Speaker 1: 0:01

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 Myers. The promoter.

Ron Meyers: 0:22

Hello, my friends, it is so good to be with you today. Myers the promoter. Hello my friends, it is so good to be with you today. This is a great day. To make it a great day after you hear some of the things you're going to hear today. It's all about encouragement, empowerment.

Ron Meyers: 0:35

I'm your host, Ron Meyers, and this show was started years ago because I wanted to reach people that did not go to church, were tired of church, were judged, were compartmentalized. They were placed over in a corner and said you know, hey, you sit in the back of the bus and when you get your act together, we'll let you come up here to the front of the bus. Well, friends, none of that. Here we are open to everyone because the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. There's no such thing in the Bible as, hey, get your act together and come and follow me. No, in fact, we need to follow him because we don't get our act together.

Ron Meyers: 1:11

And any church out there that excludes people because of their behavior or their lifestyle? Well, they don't understand what the gospel is and they are denying people, depriving people of hearing the truth, the truth that set them free. So here's a show that comes along called Get the Hell Out of your Life. And I don't care what organized religion thinks about me, because I will only share things and my guests share things that are in the Bible the gospel of Jesus Christ, freedom. Freedom, forgiveness and the ability to live life for Jesus without rules, because he rules our heart and life comes out of our heart, and we are encouraged and inspired and empowered by a walking relationship with Jesus. Not one day a week. Every minute of every day we do life with Jesus. So we are a walking testament to the power of Christ, and sometimes we can even open our mouth and tell people about Jesus.

Ron Meyers: 2:12

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. My guest today has a transformational story, one that well, she was set free from prison. Shea Walters got involved with drugs addiction and ended up in prison, but her faith saw her through and today she is free, becoming the person God created her to be. So let's take a listen to this amazing story. Shea, what's your story?

Shay Walters: 2:39

Okay, I'm originally from Ohio, but I'm married now, so I live in Parkersburg, west Virginia. I'm 31,. Happy home, mother of four. But I'm married now, so I live in Parkersburg, west Virginia. I'm 31. Happy home, mother of four, three that live with us. And yeah, we're living a good life right now, thank God.

Ron Meyers: 2:52

But at one time you weren't living a good life, were you?

Shay Walters: 2:55

So yeah, actually I struggled with addiction for about 10 years of my life prior to getting sober. You wouldn't know by looking at me today, but I'm also a nine-time felon and I spent a couple of years in prison in Ohio actually. So I think a lot of times with people that start with addiction, it doesn't start out, you know, it starts off as smaller things. So I like to really touch base about how you know I had a good home life growing up, but I had this personality of someone who was never afraid to try anything. I almost thought it was cool. That's how I found my identity was to be rebellious, outgoing life of the party. So it started off with drinking at get-togethers and then gradually with marijuana, and then I would be trying pills and just gradually I ended up intervening in drug use, whether that be pain pills or heroin or cocaine. I ended up a full-blown drug addict, you know, by 19 years old.

Ron Meyers: 3:48

During this addiction time of your life, were there others in your life your family trying to pull you out of that addiction?

Shay Walters: 3:55

Yeah, absolutely. My mom was always my biggest fan, and my sister. It was really hard for my mom because I think she wanted to save me so much, but my saving had to come from God. No human could have helped me, no human could have made me see that life was worth living. And then, you know, drugs caused such a depression and such, you know, I didn't have any self-worth. But then it gets to the point where you don't even want to live, you don't even want to be saved. You know you're using the drugs just to kill the pain of what your life is like.

Shay Walters: 4:22

So my mom would always try to help me. And then my sister, who's a year older than me and we were always very close growing up and she's never touched anything and she started researching enabling and what that meant. So she would start coaching my mom about not enabling me and every day she would tell her like, don't give Shay money. You know you can't do this, mom. I've been. She just researched everything she could until you know, my mom had to cut me off from that and every night she would message me before she went to bed and she would just say you know, are you alive? And I would say yes, and she would say if you want to go to treatment, please call me. And I would never call her. I never wanted to go.

