My Brave Story- Heather Johnson — In the Wild+Wonder

Update**3/27/17

Heather came and shared at our church, Northern Colorado Cowboy Church this past weekend. She gave a quick summary of her testimony which you'll read below and then launched into a super powerful sermon that I know changed so many lives! She shared about how a believer of Jesus Christ is made righteous through His sacrifice on the cross and not through our works. This is not a license to sin but to recognize where we have fallen short, repent and to not let the devil keep bringing it back up because we have been forgiven. Jesus's work on the cross was for our past, present and future sins. She went on to share that we were made to walk in righteousness not to be bogged down by what we were or who we still think we are. We have to renew our minds, we are a new creation. We may be in the same cruddy situation, but we have been made new through Jesus Christ, so that means we have the power to walk out our lives in His power!! I highly recommend looking up and listening to her sermon on the podcast under Northern Colorado Cowboy Church! Below you'll find Heather's original Brave Story, I'll tell you what, it's a good one!!

Candace

I would like to introduce you to this beautiful woman named Heather Johnson. Heather grew up in San Angelo, Texas and now currently resides in Weatherford, Texas. Heather is a wife, momma and a "do all" at Trey Johnson Ministries, treyjohnsonministries.com. Their ministry vision is being able to reach the world with the gospel, win the world of team roping and change lives one at a time. Throughout the year Trey and Heather along with their kids travel around ministering the gospel at different churches, events and ropings. In fact, the first time I met Trey and Heather was at one of their roping schools. My worship Pastor had asked me to come and help lead worship at the event. This roping school they put on was amazing with several God loving people. I remember having first been introduced to Heather and have always been drawn to her. She has this smile that permeates any room and is contagious. There is a strength and a freedom that exudes from her as she carries herself. I am super excited that Heather wanted to share her testimony with you all. I know for me, it had me in tears and ministered to my heart on so many different levels! Here is her "BRAVE" story!

-Kirste

My life is a story of redemption, deliverance, restoration and freedom. As I tell my story in short form you can most definitely see that I have a purpose on this earth and My God is so amazing, loving, merciful and faithful! I grew up knowing about God and Jesus but it wasn’t until I was 19 that I decided I needed Jesus. I would like to tell you that the moment I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior there was a drastic change in my life. However, that was not the case. I remember being dragged to a Heaven’s gates & Hell flames by my parents because I desperately needed Jesus in my life.

You see, I started drinking and using drugs at the age of 15. It started out with just the sneaking of my mom’s wine and smoking cigarettes with my best friend. This quickly progressed to smoking pot which led to a lot heavier drugs. By the time my senior year rolled around, I would end up dropping out with only 2 months left to graduation because of the drugs. I would then spend the next year using every day. After I got saved and baptized my life didn’t change automatically. I still hung out with the same crowd, did the same things, which progressed and only got worse. However, there was a change on the inside of me. I remember always being drawn towards the Lord, hungry for Jesus. I was the girl that was getting high but was always wanting to talk about Jesus. Hungry…my spirit man was hungry. I would stay in this vicious cycle for the next 10 years which would lead me to numerous jail visits, numerous hospital visits due to multiple car wrecks and drug related problems and numerous short term treatment center stays. Finally on Dec 28, 2002 I got pulled over and went to jail. This time is was different. I was done. I remember crying out to the Lord. I didn’t want to be like all the other girls I saw standing on the corner selling themselves for drugs. I wanted more for myself. The Lord led me to a lawyer that happened to be a recovered alcoholic and a believer in The Lord. This man sent me to a treatment center that was long term and I got clean. Thank you Jesus!

I came home and started putting the pieces back together. I started going to college to get a degree as an LCDC (licensed chemical dependency counselor). I wanted to help people like myself, break free from addiction. I was going to college and within a few years I got a really good job making significant money with benefits. I thought my life was finally headed in a good direction! Oh, how I was wrong. I started noticing things that were not adding up at this job. In a nutshell, my boss was not an honest man and the FBI had been watching him for years. One beautiful sunny day my life would drastically change again. I got caught up in this bust and because of my past I would end up getting in trouble and doing federal time. After the bust it took the federal agents two years to sentence us. I kept living my life hoping I wouldn’t have to go to prison but I just knew that I was going. I knew there was so much that I had got away with when I was using that it was now harvest time for all the bad in my life. During these two years, I met a guy, got pregnant and had a baby out of wedlock. Oh how I was devastated. Here I was, 29 years old, pregnant not married (nor did I desire to marry my daughters father) and looking at prison time. My life was falling apart again and I was clean trying to do right. Please note…I was still living like the world, talking like the world, believing like the world. However, my pregnancy drew me closer to God. There was no way my child was going to end up like me or make the same mistakes I had. The time came for sentencing and I walked into that courtroom 8 months pregnant to receive a 22 month sentence in a federal prison. The judge allowed me to have my daughter out of prison and gave me two months to spend with her before having to turn myself into prison. I remember standing there at the prison entrance holding my newborn baby girl questioning God.

