WEIRD – Because NORMAL isn’t Working

That's the title of a book written by Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Life.Church which has many U.S. satellite churches plus others around the world that use their resources. Also, from Life.Church has come the free YouVersion Bible app. Our new normal is often reading the Bible from our cell phones anywhere, any time and we can even carry it in our hip pocket!

I still enjoy my flip-through-the-pages “normal” Bible but I also enjoy the new normal of accessing my Bible app or finding scriptures I need for my blogs or my personal enrichment by simply typing in “scripture for joy; or peace; or hope, etc.” on my computer's address bar and all kinds of scriptures pop up.

When Pastor Craig wrote the book, "Wierd", he was referring to his family's lifestyle. It is one of a Christ-centered philosophy of being fully devoted followers of Christ to show people how to break out of "normal" ruts and live lives of authentic devotion to God while practicing the truths of His Word. Many folks would call that lifestyle "weird", but it's the way that has worked in my life, too. After what we've been through in the last months and even years -- I'm holding to the old normal of trusting in God's amazing grace, as well as a new normal of shifting in ways that needed to be changed anyway. Let's face it -- "normal" folks are stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Many of their relationships are strained and, just surviving. So, we might as well abandon our old normal to be a little "weird", different, Christ-centered, Bible-believing,. love-dealing Christians who march to the beat of a different (but better) drum.

What have we got to lose? Oh! That’s easy to answer -- the craziness of "normal". Remember, normal, the quote goes, is nothing more than a setting on a dryer.

Many are longing for their lives to be normal again and to get back to the predictable and comfortable. But, more than likely, we will never have life as it used to be. Things will never be the same. We might as well adapt as we go and even adapt to a Christ-centered life of love and grace for our fellow brothers and sisters. It’s like changes I’ve experienced since “the good old days when chewing gum was the worst offense in school”. Really, things will never be the same. And, honestly, that may be a good thing. We shouldn’t be looking back, when we should be looking forward. Many of the changes we’ve adapted to, just might become our new normal. We have comfort in this -- one thing, rather, our ONE God, NEVER changes.

I don’t think I could say it better than the Christian music group, Jesus Culture, does in their song: “Your Love Never Fails”
[Chorus]
You stay the same through the ages / Your love never changes / There may be pain in the night / But joy comes in the morning / And when the oceans rage / I don't have to be afraid / Because I know that You love me / Your love never fails
[Bridge]
'Cause You make all things, work together for my good
You make all things, work together for my good
'Cause You make all things, work together for my good
'Cause You make all things work together for my good
You make all things work together for my good
You make all things work together for my good!”

I love that line that repeated over and over again. And, it is so true. We don’t have to have NORMAL, as it was, back again, because maybe we needed this SHIFT into a new NORMAL. We just need to keep following He Who never changes – lean on Him and trust Him to give us the wisdom and strength to advance into a new season. 2 Peter 3:14 says: “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”

Faith, Family, Values, and Determination = Favor and Blessings

On our way back to Dallas from College Station, we stopped in Waco to go to Magnolia Market at the Silos. If you've ever watched (and, in my case, addicted to) HGTV's "Fixer Upper", you know what Magnolia Market, Chip and Joanna Gaines, their family and their values are about.

Chip and Joanna, the stars of the show, owners of Magnolia Market, as well as the interior designers/contractors that take an old, in disrepair home, and make it a beautiful showcase home, are grassroots, family-oriented, and just downright good people who display such love and gratitude in what they do. The old silos in Waco are where they house their store. Shopping, a garden area and store, petting area (goats), outdoor game area, and food (food trucks lined up on the property) are part of the experience. Being there, was like being on the movie set where in their show's episodes, we see Chip telling Joanna "We can buy the silos and put our market here!" I was amazed that the silos are right in the middle of downtown Waco, instead of out in a field somewhere. Their love for their alma mater, Baylor University, is recognized when you drive up and all the parking areas, within a block of the store, charge $10 to park, with the proceeds going to Baylor.

But here's what I love most about them. They are using their platform to reflect their faith. Here are some excerpts from an article I read in "Christian Post".

Every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CST, families all over America tune in to Joanna and Chip taking broken down, but potential-rich houses and turn them into showpieces that are helping revitalize whole neighborhoods throughout central Texas. "Fixer Upper" is being pegged a glimpse into "everyday Christian living" through the lives and work of the Gaines family. Although the show follows their quest of saving homes that look hopeless, it's their example of a loving family that is proving to be a true testament to their faith.

The couple told the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, "Our family has made a commitment to put Christ first, a lifestyle our parents modeled for us very well. They showed us how to keep our marriage and family centered around God. As for 'Fixer Upper,' we have been surprised at the impact of our faith through the show. We haven't been overtly evangelical, but the rich feedback we have received on family and love all source from our faith. Jesus said the world would know His disciples by their love for one another, and we've glimpsed this in practice and strive for it every day."

In a video for Baylor University, the college Chip and Joanna met at, Joanna shared her testimony. She revealed that it was not until she trusted God with her dreams that all of this success was able to come about. Growing up as a bi-racial child, both Asian and White, proved to be very challenging for the now mother of 4. Joanna said that from an early age it was always her faith in God that gave her hope for the future. "'Joanna I have a calling for you, you're going to have a platform one day,'" she testified of a time God spoke to her.

In the video she went on to discuss a time she thought she would have to give up on her business for good to raise her family. "I heard God say very clearly... he said, 'Joanna if you trust me with your dreams, I'm going to take Magnolia further than you ever dreamed.'" "Fixer Upper" has been living proof for the couple that what God promised has come to pass."

I shared this "success" story in my post today, because you and I have the opportunity to be "Parades of Homes, Life, and Blessings" too. When we put God in His rightful place in our lives (#1), His blessings will chase us down, and His light will shine brightly through us to a world that so needs to see true examples of commitment, faith, values and love.