Author Archives: Janet Sketchley

About Janet Sketchley

Janet Sketchley is an Atlantic Canadian writer whose Redemption’s Edge Christian suspense novels have each been finalists in The Word Awards. She's also the author of the devotional collection, A Year of Tenacity. Janet blogs about faith and books. She loves Jesus and her family, and enjoys reading, worship music, and tea. Fans of Christian suspense are invited to join her writing journey through her monthly newsletter: bit.ly/JanetSketchleyNews.

Rock-Solid Security

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Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion;
they will not be defeated but will endure forever.
Psalm 125:1, NLT*

Trusting God brings security. We won’t be defeated.

That’s not to say we won’t have pain and trouble, but it’s a reminder of the real battle, the long-term spiritual one.

Whatever our hard times, it’s easier to focus on the externals: the disease, rebellious child, unemployment. The things outside our control.

We’re not responsible for the externals. We’re responsible for our hearts, our focus, our faith.

Defeat is when we get our eyes off God. Victory is continuing to trust in spite of what we see, hear, feel, experience.

We can pray for healing, common sense, provision. But we also need to pray for ourselves, to remain strong in our private tests.

This is our temptation, our battle: will we continue to trust? This is where God makes a way, if we’ll only look for it.

Faithful God, You’ve promised to never leave us, and to always make a way out from under the temptations we face. You want us to stand victorious in Your strength, for Your glory and our wellbeing. Help us keep our focus on You despite whatever may go on around us. Help us plant even in tears, to do what needs doing, so we can reap with joy in Your time.

∞

Where do we look for security? Bebo Norman sings “I Will Lift My Eyes.”

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Review: Daughter of Light, by Morgan L. Busse

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Daughter of Light, by Morgan L. Busse (Marcher Lord Press, 2012)

Rowen Mar has always felt like an outsider, and when she develops a mysterious white mark on her palm—and unleashes a frightening power—she’s truly alone. Can she make a new life as bodyguard to Lady Astrea in the White City, or will her secret come out? And does she have a part to play in the war that threatens her new home?

Caleb Tala is an unstoppable assassin whose victims haunt his dreams. Nierne is a young scribe thrust from her secure monastery and charged with a dangerous journey.

With supernatural power, secrets, danger and death, Daughter of Light follows Rowen, Caleb, Nierne and their associates in a lavish-scaled fantasy that is only the beginning of the real battle.

In this book, the armies are human. But just as Rowen discovers herself to be one of the Eldaran, an angelic-type race thought long dead, another forgotten race still lives: the Shadonae. And while the Eldaran serve the Word (God of the story’s world) the Shadonae oppose Him and want to destroy all humans.

The story drew me in, the world-building is detailed, and I liked Rowen, Nierne and their friends. The Word is a clear representation of Jesus, and those who follow Him are realistic in their struggles. There are a few instances of Divine interaction in the plot, and they’re neither gratuitous nor taking over the characters. They’re the logical result of having a God who cares about His people but who gives them free will, and I found they encouraged my faith.

I would like to have seen Nierne’s plot thread taken one more step at the end, but I’ll have to wait for book 2. And there must be a book 2; the Shadonae are rising. Marcher Lord Press doesn’t release a list of new titles too far in advance of publication but that doesn’t mean a sequel isn’t in the works.

You can learn more about author Morgan L. Busse and Daughter of Light at her website, In Darkness there is Light.

[Review copy from my personal library. Amazon links are affiliate links for The Word Guild.]

Guest Blog: Why I write Christian Speculative Fiction (newauthors.wordpress.com)
Review: ‘Daughter of Light’ by Morgan L. Busse (USA Today Books)
Review: ‘Daughter of Light’ by Morgan Busse (Finding… Kat Heckenbach)
Goodreads Community Reviews of ‘Daughter of Light’ (Goodreads)

Cookies and Mangers

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Perfection… the bar was set pretty low, I thought. I was making Christmas cookies. I don’t bother with fancy-decorated ones, but when I roll them out and cut the little shapes, I do like them to be intact and to look like they should.

The cookies weren’t cooperating. Some tore, but mostly they just clung to the countertop when I tried to lift them to the baking sheet, compressing their crisp shapes into long, thin caricatures.

All I wanted was to bake something nice for my family, and suddenly I was dealing with a “take every thought captive and don’t feel sorry for yourself” moment.

The moment passed, the cookies went in the oven, and look what came out. Don’t say God doesn’t have a sense of humour. Would it have mattered if they’d gone on the tray perfectly?

Can you tell what they’re supposed to be? Guess I didn’t get the recipe quite right — they swelled up and lost their sharp edges. If you squint a bit, you can find trees, stars and teapots.

