04/09/2022
A prayer for reading God’s Word. I wonder, what do I want to understand more? How has Jesus shown his faithfulness in my life? Can I ask him to draw near to me this week?
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28/08/2022
Anyone else listening to the Back to School season? 🖐
If so, this prayer may sound familiar. Galatians is a short epistle, but there’s a lot of big ideas in it.
I wonder, which of the practices in the prayer do you want to focus on this week?
08/08/2022
As we pray, can I open my heart to what the Holy Spirit might want me to hear? Are there any words or phrases that specially stand out to me today?
25/07/2022
A prayer for the hearing and reading of God's word.
I wonder what is blossoming in me today? What does good fruit look like?
22/07/2022
I’ve loved wondering with you all for the last three years. Some of you were new to the liturgical calendar when you started listening, and for others it was always part of your church life.
No matter which camp you’re in, I’m grateful that you’ve listened along and made room for wonder in your families and for yourselves.
While we think through what’s next for the podcast, we’ve made playlists of past seasons that can be used throughout the year. You can find them all here: https://open.spotify.com/user/314ysbeusbrljsv7tlg5wwwcqcne?si=fcdaec8139884fc7
Stay tuned for updates about what’s next, and until then, may wonder find you wherever you are.
07/06/2022
Reposting this reminder because it bears repeating. Please, please find a safe grownup to talk to—it’s never too late and it doesn’t matter how old you are when you share.
“What if someone leads one of these little ones who believe in me to sin? If they do, it would be better if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.”—
Mark 9:42 (NIRV)
31/05/2022
This Sunday marks the end of Eastertide and the beginning of Pentecost. I'll share more about what that means later this week.
In the meantime, check out this beautiful book by , "Josey Johnson's Hair and the Holy Spirit." It centers around a father and daughter going shopping for a Pentecost service and the intentionality of God's creation reflected in our differences.
I wonder... how do you celebrate Pentecost? What does the day mean to you?
Find a link to the book in our IG story and share any questions you have about the day there, too.
29/05/2022
Hi friends!
I'm taking a break from regular posting to share a little something you can do to bring some light into the world, via an organization that our family loves, and that is doing wonderful things in the city of San Francisco. Like us, City Hope believes that no one belongs on the streets: so they did something about it! They’ve created a place in the Tenderloin where everyone is welcomed, respected, and celebrated:
🏠 The City Hope Community Center (the 2nd pic) offers chef-crafted meals, served restaurant-style with choice and dignity, three times a week along community activities like movies, karaoke, and bingo
🏠 The City Hope House provides transitional housing and a sober living environment to 25 men and women
🏠 And the City Hope Café is a place for our neighbors in the Tenderloin to get a great free cup of coffee in a beautiful café space and to connect with nonprofits, case managers, and other neighborhood services
Jon and I love the work that City Hope is doing, and we try to volunteer there regularly to connect with our neighbors in the Tenderloin. And this week, there is a $25,000 matching grant that we can all help them meet! The world is a hard place, friends: and it's even harder for people on the streets, or who are marginally housed. If you're able and interested, would you please consider supporting an organization that is creating dignity, belonging, welcome, and support in the Tenderloin?
You can learn more or donate at http://cityhopesf.org. And be sure to follow to learn more. If you live locally and ever want to meet for a coffee at City Hope Café or serve dinner together, please let me know! Kids are welcome to join.
17/05/2022
Looking for another podcast during this season while We Wonder is on hiatus?
I highly recommend that you check out my friend ’s podcast, The Slow Way! In a lot of ways I think of Micha’s work as a kind of companion to We Wonder: life with her son Ace has given her the grace of deeply learning the truth of Jesus’s teaching that it is the slow and childlike way that is in fact the path into the kingdom of God.
Anyway: give her a listen! Micha explores what it’s like to embrace the reality that we are. just. loved. Full stop. Beyond and apart from our hustle, our frantic attempts to establish our worth, our evaluations and rankings and awards: what if God simply wants to brush those out of our hands so we can receive and give Love?
You can also sign up for Micha’s weekly newsletter, which is lovely and gentle and fierce all at once — sort of like I imagine Jesus to be? — or pick up her book “Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer” if you want to learn more from my wise, kind, and delightful friend.
New Jersey, you’re lucky to have her: we miss her out here in SF!
