I just remember feeling so afraid and I had the privilege of watching my mom and dad that night just run into all of the darkness , all of the unknown that was in front of them , with their hands raised in the air , praising God , and I am so grateful for that because I ended up in the center of the room .
Speaker 1I started out off of the edges and I ended up in the center of the room that night . They didn't say , get in here , you need to do this , they just did it . And this is so often how we learn faith right . Like they're not , like this is how you walk through a cancer diagnosis . This is how you pray .
Speaker 1They just pray and they're moving through it in the best way that they know how , not perfectly for sure , but just saying we are gonna cry out to God . And we encountered that night the peace of God and the presence of God , and peace that made no sense to have in light of our circumstances and it marked me . It will mark me for the rest of my life .
Speaker 4You're listening to the I am Healing Strong podcast , a part of the Healing Strong organization , the number one network of holistic cancer support groups in the world . Each week we bring you stories of hope , real stories that will encourage you as you navigate your way on your own journey to health . Now here's your host stage four cancer thriver , jim Mann .
Speaker 3Well , I'm sitting in one of my favorite cities in the planet . Of course , I've only been to like seven . Yeah , but still , this is one of my favorites Nashville , tennessee , with one of my favorite people , ellie Holcomb .
Speaker 1Hi Jim , I'm so glad you're here .
Speaker 3She's always depressed , hahaha , or as her dad says every day is Christmas right .
Speaker 1I do feel solidly like a female version of Buddy the Elf , yeah .
Speaker 3You like that movie , don't you ?
Speaker 1I love it . It's one of my favorites .
Speaker 3It's a classic .
Speaker 1It is like 20 years old . Did you know that ? No , we should fact check this later , jim , but I'm pretty sure it's that old . What a good year .
Speaker 2Wow , I was just a kid .
Speaker 1I know , yeah , literally Hahaha .
Speaker 3Well , the inside .
Speaker 1On the inside , I kid it hard forever .
Speaker 3Yes , the reason why I want to talk to you , ellie , because you're a part of my cancer story . Oh , I kind of pulled you into it . It's your fault for writing music .
Speaker 1I know I'm sorry .
Speaker 3But yeah .
Speaker 1I'm not sorry , actually at all . Well yeah , thank you Hahaha .
Speaker 3Now you're well . First of all , let's back up how we crossed paths to begin with . You know it has been many years ago . Now they're saying , hey , there's a new artist coming through , ellie Holcomb and we're like not another new artist .
Speaker 1Another one .
Speaker 3Because sometimes they're fabulous and sometimes they're like OK , good luck . You know kind of thing , yeah , and we want to be polite . And he said well , her dad is bringing her . I said what ? Is she 14 ? What ? What's going on with her dad ? Nobody brings no , dad comes with the artist Right . And he said well , dad's name is Brown Bannister . And we all went oh , all this , I know like he's a legend . No one's ever seen him in person , hahaha .
Speaker 1He's been holed up in studios for years .
Speaker 3He doesn't do radio tours , obviously .
Speaker 1No , never . But he loved that . Yeah , he invited to .
Speaker 3I remember back when you probably weren't even existing , when Word Records came out with the little membership thing and they sent out a record every month , I think it was oh .
Speaker 1I was solidly alive for this . I loved record clubs . Yes , are you kidding me ? I don't know . You're giving them a mail .
Speaker 3And I'm like , yeah , I was looking on the back and it was like produced by Brown Bannister , which I thought , of course , was a company .
Speaker 1Right yeah , my friends called him Beige Handrail . Yeah yeah , brown Bannister .
Speaker 3Yes , it's a classy name actually . Yeah , and I knew his name once he came out with an album Brown Bannister . I said , oh my gosh , that's a person . Yeah , and a nice guy .
Speaker 1Yeah , very nice guy .
Speaker 3And a very good singer .
Speaker 1Very good singer . Very hesitant singer .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah , but yeah .
Speaker 1How come did he do it a couple of times ? He did well .
Speaker 3Yeah , but he's good at producing , so you know .
