Southwind 2010

McLean and I just spent a whole week at Southwind in Ocklawaha, FL. In this picture, we were dressed up for Pirate and Princess night. BJ wrote "McLean's Man" on each of my arms and also a shield and a heart to show that I am here to guard and protect her heart(from the Bachelorette:) BJ and I had 14 boys in our cabin "Sand Key," and McLean had 16 girls in her cabin. Over the course of the week, BJ was limping from a bruised femur, McLean was limping from a scraped toe, and I was limping from an ant bite on my foot because I am extremely allergic. Besides that, the week was incredible! The message got through to everyone that Jesus really wants a relationship with you.

Destin and Dave's Visit to Tampa

Last weekend, the Murphy family all met in Destin, FL. It was the first time that McLean and I got to meet our nephew, Isaiah(pictured in the middle)! He actually took his first steps later on that week! It was fun to be with the whole family, and the trip went very fast. Afterwards, Dave drove down to Tampa and stayed with us a few days, and he was the first guest to ever stay in our house. We went bowling one night with some of the Middle School HUB kids. The next day, we took some trash to a landfill, and what should have taken only about 10 minutes ended up taking about 3 hours because Google Maps was wrong, and nobody we asked knew how to help us! The best part of it all was stopping at a BP gas station and buying some of the greasiest fried chicken we'd ever had. The next day, we spent the whole day at Busch Gardens and rode each ride about 2 times. We picked a good day to go because there was no one there. It was good to spend time with just Dave, and I'm so glad he made the trip down.

Survived My First Year!

I survived my first year of teaching!!! I can now officially say that I have been a middle school teacher for one year, and I loved it! It was a lot of hard work and sometimes I thought my brain was going to explode from learning so much, but I will always treasure the experiences I have had this past year at St. Mary's. I loved coaching volleyball, basketball, and baseball, and I really enjoyed teaching my 2 Language Enrichment classes, 3 Math Enrichment classes, and my Computer class all year. I even got to use my musical gifts in the Praise Band! Perhaps what I will treasure the most, though, are all of the relationships that I've made and the lives I've encountered this past year. There are too many to list by name, but each person has had such a significant influence on my life. I really do love teaching. Thank you God for letting me have this dream job. You knew all along that this is where I was supposed to be, and now I know that too.

8th LE

8th LE

Relying on God

"Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." II Corinthians 1:9

This verse was written on Emily Ralls' profile on Facebook the other day. Brian, her older brother, was killed in a car accident on I-40 last week when a driver came over the median and crashed into him. It was later found out that the other driver had been text messaging on his phone when he had lost control of the vehicle. TEXT MESSAGING!!! I played football with Brian in high school at Brentwood Academy. He was a grade behind me, but he was more built for playing football than I was. How do things like this happen? As Christians, we believe that God is sovereign over all things and that He is good, but it is still hard to understand why He lets these kind of things happen. Paul, the apostle, explains that these kind of things happen so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God. What a difficult challenge this is for us. It goes completely against our natural inclination as humans. Not rely on ourselves!? If we are not supposed to rely on ourselves, then who is there to rely on?!?! The answer is simple, but profoundly difficult to act on. I think that is why Paul throws on the last phrase at the end of the verse: "...who raises the dead." We cannot raise the dead. Only God can do that. And he did exactly that with His son, Jesus. This is the hope that all those who put their faith in Christ have. Help us to rely on you, God, the one who brings resurrection and new life!

Married Man

This is my first post as a married man! The rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and the reception all feel like a dream now. It was all so much fun, and I really enjoyed having all my family and closest friends together in one place. I wish I could have talked more to everyone, but that's just the way it is at weddings. McLean and I are getting more settled into married life, and we are back into our normal schedules with St. Mary's and First Pres. It was great to take a break from it all, but it's also nice seeing everyone again. I'm still trying to get used to introducing McLean as my wife, but it will come with time:) Life is great, and I'm the happiest man in the whole world.

Goodbye Singleness!

This will be my last post as a single man because I am marrying McLean in 2 days!!! My Mom, Dad, and Grandma are flying into Tampa and coming to watch me coach a volleyball game today. After the game, we will have dinner at the Rorebeck's house and get ready for the next 2 days. Rehearsal dinner tomorrow night! And then the Ceremony the next night!! I can't believe it's finally here. Next time I write on this blog I will be a married man! Goodbye singleness!!!