Progress and Provision

The Lord has been faithful to provide for us even before we begin to move to Illinois. We have a place to live on campus at Trinity, and I have heard back from a home health organization near by that said they would interview me once we are out there. Praise God! These were my main concerns when we first started to consider moving, and they are practically taken care of already!

We will be looking to sell both of our cars to get one that has all wheel drive. This will be necessary for the winter weather driving that neither Andrew or I have any experience dealing with. Other than that, we really just have to pack up and drive out there when the time comes. We will be trying to spend our time that remains in AZ well, with the people that God has used to grow us and bless us. I still have a month and a week or two left at work, and to work well. Praise God for His provision in my job at St. Joe's, that has already provided so much for us!

Elder Proposal

The link above (The title of this post, just click it) is for the written proposal we gave to our elders today.

To The North

We heard back from Carson, we found out that Andrew will get $1000 a year more scholarship at Trinity for doing a Masters of Divinity, and that this degree will take less time than the ones we were considering initially. So...

We're going to Trinity!

Both of us are hesitant to believe this is really happening, since it has taken a while to reach this point. But I'm going to tell my boss this week, I applied to some nursing jobs in the area, and we are looking for housing. 

Last night we told a few people in person that we will be going. And each time it was a little sad. Andrew pointed out to me that the sadness is actually sweet. It means that God has given us a family here in Arizona, at Grace Bible Church. We care a lot about the body that God has made us a part of, and they care for us. So it will be sad to leave for a while, but the sadness is a blessing.

Please pray for us! We know and trust that God will provide what we need as we follow His leading. I have been seeing anxiety grow in my heart in relation to all the details. Pray that I would remember who God is so clearly in this time. Because all things are from God, to God, and for God. He is sovereign, good, and He does all things for His glory. I have no reason to doubt His provision for us!

We will be talking to the elders tomorrow about our plans. I will try to post anything we are able to type up for that meeting. I also will be trying to devise a method to stay connected to friends and family well. Let me know if you have any suggestions! I will be posting on this subject more as we get closer to leaving.

P.S. Our target for leaving is July 6th at this time. :)

2 Corinthians and grad school

For small group we are in the book of 2 Corinthians. In this letter Paul, for the most part, is defending himself to the Corinthians. They have compared him to these "super apostles" who said all the right things, had great reputations, and had a steady income for their work. Paul on the other hand, wasn't always eloquent, wasn't an impressive man in person, was beat up, shipwrecked, poor, hungry, and spread thin by his ministry. And yet who did the Lord work through? Who was given wisdom and understanding of truth? Paul says, "For the sake of Christ I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (12:10). 

Paul is no different than the men that God has used throughout redemptive history to do His work. Moses was not an eloquent man, and yet God used him to bring His people out of captivity. Abraham and Sarah were old, and he used them to be the father and mother of His nation. Joseph was captured, made a slave, and then a criminal, before God placed him in a position to preserve an entire nation. God works like this, in seemingly impossible circumstances through weak, unassuming people to accomplish His ends. So that the surpassing power will be of God and not of ourselves. 

How sweet a reminder to have in this season. It seems more and more impossible each day that passes that we will be able to go to Trinity or even Dallas. There are so many details, and question after question keeps coming up. I don't see how we will find housing, work, and the means to pay for school in such a short time frame. But if God wants to do it, He will. And He is setting up circumstances where I will have no choice but to say that it was by God's power we will get where we are going. He alone could work out all the kinks in just the right time. So, if we make it to grad school in the fall, the glory will belong to God alone. And that's just as it should be. When I am weak, the earthen vessel that I am, then I am strong.

Still thinking

As far as grad schools go, Trinity is winning out over Dallas as of today. The professors are great, and so is the location. However, one of the men Andrew was looking forward to studying under, Vanhoozer, has just left Trinity to go to Wheaton, which happened to be one of our other choices early on. There's a hint that this might be due to financial strain at the school. We don't want to pack up and move out there only to see the faculty trickle away once we get there. So, my husband went straight to the top, and emailed Donny Carson himself to see what is happening. We also have been considering the value of staying in Phoenix for a year to focus on marriage and discipline before going anywhere. More questions, more thoughts, more time to wait. That's where we are today. That's where the Lord has us today, and that's where we will stay for now. We will see what the Lord does.