Chances are, you have never heard about ‘EllieB,’ or her group of friends who make up the SayIt ministry and community. This article will introduce you to us. If you are an avid reader of Katy Christian Magazine, I will not be surprised if we soon become friends. How can I possibly know this? Because the Holy Spirit had me on pause for fifteen years before I published again. When Joseph Menslage, President and Publisher, asked me to write for his magazine over a year ago, I didn’t hear the word, “Go.” But, recently the most resounding, “GO, ELLIEB, GO!” was spoken into my heart when this wonderful magazine was again brought to my attention.  

I knew it was time to share my overcoming life story as we are living in dangerous yet transforming times. We are a called generation born to shine His light during the era of censorship and rejection of Christian values. Those of us who spend a great deal of time in the prayer closet in His Word know that the earth is mightily groaning. Those who pay attention to cultural and political issues understand that America is experiencing the flipping of tables in the temple of abortion, deception, and idolatry. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ during these times of upheaval and unrest. I believe it is our mandate to be His lights who help bring in the remaining harvest.

My goal is to write a weekly article. You will learn about my day job as a director in a memory care facility. I will describe the joy our elders bring as well as the emotional toll from watching a debilitating illness ravage the human brain. Also, I will share with you the past two-decades rescuing trafficked kids out of hotels across America. You will join me on adventures with five rambunctious grandkids, and you will even hear my years of Hollywood infiltration to investigate and destroy child trafficking networks.

My specialized plan to live a quality life despite having Multiple Sclerosis and a rare fast-progressing bone disease will be discussed, too. We will talk about my daily scripture reading, favorite preachers, worship, and what I call living in the eighth day. You will come to know the efforts of my friends and I from the SayIt Community to restore America and push to revival with determination.

Here is the bottom line of who EllieB is: Where God sends me, I go. Whatever Jesus asks me to do, I fearlessly jump to accomplish in faith. I am all-in as a servant of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. More accurately, I agree with how Paul described himself, “…a bondservant (slave) of Jesus Christ…” (Romans 1:1). My articles for Katy Christian Magazine will focus on God’s grace in my life and how He has repeatedly rescued me. My gratitude for freedom from a prison of addiction, the torture of PTSD, and the insanity of unrelenting shame is all-consuming. Today, I am free from the intense haunting of what I have witnessed in my personal and professional life. 

Our journey together will dive deep into the decades I have spent in the field of addiction, eating disorders, gang prevention, and crisis intervention. For over thirty years, as a clinician and in radio broadcast, I have worked to break denial and to educate parents, church leaders, law enforcement, and the justice system. I was that dreaded thorn-in-the-side who bluntly warned about the inevitable future I saw coming for America’s youth. Sadly, I was correct about the hijacking of our nation’s most precious commodity.

HOPE: my life story proves how God will fulfill every promise He makes in His Word. I am living proof of His willingness to forgive. It is His joy and heart to bless and gift us in miraculous ways. My countenance could be one of misery and resentment: abuse, betrayal, and harm are all very real occurrences in my life. If I had stayed stuck and believed the misdiagnosis and labels of schizophrenia and bi-polar, I could legitimately be locked up in a psych ward for a lifetime. It is nothing short of a miracle that I survived the streets of Compton in the mid-1980s.

But God! Yes, but God had a plan for my life since before the earth was formed. In this plan, He decided that I would be one of those individuals who kept getting up on my feet no matter how often I was knocked down. He knew I would go on a 40-year journey of despair and fear before finding full faith and His true peace. Jesus decided that I would be of the personality to find His joy even when I was held in human trafficking, or when I faced the impossible task of escaping. Jesus knew that one day, I would not only survive but thrive despite the horror of my own child missing. He was perfectly prepared to heal me from the battle I had with depression, suicidal ideation, and anxiety. Today, I am fully healed.

Jesus has held my hand through every evil attempt from That Wily Devil to snuff out the light the Holy Spirit has instilled in me. Jesus made me relentless in my pursuit of His truth. Nearly 50 years ago as I lay paralyzed as a child, Jesus told me, “Grab ahold of my robe. Keep your eyes locked on me and do not let go.” In 1972, He showed me visually the future we are living in America in 2021.

Today, as a grandmother of five, I look back on my life and without any doubt, I know this: the only time I have truly suffered were the moments I let go of Him. The only time I have experienced the depths of Hell and felt powerless was when my own self-will ran riot. It is when I am not repentant or living in obedience that I arrive to living in bondage.

Today, I understand faith.

Today, I know His love is unconditional and undeniable.

Today, I recognize His messages and His mind-blowing mercy.

There is no hesitation for me to proclaim, “I will happily lay my life down for Jesus.” It isn’t complicated. In fact, it is quite simple: there is no life for me without Him. None. I strive to be like Jesus Christ. There is no shame in my imperfections because His grace always tells me, “Get up and try again.”

I won’t be writing as a great teacher or preacher. Rather, I will be sharing my thankfulness for a Heavenly Father who loves enough to save a wretch like me. It is my absolute adoration of Jesus Christ, along with the undeniable freedom I have today, that I will attempt to convey in my writings for you. I am willing to share my good, bad, and ugly for you.

Together with repentant hearts and eyes locked on Him, we will flip the tables of evil in America. We will reach our lost brethren. We will find and minister to those who still have a chance to change their eternal future.

I look forward to a journey of hope and His love with you.

Blessings, EllieB

Study Scripture:

Romans 6:4-8; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:22-24