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Thankful am I for a fun book reading/signing this weekend! The Shepherd showed up! Writing a book is hard, hard work (even when you're the Shepherd's scribe). But the fun comes when family and friends gather to to hear the behind the scenes details. I so enjoyed telling about what sparked The Shepherd Showed Up and about His escort service through the valley of the shadow of David's death. It's an ongoing story that I will never stop telling. David's safe in heaven and our loving God is sufficient for each day's challenges! May we all be bettered by suffering. When all kinds of trials crowd into your lives, my brethren, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends. (James 1:2 Phillips) 
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 I’m excited! My fourth book IS FINISHED! And available on Amazon. The Shepherd Showed Up! tells of the Squier Family’s journey into and through death’s inevitable valley. It portrays David and Judy’s love story ‘until death do us part.’ Not a sad book at all since our whole family believes our patriarch is more alive now than ever before. May you, too, be encouraged by the hope of heaven and life after death. Even for those of us left behind! Onward and upward we go. https://amzn.to/3LNOO4n
I KNOW! It’s been a while! Four years actually! I’m still on Planet Earth! Are you? What derailed me? I’ll blame a move in 2016 followed by hubby David’s move to Heaven in 2018.   My Artificial Limbs Stepped Out of Storage for This Photo Oh so many winters ago, lonely, broken-at-birth Little Judy filled endless week ends sitting at our family’s piano playing hymns. Living for Jesus was a favorite, though I secretly wondered: “Lord, will there be a blessing with my name on it?” Living for Jesus a life that is true, Striving to please Him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me. Three score plus ten years later my life overflows with blessings beyond measure so that I’ve declared 2015 the jubilee year of my life! If jubilee means celebration, festivity, gala, I say ‘bring out the balloons’ as I celebrate 70 years of God’s faithfulness. For out of His Fullness we all received one grace after another, spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift. (John 1:16 AMP) Indeed His Majesty showed up in the wilderness years turning my missing legs into spiritual limbs – His Masterpiece. I’ve progressed from living for Jesus, as the hymn describes, to living in Christ, to living in the names of God as described in my Living in the Names of God chapter and Bible study books. And in 2015 my focus turns to ‘living my legacy.’ What do I want to be remembered for? What do you want to be remembered for? Dr. James Dobson answers that question in his new book Your Legacy: Your Greatest Gift, in which he encourages us to make our highest priority introducing our family and friends to Jesus Christ. Dr. Dobson describes legacy as what we do in someone versus an inheritance being what we give to someone. For me, what I do in someone is based on what Jesus Christ has done in me. Jesus and Judy, we’re a team. Recently I realized, I’ve already written my LEGacy! My life story – a life lived in relationship with Jesus – fills the pages of His Majesty in Brokenness and Living in the Names of God. Hmmm, it’s interesting how God chose me, the lady with no legs to encourage people to identify their LEGacy. Each one of us is living our legacy right now. How are we going to preserve it? Make 2015 the year you collect photos and write short stories that highlight God’s presence in your life. As you savor the memories be on the lookout for a key picture that conveys your life message. Be forewarned: The photo may land on the front cover of your book, like mine did.  Maybe you are a person of few words. You might be thinking, “I can’t even fill out the grandmother’s or grandfather’s memory books. How can I write a book?”
I’ve decided to do something unique this year to commemorate my seventy years. David will print 70 copies of our grandson Finn’s tiny foot on which I will record the names of individuals who have left their footprints on my heart. What about you? Are you ready to take on the challenge? I’d love to hear what creative ideas Elohim and you come up with to archive your legacy. Contact me at [email protected]. To get you started – 7 Good Books to Assist You in Identifying Your Legacy 
  I tell people that I’m a speaker first, then a writer. I gave my first speech at age 13, but didn’t begin taking writing classes until I was almost 50 years old. Writing is work for me, whereas delivering a speech is my joy! It’s interesting how the chore called writing has enhanced my joy called speaking. Speaking opportunities were few and far between pre-publication of my books, but that changed drastically when His Majesty in Brokenness was born. Now David and Judy go where the books lead. First came His Majesty in Brokenness, then Living in the Names of God and most recently the Living in the Names of God Bible Study – with each book come more invitations to speak: Atlanta, San Antonio, Seattle, Portland, Colorado Springs, San Francisco Bay Area. The venues vary and I love every one:
