Are you normal?
I'm not. Never pretended to be. Well, that's not true. Years ago I tried, back in my teens and twenties, to be normal or at least act it. I finally gave up when I reached my thirties. Somewhere along the way a friend gave me a little sign that still hangs in my kitchen. "I'm not weird, I'm gifted." The truth of that remains to be seen.
I believe God still talks to people. At age sixty-five, I love dolls and paper dolls and children's books, always have and always will. I love England and English authors and know more about English history than I do the history of my own country although I love the USA and have no desire to live elsewhere.
I used to write a humor column for the local newspaper. One day I got a call from an elderly woman who asked "I like your column and it's obvious you are a Christian but you say you've been married three times. How can you justify that?" I answered, "I can't. Ma'am, it's people like me who most need and appreciate a Savior."
Once I said sadly to a neighbor who was a school counselor, "I wish our family was normal." She replied, "There are no normal families. Some of us just put on a better front than others." That comment ministered grace to me - made me feel less weird.
How about you? Are you normal?
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About Me
- Amy
- Hi, I'm Amy Barkman. I've been the Director of Voice of Joy Ministries since 1979, a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors since 1989, and the pastor of Mortonsville United Methodist Church in Central Kentucky since 1998.
I'm happily married - we recently celebrated our 30th anniversary. Between the two of us, we have five wonderful daughters and thirteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Besides holding workshops, retreats, and private prayer appointments, I hope I can serve through this website.
I'll be looking forward to meeting you and discovering the Lord's love for you, just as if we were sitting in my parlour with Him.
Special Award!
29 comments:
Looking good! Welcome to blogdom! :-)
I love it!!! specially the 'home' Look with the chairs, etc......It looks very cozy and I think alot of people will respond positively to that!! love you!
Amy, i am so excited about what God is doing thru you.What a great way to minister.I will ever be grateful for the times you have ministered to me in this very room.I have learned a lot and for this i am thankful. Love you, carolyn
Amy, this was great, Nice picture.
Hi, Amy. Your blogspot looks good. I like the welcoming room. We could all sit and chat there if you had enough chairs. Much luck with your foray into blogdom. I jumped into the blog pool a few months ago. It can feel lonely out there if nobody leaves a comment, but from the looks of things you're not a big lonely. Many blessings on all your ventures.
Normal? What's that? I'm happy to announce that I, Debra Ullrick, am not normal. Just check out my website and you'll see I'm telling the truth. (www.debraullrick.com)
I think Patsy Clairmont's book title describes normal best, Normal Is Just A Setting On Your Dryer.
I love England and English history too. And Jane Austen... she rocks! I bet she wasn't normal either.
The inviting picture on your blog is awesome. And your website is absolutely gorgeous. Tracy Ruckman does an amazing job designing websites. She did mine.
And again, thanks for the much needed word on your website... the Need Encourage post.
You're so right. God still speaks to us today. Whether it's through a friend, a website, a pastor, a book, a movie, a child, or whatever. I'm so glad God's not limited in how He speaks to us.
Great post.
Have a blessed day.
Debra Ullrick
Debra Ullrick
Nice blog and a fun post.
If I ever find a normal person I'll let you know. It's probably a very borring person.
I may not be normal but I am blessed! Fate keeps stepping in and leading me to the most delightful places. Today I find myself here.
I'm not normal, I am a mom of 4 boys...2 of which are twins. I've almost died 2 different times, but by the Grace of God, I'm still here. I'm not normal, and that's fine with me...I'm a unique creation of God!
I'm not normal...I was married at 18 because God lead me to the right man. I spend most of my time helping women become the people He's designed them to be...and I'm only 26.
Definately not normal.
I'd live the Applebee's card.
bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com
I think the best way to feel "normal" is to surround yourself with friends and family who accept you as you are, friends you can be yourself around.
So, in my local "tribe" of friends and family, I am normal. I homeschool my kids, play board games with gusto, wear funny socks, give food special nicknames, read without stopping. We are all unique, and all loving, and we all feel normal.
