I didn't know God could be so good

At the beginning of this year, the Lord spoke to my heart and said "This will be a year where you find yourself constantly saying,  I didn't know God could be this good."

A few days later I was on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, lost in a moment of worship, with an incredible community called "Fire and Fragrance."   I love those moments in worship, when you transcend into that secret place of His heart.  The place where you are no longer singing, but the Father is singing over you.  Here are the lyrics I heard Him singing over my heart and the heart of a generation.

Look at the nations
I'm gonna do something
Great in your days
You wouldn't believe it
Even if I told you
Watch and be amazed

I want these dreams, Even more than you
Faith is when, you believe that I do

In these days, you will say, I didn't know God could be so good

Go ahead and try Me
You can ask
For anything you want
But I promise
That I am gonna
Give you more than you ever thought

In these days, you will say, I didn't know God could be so good

Earth Like Heaven- Song Story

In the Autumn of 2010 I was sitting at table in Dublin, Ireland, with some great fathers of the faith.  All these men could talk about was the kingdom of heaven coming to earth.  I felt like one of the hobbits in the presence of Gandalf and Aragorn.  A phrase kept swirling around the table that "We were created to bring the fruitfulness of the garden into the barrenness of the earth."  When we left the table a whisper of more was pulling on my heart and the hope of the age to come was calling me.  Later that evening we gathered with 300 fiery eyed missionaries, the same size as Gideon's army.  We wasted the entire evening worshiping God.  During the night we kept singing this spontaneous song over and over, "We won't be satisfied, till the earth looks just like heaven." I was ruined by that night of worship in Dublin and haven't been the same since.

A few months later we were sitting around my kitchen table telling our friend Elijah some of these stories from Dublin.  As Melissa was sharing a story, the spontaneous song from Dublin began to fill my heart again.  I immediately got up from the table and grabbed my guitar.  I suddenly found myself in one of those incredible moments as a song writer, when you transition beyond just writing a song and shift into receiving a song.  Within a few minutes this song effortlessly came and weeks later we recorded this song titled "Earth like Heaven."

Right now you can preview this song at www.jonathanhelser.com or you can pre order our new album "On the Shores" with "Earth Like Heaven." 

Here are the lyrics

Earth Like Heaven

The dust that we were made of, is calling us to free them
The earth that we were pulled from, its crying liberate us

We won’t be satisfied till the earth looks just like heaven

Like water cover the sea,
let the earth be filled with your glory
Till the prayers your prayed become reality
and the earth looks just like heaven

Wake up, Sons and Daughters,
we were made for so much more
Wake up, Sons and Daughters,
start singing creations waiting

Your kingdom come, Your will be done,
till the earth looks just like heaven

Wreckingball- Song Story

I love how kids are not very good at being religious.  A while ago my son Cadence and I were playing in the yard.  Completely out of the blue he says, "Dad, you need to write some new songs, because you other ones are getting old." After my ego got over the shock of being punched in the guts, I laughed and replied, "Well, why don't you ask God to give me some new songs." Without hesitation, Cadence says out loud, "God give daddy some new songs, he really needs some new ones." I really love the confidence that my son has that nothing is impossible.

Later that day, Cadence and I were hanging out in the house, he was playing with his new legos and I was playing with my toy; A Jerry Jones baritone electric guitar.  All of a sudden I felt the Lord say to me, "What does it look in the eyes of your Son for heaven to invade earth."  I love when God speaks one thought and suddenly a whole train of thoughts flash into your mind.  I first thought about the way my son, like most boys, loves explosions.  Then I thought about the time when Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.  Then I started strumming a few chords on the guitar and this phrase just slipped out of my mouth, "Let heaven fall like a wrecking ball and crush every plan of enemy."  As I begin to sing those words, a melody begin to form and suddenly Cadence laid down his legos and we were singing the new song he had just asked God for.

"Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance....." Psalm 149:6-7

Right now you can preview the track of "Wreckingball" at www.jonathanhelser.com or you can pre order our new album "On the Shores" with the track "WreckingBall" on it at www.jonathanhelser.com

January Support Update

     In the early days of "A Place for the Heart's" history, we had an old, wise prophet give us a visit.  As we showed him around the brand new ministry, we were longing for him to speak God's words over the land.  As the tour passed the prophets lips remained quiet. As his visit came to an end and we were saying our goodbyes, the prophet finally spoke up and  said in his wonderful British accent, "When the root goes deep, the fruit will be sweet"

     This year "A Place for the Heart" will be 27 years old, and the old prophets words are coming to pass.  These last few years I have had the privilege of traveling all over the globe, but the sweetest fruit of my life is what happens on this piece of land in Sophia.  This summer we will host our fifth "18 Inch Journey."  The number of students who come to this school is small,  but the fruit is huge.  This December we ended our third year of internships for "18 Inch Journey" students. The number of interns is even smaller than the students at the school, but the fruit is even greater. Our culture is always looking for big numbers to define success. What if heaven defines success by fruitfulness.  Could one of the most fruitful things that Jesus did while he walked the earth be the three years of relationship he poured into those twelve boys? 

