October 2, 2023 • 35 mins
Ever wondered how faith can shape and transform lives? Today, we're thrilled to have the privilege of hearing from Elizabeth Stewart-Williams, a preacher's kid, who candidly shares her faith journey and how she found salvation in Jesus Christ. Elizabeth's testimony is a powerful reminder of God's grace, available to anyone who seeks Him, proving salvation is more than just a pathway to heaven.
Elizabeth's unique upbringing, marked by a strong familial commitment to God's Word, community service, and sports, has had an indelible impact on her faith journey. This episode explores the fascinating intersection of these diverse elements, all under the vigilant guidance of her father, the preacher, and her resilient mother. Elizabeth's family showed her the transformations that are possible when people accept Jesus, emphasizing the profound power of faith.
In the final segment of our conversation, we delve into the importance of a covenant relationship with Christ. Elizabeth credits her family's faith, especially her father's unique approach to religious teaching, as integral to her journey to salvation. Elizabeth's insights on teaching children the significance of a relationship with Christ from an early age are sure to inspire, and her powerful testimony underscores the incredible impact of her faith journey. Tune in for an episode filled with powerful reflections, inspiring testimonies, and a deep dive into a unique faith journey!
Plan of Salvation:
- Hear: Romans 10:17
- Believe: Hebrews 11:6
- Repent: Acts 17:30-31
- Confess: Matthew 10:32
- Be Baptized: Mark 16:15-16
- Be faithful unto death: Revelation 2:10
Contact Information:
Elizabeth Stewart-Williams, MDR
Website: www.iamprose.org
Email: elizabeth@iamprose.org
Phone: 713.820.6833/ 469.390.9024
Social Media/Follow Us:
Website:https://www.calledbygodpodcast.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/cbg.podcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalledbyGodPod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@calledbygodpodcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Call by God podcast with Adne Godin
and myself, nixon Sylvain.
This show is about dialogues ofbiblical characters and
testimonies of Christians whosubmitted to the will of God.
Each week, we bring on oneguest so that they can share
their story of how they werecalled by God.
I hope this show inspires you.
(00:22):
Cr13jubuj.
Welcome to the Call by Godpodcast, a podcast where we
(01:42):
share personal stories of faithand discuss the Bible teachings
on salvation.
I'm your host, brother Nick,and I'm here with my co-host,
sister Adne, and we are honoredto share these powerful stories
with you.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Today we have a special guest with us, Elizabeth
Williams, who will be sharingher testimony of how she came to
know Jesus Christ as her Lordand Savior.
Elizabeth will discuss herstruggles before finding
salvation.
In addition, she will expoundon her decision to follow Christ
and how that decision has had apositive impact on her faith
(02:18):
journey and on her life.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Elizabeth's testimony will remind us that, no matter
our past, god's love and graceare available to all who seek
Him.
It will also serve as areminder that our salvation is
not just about getting intoheaven, but also about the
transformation that occurs inour hearts and lives when we
(02:40):
accept Jesus as our Lord and ourSavior.
So join us as we listen toElizabeth's powerful testimony.
Sister Elizabeth, welcome tothe Call by God podcast.
How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I am blessed.
Thank you for having me.
This is an honor.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Amen, Amen.
It is definitely a blessing tohave you here, Adne.
I see your eyes.
You're kind of like lit up.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Oh, my goodness, sister Elizabeth Williams.
I met her through DonielleDockery, who invited me to be a
part of Precious Jewels, and Ispoke to her a couple of weeks
ago and it was just so amazing,amazing.
She literally truly blessed mywhole life Also, even giving me
(03:28):
the fire that burns bright forme to start looking into law
school again, because I'vealways, always wanted to
advocate for people, especiallythose who are being mistreated.
So I am excited.
I am so excited to have ourdear sister Elizabeth Williams
to join us on the Call by Godpodcast.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Amen, amen, I love it , I love it.
So we're going to go ahead anddive right into it.
But before we dive into ourinitial question, sister
Elizabeth, just tell ourlisteners just a little bit
about yourself.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
So foremost.
First, I am a lover of allthings, Jesus Christ.
I am a single mother of twobeautiful children, boy or girl.
I'm also I'm a survivor and Iam what you would call a dispute
resolver.
So I help people in mediation.
(04:23):
That's my professional vocation, my spiritual vocation.
I teach women in finding theirown spiritual vocation and
supporting that.
And I lead some things.
I do a lot.
I do do a lot, but it's all forthe glory of the kingdom of God
(04:45):
.
So that's a little bit about me, Amen.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Amen.
And you know what.
We want to dive into your poolstore.
We want to know your world.
Listen, she is a woman withmany talents.
She is doing a lot for thekingdom of God and I'm telling
you, I got an opportunity tomeet her for the first time and
she's just one of those sistersthat you just don't want to let
go, one of those family membersthat you just they could just
(05:10):
hang around.
So she is definitely down toearth, but we're just going to
get right into her story becauseI can't wait and actually, in
fact, I bought my bag of popcorn.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
You better do it.
Yeah, I just don't want toleave this mic right now.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I just don't want to leave the mic, so I'm going to
just stay put.
But, sister Elizabeth, wouldyou be willing to provide a
glimpse into your upbringing andbackground?
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, so I come from a lot of preachers.
My family so, my father, mygrandfathers, my brother they
are preachers, and so, and thenmy mom, sister Floora Williams,
is not one to play with when itcomes to Jesus.
So I did grow up in a householdthat was surrounded by Christ,
(06:02):
but I think the difference wasin being a PK, a preacher's kid.
The difference in my upbringingwas my dad.
He was really into communitywork, building, and he took the
time to teach us the Word of God.
So, like I give the example, hestarted a ministry called Body
(06:28):
and Soul In the heart.
I grew up in Houston, in theheart of the hood, Cashmere
Gardens, and we used to walk thestreets proclaiming Christ, I
mean, and the way that he did itwas not one of judgment, but
the way that he did it was oneof connections.
