The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz

This is for you, feeling alone even when you're surrounded by other people. This is for the introvert keen on deep friendships but second-guessing her own merit. This is for those new to town, missing home, starting over. This is for the long-time homeowner who knows fewer than five neighbors by name. This is for lonely Christians longing for something to shift.
 
Links mentioned:
FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
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Read the written version of this episode HERE.

I wonder where you're feeling most overwhelmed. What's beneath your tension headache and audible exhales? What stiffens your shoulders and triggers an insatiable, internal stopwatch?
"Don't forget to enjoy this season," my literary agent says, and it startles me. Because I'm so busy sorting out the next two years I forget that the season I'm in should feel slow. There should be room to breathe. To dream, not all rushed like I'm in crunch time, but like lungs expanding. Like a soul at rest.
Maybe you relate. You try to solve problems ahead of time to eliminate potential stress. But you're out of your lane and time zones ahead and really, you just need to stay present right where you are.
 
Links mentioned:
Ann Voskamp's questions in Sacred Prayer.

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.

I lived on Nicollet Ave. in a city that's been ablaze with rage, but I was too tiny to know anything but the security of arms cradling me. Minneapolis, MN was simply home. My birthplace. My nativity.
This morning a candle wafts rich vanilla into my chilly basement and my Bible is open to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah's intensity seems fitting for the fractures dividing our country. "There is no cure for my grief," he writes. "My heart breaks for what I see and hear" (Jeremiah 8:18, The Voice). 
Maybe that's what you feel too. The heaviness. The defeat. The grief.
As I read Jeremiah 9:23-24, I wonder what breakthrough might happen if we spent less time drawing conclusions and more time drawing close to God. Less time taking sides and more time by His side.
 
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.

I'm typically the one playing it safe. I minimize risk through research and reluctance. Control what I can and avoid the rest.
Perhaps it won't surprise you that this is the first time in four days I've left my neighborhood. But the interstate is stunning.  I'm heading into the sun, which accentuates the ice. I would have missed this ethereal wonderland if I didn't brave the roads—just like I can miss the adventure God calls me to if I insist on playing it safe.
 
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.

To springboard off Christine Hoover's "back-door friend," I've turned items from around my house into archetypes to help us better understand friendship. Which one best describes the type of friend you are?
 
Links mentioned:
Messy Beautiful Friendships by Christine Hoover.

Sometimes we keep our friendship shallow–by accident. Discover if you are making any of these ten common mistakes by grabbing the free download HERE. You'll also get a powerful secret to help you deepen your friendships.
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.