Author: Heather Savonne - Live Original

Seeking Heaven

by Heather Savonne | Mar 28, 2023 | Life Advice

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Matt 6:10

Ah. Heaven. Such a mysterious place to think about. Many of us, when we imagine heaven, we often picture fluffy cotton candy clouds, rainbows, bright lights, white robes, halos, maybe even a few angel wings filled with soft white feathers. Or if you’re like me, I used to imagine it looking kind of like the matrix, all white, no noise, an empty void where nothing much happened. A place where a pen could drop and it might echo for centuries. By the grace of God, I have a new view of heaven. If you don’t know by now, heaven is a very real place. A place where many followers of Christ hope to live forever in eternity with God. See, God created heaven on purpose and for a purpose. That’s why God creates things in general, for a purpose. He created tax collectors and the weather. And yes, he created mosquitoes for a purpose just like He created you for a purpose. The first line of The Bible in Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Interestingly, the heavens are the very first thing God created. Why is that? The Bible actually tells us a lot about heaven, what it will be like, and what we can look forward to without spoiling too many juicy details. After all, being mysterious is one of God’s chief characteristics. But we know it will not be like the earth we live in nor the sky we look up to. It will be undoubtedly more beautiful than any mountainous sunrise or west coast sunset. In Revelation 21, it tells us, there will be a new heaven and a new earth; where there will be no weeping, no sorrow, and no pain. Laughter, dancing, streets of gold, and perhaps a book with your name written in it. Most importantly, there will be Jesus. Awaiting with arms wide open for every new arrival. Armies of angels cheering every time someone commits their heart to Jesus. But, I have some sobering news for you. It’s fun getting lost in the idea of how great heaven will be but there’s still a lot of life to be lived here on earth before that time comes for you and I. So, what do we do with all that time? Sit around waiting for heaven? No! That’s certainly not what The Bible tells us to do. Remember the scripture that opened the chapter? Let’s read the words of Jesus in its entirety,

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from the evil one.”

Jesus, in this passage, is teaching His disciples how to pray and more importantly what to pray. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This prayer is telling us to seek to have heaven here on earth. How can we possibly have heaven on earth? We know we can because Jesus tells us to pray for it. In the next chapter Matthew 7, it reads, “Seek and you shall find. Ask and it shall be given. Knock and the door will be opened.” Let me ask you a question. Are you asking for heaven on earth or are you simply just living on earth? Glimpses of heaven exist all around us if we have eyes open to see and ears clear to hear. I know having heaven on earth exists simply because God himself aka Jesus prayed for it and many people, along with myself, have been earnestly praying the infamous Matthew 6 prayer for thousands of years. Those prayers have been heard and those corporate and individual prayers have been answered. God wants us to communicate with Him. Why? We were created to have a real relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. God, The Father, the one in the prayer Jesus taught the disciples, lives in heaven. “Our Father, who art in heaven”. Yeah, that’s not just some fancy smancy way of praying. It’s literal. God dwells in heaven and it is His ultimate desire to have you come live with Him there. The only way this is possible is through Jesus. In John 14, when Jesus is telling the disciples that he must go away (back to heaven). He drops a very important piece of information for humanity’s quest for God. He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” But like I expressed previously. That time will come. That’s why we have Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Who if you didn’t know existed in the very beginning of time…yes, even before the heavens but that’s another point for another day. We can simply have heaven on earth because we have Jesus inside of our hearts and since the trinity (God, Son, and Holy Spirit) are in us, heaven is in us. Heaven quite literally made its way to earth in the form of a baby that one starry night in Bethlehem. Heaven invaded the earth in the most humble way and erupted history forever. Heaven did not leave when Jesus ascended back to be with His Father but gave us a crucial piece of heaven called our comforter, or The Holy Spirit. God is in us. Have you ever met someone or a stranger and thought to yourself? Wow, they were so kind. They must’ve been an angel. They gave you a slice of heaven. Maybe it was an experience that made you feel light as a feather, exploding with joy, and blanketed in peace. Whether you know it or not, you are someone’s slice of heaven. Every person that has accepted Jesus into their heart as Lord and Savior has heaven inside of them. What we do with that is important and has the ability to change our lives, other people’s lives, and the world. That’s not to toss out an optional suggestion. That’s exactly what the disciples did and all the brave men and women before us who carried the message of Christ this far.

