#decisions

Toward Wholeness Blog

Richard Dahlstrom

Oct 6, 2015
2 min

When shoot happens… what happens next?

By now, unless the shooting is personal, we Americans know the drill quite well. Our president will stand up and talk about the need for a change in gun policy. The president of the NRA will get up and talk about the 2nd ammendment, and mental health. The press and internet will explode with arguments and stats, and mentions of Australia and Honduras. The left and right will talk loudly, with lots of inflammatory language, but neither side will do much listening. There wi

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Identity Theft – It’s not what you think. It’s worse.

Richard Dahlstrom

Aug 1, 2015
4 min

Identity Theft – It’s not what you think. It’s worse.

But now here you are, seated and in your right mind, wondering how it happened that you were a different person yesterday. The answer’s simple: identity theft. You became, for a period, someone other than who you are, or at the very least, who you’re meant to be. When we do this (and all of us do it from time to time, though our failures vary in degrees of both privacy and social acceptability), we step right into Romans 7 in the Bible. Paul the Apostle shares this str

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“Not Burdensome”…. musings on the ease of obedience and self-denial

Richard Dahlstrom

Jun 24, 2015
4 min

“Not Burdensome”…. musings on the ease of obedience and self-denial

Is self denial a burden? In the coming days, I offer some thoughts from my devotions in Jeremiah. It’s been too long since I’ve written, as life’s been full of house sales and meetings, travel and teaching. Jeremiah, though, has been a good friend during these days, and I want to write some things I hope will help you navigate both your own personal waters, and the waters of a culture in upheaval as shootings, racism, and political posture seem to continue unchecked. I wri

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5 Sentences: The Wisest Advice I’ve ever Received

Richard Dahlstrom

Feb 27, 2015
4 min

5 Sentences: The Wisest Advice I’ve ever Received

1. Make knowing God the number one priority in your life. This was the word spoken to me from Jeremiah 9 when I was 20 years old and I realized at the moment that “knowing God” was at best, a peripheral pursuit in my life, far behind vocational aspirations, financial security, and having a little bit of fun. I was not only convicted by the truth of Jeremiah’s words, but I was drawn by their simplicity. In a world where I’m constantly being told to readjust my priorities to

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Three Ways Sabbath practice will help you become whole.

Richard Dahlstrom

Feb 14, 2015
4 min

Three Ways Sabbath practice will help you become whole.

“all who are thirsty…” Yesterday I spent some time in what is slowly becoming a sabbath routine for this season of life. My wife and I packed a small lunch and some extra clothes in our backpacks and took off for a day of hiking. In a normal year it would be a ski day, but this is not a normal year. All the snow is over in Boston, and here where we normally get over 400 inches a year, the ski hills are brown brush; so we hike. As we hike, we talk about life. It’s become m

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Ambition or Temptation? How to tell the difference

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 20, 2014
4 min

Ambition or Temptation? How to tell the difference

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” The Preacher in Ecclesiastes I’m sure you’ve been there. You want something to be different in your life. Maybe it’s a vocational success you’re after, or a new house, a remodel, a spouse, (a remodel of a spouse? nope), a successful and meaningful retirement. Or you want things to be different in the world because the racism, injustice, human trafficking, environmental destruction, or whatever it is for you, jus

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Richard Dahlstrom

Nov 19, 2014
4 min

Pursuing Peace – to what end?

As a result, I’ve had time to think, and the convergence zone of some teaching I’m doing for staff at the church I lead, and my reading has directed me toward pondering both the need for peace in our lives and the purpose of peace. The need for peace We live in a world where personal peace is becoming as scarce as clean water. The evidence is everywhere: sleep loss, increased chronic disease health crises, such as heart issues and diabetes, and unhealthy addiction to drugs a

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When “churches” implode – Three truths to give you hope

Richard Dahlstrom

Nov 1, 2014
5 min

When “churches” implode – Three truths to give you hope

Mars Hill church community in Seattle may create questions and/or pain for Christ followers in both Seattle and beyond. But churches closing their doors is nothing new. People who count such things say that about 4,000 churches close every year in America and the reasons are wide ranging. I take hope in knowing from the Bible that organizational failure and church failure are two different things. The former is product of human error, economies, shifting demographics and a

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After Failure – The next steps matter most. What to avoid and what to do.

Richard Dahlstrom

Oct 18, 2014
5 min

After Failure – The next steps matter most. What to avoid and what to do.

Failure isn’t really the main problem in this world. There are remedies for failures, and often clear steps to take so that in the wake of failure our lives can be stronger, richer, more compassionate, and more honest than they ever might have been without failing at all. So failure’s not the biggest problem any of us face. The critical moments are the steps we take immediately after though. It’s those steps that will become the main determinants of our future. So here’s

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Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 1, 2014
3 min

Where am I?

