Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 67
March 16, 2016
God Wants Us Back
The Lord gave [King Nebuchadnezzar] victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.
Daniel 1:2, NLT*
And so began Israel’s bleak captivity. I’m sure Nebuchadnezzar credited his own god (or himself) for this triumph. After all, it was his army that achieved it.
But did you notice the key words in the verse? “The Lord gav...
March 14, 2016
Review: Always With You, by Elaine Stock
Always With You, by Elaine Stock (Elk Lake Publishing, 2016)
How can a good, intelligent, person get drawn into a cult? Isabelle accepts Tyler’s mysterious “family” because he seems to love her unconditionally, and he promises to keep no secrets from her. He’s the exact opposite of her father and grandmother – at least on the surface.
And Tyler himself? His childhood was so bad, he’s convinced himself that The Faithful rescued him – and so they must be right.
Secrets are everywhere in this no...
March 11, 2016
Guest Post: Interview with Brock Daniels, Hero
Brock Daniels is the hero of HL Wegley’s new political thriller,Voice in the Wilderness. Here’s an interview that’s not in the novel, but it could easily have happened “off-stage.”
Background: A reporter is sent to interview Brock Daniels, after he clears customs at LAX. He’s returning from a mission trip to Guatemala, where he encountered Ebola in a place the disease has never been seen. Though cleared to travel, the media’s reporting that Brock might have been exposed.
REPORTER: Mr. Brock D...
March 9, 2016
Trusting God’s Timing
All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
Matthew 1:17, NLT*
“All those listed above” are the ancestors of Jesus. Matthew opens his account of the birth of the Messiah with a genealogy. A strange devotional verse? Perhaps, but it’s the one that touched my spirit for this week.
Did you notice the pattern? Fourteen generations each time. If the priests and scrib...
March 7, 2016
Review: A Fool and His Monet, by Sandra Orchard
A Fool and His Monet, by Sandra Orchard (Revell, 2016)
Serena Jones has a cat, and she’s single, but she’s not a spinster cat lady. She’s just too focused on her new career with the FBI’s art crimes division to have time for a love life. Serena’s passionate about art, and about the job, and she harbours a lingering hope that somewhere in her investigations she’ll find the painting stolen from her grandfather years before.
Her mother wants her to quit investigating and take a safe, factory job...
March 4, 2016
Guest Post: The Roaring Twenties in Buckeye Lake
From the time I learned about the Buckeye Lake Amusement Park that once graced the shores of Buckeye Lake, Ohio, I’ve been intrigued with the idea of setting a book there. In the early to middle 1900s, Buckeye Lake was considered the Playground of Ohio. The amusement park (actually, two parks set side by side) drew thousands each day from Easter to Labor Day. Buckeye Lake’s ballrooms—the Crystal and the Pier—featured big name bands from the...
March 2, 2016
Ignoring the Gift
As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.
2 Corinthians 6:1, NLT*
The gift Paul’s speaking of is a new life in Christ, reconciled to God and freed from the penalty of sin and death. (2 Corinthians 5:18) In the same verse Paul asks the Corinthian believers to reach out and be agents of reconciliation, bringing others to know this gift of life.
I’m sure that’s what he means by begging them not to ignore the gift. He wants them to ful...
February 29, 2016
Review: If I Run, by Terri Blackstock
If I Run, by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan, 2016)
What if you found your best friend murdered, but you couldn’t trust the police? The police force let Casey Cox down last time, so she flees. If they catch her, they’ll arrest her for her friend’s death – or worse.
If I Run is the story of Casey trying to stay out of sight long enough to find the courage (and a plan) to prove her innocence. And it’s the story of Dylan Roberts, a PTSD-suffering veteran who was a friend of the dead man and who’s no...
February 26, 2016
Guest Post: Are You Taking On Too Much?
I usually have my post to Janet well ahead of the deadline, but not this month. In fact, I needed a nudge—even though I had a reminder in my day planner. Sometimes that just isn’t enough.
I have recently started covering for our church administrator while she’s on maternity leave. I enjoy the job, but it does leave me scrambling because of the other responsibilities I am also juggling.
This post may very well be a case of “do what I say, not wh...
February 24, 2016
What Qualifies Us?
It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.
2 Corinthians 3:5, NLT*
Paul has plenty of educational background and other accomplishments, which he elsewhere refers to as “worthless” in comparison to knowing the grace of God. It’s not that he’s not qualified, but that any credentials, official or unofficial, would not be enough if he didn’t also have the Lord’s anointing on him to do the job.
He’s writing here about his ministry, about...
