Twelve days ago my husband had a medical emergency, and while he does feel better now, he is still in the hospital hooked up to various medical things, waiting for more tests and next steps. Any medical emergency is hard, and even harder in a pandemic. In our case, COVID-19 protocols kept us from seeing … Continue reading Make Haste to Help Us, O God
Welcome to the final part of this series on self-care for heart, soul, mind, and strength: Part 1 - 25 Self-care Ideas for the Heart: for singles, widows, married people, and everyone Part 2 - 25 Self-care Ideas for the Soul: for students, ministry people, and everyone Part 3 - 25 Self-care Ideas for the … Continue reading 25 Self-care Ideas for Strength: for our bodies
I paid a visit to one of our church seniors who has not been able to participate in worship as she once did. Yet while she feels physically weak in some ways, her spirit remains as strong as ever, for when I asked, "How are you?" she said, "I'm so grateful that I hardly know … Continue reading Thanksgiving Sunday Gratitude Journal
Last year I participated in an Interfaith Symposium for the first time, and this year I gladly accepted a second invitation, again as part of a panel with several speakers, this time on fasting as a divine source of spiritual and physical health. Like last year, I was impressed by the warm welcome of our … Continue reading In the Christian Faith, How is Fasting a Divine Source of Health?
When I was a child, summer vacation meant badminton and make-believe in the backyard, walking to the library and coming home with my arms full of books, eating home-made "popsicles" that my mom made by freezing orange juice in ice-cube trays. We'd sometimes drive to see our cousins in Seattle or Astoria, and one time … Continue reading How to have a great staycation that will refresh and energize you
Thank you to all those who prayed, questioned, encouraged, offered resources, attended, and otherwise expressed interest in last week's interfaith event where I had been invited as one of three featured speakers on the topic of fasting as an aid to peace. In my previous article written before the event, What is Interfaith Dialogue and How to … Continue reading In the Christian faith, how is fasting an aid to peace?
last updated October 7, 2019 I'm grateful for the positive response to My 22 Best Practices in 22 Years of Pastoral Ministry, but I'm also very aware that those “best practices” represent just one slice of a much larger picture. After all, thriving in ministry doesn't depend solely on what any one pastor does or … Continue reading 22 Time-Tested Ways to Love Your Pastor
Today I'm guest posting over at Godspace as part of a summer series on Hospitality Opening Doorways to the Kingdom. My post is about the Guess Who's Coming to Sunday Lunch? potluck at my church, and ends with one of my favourite dishes to share. Southwestern Beans and Corn works as a main dish or on … Continue reading Guess Who’s Coming to Sunday Lunch?
April Yamasaki 