FaithFueledMama6

  After a long weekend at the Motion Student Conference, Madison, Makayla, Mackenzie and I met Mandie in Atlanta for her to pick up Mackenzie. On our way there, about 40 minutes away from home, I passed a sign on I-85 that said , "Meriwether County". I have passed it many, MANY times in the last 20+ years. Each and every time I see it, my heart aches, but I push that feeling away. This time, however, I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I looked to my right to see if Madison noticed but she had her headphones on and was scrolling on her phone. I looked in the rear-view mirror to see if Makayla or Mackenzie noticed and they were doing the same. (Teenagers! 😮‍💨😂) In that moment, my heart ached even more and immediately following, I heard the Lord say, "Something beautiful always comes out of the pain if you just trust me." You see, when I was 16, I was living in Northeast Georgia. I was homeschooled and worked full time, where I met Scott. Scott (18) was my first boyf...

While my kids began their day utilizing their Atlanta CityPass, I went to Dollar Tree to pass the time until my best friend of 27 years arrived. The item I needed wasn't available at that specific location, so I decided to go a few miles away to another location. I recognized some landmarks on my way there and many memories rushed in. When the bad memories flooded my good ones, it began to physically hurt my heart. Around the time I experienced these unexpected emotions, I drove up on a roundabout that didn't use to be there. The chiropractor I used to see was now a different business altogether and all the places I recognized didn't seem so recognizable anymore. The new bridges, on and off ramps, and new exit numbers were foreign to me. In that moment, God showed me that my life has changed even more than the roads in Atlanta. He showed me that when I repented of my sins, my life did a roundabout and I shouldn't recognize anything from my past because everything has be...

  From the manger to the cross... From the cross to the grave...  From the grave to the sky... He is risen indeed! May God's fire burn in your hearts forever. May His wings cover and protect you, and your families. May His son, the greatest man in history, who had no servants,  yet was called master, had no degree, yet was called teacher, had no medicines, yet was called healer, He had no army, but kings feared him, He won no military battles, yet conquered the world, He committed no crimes, yet they beat and hung him on a tree,  He was buried in a tomb, rose in three days and lives today through people like you. Thank you for seeing our worth and not defining us by our past and for having the faith that we can all be changed for the Glory of God. Love in Christ, Bill & Michelle Ellis Happy Easter!  Jachelle, Skye, Madison, Bubba, Corey & Makayla

Happy New Year!! I realize that I am a few days late, but I am recovering from a years worth of overworking myself. My children got out of school on 12/16 for Christmas "break" to begin but it didn't begin, for us, until Christmas morning. We had plans for every weekend from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Our calendar was packed full. The best part was that it was full with doing the Lord's work, not shopping and overextending an already overextended bank account. It was a blessing to see how much work gets put into ministry outreach. I slept WONDERFUL, every single night! I would have to say that the end of 2021, and all of 2022 has been the most challenging part of my adult life. However, it has also been one of the best. Even though I've been a believer since I was 8, I didn't truly know Him until 2019. It took me a long time to understand that listening to Him required silence on my part. Over the years, I've learned that I had to be in a relationship with...

On November 24, 2004, the night before Thanksgiving, I was given some news that I have seen a lot of people be distraught over. I’ve seen some go into depression over it. I’ve seen others be angry over it. I’ve seen some give up entirely. It has been 18 years since I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The National MS Society describes MS like this…   “MS is a disease that impacts the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, which make up the central nervous system and controls everything we do. The exact cause of MS is unknown, but we do know that something triggers the immune system to attack the central nervous system. The resulting damage to myelin, the protective layer insulating the wire-like nerve fibers (axons), disrupts signals to and from the brain. This interruption of communication signals cause unpredictable symptoms such as numbness, tingling, mood changes, memory problems, pain, fatigue, blindness and/or paralysis. Everyone’s experience with MS is different and th...

My six children and I have been living in a transitional home for homeless women since June 2020. We have been blessed to have found a property that can be turned into a home for us but it can't be renovated until it's paid off. Since Christmas 2021, the balance has gone from $65,000 to $45,000. We've been at a stand still ever since. One Voice Shelter Coalition, an Opelika nonprofit organization, is looking for assistance in finishing this project for our family. We are looking for ways to accept donations, other than crowdfunding places, but right now our only option is Facebook or snail mail. Here is where you can find the link. The Ellis family is grateful for anything that is donated and extremely grateful for your prayers! PS - The address to donate, via USPS, is found at the link below. God bless! Michelle Ellis OVSC donate button https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0nZNaT5ihPu8Gt9QroRipqvMPAwhzkq9DBQEUPipbjCgkUb7RjC36Sqz9oW8uNxW2l&id=100005005063571...