Speaker 1He is .
Speaker 3He did little people like what Amy Grant and yeah small , yeah Small fries like that .
Speaker 1Hahaha , amy Grant , I mean everybody back in the day it would be like Point of Gray Smitty . Stephen Curtis Chapman just a guy you've probably never heard of .
Speaker 3Bart Miller , mercy Me you know , casual Doesn't ring a bell , yeah , but Amy , yeah , amy , yes , of course you grew up knowing all these people . Of course they were probably . Was it the house ? Yeah , they probably babysat you .
Speaker 1Yeah , I was definitely at the house when they recorded our first Christmas record in Caribou that album cover , remember with the cabin . Yeah , the lights on behind , baby Ellie is inside that cabin .
Speaker 3I love that album .
Speaker 1I love it too . Tinder Tennessee Christmas .
Speaker 3I moved to Tennessee once Now I got to tell this story . I moved to Tinder , tennessee , on a Christmas tree farm . I lived on a Christmas tree farm . I know Elf would have loved it and the family that was there . The girl , the teenager , she goes hey , I'm singing Tennessee Christmas . Do you know how to play on a guitar ? I said not yet . So I had to cassette and I'm rewinding it and learning all the chords .
Speaker 1I love this story , you learned how to play Tinder . Tennessee Christmas on a Christmas tree farm in Tennessee . Yes , no one has that story , jim man .
Speaker 3It's mine . Oh , I love it . You can share it wherever .
Speaker 1OK , I'm going to tell a lot of people that . Yeah , I'm going to tell Amy that .
Speaker 3She's going to love that . She'll be calling me to go on tour .
Speaker 1Yeah , she'll be like Jim , we need you to come play this at the Rhyman this year , complete with the harmonics at the end . Jim , this is how I was , that those harmonics are amazing , so I love . I fell in love with Amy Grant . It was like my hero still is one of my heroes .
Speaker 2And .
Speaker 1I happened to know her , which feels like such a gift in my life . But I also lived in the same neighborhood for just a minute with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill While they were building their actual house . They're like in the middle in between house was in my neighborhood for a couple years , so what I used to do in middle school is I would go out on my back porch and I would belt Tim McGraw and Faith Hill songs as loud as I possibly could , being like for sure they're going to hear me , and obviously then invite me on the road to be their background singer .
Speaker 3That did not work out , but what's wrong with them ? I ?
Speaker 1don't know , I don't , I don't know . I should have gotten a better sound system .
Speaker 3Yeah , probably , and their careers would have taken off if they did that .
Speaker 1Yeah , they yeah .
Speaker 3Who's heard of them ? I know , Exactly . So back to my story . So we felt sorry for you because we thought , oh , I hope we're not too excited about Brown Bannister and I hope his daughter is OK at least . So you go , oh , that's good , hey , so Brown . But turns out she was fabulous . We all just fell in love with her because of the everyday Christmas personality , and I love your voice , thank you . But it's very comforting .
Speaker 1Well , I fell in love with y'all's whole team as well .
Speaker 3Who doesn't ?
Speaker 1Yeah , it's pretty . Y'all are pretty loveable .
Speaker 3Yes , that's good , how much .
Speaker 1What we agreed on earlier . Yeah , OK .
Speaker 3Oh , that for my side . I forgot about that , but then your dad unfortunately got the diagnosis . It was before that , or ? After that , after that , yeah yeah , my timetable is going off here .
Speaker 1Well , actually , you know what ? I don't know when we would have met , I don't know , actually , where we were on that journey . Here's what I know . Actually , it was before that , jim , because I wrote Find you here , I don't know . No , it was after that , because that was my first record .
Speaker 3OK , red Sea Road .
Speaker 1That was Red Sea Road . But here's what's important to know Nobody's ever ready for that call .
Speaker 3No .
Speaker 1Like the test came back positive and I can just I can like go right back there . It is like , yeah , you're never ready for that news .
Speaker 3It's worse for the family too than the actual person , I think .
Speaker 1Is it ?