The Word tells us that the Holy Spirit lives inside our bodies like a temple. So did you know that a slice of heaven lives inside of you too? Wherever you go – God goes before you, behind you, inside you, and all around you. “It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

You can have heaven in your home. Yes, even with little children. “…As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

You can have heaven in the workplace and in your classroom. You have the power and authority of Christ to change the atmosphere of a room simply because you’re there. And if you’re in Christ and He is in you, then He is there too!

You can experience heaven in your marriage, family, and relationships. Probably one of my favorites is that we can have heaven in your mind. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col. 3:2 With your head “in the clouds” set your minds on heaven! King David knew to lift his mind’s eye to the skies and declared, “I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1

Heaven in your health. Heaven in your heart. Heaven on earth. What does that mean? Heaven is a perfect place. Perfect unity and harmony with the Father are awaiting us in heaven. Perfect alignment of our spirits and our new bodies. If you’re needing healing then look to heaven and look to the one who WAS and IS perfect in our place; Jesus. For by His stripes we are healed. The perfect lamb who was slain for us that we might find and accept perfection to be found in Him. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us our bodies ache and groan for heaven because we know we belong there with our Maker. May we always be reaching heavenward.

Finally, you can have heaven be released from you to others! Jesus has released us to go into the world as seasoning for the unseasoned (salt) and light amongst the dark. He has commanded us to bring His good news to the ends of the earth. He has called us to bring the sweetness of heaven into people’s bitter days. My prayer today is that you would see that heaven is not too far away. There are little chunks of heaven to be experienced everyday. So keep seeking heaven. And when you find it, you might realize all along that heaven was in fact seeking you.

Heather Savonne is a worship leader and singer/songwriter living in Houston, TX. She attended Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, TX where she got a B.S. in psychology and English minor. Heather is working on her first solo worship album and loves to encourage women in their daily walk with God on all of her social media platforms. Heather is married to her husband of 3 years, Lea, who has a ministry called Childish Faith Ministries where they both serve as worship leaders, kingdom creators, and partner with local ministries to highlight Christian creatives.

Nothing is Wasted

by Heather Savonne | Apr 21, 2022 | Life Advice, Perspective, Wisdom

Have you ever felt like your time was wasted? Whether it’s your own doing or the line at your favorite coffee shop is super long and you think to yourself, “what is taking so long?” But you keep your cool and wait anyway because you know once you get your order, you’ll be sipping on a nice frothy latte. Well, you’re already in your car, late for work, and the first sip you take of your drink, you figure out it’s the completely wrong order. Yuck! You feel like your time was wasted. For what? A drink that wasn’t even yours? In situations like these, my mind always ponders, “God, what possibly was the lesson here?” Is there a lesson at all? Maybe this scenario was totally out of your control like many scenarios we face in life. What about working relentlessly for something you really wanted, insert whatever you wanted really badly, and all that hard work seemed to not pay off, a health condition got in the way, or you made excuses and long story short, it didn’t happen. You can’t help but feel the very human feeling of “my time was wasted”. What else happens when we think our time is wasted? We think the time was lost! Technically, the time has passed but it is anything but lost.

Thankfully, we serve a God that is really good at finding things. After all, He did make the universe. I’m sure an all knowing God knows where everything is. We were never misplaced. We are often the one’s trailing off into the woods. Throughout scripture God is referred to as a Redeemer. Father Abraham, the prophet Isaiah, and Job all foretell God to be this way. But, there’s been many times in my life where I’ve looked at past mistakes, or things that happened to me and thought, “how could this ever be redeemed?” With that mindset, I was certainly not living in the good news of my redemptive Father, even though I had been redeemed through Christ. Our salvation is secured but the renewal process, I believe, is ongoing. Like the famous hymn quotes, we were once lost and now we are found, the same can be applied to anything in your life that you feel is “lost”. A dream, a person, relationship, or even time! What was considered lost can be found in Him.

