“Until Today” By Iyanla Vanzant
Book: “Until Today: Daily Devotional for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind” by Iyanla Vanzant
Book Review by Mary Mikawoz
This book will take you a year to read; at least, it should. It is daily devotional book dated each day for an entire year. I read the book at a number of sittings because I did not know if I could wait a year to read all the amazing insights that Iyanla has to offer.
Iyanla’s insights are so incredible and in depth. Her wisdom is of sage advice. I enjoyed reading her book and think it would be very good to focus on one aspect each day. Each month has a different focus. From January to December, the devotee is supposed to focus on different elements such as the following: life, love, awareness, acknowledgment, acceptance, forgiveness, understanding, faith, trust, worth, service and peace.
It is difficult to discuss everything Iyanla goes over so I will keep my comments to a minimum by quoting a couple of days in the book. On July 30, the beginning of the day starts with “I will gain more understanding when I realize…there is a place called home where I am always welcome.” There are four paragraphs that follow expounding further on this concept. It ends off the page with a focal point. In this case, it reads, “Today I am devoted to finding my way back home!”
Other example pages have poems or quotes or sayings in it. One of my favourites is found on December 29 where the following is given.
“You are here:
To gain character as you lose ego
To gain integrity as you lose dishonesty
To gain strength as you lose fear
To gain compassion as you lose disappointment
To gain discipline as you lose willfulness
To gain equality as you lose separation
To gain appreciation as you lose resentment
To gain enthusiasm as you lose hostility
To gain tenderness as you lose rigidity
To gain boldness as you lose bitterness
To gain generosity as you lose selfishness
To gain optimism as you lose inadequacy
To gain excitement as you lose embarrassment
To gain gratitude as you lose greed
To gain love as you lose ignorance.”
The book in my estimation is fantastic. Iyanla puts down in writing many of her inner peaceful secrets and understandings of God. This a a great spiritual book that could be read first thing in the morning each and every day for years to come with new insights being found all the time. I highly recommend this book.
Tags: devotional, book, 365 days, year, life, love, awareness, acknowledgment, acceptance, forgiveness, understanding, faith, trust, worth, service, peace, character, ego, integrity, honesty, strength, fear, compassion, disappointment, discipline, willfulness, equality, separation, appreciation, resentment, tenderness, rigidity boldness, bitterness, generosity, selfishness, optimism, inadequacy, excitement, embarrassment, gratitude, greed, love, ignorance.
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