Breaking Open: How Your Pain Becomes the Path to Living Again

by Jacob Armstrong

In a broken world, we ache for a way to walk through life without giving up or giving in. Instead of breaking down, Jesus offers us another breaking open. Discover a new way of living and rise with hope, power, and purpose! Everyone aches to be whole. We ache to be healed. We ache to be restored. But most of the time we wouldn’t put it into words. We just know we are broken because our child is addicted. We ache because the depression of our youth is now the depression of our golden years. We are stretched to the point of breaking because our career ambitions position us to commit to a pace we can’t sustain. Miscarriage, divorce, loneliness. In all of it, we ache. In Breaking Open , Pastor Jacob Armstrong exposes the seven dangerous ways that we commonly seek to avoid a breakdown, showing how these seven ways are stealing life from us, and then walks us through a progression of seven Jesus-ways that move us from merely breaking to breaking open. It is these Jesus-ways that get us to the good a life filled with hope and opportunity. In Breaking Open , you Jesus never intended for us to break and stay shattered, but to fall and rise differently. To rise with power, rise with hope, rise with purpose. In Breaking Open , learn to rise open to a new way of living!

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published July 19, 2022

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!

[Casey | Essentially Novel · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥… 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘶𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 - 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.”

Thanks FrontGate Media for the gifted copy. A short but packed book about allowing the things we experience in life to move us towards healing, towards hope, and having a healthier perspective when dealing with the situations that break our hearts. As Armstrong writes, “𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 [𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴] - 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

This isn’t some happy-go-lucky book; Armstrong validates our struggles and hardships, but also reminds us of the at times hard work we have to put in to not remain broken and despondent, saying “𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘵.”

If you’re experiencing some hard times or feel stuck in the aftermath of a difficult season, I’d recommend picking this one up.

[Ge-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book recommended in a Facebook group, and because I was going through a divorce, I decided to check it out. This book is amazing, and tells such a powerful story of how hard times can open us up to a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Breaking open is very different than being broken.

I highly recommend this book for anyone going through a difficult time or anyone who is loving someone who faces a difficult time.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breaking Open
How Your Pain Becomes the Path to Living Again
by Jacob Armstrong
Pub Date 19 Jul 2022
Thomas Nelson--W Publishing, Thomas Nelson
Christian




I am reviewing a copy of Breaking Open through Thomas Nelson and Netgalley:


We live in a broken world and as such we ache to go through life without giving up or in. Jesus offers us another option, instead of breaking down we can break open.


We ache to be whole, we ache to be healed, we ache to be restored. But most of the time we are unable to put it into words. We are broken because we have a child whose fell into addiction We ache because the depression of our youth is now the depression of our golden years. We are stretched to the point of breaking because our career ambitions position us to commit to a pace we can’t sustain. Miscarriage, divorce, loneliness. In all of it, we ache.


In Breaking Open Pastor Jacob Armstrong exposes the seven dangerous ways that we commonly seek to avoid a breakdown, showing how these seven ways are stealing life from us, and then walks us through a progression of seven Jesus-ways that move us from merely breaking to breaking open. 
It is these Jesus-ways tha get us to the good stuff: a life filled with hope and opportunity.


Jesus never meant for us to break and stay shattered, instead he wants us to fall and rise differently. We are meant to rise up with hope, with purpose with power. We will rise changed and find a new way of living.


I give Breaking Open five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Jolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: Breaking Open
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
📝 enlightening, transforming, spiritual
🕊 “We aren’t made to figure out God all the way, to have certainty about all God’s ways and thoughts. We couldn’t contain all of him even if we tried.” 🕊
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📚Review *no spoilers*📚
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I typically don’t read non-fiction, and I don’t ever pick up books on Christianity or religion. My loving parents shared this book with me knowing my anxiety has been feeling like I am being eaten alive.
I do know that this book changed my life. I have felt so disconnected from my spirituality - my personal relationship with God that I had completely forgotten that hope is not something I have to achieve on my own.
My anxiety has been rampant and life taking and paralyzing the last couple months. I have hardly felt like I can make a move or think about making a move without initiating high levels of panic in my brain. All of this every single page and word made me feel reconnected and willing to reconnect with God. Not only willing to reconnect - willing to trust that God is here and will help me find the light in my darkness.
I don’t have to understand every single thing about God to believe in Him. I just have to have clarity and faith and know that miracles have happened in my life - I mean I am a walking miracle! Literally, I’m not supposed to be able to walk today, and I can because of something that can’t be explained. Something that’s greater than my understanding, and that is God.
I want to continue to be vulnerable in my breaking - opening myself to healing through faith by hope in Jesus.
I believe I will re-read this book multiple times and be reminded that I don’t have to walk through this alone.

[Dean Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

When life gets painful, that’s when we have the opportunity to break open to what God wants to do in our lives. Jacob’s book helped me to see that my moments of brokenness can be launchpads for deeper devotion to Jesus. I’ll be chewing on this material for some time to come.

[Jean Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transforming, enlightening and hopeful.
Acceptance

[Hallie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This fell flat for me, there were a few moving stories but I didn’t feel particularly connected or driven to the thesis.

[Allen Posey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are dealing with grief or are in the midst of grief this is a must read