What Does Normal Look Like; click here to listen

Jesus many losing hand. One feels more like a losing battle when something is injured and we're glad to have you with us today is a October ball use and were starting to see the leaves turn which is both sad and cool and we go to the previous times year lease. This part of the country but it's followed by winter. It's beautiful and you know we talk about eves sometime on sometimes on the show and Alma will recall this if it's a post-Eve Poe, Steve, but happy anniversary to you and your wife Heidi thank you celebrated your many years. Anyone 21 years couple of days ago. So congratulations Jack, she's a very patient person. Obviously, we have a great topic today. It's one that it's a little different when you first hear it. Were going to be talking about normal.

That's very much it talk about normal and what what does normal look like Robby wait. We have a friend a lot of times it talks about asking people you know, what was your childhood like when night when you're growing up, and what's the answer that is most often given normal. I had a normal childhood. Now my sister cut off my big toe with a knife and but it was normal. Just like anybody else's childhood, but I've Sam. I've actually done some research on the arm. I've come to the conclusion through exhaustive research that it is in fact a position on your dryer and if you hit that that's the only place I think you'll find it in and in reality you know people talk about constantly. I wish you just get back to normal. But is there normal.

Now see, that's a good question. Yes I know what it where is it where you find it.

It's sure was in my family. I've been completely disqualified from this little discussion you have, but we've been talking about this we been talking about the new normal. For about the last week amongst ourselves and and through some some different things in emails that women talk about this topic of the new normal, and how there isn't something that truly is normal. Although society would tell you there is there is a norm that we compare against what is absolutely and whether you see it and in the media are here. It there's there is a worldly definition of normal.

As you know, I tend to talk about average and average houses to two kids, Bubba Bubba botnet becomes normal, but things aren't always what they see in an normal can be… Listen scope and see what normal can be better that way you don't just say no. So I love you, exactly the way you are so because I know where nothing in my house was a little girl and an easy and my parents once went to town just now for centuries all around the world. She was considered the beauty.

She has one last time. That contains a quote that you love right yet normal is so overrated.

I think this to such a great line because we we compare ourselves and folks compare themselves to so many other people. And when I heard that again I thought were always looking for normal and it's so overrated wants to be normal and the point is, who is normal down you know is that clip as I got ready to do the shower I can help. Remember, I was crushed by the Jeep and I found myself in a wheelchair and you know quite often apart your life allows you the six drastic changes, like what you know, obviously I still had my leg. It was almost severed. It was very close and I spent over a year there in the new normal is really something that will stretch what you're capable of thinking about and God is using that in some amazing ways. As he does for that movie. The soul surfer but when your life gets changed and it can be changed like hers in the matter of a few moments and things are drastically different than all the sudden gods allowed a new normal in your life now you know how do you embrace absolutely and in that clip publisher set it up a little bit.

I wanted to steer it fresh that you normal is overrated and this girl lost her arm to a shark attack. It's based on true story. Bethany Hamilton should right now she's on the amazing race in advertising that on TV and given all that her story, but she's a strong Christian and really is locked with God through it and impacted many lies in her new normal was completely different, but to her it is normal and if we lost to my questions. I guess I would ask is the same person today you were 10 years ago, about five years ago or 20 years ago and it's an answer you could look back and say no I'm not. Maybe it's a good thing. That's a bad thing, but I'm not so aware of those places you were along the way that each of those times, it was normal for you and so each day, you're moving into a new normal, especially as you walk with God. Scripture doesn't ask a couple questions on Scripture Scriptures kind full of stories of people moving from an old normal to a new normal is asked a question.

What are some of the people to come up with a story from the Bible to come up for you Jenny and obviously wow.

I mean, here's a guy down at the bottom of the no hiding from the Midianites and everybody else in the next thing you know he's leading the battle but he was look like pretty much the King of the wimps there for second and God shows up and says mighty warrior and in his new normal was was pretty drastic. Now I think of Esther.

She was an Israelite in Susa you know in Persia and she was just poor Hebrew girl. All of a sudden she's the queen of Susan. We talk about a transition. All of a sudden all this burden, and with that burden became more responsibility.

Absolutely there's other stories you know when I'm not really came to mind for me was the woman he talks about in Mark. It had been bleeding for several years and had been to doctors and had been can get healing is actually getting worse of her normal was getting worse every day and she touches Jesus's cloak because of her faith because her belief that belief in Jesus.

She's healed. So, she stepped from a place of woundedness for lack of better term, to a place of healing and she seeks out Christ for that. I think of Paul and we were talking earlier about being blindsided by things in our lives. Talk about being blindsided is a guy was persecuting having Christians killed on the road to Damascus. He's literally struck blind so he has at first new normal of what's going to happen what's going on is my site going to be restored and kind of walking through being blind and then when is Stites Sizer's story.