So I remember just holding hishands, meeting every type of
(06:54):
person that you can think of,from gangsters to homeless
people to business owners, andhe treated them in the same
manner.
And so having that element, andthen, on top of that, my dad
was really purposeful, will itbe?
Williams Jr was reallypurposeful in making sure that
we didn't just take on hisreligion or his belief.
(07:17):
So our Sunday, so Saturdayswhich I laugh about now because
I think back like I don't thinkwe were supposed to be cleaning
out crack houses, but we were upin that.
We were up in that cleaning andhelping the community.
You know, you think you know Icome from that era but what the
(07:42):
other element is he would takeus after worship, after Sunday
worship, sunday morning worshipand he would take us to the
library and we had to study whatwe believed.
So I know and understand thedifferences of pretty much every
(08:06):
religion you can think of, notbecause he told me, but because
we studied and we read it forourselves.
So I got baptized at the aroundthe age of of 10.
I got baptized and the reason Igot baptized is because it was
just, it was clear, and it was aclear understanding of you know
(08:31):
, of how I love, what God hasdone and the state that I'm in
and and this is what needs tohappen.
And then, on top of that, wesaw transformation.
So my dad is also a LPC andhe's also.
He dealt with chemicaldependency counseling also and
(08:51):
you would see people who wouldgo from being in the streets to
finding Jesus, to changing theirlives.
And so when you see that, thattransformation, and when you see
that, that movement that occurswhenever you get connected with
God and really give your lifeto it, we saw that and so it was
(09:15):
almost like, why wouldn't I?
When I see it, you never stopwith seeing life.
But what you saw wastransformation and I think that
was profound and that's why I,like all my brothers and sisters
we don't they always say, youknow, are y'all sure y'all are
PK kids?
Because a lot of times PK kidsget that you know stigma and
(09:39):
it's because everybody islooking at your life.
But that's the other elementthat my mom brought in is that
you should be proud that yourfather has chosen a profession
where people are looking at.
This is just, this is somethingthat you were born into and you
can either fight against it oryou can embrace it and really
learn and understand why he'sdoing what he's doing.
(09:59):
And I think that that, like, ifyou, if you understand that
element, then you'll understandmy upbringing and then also my,
my family, like my mom, eventhough she she technically was a
stay at home mom, but my momthis is why I wear a lot of hats
now she ran her businesses.
(10:20):
Mama was in the community, likewe were everywhere, we weren't
just at home.
So so part of that.
And then also, just like I said, working like we worked, it was
not to just sit in the pews,was not.
(10:42):
That was what you're supposedto do in praise and honor to God
.
But the real work happensthroughout the week in your
lives, and so that was myupbringing, that was the
strength.
So, going from so, in mychildhood they called us the not
(11:07):
the Bill Cosby now, but theHuxables back in the day,
because we would get up in themorning, all my brothers and
sisters, we would work out fivein the morning this is before
school and my dad, my mom, theywill all be back.
So we were a like, we are asports family, I would say.
All my brothers and sisters,all of us, played sports.
(11:30):
I ran track, played basketball,my brothers played football and
track and my sister she did thesame thing basketball and track
.
We all ran in college.
We all did something in regardsto sports, but it was always
unity, together, togetherness.
So that was my upbringing.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
I'm a little curious though.
I'm a little curious because soyou mentioned, you guys went
door knock, you go into, crackhouses door.
It's kind of like evangelism,work, right, you're doing with
that with your family.
So I guess my question to youwere you doing that before you
got taken?
I know you mentioned you gotsaved when you was 10.
So were you doing that beforeyour salvation?
(12:08):
So I guess my question to youbecause I know that's young,
because my son is like near thatage I'm a little curious to
know, like, how did you takewhat was taught to you in the
home or within the church and to, like other communities such as
the school, Like did youproclaim the gospel to them?
If so, how did you go aboutdoing?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
that Okay.
So it was almost like a part ofthat's just a part of life.
It was no.
I think now people separate,but the way that I grew up was
this is what we, this is who youare, this is what we do right.
So it had a profound like.
(12:48):
I remember holding the bags ofgrowth.
So body and soul.
My dad would preach, get foodfor the soul and then you would
receive food for the body.
So we would pack those bags andwe would.
My mom, I remember and Ibelieve this is why I look at
(13:11):
the church different than a lotof people who have been in for a
long time you would have totake the bags out and hand them
to people and then say you know,you wouldn't just hand it to
them, you'd be like God blessyou and we were taught to look
in the eyes and we were taughtto you know, because this is a
soul, this is a person that Godhas created.
(13:34):
So you take that and then youalso take that to school.
I give an example like, forinstance, my brother.
My brother is literally in likemiddle school, high school, and
he would call other members ofthe body.
He would call them and say, andthese are young boys and you
(13:55):
could hear them in the hallwaysaying hey brother, drain, how
are you doing today?
Hey brother, they would talklike they were, like they were
at church, and so it transcendedand never, you know, it didn't
stop, it just became.
You're like oh, this is, thisis who I am, unapologetically,
(14:18):
and I think there was noembarrassment with it.
I think people putembarrassment with Christ a lot
of times, but but I, it was theway that my, you don't have
embarrassment when you're seeingsomeone who used to be in the
street, completely strung out,and then you see them transform
(14:43):
into something like a completelydifferent person than what that
does for you is.
You're like God is real, youknow and you believe in it and
you stand strong on it and you,you're unapologetic about it.
You almost the carnality I callit carnality, the carnality
(15:04):
mindset leaves.
And that's how, to me, as ayoung age, like we weren't, we
weren't allowed to sleep inchurch.
My brothers had to sit on thefront row.
I did it with my son.
There was no, there was nosleeping.
They like sit on.
You had to pay attention.
(15:24):
We had Bible studies throughoutthe week, but it wasn't Bible
studies of generality.
It was Bible studies of purpose.
So life application.
If you hear my brother speaknow and preach now, a lot of
that is what we were taught inregards to okay, how should you
be living?
