Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 4

On the Nightstand: The World Is My Cloister–Living From the Hermit Within

This book popped up in one of my social media feeds, and I’m sure you’re not surprised I ordered it right away. The title is taken from a beautiful quote for St. Francis of Assisi: “The world is my cloister, my body is my cell, and my soul is the hermit within.”

However…

It wasn’t until the book arrived that I realized the author is John Michael Talbot, who is a big-shot Catholic musician…. and who founded a monastic community in Arkansas, not far from where my brother lives! All that mad...

Marveling at the Most Marvelous

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

Sarah was a God-fearing woman. But the promise God had made to Abraham that she would “give rise to nations” at ninety, she who had never given birth, well, it was illogical. It was irrational. It was impossible. It was downright laughable.

And so she laughed the messengers’ promise she would have a son in the next year. We can hear her laugh—not one of...

Abundant Worry, Sufficient Grace

There’s a lot to worry about in this world.

What will the tests show about my loved one’s fatigue?Will I get that job I so desperately, desperately need?Will I have enough money to retire?Will my grandchildren get into the colleges they so desire?Will traffic be bad again today?Will dinner turn out all right if I use sweet Italian sausage instead of hot?Will I ever be able to expand Farm 24 in Farm Town?

Laugh if you will, but don’t your worries range from the serious to the ridiculou...

New Creations

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

In my world, June 12 has always been my maternal grandparents’ wedding anniversary. (“A pretty double wedding,” the local newspaper called the 1924 ceremony my grandparents shared with one of her sisters and her groom.) By all accounts, it was a happy marriage, though my grandfather died too young, before I was born.

Then a few years ago, it became the wedd...

Here’s to the Ultimate Winner

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

You see it sometimes on awards shows and at sports championships… the winner before thanking Mom and Dad and spouses says, “I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” And maybe you think it’s just words, just a throwaway line, gratuitous maybe even. Does Jesus really care who wins the World Series or the Best Director or Pulitzer prize? If we’re all ...

On the Nightstand: Be Bold in the Broken

Mary Lenaburg‘s had a journey few of us would envy, but one that definitely inspires: twenty-two years of caring for

her daughter Courtney, who as an infant suffered a series of seizures from which she never fully recovered. Mary’s got a gift of transparency when it comes to sharing her story and struggles…. how how her family and faith sustained her.
I’m looking forward to reading her new book, in which Mary reminds us that God uses our brokenness for His purpose–if we’re open to trust ...

Friends in Faith: Deborah Elliott-Upton

It was a hot west Texas day in Amarillo, and I was going to be teaching at a writers’ conference. I came in a day earlier to “play” with a writer friend, Deborah Elliott-Upton, who I’d met a couple years earlier at the same conference. We had hit it off right away the first time, and I was looking forward to seeing Deborah’s Amarillo. Of course the nearby Cadillac Ranch was on the list!

But Deborah also stepped out in faith, and asked if I’d want to see the 190-foot-tall cross and life-s...

Of Wisdom

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

Wisdom is there for the asking. Or rather, wisdom is there for the asking for those who are receptive.

Consider Ben Sira, the Jerusalem sage who lived about two centuries before Christ. His thirst and desire for wisdom—a deep thirst for an acceptance, if not an understanding, of God’s love, mercy, and truth—led him to a “level path,” one on which he stayed ...

Who Did Jesus Love Best?

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

When I was in my early teens, I had a best friend. But we ended up in different homerooms the following year, and only saw each other for a class or two. She grew closer to two other girls than she was to me. When I blew up over some minor thing, she called me and apologized. But I didn’t accept, and didn’t say so much as a hello to her for nearly a year. It e...

“For the Father Himself Loves You”

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

“The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father.  On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;  for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16:25-27, NRSVCE)

We all know the dynamics...