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Finding Her Voice By Jenny S. She had lost her voice at a young age because her childhood home was filled with too much shouting for her to discover it. As she married, the volatile union convinced her that any sound she might find was worthless in the eyes of others. Jenny was born with the gift of an impacting voice, but for over thirty-three years, no one knew it because all she could dare to utter was a silent scream. Violence had initially silenced her but fear kept her mute. She had much to share but could not get passed the demons that held her in bondage to silence… I shuttled into my first Time to Fly meeting like a bird-caged in mid-flight. My mind longed to tap into the untold gifts that I knew were buried within me if I could but simply unleash them and set them free. What I could become was inside of me, I had enough faith to believe that, but my heart had remained silent for so long that I had lost any hope that freedom might be possible for me. Soaring through class, I integrated Biblical truths into my daily life, mind, and practice, and set my feet upon a good course. I thought myself to be fully healed on graduation day as the circumstances of my life were in good order and all around me. I was working the program and life was good. But my healing had just begun, for on that last day, my teacher saw the next step that I must take, a step of finding my voice in a meeting with the Pastor of our city’s largest NextGen ministry. Rather than visiting the Pastor herself my teacher encouraged me to, “Go and tell.” So I did. She was the first person to trust my voice. The meeting with our NextGen pastor opened up the Time to Fly training to the twenty to thirty-five generation. A generation where federally reported statistics show that one in four are abused, but my real-life experience showed statistics to be closer to a sixty-percent abuse rate. All around me I was watching my generation die-off from verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. Time to Fly trusted me to take the steps and find the voice to do something about it. From that point, I was asked by Time to Fly to become a member of the outreach team that visited churches. I was petrified, because once again I had to share my voice and my story with others. Each time, God spoke through me, people listened, and women came! In late 2003, Time to Fly opened the door for me to lead worship. I never knew that I could sing and had a horrible fear that my voice would be “un-edifying” to others. It is a fear that kept me singing only where I knew no-one could hear. But Time to Fly placed me center-stage… God, me, and my guitar. It was terrifying and liberating. * * * Four years after graduating from Time to Fly I have lead worship services from Zambia, Africa to Greensboro, GA. I am active in my church’s worship team and our city’s prison worship and teaching ministry. I speak at women’s conferences regularly and have written and taught a women’s study entitled the Princess Behind the Mask both stateside and internationally. God has opened doors for my writing to be published in a variety of national magazines and I have the blessing of sharing my voice on weekly blog writings. I have completed my first year of seminary and am exploring women’s ministry and missions in Nairobi, Kenya. None of this would have been possible without the opportunity Time to Fly has given me to discover my voice and my calling. It is my heart’s passion to encourage individuals to break free from that which keeps them voiceless and to help each person discover freedom in Christ. Time to Fly created a safe and nurturing environment where Christ’s love was modeled for me. This gave my voice the wings it needed to learn to soar and now Christ’s love compels me to serve as a voice for the voiceless myself. God used Time to Fly to birth in me parrhesia-zomai, a Greek word used in Ephesians 6:19-20 that means “to speak boldly, confidently, and fearlessly,” and now this voice is being used in the Kingdom to impact others with gospel truths. For more information on the Time to Fly Foundation mission, how to support the work or dates on upcoming workshops, please visit www.timetofly.org.





Here’s my Story: Several years ago while working at a local college I felt God's leading to pursue my graduate work in education. In spite of reservations over balancing marriage, motherhood and a full-time job, I began the process. At this time, I experience God’s favor and grace presenting itself in the support of my husband who cared for our three daughters (while I went to class), and a boss who would allowed me to leave early so that I could reach class on time. They were instrumental in helping me get to the finish line. As I prepared to enter this new phase in my professional life, concerns about the possibility of a permanent blemish on my record surfaced. I wonder if my career as an educator would be hindered by a lapse in judgement as a youth, caused by being at the wrong place at the wrong time (what was I to do?). In my attempt to fix things, I orchestrated what would be my perfect plan. In it, I would be at the right school (preferably a familiar place like my old elementary school), I would work with the principal of my choice and I would acquire some extra training to ensure a stellar performance. If you noticed, I said "I" (my plan), but little did I know that as I prayed and thanked God for this wonderful opportunity, that he would direct my steps to another school (not the one of my choice) and a principal who was not a people person . There would be no extra training!
	The View From Here Sometimes it’s difficult to realize how blessed you are. You can spend your whole life chasing after the things that you don’t have, while failing to realize that you have so much. This conflict may escalate when personal goals or desires don’t fall into line with what God has planned for your life. As a young adult graduating from high school, I had big plans and I highly anticipated going to study at a university and living "the college life." As most teens do, I looked forward to the parties, hook-ups, new friends and dorm life, but one evening I received an acceptance letter from NYU that would change all of that. I was one of the thousands who had applied to the school, but was one of the few who was accepted. My parents where thrilled, especially after NYU offered me a full scholarship to attend. At that time we were struggling financially as a family and it was apparent that such an opportunity was heaven sent. I wish that I could say that I had felt the same as my parents. As a native New Yorker, I anticipated going away to school, but I knew then that I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. It’s been two years since I became a student at NYU. I’ve faced numerous challenges since then, but God has blessed me with an education, paid in full, but it’s been difficult for me to appreciate this. In my heart, I always wanted something else. There have been times when I felt an immense amount of guilt as a result. After watching a morning news program, which named NYU the number one dream school for college students in the country, my guilt was heightened. There were thousands of students who would rather be in my place and I was filling that spot while wishing to be elsewhere. There were many times when I felt disconnected and alone on campus. Since I was a commuting student and still lived at home with my family, it was difficult to make friends and find social networks that worked for me. I can look back at times when I spoke with close friends of their crazy experiences while being away and feeling bad because I never had any stories of my own. As I’ve struggled with these emotions and others, through it all I am sure that my attendance at NYU is a part of God’s plan for my life. I have faith that God placed me at NYU for a reason, which is why I remain here. I am convinced that at the end of this tunnel, there is a light and that once I get there, everything will make sense and fall into place. My inspiration to move forward is in knowing that God never sets us up for failure and that in the end, all will be well. . Nicole Manigault NYU Student BLOG: Now Faith Is...
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