Not giving a general, generalpiece or conversation that a lot
(15:47):
of people give fluff to right?
Oh, they give the safe answerno, like my.
We dealt with realness, so yoube real about it.
And so when you're real aboutit and there's no fluff with it
and you're not putting up afront, you know it was times
where my, my mom would literallyclean out our closet of clothes
(16:08):
.
These are our clothes, they'relike our clothes.
She would literally clean outour closets and we're going to
church and we're looking overand I'm seeing my favorite, I'm
seeing my favorite dress and Ilook over and she would look at
us and say you better not saynothing.
You know, and you look likewhat.
(16:29):
You know.
She was like somebody was inneed.
You don't say a word and thatit just builds in you what it's
all about.
And then you become it's aboutthe kingdom.
You know, the movement is aboutthe kingdom, because God is
going to take care of everythingthat you need and you grow when
(16:49):
you do work, when you dospiritual vocation, like God has
called you to do in Ephesians,chapter 2, verse 10, when he's
already given you a good work,when you've come out of the
world, then you understand, hey,the movements that I have to
make in God.
You're unapologetic about it.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
I like your parents approach, even just to put you
guys in at the front seat.
There's a degree of referencethere Because I could recall
when I was a kid, like we had norespect, you know, when, you
see, because your family alreadyhad that fear of God already.
So they was like, ok, our kidsgot to follow, whereas for me it
was different.
There was more like a religiousgroup.
(17:29):
You know, parents was like theyread the word once in a while,
they prayed, but it was likemore religious.
And there was another degree ofreference, like because we
didn't see that happening athome so we went to church.
It was like, oh, you know, thisis just church.
You know what I mean.
And even I like the approachthat you, you know, when I and
that's what the reason why Imentioned how did you handle
(17:49):
that while going to school,because I could even recall when
I was in school there was thisone kid that was in middle
school and he didn't have noshame talking to folks about
Jesus and I wanted to know howwas your approach and the way
you talked about it.
And I think it's good to knowthat if there is somebody that
that's a teenager per se, that'sout there and they're a
(18:10):
Christian, you know, sometimesit could be intimidating, but I
mean, when you know Jesus, yougot to be bold.
You, you know, although therethe enemy will put some kind of
fear inside you, you know, orshame, but we can't be ashamed
of the gospel and I like, yeah,I like your approach with that.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Even in school there was never a.
I respected people where theywere, but I just I.
So people didn't cuss around mebecause of the standard that I
set.
Like.
The standard was just like Iused to count how many cuss
words people would say.
Really, I know, I know.
(18:46):
I would literally be like, doyou know you?
You just said like 32 cusswords in like four sentences and
they would be like I said, hey,let's try some different words,
and people got to the pointthey wouldn't cuss around me.
So it wasn't so the way that Iwould come, because I never
wanted.
I know people have differentbackgrounds.
(19:08):
The way that I grew up is notthe way that others have right.
So I wanted to be respectful ofthe, of where they were in this
journey, and I believeeverybody is on this journey.
So I wanted to be respectful ofthat.
But then, at the same time, itwas a standard for me to where I
was just like like hey, can weuse a different word?
(19:29):
Like what other word would youuse besides the 14 that you just
used, you know?
And so it wasn't offensive.
They were just like oh, andthat's what they call me
essentially.
Oh, you're so sweet, like youknow, and it was like OK, and it
just became a standard, likeyou know, because I didn't cuss,
you know, I didn't, you knowthose things were just that
(19:53):
became the standard, but Iwasn't judgmental.
I still, to me, you can berespectful of where people are
and still proclaim Christ andgive them the opportunity to
elevate, which again it goesback to that, that
transformative, because everylike I said, everybody does not
come from where you come from,so you have to give God, gives
(20:15):
us God.
One thing that I've justlearned, that I love, that I've
learned God gives us space.
He doesn't even understand ourtime, so he gives us space.
So we should give space topeople, not even time, like give
them space to be able to seethat journey.
So Amen.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Now I'm going to have to, you're going to have to go
back into your archives.
I know you've been in the bodyof Christ for three decades now
and counting and counting, and Iknow you mentioned it earlier
that you gave your life to theLord at 10.
And I'm going to be asking alot from you right now.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
OK, OK.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
But I want you to take us back.
You know there was that movieBack to the Future.
What the the movie Back to theFuture?
Did he go back or did he go?
Did he go in the future?
You remember that movie?
Did he go back?
Yeah, he went both ways.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
He did, both, he did, he went both ways.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
So I need you to go back.
I want you to go back and takeus back until how did you get to
know Christ?
And I need you to go in detail,Because I know the gospel, but
there may be some other peoplethat per se that don't know the
gospel, and I know you mentionedthat your parents, you know,
took you to the library onechild to get to know Christ and
stuff.
But I want you to go more indetail.
(21:27):
How did all that come about?
Because one thing to read it,but it's one thing to receive it
.
Take us back to that.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
So it was a compilation of the ministry work
and it was the ministry workand it was also the teaching.
So the first instance, thefirst instance where I was just
like man God is real is when mydad was.
(21:57):
It was actually a member, theywere a member of the body and
they got on drugs and then theygot it.
So I saw them before and thenthey got on drugs really bad and
they were at a body and souland we were handed in the back
to them and my dad saw them.
(22:20):
You can tell they were ashamedand he came in and he hugged
them and they broke down cryingand my mom came out and hugged
them and then my dad for thenext I think almost two weeks
straight were ministering tothem and they got back off drugs
(22:48):
and they got their lifetogether and then they were gone
and then it was like wait, okay, what was this?
But then there was which peopledon't a lot of times.
People like to discuss, butpreachers struggle with just
(23:10):
being able to just preach theword and tell the truth because
there's agendas everywhere.
So there was rifts at thechurch where we were at the time
and I'm sitting there and I'mlike I'm looking at and I can
hear members of the body who youwould think that are really a
part of the church, like reallydedicated and really talk.
(23:35):
My, they talk your father upand did it.
