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The UNWavering Podcast
Co-hosted by Monte Abeler (’12) and Cassie Plantage (’07) of the UNW Alumni Office, The UNWavering Podcast brings you fun, thoughtful conversations with the people who shape University of Northwestern – St. Paul. No matter how you're connected to Northwestern—alum, student, parent, staff, faculty, or friend—this podcast is created to keep you connected to the heart of the UNW community. Join us as we highlight the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.
The UNWavering Podcast
All In, All Yours | Heidi Lee Anderson ’10
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Heidi Lee Anderson (’10) joins us to share her journey. She is an author, speaker, and cancer survivor. Hear as Heidi talks about how God met her in every season and what shaped the heart behind her new book, “All In, All Yours.”
Her new book is a 100-day devotional that takes you through the book of Joshua. Drawing from the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land, this devotional invites you to live all in, trust God’s promises, and not let the giants of fear or circumstance take over the landscape of your life.
Learn more about Heidi’s new book, “All In, All Yours”: Click here
Learn more about Heidi’s ministry: Click here
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💬 Know an alum, faculty member, staff, or student of UNW doing amazing things out in the world? Let us know at alumni@unwsp.edu.
Hey everybody, this is Monty and Cassie. And welcome to a spotlight episode of the Unwavering podcast. But before we dive in, Cassie, I would like to know what is your full name and how do you feel about it? Like how would you rate it from one to ten?
SPEAKER_03Great question. My full name is Cassie Danielle Plantage. Full formerly Cassie Danielle McGee.
SPEAKER_01Just Cassie.
SPEAKER_03Just Cassie. My mom didn't want me to be called Cassandra, so she put Cassie right on the birth certificate. And I love my name. I think there's some legacy involved. Love my maiden name, love my married name. I'm happy with it.
SPEAKER_01I think it's a pretty good name. Yeah, how do you feel like you're? I mean, you you had to rate it 10 out of 10 because your mom listens to the Yeah, hey mom, you did great.
SPEAKER_03How do you feel about your name, Monty?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I feel pretty good about my name. Um, my full name is Monty William Abler. William after my dad. I don't meet too many Montes, so that's kind of nice. I would I would give it a 9 out of 10. Um, the missing point, just because I was named after my great grandpa, Elpheus Montague. That's a very good idea. And they called him Monty, and I'm like, oh man, what I would give to be a full Montague.
SPEAKER_03Well, I'm gonna call you Montague, but Gew for short. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Perfect. Try it. Okay, um, so Cassie Danielle Plantage. Do you ever go by your full name? Like, hey, like I'm Cassie Daniel Plantage.
SPEAKER_03Only when I'm in trouble. So no.
SPEAKER_01So no. Well, why do we bring this up? Um, because today's speaker actually does go by her full name, including her middle name. So today we have a chance to sit down and talk with Heidi Lee Anderson. And uh, she's incredible. Uh, we're really this is this is gonna be a treat to have this conversation, and we're gonna talk about Heidi's new book, All In, All Yours. And I can't wait. So here we go.
SPEAKER_00Join as we highlight the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern. This is the Unwavering Podcast.
SPEAKER_04You love some way.
SPEAKER_02Every attack from the Israelites, that every attack that was on the Israelites, it was merely a means to advance. It was an invitation to advance. So it was whenever the enemy turned on God's people, God was like, actually, the time is now. And whatever occupation or whatever land they held, whatever ground they had held, it's time for you to take that back. And so it was just every step forward. It expanded their God-given territory. And I just have reframed my trials now where the question of, am I even gonna make it or is this gonna be the enemy? It's we don't even need to think of that. God doesn't even think of that. He just wants us to keep looking to him. He is in the business of flipping every bad thing for good. Romans 8, 28. He will just do that time and time and time again.
SPEAKER_01Today's guest is Heidi Lee Anderson. Heidi is a 2010 Northwestern marketing grad from the Stoltz School of Business. Shout out to your parents, Heidi, and also probably from the Stoltz School of Life. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Um, but Heidi is an author, a speaker, a stay-at-home mom. She spent her career doing ministry from teaching kids ministry to developing content to speaking at conferences. Heidi's passion is to make sure that Christ's followers realize, know, and claim the sure promises God offers in the mundane, amid the heartache, and on top of the highest mountains. You'll find her on Instagram, crafting devotionals at Heidi Lee Anderson, and writing kids curriculum at this motherhen. You're also gonna find her here today in the studio. So welcome, Heidi.
SPEAKER_02Wow, you guys, this is so fun. My husband somewhere is gloating just listening to this because, because when he proposed to me, I said, here's the deal, Ty. Yes. I am so excited. Um, the only bummer thing is do I have to take your last name? Because I mean, you meet 50% of the people in Minnesota and they are an Anderson, right? And so somewhere he is like, look at that, Heidi. They said Heidi Lee Anderson is 10 out of 10.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_01And we approve Tyler. Like Anderson, it's a solid name.
SPEAKER_03It's a good name. He's a good man. Yes. Oh, that he is. Happy to take that the best of the best.
unknownGreat.
SPEAKER_03Well, Heidi, thanks so much for being here. Let's dive in. Yeah, let's see. Uh, what is the Lord teaching you in this season? Wow.
SPEAKER_02Well, should I just choose one? No, okay. So here's the deal. I one of my New Year's resolutions for this year is I want to memorize one chapter of the Bible per month. And I cannot get over it's fun how John 15 was the very first month, and it has repeatedly come up where just because the month is over and done with, right, it's like the Lord keeps bringing it to mind and teaching me new things. And the thing that really comes out of that is just abiding in the vine over and over. Abide in me, remain in me, remain in my love, follow my commands. Um, one thing that really jumped out is when he talks about the gardener, he will either prune a branch or cut off a branch. And both methods feel the exact same way. But for those that are in Christ, we are never being cut off out of cruelty or anything like that. If it feels like the the vine dresser, the gardener is cutting something off in our life. We read it is purely to prune it so that he may grow grow more fruit. And it says fruit that will last. So in place of just one fruit, now he wants to grow three fruit and beyond and more. And so it's really trusting God in the process when I feel like there are parts of my life where he is pruning right now. I have no idea how it'll be beautiful or fruitful or prosperous in the future, but that is just the mark of the gardener. And we can trust him if we're abiding in him, that it might look small today, our our branch might be shriveled or whatever it may be, but we're not being cut off. We're we're being pruned and fruit is coming.
