Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 68
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...
February 22, 2016
Review: The Silver Suitcase, by Terrie Todd
The Silver Suitcase, by Terrie Todd (Waterfall Press, 2016)
When teenaged Cornelia Simpson confides in her journal in the late 1930s and into the 40s, she has no idea that other eyes will ever read her words… or how God will use those words to touch hearts, starting with her granddaughter, Benita.
The Silver Suitcase is written in three parts. The first shares parts of Cornelia’s life, and the other two follow Benita as she reads the diaries her grandmother had hidden in a silver suitcase.
Be...
February 19, 2016
Without Proof: the Playlist
Each of the Redemption’s Edge novels has an associated soundtrack in my head. ForSecrets and Lies, it may have leaked into readers’ heads, too, because the novel is full of references to songs. ForHeaven’s Prey andWithout Proof, the music isn’tmentioned by name, but my imagination links certain songs with certain characters or situations.
Here’s my playlist forWithout Proof:music that complements the characters and theme. Below the YouTube screen, I’ve listed each title and artist. Most conne...
February 17, 2016
Not Worthy, But Chosen
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
2 Corinthians 1:1, NLT*
Paul was “chosen by the will of God to be an apostle…”
But he also wrote: “I am the least of all the apostles … not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.” (1 Corinthians 15:9, NLT*)
Don’t you think the enemy of our souls tried to use Paul’s past to sabotage his future?
The same with the unnamed weakness that Paul c...
February 15, 2016
Review: Cold Shot, by Dani Pettrey
Cold Shot, by Dani Pettrey (Bethany House, 2016)
When recent remains are found in an old Gettysburg burying site, forensic anthropologist Finley Scott must work with a park ranger who’s more than he seems. Griffin McCray is a former sniper who left the Baltimore police force after a tragic incident. There’s more pain than that in his past, which is why he’s trying to keep his distance from the attractive Finley.
Someone is desperate to prevent the body being identified, and to stop the invest...