But then behind closed doors,you can hear as a child, which a
lot of people don't realize,especially PK kids.
You can hear the rumors and howthey talk about behind closed
doors and the things that arestated.
And at this time there was amove because I mean, the
(23:58):
attendance for the church was up, like things were going well,
money was going up and theywanted to use money, for there
was a dispute on where to usemoney and how to use it.
And what a lot of people don'trealize, especially within the
church, is they your dad couldbe preaching one Sunday and then
(24:19):
the next Sunday gone.
That's what happened.
And then to see that transpirefor no reason, right.
So you're uprooted because welived in a percentage.
You're uprooted out of that andthen you're just you're
transition.
But the amazing thing for me tosee was to see the response of
(24:42):
my father doing that timeframe,because you would have thought
that anger would have just setin and been like forget the
church, right?
Especially after everythingthat was done.
But what actually transpiredwas he came closer, so the
teachings, so instead of him hecould have took in additional
(25:04):
works.
But he decided he said I needto teach y'all, which I thought
I was like okay, right, you know.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Right.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
And so we knew, so I know the death barrel in
resurrection like the back of myhand.
You know, I know, I know here,believe, repent, confess and be
baptized.
I know, I knew it from the backof my hand.
But then what he did was so,this was the compilation of that
.
Then what he did was okay,y'all have to know this more,
(25:38):
this has to be a lifeapplication.
And so the questions then cameyes, well, why?
The why?
Questions came, which is thefoundation of, I believe, even
my trajectory.
Now, the why question was whydid I go down the crossfree?
(26:02):
Why are you where you are nowRight?
So it was like why are theremultiple churches?
Why, if he said I'll be mychurch, what then?
Why?
And then he would take us, andthat's when we'd go to the
library and we would sit downand we would go through
(26:23):
Catholics and Presbyterian, wewould go through Well, who
started it?
How was it started?
Okay, who was Martin Luther?
How was it started?
So we, literally we, had totake the time to understand.
And then from that point itbecame almost like man.
(26:46):
He loves me, he loves me somuch and all he's asking for me
to do is to not only follow himbut help others.
So the devil is here to kill,steal and destroy and God is
here to build up.
And I know what destroy andkill looks like cause.
(27:10):
We saw this whole time.
But then what was that's thepricking part for me was man.
He loves us so much.
It's not to say that life isn'tgoing to hit us, but he loves
us so much that even when thingsdo happen, he wants us to
(27:30):
follow him, not to hurt us butto love us.
And it was aha for me and thatwas the point of saying oh, it
was like man, I gotta give mylife to him because he gave it
for me and he loves me and I'mcovered.
And that was huge because I'mlike like, even like, my dad
(27:53):
went through all of that and I'mlooking and he and my dad is
happy and just, but all of thisjust transpired.
I mean, even we were stillgoing to the different, we would
go because he was a thing.
That's the other part of mydaddy's things, right.
So my father's a singer, myfamily, they sing, so he would
still have to go to these placeswhere these same people have
(28:16):
talked about him.
And he had to sing and he didit for the love of God, they had
nothing to do with him.
And I'm looking at them likeman and he's looking like I'm
covered, it doesn't, you know?
And it's because the blood isin me.
You know, christ is in me, I'min Christ and I'm walking as him
.
And then that was the thing waslike man, I gotta get covered.
(28:39):
I'm out here, I'm covered.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Hey, amen Amen.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Like I gotta get connected.
What am I doing?
You know so, and it was reallike and I think that that was
the blessed part I think weshielded with my own kids.
I didn't shield, which was ablessing.
I knew it was a blessing in mylife.
So, you know, because of what Isaw and understanding what you
(29:08):
come from, I never, you know, Ididn't drink in school, like I
didn't struggle with thatbecause I'm like I literally
would look at me like that's notgonna go the way you think that
it would go Right, and it's allin the reason being.
It's because I was alreadydoing the work of the Lord.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I really enjoy your story.
What I'm hearing from yourstory is that your parents
played a pivotal role and toyour salvation and that shows me
the importance of a household,of a household structure which
has the foundation of Christ,and the reason why I wanted you
to go back, because I wantpeople to understand the
importance of their covenantrelationship with Christ, that
(29:50):
this is not something you takelightly.
You know, like I told you backin the day, they all those
religious, we said the sinner'sprayer, we would just all over
the place, but just to hear yourstory, how you came to Christ,
and even the discipline, like Iwould say, your dad, he
discipled you guys.
(30:10):
Yeah, that's real he showed youguys the way and that's so
encouraging, Like if there's anadult parent that's listening to
this episode, that they couldtake the same steps to there,
because a child is never tooyoung.
Never too young becausesalvation is given for all you
know, and even the children thathave the knowledge of Christ,
(30:32):
Because you know these kids aresmarter than we think, Believe
it or not.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
But yeah, it's amazing.
Even I'll go into it, though,but even with my own kid,
because what I was going throughI was worried for them.
But then I actually reachedback and looked at what my
parents did for me and I waslike I had to transform it into
(30:56):
what was best for me at thatmoment.
But it had similar, the similarelements of not only just being
real about, just being realabout Christ and not sugarcoated
Like my family does not believein and I'm not and let me start
with this a disclaimer I'm notsaying that it's wrong, but what
(31:21):
I'm saying is my family did notbelieve in children's church.
It was almost like what is thatyou know?
And it was like you don't.
It was like oh mama, I wanna goback in the back and play this.
Ain't you don't play with God?
That's how my family operated,so you never see the kids just
(31:43):
go back in children.
My children never did.
They didn't go to children'schurch with me Like they had to.
You know, my son was like fouryears old, standing up in the
front learning how to focus,like.
Even if you come to NorthColony Church now, my nephew
sits in the front and he's sixnow and he's learned how to sit
(32:08):
and then pay Cause, that's.
You don't think that they'regetting that, but it, man, they
come back and they hit you withit A little bit later and be
like, you know, my daughter theother day, mama, now you know
we're doing a delusional seriesat church, and she was like now,
mama, you know.