He's got another new normal, which is what God called him to be God's called me from that point forward, and it changes his life drastically units in the name yeah yeah Johnson, Paul, as you open your mind and you think about all the stories, it's a consistent theme. Jacob became all the everyone of you can go back and say normal change for them.

Along the way you not has to. As you walk with Christ, or as you walk with this world one direction or the other life's going to change in normal is going to be different, but there are so many things that we do say man if I can just get to the weekend in life can be normal again or if I can just business world family wrote the book really famous about seven years ago, eight years ago who moved my cheese and that was all about that very issue is that if you're in business that that the cheese is getting it moved and what you can do to adjust is one question to ask you a bit later in the show is where is God moved you from a place of old, normal, new normal in some things that you're willing to share and then going to talk about that from personal perspective, I want to get another clip in here if we can before the before the break, and this is from a movie called Evan Almighty. It's probably the funniest clips this to listen to and and in the scene. If you haven't seen the movie. Evan is been called to build an ark which she is reluctantly responding to God's request and so far hasn't really been doing as part in God's change in his physical appearance is hairs growing in his beard is growing quicker than he can shave it might need to care look like a BD okay all right okay it's created longer you know know know I wasn't meaning work shows that make sorry sir, I'll be with you.

Just one thing I am going through. I this is all temporary what is important. I got a letter of intent here about Congress and Long's bill just want you to sign it in person and now I can't do that.

No, you can't do that now looking like you have to go shave I can see Marty when I see what happens when you shave what is going on. I'm building something long see me this way. Okay, just as you listen to that you pick that clip to me little bit about why you pick that clip and pick up the rest of it after break.

Well, I think in so many of our lives when we come to Christ. All of a sudden we start looking like a freak may not be long but were saying things a be able to look at you. What you talk about what God really, you can't be learn more about Robby's languages become miraculous and masculine journey. We have a great collection of podcasts on the website and matching radio.org information.

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See you taste of that song that you pick that song and talk about that real quick look back to Robby. But what why did you pick that song were basic assurances pretty often. I'm not who I was. Its Christian song by Brandon Heath and yeah you know he's going through a story that sounds like it's probably a relationship oriented but every time I hear it I just I just hear that saying I'm not who I was and in relating to a relationship. The woman that I was married two years ago. Oftentimes when I hear that song I think about Diane, and I think if I were face-to-face to her. I would say. Wish you could see where I am now.

I'm not who I was not the same guy was back this many years ago and I think a lot of us can relate to that problem in our children pick up on that here in just a bit. Robby, when we left to talk about your language is not Evan Baxter clip all of a sudden is here going out his got the beard essentially looks like a freak and I know that when my early relationship with Christ. I was a sales manager Dodge dealership in Greensboro at and I showed up at a sales meeting Saturday morning after having had an intimate discussion with God and and it was real for me and so these guys are used to me being in the car business all my life and with the language that went with all that and always concerned about how we close the next deal and how we could you make the most money and all that sudden here is this guy that's been there general manager for time and guys I've talked with God.

And here's what we do from now on in this exact what I said or not to try to sell cars anymore we are going to try to help customers so someone comes in and you know you think they need anytime don't take in the Nissan store or try to.

You wait on that customer. I want to hear about how you can close my stuff, I want you tell me how can you help that got that because God told me at the end of the day as I no matter how many cars you sold which customer satisfaction. Regular writing is to be matter how many people you really help. So as of today I want to go out there and help people to understand what I'm saying oh Robby's Jesus freaks and all yeah if you kissing the look in their eyes is like this is the craziest thing this man if if Evan Baxter looks funny with the beard.

I'm telling at that moment I have that complete look. But after a while they saw that I was walking the talk and it became the new normal, like, really. We can't cuss around the and then that proved to be a pretty successful thing long-winded plan. We outsold the Honda store that was a great thing that when you're the Dobbs junk GM and yet so the Honda store relaxing another give you ha because it's got members what year was this was 1991, the year of actually the goal for. I was thinking I bought a truck in 99 I thought maybe I bought it from you, but I remind you back to the clips as you think about those first two clips for me there some commonality in it and there's also some diversity in it. The common thing is God is working in both of their lives. One of them. I don't know whether God because the shark to bite her arm off.

It was just she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but God used that event to change her life and change other people's lives deftly in the story of of Evan Baxter, God's completely involved in his got he's on a mission every bit early on. Evan makes a statement as his running for office and got reminds him of that statement and the whole thing is about getting him back to that promise.

