203 - Surprise! You’re the One God Wants Next to Him
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
Release Date: 05/27/2025
216 - How To Get The Only Applause That Will Ever Matter
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
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...
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215 - How to Know a God Enormous Beyond Comprehension
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
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...
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214 - 3 Genuine Ways To Be A Good Neighbor Today
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
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...
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213 - How To Change Directions When You Want To Run Away
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
It makes all the difference, doesn’t it, whether we’re running away from or towards something? One feels like friction, the other like invitation. One feels like failure licking at our heels, the other like movement itself is a win. I slow to a walk beneath the cloudless sky, pondering a question: When have I been the one running from something? From a decision I didn’t want to make. From conflict I’d rather avoid. From a yes that felt too costly. From a necessary no that could . Links mentioned: 1. To get a short, doable tip in...
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212 - How to Stop Hiding Inside the Peace You Crave (Enneagram 9s)
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
Can we talk about how to stop hiding where it feels safe and cozy and predictable? Because maybe what makes you “come alive,” as Howard Thurman famously wrote, is somewhere beyond the line of where risk meets comfort. Links mentioned: To learn more about Enneagram 8s–including what we appreciate most about you, how you can use your strengths to mirror God’s grace to your neighbors, and (for the rest of us) how we can best missionally love the Enneagram 8s we know–grab the . Each list is available both as phone wallpaper and as a printable pdf. To get a short, doable tip...
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211 - How to Find Grace for Yourself and Others (For Enneagram 8s)
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
You’re a rock that steadies others, die-hard strength that looks out for the weak, focus and grit that helps the rest of us show up more fully in our own endeavors. But beneath your tenacity is a tenderness that can feel unnerving. Some days you struggle to find grace for yourself within your sky-high personal standards. Can we talk about it? Links mentioned: To learn more about Enneagram 8s–including what we appreciate most about you, how you can use your strengths to mirror God’s grace to your neighbors, and (for the rest of us) how we can best missionally love the Enneagram 8s...
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210 - Why Painful Seasons Make for Tender Growth (For Enneagram 7s)
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
If ever you’ve wished for a fast forward button through the painful seasons of your life, this is for you. You’re full of spontaneous energy and fun ideas. You help the rest of us lighten up and enjoy the adventure of life. You’re bold and bright and brilliant. We’re grateful for your contagious optimism, your eager yeses, your enthusiastic encouragement. Because of you, we try new things that we’d be afraid of otherwise. We also dream bigger dreams, thanks to you. You connect many a person because you have a special way of making everyone feel welcome. Thank you for the...
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209 - How to Turn Fear Into Faith (For Enneagram 6s)
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
You’re the hands holding everything for everyone, the arms keeping us safe, the backbone of community, the feet that stand for the good all. You prepare for all the things we miss or underestimate. Rarely do you rest. Even when your hands are still, you’re working out potential issues inside your head. Researching the safest option. Eliminating the unknowns. How long has it been since you’ve had a break from the residual fear that tenses your brow and deflates your smile? Where does worry catch your breath? What’s keeping your mind restless when you want to be asleep?...
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208 - This Is the Truth About a Competition-Free Zone (For Enneagram 5s)
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
This is for the planners. The methodical. The curious. The articulate. This is for those of us who prefer a little more time to process, who sometimes (maybe most times) want to blend in, who run out of words before the day is done. Links mentioned: To learn more about Enneagram 5s–including what we appreciate most about you, how you can use your strengths to mirror God’s grace to your neighbors, and (for the rest of us) how we can best missionally love the Enneagram 5s we know–grab the . Each list is available both as phone wallpaper and as a printable pdf. To get a short, doable...
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207 - How to Know You’re Not Too Much, or Too Little (Enneagram 4s)
The Uncommon Normal with Twyla Franz
Some days you feel like you don’t fit in. At times, you worry you’re flawed and broken. Often, you fear you’re too much. And we hate that for you, because what we see is someone who reflects Jesus’ tender emotions, His genuine care for us, His reassuring presence. Links mentioned: To learn more about Enneagram 4s–including what we appreciate most about you, how you can use your strengths to mirror God’s grace to your neighbors, and (for the rest of us) how we can best missionally love the Enneagram 4s we know–grab the . Each list is available both as phone wallpaper and as...
info_outlineSome days you get in a slump and maybe you don’t truly believe there’s a place for you. You dismiss somewhere way down inside that God would actually want you next to Him. That He seeks your presence.
Then you read John 14:2 and it hits hard: you are in the front of God’s mind. You’re not a last thought. Not unfilled potential. Not looked over in the slew of everyone else.
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.