Full Speed Ahead!

Wow!  It has been WAY TOO long since we last posted.  Our apologies… sincerely.  We must say it has been one crazy ride the past couple months.  Life is moving full speed ahead, and we couldn’t be more grateful or excited for all the exciting events God has allowed/is allowing us to experience here in Charlotte.

Here’s a little preview of what we’ve been up to since our last post…

March ended with a bang, and we had a blast serving as a host home for our first ever Disciple Now with Hickory Grove.  We were privileged to get to spend the weekend with the HGBC Senior boys, and let me tell you, they are one amazing group of guys!  Disciple Now is always a special time for us because we met at a Disciple Now 3 years ago, and this year was just as special since it was our first D-Now with our new church family.

God is moving in BIG ways on the campus of UNCC, and we can’t wait to see the BIG things he has in store for the students/athletes/faculty/community of “Charlotte.”  We finished up the year with a solid group of about 30-50 students attending FCA mtgs each week– and we’re pumped to see what the fall brings for FCA.

We love special time with special friends.  This was one of those “special” times where we were blessed to have our wonderful Collins and the sweet Gonsoulins in town to enjoy a chill, relaxing, and tasty weekend.  We started out the weekend with a 5-star dinner prepared by Chef Collins and ended with a trip to Concord Mills and lunch at (our favorite restaurant) Macado’s after church on Sunday.  Great weekend all around!

Easter weekend marked our first official trip back home to Peachtree City, since moving to Charlotte.  We truly enjoyed spending some much-needed quality time with our Brettin and Gloer families as well as celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is so good to us.  Praise God for He is good.

The cooking experiments continue…

(We obviously enjoy food!  And we’re not ashamed to admit.  Come visit and we’ll cook you up something fun!)

Yay for date night at our favorite sandwich spot, Macado’s.  Imagine a place that creates and serves any type of sandwich you can imagine– that’s Macado’s!  (Pronounced: MACK-a-DOOs).  Britt recommends the Jackie Gleason or Veggie Fajita, and Ry recommends the Steak Stack (w/ Swiss instead of American).  Great food and great service!

Britt organized the pantry…

… And painted the bathrooms.  Pictured here is the downstairs guest bathroom (still a work in progress to this very day) and the master bath (painted and done!).  We tried to get a head start on the home renovations before our schedules got crazy, as April marked the start of Britt’s new job (see below)!

As of April, Brittney is now working for Kforce (a professional staffing company) in uptown Charlotte.     She absolutely loves her new company and coworkers and is enjoying all the perks of working in a big city.  Praise God for his provision!

Tiger continues to provide cheap (yet oh so wonderful) entertainment for us, and she’s developing quite the personality.  Never a dull moment with this little one around.  Her new favorite past-time: taking showers.  Whenever Tiger goes missing, she can usually be found in the bathroom.  The best part, after she gets wet, she runs around the house like a maniac– she’s a real life Gremlin.  Should’ve named her Gizmo.

 (The picture top left is from Tiger cheering on her daddy when he competed in the Mud Run.  Pastor Clint affectionately named his team, the Chumpettes.  Ry was thrilled!  Tiger too.   The picture bottom right is pretty typical of any time Tiger is left along for longer than 5 seconds– they call it “separation anxiety.”  Ryan calls it ridiculous.)

Ryan had the opportunity to speak to a local church youth group at the end of April.  The text: Acts 8.

And the landscaping begins.  Ryan decided to undertake the ENORMOUS task of re-sodding the entire yard.  With the generosity of our friend Kevin loaning us the beast of a machine above, and hours of time spent preparing and sodding the yard, the front yard officially has grass!  The backyard, on the other hand, looks like the Sahara.  Baby steps.  Baby steps.

