Solidarity and Unity: The Key Components of Winning Any Economic Struggle Against the Big Boys

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T.D. Jakes On Our Soul's Eternal Pursuit Of Why

Old folks have much to say and it is always a privilege listening. I have been following T.D. Jakes' ministry since 1999 and though his message, as a whole, has not changed, the important threads of the tapestry have undergone a significant metamorphosis. Though world's cultural landscape has turned and shifted since 1999, the man remains relevant and sharp in handling of the Word. His latest book, Destiny: Step into Your Purpose (a sequel to his book, Instinct) is one of his best and full of fatherly advice on the "WHY". It focuses on WHY you are wired the way you are, WHY you feel uneasy and restless with your lot, seeking something more. Most importantly, it tells us what to do with these awkward longings that spring up in our souls, regardless of our background or history.

This is no self-help book that teaches you "10 Steps to Being on Top". Here there are no formulas, no easy answers, and feel-good mantras. This book is not for those who are looking for money, but for those who wants to be secure in the fact that they have found their calling and seek to fulfil that calling. As the author writes,

"One can't define success in dollars or cents. It can only the quantified by the accomplishment of a pre-destined purpose! This need to answer the why of life cannot be satiated by fame or wealth or notoriety, or even education, as none of these acquisitions guarantees that action has aligned with purpose in our lives."

The author states that the feeling of wanting more than you already have sometime has no bearing on your status or state of mind. He says,

"Deep in your gut you know there is more you can get out of life, and that knowledge gnaws at your insides, brewing a lingering unrest. You try to brush the feeling away, but it returns time and again. You may not know what more is, but the desire is there...'Maybe I’m being ungrateful or immature or unrealistic to want more. I’ve done well. I’ve been blessed. I should be content with what I have already achieved.' Have you ever suppress your longing for more with such words?...You can be the most grateful person in the world, but if you have not arrived at the place God wants you to be, to do the thing God has destined you and only you to do, that longing will never go away."

The book highlights the fact that destiny is something ordained by our Creator and the instinct in us is the beacon that directs us towards it. The book says though there is no detailed map on getting to our destiny, we must press on and trust the seed God has put in us. Using Moses as an example to emphasise the uncertainty that follows those walking on this path, the author writes:

"Like Moses at the burning bush, we may not comprehend why we are thrust beyond our familiar surroundings, but we can trust that we are being drawn to by Destiny."

Echoing a similar sentiment to Solomon in Ecclesiastes 11.4 who says, "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap," the author warns us by saying "the road to heaven is paved with relentless faith". He elaborates on this, explaining that there is no perfect day to start working on your internal vision - whether you feel good in the morning or not, or you have a mortgage or debt to pay doesn't really matter in the larger scheme of things. He says you must have the faith to act on that abstract world you envisioned in your heart. He says:

"There are perhaps millions who are sitting on the couch, saying, 'I'm gonna...' They'll do it when their finances are perfect, when their children are perfectly grown and stable, when they've achieved seniority on the job....Your life will never be perfect. Parts of it will be, at times. You will always be juggling and adjusting in some areas of your life....Every day will not feel dreamy and some may feel like a nightmare, but if you never get off your intentions, your vision for your life may never become a reality."

The great thing about Destiny by T.D. Jakes is that it doesn't attempt to drown us with excessive quotation of bible verses. It mirrors the experience of sitting at the side of an old man, listening to tales, anecdotes and advice about life - all of which reflects biblical principles.

I have always felt it is immature to merely quote scriptures on any topic, add few lines of commentary to spruce it up, then consider the job done. It takes spiritual insight and hard work to extract spiritual wisdom from situations and highlight Gods will within. Destiny by T.D. Jakes has done the later and done it well.

One of the few downsides of this book is that the author should have stressed MUCH MORE about the reality of destiny - that your calling might not necessarily bring you fame nor riches. I find that it is easy for people to assume or conflate personal ambitions with pursuing God's purpose, a fallacy that a large part of Christendom has believed for years, to its detriment.

Having said that, Destiny by T.D. Jakes is a valuable resource for those striving to do God’s will on earth. If you are in that group, then this book is for you.

Destiny: Step into Your Purpose is written by T.D. Jakes and published by FaithWords (August 4, 2015).

Many thanks to FaithWords for review copy. All images are © to their respective owners.

Destiny: Step into Your Purpose, T. D. Jakes - Amazon.com

ASIN: B00RW9MLF4

Jessica Lahey On The Evils Of Overprotective Parenting

Success is a word you can interpret in many ways. Failure too. Your definition or ideals about these two words tells a lot about you and your values. For this reason, I am always careful of using these two words (I rarely use it at all) about anything. This particular quirk of mine leads me to seek out non-mainstream ideas of success and failure - a reason why I picked out The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey. In a short snap, I’ll say The Gift of Failure is a parenting book about failure - its impacts and benefits to children.

Jessica Lahey explores the hidden damage we inflict on our children when we charge in front of them, deflecting every arrow of difficulties designed to discourage them. She says of today’s parents,

“We have taught our kids to fear failure, and in doing so, we have blocked the surest and clearest path to their success. That’s certainly not what we meant to do, and we did it for all the best and well-intentioned reasons, but it’s what we have wrought nevertheless. Out of love and desire to protect our children’s self-esteem, we have bulldozed every uncomfortable bump and obstacle out of their way, clearing the manicured path we hoped would lead to success and happiness.

“Unfortunately, in doing so we have deprived out children of the most important lessons of childhood. The setbacks, mistakes, miscalculations, and failures we have shoved out of our children’s way are the very experiences that teach them how to be resourceful, persistent, innovative, and resilient citizens of this world.”

The author follows by saying that our desire to be a good parent sometimes shows itself in us magnifying our children’s achievements and minimizing or hiding their struggles so one would see them and judge us; so we “… whip ourselves up into a frenzy of anxiety and paranoia. Our Facebook posts and soccer tournaments sideline chat is jam-packed with passive-aggressive tales of academic honors and athletic glory... As our kids get older, we spin tales of coast-to-coast college tours, SAT prep and AP tutoring…”

The book also explores the change from the culture of parents trusting in their abilities and the help of extended family to raise a child to the rise of experts in the early twentieth century, who told us that “mothers had no business raising a child without the advice of doctors.” The book laments that parenting had “…become a field of study and experts…(have) little faith that mothers (or fathers) could ace it on their own.”

Jessica Lahey says the rise of experts and the lack of confidence in ourselves as parents manifests itself in giving lots of unsolicited advice and direction to our children. She says our propensity to always solve our kids’ problems for them interferes with their sense of autonomy and convey a lack of faith in their competence.

The Gift of Failure is an unusual parenting book that advocates parents to hands-off the wheel and let our children make mistakes in their quest to find answers to life puzzles. The book is full of examples of real-life situations that highlights the benefits of allowing our children to figure things out and the disadvantages of over-protective parenting.

The Gift of Failure is a non-expert book on parenting and encourages parents to stop overthinking and stressing about doing the wrong things. Instead, it advocates parents to take a deep breath, lean back and learn to direct circumstances from behind the scenes.

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed is written by Jessica Lahey and published by HarperCollins (August 11, 2015)

Many thanks to HarperCollins for review copy. All images are © to their respective owners.

On Being Yourself: Lessons From Kōhei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia

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J. Warner Wallace’s God's Crime Scene

God’s Crime Scene is a good resource for those who don’t mind putting on a detective’s hat and going on an unbeaten path of discovery.

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PAT SHAND & SARAH DILL - Family Pets

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