From the moment my yellow slip-proof socks hit the sterile hospital hallway floor, I was in love!  Strangely upbeat for a woman awaiting brain surgery just a couple of weeks before Christmas, I treated everything with unguarded enthusiasm, pointing to, say, a lone red tinsel garland clumsily affixed to the wall with genuine glee (“Love it!”). Before dawn, I was camped out at the nursing station, c...  Read More

Stille Nacht, heilige NachtAlles schläft; einsam wachtNur das traute hochheilige Paar.Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!These are the words my grandmother would sing while playing her organ. Every Friday night, the whole extended family would gather at her house. As kids, we sat around the table for hours coming up with games to play with the napkin ...  Read More

It was December 25, 1999.  I awoke full of nervous expectation. There were shiny wrapped presents under the tree. There were glittering colorful lights hung around. There was a warm dancing glow in the fireplace. There was hope of a new life and the adrenaline of an unknown future not yet knowing all there was to gain.I got dressed into "Sabbath best" in preparation for church and braced myself fo...  Read More

There are two distinct memories I have from Christmas concerts I was involved in as a kid. In first grade, I remember standing on a stage with all my other classmates, all of us donning antlers and glowing red noses as we sang “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” I think out of the group of forty, three were actually in some kind...   Read More

My name is old-fashioned. It seems that no one names a baby girl Joyce anymore. My grandfather named me after the word “rejoice.” I like that my family was rejoicing when I was born! It feels like I have a responsibility to live a joyful life with a name like this, and sometimes that responsibility has been a weight to carry.   Read More

Can I be honest with you? Sometimes I’m lured into thinking that if I just had a little more in my life, my joy would be complete. I’m not talking all the time, nor am I talking about the lottery, but, just a little more here or there. Like having just one more bathroom in my house; Or one more digit in my paycheck; Or a car that is a little more updated.In my life I’ve always felt this way. No ma...  Read More