Well, that pretty much sums up the past two months or so (or at least explains everything that we took pictures of!).  We continue to praise and thank God for the incredible opportunities He’s placed before us in Charlotte, and we are grateful and humbled by the continued support of family and friends.  Thank you for helping us to serve God here in Charlotte by praying for our family and the students of UNCC as well as by providing financial or praying for the financial support of God’s ministry here through FCA.  Our words alone cannot express our gratitude.

We love and miss y’all dearly and we pray for you, our family and friends, daily.  Please let us know how we can lift you up!

All our love and His,

Ryan, Britt & Tiger

A little update on life in Charlotte

Dear Friends & Family-  We’ve missed you!  Our apologies for the delay between blog posts.  Life here in Charlotte has been one crazy happening after another, and (thankfully) it doesn’t look like things will slow down any time soon.  That being said, let’s see if we can catch you up on what’s been happening in the Queen City/ Life of the Gloers since our last post…

February:

What a fun-filled and exciting month!  With our Super Bowl party at the beginning of the month to FCA Real Time at the month’s end, we barely had time to breathe– and it was fantastic!  See below for a wonderful recap of the month via photo montage (exciting, I know)!

Valentine’s Day 2012 was a huge success!  Ryan surprised me with beautiful flowers, a trip to the movies to see “The Vow” (what a romantic!), and a wonderful dinner at Olive Garden (one of my favs!).  A few days later we enjoyed time with our Hickory Grove Sunday School friends at our Valentine’s Day class social.  Candace and Caty made an incredible pasta dinner, and we had so much fun playing “The Newlyweds Game.”  Ryan and I even won!  (See, Ry, my constant question-asking paid off.)

A typical game night at The Gloer house with the UNCC crew. Always entertaining. Grateful for these guys– they make us feel like college kids all over again.

 Kali came for a visit (yay!), and we were so excited to show her around Charlotte.  We spent the weekend exploring downtown and visiting Discovery Place, where (of course) we were the oldest people there (without kids). 

The end of month took us to Kansas City for FCA’s Real Time IV (an event that happens every three years and allows FCA staff to reconnect, recharge, and rejuvenate spiritually).  We had a blast exploring the city and spending time with dear friends like Bo, Angie, & Durham Fowler, Matt & Colleen Wise, Chris & Elise Regen, Lindsey Wilckens, Shep, LJ, and so many other staff members.  Looking forward to Real Time 2015. (We even were blessed with the opportunity to meet up with my Kansas family before flying out– cherished that time!)

Uncle Ben was nice enough to drive up to Charlotte for a visit and to stay and watch over the house AND Tiger while we were in Kansas City.  He certainly had his hands full.

March:

March has proven to be just as action-packed as the previous month, and it encourages us greatly to see the unique and powerful ways God is working in Charlotte.  He has BIG plans for this city (especially on campus), and we are humbled and excited to be a part of it all.  Once again, see below for pictures of all that’s happened so far this month.

I’ve been trying out this new thing called “cooking,” and I think Ryan and I are both a little surprised with the outcome.  Needless to say, I can’t stop– it’s so much fun!  I think most of our pictures now consist of food or Tiger.

The weather in Charlotte has been absolutely beautiful the past month, so Tiger and I took the opportunity to enjoy some time outside and soak up some rays.

First let me say, I love Pinterest.  Second, I decided to finally try out a few of the many home decor/ craft ideas I’ve “pinned” from Pinterest.  These are our new light covers in the bedroom and Ryan’s office.  Tiger even tried to help.

 University of North Carolina Charlotte’s first official FCA mtg was this past Monday night, and it was awesome to see how God showed up in BIG ways.  He had more than 30 student athletes in attendance.  It was definitely exciting to be a part of, and we were overwhelmed by His faithfulness and humbled BIG time.

Tiger is certainly keeping us busy.  Every time we turn around, she’s into something new.  This was less than 24 hours after her bath.  Lovely, to say the least.  Can’t help but laugh at what a character she is. (Update: potty training is still a work in progress!)