Ron Meyers: 4:53

So you are a full blown addict. And then you have nine felony convictions. Tell us about those.

Shay Walters: 5:01

Yeah, so it was all. It was all drug related. It was nine felony drug charges. So eventually what happens is you can't hold a job down and you're sick without drugs. But then I would probably say almost every drug addict has sold drugs at some point. So then, just to support my own habit, I started selling drugs and pushing drugs and I was in Ohio. I was from a small town in Ohio but I'd go to a bigger city if I am home, and I just was from a small town in Ohio but I'd go to a bigger city if I am home.

Shay Walters: 5:24

And I just was not a very smart criminal either, so I just kept getting in trouble with the law until eventually they were like you know, enough's enough, we've given you enough chances. And they sent me to prison.

Ron Meyers: 5:34

So in prison, is that where you met God?

Shay Walters: 5:37

I did so. I met a woman who would come into the jail and she would bring AA meetings in there and she ultimately became my sponsor. But she would come in there and she just had this light about her. You know, people that know, know Jesus, that know God, they have that joy that you know, that comes from within, and she was just very kind to me and she would tell me about. You know, she worked this program and she's been sober for 35 years.

Shay Walters: 5:57

So I think just hearing her story gave me a little glimpse of hope that that maybe I could do this, you know. So I would start to pray, she would encourage me to pray and I'd start to pray and then somehow, through the process of working these steps, I was just so comforted by God. I remember I would be in the hole in the county jail and the verse that says God is close to the brokenhearted. I had it scribbled on my wall and I'd look at that while I cried every night, you know, and it's just me and God. And eventually I just had this peace about me that it was okay that I was heading to prison and it was okay Everything that I'd been through and I could have peace with God. No matter where I was at and I really really was okay the love of God enveloped me and I was just determined to turn my life around.

Ron Meyers: 6:39

You know, I was just going to say and you beat me to it the love of God does something to us. Once I found that love of God, I realized you know what. I have a purpose. I'm here for something. Did you think things like that?

Shay Walters: 6:52

Absolutely. Some of the women that I was in prison with still reach out to me. Whether they're sober or not doesn't matter, but they'll tell me little things. So in prison they have what they call a yard and you can go out there and you can walk laps or people play sports out there and they remember we would all be walking on the yard and they would be talking about you know, they can't wait to get out and get high.

Shay Walters: 7:09

A lot of them still wanted to get high and live that life and they said I would be walking and I would say you guys can do that. I'm going to get out and I'm going to change the world. You know, and this is while I was still in prison and I like that's where you don't have anything physically or materialistically, where I didn't have physical freedom. You know what I mean. But he gave me freedom that comes from the inside and you really realize that's what it's about and that's the voice that I was trying to fill all those years with drugs or with people or with worldly things, and then I realized I don't have to have anything and I can still be okay if everything's right with my creator.

Ron Meyers: 7:40

Shay, I believe there are people listening right now that cannot break the chains of addiction. In fact, they probably want to overdose to die. What would you tell any person that right now is chained up with addiction?

Shay Walters: 7:55

That God is a God of second chances and I think he gets so much enjoyment out of bringing people out of the pit and bringing them to just a rooftop of happiness. You know you really like to use the least likely person to turn their life around so you can go out and give your testimony to other people.

Ron Meyers: 8:12

How long have you been sober?

Shay Walters: 8:15

October I celebrated six years sober.

Ron Meyers: 8:17

Congratulations. That's a long time, six years.

Shay Walters: 8:20

Yeah, just the beginning.

Ron Meyers: 8:22

Is it a struggle every day?

Shay Walters: 8:23

No, not anymore. No, absolutely not. It's hard to believe I ever lived like that, and it's crazy because there was a point in time where I couldn't imagine a day without getting high, and now I can't imagine a day high.

