April Yamasaki

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The Gift of a Broken Heart

“When you care enough to send the very best.” —Hallmark Cards When I choose a greeting card to send to someone, I don’t choose the card with the corner already torn off. The card might get roughed up as it goes through the postal system, but I at least want to start with one that…

God Has More for Us

At the end of John 20, the gospel seems to be drawing to a close. Jesus’ tomb was empty. The risen Christ had already appeared to Mary Magdalene and twice to the group of disciples, once without Thomas and once with him. The last verse of the chapter says, “These are written that you may…

God’s Patient Work Continues

“Those are a couple of fire-on-the-mountain bushes,” the gardener said to me. She looked after the common areas around our townhouse community—mowing the grass, pruning the bushes, and generally keeping the grounds looking healthy and well kept. But each household is responsible to take care of the garden area next to their own unit. As…

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…

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