I would say that’s all for the month of March, but the truth is, we still have several exciting events planned.  This weekend we have the privilege of serving as the senior boys’ host home for Hickory Grove’s Disciple Now.  Stay tuned for even more updates and pictures, as I guarantee it will be an eventful end to the month.  (And this time, we’ll be better about posting in a time manner.)

As always, please join with us in prayer as God continues to open doors and build relationships here in Charlotte.  Specifically, we ask that you pray with us in our journey to raise support for the ministry of FCA here in Charlotte.  Pray also that God opens the hearts of students and community members alike, as we commit ourselves to His ministry, sharing His Truth/His Gospel, and allowing Him to use us to build His kingdom right here in the Queen City.

“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” (John 4:34-38 ESV)

 

All our love and prayers,

Brittney, Ryan, & Tiger

Niner Nation

This is the first draft for the UNC Charlotte FCA logo that I've been working on

“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.” [Acts 20:22]

Although we are not in Jerusalem, this verse sums up a lot about our initial journey to Charlotte, North Carolina. Responding to the burden the Lord laid on our hearts, Brittney and I followed the Lord’s prompting to lay the foundation for the ministry of FCA on the UNC Charlotte campus. I realized that if we tried to figure everything out before the leap, then we would miss out on a lot of what God was trying to show us. Now having been in Charlotte for a little over one month, the Lord has confirmed to us more times than we can count that this is where we are supposed to be and that He is the one who works in people to will and to act according to His good purpose.

On one very unique occasion just a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with a guy I had never met with before. We made an instant connection with both of us having a passion to reach coaches and athletes for Jesus Christ through the medium of sports. As we sat there and talked, he informed me that he was headed to meet with a student and then invited me to join. We walked across the UNC Charlotte Campus expecting to meet with a student, but only the Spirit of the Lord can orchestrate what happened next. We sat down with what developed into a group of athletes with their Bibles cracked open right in the middle of campus as thousands of other students were making their way to class. I was reminded of Matthew 5:14, which says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

I sat humbled as a few more guys joined us, not knowing who we were. Not long into the discussion on John chapter one, a guy passing by saw the open Bibles and came up and unashamedly asked, “You guys getting into the Word?” I couldn’t help but to smile as I answered, “Yeah man!” to his question. He sat down and pulled his Bible out of his gym bag; turns out he is an athlete on campus. [The astonishing part about him passing by and then sitting down was that we randomly, but divinely, connected through e-mail a few weeks prior. While I was still in Georgia, someone passed along an e-mail to me about a student at UNC Charlotte who led a resident assistant to Christ. I got pumped up about it and looked the guy up on Facebook. When I got a response back from him, we decided that we would meet up sometime when I arrived in Charlotte. Well, having never met nor knowing what one another looks like -- turns out that the guy from the e-mail (I'll keep his name confidential for now) is the same guy that was passing by and asked us if we were in the Word.] As the study closed, they all asked, “Can we meet again next week?” There is only one answer for that question! When we did meet again the following week, those guys were so hungry and excited for Jesus that they all invited a friend. The number of guys that met in week two was double the group of guys that formed during that first week. All glory to God and God alone, there is a steady group of usually eight or more athletes from different sports meeting every Thursday to talk about Jesus and explore Biblical truths.

A group of guys during the second Bible study we ever had.

Our home has already become the normal spot for numerous types of gatherings for these guys and many others– from hangouts and game nights to nights of fellowship and Bible studies.  The Lord continues to answer one of the things we prayed about as we were seeking a place to live in Charlotte; our prayer was that our house be a place used on a regular basis for His glory.  Brittney continues to coupon each week so we are able to feed the hungry college students something more than Ramen noodles.  People we have never even met are showing up at our house because someone invited them to tag along.  We are grateful that the Lord opens up new doors weekly for us to have the chance to invest in people in personal ways. 

