the why

amidst my CPA studying days and feelings of inadequacy... it's articles like these that serve as a reminder, stir up inspiration, and stimulate gratitude. This article doesn't say anything special... but somehow it reminds me that there is a greater purpose for my education and experiences in life. I don't want to get all political on you... but basically the article touches on the fact that Haiti is in dire need of education and entrepreneurship. The exact two things that I have been slaving over for the past five years of my life. In exactly two weeks I will walk the stage to accept my diploma:

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Science in Accounting (emphasis in Entrepreneurial Leadership).

There are countless times when I sit in the library, coffee shop, or at my desk and look to the heavens with fists raised and cry, "WHY?!?"

this is why. Not because education or a degree is the next step in life. Not because it's something that you have to do in order to climb the social ladder. Not because it's the pathway to a "successful life and comfortable lifestyle."

today I've been reminded of the why: to be equipped.

I have to be honest and admit that I don't know exact uses of this "equipment." I have ideas. I have dreams. However, that's not the point. The point is that I am being equipped. Equipped with skills and useful tools in order that I may be poured out and used.

That's the reason why. Thanks Haiti. I'm reminded, inspired, and grateful.

we've been blogged. and random thoughts.

check it out! 

Real BCS Weddings blogged about our wedding! I will never get tired of looking at our wedding pictures! If you want to see the whole loot- check them out on the side bar under "05.08.10"

Randomness- begin: 

Will and I are still alive! He's busy with school and work. I'm busy with school **can you believe I graduate in MAY!?** and mostly sitting for the CPA. One part down, three to go.
I'm also preparing with Talitha Dance Company for Masterpiece Conference in early March.

We are learning a lot, living a lot...

Last weekend we went camping with some friends. It was good for the soul to be outside and not in the library.

We celebrated valentine's with a gift card to Veritas from our sweet roomie Amy. It was delish!

We officially booked our 1 year anniversary fun trip. We are going to....drum roll please......
COSTA RICA! And to make it even better, we are going with our best friends the Blessings! It's their babymoon before sweet Olivia Joy arrives!

Currently I have been listening to Will Reagan and the United Pursuit Band over and over and over. If you haven't listened/worshiped with these guys- you must check them out. good.for.the.soul!

Lately, I have been faced with some really hard realities of the sex trafficking industry. Like this:

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 14,500-17,000 people are trafficked annually into the United States; with 25% of trafficked persons coming through Texas. Based on that estimation, the Dallas police anticipated their annual number of trafficked persons to double, if not triple, over Super Bowl weekend.


Can you believe that Houston and Dallas are major hubs for sex traffickers? Check out this website that has some really great information and inspiring stories about how the Lord is redeeming this industry.

Also, I may or may not have been in a music video. :) It's a funny story. When it's released, I will for sure link up to it.

I hope you have a lovely Tuesday!

and so it begins!

school that is. today was my first day back in class... even though its only been a few weeks since I stepped off campus for summer school. This day marks the LAST first day of school. ever. It's totally a weird feeling. I still don't know what to make of it.

Will started school last Wednesday and textbooks are officially in season... so this new season of life begins!

There are few things that I'm intentionally doing starting today. I want to document them to see how long they last. My hope is that this day marks a change in lifestyle vs. a fleeting new school year resolution. I'm super hopeful about how this affects my life, in several ways. And I plan to document them here, ideally. : )

Things that I'm starting today:

1. I'm becoming super disciplined about time in scripture and with the Lord. Quiet time, if you will. Lately, the Lord has given me a great hunger for his Word and I discovered I'm starving! Literally my soul is malnourished- no exaggeration. I find such life and satisfaction in scripture, why don't I spend more time there! I'm super grateful that the Lord has revealed this to me and given me a desire to spend time with him. This is probably one of the things I'm most excited about. I'm waking up way earlier than I would have ever imagined to guarantee time with Him. I found some really fun devotionals at Half Price Books recently and I'm planning as using those as supplements to digging into scripture. I'm currently doing a weekly study on "Living in Jesus" and a daily study on "Spiritual Gifts." Such good stuff.

2. I'm taking my waking temperature and recording it. If you don't know what that means or what its for: here.

3. I'm exercising every morning with the loverly Megan (see picture below) at the Rec! We are doing the 7:30 class Monday-Thursday and then Cycle & Body Blaster on Fridays in the afternoons. This is going to be a great way to kick start my mornings and be motivated for the rest of the day. Also, if I don't do this in the morning, it gets really difficult to fit it later into the rest of the day. This morning was a kick in the pants. You can ask Megan, I was probably the worst one in the class. This will change soon!

4. I'm taking my vitamins! Yes! Can you believe it!? My mom would be so proud. If you have to know, I'm taking Prenatal vitamins (no, we are not preggers) and a separate iron supplement.

The list may seem small and meager, but its a big deal for this one here. Obviously the regular school stuff starts today too. *Insert forced smile*

Just a quick update on all that you missed/I didn't blog about:

• my birthday was SO fun. we went to Austin for a night. Did the typical: Alamo Drafthouse, Sixth Street, live Jazz music, Chuy's with the beautiful Aunt Tammy, Botanical Gardens, and playing around in the park, with the camera.

