Today marks the third Sunday of Advent, a perfect time to sing, \u201cGo Tell It on the Mountain!\u201d I\u2019m not suggesting we lace up our hiking boots and scale a mountain! Let\u2019s start right where we are — at ground zero — and let the JOY of Christ\u2019s coming shine through us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third candle on the Advent wreath today is pink. It is lit on this third Sunday of Advent. Pink isn\u2019t just a pretty color for baby announcements or celebratory ribbons. It represents being joy filled! The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:4, \u201cRejoice in the Lord always: again, I say rejoice.\u201d That\u2019s not just a casual suggestion — it\u2019s a lifeline!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, let\u2019s talk about joy statistics. Did you know children laugh around 400 times a day, while adults manage only about four chuckles? Ouch. Maybe it\u2019s time we take a page from the little ones and let their boundless giggles refill our \u201cjoy banks.\u201d After all, joy isn\u2019t about circumstances — it\u2019s about perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Paul wrote those encouraging “rejoice” words, he wasn\u2019t lounging in comfort. In fact, he was in a cold, damp prison cell. Yet he knew the secret: \u201cEmmanuel, God with us\u201d \u2013 right in the middle of whatever we\u2019re facing. Paul reminds us that joy doesn\u2019t wait for perfect conditions — it thrives in the presence of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s circle back to pink for a moment. Sure, it\u2019s girly (I once scotch-taped a pink bow to my baby Staci\u2019s bald head to make sure everyone knew she was a girl!). But pink also symbolizes survival and triumph. Think of the joy when someone announces, \u201cI\u2019m cancer-free!\u201d Joy is often born from overcoming challenges, whether it\u2019s chemo treatments or navigating the trials of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And how fitting that the pink candle also points us to the ultimate joy — a baby boy born in Bethlehem who changed the world. Paul\u2019s life was no walk in the park, but he never stopped urging us to rejoice. Why? Because the joy of the Lord not only uplifts but anchors us in the unshakable truth that God is with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, as the pink candle is lit this third Sunday of Advent, let\u2019s double down on joy. Let\u2019s rejoice and then rejoice some more, knowing that with God, all things are possible. Now, if you\u2019ll excuse me, I think it\u2019s time to belt out “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart to stay!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today marks the third Sunday of Advent, a perfect time to sing, \u201cGo Tell It on the Mountain!\u201d I\u2019m not suggesting we lace up our hiking boots and scale a mountain! Let\u2019s start right where we are — at ground zero — and let the JOY of Christ\u2019s coming shine through us. The third candle…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1210,581,756,30969,1392,582,28741,40,30972,4987,30970,584,376,585,586,15838,17308,6911,12144,28648],"class_list":["post-21297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-blog","tag-chemo","tag-children","tag-christs-oming","tag-facebook","tag-go-tell-it-on-the-mountain","tag-ive-got-the-joy","tag-inspiration","tag-joy-banks","tag-joy-of-the-lord","tag-joy-statistics","tag-joyful","tag-philippians-44","tag-pink","tag-rejoice","tag-rejoice-in-the-lord","tag-survival","tag-third-sunday-of-advent","tag-triumph","tag-wreat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21299,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21297\/revisions\/21299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}