SPEAKER_01When our ability to trust him in that process feels so critical. Cause like I will try to fight for my branches that he's trying to prune off, right? Like versus being tested and challenged by the Lord to say, just trust me and let me be the gardener. For sure. That's good.
SPEAKER_03Well, and I'm so hung up on the fact that you are memorizing a whole chapter a month. What's your strategy?
SPEAKER_02It's tough. Well, so first month I just thought I'll just take it day by day, verse by verse, just memorize it off my phone, right? Just pull up the Bible app. I was just, I was reading in the Voice of God study I'm going through by Priscilla Schreier, and she talked about how every day you need to write a different verse and put it somewhere that you're gonna see multiple times a day. And I thought, wow, that's actually very smart. So for this next month, I'm writing it on note cards, just on my bathroom mirror or verse by my kitchen sink or one in my car, and that'll help me pick it up. So it's definitely not been easy. But I did do Psalm 23 in February, so I gave myself a little bit of um, you know, like a softball there. But I just, it's one of those passages where you hear about it all the time, but I would just mix up verses, and I really wanted a month to just dive into what is the symbolism. I'm not a shepherd, I don't really know what that means or looks like. So that was an awesome month, too, and to be able to just sit in that and study different things about it. It was cool.
SPEAKER_03That's amazing. So cool. Well, you emulate joy. Um pretty easy to see um just upon meeting you. That's what I remember. Every meeting. What a joyful lady. Well, I'm glad to be here, you guys. I just so what are you currently finding the most joy in right now?
SPEAKER_02That's a sweet question. I am a mom of four kids. Right now, I'm homeschooling my oldest. My three girls um all go to public school, but my youngest is in preschool, so she only does half days. And there are so many moments right now where as a four-year-old, she will just drop the wildest things. And I just bust a gut laughing. It has been so fun, and I realized wow, that goes fast because when they get older, they either know they're funny or they're dropping toilet humor, and I don't need that. I don't need any more of that. But no, this is genuine funny stuff, and so I would say she's my bright spot right now for sure. Those youngest kids, they gotta have their skill.
SPEAKER_03So that's great to make us laugh for sure. That's right. That's right. So you are a Northwestern grad. Woohoo, woohoo. Represent here. We are. Was it an easy decision for you to attend Northwestern?
SPEAKER_02Oh, the easiest. I mean, if you ask my parents, they always say our blood runs purple and gold. But so my parents went, my older sibling had gone. But it goes beyond that. Even my grandparents went, my aunts and uncles, now my cousins have. So it is a family affair. We are all about Northwestern to the point where I mean, even before Stolled School Business came about, we told our kids, I mean, this is where you go to college. And so they don't even know otherwise. They don't know other people get a choice. But now for sure with Stolled School Business, it's like this where you're going. This is your university.
SPEAKER_01Did you ever even apply it anywhere else or even take a tour anywhere else?
SPEAKER_02I did not, but my brother did. I think there was like U of M, maybe one more, good for him, but no, I just went all in.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, kind of how I live my life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think we all have that in common here. Yep.
SPEAKER_03Every sibling, every every parent, I love that. They're all here. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01Yep, blood turned purple at the age of four or five. Yep, that's right.
SPEAKER_03That's awesome. So, how did your time at Northwestern shape your faith and calling?
SPEAKER_02Well, I always say I grew up knowing who God is. My parents were regularly bringing us to church. They just put who following Christ on display, right? Like praying, loving him, giving generously. We got a front row seat to all of that. But I I always say it's it wasn't until Northwestern where I actually met Jesus. And I would just will always remember being in the prayer room in the dorms and just crying out to him. And when, you know, when you're finally on your own and by yourself and you have to figure out life without your parents and without close friends nearby, I mean, you really realize, wow, the God who is with me all these years past, who has been so faithful throughout my whole life, he's still here and he's walking with me and he's more real than ever. So, I mean, honestly, it was through the Bible classes, it was through Beth Wilmouth on the volleyball team, it was through just friends and bringing me to the prayer chapels and things like that. It was just such an amazing time in my life, no doubt.
SPEAKER_03That's awesome. So, I mean, it sounds like you've had a lot of memories, lots of people guiding you through. Do any stand out in particular?
SPEAKER_02Oh, that's hard, right? Because you want to throw out all the professors that just made a huge impact in your life. Like, of course, Middleton and Erickson. I mean, you gotta, you gotta love those guys in marketing. But I will say I remember I took Professor Muska's class, Dr. Muska's class, John, the book of John. And it was the first time that I had read of the unpardonable sin. And it totally rocked me. And I was so scared that I committed that. And I will always remember that I shot in I shot him an email and we met in his office. And it was the sweetest moment because even to this day, if I read that verse, I'm like, oh no, I don't ever want to commit, I don't ever want to be far from you, Lord. I will always remember what Professor Mreska said. And he said, Heidi, just the fact that you're worried about it means you didn't commit it. It's these people that their hearts are so callous. They have no prompting for the Lord. They don't even want to be with Jesus, they don't want that relationship. That is the unpardonable sin where they have that heart and heart to have that decision. But he's like, You that wants to be with Jesus. You could never commit that. And just what a gift to have these professors who have watched so much of life, who just love the Lord and know the Bible, like the back of their hand, and they just pour their life out to us students where we are fretting over certain questions or things like that, and they just hear us out. They put make the time in their office to just outside of you know class time hours, and they just care enough about you to have that conversation. And that is such a gift for sure. The salt of the earth, no doubt.
SPEAKER_03Well, and generations of alums can say the same about the professors that were here when they were here. So it's an awesome legacy.
SPEAKER_01Well, they see you and they know you, they actually have time to like make room and hear your story and speak to your heart, not just like some random student that they have no idea who you are. I ran into Dr. Erickson in the tunnel the other week.
