Transformation Time?

I don't know about you, but I've been longing for a full-on transformation lately. I'm ready.

And in talking to friends about this, it seems many of you are ready, too.

Could there be a better time than the season of Lent? It begins this Wednesday with Ash Wednesday and continues for forty days until Easter.

I'll be walking it with Jesus this year. Wanna join me?

This past weekend, I had the pleasure--thanks to the generosity of a friend--of attending a Matthew Kelly experience called Passion and Purpose.  It was ahhh-mazing!  So much of what Matthew said resonated in my heart, and he spoke in such simple terms. He's a humble man. He's funny and engaging, and it's clear that he tunes in to the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. Matthew founded an organization called Dynamic Catholic, and he is, literally, transforming our church. He's doing really good, solid work in the world.

I've asked his permission to share some of what he taught us, and here's just a little taste to help you with your transformation this season. But I'm going to twist this up a bit, and incorporate some of his teachings into the "Live, Listen, Leap" mantra that the Holy Spirit inspired me to write about in With an Open Heart. Are you ready?  Here we go...

Live. 

Choose to seek happiness. God created us for happiness, and it is fragile. This is much different than pleasure. If you are confused about which is which, as Matthew shares, use this as a test: Pleasure cannot be sustained beyond the activity producing it. Happiness can be sustained after the activity is done. Make sense? Strive for happiness rather than pleasure.

In addition, get good at saying "no." We, as a society, are so prone to saying "yes" to every single thing that's asked of us (many times in fear of missing out on something), and in doing so, we may very well miss the special gift that God's designed just for us during that very moment.

Listen.

Choose silence.  Instead of allowing yourself to get dragged down into the noisiness of life with blaring televisions and other multimedia, find your quiet place. There is clarity in silence, and we consume less (of whatever we make a habit of consuming) when we have clarity. Clarity emerges from silence...the kind of clarity that creates true change within, because we can actually hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us.

Leap.

Choose a game-changer. Matthew cautioned us to resist the temptation and only choose one of these, so that we will be more likely stick to our commitment, and our chances of success will be greater, even though some of us (me) truly feel the need to do all three of them! 

The first game-changer is to read fifteen minutes of the gospels every day for a year. Pray about them, and learn from them. Take them to heart. He gave us this beautiful, and true, quote: "Jesus wants to take our lives and turn them totally upside down, which--in turn--will be right side up."   Amen to that!

As a society, Matthew points out, we tend to pray for "tweaking" in our lives...Lord, help me to change this; Lord, help me to fix that. As Matthew teaches, God is in the business of transformation, not tweaking. Stop praying for tweaks in your life, and pray for real transformation.

The Bible has the power to transform our lives. As Matthew stated, if we would even just commit to living out the weekly Mass readings, our lives will change radically. Radically. Imagine that?

The second game-changer is to commit to giving confession once a month for a year. The truth is that no one achieves excellence without coaching. We need spiritual coaching because we don't see things as they really are in our lives. Jesus is the best coach we could ask for, and confession is a powerful tool to free ourselves from the burden of sin.

The third game-changer is the one I've chosen. Start a Mass journal. Every relationship improves when we really start to listen. Each week before Mass, pray for God to show you ONE thing--one word--that week to change your life and help you become the best version of yourself. Soak in the whole experience...the music, the readings, the homily...and He will give you exactly what you need to transform through His words.

Ask yourself these core questions to find the best version of you...which is, essentially, the authentic you:

"Who am I?"
"What am I here for?"
"What matters most?"
"What matters least?"

As Matthew poignantly explains, "Every one of us has a "God-sized hole." The question is...what are you filling that hole with?

You see, our society devalues our God-given talents and we have counter-cultural dreams for our children. Our culture takes the stuff that's trivial and makes it important; we take what's important, and sadly, we make it trivial. We need to change. We need to transform.

We should live for an audience of one. After all, He's the only one who can fill those holes. "You simply can't get enough of what you don't really need," Matthew reminds us. And truly friends...all we need is Him.

