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.

Hero Worship

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I love hero stories, of incorruptible leaders you’d follow through battle or disaster when there’s no way out—because if anyone can make it, they can. And they won’t just save themselves, they’ll rescue as many as possible.

The popular trend in fiction is flawed protagonists like us, who muddle through to victory and give us hope we can do the same. I understand it, but it’s not much fun.

I miss the wonder, the larger-than-life dream, the characters I could admire.

Maybe that’s why I re-read favourite novels. I don’t have many “new” fictional heroes and a few have fallen to moral lapses along the way. In new fiction, the best I can hope for is a quasi-hero or heroine, the reluctant hero model where s/he grows into the role and may someday be pedestal-worthy to me.

Hero-worship… could it be the soul’s instinctive longing for something—someOne—higher, bigger, greater? That God-shaped hole inside us aching to be filled?

God took on flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus subjected Himself to human limitations to reach us. He went farther than that. He gave Himself as a willing sacrifice to rescue us from bondage to the enemy of our souls.

He wasn’t a hero sneaking into the strong man’s lair only to be caught and executed as a failure. He came intentionally, deliberately, with a plan so outlandish that the devil missed it entirely until it was too late.

Jesus, Son of David, Son of Man, Son of God, Messiah, Saviour, Prince of Peace. Arrested and condemned to death. He could have called more than twelve legions of angels to rescue Him.

Remember Elisha’s servant’s eyes being opened to see the angel army poised to rescue them? I think Jesus saw the heavenly hosts around the Cross and held them back by His own will. He chose to finish His work.

He saved us. At inexpressible cost.

How does that make you feel?

To me, it demonstrates one and for all the absolute and utter proof that He loves us with a strong and active love.

If our spirits are open to understand what He has done, and why it was necessary, what other response can there be but absolute and utter devotion and loyalty?

That’s what I’d give unreservedly to a fictional hero if I were in a story. It wouldn’t be a choice, it’d just happen. That’s what I want to give to my God. It’s His right. It’s cause and effect.

But God is unseen and His whispers are soft. The world is loud and in-your-face. I need to choose this day, each day, to take every thought, idea, doubt, suggestion to God—take it captive to Christ—and examine it from a point of unquestioning loyalty and devotion to my Saviour. My Rescuer. My Hero.

A fitting song is the newsboys’ “We Remember.”

To Know God Hears

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I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:1-2, NIV*

Psalm 116 comes from more than intellectual acceptance of the deity of God—it overflows with love and gratitude.

Three times in these first two verses, the writer says he called out. But what really thrills him is that God heard. And acted.

It’s the psalmist’s experience of God’s answer that compels his loving worship. If this is a David psalm, it’s not the beginning of a personal relationship with God. If it’s someone else, maybe this is the moment when he moves from faith by hearing to faith by experience.

People need to hear the truth about who God is and what Jesus has done to offer them rescue. But it’s the personal encounter when they risk calling out to God that makes it real. We each move from “I have heard” to “Now I know”.

I find myself praying for specific individuals today, and my prayer is that the aching Christians will know with certainty that God is hearing their cries. That His love and peace will sustain them.

And I’m praying for ones who are wandering to cry out to God and be amazed that God is hearing—and that His answer is distinctly personal and life changing.

I love you, LORD, for You hear each voice, You hear each cry for mercy. Reassure us that You hear, and let us experience the wonder of Your deliverance from whatever is crushing us. As we walk through Holy Week, I praise You for this ultimate proof that You have heard the cries and groans all through time, and that humanity can say, “when I/we was/were in great need, He saved me/us.”

∞

Here’s a classic from the newsboys: “Thrive.” When He touches us, we know we’re alive.

Review: The Watcher, by Sara Davison

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The Watcher, by Sara Davison (Word Alive Press, 2011)

One traumatic night changed Kathryn Ellison’s life. Now, 20 years later, she has a chance at love and she’s ready to take it.

But first, she must confront a shoebox of memories.

Each item deserves a final look before she burns it. Each look takes readers into Kathryn’s past, to pain but also to glimpses of hope and healing.

