Hello, my name is April Yamasaki, and this website serves as a creative space for my writing and for me to connect with readers. The tagline, Writing and Other Acts of Faith, comes from author E.B. White, who once wrote,”Writing is an act of faith, not of grammar.”
For all of us, acts of faith are part of being human–even if you don’t think of yourself as religious, even if faith seems like a foreign country to you. We all take leaps that we can’t explain, we all sense the unseen beyond what we see, if not in writing or worship and prayer, then in nature, art, music, the eyes of a lover or a child. We have eternity in our hearts as an ancient preacher once noted (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
What you’ll find here
My home page features articles on everyday acts of faith, like:
- choosing faith instead of worry,
- finding a healthy rhythm of work and rest,
- how to pray about mental illness when you can’t find the words,
- writing as a spiritual journey,
- and other faith-focused and writing-related articles.
As I share some of my experiences, what I’m reading, and what I’m writing, I offer encouragement for your own acts of faith and journey through life. At the end of each article, there’s also a question or two to prompt your own writing or personal reflection, plus an opportunity to leave a comment, so we can encourage one another.
. . . and when
I post a new article on Monday mornings, and am happy to email it to you. To read at your own pace without missing anything, just click on the button below. You’ll also receive a free copy of my newest resource as a gift for subscribers: How to Pray When Prayer Seems Impossible.
Yes, please send me free updates
If you’re new here, please check out the links below to a few of my favourite posts. Thank you for stopping by!
Some of my favourite articles
Writing and Other Acts of Faith – for more on the title, tagline, and focus of my website.
How God Called Me Into Pastoral Ministry – I still sometimes think of myself as an “accidental” pastor, since I never planned to work for the church, but the Spirit of God moved in a powerful way.
Authors in the House: Husband and Wife and How We Write – I’m married to Gary, my love and still my best friend from high school, who also shares my passion for writing. He is an academic at heart, teaching graduate students in both seminary and university degree programs, and serving as site administrator for Perspective Criticism: The Power of Point of View.
When You Feel Like Running, Then Run to Jesus – My 24 best practices for thriving in 24 years of pastoral ministry appears on my second website, When You Work for the Church: the good, the bad, and the ugly, and how we can all do better.
Life is Busy ~ Discover Sacred Pauses – The book trailer for my Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal (available from Herald Press, CommonWord, or your favourite local or online bookstore).
I envy those who have April Yamasaki as their pastor,
but this book widens her ministry;
she now becomes a wise spiritual director to many readers.
– Arthur Boers
author of Living into Focus: Choosing What Matters in an Age of Distraction
