Krissy Nordhoff
9 min read ⭑
“I have found that God most enters my work when my work is not the only time I seek him.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to a meal than palate and preference. How does your go-to order at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the human being behind the web bio?
I know my favorite hometown restaurant order reveals a lot about me. For me, that order would depend on the time of day but would come from Herban Market in Franklin, Tennessee.
Ironically, as I type this, my husband is picking me up a summer harvest pizza, because we will have time to sit and enjoy it together. But many days, I stop in to grab a soup between my co-writes (which I often do twice a day.) I love that the menu depends on what’s in season and that everything there is sourced from local farmers.
No surprise coming from a farm girl! I grew up on a large farm and spent many hours in our garden and fields in southwest Michigan. Since I can remember, Mom and Dad grew what we ate. I saw how much work it was, I experienced how amazing it tasted, and it left me with a deep appreciation for homegrown foods.
I’ve also come to understand how much eating healthy foods can benefit our health after going through Lyme disease twice. I’m so thankful that I’ve learned how to eat to help heal.
That love of organic foods followed me to Tennessee. I moved here 25 years ago to pursue a career in Christian music. I met my husband Eric after moving here, and we have 3 amazing kids: Alex, Kaden and Anthem.
Brandon Jean; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests, but we tend to keep them pretty well-hidden. What’s something you love doing we might not expect?
I love Scotland. I’ve been there 4 times over the years, but I long for it like home. Yes, I’m moved by the view of the sea against the most beautiful green fields, the ancient feel of the castles, the charm of the highland cows, but it’s more than that. It’s the feeling of generations that comes to life in me.
Recently, before I left for a tour of Scotland led by a gentleman named Ray Hughes, I researched my family history and found several lines that ran through Scotland. On the first day of that tour, we were in Edinburgh on the street when Ray shared the story about James Guthrie. Guthrie led the covenanters during a time of great religious oppression, standing for freedom. He was martyred for it, right where we were standing.
I reached down in my pocket to look at the names of my family lines. Sure enough, there was a gentleman listed as “James Guthrie,” but he was a couple of generations younger. After some more research, I found that the James Guthrie on my list was the grandson of this great martyr.
James Guthrie was buried in a mass grave of 100 covenanters. There is a large monument there now to honor them. As we stood staring at the words written on this monument, I was amazed. Several of the words in bold are in my song “Your Great Name.” I realized at that moment that my love for Scotland and the song of my ancestors runs in my blood.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Even Superman had a weakness. We’ve just gone pro at making it look like we don’t. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So, if you’ll put up with a bit of prying, what’s your kryptonite?
There is a fear of being left out that follows me around. I believe it started at an early age. I remember bringing a melody to my piano teacher, and her telling me, “You can’t just play something and call that a song.” It left a mark on me.
I remember missing out on many things as a teenager that my friends got to do because I didn’t have the money to go. It left a mark on me.
I auditioned but didn’t make the vocal program at Anderson University (I was later accepted). It left a mark on me.
I didn’t make the choir at Anderson either. It left a mark on me.
I have been told since age 30 that I’m too old for the music industry. It left a mark on me.
I have not had many opportunities that my male counterparts have in the writing room, and have even had writes canceled because I’m female. It left a mark on me.
But I’m convinced all of these experiences have allowed me to feel these things from the inside so that I can do what God called me to do, which is “Be what you need.” How could I meet those needs without first feeling them? And all those marks? Those are now the fuel that drives me to change things for those coming behind.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
When I moved to Nashville, I prayed for 15 years for a mentor. I never got an answer to that prayer. When I asked God about it, that’s when he told me, “Be what you need.”
I realized I needed to shift my perspective from what I could get to what I could give. And I did. I continued to write songs, but also began to mentor from my living room.
That mentoring grew into Brave Worship — a ministry to female worship leaders and songwriters because that’s what I needed. Out of Brave worship, we began seeing a need for resources for those new writers. I then created the Songwriter Personality Test. It’s a way for writers to get to know their strengths and who they would best work with in a co-writing situation.
Next, I saw a need for a foundation for songwriters that was a deep dive into etiquette, heart, skill and purpose. I worked with a pilot group, writing a week at a time until I knew it was finished. That is now a 9-week online and small-group course called the Worship Songwriter Mentorship.
Through the course, I saw a need for some more detailed explanations in certain areas that were coming into question. I then wrote the book “Writing Worship.” We’re adding more and more courses to our resources. Our goal is to help to establish healthy songwriting communities in 10,000 churches. (Visit writingworship.co for more information.)
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
I have found that God most enters my work when my work is not the only time I seek him. I began two-way journaling a couple of years ago — writing down my thoughts, questions, prayers and meditations on scriptures, and then … giving God room to respond to me.
