April Yamasaki

Read All Posts

Hope Beyond Our Sorrows in Conversation

For some of my previous books, I’ve been interviewed in print—with questions sent to me in advance and the opportunity to write out my answers and send them back. But with Hope Beyond Our Sorrows, I’ve been learning how to be a podcast guest, and it’s been a steep learning curve! As a writer, I’d…

Psalms of God’s Protection

A reader asked for Psalms that speak to God’s protection and guidance. She and her adult daughter live an ocean apart, and despite the distance and different time zones, her daughter calls her every night. She prays for her daughter every day, and sends her verses of encouragement from the Bible. Her comment made me…

Jesus as Presence: God with Us

For the the twenty-fifth anniversary of my previous congregation, we focused on the theme God with Us. After all, twenty-five years earlier, the founding members of the church had chosen to name their new congregation Emmanuel, which means “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). That phrase also expressed the testimony of our life together: God…

Changing Lives, Changing History

In many ways, the story of Exodus is the story of women. Women who acted with faith and courage. Women who took creative initiative. Women who were well-positioned or oppressed, younger or older, named or unnamed in the biblical text. Without these women, there might have been no Moses and a very different Exodus story.…

Eternal God, Our Help and Hope

One of my fun projects is updating our church photo directory. I shared the intention in my annual report last March, and now I’m on a roll to complete the update so I can include it in my next annual report. A friend and church member has been taking photos. People have been submitting their…

From Refreshed to Frazzled to Centred

My word of the year for 2025 was Refresh. I had hoped to refresh my daily gratitude practice. To refresh this website with a new look. To usher Hope Beyond Our Sorrows into the world. To claim my profile on Substack and give it a fresh focus on writing as a spiritual journey. All of…

In Memoriam: Ring Out, Wild Bells

This Advent and Christmas season, I’m especially drawn to Scripture and songs of longing. Longing for the world to be a better place. Longing for the end of pain and suffering for the countless who endure hardship. Longing for the fullness of God’s kingdom when all will be restored. So, for my Advent article in…

New Life in the Valley

When I read the story of Ezekiel standing in a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1–14), several people in my small group broke out singing spontaneously: Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,Now hear the word of the Lord. The catchy tune made…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.