Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 75

Review: Simply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman

Simply Tuesday, by Emily P. Freeman (Revell, 2015)

Subtitled “Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World,” Simply Tuesday calls readers to live in the everyday moments without the pressure to perform or to push on to the next big thing. Even the cover art, a quiet bench with birds and dragonflies, calls us to slow down.

Sections consider our home, work, relationships and souls, as well as a vision for what’s ahead. Readers are invited to find ourselves and our loved ones in the present, and t...

Four Tips to Writing a Death Scene That Won’t Kill Your Readership, by Sara Goff

Giveaway: Sara is offering a printed copy of I Always Cry at Weddingsto one randomly chosen commenter, worldwide.The winner will be announced October 9.To be entered in the giveaway,please leave a comment.

Four Tips to Writing a Death Scene That
Won’t Kill Your Readership by Sara Goff

Readers aren’t likely to get excited about a death scene. You’re asking them to experience the protagonist’s despair, guilt-ridden relief, or callous pleasure, if that’s your story. The scene is intrinsically he...

Expectant Life

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation…
1 Peter 1:3, NLT*

Peter’s talking about new life in Christ, and along with this “great expectation” we’re to live with, he speaks of our future hope of Heaven. Since he mentions these separately, I think the expectation is for the daily here-and-now.

I’ve been impacted by the invitation to become mor...

Review: Love Triangles, by Bobbie Ann Cole

Love Triangles, by Bobbie Ann Cole (Scrollchest, 2015)

Part travelogue, part memoir, and part biblical exposition, Love Triangles is a an insightful read for Christians. The book’s subtitle is Discovering Jesus the Jew in Today’s Israel.

Bobbie Ann Cole and her husband went to Israel as short-term volunteers, and stayed for a few years as immigrants. Love Triangles paints a picture of a land of beauty as well as danger, rich in heritage and full of meaning for a Christian wanting to know Jesu...

The Invisible Made Visible

The Invisible Made Visible by Steph Beth Nickel

In the English Standard Version of the Bible, Romans 1:19-20 says, “What can beknown about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature,have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,in the things that have been made.”

I journeyed across the Pond this month to attend my son’s wedding in Scotland, the homeland of both my ancestors and my husband...

Remembering Our Purpose

I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
1 Corinthians 1:2, NLT*

Do we sometimes forget our purpose as Christ-followers?

God called us “to be His own holy people,” and He made us holy through Jesus. He gave us “everything we need for living a godly life” (1 Peter 1:3, NLT*). Paul...

Review: I Always Cry at Weddings, by Sara Goff

I Always Cry at Weddings, by Sara Goff (WhiteFire Publishing, 2015)

What if your dream wedding was fast approaching – and you suddenly realized it was a huge mistake?

Ava breaks her engagement and gets stuck with an enormous bill. The stress affects her performance at work, and her only supporter, her mother, is fighting cancer. Ava was with Josh for five years. How will she even begin to look for true love?

Desperation prompts some risky choices, andAvahas some narrow escapes. She’s drifted...

Blog Hop: 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers

Writers need people. We need family and friends, and of course readers. We also need other writers.

There’s nothing like the sense of belonging that comes from being with people who understand you. That’s one of the things I love about writers’ conferences and my local writing group.

We may all write different types of material, but at some level, we connect. We can encourage one another, share experiences and information. Commiserate, when needed. We can inspire each other, even brainstormin...

Life and Death

Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.
1Thessalonians 5:10, NLT*

I was raised in the Christian faith. For all the things I was slow to learn, or am still learning, this one thing I believed from childhood: Jesus’ death on the Cross meant I could go to Heaven when I died.

No wondering if I’d be “good enough to make it.” Somehow I grasped early on that it wasn’t about earning a place, but about accepting the invitation.

Because...

Review: A Draw of Kings, by Patrick W. Carr

A Draw of Kings, by Patrick W. Carr (Bethany House, 2014)

This review contains spoilers for the previous novels in the series. If you haven’t read them but enjoy clean, epic fantasy and Christian allegory where it’s all story and no preaching, grab an ebook copy of book 1, A Cast of Stones, from your favourite online bookstore (it’s a free download) and check it out. If you’re interested, my review is here: A Cast of Stones.

A Draw of Kings is a satisfying conclusion to a series I fully enjoy...