Speaker 3Yeah , I mean if I , I got mine and of course it was hard enough , but if it was my wife or my kids it would've been even harder , because I can't control that .
Speaker 1That's so interesting . Yeah , it was really heavy . And yeah , I the next week , mom and dad , mom , it was mom's birthday and Huck was a baby , so this was 2015 . Yeah , because Huck was , yeah , fact check accomplished , because I'm just remembering she wanted to have for her birthday a week after the diagnosis , like the test came back , that she went to worship night . She's like we're all gonna get together , we're telling our community which I don't know that everybody always does that but Not too many people .
Speaker 1Yeah , I was . I was like mom y'all don't even know like this is a pretty I don't know . They're like we need to take care of this now . They're like and probably gonna need a surgery at some point and but she just really wanted to have a worship night and I got there . Our whole community is in the room . I am paralyzed with fear . I , on the very edges of the crowd , Huck , my little boy , who's now eight , was just like strapped to me in one of those little raps .
Speaker 1You know , and I just remember feeling so afraid and I had the privilege of watching my mom and dad that night just run into all of the darkness , all of the unknown that was in front of them with their hands raised in the air , praising God , and I am so grateful for that because I ended up in the center of the room .
Speaker 1I started out off of the edges and I ended up in the center of the room that night . They didn't say , get in here , you need to do this . They just did it . And this is so often how we learn faith right , like they're not like . This is how you walk through a cancer diagnosis . This is how you pray .
Speaker 1They just pray and they're moving through it in the best way that they know how , not perfectly for sure , but just saying we are gonna cry out to God . And we encountered that night the peace of God and the presence of God , and peace that made no sense to have in light of our circumstances and it marked me . It will mark me for the rest of my life .
Speaker 3In fact , you wrote a song .
Speaker 1Three days later .
Speaker 3Three days later . Yeah , I knew , it was quick .
Speaker 1Called . Find you here , yeah . Out of Philippians 4 , 4 through 7 .
Speaker 3Yeah , did it come to you in one day ?
Speaker 1It did . Yeah , it is interesting how songs come about . There's a producer named Rusty Varenkamp and he had sent me just some tracks that were just music and I was listening through those and that beautiful music part is at the beginning of that song was on there and some songs you really have to labor over , and this Find you here . I just caught , like I just literally played that track and pretty much sang the song out almost exactly as it is . Mine is the Bridge , which actually I ended up pulling from another song that I'd written .
Speaker 1But I think I was so impacted by the presence of God that met us in that low place and I didn't want to forget it and I knew that I might need to remember even in the coming days of the cancer journey , right , like I was , like , don't forget how God met you there , right , because there are days that are some days are better than others . Some days I remember better that God is always with me than other days , and so if I can write a song , sometimes , if I can sing it , it helps me believe it in a deeper way .
Speaker 3Yeah , so it was like the next year . Apparently it was 2016 that I got my diagnosis and I was at Momentum , the radio conference , and in fact , my son came with me because he was moving to Nashville .
Speaker 1Yes , this is right by your side .
Speaker 3So yeah , I introduced you to him . You took a little selfie with him so you remember who he was . Gave him your number . I think he called once .
Speaker 1I know I'm terrible at the phone , so tell him if I didn't call him back , I'm sorry .
Speaker 3You actually talked to him and said well , you need to talk to my husband Drew . He's on tour right now , but when he comes back , I love that he never followed through , not Drew , but my son .
Speaker 1I love that he's like oh good , he seems like he's doing great . Your son .
Speaker 3Yes , he is doing great , but I had just got my diagnosis that week when I saw you . Of course I wasn't telling anybody .
Speaker 1Right .
Speaker 3It's just kind of weird . Yeah , because I didn't know much about it . I didn't realize they were giving me a month or two to live , which is not good . Good thing they didn't tell me at that point , because I was like , okay , because I'm a rule follower , yeah , I'm gonna say okay , well .
Speaker 1Okay , well , I'm dying into my own .
Speaker 3yeah , Saving money on Christmas .
