Schallert was raised in an alcoholic home and by age thirteen had become addicted to alcohol and drugs, an addiction that escalated through her teenage years. By age nineteen, she had tried and was using the hardest liquor and every conceivable drug she could obtain.

She attempted suicide at fifteen and was thinking about it again when her sister, who had married into a Christian family, convinced her to attend an evangelistic meeting with her. The message that night that "God loves you, just the way you are!" stunned and moved her, and when an alter call ended the meeting, she responded.

With her newfound hope and increasing confidence, she began to witness by speaking and singing about the transformation she had experienced. She wrote songs that speak directly to the problems and challenges in life and how to achieve victory. Her music draws on her experiences in her journey since that night when she began to heal emotionally and to grow spiritually.

Schallert was working as a manicurist in August 1996, when she felt impressed to begin doing a self-supporting full-time ministry. Although she initially resisted, she finally started and has since been amazed at how God has blessed her ministry and provided the needed funds.

She has traveled to India twice on behalf of Maranatha International and has been a guest on 3ABN, Son Broadcasting, Hope TV, and other Christian television and radio outlets. She was on the cover of and the feature story in the May/June 2002 issue of Women of Spirit magazine.

Schallert has released two CDs, both consisting entirely of her own music. Her first CD, Beyond the Storm, a telling of her story and spiritual journey, was distributed nationally and well received. The second, The Ten Commandments, released in 2000, underscores the truths that are still relevant to living a Christian life today. A third CD, Loud Cry, is currently being prepared.

ds/2009

Reger Smith, Jr., "In All Directions," Adventist Review, May 2005; Other Online Sources.