After graduating with a Journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Janet McHenry worked as a newspaper reporter and high school English teacher. She and her husband eventually settled in the Sierra Valley in northern California.
Janet looks for ways to serve leadership and others when she speaks at retreats and conferences. She also serves as prayer coordinator at The Bridge Church in Reno, on the advisory council of First Place for Health, and on the state leadership team for the National Day of Prayer. The practice of Looking Up! has saved her life—lifted her from depression and fear, changed her marriage, and given her tools to walk confidently and purposefully every single day … tools she loves sharing with others.
She and her high school sweetheart husband, Craig (aka The Rancher), raised four children and live in a county without a single stoplight. They love sharing the outdoors with their nine grandchildren.
What originally started you on your writing journey?
I have a journalism degree and had been working for a daily newspaper when we moved to the remote Sierra Valley. I tried a little magazine freelancing for a time, but without success. Then when I was attending a women’s retreat near Lake Tahoe, the speaker said, “I want you to find a rock, sit on it, and wait until God speaks to you.” While I struggled a bit with that directive, I did go out into the forest and sat on a rock. I should not have been surprised when I did hear a word from God within minutes: I want you to write for Me.
Because I’d failed miserably at freelance writing, I knew I needed help getting started on this calling to write for God. A short time later I saw a little ad in Decision magazine for the Billy Graham School of Christian Writing near Minneapolis. My husband Craig said I should go, so I did … and learned I still had a LOT to learn! So I kept going to Christian writers’ conferences and began writing articles, personal experience stories, and devotions for various publications. It took several years before I even began to imagine I could write a book. I’ve now written twenty-seven traditionally published books, and the ideas keep coming.
The Author and Creator of our lives often writes in a twist that blesses us more than our original plan. Have you ever experienced such a “Divine Detour”?
Oh yes. In December 2001 my rancher hubby was charged with seven felony animal abuse charges relating to the deaths of six calves and an old bull in a two-day blizzard here in the Sierra. The case took four and a half years to get to the two-week trial, which we figured was something we’d just have to live through to get to the other side of that stressful season.
But the judge seemingly decided Craig’s guilt ahead of time and orchestrated what the jury would see and hear. He wouldn’t allow Craig’s auction records to be admitted as evidence—proof he got top dollar for his cattle. The judge also harassed all the defense witnesses—which included two local large animal veterinarians, cattle experts, and even me. When I was testifying about how Craig brought newborn calves into our home to warm them up during cold winter nights, the judge said, “Who do you think you are, Virginia Woolf, that you go on and on like this?” The worst manipulation was that he would not allow our chief witness to testify: a professor from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Science—a man who’d never testified at a trial but was considered the foremost beef expert west of the Rockies.
So … my husband was convicted of six felony animal cruelty charges. We handled the appeal ourselves and won the reversal of the case at the California Court of Appeals two years later (very few win at appeal). Our divine detour was that the six years of struggle brought about a healing to our struggling marriage. While I wouldn’t want to go through all of that again, I am thankful God showed each of us how important the other person is.
Let’s talk about your new devotional, Looking Up! (Our Daily Bread Publishing, November 2024). What inspired you to write it? Please tell us about it.
I have been reading through the Bible since a friend and I challenged each other about twenty-five years ago. For the last eleven years I have been involved in and now lead a Facebook group called Bible Girls, which helps women find encouragement daily as they read through the Bible in a year. Each day I look for that one piece of joy that could lift someone up and give her the help she needs. After doing this many years, it occurred to me to put together a daily devotional book that could help others pace themselves through the Bible—finding the joy and hope they need each day.
The subtitle is Finding Joy as You Read and Pray through the Bible, and I pray it helps many experience the power and strength God’s Word can give them when they consistently study the Bible. Each one-page devotion (shows) readers how to pray through the Bible by providing the daily reading assignment, an inspirational verse, a personal reflection with a teaching point and application, a prayer based on the scripture, and an aphorism that challenges the reader to live out the reading.
A few fun questions…
When the words aren’t flowing—or when you want to celebrate if they are—what is your favorite comfort food and why?
Oh, I love Mexican food. We have a couple great Mexican restaurants near us, and I love chicken fajitas, tortilla soup, veggie quesadillas, street tacos … I could go on and on, LOL! I love Mexican food because it just seems celebratory. The colors and tastes are happy.
What Bible passage or story best describes your journey of faith?
I could say my early adult years were Noah-like. When I was a senior in college, I knew God was calling me to go into campus ministry after college. I had the application all filled out and ready to mail when I began to fear the process of seeking support. So I didn’t follow through. I am thankful that God kept pursuing me. He didn’t ask a whale to swallow me, but I had a whale of doubts, fears, and struggles before finally submitting my life to his lordship just a couple months before he called me to write. I love that about God—that he keeps pursuing his love relationship with us and doesn’t give up, even when we want to.
In the story that is your life, are you the strong, female lead; the girl next door; the mysterious woman behind dark glasses; the super heroine; or the little girl trying to walk in high heels?
My brothers call me Bossy Big Sister, so I’d say I’m the strong, female lead. I’m the Choleric of the Greek temperaments and the Organizer in the LINKED system of personalities. In my Praying Personalities Quiz (prayingpersonalities.com), I’m the Problem Solver. I love taking care of business and checking things off my to-do list.
Thank you, Janet! It’s nice to have you as a guest at Divine Detour.
~ ~ ~
For more information about Janet, visit her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or check out her Sierra Valley Writers Retreat.
To order Looking Up, go to —
