Julie Lavender

GUEST BLOGGER

Please welcome my guest blogger, Judy Ducharme. I first met Judy in Rye, New York in the fall of 2014 when both of us were blessed to win the Guideposts Magazine writing contest. We joined ten other winners and Guideposts editors for a week-long, trip-of-a-lifetime in our writing journey, informative conference that taught us the ins and outs of writing for Guideposts publications. Judy and I have enjoyed staying in touch via social media, but we've had the pleasure to see each other face to face at several writing conferences since that time, too. 

Please read Judy's blog below about God's creations, check out her bio and book information following the blog, and be sure to visit her website and keep up with her on social media. You'll enjoy her work as much as I do!!  

Godly Grandeur – Perpetual Creation

by Judy DuCharme

Have you ever considered that our grief over the tragedies in our schools and world reveal the heart and purpose of God? Not the event, not the tragedy, but the grief. God's purposing for life is hard-wired into our very being.

A springtime walk in the woods will help this revelation. The beauty and continuous life seen there is breath-taking. The hush of the breeze, the variety of shape and size, the colors that wash over you represent the trueness of God. He intended that life be perpetual . . . even with the death process that is ongoing and the destruction that occasionally attacks. Life reflects the first law of motion: That which is in motion tends to stay in motion.

In the woods, the motion of creation is displayed wonderfully. Creation is life, continuous life. Yes death and destruction attack and destroy, but life keeps going. To believe that God created our world in six days is not hard to believe. To think that it all just happened by itself is what's difficult to believe.

When tough times arrive, we often quip, “Well, life goes on.” If we look deeper, we find that statement true. However, when we experience real evil and great loss, we cry out against the saying. That life goes on seems wrong and unfair, for our life screams to a halt. We can't believe that life continues around us . . . from our vantage point all is wrong. But, be thankful that life continues. Take a moment to look at the plants that grow unaided by human intervention . . . the lady slippers, the trilliums, the forget-me-nots. Plants, unnamed, keep on growing, and trees grow out of dead trees and through rock. God is life continuing.

So many believe destruction comes from God and we rail against Him for allowing evil. We conclude He doesn’t care. Yet life is what God does. Life keeps going perpetually. Think of the thousands of years that life has kept going.  Accidents are not God. Rather the life that continues, the life that restores  . . . that’s God. An unwanted pregnancy may be an accident, yet it is precipitated by the law of sowing seed . . . you sow seed, you reap life. And think about that infant growing in the womb, the wonder of giving birth, the growth of that baby into someone with a totally unique personality, able to talk and walk and create and to think brilliantly. Yes, a birth defect is an accident, not God’s original plan, and I know about that. Yet, considering all that could possibly go wrong in the growing of an infant, it is amazing that the majority are defect free – that’s life continuing, God’s plan.

We all know too well the agony of a young person passing away, truly an accident that cries out against all that is right. Tragic as it is, it reveals that God’s plan is for life – for we know intrinsically that early death is wrong. We take note and find comfort in the good that may come of the death, but that again reveals that God’s purpose, his grandeur, is life, not death. He will help us go on – and, though so difficult, it's right that we do so and allow His healing and comforting hand to work in us. Life does and must go on.

Yes, evil exists in the world, but it is not from God – it comes from without. Even the word in English is 'live' spelled backwards. It is a wrong direction, going against God’s purpose. Sometimes we worship what man does, his creative brilliant mind in the many inventions and commodities. But where did that intelligence come from? God began it all with creating a world that perpetually continues, that demonstrates life. We marvel at science, yet the laws we use to create are the laws that God placed in the world, the law of lift, gravity, laws of motion and thermodynamics. All of it we discovered in the world that God created. All the abilities of language, of communication, of invention, came from the creative mind of God.