(I’m happy to introduce the guest author for this post as my hiking partner, best friend, and one week from today, wife of 35 years! Enjoy Donna Dahlstrom’s thoughts on guidance, reality, and journey.) I love maps. I’ve loved maps from my earliest recollections of traveling across the country with my family in the back of a camper. There was always a supply of maps we picked up from the gas stations for state after state after state between California and New York. I loved fi

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The Wind of the Spirit – blowing plans away day by day

Richard Dahlstrom

Aug 25, 2014
4 min

The Wind of the Spirit – blowing plans away day by day

Our view of guidance is important, because unless we believe God can still direct our lives, orchestrating encounters, moving us to certain places, then the bottom line is that we’ll go where we damn well please. If we’re tired of the heat, we’ll move north. If we’re tired of poverty, we’ll get another degree. We’ll marry or not, move or not, based on our own motives, goals, internal drives. But to the extent that we let the wind of the spirit blow, filing the halls of our so

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“A different plan” – Three Postures you need when Change Comes Knocking

Richard Dahlstrom

Jul 14, 2014
5 min

“A different plan” – Three Postures you need when Change Comes Knocking

It was supposed to be the Cascades… I spoke with a couple last week who lost their child to cancer at the age of six. As we talked of loss, change and challenge, she reminded me that about 85% of the marriages where a child suffers a disability end in divorce. This, I presume, is because of the tremendous gap between how we thought life would unfold, and how it actually unfolds. Where’s your gap? Job change, or joblessness? Health challenges? A relationship evaporating b

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Stones, Doors, and the vital necessity of remembering

Richard Dahlstrom

Jun 10, 2014
2 min

Stones, Doors, and the vital necessity of remembering

Today’s “door picture” will remind us of my wife’s 13 years of faithful service at Seattle Pacific University. Where, in the wake of tragedy and loss, do we find the strength to press on as people of hope? The answer is in remembering… and stones, or diplomas, or pictures, or even a door, can help. There’s a front door in our house, of course. Without much thought at all it became the place where pictures were taken on those monumental days: What a year it’s been! Santa B

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Richard Dahlstrom

Jun 3, 2014
4 min

Postcard from Fresno…

I process by writing… and I’m here in Fresno because my mom’s resting, and ready to go home and be with Jesus. Here’s what I’m thinking while she sleeps. I’m sitting in the dining hall at the retirement center in Fresno, needing to study for Sunday, but finding it hard to do so. Instead I’m thinking about the inevitability of loss, the profound joy of life, and how any attempts to separate the one from the other will always have the affect of making us hollow, shallow caric

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Richard Dahlstrom

May 8, 2014
2 min

Life is a Journey: Step by Step

There’s a hearing. It comes to us in dreams, or songs, or after a conversation in the corner booth of a Tuesday night with the one we love, or maybe at a graveside or in a hospital, or in the wake of infidelity. However it comes to us, we hear the voice calling, beckoning. There’s a wrestling with what we’ve heard. Was it the wine, or divinity? The weakness that I’m easily dissatisfied, or the strength that I’m willing to risk it all, to shoot the moon, in pursuit of a be

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Taking thought for tomorrow – Lessons in making life meaningful from ants and firewood

Richard Dahlstrom

Apr 23, 2014
5 min

Taking thought for tomorrow – Lessons in making life meaningful from ants and firewood

On that same sofa, a tilt of the head to the left and I see the fire, which represents warmth, safety (when confined in the firebox), and a sense of reward. I say reward because this heat is earned by thinking ahead. Acquiring wood happens because I sharpened my chain saw chain, felled some trees with a neighbor and cut them into 18 inch long rounds, hauled the rounds, split them, hauled the split wood so it could be stacked in the meager sunlight it needs to dry, hauled it

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2014: A Better Path by Adjusting Values: more or less

Richard Dahlstrom

Jan 3, 2014
4 min

2014: A Better Path by Adjusting Values: more or less

this article reminds me that it makes sense to think about values. Here are some values that need adjusting… more or less. More Intentionality in affirmation and encouragement – I’ve recently become freshly aware of the power encouragement has, both through experiences of giving and receiving it. Decades ago, in the midst of a depression that came about in the wake of my dad’s death, the person who made the biggest difference in my life did so through encouragement and affi

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Practical Advice for Maximizing Your University Experience

Richard Dahlstrom

Oct 1, 2013
3 min

Practical Advice for Maximizing Your University Experience

The NY Times had a great little read recently called, “Ditch Your Laptop – Dump your Boyfriend” filled with good, practical advice on how to make the most of your college years. If you’re in college, or know someone who is, I’d recommend reading it. The article started me thinking about what I’d want to offer students and I came up with a short list. Since my list is incomplete, I hope some of you will add your own contributions by adding comments to this post. Thanks! So

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Advice to Pastors and Other Christians: leave people alone – sort of.

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 18, 2013
4 min

Advice to Pastors and Other Christians: leave people alone – sort of.

It’s a diverse world out there. Gloriously diverse. Within the walls of the church, however, it’s a different story. I scroll through facebook and find that “prayer is the key” and “serving the poor” is the center of the gospel. So is “ending human trafficking” and “bringing all the churches together”. Buying local? “Vital!” Sexual Purity? “THE defining issue of our day!” Making sure that any given local church is racially diverse? “You can’t have a healthy church w

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Walking Carefully: The Context changes the focus

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 3, 2013
4 min

Walking Carefully: The Context changes the focus

FOCUS ON THE END: Slacklining is the art of walking a short distance on a thin line stretched between two trees. Learning how to do this requires a willingness to fail, to fall over and over again, because nobody – nobody – gets it right at the beginning. As a result, who excel at this must be willing to risk and fall. They realize that learning something new means repetition and failure and adjustment. I’m in the early stages of learning this skill and at the beginning

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