Ever battled with adversity, only to discover a prevailing faith and hope that changes everything? Prepare to be inspired by the uplifting journey of Rich Kemp, founder of Simple Salsa, as he shares with us how his faith and trust in God guided him to success. From a humble life in the medical field, venturing into construction, and eventually building a successful business, Rich's story is one of resilience and unshakeable belief, and He is one of Ron's Exhibitors in the Christmas City Gift Show!
Rich's journey wasn't a smooth ride. But with the unwavering support from his wife Julie and a newfound realization of his need for Jesus Christ, he found his way. Tune in to hear how Rich learned to lean on his faith and patience, ask for help, and release control to God's guidance in his moments of doubt. His story emphasizes the power of humility and accepting that we can't do everything alone.
Thanks for Listening, and subscribe to hear a new episode each week!
Ever battled with adversity, only to discover a prevailing faith and hope that changes everything? Prepare to be inspired by the uplifting journey of Rich Kemp, founder of Simple Salsa, as he shares with us how his faith and trust in God guided him to success. From a humble life in the medical field, venturing into construction, and eventually building a successful business, Rich's story is one of resilience and unshakeable belief, and He is one of Ron's Exhibitors in the Christmas City Gift Show!
Rich's journey wasn't a smooth ride. But with the unwavering support from his wife Julie and a newfound realization of his need for Jesus Christ, he found his way. Tune in to hear how Rich learned to lean on his faith and patience, ask for help, and release control to God's guidance in his moments of doubt. His story emphasizes the power of humility and accepting that we can't do everything alone.
Thanks for Listening, and subscribe to hear a new episode each week!
The following program is sponsored by Ron Meyers Ministries.
Announcer:It's time now to get the hell out of your life. A weekly broadcast with real people sharing real struggles and offering real hope. Today's show will encourage, inspire and empower you to face life's challenges with a bold confidence and renewed hope. Now let's join our host, ron Meyers. The Provoder.
Ron Meyers:It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood a beautiful day for a neighbor.
Kandi Anderson Ferris:Would you be mine?
Rich Kemp:Could you be mine? It's a neighborly day in this beautiful the neighborly day for you, hello my friends and welcome to my neighborhood.
Ron Meyers:That's right, my name is Ron Meyers. I am the promoter. I promote the goodness, the grace, the love, the mercy, the destiny that we have through Jesus. And that song, mr Rogers, was a big part of my life as a child growing up. I would get home every day and I think it was somewhere around four o'clock in the afternoon. Mr Rogers came on the television and it made me feel so good because I was accepted. He talked to every individual through that television as if he was right there in our living room and friends.
Ron Meyers:The point of this show is all about sharing real stories, real struggles and real hope. I have a neighborhood that I invite everyone. I don't care if you believe in God, you're an atheist, or maybe you dabble in witchcraft, or maybe you just have an alternate lifestyle, maybe you have committed crimes. That's my neighborhood. I love that. I love individuals that just are like me. You know, sometimes we just don't fit in life. You know, I call myself a misfit quite a bit, but through Jesus I have discovered a life of peace, purpose and passion. I get inspired, encouraged, empowered on my daily walk to discover what it is I'm to do in this world. And so if I can share stories, not only my personal stories, but stories of individuals who are just like us searching for answers in life and they found them, sometimes at the end of their rope, they were in some dire situations, and today you're going to hear a story of one of my exhibitors that was just at Christmas City Rich Kemp.
Ron Meyers:He and his wife, julie Kemp, have a company, simple Salsa, but you know, to get to where they are today, they had to go through a lot of trials and tribulations. Can you relate to that? Sometimes, friends, you can look at the world and think that, wow, there is a target on my back. Nothing I do is right, nobody is happy. And what's the purpose? Don't isolate yourself with those feelings, because 95% of people out there in the world probably 99% feel that way at one time or another in life. But I want you to know that. Hey, listen, that's just part of the process. You know what we're going to have all of our lives turned upside down, and then there will be days where we're just happy. But it's a roller coaster ride. But with Jesus it's a pretty cool roller coaster ride. So let's listen to Rich Kemp share his amazing story of God's grace, mercy, love and compassion.
