Photographs by Charlie

The Valve

by Luann Prater

“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” James 3:5 (NIV)

My husband needed some diesel fuel for the tractor so he asked me to pick up some on the way home. He had put the gas can in a box in the back of his truck. Now, I’m 5’2″, so things that taller-than-me folks can do become a bit more of an issue for this vertically challenged gal. I pumped the gas into the can then tried to lift it, not only up to the bed of the truck, but over the top edge of the box. It was then I discovered the little valve cover was open.

At least a cup’s worth of gas escaped through that tiny opening and strategically ran from the top of my t-shirt to the top of my pants. When I got home I scrubbed and scrubbed in the shower hoping to get rid of the smell, but the stench of gas remained in my nostrils.

My lips are like that little valve. It is such a small opening, yet the fuel that escapes can be unpleasant, caustic and even deadly. Loose lips have snapped at my family. Harsh tones have left friends feeling poisoned. Careless words have killed the spirit of a vulnerable child.

The book of James tells us that our tongue is like a restless evil full of deadly poison. Ouch! My husband didn’t want me to spill that gas; we wanted to use it for good. God doesn’t want our tongues to open unless they are going to encourage and spur one another on.

Several years ago I made a very small, but very life-changing decision. When a hurtful thought comes into my head, I tighten my lips and force a pause button to appear in my brain. When I allow myself to have just a second to think about the potential hazard that could come from ‘speaking my mind’ it gives the Holy Spirit time to check my heart and motives. In that pause moment I say, “Lord, take control of this tongue.” And He does.

Do I get it right every time? No. But I can see fewer wrecks in my life, fewer wounds, fewer poison-tipped darts flying out of this mouth. And, I no longer reek of gasoline I added to the fire.

Want to join me? Pause. Seal up the valve and allow the Holy Spirit to work for good through the words you speak.

An Open Invitation…

Dear Friend,

Have you ever been given a gift, possibly even a second chance, and wanted to share it with everyone? Well, that is what has happened to me with Rodan + Fields!

Back in the spring, I was truly searching for something different in my professional career. I needed a second income to take care of some expenses. And, due to my wife having Multiple Sclerosis, I wanted to be able to retire her so that she could rest, work on getting better and put this illness behind her. I also was looking for something meaningful to come out of those 40 hours I was putting in each and every week. I truly wanted to begin making a difference.

That’s when I turned to a good friend of mine, Barbie Bassett. You see, Barbie has spent many years fighting adversity and the negative opinions of others, climbing to the top of her industry as chief meteorologist, raising her family and most importantly building a wall of faith so strong it can withstand any storm that comes her way. I truly respected her and wanted her opinion. Over the course of a few weeks we talked, going over everything and she finally said, “Chuck, I just got involved in a new business. I know your situation and the dramatic change you need in your life. You truly might want to consider looking at this.” 

That’s when she introduced me to Rodan + Fields, a company started by Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields, the doctors who created Proactiv that is now a 9 billion dollar company! The doctors created this new company for two reasons, to bring “Dermatology to the Masses” and to leave a legacy of making more millionaires than any direct sales company ever. They want to share their success! 

Rodan + Fields has an anti-aging line, a sun damage reversal line, an anti-acne line and a sensitive skin line. All of the regimens are prescription based because these doctors (dermatologists) created them in the best possible way in order to treat everyone “with skin”.

When Barbie and I talked about me becoming her business partner, she had already done all of the research on the company. Since she’s very prominent in the media, she knew if there was anything wrong with the company or these doctors, she would have to make sure she found it. She could NOT afford to be wrong. As it turns out, she didn’t find anything wrong. Instead, she found everything right and joined as a consultant this past January. 

With our company’s growth and plans to go global in another year, Barbie felt her Rodan + Fields check would completely replace her TV salary in about 2 years. However, she is now way ahead of schedule and is already matching her bi-monthly check from corporate America. Rodan + Fields has surpassed all of her expectations! I am working along side her to build our team and my goals are to retire my wife, take care of our children’s educational dreams and eventually replace my corporate career, so that Debbie and I can pursue the dreams God has placed in our hearts, the ones we used to think might not be possible.

