If pain is meant to be a catalyst that produces strength, then Fair Trade Services recording artist Heather Williams is the strongest person on earth. Her story is every bit as incredible as the melodies she crafts on her debut record, This Time Around, due out September 27.

Williams grew up in extreme poverty with her birth mom and stepfather. Throughout her early childhood, she suffered intense abuse and was even chained to a tree for punishment in one instance. Her mother gave her away at age 11, and Williams went to live with her grandfather in Michigan and later with her aunt and uncle who eventually adopted her and are now her legal parents. Living with little guidance and the pain of past abuse and rejection, Williams turned to drugs and alcohol as a way to numb the realities of life. As things began to spiral out of control, the young teenager began to have thoughts of suicide and even found herself homeless at one point.

At age 18, however, the dangerous road Williams was on took a U-turn when she gave her life to Christ. “When I was 18, I was going through a whole series of events where I was really rejecting God and blaming Him for everything that had taken place in my childhood,” says Williams. “I came to this place where it was either, OK, I’m going to give my life to God, or I just don’t know if I’m going to live. So, I walked up that aisle at that church, and I gave my life to God.”

Having grown up with a love of music, after becoming a Christian, Williams says she began to write songs from a “perspective of radical change.”

Another wave of tragedy struck the budding singer/songwriter when her first child passed away shortly after he was born. “Leading up to my son’s death, I had gone through this agonizing work of just trying to please God and be good enough, but inside, I did not have the intimacy of a relationship with God,” Williams explains. “When we lost our son, it’s like God just met me in that moment, and I knew something had to change where I had to just say, ‘OK, God, I’m all in, or I’m just going to have to walk away.’ And I made this choice where I was just going to go all in.”

“I didn’t want my son’s death to be in vain. The Bible says He has a purpose for every life, for every person; and I knew that was the same for even a 6-month-old baby,” she continues. “So, I said, ‘OK, what’s the purpose here? God, just use me.’ He started to pour into me these songs of just crying out to Him. I’ve had this awakening to God and who He is in my life and who I am in Him.”

This tragedy led to William’s Top 10 AC  and Top 5 INSPO  debut, “Hallelujah.” “The song is very special to me,” explains Williams. “I was sitting on the floor with my guitar, and was in  such a place of being broken. I wasn’t mad at God nor was I questioning Him. I had made a decision to keep an open dialogue with Him, not just inside, God coming out of my mouth because I am not fooling Him. I just started asking Jesus to show up where I was.”

Early acclaim has followed Williams since the release of her debut EP last fall. In addition to the radio success of “Hallelujah,” Williams was named amongst the “Best Bets of 2011″ by Billboard Magazine, one of only two Christian artists to receive this title.

For Williams, she describes her songs as “conversations,” sometimes joyful, sometimes angry, sometimes a mix of both. “This album is you getting to peek in on me sometimes having it out with God, sometimes crying to God, sometimes laughing,” she says. “But it’s always going to be a transparent look at what’s going on in my heart, because that’s who I want to be before Him. If I want Him to use me, then I have to be willing to share everything.”

“God Is Still God” is the second song from Williams to hit radio. “It’s a song that speaks so clearly into an insecurity that we can get when life just comes at us at full speed,” admits Williams. “Its very easy to try to take control of it ourselves. To let God take control of things is freeing, but it can also be scary at times. I also love that this song is a conversation with somebody. Sometimes we feel like we have to have the right things to say, but if we just offer them the comfort that God is still in control, that in and of itself can be a powerful statement.”

Today, Williams is grateful for how far grace has brought her. She and her husband, a full-time youth pastor, live in Florida with their two young children.

Her songs and her character speak of t0he strength of a woman well beyond her years, but Williams believes that the power of her testimony and the stories she tells through song will be used to encourage others, and that’s all she’s really concerned about. “I just want my life to be living proof that God can take anything, anyone and any situation and work it for good,” she says. “He can take it and give you purpose and meaning in your life… He did it in my life, and I know He can do it for you.”

For more information, visit heatherwilliamsmusic.com

What to get mom for mothers day....

This morning is a hot mess of a blur to me. Could have been the alarm clock that did not go off. Could have been the dog that decided to run off. Could have been the frantic search for socks that match for the kids. Could have been the pace of a three toed sloth that my daughter decided to move at. Could have been my son's obsession with getting new shoes so he could run faster and his old ones were not good enough. It could have been any number of those things. But I think, just maybe.. it was when I saw out of the corner of my eye a tiny white sock being thrown across the room that I snapped. I DO remember the look on my sons face as I yelled and then him starting to cry and saying "Why do you have to yell." Ah, yes, I DO remember that quite clearly. It was dead silent for about 15 seconds and trying not to cry myself and slink away in shame I sunk to my knees beside him and looked him in the eyes and said I was so sorry. He hugged me and said softly, "it's ok mom. I get mad too. I love you." It was that that got me. We loaded up and drove to school.
Here we are just days before mothers day. Now I could go on a rant about it being a Hallmark card invented "holiday" but I am going to refrain from that. What I want to do is focus on our moms. We all have them. Weather we want them or not. They gave birth to us. Some of them might have only done that and then not been part of our lives. Some may have done an amazing job of raising us and we talk to them all the time and giggle and have girl talk. Some may have horrible memories of their moms that they would rather forget. Some have volatile relationships with their moms. Some may have lost their moms already and miss them terribly. Point is... we all have them and if we have children of our own then we ARE them to someone else. One thing I have learned from being a mom (besides that I am a hot head who can revert to the maturity of a 4 year old in2 seconds) is that we are not perfect. We make mistakes. Some of us admit that we make mistakes. Sometimes we hide our mistakes and try to act like we are perfect. It can be exhausting. I remember before I had children I would dread mothers day. I was given away by my mom at age 11. She was never there for me and I harboured a lot of resentment and anger towards her. I would mope and tell anyone who would listen about what a crock Mothers Day was and that I hated it. I was selfish really. You see, I was choosing to not forgive my own mother and somehow I would be able to raise children of my own someday that would forgive me. Ouch. Truth is that we are told in Matthew this (pay attention to verses 14 and 15)






