#gospel

Toward Wholeness Blog

Feb 23, 20195 min read

“Don’t Love the World” “Love the World” Which is it? … a third way

I LOVE this world, in the kind of way that I believe the Bible tells us to love the world. I love the intricate biosystems of the human...

9 views0 comments

Silence, Suicide and the folly of our “left vs right” polarization

Richard Dahlstrom

Jun 9, 20184 min read

Silence, Suicide and the folly of our “left vs right” polarization

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy… but I have come that they might have life! – Jesus the Christ Each untimely loss is tragic,...

19 views0 comments

Thanksgiving Tips for Civil Conversation: Embrace the Exile

Richard Dahlstrom

Nov 18, 20173 min read

Thanksgiving Tips for Civil Conversation: Embrace the Exile

Christ followers are exiles. Accept it. We always have been, always will be. When Paul said “maranatha” in I Corinthians 16:22 he was...

11 views0 comments

Welcome Autumn – by Learning to Walk in the Dark

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 30, 20174 min read

Welcome Autumn – by Learning to Walk in the Dark

The rest of our lives, it’s a different story, especially if we’ve been taught to love Jesus. We’ve often learned that darkness is...

9 views0 comments

Steal, Kill, and Destroy – stealing our unity

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 7, 20174 min read

Steal, Kill, and Destroy – stealing our unity

I understand that the literalists will have a problem with Rohr’s statement, but the point is essentially accurate: Our divisions are...

32 views0 comments

United Airlines, Holy Week, and Missing the Forest for the trees

Richard Dahlstrom

Apr 12, 20174 min read

United Airlines, Holy Week, and Missing the Forest for the trees

Behavior needs to match mission, right? They did it “according to the book”. With too many passengers and not enough seats, they asked...

14 views0 comments

The Gifts of Christmas #5 – Shepherd, Provider, Gift Giver

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 24, 20164 min read

The Gifts of Christmas #5 – Shepherd, Provider, Gift Giver

Over 37 years, two stockings have become ten. JOY! It was in the late summer of 1976 when I first made my way north to Seattle,...

5 views0 comments

The Gifts of Christmas #3: His humble circumstances free us

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 15, 20163 min read

The Gifts of Christmas #3: His humble circumstances free us

It was a low point for me in my seminary career. “If he’s right, I’m finished” I remember thinking to myself. I’d later, in a...

5 views0 comments

The Gifts of Christmas: #2 – Free! Can’t be bought, only received!

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 14, 20161 min read

The Gifts of Christmas: #2 – Free! Can’t be bought, only received!

Give, give, give, means that there can be only one response. Receive, receive, receive. We can’t earn the gift that is Christ. We’ll...

8 views0 comments

The Gifts of Christmas: #1 – We are seen and heard

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 13, 20163 min read

The Gifts of Christmas: #1 – We are seen and heard

During the days between now and Christmas, I want to share some reflections with you about the many gifts that are part of the One Gift...

4 views0 comments

Handel and Messiah – Tearing Hearts Open since 1742

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 27, 20166 min read

Handel and Messiah – Tearing Hearts Open since 1742

Joyful Noise at Taproot Theater is not to be missed. I’ve been to lots of funerals, partly because I’m a pastor and partly because death...

6 views0 comments

Forest Bathing as a Vision for the Church

Richard Dahlstrom

Aug 11, 20167 min read

Forest Bathing as a Vision for the Church

Scientists are discovering that humans are also profound beneficiaries of the forest. “Forsest Bathing”, which simply means to walk in a...

20 views0 comments

Bible Reading’s Boring or Difficult? Try this at any age!

Richard Dahlstrom

Feb 9, 20163 min read

Bible Reading’s Boring or Difficult? Try this at any age!

From “The Jesus Storybook Bible” by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Yesterday, in the church I lead, I spoke on the importance of reading the Bible on...

9 views0 comments

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 24, 20154 min read

The Light has Come: So Lighten Up!

“snow on snow” (12 feet, or 4 meters for my Europe friends) as the Christmas carol says, the house was dark because the power had gone...

6 views0 comments

Inside Out: In Praise of the Gift of Sadness

Richard Dahlstrom

Nov 29, 20154 min read

Inside Out: In Praise of the Gift of Sadness

You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your longing. Embody me. Flare up like a flame and make big shadows I can move...

10 views0 comments

Richard Dahlstrom

Apr 1, 20154 min read

Steps to Peace – Jesus’ style (part 1)

“Peace be to you” says Jesus, standing in the midst of the disciples, in a room with a locked door where he’s suddenly appeared without...

9 views0 comments

Rhythm: Why You Need it – How you get it.

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 12, 20144 min read

Rhythm: Why You Need it – How you get it.

I’m sitting here on my weekly day of Sabbath, staring out the window at fir trees laden with wet, dripping life down onto the soil and...

32 views0 comments

“Boots on the Ground – Or Heads in the Clouds” – The biggest challenge Chris

Richard Dahlstrom

Oct 11, 20144 min read

“Boots on the Ground – Or Heads in the Clouds” – The biggest challenge Chris

In two weeks I’ll be home, preparing to meet people in the church I lead who I haven’t seen in nearly three months. Their priceless gift...

8 views0 comments

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 19, 20142 min read

Last Journey’s the Best

It’s our last hike, the end of our forty days trekking through the Alps together. I’ll begin teaching next week and thinking about...

5 views0 comments

The War of Fog – 3 truths for Living with Clarity in Zero Visibility

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 13, 20143 min read

The War of Fog – 3 truths for Living with Clarity in Zero Visibility

We’re waiting for the cable car that will haul us up to the Douglass Hut, the base from which we’ll be hiking over a couple of passes to...

10 views0 comments

Wholeness Blog: Blog2