Speaker 1Oh , my word . So they didn't tell you that .
Speaker 3No , no , no , no . I had to have an operation that week and as soon as I got back because they called me in a panic , because my dermatologist know me from radio stations , so they feel like I'm their family and they're like I'm so sorry to ruin your Disney World vacation I said it's work okay . But yeah , they say you gotta have an operation . As soon as you get back and they go God's got this , which means they're scared to death when people are like that . And so the surgeons said he's gonna do an operation here , then he's gonna go down this side for the next one , then he's coming across . He told me all the operations I'm gonna have , whoa . And then when I was cancer free I mean it hadn't spread they had the look that you have on your face like what Whoa ?
Speaker 4Exactly .
Speaker 3I said well , I have 500,000 people praying for me .
Speaker 1Yeah , pretty good . That's a pretty good team of people .
Speaker 3But then it came back 18 months later in the form of tumors , like eight of them . But then they put me on immunotherapy and it shrunk in two months . But that's when I had to keep doing scans a lot and I thought I gotta have Ellie's album .
Speaker 3So they normally don't let you listen to music while you're being . I don't know what they does to your brain , but they thought , well , your brain's it's fine . So they let me put the little earbuds in and you sang to me the whole time . I listened to the whole album . That's how long the scan took and it was very comforting , I felt . The only thing better is you were standing in the corner singing , and then that would be a little creepy too . At the same time .
Speaker 1Yeah , maybe you couldn't have even heard it as well , probably Cause those things are loud . Aren't the scans kind of loud ? Yeah , a little bit so yeah .
Speaker 3So I had several scans past that to make sure and it doesn't seem real Like with me when I'm in between doctors appointments I forget that I have cancer , because I just forget easily . I don't know , but then when you're inside that tube and you're wearing a gown and everything and everybody's out of the room because it's dangerous , all the radiation , it seems very real .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 3I'm not gonna make it in another month .
Speaker 1Yeah , and very alone .
Speaker 3Yeah , I would imagine . No , no , you were singing .
Speaker 1I love that , Jim . It makes me wanna cry every time you say it yeah . But to think of the way God weaves different people's stories together , and to even think of this podcast who knows who's listening right now ?
Speaker 3Exactly God . Right , he does listen to my podcast .
Speaker 1Yes , he is a subscriber , yeah , and he likes it .
Speaker 3Yes , he does . He gave me a five-star .
Speaker 1But thinking about different people's stories , and I even think about this with music , like I mean , we're laughing that I didn't know the timeline . But guess who did know the timeline ? God , yes , and I can't tell you how many people . Not everybody has listened to a conversation that I've had with somebody like you , jim , and knows that that song Find you here was written in the wake of a cancer diagnosis . But I can't tell you how many people come up and say , man , we just got really bad news . And I've been listening to this song , yeah , and I'm like , oh , that's the song I wrote in the wake of bad news and in the wake of experiencing God's nearness . And that is a mystery that I will , that I continue to marvel at and be grateful for , yeah , god's nearness . And I think there's an artist called Night Bird . Yes , be familiar . Yeah , and she's past . But man , what a beautiful testimony . And she says so . She had .
Speaker 1She was passed from cancer but fought for a very long time and outlived anybody's expectations of how long she should be alive , and I mean talk about shining a bright light , like one . What was it ? America's Got Talent or something with Simon . She ended up winning . Yeah , they loved her . And who wouldn't love her . She just is full of this peace and joy and light and is walking through hell . And that is what I know to be true of God . Yeah , cause he did walk through hell and walked out of it . So we could know we never face any hellish thing here on earth like cancer , like broken hearts . We never faced that alone . But she said she was just a poet heart . And she said you know , I've heard a lot of people say that they don't see God , that they can't , they don't see evidence for God , and what I say to that is if you can't find God , if you can't see God , look lower .
Speaker 1He is right there on the bathroom floor with you .
