Strange title, you say? "Joy" in the midst of over half a million losing their jobs in the last two or so months?

"Joy" with so many banks and other financial institutions "borrowing" money from the American public, which that public knows will never be paid back?

"Joy" with the trampling death of a store employee by shoppers anxious, as one person put it, "to save $20 on a VCR?"

"Joy" when terrorists from a not-to-be-named religion, murdered almost 200 people in Mumbai, reserving special treatment for Jews who were tortured and mutilated, before being murdered?

"Joy" when one hedge funds manager, confessed that he Mad(e)off with $50 billion, forcing at least one major charity to close its doors?

"Joy" when the once mighty U.S dollar is getting pummeled by currencies from parts of the world almost unknown?

"Joy" when even China, and all of those other countries that have been the recipients of exported U.S. jobs, are showing signs of an economic flu, because we in the U.S cannot or will not consume as much as we used to? I admit it. This last bit weakens my thesis about why we appear not to have reasons for "joy."

But yes, joy! For every terrorist lout, there are thousands of caring individuals who open their wallets to help out during economic crises, as they do in good times. Their "weapon" of choice, is kindness. They know the value of human life. They know  the God Who created them and commanded "thou shall not kill, and they do not, even when visions of "taking out" the terrorists, dance in their heads.

So the economy is in the tank, and many of us consider it "splurging" if we purchase a Starbucks Latte. Maybe it is time we discover the joy of making our own concoctions, of pulling out that old family recipe from the days when Moms had the time to cook and bake, or experiencing the joy on the faces of the family, as they appreciate a home-cooked meal. It is not so much the meal itself, delicious as that may be, but the fact that this is family time.

"Family time" is being arbitrarily bestowed on some employees by their cash-strapped employers, who are placing them on unpaid leave anywhere from two weeks to six weeks. When life provides you with lemons, don't make ordinary lemonade. Make lemon chiffon pie!

So the usual salary will be missing during that enforced vacation, but Daddies may discover that their sons have been shouldering more of the "man of the house" duties because the man of the house has been putting in long hours, so that his family could have a big-screen television in every room, but did not have his presence as much as was wished. The family would love to see Daddy in the family room, romping on the floor, like an overgrown kid. Long after that plasma TV ends up at Goodwill, the kids will have memories of family nights, carefully locked in the Polaroid of their minds. Revel in time spent together.

This is not to minimize the anxiety, or the fact, of joblessness. I am only suggesting that while you look for new work, you try to capture the joy of family time, draw on one another's strengths, utilize the power of mutual support, find the positives in shared sacrifice, and map out a future in which every member of the family, benefits. As a matter of fact, we can all use this "financial downtime," to rediscover the values that helped create this country.

In this season, there is an Iraqi journalist-turned-show-thrower, who should be experiencing joy that not many of his countrymen experienced before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. His joy should come from the fact that he is still alive to give interviews after he showed such brazen disrespect for the President of the United States, when he attempted to assault him with not one but both shoes. And joy that a Secret Service bullet did not find its way to his midsection!

President Bush must also be experiencing some joy...that the shoe thrower hadn't taken a page from Richard Reid, also known as Shoe Bomber Boy, who suffered more at the hands of the passengers and crew of that flight where he attempted to light up his sneaker, than did "Iraqi Shoe Thrower Boy," did at the hands of the Secret Service.

Yep, Iraqi Shoe Thrower Boy should be singing for joy and placing an extra Christmas ornament on his Christmas tree. Oops..he probably doesn't celebrate Christmas.

But I do. To me, Christmas represents a time of joy, a celebration of life, a time for keeping my shoes on my feet, and my head in the clouds, as Santa wends his way down my chimney!

Speaking of Christmas, may I wish one and all "Merry Christmas" from Ms. Christmas!  And the angles sang..."Glory to God in the highest!"