SPEAKER_02Jealous.
SPEAKER_01And I knew it from behind him because he has a certain walk button.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_01Every time I see him, I'm like, and he doesn't even, I don't even think he even realizes that. I'm like, You have no idea how much you impacted my life in in class as a in the from the marketing side, but also the way he just gave us life advice. Oh, yeah. So good. Okay. Well, all this is context for our conversation today. And Heidi, we're gonna I'm very excited for you to to share with the listeners um about your new book, All In, All Yours. Um, we're gonna get at that in just a second. Um, but before we get there, for anybody who has never met you or doesn't know anything about you, like can you give us like the the bullet point version of like you graduated from Northwestern and get to today?
SPEAKER_02Wow. Yep. Let's try to do a high-level big picture view. But it what really happened was I graduated with a marketing degree. I ended up doing ministry. I started working at Eagle Brook Church and Kids Ministry. And that's where I really learned about teaching Bible stories in a way that your audience actually understands, right? Like I could teach talk about the Bible with college students, but now I'm with these little four to six year olds and I gotta share it in a way that keeps their real short attention span. And man, nowadays with social media, right? We're kind of all in that same boat. But um, it was actually through that position. It was when I was diagnosed with cancer, I was there and I was single. I was 23 when I was first thrown that big curveball of life. And really, God was setting up the community around me that I would need in that time. And they really did surround me, pray over me. It was a wild time, you guys. That's when I met my husband. I shared my story after the first round of chemo. And out of all the times, I mean, to be honest, I didn't want to share my story. My hair had just started falling out. I had no idea how good things were looking. Um, but my pastor asked if I would share during communion. And I remembered in a Shadrach, Mushak, and Embeno, man, three men went into that fire, three men went out. It was only in the fire when the king could see Jesus. And so who we put on display when it all goes up in flames does matter. So I was convicted, okay, I'm gonna share. And how good is God that He sent my husband to hear my story? And he reached out and he just, it was very simple. Hey, I'm praying for you. God wants you well. But we ended up messaging back and forth, back and forth, and that turned into a first date, my first round of radiation. And then we got married a year later.
SPEAKER_01By the way, you'd be such a more powerful speaker and more well respected if it was Heidi Lee Anderson instead, right?
SPEAKER_02Didn't drop it that first date, but that would have been great. I was ready. I was ready. It was love at first sight, no doubt, you guys. Uh, but when we did get married, and then we had my son, um, I started writing online through that experience, a blog called Dear Mr. Hodgkins, and I realized, oh, I actually like writing, and not everyone does. I didn't know that. Oh, and people might want to read it. That's cool. And so I started writing for Eagle Brook Daily Devotionals. And so I took that home when I became a stay-at-home mom. I would still write those for Eagle Brook Church for five years, which was an awesome thing. And it really set me up. I feel like they trained me well to again tell Bible stories and what Jesus has done for me in a way people understand. And yeah, it was through then that I started just once that position faded away. I'm like, where am I gonna go? What am I gonna write? So I just started posting on social media and my Instagram took off in a cool, God-only, crazy way. And then that snowballed into my publisher, started following me on social media. Her dad had passed away, and someone had said, you just need to follow Heidi and she'll encourage you where you're at. So she did for two years under the radar, hadn't talked to her, but then out of the blue, she's like, Hey, have you ever considered writing a book? It's like, man, as a former toddler who my mom would only get me to be potty trained if I had a pen and paper in hand. I wanted to like shout across the screen, like, since I first sat on the toilet, yes. Yes, I've always wanted to write a book. So, anyways, that's kind of the big picture story where God used some crazy turns in my life. I thought I was going into marketing, turns out I went into ministry. Thought I would meet my husband at Northwestern. Nope, had to meet him during cancer years later. And then the doctor told me you probably won't be able to have kids. Now I have four kids. And it's just been a wild ride, but God has definitely been leading the way. It's been an amazing adventure so far.
SPEAKER_01What a ride.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Not the way that you planned it. No way. No, but shout out. P.S. It's gonna be good, right?
SPEAKER_05There you go, Monty.
SPEAKER_01What a ride. I mean, it comes back to what you're sharing about what you're learning now with him being the gardener and the pruner, and your our job is to abide and to trust him. And like that's evidence in evident in your story all the way to this point, and still today, he's still asking you to trust him. Um so you did actually have a dream of becoming an author or writing a book when you were little, but then to see how it actually came to be is a different story as you kind of just walk through life. Um so I'm holding your newest book. I know you the for everybody listening, you they can't see it, but it's it's pretty cute. Yeah, look at it.
SPEAKER_02If a boy's saying it's cute, it's cute, it's really cute, right, Cassie? Yeah. Really cute.
SPEAKER_01Um we'll we'll send a link to everybody so you can go just look at it as well. But I'm holding it. What do you what do you hope that readers feel when they pick up your book?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, the front cover, like you said, Monty, we wanted to make it cute. So it would sit on a coffee table or a bookshelf, and you'd actually want people to see it. But if you look a little closer at the cover, you'll see some walls on the top left, stones. You'll see raging waters on the bottom. Um, you'll see the the desert, the valley in the middle, and you'll see swords. So there was battling, and all of that is no matter the flood waters of life you face, or the walls that you keep hitting in your life, or the giants you come up against. Like what God has for us is for us. And like we see following the footsteps of the Israelites, like we're gonna see how they found, lived, and rested in God's best, no matter the obstacles, so that we can too when we face them in our own life.
SPEAKER_01That's good. So it's even intentional, just even in what you see on this. Yeah. Um, and Heidi, one thing I've appreciated about your writing, um, whether it was this book or it's uh your Christmas mystery, right? Or or the different devotionals, or even your emails, is you're very conversational in the way that you write. Like, for an example, for for you listening, um, I think there's only one way to read a Heidi Lee Anderson book.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_01You can't just like read it boring. Like you have to you have to like let yourself have fun with it. For sure. Right? And you try like with the way that you bold or italicize to give people like hints about how you should do it. So, like, for example, I'll just read this little like one-paragraph blurb. So it's like, do you take time to read the instructions before assembling, cooking, or troubleshooting? If so, what's it like? I never do, to be honest. The the side written in Chinese makes just as much sense as the flip side of English, so I usually fake it so I make it, and then and then she has this in bold. Could be why I burn most meals and give up assembling IKEA furniture halfway through.
unknownCould be.
