LENT

This week marks the beginning of the church season of Lent.  This is my favorite time of year.  There is something beautiful about my family’s tradition to attend Ash Wednesday’s service and soup supper at our church.  We enjoy worshiping every Wednesday evening for the next 40 or so days up until Easter Sunday.

Lent happens to be my favorite church season because I am always inspired by the real life Jesus led here on earth.  The trials, relationships, teaching, healing, and dedication to his purpose.  His devotion to God, even amongst the evils of humankind.  If anyone can understand my stress and trials it would be Jesus!

I’m humbled when we reach the point in the bible when he is taken into custody and beat and humiliated.  The pure hatred of the people around him spitting at him from all sides.  The devastating torture he had to endure for hours while hanging on that cross.  Through it all, he never once hated or let anger seep from his lips.  He even found compassion to ask God to forgive those that were persecuting him.  For as he says they know not what they do.  And he himself forgave the criminal hanging next to him and told him they would see each other in paradise!

It’s easy to brush past this story.  Not to take in the details that we’ve all heard a hundred times over our lifetime.  To succumb to the beauty of the Easter bunny and chocolate treats.  Now that’s way easier to accept, right?

Each season of Lent though I try to slow down.  I worship more.  I fill myself up with the story of Jesus life again.  I don’t want to ever forget the physical and emotional trauma that he endured for me.  That would be devastating to me.

With this in mind, I decided to walk through this Lent journey with you, my readers.  I’ve decided to walk you through these stories in small bits and pieces each day from the beginning of Lent (Wednesday, February 26) until the end (Sunday, April 12).  I have chosen to use The Message Bible for this journey because it’s new to me and reads more like a story.   I wanted us to take this in like a story that we can hold close to our hearts forever.  I have chosen to use the book of John, but I encourage you to read the same stories in Matthew, Mark, and/or Luke to see different viewpoints.

Easter Sunday is a beautiful time to rejoice that Jesus is not dead.  He is alive and living in each one of us!  So along with our journey through the Bible I wanted us to do a journey of photos.  I need your help.  I would like to use as many photos from you my readers as possible.  I got the photo idea from Pinterest.  To do 40 days of Lent in pictures.  Let’s try it.  Each day will have a picture idea.  Whatever you feel that word represents in your life share your photo with me and I will use it to represent that day’s Lenten journey.  I just need the photo BEFORE the date that is listed so it makes it in before the blog publishes!

I can’t wait for us to take this walk together.  And I encourage you to take photos of ways you experience the words that go along with our journey.  I can’t do this alone so send your photos my way!

February 26 – FREEDOM

February 27 – FEEL

February 28 – LISTEN

February 29 – HONESTY

March 1 – IMAGINATION

March 2 – DREAM

March 3 – HOME

March 4 – PEACE

March 5 – WONDER

March 6 – WORSHIP

March 7 – SHADOW

March 8 – LIGHT

March 9 – THINK

March 10 – WHO AM I??

March 11 – NIGHT

March 12 – LOVE

March 13 – PATIENCE

March 14 – STRUGGLE

March 15 – WORDS

March 16 – JOY

March 17 – NEW LIFE

March 18 – WILDERNESS

March 19 – GENEROSITY

March 20 – EAT

March 21 – DENIAL

March 22 – FOLLOW

March 23 – COURAGE

March 24 – GROW

March 25 – UNIQUE

March 26 – HUNGER

March 27 – COMMITMENT

March 28 – SURPRISE

March 29 – COMPASSION

March 30 – SHINE

March 31 – PURPOSE

April 1 – BLESSING

April 2 – HOPE

April 3 – SACRIFICE

April 4 – ASHAMED

April 5 – HIDDEN

April 6 – TRIALS

April 7 – THIRST

April 8 – LIFT

April 9 – REJOICE

April 10 – SEE

April 11 – HOSPITALITY

April 12 – JESUS