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.

the rich coast in fotos

don't tell my prof... I'm sitting in my MGMT class. it's so boring that I have resorted to updating the blog. that and I'm totally experiencing senoritis like I never have before. that and pinterest is updating their website so I can't pin anything. that and no one is on g-chat. ya. it's that bad.

anyways... here is the long overdue post of that one time we went to Costa Rica. (remember that one time when we went on an awesome vaca with the Blessings in March?) **please avoid looking at your calendars at this point in order to prove me "long overdue" by noting that the month of April is almost over** thanks.

 check out the hubs. he was excited to finally be in Costa Rica after a long day of travel. 

Chester provided endless entertainment. (don't tell him that's the only reason we brought him.)

One of the pools, complete with a swim up bar. We spent probably 70% of our time by the water... with a book and cold drink in hand. Now that's what I call a vaca!

fun mountain view from the resort. 

We went to the top of our resort one night to watch the sunset. 

View from one of the restaurants at the resort. 

 

One day we traveled to the National Park and hiked. This was on of my favorite days. Costa Rica is so beautiful and I loved being able to just explore and experience the forest. Jen officially gets the "Most Active Pregnant Lady" award. She was a rockstar! The hike took about 2.5 hours, one way!

Jen and I on a hanging bridge over water. So fun! 

We found one patch of monkeys. It was crazy to see them playing with each other and living in their natural habitat. 

They also had crazy big trees!

The final destination of our hike. An awesome waterfall! 

It was gorgeous! 

...and such a treat to swim in after the long, hot hike!

Will and Chester were brave and ventured behind the waterfall!

Will jumping. 

and chester. 

Things not pictured because we were having too fun (and mostly because I'm really bad about taking pictures)

• Jen and I got massages on the beach
• Will and I did a zip-lining excursion through the jungle and over this crazy gorge-thingy

• We went to another local beach for the day and hung out with all the locals. We even saw a pirate ship!
• We ate lots of yummy coconut ice cream! (couldn't get enough)
• We slept a lot...
• I won the award of "Reading Robot!" Literally- I read all the time! I went through 4 books! 
• Nurture
• One Thousand Gifts
• Hiding Place
• Tramp for the Lord
• We enjoyed our time without internet! 
• We perfected our ghosting skills. 

I'm sure I'm missing something, but you can take my word for it- we had a great time! Definitely a successful vacation/baby-moon.  Love ya Blessings! 

...oop. perfect timing! gotta go. class is over! :)

remember United Pursuit?

i'm liking them even more. check out their blog.

something they recently posted really struck home with me concerning tradition, the future of the church, and these two scriptures:

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men – the washing of the pictures and cups, and many other such things you do. All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.” 
-Mark 7:6-9
“Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” – Matt. 15:6

"Tradition says hold onto the old ways of doing things, no matter what. It pretends that our religion actually works. It gets a certain counterfeit life from the whole thing.

But a new wineskin is forming. It’s organic in nature. It grows by the Spirit, not by human institutions. May we not miss what God is doing in this hour. It’s simpler than we think. It’s Jesus being our center, focus, point, and pursuit. Worship is the overflow. God sings over us first, and our lives sing back to Him. Community is grown from His presence. The broken and weary are invited in the family, and they actually want to stay. And it’s sustainable.

“The great difference between the present-day Christianity and that of which we read in these New Testament letters is that to us it is primarily a performance; to them it was a real experience.” J.B Phillips

This makes me jealous. This bothers me. This makes we want to purse God all the more. Not just alone, but with my covenant friends."

hmmm... so true. I DO NOT want to miss what God is doing in this hour! Will and I are so so so thankful for our "covenant friends" to walk with. Our community truly has "grown from His presence" and nothing is more sustainable than that! It totally leaves us just wanting more! 


on another note: did you know that World Mandate is coming to College Station? I have never been, but I have always heard such good things about it- and I usually end up stealing podcasts and CDs from friends that have gone.


7pm April 7th at Rudder! Check out the promo video! 

dance!? what!? I'm even more excited! yay for more kingdom vision! 

the good news

lent.

nope. not the stuff that you find in your belly button. not even the stuff that you find in your dryer after a fresh load of clothes.

lent.

 a season of preparation. expectation of redemption. hope for new life.

"The tradition of Lent- a forty-day sacrifice-is one way of mourning the death that sin has caused in our lives. As we see Jesus perfectly withstand Satan's temptation in the wilderness, we admit our own shortcomings, our own inadequate sacrifices. This period of "giving up" has a profound way of recalling our desperate need for Jesus Christ." - from Devotions for Lent, Mosaic Holy Bible

I have really loved reflecting on the weight of the gospel this season.

A Gospel Primer for Christians has been a huge blessing! It is basically the gospel spelled out in tons of different ways, perspectives over and over...all based on scripture. I have really cherished going though it slowly and really taking in the weighty-ness of the words, and meditating on the scriptures it refers to. It also teaches how necessary it is for us to preach the gospel to ourselves...everyday.

It holds such gems:

"The deeper I go into the gospel, the more I comprehend and confess aloud the depth of my sinfulness. A gruesome death like the one that Christ endured for me would only be required for one who is exceedingly sinful and unable to appease a holy God. Consequently, whenever I consider the necessity and manner of His death, along with the love and selflessness behind it, I am laid bare and utterly exposed for the sinner I am. Such an awareness of my sinfulness does not drag me down, but actually serves to lift me up by magnifying my appreciation of God's forgiving grace in my life. And the more I appreciate the magnitude of God's forgiveness of my sins, the more I love Him and delight to show Him love through heart-felt expressions of worship."

and my favorite so far (worth the long read!!):

"Viewing life's blessings as water in a drinking cup, I know that I could discontentedly focus on the half of the cup that seems empty, or I could gratefully focus on the half that is full. Certainly, the latter approach is the better of the two, yet the gospel cultivates within me a richer gratitude than this.