But it got me thinking about how we want everything perfect. And about how messy, dusty, smelly and just plain unsuitable the Bethlehem stable was as the birthplace of the Saviour of the world.

Some suggest the stable was a blessing to Mary and Joseph, a haven from the noise, overcrowding and general mayhem of the guestrooms. Maybe so. It definitely made the shepherds’ visit easier. But it was hardly “perfect”.

Look at what was perfect, though: the timing, the fulfillment of the Bethlehem prophecy, the willing mother and surrogate father, God Himself in human form. The symbolism: the Divine in a humble, earthly mess.

So maybe the lesson from my cookies is to discern which elements need my best efforts at excellence and which are “optional extras”. And to trust God’s perfect working even when I don’t meet my own expectations.

The One Whose Plans Are Always Perfect (oldthingsrnew.wordpress.com)

What if Jesus Hadn’t Come?

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What if the Lord had not been on our side?
Psalm 124:1a, NLT*

What if the Lord had not?

What if Jesus hadn’t come?

Things are dark, but they’d be so much darker without the Holy Spirit working in and through His followers.

We wouldn’t have His presence with us in the happy and the sad.

Despair and hopelessness would be everywhere – if God hadn’t already brought final judgment.

We wouldn’t know as much of what God is like, or how to walk with Him, because Jesus showed us both. And how could we walk with Him? We’d still be alienated from Him by our own choices. We’d be cut off from Him in our sin, blinded and miserable.

But He took our side – He came – and so we live.

God our Maker, God our Redeemer, God our Sustainer, thank You that “the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.“** Thank You for Jesus’ life, His willing sacrifice and daring rescue, for His rising, His gift to us of the Holy Spirit, and for His coming again. Help us live in praise, gratitude and confidence in Your care. Help us love You in response to Your great love for us.

∞

Here’s “Joy to the World” as done by Third Day.

** John 1:14, NLT

Merry Christmas

When the Wait is Long

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Jesus’ birth ended a period of 400 years of silence from God. The angel Gabriel had brought personal messages to Zechariah and to Mary, and we don’t know how young Simeon was when God promised he’d see the Messiah before he died, but these were private revelations. The nation of Israel as a whole heard nothing. Not even a whisper.

400 years.

No prophets. No angelic visitors. Silence.

A remnant of Israel had returned from exile and begun to rebuild, as God had promised.

He also promised a Messiah, a King to come who would rule in power and justice and break the people’s bondage for good.

Nobody expected the King to suffer and die first.

Nobody expected to wait so long.

400 years.

Are you waiting today?

God hasn’t forgotten, or changed His mind, or discovered He can’t do what He promised.

He’s waiting too, for the best time to unveil what’s coming.

May His peace, hope, love and joy sustain each of us in the waiting.

And Merry Christmas. Christ has come.

Joy Under Pressure

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As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands.
Psalm 119:143, NLT*

If that’s not a Christmas-related verse, I don’t know what is.

All jokes aside, you can’t read Psalm 119 and not see how the psalmist loves the Law of the Lord, how he thrives on it. I’ve been praying to better understand and follow his example.

At first this verse didn’t make sense to me. Pressure and stress bearing down… and he finds joy in God’s commands?

Pressure: God is the ultimate authority. This verse reminds me to trust Him to care for me and to ask for equipping wisdom or deliverance.

Perspective: It’s not me against the universe. God is bigger than the problem.

Focus: Centering on God’s way builds an attitude of God-trust instead of futile human striving or fighting the circumstances.

Wisdom: God’s code of conduct helps us know what to do, how to act in difficult situations.

Joy: There’s no joy looking at stress, but there’s deep joy in belonging to God. Keeping His Law, precepts and principles as the Spirit enables us keeps the barriers down between us.

Life: The next verse says

Your laws are always right;
help me to understand them so I may live.
Psalm 119:144, NLT*

Doing it God’s way brings joy and life in the midst of stress. What’s not to like?

God all-wise and loving, we can’t do this on our own, and that’s one reason You gave the Law in the first place, to help us see our need. Help us learn and understand, and through Your Holy Spirit keep us focused and following. Thank You for the joy and life You give.

∞

The Newsboys’ When the Tears Fall is a song of trusting God through hard times. That’s not happiness, but it’s joy.

Review: A Star Curiously Singing, by Kerry Nietz

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A Star Curiously Singing, by Kerry Nietz (Marcher Lord Press, 2009)

In a dystopian future of Earth with advanced technology and a repressive global regime, to be a tech geek is to be a slave. Anyone (usually male) chosen for this role at age 10 is implanted with a chip that allows him to wirelessly connect to machines, computers and serv-bots—to “stream” to them—and to perform necessary repairs.

