting to leave Delaware to attend a youth ministry trade school, moving back to Ohio before teaching a semester at a boarding school in West Virginia. When a position in South Dakota fell through, another door opened at a church in Columbus, Indiana to finish this spiritual journey.

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. 3 And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and [a]curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves], Genesis 12:2-3.

This wasn’t the case for Abram who just moved to Haran with his wife Sarai. Just when they were about to settle down, God interrupts their plans. As I recently read the passage above, one thing must have perplexed Abram as God promised that he would become the father of a great nation. The one little detail that Moses doesn’t mention in God’s call is that Sarai is barren and has been unable to have any children. While the Bible is silent on this obvious barrier, at some point in his life, Abraham began to trust God to figure out the details.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths, Proverbs 3:5-6.

King Solomon writes about a similar concept, trying to teach his children about faith. Faith is something that Abraham didn’t pick up until God tested his allegiance in Genesis 22. After decades of waiting for a son who would start the family tree of Israel, God threw Abraham a curve ball. “You want me to sacrifice the child Sarah and I have been waiting to arrive for decades?” Some scholars believe that Abraham thought that God would raise Isacc from the dead which persuaded him to finally go through with it. This ia a perfect example of how trusting God with all your heart is believing God will figure out all of the details.

by Jay Mankus

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S.A.N.S. Episode 346: Nothing Left to Lose

Posted on January 14, 2023 by expressyourself4him

My last year that I was a single man, I lived with an attitude I have nothing else to lose. In 1993, I spent the first six months of this year living in six different states. I began the New Year in Delaware before spending 7 weeks at a Youth Ministry Trade School in Minnesota. While waiting for an interview in South Dakota, I spent some time in Ohio working odd jobs. After my job offer in Rapid City fell through, I worked a semester at a boarding school in West Virginia before being offered a full-time youth ministry position in Columbus, Indiana. This is the closest I’ve ever come to living the abundant life, John 10:10.

Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. 13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward, Philippians 3:12-14.

Perhaps Mat Kearney had a similar experience in his own life to inspire the lyrics to Nothing Left to Lose. Mat’s song reminds me of the words of the apostle Paul in the passage above. Paul didn’t want to be an idle or stale Christian. Therefore, his mindset on earth turned toward heaven, making sure his own motives aligned with God’s will for his life. As you listen to Nothing Left to Lose, may you become embolden to live 2023 with your eyes fixed upon Jesus, Hebrews 12:2.

by Jay Mankus

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S.A.N.S. Episode 6: Carry On

Posted on February 9, 2022 by expressyourself4him

If you are old enough, everyone has the favorite time of their lives. For me this was 1993 as I ventured west from Delaware to Minnesota to attend a youth ministry trade school. This 7-week intensive training program transformed my life and gave me an inner confidence that I could do anything. The friendships that I made along the way were a blessing. When my initial interview at a church in Rapid City, South Dakota didn’t go well, I spent a semester teaching at a boarding school in West Virginia.

O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His doings among the peoples! 2 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His marvelous deeds and devoutly praise them, Psalm 105:1-2.

Little did I know that teaching Communications and Poetry would ignite a desire to write. I created an album entitled A Simple Confession with 12 songs and wrote a book of poems. Before the year was over, I was offered a full-time youth ministry position in Indiana and met Leanne, my wife at a national convention. Before leaving Minnesota, I came across an obscure band named Shadow Wings. After listening closely, I discovered Pat Benatar is a lead vocalist on the Carry On Album. While the attached link isn’t the greatest, I wanted to introduce you to the song Carry On by Shadow Wings.

by Jay Mankus

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What a Will to Love Can Do for You

Posted on November 25, 2020 by expressyourself4him

Twenty five years ago I was initiated into a large family. At a Thanksgiving Dinner of nearly 100 relatives, I was a target of those who attended. “Wondering who is this guy who is going to marry Leanne,” I was introduced, interviewed, and grilled by complete strangers. After several hours of intense conversations, I passed this final test two days prior to our wedding.

Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive], Colossians 3:13.

A quarter of a century ago, God was just beginning to reveal a special gift in me. This talent was first unveiled while teaching poetry at a boarding school in West Virginia. Thus, as I was finishing up the final details of our wedding, I wrote a paragraph about what love meant to me. After a couple of edits, this appeared in our wedding bulletin. This statement served as a testimony about the importance of the will to love in marriage.

And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony]. 15 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always], Colossians 3:14-15.

