Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 22hWhen it comes to the Trinity, the only writings I have come across that have truly spoken to me, deep in my heart, are those of Maurice Zundel… 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 22hBrother Roger, the founder of the Taizé Community, chose to write his doctoral thesis on monasticism before the time of Benedict of Nursia. Influenced by him, I too developed a deep interest in monasticism, even before I was baptized. That interest has remained with me to this day… 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 22hIt was a scene included in MEGAZONE 23 Part II, but unfortunately, it has since been cut from the video versions that are publicly available today… I remember thinking: “Wait… so this is what men and women actually do…?” 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 03/10/2026The photo shows my weight from last month… On October 6, 2012, when I completed the 71.5 km Japan Mountain Endurance Race (Hasetsune), my weight was 72.8 kg. Now, I am trying to lose some weight. ✨ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Today, October 4, is, if I remember correctly, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, in the Catholic Church calendar. Today, I plan to write letters to some Japanese friends who are not Christians, so that I can tell them about this day. ✍️ 111
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 03/10/2026【I love Japanese anime ❤️】 Gigi Andalusia ✨ She’s one of my favorite anime characters! ❤️ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I hope that, by leaving my writings for future generations, a mission to China 🇨🇳 may become a reality someday. 🕊️ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 03/10/2026If I ever have the opportunity, I would like to write a missionary book using the modern English translation of the work written by the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven*(ISBN 9780997282313). The Chinese authorities probably wouldn’t allow it, though… 101
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I do not want to give my readers the wrong impression that Christianity is very strong in Japan. Perhaps the sight of Japanese high school girls taking photos in front of Shibuya Station is much closer to the real Japan, and a more fitting picture of everyday life here. 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Here in Japan, it’s already 10:30 p.m. 🌙 It’s almost time for me to go to bed 😊 I hope you all have a peaceful night and sweet dreams. Good night, everyone. Sleep well 😴✨ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I am Japanese, and my native language is Japanese 🇯🇵 But on this BlueSky account, I post information in English under the pen name “Grestia Northwood.” I use the free version of ChatGPT, an AI, to help with translation. 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I learned from a letter from the sisters that the Carmelite monastery in Fukuoka, Japan, has been closed. In Japan, there is a problem with fewer people receiving a new vocation to religious life, while the religious sisters and brothers who are already there are getting older. 110
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026【I love Japanese anime!】 A song from MEGAZONE 23 Part II that I listened to a very long time ago was uploaded on YouTube… I was so moved to hear it again 🥲✨ youtu.be/gaZyAPkXxbA?... 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I’ve made a commitment to devote the rest of my life as a writer to works centered on themes related to Christianity. “Everything for the glory of God.” I have a feeling that the time I have left may not be very long… 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I’m developing an idea for my next work… Before leaving Japan for Manila after Christianity was banned, the Christian daimyo Ukon Takayama is said to have practiced the Spiritual Exercises. Inspired by this episode, I hope to create a work of fiction…✨ 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026The photo is from the cover of Haru to Shura, a poetry collection published by Kenji Miyazawa. The poet took money from his own pocket and self-published his first work, putting it out into the world. Today, we live in an age when we can self-publish for free on Amazon. 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 30/09/2026It is almost 3 a.m. here in Tokyo 🕒 Today, I am going to see my doctor and get my medicine 💊 for my “thorn in the flesh,” bipolar disorder. I hope you all have a good day ✨ 110
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 29/09/2026This is my latest work! It’s available in English as a Kindle edition on Amazon. www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0HL5B5ZD... 021
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 26/09/2026【I love Japanese anime movies!】 About 40 years ago, there was an OVA called Megazone 23. If you live outside Japan and you know “Part II” of this anime, you must be a real expert of Japanese animation. 👍 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 26/09/2026【I love Japanese anime movies!】 When I think of “anime movies,” maybe the first one that comes to my mind is Mobile Suit Gundam (the first Gundam). Sayla Mass was my favorite character. ✨ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 26/09/2026【I love Japanese anime movies!】 Do you know “Evangelion”? The animator who worked on the Giant Warrior in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, under the famous anime director Hayao Miyazaki, later became a director himself. And then, he made “Evangelion.” 👍 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 26/09/2026【English translation of the Japanese in the photo】 “I was born into this world because there is one thing in this world that only I can do.” For me, that one thing is to turn the “Last Words” of Thérèse of Lisieux into a novel, and leave it here on earth. ✨ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Good morning ☺️ It is 3:00 a.m. here in Tokyo 🗼. I went to bed at 9:00 p.m. last night, so I got 6 hours of sleep. That is ideal for me ✨ I hope today will be a good day for all of you 🕊️ 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Today, I will write and send some postcards… I will be coming out about my bipolar disorder. I feel the time has come. 💊 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Here in Tokyo 🗼, it is almost 4:30 a.m… Good morning, everyone ☀️ I hope today will be a good day for everyone 🕊️ 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 21/09/2026The swallow returns to its old nest. youtu.be/O9szMFWosBg?... 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 20/09/2026It is past 6:00 a.m. here in Tokyo… The typhoon is hitting us directly. It’s not so much the wind, but the rain ☔ that is really bad. Today, I’m going to spend the day writing postcards! Everyone, have a good day 🕊️ 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 20/09/2026It’s a little before 8 p.m. here in Tokyo. A typhoon is coming tomorrow, so I’m going to bed early tonight. 😴 Good night, everyone! 🕊️ 120
