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.

Obstacles or Stepping Stones?

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For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.
Joshua 2:10, NLT*

En route to the Promised Land, Israel encountered two kings who refused to allow them to pass. Each king attacked, and was killed along with all his people. You can read the story in Numbers 21:21-35.

I can imagine the Israelites, thinking they were on the road to their blessing, confronted by an army. Twice. The way was blocked. Soldiers pointed weapons at them.

Do you think they were discouraged? Frustrated?

Being human, they likely weren’t as confident in God as He wanted them to be, despite His past care. Every time God intervened for Israel was a chance for them to develop confidence in His power. He was proving Himself to them. He gave them victory, and brought them to the Jordan’s banks with the river in full flood.

Today’s verse was spoken by a citizen of Jericho (Rahab) when the Israelite spies went to scout the city. Word of God’s mighty power had spread. The obstacles, like the Red Sea and the two kings (and the Jordan River), weren’t random challenges to make Israel’s life harder. They were stepping-stones to not only build up God’s people’s faith but to show others His power.

Can we look at the issues and setbacks in our lives this way? Learn to trust God to meet them, and recognize that however impossible they seem now, God can use them if we’ll only trust Him? Can we press on in the strength He gives, without grumbling or despair? Even with hope?

God our Provider and our King, forgive us when we look at the obstacles and forget about Your unseen power and Your love for us. Where You lead, You will make a way. Increase our faith and help us to choose to rely on you. Strengthen us to take captive our fears, doubts and complaints, and open our eyes to see what You will do.

∞

I spent last weekend at a concert and conference led by Robin Mark and band. His song, “I Will Walk,” reminds us to walk with God: for His glory and for our sakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kp1kictLXI

*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: Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt

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Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela HuntFive Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt (Howard Books, 2012)

Twins Carlene and Darlene celebrate their 50th birthday during this story, and younger sister Nolie is in her forties. Each woman’s life has been shaped by past hurt, whether inflicted or received, intended or imagined. And as the back cover says, “If these three sisters don’t change direction, they’ll end up where they’re going.”

Angela Hunt does an amazing job of bring three very different and yet believable sisters to life, and while there may be moments you want to shake some sense into each one of them, you’ll appreciate each one as well.

The story is set in a sprawling home near the fictional town of Peculiar, Florida. As Nolie says about small towns: “there’s not much to do, but plenty of people to talk about you when you do it.” [p. 288]

Five Miles South of Peculiar is an engaging read. While we may not have the same secrets, longings or hurts that the three sisters carry, it may help us see areas in our own lives where change would be healthy. And isn’t it encouraging to know we’re not “stuck” as long as we’re still alive?

The novel’s secondary characters include two Leonberger dogs, a large breed I’d never heard of. (My spellcheck hadn’t heard of them either, but Google has.)

Angela Hunt is a Christy Award-winning author and sought-after writing teacher who writes both contemporary and historical women’s fiction. Her current series is the Dangerous Beauty series about women from the Bible: Esther, Bathsheba and Delilah. Read her story of how she came to write Five Miles South of Peculiar on her website.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Secrets and Lies Interview

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Secrets and LiesRon Hughes from HopeStreamRadio interviewed me last month, and while it’s not archived on their site, I’ve posted it to mine. We talked about a few aspects of writing and about my novels, and I read an excerpt from Secrets and Lies. The interview is about ten minutes long, if you’d like to have a listen (just click the “play” triangle in the media player below).  And do check out HopeStreamRadio. They currently provide about two hours of content per day, which repeats throughout the day. There’s teaching, music, and a variety of interesting content (including author interviews!)

[Media player didn’t show up for you? Click here to listen to the interview.]

Who Does it Look Like We’re Living For?

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 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
2 Corinthians 5:20, NLT*

An ambassador’s words and behaviour should reveal the character of whoever the ambassador represents.

What does that mean for Christians? If we’re living for “One Name Alone,” we can choose His will and His way (including His “house rules”) over our own, and do it cheerfully, not grudgingly, because we love Him and it’s a joy to do whatever we can to stay close to Him.

