1945 - Born in Sussex County, VA
1963 - Graduated from Central High School, Sussex, VA
1964-1968 Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, B.A. English and
Literature
1968 - Married Thomas Minnicks; Lived in Piscataway, NJ for 12
years
November 20, 1970 - Birth of son, Michael Jackson Minnicks
December 26, 1972 - Birth of daughter, Terri Elaine Minnicks
1974-1987 Worked at US Postal Service, Piscataway, NJ and Richmond,
VA for 12 years
1980 - Divorced; Moved to Richmond, VA
1985 - Preached first sermon, Hassidiah Baptist Church, Jarratt, VA
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" (Psalm 23)
1987 - Resigned from US Postal Service; owner of Singles Unlimited Magazine
1990 - Owner, M-Prints Typesetting Service
1990 - 2000 - Adjunct Faculty Positions - J. Sargeant Reynolds and
John Tyler Community College
1994 - 1998 Presbyterian School of Christian Education and Union
Theological Seminary; M.A. Christian Education, MDiv, Masters of
Divinity
1995 - Licensed Minister, Trinity Baptist Church, Initial Sermon "In
Due Season" (Galatians 6:9)
1996 - Ordained to be Minister of Christian Education
1996-1997 Minister of Christian Education, New Bridge Baptist
Church
January 1997 - Trip to Jordan, Egypt, and Holy Land
1997 - Started The Way of Life Spiritual
Development Center
1998 - The Way of
Life Spiritual Development Center in Partnership with Oral Roberts
University
1998 - Published the book, Spiritual
Significance of Eating
1998 - Started online E-Message Ministry
1998 - Present, Religion Teacher, Averett University
Septemer 13, 2000 - Birth of first grandson, Aaron "AJ" Lewis
2001- 2003 Religion Teacher, Trinity Episcopal School (classroom
treaching)
2003 - Published the book, "Where Are
You?"
2004 - Religion Teacher, Trinity Episcopal School (online
teaching)
July 14, 2004 - Birth of second grandson, Makai Lewis
July 14, 2004 - Minister of Christian Education, New Canaan Baptist
Church, Richmond, VA
January 2006 - Elder of New Canaan Baptist Church, Richmond, VA
January 29, 2006 - Birth of first granddaughter, Tori Michal
Lewis
March 24, 2007 - Celebrated The Way of Life's 10th Annivesary (42
students)
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INTERVIEWER: What is your favorite color
and why?
MARGARET MINNICKS: Red. I wear a lot of
red to be reminded that I am covered in the blood of Jesus. And
people have told me I look good in red. Two good reasons, I
think!
INT: What is your favorite food?
MM: I look seafood; especially
crabcakes, steamed crabs and snowcrab legs.
INT: What is your favorite song?
MM: Right now my favorite song is "It's
Your Time" by Luther Barnes. It speaks to me because I believe it is
my time. I also like anything by Jeff Majors.
INT: What is your favorite scripture or Bible story?
MM: My favorite scripture is Genesis 1:1
through Revelation 22:21. Yes, that's the whole Bible! It is hard to
select one scripture as my favorite. It depends on what I am going
through at the time. However, I seem to meditate quite often on
Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteous,
and all these things shall be added unto you." I have two favorite
Bible stories, and they both involve the same concept . . .The story
of Abigail taking matters into her own hands to keep David from
killing her husband (1 Samuel 25) and the story of the Shunammite
woman who took matters into her own hands to get Elisha to heal her
sick son (2 Kings 4:8-37). I guess that's why I can't sit around
waiting for someone else to do what needs to be done.
INT: Other than the Bible, what is your
favorite book?
MM: My all time favorite that I have
read seven (7) times is Experiencing
the Depths of Jesus Christ by Madam
Jeanne Guyon. A close second is Beyond Our Selves by
Catherine Marshall.
INT: How many books do you own?
MM: I own about 7,000 books. I use them
as references. I don't like to borrow or lend books because I
annotate them.
INT: What book are you reading now?
