27 Days: Leaning - When you sit down and quit

We were some of God's best "helpers" back in the day. We said we were trusting, that we couldn't do it alone, but there was no peace. We worked, and we struggled, and we came up w/ new ideas. We thought if we could just get past this obstacle, work a little harder, try something else, we'd surely come out on top! We were exhausted, hanging by a thread but we weren't about to give up! There comes a time, finally, that you stop. When everywhere you place your foot for the next step you only meet w/ gravel you finally have no choice. You sit down and throw up your hands and you just stop! That's when your optimistic, never give up, just do the next thing husband tells you, "I quit. From now on this is God's deal and I'm done! It's on Him now." I didn't see a window open into Heaven, but I think if there would have been one I would have seen the Father's "searching to and fro" eyes suddenly light up as He leaned forward in anticipation. "Finally they're going to let me show myself strong on their behalf!"

27 Days: Leaning - The Typical Christian Way

Anybody who's had any "church" upbringing knows this stuff. We've heard the verses. In fact, we can even quote them at appropriate times-"Take no thought for the morrow..." "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart..." and the clincher of all clinchers? "My God shall supply ALL your need..." We know this stuff, preach this stuff, solemnly say we believe this stuff. Then we promptly go and try to help the Lord out as much as we can. We make sure we have a new vehicle, old ones break down so easily! We make sure we have a good paying job, we need to be saving for a bigger house, you know! And insurance, we definitely need that, every kind we can possibly find! By all means we need to buy name brand clothing, you get what you pay for these days and, we are to be good stewards after all! I have just one question here: If God wants us to need Him, longs for us to lean, where (in the typical Christian's life) is there any smidgen of need? Where, in all our "helping", do we find the need to lean completely on Him?

27 Days: Leaning - The Longing of the Father

"And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host, with very many chariots and horseman? Yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." 2 Chron 16:7-9 I think these verses are an amazing picture into our Father's heart! Isn't that what we look for from our own children? Aren't we searching, hoping for their reliance on us? Their trust in our wisdom and that we have their best interest in mind? I can almost see Him looking down on His children, searching to and fro throughout the whole earth, longing to show His amazing power, longing to find children who will rely-will lean-on Him! What is He finding?

27 Days: Leaning - What does the word mean?

What does the word Lean bring to your mind? I'm thinking of several pictures - an old lady, laboring along, leaning heavily on her cane... Two men, deep in conversation, leaning comfortably against a wall or fence... A tired child, eyes drooping and head nodding, leaning against a parent's shoulder. What do these pictures all have in common? They're all leaning, yes, but there's more to it. They're all relying on something besides themselves. Imagine if the old lady's cane would suddenly break, she would quite likely land on her nose! The two men, what do you suppose would happen if someone sneakily removed their prop? And the tired child, they are about to close their eyes and depend completely on their caregiver to keep them from falling. All three are depending totally on something other than themselves to hold them up. They are trusting their "props" implicitly! None of them are leaning gingerly, fearing they'll fall any second. This is the picture. This is the kind of leaning that I'm talking about.

31 Days (minus 3): Leaning - It's what He wants

Eleven years and three months ago I married my best friend. We were young and happy and far from rich. We settled into our "rent free, pay the utilities, many years old" trailer and embarked on the new adventure of marriage. A year later we added a son to our lives and 21 months after that, a daughter. Four years and some rough spots later found us with daughter number 2, 15 acres of land, a remodeled house and barely scraping by. We were still holding our heads high and trying just a little bit harder. The next 3 years brought one unexpected crisis after another. Chris' work dwindled, he started a job 2 hrs from home, Isaac needed surgery, daughter number 3 was added and hospitalized for 6 days, the job 2 hrs away fell apart taking time and money invested with it... God had us in school and we didn't even know it. Slowly, purposefully, painfully God was showing His deepest longing for us-for all human kind. Softly, lovingly, persistently we heard Him pleading, "I want you to need me. I want you to LEAN."

31 Days (minus 3): On Learning To Lean

Some of the blogs I read are doing a "31 Days" series this month - choosing a subject on their heart and writing about it every day in October. I resisted the urge to join, fearing I'd run out of words by day 15, arguing that I should pick another month and do the full 31...still, the urge was there. This morning I read Flower Patch Farmgirl's 4th post on "Going" and felt smitten. So.... for the next 27 days I will be attempting to string some of my thoughts/ lessons/ ideas, on Learning To Lean together and sharing them with you. I'm a little bit excited to take up the challenge and a lot a bit scared to say I'll do it! This "leaning" business is an area God has slowly but surely been teaching me and stretching me in, especially in the last year or two. I certainly don't have the subject down pat but I would love to share my heart with you, and hopefully you will feel free to share your thoughts and input with me! So... tomorrow I'll be back with day 1 of 27!

Gold pavement, shoes, and dryers

Did you know that God is a very capable supplier of needs? He's got all kinds of resources and can bring along good deals on a wide variety of merchandise! I'm reminded of Otto Koning's words, "God is not stuck for riches, He's using gold for pavement up there!!" Truly He does seem to be just waiting for us to give Him opportunities to spill a little of that wealth into our lives if we give Him a chance. We've given Him several chances lately and I'm still marveling at His amazing answers! From "simple" needs of shoes for children, to "bigger" needs like a dryer for a small space. Once again I am convinced that God longs for us to lean and does what He can to keep us in that position...if we will only trust Him.....and give Him a chance!