Boy, didn't I feel differently as a teenager, though!
I'd love the gc to Applebee's, thanks for the contest.
chappyandalexa [at] earthlink [dot] net
I have often strived to be "normal" in the way that society tends to define that word. I am not often successful because I have had a hard time fitting into others expectations. I have slowly grown to appreciate that sometimes "normal" is not what I have to be if it's not really "me". Now I have a daughter who is also unique! I hope to teach her the value of that at an earlier age then I learned :-)
We could really use the Applebee's GC since we don't get out to eat much!
vmlay@artsci.wustl.edu
Who is normal? What makes us normal? :) If I think of my life as far as how I grew up. Moving over 55 times, living overseas as a missionary kid, being 3rd of 8 kids, having a cobra in our car and biting my little sister, I would say my life has not been normal.
I meant my husband 6 years ago over the internet. He was not a christian at the time. But through much prayer he accepted Jesus into his heart. God has shown us His blessings more than we have ever imagined!
Our family is far from normal but we are loved and accepted by God!
Would love to enjoy a meal with my husband at Apple Bees. Thanks!
Tara
cloudspassby78 (at) yahoo (dot) com
I hope I am not normal. That means I am common place or “the usual”.
Started working four days before I graduated from high school, retired early this year, 47 years.
I graduated from college at the age of 42
By the grace of God and my mother’s help, I raised two wonderful children.
For 13 years, I traveled on my job. I worked in 33 states from coast to coast, from Canada to Texas and Florida.
Any gift is alright with me.
cthensley1@bellsouth.net
Carolynn Hensley
Normal? Normal is just a setting on a washing machine - and no one has ever accused me of being normal...and you know what? I'm glad! I am not my child's friend, I'm her mother (is that normal?) - I stand up for my beliefs (hmm...sounds sort of unnormal to me...)and I spend as much time with my family as I possibly can and like it!! (wow definitely not normal!!)
nov231973 at gmail.com
Applebees would be first choice - Virginia Smith's books second choice!
Thanks for the chance.
I am normal in that I am loved by God, my husband and babies, and still have a hard time finding my worth sometimes. I am overwhelmed and bored at the same time, deep and superficial at the same time. I think we are all "normal" in our quirks and uniqueness, regardless of our background and upbringing. The most abnormal thing about me is also the best and most amazing - can you believe that Jesus died for me??
andrewandkristan(at)hotmail(dot)com
applebees would be my choice.
I'm not normal, but I embrace it now. I'm a happily married, homeschooling mom of six, love Jesus, have black-blue-purple-silver hair (on purpose lol), have characters who talk to me (writer), and I know I'm saved by grace only. :)
Great post and fun giveaway. :)
"Normal" is a relative term. According to this world's standards, I'm certainly not normal and I'm glad about that. I live for God and I live by the Book (the Bible). I hope everything I do and say glorifies God. I hope my life reflects Christ's love. I homeschool our kids and enjoy serving my family. I am Chinese by ancestry, Thai by culture, American by citizenship, and a Child of God by adoption.
My preference is an Applebee's giftcard. Thanks for a chance to win.
I realized when I was quite young that I was not "normal" in the sense that society uses the word. If I think how God Himself may see me, then I'm not "normal" either. I'm very special to Him and yes, I'm just quite "special" in lots of ways :^)
I firmly believe that He put each of here for a purpose. I believe that one of the reasons I'm here is to take care and rescue as many of His creatures as I possibly can. I think He helps me do that by putting them within my sight. I think He's blessed me with a husband that rolls his eyes and says, "Another?"
If you were to look at me with my entourage and my somewhat chaotic life, you would probably say "No, she is not normal. She is that crazy cat lady up the street".
But God knows best and my family and friends know better. I'm "normal" considering the way I was made.
I`m not "normal" I`m retired and loving it. So many people my age say they still work just to give them something to do. Good gravy and biscuits to go with it! Where is their imagination? My problem is finding the tine to do all the things I want to do. One of my sweatshirts says "So many books, so little time" I wish I had written that! Yes, I love to read and I even like to write.