• Will MADE me an awesome present. He is so cool. He got the idea and plans from this blog. Here is a picture of what it will look like:

It's called at puzzle bookcase because the middle pieces aren't connected. It makes it a very versatile piece. It can go flat against a wall, in a corner, or be pushed completely together if there isn't a lot a space. I will post pics when we get it painted and set up. Thanks husband!

• I got a job! Yup. While I was sitting around the apartment during my break, I got a little stir crazy. I'm now working as a personal assistant for a beautiful woman, Traci Smith. It was truly the Lord that made this happen. I'm really excited to be working with her and helping her reach her goals this year. Also, it's a great job that's super flexible while I'm in school.
• We went to camp. church camp that is. Remove all the images and ideas you have stored up in your brain about what church camp is. Get rid of kumbaya around the camp fire, a bunch of kiddos hyped up on sugar, crazy counselors & lots of drama. Say hello to awesome community, uninterrupted relational time, lots of porch swings, fun activities, worship, prayer, healing, remembering, dreaming, and more.

I have lots of thoughts and things I want to blog about. Hopefully this week I can catch this up with all the things I have going on in my head. I'm exploding with ideas, things I've read, stories I've been challenged by... life. I truly want this to be a place of growth, of development. (mostly for me, but for anybody else who decides to join me along for the ride) Soon I'll be sharing a few stories, thoughts on money and finances and some things the Lord has been stirring in me.

This blog is already waaaaay too long for me to get into all that.

But for the time being, check out the side bar to the right for some really neat stuff under Kingdom things.

florida is hot.

like- way hot. hotter than Texas. who could have thunk!?

My trip to Orlando was short, jam-packed, fun, and exhausting. I think I got about 10 hours of sleep between the three nights that I was there... not so great for the immune system.

Here are some fun pics from our time at Magic Kingdom (we lasted until about 2 AM at the park):

I'm glad to be back home. Tuesday I finished up summer school with 2 finals and a 20 page paper. joy.

and now I'm done!... until August 30th. : )

Shout out to some of my beautiful friends celebrating birthdays recently:

Michelle

Megan

Blair

Happy Happy Birthday sweet friends!!

So what's on the agenda for the Agnors for the next week?

Lots of relaxing, catching up on long to-do lists, cooking yummy meals, hanging with friends (do I hear a game night coming up? I think I do.), a garage sale at the Lees, maybe even some Wii?

Monday is my birthday and Will has (surprisingly) kept our plans a secret. So I have NO idea what is in store for us this weekend. I'm excited to spend some fun time with him and (maybe) get out of College Station for a few days.

Above all, I'm really looking forward to slowing down a bit. I feel like I haven't had much time to process... through anything. So I want to spend time just being. being present. being grateful for all that has happened in the past few months/lifetime. being hopeful for the coming fall season. I just want to soak it all in...

hmmm... I might go crawl up in a hammock with a good book.

until next time bloggy world,

aubrey

update

Whelp. These past few weeks have been flying by and its about to get crazier.

This past weekend, Will's brother, Ben and his wife, Jordan came into town to visit family.

The weekend was filled with Ninfa's, pictures, multiple games of Settlers of course, good wine, breakfast at Cracker Barrel,

a photo shoot, and spending hours looking at funny Youtube videos. Ben's new favorite is double rainbow. If you like that, you have to hear the song! (even funnier!) I don't know how many times Ben and Will watched that! So sorry Jordan that you have to hear that over and over now!

This week I took some pictures for our friend, Jeff. He is graduating in about a week and needed some senior pictures. So we headed around campus and about melted in the 150 degree heat. It was really fun for me because when Jeff asked me, I was extremely nervous. like- way nervous! It has been a long time since I have played around with my camera and I was seriously doubting myself. During our time, I found myself really enjoying taking pictures and Jeff even made a comment like, "Why don't you do this more often?" I'm not sure. I gave a few bad excuses, and some legit ones... but that's not the point. I think what's been holding me back is the fact that I know soooooo many really great photogs and I just can't justify putting my pics up against them. But I think this has stifled the fun and pleasure I get from taking pictures. So, I decided that I want to be free to enjoy playing with my camera, even if I'm not really good at it. : ) Thanks Jeff for snapping me out of that mindset!

here are a few of my favorites so far:

Tomorrow I leave for Orlando, Florida to this place for the next 4 days for Ernst & Young's International Intern Conference.

Pretty much, its going to be a leadership retreat with some free time at Disney. And the best thing about it... I get paid to go! Sawweeet! I will surely miss my husband though!

Next week, I have two finals and then I will be D.O.N.E. with summer school! I'm so thankful for a break and ready to be able to tackle a list of things that I haven't been able to do since being in school. Will's work is steadily getting busier, so we are trying to use our time well before the "back to school" rush starts up. Until next time!

aubrey