Kathryn has raised her daughter, Lexi, with the help of her supportive family. Lexi is a young woman now, determined to find the father she never knew—and unaware that he’s a rapist.

I’m leery of reading about sexual violence, but I made it through the novel unscathed. The details come out in gradual doses, with nothing gratuitous or graphic. Kathryn’s pain is real, but so is her love for her daughter and for others in her life. After 20 years, she lives a normal, if solitary, life. She’s accepted what happened—though she’d never have chosen it—and so found healing.

Because it’s been so long since the events of that night, Kathryn—and readers—have a bit of emotional distance. Extensive flashbacks aren’t widely favoured, but this novel wouldn’t work in straight time. There would be too many superfluous details to wade through.

We experience key moments from her past that reveal the progress she’s made, and that’s enough. We also trace her growing attraction to Nick, the man who’s calling her to leave the past behind.

The Watcher would have been a compelling read on these terms alone, but Sara Davison gives it a fresh twist. In a time when novels are mostly first- or third-person as told by strong, key players, this one is narrated by Kathryn’s invisible companion, a being who can watch and wait but not physically interfere. The watcher and companions like Grace, Faith and Love, operate under the Creator’s own watchful eye.

The watcher adds humour and compassion to what might otherwise be a difficult read. She’ll occasionally turn from the narrative to address the reader directly. Again, it’s not usually done these days, but it works really well. She had me on page one and kept me through the story.

Have a look at one of her pithier observations:

Although it’s almost always better when Truth shows up, he is a bit of a showman and I often wonder if it’s as necessary as he seems to think to burst onto the scene like Liza Minnelli sweeping onto the stage, arms spread, and singing at the top of her lungs. [p. 142]

The watcher’s brief comments to readers are clearly set apart from the regular text with italics and with small images. It works really well. The flashbacks are separated from Kathryn’s present time by a few blank lines, and this has its limitations. If the blanks fall at the end of a page, it’s not immediately clear that there’s been a break. I think inserting a mark of some kind would have made it clearer.

There are three main timelines woven through the novel: Kathryn’s present, events of 20 years ago, and significant developments bridging from then to now. Since all involve the same characters, at times I had trouble discovering which time I was in.

Two things I’d have liked to see cleared up were what happened to the man who planned Kathryn’s abduction (and why he never seemed to do anything else towards his intended victim) and why her boyfriend Ty didn’t rush to her side in the hospital. Despite that, and despite a key copyediting oops where the watcher clings to the inverted promise that “the darkness always overcomes the light” [p. 186], I highly recommend reading The Watcher.

Sara Davison’s (or is it the watcher’s?) voice is fresh and vivid, with strong descriptive skills. This debut Canadian author is worth checking out.

Read an excerpt from The Watcher here, and find discussion questions here. The unpublished manuscript won Word Alive Press’ 2010 publishing contest in the fiction category, and was published in March 2011. Sara Davison blogs at Choose to Press On. You can also find her on her website and on Facebook, as well as at the Great Canadian Authors site.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Word Alive Press and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now from your favourite bookseller.]

Writers and Musicians

God is Still at Work

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Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.
Psalm 111:2-5, NIV*

The psalmist starts by praising God for what He has done in the past. They he switches to present tense: God provides food, remembers His covenant.

Sometimes I feel that while God’s acts and wonders are recorded and remembered in the Bible, in North America today we live with a sense of “that was then, this is now.”

Is it because the Bible is the “official” written testimony? That doesn’t mean God stopped working when John wrote the final “Amen” to end the book of Revelation. God hasn’t changed, as Christians in other parts of the world know.

I had a real treat the other week when I shared a meal with two Christian friends. Perhaps because we don’t often get together, we opened up to share what God has been doing in our lives, what He’s been teaching us, where He may be leading us.

I long for more of that kind of conversation. It encourages my faith, and it reminds me to keep a sharper eye out for God at work in the little as well as the big. And I think God enjoys hearing that we’ve noticed—and appreciate—His care.