One of the first gatherings we had at the house -- the Super Bowl party. We knew about half of the people! (Awesome)

Apart from meeting with that special group that continues to grow each week, I have the opportunity to disciple and invest in some of the baseball players one-on-one. Discipleship is a strong passion of mine and I am grateful I have the chance to pour into guys each week. One of the desires of my heart is to live out 2 Timothy 2:2, a life verse of mine, which says, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” Disciples need to be equipped to pass on their faith and make disciples of others. I can’t tell you how excited I am that this is already taking place and I am stoked to see what else develops in the Niner Nation. I pray that one by one people would authentically and radically come to know Him and that they would make Him known.

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” [Acts 20:24]

"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" Acts 2:47

Love,

Ryan and Britt

What’s a Charlottean?

We’re here!  After years months (or more accurately) weeks of packing and cleaning and more packing and more cleaning, we’re officially moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.  

We apologize for not updating everyone on our status sooner; things have just been CRAZY in the Gloer household, as we attempt to settle and embrace our new lives as Charlotteans (yes, it’s a real word, and it’s fabulous).  See link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Charlotteans.

 

So, here’s the 4-1-1 (or more the “Top 10″) on what’s been going on since we moved to Charlotte. 

#1.  We OFFICIALLY arrived in Charlotte on January 8, 2012.  We quickly learned unpacking is nowhere near as much fun as packing.  In fact, we’re still unpacking boxes as I type.   It’s a blast.

Ry having the time of his life while he unpacks boxes in the kitchen.

#2. Furniture is expensive, and we are cheap.  We do not like spending money on big purchases, but it had to be done.  Thus, we now have a grown up bedroom set, sectional, and refrigerator.  We are very excited… just not about the spending money part.  Nonetheless, the house is slowly coming together and becoming our “home.”   (Special shout out to the Crump family for the awesome welcome dish, Lincoln for helping us Ryan move the sectional into the house, and to our Brettin parents for mailing the duvet/sheet set we left behind!  We appreciate y’all!)

Tiger is the biggest fan of the new bed.

#3. The Laymons, our new Charlotte friends, were gracious and wonderful enough to host us at their home church, Elevation-Blakeney, this past weekend.  Elevation is currently in the middle of a 12 night revival, and we had the pleasure of hearing Christine Caine preach again.  She shared her story at the Passion conference we attended at the beginning of the month, and she rocked the house.  If you’ve never heard of Christine Caine, check her out:   http://www.christinecaine.com/.

#4. Tiger loves the new house.  In fact, she loves it so much, she’s decided to mark her territory on every square inch.  I.e.- we’re still having puppy problems with the potty training.  I’ve decided she’s just a late bloomer, and she’ll learn when she’s ready.  Ryan is ready for her to be “ready” NOW.

Tiger loves the new house!

#5. Ry had the opportunity to continue developing new relationships and get in a little workout time on Wednesday and Friday this week, as he met/pumped iron with the pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church.  Praise God for continuing to open doors.  This Sunday, we plan to visit Hickory Grove to see if it could be our new church home.  

#6. Ry also had the chance to join the UNCC campus director of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) in hosting a Bible study on campus for a few student-athletes.  It ended up being a total “God thing” and a really awesome story, so Ry is going to update everyone on how that meeting/Bible study went in a later blog.  Once again, Praise Jesus for He is good and His ways are higher than we can ever imagine! 

#7. Yesterday I made a point of visiting 3 of the local grocery stores in preparation for our weekend guests and to see just what kind of deals Charlotte has the offer in the area of “consumables” (not too sure if this is even a word, but I like it, so it stays).  Plus, I’ve missed my couponing, so it was a good excuse to reignite the “coupon queen” in me.  In conclusion: after visiting Food Lion, Lowe’s Foods, and Harris Teeter, Harris Teeter is the clear winner in that they offer the most B1G1 deals.  Just a little fyi in case you’re interested in that sort of thing.  Ha!