The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath. This is the cup that would be mine to drink if I were given what I deserve each day. With this understanding in mind, I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude. If there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing contained in that other wise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me. That God, in fact, has given me a cup that is full of "every spiritual blessing in Christ," and this without the slightest admixture of wrath, leaves me truly dumbfounded with inexpressible joy. As for my specific earthly circumstances of plenty or want, I can see them always as infinite improvements on the hell I deserve.

When I look at any circumstance that God apportions me, I am first grateful for the wrath I am not receiving in that moment. (The empty part of the cup never looked so good!) Second, I am grateful for the blessings that are given to me instead of His wrath. (Life's blessing, however small, always appear exceedingly precious when viewed against the backdrop of the wrath I deserve.) This two-layered gratitude disposes my heart to give thanks in all thing and it also lends a certain intensity to my giving of thanks. Such a gospel-generated gratitude glorifies God, contributes to peace of mind, and keeps my foot from the path of foolishness and ruin."

good stuff!

More gospel goodness:

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.


Ok one last thing... sort of on the subject of books and grateful hearts.
I read One Thousand Gifts while in Costa Rica...

o. ya. Will and I went to Costa Rica! (update with pics to come!)

...and it was such a good book! It is basically Ann Voskamp's story and her journey to discovering eucharisto and finding joy and thankfulness in her life. She is a gifted writer and I ate. it. up! You should check out her blog too!

ok. that's all for now. more to come!

as promised:

here it is! isn't Lizi awesome!?

(jenn and ashley t are the coolest people i know!!!)

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!

update in pictures

so obviously I'm not very good at keeping up with this blog. (notice the husband had to fill in for my lack of presence... isn't he great!?!) however, I really really want that to change. So, here's to a new start. We all need those every once in awhile right!?

So here's my attempt to update all 10 of you who read this, and to document this past fall.

September:

Here are the promised pictures from April's wonderful World Race Dinner. She leaves in a just few short days. Would you pray for her? I love her dearly and I'm so excited about what the next 11 months hold for her. Check out her story and follow her on her journey to 11 countries in 11 months!

Yummy food made by April! 

Sorry for the poor quality pictures, it was super dark outside- 

but I loved that we dined by candlelight!

We had a wonderful time with out goofy friend, Eli. 

And it became the game of the night to take a good picture of our sweet friends the Fogles. 

As you can see, Ken had a hard time keeping his eye's open! 

We tried everything: counting, delayed flashes, bug eyes....

and finally a great one! Love you Fogles!

yummy dessert. the dinner was a success and April raised tons for her trip. 

The Lord provided in really cool ways!

 October:
(the month of weddings)

Will was a groomsmen for our good friends James and Angie Schumacher. 

ComChurch friends Josh and Merinda Marion got hitched!

Old ComGroupies Kristen and Andy/Carlos Guerra got married too! 

Sweet Kiva turned 1! I still can't believe how quickly she is growing up!

Amidst all the weddings, Megan and I snuck in some crafty time! We made ruffle wreaths to decorate our doors for the fall. 

our supplies...

it MAY or may not have been late when we decided to do this. 

our finished products!

 November:
This month seemed to whiz by. It was crazy! School really picked up for Will and I and it seemed like we had few spare moments. We were certainly grateful to celebrate our first Thanksgiving together and for the blessings that all the events and things we participated in brought us! 

took a trip to Houston for a painting excursion with Ash, Steph and Mimi for Shannon's birthday. I'll spare you the end result. :)

danced with Talitha at Masterpiece 2010 (isn't Jenn beautiful?)

empty bowls in downtown Bryan.

we threw a World Race Party for April complete with World Race game- thanks to husband. 

December:


December also seemed to fly by. I can't believe we are already almost to the end of the month! Will and I finished the semester- which was crazy, but made us even more thankful for a break!

Rhett and Krista got married! We love you guys!

 We spent Christmas with my parents in Orlando. Will drove the entire way- straight through. It was an experience to say the least.

Will felt pretty accomplished after the 18 hour drive. 

It was a fun trip to get out of town. Our days were filled with pjs, board games, snacking, sleeping in, movies and reading. We even took a day out of our busy schedule to visit Universal Studios- along with the rest of the United States (so my dad said.)


Even though we celebrated Christmas out of state, I just couldn't let this season pass without celebrating it at home- especially since this was our first Christmas together! 


So first things first- we had to get our tree! 

I think we got quite a few looks for this... 

really grateful for a sweet husband this Christmas!

thanks to all those who thought of us for Christmas cards! We loved receiving them!

W.O.W. that was long. and I'm pretty sure I left out tons of things in between. I have lots of thoughts and things I would like to share.... but I'll spare you for now. I'll just wrap up by saying: 

This past fall has been full- filled with friends, life, joy, growing, learning, discovering, new things! I want to just stop here to just soak it all in. I think too many times we rush ahead, plan ahead, run ahead of the moment and we simply... well... miss it. I don't want to move forward without looking back, appreciating all that has happened- so many relationships, so many new things, and revisiting older things. thanks for being apart of this past season- each in your own unique ways. Thanks for joining us on this journey. I'm really grateful... really.