If you want to learn more about living with passion and purpose, and oh...there is so much more, please visit Matthew's event page, and sign up for an event near you. You won't be sorry, I promise. And be sure to check out the Facebook page for daily inspiration.

Wishing you a blessed Lenten journey and a beautiful transformation,

A special month and a special cause

February is CHD awareness month.

February is also considered a "Daniel month" in our home. In 2010, we celebrated his 2nd birthday together in China. We welcomed him home to his new surroundings. We celebrated Valentine's Day together. And our son was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It was pure bliss.

It's really been on my heart to do something special this month with my book proceeds. So what a perfect opportunity--and the perfect month--to give to a special heart cause.

I have thought about all of the awesome charities that we could give to, but one in particular stands out this time. It's the "Love you More" heart home, in memory of Teresa Bartlinski, who went to Heaven last July after her heart transplant. We all loved and prayed for Teresa, but Jesus loves her more and took her Home.

I reached out, last month, to Teresa's mom and asked if it would be possible to, basically, purchase a room for Daniel in Teresa's special house. She loved the idea, and now I'd really like to make it happen.

This month, I am donating 100% of the book proceeds to this cause. The only way that I can keep track of the sales is if the book is purchased through the PayPal link located in the right column of this blog. It doesn't matter which cause you choose from the drop-down menu, I'll just give all of it this month to this special project. Okay?  Okay.

Here's some information about the "Love you More" Heart Home, and in case you'd like to directly donate, here's the link for Little Hearts Medical. Would you please earmark your donation for "Daniel's Room?"

What a meaningful way to pay tribute to these precious angels and, in their memories, help other children receive the life-saving surgeries they need. Thank you, in advance, for your support.

May your heart be blessed.

Change is Good.

Last night, I received one of the most powerful statements about With an Open Heart ever:

"I just finished your book today.  Let me tell you, it changed my life."

That solitary comment made me want to collapse on the floor into a big, sloppy heap of tears...not tears of sadness, but tears of joy...of praise and thanksgiving to God, our Almighty Father.

It might sound a little dramatic, but it's true.

Because He did this.

It was He who gave us our precious son.

It was He who gave me the strength and fortitude to share Daniel's story, and HE who sent his Holy Spirit to help me.

It is He who has changed my life.

That's what God does, isn't it? He takes the painful, the gut-wrenching, and the heartache and when we turn to Him, He can transform it all into JOY and into HOPE.

He changes lives.

He gives us thorns, but he also gives us the rose. And with pruning, and watering, and sunlight, all the intricate layers of beauty are exposed. Like the rose, our lives with all their twists and turns--and thorns--are made beautiful with the Light of His Son; they are made new with the watering of His mercy and grace.

May He be glorified for that beauty.

Change is good God.

As a side note, I desperately want to reach out to the person who posted that comment, but I cannot figure out who you are (sorry)! Please email me at lisa.michelle.murphy@gmail.com. I want to hear your story!

Happy birthday in Heaven!

Today is Daniel's birthday. Our son would have been six years old! Oh to imagine who he'd be on earth, and what would now pique his interest!

But there is such peace and beauty in his angelic state of  "forever 2 1/2." He will always be remembered as the extraordinarily special child he was.

He is perfection in our eyes.

We learned something new at Mass this morning, which made Daniel's birthday even more meaningful! Today, in the Catholic faith, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord commemorating when Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the Temple to perform the ritual of purification. It was forty days after his birth. 

So today we realize that both Daniel's birth day and the anniversary of his death (Trinity Sunday) are two very sacred and significant days in which we honor Jesus and our faith!

Our son was such a precious gift from God, and everything about his life just emphasizes our blessings from above. 

Which reminds me of one of those recent church sign postings I love...

Wanna get rich?  Count your blessings.

Amen. Except there's just too many to count.  Happy birthday our precious son.  

We love you more every day.

The Daniel Video!

