Song

THE SONG AND THE BOOK:

John has been a huge part of this book coming together. When it was just a bunch of entries in journals and paragraphs, I sent a few samples to him. He told me that it was worth editing. He then became one of the main editors and sounding boards for this book project. He bravely flew in at 4:00 a.m. from warm Arizona to the bitter cold of Chicago during February 2007 to help with the editing process. It was during this time that I witnessed the writing of the song, "Jesus in Me." I prayed as he wrote it (didn't have to pray long - it was written in 15 minutes from start to finish), and I was immediately moved by it. I was blessed to see it go from a quick recording on my son's MP3 player to hearing it played with the worship band at his church a couple of months later. Then one late summer night at 11:57 p.m., I received a text message stating that the studio recording of the song was being finalized. I have seen John's heart for worship and believe God gave him this song to share with others. I have never had any doubt that it was to be connected with this book.

John lives in Arizona with his beautiful wife and daughter. He is a professional baseball player and also works in website design.

LISTEN TO AN EXERPT:

A MESSAGE FROM THE SONG WRITER:

"Jesus In Me" was written during one of the toughest seasons of my life. I had been spending a lot of time praying and worshipping, pouring out my heart to the Lord. One day I sat down on the couch with my guitar, thinking that I would worship. I remember looking down at the words on my song charts and thinking to myself, "I am not any of the things I'm about to sing about. I'm not this. I'm not that. I'm just so...not." In that moment, I felt as worthless as I've ever felt. Here were these awesome songs of praise to God, and I felt like I just couldn't measure up. I started to put down the guitar, deciding that I wouldn't try to fake it that day. As I was setting the guitar down, I thought to myself, "I am not, but Jesus is." It was like walking out of a cave into sunlight. For some reason, that sentence resonated within me, speaking to everything that was wrong in my soul. I immediately picked up the guitar and 15 minutes later, the entire song was written. The song was the outcry of my heart as the Holy Spirit healed me. I felt like He was telling me that I didn't have to be all of the things in those songs. I just had to be the person He wanted me to be, and that He would take care of the rest.

John Hudgins