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.

Review: Majesty in Motion, by Stewart Brown

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Majesty in Motion: Creating an Encouragement Culture in all Your Relationships, by Stewart Brown, D. Min. (Word Alive Press, 2009)

I suppose while Jesus lived in Palestine in human form, those around Him truly saw the majesty of God in motion. Until He comes again, Christians have the responsibility of modeling God to those around us. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us, but too many times we fail.

In Majesty in Motion, Stewart Brown has provided a helpful, practical resource to overcome that failure. The encouragement culture he calls us to isn’t one of superficial compliments, but a lifestyle of building others up toward their God-given potential. It’s rooted and strengthened in prayer.

Seeing others as God sees them, affirming their value and investing time in their lives, is to treat them as Jesus would—to display God’s majesty in motion.

Stewart writes,

To be encouraged is to experience the transformative power of God, which gives you the courage to be and act according to God’s eternal purpose for your life.” (p. xiv)

As such, we need both to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to encourage others in Him.

This type of encouragement is intentional. It comes from prayerful intimacy with God and an awareness of the needs of others. And as the title makes clear, it’s about relationships, not religion or human effort.

The book asserts that encouragement has three parts: strengthening the heart, coming alongside to help, and inspiring to move forward:

Real, authentic encouragement—the attitude and heart that reflects the greatness of God through the warm, caring filter of God’s grace—is meant to be constantly active in the lives of every follower of Jesus.” (p. 19)

If we accept encouragement as our mission, we need to be equipped to deliver it. Part two of Majesty in Motion highlights three vital elements that God’s encouragers must develop: joy, patience, and an imitation of Jesus’ example.

As well as looking at the life of encouragement and the foundation required in each Christian’s life, the book also addresses the intentionality and the practice of encouragement. We have the why and the how, with practical details and clear examples. Each chapter comes with questions and suggestions for individuals and groups, and there are appendices of extra material for encouragement partners and church greeters.

There is a huge amount of truth packed into this 200-page book, and it’s easy to digest and understand. Application will take work and personal discipline, but the benefits are worth the cost.

I was personally challenged by the repeated call for a solid, personal confidence in God. It makes perfect sense: if you’re not securely trusting God in your own spirit, how can you help others? We must first learn to encourage ourselves in God, like an airline passenger donning her own oxygen mask before helping the child beside her.

David’s friend Jonathan helped him find strength in God when he was in danger from King Saul. Later, by himself David found strength in God when his men were ready to turn on him. Both are needed.

Majesty in Motion sets high goals that are achievable with diligence, and challenges readers to make that effort. It’s on my list of books that I wish every Christian could read.

Stewart Brown, D. Min, is a Canadian pastor, speaker and author currently serving in Alberta. Majesty in Motion follows the theme of his popular speaking engagements. Click here to read more about Majesty in Motion. You can check out Stewart’s recent interview on 100 Huntley Street (Stewart Brown interview, 1/2 and Stewart Brown interview 2/2) or visit his website, One Heart Ministries, to learn more about his ministry.

Majesty in Motion won a 2010 Canadian Christian Writing Award (for work published in 2009) in the Book: Relationship category, and was a finalist in the Book: Christian Living category.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Friday Funnies

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One of the blogs that often sets me chuckling is The Lucas Adventures. It’s hard to write funny, but Chad Lucas does it well. A couple of my favourite posts: “Word to the Absurd,” saluting those crazy things parents find themselves saying to their kids, and “A Father’s Guide to Routine Child Maintenance, Vol. 1 – Diaper Duty“.

∞

Duane Scott hosts “Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays“. The link takes you to volume 7, my favourite. Things to do with orange traffic cones. Need I say more?

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Stephan Pastis’ blog is sometimes rude but often funny. The man is brilliant. I get his Pearls Before Swine strip in my in-box each morning, and this one cracked me up: [Click to view the Pearls Before Swine strip.]

Hanging Out With Jesus

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After this [turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana, Jesus’ first miraculous sign] he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.” John 2:12, NIV*

What an innocuous verse to catch the imagination! But think about it: what would it be like, spending a few days hanging out with Jesus?

He’s not crossing words with His adversaries, He’s not offering signs to people who need convincing, He’s not teaching the multitudes.

He’s probably teaching His disciples, but I expect it’s in relaxed conversation. There are probably laughter and jokes. Casual conversation and quiet times.

