devotional
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A Midwestern Take on Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light… Continue reading
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The First Day of Christmas
Each week, I have anywhere between six and eleven rehearsals. Yesterday, however, was my favorite of the entire year: the first Christmas rehearsal. I realize it is only mid-October, but for musicians it might as well be the first day of Christmas. Spooky season and Christmas tend to blend together if you’re a musician…or Tim… Continue reading
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Wednesday
Wednesday is a day of reorientation. Monday and Tuesday, I reflect on Sunday’s services. What went well? How did the music interact with the message? Was my preparation enough? On Wednesday, I turn my gaze toward the coming Sunday. I finalize my service binder, confirm my prelude and postlude, and rehearse with the choir. I… Continue reading
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Good Friday 2022
Art, beauty, Bible, blog, blogger, christ, christian, christian blogger, Christian living, Christian poetry, christianity, church, devotional, faith, hope, journal, poem, poems, poet, poetry, poets, reflection, sacred music, sacred poetry, theology, theology and the arts, word, worship, write, writer, writing -
To Walk Upon Snow
Plowing the streets was necessary,But it leaves me, though safer, sad.In that unblemished blanket from heaven’s stores,I saw for the first time, at last,The gleaming, blinding sparkling oresOf streets made from pure, white gold. I am too heavy to walk this new roadAnd so I dig out the cheap, sturdy, dirty oldPavement that is suited… Continue reading
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Joseph’s Magnificat
My troubled soul shall magnify the LordWhose glory proves through my humiliation.May it be unto me according to his wordFor the promised hope of this, my own nation. The Master works through my humbled estateAs the fitting tool to smooth my splintered grain.He gives and takes away and by his greatCraft turns my lonesome loss… Continue reading
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Pruned: A Parable
In a garden in the desert there was a tree. She was beautiful, lush and healthy and growing with a swiftness unknown to most desert plants. She had been planted in good soil and her roots drank deeply from a nearby stream. One day, the Gardener was walking along the stream. As he went, he… Continue reading
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Starvation
I’ve written before about my past struggles with eating and body image. One of the most valuable lessons I learned through this issue, though, is this: The starving man (or woman) does not always know that he is hungry. The starving man does not always know that he is hungry. When hunger is ignored long… Continue reading
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Render: Inscription and Image
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.[b] 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful… Continue reading
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Pride and Purgation
As I expressed in an earlier post, I have come to love Dante’s Commedia more and more through rereading. In a manner almost scriptural, he manages to address every aspect of human life and, as a poet-theologian, particularly the artistic life. My favourite of canticle is Purgatorio, which is perhaps a humorous choice for a… Continue reading
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Ryanne Molinari 