by David Wahlstedt | Feb 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
This morning’s Lenten devotional was a familiar story: Jesus quiets a storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat with his disciples. What makes this story so remarkable is that Jesus exercises his dominion over the forces of nature, even when the...
by David Wahlstedt | Jan 28, 2021 | Uncategorized
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.” When King Herod...
by David Wahlstedt | Jan 19, 2021 | Uncategorized
On my most recent trip to Africa, I ask one of my Ugandan friends why he never got angry at all the crazy taxi and boda boda drivers who are constantly cutting in front of us and hugging us out of our place. His response was simple: What will this change?” A...
by David Wahlstedt | Jan 12, 2021 | Uncategorized
Lectio Divina (translated “divine or sacred reading”) is an approach to the Scriptures that sets us up to listen for the word of God spoken to us in this present moment. Lectio divina refers to the ancient practice of divine reading that dates back to the...
by David Wahlstedt | Dec 9, 2020 | Uncategorized
Have you ever noticed the number of questions found in the gospels? We have Zechariah’s request for assurance from the angel Gabriel about the son promised he and Elizabeth, “How will I know that this is so? (Luke 1:18); Mary’s question of Gabriel, “How can...
by David Wahlstedt | Oct 4, 2020 | Uncategorized
When I was in elementary school, my family was in church every time the doors were open. That’s a bold statement to make but true none the less. In fact, not only were we there every time the doors were open, we were there even when they were not open –...
by David Wahlstedt | Sep 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
I was twelve years old and spending the summer away from the city in upstate New York at my grandmother’s house. I loved the two months of summer we’d spend at Nannie’s – our affectionate name for my maternal grandmother. She had this house that felt like...
by David Wahlstedt | Jul 12, 2020 | Uncategorized
I was surprised how a passing invitation for my friends in the DFW area to join me at event with tattooist and friend Tristan Bradshaw this morning, generated a viral response – at least viral by my post standards! The event was sponsored by Connecting...
by David Wahlstedt | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
“Yes, there is that voice, the voice that speaks from above and from within and that whispers softly or declares loudly: “You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests.” I’ll never forget encountering this sentence for the first time in Henri Nouwen’s book Life of...
by David Wahlstedt | May 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
Have you ever stopped to consider what it means to be blessed? Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, pronounced a series of eight, proverb-like yet cryptic blessings on the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,...