     Roots are hidden from the eyes of men.  They sink themselves into the unseen and find their source in the secret place.  How I wish each of you could see what happens to the hearts of those who come to our schools and internships. Our roots have truly tapped into the deep places of a generations heart and they are being changed forever.  As we launch into our 27th year, our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to those of you who have sown into this place. May the roots go deeper in the days ahead and the fruit become even sweeter....for this is my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit.

If you would like to partner with us you can find out more by clicking here

The Helser Family West Coast/Hawaii Excursion

{ Part Three: Hawaii}

I have waited a long time to post my final part of our family excursion to the West. I needed time for the depth of what happened to really sink into my heart. I needed to wait and really hear from the Lord what I should write, and not write. Really I just needed time. You see, one of the best parts of the trip was that we were going to get to see my sister and her family in Hawaii. They are leaders of a YWAM school in Kona, Hawaii. You must know that my sister, Shannon, is my most treasured friend in the whole world. She is the truest and most lovely example of family and friendship that I have ever seen. The privilege of getting to see them there, in Hawaii, with our kids was unbelievable. Not to mention that their daughter Shiloh and my daughter Haven are best friends. While we were in Oregon we got a call that my sister had gone to the doctor for an 8 month check-up for her pregnancy. While there, the nurse could not find a heartbeat. I cannot explain what the next 24 hours felt like. These are the moments that you choose to shed your methods of praying like a beggar and take up a wild trust in the Father. You say to yourself, "The Lord would never let this baby die...." You strap on your knee pads and fall to floor, you weep, you yell, you fall silent and then you pray more. We waited 24 hours till my sister gave birth to Selah Praise...she was stillborn. You will find out in time that my life has not been void of suffering and sorrow, but this sent my heart into a tailspin. Where was His goodness in all of this? 

We arrived in Kona 4 days later, and the timing of it all was crazy. I have tried over and over to figure out how to describe what my heart felt and experienced in those days. How do you describe sorrow? I sat on the porch the first night asking the Father how I was going to teach and lead worship in the middle of all this. The Father responded, "Melissa, you have found me in the tension, you will find me again." Jonathan, Cadence, Haven and I had the privilege of going to the hills of the Big Island to bury little Selah Praise. I have never experienced a funeral so sweet and so sad. My sister had given all the children beautiful Hawaiian leaves and flowers to put on the grave. In the waiting time, the kids had played with the leaves to the point of them falling apart. As we walked through the lovely hills, Cadence asked me if he could say something during the ceremony. Honestly, I was reluctant to let him, not knowing what he would say and not wanting him to be overwhelmed in the moment, but he insisted. At the end of the ceremony, Cadence walked with confidence up to the grave, broken leaf and flower in hand. He looked at everyone and said, " Selah's body is like this leaf, but her spirit is like this flower." He then pulled the striking white flower out of the leaf. He confidently went on to talk about Selah being in Heaven with the Lord and how happy she is. After a few minutes he turned and looked at thelittle casket. He dropped the flower and said, "Selah, I will see you in Heaven." 

I am consistently proud of my kids, but it has taken me months to understand what the Lord did that day. My nine-year-old was able to rise above grief and sorrow and declare truth. Sure, he has not had seasons of intense suffering, but maybe that is why the Lord said, "to even see the Kingdom of God, you must see like a child." We so quickly lose "our sight." Disappointment creeps in and poisons our heart. We marry circumstance and the love of the Lord...things going great--He loves me...things going bad--He has left me. We try to fight the whispering lie that He is not good and doesn't care. I will not pretend that this lie wasn't loud in my ears. It was blaring. I spent the last days in Kona teaching about worship, standing on stages and singing about His love and weeping with my sister. I will rejoice and speak of my niece with joy, for sheis more alive than I can imagine, living in the fullness of everything I believe in. Resurrection is flowing in her body. She is dancing with the angels, walking with the Father and being consumed with tangible love. Hawaii, to say the least, was glorious and terrible, beautiful and tragic. The Father said to me once,"Melissa, if you can't see me in the rain, you can't see me at all." I chose, there, to see Him in the torrential downpour of sorrow. I know the clouds will part and shine the brightest light on my sister and brother and their beautiful children. In the meantime, we ride the waves of sorrow and let them take us to the shores of joy. I heard Kris Vallaton say recently, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. How can you be comforted unless you properly let your heart mourn." I refuse to end this post with some crazy revelation and feel pressure to turn my life into some amazing ministry moment. We laughed, we cried, we ate good food and bad, we went to the beach, we sat in silence and weeping, we sang to Lord and let Him sing over us, we savored the privilege of life and breath and the beauty of family, and at the end of it all this I know, that even when we walk to the edge of sorrow and back, He is unexplainably good.