Rich Kemp:It's my pleasure to be on your show Ron, tell you what the times today and with everything going on, it's really frustrating for me to sit back and see some of the suffering going on that people and if they could just in their own mind and heart, you know just turn their heart over to God and let Him lead them. He'll give them the strength and the will and the perseverance to get through all of this. I know it's very difficult, but they've got to have that faith. Who is Rich Kemp? Well, I was actually. I'm from, originally from Tuscaloosa, alabama.
Rich Kemp:My family moved to Houston where I was raised and the time I was a year old and grew up in Houston, left Houston after I graduated high school, moved to a small community. I just didn't want the big city life anymore and Through all my ventures in life, god led me to Colorado. I lived up there for over 10 years, loved it, started a construction company. I did very, very well. That was my passion. And then, of course, I fell off a ladder and hurt myself. So I got to where I couldn't do that anymore and through different ventures that I was led to here, we wound up making different spices, blends and dips, and chili and salsa, and this is what we're doing now. So I just firmly believe that this is where we're supposed to be. This is where God led us to, and I never looked back. God is a foundation, just like a home foundation. Without Him, you're not gonna have any type of really solid structure in your life, and through some of the things that happened to me a few years back, it really got me to where I had to really open my heart even more and let Him lead me. It was a very difficult thing for me because, even though I've been a Christian since I was in my early teens, being a Christian and really letting God in your life and letting Him lead you are two different things and it's something that I had to learn. But once I opened my heart, hey, I'm telling you it's the greatest thing in the world. I think the biggest thing was I was.
Rich Kemp:We were both at a point and I had to commend my wife. She had just been a rock through this whole thing, but we were both at a point that I was just about ready to give up. I'm not the type of person that sits back and says I don't know what to do, but that was where I was at I didn't know what to do anymore and it was just through the grace of God that we were contacted by someone that offers a job for a month out on the West coast, and we didn't have the money to get there. We had never met these people. I knew the person's brother. They actually sent us over $300 in gas, money and everything to get out there to work and went to work for them. Selling a product for 28 straight days, made over $12,000 profit, and the rest is history. And then God turned around and led us to different locations and different people throughout this period of time.
Rich Kemp:After this, it was really when Julie and I first got out there and people don't believe the story. I'm telling this, but we were sitting in the motel room that night which the company furnished for us. Ron, we had $1 each to our name, $1 each. We had no bank account. We had bills due. I mean, we were at our wit's end and it was just. We just sat back and said Lord, help us. We brought us here, help us, and we just went in and did it and the rest is history.
Rich Kemp:I really think that a lot of people and even me at times you think okay, you're a Christian now and all these doors are gonna open up, the Lord's gonna just give you stuff. That's not the way it works. That's just not the way it works. Well, with me I've always. When I was younger, I had a lot of inner strength and through this hard time that we went through it was beating me down so bad that I mean I was at my wit's end, didn't know what to do. I've never been in this position before. I was ashamed, I felt guilty, blaming myself for it, everything else. And when everything started turning around, I felt that inner strength coming back. I felt that determination coming back. He gave me the will to get up every day.
Rich Kemp:The thing that I tell people all the time is you have to take the first step and you have to have faith. And they look at me and go well, I can't. Well, I see you can't say that, because if it's something you want, bad enough when you get up in the morning and you go to work and you dread going to work, that works on you emotionally, it works on you spiritually. It can tear you down. If you get up in the morning and what you do for a living is something that you don't consider a job that you love. Let me tell you I am so blessed People don't have a clue.
Ron Meyers:I am so blessed to do what I do, and today you've been doing simple sauce of what now Rich, about eight, nine years Going on a living run and you go all over the United States.
