So I’m a week late in posting this but here we are.
My second book for the month of January was Crushing by T.D. Jakes.
This book was amazing. It was like God used Bishop Jakes’ book to pick up right where Own Your Everyday left off.
Using the winemaking process, he proceeded to illustrate how God uses the hardest points of your life to grow you and accomplish what He put you here for. It was very honest and open as he explained some tough seasons in his life and how when he looks back on them he can see where God was growing him for his next season of life.
It is interesting because just like Own Your Everyday encouraged me to be who I am, this book reiterates that theme while also explaining that who I think that I am may not be ALL that I am. In order to grow in to the Anastasia God created me to be I have to be willing to let Him “crush me” so that the wine (my anointing) that I become can spread even further than the grapes on a vine I am now.
There were so many things I took from this book. One of the most important takeaways at least for me is that God wants to see all the gifts that He has placed within me to manifest themselves, but only at the right time.
The entire theme of this book made me think of one of my favorite quotes:
For a seed to achieve it’s greatest expression it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, it’s insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.
Cynthia Occelli
This is a quote that has resonated with me for quite some time now and it amazes me how it tends to manifest itself in many different ways throughout my life. I just love when Abba does that. It really makes me smile. It’s like little easter eggs throughout various times in my life.
Overall, I highly recommend this book. Especially if you are in a pruning season. Because, let’s be honest, pruning sucks. But at the end of it all, when you look back and see how much you have grown and changed, it’s pretty awesome.
Bonus: Here are a few quotes that stood out to me:
- ” Our Maker wishes to see these internal seeds and latent talents grow, mature and bring forth abundant fruit used for something more.”
- “Transformation requires sacrifice…”
- “God is adamantly invested in developing us into something we would never be without His direct intervention.”
- “Pruning is not punishment – it’s the pathway to God’s power in your life.”
- “In the eyes of God, He is not freeing us from; he is making us free to. Free to what? Free to worship Him and be in relationship with Him.”
- “Before time began, you were with God, and when time ends, you will be with Him again. Simply put, you and God were meant for each other.”