Traveling with kids Tip #8
[Even in the midst of unplanned heartache don't try to shelter them from it, just remember to still laugh & build sand castles]

{Haven aiming to conquer the Hawaiian Ocean with her floaties}

{My beautiful sister & brother in law...I love them deep}

{My amazing mother...the best grandmother in the world!}

{My sweet niece Arrow...I was the first person she saw when she came into the world & naturally her favorite}

Traveling with kids Tip #9
[Always, Always, Always stop on the side of the road and take beautiful pictures...your children must see you live in and capture the moment]

Traveling with kids Tip #10
[Teach your kids to savor family...at the end of it all family is the greatest gift]

{Have I mentioned that I love my husband and children.}

{Haven and her best friend/cousin Shiloh Grace}

You're Never Giving Up-Song Tutorial

Here is a new song tutorial on how to play "You're Never Giving Up."  Although this song is simple be careful playing it, I have been wrecked by the affections of God on numerous occasions while playing.  Its crazy how God can hide His gigantic love in such small and simple things.

If you would like to order a Kyser Partial Capo you can find them online here at this link

You can find this video at http://youtu.be/366K_G3bWsk

Intimacy - Song Tutorial

I have always loved how alternate tunings can inspire new songs.  When I discovered that a partial capo can give you the sound of an alternate tuning, without the hassle of retuning your guitar, I was in love. In the next few months we are going to release a few videos on how to play some of the songs I have written, using partial capos. Most of the songs are very simple, but I hope they will inspire you to write your own songs and discover new sounds.

You can find the video at http://youtu.be/uVdRMQmO7Lg

18 inch Journey

"Any fool can count the seeds in a apple.  Only God can count all the apples in one seed" 
               -Robert H. Schuller

This summer we hosted our fourth 18 inch Journey with 38 students and staff from all over the world.  They came from South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and over half a dozen states.  I could fill a book describing each moment we experienced this summer, but really, that would be like counting the seeds in the apple.  This school was truly a time where lives opened like seeds and unfolded into the fullness of what God made them to be.  The fruit of this summer can only be measured in eternity.  I wish I could describe with words the way the kingdom of heaven invades this school, but I come to the same dilemma as Jesus.  Over a dozen times Jesus says the phrase, "The kingdom of heaven is like..."  Mere human words can not explain heaven.  Words can just point to what is is like and your heart must open its eyes to see its indescribable wonder.  I asked some of our students to share what there 18 inch journey was like,  I hope you can taste fruit of heaven in their words.

 "The best way I can think to describe the 18 inch journey is that it's like everything was taken and stripped down to the basic colors; primary yellow, red, and blue.  And then those were taken and re-exploded into a myriad of colors, including countless new ones I had never known existed  I feel like I have always instinctively known that worship like this existed; that community like this existed; that being loved by God like this existed…but now I have seen and experienced it, and I am forever changed."
                
                -Ella Roselt, South Africa

"The 18 inch Journey has truly been a trip from my head to my heart.  It has been a place where I found and discovered who God Is and has always been, and who I am and what I was always meant to be.  My relationship with the Trinity has become more real than words on a page.  I've walked out of keeping a "safe" distance and walked into close and honest intimacy with the Lord.  The 18 inch Journey has opened my eyes to see that my heart matters and that I have a voice.  I've come to know and be lead by the nature of God, depending on him moment to moment.  I've come to truly see with the eyes of my heart and to encounter God in the ordinary and simple things.  Words can't describe the freedom, weightlessness and rest I have experienced.  I've come to know what God's family looks like and what it means to fight for each other."
               
                   -Jordan Wilson, Florida

"My favorite moment at the 18 inch Journey was the morning I learned to hear the voice of God.  It started with a simple task that Melissa asked us to do during our quiet time.  She asked us to go sit and simply ask God, "Father, what are your thoughts about me?"  In my mind I thought of some things, but God had a different plan.  As soon as my pen touched my paper I started writing things that I knew weren't my voice. Through that simple question he ended up answering so many more questions.  This was my first time journaling and being confident that it was God's voice I heard and not mine.  I now love quiet time with Papa because it is an actual conversation instead of just me speaking."
               
                  -Camryn Cornett, Tennessee

For more info about the 18 inch Journey Click here

The Reward-A Song Story

I was riding in the back of an old astro van cruising westward on I-40 to Nashville in the spring of 2005. Faster than the cars passing our old van, a story of revival was racing through my heart.  It was the story of the first two Moravian missionaries.  In 1732 a Dutch ship left the Copenhagen harbor bound for the Danish West Indies. On board were these two young missionaries ready to sell their lives into slavery to reach the slaves of the West Indies with the gospel.  As the ship slipped away from the harbor they stood on the bow of the boat and cried out "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering."  Their voices rang in the ears of their families and loved ones gathered at the harbor to say good bye.  Soon this cry become the rallying call for all Moravian missionaries. 

