A Jewelers Greatest Treasure

Everything you hear for the next hour is going to be from a biblical worldview. So if that's offensive to you, this would be a great time for you to leave. No one has ever left. And once you're that bold, people become normal. And they realize that they're in a safe place. And people have questions. And if they don't know Jesus, there's a hunger to seek Him. There's a hunger to be touched by Him. And that can be a thousand different ways. Welcome to the Ignite with Barry McGuire podcast. How would you like to have the time of your life for the rest of your life? How would you like to defeat fear effortlessly, knowing for sure God is hearing and answering your prayers and directing your steps and making everything work for good? This is exciting. Here's the question. How would you like to ignite your life? Stay tuned. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Ignite. A great program today in that I'm interviewing somebody that I almost don't know, and yet we're kindred spirits. Short story, we're at a restaurant, I don't know, maybe six months ago, a few months ago. And a dear friend, Sheila Ingram, a close friend to both of us, as Sherry Turpin being my guest, but they are close friends as well. And she came bursting in the door, and she's full of life and energy, and she's a networker, and she gets everybody talking to everybody, and she's just one of the most amazing people in our lives. And so she's, oh, you have to meet Shari. And, oh, hi, Shari, how are you? She says, yeah, boy, she is the person for finder, particularly pearls, and she's up and jacks in the hole, and pearls by Shari, and you've got to know this guy. Well, Karen's not... big time into jewelry. She has a few Mikimoto pearls and things with the past. And so, but we are immediately impressed with your countenance, if I will say, sorry. And so without even knowing who I am or my background or what lights are fires for Karen and me, Shari started immediately just sliding into the Lord and mentioning the Lord and the joy of the Lord. I forget exactly what you said, but you were doing what we always like to do. And that's just without hesitation and without provocation and without... any kind of negativeness, just having fun. Not a way that would bother anybody, but it was just her. She just busted on the seat. And I was immediately like, wait a minute. I need to know who you are. So we started talking. And she was on her way to sit down to have dinner. And we were in the beginnings of our dinner. So it wasn't a time for conversation. And sorry, I suspect that we talked maybe five minutes max. But at the end of that conversation, I said, I got to have you on my podcast. You would be a great person to have on our podcast. So here we are. From then to now, we've not talked. We've not talked. But I've always looked forward to this opportunity to actually say hi. Yes. And get to know you a little bit. So I don't even know where to start. Talk about your, before you talk about your testimony, I know that goes way back. And just give us an idea of your life and where do you live. I mean, Jackson Hole, seriously. And selling these fine jewels and whatever. Give us that. We're not going to dwell on that. But this is your secular story. Actually ministry is your basis for your ministry, but that's your life. Help us understand where you're at and what you're doing these days. Well, it's quite a God story. So what I do now, I'm one of the top female South Sea Pearl buyers in the world. And I live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I have four children, five grandchildren, I started my career as a pearl grader, which is really unique for Caucasians, very common for Asians. But again, you know, when you're living life, you don't really understand all that God is doing. Looking back now, I see this wonderful tapestry that he was weaving that brings us up to today. So what I do today is I have a retail store. Well, go back for a second because you said you're a grader. I don't know what that means. Maybe some of our guests don't know. There's a grading system for pearls. So we're talking South Sea pearls, so more expensive on the spectrum. And to evaluate the price of a South Sea pearl before you put it into a necklace or an earring, you're going to look at five grading factors. And that would be size of the pearl, shape of the pearl, color of the pearl, surface of the pearl and the luster, the shine of the pearl. All of those factors will either escalate a price or drop a price. And all of that has to be done by the eye. So unlike gemstones, say diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, which are all cut by the hand of man. be it a man or a woman, there's a universal grading system because man is doing it. A pearl is given through creation, right? So I have a unique skill set. So back in the day, that's what I was doing. I thought, well, I should wear pearls because it's the industry I am in. But 45 years ago, there's nothing I wanted to wear. So it's that concept of you build it and they will come. So I started designing things just for me. And then people would see me in them and go, oh, I love your earrings, like your necklace. That became a wholesale company while I homeschooled our children. And I did that for about 12 years and then branded Pearls by Sherry. So we have two locations in Jackson Hole. I have offices in New York and Pearls by Sherry can be found nationwide in Neiman's, Saks, Bergdorf's and Nordstrom's. Wow. All from someone who didn't go to college. Yeah, isn't that something? God is amazing. Could you ever possibly imagine that God would take you on this course and give you the platform that you have today? Especially in the West. Like we have this luxury brand that is iconic globally and historically and identified with luxury. And yet, you know, as only God can do because he's not a formula, he's original and wonderful and unique to each one of us. I do hunt, I do fish, I do ride horses. Like I do love, this is my lifestyle. And only he could make something