Social Dallas Podcast: “You’d Be Surprised What Grows in the Winter”

Guest Speaker: Pastor Manouchka Charles (VU Church, Miami)
Date: October 13, 2025

Main Theme

This episode centers around the message that God can bring growth, fruitfulness, and blessings in even the most unlikely or challenging seasons of life—symbolized as “the winter.” Pastor Manouchka Charles bridges Scriptures from Psalms and Ezekiel, drawing insights from a personal story, agricultural metaphors, and her own journey of faith. The encouragement is clear: do not count yourself out in your “winter”; God specializes in bringing new life where the world sees barrenness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Being Planted

• Psalm 92 (00:49): The community’s anchor scripture for the year centers around the promise of flourishing for those “planted in the house of the Lord.” Pastor Manouchka highlights, “God gives us a supernatural advantage… even in seasons where people will count you out and say that it’s over for you… God promises that even in your old age, you will still be fresh, you will still flourish.” (03:10)
• Emphasizes longevity and the refusal to allow difficult seasons or age to steal hope for fruitfulness.

2. You’d Be Surprised What Grows in the Winter

• Through an anecdote involving a restaurant waiter and a winter farm visit (07:04), Manouchka illustrates, “You’d be surprised what grows in the winter.” She reflects, “There are certain crops that don’t just survive, but develop their best flavor in it. There are vegetables that get sweeter after the frost.” (08:45)
• Parallels are drawn to life: “God can use any environment. He can use every delay, disappointment, heartbreak, and turn it for His good.” (09:55)
• Refrain: “You’d be surprised what grows in the winter”—applied to ministries birthed from pain, successes from unlikely backgrounds, and hope after loss.

3. A Prophetic Declaration of Fruitfulness

• Citing Ezekiel 47:12, she announces, “Every month, you shall produce fruit… No matter the month or the season.” (11:49)
• Leads the congregation in a declaration: “January, you’ve got to produce fruit… October—fruit… November—fruit. December—fruit. As I step into 2026, fruit.” (12:13)
• Encourages listeners: “Everything attached to me has got to win” (13:40), prophesying generational blessings.

4. Fruitfulness Is for Generations

• “Your grandkids will benefit from it… It’s a generational thing… God is releasing generational blessings all over this room.” (14:40)
• Distinguishes between brief, self-contained success and lasting, legacy-building fruit.

5. Seeds Must Be Sown Before There Can Be Fruit

• “You can’t have fruit unless you sow seed. If I never sow a seed, I won’t see the harvest.” (19:44)
• Outlines three crucial kinds of seed:
  • Seeds of Time: “Time is the most valuable commodity… We are not to waste our time. We must invest our time wisely—spending time in the Word, prayer, serving, community.” (21:05)
  • Seeds of the Word: The Word only produces if given ground in our lives. “Every time you open up your Bible, you are holding seed in your hand.” (23:48)
  • Seeds of Gratitude/Praise: “My praise is not just contingent upon my season. My praise is contingent on the fact that God is good.” (33:01)

6. Personal Testament: God’s Word Brings Life

• Shares a near-death experience and how recalling the promises and specific Word of God “woke me up from a coma” (26:40). “The thing that woke me up was the Word of God.” (28:13)
• Challenges listeners: “There’s some people in this room—you are still spiritually in a coma and God’s word is getting ready to wake you up.” (28:42)

7. The Power and Potential in God’s Word

- “What you need is his Word… If you could just get this Word in you for real…” (29:54)
- Offers a gentle critique: “You think ChatGPT could be your therapist? God said, open up the greatest thing you could ever do for your life: Get God’s Word in you.” (30:42)
- Emphasizes that maturity and breakthrough come from prioritizing Scripture.

8. The Significance of Tears and Brokenness

• “Maybe you feel you can’t sow seeds of praise and gratitude—all I have is tears. Tears are seeds too… The Bible says God bottles up all of your tears.” (34:54)
• Promises: “God said that if you would just bring it to me, if you would just surrender it to me, I could use every tear, I could use every heartache… If you can use anything, Lord—you can use me.” (35:06)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On God’s Sovereignty in All Seasons:
  “You’d be surprised what grows in the winter. Do not count out your winter season. God can use it for His glory.” — Manouchka Charles (10:38)
• Prophetic Declaration of Fruitfulness:
  “Everything attached to me has got to win. I believe that God’s giving somebody long-lasting fruit. Your grandkids will benefit from it.” (13:40)
• On the Role of God’s Word in Crisis:
  “The thing that woke me up was the Word of God… When I began to speak the Word of God, how good is God’s word that it could find me even in a coma?” (28:13)
• On Maturity:
  “If you could just spend time with God for real. If you could put the phone down for two seconds and open up God’s word and allow Him to speak to you, you would step into a level of maturity that you would never think. God says, ‘Open up my word.’” (29:54)
• On Tears as Seeds:
  “Can I tell you that tears are seeds too? Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” (34:54)

Important Timestamps

• 00:49 — Reciting Psalm 92: Anchor scripture
• 07:04–10:38 — Story: “You’d be surprised what grows in the winter”
• 11:49–14:40 — Proclamation and prayer for monthly and generational fruitfulness
• 19:44–23:48 — Teaching: Sowing seeds of time and the Word
• 26:40–28:42 — Personal testimony: Awakening from a coma by recalling God’s Word
• 29:54–31:06 — Emphasis on feeding on God’s Word vs. worldly wisdom
• 33:01–35:06 — The power of gratitude, praise, and even tears
• 35:34–end — Closing prayer and call to salvation

Conclusion

Pastor Manouchka Charles delivers a heartfelt prophetic message: God is not restricted by seasons. Even in winter, which often represents barrenness or disappointment, God brings sweetness and growth that may surprise both you and those around you. The episode calls listeners to invest time and the Word intentionally, to hold onto gratitude—and even use their tears as seeds—believing that what God starts in the humble, hidden, or hard seasons will result in visible, generational, and healing fruit. The message ends with a prayer for renewed commitment, bold faith, and the invitation to accept Jesus, reinforcing the podcast’s heart: everyone is welcome to flourish in God’s house and bring hope to the world.