Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 2

On the Nightstand: The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery

I read a lot of contemporary Christian fiction this summer, and greatly enjoyed finding some new-to-me authors. The one who resonated with me the most was Amanda Cox, a Christy-winning novelist who describes herself as a “therapist-turned-novelist who pens stories about characters finding hope, healing, and a sense of belonging.” I wish I did that as beautifully as she does! I started with He Should Have Told the Bees, the story of two young women who are named in a beekeeper’s trust. The women...

On the Nightstand: Love and the Dream Come True

I started this one on the way home from South Dakota, and am really enjoying it so far. It’s a contemporary Christian romance, and the setup is that a down-on-his-luck musician (think someone like an American Idol winner four years later) goes home for his sister’s wedding and encounters her flighty but lovely single-mom best friend, who’s always had a crush on him. The writing is breezy and the characters really believable!

What’s on your nightstand?

Have an ‘Unforgettable’ Summer

I’m humbled and grateful that the Association of Catholic Publishers selected Unforgettable Women of the Gospels as its CatholicsRead book club selection for July. I hope you’ll join me at one of these free events.

Note: Some events have limited space; others will include refreshments. Please register where indicated so you can have the best experience possible.

June 8Come by my table in the exhibitor space at the Diocesan Jubilee Festival at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Front Roy...

On the Nightstand: A Two-Fer

I’m going to my home state of South Dakota this month to travel with my beloved aunt, visit with cousins and friends from college, and attend my 50th (gulp!) high school reunion.

I’m figuring the plane travel will give me extra time for reading, so I have books from two friends on my nightstand this month:

The Dark Guest by Sarah Hamaker, is a Christian suspense novel with echoes of life during the Cold War. Sarah and I know each other through Capital Christian Writers Fellowship, and I’m...

On the Nightstand: Angels & Devils

Call me suggestible if you like. I’ve been called worse.

I fully intended to spend April reading a different book. But this afternoon I went for my weekly prayer and reflection hour at a neighborhood parish, and this book was sitting out. I had a few minutes, so I picked it up. I’ve read some of the author’s other work, and it was always impeccably researched. I opened the section about devils and demons, and was struck by the scriptural references and saints’ experiences with the evil one a...

On the Nightstand: Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

I went to a healing retreat last month, and one of the speakers was a priest and exorcist. His talk included thoughts about Matthew 12:43-45, when an unclean spirit returns to the place it was removed and brings along its friends. The point, the speaker said, is that when demons have been cast out of us, we must fill the space with God. That resonated with me, since this Lent I’m focusing more on living a life pleasing to God and less on people’s reactions to me.

This book by a mega-church f...

On the Nightstand: Spiritual Direction: A Guide for Sharing the Father’s Love

My friend Pat Gohn, who also happens to be the editor at Living Faith, suggested this book recently while we were catching up on life. It’s been more than a decade since I had a spiritual director, but when Pat recommends something, I listen!

I’m still in the book’s opening pages, and dogearing things to contemplate like this gem: “When, through sin, man resists the self-gift of God, God does not cease giving Himself. The divine dynamic of one-on-one relationships is never-ending, unconditio...

On the Nightstand: The Great Unknown: The Holy Spirit and His Gifts

I’m pretty confident that if you ask 10 friends to which Person of the Holy Trinity they pray, eight or nine of them will say God the Father or Jesus. The Holy Spirit just doesn’t seem to get as much attention, beyond the beautiful “Come, Holy Spirit” prayer.

I’m looking forward to delving into this new book, which includes among its promised benefits “practical methods to help you grow in docility to the Holy Spirit” and “the one way for your soul to be practically and profoundly Christian....

On the Nightstand: Tree of Souls by Howard Schwartz

The queen of looking back was Lot’s wife. In Genesis 19, angels tell Lot his city will be destroyed due to the Lord’s displeasure, and that he, his wife, and his two daughters need to leave and not look back. And Lot, whose actions are sometimes less than admirable (earlier, he offered to let his daughters be raped; later, his daughters get him drunk and have sex with him) obeys. He doesn’t look back. But his wife does, and turns into a pillar of salt.

I was digging around to learn more abou...

On the Nightstand: Wife, Mother & Mystic

Every saint’s and saint-in-the-making’s story has something to teach us. This month, I’m going to be delving into the life of Blessed Anna Maria. She was born in Siena, Italy, in 1769, and married shortly before she was twenty. It was not long after her marriage that she had her first encounter with Jesus. Many visions of the future followed, including prophecies of future events. She continued to live in the world, with her husband raising four children to adulthood. She died in 1837.

If yo...