He created a world that is interdependent on its working parts. Even the simplest cell has over 60 proteins and thousands of interdependent parts . . . not simple at all . . . except it is simply magnificent. Many say evolution is true because of similar parts in all animals, yet when we find a work of art, or pieces of writing, we identify the creator by the similar patterns. God has similar patterns throughout all living things, but the most marvelous variety we can think of. We want to call it mother nature, but it’s Father God, who loves us and gave life that continues.

So go outside and find a place where you can consider what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will continue to do. His heart for you is life, continual, restorative life. No matter what has attacked you, what lies have been told to you, God is a life-giving God. His Godly grandeur is perpetual life. If you have experienced unspeakable tragedy, know that God's purpose is life. We know it deep within. We know that tragedy shouldn't have happened and wasn't God's plan. His plan, though, is to walk with you and bring you back to life.
You may still have demanding questions. As God restores life to you, He will also restore understanding, provide peace, and give protection for the future. Tap into His perpetual life. What about you? What part of God's grandeur expresses life to you most vividly? Join our conversation and share your thoughts. BIO:

Judy DuCharme grew up in a small town on Lake Huron and now lives in the woods of beautiful Door County in Wisconsin. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Communication Arts. After two years as a radio announcer at a Christian station, Judy married Lee. When their children were five and three, they moved to Wisconsin where Judy returned to school to obtain her teacher certification. She then taught fifth grade 22 years, retiring in 2012. Six books have been published since that time. She and her husband are very involved in their church and an organization that works with international students. Their son is one of the characters in Blood Moon Redemption. Their daughter and son-in-law recently had their first child which is the first grandchild – Judy is totally smitten.

Judy's awards: Best New Writer 2013, Write to Publish Conference for The Cheesehead Devotional Kickoff Edition; First Place Short Story at 2016 Florida Christian Writers Conference, and 2018 National Indie Excellence Award Winner for Christmas Ivy; one of 12 winners of the 2014 Guideposts Workshop Contest; Second Place Nonfiction in 2018 Serious Writer Awards, 2018 Third Place Nonfiction Wright Medal Awards, 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Sports, and 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Christian Nonfiction for The Cheesehead Devotional Hall of Fame Edition. 2019 Selah Awards Third Place Mystery & Suspense, 2019 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist for Religious Fiction and Book Cover Design Fiction, and 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Christian Fiction for Blood Moon Redemption. Judy has received two awards for books not yet published. Judy also authored novella Run With the Wind and novel Society of the L.A.M.B.    

Follow Judy at Facebook: judy.ducharme.18, judy-ducharme-author; Twitter: @PackerJudy. Email: judyducharme7@gmail.com

Blood Moon Redemption is a winner in the prestigious Selah Awards and placed as a Finalist in two categories in the National Indie Excellence Awards. It also has won a Finalist Award in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and ranked #7 out of 71 in Mystery/Suspense by the IBPA Ben Franklin Awards. To see the trailer for the book, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBAKmzzGPAU

It was just a relic, and hers, just a name. Who knew what time it really was?

The blood moons were always surrounded by great persecution and great provision, great trial and great triumph.

When the Jews were expelled from Spain and traveled with Columbus, only a tassel from a prayer shawl remained with them to signify their faith. That tassel, handed down, stolen, and hidden, became a marker of God's protection and now is the focus of a terrorist scheme and a young woman's destiny.

Blood Moon Redemption is an end-times thriller that will keep you riveted until the very last moonrise.

The Cheesehead Devotionals arose from her love of the Green Bay Packers coupled with her love of the Lord and desire to see all people strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

Society of the L.A.M.B. tells the compelling futuristic story of young people who escape the watchers who would incarcerate them for having life within. A grandfather and angels provide assistance and insight to remain loyal to King Glory.

Run With the Wind takes you to the Florida scrub in the late1800s to the life of the Florida Cracker Cowboys. This  historical adventure/romance will entertain and inspire you.

Christmas Ivy wraps you in an amazing visitation of Ivy’s grandparents on Christmas morning and the incredible quilt she always longed to have.