The man he was going to be the difference he was going to make and so I think it's really cool to see that the gods involved. Either way whether he originated it or circumstances did or whether he orchestrated information. It's kind of a cool thing is I listen to the clip from Evan Baxter. I think about the times I'm frustrated in the midst of moving. I don't move well I'm pretty pretty root change resistant and I guess her shaking head. Do not say no you know who I am but it's in those times I get to remember is that it is God's doing something here that's moving me to a place that I really need to go to. I don't like it. I don't understand it but I got to trust someone is taking me there, and on for me that that's the difference in the video the video that that clip that we heard his ability to say okay I got. I do trash, walk through this with you even though I don't understand. Looking at the other side and you spoke about this earlier in the week and in the devotional. What happens when your circumstances don't change, but you do when when the circumstances may be the same in your life or not had the experience where my circumstances in life actually got worse than what they were from an worldly normal standpoint, but I began to change that process so it doesn't always take your circumstances and life-changing for you to begin to change also is a great point from the movie soul surfer Bethany Hamilton didn't get a new arm that's that situation didn't change, but here she is on a national platform been able to share her faith and so God has changed her through that process, even though the situation she resigned out with didn't change it into your point. Some things get worse sometimes are going to season. It's even harder than the season before. But again, what changes it is her heart through the process, then either think well that's this need is that is what happens with Evan Baxter and what happens with the goal and growing so surfer is neither is neat. What I think is neat is look at the relationship. At the end of the movie or at the end of another words Evan Baxter now has his relationship with God.

Remember their dancing under the tree. If you saw the movie and so often it's not just that God gave us a platform. He certainly gave me a platform when I was in the wheelchair and other things that happened in my life.

But even meter and I often think that's the destination is, it brings you closer to God in your more intimate with him so that you are under that tree dancing. As I believe that growing so surfer certainly grew in a relationship with Christ is as she had to walk and she absolution to go through the difficult journey in order to to find out more of the deeper intimacy now you were talking earlier before the show, doing move to a new normal or do we just go to someplace else.

That's a good question when you think about who you were when you were young and innocent before your innocent card was taken in life happens all these things come in, you adjust to them and you change and then God comes in your life except Christ and you start changing but you're not really changing you're going back to the person you were for all these events change your life brings me to a movie clip that I want to play the movie all Despicable Me interviews ever seen a movie it's and it's an awesome movie. It begins with a young boy well at some point you learn about his childhood and useful life full of wonder and things along the way stripping of that is innocent card is taking a lot of ways he loses perspective and keep it all becomes about achievement and something enters his life the form of three little girls and they changed his whole world will listen how that plays out as he reads in the story is again ready go to bed but was accidentally destroyed, maliciously, we are going to need a new lease. One is called being you.

My I know that not to pat myself on the bank's one being unicorn strong and free thought he was happy as he could be then three little kittens came around to one of these whole life upside down what you talking about these in relation to persons living or dead is completely coincidental. They made him laugh all made him cry.

He never should have said goodbye and now he knows he could from those three little kittens.

They changed he's the okay good night all. All I get is you listen to that clip back to revisit something, ask earlier.

But as you listen to clip with the kind of tell you about this journey that were on his journey of coming to a new normal in that it reminds me of another. My favorite movie clip since from the end of a Mary Poppins where again the father saving Mr. Banks. Mr. Banks is the one that gets saved with the other Mary Poppins because he realizes how special his family is Tim and is no longer his job at the destination is intimacy of his family, and it's the same thing that happens to Despicable Me adjusting a lot different structure absolutely.

And as we were talking we have a covenants (the show and what kind of stories were as God moved you from a normal dinner.

She shared Rob you shared from a place of normal to a new normal for me as I look back at the journey could be in a lot of ways but probably one is more pronounced from his fatherhood and look at the father was with my first child my daughter and suppression made it. Honestly, you know, I wasn't really equipped or prepared. And I think that's a lot of people story it in the father him with her fourth child. You know, and I start a lot of flaws with fortune. I don't have the same flaws I used to have as much you know that the gods kinda change me through that process in the normal part of me being a dad is different than the normal was years ago and that and that's a good thing. You know that I can constantly look at different places in my life it was important to me years before is, it is important to me now now is or something free that kind of remind about seven years ago, I ran into a friend of mine from high school and he came up had dinner met my wife, my son saw the house and we talked about work and he was a teachers conference with the next year he came back, took him to church with me and we were sitting at a table some friends and he said yeah my mom was really surprised when I told her that I renamed you and I said why because I live so far away and he got.

She said he said no mom I will surprise you were still alive and not in jail, and I was shocked to hear that because I'm at church now with all my church friends and but he said how she was so happy to hear that your life and turned around the same time I'm not who I was absolutely great goods moving us constantly to new normal thing is are we going to walk there with the we can be reluctant to enter into that thing that I do trust you. I'm going to walk with you through this. No, I don't get it. I may not even like it but I know you want to take me to a place you know my heart needs that place of new normalcy play. I wish for you guys this week, a place of full of life for you. Thanks for listening messenger and join us next week