writing
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Ten Cheap and Instant Ways to Make Your Old-New House Feel Like Home
A lot of my friends are moving into their first homes, and I’m reminiscing about the absolutely chaotic time when Billy and I got engaged, left our jobs, bought a house without seeing it (or each other, as he was quarantined), got married, and moved across the country in three months. It was so stressful Continue reading
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“Lord, Lord” – A Poetic Reflection on Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will Continue reading
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Is Singing Music by Bethel and Hillsong Promoting Peace in the Body of Christ? The Answer is More Nuanced Than You Think.
Peace is a sorely abused fruit of the Spirit. Too often we are told to “keep the peace,” meaning to keep quiet and refrain from speaking hard truths. But the beatitude is “blessed are the peacemakers.” Makers. There is more to peace than comfortability and tolerance. Instead, it is about Christ making peace for us Continue reading
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Sick of Unfruitful Arguing? It’s Time to Reexamine the Bethel-Hillsong Debate According to the Fruit of the Spirit.
I’ve seen countless articles about the Bethel-Hillsong controversy. The debate over whether or not to use music by theologically and/or ethically suspect organizations has become the new “Worship War.” The battle previously waged between staunch traditionalists and contemporary music fans is taking a back seat to this more immediate, heated debate: Can Bible-believing congregations rightly Continue reading
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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
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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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Ash Wednesday
Speak o’er me those desired and dreaded words:Pronounce my death while I yet live and breathe.Adorn me with the burnt kiss of our Lord,Preparing me for glory—and for grief. Say to me what I most long and fear to hear!Announce my life to be of little worthEven as you declare that I am dearTo the Continue reading
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I Envy Batman
My husband and I love Batman. He’s probably the only superhero I can actually stand. However, I envy him this one thing: the simplicity of his double identity. I would love to simply be “reclusive millionaire” by day and “avenger of the city” by night. Really, I just like the idea of having a clear Continue reading
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Till We Have Faces – Discussion Questions
A friend and I are reading C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces. This is my third trek through this masterpiece and, upon finishing it this morning, I decided to look up the HarperOne reading guide. The questions on this guide are fine, but seem a bit surface-level for such a mythical, mystical book. So, here 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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Ryanne Molinari 