You know, uncle Willie alreadyjust preached about delusion,
(32:30):
you know, and it's like, it'slike, oh, you got that.
And especially for boys,especially for boys, because it
was a training of learning tosit.
It's a time to sit and listenand then it's a time for
movement.
But yeah, no, they didn't.
They were like, nah, you gonnaget this work, you, you go get
(32:51):
this real work, you gonna getthis real work.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So stay tuned for more as we delve more into
Elizabeth's powerful, God-giventestimony.
See you next week.
That's it for now, but beforewe go, please continue to listen
, subscribe, share our podcast.
Also, if you want to supportour show, please scroll down to
the bottom of the show notes andclick on the link that says buy
(33:16):
me a coffee.
We were greatly appreciated.
Thank you for listening andremember God is good all the
time, and all the time God isgood and also Jesus Christ loves
you.
Thank you and I'll see you nextweek.
Welcome to the Call by God podcast with Adne Godin
and myself, nixon Sylvain.
This show is about dialogues ofbiblical characters and
testimonies of Christians whosubmitted to the will of God.
Each week, we bring on oneguest so that they can share
their story of how they werecalled by God.
I hope this show inspires you.
(00:22):
Cr13jubuj.
Welcome to the Call by Godpodcast, a podcast where we
(01:42):
share personal stories of faithand discuss the Bible teachings
on salvation.
I'm your host, brother Nick,and I'm here with my co-host,
sister Adne, and we are honoredto share these powerful stories
with you.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Today we have a special guest with us, Elizabeth
Williams, who will be sharingher testimony of how she came to
know Jesus Christ as her Lordand Savior.
Elizabeth will discuss herstruggles before finding
salvation.
In addition, she will expoundon her decision to follow Christ
and how that decision has had apositive impact on her faith
(02:18):
journey and on her life.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Elizabeth's testimony will remind us that, no matter
our past, god's love and graceare available to all who seek
Him.
It will also serve as areminder that our salvation is
not just about getting intoheaven, but also about the
transformation that occurs inour hearts and lives when we
(02:40):
accept Jesus as our Lord and ourSavior.
So join us as we listen toElizabeth's powerful testimony.
Sister Elizabeth, welcome tothe Call by God podcast.
How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I am blessed.
Thank you for having me.
This is an honor.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Amen, Amen.
It is definitely a blessing tohave you here, Adne.
I see your eyes.
You're kind of like lit up.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Oh, my goodness, sister Elizabeth Williams.
I met her through DonielleDockery, who invited me to be a
part of Precious Jewels, and Ispoke to her a couple of weeks
ago and it was just so amazing,amazing.
She literally truly blessed mywhole life Also, even giving me
(03:28):
the fire that burns bright forme to start looking into law
school again, because I'vealways, always wanted to
advocate for people, especiallythose who are being mistreated.
So I am excited.
I am so excited to have ourdear sister Elizabeth Williams
to join us on the Call by Godpodcast.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Amen, amen, I love it , I love it.
So we're going to go ahead anddive right into it.
But before we dive into ourinitial question, sister
Elizabeth, just tell ourlisteners just a little bit
about yourself.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
So foremost.
First, I am a lover of allthings, Jesus Christ.
I am a single mother of twobeautiful children, boy or girl.
I'm also I'm a survivor and Iam what you would call a dispute
resolver.
So I help people in mediation.
(04:23):
That's my professional vocation, my spiritual vocation.
I teach women in finding theirown spiritual vocation and
supporting that.
And I lead some things.
I do a lot.
I do do a lot, but it's all forthe glory of the kingdom of God
(04:45):
.
So that's a little bit about me, Amen.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Amen.
And you know what.
We want to dive into your poolstore.
We want to know your world.
Listen, she is a woman withmany talents.
She is doing a lot for thekingdom of God and I'm telling
you, I got an opportunity tomeet her for the first time and
she's just one of those sistersthat you just don't want to let
go, one of those family membersthat you just they could just
(05:10):
hang around.
So she is definitely down toearth, but we're just going to
get right into her story becauseI can't wait and actually, in
fact, I bought my bag of popcorn.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
You better do it.
Yeah, I just don't want toleave this mic right now.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I just don't want to leave the mic, so I'm going to
just stay put.
But, sister Elizabeth, wouldyou be willing to provide a
glimpse into your upbringing andbackground?
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, so I come from a lot of preachers.
My family so, my father, mygrandfathers, my brother they
are preachers, and so, and thenmy mom, sister Floora Williams,
is not one to play with when itcomes to Jesus.
So I did grow up in a householdthat was surrounded by Christ,
(06:02):
but I think the difference wasin being a PK, a preacher's kid.
The difference in my upbringingwas my dad.
He was really into communitywork, building, and he took the
time to teach us the Word of God.
So, like I give the example, hestarted a ministry called Body
(06:28):
and Soul In the heart.
I grew up in Houston, in theheart of the hood, Cashmere
Gardens, and we used to walk thestreets proclaiming Christ, I
mean, and the way that he did itwas not one of judgment, but
the way that he did it was oneof connections.
So I remember just holding hishands, meeting every type of
(06:54):
person that you can think of,from gangsters to homeless
people to business owners, andhe treated them in the same
manner.
And so having that element, andthen, on top of that, my dad
was really purposeful, will itbe?
Williams Jr was reallypurposeful in making sure that
we didn't just take on hisreligion or his belief.
(07:17):
So our Sunday, so Saturdayswhich I laugh about now because
I think back like I don't thinkwe were supposed to be cleaning
out crack houses, but we were upin that.
We were up in that cleaning andhelping the community.
You know, you think you know Icome from that era but what the
(07:42):
other element is he would takeus after worship, after Sunday
worship, sunday morning worshipand he would take us to the
library and we had to study whatwe believed.
So I know and understand thedifferences of pretty much every
(08:06):
religion you can think of, notbecause he told me, but because
we studied and we read it forourselves.
So I got baptized at the aroundthe age of of 10.
