Jess and Joy: July 2013

RVA: dot's back inn

7/31/13

yesterday my mom, grandma, and me went to lunch and thrifting for a last hurrah before i head back to the 'Burg.

they let me decide where to go for lunch. i love trying new local restaurants, and i had heard great things about this place.

Dot's Back Inn was such a cute diner with very friendly, quick service, as well as yummy food! i would definitely recommend it if you are in RVA. it was even on the tv show Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives. pretty nifty. take a look for yourself at how cute this place is.

vulnerability

7/30/13

i was watching a video by Jefferson Bethke earlier this week (he is great, so go check his videos out!). if you want a pre-cursor click here for the link. he talked about how as a body of believers we need to be more vulnerable with each other. none of us ever have it all together. we are human and we are sinners, and it is so much healthier for our spiritual lives if we are open and honest about our struggles.

i thought that this video was so on point and definitely something that a lot of Christians need to hear today. it is so easy to pretend like everything is perfect in our lives when in all reality, we may be facing some really heavy trials or spiritual battles.

i got to thinking about it even more and realized that sometimes i have even seen others (and myself at times) try to make it appear as if their life is fine and dandy, but not just to other people, but to God.

my friends, we are completely free to lay every feeling we have down before our Maker. i know i still deal with fear and anxiety pretty regularly. these feelings themselves are not sinful, but they can be strong temptations to sin. it is so easy to get caught up in unhealthy feelings, spiritual battles, or whatever else you may be going through. at these times is when it is most important to affirm our trust in Him, regardless of how we may feel.

it is unhealthy to hide our fears and pretend like they aren't there. if we hold anxiety and worry in our hearts, it just harbors and can grow even more. if we are open and transparent about our fears, it allows the Lord to help us in our weakness. fearfulness will have no hold on us if we are clinging to the promises of our trustworthy and faithful God.

monday happenings

7/29/13

remember these glasses that i did a review on back in february?

well guess what?! they will no longer be "fake" glasses next week!

i went to the eye doctor today and surprise, surprise, i needed glasses. my left eye is really bad, but my right is almost perfect. the doctor showed me the difference of what my vision would be like with glasses and it was an incredible difference!

i also realized afterwards that i had been having trouble at school reading some things on the boards if i sat towards the back of the class.

i am super excited to get my "new" glasses though!

in other news, i leave for school in less then three days.

my room is a disaster.

did i ever mention that i hate packing. cause i do. a lot.

after contacting a few lovely bloggers who are ESL teachers in Korea, as well as a friend of mine recently getting a job there, my mom and i have been talking more about my future and what it might look like. let's just say i am stoked to see what the Lord will do with my life. i also cherish talking about it with my mom because she is one of the VERY few people who get as excited about it as i do. i simply cannot wait to teach precious Asian children!

also, i am getting someone to re-design my blog for me! i am stoked! she is so super sweet and really working with me and try to figure out what i like. so expect some awesome changes to the blog very soon.

on that note, i will stop procrastinating and attempt to get back to packing.

hope everyone's monday's were swell!