Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 97

“Use This”

Give your burdens to the Lord,

and he will take care of you.

He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Psalm 55:22, NLT*

Attitude. Heaviness of spirit. Frustration. Sadness. Some days I struggle with these things. They rise up, make it hard to live a life worthy of the gospel. Even minor situations amplify them, and I don’t want to have a meltdown or snap at (or cry on) the people around me.

Then there are the bigger situations—actual crises—health, obstacles, bad news. External things I can’...

Review: Peril, by Suzanne Hartmann

Peril, by Suzanne Hartmann (OakTara Publishers, 2011)

Danger, intrigue, faith and racing… what’s not to like? Lady Anne is a private bodyguard, medically enhanced to possess super-human strength and speed. Her security, and that of her family, comes from utter secrecy. If terrorists or foreign powers discovered her abilities and tracked her location, how far would they go to learn how to create an army just like her?

Lady Anne operates in the shadows until a high-profile assignment to guard a f...

5 Posts that have resonated with me lately

At Under the Cover of Prayer, Jen Cudmore shares a challenge to go deeper than surface prayers for people who may irritate us–to do battle for them in prayer. See the full post: You Want Me to Pray for Whom?

At Other Food: daily devos, Violet Nesdoly reminds us that even Christians, if we’re not careful, can find ourselves living according to the flesh instead of the Spirit if we’re “following sinful tendencies in ways that may not even appear overtly sinful… living as if God did not exist. Th...

When Life Piles Up Around Us

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.

Psalm 57:2, NLT*

In my life, this verse gives me hope. God hasn’t revealed a great purpose for me, like He did for David the shepherd boy to become king. Nonetheless, God has plans for my life—and for yours.

We’re each to live for His glory, and therefore it’s reasonable to pray that He be glorified through our lives and in (or despite) our circumstances.

I have a family. His purpose there? That I love, care for and support th...

Review: Ransom in the Rock, by Yvonne Anderson

Ransom in the Rock, by Yvonne Anderson (Yvonne Anderson, 2014)

Book 2 in the Gateway to Gannah series, Words in the Wind, ended with young Lileela critically injured. Her desperate father, Pik, sent her in the care of his father to his homeworld, Karkar. Ransom in the Rockis the story of Lileela’s return approximately ten years later, very much set in the Karkar ways and attitudes and viewing her native Gannah as barbaric and uncivilized.

Why didn’t her parents bring her home sooner? Why are th...

8 Days: Heaven’s Prey 99 cents for Kindle

If you didn’t snag your copy ofHeaven’s Prey during our three free Kindle days, here’s a sweetener: for the next 8 days the Kindle version is only 99¢ USD (or equivalent internationally).

Readers downloaded over 3,000 free copies in the past 3 days [edited: 5,622 free copies], and now a 99 cent sale? Why is my publisher doing this? Simply put, I’m an unknown author who needs exposure.

During our free days,Heaven’s Prey reached #48on the free Kindle charts in the US, and #26in Canada (as well as...

Choosing to Trust God

In God, whose word I praise—

in God I trust and am not afraid.

What can mere mortals do to me?

Psalm 56:4, NIV*

Did you ever struggle with this verse? David repeats it twice in this psalm, so we know it’s important.

Maybe it’s my fiction-writer’s imagination. Maybe it’s some of the books I’ve read, or the news footage I’ve seen, but whenever I’ve seen the question “What can mere mortals do to me?” my mind started making a list.

We know that our fellow humans can do some terrible things. How could w...

Free for Kindle: 3 Days Only

To celebrate Heaven’s Prey being short-listed for Canada’s The Word Awards, my publisher is running a promotion. (See the short-list here)

Click the image to go to Heaven’s Prey at Amazon.com (not an affiliate link) For other Amazon sites, see below.

Heaven’s Prey will be free* for Kindle May 13-15.

Amazon.com:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GAE9QMS
Amazon.ca:http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00GAE9QMS
Amazon.co.uk:http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GAE9QMS
Amazon.au.com:http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00GAE9QMS

Help me...

Review: Uncle Bob’s Red Flannel Bible Camp: from Eden to the Ark, by Steve Vernon

Uncle Bob’s Red Flannel Bible Camp: from Eden to the Ark, by Steve Vernon (Stark Raven Press, 2014)

Author Steve Vernon is a storyteller, and what richer source of tales than the Bible? With biblical literacy ebbing, a fresh delivery of the classic stories may be just what people need to spark an interest.

Uncle Bob is the flannel-shirt-wearing narrator, telling his nephew about the action running through what the youngster thinks of as a dry book. (Bob nabs him escaping from Sunday School.)Unc...

Lee Brandt from On the Pineapple Express

Today we meet Lee Brandt, one of the characters from H. L. Wegley‘s suspense novel, On the Pineapple Express.

Janet: Welcome, Lee, and thanks for taking time to join us. I’m writing these questions before reading your story, so forgive me if I blunder over something that should be obvious. This way I can’t accidentally toss out a spoiler. Let’s start with the basics: tell us what you look like, and what you do for a living.

Lee: Here’s a picture of me. I’ve never been very good at descriptions....