MM: I almost never read one book at a
time. It is not unusual for me to be reading from 5-7 books at a
time. I am reading The Power
of Intentions by Dr.
Wayne Dyer; Have You Felt Like Giving
Up Lately? by David Wilkerson;
Practicing the Presence of
God by Brother Lawrence;
The 24-Hour
Turn-Around by Jim Hartness;
The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge; There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Dr. Wayne
Dyer; Inner Healing by Mike Flynn; The
Love You Deserve by Scott Peck; in
addition to 3 daily devotions: Light
for My Path; The Word for Today
and The Daily Bread.
INT: How many hours per day do you read?
MM: At least 3 hours per day during the
week. About 6 hours on the weekend. And this is not counting the
reading I do in preparation for my classes that I teach during the
week and preparation for Sunday School and preaching on Sundays..
IINT: What do you do to relax?
MM: I love word games such as Scrabble
and doing jig-saw puzzles. I have about 30 puzzles on my computer.
This is good because I never have to worry about losing the pieces. I
also relax by watching LifeTime (the network for women) and by
talking on the telephone to special people late at night.
INT: Do you go to the movies? If so,
what is your favorite movie at this time?
MM: I go to the movies when there is
something special I want to see. I recently saw "The Notebook" and I
would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a good love story.Take
some tissues with you.
INT: You do so much, how do you start
your day?
MM: I start my day with prayer and
meditation, then Bible reading and sending out a short E-Message all
over the world. My day seems to go all wrong unless I do those
things.
INT: What is your passion?
MM: I have a definite passion for
teaching the word of God.
INT: What is your purpose in life?
MM: My purpose and passion are the same:
to teach the word of God.
INT: What motivates you?
MM: Seeing fruit from my labor motivates
me to continue to do more. The more I do the more I am motivated to
do.
INT: What are your pet peeves?
MM: I have a low tolerance for people
who don't produce; especially those who say what needs to be done but
don't do anything about it. People who procrastinate are not at the
top of my list.
INT: What legacy do you want to leave
behind? How do you want the world to remember you?
MM: I want to leave behind an "eternal
legacy." I try to teach what I know so others can live for Christ as
I do. I want to invest into their spiritual future by being a good
example and role model. I want my knowledge of the Bible to continue
through the lives of others. Dr. Wayne Dyer says, "Don't die with
your music in you?" I intend to leave my music behind so others can
enjoy it long after I am gone. I don't believe I will die with my
music in me. I believe I will leave behind an "eternal legacy."
People have grown spiritually as a result of my having
lived.
INT: Speaking of death, what would you say to comfort those who might
mourn your death?
MM: I am not afraid of death. Like Paul,
I would rather die and be with the Lord, but it is better for me to
live to bring others to Christ while I can. I believe when my purpose
is fulfilled, I will then go to be with God. For now, He has much
work for me to do. I intend to do it until God says otherwise. Then I
hope my work will continue through the lives of others.
INT: If you were martyred for your
faith, what final thing would you tell people as you were being
beheaded like Paul?
MM: I would definitely tell people to
live a purposeful life according to God's will and not their own. I
would tell them to do all they can while they can and don't die with
their music in them
INT: If you could live your life over,
what would you do differently?
MM: Actually, to say I would do anything
differently would indicate that I don't like who I am. I believe
everything that has ever happened to me has helped to make me who I
am. I don't like some of the things that have happened to me, but I
realize they were part of God's plan to get me to where I am today.
So, to say I would change anything would alter the plan and purpose
for my life. And I like who I am and what God is doing in my life
right now. At long last I have peace, and I wouldn't want to change
the dynamics of how I received peace. In other words, I know I had to
go through what I had to go through to get to where I am now. I
believe I agreed with God about my destiny before I was born.
INT: How are you going to celebrate the
rest of your life?
MM: I am going to do what I do with more
intensity, passion and compassion hoping that my life will be a good
example for those who come after me.
INT: Do you
have any final words?
MM: Just one...Amen!