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.
Sheila Walsh’s book, Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God, has a valuable Bible study section at the end. As I worked through it, this question struck me and I thought it would generate some good conversation:
“What have you seen Jesus do that gives you assurance of His ability to intervene in your life in the future?” (p. 253)
My story:
Almost ten years ago, my car blew its transmission on a rural highway. I had three young sons with me and no cell phone. But what did I see on the other side of the road? Another vehicle with a blown transmission, complete with two friendly men and a cell phone with barely enough charge to make a call for help. They shared their phone, we shared the raw hotdogs from our cooler, and everything worked out.
It was hot and boring, but the boys didn’t even fight! We sat in the back of the car and read stories. I wasn’t surprised to look up and see an eagle soar past, and I told the boys about how God encouraged me with the reminder of Isaiah 40:31. (I saw eagles maybe three times that year, each coinciding with a majorly expensive car problem.)
My dad arrived at the same time as the tow truck, and I came home with a certainty that if God could take care of me on the side of the highway, He could take care of me anywhere.
[Edit: You’ll find the full version of this story in A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider, an anthology of Canadian Christian writing.]
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Philippians 4:7-86-7, MSG*
Tuesday was a full day.
It was my first day filling in for a friend at her work, and that meant keeping a lot of mental balls in the air—not an easy task for someone who’s easily distracted. Between learning where to find everything and what to do with it, what I’d naively expected to be a morning slid halfway into the afternoon.
Not a big deal… except I’d planned to spend said afternoon cooking a large pot of spaghetti sauce and making apple-rice pudding for my writers’ group’s supper meeting. And writing this blog post.
Okay, cancel the sauce and open a can. Easy. Print the document I’m supposed to critique for the meeting before starting the pudding, so I don’t forget.
Open the email program to find the document. Also find urgent prayer requests I need to respond to under my hat of prayer team lead for The Word Guild. (And bless my wonderful assistant who’s already at work on this!)
So by the time the rice is cooking, I know I’m going to be late for my meeting. So much for going early to help set up. And I can’t reach our hostess on the phone.
Before you start playing tiny violins to accompany my suffering, I need to say it was a good day. Not bad, just hectic. And I’m not complaining.
We’ve all had days like this or worse.
What’s encouraging me this evening is that for once, instead of tensing up and trying to “hurry harder” I was able to remember the verses from James that talk about embracing what comes and being eager to cooperate with what God is doing, rather than fighting the tools He may want to use to shape us.
I’d read these verses recently, and I think our conversation here last Friday about using Scripture to retrain our minds made the truths stick.
When uncertainty and self-doubt asked (several times!) why I thought I could do this job, and self chimed in “I don’t want to do this anymore,” I remembered that God is quite able to help me learn and serve with a cheerful heart.
And He did. I even saw Him in the encouraging way the others treated me.
When perfectionism and fear murmured about my potential mistakes and what was left undone, it was enough to know I’m still learning and I did my best.
Time was passing, but I knew I was where God had me to be and instead of trying to mentally slow the clock (you’ve done that, right?) I trusted Him to arrange the rest of the day.
Well it all got done, even this blog post after my meeting—for which I was late and had to resist the guilt that goes with that. I’m tired, late getting to bed, but I feel good. Whole. Like I got it right even though a performance review of the day would reveal imperfect work.
It seems a tad self-focused to share this, but it’s not about me getting something right. It’s about God and discovering what relying on Him can do. We can each do that, and sometimes listening to one person’s story can encourage us about our own.
Father, thank You so much for Your grace today that enabled me to rely on You instead of on my self-defeating behaviour patterns. I’m sorry this is such a rare thing, and I pray in faith that You will finish the work You’ve begun in me—begun in each of us. Remind us of Your Word, help us to choose to believe what You say instead of what our inner critic claims to be true.
Mud in Your Eye, by Gord Penner (Word Alive Press, 2009)
The subtitle of Mud in Your Eye explains its meaning: “he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud.”
The book’s back cover warns, “If you don’t see yourself the way God sees you, then you will more than likely see yourself the way you think others see you.” Hmm, there’s a whole lot of truth to that.