Rich Kemp:We do. We travel. We've gone as far as South Dakota, north Carolina, south Carolina, georgia. We have distributors at South Barson in various states. But we actually did the Cowboy Christmas show years ago out in Vegas and that one show widened our online sales to where we are now in all 50 states in the United States. It was such a blessing because when we started this, my goal was within three years to be in all 50 states. Well, it took us about seven years, but you know what that's God's time on that's fine. But we ship all over the country. We ship to people we've never met, never been in that area, and it's word of mouth, and I think a lot of it just stems from the fact that we have a good product, we offer good pricing. So I think there's a lot of a lot of things there.
Rich Kemp:I've always been a firm believer and sometimes I get a little long winded in the booth. Customers to me are not just a dollar sign. I've gotten a lot of customers that we have built a very good relationship. We'll sit down and call each other, talk on the phone, we'll go out to have dinner when we go to that town and so forth. That's the one thing that I really strive for is because business is fine, but I also like to talk to people, get to know people.
Rich Kemp:And I'll tell you, ron, it's really funny and this is something that a lot of people my wife always tells me she said you should have been a therapist. I will have people come up to my booth and they'll sit there and talk to me and I'll get to talking to them and they'll just open up and tell me their deepest, darkest secrets, their life story. And people go why do you stand there and just talk to somebody? So I said listen, they need somebody to talk to. Amen, this person needs someone to open up to. And I said and by doing that maybe I can lead them to the Lord.
Ron Meyers:So if that person came up to your booth, what would you tell?
Rich Kemp:that person. I would tell them to open their heart to Jesus. I would tell them to give in, to ask for help, to be humble. Be so bullheaded and strong headed. You think you can do it yourself? Because I'm telling you for a fact you cannot. You have to have the Lord guiding you. But I was also told, and you also have to have patience. God is going to put you in the right spot at the right time. Don't force it.
Rich Kemp:The hardest thing is individuals, and it was for me too is to let go. I think that's the hardest thing. Being mortal is just to let go, and I still struggle with that today. I mean, it's a daily thing that I sit back and I'm okay. I can't do that. I've got to let Lord show me where to go and what to do. But the thing I would really stress to people number one is you got to open your heart to God. You've got to accept for Jesus Christ, your Savior. Number two is you have to have patience and be willing to let him guide you. If you do that, everything will fall into place and we don't know what the plan is. Sometimes you sit back and you go. You know, lord, what's my plan. What do you have in plan for me? And the hardest thing is not knowing. But when the time is right, he's going to place you in the right place, the right time, the right people. He's going to give you the knowledge. He's going to give you the wisdom. He's going to teach you how to research. He's going to open up so many doors and that's what he did for me, ron, I'll tell you, when I was a young man, in my late teens and early twenties, I was a sorry individual.
Rich Kemp:I was a liar, I was a cheater, I was a thief. I wound up getting myself in trouble. I did at least turn around and have the honor and humbled myself and turned myself in. But I was looking at five to 10 years in the state and a country and, by the grace of God, I never spent one second in jail. The charges were dropped. That is what changed me.
Rich Kemp:So I tell people and I especially talk to youth about this it's okay, if you make a mistake, stand up and be accountable for what you do. Number one and number two don't make the same mistakes. One you know I did. I went to college. I Was actually in the medical field back in my late 20s I was a lab tech and I went to nursing school and I got out of that, not because I didn't enjoy the patients I did enjoy it but it got too political and so I left the medical profession and that's when I got into construction, the stuff like that, but. But everything that I've done in my life was a building block, and you know, the Lord has worked so many ways in my life that I mean I could sit here and tell you, talk to you two or three hours. Well, I'm gonna switch about it, but in short, it's, it's. It's really started to come around when I finally gave in and opened up.
Rich Kemp:Yeah and and I give praise Lord Jesus Christ every day because 16 years ago, 16 years ago, we were homeless, okay, living in a tent, $2 to our name. We got the chance to sell the jewelry cleaner. The gentleman that owned that company actually helped us get started doing shows with that. We didn't have to have the money time. We got ball of our bills paid because we had to read by furniture and everything we had sold everything trying to make ends meet. I mean, we had squat and and so you know, all this stuff we're sitting like going, okay, we can do this, we can do this. And it was that inner strength the Lord was giving me every day to get up out of bed and never give up, never give up and never give up.