When we cultivate an attitude of trust in God, of gratitude and peace, it’s not simply for our own spiritual wellbeing. We can let others see that in the good and in the bad, we choose to rely on God, and that He is enough.

Jesus is our model, as well as the One we’re to represent. His countenance, conduct and demeanor all reflected Whose He was. He didn’t go around with a moping, frowning face. He didn’t deny His pain, either – just took it to the Father.

He spoke truth gently to the hurting, and He listened first to discern their true needs. He reserved His blunt talk for leaders He needed to call out. He didn’t complain about people behind their backs. He didn’t gossip, stew in resentment, or indulge in any of the attitudes that so often beset us.

He didn’t condemn sinners, but invited them into new life. And He showed them the new life was good.

We’re not perfect, but the more we rely on the Holy Spirit within us, the more effective ambassadors we’ll be.

Father, sometimes I get tired, or frustrated, or fearful. You understand those feelings, but You have better things for me. Help me to remember that if I indulge in cranky or moody behaviour, it reflects poorly on You. Help me press into You, my Rock and my Redeemer, and live authentically so that others will see how trusting You makes a difference.

∞

Let Matt Redman‘s song, “One Name Alone,” settle into our hearts and remind us of our true focus.

*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: The Reluctant Caregiver, by Bobbi Junior

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The Reluctant Caregiver, by Bobbi JuniorThe Reluctant Caregiver, by Bobbi Junior (Word Alive Press, 2014)

I knew this was a book I’d value, from the dedication:

Dedicated to my brother, husband and children, who never said “You should…”

And to Jesus, who said, “Let me.”

On one level, this is a memoir of one woman’s struggle to demonstrate the love of Christ to her mother, Nancy, who has dementia. Without a power of attorney in place, Bobbi Junior and her brother, Lawrence, can’t take the conventional advice to “put her in a home.” As a Christian, Bobbi feels called to treat her mother with love and dignity, even though they had a difficult relationship since Bobbi’s childhood.

On another level, it’s a story for every Christian walking in a hard place.

The Reluctant Caregiver is transparent about Bobbi’s ongoing battles with her attitudes, fears, and the desire to take charge. Most of the time, she rises to the challenge in a way that will have many readers shaking their heads in admiration (and a few readers putting the book down, angry that she doesn’t retaliate or walk away).

When she fails, or when she’s floundering, her journal entries give us clues to how we might handle similar experiences. (What? You haven’t failed or floundered lately?)

The book reads like a journal-style novel, and I found myself reading every chance I could. It offers insight not only into the difficult role of a caregiver but also into the pain of an intelligent woman who knows she can’t think straight anymore – and who now berates herself as “stupid.”

The chief take-away is that we can’t manage life’s challenges in our own strength, but that Jesus is ready to take the lead if we’ll only let Him. Because we’re human, this is a day-to-day or minute-by-minute process. We get better at it, but only in the sense that practice helps us learn to turn to Him more readily.

The Reluctant Caregiver is a valuable resource for Christians who are or who will become caregivers, and for those who find it easier to take control than to surrender it to God. I’m in a wide-open space in my life right now, but even in my small stresses I found Bobbi’s prayers and journal entries showed me a better way. I’m challenged to walk closer with Jesus and to ask Him to show me His way instead of insisting my own. Even in the little things, it’s hard to do.

Bobbi Junior is a Canadian author and speaker who shares what she’s learning about life and caregiving at her website: bobbijunior.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

Giveaway & Author Interview: Renee Blare

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Author Renee Blare

Author Renee Blare, with her novel, Beast of Stratton

Raised in Louisiana and Wyoming, Renee Blare started writing poetry in junior high school and that, as they say, was that. After having her son, a desire to attend pharmacy school sent her small family to Laramie and she’s been counting pills ever since. While writing’s her first love, well, after the Lord and her husband, she also likes to fish and hunt as well as pick away on her classical guitar.

Nestled against the Black Hills with her husband, crazy old dog and ornery cat, she serves the community of northeastern Wyoming as a pharmacist and pens her Christian stories, keeping them interesting with action and intrigue, of course. She loves to interact with readers and invites you check out her website, blog, and social media [see links at the end of this interview].