SPEAKER_01Like it's written. I just think there's only one way to read it.
SPEAKER_03Monty, you did that good. It was you should have just read my audiobook. I felt like Heidi was reading it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, the next paragraph is like where I think I could really know your voice, because I think you would say it this way. So it's like you you just came off of this could be why I burn most meals and give up assembling IKEA. Could be. Then you go, but here's the deal. Before Joshua even entered the land, God gave him blah blah blah. You keep going in. Yes, yes. You just like hammer people with these promises of God, which is great. But it's easy to read, it's fun to read, but tell it has to be on purpose. Like, so tell us why do you use the writing style that you do?
SPEAKER_02Well, I kind of just write how I think, and I didn't even know that was a style, you know, until it came out, and and my publisher had said, and that is a really fun feedback I get when people say, I can hear your voice as I'm reading it. It just sounds like a conversation. But I actually was just listening to an apologist. His name is Greg Kukel, K-O-U-K-L, and he was talking about in the Jesus movement with the 80s that you could just bring like a gospel tract on the beach and evangelize to people and they would understand the terms you were talking about. And he talked about how nowadays, I mean, justified, sanctified, people don't talk like that. They don't use that language anymore. And so it's even an additional barrier to try to reach people because the language of Christianese can be so different than just regular English. What do we actually talk like? And so that actually is my goal in all everything. So even on social media, I just want to talk about the Bible in a way people actually understand because this Jesus is for everybody. The invitation to trust in him is for everyone. And so I I don't know who is gonna read it, but the Lord does. And so I pray he uses the words where it feels like a friend is just chatting with them and talking about these biblical truths with them and Jesus. Well, you've accomplished it. Yeah, you nailed it. Thanks, guys. Wow, this is a good affirmative conversation. I'm doing this like weekly. Let's go, please, let's do this.
SPEAKER_01No, but seriously, if if you've never had a If you just read it the way that she wrote it, you'll find encouragement even for your heart as you read it. You'll catch some of Heidi's joy that we're already talking about in the studio. So let's dive in a little bit deeper to the book and what's kind of the background. And actually the full title of the book is All In, All Yours, A 100 Day Devotional Journey to Find, Live, and Rest in God's Best. So what inspired All In, All Yours, and how did the book come to life?
SPEAKER_02This goes back to my 10-year appointment for remission to meet with my oncologist. I was told from the very beginning as a cancer patient, okay, once you get to that 10-year mark, that is like the big kahuna, the big milestone. You can be done with scans, you can be done with these appointments at the oncology center. You can just be done and live like a normal person. And so for years I waited with that one appointment in mind. And I just, it was a battle. The 10 years, I just remember one moment my daughter Mabel was taking her first steps. And here I was cheering her on in our living room. And then I would pivot to the kitchen and pick up my phone to try to refresh my my chart results because I'm waiting for my latest scans. And what does the doctor have to say about it? So, anyways, even though I was in remission, I went through treatment about six months and then I was in remission after that, even though the doctor had said, okay, that's what you are, that's the stage you're in. I didn't feel as untethered as I had hoped. I still had these appointments I had to go into, these scans every year. And so again, I waited for that 10-year appointment with great anticipation. But I will always remember when I walked into that appointment, that was three years ago now. And I walked in at the time, my previous oncologist had already retired. And with him, I guess my strategy retired along with him. I did not know that. I had a new oncologist, and I guess with him we had a new plan. And so I walked into that appointment. I sat down and he said, Hey, ID, congrats. We can say you will never have Hodgkin's lymphoma again. We can say from that cancer you're cured. But he said, But now we turn our eyes to secondary cancers, especially because you had radiation to the chest. The odds or the risks, I should say, for breast cancer are significantly high. So we're gonna up your scans now, not just once a year, but every six months. Sound like a deal. And you guys, my smile just dropped. And it was then in that appointment that I realized, okay, there's no end to their timeline. There would always be symptoms to watch out for, there would always be risks to minimize. Essentially, there would always be reasons to fear. But I went home and I can picture myself now just sitting in my living room on my couch, and I just broke down in total defeat. And I remember I cried out to the Lord, I said, Jesus, I know you give the free abundant life. But then why do I feel so enslaved by always staying on top of things? Why do I feel just the opposite of free? I just feel completely stuck and this is my life, and I can't escape it. And our God is so good, right? Where he meets us always in these moments. He is always close to the brokenhearted and always saves those who are Christian spirit, like the Psalms say. But I will remember when I was sitting on that living room couch, I was led to open up the book of Joshua, chapter one, as we are standing on the cusp of the promised land, as if to show me, okay, Heidi, how my people found and lived and rested in my best, no matter these giants that were looming in the land. That's how you can do. And so it was actually through this journey. I knew my publisher at the time wanted me to write a hundred-day devotional. I had no idea on one topic, right? But so as I go through this journey myself to try to find this freedom that felt so elusive, but turns out was never, it was always available that very moment. Um, I had a hundred blanks. So as I started going through the book myself, I just wrote out points that stood out to me. And once you know it, but by the time I finished that book, all a hundred blanks were completed. And so then I knew, okay, this isn't just a journey you had for me, God, but this is a journey others need to take too. And so then that's how the book, All in All Yours, was formed.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome.
SPEAKER_02Isn't it cool? It's one of those things where again, God takes the worst things that we think, how in the world can you even redeem this? And then he keeps flipping them for good. And then we're surprised every time, like, wow, that was awesome, Lord. How would you do that? It's like that is his trademark, time and time again. I'm so grateful for that.