Ron Meyers: 8:34

I love it. I love the story of freedom, breaking the chains of addiction.

Shay Walters: 8:39

I'm a firm believer that, no matter what it is that people go through that, you go through it to help others go through it. Right, so that means mine is addiction. And then you know, now, even if I'm having, you know, if my husband and I are going through stuff, or we're a blended family or you know anything like that, you know we can help other people with it. Whether it be, you know, people get divorced and they think that they can't be used in the kingdom of God, you know. Or people go through sexual abuse or physical abuse or mental health issues you know whatever it is. Or veterans, you know whatever it is that you've been through, that you've trudged through and came out on the other side. I believe that God wants to use it to bring him glory, you know, and then you can help other people and somehow, with helping other people, it brings healing to us as well.

Ron Meyers: 9:18

Now you've got the microphone. You know your mission, as you said, is that you want to change the world. That's what you want to do. You wanted that when you were in prison. So, right now, what would you tell them? Right now You're up on the stage, you're talking right to these people that are hurt, they're broken, they can't wait to have their next drug, but you've interrupted their life and they're going to hear something from you, shay. What would you tell them?

Shay Walters: 9:39

It's so important for us to realize that we can recover. I think for the longest time I'd never met anybody that really got sober. I didn't believe that I could overcome this, you know, and then you get to a point where you can't imagine living the way you're living anymore. But you also can't imagine a life where you're sober. You know, and God can use that. And all it takes is that first step, that first step of surrender, saying you know, whether it be going to treatment or reaching out to someone else that's in recovery, and just saying I want to do this. That's a miracle right there to even have the thought of. I think I want to get sober, you know, because our minds can be so far gone that we don't even think we want help. We can't imagine a life where we're not using. And I also think it's really important that, as a woman, I speak to the moms out there, because I think we carry so much guilt for what we put our kids through and then that guilt keeps us from getting better. Even fathers, you know your guilt of what you put your children through, and my son today is such a good kid and I'm not saying that hasn't been a struggle. There's a long time where my sponsor would tell me that, no matter what my son said, to say I know you're right and I'm sorry. For a long time I just had to humble myself and do that, you know. But through all of this he's become a better person.

Shay Walters: 10:42

My family loves me. They look to me for advice and a lot of people come to me for prayer. They love my prayers, they love my advice, and when they sit down with me, everything that they're saying to me I'm saying I've been there too. I've been there too, so much to the point where they'll say, like I don't believe you were in prison, I don't believe that was me, you know. And just to be a living example, and if I can do it, anybody can do it. Like I said, I was a nine-time felon. I was arrested probably 30 times and upon being booked into the county jail, they would immediately put me in segregation because nobody liked me, nobody wanted to be around me, and now I'm a pillar of my community. We own a licensed behavioral health center and we get to help people every single day get sober.

Ron Meyers: 11:22

Wow, that's awesome. Shay Walters her story from prison to purpose. Shay, you're getting me fired up about going out there to do something. I love it, I love your energy, I love your passion. But somebody on the other end is saying oh well, God could never love me. I've done too many bad things. I'm just worthless, I'm hopeless. A lot of people think that, Shay.

Shay Walters: 11:42

I tell people all the time that I thought I had done such horrible things that if I can't forgive myself, if I hated myself so much, how could God forgive me? How could the King of Kings love me and forgive me? And he gave his life for us. There's nothing. We're not inventing any new sins. You know he knew what we were going to do before we ever did it, and his love covers all sin. He wants us to need him. He often he wants us to need him. He wants us to have to cry out to him and it's in that brokenness that he's able to pour into us. You know through those cracks in our soul that we need him so much. That's what he's yearning for. God comes where there's a need. So if you need him, he's going to meet you right where you're at. And his forgiveness it overpowers anything that our human minds could ever understand. It's just beyond our comprehension.