Janet: Welcome, Renee, and thanks for taking time to join us. I love your tag line: “Christian fiction… where the wild meets the Forgiven.” How did you choose it?

Renee: Hi Janet, thanks for having me. I searched for a tag line to match my writing for quite a long time. I wrestled with a few… truth, faith… they flew around the keyboard until I decided to center on my stories. Within every tale’s a wild component… whether nature or man… which must be confronted. The Forgiven represents the body of Christ and may be the tool by which this task is accomplished, if not the end result of the journey.

Janet: Your website says you write “about Christians struggling along the hard journeys of their lives.” For me, these are the best kind of stories, because the lessons the characters learn are lessons I likely need as well. Do you start with what you want to “teach” the character and shape the story from there, or do you start with the character and his/her circumstances?

Renee: It’s funny. I don’t think about lessons or plots when I think about a new book. My ideas for a new novel flash like a movie in my dreams at night. I wake up at two or three o’clock in the morning and jot them down. The major character’s inner conflict and occupation is where I usually start… as well as the setting. For some reason, the setting’s very important to me. It always has been.

Janet: Your novel, Beast of Stratton, released in March, and one commenter to this post will receive a free ebook copy. Congratulations! Is this your first published novel? If so, how have things changed now?

Renee: I’ve always been busy. Between my family, job, and writing, I have very little time for relaxation. Add the release and promotion… well, you get the picture.Beast of Stratton

Janet: Tell us a bit about Beast of Stratton. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but it sounds like there might be a “Beauty and the Beast” connection.

Renee: Yes, there definitely is a Beauty and the Beast connection. Although contemporary and a romantic suspense, Beast of Stratton’s inspired by the fairy tale.

Janet: On the cover, I see the lion looks like it’s chasing Aimee. Where did the story idea come from? And do you have a favourite character?

Renee: My crit group, Rough Diamond Writers had the ingenious idea to write novellas based on fairy tales. Everyone selected one and wrote a story. I chose Beauty and the Beast (my favorite, of course).

As for the story behind the story, I’d planned a romance with a touch of suspense. Nothing too drastic… after all, it was a novella. Before I knew it, the story morphed into a different book… a mystery.

Miles became a wounded veteran, an element which stems from my personal experience with veterans and a desire to convey their struggle behind the scenes. I couldn’t sugar-coat the trauma of war. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), Suicide, Migraine, physical injuries… they’re all addressed one way or another… some more in-depth than others. (Note: The migraine depicted in this book’s based on one of my own headaches, although the recovery is not.)

My favorite character would have to be the little old lady toward the end of the story.  This woman’s wisdom is amazing!

Janet: I’ll watch for her when I’m reading! What do you want readers to take away when they’re done?

Renee: Beast of Stratton’s a suspenseful, mysterious, but thoughtful book. I would like people to remember God’s providence. He will provide… even when we think He’s not listening, doesn’t care, or has forgotten we exist.

I also would hope they remember freedom isn’t free. It comes at a cost… blood.

Janet: Definitely truths to remember! You have another novel releasing soon. Is it a sequel, or something entirely different?

Renee: Yes! I do have another book coming out July 10th. It’s called To Soar on Eagle’s Wings, and it’s the first of my series, the Snowy Range Chronicles. I’m really excited about it.

The fictitious town of Timber Springs is home to the Fitzgerald family. With their father, the local pastor, the Fitzgeralds struggle to come to terms with the unexpected death of their mother while life continues… on the Snowy Range.

Here’s a little bit about Book One, To Soar on Eagle’s Wings:

Spring’s in the air. While the sun shines in Timber Springs, snow falls on the Snowy Range, and trouble’s brewing in the meadows. The area’s new game warden, Steve Mitchell, finds a moose mired in a bog and launches his first wildlife investigation of the season. Then the trouble follows him… straight to town.

Rachel Fitzgerald’s on Spring Break. Or at least she’s trying. Between paperwork, harassing phone calls, and her family, she may as well have stayed in her classroom. So much for relaxation. A ‘chance’ meeting with her brother’s old roommate offers her weary soul a shred of hope, but she discovers love, like life, isn’t easy.

