Joy to the World!!!

Joy to the World! I heard that song several times last night, in different musical forms and played on various known and well known instruments. When I awoke this morning, my first thought was joy to the world! Although I am having my doubts whether the world really knows that joy has come. It is so obvious in traffic and in parking lots, most have forgotten joy has come to the world. When stores have marked down almost everything as enticement to shoppers to part with some bucks, little joy. I was in Restoration Hardware yesterday and the mighty have marked down a whole bunch. As I stood in line with the checker outers it was obvious the last little bit of joy the employees had was banged out by a little boy who was fully in control of the musical drumsticks turned up to max volume. The mom by this point was too embarrassed to claim the boy as everyone glared searching for the mom or any mom to stop the noise. My vote was on the woman who was trying out the noise diffusing headphones. Maybe not, that is too obvious.

Joy to the World has been on my mind. As I traverse the streets, stores and malls of Houston I am asking the Lord to use me somehow to bring His joy to the world of shoppers, both cheerful and grumpy. It has been a fun experience for me and I'm especially thankful for the merry heart aspect given to me by the Lord Himself.

Joy to the World, Roy was able to come home at a decent hour yesterday. Granted he was tired and worn out, but he was at least tired and worn out on the couch in our home. We met Dena at Los CuCos last night for dinner and we had even invited her to accompany us to the 99 cents store afterwards to buy tissue paper and gift bags. Can you believe it, she turned us down!

Joy to the World, Dena came bearing gifts from Australia. Joy! Joy! Joy! She came bearing really great gifts from Australia. Dena is one of the best bringer backers from trips I have ever met. I was not disappointed last night and among the treasures are slippers made from sheep skin and kangaroo fur. They are so wonderfully warm. O come o come chilly temps. They have also become Buddy's best friends. Buddy cannot get enough of the slippers. I finally had to put them up this morning out of sight. I also received a totally fumigated and officially stamped for export journal made from leaves, sticks and greenery. Love it!!! Dena got me a pen from the Sydney Opera House to accompany it. There were other things, but the way to my heart is a journal or pen or book or book mark, or notebook...

Joy to the World, Roy is out buying a new TV for our Christmas. I love that he doesn't make me come along. He probably likes it that way cause I can and I know this will shock many, be kind of high maintenance or put another way whiny when it gets down to the tedious aspect of the whole deal.

Joy to the World, I have been reading and pondering Luke 1 and 2 this Christmas season. How unique! Ha ha.... Anyway I have been looking especially at the 3 times angels are involved in telling Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds what is about to happen. More so, the responses of those have me very interested. Zechariah answered out of unbelief. And out of he, Mary and the shepherds, he was actually involved in God's work as a priest. Ya know, it was his job. Mary asked the angel because it seemed out of how this will happen and then quickly responds with obedience. The angels declare joy and peace of a baby lying in a manger who is the Savior, the Messiah. The angels leave and the shepherds are like, dude let's go see what this is all about. Zechariah was the only one to respond out of how can I be sure, the odds aren't good. And as we learned at Converge, this is the one time in his whole priestly life he would get to enter the temple and burn incense. His heart should have been open to receive a word that night. Hey, I am not going to be too hard on the old guy cause we have all been there in unbelief. I just like thinking of the comparison. Sometimes working at a church dulls the heart to true joy, to true peace, to a true Word. We see the bad side to ministry and we must fight cynicism and apathy if we want to be lights in the darkness of joy to the world. We are brighter to the world, but to our own brothers and sisters, we can be dim and off key in our joy to the church world because we've seen it or heard it before.

Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her King. Let eveeeeeeevry heart preeeepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing and heeeeeaaaaaven and nature sing.