My questioning Him meant I was talking to Him and He started talking to me. During these 22 months I drew close to God because I had nothing but God. My mother would bring my daughter to see me every weekend and we had the best relationship we could at that time under those circumstances. I would do my time and get out. When I got home, I was so hungry for the will of God for my life. I started going to church, seeking God, chasing after Him with all I had. It took me two years to get things in order and with the help of my parents I was able to purchase my very own home. This home I dedicated to The Lord. I joined a women’s bible study at my church and starting holding meetings in our new home! I was seeking the Lord with everything that was within me. One of the desires of my heart was for the Lord to bring me a Godly man. A man that loved God, loved his self, kids and family. You see, when I started seeking the Lord, He started giving me the desires of my heart because my desires started lining up with His desires! That’s when I met Trey. I didn’t know who “Trey Johnson” was at the time. I didn’t know anything about the ministry world nor did I follow rodeo enough to know him. I just met Trey. I fell in love with him, his heart for the Lord. Not to mention that he was remarkably handsome and had a smile that just captivated me from the moment I first saw him! We quickly fell in love and were married within 6 months of our first date! Thank you Jesus!! For those of you reading this, my husband, Trey Johnson is a mighty man of God, a faith giant! He has a powerful ministry that saves souls, heals the sick, sets people free and lights a fire within people to fall in love with Jesus! He also is a professional team roper. He won the rookie of the year in 2000 and then laid it down to pastor and plant several churches over an 8 year period. Then in 2010 the Lord told him it was time to go back to traveling and rodeoing to save souls.

Before our marriage I asked God how my life fits with Trey. The devil is liar and would constantly remind me of my past. He would tell me that I wasn’t worthy of a man like Trey. I would always be damaged goods. What would people think or say about me when they find out what all I’ve done? Who could receive from a broken soul like me? HA! That’s it…I was completely broken and ready for God to make me His masterpiece. I was ready for God to use everything the devil had tried to kill me with and turn it on him and use it to Glorify God!! Every negative thought of unworthiness, ugliness, brokenness, dirtiness, shamefulness has been replaced with truth. The truth is I am loved, I am worthy, I am beautiful, I am Gods masterpiece, I have been cleansed by the blood of the lamb, I am forgiven, I am free from my past, I am a new creature in Christ Jesus, I am victorious, I am more than a conquer, I am an overcomer!! That’s who I am today!!! Redeemed and Renewed!!! Ready and willing to stand and fight for Gods people. Ready and willing for God to use my life to break people free from bondages, from chains that have held them down. Ready to give hope to the hopeless.

“The truth is I am loved, I am worthy, I am beautiful, I am Gods masterpiece, I have been cleansed by the blood of the lamb, I am forgiven, I am free from my past, I am a new creature in Christ Jesus, I am victorious, I am more than a conquerer, I am an overcomer!!!”

As I sit typing the enemy would try to have me believe that I shouldn’t share my story. That I will be judged, criticized, talked about unkindly. Well, so be it! I know that there are women out there that need to know the love of THE FATHER! A love that forgives, that cleans us up, redeems us from our past and rebuilds us into His masterpiece. A love that calls us out. Today I answer that call for myself and for my sisters in Christ! I would like to encourage my sisters that through our mess God still loves us and can use us when we become totally dependent on him. When we chase after him with all that is within us, He catches us and fills us up with His love. He molds our broken pieces back together in such a way, that His Glory can shine through the cracks and draw others unto Himself! Oh sisters, I pray that we becoming willing and ready for God to use us to love on other sisters that are trying to break free from bondages and lies of the enemy. I pray that our spirit man rises up and knows that no devil in hell can stop us from fulfilling our destiny because Greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world! Be brave my sisters, rise up, fight back with the word of God and watch Him show up and show out in your life!