{pretty, happy, funny, real} birthdays, office lunches, Texas small towns and more!

| a weekly capturing of contentment in everyday life |

A few photos to practice contentment this week

| pretty |

Friends' Daytrip to Hye, Texas

Our dear friends, Shaun & Katie, celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary last weekend by inviting us to join them for a deliciously delightful afternoon in charming Hye, Texas.  I spent the day regretting I'd ever said Texas wasn't beautiful because this day was prettier than most I've seen in my life.  The temperature, was perfect - with no humidity or bugs. The company, food and wine impeccable. The Hye Market is located in the historic Hye Post Office (still operating).  The food was good, but being surrounded by all the marvelous old wood and tin was even better.  And the winery! Totally charming, relaxed, hospitable.  We enjoyed live music and hours of sweet conversation.  Totally our kind of day.  (Thanks, friends. A long & blessed marriage to you!)

| happy |

I had a birthday

Hello, my name is Tamara.  I am 45 years old.  I want to go to Ireland before I die (or this summer, whichever comes first.) I am kind of happy to be this age, but not entirely sure.  I'll keep you posted.  

| fun(ny) |

 

Kendra has a birthday

This is my daughter Kendra, who for the last 20 years has celebrated her birthday the day after her momma.  We try to make it special and her own.  We told her we'd have a special dinner for her when she got home for spring break and asked if she'd like to invite a few friends.  

She said that, yes, she would.  They were more than happy to come and celebrate with us.  (see below for Kendra and some of her BFFs)

Party games included dollhouses, skateboarding and hanging out in the ENO we gave Kendra for her birthday.  And it was a delightful party, indeed.

Happy Birthday, Kendra! from Tamara Hill Murphy on Vimeo.

| real |

I left work just as Sixth Street was gearing up for SXSW. Providential timing?

Snapped this pic on my way out of the lobby of my office building my last day
(being admired, apparently, by a SXSW tourist)

This and a few photos of my kids were all I brought home from my desk: a hearty succulent I hardly ever watered, a Princess Buttercup bobble-head and my signature letter T.

My last day of working in downtown Austin

For two-and-a-half years I've worked at a digital marketing agency in downtown Austin.  I probably will always giggle when I say that because, honestly, it's not a place (city or company) I ever imagined working.  When I drove away Wednesday afternoon, I started crying instead.  Tears of pure gratitude.  Living in this city is expensive, and we landed here at a financially vulnerable time with four kids in the college years.  It took me awhile to find someone in Austin who would believe that I could do good work.  And, this company filled with mostly twenty-something, urban-savvy media geniuses welcomed my grey-hair, Bible-reading, Jesus-living momma type.

Before moving here, I wouldn't have guessed that some of my best friends in this city would be people with such different social, educational, religious and political backgrounds as myself. I told them that I could write a book from all the things they taught me (the stuff I'm able to repeat in polite society, anyway).  I told them that they had become so dear to me, and that I'd be praying for them.  And I will.

They sent me out with the same kind of hospitality in which they'd received me: free lunch, a couple of beers, breakfast tacos and Austin-famous doughnuts.  I hope I can be as kind to the people I meet in Connecticut as they have been to me. At the same time, I sincerely hope to not have to work the 9-to-5 life ever again.  I'd love to go out with this happy ending.

Have YOU captured any contentment this week? 

 I'd love to hear about it!

| Join in at P,H,F,R to see other wonderful people practicing contentment. |

{pretty, happy, funny, real} in a life-changing February

| a weekly capturing of contentment in everyday life |

"Weekly" is not exactly accurate since it's been over a month since I posted anything other than the devotional Lent daybook posts.  I'd like to say this was an intentional fast for the season or something, but that wouldn't be true.  

The real reason for the lack of personal posts is that February was cray-zay.  I spent 17 of the 29 days out of town (sleeping in about five different states), and I spent a total of 8 days sick in bed (literally). On the few remaining days, we visited with a few friends, went to work, marked Ash Wednesday, and accepted a new job in a new state. 

What?!?  Keep reading, friends.

A few photos to practice contentment this week

|old friends|

A visit with an old friend

We have not seen A. for probably 8 years, before living in Austin was even an idea in our heads.  One of the most serendipitous moments we've experienced since moving to Austin was the day we met a new family at Christ Church, and in our first conversation discovering that they had lived with our friend across the world in Asia.  Not only did we discover we had a mutual friend, but we learned that this very family had been one we'd prayed for when A. sent the requests about their daughter who was seriously ill.  And here she was -- in Austin -- miraculously cured and full of life.  The whole thing came full circle when A. came back to the U.S. and visited all of us in Austin.  

We enjoyed a breezy dinner out doors and caught up on stories.  It was especially sweet for Natalie - who had prayed for A. with her Sunday School class in NY when she was little - to ask more grown-up questions about life on mission.  

