Author: Leslie
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Why Unity Matters
In John 17, shortly before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus prayed some incredibly important words for the church: “20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in…
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The Destroyer Of Christian Community
“Those who love their dream of Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community.” Thus wrote (in paraphrase) Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book “Living Together.” Bonhoeffer understood something which many of us struggle to accept – Christian community isn’t easy. Especially in a modern society so used to material…
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Foreign Languages & Foreign Ideas
I have learned two foreign languages in my life. The first was French which I studied all the way through both high school and college. I even spent a semester abroad in Belgium, where I worshiped with a French speaking church. The second I learned as an adult, when my family moved to Japan. Although…
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Fear & Talents
One aspect that has long stood out to me regarding the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is the motivation for the wicked servant. What drove him to literally bury his portion instead of using it to produce more for his master? What caused him to sit on his hands until his master returned?…
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Girl on a Flying Sheep
For several years (yes, years) I’ve been wanting to do a children’s book for my oldest daughter. I want to write one for both of them, but this idea actually came about before my second daughter was born or even conceived. Anyway, for various reasons I’ve not done it, so recently I decided it was…
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Giant Confusion
A new drawing for Illustration Friday. This week’s theme is “tall.” This work was done using Procreate on the new iPad, with a bamboo stylus.
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The Beauty of Japan
If you think of the beauty of any place, you probably think of something like the above photo. You imagine some famous spot that has some kind of aesthetic value; a place where maybe you could walk around for hours just enjoying the beauty. Certainly Japan has its fair share of that kind of beauty. …
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Fushimi Inari
Last weekend I was able to go to Kyoto and visit the Fushimi Inari shrine. It is perhaps most famous for its rows of Torii Gates, which line the path up to the shrine itself. I’m not sure exactly how many there are, but there are at least thousands of these gates along the path….
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Kintai Bridge Redux
I recently learned some new techniques for post processing my images, so I decided to go back to some old photos I had done that I didn’t like very much at the time to see what I could do. I was pretty happy with how this one turned out! If you don’t know, this is…
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Shimotsui Sunset
Went up the sister mountain of Washuzan, and got to watch a beautiful sunset this evening. Only bad part – apparently this spot is a mosquito hang out. I’ve not been bitten by that many in who knows how long. Still, I think I got some good shots! Hope you agree! By the way, this…