If I must me honest with y’all this year Christmas has been a bit of a struggle. Working at Ups I have always worked with people who have a high dislike for Christmas because of peak lol. I have always been the guy who loved Christmas and the one who spreads the Christmas spirit through out the workplace. This year has been more of a fake it until I make it kind of year.

I find myself asking why? Is it work? Family? Finances? All the above?

Trying to be positive and keep on smiling still struggling on the inside. Don’t get me wrong love Christmas and all it means to me birth of my savior, birth of my daughter and family time giving gifts and receiving them Lol…

But I feel like something was missing….

I am happy just feel like struggling through it after all I have a great life right? Great wife and family, a job a home. What’s missing?

How about

Expectations…..

What does that have to do with anything ?

We all have them right? But what happens when we put our heart into them and they fail? Pour ourselves into work and no recognition, our in our home and no thank you, into volunteering and nothing but grief? Have expectations of paying bills and getting ahead and bam…. something else breaks down and more money gone…. that nest egg you had for Christmas or vacation gone…. what now? Lost a job or just all the extra hours? Haven’t lost that weight yet? See when we put the happiness of our heart as how we feel it’s no good. Because it’s just feelings the fluctuate like the tides lol.

Expectations can become our false idols if we are not careful, while it’s great to have them we also need to realize that if it’s not Gods will then it’s not meant to be.

we expect a certain result almost to the point of we deserve it. We can lift it up to become an idol working towards that goal and praising that goal or expectation. And that is wrong we will always be disappointed in those results when they are not according to our expected outcome

Happiness comes and goes imagine it like your heart beat up and down hitting highs and lows. Sometimes very rapidly changing lol…. how can anyone not have mood swings like this. And listening to the world about what happiness is , causes us to worry even more. I am feeling down, that’s ok go buy yourself something …..that new phone new car new house new clothes they will us happy, but for how long?

We need a constant in our lives…

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow He tells us and that is why we need to find our joy in Him.

Yes joy did you know In the King James version 

the word – joy – appears 165 times. If something is important it is repeated.

Joy ,

when we set ourselves up to look for joy we will find it. Especially when we put our trust and Joy on our Lord.

Hate your job, find joy in the fact that you have a job! Loss of a loved one, that’s tough but we can look the the Joy that they had brought into our lives. We can thank the Lord for the Joy that they gave us for the time we had to love them.

Going through the trials I go go through I k ow that God is in control but sometimes ask why? God tells us in James

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭NASB‬‬

like working out we need the exercise to grow our muscles so we also need trials to grow our faith. And this is why we have to look for the Joy in them.

When we place our Joy in something solid that is never changing like our father God. We can find that constant in our lives

So this year May peace and Joy come to you….

And please remember that in a word that is constantly telling us how to find happiness in things that don’t last… we must place our joy in Jesus. And it is the Joy that grows us and that is a constant in our lives not the happiness that can come and go.

Joy that is mentioned 165 times in the King James Bible and happiness is not mentioned …..

So when we face the difficulties of life and. Try to stay happy with things or people realize that when the expectations we place on them fails us our happiness goes with it. Trust in the Lord and we will find Joy in serving Him. He promised that he will never leave us or forsake us so matter what we age going though what trials await us, know God got our back and He has a plan for us. So even through the trials we have in our life take a moment and

Look for the Joy in your life and if you look hard enough you will see it in all thing we go through and that is what this season is all about. Joy!

The Joy that Jesus was born unto us to Pay for the sins of our life’s and bridge the gap that sin has created between our Father God and us.

After all we are all sinners saved by grace …

Thank you Lord for sending your son to be born in the flesh on earth and to go through any trial that I may go through In this life and to suffer so He can tell me I know your pain… and it will be ok …. it’s only temporary and we will be together for all eternity

Amen

I’ll leave you with this … one of my favorite Christmas song How many Kings ….

Merry Christmas and May the Joy of our Lord be with you always …

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe, after all we've projected,
A child in a manger?
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl 
Just a child 
Is this who we've waited for? 

'Cause how many kings step down from their thrones
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

only ones done that for me….

God bless and merry Christmas