#8. We have our first OFFICIAL houseguest this weekend!  Way cool.  Our dear friend Collins is making the journey to come and celebrate Ryan’s (and his own) birthday with us, and we cannot wait to see him and spend time in fellowship/catching up.  The plan: cook up a storm and eat everything in sight.  All I know is I’m commissioned to prepared the monkey bread and funfetti cake– the rest is up to the boys!

#9. As mentioned, Ry is gearing up for his birthday celebration this weekend (he’s the big 2-6 this year), and we are so pumped to have our first real gathering/celebration in our new home.  If you’re in Charlotte and around on Sunday night, stop by and hang out with us for a bit.  We’d love to have you.

#10. God is so good to us.  He continues to reveal himself through the many new friendships and relationships we are building in Charlotte as well as through simple, every day examples.  We praise Him for everything because without Jesus, we would not be here (literally). 

 

That being said, we dearly miss all our family and friends back in Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, you name it!, but know that y’all have open invitations to visit any time!  We love house guests!!

Capturing the drive to Charlotte. Totally safe to be taking photos while driving.

Blessing and prayers over all our loved ones,

Ryan & Brittney  (and Tiger too!)

Here we are, Lord. Send us.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I.  Send me!’” [Isaiah 6:8]

 

It’s official.  The Gloer family is approximately 70% (give or take… I do not claim to be a mathematician… I simply enjoy creating my own percentages) moved into our new home in Charlotte.  Praise God for His faithful provision and love for our family.  He makes all things possible.

That being said, what move would be complete without a few hiccups here and there?  (Side note: I laugh to think how desperately Satan acts in his attempts to prevent God’s Kingdom from advancing.  On the same note, I am extremely encouraged to consider the ways God intends to use our family in Charlotte to bring glory to His name.  Satan obviously does not grasp the TRUTH that God sent us to Charlotte to “MAKE WAR” and win souls for Christ.  Step off, Satan. Side note complete.) 

 

So, for those of you who missed out on the joy of moving day, I’ll provide you a quick play-by-play:

4:30 a.m.- We’re awake!  It’s way too early and way too dark outside, but we’re running on adrenaline, pumped and anxious about what awaits us in Charlotte.

5:00 a.m.- On the road… With the truck and trailblazer loaded down, the 4 hour journey begins.

(7:00 a.m.- Pops Gloer and good friend Walt begin the trek to Charlotte via a 24-foot Budget rental truck.)

9:30 a.m.- Ryan, Brady (our little brother), and I arrive in Charlotte safe and sound!

10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.- The closing process.  We are now experts at signing our names. 

(11:00 a.m.- Moving truck down!  The boys are stranded somewhere between GA and NC.  Hiccup #1.)

12:30 p.m.-  Ryan, Brady, and I leave the lawyer’s office and drive to our new house!  What an awesome feeling to walk into our new home and imagine what is to be.

12:31 p.m.- We discover the fridge, washer, and dryer are all missing.  Awesome feeling goes away for 2.3 sec. (but comes back!).  Hiccup #2.

12:32 p.m.-4:30 p.m.- We unload both cars and await the arrival of the moving truck.  Pops and Walt break down an additional TWO more times (Hiccups #3 and #4.)  I order pizza as a peace offering, for when the men finally arrive.

4:30-6:00 p.m.- THE MOVING TRUCK IS IN THE DRIVEWAY. (This is a big deal.)  The boys get right to work unloading, with the help of our AWESOME new friends in Charlotte… Thank you so much, Lincoln, Tom, and Riley!

6:00 p.m.- On the road again… headed back to GA.  Ready to enjoy one last week finishing work, tieing up loose ends, ATTENDING PASSION 2012, and spending quality time with those we love and will miss dearly.

10:30 p.m.- No more driving, please.  Back in GA and headed straight to bed.  It’s back to work in the morning for me and more packing for Ryan.      

Here we are hard at work on "Moving Day."