SPEAKER_01But that's intense. Yeah. Like, what a massive buildup and drop. And you came to the point where you had to decide I'm all in.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And all years. Again, you decided that before, but you had to re-anchor yourself to the fact that the Lord is faithful still. It was never the 10-year mark, it was his faithfulness.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And honestly, like the promised land, it was called the Promised Land quite obviously because it was promised to them. And all of God's promises are ours, and there's nothing we have to do to earn them. We don't have to wait for circumstances to get better. They are all ours. It's just really up to us how much we believe them, how much we're gonna live in them, how much we're gonna walk forward in them. And so that was the challenge for me.
SPEAKER_01Well, and take me back to what you just said. So, and this is something that you said in the book. I'm trying to remember the exact quote. The quote was one last traveler's tip in the book. It might be obvious, but you must know that the promised land was given with a promise.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Like, why is that so important for people to remember?
SPEAKER_02Well, it it was one of those things where I realized, wow, what God has for us is for us. And there are no floodwaters or walls or giants that can stand in the way. Like God had given them the promised land. He wanted them to take it, but it actually took years upon years upon years of moving forward, walking day by day in this confidence. And it wasn't, again, the previous generation, it wasn't that they stopped believing in God. They just didn't have confidence in it anymore when they saw the giants ahead. And so I realized, okay, so that is the call, is that these promises are all yes and amen in Christ, like 2 Corinthians 120 says. So it's just up to me though, am I gonna believe it or am I gonna look at what is seen instead of what's unseen? And which one am I gonna give the trump card to, essentially? And so that was the conviction for me is what am I gonna give these threats of the land? Am I gonna give them the dominance and I'm gonna let them instigate fear in my soul, or am I gonna turn my eyes to the God who again, what God has for me is for me. And so there's nothing I can do to add days to my life, it says in Job. And so if I just keep moving forward and walking forward with him by my side and leading the way and standing behind me, then man, I I'm gonna seize whatever land he has for me, right?
SPEAKER_01It's a big faith moment.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So take us through that journey.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So you're in this book and you organized it a certain way from in that walking through Canaan or getting to Canaan. Yeah. But walk through the pathway that uh readers will go on when they read all in all yours.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well, I love it because we do literally follow behind their footsteps, and I'm such a visual person. So we follow the map and we'll figure out where we are along the way. Um, but so we'll see right away. We hit those floodwaters, we come across the walls of Jericho. And what I what I really charge readers to look at at the very end of the book is when we look at the back of the map, like all the travel that we have gone through, all the miles that we've put in on our Fitbit or our Apple Watch, like all of those challenges were merely a means to expand their God-given territory. So if they would have stopped on the other side of the floodwaters and thought, man, this is too high, there's no way to cross, and I'm turning back, then they would have missed taking the central region, but they didn't. They moved forward and they got to the central region. Well, now they had to go south. But if they would have stayed complacent in the central region, like actually some of the Israelites were tempted to do, they were starting to bum off their brothers and sisters that were setting down roots there and thought, maybe I'll just hang out here. But God had charged them. Joshua kind of gave him a kick in the pants. You gotta love the guy. And he's like, How much longer is it gonna take till you go seize what God has for you, not just dwell in what God has for them? And so if they would have stopped there though, and just became complacent in the central region, they would have missed the monumental high of standing in the hill country in the north. And so it's just all a challenge of man, we're gonna be in these valleys low and we're gonna climb these mountaintops just all throughout life. It's a cycle. But if we look back on the map, it's all been a means to expand our God-given territory. Like again, this is like the fruit back in John 15. Like he wants us to bear fruit that will last and build his kingdom here on earth and actually have influence for him. It says it brings much glory to the Father when we bear much fruit. So it's just the beauty and the hopefulness that no matter what we face, God's gonna use it and he's gonna expand our God-given territory through it. And it's gonna be a journey. I've some battles were back to back. There was two that was like 24 hours and back-to-back marathons, even the distance they covered, the miles. So it was like a double marathon. And man, as someone who is like can hardly do a mile a day, just walking outside in this Minnesota winter, you know, like that seems super difficult. But they just had to keep battling and battling and battling. And so the call is even if you're really tired, you wish you weren't up against this fight. You kind of wish someone else would pick up the battle for you. That this is for you, but God is with you. He's the ultimate commander of angel armies and he's preparing the way. So you got it. It's yours. So go all in.
SPEAKER_01That sounds a lot like what life is like for us, which is maybe part of the connection you're making in the book is that this journey in Canaan is is in a lot of ways like the life that we experience as a believer now, right?
SPEAKER_02Okay, Monty, it feels like you just set me up. That is so good. Because here's the thing once God had me open up to Joshua after that 10-year appointment, I found out Bible scholars called the promised land. It's actually symbolic to our free abundant life in Christ. So it's not just a historical site, it's not just a physical place, but that whole book is one big symbolism. So once I realize that, I'm like, wow, that means every city conquered means something. Every step into the territory, it had some imagery that God wanted us to glean. And so it's a powerful thing when you realize because that's the thing about the devotional. It's a hundred days we actually do go verse by verse, city by city, and we realize we extract what God had, not just for them, but for us too, as his people that are following him into the land of promise.
SPEAKER_01So a hundred days, you've hinted at that a couple of times, and it's of course in the subtitle of the book. And you mentioned that your publisher knew that they wanted you to write a hundred day devotional, but what's significant about a hundred days? Like, why does a publisher want it to be a hundred days and why why is it important to you that it's a hundred days?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know what? That was kind of a crazy thing because as someone who has never gone more than a week on like a tracking on anything. Like I'm talking, maybe if it's like a certain walking program, even read your Bible app. Like I cannot keep up with a streak. So I remember when she said 100 days, I literally asked her, does anyone even do anything that many days? Like, that seems crazy to me. And she had actually explained to me that it's it's a sweet spot right now. 30 days seems too short for a lot of people. 50 days feels doable, but it's still less than two months. But there is just some magic number about a hundred. Just the science behind it, people feel driven, like, okay, a hundred days, let's do it. But it yeah, it's a cool, cool little devotional where every page is just like two to three pages. So it's just these bite-sized, they are calling it a bite-sized Bible study, which is pretty fun. So yeah, a hundred days.
