Life's A Dance You Learn As You Go, Even If You Have To Step On Each Others Toes...

It's true, life is messy. Decisions have to be made, bills have to be paid, responsibilities have to be taken care of, and relationships have to be maintained. When you put two sinners together in a home, in a marriage, and in a family it just gets messy. And when it does it's so easy to point out the other persons faults. We have hit that phase of messiness as we try and figure out how to balance our family life, ministry and seminary. One friend said, it's like learning a new dance. It's hard at first and you may step on each others toes, but in time you figure out how to dance beautifully together. I've never been much of a dancer... But, I know someone who has and that person knows how to dance perfectly. Therefore, He is the One who can take the messiest dancer and teach them how to dance with their partner one step at a time.

Somehow the Lord graciously enabled us to two-step our way into our first Bible Study this past Monday night. We began the book of John with 5 other residents who we now call friends. Porsche is one of our new friends who shared that coming to this Bible study was one of her first steps in getting back on the right path. We don't know the details of the “wrong path”, but we all know we have one too and can easily step back on that wrong path daily. That evening we saw seven souls, including us, who were eager to walk on the right path of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately together. In my struggle to be patient I want to ask you to pray that we learn this “new dance” quickly. However, I need to ask you to pray that we cling to the One who is teaching us instead. Thank you, Emily

Life in Dallas so far...

Have you ever been so excited for future plans to come but uneasy to leave the comfort of what's familiar? We are on the brink of our desires becoming a reality as I started seminary August 5th. Excitement, isn't even the word! The romanticism has faded a bit now that I have a taste of the work load, but I have already grown to appreciate Westminster's approach to teaching. My professor emphasizes that our minds are gifts that God has given us for the enjoyment of learning to the glory of God. This has been demonstrated by Prof. Greene going into mini-sermons while teaching a Greek lesson. It has reminded me that I'm here to grow in my love and obedience to Jesus and secondly to learn how to better minister. We have agreed that seminary will be a season of trial and error as we balance family life, ministry, and studies. However, we are praying God enables us to stand firm in what Jesus has done, remembering the righteous standing He has given us and His eternal power to do what He commands us to.


" ...for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, ..." Isa. 61:10b.
And He promises “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”2 Cor.12:9

Urban Missions...(Emily)

Early one evening we were trying to say hello to a man from across the parking lot and it seemed like he was politely ignoring us. Jack was persistent thinking he didn't hear us. As we caught up with him, we realized it wasn't that he didn't hear us but that he couldn't. James was deaf. In God's good providence my rusty sign language from college came in handy! James seemed thrilled that I could sign and we enjoyed getting to know him some.
Our town home complex stands out in a culturally diverse community as a bright and friendly place. Of the 302 units, 15 or so have been occupied and more people are coming every week. As we enjoy meeting our new neighbors, we have been reminded of the importance of “being learners” of different cultures. We've been encouraged by how God has already allowed us to connect with some, such as James, and even people like Linda, who is looking forward to the upcoming prayer/Bible study time.

Family Life...(Emily)
"Happy Birthday to you”....was a common tune in our new home last week. Jackson, turned ONE on August 1st! We had a warm welcome of family come in town to celebrate as well as family who live in town. It was a special time for us and for Jackson. He isn't walking yet but Jackson is beginning to take steps while we hold his hands and he is clearly testing his limitations to see what Mommy and Daddy will do :). Ruslan, is one of Jack's friends from Russia who came and visited over Jackson's birthday weekend. Ruslan loved being able to experience an American birthday, have his first taste of Texas Bar-b-que, and visit the “grassy knoll” as Jack's dad talked about 'the magic bullet' theory and other mysteries concerning the JFK assassination. He added joy and culture to our weekend as we were able to have conversations about the difference between Christianity and his upbringing in Islam. After church he asked what it means to worship; we were blessed to be able to share how all people worship what they believe to be the most valuable, whether that is God or something else we put in God's place.

Stages of our move

We have made it to the metroplex and will start moving our stuff into our temporary 2 bedroom town home tomorrow the 25th. We are excited about being able to move into our new neighborhood and begin getting settled. After a couple months, the 3 bedrooms should be finished and we will make our final move.
There are a couple churches we're excited about visiting, one of which is only about three miles from us called Lakewood Pres. and the other is New St.Peter's, which has a great website.
http://www.newstpeters.org/

We are asking prayer for patience as moving, being in transition, and life in general can be wearisome. God is faithful and has been showing me how Christ's lordship is over my heart, my will, and my mind but for the time being he does allow Satan to act as prince of the world. I can not control what happens outside of me, but I can consciously live out submission to my Lord in how I respond to situations in the world. I need to have a vision of Christ as Lord when I'm exposed to the hardships of the city, life, and the fallen world we live in. But, it isn't just 'out there' that the fall has usurped the reign of Christ...as a Christian I need to continually bring my life under the reign of Christ. I need to be patient as my Lord is and in how I respond to my wife during stressful situations. Just some thoughts I'm having from Zech.14. Thank you for your prayers!

Real Lives... Real Challenges...Real Solutions...

Real Lives... A shabby looking man came up to me at the ice cream shop asking for change. As I talked with him, I learned Michael was a long-time heroin user who desperately wanted to quit.
We've become close to a couple living together in our neighborhood. The man is an alcoholic and the woman does not want to be alone. Several times she has called crying because of the fighting that goes on between them.
I was talking with a partially crippled man at the park one evening about how he had experienced a lot of pain from not having a steady father figure in his life. He’s now searching for advice about his engagement as he has feelings for another woman.