Ron Meyers: 12:23

God has allowed you to hit the bottom of your pit because that's the only way he's going to get your attention. Most people that I know come to God after they hit bottom.

Shay Walters: 12:33

Yep, I'm thankful for my bottom. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I mean, I'm so thankful for my bottom because I look at you know, I don't look at church as a punishment. I'm like what an honor, what an honor I get to go and spend time with God. What an honor I get to help people. What an honor I'm alive. What an honor. Everything's just such an honor and I believe that, like, gratitude equals happiness, you know, and I'm so thankful about my life. It makes it to where I'm able to enjoy it a lot more.

Ron Meyers: 12:59

So tell us some of the exciting things that you've been doing. I've noticed your Facebook page. You have a lot of followers, so do you travel? How can people get in touch with you?

Shay Walters: 13:07

Yeah, so I have a Facebook page right now it's just called Shea Walters, but you'll see it says says for present of purpose. You can get on there and you can reach out to me. I'm here locally where we're from. We just opened a year ago a behavioral health center and we have peer supporters, which are people that are in recovery, that help other people. So we do a lot of that here and my husband and I, we do travel and we speak and we're very involved in our church, so we like to go and visit churches and pour into people that way as well.

Shay Walters: 13:32

I think it's really important to blend, you know, recovery into the church too, so people feel welcomed there, so cool. So actually, I was the first felon ever hired at my local courthouse. So and ever hired at my local courthouse so I get to advocate for people there in Marietta Ohio and, yeah, we're just doing big things. I have a million me and my husband have a million followers together on our social media platforms and we just get to talk about God and recovery and life and what a blessing it is.

Ron Meyers: 13:55

I imagine he raised a lot of guilt in your life and when he sets you on that path of freedom you become a very good promoter for the goodness of God.

Shay Walters: 14:03

Yeah, absolutely. He wants us to share our testimony and there's power in our testimony. He wants us to share about his works in our life. You know that's what he wants us to do. He wants us to share the gospel and the miracles that he's performed. How could God save me? And I don't want to go out and tell everybody, you know, if you walk into church and you go in with a broken leg and you walk out with your leg, yeah, I don't want any other life. I couldn't imagine a life where I'm not a seeker. I enjoy it. I enjoy. I think there's levels to God. I mean, you know, I just want to keep growing with him and it's so much fun, I love him so much, I enjoy it so much, I really do.

Ron Meyers: 14:42

Shay Walters. How do you get the hell out of your life?

Shay Walters: 14:45

Surrender, I just just surrender, you know. Stay in your word, hit your knees, pray, do the next right thing. That's a good way to live. Seek God and do the very next right thing.

Shay Walters: 14:55

Yeah, surrender, because there really is life after addiction isn't there, and there's a verse, and I'm not the best at quoting verses exactly, but it says his thoughts are abundantly higher than our thoughts, you know. So, whatever it is, if I would have written down everything I wanted out of my life, I would have sold myself short, because he wants even more for us than we would ever feel comfortable asking him for. You know.

Ron Meyers: 15:19

Now I would love for you to pray for the listeners out there.

Shay Walters: 15:24

Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you so much for letting me to speak to these people. God, I want to thank you so much for Ron, his podcast and what he's doing for your kingdom. I ask you to touch every listener today, god I on his podcast on what he's doing for your kingdom. I ask you to touch every listener today, god. I ask you to plant a seed of hope in their hearts. God, I ask you to break the chains of addiction and sorrow and depression and anxiety over their life. I ask you to bring them out of darkness and into your light. I ask you to send your angel family to their home. I ask you to use them, god, and bring blessings into their house, help them to be better mothers and fathers and grandparents, and help them to be seekers of you. We just thank you for every single day that you give us. We thank you for the breath in our lungs. Thank you for everything.

Ron Meyers: 16:03

In Jesus' name we pray Amen. Friends, when I return, I want to share why it's so important to live a faith-filled life.

