advent: joy
Nick: Joy is the feeling of being truly and fully alive.
Brene Brown: Joy is an intense feeling of deep spiritual connection, pleasure, and appreciation,
Abraham Heschel: Joy is an act of spiritual resistance that chooses wonder, gratitude, and awe in a complicated world.
Stoics: Joy is deep okay-ness rooted in self-mastery and alignment with nature/reason.
Audre Lord: Joy is the fuel for liberation that strengthens identity, agency, and resistance, especially for the marginalized.
Carl Jung: When the conscious and unconscious aren’t at war, you get a grounded, embodied joy that feels like “coming home.”
MASH UP: Joy is the inner steadiness that rises when you’re present, connected, and living in alignment with what truly matters.
Joy is what happens when you stop chasing the moment you want and start participating in the one you’re in.
Joy is that rare moment when your soul says ‘this is nice’ and your brain finally agrees to stop ruining it.
Joy: that brief window when your expectations take a nap.
Joy is God’s way of reminding you that miracles are real and also that you should maybe unclench.
Joy is that moment God whispers ‘relax,’ and you finally believe Them instead of your anxiety.
Joy is grace photobombing your regularly scheduled chaos.
Joy is what happens when you stop catastrophizing long enough to notice God didn’t actually ask you to run the universe.
Joy is realizing life isn’t waiting on your perfection—just your participation—and somehow that’s both humbling and hilarious.
“Joy is when you catch yourself white‑knuckling everything and God gently reminds you: ‘Sweetheart… please.’”
“Joy is when God taps you on the shoulder mid‑panic like, ‘Hey babe… I’ve got this. Please hydrate.’”
“Joy is the quiet proof that life can be beautiful even when you’re not in control of it.”
“Joy is the soft glow that appears when you stop bracing for impact and start trusting the light that’s already here.”
“Joy is life’s way of saying, ‘Hey… stop doom‑scrolling your own thoughts and go touch some wonder.’”
“Joy is the clarity that rises when your values lead, your ego steps back, and the moment finally has room to breathe.”
“Joy is presence, unburdened.”
“Joy arrives the second you stop overthinking your way out of the good things already happening.”
“Joy is what happens when you finally accept that God is less threatened by your humanity than you are.”
“Joy is the moment you realize God isn’t found in the certainty you built— but in the wild, holy ruin of letting it collapse.”
Joy erupts when you accept that the divine wasn’t hiding from you— you were just looking in places tidy enough to feel safe.
“Joy is discovering that God has been speaking in unsanctioned places, in unscripted ways, to the unqualified people— including you.”
“Joy is what breaks through when you finally surrender the God you constructed and meet the One who refuses to fit inside your theology.”
“Joy is God saying, ‘You thought I needed your certainty? Sweetheart, I’ve been trying to get you lost so I can finally show you the way.’”
“Joy happens when the veil thins and you realize the holy was never distant—just patiently waiting for you to stop posturing.”
“Joy is the divine saying, ‘You studied Me, but did you ever let Me surprise you?’”
“Joy is meeting the God who outgrew every doctrine you tried to build around Them.”
“Joy is the wild blessing that arrives after everything you relied on has crumbled—and you’re still somehow held.”
“Joy is discovering the divine was never above you, beyond you, or ahead of you - but erupting through you the whole time.”