Writing as a Spiritual Journey

June 18, 2014

Writing_as_a_Spiritual_Journey (600x225) How is writing a spiritual journey? And what does that mean for writers and readers?

I’m excited to explore these questions along with Shirley Showalter (author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World) and Danny Unrau (author of You are the Boy) on Friday evening, July 11, 7pm at House of James in Abbotsford, B.C. We invite you to join us for this author panel and discussion followed by book signing. We’d love to see you there!

Shirley Hershey Showalter, author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World, grew up on a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, dairy farm and went on to become a professor and then college president and foundation executive. She learned to write from reading, good critique and practice, practice, practice. Her memoir Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World (Herald Press) was named a best spiritual book of 2013 by Spirituality & Practice.

Dan (Danny) Unrau is a frequent convention speaker, guest preacher/speaker, workshop facilitator, and professional story-teller. He utilizes humour in much of his speaking, and yet found his work around death and dying to be his most satisfying work as a clergyman. He was born and raised in Boissevain, Manitoba, and has lived in Manitoba, British Columbia, Israel, and Germany. He has authored 2 books of short vignettes about some of the weird & wonderful people he has encountered in life, and just recently released a novel entitled, You Are the Boy.

April Yamasaki is a pastor, writer, and blogger. She grew up in Vancouver, B.C., has lived in Elkhart, Indiana; Richmond, Virginia; and now in Abbotsford, B.C. Her most recent books are Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal (Herald Press, 2013) and a collection of sermons, Ordinary Time with Jesus (CSS Publishing, 2014). She has taught college-level writing and journaling and will lead a workshop on Writing Your Spiritual Story this fall.

11 responses

shirleyhs

Jun 18, 2014

Thanks so much for this mention and even more for the opportunity to explore this wonderful theme with you and Danny. I know I will be greatly blessed by just being in the same room with both of you.

I’ll be sharing and coming back to see if your readers have any questions or suggestions for us on the topic of “Writing as Spiritual Practice.” Such a rich subject!

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1. April Yamasaki
  
  Jun 18, 2014
  
  I’m looking forward to our conversation, Shirley! Blessings to you for your journey and each stop along the way.
  
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Elfrieda Schroeder

Jun 18, 2014

I concur with Shirley, “such a rich subject!” I wish I could be there. Writing has certainly been a spiritual journey for me. Early in my years in Africa I read and wrote myself through the Psalms and I’m still benefiting from that experience.

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1. April Yamasaki
  
  Jun 18, 2014
  
  Thanks, Elfrieda, I wish you could join us too. I’m thinking it will be fairly informal, so haven’t arranged for any video/recording, but I’ll ask someone to take photos and plan to blog about it afterward.
  
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charitysingletoncraig

Jun 18, 2014

If only I lived closer, April. This sounds like a wonderful panel.

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1. April Yamasaki
  
  Jun 18, 2014
  
  Too bad you can’t be here, Charity – it would be great to have you join us, but it would be a rather long commute! I love your focus on bringing words to life which also connects with writing as a spiritual journey, and would love to be on a panel with you someday 🙂
  
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Sharon R Hoover

Jun 20, 2014

Sadly, I’m with Charity… in a home far from B.C. But I do appreciate the introduction to authors new to me. 🙂 I hope all goes well on the 11th. By the way, I’m reading an excellent little book on this topic: The Art of Spiritual Writing. So profound! Blessings, April!

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1. April Yamasaki
  
  Jun 20, 2014
  
  Hi Sharon – thanks for your good wishes – I think you’d enjoy both Shirley and Danny, and I’m really looking forward to sharing an evening with them. Thanks also for recommending The Art of Spiritual Writing. It’s now on my to read list.
  
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Teri

Jun 21, 2014

April, I do hope you’ll write something on your blog about this conversation. I’d love to read it. Teri

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1. April Yamasaki
  
  Jun 23, 2014
  
  Thanks, Teri. I’m excited for the conversation, and definitely plan to blog about it.
  
  Reply
Writing as a Spiritual Journey Revisited | April Yamasaki

Jul 14, 2014

[…] focused on Writing as a Spiritual Journey. For authors’ bios and book information, please see my blog post introducing the panel. My (edited) remarks as part of the panel appear below — this is one of my longest blog posts, but […]

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Faith and Hope with April Yamasaki

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I write, edit, teach, preach, and mentor in a variety of venues, platforms, and publications. The common thread? To encourage and inspire people of all ages to live with faith and hope. I’d love for you to join me!

In all the challenges, joys, and ordinary moments of daily life, God’s mercies never fail. They are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).