Indeed: 40 Days of Noticing

Maybe it’s just me. But lately? My first reaction is to be cynical. Or bitter. Or weary.

This is a change and I don’t quite know what’s caused it. The more I talk about this–the more people seem to feel the same way. What’s going on?

Maybe this dark cloud is leftover from the confusion COVID caused? Or, maybe social media is changing our relationships? With less face-to-face interactions, and more screen-to-screen, we’re not seeing each other the same. We’ve become distant and disconnected.

Disconnection hurts me—and God’s people. 

Here’s what I know: God designed us to be in close relationships with our family, our friends, and our communities. And so, if this cynicism and weariness separates us from each other, then it has to change.

I remember being more vulnerable; more confident that people want to connect; loving the messy, chaotic parts of myself and others; seeing the love in those around me–instead of dully believing we have nothing to offer one another.

Maybe you also remember that. And maybe you’re also ready for a change.

It’s in the Noticing.

Here’s the problem: we’re noticing the wrong things. What we notice forms our opinions–and our opinions form who we are–and that forms what we believe about the world.

Like so many of us, I’ve become cynical in what I notice. I see the couple in the airport that leaves their trash behind–rather than the ways they’re caring for each other. I see the angry social media posts, rather than the encouraging ones. I notice inflation and high prices, rather than the hard-working employees serving their communities. I notice the dishes my family leaves, rather than the meal we ate together.

Indeed: 40 Days of Noticing the Deeds of Love.

Let’s change what we notice.

Join me, for the next 40 days, to see the world differently. Look at the good deeds your family, and friends, and community does to share God’s love with each other. Let’s commit to seeing the grace around us, instead of the fighting… to seeing the patience, rather than the busy-ness… to noticing the encouragement, rather than the cynicism.

God Loves Us. He Loves Us, Indeed.

On Easter, we’ll say to each other, “He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed.” We’ll celebrate that Jesus died and rose again for us.

As we prepare for that celebration, join me in the Indeed challenge. Post a daily picture of where you see God’s love in the deeds and actions of others. Let’s ask God to show us what we need to see in the everyday and in the extraordinary.

Post a picture and tag it #lentindeed or tag me. Ask God to open your eyes to everything that bitterness and weariness doesn’t let you see.

Let’s notice the ways God connects us by seeing His love in-deed.