I got baptized and the reason Igot baptized is because it was
just, it was clear, and it was aclear understanding of you know
(08:31):
, of how I love, what God hasdone and the state that I'm in
and and this is what needs tohappen.
And then, on top of that, wesaw transformation.
So my dad is also a LPC andhe's also.
He dealt with chemicaldependency counseling also and
(08:51):
you would see people who wouldgo from being in the streets to
finding Jesus, to changing theirlives.
And so when you see that, thattransformation, and when you see
that, that movement that occurswhenever you get connected with
God and really give your lifeto it, we saw that and so it was
(09:15):
almost like, why wouldn't I?
When I see it, you never stopwith seeing life.
But what you saw wastransformation and I think that
was profound and that's why I,like all my brothers and sisters
we don't they always say, youknow, are y'all sure y'all are
PK kids?
Because a lot of times PK kidsget that you know stigma and
(09:39):
it's because everybody islooking at your life.
But that's the other elementthat my mom brought in is that
you should be proud that yourfather has chosen a profession
where people are looking at.
This is just, this is somethingthat you were born into and you
can either fight against it oryou can embrace it and really
learn and understand why he'sdoing what he's doing.
(09:59):
And I think that that, like, ifyou, if you understand that
element, then you'll understandmy upbringing and then also my,
my family, like my mom, eventhough she she technically was a
stay at home mom, but my momthis is why I wear a lot of hats
now she ran her businesses.
(10:20):
Mama was in the community, likewe were everywhere, we weren't
just at home.
So so part of that.
And then also, just like I said, working like we worked, it was
not to just sit in the pews,was not.
(10:42):
That was what you're supposedto do in praise and honor to God
.
But the real work happensthroughout the week in your
lives, and so that was myupbringing, that was the
strength.
So, going from so, in mychildhood they called us the not
(11:07):
the Bill Cosby now, but theHuxables back in the day,
because we would get up in themorning, all my brothers and
sisters, we would work out fivein the morning this is before
school and my dad, my mom, theywill all be back.
So we were a like, we are asports family, I would say.
All my brothers and sisters,all of us, played sports.
(11:30):
I ran track, played basketball,my brothers played football and
track and my sister she did thesame thing basketball and track
.
We all ran in college.
We all did something in regardsto sports, but it was always
unity, together, togetherness.
So that was my upbringing.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
I'm a little curious though.
I'm a little curious because soyou mentioned, you guys went
door knock, you go into, crackhouses door.
It's kind of like evangelism,work, right, you're doing with
that with your family.
So I guess my question to youwere you doing that before you
got taken?
I know you mentioned you gotsaved when you was 10.
So were you doing that beforeyour salvation?
(12:08):
So I guess my question to youbecause I know that's young,
because my son is like near thatage I'm a little curious to
know, like, how did you takewhat was taught to you in the
home or within the church and to, like other communities such as
the school, Like did youproclaim the gospel to them?
If so, how did you go aboutdoing?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
that Okay.
So it was almost like a part ofthat's just a part of life.
It was no.
I think now people separate,but the way that I grew up was
this is what we, this is who youare, this is what we do right.
So it had a profound like.
(12:48):
I remember holding the bags ofgrowth.
So body and soul.
My dad would preach, get foodfor the soul and then you would
receive food for the body.
So we would pack those bags andwe would.
My mom, I remember and Ibelieve this is why I look at
(13:11):
the church different than a lotof people who have been in for a
long time you would have totake the bags out and hand them
to people and then say you know,you wouldn't just hand it to
them, you'd be like God blessyou and we were taught to look
in the eyes and we were taughtto you know, because this is a
soul, this is a person that Godhas created.
(13:34):
So you take that and then youalso take that to school.
I give an example like, forinstance, my brother.
My brother is literally in likemiddle school, high school, and
he would call other members ofthe body.
He would call them and say, andthese are young boys and you
(13:55):
could hear them in the hallwaysaying hey brother, drain, how
are you doing today?
Hey brother, they would talklike they were, like they were
at church, and so it transcendedand never, you know, it didn't
stop, it just became.
You're like oh, this is, thisis who I am, unapologetically,
(14:18):
and I think there was noembarrassment with it.
I think people putembarrassment with Christ a lot
of times, but but I, it was theway that my, you don't have
embarrassment when you're seeingsomeone who used to be in the
street, completely strung out,and then you see them transform
(14:43):
into something like a completelydifferent person than what that
does for you is.
You're like God is real, youknow and you believe in it and
you stand strong on it and you,you're unapologetic about it.
You almost the carnality I callit carnality, the carnality
(15:04):
mindset leaves.
And that's how, to me, as ayoung age, like we weren't, we
weren't allowed to sleep inchurch.
My brothers had to sit on thefront row.
I did it with my son.
There was no, there was nosleeping.
They like sit on.
You had to pay attention.
(15:24):
We had Bible studies throughoutthe week, but it wasn't Bible
studies of generality.
It was Bible studies of purpose.
So life application.
If you hear my brother speaknow and preach now, a lot of
that is what we were taught inregards to okay, how should you
be living?
Not giving a general, generalpiece or conversation that a lot
(15:47):
of people give fluff to right?
Oh, they give the safe answerno, like my.
We dealt with realness, so yoube real about it.
And so when you're real aboutit and there's no fluff with it
and you're not putting up afront, you know it was times
where my, my mom would literallyclean out our closet of clothes
(16:08):
.
These are our clothes, they'relike our clothes.
She would literally clean outour closets and we're going to
church and we're looking overand I'm seeing my favorite, I'm
seeing my favorite dress and Ilook over and she would look at
us and say you better not saynothing.
You know, and you look likewhat.
(16:29):
You know.
She was like somebody was inneed.
You don't say a word and thatit just builds in you what it's
all about.
And then you become it's aboutthe kingdom.
You know, the movement is aboutthe kingdom, because God is
going to take care of everythingthat you need and you grow when
(16:49):
you do work, when you dospiritual vocation, like God has
called you to do in Ephesians,chapter 2, verse 10, when he's
already given you a good work,when you've come out of the
world, then you understand, hey,the movements that I have to
make in God.