of luxury work in this iconic outdoor lifestyle. So all glory to him, he's amazing. Yeah, dare I say, my knee jerk would not be that, the lady behind the brand in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of Sherry and Pearls would be a Christian. Leave alone a political faith share. So those two things are surprising. I guess it's probably true in Car Wax as well, wherever we are, but it is a dichotomy of your life and how you've been able to take this life that is exceedingly secular in the minds of others and self-worth and happiness. and all this, and you've woven that. And as I see it now, as I'm thinking about it now, it's given you a pathway into the lives of a lot of people who might not have anybody in their life that would tell them about Jesus. Yeah, I think that being a Christian came first, obviously. And then when you think of that concept that God— loves to give us the desires of our heart. I think in my case, I could say, I don't even know what the desires of my heart would have been. I didn't have a big game plan. And yet to be, you know, 45 or 50, 50 years, you know, down the road with the Lord and realizing I couldn't have written a better script for my life and how it meets everything I would have, I guess, wanted to do without knowing, um, And it's been quite a journey, but he is delightful. He does desire to give us our desires. But when you talk about sharing your faith, I do wanna go back in time on that because I graduated at 17 and I started as a flight attendant at 18, which is like three years younger. I grew up in Canada. And the drinking age was 21. Well, here I was a flight attendant. I was supposed to serve alcohol. I was only 18. And I quickly learned just to offer, you know, I worked in first class and I would just say, would you like Coke or 7-Up or ginger ale? And understanding that we have influence. We can lead people and change people and change. give people new ways to think. And one of the ways that I kind of protected myself, because back then it was kind of the coffee to your me era that I don't think I need to explain. And so as soon as I would come on board, I would tell everybody that I had just graduated from Bible school and I was a Christian. And that went around the country because you're on flights all over the country with different people. Right. And I did that because I'm probably the weakest person I know. I'm so prone to sin. I'm so prone to making mistakes that I learned very early to place guardrails in my life. And one of those was telling people right away that I was a Christian, that I knew Jesus, because one thing I never wanted to do was to let him down. Quick insert, your parents, your church growing up, give us a little peek into the early part. Yeah, so I grew up in Vancouver, Canada. I did not grow up in a Christian home. I did not grow up going to church. Oh, wow. I grew up in a very wealthy, successful moral home. So I understood, you know, don't lie. Your family has a reputation, you know, kind of be good. But I knew by the time that I was probably eight that I was a liar, a thief, and a cheat. And most people, when I say that, they're like, You know, you don't look like you could be either one of those. And, you know, I cheated at card games because I'm competitive. I want to win. I grew up with all brothers. I lied to my parents about where I was going. And I stole because I could figure out how to get bubble gum out of a bubble gum machine where you didn't have to pay. And I'm not going to tell anyone because we don't want you going out and doing that. But I understood that. I wouldn't have put it in the words of understanding I was a sinner, but I understood that I wasn't good. And so it wasn't until many years later when I was like in my teens, we had a strong Mennonite community around us in our neighborhood, and I think neighbors were praying for us. And, you know, the end of that story was that my mom got saved, which she became like an amazing godly woman that started one of the largest prayer ministries in Vancouver and ladies' ministries. And consequently, we all became Christians. This thing of being good is interesting because in the secular world, my life is primarily secular. I'm a car guy. I'm in car shows and car guys or whatever, and most of them are not Christians. And so I'd say I have more non-Christian friends than Christian friends. It's strange that it may seem. But the challenge, the biggest challenge, in fact, I just wrote a piece on this, that the biggest challenge I have when there's resistance is because they think they're so good, God won't send them to hell. And you're saying at age eight, you were already convicted by, as we all were, you know, I mean, we're just shades of gray. But you had understanding of that, of your shortcomings before God. You took that at an early age and used as a pivot, apparently. Yeah, I remember being 16, and obviously I'd probably heard enough about God, but I wasn't discipled and I wasn't evangelized or anything like that. But I think I knew I somehow heard enough about, you know, that there is a God. And I remember laying on the lawn in front of our house, just looking up in the sky and saying, you know, God, if you're real, then show yourself to me because I don't know how to find you. And he did. And I started going to like a local church. And again, it wasn't really because of God. I think it was because there was cute boys there, you know, but God will use everything. And then I went to Bible school because I didn't have a career track and I, I wasn't going to go to college, so I thought, well, that would be fun. But, you know, God is the hound of heaven, and he knows how to find us, and he found me there. And I would say I was probably 18 when I really understood that I was a sinner. And that as a sinner, I had no way to a holy God. I mean, if God is holy, which the Bible says he is, then there's a chasm between myself a sinner and he a holy God. And I had no capacity. to breach that chasm, but God does, and God did. And we had a speaker that came that really