Coffee Mondays: Valentines Day!

Wow! I'm reflecting on my Valentine's Day last year, I remember how even though Tom and my date night didn't go as planned, we made the best of some chocolate milk and Mulan.

Earlier in my Valentine's, I had a group date in town with some friends which was such a blast! We played some charades on our smart phones. We constantly had to keep quieting ourselves down so we wouldn't disturb the other customers around us.

After our awesome friends date, I came back to my dorm and got a pizza with Shana, my dorm neighbor. We watched Pride & Prejudice and ate food and chocolate covered strawberries and had fun. It was a really great as a prelude to my date night! The love festivities were everywhere this year!

I did not go into this year having high expectations (I am crazy that way). The week leading up to Valentine's Day, Tom's car broke down and we had just bought tickets for Seattle and blah blah blah. We are so broke it's not even funny.

We were blessed by one of our close friends who was able to make a Valentine's date possible. We ended up going to Iron Hill Brewery and it was amazing!

We were able to laugh our booties off while eating great food. It's relaxed times like that date when neither of us have worries or deadlines and can just enjoy each other's presence when I am reminded how amazing Tom is.

Though I am spoiled every single day, this was the best Valentine's day I've had so far!

xoxo

em.

Coffee Mondays: Finding Joy

Hello all! Welcome to Coffee Mondays on my blog. Every Monday, I'll be dedicating the morning to blog about life and whatever over a nice cup o' joe (or tea). This Monday I am focusing on my journey to joy!

Many people know that Valley Forge was not my first choice school, but it was the one I chose to attend. When I got here in the fall I had a hard time adjusting. Everything was difficult.

Adjusting was difficult.
I had been back from my two-month stay in Uganda for only two weeks before packing up my things again to begin my journey at Valley Forge. It was really hard being thrown into another foreign place with people I didn't know again.

Relationships were difficult.
With Tom, our relationship was based off of long distance and a week on constant interaction. We both did not know how to balance time together, with friends (for him lol I didn't have friends) and of course homework. Of course going to college with my best friend/boyfriend is awesomesauce, but man those first few weeks (months) were really hard.

School was difficult.
I had finished senior year with easy courses and departed straight to Africa for full time ministry. I did not remember how to manage time or be organized or anything really. I was also frustrated at the content of the classes because I wasn't being academically challenged.

After the first month or so I was tired of being miserable. I joined a small group and decided to seek God for joy. After all he was the one who brought me here in the first place. I ended up finding joy in a multitude of places.

Thankful. The first place I started experiencing joy was in my thankfulness. I began to look at positives of my school and thanking God for them. Also, I'd thank God for every little thing and person I'd come in contact with. I really began to appreciate my campus and surroundings more and more. It took a lot of prayer for me to overcome my own mindset and start seeing the good that was in front of me.

Now that it's my second semester I am balancing 18 credits easily and wish I could take more. The whole academically challenged thing hasn't changed. I am relying on God and have decided to be okay with whatever circumstances I am immersed in.

Just something small. Happy Monday!

Proverbs 17:22 
A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.