Speaker 1And I just thought that is what I've known to be true of who God is and you know he's not just a God , he's in church and in these holy moments of praise and worship . But my mom took a picture the first day we actually did the vocal for finding here it's so crazy , jim , that you were just describing listening to that in a scan , feeling so alone . The day I sang the vocal that we ended up keeping . We kept the scratch vocal for the record . Dad was in the hospital , wow , getting ready to have surgery , and been shy of our co-producer . We just did like a scratch track and I took the little MP3 to the hospital right after we finished our pre-production for the day and mom has a picture of me playing it for dad and of both of us in a hospital room which is like where no one wants to be right , like cold , I don't know it , just sometimes hospitals come there .
Speaker 3They're sterile .
Speaker 1Yeah , they can be places of miracles and healing , but they're also places of loss and feeling awful and throwing up and being sick . And mom has a picture of us with our hands both just raised saying God . You are a God who shows up on the bathroom floors of hospitals in the wake of bad news , and I am just it's so sweet to hear that story carry on , even through your story , to hear that resonate again , that truth resonate yeah , so cool .
Speaker 3That's pretty much why I love Healing Strong , because it's the same principle . I mean , healing Strong is made up of hundreds of community groups where people who are fighting cancer they come and they get encouraged . In fact , you would think it'd be a room full of depressed people , but it's . You know , people are happy because they're listening to other people's stories and they're being encouraged by it , and so they , even when they come in depressed , they leave happy , like there is hope . I can do that and it's faith-based . So God is the center of it all . But it's like I mean , it's all over the places and it's in England , it's all over the United States , of course , in Canada and England and Italy . I think there's one opening up in Japan .
Speaker 1Oh , I love that so much . But what a beautiful like concept too to know that you're not walking . I don't know . Sometimes I feel like sickness diagnosis feels like so lonely .
Speaker 3Yeah , so lonely . You're isolated .
Speaker 1They're isolated , yeah , and then here's Healing Strong , here's all these resources .
Speaker 4Here's all these stories .
Speaker 1And also , you're not alone . Other people know the hard and the ache of this , and then the joy , and they know victory and peace in it too . What a gift to share that .
Speaker 3We were in Houston I think I was just telling you that celebrating 10 years of this , and Suzy is the one who started because she had a cancer journey and she wanted to heal through natural means . She went through the Gerson method and it's a very strict thing but she healed her cancer that way because we believe God created us with the bodies , with the immune system that's meant to take care of , because everyone's got cancer cells in them . It's when they get out of control , because your body can no longer fight them , and it's because we are poor diets or stress or unforgiveness , all that kind of stuff . But she thought , well , hey , I need to share the stuff I learned . And so she just kind of met with some people and they talked about it and she thought it was just a one and done thing . And here it is , 10 years later , growing like crazy , because people just need encouragement .
Speaker 1As it turns out , we need each other Crazy , and then we fight her together .
Speaker 3Last weekend it ended with this huge worship service , and it was just you would have loved it .
Speaker 1I would have loved it , I'm like it sounds amazing , Gosh Well , and to think that there's a resource like that for anyone walking through that and I would imagine . I mean , is it only people who actually have cancer ? Is it family ?
Speaker 3members as well . Yeah , and it doesn't even have to be cancer , I mean , anything's like a life-threatening disease , or just people who want to learn how to be healthy and prevent stuff like that .
Speaker 1I have actually yeah , we have a family member walking through really intense cancer diagnosis , right , now . Really young , nine , wow and she is a fighter and I can't . I'm really grateful for this reminder because I've heard you talk about Healing Strong , but I definitely am going to connect them so anyway , I'm just like grateful for you for sharing . It's a beautiful thing to share with people .
Speaker 3These need to go to healingstrongorg . And then you look for groups . I mean , and that's why I started one in Greenville , because I thought surely there's going to be one in Greenville , because it's such a healthy place , we have our own cancer park for crying out loud you do .
Speaker 1It's very amazing . Yeah you were there , I was there .
Speaker 3I loved it . And but there wasn't any in Greenville , so I had to start one . I'm not a leader for crying out loud , so I thought , well , someone's going to step up the heaven yet .
