One foot is in a pointe shoe. The other is bare. One foot is dressed for onstage and is presentable to audiences. The other shows blood, sweat, and tears. On stage, dance is beautiful with costumes, choreography, sets, and music. Off stage, dance is cuts, bruises, sore muscles, and injury. Feet are the means through which they bring the good news and preach the gospel.

The auditorium was packed with students and professors as part of a week of events sponsored by the Asian Studies Department at Belmont University in Nashville. For my part, I talked about kintsugi, the traditional Japanese art of joining broken shards together with gold. "Kintsugi is not about fixing; it's about recreating into the new. …

Continue reading "The Hope of Kintsugi"

Chieko Ozawa came to faith after being invited to a Bible study during a three-year stint in England. She fell in love with Christ and the Church, but her faith threatened her relationships with what she most loved. Her husband and mother were not supportive of her conversion to Christianity and she feared she might …

Continue reading "A Life Transformed in Tokyo"

Our lives have scars. Scars are part of the process of healing. A common question among friends is, 'How did you get that scar? Tell me your story.' Telling our stories brings us closer together. ...

Congratulations to Peter Bakelaar for winning the Grand Prix Prize at the Central Photo Contest in Nagoya, Japan. The timing was perfect for spreading awareness of the opening of Gallery Nani a week later! ...