Matthew 6:6-15 (The Message)

6 "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. 7 "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. 8 Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. 9 With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. 10 Set the world right; Do what's best - as above, so below. 11 Keep us alive with three square meals. 12 Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. 13 Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes. 14 "In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. 15 If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.







It is tough sometimes to see past our own experiences to what God is doing or Who God is. Forgiveness is an amazing gift. Not just to the person who you give it to but to yourself as well. Life is not fair. Life is hard. Life is ugly at times. But there ARE times when life is beautiful and wonderful and some of those times are when you still have the chance to have your little children be so willing to forgive you. God help me if I can't get that I need to be forgiving towards my own mother. Mom, I forgive you. I have told you that in person and want to continue to extend it to you. God is an amazing God who is able to restore and rebuild.

This Mothers Day give your mom forgiveness. Maybe your issues with her are not as severe as mine, maybe they are..either way..forgive. No promise that it will all be better or that rainbows and unicorns will appear and you will go to tea together blah blah.. but you WILL have given the same gift Christ Jesus gave to us and extends to us even in our worst offenses. Give forgiveness.

Happy Mothers Day to all you Moms out there!

Much Love,
Heather

Raising the dead...

I remember staring at the tiny casket and having so many conflicting emotions. One, I was trying not to snicker at the site of eight grown men shuffling what looked like a cooler to a small hole and two, trying not to cry knowing my precious son was in that “cooler” and I was never going to see his precious face again. It was without a doubt the most removed from my body experience I had ever had. My son was dead and I was left here to grieve. In life we are dealt things that leave us frozen. They leave us feeling as if we are outside of our own bodies paralyzed with grief. Death is a part of life. It is the effect of sin entering the world when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. It is the reason Jesus Christ chose to come as a human being and die for us. It is what Jesus defeated. Yes, He defeated death. Jesus bore our sins upon himself, died and then rose again. He came back to life! Now, take a moment and contemplate that. We read it so many times in Bible studies and hear it in sermons but have you ever taken just five minutes and actually contemplated the weight of that statement? He Died and CAME BACK TO LIFE. Takes your breath away. The thought of something being dead, all life removed from the body and then life returning to what was once empty and making it LIVE. Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice rose from the dead and defeated death. Scripture tells us in Romans Chapter 8 that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. Wow. That is amazing. The SAME power that RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD lives in US. I am actually sitting here dumbfounded by that statement. Then I am realizing that all that is dead in me HE has raised back from the dead. All my past sins, my old life the things that brought me pain and suffering HE has helped me allow to die and then HE has raised them from that death and made them NEW. I am NEW! It never ceases to amaze me that in the simplest of scriptures that we read over so many times He can bring to us a fresh revelation. Dear God, help me to cruicify my flesh. Help me to deny the desires of my old life. Help me to allow them to die. Continue to raise the dead in me to the new life I have in You. Amen

baby steps......

Have you ever been at a place in your life where you just had God do something incredible? There is this rush of .. well.. emotions really. You feel like you could conquer anything, like nothing is impossible. Then “it” happens…. A roadblock, a tragedy, a friend betrays you, you can not figure a way out of another issue. What happens to that “rush” you just were experiencing? Well, for most of us we panic. We start freaking out and wondering.. “Why God!? Why is this happening to me?!”
Ever feel like you are the only one who experiences this garment of emotions?
What do we do in THAT moment is critical. It is probably THE most important step we take in the journey. The one step that says, I TRUST You God.
I remember when my kids were still only crawling. They desperately wanted to be more mobile. They would pull themselves up on anything they could. They would be so excited that they were standing! They would start clapping, laughing and just full of JOY. Then “it” happens. The realization that they don’t know what to do exactly. I am a few steps away holding out my arms encouraging them to just “walk to mommy..you can do it!” “Mommy’s got you..come on you can do it!” They would look at me do the “baby bounce” of “I WANT to do it.. but not really sure what to do? Can I bounce over to you?” Then after a few minutes of “trying” they would plop down and just cry. THIS is how we feel sometimes isn’t it? I can imagine our Daddy God holding out His arms just a few steps away encouraging us that “We can do it.. I got you!” And we just stand and bounce with fear and confusion.
The enemy likes us to focus on the FEAR of the situation. But GOD wants us to focus on HIM. The truth is, if our eyes are fixed on HIM, even if the storm rages we are not shaken. Isn’t that the lesson Peter learned? Oh we of little faith, myself SOO included. Today, I am fixing my eyes on Jesus, the AUTHOR and FINISHER of my faith. I am not going to be shaken by my circumstances but I will be footed in TRUTH!
Doesn’t mean that the fear is not there, it means I CHOOSE to not focus on it, but rather on Jesus!

Happy Monday everyone!
Heather

Scriptures to read today:
Hebrews 12:2
Matthew 14:22-33