As this story ripped through me and this cry rang in my heart,  a melody begin to grow wings inside me. I grabbed my guitar and before the van reached Nashville this song was written.

In a garden we fell, but in a garden he prayed,
Not my will but yours be done.
My sins he became so I could be like him
To go beyond the veil and see his face

The cross has made a way so we can enter in
To go back to the garden once again
The cross has made a way, forever I will say
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

Worthy,  Worthy,
Worthy is Lamb that was slain
To receive the reward of his suffering
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

Receive the reward, Oh Lamb of God

You can find this song on itunes by clicking here

Long Story Short

In the fall of 2007 Melissa and I went into the studio with the plan of tracking a new worship album, but the Lord hijacked our plans with his dream.  When we thought the songs were coming to an end, Jesus walked through the walls of the studio and we realized the songs were just beginning.  The songs that we thought would only last a few minutes turned into ten and fifteen minute experiences.  At the end of those days in the studio we had collected two albums full of spontaneous and unplanned moments where heaven collided with our hearts. We released the albums later that year as "The Reward" and "Walk through the Walls." Within those two albums of extended worship are eleven songs that were forged and crafted in the eight years leading up to the moment the record light clicked on. The songs were fashioned in a wilderness and found in the middle

of storms. They are the songs of a journey. This year we decided to go back and collect the eleven songs from the extended moments of worship. We remixed and remastered them into beautiful and simple song length versions.  I love the way a song can squeeze the beauty of eternity into a few minutes. This collection of songs tells the story of our journey. This is our long story short.

You can pre-order this album at our online store at www.jonathanhelser.com 

-Jonathan David 2011

Sing Winter

Don't be afraid of the silence. God may be doing more when you can not hear him, than when he is speaking. Redemption comes like the silent snow that falls while we sleep. You wake up and the entire landscape has changed. The dark and barren colors of winter are transformed into a bright white glory that almost blinds you. When you look out the window you see a brand new world. The snowflakes echo the silent redemption plan of a King who came as a baby. A baby who became the Savior and who stood silent as a lamb before the shearer. His silent sacrifice covered the whole earth in redemption that turned the crimson stains as white as snow.

My wife and I bought our son Cadence a ukulele for Christmas. A few nights before Christmas, when we were supposed to be wrapping his present, we started writing a song on his ukulele. The song was about the snowflakes falling and winters silent song. The next morning after breakfast we slipped into the bedroom to finish the song. As we were finishing the last verse of the song, we were interrupted by the joyful squeals of my two children playing outside. We looked out our window and were astonished to see them playing in a surprise snow storm. None of the weather reports had even mentioned the slightest chance of snow. We could hardly believe that the snow started falling as we finished the last verse of the song. This little video was filmed from our back porch just a few minutes later.

Sing Winter

Hear the snowflakes falling, winter's calling my name.

The silent song she's singing, what's she trying to say

Can I fall like glory, to wash your year away

All that remains was, really meant to stay

Come and clothe me winter, I really need a change

With silent redemption, cover me in grace

Hear the song of beauty, melodies and sounds

Cover you in white love, a joy you lost but now you found

Sing, sing, winter, sing me your silent song.

You're Never Giving Up

Three days after Jesus was crucified, the disciples were locked in a room hiding in fear. They thought their story was coming to end, but really it was just about to begin. All of a sudden, Jesus walked through the walls and said, "Peace be unto you, just as the Father sent me I am sending you", and then He breathed on them the Holy Spirit. The men who had fearfully locked themselves in that room came out and changed the world.

When we stepped into the studio to record "You're Never Giving Up," we had only planned on recording a simple song that would last a few minutes, but God had other plans. When we thought the song was coming to an end, Jesus walked through the walls of the studio and we realized the song was just beginning. The song that we thought would only last a few minutes turned into a fifteen minute experience.

A few days ago we uncovered the raw footage of this spontaneous moment in "You're Never Giving Up." One the greatest moments in this song was having my Dad in the studio sing with me. We had not planned this ahead of time. He had just dropped by to see us. The whole idea happened minutes before we hit the record button. We put my Dad in Melissa's vocal booth and moved her into the room with me. We had not planed on Melissa singing on this song, but the Lord had other plans. You can see on the video that Melissa is on the other side of the room when she starts singing and then she moves closer to my mic. This has become my favorite moment in all the recording sessions. Everything you see on the video we could have never planned, it was a moment where Jesus hijacked our plan with His dream

Click here to see "You're Never Giving Up"