This article is an excerpt from a chapter in Abraham Cho’s forthcoming book Defiant Joy: A Vision for Christian Witness to a World of Anxiety, Loneliness and Outrage. Release date January 2027 with Brazos Press. The word “sabbath” simply means “to cease.” In our always-on world, it feels more to me like a warm invitation...
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I hate this place. How is it possible to hate what you’re thankful for? I haven’t worked out all the details yet. Some questions are better after caffeine anyway, so I pour a cup of coffee so piping hot, it requires coursework in advanced thermodynamics. I sip with trepidation, a squint-eyed geologist exploring bitter magma....
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When I was a teenager, my parents became Amway distributors. This was an interesting turn of events, especially for my father who was a dedicated college professor on the weekdays and a pro-worthy golfer on the weekends. I’m not entirely sure what inspired this shift, but they were good at it. Dad put his exceptional...
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A friend of mine who has a PhD in counseling told me that joy is the emotion that is hardest for us to let ourselves experience. We rarely let ourselves do joy well. Living with joy is hard. I know I’m a lot better at living out of duty, or fear, or effort — or...
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Epiphany begins with speaking God’s name, Immanuel, “God with us,” in its fullness. For it is when the savior has come. The king of the universe doesn’t sit on a throne, but lays in the poverty and ordinariness of a manger. He doesn’t come to us wearing a robe and a crown, but instead wears...
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Like many, many others, I have long loved the work of children’s author and illustrator Tomie De Paola, and particularly how he includes insights into his Italian heritage and his vibrant Catholic faith through simple story-telling. A Mormon friend introduced me to his book The Clown of God, which ably introduces the concept of vocation...
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