Free to Lean.. Making Peace With Your Lopsided Life

I often struggle with stress and pressure in my life--pressure I put on myself and pressure I feel from others to do more and be more. Feelings of inadequacy and not measuring up have been negative themes plaguing me since childhood.

"Free to Lean" spoke to that piece of my heart I have loathe wanted to part ways with for so long, speaking from a biblical perspective of why I shouldn't need to feel the guilt or listen to the influenced around me proclaiming I must do more, be more, accomplish more. Drawing from God's truth in Scripture and filled with the wise experiences of numerous different women, the book gave me freedom to take a deep breath and release the stress and expectations I was feeling pound against me for so long. It gave me the biblical freedom to explore what God has uniquely gifted me for and to gently but firmly say no to other things that don't fit that calling, urging all of us to not just fill our time but seek God's purpose in pursing our passion and wisely planning accordingly.

I especially loved the continual pursuit after Scriptural truth and the urge for each of us to assess our lives and our callings through the lens of God's truth. This book has helped me to re-explore my purpose and reclaim my time and energy to completely lean into what God created me to be without all the guilt I have felt.

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

There is one thing you need to do before diving into this book by Jocelyn Green - invest in a couple good highlighters! Free to Lean offers much wisdom in finding your purposeful path in life - whether it feels "balanced"or not - as God intends it for the season you currently experience. "Maybe achieving balance in life shouldn't be the goal. Maybe the goal should be seeking God's agenda and passionately doing the task He has for you right now," states the back cover of the book. Green encourages readers to:

- Courageously live on purpose

- Release false guilt for focusing your energies into a few areas rather than every area

- Step off broken scales we use to compare ourselves to others

- Choose the best over the good, tuning your ears to the Holy Spirit

- Seize God, especially when you're too exhausted to seize the day

- Abide in Christ and nurture consistent connections with others

- Establish boundaries that can stretch or tighten when needed

- Carve out some breathing room and take care of yourself

- Prayerfully seek God's vision, for not only your life but your day at hand

- Accept grace from others and from yourself

In each chapter, Green offers personal experiences (which will make you laugh, cringe, and just resonate with one who is also trying to achieve a lopsided life by God's agenda), as well as insights from other authors and Christ followers. Readers can even get glimpses into the lives of well-known believers such as Ruth Graham, Joanna Gaines, Phil Vischer and more.

Personally, I have found myself going back weekly to review a chart on page 100 called "Estimating the Cost" based on Luke 14:28. It is a list of questions that may help one estimate the cost of accepting or declining a new responsibility or role.

My hope is to go through this book again, next time with a group of ladies. At the end of each chapter, Green offers discussion questions and a special "Truths to Trust" section. I appreciated how this book intertwined scripture and biblical truths within the reality of our own culture.

Free to Lean could not have been published at a better time. Life has thrown our family a few curveballs in recent years and I've been struggling to keep up with the rapid ups and downs of these life changes. I've felt overwhelmed and lopsided... struggling to catch a breath. Jocelyn so perfectly addresses this same feeling in her book and invites us all to lean on the steadfastness of God in these seasons. I often have told a friends who ask how I'm doing in recent months, 'I've just got to find some balance.' It felt so freeing to simply read in this book that a perfect balance doesn't exist! Upon reading those simple words, I acknowledged that balance is something unattainable and chasing balance will leave me feeling inadequate 100% of the time. I needed someone to tell me that balance doesn't exist, and have since told several friends about this new freeing revelation. I've also eliminated the phrase 'balance' from my mom vocabulary! Through her use of scripture and story, Jocelyn's book has challenged and encouraged me to lean into this crazy season I'm in... while it's lopsided, messy, and crazy, God placed me here in this season for a reason and He wants to be glorified in it. I'm so appreciative for Free to Lean and its encouragement to stay the course... He's given me freedom to live life leaning into His calling for me.

I so appreciate Jocelyn Green's writing ministry in both her fiction and non-fiction titles. She inspires readers in both. However, she has given us something extra special in Free to Lean. Green gives us permission. Not that she's superior to us and not even that we need anyone to give us permission. But as a kind friend who loves us and wants us to know God's grace and gift of abundant life, Green reminds us and gently challenges us to learn to say "no" to some things (maybe even good things) and say "yes" to better things (what God wants for our lives).

"It is not a sin to know and communicate our limits."

Reading Free to Lean was like taking a big exhale and releasing frustration and anxiety. Green reminds us that we can't be all things to all people all of the time, nor should we even be trying.

Most importantly, Green's encouragement in the book is biblically sound and gospel-centered.

"Whether we're living out our big-picture purpose or we're in a season of waiting and trusting, we are always expected to represent Christ. This is our daily call. No matter what our agenda holds, we can reflect His image when we love our neighbors, model Chrislikeness in our interactions with others, and bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This is a calling and a purpose that always applies."

Green ends each chapter with "Your Turn" (questions for reflection) and "Truths to Trust" (short statement summarizing the main truth of the chapter. Free to Lean would be a perfect choice for personal devotional reading/study, small group emphasis, or in a mentor/disciple relationship.

*I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions shared here are my own.

I was given an advanced reading copy of Free to Lean by Jocelyn Green for an honest review of the book.

Free to Lean is a terrific book and one that will help you understand that a perfect life is an illusion and we all will lean from time to time. The main thing we need to do is know where to lean so we dont get hurt! God is our refuge and strength and we can lean into Him whenever we feel overwhelmed by the circumstances in our life.

Each chapter tackles a new topic with wit, wisdom and inspiring personal stories. Jocelyn writes from a place of humbleness. Her writing isnt condemning or haughty, but kind and loving. You can tell she is walking the path along side you, not just dictating what you need to do to fix your life. She gives real world examples, including some of her own personal experiences, along with ideas on how to deal with the issue. At the end of the chapter, there are questions to make you think about where you are and where you want to go. Some of these questions can be tough, but if you are willing to put the time and effort into them along with the personal reflection you can make real changes in your life.

I highly recommend this book to others who suffer from the feeling that they must put on a perfect exterior to show the world that all is right in their life. We all need to realize there is no such thing as perfect and that everyone leans. We need to be free to embrace the leaning so that we may find peace.