SPEAKER_01Well, you even have the takeaway for like the next step, right? You're like even making them think like they're walking through the land, right?
SPEAKER_03Bite-sized but meaty. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's the whole What do you hope happens in the heart of somebody after a hundred days? Because you're right. I think the it's hard to stick to something for a hundred days, and you had to stick through this for a hundred days, going through even just writing it. But what do you hope happens when somebody goes through this journey for a hundred days?
SPEAKER_02Well, I do picture somebody, my heart is always for someone that is going through a really tough time right now. Maybe they have been told bad news and it is something like cancer or something physically with their health. Maybe it's just with their marriage and it's very cold or they feel very distant from their spouse, or maybe it's that they're hoping to have children and they're struggling to have kids, whatever it may be. I know that we all are facing some sort of battle. And what I love, especially in Romans, is our God is called the God of hope, the God of all hope. And so even the psalmist repeats, I think it's Psalm 71, or maybe it's 77, but he says, As for me, I will always have hope. And hope, hope, hope just seems to be the mark of every believer. And the enemy can't steal our eternity. So that's what he tries to do today. He tries to steal our hope of today. But Jesus is our hope. And so he can't, it can't be stolen from us. And so my hope really is that whatever it may be, if you're facing certain flood waters that are rising above your head, or you don't see a bridge around this challenge or how to get around, or maybe you do keep hitting a wall in your health, your relationships, maybe your creativity or your faith or your faith, or maybe it is some giant standing in the land like me, and it feels like their shadows are scaring you and it's constant. They're just dwelling in your land, the landscape of your life, and you want to break free. I mean, honestly, praise the Lord. But he did an amazing work in my heart where he literally freed me. I had a really big health scare where um they had said one of my chemotherapy drugs that I had taken, um, it could result in a cardiac arrest or heart failure in my 40s. It will affect my heart later on. And so I had actually a moment where it did feel like a heart attack and I had to go down to the ER and get that taken care of. And I will always remember my husband Tyler, I just wish you all knew him because you would just know his face and his tone when he said it to me. But he's like, How do you know this is just a test, right? And honestly, before this journey through the promised land, I wouldn't have known that it was just a test. I would have been scared, like, is this the enemy? Is this the end of me? Is this gonna take me down? Is this gonna be the worst case scenario? And honestly, I was able to look at him and say, You're right. I know this is clearly, obviously, where the enemy knows what would scare her the most. What would, and this was right before my book launched, and it was just a crazy time as it was. Um, and it ended up, praise the Lord, being just um cartilage around your rib cage that can randomly inflame. And all you need is Tylenol. Praise the Lord, it was something very easy. Um, but I in that moment I remembered in the promised land that every attack from the Israelites, that every attack that was on the Israelites, it was merely a means to advance. It was an invitation to advance. So it was whenever the enemy turned on God's people, God was like, actually, the time is now. And what wherever, whatever occupation or whatever land they held, whatever ground they had held, it's time for you to take that back. And so that it was just every step forward. It expanded their God-given territory. And I just have reframed my trials now where the the question of, am I even gonna make it or is this gonna be the enemy? It's we don't even need to think of that. God doesn't even think of that. He just wants us to keep looking to him. And he's again, like we talked about in the very beginning. I get emotional when I think of it, but he is in the business of flipping every bad thing for good. Romans 8, 28, he will just do that time and time and time again. So that's my hope that whoever reads it, once you get to the end, I pray you feel that same freedom. You don't just know it in your head, but you can feel it and you can live in it. And his man, his yoke is light and his way of living is just so freeing. And so that's my hope is that they feel that, they know it, and they're walking in it.
SPEAKER_01Would you say the peace that you have found in resting in the fact that the Lord has it is deeper and more satisfying than the peace you could have hypothetically found had a doctor said you never have to worry about this again?
SPEAKER_02Honestly, every time I've realized this where the Lord shakes things up, it is because I'm putting so much stock in whatever it is that's shaking me up, you know, and the Lord has just called me to realize that is un that is unstable ground. And you do not want to put your hope, you don't want to put all your eggs in that basket because that is not gonna last, that is not gonna hold you up. And so I yeah, it's taken a few uh tough rounds, a few curveballs, and I wish I would have been a fast learner. Um, but yeah, he is he is our ultimate piece and he gives his peace, it's his presence that gives us peace. And I'm just so grateful that he walks with us throughout it all.
SPEAKER_01Oh, it's so good. Yeah. Um jump back into, and I think you've spoken to it a little bit already, but let's just see if there's any more there to talk about. But yeah, you say we don't claim what we want, which I think is if we're talking about our health or our marriage or our whatever, we don't claim what we want, we claim his promises, which are more than we could ever want. Yeah. Like why is that distinction so critical?
SPEAKER_02Well, I think there is that name it and claim it false new agey thing, right? Where if I just claim it and if I just believe enough, if I have the enough faith, if I pray hard enough, then I get it. And then when we don't get it, we're mad at God. But I think uh that's what I actually want to talk to my kids a lot about the challenges I face because I don't want them to be disillusioned that someday we will have trouble. Jesus straight up said it right in John 16, 33. We were we're gonna face it at some time, some way. But, but, but we don't have to claim what we want when we get to claim the promises of the resurrection Christ. I mean, he gives us it's like thou over a thousand of his promises that we get to claim as his children, his followers, his people. And that's a powerful thing. I mean, he is faithful to his word. So when we actually do believe in his promises, I know claim is such a tricky word. I actually they did want the subtitle of my book to be claim, um, so it's fine live. So claim, live, and rest in God's best. I just knew there's gonna be some Christians that have a big red flag about that claim. So that is not what we're talking about. But there are promises where it feels like we read them and we just think, mm-hmm, but maybe that's for other people, or like God'll do that for maybe like a big miracle, but not for me or whatever it may be. But really the call is do we believe what God says he says he will do? And when we do, we will never be disillusioned. And if we just keep hanging on, that's a thing. And that's where my first book, P.S. It's gonna be good, came about because so often people do short circuit and they stop in the middle and they're like, I didn't get what I want, so God can't be good. But we can never jump to conclusions before we get to the end of the story, and especially in Bible stories, if we sat in the middle and it's like Martha's brother did straight up die, so the worst case scenario actually did happen. But what did she claim? What which of Christ's promises did she claim? And God Jesus straight up asked her, like, Do you believe that your brother will rise again? And she's like, Yeah, I know he will at the final day. And so she knew what God said that this death is not final. And she claimed that and she was finding a little bit of hope in that. And and Jesus said, Well, if do you believe that if you believe in me, you will see the glory of God? And and that's what at the end of the day, if we believe we will see the glory of God. We may not know how, we may not know when, but we just know we will. And so we can claim these promises knowing that all of them are yes and amen in Christ.