Speaker 2But we meet at that park ? Yeah , absolutely Don't . You think maybe that sometimes God , I don't know .
Speaker 1I feel like this is in scripture . All the time he's like yeah , I'm sending you and they're like me . No , no , no , no not me .
Speaker 2He's like no , that's perfect .
Speaker 1You literally that is I'm a hesitant musician . I like swore I'd never do music . Wow .
Speaker 3You're not going to make it .
Speaker 1Swore I'd never marry a musician . And I'm like God has a sense of humor .
Speaker 3You messed that up .
Speaker 1I did . I really screwed up .
Speaker 3Yes , and I didn't even mention you're married to the amazing Drew Holcomb and your neighbors .
Speaker 1Yes , I know , I know , I was in his band for years , a neighbor with benefits , if you will of getting to be married to the lead singer .
Speaker 1But you left it because you wouldn't stand with the kids right I did , yeah , and then , very shortly after I left the band , it was , I was memorizing scripture with a friend of mine who was battling depression pretty severely and we realized it wasn't enough to just acknowledge lies . We needed something stronger to ground ourselves in , and so we started memorizing God's word and it started changing us . I have a lot of questions about God's word . I don't fully understand it . There are things about it that I'm like what ? There's some crazy stories in there . I know everything , by the way . Yes , perfect , thank goodness . That's why we're here clearing everything up , all the mysteries solved , oh yeah .
Speaker 1But I can say , even with all my questions , are the things that I maybe don't fully comprehend or understand . The story that it tells of a God who's always moving low , who risks a sting , who risks loss for the possibility to connect with people that he made and loves is so beautiful to me . And holding on to his word I mean find you hear that . So all of my music is just me trying to hold on to truths that are grounded in the word of God , because I'm hard to believe in them sometimes , or trusting them , and so if I can sing it sometimes it helps me believe it , but I'm just so so it's so funny because I started writing songs that I thought were just for me and my friend Annie , and since the nudge for many people in my life , as well as spirit , the spirit of God , just to be like , would you share these with other people ? I was like counseling , healing from so much Because it grew up in the church .
Speaker 1But there's no but about that . I am so grateful for the foundation that I was given and no one told me this . This is my , but no one told me this . But I did not know . I gathered from Growing up in the church that it was not okay to not be okay .
Speaker 4Like .
Speaker 1I just was like , oh , so I got it so good and he loves us so much . And I really did believe that and know that from a young age . And I was like , so I am gonna be so good and just do my very best to be to follow everything . And so I'm recovering perfectionist and it has been such a joy and I think a recovering I don't know I don't know how to say it but like I feel . So as I get older I feel so much more comfortable with just not with the mystery of God , because it's so big and moving in so many different ways . But it has been such a delight to Kind of I'm glad that I followed that invitation .
Speaker 1I I Since him saying would you be willing to go back into churches ? You know where you grew up thinking you had to do all these right things and just be a mess in front of them and proclaim my love in the middle of the mess of life . And I was like , no , definitely not , because I know how judgmental I was . You know like I'm like that is the last people I want to go talk to . But ultimately and also I know there's a cost to doing music like I grew up in the studios with my dad . I watched . I am zero percent enamored with fame , like I , like I was like . That felt like a prison to me , like as a kid , and in the same breath , as a kid , I saw the power of music you know to connect and bring hope .
Speaker 1So I really didn't think I was gonna end up doing it , but I am so glad that I ended up ultimately giving like a surrendered yes to where I feel like God was leading me because it Scared me . I was going in , you know , not blind to what it could . You know , like you do music , you have to leave home a lie and I like home . I love Tennessee , tender Tennessee Christmas .
Speaker 1Take me to the Christmas tree farm , you know , but it has been . I you know that movie In Indiana Jones the scene . It's very old , so you millenials listening and go watch Indiana Jones tears him forward . You might not even know his name anymore , but he was huge in the 80s .
