Lent|2019 Lenten Hope

In 2018 and 2019 I introduced a new discipline in my Lenten practice. The list below reflects that practice of searching for stories of hope for each of the 40 days of Lent. The reason then, which I believe continues to resonate, is that both traditional and digital media focus on telling tales of deficit and fear. These are not what my faith teaches me: namely, that we are not only beautifully blessed creatures, but that we live with the abundance of a Creator that longs for us to shine, so as to help others leave the shadows. This list was a practice that helped illuminate places of light, so that we might be emboldened to carry our own beacons out into the world. I hope, therefore, that the list below continues to offer stories of hope as you explore your own journey of awakening to the blessing you are.

1. A community united in love for its mountain
2. NASA Confirms First All-Female Spacewalk in History
3. Mary Oliver: Instructions for Living A Life
4. Feeling Depressed? Here Are the Top 4 Good News Websites
5. 20 Social Change Books to Read in the New Year
6. Reading news stories that offer solutions and hope can make us more engaged with the news.
7. What Humble Kids Have in Common
8. Norway recycles 97% of its plastic bottles: a blueprint for the rest of the world?
9. Largest U.S. Public School System to Fight Climate Change With ‘Meatless Mondays’
10. 110 Years Old and ‘Still Dancing’! Michelle Obama Wishes Happy Birthday to Beloved Centenarian
11. Canadians Made So Much Good News In 2018, Using Dollars And Signatures To Create Change
12. 8-year-old living in homeless shelter wins New York chess championship: ‘I want to be the youngest grandmaster’
13. ‘So full of love’: Students surprise classmate with random act of kindness
14. Joe McFarland: Appreciating the small things in 2019
15. Student Treks to Yellowstone and Finds Bacteria That Eats Pollution and ‘Breathes’ Electricity
16. A Deacon’s Musing #Peace Photo Collection
17. Third option now available when designating sex on a Saskatchewan driver’s licence
18. People share their love for trees and forests on International Day of Forests
19. Good News in History, March 27
20. Woman who lost her mother at 20 launches network for bereaved young people
21. Chief Justice rules same sex marriage is legal
22. Early learning center honors a civil rights leader thanks to a young activist
23. 95-year-old man catches four buses to join march against racism
24. The Cat Came Back: 5 Years Later
25. 7-Year-Old Sea Turtle Activist Convinces L.L. Bean to Change Company Policy
26. Europe could turn to green agriculture, and still feed the continent – study
27. Nurses Pay Bond of Dad Arrested While Rushing Daughter to Hospital
28. 70% Of The Materials Used To Make IKEA Products In 2018 Were Either Renewable Or Recycled
29. A Deacon’s Musing #Joy Photo Collection
30. Sikhs aim to plant million trees as ‘gift to the planet’
31. This is the First Ever Image of a Black Hole and Scientists Are Calling It a ‘Dream Come True’
32. Six ways to improve your media diet
33. International Space Station: Preparing Humans for Deep Space Missions
34. Willie Nelson Has Rescued 70 Horses Destined for the Slaughterhouse, So They Can Roam Free On His Farm
35. 7-Eleven Owner Catches Shoplifter. Instead Of Calling 911, He Asks Him Why
36. Teacher retires, then educates others: for free
37. Blind golden retriever has ‘Seeing Eye’ puppy to help him out
38. Adidas joins the fight against plastic
39. All 3 Irreplaceable Rose Windows Of Notre Dame Have Survived The Fire
40. Man Brings Telescope to the Street and Invites People to Look at the Moon –Their Reactions Will Bring You to Tears