Leaning on the Rock: When You Find Yourself Between a Rock and a Hard Place … Lean on the Rock

By Denise G. Laborde

In LEANING ON THE ROCK, motivational humorist Denise Laborde shares an uplifting, candid, and amusing compilation of personal anecdotes and accompanying scripture that illustrate how God has helped her achieve a fulfilling life, ultimately enabling others to view themselves as victorious overcomers rather than perpetual victims.

As Laborde offers a poignant, faith-filled glimpse into the joys and sorrows of her journey through life, she illustrates how she found comfort and guidance in the Bible and through prayer, despite facing seemingly insurmountable challenges following the birth of two children with cerebral palsy, her fathers sudden blindness, a divorce after more than twenty years of marriage, and bankruptcy. Instead of falling into a bitter, deep despair, she details how each event instead deepened her faith in the God who had become her constant ally, steady companion, and the never-ending source of daily strength.

For anyone desiring peace, joy, and contentment, Labordes experiences offer methods on how to choose Gods will in order to move forward, regain hope, and achieve a gratifying life.

Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God.
Isaiah 50:10 (Amplified Bible)

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781450251945

Denise G. Laborde

Denise Laborde is a motivational humorist, stress management consultant, and registered nurse who has spoken to hundreds of groups over the past twenty-four years and helped thousands remember that God has an abundant life waiting for them. She is the mother of four and a recent grandmother; she resides in Alexandria, Louisiana.

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Leaning on the Rock

When You Find Yourself Between a Rock and a Hard Place … Lean on the Rock

Denise G. Laborde

iUniverse, Inc.

Bloomington

Leaning on the Rock

When You Find Yourself Between a Rock and a Hard Place … Lean on the Rock

Copyright © 2011 Denise G. Laborde

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4502-5192-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-5193-8 (cloth)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-5194-5 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 06/08/2011

Contents

1. THE FAMILY

2. YOU HAVE A CHOICE

3. THE POWER OF TOUCH

4. MAKE UP YOUR MIND

5. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

6. TRUST HIM

7. GRACE—UNDESERVED FAVOR

8. TREASURES

9. Hope—the ONE thing no one has a right to take from you!

10. EYES ON THE GOAL

11. GRATITUDE—A LEARNED BEHAVIOR

12. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

13. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?

14. ONE LITTLE PERSON

15. PEOPLE ARE PRAYING

16. EVERYONE NEEDS A BUDDY

17. PRAY FOR YOUR BROTHER

18. PERSPECTIVE IS POWERFUL

19. I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

20. IT’S UP TO YOU

21. EVEN IN THE LITTLE THINGS

22. OH, GO AHEAD, JUST LAUGH!

23. THE GIFT I NEVER ASKED FOR

24. I DON’T UNDERSTAND—WE PRAYED!

25. POWER IN THE WORD

26. HEARING GOD’S VOICE

27. LEARNING TO LISTEN TO YOUR SPIRIT

28. What will your legacy be?

29. ALL IT TAKES IS ONE

30. FRESH EYES

31. THE DIRTY DIAMOND

32. PEOPLE GET READY

INTRODUCTION

As a public speaker and motivational humorist, I have spoken with hundreds of groups over the past twenty-five years. I have found the lessons people best relate to are ones that I have personally experienced and from which I have grown. I hope the joys and sorrows of my personal journey will guide you down a route perhaps less curvy and bumpy than my own. When life’s detours take you down an unexpected path, remember, God is right there with you. If you listen closely, He will steer you in the right direction every single time. I pray that your free will points you toward the perfect will of God for your life.

Many people truly love the Lord, but want to do things their own way, ignoring any guidance from the Ultimate Escort. God will allow us to make any decision we desire. Sometimes we make decisions that are noble and good, but not God’s will for our life. He will permit this; this is God’s permissive will. Making this decision does nothing to change God’s love for us. However, when we seek God’s perfect will for our life, we truly live in the abundance He has planned and provided for us.

Think of Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh and preach. Jonah loved the Lord, but he did not want to go. Jonah chose his own way and was swallowed up by a whale, but he still made it to Nineveh. If Jonah had chosen God’s perfect will he could have ridden in the comfort of a boat instead of a whale’s belly. Hm-m-m, let’s see. Would you rather ride in the belly of a slimy, stinky fish while being scared to death or would you ride in the comfort of a boat? Seems like an easy choice. Yet in our own lives, we don’t always choose God’s perfect will. We often find ourselves in slimy, stinky, scary situations. When this happens, we can do as Jonah eventually did. We can pray! God will surely see us through.

Join me as I journey in and out of the perfect will of God for my life.

CHAPTER ONE

THE FAMILY

After seeing the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I assumed the playwright, Nia Vardalos, had met my family! I grew up in a Syrian family. It was customary to greet relatives with a kiss. I had so many cousins that I could not count them all. Every single adult on the planet that was even remotely Syrian became your uncle or aunt by default. This, of course, made all of their kids your cousins. I think I was in college before I realized that in order for someone to be your aunt or uncle, they had to be a sibling to your mother or father. How crazy is that? My mom scolded me numerous times for not greeting an uncle or aunt! Quickly, I learned to pretend that I knew them. After all, what could it hurt? They would be happy, Mom would be happy, everyone would live happily ever after—not true!

When I was thirteen, hearing a knock at the door, I got up to see who it was. There in the doorway stood a man with dark brown eyes, black hair, and an olive complexion. Bingo! He must be one of the uncles. I hugged his neck, and as our tradition dictated, I gave him a kiss on his cheek. I then said, Come on in, I’ll get Mom. I went to the hallway and yelled in the direction of my mother’s bedroom. Mom, come see. You’ll never guess who’s here. In our home, cardinal rule number one was to greet the uncles and aunts with a big smile, hug, and, of course, a kiss. Cardinal rule number two was to never let on that you did not have the faintest idea who in the world this person was. Therefore, that is what I did.

Would you like a Coke? I asked. No, thank you, the uncle graciously responded. I was thinking to myself, Mom’s going to be proud of me! I am really getting the hang of this hugging, kissing, pretending-you- are-family game. Then my mom entered the room and said the most horrible thing! Hello. Can I help you, sir?

Can I help you, sir? Who was this uncle imposter? It was the bug man! Oh, no! I had just kissed and hugged the bug man! Cringing with embarrassment, I ran to my room. I refused to leave my room until Mom agreed that I would never again be expected to kiss someone that I did not know! Since that day, I have not kissed any strangers.

"Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,

but fellow citizens with the saints of the household of God."

Ephesians 2:19 (NKJV)

CHAPTER TWO

YOU HAVE A CHOICE

When speaking at seminars to members of today’s workforce, I always like to remind people that they spend the majority