So, why should you consider joining us? With Rodan + Fields you are able to start and grow your own businesses by leveraging the ground-floor timing and the billion-dollar brand of the Doctors, who created Proactiv! You can work this business full-time or part-time and in 2-5 years create an income that could match or exceed your corporate career. This income is residual and can provide for your family and the generations that follow. (Your company can even be willed to your children).

Can you do this? Certainly! Our successful consultants have many different backgrounds: CFO’s, CEO’s, attorneys, marketing executives, accountants, real estate professionals, mortgage bankers, doctors, nurses, actors, stay-at-home moms, teachers, college students, just to name a few. Most have “no” sales experience, because this is NOT sales. It is recommending products and an opportunity just like you recommending a good movie or restaurant. 

Here are just a few examples of people who did just that. Watch their videos and get an idea of how normal everyday people, just like you and me, climbed to the top of the success ladder, just by sharing what an awesome opportunity this is.

Sarah Robbins – Went from kindergarten schoolteacher to Rodan + Fields’ first million-dollar earner! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmK-NadZM9Y

Gabe Sedlak – Retired his wife from corporate America and has become the top male earner in Rodan + Fields! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ploBB9IUhrQ

Christie Waechter – Stay at home mom, homeschooler with 5 children retired her husband from his corporate 6-figure income! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grEUcOVikaQ

These are just a few of the successes that have already come out of this company! Many others have done just the same! Our CEO has promised to give us the best pay plan in the industry and she has done just that. Also included, is a free Starfire Pearl Lexus of your choice and many trips to places such as Napa Valley and Maui!

We have just unveiled the newest additions to our anti-aging arsenal, which means more positive press and more demand for our products all over the country. We need more people nationwide and then Canada by 4th quarter 2012. We will be getting these products on many faces as we possibly can. We are moving across the country at a rapid pace and that pace is growing everyday!

Life is too short! Isn’t it time everyone loved what they are doing and be well compensated for their efforts? Rodan + Fields allows us to get the best skin of our lives and build businesses that have allowed people like me and you to start dreaming again. 

Here is my website so you can see what an official Rodan + Fields site looks like:https://chuckwilliams.myrandf.biz/

I would love the opportunity to help you change your skin and your life. If you are interested at all, just let me know. You won’t be disappointed! 

Warmest regards,

Chuck

Email: chuckwilliamsjr@gmail.com

Website: https://chuckwilliams.myrandf.biz/

Cell: 601-940-4783

p.s. Our Team has partnered with Herrin Gear Lexus in Jackson and we will be having our next event at their dealership in October. Good times are rolling!

Your Thoughts Have Wheels

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7a (KJV)

The day started off just fine, but ended with confusion and tears. As a timid middle-schooler, I climbed the steps of my school bus eager to get home after a long afternoon.

Sitting quietly in my seat, all of a sudden I got this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Although my surroundings appeared to be the same, something was not right.

The bus was the normal sunshine yellow. The seats were standard black vinyl, displaying rips and tears from years of students. The floor was littered with the usual misplaced pencils, erasers and wadded-up papers. Yet, I felt out of place.

That’s when I realized I did not know any of the kids sitting around me. And I had never seen the bus driver before. Frantically, I searched for anything familiar. My cheeks grew hot and my heart raced with panic as I realized I was on the wrong bus.

Although I WAS headed somewhere, it was NOT where I wanted to go.

I’d been distracted by conversations with friends, thoughts of sleepovers, and how much homework I had. My thoughts were not focused on where I was going. The actions that followed caused me to end up somewhere I did not want to be.

Thinking back on that day, I’ve considered how our thoughts determine a lot about the direction of our lives. Like my school bus, our thoughts will always take us somewhere, but it may not be somewhere we want to end up.

If we spend time thinking about how our boss does not appreciate us, our thoughts will take us straight to a bad attitude at work and possibly poor performance.

If we focus on how much we do for others and how little we feel appreciated, our thoughts will take us to a place of resentment, with lack of patience and love.

If we spend an entire day fuming over something our husband or kids did, and mentally practice the harsh words we plan to say to them, those thoughts will lead us into a place of arguments, hurt feelings and damaged relationships.

If we dwell on why God has allowed certain problems in our lives, we will transport ourselves into a state of insecurity and unhappiness as we stop trusting God.