Since Christmas, I have been taking reclaimed wood, cleaning it and giving it a new purpose. I've never thought of myself as being crafty or creative. I've always seen people turn nothing into something and I've been amazed by it. Then, my mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year. I genuinely couldn't think of anything, other than a tattoo. If you have people that are helping you survive life, my feeling is that you shouldn't be putting your money into anything like that. HOWEVER, if it's a gift, that's different! 😂 I still have a 5 hour gift certificate that I need to cash in though so there's really no need for that. I had to think about it. I'm a budget friendly person, so nothing came to mind. I knew what my mom's income was and I happen to have six of her ten grandchildren, so, I knew how far that had to stretch. Then, she asked me the magic question. "If money were no object, what would..." I blurted out, "A Dremel...

  Last week, we took our first road trip in our "new to us" van that we purchased about a year ago. We knew the DVD player didn't work so we were going to bring ours from home but we needed two things to make it work. Walmart in LaGrange showed that they had it in stock, but they didn't have it. I forgot the quickest way to get to 85 using the bypass so I asked Jachelle to put Newnan in the GPS, thinking that it would take me to 85 and I would know where to go from there. That was not the case. I should have recognized after the third turn that we were going back roads but I didn't until it was too late. It took us 15 to 20 minutes longer to go the back roads.  Passing the Atlanta airport, I thought about how I haven't driven to Helen from Atlanta before, so, I wasn't sure of the route I needed to take. I wanted to go 985 because it was the way I knew. Instead, I listened to my GPS and I got on 400. I regretted it immediately. About 3 exits into being on 4...

The "Last Bus Ride". That's what got me, Jachelle! I have never heard of such a thing! Thinking about you driving YOURSELF to the high school, in the the car that you helped your daddy build, just to take the last bus ride with the rest of the seniors has got me in my feelings! I remember the first time you got on a bus. You were so excited and I was NOT looking forward to letting you go into the world. When you brought me your book bag on the first day of school, I seen the excitement in your eyes. You've always been an excellent student and an even better daughter! I wanted to do something really special for your graduation. I knew Daddy was giving you the title for the Camaro but I wanted to do something for you on my own, without any help. SOOO, I went big! I ran into so many obstacles. Crooked wood, overheated tools, rain with nowhere dry to work on my "surprise" that ended up NOT being a surprise and having to take my wood working stuff outside every s...

  Aaaacchhoooo #JachelleNicole better LOVE the graduation sign I'm making her! I was going to have one made for her but I got a table saw and a Dremel for Christmas, so I figured, why not?! Lol #OverTheTopMama #CantHelpIt #AskHerHowBigHerBdayCakesWereGrowingUp #MyFirstBorn #OneSixthOfMyHeart #Graduating #SouthernUnion #HereSheComes #ProudMama

  My morning routine consists of getting up at 3am to spend the next 2-2.5 hours alone with God. I read several devotions, I write, I pray and before my social media break, I posted the verse of the day from 3 apps. Actually, for a couple weeks, I still posted those. I opened YouVersion on 12/31 to see my 2021 snapshot. I was shocked because I figured it'd be less. I never paid attention to my "streaks". I don't open the app for that. When we get to heaven, is God going to say, "There's 30 days that you didn't get your streaks, read the verse of the day, so therefore, I don't know you."? Notice, on my snapshot, there aren't many plans, highlights, bookmarks, or badges. Does that mean I'm not spending time with God? No. In fact, I intentionally set my alarm for 3am to make SURE that I do! He's important to me. I understand why they do streaks. I'm not knocking it. I'm just saying that people have become addicted to getting them...

  I'm thankful for parents that didn't give me everything I asked for. I'm thankful for growing up poor. I'm thankful for having to work for what I have. I'm thankful for homelessness. I'm thankful for the bumps & bruises I've received through life. I'm thankful for the horrible mistakes I've made. I'm thankful for the people who have hurt me. I'm thankful for the addictions I've had. I'm thankful for the loss I've suffered. I'm thankful for MS. I'm thankful for the excessive heat, the excessive cold, the days when it feels like we are in a drought and the days when it feels like the earth just might flood once more. I'm thankful for the hurt, the pain, that I've caused and what's been done to me. I'm thankful for brokenness. I'm thankful for experience in all that is wrong so that I can be thankful in all that is right! To be truly thankful, we must know what we COULD have instead... We couldn'...

  Four of my six kids were tested for Covid yesterday. Only sinus infection type symptoms but I still wanted to be sure. After receiving negative results, I stopped by Walmart for a few things that we needed. When we left, my daughter turned this song on. Even though I've heard the song many times before, each time feels like the first. It's no secret that 2020 was a stressful year and 2021 has proven to be the same. I'm sure that I'm not alone in feeling that. However, I'd have to say that EVERY year of my life has been stressful for me. Some of it, I brought on myself, some of it, I'm overcoming the stuff I've brought on and then some of it is just life. I always get emotional with this song because I've heard the testimony of Jason David and it always amazes me when someone not only survives something that should have killed them but praises God through the struggle of it. At this point, I'm starting to feel the emotions that I typically have du...