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.

Pleasing God

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Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24, NIV*

I’m still thinking about “seek God first” and how that applies to my life. These verses talk about seeking His approval first—before that of others.

Motivation.

Why am I doing what I do, or not doing what I don’t? For His glory and praise, or to please myself or others?

If I raise my hands in worship at church… is it to please Him? Or to defy those who stay still? If I keep my hands down, is it sensitivity to my neighbour… or fear of what someone might say?

That’s a silly example, maybe, but we all know about small things and small minds…. Seriously, the little choices can matter as much as the big ones, because God sees the heart.

What am I thinking about when I’m slicing strawberries for jam? Grumbly thoughts about how such tiny berries make the job take longer, or thankful ones about fresh strawberries and how sweet the small ones are?

When I’m tired at the end of the day, does it please God if I slip into a mental pity party? Or does He still want me praising Him?

Father God, You know me better than I know myself. You see my heart and deepest thoughts. Help me to seek Your approval first—to want to please You most. Help me take every thought captive and to examine it to see if it’s pleasing to You. I can’t help what thoughts come in, but in the strength of Your Spirit I can evict those that aren’t welcome to stay.

∞

Here’s a song that’s new to me, from a new-to-me Canadian group called Christ Our Life: “Search Me, Oh God.” This song and others from the same group are available for free download at Free Godly Christian Music.

Review: The Kingdom, by Benjamin T. Collier

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The Kingdom, by Benjamin T. Collier (Word Alive Press, 2011)

The Kingdom is a short novella, under 100 pages, but it pulls readers into an intriguing fantasy world of kingdoms, knights, princesses and mythical flying beasts.

The story draws on classic fantasy and fairy tale elements such as the princess enduring endless presentations from eligible-but-boring suitors, the corrupt steward ruling in the good king’s absence, the strong hero and his fantastic animal companion (in this case, a dragon-like creature called a wyvern).

One of the twists: the “strong hero” might be considered a villain. And Princess Nevaeh is no damsel in distress. She’s a strong young woman looking for a partner, not a rescuer.

Nevaeh and the villain/hero, Roy, are each looking for someone who’ll love them for who they are—and neither is looking for a person like the other. Behind the romance is another kind of love and trust as Nevaeh waits confidently for her father, the good king, to return as promised, when the rest of the kingdom considers him lost at sea.

Canadian author Benjamin T. Collier writes with vivid description and humour. In contrast with epic fantasy and its multiple plot threads, he keeps a tight focus on Nevaeh’s story. The world he’s envisioned could support a more complex weaving of plots, and if he decides to revisit it in the future there would be plenty to explore.

You can find Benjamin at his blog, and you might want to check out my interview with him.

A Writer’s Angst

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I have two unpublished novel manuscripts that I’m about to revise yet again. With most of the publishers who handle Christian fiction based in the US, it’s hard for a Canadian or other nationality of writer to get accepted. (And do we really fit into a market largely aimed at a culture that’s at least subtly different from our own? But that’s another story or post… or rant.)

After a critique session at Write! Canada, one of the faculty graciously offered a phone-coaching session to help me see the bigger picture for my fiction. Where do I fit? What’s my target audience? My purpose? My message?

As we talked last week, some of that came together, but afterward I felt totally frustrated and out of my depth, ready to chuck it all and just write for fun. I’m not a big-picture person, my brain isn’t wired that way. How am I supposed to come up with this stuff?

Wait a minute, this was the same discouragement I’d carried with me to Write! Canada this year—where God set me straight to seek Him first instead of the work. Where I repented and thanked Him and renewed my joy.

No way am I going back there again. Instead, I prayed.

My thoughts flashed to Moses’ “Must we bring you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10b, NIV*) where he struck the rock and blew it big time.

Moses-style frustration has been my problem before. This time, seeing the connection broke the pattern and helped me get back on the path.

God knows the target audience for my fiction, if there is one. I don’t have to supply it, I just need to ask Him. He knows the best genre for me too, and He can help me recognize any signposts He has for me along the way. It’s not about me, and it’s not up to me alone.

Note to self: Stop trying to do God’s job.

Seek Him first.

Who’s Bringing the Water?

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[Moses] and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”
Numbers 20:10, NIV*

When God called him to lead the Israelites to freedom, Moses was a man deeply aware of his own inadequacy for the task. God gave him power to do miraculous signs, and promised to be with him, but he still resisted.

Fast-forward to the Desert of Zin. Moses has led the people out of Egypt, they’ve balked at entering the Promised Land and so God has sentenced them to roam the wilderness until the faithless generation has died. Moses and Aaron’s sister Miriam has died. The people—surprise!—are complaining because there’s no water.

Never mind the fact that God has provided water before now.

Moses has relied on God’s power every step of the way. He has stood between God and the people when God was angry with them, but this time it’s Moses who’s angry, and he loses it. One frustration-laden sentence, one whack of staff against stone, and Moses forfeits his own entrance into the Promised Land.

God said it was “Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites.” (Numbers 20:12, NIV*)

It looks like such a little slip to me, but God has the full picture and is the righteous judge. One thing I see here is “must we” bring the water? It’s God who supplied the power and the water, but Moses is taking on the responsibility, the burden—the credit—for the miracle.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “seek God first” and from that perspective I see an application to my own life. When there’s a need or a demand, the natural human instinct is to meet it in my own strength and from my own resources.