Whether He’s talking one on one, sitting in companionable silence, speaking in a group, I imagine each one present feels they’re valued by Jesus.

When He makes eye contact, that’s clear. When He listens it’s clear, even if what He says next challenges them to see the familiar in a new way.

I need to think about this as I go through today. What would it be like to hang out with Jesus between the public events?

That’s most of my life: ‘between public events’.

And He’s here. His Spirit lives in me. What might I discover if I tuned in and remembered He’s with me? Some teaching, as He challenges and redefines my perspectives and perceptions. Hopefully a greater sense of His presence, and of the value He places on me and on each one I meet.

Father, there are no words to thank You for drawing me to Yourself, for saving me and adopting me into relationship with You. For valuing me and seeking me out. I praise Your goodness, mercy and love that have placed Your Spirit in me as a deposit, keeping Your promise to never leave me. Open me to His leading, so I can be shaped into who You’ve designed me to be.

∞

This week’s song is the old hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour”, (Text: Annie S. Hawks, 1835-1918; Music: Robert Lowry, 1826-1899. I really like the way Jars of Clay sing it here.

Review: Practice By Practice, by Kathleen Gibson

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Practice by Practice: the art of everyday faith, by Kathleen Gibson (Word Alive Press, 2010)

Practice by Practice is the first compilation of Kathleen Gibson’s slice-of-life inspirational newspaper column, “Sunny Side Up”. Other volumes will follow, in a series titled The Preacher and Me. (Kathleen is a clergy wife.)

This delightful gift book came from Kathleen’s winning non-fiction manuscript in the 2009 Word Alive Press publishing contest. Packaged as a 5×7-inch hardback with restful cover and interior design, Practice by Practice would make an ideal “thank you” to a friend or hostess—or a treat for yourself.

Each selection is 3-4 pages long, ideal for a quick pick-me-up. Kathleen’s insights are down to earth and practical, and her language flows gently. She writes about worry, marriage, forgiveness, patience, trust—a host of areas where we can all relate.

I found her thoughts on worry refreshing. We all know we shouldn’t worry, but for many of us it’s a lifetime challenge. Kathleen looks back at a life spent practicing faith as an antidote to worry and discovers:

“Like salt on ice, that worry has acted on the way I practice faith. It’s motivated me to dig deeper, trust more, pray harder, search God’s word more keenly. In the end, the well-practiced faith… has always trumped my worry and turned it into trust.” (p. 10)

Kathleen’s prose is rich and evocative. See if this excerpt doesn’t relax you:

“The Waskesiu River ambled along beside us, riffling over rocks, gathering in still pools, murmuring around sharp bends. Sedge grasses swayed above boulders swaddled in orange lichen. And golden-eyed ducks dipped and dived for plankton and whatever other edibles wait below the glistening surface of a river.” (p. 17)

Kathleen’s “Sunny Side Up” column is featured in Yorkton This Week, and you can read the current instalments by clicking the link. (There’s even a spot to subscribe to “Sunny Side Up“, for those of us who perpetually forget to return to websites we want to read.) It’s good to have these older columns available in print to new eyes as well as to seasoned readers.

To learn more about Canadian author Kathleen Gibson, visit SIMPLY LIFE with Kathleen Gibson. Kathleen is also the author of West Nile Diary: One Couple’s Triumph Over a Deadly Disease. In addition to her column and other writing, Kathleen blogs occasionally at Ramblings.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Bumper-Sticker Sermon

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Insult or blessing? Check out my post at InScribe Writers Online and see what you think.

High Calling Blogs Network

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I don’t remember how I found the High Calling Blog Network a few weeks ago, but I decided it’s a good place to be. I’m glad to be a new member there, and have added the site to my blogroll here. (You can also reach them by clicking the image in the sidebar.)

I love how the network is described on its Facebook page: “Our desire is to help people connect with God in every part of their daily life, including their work.”

Living our faith means more than going to church. The hard work comes in the daily grind, and I’m looking forward to spending time in this community of faith and work.

Expectant Prayer

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On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

John 2:1-5, NIV* [Read the whole story at Biblegateway.com.]

She doesn’t ask Him in so many words to do something about it, nor suggest how He solve the problem. She just brings Him the need. And I think it’s implied that she has a trust that He not only can but will meet it.

These verses remind me today that simply bringing Jesus the need, in quiet trust that He will want to meet it, is a valid form of prayer.

