Walking through trials

I believe that God made trials. I believe that God has a pure desire to see us become the best version of ourselves, this is done through trials. Many people bend or break under the pressure, not realizing that when they break or give up God has to start again. Generally, this involves going through the same type of trial.
So what should our reaction be? The bridge of the song “The Stand” by Hillsong has stuck with me all week:
I'll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned.
In awe of the one who gave it all.
I'll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered.
All I am is Yours.

I believe that when we surrender ourselves to him and allow him to work on our imperfections he will return a product that is pure and reflects him.

The odd part about it all is this: as humans (or maybe just me) when we are in the midst of trials our first reaction is to run or hide. It is as if we are begging somebody to take the burden. Maybe that is because that is what we were made to do.

We were not meant to deal with life's difficulties on our own. We were not meant to shoulder the burden. God walks us through trials so that we can turn to him. When we are in the midst of pain God is there waiting for us to reach out to him. He is waiting for us to offer him the pain, trials and burdens.

One thing I have been working on recently is trusting the facts more then my feelings. I can be a very emotional person and my heart comes up with all sorts of feelings. Sometimes, these feelings are created out of anger, hurt or sin. These feelings should not be treated as fact. For example, when Ryan doesn't thank me for the extra work I put into to cleaning the house. This makes me feel like he doesn't appreciate me or my efforts. When I am having a really bad day I can even convince myself that he doesn't love me. But those are merely feelings. The fact is that Ryan loves and appreciates me very much and does a great job expressing that. Now how does this relate to God and this song...when I sing the words “heart abandoned” I am picturing abandoning all of my “feelings” that may have been hindering my relationship with God. (please note: this is just my interpretation). For example, God walked me through some intense trials this week. My feelings were telling me that I should be mad at God. My feelings were telling me that if God was a loving father he would not have allowed these things to happen. However, these are feelings, not facts! The facts are that God loves me so deeply that I will never fully understand. He has shown me this countless times in my walk with him. So as I sing this song this week I am pushing aside all of the feelings of anger, pain and worry and I am focusing on the facts:
-God sees me as an amazing, strong women
-God is molding me into a women who will impact the next generation for Him.
-God will use this pain to sculpt me to be more like Him.
-God will use these trials to complete his ultimate plan.

Are you confusing feelings for facts? I challenge you to consider this next time you are walking through a trial, whether it is with God or with your husband.

Declutter Challenge!

I saw this quote today...
"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." William Morris

With Christmas right around the corner this is the season for decluttering and the Murphy's have caught the fever. It is my goal this year to have each space decluttered to make room for Christmas gifts. I am hoping that this will make the Christmas clean up much easier and not something that I put off for several weeks.

We will see how that goes, in the meantime, I put the challenge out there to all of you: Declutter what you do not use or do not love. Let's use this time to get rid of our abundance and bless those who need it!

What more can you ask for? Part 1

It is amazing how, at certain points in your life, everything seems to work together.

I have been experiencing this for about a month, and it has been bringing up many memories of the last time this happened...

It began in late 2008 with me getting a job at Multnomah University. After working in a hostile environment for 3 years I was ready for a change and felt God pulling me towards Multnomah. Same work, better company, better pay. What more can you ask for?
A few weeks after I got this job, Ryan (who was unemployed) got a job at Fred Meyer. Close to home, nice people and lots of hours. What more can you ask for?
A month after he got this job we moved into my mother-in-law's home. She moved to Vancouver and needed somebody to rent her house. Almost double the space, less rent. What more can you ask for?
A few weeks after we moved I went to Hawaii with my mom and sister. I cannot explain this awesome experience. It was relaxing, healing, rejuvenating. (Those words don't even give it justice.) What more can you ask for?
A month later Ryan and I found out that we were having a baby. No more infertility. No more miscarriages. The blessing of a beautiful baby. What more can you ask for?

During this 4 month span of time I continually felt God with me and guiding me. I felt him saying “Wait, child, there is more.” In between each milestone I felt eager and ready to move. Not content with how I was living and wanting to grasp more fully what God had waiting.

I really cannot explain the voice that was constantly resonating within me. Urging me to prepare for the great changes and blessings that were headed our way.

Like I said, we are in this place again. Daily we see God's brush strokes as he finishes the masterpiece he is working on. Details so amazingly intertwined that they could only come from Him.

Like I said, these times are amazing. They are a great reminder that we are not forging this road alone. There is an awesome God going before us, preparing the way.

I could give you details now, but the masterpiece is not done and I would not do it justice. One thing I know for sure is that through this experience I am learning that God's wisdom of all things and love for all people makes him worthy of following.

I can vaguely see the outline of where this road is going, and I cannot wait to get there. Although, if the road makes an unexpected turn or there are bumps along the way I can say that I will still enjoy the ride and I have faith that where we end up will be even better then where I imagine we are going.

Stay tuned.