The best way to define a will is something that you are bound to. In the context of marriage, this is a covenant that you enter in, promising “til death due us part.” Meanwhile, the Greek word for charity is φιλανθρωπία. The apostle Paul writes an entire chapter devoted to love in 1 Corinthians 13, a common Bible reading for weddings. Yet, if you want your marriage to last a lifetime, a will to love is the secret to maintaining my marriage for the past 25 years. Wishing my wife Leanne a Happy Anniversary. I love you!

by Jay Mankus

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When You Are Left in the Dark

Posted on September 9, 2019 by expressyourself4him

Back in 1993, there was an opening for a counselor and teacher at a boarding school in West Virginia. After the interview, I was hired for the Spring Semester, April and May. The High Scope Institute for Ideas was held at a camp in the Monongahela National Forest. Upon my arrival to Camp Horseshoe, I was surrounded by mountains in the middle of no where. One of the strict rules involved no cable, cell phones or internet. In other words, I was unplugged for two months, left in the dark about what was going on in the rest of the world.

This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being spiritually impassioned, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John; 26 and he began to speak boldly and fearlessly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained more accurately to him the way of God [and the full story of the life of Christ], Acts 18:25-26.

During the first century, a native of Alexandria was sheltered from the earthly ministry of Jesus. This man named Apollos simply shared what He learned from the Hebrews Scriptures, daily studying the Torah. Apparently, Apollos was familiar with the teaching of John the Baptist, but his spiritual knowledge was limited. Upon his visit to Ephesus, Apollos became spiritually impassioned, excited to tell others everything that he was learning. While listening one day, two assistants of the apostle Paul, Priscilla and Aquila, took Apollos aside to bring him up to date on the full story of the life of Jesus.

But they did not all pay attention to the good news [of salvation]; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ, Romans 10:16-17.

While writing a letter to members of the Church at Rome, Paul reveals the source of faith. During the first century, illiteracy prevented many church goers from personally reading letters sent by the apostle Paul. Thus, apostles, disciples and pastors read what was written out loud so that everyone could believe, not just the literate. Thus, faith is derived by hearing and believing the message concerning Christ. Although some people may feel like they have been left in the dark spiritually, you can fill in the blanks to what you have missed by daily reading and studying the Bible.

by Jay Mankus

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If You Only Knew

Posted on September 21, 2017 by expressyourself4him

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

My favorite place to visit during a decade of teaching was the teachers lounge.  Although this seems like a strange answer, it’s one of the few places faculty could go without being bombarded by questions, distracted by a student or interrupted by an upset parent.  This was a setting where staff let their guard down, sharing various burdens on their hearts.  I truly enjoyed the meaningful conversations I engaged in during my first couple of years teaching.  After a while, I began to ask others teachers about certain students, seeing if they had similar concerns or issues in their class.  During one such exchange, my eyes were opened to a situation that I never knew about.

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise, Jeremiah 17:14.

One of my students was a goof ball, sarcastic and usually a distraction to my classroom.  However, I was enlightened to the reason behind her behavior one afternoon.  Evidently, her parents marriage was falling apart, often left alone some nights with her older sister playing the role as parent.  One of my peers eventually said to me, “It’s a miracle that these children get to school on time daily.”  If I only knew this upfront, I probably would have been more understanding.  Yet, sometimes inappropriate behavior is merely a reaction to what’s going on at home.  This pain held deep inside of hearts, minds and souls often comes out in the form of emotional outbursts.  This cry for help often get’s overlooked by most teachers.

Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security, Jeremiah 33:6.

The most challenging class I dealt with were junior high students in West Virginia.  These students were intelligent, but due to issues at home hampered their overall achievement in school.  Selected by a new boarding school entitled the High Scope Institute for Ideas, I was chosen to counsel and teach these candidates.  Using an active learning environment, students were engaged with seminars and workshops.  In the middle of the day, tutoring sessions were held for those falling behind followed by team building exercises to encourage leaders to come forward.  This semester holds a special place in my heart as I lived with these students like a camp counselor.  Yet, one student began to act up near the end of the school year.  After threatening to kill another student, I had a heated exchange with him, throwing his bunk bed across the room.  Like Jesus turning the tables of money changers in the temple, my reaction struck a nerve, resulting in a tearful confession.  If I only knew how bad his family life was, my methods would have changed.  In view of this, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.  Rather, take the time to listen so that you can help those waiting to be healed from the pain of their past.

by Jay Mankus

 

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The Hanging of John Brown

Posted on July 18, 2017 by expressyourself4him

Funerals and wakes are meant to celebrate someone’s life.  This time of reflection gives individuals a chance to say goodbye, paying respect to people whom may have touched your life.  Following the hanging of John Brown, a wide array of Americans paid homage to this abolitionist.  Poet Henry David Thoreau gave a speech simply entitled Remarks After the Hanging of John Brown where he referred to this man as the Soul’s Errand.  In a recent documentary produced by Ken Burns, John Brown is called the Meteor that ignited the Civil War.