SPEAKER_01It feels like we try to claim the fruit.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Instead of claiming his promises and claiming him as our God. Like I claim you God.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And the fruit comes after. Right. But if we try to chase the blessing that just comes afterwards, like we're missing the point. Totally.
SPEAKER_02Well, I think you you would have never asked for cancer. Never. And I still wouldn't. There are some people, very noble people. It's like, I'd do it again. I would not do it again. I would not pass it. So, yeah, so they definitely not what I would have chosen. And again, I prayed for healing from the beginning. So I wanted that fruit. But God, I like Martha, she knew Jesus as the healer, so that's why she sent for him. But it was time, this was the first time when Lazarus was risen back to life. It was the first time that he made the statement, I am the resurrection. So yeah, she wanted a healing, but he had planned a resurrection. What she wanted was good, but what he had was far better. And so that is the same in our lives where if we don't get what we want, we can trust, like in the psalm it says, He will withhold no good thing from those whose walk is blamest. So if we believe that, if we believe that promise, then if we didn't get it somehow, we can trust the heart of God and say, okay, then for whatever reason, you believe that's not good for me right now. Doesn't mean that's a no forever, right? It just means not right now. But it we can trust and move forward. Like I'm gonna see the glory of God. I'm gonna see his goodness that's gonna follow me today in this life, no matter if I get the fruit now, later, whatever kind of fruit. I might have planned for an apple and I'm getting a plum.
SPEAKER_03I don't know. Well, and he was he was so good to take her grief and her anger at him and still use it for good. Yeah, you can take that. Yeah, he loves our honesty, no doubt.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03All right. Well, let's dive in a little more to your book. I'm so excited to talk. I'm a book lover, so this is nerdy, but I think you'll like it. Um, so there is a topical index in the back of your book. Yes. And so you can look up topics like anxiety, freedom, suffering, um, to find them right on the page that you need. So, why was that important to you to include that?
SPEAKER_02Well, it's one of those things where a hundred days is a lot. Um, so if you read through and it's like, when did I read about that? And sometimes if you do face, like you keep hitting a wall in your job or you're trying to figure out the next step for your family, or do I move there? Do I move here? What should I do? And you're um Unsure, it's like, okay, where can I go for guidance? What can I? But you kind of vaguely remember where was that in the book? Like it's all written out in just different topical things like that. So you can shoot to a different jump to you know day 89 if you uh need some certain guidance or you something remembered and something triggered that and you want to remember it. Um, but I I I'm all about that because sometimes we just need that. I even had that in my uh grandma's old Bible. She had that topical index in the back, and that's all that was always really cool growing up to just I remember looking up passages as I was going through that. And so yeah, it's a fun thing to carry forward. Yeah, it's a great study tool.
SPEAKER_03So speaking of topics, is there was there a topic that you wrote or a day, a particular lesson in the book that was actually hard for you as you were just hard for you personally to to learn through this?
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. I mean the old testament, there's some hard parts, right? And I remember I got to the day of Aiken's sin and when he was destroyed because he stole, he stole God's offering and he hid it, and he was destroyed. And I remember wrestling for that for days and being like, How do I write about this? How do what do I think about this? But the challenge really, what I came at at the end of the day is that um this was actually the fruit from the the land of Jericho when that had been destroyed. That God just had, I want that devoted to destruction. So it's just all devoted, destroy it all. And he just kept some behind. And what I just found crazy as I kept going, again, if I were to stop in the middle of the story, like we're so tempted to do, and then jump to conclusions, I would have been like, man, that feels a little intense. And could we have maybe given him a talking to before we destroyed him and his family? That you know, but when I realized later on, okay, if Aiken would have just hung on, God literally, the very next battle, the very next city, he told the Israelites, have your take, have your fill, fill up. I just wanted you to give me your first, to trust me with your first. And it goes back to tithing. Like he has always been a God that says, I'm giving you all of this. If you just give me back the first 10, the first fruits, like if you trust me with that and show your faith to me and give that back, like the rest is yours and do as you please. And it was one of those things where wow, that was a challenging thing for me to remember, though, even in the morning, beyond tithing. It's like when I woke up in the morning, I'm a person where I love a to-do list and I love to tackle my list and I love to just check those things off. And then maybe later on, maybe if there's some time in the afternoon, I'll open my Bible and I'll sit down. And I honestly was really challenged after that. Am I giving God my first and my best? Not just money tithing, but also just time and energy and my thoughts. And so it was a good hard lesson that uh yeah, I had to navigate through. But yeah, the the book of Joshua definitely has some hard parts, no doubt about it.
SPEAKER_03Have you gotten to hear from other readers what what your latest book has meant to them so far?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it, you know, it's been really cool because again, I went on the journey for myself. God sent me on the journey for myself. And to just turn around and write it for other people, it's always been my my prayer. Lord, you just know whose hands they're gonna fall into. You just take it from there. And it's been really neat to hear about, especially people that are facing these obstacles. And I really, my favorite thing is I do love to write, but I actually write to speak. My ultimate favorite thing is speaking. And so, what I have found when I'm speaking, I touch on the three biggest obstacles that the Israelites face. So I do stop by the floodwaters. We do hit at the walls of Jericho, and then we do talk about the towering giants, and it has just been an amazing like the floodwaters have just opened of these women that will just come up and they'll say, I'm facing cancer, or I'm struggling in this marriage, or I'm not sure where I'm gonna send my kids to school. And I'm really hung up. And the Lord is really using this journey through that what he did for the Israelites to help guide them. And I just think that is so cool. And that's just evidence, again, right, of his living and active word that it was written thousands of years ago, but we pick it up today, and it's his very voice, his very word is very guiding, his very leading, guiding us. And it's just a powerful thing and a cool thing to be a part of.
