Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Commission

Commission

This angel seems to be directing us as he gazes down, sending us out on a mission to do your work and share your message. Lord, on this Easter morning, let me embrace this commission to spread your Word.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Proclaim

Proclaim

Christ's passion is proclaimed in the beauty of glass and light. Grant me the wisdom and strength to proclaim my faith and share the message of Easter. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Enemy

Enemy

I watch my mother struggle as she ages. Time has become her enemy. Lord, grant us the strength to fight the enemies of your message and love: the hate and cruelty that seems to be growing in our world.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Wash

Wash

the rain has washed the sky clean, and left us the gift of a rainbow. Lord, wash away my sins and help me brighten the world with color and light. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Love

Love

Someone leaves these little love tokens on trees along the running path in a local park. I am so touched when I see one, and wonder about the giver, the recipient, and their story. Lord, let me spread love like this--with joy and without the need for recognition from the world.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Chosen

Chosen

Just as I chose one book from a shelf filled with possibilities, you have chosen to love us and redeem us. Thank you for choosing me, Lord.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Resolve

Resolve

So many possible shades to choose from! Lord, help me to conquer my indecision and procrastination. Help me resolve to act instead of equivocate.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Blessing

Blessing

These butterflies felt like a message of hope. Lord, help me recognize all the blessings in my life. Let me see the wonders.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Joy

Joy

Spring is here, and the riot of gorgeously-scented sweet peas in my garden fills me with joy. Lord, thank you for the beauties of nature, and for those moments of joy that pierce the heart and remind me that life is good.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Turn

Turn

This may not be the typical season for it, but this lovely leaf has decided to turn from green to a whole palette of colors. Lord, let me turn as well, into a more beautiful version of me, inside and out.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Humble

Humble

Be it ever so humble, with a frayed and dirty doormat and a scuffed lintel, there's no place like home. Lord, I am humbled by your love and the gifts you have given me. Thank you.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Observe

Observe

Olivia is very pleased with herself. She has found the perfect vantage point to sei and observe the entire family room and kitchen. Lord, I often find myself observing the world from a similar vantage point--removed, separate, and very slightly smug. Give me the courage to act rather than merely observe. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Bind

Bind

The cord that binds this rolled-up futon secures and supports it for storage. Binding is often seen as a negative--tethering something that should be freed. But binding can be positive as well, acting as a connection and support. Lord, I am grateful to be bound to you through love.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Temptation

Temptation

Like my cat, I'm often tempted most by what I shouldn't have. Charlie is tempted by the possibility of catching a poor bird as it tries to get a meal, even though he knows I'll swat him if he tries. I'm tempted by sweet foods, sloth, greed...all the things that I know will hurt me down the road. Lord, help me to stand strong against my temptations.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Glorify

Glorify

Light signals glory to me. Lord, let me glorify your name, and appreciate the glories you have created for us here on earth. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Worry

Worry

Worry is so isolating. We think we stand alone, and fear that a wrong choice, or fate, or sheer bad luck will lead us to disaster. Lord, help me recognize that I am never alone--that you are always with me and that I can depend on you for support through the worst of times. 

Lent 2018 Photo A Day: Desire

Desire

It's really rather cruel of the bird to peer in the window at my twitching, transfixed cat. She wants to catch that bird so badly! Lord, I pray that I learn to crave the things that will nurture my spirit instead of those that corrupt it. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Idol

Idol

As income inequality grows in our country, money tightens its hold over us. Money is our idol--we crave it, we covet it, we do things we don't enjoy to get it and keep it. Lord, help us to recognize that money is a false god, and that only you can give us what we truly need. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Recover

Recover

I found this dragonfly clinging to my kitchen window screen one chilly morning. He was cold and sluggish, waiting for the sun's rays to warm the air and his body enough that he could take flight and find food. He needed the sun's warmth to recover, just we need God's loving warmth for our spirits to recover. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Rest

Rest

Rest allow us to recharge so that we can rise, energized, to tackle the day. Lord, give the tired and spiritually exhausted the rest they desperately need.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Sunday

Sunday

I was surprised that "Sunday" was the Lenten photo assignment for Monday, but I realized this is a great reminder that we ought to carry the lessons of Sunday right through the coming week. Faith shouldn't be a relic only taken out on Sundays, but should be with us each and every day.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Save

Save

Piggy banks. Saving one penny at a time. It takes patience and dedication to save. Lord, thank you for the sacrifice you made to save us, for it took more than patience and dedication--it took the kind of love I cannot even fathom. 

Lent 2018 Photo A Day: Honor

Honor

We honor the dead with flags and flowers on their graves. But I need to honor the people in my life who are still with me, and not wait until they are gone. And I need to honor you, Lord, for your love and grace.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Remind

Remind

I use so many tools to remind myself--of appointments, chores, groceries to buy, phone numbers to call. But what I really need to remember never makes it to my lists or calendars: to take time each day to talk to you, Lord.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Apart

Apart

This lone caterpillar crawling through the sand, far from food or fellow caterpillars, evokes a sense of loneliness and separation. Lord, help me to reach out to others instead of holding myself apart.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Eat

Eat

Food porn. Everyone like to post photos of their special meals on social media for others to drool over. But eating shouldn't be a competition. Lord, I will try to see eating as a way to nourish my body, not as a source of envy. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Rivalry

