The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz

What if we could make the new year better than the last? If we could guarantee that God's goodness–up close and unmissable–would overshadow the trials? If we could see, threaded through the seams of our stories, the through-line that makes everything make sense?   Links mentioned: Stuff I'd Only Tell God  by Jennifer Dukes Lee. Songs I Play on Repeat playlist (in the resource library). Apple and Spotify playlists of my top 25 songs from '25 (also in the library). Names of God phone wallpaper (free). Word-of-the-year ideas & monthly reflection sheets to amplify your word-of-the-year growth in 2026 (get both HERE). Read more about nevertheless gratitude HERE. 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.

For every weary soul needing a bit of light, a scrap of real hope, a simple Christmas prayer. For every taxed mama and bustling grandma. Every newlywed and fresh divorcee. Every grieving heart. Every family scrambling to make Christmas happen.  Wherever these words find you, and whatever heaviness fills the room, I pray for gritty, overflowing hope. I pray that the tender nearness of Jesus meets you in this moment. That His peace supersedes the pressure you're feeling right now.  When you're emptied of all you can do on your own, when you've used up all the words, when your edges fray and your adrenaline runs out–there's room for more of God. Only when we're at the end of ourselves do we open in uninhibited welcome. And God? He always makes good on His word: Move your heart closer and closer to God, and he will come even closer to you.  James 4:8, The Passion Translation Today, let's stand on this promise together. Because when we really need real hope, we can rely on the unwavering Word of 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.

As I step back to see where I've gone wrong, I see three potential pitfalls where you might be stuck as well. Links mentioned: Get a list of 200 missional word-of-the-year ideas HERE. Get the word-of-the-year month reflection sheets HERE. 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.

Ann Voskamp says korban boils down to closeness: Sacrifice in Hebrew is korban, which literally means an approach, a moving closer. Sacrifice is not losing something but moving closer to Someone. Korban isn't so much about loss as it is about proximity to Jesus. And to draw closer to Christ I must let rest all I try to do on my own strength. 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.

We slow-baked gratitude into our DNA for this. This! So that we might make space for awed worship, genuine praise, honest adoration. 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.