WRITING
THE TSUNAMI VIOLIN
“Let me tell you about the music of my home in Japan: the rhythm of the waves, the song of the birds, the whistling of the wind, and the hum of the town.”
A tsunami from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake sweeps away the peaceful life of a young tree. With no town, family, or friends, she feels like she has lost everything. She once again finds joy and purpose through an unexpected encounter with a master craftsman. Based on incredible real-life events, The Tsunami Violin tells an uplifting story of music, hope, and new life after tragedy.
HIDDEN BEAUTY
Beauty in Japanese art and culture often hides in the empty spaces between sounds, brush strokes, flowers, and branches. An even deeper beauty resides beneath, the hidden beauty of the God of the Bible. Through 20 short meditations, discover the presence of God and echoes of the Christian gospel in Japanese life and culture.
"Through his artistic sensibilities and love for the Japanese people, Roger brings new insights into how God truly reveals his beauty in Japan."
—Toshiyuki Machida
director of Bible & Art Ministries
A TASTE OF GRACE
MORE THAN FOOD
why eat?
for energy? for health?
comfort or community?
Roger W. Lowther invites you to explore how the delicious and creative foods of Japan give hints of Christ’s love and care for us every day. Taste God’s grace and beauty in this array of Japanese culinary traditions and cultures.
“The stories here have the power to open both your ears and your eyes. And they might do something for your taste buds too.”
—Pierce Taylor Hibbs
author of Finding God in the Ordinary
THE BROKEN LEAF
The Broken Leaf invites you to explore the beauty and gospel images found in Japanese art and culture. Through ten short meditations, discover for yourself just how God might be revealing his story in the everyday objects of your life whenever and wherever you may be. Available in hard cover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook!
Companion Guide: Questions for Reflection and Discussion Available for free download.
AROMA OF BEAUTY
What would you do if a natural disaster decimated a huge part of your country?
After Japan’s catastrophic Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Roger Lowther’s family and community found themselves reeling from a series of devastating blows:
• Magnitude 9.0 earthquake
• Monstrous 120 foot tsunami
• Exploding nuclear power plants
• Tens of thousands dead
• Hundreds of thousands homeless
How can you demonstrate God’s presence and goodness to people living in devastation around you? How do you find hope in the middle of so much despair?
In the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in history, music had a healing power never dreamed possible. An electrifying sense of hope, almost tangible, wafted through the air. In those moments, beauty won over fear and despair.
These stories of the aroma of God’s beauty and presence in the aftermath and devastation will encourage you, inspire you, and change you.
PIPPY THE PIANO
After a tsunami strikes the city of Kamaishi, Japan, a church finds their beloved piano upside down and covered in a big pile of mud and debris. Rather than throw it out, they decide to spend the enormous amounts of time and money necessary to fix it.
Inspired by a true story, Pippy the Piano and the Very Big Wave helps children understand the meaning of redemption.
J.S. BACH
This small booklet was written to complement a complete performance of J.S. Bach’s monumental work Clavier-Übung III in Tokyo in 2017 as part of Community Arts Tokyo’s annual Bach Festival. It also celebrates the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. If there had been no Martin Luther, there would have been no Clavier-Übung III.
These bilingual short meditations in English and Japanese will be an encouragement in your own exploration of this masterpiece.
Cow Pie Water recounts a five and a half month journey on the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Join Black Hawk and Strawberry Girl through these trail journals, as they face Giardia, dehydration, altitude sickness, forest fires, raging rivers, bears, endless fields of snow, and, hardest of all, their own humanity.
