The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz

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.

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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:
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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:
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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.
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Maybe January feels like a hinge month. Like what happens the rest of the year rests on what you do with this one month.
You feel all kinds of pressure to pick the right New Year's resolutions, the perfect word of the year, the habits that will stack up to lifestyle change. You write and rewrite your measurable goals, your keep and let-go list, your personal mission statement. 
Perhaps you're fed up with merely existing. You long for depth, clarity, connection. And January, you determine, is the tone-setter for the remaining months. The mark of your maximum braveness. The hinge-point for 2026.
Or it might be time to step into something that has been a long time coming. You feel more inadequate than excited, here on the precipice of a brand new season.
First, a confession: I'm here with you–both hopeful for this year and overthinking how to best embrace January. I'm doing the thing I've been preparing years for, but it feels lonelier than I expected. I'm writing more slowly than ever. Looking forward to actual up-comings–a finished manuscript, rounds of editing, choosing a cover, sharing with you what I've been co-creating with God–is entirely different than anticipating the possibility of it all.
Second, an invitation: step back into ancient, soon-to-be Israel with me as we simplify how to transition well. I find uncanny relevance in the book of Joshua. It's a significant season in Israel's history as they leave the wilderness and step into God's promise. Inside Joshua's story are powerful yet simple tools to take with us into 2026.
 
Links mentioned:
Gifts and Gratitudes journal from Ann Voskamp.

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Read the written version of this episode HERE.