 Teaching on Living in the Names of God at a Women’s Retreat  “His Name is Wonderful” Talk at a Women’s Tea How I treasure the rapt attention of audiences of all ages as I tell my Jesus-Judy stories – how Jesus met me in the pit, cheerleading me on and carrying me out. And that same Jesus wants to meet you in your pit. I love the heart connections that follow the talks, when people tell me that my stories help them see God in their story.  Connecting with Guests while Signing Books I count it a privilege to encourage the grief-stricken, the devastated and those with brokenness of all sorts. I knew my story of brokenness would strike a universal chord, even as Christian editors rejected my submitted chapter manuscripts. Over and again I was shot down by these words: “Your message, Judy, is good but limited to too small of a population – those who are physically disabled and their families. Christian publishers are looking for material that will reach a broader audience.” From deep down inside I would counter their No-Thank-You’s with, “Aren’t we all disabled?” God knew what they didn’t know: Elohim, the Creator God who makes no mistakes. would use a woman with no legs and feet to get His foot in the door to heal humanity’s pain and shame, be it physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, social, financial, and above all else, spiritual. Yes, we are all broken. And classic God-style is to choose a blatantly-broken spokesperson like me to publicly model connecting brokenness with the Only One Who Can Mend Us – Jesus Christ Himself. Satan licks his chops intending that humanity’s suffering kill, steal and destroy, but Jesus Christ disabled all forms of dis-ability on the cross turning the sting into holy ground. What an honor to help others peak out of the storm cellars of their lives to behold the nail-scarred hand of Jesus welcoming them, oh, so tenderly:
 A Million Dollar hug from a little boy following a speech in Georgia I love the afterglow of a speech – a time of connecting, a time of rejoicing. I thought my 2013 hug from little Brantley in a church outside of Atlanta could never be topped. Initially I thought this little guy must have mistaken me for someone famous, as he and his little ankle braces ran unabashedly into my arms to deliver his million-dollar hug. I heard and received his message loud and clear: “We’re special and don’t forget it!” Just recently Brantley’s power-packed hug was equaled – once again by a little child who was one of 500 first through eighth-graders attending her school’s weekly chapel. Little Lizzie, a first-grader struggling with dyslexia, told her mom the following: “We had a speaker in chapel today, Mom. Her name was Judy and she was born without legs. Judy doesn’t struggle with reading like I do, but Judy had lots of struggles. It’s okay because God used them and He’ll use mine too. You know, Mom, my brain is like Judy’s legs!”  Judy with three dear 5th graders at Christian School Talk Lord, help us all to connect the dots like Wise Lizzie, Your little lamb with dyslexia. Thanks for inspiring me, precious Lizzie. You inspire me so that more than ever I want to get the message out: Indeed, His Majesty meets us in our brokenness and from that wasteland He promises to make His Masterpiece! My bags are packed. My speeches are ready. I invite any one of you to call me or e-mail me. Do you need a speaker at your church, your club, your school, or your retreat? I’m on a roll, blessed by God’s promise in Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is on me. The Lord has chosen me to tell good news to the poor and to comfort those who are sad. He sent me to tell the captives and prisoners that they have been set free. (ERV Easy-to-read Version)  “To God be the Glory, great things He hath done…” My spirit is singing these words loud and clear! However, saying “yes” to a book in one’s belly is not for sissies. Writing then rewriting ad infinitum, then editing and reediting and reediting again seemed endless. But thankfully Jehovah Raah’s cheers (raah, raah, raah!) kept this old lady going. What a relief to know the Lord as the Author and Finisher and me as His scribe. Then came the glorious day. . .  Pinch me, graphic designer Naphy! Are we really across the finish line? Twice we thought we were there, then the finish line moved! But the third time this mother-daughter team submitted the manuscript to www.Createspace.com was a win. Thank You, Lord! You’ll meet some new participants in this book:
 Used in conjunction with the Living in the Names of God chapter book, this companion Bible Study will take you beyond my personal experiences with God into the lives of biblical characters and – even better – into your own life. As you honestly and prayerfully work through the questions, you will discover God’s involvement in your life in ways you never realized before. The lessons are designed for individual and/or group study and are appropriate for the following:
Along with the new book I am always available to speak (truly I am a speaker first, then a writer). I have given Names of God talks in several churches already and just this weekend conducted the first Living in the Names of God Ladies Retreat (men would have enjoyed it too). Together we chronicled our spiritual journeys by identifying which names of God met us along the way. My prayer is that learning to know God on a first-name basis will ignite an ever-deepening love affair between you and the One whose grandeur requires oh-so-many names. Now let your God hunt begin: Let those on the hunt for You – sing and celebrate. (Psalm 70:4 MSG) So without further ado – here is my new book!  Living in the Names of God Bible Study is available on Amazon. A Kindle version will be available soon!  For this blog entry, I thank our daughter, Naphtalie, since it is from her January, 2014 blog that I am borrowing the pictures. Daughter Naphy and I have worked together on my two books: His Majesty in Brokenness and Living in the Names of God. Jesus and I write the books and Jesus and Naphy (and my husband David too) produced them. Naphy surprised me this Christmas with note cards with the 18 names of God from my new book. I love how she coordinated the colors on the book cover with the colors on the cards. I love, love, love each one of them. Here is the book cover followed by the beautiful cards.  She may have to buy me another set (hint! hint!) since I’m having trouble parting with any one of them. THANK YOU, THANK YOU NAPHY at Scatter Joy Designs.  Living in the names of God describes my life these days as I focus on finishing the Companion Guide/Bible Study to Living in the Names of God. Eighteen Hebrew names of our mighty God are dancing around in my head so that I see Him more than ever in Christmas sermons and music. In Isaiah’s 9:6 and in Handel’s Messiah I detect the presence of El Gibbor (Mighty God) and El Olam (Eternal Father) and Jehovah Shalom (Prince of Peace).