You're unapologetic about it.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
I like your parents approach, even just to put you
guys in at the front seat.
There's a degree of referencethere Because I could recall
when I was a kid, like we had norespect, you know, when, you
see, because your family alreadyhad that fear of God already.
So they was like, ok, our kidsgot to follow, whereas for me it
was different.
There was more like a religiousgroup.
(17:29):
You know, parents was like theyread the word once in a while,
they prayed, but it was likemore religious.
And there was another degree ofreference, like because we
didn't see that happening athome so we went to church.
It was like, oh, you know, thisis just church.
You know what I mean.
And even I like the approachthat you, you know, when I and
that's what the reason why Imentioned how did you handle
(17:49):
that while going to school,because I could even recall when
I was in school there was thisone kid that was in middle
school and he didn't have noshame talking to folks about
Jesus and I wanted to know howwas your approach and the way
you talked about it.
And I think it's good to knowthat if there is somebody that
that's a teenager per se, that'sout there and they're a
(18:10):
Christian, you know, sometimesit could be intimidating, but I
mean, when you know Jesus, yougot to be bold.
You, you know, although therethe enemy will put some kind of
fear inside you, you know, orshame, but we can't be ashamed
of the gospel and I like, yeah,I like your approach with that.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Even in school there was never a.
I respected people where theywere, but I just I.
So people didn't cuss around mebecause of the standard that I
set.
Like.
The standard was just like Iused to count how many cuss
words people would say.
Really, I know, I know.
(18:46):
I would literally be like, doyou know you?
You just said like 32 cusswords in like four sentences and
they would be like I said, hey,let's try some different words,
and people got to the pointthey wouldn't cuss around me.
So it wasn't so the way that Iwould come, because I never
wanted.
I know people have differentbackgrounds.
(19:08):
The way that I grew up is notthe way that others have right.
So I wanted to be respectful ofthe, of where they were in this
journey, and I believeeverybody is on this journey.
So I wanted to be respectful ofthat.
But then, at the same time, itwas a standard for me to where I
was just like like hey, can weuse a different word?
(19:29):
Like what other word would youuse besides the 14 that you just
used, you know?
And so it wasn't offensive.
They were just like oh, andthat's what they call me
essentially.
Oh, you're so sweet, like youknow, and it was like OK, and it
just became a standard, likeyou know, because I didn't cuss,
you know, I didn't, you knowthose things were just that
(19:53):
became the standard, but Iwasn't judgmental.
I still, to me, you can berespectful of where people are
and still proclaim Christ andgive them the opportunity to
elevate, which again it goesback to that, that
transformative, because everylike I said, everybody does not
come from where you come from,so you have to give God, gives
(20:15):
us God.
One thing that I've justlearned, that I love, that I've
learned God gives us space.
He doesn't even understand ourtime, so he gives us space.
So we should give space topeople, not even time, like give
them space to be able to seethat journey.
So Amen.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Now I'm going to have to, you're going to have to go
back into your archives.
I know you've been in the bodyof Christ for three decades now
and counting and counting, and Iknow you mentioned it earlier
that you gave your life to theLord at 10.
And I'm going to be asking alot from you right now.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
OK, OK.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
But I want you to take us back.
You know there was that movieBack to the Future.
What the the movie Back to theFuture?
Did he go back or did he go?
Did he go in the future?
You remember that movie?
Did he go back?
Yeah, he went both ways.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
He did, both, he did, he went both ways.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
So I need you to go back.
I want you to go back and takeus back until how did you get to
know Christ?
And I need you to go in detail,Because I know the gospel, but
there may be some other peoplethat per se that don't know the
gospel, and I know you mentionedthat your parents, you know,
took you to the library onechild to get to know Christ and
stuff.
But I want you to go more indetail.
(21:27):
How did all that come about?
Because one thing to read it,but it's one thing to receive it
.
Take us back to that.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
So it was a compilation of the ministry work
and it was the ministry workand it was also the teaching.
So the first instance, thefirst instance where I was just
like man God is real is when mydad was.
(21:57):
It was actually a member, theywere a member of the body and
they got on drugs and then theygot it.
So I saw them before and thenthey got on drugs really bad and
they were at a body and souland we were handed in the back
to them and my dad saw them.
(22:20):
You can tell they were ashamedand he came in and he hugged
them and they broke down cryingand my mom came out and hugged
them and then my dad for thenext I think almost two weeks
straight were ministering tothem and they got back off drugs
(22:48):
and they got their lifetogether and then they were gone
and then it was like wait, okay, what was this?
But then there was which peopledon't a lot of times.
People like to discuss, butpreachers struggle with just
(23:10):
being able to just preach theword and tell the truth because
there's agendas everywhere.
So there was rifts at thechurch where we were at the time
and I'm sitting there and I'mlike I'm looking at and I can
hear members of the body who youwould think that are really a
part of the church, like reallydedicated and really talk.
(23:35):
My, they talk your father upand did it.
But then behind closed doors,you can hear as a child, which a
lot of people don't realize,especially PK kids.
You can hear the rumors and howthey talk about behind closed
doors and the things that arestated.
And at this time there was amove because I mean, the
(23:58):
attendance for the church was up, like things were going well,
money was going up and theywanted to use money, for there
was a dispute on where to usemoney and how to use it.
And what a lot of people don'trealize, especially within the
church, is they your dad couldbe preaching one Sunday and then
(24:19):
the next Sunday gone.
That's what happened.
And then to see that transpirefor no reason, right.
So you're uprooted because welived in a percentage.
You're uprooted out of that andthen you're just you're
transition.
But the amazing thing for me tosee was to see the response of
(24:42):
my father doing that timeframe,because you would have thought
that anger would have just setin and been like forget the
church, right?
Especially after everythingthat was done.
But what actually transpiredwas he came closer, so the
teachings, so instead of him hecould have took in additional
(25:04):
works.