We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done, Psalm 78:4.

Historians remember John Brown as a failure in most aspects of his life.  Unsuccessful as a businessman, Brown felt compelled by God to help end slavery.  Following the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas by pro-slavery forces, Brown and his supporters fought back by killing five men in May of 1856.  However, three years later John Brown’s fortune would change.  During a raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, John Brown tried to form a resistance to set slaves free.  Yet, this attempt ended in the death of some men, desertion by others and his own conviction for treason by the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Thus, John Brown was hung in public.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, Matthew 6:20-21.

There are two certainties in life. First, you will die unless Jesus returns prior to your death. Second, the seeds that you sow in life will produce a legacy.  While speeches at memorials focus on the good that individuals accomplished in life, not everyone will paint a rosy picture of interactions with you.  In view of this fact, I hope that I can develop a sense of urgency to dedicate my life toward worthwhile causes.  Life is too short to give up before you taste success.  Therefore, seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness by setting your heart on eternal treasures; a fate that John Brown was wiling to die for.

by Jay Mankus

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When Mistakes Last a Life Time

Posted on August 25, 2016 by expressyourself4him

In the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on former NFL wide receiver Randy Moss entitled Rand University, this feature focuses on how hard it is for minorities to make it in professional sports.  Two high school teammates of Moss, Sam Singleton Jr. and Bobbie Howard refer to a generation curse, causing most talented athletes from Rand, West Virginia to end up drinking in the 7 Eleven parking lot every weekend wondering what might have been.  Whether its drugs, poverty or giving into temptation, sometimes poor choices result in mistakes that last a life time.

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire, James 1:14.

While Bobbie Howard received a football scholarship to Notre Dame and later went on to play a few seasons for the Chicago Bears, Bobbie is one of the exceptions to this Rand rule.  Sam Singleton Jr. is more like the norm, unable to ditch his addiction to alcohol and pot.  After being drafted by a Major League Ball club, Sam was on his way to becoming a professional baseball player.  Unfortunately, despite showing great promise, one failed drug test sent him packing, released by an unnamed team.  At the conclusion of this film, Sam breaks down in tears, claiming his life is an example of when a mistake lasts a lifetime.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9.

What people seek and what individuals often receive are usually 2 different things.  At some point, people can become their own worst enemy.  Like a prodigal in denial, life often takes a downward spiral, reaching a new bottom floor with each passing year.  Most don’t get a second chance like a teenage I knew at my first church as a youth pastor.  The first time he ever drove drunk was his last, dying instantly after colliding with a tree.  If only souls could break out of their spiritual funk before its too late?  Perhaps, the sad story of  Sam Singleton Jr. may serve as a wake up call or reality check before one more mistake lasts a lifetime.

by Jay Mankus

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Prayer-vo-lution

Posted on September 12, 2015 by expressyourself4him

The older I get, the more I realize that certain areas, places or regions are under some sort of spell.  Whether you’re easily agitated, frustrated or oppressed, demonic strongholds can elicit various emotions like a feeding frenzy.  The hardest part of diagnosing this situation is that its invisible, protected by an animus history.  Like an episode from Paranormal Survivor, these conditions call for a prayer-vo-lution.

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia, Acts 16:6.

Christian historians have developed what is known as spiritual mapping.  Based upon previous leaders, residents or significant events, the spiritual atmosphere of territories can be altered.  For example, a church in Chicago once faced a string of bad luck.  These unusual occurrences continued for years until one member discovered their church was built in a neighborhood filled with witchcraft.  After a time of prayer-vo-lution, the curses were reversed, opening the door for blessings in the future.

And do not give the devil a foothold, Ephesians 4:27.

I’m not an expert in this field, but I have seen how prayer can transform an entire campus.  During my semester as a teacher in West Virginia, I felt a need to start praying in the building where I taught.  This took place for about a month, when a spiritual hunger developed within several students.  By the end of the school year, a prayer-vo-lution began to permeate the hearts and minds of teenagers.  If you appear to be facing a spirit of resistance, perhaps a prayer-vo-lution will remove the barriers currently blocking your way.

by Jay Mankus

 

 

 

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