illustrated that exact point, and Barry, you've probably heard this before, where, you know, Jesus is the bridge, right? And so he allows us to cross that bridge through Christ and come into the presence of a holy God. And by the time I was 22, I was radically in love with Jesus. And, you know, we were speaking before the show and, you know, to share your faith. I did it as a protective field, I think, for many years, and it served me well. But then I understood that, you know, I am in a world like you, Barry, where I deal with it. primarily unsaved people. And frankly, I don't look at anybody as being unsaved or saved, because both camps need a more intimate relationship with Jesus. He is real. He wants to talk to you every minute of every day. You know, I can remember traveling when I used to go door to door and try to show my line. And he was my best friend. I'd be like, well, where do we stay tonight? And what hotel do I stay at? And Lord, I'm tired. I don't want to go price. This is back in the day. I don't want to go price three hotels and actually feel the presence of God going this hotel. This restaurant, this is the time, like, can you imagine your best friend being almighty God? the one who spoke our existence into being. Intimacy. Let me ask you a question very quick. What age would you say you were when you first started being sensitive to following his lead in your life for direction? Probably in my 20s, probably mid-20s. Again, I think God had me on a unique path, so recognize I didn't grow up in the church. And I think sometimes God speeds up time. In other words, I can remember being in Bible school. I mean, this is how unchurched I was. I'm in Bible school. It was a torchbearer school, and a lot of your audience will know of that, Major Ian Thomas. So Franklin Graham went to a torchbearer school as well. And I can remember the speaker going, "'Okay, we're gonna look at the Book of Jonah,' And, you know, you think, okay, Jonah and the whale, that's like a Sunday school. Like most kids would know that. I had no clue who Jonah was, let alone trying to find Jonah, the book of Jonah in the Bible, you know. And so I can remember like looking at other students, like how deep in the Bible are they turning? Like I didn't know anything. So I think when I really met Jonah. Jesus. I was sold out. But I tend to be that way as a person. I'm either all in or I'm not in at all. So it would be like my late, probably my late 20s. But he led you to Bible school. He was leading in so many ways. It seems like it... He was directing you and you were following that lead at quite a bit earlier time in your life. It's a growing process, of course, that you get closer and closer and closer. But it seems like even in your earlier days, you were paying attention to where he was wanting you to go. I think some of that, not that I don't think that's true, but I think some of that is he leads us in our ignorance. In other words, we're not smart enough to know where to go and what to do. I still feel that way today. Oh, Lord, I have no idea what to do today. I really don't want to get out of bed. I don't want to face all the decisions I have to face. And he so lovingly just brings us to himself, and he comforts us and encourages us and whispers to us and strengthens us and gives us vision and gives us hope. purpose. We are exactly the same way. Karen and I, we have no idea what's going to happen this day or any day. And so we start every day saying this is going to be another adventure today. We have no idea who you're going to bring in front of us. Help us to be sensitive. Help us not to miss the opportunities. Give us the word to say when we need them. But then we go on, and every day we have these most amazing conversations that we could not have possibly known when we were brushing our teeth that morning. So life becomes an adventure. There's no question about it. It's like having a plan, but being flexible. Yeah. You know, having a plan, but not being so busy that God can't weave people through your life. Yeah, we have to have a plan. For lack of a plan, we perish. There's so many things I have to get done. But I do take an inventory right quick. And of those things, what's temporal and what's eternal? And most of the important things I need to do today to fulfill responsibilities and requirements that other people have of it, whatever, most of those tend to be temporal. And they may be good, and they may be real good. They may be praying for somebody. But... But it's leading people to Jesus. I mean, making the difference for eternity is what's most important. And so those are the golden moments of every day when we know we've literally moved people closer to Jesus. Our store is on a corner right off the square in Jackson. So if anybody's been to Jackson Hole, they know that the square, the park, is like the center of Jackson Hole. And it looks like a lighthouse. And I have the whole building. And I always, by God's grace, our staff are all believers. And, you know, we pray every day. And I always tell our team, it's like, you know— Thank God we sell pearls. We have to, to keep the lights on and to do what we're doing. But that's not why we're here. We're here to be rivers of living water to a weary world. And we pray about the people that come in our store that we would be mindful that a lot of people carry heavy burdens. And a lot of people don't know him. So we play Christian music all the time. And, you know, when you're talking about witnessing, I have never personally one time had any backlash to professing Christ boldly and clearly. In fact, I often tell people, in the first three minutes of meeting me, you will hear about Jesus. Yeah. And it's going to be either when God created the oyster. So through my expertise, which when people come in to meet with me, I always start my conversations. You know, I'll start about the pearl. And, you know, the pearl is the only precious gem created by a living creature. And they're like, oh, no, I had no idea. Yeah, it's the only gem given through the hand of God. Oh, by