Articles by

Joanne Kwok

Real Life, Real People

How I quit smoking after 9 years

I still remember my first cigarette. My bi-sexual ex-convict then-boyfriend had broken up with me because I was a virgin and did not want to sleep with him. I was heartbroken and devastated. I was in...

Culture

How to waste your life

ā€œI now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.ā€ (C S Lewis, The Screwtape Letters) I think I spend most of my days wasting my life away with nothingness...

Faith

Time to shine

“Do everything without grumblingĀ or arguing, so that you may become blamelessĀ and pure, children of GodĀ without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like...

Culture

Why I left Instagram

My Christian brethren might give me some side-eye at this confession, but I’ve never fasted. InĀ my church, fasting season every year stretches from July 1Ā to August 9. That’sĀ 40 days...

Faith

Rend the Heavens: My cry for my generation

I will never forget theĀ phone call I received back in 2014 – on Christmas Day – and finding out that I was going to be part of Awaken Generation’s pioneer cohort. On the other end of the line...

Culture

Why Uncle Jeff loves Singapore and you should too

“This year, on Aug 9, I will have celebrated National Day 52 times,” Jeffrey Goh – let’s call him Uncle Jeff – declares, waving his Singapore flag. The National Day tattoos on...

Real Life, Real People

Persecuted for my faith: The peace that surpasses it all

The first time I stepped into a church was when I was 12 years old. In worship, I heard a song that resonatedĀ in my heart. It was as if I had found something I never knew I needed: The greatest love...

Work

Unemployed, in debt – and learning how to trust Him

I grew up in a loving and pampered environment. That’s great while you’re a kid – but bad when you’re an adult. I had to grow up, become a more mature me. But to do that, I needed...

Music

Numb – the cry of a generation

I’m tired of being what you want me to be Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface Don’t know what you’re expecting of me Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes Every...