Whether the Spirit leads us with specifics in prayer, or we bring requests like Mary did here, or whatever the form(s) of prayer we use, let’s each be reminded to come in an attitude of expectant trust: He cares, He’s interested in our needs, and He has the power to meet them.

Loving God, thank You that You want us to pray: to praise and enjoy You, to confess, to bring needs. Sometimes you show us specific requests to make. Sometimes, like Mary, we simply mention our concern. Help us to always come in an attitude of expectant trust. And we praise You that You care, that You’re interested in our needs, and that You have the power to meet them.

This week’s song is the old hymn, “I Must Tell Jesus,” written by Elisha A. Hoffman, sung here in fine Southern soul style by Candi Staton.

Review: Forget Me Not, by Vicki Hinze

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Forget Me Not, by Vicki Hinze (WaterBrook-Multnomah, 2010)

She’s been running from her enemies for three years. As the story opens, readers don’t know her name, but we see her attacked by two separate groups in New Orleans.

When she wakes, bruised and abandoned, in Florida, she can’t remember her identity. Her only clue is a card in her pocket with Crossroads Crisis Center on one side and the name “Susan” written on the other.

She’s taken to Crossroads, and that’s when things get complicated.

The mystery woman looks like Crossroads’ director Ben Brandt’s murdered wife—whose name was Susan, and whose cross this woman found in her pocket and is now wearing.

As upset as Ben is, he realizes that he and this stranger must work together for her safety as well as to find the answers he desperately needs.

With so many unknowns, and what looked like a complex cast of villains, I found it hard to get my head around the book at first. I kept reading out of concern for the heroine and because I trusted veteran author Vicki Hinze to deliver a suspenseful novel that would bring all the pieces together in the end.

The pieces do come together, and the network of villains is indeed complex. “Susan” and Ben are strong, complex characters. She doesn’t know who she is, but she’s sure Whose she is. He knows his identity but walked away from faith when his wife and son were killed. And in the midst of the danger and unknowns, they may be falling in love.

Vicki Hinze has written 23 novels and 3 non-fiction books in the general market. Forget Me Not is her first “faith-affirming romantic thriller, and she handily earns a spot at the top of my suspense list with Brandilyn Collins. Her next novel in the Crossroads Crisis Center series is Deadly Ties, coming February, 2011.

You can read the first chapter of Forget Me Not, and learn more about award-winning author Vicki Hinze at her website. Check out an in-depth interview with Vicki Hinze at Nora St. Laurent’s Finding Hope Through Fiction blog.

Here’s the book trailer for Forget Me Not: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi9bXuLk_Fw]

[review copy borrowed from the public library]

Six inspirational links plus a fitness bonus

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Stop by Devotional Christian for daily devotionals from Our Daily Bread, Max Lucado, My Utmost for His Highest, Charles Spurgeon, The High Calling and more.

I’ve been enjoying Duane Scott’s Scribing the Journey, especially his post on “Dreaming With a Troubled Heart“.

Flickers of a Faithful Firefly shares beautiful photos and inspirational thoughts. I especially appreciated her post, “Cultivating Stillness“.

I’ve mentioned Free2Soar before. This blog has become one of my favourites, with its short, poetic insights into faith and relationships.

Ever feel overwhelmed with your tasks and responsibilities? I do. Check out Susan Stewart’s post, “Psalm 23 – according to me“, at Whatever He Says.

Kimberley Payne offers a free monthly electronic Fitness & Faith Matters newsletter..

Deskbound? Here’s a 10-minute video on Staying Fit While Sitting All Day. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN5IG4tuLSM]

Finishing Well

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For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:6‑7, NIV*

These things Paul tells us at the end of his life—they’re what mattered most to him. These are his marks of success, and the things he was afraid he’d fail in. His daily, yearly, lifetime goals. The goals he’s trying to pass on to Timothy.

I don’t think he’s being smug here. He’s satisfied, and perhaps relieved. Failure would have devastated him, but failure is a constant danger. Being human, he may have slipped a bit, but he stayed the course. And he’d say it was because “I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ” (Philippians 4:13, NIV*)

He did it by relying on Jesus’ strength, and by keeping his focus. What’s my focus on any given day? To serve God, or just to deal with the tasks at hand? His opportunities, or my duties?

Father God, remind me whose I am and help me focus on Kingdom priorities. Let my life count for You.

∞

Our song this week is “Lord, Reign in Me,” by Brenton Brown.