Define normal.

Normal. According to the dictionary, the word normal is defined as: conforming to the standard or common type; usual; regular; natural. To me, normal means doing what society tells you.

Ever watch the movie 101 Dalmatians when you were younger? Remember that one dalmatian that didn't get spots right away? I'm pretty sure its name was Oddball. Yeah, well that was always me. I always had to do something different than everyone else. My family is your typical American family. Mom, dad, sister, dog, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. My sister is getting married in October to a great guy whom I love to death who has a "big boy" haircut, as my dad would say, and has a job to support a family. Then there's me. I dig guys that have long hair, skinny jeans, tattoos, and most importantly, love Jesus. If they are completely broke and say, "I'm trusting God," that's my type of guy.  My family is very normal. Normal clothes, normal hair, normal everything. Me on the other hand? I like skinny jeans, crazy colored clothing, tattoos, piercings, dying my hair every color there is, crazy patterns, and adventuring on rooftops. For my family, that's not normal. I was blessed to be raised by great parents who taught me right from wrong, but I was never blessed by a solid Christian household. My family thankfully supports me in all that I do (most of the time), but when it comes to church stuff, we were what I would like to call "Chreasters." We would only attend church on Christmas and Easter. When I got saved, I got my parents to go to church with me and I found my home church Crossroads. When I felt a calling for ministry and decided to hop on the road for a year, that wasn't normal...which is where some conflict came into play. It was normal to go to graduate high school. It was also normal to go straight to college. Not for me. I've always hated doing the "normal" thing. So, I chose to travel the country for 9 months presenting the Gospel with 12 other AWESOME brothers and sisters in Christ. Let me tell you something...when you finally say, "Here I am LORD, send me." He will bless you for your step of obedience.

Coming off of tour has been a huge life transition. Because I don't come from the background of a Christian home, life on the road was a huge blessing. I gained 12 brothers and sisters in Christ that became my new family. A new family that I could go to for prayer requests, that I could walk the streets with sharing the Gospel, that I could take the homeless out to eat, that I could gain Godly advice from. Coming back home, it has been hard to adjust. Not having anyone to turn to to gain Biblical advice from, not praying before family meals, not doing devotionals and quiet time together, not keeping each other accountable.

Now here is the point I am trying to get at. While writing all of this, I realized this. YOU define your own normal. Make it normal for your family to pray before meals. Make it normal to read the Bible together. Make it normal to take homeless out to eat no matter how unsafe your parents think it is. Make it normal to follow God's will. Next year, I will be doing society's "normal" and going to college. And trust me. It has been a struggle for me to accept that I am doing society's "normal." I am not going to give in to what everyone tells me, but I am obeying what the Bible says and the Bible says to honor your parents. My parents have supported me in everything...tour was a struggle for them, but they made a compromise with me that if I took a year off, I had to go to college the following year...college was my parents dream for me. So here I am, left saying, LORD, send me. Still confused on where He is sending me, but I am trusting. Trusting that God will do great things. All you gotta do is let God be your new normal.