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 19/09/2026【My image of “devotion”】 For me, “devotion” means having a set Bible passage, together with some notes and a faith-related topic to think about, and then focusing on them. It feels like the Bible comes first, and everything starts from there... 020
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 19/09/2026【Daily prayer is important!】 Even though I am now Protestant, I still really value the Catholic way of “meditation” and “contemplation.” So, I’m not very familiar with “devotion” in the Protestant tradition... It is still something I’m learning about. 😊 020
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 19/09/2026【Changing from Catholic to Protestant】 It has been about five years since I changed from Catholicism to the same Protestant denomination as my wife. I no longer have a small home altar, and I no longer pray the Rosary 📿. 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Tokyo will soon be 10 p.m. 🌃 I worked hard on my computer during the daytime, but even now at night, I can't stop thinking about writing my novel... I’m not feeling sleepy at all, and I’m a little confused about what to do. 😭 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 18/09/2026These 10 days were really hard for me. Because of the side effects of the SSRI I was taking, I could not eat or drink, and I had to stay in bed. I lost 5 kg. I strongly felt how helpless I was, and how short life is. From now on, I want to change the way I live. 020
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 15/09/2026This was taken around June a few years ago with my Olympus digital camera. It is a white hydrangea called “Annabelle.” 🤍 The flower that Japanese people enjoy during the “rainy season” is the hydrangea. 🌿✨ Please remember that. 😊 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 11/09/2026When I am bedridden with illness, I cannot help but feel that my “earthly” role gradually becomes more and more unclear, while only the “heavenly” things seem to become clearer and clearer. 020
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 09/09/2026【A person I considered】 There was another person I wanted to write about in a novel… But I decided not to. His name is Charles de Foucauld, a French man with a very special gift. So, if someone becomes interested in him and writes a novel about him someday, I would be very happy. ✨😊 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 09/09/2026【For my next work…】 There was a young nun named Thérèse of Lisieux. She is quite famous in Christianity and the Catholic Church, but she sadly passed away when she was only 24 years old. I want more people to know about her and her special charm, so I’m starting a new project. ✨ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 09/09/2026【A Tokyo Art Exhibition – A Little Introduction】 Do you know the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art? The picture is from the flyer for the exhibition. It is written mostly in Japanese, so it may be a little difficult to understand… Let me add a little explanation for you! 😊 110
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Hello everyone! 😊 It’s just past 11 a.m. here in Japan… I hope today will be a good day for all of you. 🕊️ 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Good morning ☀️ It’s just past 8:00 AM here in Japan 🌄 I hope today will be a good day for all of you 🕊️ 010
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026If women of an age at which they are capable of becoming pregnant are considered to be more sexually attractive could it be that men instinctively perceive women in their late teens as somehow more radiant or attractive than women in their twenties? 120
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026The Relationship Between Female Attractiveness and Youth If we were to view women solely in terms of the purpose of having children, we would probably arrive at the conclusion that female attractiveness begins around puberty, and that the younger a woman is, the more desirable she would be. 120
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026“komoshuai” in Japanese School Uniforms As part of her cosplay, komoshuai sometimes wears a Japanese school uniform. When you think about it, girls’ school uniforms are not particularly unusual to Japanese people. But perhaps they look quite different from the perspective of people overseas. 100
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026“Falling for komoshuai…” When I started looking for photos of her, I discovered that she had a very different image when she had just started her career. Back then, she had long hair, and her overall appearance was quite different from how she looks today. 110
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Why I Was Drawn to “komoshuai” When I first met my first love, she was only eight years old. Years later, I met her again when she was 20. To my amazement, one particular photo of komoshuai looked almost exactly like the way my first love looked when she appeared before me at the age of 20. 110
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 02/09/2026【A Woman I Used to Like】 I found some old photos of her from when she was younger online… and looking at them, I still think she was really cute ❤️ She had a kind of charm that only a girl in her teens can have. That was what I found so attractive about her. 100
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 01/09/2026【Planning My Next Work…】 Right now, I’m preparing to start a correspondence by letter ✉️ with the Carmelite nuns of a women’s religious order. There are currently nine Carmelite monasteries in Japan, and I have already received replies from two of them. ✨ 100
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Good morning, everyone ☀️ It’s just past 6:00 a.m. here in Japan… I hope today will be a good day for all of you. That is Grestia’s wish for you. 🕊️ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Good morning, everyone! 🌞 Here in Japan, it’s already past 9:30 AM… I hope today will be a good day for all of you. 🕊️ That is Grestia’s wish. ✨ 000
Grestia Northwood @grestia.bsky.social · 31/08/2026It’s just past 9:00 AM here in Japan… Good morning, everyone! 🌞 Wishing you all a wonderful day today. 🕊️ 000