Christmas Joy

I was thinking about JOY a lot last night. How my life has been so joyous for such a long time (and to quote Nez, there is a difference between "joy" and "pleasure") and the reasons for it. In his homily last night, the priest mentioned the 7 joys:
1. Life
2. Family
3. Friendship
4. Children
5. Giving
6. Wonder
7. Faith

Life has positively been a source of my joy. I look to all the things that happen to me as a source of opportunity, something to learn from, and something to enjoy. I'm thankful for every day I wake up and am blessed with God's Love.
Family has been great. Over the years I've become more appreciative of my family. We may not have the closest relationships, but I would definitely not be where I am and have all the tools I have without their love and guidance.
Friendship has probably been one of the most important factors in my life bringing me great joy at every turn. My friend Ace once described me as a "doer," a person who plans things and gets stuff done for his friends. I love my friends so much and owe them so much, it's the least I can do to bring that joy back to their lives.
I work with "children." I've been working with them for over 2 years (more if you count the Confirmation program ;) ), and I'm always humbly reminded about the innocence of youth. To enter the kingdom of God we must be "child-like" (not to be confused with "childish"). This reminds me of Liwanag's summer retreat where the theme was to go back to our roots and become child-like. Even though these kids sometimes bring me great stress, they still have their moments that remind me that I have one of the best jobs in the world.
This season has been great for giving, I mean come on, there have been some SWEET deals at the malls ;). I really like when I hear my friends and even complete strangers thankful for the gifts I got them. Like I said, it was really cool to hear Stephanie tell me that my card was the best one she's ever gotten. I try to put some thought into the gifts because the response gives me a lot of joy (I should not be buying gifts for the response, but because it is there, I like it nonetheless).
Wonder? Isn't it wonderful to be amazed by such unexpected things? Receiving gifts, going out to dinner, watching Encino Man, playing NBA 2k8, visiting family, getting full off of turkey, playing board games, being surprised at work, school, events? They all are wonderful works. Wonder itself however? I don't think I'm wise enough to explain that one.
The joy of faith brings the greatest joy of all. Faith that God loves us, that we are saved, that we have the chance for eternal happiness with Him should fill your life with joy. On a smaller scale, complete faith in our brothers and sisters has to be such an amazing feeling, to be able to trust and believe in them just as you trust and believe in Him.

So, merry Christmas everyone. I hope your day is filled with joy (and food) and may you always remember the reason we celebrate this day (not only because Constantine made the 25th the celebration of the birth of Jesus) as the day we celebrate God's great love for us that he became man. Thank Him, praise Him. Sing happy birthday. God is here and I'm happy =)

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King"