This week's advent theme is Joy. This is a hard topic for me to write about because I just got back from Soldier Field after watching the Patriots annihilate the Bears. Not very joyful about that!
But more seriously, this idea that Christ brings joy to the world is often tough to embrace. It's very easy to say that we have joy in Christ and blah blah blah. But church speak is usually much easier said than done. How do you bring joy down to earth in a practical way, especially when cynicism, complaining, pain, suffering, bitterness, and loss are as accessible to us as a McDonald's drive-thru?
I have my share of problems, and joy doesn't come any easier to me than the next person. But that's the key - joy doesn't come to you. You have to come to joy. To live in joy means not just knowing the promises and victory that you have in Christ, but intentionally practicing the things that God has given you despite your circumstances. So that we can say like Nehemiah, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
I was very encouraged this week by an example of this that I experienced at Breakthrough. One of our case managers shared an email with us from a former guest who now has a stable job and is living on his own. He is in a much better place in life than where he was before coming to Breakthrough - he had lost both his wife and his daughter, and found himself homeless and depressed. The joy of the Lord made the difference for him. I am sharing his letter with you here to close. I hope it encourages you to live joyfully this holiday season and beyond.
Good morning,
I hope you are feeling blessed this day--I am! Today my wife would have been 55 years old. She loved to be surprised on her birthday, and I loved to surprise her. Normally, since she passed, this day, along with the short days and cold, bitter winds would send me into deep depression. But today, all I can think about is what a beautiful thing God did when He created her, and gave her life to me.
Yes, the hurt is still there, the gaping hole in my soul and my heart that I thought could never be - repaired, yet, He's done that, not replaced – but repaired. And that's a good thing because my stirring memories of her and my daughter are the most precious feelings I have.
Enough. I suppose I have to get back to work. I LIKE saying that!
With New Year’s around the corner, I’m sure many of you have resolutions in mind. Whether or not you have had success achieving resolutions in the past, it never hurts to set out to improve your life. So throughout the month of January I'll create a bucket list in which I will suggest one New Year’s Practice each day that will give you a taste of living an integrated life for 2011. Each one is meant to be done in one day. So don’t worry about making them full fledged habits for the year, as we know that a lot of resolutions fade quickly (some studies show that only 12% of people who set resolutions achieve them). For now, just find a way to work on them the day you read them. My hope is that you’ll start the year well, and maybe pick up a couple of good habits along the way. Pass them on and even challenge others to do them with you. And then share about your experience in the comments section if you feel led. Also, I’m not exempt from a little life tune-up, so I’ll be practicing them each day as well. 