If we focus our thoughts on money, career, success and pleasure, we will find ourselves in the land of the lost—feeling frustrated and discontent.

Our thoughts are powerful and require great self control. If we allow them to run rampant, focusing on things that lead us away from God, then we will wind up at a destination we would never deliberately choose.

In today’s key verse, God shows us why we should choose carefully what we think about, because our thoughts determine who we are and how we live.

My childhood memory reminds me to consistently ask God to help me keep my mind on Him and on the thoughts He has for me. That way I can live according to His plans and with His perspective, seeking to be acutely aware of where my thoughts may lead me.

Our thoughts really do have wheels. Where are your thoughts taking you today?

by Tracie Miles

Character Really Does Matter

Let’s be honest. Ethics is not for wimps. It’s not easy being a good person. It’s not easy to be honest when it might be costly, to play fair when others cheat, or to keep inconvenient promises. It’s not easy to stand up for our beliefs and still respect differing viewpoints…

It’s not easy to control powerful impulses, to be accountable for our attitudes and actions, to tackle unpleasant tasks, or to sacrifice the now for later.

It’s not easy to bear criticism and learn from it without getting angry, to take advice, or to admit error.

It’s not easy to feel genuine remorse and apologize sincerely, or to accept apologies graciously and truly forgive.

It’s not easy to stop feeling like a victim, to resist cynicism, or to make the best of every situation.

It’s not easy to be consistently kind, to think of others first, to judge generously, or to give the benefit of the doubt.

It’s not easy to be grateful or to give without concern for reward or gratitude.

It’s not easy to fail and still keep trying, to learn from failure, to risk failing again, to start over, to lose with grace, or to be glad of another’s success.

It’s not easy to look at ourselves honestly and be accountable, to avoid excuses and rationalizations, or to resist temptations.

No, being a person of character isn’t easy. That’s why it’s such a lofty goal and an admirable achievement.

Character really does matter!

When God Hurts Your Feelings

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV 1984)

Has God ever hurt your feelings? I’ll be honest, sometimes I’ll read those verses from Philippians listed above and think to myself, “This is a tough pill to swallow.”

Content in any and every situation?

Really?

Several years ago my daughter was a state champion gymnast. To see her do gymnastics was like looking at God smile. She was beautiful, graceful, and captivating to watch.

One night while practicing for one of the largest tournaments she’d ever compete in, she fell. It was a move she’d done hundreds of times with the greatest of ease. But this time something went terribly wrong and that one mistake ended her gymnastic dreams.

We spent a year going from doctor to doctor only to be told she’d never be able to support the weight of her body on her injured shoulder again.

I’ll be honest, this was heart wrenching. Watching a 14 year old girl wrestle with the fact her dreams were stripped from her doesn’t exactly lend itself to feelings of contentment. Now, I know in the grand scheme of life, people face much worse situations. But in her world, this was huge.

It was so tempting to wallow in the “why” questions and tell God He’d hurt our feelings.

Why did this happen?

Why didn’t You stop this God?

Why weren’t my prayers answered?

Have you ever been there? Have you ever had a big situation in your life where you just couldn’t process why God would allow this to happen? Or maybe even a small annoyance like losing your keys or having a flat tire on a morning you really needed to be somewhere.

It’s so tempting to wallow in the why.

Asking why is perfectly normal. Asking why isn’t unspiritual. However, if asking why pushes us farther from God rather than drawing us closer to Him, it is the wrong question.

If asking why doesn’t offer hope, what will?

The what question.

In other words: “Now that this is my reality, what am I supposed to do with it?”

Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)

I like to call this verse “directions on where to park my mind.”

And that’s exactly what Ashley has had to do with her dashed gymnastics dreams. Instead of wallowing in why did this happen, I’ve had to help her say:

This is my reality, now what am I going to do with it?

What can I learn from this?

What part of this is for my protection?

What other opportunities could God be providing?

What maturity could God be building into me?

Switching from the why to the what question paves the road to parking our mind in a much better place.

Is it always easy? Nope.

But is it a way to find a perspective beyond situations where we feel God has allowed something in our lives we don’t understand and we absolutely don’t like? Yes.

Lysa TerKeurst