: CHRIST : COMMUNITY Any other Lion in my house would send me into a panic. This One, however, is welcome in my home and in my heart. I love Him. He’s the One I wrote these songs for... the one I live for. Whether He reveals Himself as Lion or Lamb, He has my devotion. It is unswerving because He is unswerving. There’s a Lion in my house. By Audrey Assad In diverse seasons of my life, Christ has appeared to me alternately as Infant, Rabbi, Lamb, Lion, Shepherd, Prophet, Priest and King. It seems He changes the shape in which He reveals Himself to me according to whatever it is He desires to accomplish in my heart for that time; and for whatever reason, Christ walked me through the creation of this record like a lion. The last two years of my life have been punctuated here and there, pizzicato-like, with visions of Him, walking beside me in golden fields of knee-high wheat, His broad sides glistening in the setting sun. Long tree-shadows would fall like stripes across the meadows as we walked in silence, speaking not a word to one another. Some nights in my mind’s eye, I fell asleep curled up next to Him, my fingers tangled in His mane. I matched my breathing to His. Once I remember kneeling in front of Him as He sat back on His haunches and roared in my face...a long, frightening, earth-shaking roar. It blew my hair back like a hurricane wind, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open; yet my fear was not overwhelming. I knew, and I know still, that I could trust Him. For, wonder of wonders, that Lion loves me. We humans like to cage desert cats and keep them for our menageries, while we marvel at them safely from behind lion-proof glass. With Christ, there is no such armor; He is relentless in His pursuit of my heart. No glass of any thickness could keep Him from me or me from Him. I prefer to rest my head upon the heart of the fiercest Lion there ever was even if I know He is dangerous to my comfort rather than view Him through a window like a specimen or a novelty. There’s a Lion in My House It’s not often that an album from a relatively unknown artist makes you hit replay over and over… and then cause you to marvel at the wisdom inside the music. Now, we’re not just referring to musical prowess here, although there is much to be found on the debut album from EMI new artist, Audrey Assad, The House You’re Building. This music is filled with insight, curiosity and a wise perspective on what it’s like to live in relationship with the Heavenly Father. Here, Audrey shares with CCM what that relationship looked like throughout the creative process and just who is inside her house right now. 10 CCM