Lent 2013 Photos - Day 02 - Return

Day two of Lent.  The theme for today is Return.  I wrestled with this and thought about Scripture passages such as Joel 2 where it is a call to "return to the Lord".  There are also passages such as in Philippians that I "return" to time and again - Philippians 4:8-9, 13 - and many others.  But I decided to go fairly literal to what I "return to" each time I enter my office.

As I walk in my office, the first thing I see is a small table I have in front of my desk that has a beautiful basin given to me by the staff of the congregation I served previously.  I keep this bowl filled with water as a reminder of my baptism and the call I have to lead others to those waters of new life.  I also have postcards on this table from the trip I took to Cambodia in 2011 where we worked with missionaries PCW supports.  This trip was profoundly life changing for me as it reaffirmed my own calling while pushing me to see beyond where I was at that point in my life.  Finally, you can see on the side a copy of The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning.  Beyond the Bible, this is one of the most transformative books I have ever read as it reminds me of my deep brokenness before God, but the redemptive love that is offered in Christ.

Tomorrow's theme is "See"