Yes, the Lord liveth and blesses us with His presence. Oh the joy of meeting Him in the dailies and growing in our understanding of Who He is, how He wants to be known and what He wants to do in our lives. Speaking of growing, I have a growing collection of items containing the Hebrew names that I love:
That’s my update. Now what about you? Have you discovered your favorite name of God yet? Where have you encountered Him this year? I’d love to hear how God has become more personal in your life thanks to His many names. I’ll keep you posted when in 2014 the Companion Guide/Bible Study is available. My prayer is that it increases your awareness of your Ever-present Companion who longs for you to trust Him in the tough times and thank Him when the good times roll. Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see You. Haven’t gotten the book yet. It’s available through Amazon.   Just wanted to make a special announcement:
Living in the Names of God is now available as an eBook on Amazon Kindle for $3.99. You can purchase it here.  Is it Christmas? But it’s August… Here I am in the midst of Oregon’s 2013 record-breaking heat wave, and I’m hearing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus as I hug my first copy of my new book Living in the Names of God. Handel’s Messiah provides the perfect musical backdrop for this new book about His Majesty and Me – a book about 18 Old Testament names of God that find their fulfillment in the New Testament’s Messiah, Jesus Christ. But don’t get scared, Living in the Names of God, is not a heavy-duty book on theology. It’s God’s names and attributes wrapped in autobiography stories about how God has shown up and saved my day again and again for the past twenty years. “How did I pick the topic?” a friend asked. My answer, “It picked me.” Read Chapter 1 His Majesty and Me: How My Love Affair Began below and see how God met me, a woman, a wife, a mom, a grandma, an individual walking on artificial limbs or wheeling in my wheelchair. 1 His Majesty and Me How My Love Affair Began
*Excerpted from Living in the Names of God by Judy Squier Copyright © 2013 by Judy Squier. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. You just read the introduction, which is followed by eighteen more chapters, one for each of God’s Hebrew names. You’ll learn what the name means, something about its context in Scripture and you’ll discover how knowing God through that name can transform your everyday life. For example: Do you feel inadequate for life’s challenges? Let me introduce you to El Shaddai, the God whose supply exceeds life’s demands. Do you keep coming up short? Meet El Elyon – the God who gives height and dignity to our low places. Are you overcome with that sinking feeling? Then it’s time you make the acquaintance of Adonai Tsuri – the Rock-Solid God who makes us unshakeable. Soon to follow will be a Bible Study (coming early 2014) for those who want to go deeper. I was working on it recently while on an Alaskan cruise with our family.  Writing one moment . . . napping the next! My prayer is that you, the reader of Living in the Names of God will experience your own love affair with our unfathomable God whose many names will help you begin to fathom the depths of His person. As you learn His titles, may you begin to recognize His presence in new ways – in songs on Sunday mornings, in daily events and in life’s drama. Expect to hear yourself utter worshipful whoops, “It’s You, Lord.” I welcome your feedback and look forward to hearing which of God’s names are your favorites and how He, through one name or another, has shown up in your own story. Seeing the Lord in our every day evokes Glory-Hallelujahs, so let’s join our voices together no matter what month it is.  Living in the Names of God Available on Amazon “Power comes to its full strength in weakness, the Bible says, and Judy makes that truth visible. She lives her life in and through her Lord and His many names.” – Elisabeth Elliot Gren, Author & Speaker  |
AuthorJUDY SQUIER has authored His Majesty in Brokenness, Living in the Names of God and the Living in the Names Bible Study. Husband David and she have three adult daughters, three sons-in-law and seven grandchildren. Never did Mr. and Mrs. Squier dream that their long-awaited golden wedding anniversary would coincide with David’s memorial service. Judy resides in southern Oregon, alone, yet not alone. Thanks to the Good Shepherd! Categories
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