poems
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A Sonnet for Finding Delight in Diligence
Do you ever have days when getting through your regular routine feels like a triumph of the human spirit? When leaving the office or studio makes you want to scream like Tim Robbins at the end of The Shawshank Redemption? I am at the end of a busy season filled with choir concerts, church services, Continue reading
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Review: “The Soul in Paraphrase” by Leland Ryken
I am deep in a study of pastors who were also poets. The Soul in Paraphrase: A Treasury of Classic Devotional Poems by Leland Ryken has proven to be not only a helpful resource for this project, but a devotional source that I anticipate enjoying for years to come. About The Soul in Paraphrase takes 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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Renew the Arts Podcast
I had the joy of recording a podcast for Renew the Arts, a patronage organization for Christian artists. We discussed my current project, the fruit of the Spirit in musical worship, and you can listen here: Renew the Arts Podcast Continue reading
Art, author, Bible, blog, blogger, Book, christ, christian, christian blogger, Christian living, christian music, christianity, church, church life, church musician, contemporary worship, faith, first draft, hymn, inspiration, learning, love, ministry, ministry life, Music, music life, music major, musician, organ, organist, poems, poets, reflection, sacred music, singing, song, theology, theology and the arts, traditional worship, truth, worship, writer, writing -
Christmas Trees
I.Beside the road, browning in the breeze,Are th’unadorned and corpselike Christmas trees.Their severed stumps pine for forsaken sod,The rootless forest for a promised Rod. Dangling from a beam of their own bark,They wait in vain for cries of joy or “Hark!”In these rejected trees we find reversedThe truth that He who hangs as such is Continue reading
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After a Children’s Christmas Service
Would the Light of the World have liked light-up shoes?Or eagerly volunteered to switch on the tree?Or struggled not to wiggle when asked to stand and sing? Would he sprint, unsteady, to the altarOr jump merrily from its step—Bowing midair lest He forgetUpon landing? We often consider Him as a baby With all His infant Continue reading
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Gardening Advice
I say to you: do not pull up the weeds. If you begin, it is a lifelong taskAs with each stem and bud you find and graspThree more will seem to spring up from its seeds. Again, I say: don’t bother with the weeds.If they offend, give them some other name;A “wild rose,” although it 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 -
“Water, Water, Everywhere”
The value of poetry is often found in its ability to capture the core of nuanced situations. Prior to moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I did some research on the area and was shocked to discover this article by The Gospel Coalition: It’s an article worth reading, at once eye-opening and encouraging. It lays bare Continue reading
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Hallow Hill
The hill was ghostly. Even before finding an old sign revealing its history as an early Christian burial site, I could sense the tension between life and death in the air that chilled my face. It was a place pulsing with potential, yet quiet and lonely as a sleeping giant. Insignificance and eternity confronted me Continue reading
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Two Bluebirds
I’ve been rereading Ray Bradbury’s (…may he rest in peace…so sayeth we all…) Fahrenheit 451. Actually, I’m listening to it on Audible; there is a performance of it by Tim Robbins which literally makes me weep. It’s THAT good. Anyway, as I revisit this all-too-prophetic story of a society so frightened by what is uncomfortable, challenging, or Continue reading
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Poems and a Creek and Such (revisiting an old spot of time)
When I was a freshman in college, I had the not-uncommon experience of feeling 150682234% overwhelmed. It was honestly a feat of grace and strength that I stuck it out, but by the second semester, how happy I was that I did! As that terrified, homesick 18-year-old, I went on a choir retreat and nearly Continue reading
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Ryanne Molinari 