The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz

Twyla Franz
  • 4.8 (23)
  • RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to a becoming-space. A place for imperfectly ready people to say yes to more Jesus and actual friendships with their neighbors. A place for introverts and workaholics and people-pleasers and self-doubters. Welcome, welcome, if that’s you! I get that pull you feel to go deeper. Find purpose, meaningful conversations, community. I also get how you think you’re not ready. Want to know a secret?! None of us are, least of all me! Also true is that we BECOME ready after, not before, we say yes. Yes to baby steps that deepen relationships and let God spill out everywhere. Yes to becoming more curious, more approachable, more moldable in the tender hands of Jesus. It’s a process. A beautiful, becoming process where we look less and less like we used to and more and more like Him.

  1. 4D AGO

    Community: The Beautiful Secret to a Spirit-Fueled Life

    That longing you can’t silence for community–to know and be known–is neither superficial or selfish. It’s the evidence of God’s heart for you.  Belonging wasn’t your idea first. It was His. Before the first created man had breath in his lungs, God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit existed in perfect community. As Jennie Allen says, “Our God has been relational forever. It means that He created us out of relationship for relationship.”  And we feel it sharply when we’re out of sync with God’s design. While we’re created for community, many walk around feeling lonely. No matter the number of people in our periphery, aloneness is often internal. Even in a crowd of people, many feel like an outsider. Perhaps that’s how you feel today. Like few know the actual you. Like you’re the only one without a “best friend.” Researchers tell us the percentage of people without close friends is rising at a concerning rate. But it’s not a statistic when it’s your own life. Your own ache.  You might downplay what’s missing by staying busy. Filling your life with God-honoring activity. Trying to grow “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). But still you crave relational depth . . . and there’s a reason why.   Links mentioned: To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up HERE. For my top friendship deepening tips–applicable to both neighbor and non-neighbor friendships–grab the free download HERE. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

    9 min

  2. SEP 23

    When Hunger for God Rises Within, Feed the Fire

    We’re hearing ripples of revival. Seeing fresh hunger for God in unexpected places. Feeling the stirring within our own souls. God is on the move, as always. But we’re noticing it now. The cracks in our culture—the very things that deeply grieve us—let the light of Christ in. Light is always brightest when the dark is darkest. And isn’t it like God to bring uncontainable hope alongside the hard-to-reconcile and still-being-redeemed? The holy rumble of God’s kingdom coming here “on earth as it will be in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) begs the question: how do we fan the fire? What will keep our hearts expectant? How can we nurture this new hunger for God?   Links mentioned: To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up HERE. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

    8 min

  3. SEP 16

    The Best Way to Grow Resilience: 3 Life-Changing Secrets

    I see it in your eyes that can’t mask the tiredness, hear it in the cracks in your voice, feel it with you in the hurried steps and anxious scrolling: life feels fractured. Unsteady. At times, unfathomable.  We quiet our questions, assuming God sees coming redemption before we can glimpse it. But we can’t hush the disquiet in our souls. Is there a way to thrive no matter what life throws our way? To grow resilience that keeps hope alive?   Links mentioned: To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up HERE. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

    9 min

  4. SEP 9

    Unwasted Grace: How to Make Much of the Life You’ve Been Given

    Grace is a trust equation: our nothing plus God’s everything equals ripple-effect redemption.  God’s grace, according to my friend Jennifer Sakata–and host of Living the Grace Life Podcast–“is that forward movement that restores connection and rebuilds relationships.” How perfectly this line summarizes 2 Corinthians 5:19! It is central to our good news that God was in the Anointed making things right between Himself and the world. This means He does not hold their sins against them. But it also means He charges us to proclaim the message that heals and restores our broken relationships with God and each other. The Voice There’s better up ahead—relational wholeness between God and us, us and others–and grace gets us there.   Links mentioned: Grab the Enneagram Neighboring Lists (available both as phone wallpaper and as a printable pdfs). To get a short, doable tip in your inbox every week to help you get to know your neighbors, sign up HERE. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