These people are called debuggers, and Sandfly is a good one. He does what his master orders, and rarely gets “tweaked” for disobedient or dangerous thoughts, although his wry observances of life under the masters—the Abduls (Servants)—skate pretty close to the edge at times.

Sandfly’s world is ruled by a form of Islam that’s all rules and no faith. Absolute power seems to have corrupted absolutely, and Sandfly wonders if there are any good masters left.

A top-secret assignment lands him on a space station (he’s afraid of heights) where he’s introduced to the prototype space ship, Dark Trench. Dark Trench is a technological marvel, but its crew can’t be cleared to go home until Sandfly finds out what caused their only bot to destroy itself part-way through the mission.

There’s a lot more to the story than that, but you need to read it yourself. Part of the fun is being dropped into this unusual world and figuring out what’s going on as you read Sandfly’s narration. He’ll call you “freehead” and occasionally explain details, but most of the time you’re just along for the ride, learning on the fly (if you’ll pardon the pun).

A Star Curiously Singing is a fast read, with twists, turns, humour, faith and danger. It’s a good story, and Sandfly really makes the novel for me. He’s an engaging character with a distinctive voice. I look forward to reading the other two books in the Dark Trench series: The Surperlative Stream and Freeheads.

A Star Curiously Singing won a Reader’s Favourite Gold Medal Award, and was a finalist on a few other awards lists. You can learn more about Kerry Nietz at his website, and read a sample of A Star Curiously Singing on the Marcher Lord Press site. And you can read an interview with Kerry Nietz, and a bit about his newest book, Freeheads, at A Christian Writer’s World. The draw is now over, and I won! Kerry very kindly substituted A Star Curiously Singing for Freeheads, rather than drop me into the series at the end.

Thoughts and Attitudes

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God has encouraged me through a few different writers recently, and I thought I’d share the highlights:

At Everydays, Ashley Clark posted about God Moments, and about how our thoughts and attitudes are a choice. The highlight for me:

God is present in every situation, so there is always a reason to rejoice. We have a choice in every moment. (Read the whole post: God Moments)

Jeff Goins’ most recent weekly e-newsletter built on the attitudes-as-choice theme:

“Our attitudes are habits, so why not practice the ones we’d prefer?” (Read the whole post: One Simple Idea that Makes Life an Exciting Adventure)

My biggest takeaway from Jeff’s post? He challenged us to intentionally smile. Know what? When I do that, my body believes my face and I feel happier.

At Hearing the Heartbeat, Carolyn Watts asks:

How might seeing life as an invitation to oneness rather than as an exam change our days? (Read the whole post: Life is not an Exam)

And at Chatting at the Sky, Emily Freeman offers both optimists and pessimists a different way. My favourite line:

Let the believers consider Immanuel, the with-ness of God, right where we are, not where we wish we were instead. (Read the whole post: One Alternative to Pessimism and Optimism)

Will we see the scarred pavement, muddy marks and old leaves, or will we see the heart in the puddle? [Photo credit: Janet Sketchley]

Obedient Thoughts

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We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5b, NIV*

As I’ve been praying for grace to bring my thoughts under Christ’s authority, I’ve realized there’s more to this verse than avoiding sinful or tempting thoughts, as important as that is. There are at least three other types of thoughts that need to be kept in line:

Thoughts of self-focus, self-centredness or self-pity. When we’re preoccupied with our own opinions, choices and preferences, we can’t hear His.

Thoughts that ramble instead of being attuned to God’s leading. When we let our minds wander, even in safe places, we’ve lost focus and aren’t following our Shepherd.

Thoughts that yammer on and distract us from His voice. We need to still our thoughts and listen to God.

The other day at work I was tired and achy and tasked with moving boxes. Where ordinarily I’d be focused on muscle pain and “poor me,” I caught myself singing the same song over and over: “Hallelujah to My King.”

The Holy Spirit planted the song, but my moment of choice came when I recognized it: keep singing, or start complaining? For all the tests I (we all) fail, I’m glad this one I passed.

God our Maker, You know our weakness and how easily our thoughts slip away from the paths You’d like them to be in. Without Your Spirit to remind and guide us we don’t have a chance of keeping our thoughts obedient. Thank You for Your grace that helps us. Give us teachable minds and attitudes of obedient perseverance, and grow us in Your ways.

∞

“Hallelujah to My King,” by Paul Baloche, is a good song for us all today.

About Janet Sketchley

[Review copy from my personal library. Amazon links are affiliate links for The Word Guild.]

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