Christmas 2015: Offering our Gifts out of Gratitude

Gifts are inextricably linked to Christmas, aren’t they?  We can’t imagine Christmas without presents!  Though Christmas has been somewhat hijacked by retailers, at the heart of it, it’s about love and gratitude leading us to generous gift-giving. 

The gift of Jesus, the arrival of a savior, was long anticipated.  And His entrance into the world has caused people through the generations to pause, find hope, and then worship, offering their hearts and their lives in gratitude.  Don and I-- having been captivated by Jesus ourselves-- we are compelled to honor God and give to others out of the abundance of what we have received.

The birth of Jesus compels the offering of gifts of all sorts.  I think of the gifts of the wise men.  Having been stirred in their spirits to follow a star, they found the newborn and presented him with gifts befitting of a king.  Their journey to Jesus, their worship, and their gifts are beautifully captured in the words of this wonderfully familiar hymn:   

We three kings of Orient are,

Bearing gifts we traverse afar,

Field and fountain, moor and mountain,

Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of night,

Star with royal beauty bright;

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Don and I see the offerings at the Soul Restoration Project as a central part of our worship, an offering of love and gratitude.  Whether or not the name of Jesus is ever spoken with a person we meet with, we hold our work as holy.  We get to participate in the restoring of hope and life to those God deeply loves.  We delight in giving of ourselves for the development and healing of men, women, couples and families. 

This year we focused on honing our skills for the sake of those we serve.  Don was certified as a sexual addiction therapist through the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals.  And I received advanced training in the treatment of eating disorders through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals.  Our intern program also continued to develop into a more effective learning community enabling us to serve more people, more effectively.  All of these areas of growth have a direct impact on the quality of the care we offer.   

This Christmas we hope that you have quiet moments of reflection on the awe-inspiring gift of the Star of Wonder... and that you experience overflowing worship and gratitude! 

Christmas 2014: the Incarnation and the Body

[I sent this blog out early in December but am just getting it posted here.  Happy New Year!]

I think that Christmas gets better with age!  Not the Santa part, but my appreciation of the depth of the beautiful gift of God in Jesus.  I am struck this year by the implications of the mysterious miracle that God chose to be resident in flesh and blood, like our own. 

As the SRP staff, we’ve been reflecting on the very physical aspect of Christ’s incarnation and the good news that God came to dwell with us, in human form… and our need to experience value and healing in how we relate to our own bodies.   I think about our own stories and those who come to us for help.  Consider…      

·        The teenager who cuts, mutilating her body, in the hopes of expressing and releasing her pain. 

·        The sex addict who, seeking intimacy, becomes more disconnected relationally and increasingly at odds with the good of his sexuality. 

·        The sexual abuse victim whose body was violated, and how she carries this pain in her body and mind.     

·        The man who overeats and misuses food, coping with emotional pain, and developing a myriad of health issues.

·        The woman who compares her body to the airbrushed media version and disdains herself.

·        The person who is preoccupied with social media and internet relating, lacking face-to-face contact and the accompanying eye contact, hugs and hands to hold.

Listening for and responding to the real needs of the body brings healing.  After all, God created the body as good and desires to restore wholeness.  Religions too often teach their followers to disdain the body.  The incarnation of Jesus does just the opposite; Christ’s coming underscores the sacredness of the human body.  In Jesus’ coming as a human being, God Himself inhabits the bodily human experience.  Awe inspiring!  We hear echoes of the declaration made in the creation story that, “It is good!” 

Jesus does not save us from our humanity; He saves us from our sin.  And He saves us so that we can be fully human.  Not only does God shout out that the human person is His most prized creation, He goes even further to say that the body is now His temple, His sacred dwelling place.   

This Christmas we celebrate, with wonder and awe, God’s incarnation.  We celebrate this joyously in one of my favorite Christmas hymns, Hark the Herald Angels Sing:      

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail, the incarnate deity,
Pleased as Man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King.

Indeed the newborn King is glorious, and He ushers in the era of God-with-us, in our flesh.  At SRP, we participate in the tender and compassionate ministry of Jesus, listening deeply to the heart, soul and body to bring healing to the person and their relationships. 

I hope that this year as you celebrate Jesus’ birth, you experience how much God loves you… in the flesh, 


Catherine