Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 10

A Baggy Yellow Shirt, Black Jersey Capris, and Friendship

You’ve probably read my friend Patricia Lorenz’s “Baggy Yellow Shirt” story, about a joke and a lot of love between her and her mom. It’s been published all over the place, and people all over the internet, like this site, regularly appropriate it without permission or credit.

But this isn’t a story about a baggy yellow shirt. It’s a story about a pair of black jersey capris. They’re the ones on the bottom in the picture below.

Fifteen years ago, I had virtually no disposable income. My marriage...

On the Nightstand: The Mirror & the Light

I’d been meaning to read Wolf Hall, the first in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, for years. Then it turned out my friend MEG was a fan, so I borrowed her copy about a year ago and was hooked. I didn’t know much about Cromwell before this (though I could have named you all of Henry VIII’s wives–remember that old rhyme, “Two beheaded/two died/one divorced/one survived”?).


Now you may ask how does this, the final novel in the trilogy, fit into spiritual reading? I think it’s all in...

Doing No Harm

Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. (Luke 4:35)

They are so visual, those words from Luke 4 about Jesus casting out the unclean demon. We can see Jesus issuing the command, and the demon discarding like so much garbage what had been his ...

Friends in Faith : Tony DeCristofaro

If you think I have any skill at all as a devotional writer, Tony DeCristofaro is one of the two people most responsible. (The other is my dear friend Patricia Lorenz.) I was looking for some way to give back to the local Cursillo community after my Weekend, and Tony has this blog. He graciously gave me a chance to be a contributor. That was nearly 14 years ago, and here we are.

But beyond that opportunity, Tony inspires me by the way he consistently lives his faith in action. He’s a loving hus...

Quelling Our Anxieties and Fears

Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

I was in first grade at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and that was old enough to understand something bad, very bad, might happen. I have a vivid memory of sitting in my father’s lap and asking if he would have to go to war. This was a man who struggled with searing memories from his World War II service in the Pacific and who was not given to shows of emot...

What We’ll Have

Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27, NRSVCE)

If ever there was a Bible verse made for reading out loud, emphasizing a different word each time, it is Matthew 19:27, in particular Peter’s words.

“We have left everything and followed you…” and that makes us special, not like all those peop...

Eating What Is Given

Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

Weeknight supper was predictable in the Rigney household: pork cutlets on Mondays; hamburger casserole on Tuesdays; beef stew or pot roast on Wednesdays; some sort of chicken on Thursdays; and on Fridays, creamed salmon on toast, or some other fish. When my siblings and I got into our teens and had after-school activities, we did our best to be out on Monday nights...

Blind Leading the Blind

Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:13-14, NRSVCE)

I’m reading Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, which explains the Soviet ruler’s rise and viselike grip by illuming the sycophants around him—some dow...

Friends in Faith: Kristin Taddey Bryant

What kind of person starts a new business during a pandemic? The kind who’s prayerfully discerned that that’s what God wants her to do. Kristin Taddey Bryant launched Novena Cards in response to a tugging at her soul. She’s always loved the saints and praying for people. Kristin also has an eye for beauty; she’s been creating cards and other products at her Hello Blessings Etsy store for some time. But Novena Cards takes her ministry a step further.

It’s a gift to know someone’s praying for you...

On the Nightstand–Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts

Maybe it happens to you too, those times when you beat yourself up over something no one else noticed. Or maybe it’s anxiety about things over which you have little or no control over, like whether someone is practicing social distancing or who’s going to win an election. Oh, you trust that all shall be well because God is but that voice inside you just wonders if, well, God needs some help from you in the world!

I had become better about gently turning those thoughts aside before the pandemic b...