Jo_tanna@hotmail
AppleBee card
I'm not "normal" and that is ok. We have to be unique and one of a kind. We can not always mold to what others want because then you just aren't truly happy!
I don't feel I am normal, either! I want more children, but I am impatient with the children I have. I am an adult but I have never decided what I will be "when I grow up".
Scariest of all is that I have dropped 20 pounds below my normal weight range for no reason and with no effort on my part. I found a lump on my chest on monday that the doctor could not diagnose. I am so NOT NORMAL that the doctor was looking at me like a science experiment gone wrong!
I would like a chance to win the books in your lovely prize drawing!
onlycancan at hotmail dot com
Normal is just another word to me. I have a child with allergies that prays daily to be normal. I ask her what is normal. She never responds. I feel each of us are different for a reason. We look, talk, eat, act, etc. different. That is normal to me.... being different. If we were all the same this world would be one boring place. I thank God daily for my differences and I'm sure to most that is definitely NOT normal!
daniwilliams30 AT gmail DOT com
I would say that I am not normal, never have been. As a girl in jr.high I never wore anything but dresses, my choice. Now adays I am a stay at home mom to 7 children (5 boys and 2 girls)married to the same man for 14.5 years. The only man I ever dated, my high school sweetheart. We also homeschool. Our cars are old, our clothes are not fashionable but we love each other. I wouldn't give up anything to be "normal"
Being normal is almost everyone's goal as a child. As adults, many start to mature and realize that normal is not always right. Normal is not what we are called to be. The greatest figures in history have been extra"ordinary" and changed our lives for the better.
With that in mind, I strive to be more individual and less normal with age. We are currently saving for a downpayment and don't eat out much. While applebees gc would be my first choice, I love books too.
Thank you.
Jen
mariettaseller(at)yahoo(dot)com
Hi gals!
Since we have grown up together, you already know how "normal" my life is! I tried for many years to BE normal, but it wasn't until my divorce that I realized it was ok to be me. Quirky, tempermental, but always caring. Through the circumstances I am living in now, I have had no choice but to totally rely on Him. It's too bad He had to strip everything (family,financials and health) from me for me to let Him take charge.
I'd like Ginny's books to give to Mandi, and Lord knows I could use the counseling!
Exactly what is "NORMAL"? I have never been given a good answer to this question. I would say I am very "ABNORMAL". From childhood to present I have been a survivor of abuse, an entrepeneur, successful in my careers to the present, having to file bankrupcy because of a gambling addiction caused by medication I was prescribed. On the other hand I have developed a product for patent and am waiting for an investor to take this idea to production. I am also making abnormal decisions as recent as last week, buying a car with a lien, which I'm not allowed to do and car dealer let me out of contract so I would not be in violation of my bankrupcy. Well, what do you think? Am i normal or abnormal, and what exactly is the meaning of normal?
I would be satisfied with any of the prizes. I would probably want a good night out at Applebies or one of Ginny's books. I already have "Just As I Am", or whatever God wants me to have.
I'm not normal. And the older you get, the more you realize that nobody is "normal". I love spending time with myself, I've always been a loner. Most women love to talk and be surrounded by people. But I feel like I stay more well-grounded when I make sure I get plenty of time by myself, to think about things, to talk to God, to make the right decisions in life. I love my family, and they love me. God loves me. Who can ask for anything more than that?!
I would like the applebees card if I win, and thanks for the opportunity!
sphinxcw (at) aol (dot) com
Normal, yes I believe I am. We are all normal, I am exactly who I was meant to be. I am living the life the Lord intended for me. I am a humam beings striving towards Godliness. But ordinary? No. We are all children of God and so we are all created with a divine purpose. There is nothing wrong with being "normal", but not a single one of us should ever consider ourselves anything but Extraordinary.
cookie.momster5@gmail.com
Applebees (a date night would be wonderful)
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