literary living
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Thin Places – Podcast Recommendation and Personal Reflection
I listened to this podcast on my drive today and found it deeply enjoyable and thought-provoking. I am eager to read Tracy Balzer’s books and encourage you to listen as well! The conversation on this podcast also reminded me of my own experiences with “thin places” such as the hike to the Hermitage of St. Continue reading
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Not the First and the Last
There is a hole in my ceiling. In the basement room where I practice organ, what began as mild water damage is now a hole. My first instinct was anxiety, but as I investigated our home’s new “feature” last night, the following phrase came to mind: “You are not the first to have water damage, Continue reading
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Reading Roundup – January 2023
Curious what I read this month? Check out my GoodReads! Although I read eleven books this month, not every one was a winner. However, I did read several that are now on my favorites list! Check them out below: 1. Marmee by Sarah Miller I read this right after rereading Little Women and LET ME Continue reading
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You Might be an Accompanist If…
1. You can recognize a Mark Hayes arrangement from the opening measure. 2. You carry throat coat tea and lozenges around for other people. 3. You are NEVER without a pencil. 4. The sight of already hole-punched music fills you with joy. 5. You accidentally watch people’s hands instead of making eye contact during conversation Continue reading
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Protocol: A Short Story
It was colder in the ICU that morning than usual. Doing her best not to shiver, Dr. Matthews attuned her ears to what the hospital director was saying: “You can’t do anything.” It was a gut punch, too sudden and direct to absorb. She was familiar with these bleak words, often pronounced over flatlined patients. Continue reading
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Ryanne Molinari 