The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz

A reflection is a mirror image. It captures the slightest tilt of the head, a shift in posture, merriment in the eye, or sorrow squeezing eyebrows together. It’s not static, but fluid, transcribing in real-time every stray hair and sigh, every question etched in a facial expression. The fullness of emotion, the details of dress, the way we slump or stand tall–a mirror will tell it truthful.

If we’re to mirror Jesus back to a hurting world, we’ve got to fall in sync with His breath, His heartbeat, His tears and tender expressions. We’ve got to memorize the features of His face, the veins in His nail-scarred hands, and the inflections of His voice. 

Links mentioned:

1. I can’t say enough good things about Jennifer Dukes Lee’s guided journal, Stuff I’d Only Tell God.

2. Read more on Matthew 5:7 HERE.

3. Check out my dear friend Jennifer Sakata’s newly released podcast, Living the Grace Life.

4. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.

5. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

What if I were a bit more like her? Noticed details and demeanor, presence and absence? Gave others a glimpse of how we each matter to God?

Links mentioned:

1. Discover your Enneagram number, what we love about you, how your Enneagram strengths help you love your neighbors well, and how to best love your neighbors with different numbers HERE!

2. Around the Clock Mom by Sarah Butterfield.

3. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.

4. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

When we’re walled on every side by insurmountable, when the odds aren’t in our favor, when there’s no action or inaction that’s risk-free, what do we do? Because sometimes it appears there isn’t a way out. 

Maybe you’ve been there, or that’s where you are today: pinched between bad and also bad. You need an immediate and miraculous rescue. 

Let’s turn for a moment, from the story you’re living to one described in the book of 1 Samuel. Here we find faith that takes a little different angle than Even If Faith (even if You don’t answer the way I hope, I still trust You, God) or Nevertheless Faith (in the middle of the very worst, nevertheless I choose to believe that You’re good). This is a story of Maybe He Will Faith.

Links mentioned:

1. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

When we feel welcome, we come back. Kids know this instinctively. As adults, we might have to unravel what we’ve learned about hospitality because we’ve somehow begun caring more about keeping our house clean than putting our guests at ease. Our efforts, though good-intentioned, may sabotage what we truly want: for others to feel at home in our home.

Links mentioned:

1. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

When we feel welcome, we come back. Kids know this instinctively. As adults, we might have to unravel what we’ve learned about hospitality because we’ve somehow begun caring more about keeping our house clean than putting our guests at ease. Our efforts, though good-intentioned, may sabotage what we truly want: for others to feel at home in our home.

Links mentioned:

1. Discover how to clean for unexpected guests HERE.
2. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
3. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Are you longing for soul rest too? Grace that holds? Peace that lasts? Let’s name it together.

Links mentioned:

1. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Consider this: What if the multi-faceted masterpiece of your God-given strengths and life experiences helps you reflect Jesus in a way that literally no one else can?

Links mentioned:

1. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

As I remember my dad’s calm presence in the passenger seat, I think of Jennifer Dukes Lee’s nudge to see Jesus as a driver’s ed coach rather than a chauffeur.

Links mentioned:

1. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

As I hold the decisions I want to delay and the ones I’m tempted to rush in open hands, here’s what’s helping me tune in to God’s voice right now.

Links mentioned:

1. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

When I’m tempted to make assumptions about something that’s likely not about me, I ask myself a question: Is my reaction opening my heart or closing me off? 

Links mentioned:

1. To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up here.
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.