Is Your Christmas Joy Beginning To Fade?

Well it’s the first day after the long awaited Christmas weekend and while some are back into the daily grind, others are still languishing behind within the relaxing clutches of the long holiday vacation!   My wife and I have put the calendar on hold as we stretch two more days into our official Christmas season.  So, for us, it is still the season to be jolly.  I was even pleased to still hear our local Christian radio station playing some Christmas tunes this morning.  I have always enjoyed playing the familiar holiday songs into the first of the year.  (Although my kids may not share my exuberance, after I would play my favorite Christmas CD repeatedly for days on end!)  I was one of the odd-balls at my old job at Home Depot who enjoyed the Christmas music they played everyday from Thanksgiving on.  I was always disappointed come the day after Christmas when we would return to work only to hear the old love ballads blaring over the store P.A!  I always like to squeeze out as much of the joy of the holidays as long as I can!

Speaking of joy, there is a story in the Old Testament that tells of a time when a portion of the Israelite nation was allowed to return to Jerusalem after years of captivity, to rebuild the walls of the city. (Nehemiah chapters 7 & 8).  While in captivity these people had not been able to hear the teachings of Moses.  In the seventh month of their return, Ezra the priest and the governor Nehemiah brought the people together so that they could read to them from the Book of God’s Teachings.  The people began to cry as the words were read and explained to them after such a long absence. As their tears flowed, Nehemiah and Ezra encouraged the people not to mourn or cry for this was to be a happy time for them.  They expounded to the people that “Today is a holy day for the Lord.  Don’t be sad because the joy you have in the Lord (or the trust you have in your foundation...) is your strength.”  (Nehemiah 8:10 Gods Word©)  With this the people went out and had a big, joyful celebration.

This is my approach to everyday in life.  I may not always wake up as a beaming ray of sunshine, but after a little time spent encouraging myself in the Book of God’s Teachings, I can usually begin to see my day in a new light.  That Light  helps me persevere through the trials and tribulations that I face and it strengthens my resolve in expecting good things to happen each day.

So while Christmas may be over, the joy of the season does not have to vanish along with all your decorations that get boxed up and put away for coming year.  Look with expectation to the year ahead.  This year, make the decision to allow joy to fill you and strengthen you as you forge on into 2011.  Now is the time to shore up your foundation because it will be that foundation that keeps you steady and joyful when things around you may start to shake!  Stay tuned, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”