In talking about Jesus’ encounter with the blind man and the mud (John 9:1-41), Gord Penner asks, “Are you willing to have mud smeared on your eyes? Do you trust Jesus enough – do you want to see badly enough – that you’re willing to let Jesus have his way in your life, no matter how it looks?” (page 5)
Each chapter of Mud in Your Eye is 3-4 pages long, good for a quiet, reflective pause in your day. What I appreciate most about them is the focus on Scripture and on how it applies to our lives – and the challenge to truly believe it. The word of God has power, and we need to hear – and sometimes speak – what it says.
Canadian author Gord Penner is also a motivational speaker and life coach. His name was new to me, but I’m glad I found his book.
We tend to believe our emotions or thoughts–they’re inside us, they must be true. But believing them often means not believing God.
This catches me every so often. I’ll be sure I’m right, and then I realize that this feeling or thought is directly opposed to what God says.
I may put too much stock in my own understanding (He’s working on that!) but when I bring it down to “me or God” I have to admit He’s more likely to be right!
The trick is to catch those pesky thoughts/feelings and retrain them by replacing them with God’s true Word. Different verses help different people in their circumstances, but here are a few of mine:
When I despair of ever changing: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV*
When I’m feeling down: “Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”Isaiah 50:10b, NIV*
When I feel inadequate: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3, NIV*
But Samuel replied [to King Saul]: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15:22-23, NIV* (emphasis mine)
When I read these verses the other day at Other Food: Daily Devos, four words jumped out at me:
Obey… Heed.
Rebellion… Arrogance.
It all comes back to attitude, doesn’t it? God asks for a trusting, obedient heart, for a person who will love, listen and live under His authority.
Contrast this with King David’s prayer:
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:10-12, NIV*
I wonder from his word choices if David isn’t remembering God’s words to Saul. The difference in the two men’s hearts is what pleases God:
David has committed a series of sins that we might judge as worse than Saul’s. But David pleads for God to renew their relationship, and I think his prayer for “a willing spirit” is key.
What will enable us to make the ongoing choice to heed and obey God? To trust His character enough to do it His way rather than our way? A willing spirit.
Father, I can’t thank You enough for saving me—and for Your promise never to leave me. I confess it’s easier to walk by sight than by faith, to follow my own understanding rather than trusting You. In Your mercy, please keep working to change me. Because of Your Son, forgive me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, so that I can follow You.
“One of the surest ways to know you’re ready to be a full-time funeral director is when you start talking to clients.” (p. 2)
So says Gerald Huffman, Jennifer Graham’s gentle mentor, when he catches her reassuring the corpse she’s working on.
Jen is a single mom with two school-aged sons and an unusual occupation: she owns a funeral home. She also shares her mother’s tendency to interfere—er, “help”—if relationships need mending, and so when Gerald becomes ill, Jen contacts his estranged daughter, Kirsten. Contact is one thing, but reconciliation proves to be another.
I like Jen, and one reason is her humanity. She’s a good mother and friend, who doesn’t always get it right. This lesson about trusting God to work things out is one she’s faced before. she may face it again, but she’s learning. Sound like anyone you know?
She’sin a Better Place is written in the present tense, which I find jarring. It’s by turns funny, sad and thoughtful, and it’s a good read. Don’t start here, though, if you haven’t read the previous books in the series.
You’d have no trouble picking up the ongoing story of Jennifer and her family, but where each novel builds on the previous, starting with book 3 would ruin the surprises in the first two. If you can, take time to begin with Doesn’t She Look Natural and then She Always Wore Red.
She’s in a Better Place brings the series to a satisfying conclusion, but there’s definitely room for another story. I hope we get one!
Best-selling, Christy-award winning author Angela Hunt has written over 100 books and is a favourite of many readers. You can learn more about Angela on her website, and she has a readers’ page on Facebook.
Last week at Other Food: Daily Devo’s, Violet Nesdoly talked about actions and images that remind us of God’s faithfulness and encourage our faith. The Old Testament is full of times when God told His people to set up a monument or hold a feast to honour Him and to remember what He had done. He knows how quickly we forget!
Deuteronomy 6 even says that God’s law and stipulations for His people are to remind them they’re His and He has miraculously delivered them.
I’m an at-home Mom, and when our kids were little and money was scarce, I poured a little oil into a glass container and left it on the table where I’d see it. Remember the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath? Elijah promised her, “For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'” (1 Kings 17: 14, NIV)
I needed a tangible reminder of God’s provision to strengthen my faith. Now that our circumstances are easier, I still need reminders to stop regularly and look to God in praise. I have some Scripture verses posted around the house, but I’m challenged to create some new visual memory aids.