God wants me to look to Him first, and to respond out of His equipping… His strength, His wisdom, His resources. If I try to do it on my own, I’m getting in the way like Moses did. And I get the whole “Moses burnout complex and attitude” if I’m not careful. Not pretty.

Creator and Sustainer God, You never meant us to rely on ourselves, but we do. You said to trust in You with all our hearts, and not to rely on our own understanding. Forgive me for taking on more than You intended, and teach me to seek You first in everything. Help me trust You enough to honour You as holy in the sight of those around me. Help me rely on Your provision instead of trying to manufacture enough resources on my own.

∞

Here’s a light-hearted look at Moses’ mission: Larry Norman’s “Moses in the Wilderness” set to flannelgraph images. Love it!

Review: Dog Only Knows, by Barrie MacFarlane

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Friday Findings

Being Still, and Knowing

Review: The Story in the Stars, by Yvonne Anderson

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The Story in the Stars, by Yvonne Anderson (Risen Books, 2011)

In a universe where beings from various planets live in peace under the unifying authority of the League of Worlds, one planet stands apart. Gannah: the very name brings fear and memories of the Gannahans’ failed attempt at interstellar domination.

The Story in the Stars throws together two unlikely characters: Dassa, last survivor of the planet Gannah, and Pik, the doctor who saved her life. Pik’s native planet, Karkar, was conquered by the Gannahans before scientists developed the plague that forced them to retreat.

Dassa and Pik make an interesting study in contrasts, and as the novel progresses each discovers her/himself to be more like the other than they’d like to admit. Dassa is a warrior; Pik is an intellectual. She’s comfortable with her emotions; he’s bound by logic and appearances. She can survive in the wilderness; at the start of the novel, he’s never been outside a domed city except when in space.

Dassa’s people follow the Christian faith, in a universe where proselytizing is a punishable offense. Dassa’s personal relationship with God (she calls Him Yasha) allows her to hear His voice in her spirit.

Doctor Pik, on the other hand, has no use for delusions of faith. He’s as obnoxious and superior as they come. Yet she begins to sense that God wants to unite them.

Dassa tells Pik that every planet’s early constellations, and the legends that go with them, give a version of the same story: “a virgin birth and a saviour dying on a cross and a wicked serpent and a great war.” (p.140) The Gannahans know this God, and despite being the last of her people, she’s determined to share Him with the universe.

I really enjoyed this novel. The sharp cultural contrasts and the faith elements reminded me of Kathy Tyers’ Firebird. I’ll definitely be watching for the sequel. Click here to learn more about the Gateway to Gannah series.

For more about Yvonne Anderson, visit her blog, Y’s Words, and check out her interviews at A Writer’s Journey and Novel Journey.

[Electronic Advanced Review Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair review.]

God is Near

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Everybody does stupid things. This spring one of my sons took his turn at it, and in early June he had a meeting to sort out the consequences. My husband and I went with him for moral support.

It meant an early start and a two-hour road trip. I knew people were praying, and I was too. Before we left, I wanted at least a few still moments with the Lord. It had been a busy week. I felt stretched, but not quite to the point of breaking, and at peace with God in the midst of all the activity and the uncertainty of what this day would bring.

With only minutes to spare before heading out the door, I squeezed in a short prayer time and then opened my Bible. The psalm of the day was Psalm 139. To me, that’s this son’s psalm.

His psalm, right before his big meeting. A reminder of God’s presence.

Even though I hadn’t been consciously tense, I felt myself relax in His care, His nearness. His provision.

I believe God is always with me—Jesus promised it—so why is it so hard to really live that way? Why do I still need reminders? Shouldn’t I be able to simply stop, breathe, and know He’s here?

For now I still need reminders, and I’m thankful for this one.

Scattered Thoughts

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We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5b, NIV*

Take captive every thought…

Paul is calling Christians to live “in the world but not of the world” and not to judge by human standards but by God’s. He’s talking about spiritual warfare and tearing down everything that “sets itself up against the knowledge of God”.

There’s a fierceness to his tone even though he starts with “By the humility and graciousness of Christ I appeal to you.”

For me, the idea of taking every thought captive has meant not allowing myself to dwell on negatives and other temptations, but choosing to think about good and positive things. In reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts I’ve come to apply the verse by choosing gratitude instead of ingratitude.

But what if there’s more?

Take captive every thought…

Sometimes when I’m tired, this means pulling my thoughts together and marshalling enough mental energy to carry on in His strength.

Far more frequently than that, it means not letting my thoughts skitter away in all directions. Some of them rabbit-trail, others try to get into the future ahead of me.

“Take captive” is a good picture of what’s needed: they can bolt like a herd of wild horses, and I need a firm hand to lasso them and get them back into the corral.

Father, I want to live in the present, grounded and aware, seeking You first. I can’t do this on my own. Help me bring every thought and focus in line with You. Help me take one thing at a time, walking with You, open to hear anything You might say.

∞

Here’s Michael Card’s “In Stillness and Simplicity.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI39pI7GNow