Wednesday, April 05, 2006

The Word Is Out

Before Ben and I got married we talked about what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. We were both teaching in different Christian Schools and Ben was not convinced that he wanted to continue on in that area of ministry for the rest of his life. At that time he confided in me that for many years he had a desire to go into church ministry. We spent a lot of time discussing it and praying about it.
Right after we got married, Ben signed up to take some correspondence classes. With our busy schedules, however, those just didn't work! After a long day of work the last thing he wanted to do was pop in a video and start taking notes.
There were a few different times that we thought God was opening doors for Ben to join a church ministry in our town, but things just didn't work out.
My husband loves to study, read, listen to things online, and so forth. He enjoys John Piper, Mark Dever, CJ Mahaney, and many others. While we continued to pray for God's leading, Ben noticed that many of these men recommended Southern Baptist Seminary for theological training. So, last October, we packed up and went to Louisville, Kentucky to visit the campus for a few days. We went to several classes, met with many people, looked at housing, etc. We loved it! We came home keeping all of this between the two of us. We spent the next 3 months praying about it. In January we made our decision to apply to seminary and plan to move.
We made the announcement at our school in chapel yesterday. We put our house up for sale and have finished the application process. (We are currently waiting to hear back from the seminary) The news has also been announced at our church. We are trusting that God will direct our paths. Please pray for the following:
1. The sale of our home!!!! (we are trying to sell by owner)
2. Jobs in Kentucky
3. A home in Kentucky
4. Health Insurance - this may sound silly, but I have spent a lot of time at the doctor's office in the last year.
We are really excited about the direction that we believe God is leading us in. This will certainly be a step of faith, but we are trusting in Him!

10 comments:

Shyla said...

Congratulations Kelly and Ben! This is going to be such a great time for the two of you! The difficulties you may face with the upcoming move and adjustments will only bring the two of you closer together as you keep your goal of following Christ in view! What an adventure! We will be praying for the sale of your home and also for the insurance. Those are two things that we can understand first hand as being important!
God Bless!
Shyla

Kelly Glupker said...

Thanks for the prayers Shyla. I am really excited about the move. When we got married I moved to Ben's town, got a job at his school, became a member of his church, and moved next to his family. Those things are great. I definately left my old life to cleave to his. However, I am excited to now have a life that is "ours" so to speak. We will be doing things that are new to both of us - moving to a new town, finding a new church, and so on. We will only have each other so I anticipate it being a real growing time.

Unknown said...

how exciting - and a little scary I imagine. So you guys will be joining the ranks of bloggers with full time student hubbies. Be encouraged - the life of a student family is very fun. Althoughit is tight financially, we have really bonded as a family. We're learning to truly trust God to meet our needs. Have you checked into state insurance in kentucky? If you're under a certain income you could qualify. I'll be praying for all the details to come together. How did your students react? I bet they're sad you guys are leaving. Keep us posted as God brings things to pass!

Kelli said...

Kelly-I came across your blog and thought I would leave you a comment! I don't know if you remember me or not, but you were here my first few years of college (Bryce Clingerman is my older brother).

Anyways, it is so exciting to see the Lord lead in your lives. That is a big step to go to seminary, but God is faithful and since He has called you there, He will work out all of the details!

Kelli (Clingerman) Frey

christina said...

kelly,
my sister LOVED louisville. it is really a beautiful area to live. i'm sure the Lord will open every door you need.
we'll be praying!
christina

Katie said...

Kelly,

I'm so excited about your move down to Lou. Your timely is horrible though - right after we move! :) Are you planning any more trips before you move?

We'll be praying for all of the various details that need working out - especially health insurance. Unfortunately, the income limit for PASSPORT (KY Medicaid) is VERY low - as an adult, you have to be either unemployed or pregnant to qualify. But (for future reference) children qualify for it much easier - Luke has been on PASSPORT since he was born.

Praying for you - Katie

Kelly Glupker said...

Kelli,
Yes I do remember you, though your husband does not look familiar to me. Did he go to NBBC before 2002 while I was there? Thanks for your comment and kind words. I checked out your blog too. Isn't it nice to catch up with old NBBC friends?!?

Alicia,
Thanks for the prayers. Today we had Parent/Teacher conferences and we had a lot of sweet people come talk to us about our move. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a change like this for people to tell you how much they love and appreciate you. It seems like once they know they are losing you, they feel the need to tell you all of the kind things that they think and feel. We have some great parents to be sure. I am not complaining. Some have been wonderful about encouraging us from the beginning. We are very humbled by many of their reactions. It's going to be an adjustment for all of us at the school.

Christina,
When did your sister live in Lou? Did Mike go to SBTS too? Did he graduate from there?

Katie,
I do wish the timing was better! How about you guys stay down there for a few more years and we can be neighbors?!?!?! :)
We actually thought about coming down over spring break (which was last week) but then we though, "What would we do down there? It's kind of early to ask someone for a job." So we didn't come. It would have been great to see you! We will be living in Saginaw until July or so. We would love to have you over for dinner once you move back to Michigan!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the information about state insurance. It is comforting to know that babies are covered. My main concern is prescription drug coverage at this point. I am on three medications that I have to take daily. I already feel like I am paying major bucks for my copay. I can't imagine paying full price!

-Kelly

Amanda T said...

Congrats to you two. God's timing in moving us to do something that He has planted in our hearts is always at the most perfect time. I'm glad to hear how God is working in your hearts and lives. Sounds like we'll both be moving around the same time. I totally understand the need for jobs and insurance as Tom and i will be searching for those things too. We think that Tom only gets major catastrophic insurance through the school...so, we'll need something else b/c my husband is on 3 different medications that he has to take too. I guess we can both pray for each other in these areas as we can understand the other's situation.
Welcome to the world of full time hubbyies in grad. school...as alicia said. There seems to be a growing group of us.
I'll be praying for you guys.

Kelli said...

Kelly: Heston was here your senior year. He came in the fall of 2001. He was an older student and lived off campus so you may not have seen him much! Thanks for checking out our blog! It is fun getting in touch with old friends!

christina said...

they went down there right after they got married (03 or 04...isn't that horrible i can't remember!!) and they just moved back in 05 year after ava was born. mike attended southern but couldn't finish since they had to move for work.