HI! i’m Jenn Murray

Daughter of the King. Survivor. Creator. And lover of all things jewel-toned.

My God-given calling is to help my sisters in faith transform into the empowered women God created them to be.

Through biblical truth, tactical solutions, creative inspiration, and testimony from my own journey, I help Christian women break free from the lies and misinformation holding them back; to embrace God’s love; to love themselves for who they are; and to claim their true identity, authority, and freedom in Jesus.

You are loved. You are seen. And you are meant for more.

the enemy starts early

Scripture tells us that the enemy comes to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). He accomplishes this through cultural beliefs, relationships, abuse, mindsets, lies…there are numerous methods.

He will often start his destruction during your childhood - in order to inflict long-term damage while you’re highly vulnerable.

This was definitely the case with me.

As a young child, I was naturally joyful and loved to encourage others. I once had a babysitter that made handmade Cabbage Patch dolls and, before they went to their new owners, I would hug each one so they went filled with love.

I also didn’t mind being a rebel if the situation called for it. One day, that same babysitter took me along to her church where she played the piano before the congregation. When she finished, I broke religious protocol by bouncing to my feet and clapping loudly to celebrate.

When I wasn’t laughing or spreading joy, I was oozing creativity. I drew; wrote parodies and attempts at novels; invented board games; choreographed dances to Paula Abdul; and even taught myself to sing (to the detriment of my mother’s cassette tapes).

Sounds like happy childhood, right?

Unfortunately, the enemy (and human sin) was already dimming, discouraging, and destroying who I was. Who God created me to be. The main culprit being my father - who was highly abusive.

My family wasn’t Christian, yet God tried to bring me into relationship with Him during my teens. But because the region where I lived was more religious than biblical, I didn’t understand enough to overcome my natural resistance to Him.

As a result, my entire childhood became about surviving - not thriving. And the young girl inherent with the joy, talent, and desire to love others was not only told that she was less than everyone else - she also became starved for love.

A Marriage that made matters worse

I entered adulthood lost and ill-equipped. Over the years, I had lost the sense of who God had created me to be. (Though I didn’t know Him yet.) I also hadn’t been taught how to dream or have standards or go after life. And I was starved for affection.

In my early 20s, faced with failing at my job, I decided to marry for financial security (i.e. the wrong reasons). As a result, I spent the next 9.5 years married to a man who, as it turned out, was highly manipulative and emotionally abusive just like my father had been.

Two years into my marriage, after God reentered my life in a very supernatural way, I submitted my life to Christ. My ex-husband remained an unbeliever for the duration of our marriage, but that didn’t stop Jesus from starting His work to transform me into a new woman.

Even in that difficult and lonely season, Jesus began to heal past hurts and wounds; break the chains of self-dependency; and raise my sense of worth.

He also helped me move forward despite the obstacles created by my ex-husband. For example, I went back to college and got a B.S. in Graphics Technology - returning to my creative roots for the first time in years.

Jesus also helped me weather my ex-husband’s manipulation, abuse, and chaos - teaching me how to stand up for myself while also showing Christ-like love.

Then, when my marriage ended in 2011, Jesus became my sole Provider as I started life over literally from scratch.* It was an unexpected and challenging transition, but Jesus was there for me every step of the way.

Over the next few years, as I rebuilt my life, Jesus continued to refine and transform me. He continued to increase my confidence; heal me from past wounds; work on my identity and empowerment in Him; and bring me into deeper relationship with Him.

*I started over with a degree, but no job. A few thousand dollars. My former dog, Happy. (May he rest in peace.) And what possessions fit into my Honda CR-V.

Leaving the church

When my ex-husband and I separated in 2011, I moved back home to Pennsylvania. After attending several churches, a friend and I both realized that we were uncomfortable with the lack of biblical teaching and focus on Jesus. Soon after giving our lives to Him, God had purposefully equipped us with sound biblical teaching, so we were very sensitive to the massive disparity that existed.

As a result, we stopped attending church.

The more time that passed, the more my friend and I came to realize that - despite our solid biblical foundation - we’d been programmed by the Church in certain ways. (Ways that weren’t Christ-like, biblical, or healthy.)

On the one hand, purging these specific things from my system allowed me to see things even more clearly from a legit, biblical perspective. But on the other hand, I wasn’t making a point to fill my ears, heart, and mind with solid teaching - which left me vulnerable.

Meanwhile, I had entered a season where I realized that the 9-5 life wasn’t for me. Entrepreneurship, however, had my name written all over it! But the deeper I plugged myself into the secular online entrepreneurial community, the more I absorbed the new age concepts that exist there.

As a result, in addition to moving further away from God - and thus leaving myself wide open to the enemy - I ended up spending thousands of dollars that I didn’t have in order to try and make my business succeed.

Looking back, I’m stunned at how off-track I got. I was making all the decisions that the real Jenn never would have made.

In January 2020, I attended a conference in California. While I was there, God spoke to me in a way I hadn’t experienced for several years.

As I sat among a room full of female entrepreneurs, wondering why in the world I could not get traction for my event planning business (despite all my best efforts), God said, “Your business is My mission.”

When I returned home, God began to invoke clear direction and bring me back into reliance on Him - and Him alone. Despite my very precarious financial situation, I had decided to move to Ohio, but thus far lacked the necessary financial proof to secure my new lease. God opened up a contract job, completely from left field, just in the nick of time.

God also told me to stop working on my business and to focus solely on Him. And after I moved to Ohio in April of 2020 - yes, just as COVID got real in the U.S.! - He brought me into a hardcore wilderness season that would bring me back into relationship with Him more deeply than ever before.

Then, shortly after blessing me a well-paying, full-time job (thus ending the wilderness season), God began giving me specific instructions on how to pivot and re-build my business, Relate Escape, to be His mission.

The Creative Child Returns

As God brought me through my wilderness season, He began unleashing my creative side in a way I haven’t experienced since I was a child. And as I started pivoting Relate Escape, my creativity seamlessly integrated itself.

My insane love for color, music, writing, and art had taken a backseat for most of my adult life. It had been buried under toxic relationships, chaotic life events, and my own survival mode. But God, in His goodness, brought it back to encourage others and bring me joy.

After all, that’s how God crafted me. He specifically designed me to be a highly creative person - and to use that creativity to encourage, inspire, and motivate others.

It’s only one way that God has redeemed me throughout the years.

He’s helped the girl with an abusive and manipulative father understand what His love really looks like.

He’s helped to purge the lies that the enemy and society have told - and continue to tell - me about who I need to be. And where to find my worth.

He’s given me confidence and empowerment because I know my identity and whose authority I operate within - no matter what anyone else believes.

And wherever you are, whatever you’re going through, God wants to do the same for you!

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