“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

FIGHTING FOR JOY

… “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” – Philippians 4:4

It’s as if Paul is pleading with his own heart, telling himself, as he implores the church to rejoice …. “I will say it again: Rejoice!”

What does it mean to rejoice? It is an outcry, an overflow, a response of joy. And the scripture tells us to “rejoice always…” at all times … in every circumstance, even when we don’t feel like it.

Most of us are very familiar with the Christmas story and it is probably safe to assume there were moments when rejoicing was not the response of Joseph and Mary. It may even be fair to say leading up to the birth of Jesus, it was not “the most wonderful time” of their year.

I think of them on their journey to Bethlehem…

Exhausted. Confused. Rejected. Uncertain.

But despite these things, I believe they fought for their joy. I imagine them, maybe even gritting their teeth, crying out on bended knees in the middle of the dusty desert, telling their souls, again and again, to rejoice in the God who had promised them the King. Finding reason in the promise of Jesus to rejoice … even in the midst of their questioning and uncertainty.

Joy is what you’ll find when you dig deep in the middle of the desert.

Joy is what you’ll find when you look for the star in the darkest night.

Joy is found in the realization you are more than ordinary and His purpose for you has the power to change the world.

When joy is the obvious response to your circumstance, and rejoicing in God’s goodness comes with ease—be grateful … and when it feels distant and impossible—fight for it.

Like Mary and Joseph, fight for joy … fight for His promises, and fight for the very presence of Jesus to be your strength.

May the good news of great joy fill your heart this Christmas so that you can go on rejoicing, even if you don’t feel like it … again I say: Rejoice Excerpt from PureHope.net, Christmas letter, 2023. Too beautiful to not share!

Body Work, continued: Overwhelming the overwhelmed (body) system – with kindness

‘Grounding’ is a process of infusing safety into the body. We are using our 5 + 1 senses to communicate to an overwhelmed body and overwhelming it with safety. Give yourself 20 – 30 minutes when doing this exercise to acclimatize the whole system. The first part of the grounding process is being in a quiet, comfortable and safe space. Listed are the senses that we communicate with as we create safety and security in the body’s physical system; for Christians, there is added the spiritual connection with God:

1. Sight: name 3 things you see, i.e., the wall, rug, light fixture identifying colors, brightness
2. Hearing: fan, traffic sounds, TV or music playing
3. Smell: something cooking, scent, candle
4. Touch: rub a pillow, a blanket, your clothing, pet a cat and identify the softness, etc.
5. Taste: bland or flavored water, lemon, lozenge, identify as sweet, sour
6. This final sense is our spiritual plus one:

• Pray to Jesus, inviting Him into your situation
• Speak Hebrews 13:5 ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you,’ or a favorite promise like Isaiah 26:3 ‘I will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is fixed on me.’
• Hearing worship music brings amazing peace
• Smelling a scented candle, thinking of the light and brightness of Christ
• Touch a flower, leaf, soft feel of wood while thinking of God as creator

After grounding work, always breathe deeply and remain in a relaxed mode for a few minutes or longer. Then renew what you were doing with a new body sense of being cared for and loved. CL

Missions Fest 2024, Best Year Ever!

Christian Coalition for Safe Families experienced our most successful year yet at Missions Fest. Every year we trust God that our contacts and conversations and even our presence at Missions Fest will be used for man’s good and God’s glory. This year, we had more contacts and more conversations than ever before. One woman who navigates the aisles in a wheelchair, stopped at our booth and with barely functioning hands gave us $2.00. To us it was a huge sum (and most likely for her) for it represented her support for CCSF. We were honored. A handsome young man stopped and asked many questions, on behalf of a friend. We saw friends we haven’t seen in years! Many people passed our booth and thanked us for being there. Even those who merely glanced at our booth saw our banner proclaiming hope for hurting families. CCSF wants the Christian community to know that the church cares about those in domestic abuse circumstances and has tools and resources for helping them. With each brochure, handout and folder we passed to others, we trust that God will use the information according to His will. We sincerely thank Thrivent for the funding allowing us the opportunity to share the hope found in Jesus.

Peace on Earth and Good Will to All People