The Habit of Joy

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It is Eastertide, the Great Fifty Days in which we celebrate Resurrection, Christ’s triumph over sin and death and evil. During Easter, we remember our own baptism, too, in which we died with Christ and were raised with Him in newness of life. This whole season is...

Grief and Joy

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I walk with tears in my eyes down to my favorite viewpoint, and I pray. “God, it’s been a year and a half. I should be over this by now. I shouldn’t still be weeping about it.” But I am. I’m just tired, I tell myself. And that is true. Or maybe I’m PMSing. That may be...

Bearing the Joy-Light

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My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” —Luke 1:46-49 The watchword for this third week of Advent is “rejoice,” and it is connected with Mary...

A Holiday by the Sea

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Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” –John 15:12 If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of...

Follow the Joy: How to Draw Near to God

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“I wanted to let you know,” Cathee tells me, “that I’ve officially given up on First John.” It’s a sunny Saturday morning, and we’re having breakfast together at a small cafe. “Yeah?” I say. “I’ve...