A Relentless God

Today I am rejoicing that the Bible and my own life story are not about me pursuing God. Since, my pursuit of God is inconstant, half-hearted, and crooked. However, God’s pursuit of me is a completely different story. God is everlasting, changeless, and the Great Redeemer. That is what my blog is a record of—the adventures that God takes me on while He relentlessly chases after me more and more everyday. There is absolutely NOTHING God wouldn’t do to make us HIS. On a dark Friday it leads Him to a cross. He endured hell itself because He KNOWS that we are incapable of pursuing Him like we should. Instead, in His great love, Jesus chooses to pursue us instead.

These themes and truths are so heavily on my heart this morning because I wrote a song this weekend about God’s relentless heart for pursuing us to make us HIS. The cool thing about this song (which is new style for my worship writing) is that it is in the point of view of God himself, and the bridge of the song is my (or our) response to his proposal to make us HIS. It is a beautiful song and I still get goosebumps when I sing it. The song is called Mine.

…I out of love

Took your shame

Took away your pain

So you could see

There is nothing

I wouldn’t do

To make you mine…

One of my favorite things about songwriting is not sharing your songs with your family and friends (though that is a close second), but when a song has SO much meaning to YOU that it becomes your go to worship song in your quiet times with the Lord. It makes my worship time that much sweeter when I sing a song to God that I wrote for Him.

These are the truths that I got straight out of scripture that are repeated over and over in the song.

I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is MINE ~Song of Songs 6:3

Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord ~Romans 8:34-35;37-39

Hopefully, one day you will get to hear the song. Until that day, it will just be my heart song to sing to the Lord!


Over in Ludy World (that what I call Winsor, Colorado where Eric and Leslie’s Bible College is located) they once again out did themselves in creating the most incredible short video on The Gospel EVER. It is amazing. Please take the 11 minutes out of your day to watch this. I promise it will be worth every single minute.

Until the whole world hears,

Heidi

My 2011 Easter Rap

This is what happens when, after 6 LONG weeks, this coffee addict once again has coffee flowing in her bloodstream. I wrote a rap about the Easter Story at Church. Happy Easter everyone! Christ has RISEN!


On that dark, dark day Jesus died on the cross
He looked at Satan and said Yo, I'm boss
And its hard for me to get it in my head
That Jesus Christ has risen from the dead
I wouldn't lie about this, it is way too big
It’s like getting an A in College Trig
He had holes in his hands and holes in his feet
And He is the one whose keeping this beat
It’s time for me to end this rap
But I want you to know there’s no more gap
Jesus paid the price for you and me
Death has been swallowed up in victory
Now all you have to do is just BELIEVE ~Heidi’s 2011 Easter Rap

Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ~ 1 Corinthians 15:54b-56


I will post a more reflected post on my Holy Week Experience tomorrow. However, today I will celebrate with food, fun, and laughter with my amazing family!

P.S This is the BEST Easter ever because tonight is the DOVE AWARDS on the Gospel Music Channel. Bursting with excitement! But first there is a LOT of cooking and eating to do :)

My Journey to Seattle Pacific University and the beginning of an epic adventure!

It happened by accident really, at least in my mind it did. However, nothing ever happens by chance for a child of God. My dearest friend had left for college that fall, and my dad and I drove up to Seattle from my hometown of Vancouver, Washington to visit her. We pulled up to this small University hidden on Queen Anne Hill. It was quaint and charming. The old brick buildings were exploding with character. The massive oak trees standing straight and tall like soldiers all over the campus. The trees were overflowing with autumn’s hues. The leaves were dancing in the crisp breeze only to make their final bow by landing gracefully on the simple concrete pathway zigzagging its way throughout the school. The pathway was daring me to continue to follow. I was immediately enchanted by this school.

It was the beginning of my junior year and colleges were pressuring me to come visit their campus. That summer, I had visited countless Christian universities in California (where I was certain I wanted to move to) and not a single colleges caught my eye. I also had the revelation that Heidi Johnson and California were not even close to a perfect match.

There is no denying that I am a Northwest Girl. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon (a 3 hour drive south on 1-5 from Seattle). I love that there is a coffee shop on every corner. I feel at home when I walk the misty streets of Portland. There is a casual swagger of the artsy, hippie, nature freaks that reside there. Portland will always be the town that will forever hold a piece of my heart. I love long hikes in the evergreen forests with my friends and skiing on the surrounding mountains standing as mighty protectors of the Northwest. I love reading on lazy, rainy Sunday afternoons by an oversized window. I love how everyone is so friendly and are not always in a rush. I love NorthFace rain jackets, running in the rain, and really good coffee. If I was going to leave home for the first time—I had to stay in the Northwest.

