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Books and Babies: How Motherhood Has Changed My Reading Habits
Throughout my first four months of motherhood, I have continued to read, perhaps even more than before. It is, after all, easier to read a book during nap time or while nursing at 3:00 a.m. than to enjoy most other noisy, baby-stimulating occupations. But my reading habits have changed in ways that I find worth…
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1,000 Calories of Worship
In Spirit-Filled Singing: Bearing Fruit as We Worship Together, I talk about how the fruit of self-control calls us to steward our bodies for the sake of physical participation in worship: “When musicians dedicate themselves to an instrument, their physicality begins to revolve around playing that instrument (or voice, for singers). Have you noticed that…
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Big Little Faith
While sitting in the dark with young Martin night after night, I started mulling afresh on Christ’s call to receive the kingdom like a child. “Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let…
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Be Easy to Entertain
“What can we make for you?” “Do you have any allergies?” “Are there any foods you won’t eat?” When my son was born, we were the grateful beneficiaries of two church meal trains. I have never eaten so well in my life! Although I recognize the dedicated preparation that went into the meals my family…
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I Lost My Top Subscriber
Last week, I lost my top subscriber. I know I’m supposed to be tough and keep writing regardless, but blogging just isn’t the same without her. She used to comment with astonishing, almost unsettling swiftness. Mere moments after I pressed “publish,” my inbox would ping with her praise. It was an antiphony I miss already.…
books, death, encouragement, family, grandma, grandparent, grief, life, loss, love, reader, Reading, top reader, writer life, writing -
Against Anti-Aging
I am not anti-makeup. I am not anti-skincare. But I am also not anti-aging. Women have always struggled with looking their age. Whatever era you were raised in, I am sure you have memories of mothers and grandmothers lamenting loosening skin, deepening eye bags, or graying hair. Even in our culture, which is quick to…
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The Power of the Tongue
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,and those who love it will eat its fruits.” – Proverbs 18:21 What if we saw our speech for what it is?What if we saw its power performedIn the beauty and brutality of life—and death? Our tongue ought to act as midwife,Made and trained to bring life—To echo experimental coosAnd inspire smiling shrieks of surprise,Bubbling over with unaffected delightAs gurgles give way to…
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Actually, Having a Baby Has Slowed Me Down
When I was nine months pregnant, a colleague of mine informed me that pregnancy didn’t slow his wife down. Good for her. To be fair, pregnancy barely slowed me down either. I worked out the entire time, kept up with my too-many jobs, submitted my doctoral dissertation, and even recorded the audiobook for Spirit-Filled Singing…
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The Pedagogy of Place
As I stretched after a run yesterday, I caught sight of two bald eagles in a tree across the river. I immediately thought of Isaiah 40:31 and the promise that those who trust in the Lord will soar on wings like eagles. Then I thought of the hymn “On Eagle’s Wings,” which is quite possibly…
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Lessons from My Favorite Fictional Mother
Throughout Little Women, Mrs. Margaret March—fondly called “Marmee” by her daughters—seems to be a background character. We are told about the appearances, idiosyncrasies, aspirations, relationships, and weaknesses of the four March sisters, but are given very little information about Marmee. Instead, whatever glimpses we catch of her come through conversations with and among her daughters.…
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The Way of Repentance & Seven Marks of True Repentance
“One of the reasons why so many Christians are drained, depressed, and depleted is because they are not regularly repenting.” – Chris Brauns, The Way of Repentance Perhaps this statement strikes you as counterintuitive, or perhaps a book about repentance sounds like a downer. All the more reason for you to read The Way of…
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Learning to Lean: On Walkers and Worship
An old man. Muscles previously sinewed from hard labor and long hikes have atrophied. Hands once tanned and leathered from daily chores shiver in too-thin sheets of papery skin. His broad shoulders declare that he was once a champion wrestler. Now, slightly stooped, they denote him a determined worshiper. He stands. Perhaps he wobbles a…
Recent Posts
- Books and Babies: How Motherhood Has Changed My Reading Habits
- 1,000 Calories of Worship
- Big Little Faith
- Be Easy to Entertain
- I Lost My Top Subscriber
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Ryanne Molinari 