Speaker 1Yes but he is on an adventure and he's taking a step . His path leads him to this like abyss , and he knows the right way is forward , but it looks like when he takes the step he's going to fall into the abyss . And that is what . Saying yes to doing my own music Wow , felt like I was like this , feels so scary . But as I , since God calling me to do that , I was so glad that I took that so surrendered yes and took that surrendered step Because , as I've done that and this happens in the movie sorry to spoiler alert , but like the ground has risen up beneath my feet and it has been such a joy , even in the hard moments and it's still hard to do music .
Speaker 1It's not like the cost went away , but to see the provision of God and the communities , the community that's grown up around their family , and all the people's stories who have gotten to meet , because that I never would know without the gift of music , like you , joe , I know right . So it's such a . I think music is a bridge builder and I am , so I want to be in my life a person and this is Jesus the ultimate bridge builder . But who's building bridges to different people's stories ?
Speaker 3What a fun thing to use melodies . Yeah , it's crazy . I'm just gonna do that and you pop up all over the place . I mean , you come on my Instagram . You're always doing the scriptures only good job Memory Mondays on Instagram .
Speaker 1And then , of course , you've written children's books which I've not read yet , jim , I'm gonna send you with a stack of them , yeah .
Speaker 1Kayla Herron did my first two and then Laura Ramos did my Christmas . One sounding joy , but the illustrators are unbelievable . But it has been such a delight . So I've got three kids 10 , eight and five and as I've written songs and then books for children , it's just helped me remember that before I'm a mom , before I'm an artist , before I'm an author , even writing books for children , we are all , before we're anything . We are first and foremost like beloved sons and beloved daughters of the God who made us . And what a relief , yeah , to know we're his kids , even though we're . We have agency in the world , we have jobs and good things that we're working and doing , but before that , like we have a really good dad , yeah .
Speaker 3And you're a busy woman . Yes , Before we wrap this up here . I mean you , of course . You tour on your own , you tour with your husband and , of course , the books and you all have a . Is it a music festival that's yours ?
Speaker 1Moon River Music Festival . My gosh , it is one of my favorite weekends of the year and as it turns out , it is almost lands around my birthday or on my birthday every year . We didn't do that on purpose . But then also five years ago , I was on stage nine months pregnant , just hammering a tambourine in my hand and I'm like and I think people were like , oh my goodness , she's going to baby on stage , Like she's going to have that child on stage , and so Rivers , our third , was born the next day , and so his birthday and my birthday .
Speaker 1We just throw a big music festival every year . It's been a delight .
Speaker 3Yeah , well , how can people get a whole ooh Chattanooga ? I love that tone . Yeah , it's a good one . How can people get a hold of you ? Just go to your website . Yeah , they can find me at ellieholcombcom .
Speaker 1It's H-O-L . Comb your hair like C-O-M-B , which is helpful . I don't do that anymore , yeah .
Speaker 3I know I have to . It gets crazy .
Speaker 1That surprises me , jim . You don't comb your hair every day .
Speaker 3There's none , no , they just , they just the three of them lay down by themselves , that's what my Drew actually says ?
Speaker 1the same thing . He doesn't have a whole . He has a lot of hair on his face . Oh my gosh , he does ?
Speaker 3He has an epic beard , but it is .
Speaker 1Yeah , you can find me there , and then I'm actually about to release . This is fun to say because I have a when I started memorizing scripture with that friend of mine that I talked about , you know , 15 years ago probably . Now we call the scripture that we memorize or fighting words to kick back against the darkness with the light . Yeah , and I have a little devotional called fighting words . That has been such a delight . Now it feels it was really hard to write , honestly , because it's just that's a lot of work and I was also making a record and touring , writing for other artists and have a lot going on and well , I'm just going to my kids during COVID Laundry grocery .
Speaker 1Laundry , groceries , cooking . It was during COVID when all of this was happening , and so I my kids were at home . Anyway , I was also a homeschool teacher . So God bless all the teachers and the moms who are doing all the things you are doing so good . You have so much that you carry .