He talks with the wisdom of the Lord but rejects the future. She wants to soar with the eagles but walks alone. And trusting God proves more of a challenge than ever before…

Janet: Sounds intriguing. What got you started writing?

Renee: My husband. That sounds a little strange but it’s true. I’ve written poetry and short stories since junior high school, but a novel? No way. One day about five years ago, I bought a “Christian” book off Amazon, and threw it into my cybernetic trash bin almost immediately. I was livid. The language didn’t make me half as mad as the sex. Christian, my foot. I raised the roof with my temper tantrum and burned my husband’s ear (at least he can only hear out of one.) Of course, now that I’ve calmed down, I like to pretend it was a marketing error.

Anyhoo, James (my husband) looked at me, listened, and nodded a few times from his easy chair, and told me to write my own. I did. 🙂

Janet: Good for him, and good for you! You’re an active blogger, too. How do you balance that with your fiction?

Renee: Very carefully. I have to manage my time in order to get it all done, that’s for sure.

Janet: Are you a morning person or a night owl? And what’s your favourite season?

Renee: I love the morning. I wake up in a good mood and full of chatter, much to my husband’s displeasure. (He’s NOT a morning person.) I’ve learned how to be a night owl when I need to be though. I have to be careful to get my sleep for health reasons… my migraines can be a literal nightmare.

Janet: What do you like to do to recharge?

Renee Blare

Author Renee Blare

Renee: I love to relax on the side of a lake with a good book with my line in the water. Half the time I don’t even pay attention to the thing, but the fresh air and sun’s awesome. Give me a beach, and I’m in heaven.

Janet: That lake is beautiful. I’m surprised how similar the landscape looks to Nova Scotia, although we don’t usually see rocks that amazing in the water. Thanks for visiting today, Renee, and may these two novels releasing this year be the start of many more.

Ebook giveaway of Beast of Stratton: to enter, leave a comment below. If you like, you can tell us what fairy tale you’d like to see rewritten as contemporary fiction. Draw ends at midnight, April 17, and I’ll choose one commenter’s name at random. (Offer void where prohibited by law.) [And our winner is Mary Preston!]

About the Book:

He appears the beast but she sees his heart.

Architect Aimee Hart, determined to locate her father, infiltrates Miles Stratton’s engineering firm as a secretary. Her presence wrenches the shaggy, wounded man from his penthouse, and the quest begins.

He’s been betrayed by his best friend. Miles would rather hide than help, especially his daughter. But it isn’t over. Someone’s trying to destroy Stratton Industrial. A war veteran, he knows how to defend his own, the Beast of Stratton can do it again.

Find Renee online:

Waiting Quietly

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Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
Psalm 62:5, NLT*

These words refresh my spirit and re-focus me on God.

David wrote them about a time of great pressure, reminding himself and his people to look to God for help instead of relying on others or on their own assets.

The “trust God” theme is so important that it’s written twice: before and after David’s list of troubles. (You can read the entire psalm here: Psalm 62)

Waiting quietly before God speaks to the state of our hearts and spirits – a choice to control what could easily be frantic desperation and to bring our fears to God instead.

It’s not passively sitting and waiting for God to fix everything, but it’s acknowledging that God will be the one to make a way and to protect. And it’s being open to recognize that way when it comes.

It’s also realizing whose power will ultimately bring victory – God’s, not ours.

Are you in a good place today? No particular stresses or battles? This verse is for you, too. Actually, that’s the place I was when the words first blessed me this year.

The sheep in the quiet meadow can enjoy it more when s/he fully trusts the Shepherd. (At least that would be true if sheep had thoughts, feelings and anxieties.) Happy, secure and restful times need an awareness of God just as much as the crises.

God our gentle yet strong Shepherd, whether we’re at peace or in turmoil, give us grace to choose to quiet ourselves and wait in hope before You. Help us to fully rely on Your love, wisdom and power, for our own sakes and so that others will see Your goodness.

∞

I like this song from Aaron Shust: “My Hope is in You.”

*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: Heart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry

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Heart Failure, by Richard L. MabryHeart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. (Thomas Nelson, 2013)

Dr. Carrie Markham’s freshly-healed heart is broken when her new fiancé turns out to be a man on the run, living under an assumed identity. Adam tells her his testimony put a powerful man in jail, but the man’s friends have been hunting him ever since.

