Christmas is Love
Are you looking forward to Christmas?
Yes... No... Kinda...
I get it—there’s a lot to prepare for.
The joy, the beauty, the traditions… and yes, the challenges that naturally come with the holidays. And for many of us here, there’s the added layer of knowing that addiction has touched our lives or the lives of people we love. But hear me on this: There is real, HOPE, beyond what we might think, feel or face.
Advent season is meant to prepare us for Christmas
Advent means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.
“Looking forward” is how I end most of my emails—and not just because there’s something fun on the calendar. I use those words because I’ve made a choice to keep believing in the promises God has made. It’s my way of reminding myself that, no matter what’s happening around me, I can lean into hope, expectation, and God’s faithfulness.
While we're in Advent season, we’d like to invite you to press in with us—to explore the deeper meaning behind the following powerful words that point to the arrival of Jesus.
Hope doesn't disappoint, because God's poured His love into our hearts
Faith is the reality of hope. Faith without action is dead [James 2:26]
Joy ~ The announcement: Good News of Great Joy for All people. JOYFULL
Love has come to us to move through us. We love because God loved first
This is a season of anticipation, of light breaking through darkness, and of hope that doesn’t disappoint.
Let’s look forward together.
Merry Christmas to you and through you!
Looking forward,
PD
Faith-based sober living really does work—
—and I’m so grateful you’re part of this story.
Many of you know that in January 2023 we opened our Single Moms Sober Living Home in Lomita—affectionately known as HRR House. It’s a cozy 3-bedroom, 2-bath home that’s become a safe and sacred place for women and their children.
Since opening, we’ve had the privilege of welcoming 9 women and 7 kiddos, and today the house is FULL—2 moms, 2 kids, and one single woman all doing the hard and holy work of recovery.
Our Men’s Sober Living House in South Torrance—also a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home—operates as a 6-bed residence, and since 2023, 25 men have called it home while rebuilding their lives.
Every resident agrees to a simple but meaningful rhythm: Sunday church with one of our partner congregations, weekly recovery meetings, shared chores, cooperative living, and faithful investment in their own growth. Rent is intentionally set below market, because we want people to breathe, heal, work, get connected to resources, and build relationships that anchor them in both faith and recovery.
We don’t often tell their stories publicly—not because they aren’t powerful, but because their journeys are sacred. We honor each person and their unique road toward sobriety and faith.
But I can tell you this:
The South Bay is an incredible place to get sober, find hope, and grow in community.
And your support—your prayers, your generosity, your presence—matters more than you may ever realize. We say it all the time: "unless the Lord builds the house, the labor is in vain."
And He is building.
People in our sober living homes are discovering and rediscovering their faith every single day.
Yes, some residents struggle and relapse. Recovery is rarely a straight line. We continue to pray for them, support their families, and welcome every opportunity to help them reconnect with community and with God. There is always hope.
To those of you who give monthly—you have no idea how much your steady faithfulness strengthens this ministry. Thank you.
To those who serve—running errands, offering rides, shopping, encouraging— Thank you. Every act of kindness carries weight.
To those who include Harbor Rock Recovery in your year-end giving—your generosity humbles us. Thank you.
All glory to God—because we’ve seen Him move in ways that continue to leave us amazed. Not only in the lives of our residents, but even with our neighbors. Every home we’ve occupied since 2013, we’ve cared for and improved because we want to be a blessing wherever we are.
And our neighbors feel it. In Lomita, they’ve embraced us—and one of them, Elizabeth, a gentle golden retriever, visits regularly. Our kiddos adore her. It’s a small thing, but also not small at all. It’s evidence that God is weaving kindness into every corner of this work.
God is at work.
And I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing Him do more than we could ask or imagine.
—PD