the way. Everything you hear for the next hour is going to be from a biblical worldview. So if that's offensive to you, this would be a great time for you to leave. And no one has ever left. And once you're that bold, all their guards, like everything just, people become normal. And they realize that they're in a safe place. And people have questions. And if they don't know Jesus, there's a hunger there. to seek Him, there's a hunger to be touched by Him, and that can be a thousand different ways. But being in the car business or the pearl business or a doctor, a teacher, a homeschooling mom, God has His people everywhere. And we are all called to Him, not our platform. So we all have a platform, mine is Pearls, mine is a luxury brand in a secular world nationwide. I love it, but that's not my calling. My calling is to him first, through which people can hear about him through my platform. We don't know each other, but we are soul mates. We are, I've figured this out through the years. The closer we get to Jesus, the closer we are to each other, of the others that are getting closer to Jesus, and we just mirror it. It's because we're not replicating each other. We're replicating God. And it's not a sales pitch. It's just natural. And can you stay on for it? Can we do another segment? I want to get into the heart of how you actually do that. But before we leave this segment, it is this naturalness. It's just who we are. Yes. The church has made it difficult. I think one of the sunning blocks is, and we've all heard it, blessed are those who are persecuted for my sake. I don't want to be persecuted. I mean, the thought of that. And then I look at people's faces, and I don't want them to be mad at me. And you've never, I've never been persecuted. I mean, when, when it's engaging and it's not a sales pitch, it's just who you are. And it's the Holy Spirit speaking through you. It's not you. It's God. And he's already prepared the person to be with you. He's orchestrated that conversation. It's a, it's a sacred moment. Yeah. And we get to have the joy of entering into that sacred moment. And it's not a sense, but it's just pure joy. And it's allowing God to love us and not only love us, but love people through us. His hand, his love going to them and to see him loving on people in front of you. I mean, that's what you and I both do. And most people have never had that experience. And that's what breaks my heart. Yes, that you realize there's nothing to fear. And it's celebratory. Like when you realize that people don't want to leave your presence. And I'm sure that happens with you too, Barry. That's how I felt the night that we met. We were both at different tables. It's like, oh, iron is sharpening iron. I want to keep talking to him. But people don't realize that... People need Jesus. And when you're willing to talk to them, just straightforward and, you know, without any agenda, because Jesus is not about agendas. He's about the moments. And he is the gift. And when you offer that gift to people, they sense it just like the woman at the well. Yeah, let's close out this thing with one last question. And you've already answered about it. I'll just give you an extra sense to shout this from the house out. But most of the people watching us right now are not sharing their face. Statistically, only about 1% of us. are sharing our faith, meaning intentionally all the time. You and I are kind of rare in that. Most people are not having all the fun that we're having. And they feel reticent. They're afraid. They haven't been trained. I mean, how many training sessions have you been through evangelizing, learning how to evangelize? None. None. I think, so I think if people, and I think this would be what I would have to say I did, I think if people would just get to know Jesus, you do that through the word, through prayer, through music, through choosing wise friends that lead you. When you begin to actually know him, Understand that His promises are true, that His Word is true, that every breath you take in is a gift from Him. Every breath you exhale is a gift from Him. When that becomes your reality, you cannot help but just share in a very natural way. I think the scary part is when we try to think, do I have a script? What do I say? I don't know. Just say something. Yeah. You know, at the very least, just go, you know, what's your faith journey? Do you go to church? Just anything. Just open the door. Bring God into any type of verbiage. If you wear pearls, just say, did you know that it's God's favorite gem? Okay, right there, non-threatening. You just introduce God. It's so easy. It's when you just, I would just play back to you that when you love God, but when you really, it's not that I love you, God. It's all in. It's first love. It's love you with all heart, mind, soul, and strength. That's the love that he requires of us. He expects of us. And whatever we love, we talk about. If you love, I joke and say, you know, I had a great hamburger last night. I'm telling people about it today. I mean, what are we excited about? We talk about if we love God, we can't help ourselves. And he says, if you love me and love your neighbor as yourself, you can't help but love your neighbor as yourself. You can't help but tell them about God. Jesus, when you love Jesus, right? You can't stop yourself, and that's the process. And when that happens at all, it just becomes the most amazing life possible. I'm thinking you can come back and we'll do one more session on this. Sure. Of course, on how-tos. Love to. Okay, let's get into the fun stuff of just experiences of how this happens on a practical basis, okay? All right, folks, I hope you can come back and join us with more of this amazing testimony from Pearls of Shari from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. God bless you. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please let us know. Subscribe now to continue receiving my podcast and add your comments to help us attract more viewers. See you next time on the Ignite with Barry McGuire podcast.