Real Challenges... The common theme with these ‘neighbors’ is that the church is a place where they don’t feel comfortable. Whether due to a bad experience, cultural differences, or a preconceived misconception, these people are not willing to let the church help them with their struggles. What lasting help can they find apart from the Gospel? ‘Can a blind man lead a blind man?’ Luke 6:39

Real Solutions... Just as a tree branch provides covering and shade so God invites us to come under His covering through Jesus; who died and paid the price for sin. We believe the church should be incarnating this message in all segments of society. We desire God to use us to be His branches, extending this covering to those around us. As it is promised… “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, and the Lord gives sight to the blind…The Lord watches over the sojourner and sustains the fatherless and the widow…” Psalm 146: 7-9a

During my time in seminary, we are committing to approximately 15 hours a week of ministry. Some of this will be coordinating social services for the community, such as job fairs, craft days for kids, health and fitness classes, tax advising, Bible study, counseling, etc. This job will provide us with free rent and allow us to develop relationships without having any personal expenses.
In order for us to minister part time while I attend seminary, we are asking for partners in prayer and financial giving. We are so thankful to have been offered a 40% scholarship for this academic year. However, we are still in need of $1330 a month because of the rest of our living expenses and tuition. If you would like to partner with us please see the giving info on the right hand side of the homepage.

Prayer to Praise...

I was "thumbing" through old pictures of Jackson on my computer last night and it stood out to me that in many of his pictures there was a white glare in the pupil of his eyes. It probably wouldn't have concerned me if I hadn't learned a few months earlier that to detect infant eye tumors early on is to notice a white reflection in the eyes in color photos. It was a random medical fact one of Jack's friends mentioned to us simply because of another baby they were concerned about & praying for who was having eye problems. I did a little research on-line and looked at other photos we had around the house as well as photos from other cameras just to make sure it wasn't just our camera. There were 3 photos that stood out to us that focused more on his right eye. We quickly began to pray about it and ask the Lord to help us not get ahead of ourselves until we knew there was actually something to be concerned

about. We also prayed we could get Jackson into a Dr. before leaving town this Thurs. for Memorial Day. Not too long after praying Jack remembered a friend of ours from college, Jave Rush, who has a bother here who is an eye doctor! He put a call in and Sloan (The Dr.) responded that we should get him in as soon as possible but that there was a long waiting list and would call tomorrow to see what he could do. Well, he called bright and early to tell us we could come in at 10:30 am! We were so thankful.

After a long visit and a few Dr.'s shining lights into Jackson's eyes, making him very unhappy by the way, we learned that from the pictures the Dr. would normally be very concerned but the tests showed NOTHING there that detected tumors or cataracts. However, he did notices that Jackson is already showing a slight astigmatism in his right eye and at certain angles of light from cameras could very easily give the white glaring appearance. He recommend a Dr. in Dallas we could go back to, to look more carefully at the astigmatism. He said detecting something like this in a baby so early on could be concerning because he could end up favoring his left eye causing his right eye to become "lazy". To prevent a lazy eye little Jackson would need glasses! I cannot imagine a baby around 1 year old wearing glasses??? But the Dr. said they DO make them for babies to fit tight around the back of their ears and it's up to Mommy & Daddy to train them to wear them. Won't that be fun!

Needless to say we were soooo thankful we got into a Dr. so quickly and that Jackson was clear of any type of eye cancer, tumors or cataracts! We'll keep you posted if Jackson will be sporting some specs in the future!

From Dorms to Dallas

No, we have not been living in dorms on campus but we are saying goodbye to campus ministry at Texas Tech and moving to Dallas this July! We will never forget how God interrupted out lives in the dark dorm life on the college campus nor will we forget going back to walking down those same dorm hallways in anticipation of what God would be doing in the hearts behind those doors. For the past two years we have been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ at Texas Tech. That means we have knocked on a lot of dorm doors and because of those steps of faith we have seen first hand God working in the lives of students. We were both significantly impacted through Campus Crusade in college at Tech and have richly enjoyed serving on staff with them. However, over these past two years of growth and development we have also been praying about how God has gifted us along with the desires He's given us and asking Him where He would be leading us next. His next stop for us is Westminster Seminary in Dallas, Texas! Jack has had an ongoing desire to develop more theologically and practically through seminary. Our passions are Biblical theology, Biblical Counseling and urban missions. Jack and I both grew up in the upper-middle class suburbs of Houston. Needless to say urban missions is pretty much like foreign missions to us, but we believe God has clearly led us to move toward this setting. We are looking forward to living in a town home complex built to provide affordable housing for low-income families while Jack is in seminary. We do this in faith & prayer that He would use us for His glory among the community and give us some first hand experience in a more urban setting. Some may wonder is this wise or is this safe? I readily confess I have asked the same questions, especially now with a baby. One truth that keeps me focused on Christ is that the safest place for me to be is to be where He asks me to be. I recently read this quote by John MacArther, " When believers are in a place of obedience they are in a place of safety, no matter the circumstances. The place of security is not the place of favorable circumstances, but the place of obedience to God's will..." We are excited to enter into this next adventure with the Lord!

"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives Me..."Matt.18:5

We became parents August 1st, 2008 after giving birth to a healthy baby boy, Jackson Mark Murphy. Our lives have never been the same. Parenting is probably the hardest job I have ever had but the most rewarding calling I've ever entered into.