A time of Joy!

It's funny how this time of year brings out the best or the worst in people! It's a time when when we think of people more than other times of the year, when we get excited about putting up the Christmas tree, hanging the sparkling lights, playing the joyful tunes of the holidays that make us giddy, and shopping for those loved ones and friends that we hold dear. It's a time I love because I get to see the surprised, joyful expressions on my children's faces as we drive around looking at lights. I hear their laughter as we watch a funny Christmas movie together, or when we stop to make a batch of Christmas cookies and play in the dough.

It's also a time we can become burdened by financial distress, become grumpy in the shopping lines, hurrying about getting that last minute present that we have to get, worn out and tired from running here and there and missing out on those little things that make the holidays what it should be.

Joy! This season to me is also about joy! We named our youngest Brooklyn Joy and that she is! Every year I buy her a "joy" ornament not just for her but to remind myself that joy is what Christ brought to me! I am reminded of that every time I say her name! Jesus came that we could have life and through that life spread his love and the joy that he brings us to others, because so many people are unhappy these days.

Joy is not that external emotion that you feel just because you are happy. I believe joy goes deeper than that. It is contentment, regardless of what is going on around us or what we deal with in our daily lives. It is more than a state of happiness. We can be happy one day but sad the next. It is more than material possessions or things. Things can make us happy for a moment but then they pass away. True joy can only come from Christ and his joy will never pass away!

"The joy of the Lord is our strength." Not only is it contentment, but a source of strength. It gives us the strength to face every challenge and obstacle that comes our way! May we remember that this holiday season, that the joy the Lord gives us is not as the happiness the world brings us. This joy is a place of deep contentment and strength to get us through our everyday lives! And a place that brings such peace to our hearts! It is something to be shared with others through the knowledge of our Lord!

To all who have read this, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. And together may we all be full of joy and be reminded that Christ is the joy of our hearts and can be not just this time of year but all year long!!!