Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 82

Obstacles or Stepping Stones?

For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.
Joshua 2:10, NLT*

En route to the Promised Land, Israel encountered two kings who refused to allow them to pass. Each king attacked, and was killed along with all his people. You can read the story in Numbers 21:21-35.

I can imagine the Israelites, thinking they were on...

Review: Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt

Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt (Howard Books, 2012)

Twins Carlene and Darlene celebrate their 50th birthday during this story, and younger sister Nolie is in her forties. Each woman’s life has been shaped by past hurt, whether inflicted or received, intended or imagined. And as the back cover says, “If these three sisters don’t change direction, they’ll end up where they’re going.”

Angela Hunt does an amazing job of bring three very different and yet believable sisters to life,...

Secrets and Lies Interview

Ron Hughes from HopeStreamRadio interviewed me last month, and while it’s not archived on their site, I’ve posted it to mine. We talked about a few aspects of writing and about my novels, and I read an excerpt from Secrets and Lies. The interview is about ten minutes long, if you’d like to have a listen (just click the “play” triangle in the media player below). And do check out HopeStreamRadio. They currently provide about twohours of content per day, which repeats throughout the day. There’...

Who Does it Look Like We’re Living For?

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
2 Corinthians 5:20, NLT*

An ambassador’s words and behaviour should reveal the character of whoever the ambassador represents.

What does that mean for Christians? If we’re living for “One Name Alone,” we can choose His will and His way (including His “house rules”) over our own, and do it cheerfully, not grudgingly, because we love Him and it’s a joy to do whatever we...

Review: The Reluctant Caregiver, by Bobbi Junior

The Reluctant Caregiver, by Bobbi Junior (Word Alive Press, 2014)

I knew this was a book I’d value, from the dedication:

Dedicated to my brother, husband and children, who never said “You should…”

And to Jesus, who said, “Let me.”

On one level, this is a memoir of one woman’s struggle to demonstrate the love of Christ to her mother, Nancy, who has dementia. Without a power of attorney in place, Bobbi Junior and her brother, Lawrence, can’t take the conventional advice to “put her in a home.”...

Giveaway & Author Interview: Renee Blare

Author Renee Blare, with her novel, Beast of Stratton

Raised in Louisiana and Wyoming,Renee Blarestarted writing poetry in junior high school and that, as they say, was that. After having her son, a desire to attend pharmacy school sent her small family to Laramie and she’s been counting pills ever since. While writing’s her first love, well, after the Lord and her husband, she also likes to fish and hunt as well as pick away on her classical guitar.

Nestled against the Black Hills with her h...

Waiting Quietly

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
Psalm 62:5, NLT*

These words refresh my spirit and re-focus me on God.

David wrote them about a time of great pressure, reminding himself and his people to look to God for help instead of relying on others or on their own assets.

The “trust God” theme is so important that it’s written twice: before and after David’s list of troubles. (You can read the entire psalm here: Psalm 62)

Waiting quietly before God speaks to the state...

Review: Heart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry

Heart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. (Thomas Nelson, 2013)

Dr. Carrie Markham’s freshly-healed heart is broken when her new fiancé turns out to be a man on the run, living under an assumed identity. Adam tells her his testimony put a powerful man in jail, but the man’s friends have been hunting him ever since.

Can she believe him? Does she want to? Or is it possible that the attacks are really directed at Carrie herself? Something’s definitely suspicious in the clinic where she works. Or...

A Song for Good Friday

Here we are again in the Christian calendar, in the middle of the Holy Week observances. It would be easier to gloss over the pain Jesus bore to buy our salvation, but we need to know the cost of this gift. It was a price we could never pay, for a rescue we could never earn.

Of the many songs that celebrate Jesus’ willing sacrifice and victory, here’s the one I’ve chosen to share this year: “Too Small a Price,” by Don Francisco. Don’t be alarmed by the 16+ minutes it shows in the YouTube pane...

Pride? Or Jesus?

When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
Luke 19:5, NLT*

As a child in church, I learned the song about Zacchaeus [say za-KEE-us] being “a wee, little man” who climbed a tree so he could see Jesus over the crowds. I didn’t think too much about who he was as a person. (Luke tells his story in Luke 19:1-10.)

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, an occupation that brought great wealth...