Redefining Normal: A Student Devotional Guide

by David Rhodes

For many of us, normal Christianity is comfortable and secure, isolated and based on all the evils we dont do. But what if our norm isnt normal to God? God isnt satisfied for us to settle for normal in our lives. He calls us to redefine normal as we get to know him better and learn more about his heart. God wants more than a church institution looking to protect the gospel in a fallen world. He wants a community of changed people reaching out to extend the gift of Christ and fulfill his redemptive purposes in the world he loves.

166 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2004

About the author

As a young man, David Rhodes worked in fields, hospitals, and factories across Iowa. After receiving an MFA in Writing from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1971, he published three acclaimed novels: The Last Fair Deal Going Down (1972), The Easter House (1974), and Rock Island Line (1975). In 1976, a motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed. In 2008, Rhodes returned to the literary scene with Driftless, a novel that was hailed as "the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years" (Alan Cheuse). Following the publication of Driftless, Rhodes was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010, to support the writing of Jewelweed, his newest novel. He lives with his wife, Edna, in Wisconsin.

“Rhodes proves that there is still vigorous life in the dark Gothic roots of great American novels.”

—Peter W. Jordan, The Tennessean