I've wanted to make a Daniel video for a long time. I just never thought I'd figure out how. And I certainly didn't know where to begin.

Recently, when one of "Daniel's angels" invited me to a speaking engagement for the book, I was asked if we had a video to share. That solitary question gave me the motivation to get it done, and somehow, two days later, I had accomplished the task.

Since then, I've been busy perfecting it so that it could be shared with you all today, on the four-year anniversary of our "Gotcha" Day with Daniel.  My apologies for the length, but there are so many beautiful photos and memories to squeeze in. I hope you enjoy this labor of LOVE!

Ascension

I am always amazed by the "Daniel's angels" that the Holy Spirit sends my way.

Last fall, I contacted a local Catholic church that was having a Christmas bazaar. I called to inquire about a table at the event. The kind woman, who took my call, listened to my story and then insisted that I contact the Gift Shop manager, Cindy, who also happens to be the Stewardship Director at the church.

As Cindy tells the story, she was just "shopping for pet food at Target" and in came my call. As she strolled through the aisles, she learned of Daniel, and With an Open Heart, and my passion for orphan ministries and adoption.

The next thing you know, Cindy generously offered to sell copies of With an Open Heart in their Gift Shop, and graciously set me up with a book signing table on the Sunday of the bazaar. It was such a fulfilling experience. I met many wonderful people and even introduced ten more readers to the book.

Cindy also arranged for me to speak at their Council of Catholic Women's meeting last week. What a privilege! But unbeknownst to me, this would be my first paid speaking engagement! It didn't matter to me how much, because I never expected to receive anything for sharing Daniel and our adoption journeys...I consider it my service to the Good Lord. But Cindy insisted, and told me that she would send me something.

The other night, after I cleaned up from dinner, I could see--through the windows--that the sky appeared "different." I felt completely driven to go outside. As I continued to stare into the sky, I made my way to the mailbox without tripping. I gathered the mail and noticed an envelope from Ascension. 

I opened it up and inside was a beautifully written message that the presentation of our story had touched many hearts, and that their novena group will be offering a prayer novena for our family! What a tremendous blessing! 

Cindy also noted that the women really wanted to donate to our adoption fund...and a generous check was enclosed. Daniel's angels, indeed.

As I walked towards the house and gazed up, still in awe of such a special surprise, my eyes were again drawn to the bright blue sky and the smattering of bright pink clouds in the mix. And then, all of a sudden, this little pink open heart formed in the sky.

Needless to say, I had a lot of amazing gifts to share with the family when I went back inside.

A dream of a friend

Our emotions have been running so high with our new adoption, and I have been--admittedly--so over-focused with the paper-chasing, fundraising, and all of the minute details that cause one's mind to become a bit cluttered.

Then, yesterday, our dear friend, Sherril, who was a big part of our journey with Daniel, showed up at our yard sale asking, "Did you see my email?"  She filled me in about it briefly, but when I finally had the time to sit down and read her email last night, I was overcome with emotion:

"I had the most wonderful dream last night. You and I were driving down this beautiful street, and we kept seeing something blue. We kept looking and we finally saw what it was. 

It was Daniel sitting on the side of a stream...almost in it, with his back against the side. He was wearing his blue striped onesie. You ran and picked him up and hugged him, and I hugged him, and we couldn't make sense if it was real or not so we were talking like we had to have a doctor check him to see if he was real. I wouldn't tell Jules until we found out. 

I don't remember after that but I do remember that it felt so real! All I could think of when I woke was that I got to see you hug him again, I hope somehow you felt it!!! It was the most beautiful dream I have ever had!"

Sherril's dream brought tears to my eyes, because it reminded me of the one time that I was blessed by a dream--or visitation--from Daniel and how very real it was. I truly could feel him and awoke with the same emotion that Sherril felt, as if I were really with him. And today, I can actually close my eyes, and I can imagine hugging him again, just like in her dream. 

Such a blessing that Daniel reached out to Aunt Sherril...

 I love that baby so much. Forever.