12/05/2022
“We are called to friendship with God not because of anything we are or do but out of the depth of love that is the divine mystery revealed in the cross. And the resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrate in every Eucharist, but especially in this Easter season, is what makes possible our ongoing friendship with him, our continuous abiding in the love that is God.” — Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt
If you’re looking for an accessible, rich, deeply devotional read that you can go through slowly and meditate on throughout the rest of Eastertide and on into the ordinary time of the year: I can’t recommend The Love That is God: An Invitation to Christian Faith by Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, highly enough!
Let me know if you pick it up, and if so, what bits speak to you!
10/05/2022
Every Sunday, at our church’s communion table, a pastor says: “Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast!”
Eastertide is a season of keeping the feast. Of course, for many of us, grief, pain, anxiety and fear don’t magically disappear during those fifty feasting days — but the good news of the season is that even if we cannot perceive it, the reality we inhabit has been transformed. We can shout “alleluia!” because we were dead, but now we are alive in Christ. The true nature of things, humming along under the newspaper headlines, carpool traffic jams, dinner table spills, and scary diagnoses is an unstoppable, sustaining, living Love that has conquered sin and death for us — and will never, ever let us go.
So we keep the feast, in big ways and small! I’m trying, in my own anxious and slipshod way, to feast on time: to believe that there actually is enough, that it’s okay to slow down, to receive the moments I’ve been given instead of forcing them into a story of perpetual productivity. And I’m feasting by spending some of those moments, lavishly, in just the way I want to: learning, reading, studying in a class on Romans with my dear friend at .
What about you? Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us: how are you keeping the feast?
08/04/2022
Today’s comes from Anna at The Village Felterie.
She writes, “Lent has been a time of slowing for our family. Using our prayer labyrinth has reminded us of Jesus’s time wandering in the wilderness, but we are not lost.
We are being drawn to the center, a place to dwell with God and remember we are known and loved. When we travel again out into the world, we carry an awareness of God throughout our day and in our conversations.”
Anna forgot to mention she makes these labyrinths herself. Thanks for the pictures and beautiful reflection, Anna.
Sunday is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week. We will have a new episode each day to help us walk closely with Jesus all the way to the cross. Will you wonder along with me?
03/04/2022
The fifth week of Lent.
Even if our feet are tired and our spirits have grown weary, we will keep listening to Jesus’s words and trying to imagine that we are there with him. And we will do our best to pay attention, each day, to what we see, and hear, and feel. Even as the season of Lent stretches on, we still need to meet and listen for God, in all that is happening to us. I wonder what we will notice, as we listen to the same words over and over, all week long? I wonder what we will have to say to God?
This week’s reading is from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, verses 17 through 28. Jesus and his friends are coming close to Jerusalem: they are traveling up, from the low country around Jericho, along the road that climbs to the city. As they do, he reminds them what is waiting for him at the end of the journey. I wonder, though, if the disciples are able to really hear what he is saying, or to understand.
Let’s take a moment and imagine ourselves in this story:
- Jesus and his friends are coming from Jericho, and are taking the road up to Jerusalem. Jericho is very, very low: it is far below sea level. And Jerusalem is high up, set on a hill. I wonder how they feel as they travel? Can I imagine climbing slowly, step by step, up that road? How does the air around me feel? How does the road feel beneath my feet? What sounds do I hear as we walk along?
- Now, can I picture Jesus quietly taking us aside? Maybe we are resting quietly out of sight, off the road. What does Jesus look like, as he tells us once more what will happen when we reach Jerusalem? How does his voice sound to me?
- Looking up to Jerusalem, Jesus says that when we get there, he will be killed. How do I feel, hearing those words as I look at the steep hill we have to climb to get up to the city?
Thanks for listening along—wherever you find yourself this week, may you find wonder.
01/04/2022
Today’s comes from .
She writes, “We started making pretzels 🥨 during Lent. We also read a sweet book called “Breathe” by Laura Alray. We are not Catholic but have enjoyed this children’s book and some practices around Lent.”
What a lovely (and tasty) practice! Thanks for sharing, Kelly.
Sunday marks another week of Lent and a new story in Matthew—I hope you’ll listen with us!
27/03/2022
Friends, we are halfway through Lent.