Beautiful.

| Central Texas ministry retreat|

ministry retreat in Central Texas

At the very beginning of the month, we spent a few days at a retreat center with a small band of church friends, training in a new ministry offering. There was just enough time for me to get out for a late afternoon hike.  I accidentally went far beyond the trail, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff.  I got to watch the sun set, and it was gorgeous.  Then I hustled back while there was still a bit of daylight because I'm still terrified of all that creeps and crawls in Texas.

|Connecticut interview |

St. Mary's-by-the-sea Park

Fairfield, CT

I've mentioned over the past year, somewhat between the lines, that Brian and I really did not know where we would end up working once he is ordained into the Anglican priesthood. Last summer it became clear to us that we would not likely have the opportunity to rector a church in Austin, we prayed hard about church planting outside of Austin vs. interviewing for Rector positions outside of Texas.  As part of that discernment process, we sent resumes to a few hiring churches.  We wanted to get a sense of what other Anglican churches in the U.S. were experiencing, and what needs they were expressing in terms of pastoral leadership. 

Two of the three locations followed up with Brian with several Skype interviews.  After each conversation, Brian was energized not only by the questions, but also by the earnest hearts of the church members in this hard task of searching for a new priest.

Much to our amazement, both churches invited us to interview in person within one week of each other.  In theory that sounds logical -- back to back interviews.  In practice it was emotionally and physically exhausting. Not just because of the toll of air travel and meeting large groups of new people for weekend-long intense conversations, but the greater exhaustion came from the love we felt for each location.  We hoped to be chosen -- as any normal human would -- but we also agonized the choice.  Our choice to respond, to leave Austin, and, essentially, to leave behind one of the congregations we met and prayed about, in addition to the church we already serve and love here in Austin.

It surprised me how hard that felt.

Providentially, one of the dear members of the church in Connecticut handed us a homemade loaf of Rye bread on our way out the door Sunday afternoon.  And so, we had chunks of bread and glasses of wine for our hotel room dinner that night.  While it started to snow outside our window. And it was very, very good.

Of course, one of the perks of interviewing in Connecticut was flying in and out of our favorite city in the world.  And, not only that, we got snowed into Brooklyn for two nights because our flight home was cancelled and the next available flight wasn't for another two days.

Oh darn...

We made the most of our added time, traipsing through sleet, wind and snow for a delightful belated Valentine's Day dinner at the excellent Franny's.  This photo shows our dessert, but the rest of the meal was utterly fantastic as well.

 

The rest of our time in NYC

• the quintessential NYC Italian eating experience, in which I was the only female in the crowded cafe and we found out we had to pay cash when we're already through the line and the little Italian owner-guy told Brian "It's OK. Eat it before it gets cold! You can pay me later." (which we did, of course)
• Waiting out the pouring rain inside Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn
• Reading, writing, people-watching in the perfectly buzzy The Greene Grape Annex coffee shop (across from Greenlight)

| Virginia interview |

A day and half after returning to Austin from Connecticut, we headed out for our second weekend of interviews in southeastern Virginia. 

This church was dear and we fell in love with each person - from the two-year-old to the 91-year-old couple.  They are a small band of people who love Jesus, love each other and love their town and we will keep praying that God sends them exactly the right shepherd to join them.

| Maryland sister visit |

When we looked at the map and realized how close we'd be to my sister's new house in Maryland.  How could we miss the chance to visit?  And I can't stop looking at this picture. (we were recreating this one before my niece Ellie was born). This picture represents so much prayer and so much courage from my brother-in-law and sister.  We give thanks to God.

| Denton daughter weekend |

Mother/Daughter event with Kendra

After catching up with two days of work back in Austin, I loaded up my podcast playlist and hit the road to Denton for a weekend with my daughter.  Her sorority hosts an annual mom's event, and we've begun a tradition of getting a hotel room and hanging out for a whole weekend. We got time to trip around town a bit, hitting up the huge used bookstore, a couple of cute cafes, and meeting up with Kendra's roomies and their mothers. Another highlight of the weekend was helping Kendra prepare her support letter mailing for her mission trip to Kenya this summer. 

On Sunday I visited Kendra's church with her, and loved the opportunity to worship with yet another Anglican church earnestly seeking to love God and neighbors well.  

As I said, it was a full month with some life-changing results. We are grateful, excited, nervous, sad and eager.  I imagine I'll be talking a lot about it all here in the coming months. In the meantime, here's the basic announcement in Brian's words:

Big News for the Murphy Family | Christ Church website

Have YOU captured any contentment this week? 

 I'd love to hear about it!

| Join in at P,H,F,R to see other wonderful people practicing contentment. |