DECEMBER CORE VALUE: JOY

December invites us to slow down and look again at the simple, sacred moments that bring real joy to our lives. This season has a way of softening the noise and helping us remember what matters most. As I have been studying the life of Jesus Christ and reflecting on this past year, I have been thinking a lot about the difference between happiness and joy. They are not the same.

Happiness comes and goes with circumstances. Joy is anchored in Christ.
Happiness rises and falls with the moment. Joy stands firm through every moment.
Happiness fades when life gets hard. Joy grows deeper when life gets hard.

Joy is a gift that God gives to a heart that is turned toward Him. It is not found in perfect days. It is found in a perfect Savior. It comes as we center our lives on Him, follow His teachings, and walk with Him in faith.

Our MTN OPS December core value expresses this beautifully:

How happy we are in life has very little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. Amidst all the distractions of daily living, we focus on finding joy in the journey and invite you to trust in us on this journey of joy.

Joy is about focus. It is about where we choose to aim our hearts. And the order matters. This is why I have always loved the acronym JOY.

J is for Jesus.
O is for Others.
Y is for Yourself.

When we put our lives in this order, joy begins to naturally flow.

When we focus first on Jesus, everything else finds its proper place. Studying His life, learning His words, and trying each day to live true to His principles does something to our souls. He taught that loving Him always leads us to love others. He taught that when we serve one another, we are serving Him.

“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40

When we put Jesus and others first, the miracle of joy shows up in our lives in ways we cannot manufacture. Joy in Christ feels like peace, like love, like courage, like motivation to do good, like a quiet and steady strength that carries us forward.

This year has held moments of celebration and moments of stretching. Moments where I felt capable and moments where I felt inadequate. Moments filled with answers and moments filled with questions. But woven through every one of those moments has been a quiet and undeniable sense of joy that has strengthened my soul.

It has come as I have tried to walk closer with the Savior.
It has come through my family and the love we share.
It has come through the mission of MTN OPS and the work entrusted to our team.
It has come through service and the miracles that follow it.
It has come through seeing the hand of God in places I once overlooked.

One of the most powerful lessons I have learned about joy came from a trip to Peru with my wife, Jenna, and our daughter, Hallie. We went to deliver wheelchairs to individuals in need. Many of these children could not move on their own. They lived in humble circumstances, without many of the physical comforts we often take for granted.

I will never forget watching Hallie interact with those children. She would gently lift them and place them into their new wheelchair. In that moment, freedom entered their life in a way they had never known. Their faces lit up with pure joy.

As Hallie watched their joy, she lit up, too. You could see it in her eyes and feel it in her heart. And then something even deeper happened. Jenna and I, standing there as her parents, felt an overwhelming joy as we watched our daughter serve and saw another child receive love.

It was joy multiplied.
The joy of the child.
The joy of the one serving.
The joy of parents witnessing love in action.

And in that moment, I could only imagine our Heavenly Father. Watching one child receive love. Watching another child give love, and feeling a fullness of joy Himself because His children were caring for one another. That is the pattern of heaven. That is the work of Christ. That is where real joy lives.

The scriptures teach that Christ came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Joy is part of that abundance. It is one of the fruits of a life centered on Him. It is why He asks us to love God and to love others. He knows that joy always follows.

As Christmas approaches, I want to invite us all to seek the kind of joy that cannot be taken away. The joy found in remembering Him. The joy found in giving time and attention to people around us. The joy found in lifting another soul. The joy found in gratitude for the life we have been given and for the hope that fills every new day.

I pray that as we go throughout this month, we will feel the spirit of Christ, which is the spirit of joy, and that we find it by serving others.

As you look back on 2025, have you experienced joy in your journey? I challenge us to see the joy and be the joy in the journey that lies ahead.