SPEAKER_03That's awesome. So you you write about things from your own experience, which is wonderful. So, what does living all in mean to you right now?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, again, and this this goes back to Northwestern, right? Like I just apply at one place and I just go all in. It's kind of how I live my life. In fact, my sister just got me this book, Fast Like a Girl, and my mom has been reading it as well, right? Well, there's a 30-day program and it's like intermittent fasting, right? Like 13 hours one day, 15. Well, I read a part in the book that was like, if you do 72 hours, it's like a full body reset, it kills cancer cells. So I just jump straight to 72 hour fast. My sister goes, What? You start, you gotta start with the easy 30. I'm like, this is how I live my life. I either go all in or I'm not, you know? And so that's really where it came out is I just wanted it to be a rally cry. I pictured um like Friday night lights where Coach Taylor is like, clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose. And I just feel like God wants us to pick up this rally cry of like his victory, his promises. Like he's already overcome, he's raining today. And we get to go all in in this land that it feels like we're walking in a foreign land and there's crazy stuff happening left around. And maybe it does feel like a battle 24-7. But I just wanted to be this rally cry, like as God's people, let's just decide we're gonna go all in because this land, this world, this is our father's world. So it is all ours in Christ.
SPEAKER_03Amazing, amazing. So you've had a couple seasons finding out you had cancer, yeah, finding out you have to keep keep keep keeping up on it. Yes, yeah, for more than 10 years, um, feeling stuck in that that hopelessness, possibly, or helplessness. What advice do you have for somebody who's feeling stuck in their season?
SPEAKER_02Well, this is exactly where I find myself, found myself when I was writing this book. So I can deeply empathize because I did feel like I was stuck. And like I said, so I have a high risk of breast cancer these next five years, but then I have a high risk of heart failure in the next decade after that. And there is just something because I had chemotherapy and radiation, there is something for every decade of my life. And so I did get to a point where I thought, do I just have to wait for the other shoe to drop all the time? And it just felt like an exhausting battle to just always claim God's promises, to just pray around the clock, to have worship music. I mean, I get that, where it feels like you are waiting and it's heavy. But the one thing when I was going through this is that God had convicted me that Heidi, you do not need to give the giants in the land the blessing to remain in the landscape of your life. And I did. I had tolerated to the point where I, because I was exhausted, I'm just like, I'm gonna keep thinking about these what ifs, and I'm just not gonna fight that. And maybe this is really hard. But man, at the end of the day, I felt so hopeless and tired and dragged down. And Jesus' invitation just stands over and over and over again in Matthew, where he just says, Come to me, all who are weary, who are heavy burden, and I will give you rest. And man, isn't that just what we want at the end of the day? When we are waiting, when we are unsure, when we are anxious, we just want rest. And that is what Jesus gives, that is what he offers still this moment. So for the person that is waiting, instead of fixating on those giants like I did and letting them just run free and terrorize your mind of what if and what could be and why isn't this happening and how much longer? Keep turning to God who actually wants to give you rest, who can actually free you from those things, and that he wants to set your feet on on the rock, on on solid ground, he still has a good purpose ahead. We just gotta keep hanging on.
SPEAKER_01That's so good. Battling versus compromising, like getting them out of the land versus letting them just linger and hang out. And if you're listening and you're wondering, but really, how how can I actually get them out of the land? Will they actually go? Yeah, like because that's also part of our thought life. May I quote Heidi, quoting the Lord?
SPEAKER_02Let's do it. It sounds good.
SPEAKER_01And it kind of serves as make maybe a closing last teaser into the book, but also an encouragement to all of us today. So um in the book, Heidi, you point at Joshua 23, verses two and three. And you say, You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. Like Joshua's kind of saying, looking back, I'm an old man now, yeah, and you've seen everything the Lord has done for you during my lifetime. And then Heidi goes in Heidi voice. Here's the Cliff Notes version of quote, everything the Lord has done. And she lists his bullet points. The Lord freed the Israelites out of slavery, he crushed the Egyptian army, he parted the Red Sea, led with a cloud day and night, made water gush out of a rock, rain food literally from the sky, conquered every enemy of Canaan, and gave them rest in their promised land. And then Heidi, you take it to this spot. Running parallel, we as God's people should reflect on everything that Jesus has done and is doing. And this is how I would answer and speak to our ability to have confidence in that the Lord can help us not just live with those giants but kick them out of the land. Yeah. Is this what Jesus has done? Freed us from the bondage of sin and death, crushed the spiritual authorities by his victory on the cross, shows us how to walk in new life when we come out of the waters of baptism, leads us night and day by the Spirit, is the rock that offers living water, is the bread of life, the true bread from heaven. He's already overcome, and he gives us Sabbath rest and leads us to our heavenly home with no more tears and no more suffering. Like I think that's what it looks like to claim his promises and to trust him to kick out those giants. And uh Heidi, thank you for the encouragement that you've already brought us in just reading through this book and the encouragement you're gonna bring to the people listening, the person that is listening to this on the way to work or on the way home or whatever right now. Um, thank you for your heart in this, and we'll continue to pray for his faithfulness as he takes the words that he's worked out through you into the world. But man, uh keep going, Heidi. This is it is so much fun to see what the Lord's doing through you.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you guys are the best. Thanks for having me. This was just truly a gift. I'm just now walking on cloud nine.
SPEAKER_04Holding on to your promises, holding on to your favourites.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for listening. To hear more, subscribe and leave a reign wherever you listen. And if you know an alum, faculty member, staff, or student of Northwestern doing amazing things out in the world, let us know at alumni at unwsp.edu. The unwavering podcast, highlighting the people, the purpose, and the pulse of Northwestern.
SPEAKER_04Your love is on the