Lent Photo-a-day Challenge Week 2

Here are my pictures from the second week of the Lenten challenge.

2/17/16: MIGHTY...
Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

2/18/16: REFUGE...
The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it... Psalm 24:1

2/19/16: LOVE...
Our church is filled with loving people who show their love for God, their neighbors and each other every day. It was hard to choose one photo from the many examples of love. This one shows the core group of leaders and volunteers for our Family Promise mission. We house homeless families in our church building four weeks a year. Love in action!

2/20/16: LIVE...
Whoever eats this bread will live forever. John 6:51

2/21/16: CELEBRATE...
This morning we sang an old gospel chorus: Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Revive us again.

2/22/16: VISION...
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Joel 2:28

2/23/16: COVENANT...
God said, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation. I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:12-13 CEB

2/24/16: SHELTER...

This photo shows one of our Sunday School rooms at St. Paul's, set up to provide shelter for a family of four. This week we're hosting three families, providing beds and meals. Next week they move on to another church.

I slept over as a host on Monday night, and spent some time talking with one of our guests. She and her young grandson are in the Family Promise program until they get approval for an apartment. She has a job and said she's always worked, but because of having her grandson she sometimes loses a job, and then loses her home. They've been in two homeless shelters, and she said Family Promise is much better. She was grateful that they have their own room at our church this week, and is waiting for their apartment.

Her story made me very grateful for the blessings in my life, and thankful that St. Paul's is a host church for Family Promise. May God bless all of our guests with their own homes.

I'm finding this challenge to be a real blessing. Watch my Facebook page for the daily photos.

Lent Photo-A-Day Challenge, Week 1

On Ash Wednesday someone shared the United Methodist Church's Lenten Photo-A-Day challenge. It came through the "Rethink Church" initiative, which seeks to help us put our beliefs into action. Here's the challenge:

I thought this would be a good exercise of Lenten discipline. Every day I must spend time either taking photos or looking through my collection for something appropriate for the theme. And every day it pushes me to think about my relationship with God.

So here are my photos for the first week of the challenge.

2/10/16: GATHER... Ash Wednesday
Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning... Joel 2:12

2/11/16: VOICE...
O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 96:1

2/12/16: LOOK...
A large flock of Canada geese looking... for a place to land, for rest, for food. God provides what they need. God will provide for our needs, as well, if we have faith and trust in Him.

2/13/16: INJUSTICE...
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. Job 5:16
On a bitter cold, windy day, I'm lucky to have a warm coat. Not everyone is as blessed.

2/14/16: CELEBRATE... Happy Valentine's Day!
Saint Valentine of Rome was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.

2/15/16: SETTLE...
If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. Psalm 139:9-10

2/16/16: GO...
Therefore walk in the way of the good, and keep to the paths of the just. Proverbs 2:20

Almost every day I search the hashtag #‎rethinkphoto‬ to see what other are posting. So this year Lent means more to me than just giving up dessert.

What do you think?