Announcer:I never give up.
Rich Kemp:Never give up, never. That is the worst thing you can do.
Announcer:You're listening to get the hell out of your life with your host, ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.
Speaker 6:What's your story? We're looking for stories of hope and overcoming life struggles with God's grace. Your story validates God's love, mercy, restoration and forgiveness. We want to help you share your story with the world. Visit our website, the promoterorg, and click on the share your story link and submit your story. Your testimony of God's amazing grace will change a person's destiny for eternity.
Announcer:Getting encouragement is important and it helps us overcome our fears and gives us the courage to face life's challenges. To receive weekly messages of encouragement, all you need to do is text inspire to 888-527-1223. That's 888-527-1223. Our messages are intended to inspire and empower you on your life journey. Remember, life is more enjoyable when you're inspired.
Kandi Anderson Ferris:Hi, this is Candy Anderson Ferris bringing you a message of hope Plans. Our bags were packed, we were ready to go, the trip of a lifetime, a check mark on my bucket list, y'all. In just 10 days, a group of friends from church and my husband and I were leaving for Israel, the Holy Land, a place where I wanted to go forever. It was my dream coming to fruition Baptism in the Jordan, walking where my savior walk. My husband had studied maps and history for months and I had packed and prepared. For months. We had wanted and worked for this and then the shutdown came. Because of COVID-19.
Kandi Anderson Ferris:Plans changed, my late husband, larry, used to say quite often from the pulpit, nothing ever dawned on God. Change is inevitable. Often it's one phone call away, one doctors report away, one layoff. Or maybe it's even a good change. Maybe the answers to our prayer look different from what we planned. There's an old Yiddish proverb that says we plan God laughs. But I do know God is for us. His plans are for our future and our hope. His thoughts toward us are precious. So as sad and disheartened, even broken over changed plans, I know God sees the whole picture. I can trust our Lord because he is a good, good father, and his word says in their hearts Human plan their courses, but he, the Lord, establishes their steps. Lord, change me and change my heart for your glory.
Speaker 6:He never fails when I'm at my weakest. I will trust in Jesus.
Ron Meyers:Welcome back, listeners, and I hope God is in your story because our stories are continually being changed, day in and day out. The chapter that you're living in today, well, there'll be a new chapter around the corner. I look over my life and I see all the different chapters, a lot of the chapters in my life. They were never created by me, it was just Circumstances. Things just happened. I got that phone call, I got the letter in the mail that got terminated. I had an opportunity and then I had to act on Whatever came into my life.
Ron Meyers:And sometimes it's those circumstances, it's that phone call, it's the news that somebody tells us they don't want to be with us any longer, that we have to then decide what are we going to do? Are we going to fall apart or we going to just go to pieces? Or are we going to just say I've got to get through this. I've got to get the strength and the perseverance to push through what I'm going through. Friends, it is only the perseverance, and in the first part of my life I really wasn't avid follower of Jesus. I knew Jesus, I knew the name of Jesus, but I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. So in the early part of my life, when I had things that just entered my life, I would have to make a decision based on my instinct or my gut or what other people's advice may have told me. And most of the time, you know, it all worked out. I mean, I came out okay, but I always knew that there was something more to it and I always wondered hmm, do I have a plan, do I have a purpose? And if I do, how do I get there? And then I discovered that whatever I had for my destiny, my purpose in life, could only be given to me by the creator of my purpose and my destiny, your creator that created you for a reason in this world. So when I began that search to look for Jesus and how Jesus would affect me on a personal level, my entire life began to change. Now, the first thing that happened was that I felt good, I had some peace. Now, I didn't have all the answers, no way. But I knew something inside of me said just trust me and together we're going to dance through life. We're going to go through life and you're going to see things through my eyes, experience things through my feelings, and you will have the mind of Christ as you spend more and more time with me, and I knew that was Jesus, and that is why I encourage all of us to have healthy conversations with Jesus, day in and day out, 24, seven. Anything that's on your mind, just speak it.
