Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 67
March 30, 2016
Showing God’s Glory
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honour the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”
Daniel 4:37, NLT*
What I like about the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness and return to power (see Daniel 4) is that it not only shows God’s power, it shows His mercy on someone He knew would eventually be able to come to Him in worship.
King Herod had a similar moment of self-exaltation, but he received only judgement and death (see Acts 12:20-23)....
March 28, 2016
Review: The Red Door Inn, by Liz Johnson
The Red Door Inn, by Liz Johnson (Revell, 2016)
At 28, Marie Carrington can’t be called a runaway. But she’s fled her opulent home in Boston and doesn’t dare touch her bank account or her father will find her. Scared and alone, she’s out of options when she meets a kind, older man who’s out of his depth trying to open a bed and breakfast.
Jack Sloane promised his dying wife, Rose, that he’d fulfill her dream of a sanctuary on Prince Edward Island, Canada: a B&B where the heart-hurting could f...
March 25, 2016
Guest Post: Cracks of Light in the Darkness
Today Christians around the globe will gather to solemnly commemorate Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Whenever it is overcast and rainy, we think, “How appropriate.” It is truly “the darkest day” of the year—no matter what the weather.
The sinless Saviour was humiliated, beaten, and then nailed to a Roman cross. While we won’t go into detail, suffice it to say it was one of the cruelest forms of execution ever devised.
As believers, we may rare...
March 23, 2016
When the Times Scare Us
How great are [God’s] signs,
how powerful his wonders!
His kingdom will last forever,
his rule through all generations.
Daniel 4:3, NLT*
Current political trends in Canada and the US frighten me, and they’re mild compared to some of what’s happening around the world. Because they’re closer to home, I have a greater sense of impending doom – my loved ones and I will have to live in the middle of what comes.
Humanly speaking, it’s going downhill fast. And not in the fun “sledding in the snow”...
March 21, 2016
Review: Berry on Top, by Valerie Comer
Berry on Top, by Valerie Comer (GreenWords Media, 2016)
It’s taken 10 years for Liz Nemesek to be willing to make even a passing stop in her hometown. Too bad the guy who drove her away came back first. Worse still, Mason Waterman is renting her parents’ old house, claims to have changed his life, and is now a good friend of her brother.
Liz can’t deny the changes – they were long overdue – but just because God forgave Mason doesn’t mean she will. Or that she’ll forgive God. Or admit that may...
March 18, 2016
Heaven’s Prey: the Playlist
First in the Redemption’s Edge series, last to get its own playlist…
There’s only one song mentioned in Heaven’s Prey. Quick, can you name it? Without scanning the rest of this post?
Didn’t think so 
Here’s the Heaven’s Prey playlist:music that complements the characters and theme. (Song list below the video, if you just want to see what’s there without listening to it all.)
Heaven’s Prey Playlist:
“Come Into His Kingdom” by Sheila Walsh (I think of this as the Heaven’s Prey theme song)
“Her...
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...
