Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 32
December 27, 2019
The Importance of Contentment (Guest Post)
[Image via Pixabay] The Importance of Contentment by Steph Beth Nickel Why do you do what you do? Complacency, contentment, or conviction?
An onlooker might not be able to tell the difference.
Sometimes even we can’t tell the difference.
It’s what I’ve always done. That’s complacency.
I believe this is right, and it has been confirmed over and over again. That’s conviction.
But what about contentment?
It may look like complacency, but then again, it just might be conviction.
Contentment is...
December 24, 2019
Two Short (Free!) Christmas Reads
Here are two short, feel-good Christmas reads that are free ebooks on a variety of platforms:
Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale, by Amanda Dykes
90 minutes to read: Arial has a radical plan to fix an old tragedy and surprise her dying father–but it’ll take the help of the village blacksmith. Set on an island between England and France, Bespoke has a gentle, historical feel. (Interesting background note: this tale was first written to raise funds to buy bicycles for missionaries.)
December 17, 2019
Review: Smoke Screen, by Terri Blackstock
Smoke Screen, by Terri Blackstock (Thomas Nelson, 2019)
In Smoke Screen, Terri Blackstock gives us a novel of second chances, romance, faith—and mystery. It’s not a high-suspense story, but the emotional tension will keep readers turning pages.
Nate’s father has spent 14 years in prison for the murder of Brenna’s father, all the while claiming he’s innocent. If he is, then there’s a killer in town. Nate himself, now a smoke jumping firefighter, is thought by many to be responsible for...
December 13, 2019
New Releases in Christian Fiction (December 2019)
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.
Contemporary Romance:
Stranded for the Holidays by Lisa Carter — Running away led her right where she belonged. A new mom for Christmas? She’s everything they’ve wished for. Runaway bride AnnaBeth Cummings needs shelter for the holidays when a blizzard leaves her stranded, and rancher Jonas Stone’s happy to help....
December 10, 2019
Review: Unscripted, by Davis Bunn
Unscripted, by Davis Bunn (Revell, 2019)
In Unscripted, Davis Bunn’s compelling prose pulls readers into the behind-the-scenes world of filmmaking.
When up-and-coming line producer Danny Byrd is sprung from jail for a crime he didn’t commit by a team of lawyers who won’t disclose who’s paying them, he seizes the chance to rebuild his career. The catch: a short deadline and no script. Danny and his team will be filming as they write.
Megan Pierce, one of Danny’s new lawyers, stays involved...
December 9, 2019
Christmas Devotional and Giveaway
If you like Christmas devotionals, check out my guest post at Patti’s Porch. Someone who comments on the post (on that site, not here) will win a print or ebook copy of my daily devotional book, A Year of Tenacity. Draw is on December 17, 2019.
Link: This is the Lord’s Battle.
November 29, 2019
Just Around the Corner … 2020 (Guest Post)
Image courtesy of Pixabay. Just Around the Corner … 2020 By Steph Beth Nickel Can you believe it? In a little over a month it will be 2020. Does that sound as futuristic to you as it does to me? (Maybe I’m just showing my age. )
I like to make plans for the new year at the end of November.
Here are six reasons to do so:
Making New Year’s resolutions has a built-in expectation of failure. Let’s face it, most resolutions get tossed aside before the end of January.If we leave planning until the...November 28, 2019
Review: A New York Yankee on Stinking Creek, by Carol McClain
A New York Yankee on Stinking Creek, by Carol McClain (Hummingbird Hill Press, 2019)
Mourning the sudden death of her fiancé, popular New York artist Kiara Rafferty flees to the property he had bought for her in the remote rural area of Stinking Creek, Tennessee. An outspoken atheist, Kiara is horrified by the condition of the property and even more so to discover that her nearest neighbours are a Christian pastor and his family.
Delia Mae, the pastor’s wife, is as outspoken as Kiara yet...
November 26, 2019
Review: The End of the Magi, by Patrick W. Carr
The End of the Magi, by Patrick W. Carr (Bethany House, 2019)
Whether he’s writing historical fiction or epic fantasy, Patrick W. Carr brings exotic settings to life and creates unlikely heroes who inspire strong reader loyalty.
The End of the Magi is an intense, danger-fraught novel of biblical fiction where the magi in question are those who come bearing gifts for the Christ child. But the story—and their role in it—doesn’t end there.
The culture and the prophecies fascinate, and the...
November 19, 2019
Review: Craft, Cost & Call, by Patricia Paddey and Karen Stiller
Craft, Cost & Call, by Patricia Paddey and Karen Stiller (Friesen Press, 2019)
Two award-winning Canadian Christian freelance writers, Patricia Paddey and Karen Stiller, have teamed up to share what they describe as “our conversation with you about what we have learned through success and failure.” [Kindle location 98]
The book feels very much like a conversation, candidly sharing experience and advice. Beginning and intermediate writers will gain the most, but even seasoned pros will likely pick u...
