Not long ago, I was down driving around in Texas and got reminded about their funny stoplights. You are used to the ones around here, with red at the top and green at the bottom. In Texas, they lay down sideways along the cable! Maybe they're tired or something, but they sure don't look normal to a Yankee like me.

And that's what I was thinking about today - normal. Are you normal? We often refer to someone, such as my son, as a normal teenage boy. People worry about that word a lot. When you're young, (and, by the way, it's still true when you're old, too!), you want to be normal so you fit in, =>or<= you work really hard to NOT be normal so you stand out. If you call someone normal, then, it can either be a compliment or an insult. I laugh at my son, likely he thinks he's being "different" when he wears his pants down around his knees. Yet last night when I was out and about I saw a whole bunch of other boys with this silly fashion going on, tugging and pulling at their pants every time they got up or bent over. So are they really different, or is this silly trend "normal" for teenage boys?

Some things you simply have to be normal about, or you're headed for serious trouble. When you drive, you had better be on the right side of the road. Except those crazy Europeans, who have it all backwards. Often we hear about people who travel overseas and get mixed up, but it happens here, too, when they visit us. I wonder which one is "normal"?

And there are things we do as a society which seem normal, but maybe we should look closer. New Englander's are known to the rest of the country as being snooty, reserved, cold, and even downright rude. Maybe that seems normal to you, after all many people around here are proud of that harsh reputation. While there are unfriendly people everywhere you go, just as there seem to be friendly people everywhere you go, I can't think of a single other place in the good old USA where the citizens are as well known for this attitude. In fact, in many places I have been everyone you bump into from the mail man to the church members seem to be very friendly and outgoing. So what is "normal" behavior for people?

I could go on and on with this, but you have probably read enough. "No fair, Randy" you may be saying. "Normal is what normal does", which means yes it's normal for the Europeans to drive on the left while it's also normal for us to drive here on the right. Both are just fine depending on where you do them,

All right, I agree. Now let me repeat the question - are you normal? I hope so, or not. I mean, if most Christians are out there actively creating opportunities to teach, and if most Christians are studying as they should, and if most Christians are attending all the services, not carrying around some big fat chip on their shoulders, going the extra mile to get along with others, truly expressing love and patience, then yes, I would LOVE you to be normal. In fact, if that is what the other Christians were doing then you'd have to be normal, otherwise you would be abnormal, right? Abnormal usually is something that is deviant, broken, or nonstandard. Being normal is one of those either/or things, too. Either you are or you are not. Kind of like being a Christian, either you are or you are not. Hey, that's neat how those compare in the same way...

But as it happens, there are many who do NOT seek God as they should, yet feel the name Christian should apply to them. I believe that if most of our members feel and act this way then they will be lost. And so that would be the normal. Therefore, I wouldn't want to be normal. In fact, I know I'm not normal in at least one way. Compared to the world, I'm different.

So being normal or not depends on the context. Great! I pray to God that compared to the rest of the world I myself and those I love are always abnormal!

Phew. If I had this much to say about being normal, just imagine what I would say if I had been thinking about being ordinary! But regardless, I normally find something to ramble on about