literary living
-
Holy Saturday 2023
I wrote a poem for Holy Saturday 2022 and it was a great creative and spiritual activity, so here’s a poem for this year: The Light of the World has been dimmed but still I rise to switch on the lamp, open the shades, let in the sun —and wait The Bread of Life has… Continue reading
-
The White Horse
Originally posted on Ryanne Molinari: I am continually captivated by the donkey colt that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. I share this fascination with many other, far-better writers than me, including (but certainly not limited to) GK Chesterton in “The Donkey” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47918/the-donkey) and Mary Oliver in “The Poet Thinks About the Donkey” (https://www.instagram.com/p/CcKwgBjs4tU/). Let’s not forget… Continue reading
-
The Midwest and Mortality: Reflections after a Tornado Warning
Continuing my latest string of mildly-morbid posts… When I lived in Arizona, I was invincible. At least, that’s how I felt. Sure, we had the odd monsoon and dust storm, but these rarely did anything more than shuffle our garbage bins down the street and coat our pool floaties in dirt. With only two seasons… Continue reading
-
Sanctified Squirrels
Our basement is weird. Even weirder than the typical Midwestern basement. In one room, a pulpit faces a window looking out on an enormous oak tree. Squirrels dart to and fro as my husband preaches to their twitchy noses and (perhaps after frightening them with difficult theological truth) their bushy tails. Down the hallway lies… Continue reading
-
Choral Dissonance: Separating Musical and Biblical Literacy
Originally posted on Ryanne Molinari: “Who’s Goliath?” The past week, I’ve entrenched in Christmas concerts and rehearsals with a community college, a public high school, and a community choir. It is the first Christmas in a long time when I have not been busy accompanying a church choir, where the question “Who’s Goliath?” would never… Continue reading
-
Doing Death Together
Maybe it’s because it’s Lent or maybe because I played for a funeral on Saturday, but I’ve been thinking a lot about death. Okay, actually, I think that’s just my personality. I’m a joyfully melancholic person with a bent toward the Medieval. Memento mori (“remember that you must die”) has always been more appealing to… Continue reading
-
Reading Roundup: February 2023
I read ten books in February and, as usual, my reading tastes are unpredictable. The genres I enjoyed range from speculative fiction to poetry to journalism and nonfiction to historical biblical fiction. It would be a wild ride if I weren’t, well, sitting comfortably on my couch with a cup of coffee and a blanket.… Continue reading
-
Make Christian Nonfiction Beautiful Again
Yesterday, several people asked me what I was reading. When I replied, “Abraham Kuyper’s The Work of the Holy Spirit” and showed them this thick treasure-trove of a tome, there were two basic responses: 1) nodding and backing away as though Reformed theology is contagious and 2) an appreciative nod accompanied by some comment that… Continue reading
-
Love
Foremost and fertile, it images the TrueVine in Whom all things are made and made anew.It is at once the soil and root:Love, agapé, the Spirit’s firstborn fruit. I’ll likely add more to this poem in the future, but it seemed thematic for Valentine’s Day. Did you know that love isn’t merely the first fruit… Continue reading
-
Bad at Bows…My Most Embarrassing Moment
Alright. It’s time. I survived a weekend of concerts and managed not to panic. Panic over what, you ask? Surely you’ve played enough concerts not to be nervous! True. I have. It’s not the music I get nervous about. It’s the bows. I am finally going to blog about my most embarrassing moment, my origin… Continue reading
Recent Posts
- Should we be Concerned that Using Music by Bethel and Hillsong is Contributing to our Culture of Immediate Gratification? On Patience and Using CCM Music in Worship
- “Lord, Lord” – A Poetic Reflection on Matthew 7:21-23
- Is Singing Music by Bethel and Hillsong Promoting Peace in the Body of Christ? The Answer is More Nuanced Than You Think.
- Rejoicing with the Truth: Does Using Music by Bethel and Hillsong Generate Genuine Joy in our Churches?
- Is it Loving to Sing Music by Bethel and Hillsong in Our Worship? Reexamining the Debate According to the Fruit of the Spirit Part 1
Subscribe
Ryanne Molinari 