Father, help me remember You are at work whether I see or hear or not. Help me look, help me recognize what You’re doing and return thanks. Give Your people boldness to declare Your work. And forgive us for beginning to believe that if we don’t see it, it’s not happening. How self-absorbed is that?

∞

Let’s join Matt Redman in singing, “You Never Let Go.”

Review: Promises You Can Count On, by Natalie Gidney

[book source: my personal library]

God’s Unfailing Love

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The NIV declares of God, “his love endures forever” 43 times. “Unfailing love” appears 40 times, always describing God’s love. These results are just from the Old Testament. The New Testament overflows with God’s love too, so I assume the writers used phrases that translate differently.

But Old Testament life seems to have a harsher edge to it than New Testament and into today. God was preparing the way, but the Messiah had not yet come. The Holy Spirit came to individuals but not to all. If God spoke to a person it was usually through a prophet or an angel.

God was preparing a people for Himself and there were a lot of growing pains. There still are, even now when we can rely on the Holy Spirit living in us, Christ in us, the hope of glory.

In the middle of the hardship of Old Testament life as God sculpted a reluctant people for Himself, when their actions often required correction in the form of invading armies and exile, His Holy Word proclaims His unfailing, forever-enduring love.

Whatever we face today, we can know and rely on God’s love God for us. There is hope.

Miracles and Kindnesses

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When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.
Psalm 106:7, NIV*

The Israelites often looked at their troubles and forgot to look at God. We do the same, and we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit, so I’m not pointing fingers.

But we need to remember and be mindful of the majesty of God, of His vastness and His glory. His miracles. If nothing else, it puts life in perspective.

Yes, He gives us tender, personal gifts. His kindnesses. Things like a blooming flower or a bit of music that seem tailored to bless just one spirit. They root us in awareness of His love for us, and that’s a good thing.

The danger of intimacy is when our thoughts try to bring God down to our level. He’s so close, so real. But we need to look at His larger-scale acts and works too.

It’s about balance.

We need intimacy with God and holy awe of His majesty.

It’s all to keep us praising. Worshipping. Living in obedience and trust.

God who formed the universe, who numbers the stars in the sky and the hairs on our heads, You are majestic in holiness, far beyond our comprehension. Yet You love us and woo us into a personal relationship. Help us to know and rely on Your love for us, and help us develop a confidence in You and a holy awe of You. Help us know You as both King and Abba—Daddy—Papa.

∞

Our song is Steve Fee’s “Glorious One”.

Review: One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp

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One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully, Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan, 2011)

One Thousand Gifts is a rare book: at once a very personal story of one woman’s journey, and yet it’s everywoman and everyman’s story. It’s a journey we can all join.

Which of us hasn’t struggled with ingratitude? It is, after all, Satan’s oldest lie. It can root so deeply that we don’t even see it anymore.

Listen to how Ann Voskamp describes it, describes the too-familiar wretched state and the haunting questions that lured her out of it:

“If I’m ruthlessly honest, I may have said yes to God, yes to Christianity, but really, I have lived the no. I have. Infected by the Eden mouthful, the retina of my soul develops macular holes of blackness…. One life-loss can infect the whole of a life…. Now everywhere we look, we only see all that isn’t: holes, lack, deficiency.” (p. 16)

“How do we choose to allow the holes to become seeing-through-to-God places? To more-God places?

“How do I give up resentment for gratitude, gnawing anger for spilling joy? Self-focus for God-communion.” (p. 22)

For Ann, the answer started with a Greek word, eucharisteo [yoo-khar-is-teh’-o], which means ‘thanksgiving’ and which contains the root words of ‘grace’ and ‘joy’. From reading her Bible, she discovered “Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle” (p. 35). And that’s what God proved in Ann’s own life as she kept her friend’s challenge to list 1,000 blessings—gifts—from God.

She came to this point in her life with more pain than some of us have: the most significant cluster in the form of losing her younger sister as a child. But whether you’ve lost more or less, whether it’s been taken from you or you’ve given it away, you can find healing in these pages.