But he decided he said I needto teach y'all, which I thought
I was like okay, right, you know.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Right.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
And so we knew, so I know the death barrel in
resurrection like the back of myhand.
You know, I know, I know here,believe, repent, confess and be
baptized.
I know, I knew it from the backof my hand.
But then what he did was so,this was the compilation of that
.
Then what he did was okay,y'all have to know this more,
(25:38):
this has to be a lifeapplication.
And so the questions then cameyes, well, why?
The why?
Questions came, which is thefoundation of, I believe, even
my trajectory.
Now, the why question was whydid I go down the crossfree?
(26:02):
Why are you where you are nowRight?
So it was like why are theremultiple churches?
Why, if he said I'll be mychurch, what then?
Why?
And then he would take us, andthat's when we'd go to the
library and we would sit downand we would go through
(26:23):
Catholics and Presbyterian, wewould go through Well, who
started it?
How was it started?
Okay, who was Martin Luther?
How was it started?
So we, literally we, had totake the time to understand.
And then from that point itbecame almost like man.
(26:46):
He loves me, he loves me somuch and all he's asking for me
to do is to not only follow himbut help others.
So the devil is here to kill,steal and destroy and God is
here to build up.
And I know what destroy andkill looks like cause.
(27:10):
We saw this whole time.
But then what was that's thepricking part for me was man.
He loves us so much.
It's not to say that life isn'tgoing to hit us, but he loves
us so much that even when thingsdo happen, he wants us to
(27:30):
follow him, not to hurt us butto love us.
And it was aha for me and thatwas the point of saying oh, it
was like man, I gotta give mylife to him because he gave it
for me and he loves me and I'mcovered.
And that was huge because I'mlike like, even like, my dad
(27:53):
went through all of that and I'mlooking and he and my dad is
happy and just, but all of thisjust transpired.
I mean, even we were stillgoing to the different, we would
go because he was a thing.
That's the other part of mydaddy's things, right.
So my father's a singer, myfamily, they sing, so he would
still have to go to these placeswhere these same people have
(28:16):
talked about him.
And he had to sing and he didit for the love of God, they had
nothing to do with him.
And I'm looking at them likeman and he's looking like I'm
covered, it doesn't, you know?
And it's because the blood isin me.
You know, christ is in me, I'min Christ and I'm walking as him
.
And then that was the thing waslike man, I gotta get covered.
(28:39):
I'm out here, I'm covered.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Hey, amen Amen.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Like I gotta get connected.
What am I doing?
You know so, and it was reallike and I think that that was
the blessed part I think weshielded with my own kids.
I didn't shield, which was ablessing.
I knew it was a blessing in mylife.
So, you know, because of what Isaw and understanding what you
(29:08):
come from, I never, you know, Ididn't drink in school, like I
didn't struggle with thatbecause I'm like I literally
would look at me like that's notgonna go the way you think that
it would go Right, and it's allin the reason being.
It's because I was alreadydoing the work of the Lord.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I really enjoy your story.
What I'm hearing from yourstory is that your parents
played a pivotal role and toyour salvation and that shows me
the importance of a household,of a household structure which
has the foundation of Christ,and the reason why I wanted you
to go back, because I wantpeople to understand the
importance of their covenantrelationship with Christ, that
(29:50):
this is not something you takelightly.
You know, like I told you backin the day, they all those
religious, we said the sinner'sprayer, we would just all over
the place, but just to hear yourstory, how you came to Christ,
and even the discipline, like Iwould say, your dad, he
discipled you guys.
(30:10):
Yeah, that's real he showed youguys the way and that's so
encouraging, Like if there's anadult parent that's listening to
this episode, that they couldtake the same steps to there,
because a child is never tooyoung.
Never too young becausesalvation is given for all you
know, and even the children thathave the knowledge of Christ,
(30:32):
Because you know these kids aresmarter than we think, Believe
it or not.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
But yeah, it's amazing.
Even I'll go into it, though,but even with my own kid,
because what I was going throughI was worried for them.
But then I actually reachedback and looked at what my
parents did for me and I waslike I had to transform it into
(30:56):
what was best for me at thatmoment.
But it had similar, the similarelements of not only just being
real about, just being realabout Christ and not sugarcoated
Like my family does not believein and I'm not and let me start
with this a disclaimer I'm notsaying that it's wrong, but what
(31:21):
I'm saying is my family did notbelieve in children's church.
It was almost like what is thatyou know?
And it was like you don't.
It was like oh mama, I wanna goback in the back and play this.
Ain't you don't play with God?
That's how my family operated,so you never see the kids just
(31:43):
go back in children.
My children never did.
They didn't go to children'schurch with me Like they had to.
You know, my son was like fouryears old, standing up in the
front learning how to focus,like.
Even if you come to NorthColony Church now, my nephew
sits in the front and he's sixnow and he's learned how to sit
(32:08):
and then pay Cause, that's.
You don't think that they'regetting that, but it, man, they
come back and they hit you withit A little bit later and be
like, you know, my daughter theother day, mama, now you know
we're doing a delusional seriesat church, and she was like now,
mama, you know.
You know, uncle Willie alreadyjust preached about delusion,
(32:30):
you know, and it's like, it'slike, oh, you got that.
And especially for boys,especially for boys, because it
was a training of learning tosit.
It's a time to sit and listenand then it's a time for
movement.
But yeah, no, they didn't.
They were like, nah, you gonnaget this work, you, you go get
(32:51):
this real work, you gonna getthis real work.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So stay tuned for more as we delve more into
Elizabeth's powerful, God-giventestimony.
See you next week.
That's it for now, but beforewe go, please continue to listen
, subscribe, share our podcast.
Also, if you want to supportour show, please scroll down to
the bottom of the show notes andclick on the link that says buy
(33:16):
me a coffee.
We were greatly appreciated.
Thank you for listening andremember God is good all the
time, and all the time God isgood and also Jesus Christ loves
you.
Thank you and I'll see you nextweek.
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