The joy and the grace of walking with a friend after a hard, hard day. The crisp air and the Christmas lights. The pier and the sparkling lights of downtown on the water. Sushi, tea and a mystery show at her house afterwards. The comfort of a friend who stays. These are the moments.

For Advent this year, I am doing a study on Restoring Our Joy, in addition to the books that I pull out every Advent that have poems and Scripture and prayers. It feels a little ironic since I am not exactly feeling the joy. Part of me thinks this is exactly the right time to be doing a study on joy and how to restore it. The other part of me is annoyed that I chose this study because I don't feel like being particularly joyful. I want to shake my fist and declare: I will not be joyful if I don't want to!!!! And yet, even though just the thought of it makes me smile, such protests will not ultimately be helpful to me. As it turns out, I need joy in my life. And I need it to come from something other than my circumstances. So, I am studying where true joy, the fullness of joy comes from. And I'm doing it with a cup of tea and sweet music and the sparkle of my Christmas tree. Because even though true, lasting joy is not found in the bottom of a tea cup, there is something beautiful about drinking tea out of delicate, porcelain cups. So, this Advent you will find me using all my fancy tea cups and (begrudgingly) restoring my joy.