Speaker 1: 16:07

You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life with your host, ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.

Speaker 4: 16:16

In everyone's life there may be fear, worries, anxiety over issues of all kinds. Maybe addictions or bad choices have created an unbelievable amount of drama in your life or family. My name is Mark and this is the Journey. Today, I want to encourage you that if you find yourself in a situation where you don't know what to do, you have God's promise in His Word that he will help you. Back in the late 90s, after 10 years of marriage, I found myself making some really bad choices that caused my wife at the time to file for divorce. The Lord had been working on me before that, so it wasn't really a surprise. But suddenly my eyes were opened to the reality of my reality and I gave my life to Jesus. I had messed it up and knew that if I was going to do this Christian walk, I would need God's help.

Speaker 4: 17:04

In Isaiah, chapter 41, god is speaking to Jacob and I believe he says to us also you are my servant, whom I have chosen. I have chosen you and not cast you off. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. There have been many times in my life that God has taken hold of my hand and led me through unbelievable challenges, and he'll do the same for you. You have his promise where he says For I, the Lord, your God, hold your right hand. It is I who say to you fear not, I am the one who helps you.

Speaker 5: 17:54

Here's another refreshing word from 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. You're tired of how you're living. We'll change it. You don't like where you're headed? Rearrange it. You're sick of being let down and you want to turn your life around If you want to start living right. Get the hell out of your life.

Ron Meyers: 18:31

Get the hell out of your life. Welcome back listeners. You know, right now we are living in a world that just seems topsy-turvy. Everything is going backwards. What was good at one time is becoming bad. What was bad at one time is now good. It puts us in the crosshairs of all these different views. And what do you do? You believe in God, and then you talk to someone that says, well, there's no such thing as God, and what you need to do is you have to have an unshakable faith in God and you have to have an unshakable faith in believing God. I want to give you a little backstory of how I have so much faith today and it's opened so many doors and really keeps peace in my life.

Ron Meyers: 19:16

It started all the way back in middle school. You know, middle school it's a jungle, a wild, unforgiving place. And there I was, ronnie Scrawny, kid Myers, with my hand-me-down clothes and dorky black horn-rimmed glasses. I was the prey of the bullies. Every day felt like a battle. Books would hit the floor as the bullies knocked them out of my hand, and one day some bully shoved me into a locker and whispered that no one liked me and that they were going to beat me up after school. Well, I didn't cry at school. No, I saved those tears for the sanctuary of my room, where I'd sit on my bed hard, heavy, wondering if anyone would ever see me. You wonder, god, hey, is anybody up there? Am I just a loser or do you have a plan for me? But I had a potential stirring inside of me. I was a dreamer. I was having these dreams and I just had a peace that things would be okay. I didn't have the words then, but what I was really desperate for, looking back, was worth Worth. That wasn't tied to the labels that others placed on me. I was looking for acceptance, and I was not accepted in that school. And one fateful day, after a punch that knocked the wind from my lungs, I found myself in the school bathroom, locked away from the world. In that moment I whispered a vow to myself Someday they're going to wish they treated me differently. Now. It wasn't a cry for revenge. It was a declaration of resilience. I was going to show them they were wrong. God had a plan for me. I didn't even really know God then, but it was beginning to work in my life.

Ron Meyers: 21:06

That day I made a choice. I wouldn't remain powerless any longer. If strength was revered, I would become strong. If wealth was admired, I'd would become strong. If wealth was admired, I'd find a way to achieve it. If success was worshiped, I would chase it with relentless fervor. But here's the paradox I've come to realize In chasing all of that, I was still searching for something else Acceptance, not from the world, not from those who labeled me, not from my parents, but from something greater God, the creator of the universe.