Ron Meyers:A lot of people say well, I can't wait to get to church. Well, jesus can't wait to have a conversation with you today. And it's not in a building and it is not a particular day of the week. Friends, I think you would agree there's some wild, crazy things, insecure things going on in this world. But the security that you and I have and we can base this on the facts, and that is this Jesus is for you, not against you.
Ron Meyers:Jesus is not going to drag you down the road and then throw you in a ditch. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. When you ask Jesus into your heart, you discover your destiny. He comes in with a new heart, a new desire. Your sins are totally forgiven past, present and future. Yes, the ones that you will commit in the future.
Ron Meyers:All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and no matter who we are in this world that when we come to Christ. We are still going to fall short. We're going to sin once in a while. We're not going to like it, but we will never lose our status with God. We will never lose our reservations in heaven. He will never jump out of us because he dwells within us. He is there forever and ever and ever.
Ron Meyers:You got it and with that relationship, that vine branch relationship with Jesus, you begin to produce fruits in your life of peace, joy, happiness, perseverance, and Life soon begins to start making sense. And then you go back and you look at things that you did years ago and you wonder how did I get through that? You do that without Jesus and then you think to yourself you know what? He was always with me, always trying to reveal himself to me, but I was hardheaded and I was boneheaded and I did not Recognize it.
Ron Meyers:So today, friends, I want you to know this. Then, no matter what you're going through, no matter the concerns and the worries that you have, you are not alone. You have a plan and you have a purpose, and Jesus would like nothing more Than to pick you up and wrap you in his loving, unconditional, loving arms and Just squeeze the hell out of your life. He loves the hell out of your life so you can become what he needed you to become, and that is yourself. That's right. If you don't become you, who will? So this is a day but Thanksgiving. Here in this season, it's time to be thankful for what we have, what we're going to do with our life and when we leave this world, where we are going to go.
Announcer:You're listening to get the hell out of your life with your host, ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.
Announcer:We would like to express our gratitude to coffee news for their support of this program. Are you tired of scrolling through the same old news feeds every morning? Then switch things up with coffee news. Our publication is filled with interesting stories, brain teasers and uplifting quotes that are sure to brighten your day. And now you can access coffee news anytime, anywhere, by visiting our website. So, whether you're sipping your morning coffee at your favorite cafe or browsing online from your desk, we've got you covered. Start your day off right with coffee news at. Read coffee news online.
Announcer:Calm, ron will be back in a moment to wrap up today's conversation. Did you know what Ron did before he discovered his destiny? He was a promoter of secular entertainment and, by his own admission, he promoted anything he could make, a bucket at the pinnacle of his success. He walked away from it all so he could follow Jesus and discover his God-given destiny. That was over 20 years ago and he has never looked back. Ron put his story in a novel entitled the promoter, and he wants to give you a copy. This book is a message of hope. To request your free copy, visit our website at the promoterorg. Now back to Ron.
Ron Meyers:Well, friends, my time is just about up and I want to send a special thank you to the 14,000 plus guest that visited and shopped at the Christmas City gift show. What an incredible event it is, that event that gives this ministry the funding to do podcast, to do radio, to do television. It's all about Jesus, and when we can promote the goodness and the grace of Jesus to you individually, not collectively to a group of people, I'm speaking to you. You are part of this neighborhood. I want you to be a part of this. All the time there's a new podcast or a radio program every week, go to my website, the promoter dot org. I'm for you, I'm with you and, most of all, jesus is for you, never against you, and this is our time in life. We just have to grab the hand of Jesus and walk through life, or dance through life, and Allow him to love the hell out of our life.
Announcer:Today's show was produced by Ron Myers ministries. A listener supported ministry. For a copy of today's broadcast, please visit our website, the promoter dot org, and would you prayerfully consider making a tax deductible donation so that we may continue to share stories of God's amazing grace with the world and join us next week for another Broadcast of get the hell out of your life. Real people sharing real struggles and and offering real hope. You.