    7 min

  5. SEP 2

    How to Grow “Charity of the Heart”: 8 Ways to Build Up Others

    An others-first mentality seems rare these days. Maybe that’s why “charity of the heart,” as Paul describes it, always makes my gratitude list (1 Cor. 8:1). Life can feel like a race in slow motion, where making space for someone else comes at a cost. But you and I get to be the sort of people who normalize uncommon rhythms–like noticing the people in front of us, getting to know our neighbors, and building others up.  We are those who love because we’re outrageously loved (1 John 4:19). Who serve because we copy the One who serves us (Matthew 20:28). Who go lower, not higher. Who build up, not tear down, each other with our words. Who let others go ahead while we look out for their blind spots. Have you caught the shift in your heart when you put someone else first?  Making someone else’s day makes yours better too. Encouraging someone else lifts your spirit as well. Building others up also builds you up. But perhaps you need some fresh ideas, relevant to your life and your neighborhood. Here are eight practical ways to build up others.    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.

    7 min

  6. AUG 26

    How To Get The Only Applause That Will Ever Matter

    To the one doing the work while someone else gets promoted. To the one diligently practicing, who hasn’t been picked yet. To the one quietly faithful, serving in selfless and unseen ways.  To the one holding up the team but never getting credit for it.  To the one behind the brilliant ideas, the one always building others up, and the one quick to assume responsibility but not the praise. To the mama making sacrifices no one will ever know about. To the beautiful soul who carefully avoids the spotlight. To the neighbor offering snacks, rides, toys, or encouragement, never expecting a thanks. Here’s good news: the praise that matters most is already coming–from Him.   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.

    7 min

  7. AUG 19

    How to Know a God Enormous Beyond Comprehension

    The very lives we live fit like iridescent shapes into the kaleidoscope of God’s plan for this wonderful, aching earth. We bump up against each other as life jostles us. It may feel at times like friction. But look through the kaleidoscope and you’ll see the stunning picture we create together. We’re a colorful assortment of polygons differentiated by shape and shade. And all this difference, together, makes the ever-changing picture beautiful.  Together, we point to Him–as God-reflectors and missional neighbors. You and I get to mirror the example Christ set through the way we love our neighbors. Let’s look at a few practical, genuine ways to be a good neighbor.   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.

    8 min

  8. AUG 12

    3 Genuine Ways To Be A Good Neighbor Today

    The very lives we live fit like iridescent shapes into the kaleidoscope of God’s plan for this wonderful, aching earth. We bump up against each other as life jostles us. It may feel at times like friction. But look through the kaleidoscope and you’ll see the stunning picture we create together. We’re a colorful assortment of polygons differentiated by shape and shade. And all this difference, together, makes the ever-changing picture beautiful.  Together, we point to Him–as God-reflectors and missional neighbors. You and I get to mirror the example Christ set through the way we love our neighbors. Let’s look at a few practical, genuine ways to be a good neighbor.   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. 3. For more ideas on how we can help each other out of ruts and cover each other’s blind spots, check out the Enneaneighboring Summer Series. You can also grab the Enneagram Neighboring lists–available both as phone wallpapers and printables–for tailored ideas on being a good neighbor HERE.

    7 min
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4.8
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23 Ratings

About

Welcome to a becoming-space. A place for imperfectly ready people to say yes to more Jesus and actual friendships with their neighbors. A place for introverts and workaholics and people-pleasers and self-doubters. Welcome, welcome, if that’s you! I get that pull you feel to go deeper. Find purpose, meaningful conversations, community. I also get how you think you’re not ready. Want to know a secret?! None of us are, least of all me! Also true is that we BECOME ready after, not before, we say yes. Yes to baby steps that deepen relationships and let God spill out everywhere. Yes to becoming more curious, more approachable, more moldable in the tender hands of Jesus. It’s a process. A beautiful, becoming process where we look less and less like we used to and more and more like Him.

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