For the next three weeks, we will continue to walk with Jesus, step by step, to his road’s end. We will listen to the account of that journey from Matthew’s gospel. And as we do, we will keep listening to Jesus’s words and imagine that we are there with him: that he is speaking directly to us. And we will continue to pay attention, each day, to what we see, and hear, and feel. It will be our way of keeping company with Jesus.
This week’s reading is from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verses 13 through 26. Jesus and his friends have traveled out of Galilee, which is their home, and across the Jordan River into Judea. As they go, crowds follow him, religious leaders test him, and people ask him questions. Everyone wants to see Jesus, and hear what he will say next. Let’s join him on the road.
Let’s talk with God about what we have seen and heard:
- Is there a word, or a picture, or a feeling from this story that I want to hold quietly with God? Can I ask God to be present, and to come close to me, as I do?
- Is there a word, or a picture, or a feeling from this story that I want to carry into the rest of my day? Can I ask God’s Spirit to dwell in and with me, as I do?
Thanks for listening—may you find wonder in unexpected and ordinary places this week.
25/03/2022
Today’s comes from . She writes about Wednesday’s episode, “The line that struck me most forcefully was when Sarah asked the question, ‘I wonder why Jesus tells his disciples that they need to change to be like the child instead of telling the child they need to grow up to be like the disciples.’
It's such an unexpected question that instantly reminded me that Jesus truly does not measure worth the way we do - in the world and in the church and caused my heart to melt remembering Jesus's deep love for me.”
Thanks so much for this beautiful reflection, Ashlea!
May we all remember Jesus’ deep love for us—have a wonderful weekend, friends.
20/03/2022
Today starts the third week of Lent.
Little by little, we will keep walking with Jesus through Matthew’s gospel, as he makes his final journey with his friends.
I hope that you can listen every day this week, and let these words take deep root in your heart. I hope you can picture this season as a journey with Jesus, and come close to him as his time on earth grows short.
This week’s reading is from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verses 1 through 5, and 10 through 14.
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Let’s talk with God about what we have seen and heard:
- Is there a word, or a picture, or a feeling from this story that I want to hold quietly with God? Can I ask God to be present, and to come close to me, as I do?
- Is there a word, or a picture, or a feeling from this story that I want to carry into the rest of my day? Can I ask God’s Spirit to dwell in and with me, as I do?
Thanks for wondering along with me, friends.
18/03/2022
Today’s is from , who shares a favorite read of her family’s that ties in so well with this week’s story.
She writes, “We love this book because it looks closely and thoughtfully at the parable of the mustard seed, but without feeling preachy.
I like that the illustrations include a diverse group of people — some who look like my kids and plenty who don’t. Also, my kid who doesn’t care about Bible stories likes it because she’s interested in nature.”
Thanks for sharing this beautiful book with us, Alyssa!
Got something to recommend or illustrate how you’re remembering Lent this year? Tag or send a DM letting us know so we can share it.
A new story in Matthew begins on Sunday—listen and wonder with us all season by subscribing to the podcast.
13/03/2022
Today is the second Sunday of Lent.
And now in this second week, we are going a little further down the road with Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, as he walks with his disciples to Jerusalem one last time. I wonder what we will notice, as we listen to the same words over and over, all week long? I wonder what we will have to say to God?
Let’s take a moment and imagine ourselves in this story:
- Can I picture myself in the crowd, watching Jesus come down the mountainside with Jesus, James, and John? What are people saying around me? How does Jesus look to me?
- As I picture the man coming out of the crowd to Jesus, what do I see? What does his face look like? How does his voice sound? What do the people in the crowd with us do?
- I wonder how Jesus’ friends felt, when they heard the man say “I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
Now, can I pay attention to my feelings as I imagine myself standing in the crowd, and later coming privately to Jesus with the disciples?
- Who do I feel like in this story, today? Am I like the father, desperate for Jesus or his friends to help me? Am I like the boy, suffering and unable to help myself? Am I like the disciples, who want to help but aren’t able?
- What did Jesus say that was good for me to hear? Can I say thank you to him?
- What did Jesus say that was hard for me to hear? Can I talk honestly with him about that?
Thanks for listening as we journey through another week of Lent. Wherever you are, may wonder meet you.
11/03/2022
Today’s comes from and her family. She writes, “I love using this wreath to mark the 40 days of Lent. It’s a reminder for the grownups and the kids in our house that this long season can be lived through, one day at a time. We put dishes on and around it and it becomes part of meals around the table, just like I hope faith in Christ is part of our daily, ordinary life.”