What do you use to keep turning your eyes to Jesus?
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27-28, NIV*
Today my congregation is doing something new. Individuals have set aside extra time throughout the day to seek God’s direction for our church, and we’ll gather this evening to share what we’ve each heard.
I’m really excited about this, and I hope we’ll do it regularly, maybe once a quarter. As a body, we’ve spent too long letting the leadership listen for us. The problem then is that we have less motivation to follow what’s heard.
“Was it really God, or is that a human idea? I don’t like it, so it must not be God.”
The business world talks about “ownership” and it’s true that if the whole group has input there’s more commitment. In the church, it’s also true that God speaks to each of us. I think as we each learn to hear His voice and share what He gives us, we’ll end up with a richer, clearer picture of where to go.
Father, give us ears, hearts and spirits to hear You. Protect us from other voices. Help the church—local and global—help us as individuals—to grow up into Christ.
Todd Agnew’s song, “Shepherd” is really about people who’ve done their own thing and strayed way off-course. I don’t believe that’s true of my congregation at this point. We’ve been trying to be obedient, but we definitely need to hear—and follow—God. The chorus of this song is my prayer today.
I love the cover art on this book. The little girl, swinging so high, looks… free. Carefree, even. Happy.
Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God reminds us that it’s God pushing the swing—and that we can trust His heart. Trust is a choice, and the personal experiences and Scriptural examples Sheila Walsh includes are chosen to prove God’s trustworthiness. It’s up to us to take the step (daily) of trust, but in these pages we’re reminded that God knows our weakness and is incredibly patient.
I admire Sheila’s transparency with her own struggles to trust, and it’s through her stories—one human being’s vulnerability—that readers find they’re not alone, that there is hope. It’s risky to admit our frailty, and I’m sure some “upright” people will judge her and turn away. That’s their loss, and they’re missing the whole point.
The message of this book is crucial to all of us who are wounded and weary in the journey. Men need it as much as women, but Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God is clearly written for a female audience.
Perhaps because the message is so important, I was disappointed with the quality of the words themselves. This is not something I’ve noticed in the author’s previous books, and it felt to me as if the publication process had been rushed. I found myself mentally editing, tightening sentences, correcting typesetting—all of which distracted me from the subject matter.
I even noticed a couple of spots that escaped Bible fact-checking. (For example, page 217 talks about Abram building the altar to sacrifice Isaac, and how the boy asks where the sacrificial animal is. The text says, “Scripture doesn’t tell us if Abraham replies or weeps or what he is thinking.” According to Genesis 22:8, NIV, “Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.”)
The book does contain some powerful sentences, like this one: “Wherever you stand at the moment is your holy ground, and grace is available there,” (p. 175). I think I’ll be putting that one on my bulletin board.
It’s the trend for books to have perhaps 10 discussion questions at the end. Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God has 26 and they’re all worth thought. I would have preferred them to refer to the author as “Sheila” rather than “Walsh”. To me that sounds formal and faintly disapproving.
There’s also an in-depth Bible study, with a session for each chapter. If that sounds intimidating, it really isn’t. Each one is 2-3 pages long and I like the format: “Find, Feel and Follow.” Find and read selected short passages in your Bible, think through your responses, and begin to act on what you learn.
In Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God, Sheila Walsh writes with an easy-to-read and at times humorous style. Despite my wishes for better editing, this is a book I’d recommend to any woman who’s in need of learning to trust (or trust more) God’s heart.
Review copy provided for free by Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions I have expressed are my own.
Are you still hearing news coverage of the situations in Chile and Haiti? I’m not hearing much, but I know the needs for relief and for prayer are still great. Here are a few links to let us know what it’s like:
Chile: Colleen Shine Phillips lives in Quilpué, Chile, and has begun posting her experience of the earthquake. Start with “A Shaky Experience” and continue on to her newer posts.
Haiti: Hands Across the Sea operates an orphanage and school in Deschappeles, Haiti. The HATS blog keeps us up-to-date with the ministry, facility repairs and the wider Haitian community.
I’m thankful for these and other ways we can stay connected to the needs in these countries. They make it so much easier to pray, don’t you think?
Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God, by Sheila Walsh (Thomas Nelson, 2010)