Can she believe him? Does she want to? Or is it possible that the attacks are really directed at Carrie herself? Something’s definitely suspicious in the clinic where she works. Or is a former patient – or the family of a patient who died – holding a grudge?

Heart Failure is an intriguing mystery, with a nice play on the “heart” angle: Carrie is a heart doctor, her romance with Adam is an affair of the heart, and the courage of her heart may fail in the face of the unexpected danger.

An interesting sub-plot looks at a form of survivor guilt: Carrie can’t stop blaming herself for her husband’s heart-related death. It wasn’t foreseeable, but this is her field. Couldn’t she have noticed?

I enjoyed the novel. The one thing that bothered me was Adam’s insistence of sneaking through back alleys to Carrie’s house, so he wouldn’t lead his enemies to her. The enemies (are they his, or hers?) know where she works and could easily follow her home at any time.

Dr. Richard L. Mabry writes medical romantic suspense, and you can learn more about him and his books at rmabry.com. You can read the opening chapters of Heart Failure here.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

A Song for Good Friday

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Here we are again in the Christian calendar, in the middle of the Holy Week observances. It would be easier to gloss over the pain Jesus bore to buy our salvation, but we need to know the cost of this gift. It was a price we could never pay, for a rescue we could never earn.

Of the many songs that celebrate Jesus’ willing sacrifice and victory, here’s the one I’ve chosen to share this year: “Too Small a Price,” by Don Francisco. Don’t be alarmed by the 16+ minutes it shows in the YouTube pane. This is a clip from a live event, and after “Too Small a Price,” they sing “Here I Am to Worship.” If you have the time to listen to the end, Don Francisco shares a few words. I wish they hadn’t cut the recording there. You’ll need about 10 minutes to hear the full effect of “Too Small a Price.” Don’t tune out when the Cross part ends, or you’ll miss the wonder of the song. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXKWZLqb-8g]

 

Pride? Or Jesus?

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When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
Luke 19:5, NLT*

As a child in church, I learned the song about Zacchaeus [say za-KEE-us] being “a wee, little man” who climbed a tree so he could see Jesus over the crowds. I didn’t think too much about who he was as a person. (Luke tells his story in Luke 19:1-10.)

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, an occupation that brought great wealth and greater condemnation from his fellow Jews. It made him a Roman collaborator, one in a position to cheat his own people.

So… he was rich but hated. All Zacchaeus had was his wealth, power and prestige. I’d expect a man like that to take his dignity most seriously. Everyone around would want to cut him down, so wouldn’t he project an indestructible image?

Yet he’s so desperate to see Jesus in this vignette that he forgets appearances, runs ahead of the procession, and climbs a tree to get one glimpse of Him. Is he up the tree to hide? Or is Jesus’ route so crowded with citizens that the branches are a short man’s only option?

I don’t know how tax collectors dressed in those days, but I picture an extravagantly-clad little man dashing through the crowded street and scuttling up the tree.

His dignity is forgotten in the desire – the need – to see Jesus. In proof of that, when Jesus calls him out of the tree, Zacchaeus takes Him home “in great excitement and joy.” (Luke 19:6, NLT*) There’s no blustering or posturing from wounded pride.

Instead, imagine Zacchaeus’ happiness. Cut off from his people, only dining with those his money can impress, suddenly he’s offered the chance to host this famous miracle-worker and teacher – and Jesus is accepting him, not condemning.

Zacchaeus throws away his self-made status to meet Jesus. What do we cling to that keeps us from fully entering into relationship with Jesus? Is it worth the cost? [You can click to tweet that.]

God our Maker, it matters how we respond to Jesus. Thank You that He makes a way for each one of us to know Him. Help us to give our all for the privilege of living in Your presence – not letting anything hold us back.

∞

I think the David Crowder Band song, “Undignified,” refers to Israel’s King dancing before the Lord in 2 Samuel 6:12-23, but it could as easily be Zacchaeus’ theme song. Could it be mine? Yours?

*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.