Rivalry

Our cats like to pretend they don't see each other--they will sit, mere inches apart, and act like they are alone. They are rivals--for food, attention, and the back of the couch. Lord, keep me from pretending not to see others' pain. Help me work with others instead of against them, to see them as partners in life, not rivals. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Shame

Shame

Stepping on a scale brings me shame. I hate to face this evidence of my unhealthy choices. Lord, give me strength to make changes in my life that will turn my shame to pride.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Raise

Raise

I raise my eyes to follow the contrails that trace the trajectories  of jets high above the earth. So many ways to raise--eyes, planes, and perhaps best of all, spirits. The white against the blue sky delights me. Lord, let me raise the spirits of others around me.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Justice

Justice

This photo may seem a cryptic way to depict "justice". When I look at it, I recognize that all that is beautiful will inevitably decay. All earthly things eventually return to the dust from which they came. This is an earthly justice: the laws of the natural world asserting themselves. Lord, grant us your mercy rather than the justice which we all deserve. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Secretive

Secretive

This little cat loves to lurk among the leaves and branches to watch the people and dogs walking past on the sidewalk below. Lord, my secrets are just as evident to you as the cat is to me. Grant me the strength and wisdom to fix what I fear in my life rather than try to hide it. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Anger

Anger

Our cats look and sound ridiculous when they fight--all puffed up and hunched over, growling and yowling. Lord, help me realize my own anger is equally ridiculous. Help me channel my feelings productively and positively. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Abundant

Abundance

My fruit trees have started to bloom. Right now, their abundance is more potential than reality, but they are providing an abundance of beauty this spring. Lord, thank you for the abundant blessings you have given me. Please help me to recognize and appreciate how much I have right now and stop worrying about what I lack and or what I want in the future.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Body

Body

The soft, fleshy bodies of caterpillars are such a marvel. They remind me of the fragility of life--the caterpillar can so easily be crushed or torn. Yet they also remind me of the body's incredible beauty promise, and potential. Lord, thank you for the body you have given me. Support me in my efforts to strengthen, maintain and improve it. Help me learn to appreciate my body in all its imperfections.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Silent

Silent

The yard is silent--no birdsong. These feathers tell a story that needs no words. The Coopers Hawk has caught his breakfast, and has left the yard hushed in deference to the dove that made his meal. Lord, in the world of noise and distraction, let me listen to the silence. Let me hear its message.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: World

World

As I gaze at the beauty of the sunset, I appreciate this glorious planet of ours. Lord, let us be good stewards of this world you have given us. Help us to protect and not despoil and destroy what you have made. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Opportunity

Opportunity

Planting seeds is such a hopeful activity for me. I imagine all the plants I will have, all the opportunities for blossoms or fruit. Lord, help me recognize and embrace the wonderful opportunities that come my way in life. Let me grow and blossom and brighten our world.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Offer

Offer

Flowers offer their nectar to pollinators. But that offer has a selfish purpose--the flowers need the pollinators in order to reproduce. I recognize that, like the flowers, I often have my own agenda or motivations when I'm offering help to others. Lord, help me learn to offer myself without any expectation of acknowledgement or reward.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Gossip

Gossip

The word gossip has such a negative connotation, as if it's intent is always to be cruel and even untrue. Gossip doesn't have to be unkind--it can be a helpful way to share information and form connections. Help me to be a positive gossiper--to share love and encouragement, and to foster neighborliness.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Wise

Wise

I usually turn to books and outside experts for wisdom. let me also turn to my faith and to you , Lord, for a wisdom deeper and richer than any found in a library.

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Goods

Goods

Big box stores are crammed with goods from their concrete floors to their metal roof beams. Some are goods we need. More are goods we desire, things we buy to fill the endless empty places in our lives. Lord, help me to recognize the real "goods" that are available to me: the relationships and activities that bring blessings and meaning to my life. 

Lent 2018 Photo a Day: Crave

Crave

When I think of craving something, I immediately associate the feeling with guilt. It seems that I crave the wrong things--things that aren't good for me. Lord, let me crave what is healthy for both my body and soul, things I can point to with pride, not shame. 

Lent 2018 Photo A Day: Recognize

Recognize

I glance at photos from long ago and pick out the faces I remember, or I recognize the shape of a nose or chin or the tilt of a head that has carried down generations into a face I love.

Let me recognize the strangers that I see on the street or the refugee from far away as well. Help me see that they are part of your family--let me see that we are all your children.

ELCA Lent Photo A Day: Give

Give

Releasing things that I no longer need to others who can use them is an easy job. Lord, I ask that you open my heart to a harder task: to giving my time, my energy and my love to others in need.

Lent 2018: Metallic

Metallic

Lord, let me reflect the light of your love. Let me shine on others with kindness. 

Lent 2018: Neighbor

Neighbor

We live so close to one another, and yet we are so far apart in the ways that count. Let us look through the blinds that shadow our hearts so that we can see each other clearly and with love. May the walls of our differences melt away. Let "neighbor" mean more than a location or a building next to our own.

Lent Photo A Day 2018: Heart

Heart

Lord, may you soften the hard places in our hearts--the stones of indifference and selfishness that keep us from recognizing the humanity of others. Break down the hard, rocky wall into soft, rich soil where the tender shoots of love and understanding can take root and grow.