Thanks for sharing how you’re remembering Lent with us!
And remember to tag in or DM us your pictures, things you’ve given up or made space for, and other ways Lent is part of your life this season.
We’ll share another story from Matthew this Sunday. Wherever you are, may wonder find you.
09/03/2022
Listeners may have noticed an unexpected pronunciation this week! In Matthew 16, Jesus says something pretty shocking to Peter--it sounds like he’s accusing him of acting like the devil aka Satan.
We quite rightly use the term “Satan” to describe that personal principle of evil that opposes God and works to undo and tear apart God’s good creation. But it’s a word with a long history behind it, and it didn’t start as a proper name--understanding this can help us unpack this passage.
The Hebrew term—the word Jesus and his friends would have known—would have been “saw-tawn” or, more properly, “ha satan.” We’ve anglicized it into “Say-tahn.”
The word “satan” pops up throughout the Old Testament: it means “obstruction” or “opposer”: when the angel of the Lord blocks Balaam from traveling down a path in Numbers 22, he is called a “satan,” because he’s standing in the way! He’s just a roadblock, who is opposing Balaam and keeping him from moving forward.
As the Bible unfolds, “satan” begins to be used about the one who is opposed to people, and to God. The satan is the one who torments poor Job, and tries to get him to curse God. Over time, though, the word becomes applied to the force that seems to personally have it in for us, and for God.
By the time Jesus and his friends are traveling through Galilee and down to Jerusalem, most Jews of the time would have understood “satan” against this backdrop: the personal principle of evil that opposes God and humans, and is working to obstruct God’s purposes in the world.
And that’s exactly what Peter is doing in our passage this week! He may have the best of motives, but when he says that Jesus won’t die, he is standing as a roadblock in Jesus’s road to the cross. So of course, Jesus has to say to him, “Get behind me, satan."
Maybe next time you hear this passage, you’ll remember both meanings. And remember that Jesus is pointing to something true: so often we throw up obstacles to God’s work in the world because it will be hard, or scary, or require us to follow Jesus to the cross. But if we get out of the way, and follow Jesus, we’ll see he goes ahead of us and will carry us on that long road.
06/03/2022
(Previously scheduled 😉)
Today is the first Sunday in Lent and our daily episodes begin today. I hope you can listen every day, and let these words take root in your heart.
Each week in Lent, we slow down, and spend time in one story from Matthew’s gospel. We will join Jesus as he walks with his disciples to Jerusalem one last time. Along the road, we will listen to his words and imagine that we are there with him: that he is speaking directly to us. And we will pay attention, each day, to what we see, and hear, and feel.
I wonder what we will notice, as we listen to the same words over and over, all week long? I wonder what we will have to say to God?
Let’s talk with God about what we have seen and heard:
- Is there a word, or a picture, or a feeling from this story that I want to hold quietly with God? Can I ask God to be present, and to come close to me, as I do?
- Is there a word, or a picture, or a feeling from this story that I want to carry into the rest of my day? Can I ask God’s Spirit to dwell in and with me, as I do?
Thanks for listening, friends. Have a wonder-filled week!
05/03/2022
This isn't my photo, but it's what I hope my family will do this weekend.
Our family (which includes a dad who works in tech and TWO tween-agers) is trying something new for Lent: no-screen weekends. Everyone’s phone goes in a basket, TV and Xbox take a rest, laptops stay closed and quiet.
We want to make space:
Space for quiet and boredom, without an easy distraction.
Space for analog family activities that so easily get dropped when there’s a show to watch or work to do.
Space for our children away from an attention economy that requires their presence and availability every time a text or Discord message comes through (full disclosure: they are not convinced they need this space, and we’re pulling the parental wisdom card 😬).
I’ll be honest: I think it’s going to be harder than I expected! Meal planning for the week & other tasks I save for the weekend, dinner reservations, coordinating plans with kids’ friends, Warriors games, listening to music — all of it is going to take some planning, rearranging, or just plain missing out. Can we go out to dinner and leave the kids at home with just a board game...and hope to come back and find them alive, much less speaking to one another? We’ll see if we make it.
