Eight-Year Reflection

[I originally wrote this for my sending church’s blog, but it definitely applies to all of you who have supported me the past eight years!] Send off on Sept 12, 2012 “Should we say our names [into the mic]? So … Continue Reading →

A Silent Sakura Moment: Lamenting and Loving in Light of COVID-19

It took a stroll by the sakura trees to slay my stoicism. There they were on my morning walk home from the supermarket – a cluster of cherry blossoms a couple feet above me. Whether it was their first morning … Continue Reading →

Fall Songwriting Retreat 1-min Trailer

Back from another songwriting retreat, this time in Chiba Prefecture! By the numbers, it was 4 people, 2 days, 1 song. Yes, just one, as we experimented writing together from start to finish. But what numbers can’t measure are the … Continue Reading →

Worship Leader Gathering 1-min Video

Here’s a one-minute clip of our first Worship Leader Gathering, held at Christ Bible Institute in Nagoya, on July 15-16. Twenty-two worship leaders and songwriters from Tokyo, Chiba, Osaka, Kobe, Sendai and Nagoya gathered to encourage one another, worship in … Continue Reading →

seeJesus Podcast

For the past seven years since moving to Japan, if I had to choose one author whose books have shaped me the most, it would be Paul Miller. A friend first recommended me A Praying Life in 2010. The next … Continue Reading →

First Songwriting Retreat

Been a bit quiet on the blog the past few months. But trust me, life has been anything but quiet in the Nagata home, especially in the wee hours of the night! 👶 (I had to look up that idiom … Continue Reading →