There was one morning in particular that I will never forget. I asked God if he had bread for me. I began seeing a picture of Jesus pulling a fresh-baked loaf of bread out of the oven with the word “Intimacy” written on it. I heard him say I had been spiritually gluten-free, picking and choosing which bread I will eat that he put in front of me when all of it was meant to bring me closer to him. He reminded me of the Israelites and how they gathered fresh manna for the day every morning.
I felt him urging me that I, too, could have fresh bread daily. From that day on for the next couple of months, I awoke to the smell of fresh bread. I knew it was him. I began a routine that I still do four years later … I read my Bible, journal/pray, and sing the Psalms. When I have this time with the Lord, he feels so near through my days, including my work. When I walk into a writing room and begin to pray or worship, it is a continuation of what happened in the morning. My work is infused with worship!
QUESTION #6: inspire
Some people divide things sacred and things secular. But you know, God can surprise us in unlikely places. How do you find spiritual renewal in so-called “nonspiritual” activities?
I feel God’s heartbeat when I play my piano. I sense his nearness when I strum my dulcimer. But I also feel filled up again when there’s dirt in my hands. And maybe that’s still the farm girl in me.
Sowing seeds and watching them grow. Feathering the softness of a peony in my hands and catching the scent in my nose. Staring at the colors of a lily and thinking about how God picked those out to go together.
Wondering at the silvery blue trees in my backyard. Being filled up by the color blue from my hydrangeas. Sniffing the lilacs and remembering that I read somewhere heaven smells like lilac and orange, and in those moments, it feels so close. Even tending to what looks dead, knowing it will live again.
He captures me in the garden. I see his work, I see my life.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Subscribers to our email devotionals get free ebooks featuring our favorite things — outside resources that have impacted our faith. But you know of some cool stuff too! What are three of your favorite resources?
I love “Necessary Endings” by Henry Cloud. This book has taught me so much about relationships that I wish I would have known sooner! Specifically how to communicate and draw boundaries with different types of people.
Ann Voskamp’s “One Thousand Gifts” is a literary delight. It has inspired creativity in me.
Here Be Lions’ “I Speak Jesus” is an amazing song that everyone needs to hear. Dustin is my pastor, and this song has deeply impacted our church.
We all have things we cling to in order to survive (or thrive) in particular seasons. What’s one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current one?
“The Daily Life Journal” by Dale and Joel Evrist has been an amazing tool to me through this season, and many that came before. It really helps me to keep on track with reading through the Bible, which is very important to me. My goal is to read a different version of the Bible every 1-2 years. Dale was the pastor that married my husband Eric and me.
I would also say that “The Power of a Praying Wife” by Stormie Omartian is a book I’ve had on repeat. It truly does make a difference in your marriage when you are praying for your spouse daily.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
Many years ago, I began dreaming of a barn. In the barn, I saw writing rooms, a venue and a coffee shop. A place for writers to gather for the community. No particular music label or publisher, everyone was allowed at the table.
A dear friend and cowriter, Dustin Smith, moved to Nashville several years ago, with dreams of barns. Eventually, he became head pastor of Hope UC Church in Thompson’s Station (a Darlene Zschech church plant). We realized our visions of barns may be the same one. After only being established 9 months and only having one month to raise a million dollars, our church just purchased a historic property — with 2 barns, a coffee shop, a home and more.
My heart is to facilitate everyday community for writers, to pastor them there, to host events and teach from that location. I pray that what we do at Hope UC and Writing Worship will inspire other communities to cultivate songwriting cultures too, impacting their communities for the kingdom and far beyond.
I also have dreams of recording some more of my own songs, and seeing my daughter record songs, which we are working on right now! I would love to write a book about bread and all that God has taught me through that daily picture. I want to use all I have to bring God glory as long as I’m here.
Krissy’s heart as a worship songwriter and mentor is a powerful reminder that we all have a purpose in this life — to bring God glory through worship. It doesn’t matter if we have musical talents or not. We have the honor of worshipping God, even when others tell us we aren’t good enough. All that’s left is to ask: How can I worship God today?
Krissy Nordhoff is a professional songwriter, co-founder of Brave Worship, creator of the Worship Songwriter Mentorship and author of Writing Worship: How to Craft Heartfelt Songs for the Church. She’s been nominated for three Dove Awards and won Worship Song of the Year for Your Great Name (2012). Her songs have been recorded by Jenn Johnson, Tauren Wells, Natalie Grant, Mandisa, Darlene Zschech, Anthony Evans, David and Nicole Binion, Life Church, Travis Cottrell and more. Krissy trains the next generation of worship songwriters and lives in Thompson’s Station, TN, with her husband, Eric, and 3 children, Alex, Kaden and Anthem.