But my hope for this weekly discipline is that we’ll experience the kind of quiet and unmediated connection that leaves space for each of us to wake up to the presence of God’s Spirit, who is always near and who we can sometimes ignore.
I wonder... what does Lent look like for you? What are your hopes?
02/03/2022
We Wonder is back for Lent. This year, we are going to spend time each week in one story from Matthew’s gospel.
We will join Jesus as he walks with his disciples to Jerusalem one last time. Along the road, we will listen to his words and imagine that we are there with him: that he is speaking directly to us.
And we will pay attention, each day, to what we see, hear, and feel. These daily episodes begin on Sunday, March 6, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever you like to listen and they’ll be waiting for you each day.
Lent is a long season. Lent is a hard season. Let’s keep wondering, together.
If you want to share how you or the children in your life remember Lent, tag in your stories, posts, or send us a message.
We’ll also share a weekly practice to encourage wondering through the gospel of Matthew.
And remember, this season is marked by honesty, failure, and hope. God’s love is enough to keep us, however we do or don’t remember Lent.
11/02/2022
Happy Friday, everyone! I haven’t introduced myself around here for awhile, and there are some new faces I’m glad to meet! 👋
I'm Sarah Dahl, the creator/writer/host for We Wonder. I’m from California, and though I went to college near Chicago and spent some years in Minnesota, I’m happy to call San Francisco home — I live here with my husband, two kids, and a very elderly and crotchety cat. We belong to , so if you’re ever in town, I’d love to see you there!
I love reading and studying Scripture & theology. It’s what makes my imagination and love for God come alive. And the older I get, I'm convinced that the best and most honest way to do it is from a place of childlike wonder. I don’t think Jesus was just using a figure of speech when he said that to enter his kingdom, we have to become like children!
And while there are so many good resources for learning about the Bible, for children and adults alike — they tend to be sorted by age! (Most adults don’t do their Bible reading from a children’s Bible; hopefully they aren’t giving their children giant commentaries? 😆)
So, I started We Wonder as a place for all of God’s children — no matter our age, our gifts, our abilities, or our status — to spend time together actually listening to what God has to say to us in Scripture; to let it speak to us exactly where we are; and to talk to God about what we find, what we hear, what we do or don’t understand. I hope you’ll join us as we do that during the season of Lent!
A few things about my off-mic life:
🪶 I have an emu! Or, more accurately, an emu lives on the land near our property in Sonoma County. She was there when we bought it. No one knows where she came from. She makes thumping noises when you get too close; it’s super wild.
📚 My favorite fictional genre, hands down, is murder mystery. I’m not sure what I’m going to read in heaven when no one is killing anyone anymore.
⚾️ I love baseball - and I’m super sad about the new designated hitter rule change!
I wonder... what's a snapshot of your life? What's something about you that we wouldn't know? 👇
30/01/2022
How can we cultivate wonder year round?
As I'm planning our next season, this is a question I think through a lot. As you go into your week, here are three questions to help you wonder.
Wonder about what makes you feel most yourself. Wonder about what you're dreading. Asking God to meet you where you are and to light the candle of your mind with his steadfast love and presence.
Wishing you a wonder-filled week!
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Having kids back in school has definitely changed our family’s routine but I’m also reminded this time of year that I have things to learn, too. 🍎 That’s why I’m excited for the “Back to Wonder” series we’re starting this season. Each month we’ll do a live broadcast on Instagram based on a spiritual practice or going deeper with what we’re reading in Galatians. This month, Amy Jackson from @theperchplace is taking over the account to teach us how to breathe, pray, and pause throughout our day. And how to practice this with the kids in our life! Tune in on Monday, 9/20 at 12 PM PDT/2 PM CDT to see Amy live or watch the replay of her talk in our highlights. Maybe you’ll learn something you thought was forgotten or is entirely new to you. Wherever you are, I hope you’ll come #backtowonder with us.
Tuesday’s episode on Galatians 2:6-10 gets to the heart of the epistle—the Good News of Jesus is the same for *everyone*, whether they look like you or have a lot or a little. And that is truly good news! What’s stood out to you from this season? 🎧 #wednesdaywonder #backtowonder #goodnews #gettingtotheheart
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Contemplative Bible Storytelling for Children
We invite children to wonder about God’s good words together. Visit us at https://wewonderpod.com to read all about us, see episode guides, and subscribe to listen.