Speaker 1It's so beautiful , so it was really hard to write , but I am so glad I did it . It's a hundred days of speaking truth into the darkness and I'm about to release an extended version because I realized it has become . It's basically like a little stack of Ebenezer stones , right like an altar and pinning of ways that I've seen God to be faithful , and so I'm adding 10 more because I realized I left out 10 of my like lifer verses . Which how did I write a whole book with a hundred days and leave out some of my 10 favorites ?
Speaker 3I have no idea .
Speaker 1I can , I'm going to blame COVID .
Speaker 3Yeah , we'll do that .
Speaker 1It was a busy time but I literally was like how so along with that , music has been such as a helpful scripture memory like tool for me . And so , along with that book that's coming out right around Mother's Day of 24 , I will release a little Psalms EP that just is almost straight , straight scripture For the most part , just like God's word . I am doing a cover of Amy Grant's Thy Word because that had a huge impact on me as a kid . So barring that one , but that's grounded and you know Psalm 119 , but I am so excited for that to come out . And so if you would like to sing scripture or hold on to a little bit of light or bury it in your heart so you have an ever-present source of light and hope with you , come find me on Instagram . I'm singing , I'm singing scripture on there or on Spotify or wherever you listen to music . That little Psalms EP will be called All of my Days Wow , based on Psalm 23 .
Speaker 3Well , it has been great . I was looking forward to this . I've been trying to get it to happen for like 10 years .
Speaker 1For ever yeah .
Speaker 3But it finally happened . I appreciate that Me too . You're still one of my favorite people .
Speaker 1You're still one of my jimmy and grateful , I'm grateful for you .
Speaker 3Why don't we go out with one of your newest scripture songs ?
Speaker 1Oh great . Okay , I'm gonna play one of my favorites . This is Psalm 139 , 1-13 .
Speaker 2You know when I sit and when I rise .
Speaker 2Well , you know when I go out . You know when I lay down at night . You're familiar with all of my way , lord , before a word is ever on my tongue , well , you know it completely hold . You hit me in both behind and before . It's too wonderful . Where can I go from your spirit ? Where can I flee from your presence ? If I go up to the heavens , you are there . If I make my bed in the depths , you are there . If I rise on the wings of the dawn , if I settle on the far side of the sea , even though your hand will guide me , even though your hand will guide me , you're right hand will hold me fast . You're right hand will hold me fast . If I say , surely , the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me , even the darkness will not be dark to you , cause the night it was shot like a daytime , for the darkness is as light to you For you , created by and most being Knit together in my mother's womb .
Speaker 2It's too wonderful . Where can I go from your spirit ? Where can I flee from your presence ? If I go up to the heavens , you are there . If I make my bed in the depths . You are there . If I rise on the wings of the dawn , if I settle on the far side of the sea , even though your hand will guide me , even though your hand will guide me , you're right hand will hold me fast . You're right hand will hold me fast , ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm and we have a caller .
Speaker 1Yes , that's Psalm 139 , 1-13 . Thanks for listening .
Speaker 2That's awesome . I love that . We'll keep that in there .
Speaker 1Yeah , absolutely , absolutely . We should . Is that you , lord ? It's me Ellie .
Speaker 3That's good stuff .
Speaker 1Thanks Someone . 39 is like I don't know . Even thinking about the context of what I know your story has been and what my dad's story has been , and really all of us being human , like we all , know what a dark night of the soul is , and the fact that the light is always stronger than the darkness has been a deep comfort to me over the years , and so singing that I don't know when I make my bed in the depths is what feels like I don't know . I felt that way in the middle of the cancer journey that we walked through with my dad . There are days of such fear and unknown and so , man , I'm so grateful for the comfort of God's light and his word . I'm in those deep places .
Speaker 3Well , thank you , Ellie .
Speaker 2Yeah , the only thing that we can see is darkness up ahead . But your eyes can just lay your worry down and sing a song instead , and I'm gonna find you .
Speaker 4You've been listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast , a part of the Healing Strong organization .
Speaker 4We hope you found encouragement in this episode , as well as the confidence to take control of your healing journey , knowing that God will guide you on this path .
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