Joy, Joy, Joy, there are many songs with these words

Joy to the World the Lord has come! It is a great song and it is a wonderful time of the year. If you have ever attended church you have heard many songs with the word Joy in them.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

The word Joy stands in our front yard this year as part of our Christmas decoration. I saw the sign in a store and thought there isn’t a better way to say Merry Christmas than with the word Joy. From us at the News Journal we wish you Joy this Christmas.

We are in a period of time that it is hard to experience real Joy. This is the second year that we are having Christmas during a pandemic. If you live in western Kentucky it would be difficult to experience Joy. About everybody has a reason to find it difficult to be joyful.

But when we turn our attention to what Christmas is all about, then everybody can be joyful in that we are celebrating the birth of our Savior.

I find Joy in the fact that I am still working  at this newspaper. Over 34 years ago Terry Forcht gave me the opportunity to become publisher and this has brought great Joy to my life.

Even greater than that, over 57 years ago I was married to a beautiful young lady named Judy Holman. We have been blessed with three children and four grandchildren.

I could write a book on the Joys that have come in my life. I believe most people could do the same.

The Joy I have at Christmas mostly comes from memories now that I am in my eighties. There was a time when our big family would gather at my parent’s house on Christmas Eve. There were so many of us we almost ran out of room.

The Joy and laughter came when my mother and my dad would see for the first time the present he had bought her. He would let one of my sisters do the shopping.

I went through that with my daughters a number of years. They were better at selecting the gift and I used their talents, plus it was much easier for me.

There is nothing better than to experience the looks on your children’s faces on Christmas morning. Many young parents will have that pleasure this year while us older folks have great memories.

I still remember crawling out of bed on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought me. Back then he brought a holster and a cap pistol or a scooter, just a toy or two was all it took to make us happy.

This is the 34th Christmas column I have written. Some things are worth repeating. For example, I have had the best staff to work with. Linda Carpenter has been here for all 34 years. Jennifer Benfield has been on our staff for about 30 years. The same for Mark White. Dean Manning and Melissa Hudson have been with us for many years. The only newcomer is Jennifer Perkins.

Our staff is smaller than in past years. Due to the Internet and things like Covid the newspaper world has had it rough. I am pleased to say that our newspaper has weathered the storm better than most.

I couldn’t write one of these columns without saying thanks to Terry Forcht. Without him Whitley County could very well be without a newspaper. Because of him we have had one of the best newspapers in the state.

Many businesses in this area have sent you a Christmas Greeting in this newspaper. It is their way of saying “thank you” for using their products and services. We appreciate these fine people and we join them in saying “Greetings” to all of our readers.

And may you experience Joy in your life in all things you do. Like the songs say, “Joy, Joy, Joy, down in your heart,” and “How Great our Joy!”