Last year I wrote a “Christmas letter” style post and found it helpful for updating friends and family, as well as for personal reflection. If life updates are of interest to you, read on. If not, stay tuned for other content.
In a Nutshell
As 2023 came to a close, Billy had a sense that 2024 was going to be a big year and he sure was right. It’s been a year of growth, from church expansions to added work pressures to new writing opportunities to longer running distances. Now, we are enjoying some Arizona sunshine before we plunge back into ministry and life in Iowa.
The Two-Church, Three-Service Shuffle
As you probably know, we moved to Iowa in 2021 for Billy to serve as a pastor at a young Bible church. What immediately attracted us to this church was its community. Since 2021, the church has grown rapidly, but it still feels so much like a family. God is so gracious. Sometimes I’ll look around on Sunday mornings and have a hard time remembering who is a long-time attendee and who is brand new. It sounds crazy, but when people walk through the doors, they often immediately feel like family—and that is a remarkable statement, coming from this introvert!
God is doing something beautiful at our “little church on the prairie” and I can’t wait to see what happens next. We recently had to add a third service, which is a blessing but—as you can imagine—requires extra endurance on the part of pastors and volunteers.
In early 2025, Billy will step into the lead pastor role. This isn’t his blog, so he can’t stop me from praising him: he works so hard and cares so much. He knows that his vocation involves wrestling with more than flesh and blood, and takes his work with appropriate seriousness. I am excited see him flourish in this role and would appreciate prayers for his peace, clarity, and courage in the coming year.
Meanwhile, I continue to dance the “two-church shuffle” on Sunday mornings and I love it. If I had my way, I think I would work exclusively on Sundays, playing for every Bible-believing, hymn-singing church in Eastern Iowa—one right after the other.
As my hours are limited, I am content leading traditional worship at one church before hopping on the freeway to participate in worship at another. My church choir is small but all members are excellent musicians with remarkable ears. (A church choir that rarely goes out of tune is a rarity I do not take for granted!) We recently had our Lessons and Carols Christmas Eve service, which was beautiful. It featured harp medleys, handbells, a choral response, and many, many favorite carols.
Books, Books, Books
Billy continues to devour books on history and has branched out to memoirs, especially ones dealing with economics. Meanwhile, I continue to read everything from science fiction to biography, apologetics to classic literature, and memoir to murder mystery (hopefully not the same book). If you’re curious what books I read this year, you can snoop around my digital shelves on GoodReads using this link. Date nights often involve visiting Half Price Books (or Barnes & Noble if we are feeling fancy).
Between the two of us, our bookshelves were getting overloaded. We have taken the old rhyme to heart:
Fill your house with lots of books
In all the crannies, all the nooks.
To cope with this happy problem, I repainted one of our basement rooms that just happened to have built-in shelves. Previously, the musty smell kept me from spending time in this “library,” but now it is fresh, clean, and just beautiful. Our books have a nice home indeed, as you can see from the video below:
Much of our reading has been devoted to school this year. Billy started his Doctor of Ministry program in 2021 and, unexpectedly, I ended up doing it with him thanks to a spouse scholarship. When we were dating, getting our doctorates together was a dream we often discussed. The fact that it all fell together so serindipitously is just wonderful. Thank you, Lord!
This January, Billy will go down to St. Louis to complete his fifth (and final) module prior to our dissertations, which we will begin in May. Meanwhile, I am eager to dive into another independent study on writing poetry as a spiritual discipline.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the year for me has been the completion (and submission!) of my first book! Spirit-Filled Singing: Bearing Fruit as We Worship Together is set to come out Fall 2025. It seems far away, but that’s actually normal in traditional publishing. In fact, I take comfort in the fact that my publisher is meticulous: I know that when my book comes out, it will be in its best possible form due to attentive editing, beautiful designing, and intelligent marketing.
I did get a preview of the cover last month, though, and I cannot wait to show you all. It is absolutely stunning.
Writing a book is a sanctifying experience. I can say that for certain now. There where times when words stopped wording. I spent more time thinking about en and em-dashes than I ever expected. I deleted and re-added and deleted and re-added so many things. But it was so, so worth it. I truly feel that I gave my all to this project and can rest satisfied for a season before the craziness of speaking engagements and final edits. Stay tuned for updates, as it will be available for pre-order relatively soon!
Aside from my book, it was a good year for writing. I have blogged a bit more regularly. I also had the honor of being published by The Gospel Coalition twice. You can access those articles using this link: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/ryanne-molinari/
Miscellany
When we are not working or studying, we are probably at the gym or on the trail. We found a new running route that conveniently ends at a coffee shop. This provided a welcome weekend activity throughout the sunny months. We’ve run longer distances more regularly this year than any other, which is probably why we are so tired. Happy, but tired.
Our cat, S’mores, is much the same. However, we are pleased to report that after three years, she finally seems to like us. Mostly.
In June, we rescued a kitten who looks a bit like S’mores but has a completely different personality. Sadly, S’mores hated the kitten, now named Biscuit, so we had to keep them separate. Thankfully, some good friends adopted her (Biscuit) and now she rules their house with a furry fist.
To read more, check out my article “Who Isn’t My Neighbor? Thoughts on Cats, Concern, and Connectedness.”
My parents continue to visit Iowa during the summer as reverse snowbirds. This means lots of family bike rides to our favorite ice cream shop. It’s pretty tough to compete with Arizona winters, but Iowa summers really give them a run for their money!
Looking Ahead
2025 is tomorrow. That’s crazy town. We’ve passed the years that the sci-fi authors of yore used as extremely futuristic years. (1984 and 2001, to name two.) It’s likely 2025 will be full of challenges and adventures, but so long as it is also full of worshiping, writing, running, reading, and learning…well, it will be a good year.
A very Happy New Year to you all!
Ryanne Molinari 