 

All in all, our feelings are best defined in the following words: grateful, exhausted, “blessed beyond belief,” exhausted, anxious, and EXHAUSTED.  We cannot begin to express our overwhelming gratitude for those of you who helped make God’s plan for us and our journey to Charlotte possible.  Thank you to all the boys who came to load the moving truck, those who helped us move while in Charlotte, our families for letting us go (we know this was a difficult step!),  and those who continue to provide your love, support, encouragement, and PRAYERS.  We appreciate you.  Truly.  Please know that we love you all, and we commit ourselves to continuing to pray for you and your families and how God will use y’all to impact His people.

 

All our love and so much more,

Ryan & Brittney

Home Sweet Home… Almost

First of all, a BIG thank you to all our friends & family for your love, support, and sweet comments, as we posted our first blog last week.  Words cannot express our gratitude and how thrilled we are to have you join alongside us on this new journey God has placed before us.   

Second of all, Praise God!  He is faithful and good.  After a few failed attempts at finding a/(the wrong) house in Charlotte, He led us straight to the perfect/(right) home for our family.  Please be in prayer with us as we have our home inspection tomorrow morning.  Praying all continues to go well, we should be able to close by the end of the month.  Great news for sure.

Our soon-to-be new home in Charlotte

As always, please let us know how we can support and pray for you and your family– especially during this holiday season.

All our love,

Ryan & Brittney

Here We Go…

A big HELLO to all our family and friends.  Welcome to our new blog!

We decided to start this blog as a way to keep all of our family and friends updated as we begin this new, exciting journey God has placed before us and we head to Charlotte, NC.

As many of you know, at the beginning of the year we will be moving to Charlotte, NC, where Ryan will take on a new role with FCA as the University of North Carolina Charlotte’s Campus Director.  While we are sad to leave behind family and friends in Georgia, we are extremely excited about the ways God has planned to grow us and His Kingdom in Charlotte.  We strongly believe that the Lord has a plan for His people in Charlotte, and we are obediently following the call (to be used by God) to fulfill that plan.  

 

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”  [Isaiah 6:8]

 

While we are anxious and eager to make our move to Charlotte complete, this season in our life has definitely been one of the toughest; however, we are grateful because we have the opportunity to be reminded daily of God’s provision and faithfulness.  From contracts on houses falling through to personal hardships, we remain confident in the Truth that God has called us to Charlotte to serve Him, so that is what we are going to do!  (One thing that confirms this Truth for us exists in the many ways God continues to reveal himself in and through His people as well as through His word.)

On a more personal note, we’d like to take this opportunity (another plus of this blog!) to express our gratitude and love to all of our family and friends for your continued support and friendship.  As many of you know, September was a very exciting month for us, as found out we were pregnant with our first child.  What many of you may not know is that November started out as one of the hardest times for us as a family/couple, as we sadly experienced a miscarriage.  Despite the pain and heartache accompanied with our loss, we found (and continue to find) comfort in the fact that God is good.  And, even in the bad, God remains good.  Of course we still hurt, but we thank God for giving us the opportunity to go through something like this if it means He can use us to minister to other families/couples who have also experienced loss.

In fact, we feel blessed to think that perhaps God trusts us with a difficult situation like this because He knows our trust is ultimately in Him.

 

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”  [Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV]

 

Nonetheless, we know that God has a plan for us– just as He does for all His children– and we agree to follow Him whatever the costs.  That being said, please be in prayer with us, as we continue to prepare for and make this transition to Charlotte.  Pray for doors to be opened, lives to be changed, and people to be radically awakened by the Freedom and Truth of Christ’s Gospel.   More specifically, please be praying with us as we continue to raise support through serving with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and as we continue to look for a house to call home.

Likewise, let us know how we can be praying for you.  We promise to do our best to keep you updated on the latest in the life of the Gloers, but we want to hear how all of our family and friends are doing as well.  We love y’all.

 

Cheering on the Panthers during our visit to Charlotte in November.

For Him, through Him, in Him, and to Him,

Ryan & Brittney