Read the book slowly, let it encourage your spirit by its message and by the poetry that is Ann Voskamp’s prose. Walk with her as she learns to thank God for the sweet blessings—graces—in her day. Keep walking as she learns to see His grace in the painful moments, to practice what she calls the “hard eucharisteo” by giving thanks even when what He gives doesn’t look like grace to our eyes.

If you like simple, plain language and straightforward sentences, this may not be the book for you. I’ve included some excerpts to give a feel for the flowing language. And be aware that poetic language often uses imagery for a soul’s intimacy with God that strictly-literal thinkers may find difficult.

But if you’re one of the many who choose to read this book, you will be challenged and changed by the example of an ordinary Canadian woman who dares to have a heart like King David’s and to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God in the good and in the bad—not denying the pain, but trusting the Master Designer not to waste it.

This is how Ann describes what she discovered in her list of now well over 1,000 gifts:

“In eucharisteo, I count, count, count, keeping the beat of His song, the love song He can’t stop singing, this long song of longing. That He sings love over me?

“What else can all these gifts mean?” (p. 204)

One Thousand Gifts is a book to read contemplatively, and to keep near to read again. My friends are buying extra copies for their friends rather than lending a copy they might not get back. I can see why. Click here to read an excerpt from One Thousand Gifts. And here’s a link to the book trailer, which is a gift in itself.

Canadian author Ann Voskamp writes a daily encouragement blog at A Holy Experience. She’s also a regular contributor at the DaySpring blog, (in)courage.

Oh… my list? I’m at #33 today. And loving it.

[Review copy source: my personal library]

Bullying and Prayer

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Bullying includes harm by word as well as by fist.

Increased awareness and social pressure is presumably making a difference, but in some cases maybe it’s making the perpetrators craftier. Texting and social media make it easier to shoot from a distance.

I’ve been reading lately about cyber-bullying, including some cases that allegedly drove the victims to suicide. If that’s true, you’d hope the spiteful talkers would feel remorse for what they’ve done. I suspect they’re saying “what a loser” and still blaming the victim.

School administrations are often helpless to intervene, and may even deny the problem now that it’s politically incorrect.

Our communities’ kids are under attack, and that’s nothing new. They’re vulnerable to one another—and to the enemy of our souls. How can they defend themselves, when it hurts too much to just walk away?

In Psalm 109, David opens his prayer with these words:

My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. (Ps. 109:1-3, NIV*)

David was bullied too, even as an adult. But David, a man after God’s own heart, knew where to go for help. How many of our kids do?

His prayer starts with this cry for help (Ps. 109:1-5) and then launches into what looks like a prayer for vengeance (Ps. 109:6-20). In typical Old Testament mindset, it carries the punishment for the bully’s acts into the lives of his wife and children.

Living under grace, I’m not comfortable with that. I’d rather pray for our kids’ bullies to be set free from their own spiritual darkness and to come into Jesus’ light.

I can’t call down vengeance. That’s God’s territory and I’ve needed too much grace myself. But look again at those verses. Sometimes it’s only when “what goes around comes around,” when we’re on the receiving end instead of in control, that we realize the truth.

God knows what it will take for bullies to understand the damage they’re doing, and if personal experience is what it takes, then may He bring it on. I still pray that with the end of the bully-life will come rebirth into Kingdom-life.

Ultimately, the prayer asks God to deal with the bullies. David knows he can’t fight this himself. Hear what he says:

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. (Ps. 109:22-23, NIV*)

Can’t you feel his pain?

David knows how to pray. He comes to God, the highest Authority, and he holds nothing back: this is how I feel, this is what I’m asking in my anger and my pain, I’m asking You to repay my accusers. And I’m asking You to “help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you, LORD, have done it.” (Ps. 109:26-27, NIV*)

See how his prayer comes around to God? Not only for vengeance and help, but for God’s own glory? David is under God’s care, and he wants the world to know not just for his own sake, but for God’s.

He has laid out his need and his pain, and now he turns his focus to his God. In the moment, while circumstances are unchanged, David finds the strength to voice praise:

With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them. (Ps. 109:30-31, NIV*)

David left us a valuable prayer to offer for our youth, for our friends, for ourselves. It reminds us that our God is Mighty to Save.