JOY! It is a word that we are using at Salem this Advent Season. The hymn “Joy to the World” is 300 years old this year. I would say, and I think that you would agree the beloved carol has withstood the test of time. Often, this hymn is the one that closes out our Christmas services. As the days move on we ask ourselves about JOY. Heartfelt joy, not just the happiness we associate with the word in a joyous occasion but a deep down joy of anticipation, an innocent feeling that children have. During the upcoming weeks all of us will be with people that have lost loved ones over the past year. We ask ourselves, “Is it wrong to be joyful in spirit?” when we are with friends that are a bit sad. I think not. Sometimes, acknowledging a remembrance of something that person did for you, something someone made for you, lifts the cloud over another person, if only for a moment, they find joy in that someone else remembered their family member…Yes, this year I will miss the BIG peanut butter balls someone used to make at Christmas. A memory that brings joy to my heart and a smile on my face as I recall conversation over the treat. The chorus of “heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven and nature sing”, reminds us that in nature we can also see the mighty acts of God during advent and in our waiting. God created all kinds of signs for us to embrace in nature as we prepare, the stars, the animals, snowflakes and our list goes on. In nature we can hear the quiet lullaby of a sing in the babbling brook, in the quiet song that the birds sing as they fly from place to place in snow covered ground. All of this for our eyes to behold, our ears to hear and our hearts to behold bring us JOY! Just like the Christ child will bring us great joy at our Christmas celebration. As you prepare your heart for great joy, I pray that you find “hopeful joy” in all that you do and that you continue to offer “JOY” to a world that is seeking, loving and filled with HOPE! Rev. Barb