Lenten Focus

By | February 03, 2016

lenten focusClick here to receive daily reminders of the focus word for each day of Lent.

Matthew J.T. Stepanek, “Mattie,” began writing poetry at 3 years old. A child who lived with muscular dystrophy, Mattie’s disabilities allowed him to see the world a little bit differently during his almost 14 years of life. His poem “The Importance of Windows” celebrates the gift of looking out and looking in. Windows let you see all the different things looking out, and all the different things looking in. The most special window of all, wrote Mattie, is the window in your heart. This window connects our temporal, earthly life to God’s Spirit, everlasting eternal life. During Lent this year, we invite you to look closely through the windows of your heart at the world around you. Each day, we encourage you to reflect on a particular theme and look for it in the world around you.
Usually when we pray we try to find a quiet, comfortable spot to shut out the world. For the 40 days (plus Sundays) of Lent, we invite you to pray as you experience everyday life, taking another look, as you focus on the theme of the day. Hopefully, you will begin to see God’s presence all around you.
As you see images of the theme, take a picture on your phone and text it to us. These themes will be a part of our Lenten preparation for Easter in the Sunday sermons and Wednesday night studies.

Morning Gift
Don’t you love the mornings
When you go outside,
And there on the ground
Is a fresh, perfect, green leaf?
A leaf, floated from the
Quiet summer trees,
Just resting on the grass, and
Waiting to be discovered.
Touch the treasure, and
Pick it up gently, then
Feel all the excitement of
A new leaf, with no tears,
No marks, no holes.
It is a sign of healing and future.

Click here to receive daily reminders of the focus word for each day of Lent.