Here I was, at Seattle Pacific University. The presence of this place was consuming. I belonged here. It hit me like a ton of bricks. This was my second home. Not only did I feel at home at this campus but I strongly felt God moving in and around this campus. (Now keep in mind I had only been on campus for a minute or two) I looked around and noticed that every lamp post boldly proclaimed, “The place where world change begins” and “Engaging the Culture, Changing the World”. I was dumbfounded. This cannot be real, I thought.

Since my freshman year in high school, I made my life motto “Changing the world one heart at a time”. I barely was able to say, “Dad…this school—this is the one”.

*   *   *   *   *

With anything that seems almost too good to be true, there was a catch. This dream school has a price tag of $41,000 a year. Nevertheless, God has been providing even when I didn’t realize it. I am in a program where I go to community college starting my junior year full time and receive college and high school credit. This program saved me two years of college.

Do not let money be the roadblock that keeps you from following God’s will in your life. God funds what He favors. If it is God’s will, it is God’s bill. These are some of the promises God has been asking me to hold on to. I am close to going to Seattle Pacific University without having to take out any student loans. I know that God is going to provide all the finances I need to make this happen. I will make sure to let you know when and how that happens!

Next fall, I will be living in my second home. I will be a Seattle Pacific Falcon. I am excited to start as a junior majoring in Communications and a minor in Worship and Music Ministry.

I promised my family and friends, I would make my choice official on my blog and give a little backstory to my choice. However, it is not my decision. God has made it extremely clear and obvious that this is where He is calling me. I have begun to dream about my dorm room and pray for my future roommate. Thank you for all your prayers and support while I was praying through this decision. Your prayers were felt and your support was encouraging.

Heart Strings

As I was organizing files on my laptop (Yes, you know it’s 2011 when Spring Cleaning includes organizing and cleaning files and folders on your laptop) I found a blog I wrote in early February, but somehow never posted. I have just gotten back from a 10 day vacation with my family where I turned off my cell, left the laptop at home (no facebook or blog world), and never went close to a TV. Cannot wait to share that adventure with you and some of the things God revealed to me and open my eyes to when I abandoned life’s everyday distractions. I’m working on it!


This blog was titled in my laptop “Heart Strings”. Enjoy!

I always write the best songs deep into the silence of the night. When it is just me and the Lord. When I lay my brokenness and disappointments before Him. And instead pick up the promises I KNOW to be true. Last night, as I was crying out to the Lord, I picked up my guitar trying to some how deal with the craziness and brokenness of life that was burdening my heart. As I started to strum random chords these lyrics came pouring out of my soul…"I know you are for me Lord…Even when I can't see through this storm…I know you're here…I may have more questions than answers…But life’s a mystery to be lived instead of solved...”

I sang those same lyrics over and over again, and that peace that truly does pass all understanding (Phil 4:7) came flooding into my heart. Mending the brokenness. Dulling the pains of life. My friends, all you have to do is hold on to the promises and the truths that are written so clearly in the Bible. The Bible is our love letter, our manual, written from the desk of our Lord.

Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart" ~Psalm 27:14

In this world you will have hardships, trials, and sorrows. But do not lose heart, I have overcome the world ~John 16:33

Jesus, I want more of YOU! Even if it means hard decisions, sleepless nights, tear stained journal entries, and seemingly broken dreams. You are BIGGER than our situations. You are bigger than the world I feel trapped in some days. You have overcome it and you give me the power, courage, strength and grace to overcome it too.

Jesus never promises us that life will be easy. Actually, He promises the opposite. The truth is walking with God doesn’t mean a life without problems but a life overcoming problems. I will not be defeated or discouraged. Jesus Christ is always Victor.

I haven’t ended my blog with a Ludy quote in awhile. I could easily start and end every blog with a quote from either Leslie or Eric. Nevertheless, I have been trying really hard not too. However, tonight I could not say the following any better than Eric Ludy…

“What is a movie without conflict? Where’s the drama without a mountain of impossibility to climb? The very thing that makes for an exciting story is the same thing that makes for a wonderful and amazing life: overcoming the impossible. For life to be fully lived, it must wrestle the impossible and win. For life to be fully lived, the God of the Impossible must be fully trusted with the writing of the script. God wants to blow our minds with His crazy plot turns and last-minute heroics”