As a worship leader and singer/songwriter, I always write what I feel and write from experience. I wrote a song called “Found In You” about everything I am being found in God. The chorus says,

“All my hope is found in You

All my worth is found by knowing Your truth

All my treasure found in You

You know my every step

I’m woven in the web of salvation”

Pre-Christ, my hope was lost and felt like a lot of time and dreams were gone with the wind. I didn’t have hope for my life the way God did but He had hope for me and my future. ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (Jeremiah 29:11) My worth was completely dependent on what others thought of me or said about me which drifted with the ever changing ways of the world. Now my never-changing worth and value is found in Christ and always has been, but I wasn’t aware of that truth. “For you created my innermost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13–14) My treasure had been abandoned like an old pirate movie and I was constantly searching and searching in all the wrong places. Luke 12:34 tells us, “where your treasure is your heart is also”. My heart was stone, my heart was in the world, my heart was previously dead and needed reviving.

The good surgeon, the One who made me, gifted me the greatest treasure; salvation. Now, woven in that unbreakable web, any security I thought I needed and sought after riches are in Him. He redeemed you and I, which means He also redeemed our baggage. To redeem means to get something back by paying a price. So God redeemed us by purchasing us with the cost of His perfect son Jesus who paid for our sins on the cross. This is good news! Redeeming news! Many of us keep holding on to our baggage that was never meant to be carried for so long. I’m truly surprised my biceps don’t show more because of all the heavy junk I trudged along for years, but it does explain an achy back and what was once an achy soul. We desperately attempt holding the heavy weights when it was all meant to be laid as His feet. The bible tells us His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If you’re like me, you try to carry in every grocery bag into the house at the same time no matter how heavy they are even if your pinky is getting its blood supply cut off. This is a rare case where the good cannot outweigh the bad. You cannot firmly hold on to both Jesus and the world; it must be one or the other. You cannot fully follow freedom if you’re still following fear. You cannot carry peace if you’re latched on to worry. Hold both hands open and surrender it to God. Be ready to catch an abundance of redemption that has been waiting for your “yes”.

One of my favorite scriptures is Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” God intends to use your past for good. How could that possibly happen? What good could come from bad? God’s sovereign power is the only good that can right a wrong. It’s for His glory – not our own. It is so that lives can be saved. How beautiful the redemptive nature of God is. That He would take our rags and make them riches. “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. We don’t always know that purpose but when our heart starts to align with His, we can almost be certain it is for the advancement of the Kingdom. The Father’s heart is always for His children.

So, just when you begin to think your time is being wasted, there’s always a bigger purpose and a bigger picture. A picture that is sometimes too big, too divine, too mysterious for us to see right away or see at all. Even the tried and tested Old Testament servant Job cries, “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?” Even in the midst of suffering, grief, and questioning the circumstances happening around him, Job still declares, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him.” (Job 13:15) And later proclaims,“Yet my Redeemer lives, and he shall stand at last on the earth.” (Job 19:25)

Is there anything in your life today that you desire to be reclaimed and redeemed in Christ? Your mind, your children, your finances? Whatever it is, it can be submitted under the feet of Christ and be found new in Him. Pray the prayer of psalmist David, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12)

Allow the words of the final verse of “Found in You” to wash over you today,

“All my strength is found in You

All my peace is found by living in You

All my joy is found in You

You know my every breath

You never leave a heart that is broken.”

Nothing is wasted for surely our redeemer lives!

Heather Savonne is a worship leader and singer/songwriter living in Houston, TX. She attended Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, TX where she got a B.S. in psychology and English minor. Heather is working on her first solo worship album and loves to encourage women in their daily walk with God on all of her social media platforms. Heather is married to her husband of 2 years, Lea, who has a ministry called Childish Faith Ministries where they both serve as worship leaders, kingdom creators, and partner with local ministries to highlight Christian creatives.