Ron Meyers: 21:44

You see, god doesn't care about the labels that others put on us. He wants you and I to know that he loves us so much that he sent his son, jesus. When we trust him with our life, we are fully accepted. We are free and forgiven and we have a grace that is a power that will take us to places that only God knows. So if any one of you out there is feeling lost in the jungle of life, remember this your worth isn't defined by the opinions or the acceptance of others. You stand tall, you embrace your journey and know that you are loved just as you are. If Jesus is for you, who cares if the whole world is against you, because you have eternal life with the King of all kings. How do you get the hell out of your life?

Shay Walters: 22:38

Get on your knees and cry out to the Lord. He hears you, right where you are.

Speaker 1: 22:42

How do you get the hell out of your life?

Speaker 4: 22:43

Well, you replace it with Jesus, we got to be born again, born of the Spirit, and that's by trusting Jesus Christ, turning from our sins and trusting Jesus.

Speaker 5: 22:50

You find out about this man by the name of Jesus, who went to the cross and gave his life so that we will have a life more abundantly. And if you can receive that love, he will love that hell out of you.

Shay Walters: 23:04

You trust in him and you let him love the hell right out of you. How?

Ron Meyers: 23:08

do you get the hell out of your life? Oh gosh, jesus, jesus.

Shay Walters: 23:12

Jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him.

Ron Meyers: 23:19

So how do you get the hell out of your life? Record a voice memo and email it to me, ron at the promoter dot o-r-g, and you can help encourage a person listening to get the hell out of their life.

Speaker 5: 23:34

Hi, I'm Dr Andrew Farley, host of the Grace Message. Got a Bible question, struggling with a personal issue, wondering about a tricky verse. At BibleQuestionscom, you'll get clear, grace-based answers in 10 seconds or less. No fluff, no confusion, just practical biblical truth. Ask anything anytime and experience the power of God's love. Visit BibleQuestionscom. That's BibleQuestionscom your go-to for biblical clarity.

Speaker 4: 24:09

Ron. We'll be back in a moment to wrap up today's show. Ron will be back in a moment to wrap up today's show. Are you searching for meaning, Struggling through life's challenges? You're not alone In the Promoter, a gripping, true story of perseverance and faith. One man's journey from failure and despair to hope and purpose unfolds Through childhood struggles, abandonment, bankruptcy and hopelessness. Ron encountered Jesus and everything changed. The Promoter isn't just a story. It's an invitation, An invitation for you to discover your destiny through faith and discovery. Request your free copy today, Visit thepromoterorg and take the first step towards a life of clarity and purpose, because with Jesus, you have all the answers. Jesus, you have all the answers.

Ron Meyers: 25:16

Well, my time is up, and, listeners, I want to leave you with a power thought for this week. You are never alone In times of doubt and fear. Remember that Jesus is always by your side. You are never alone in your journey. Jesus will guide you, support you and remind you of the incredible destiny he has for you. Your unshakable faith in the truth and the trust of Jesus will get you through and, as your faith grows, you soon will be able to look at people and just say man, they need to get the hell out of their life. Friends, this is our time. We need to stand tall, embrace our destiny and walk into the person that God has created us to be. I'll be back next week with another great episode and please share this program with your friends. It's on any podcast platform they listen to and it's called Get the Hell Out of your Life. Until next week, this is Ron Myers reminding you that I love you, jesus loves you, and when you give Jesus your heart, your faith will grow into an unshakable faith.

Speaker 1: 26:44

Today's show is proudly underwritten by the Christmas City Gift Show. Mark your calendars for November 7th through the 9th and experience the magic inside the Christmas City Gift Show inside the Mississippi Coast Convention Center located on the beach in Biloxi, mississippi. For more information, visit christmascitygiftshowcom. If you would like to be a guest and share your story of God's amazing grace, visit our website thepromoterorg and click the Share your Story tab button. Thanks for listening, and if you would like to listen to previous episodes, click on the podcast tab at thepromoterorg. Join us next week for another edition of Get the Hell Out of your Life Real stories, real struggles and real hope.

Speaker 4: 27:29

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