Faith, Fashion, and Fire

When Christ is inside of you and dwells in you, you can't take it out. It's great, and I knew it. And, you know, are we all sinners? Absolutely. You better believe it. And I've seen many times that they're in a horse. So, and I've just been tested time and time again. And I've got multiple stories I can share with you over that. Welcome to the Night with Very Good Boyer 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 night your life? Stay tuned. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Ignite. Great guests today. All our guests are great, but this one's very special. Cameron. Cameron, thank you. Welcome to joining us for a little bit this wonderful, beautiful day. Yes. Thank you, Barry. And what an honor and pleasure for you to have me and I appreciate it very much. We are, you and I are going to have a conversation. We've had a number of them to put this in proper perspective for those of you who are watching us. Cameron, I don't hang out. We don't hang out. We're not spending our time together. We've, in the traditional sense, we're not friends. We're brothers. We haven't, you know, we often go to the rodeo and I'm the father's thing from a cowboy. But I put on the hat and the boots of the buckle and I blend in and go into the national finals rodeo and the best of the best. And they have at the Las Vegas Convention Center what they call cowboy Christmas. And I can say it's a hoot. I love Karen loves cowboy Christmas. It's everything you think of from jewelry to harnesses to saddles to buckles to you name it. It's just, it's all there. You want to build a ranch. They got everything you need to build a ranch or whatever. It's just mind-boggling. It's friendly group. And when I blend in with all my paraphernalia, they think I'm one of them. And so it's just a great time. And I think it was one of the first one we went to. It's a lot of years ago now. Yeah, it's been about a decade. But we have mutual friends that introduce us. Mike Ingram, Mike. Ager is just an amazing bigger than life kind of guy. And his dear wife, she's just, she's amazing. Anyway, they love all over you knowing them for a lot of years. And they introduce us to you. And we, we, before long found ourselves off to the side of your massive display. Because we've working found out. But I mean, when we're sharing our faith, we share our faith. And we, we share our faith with each other and realize we're both Christians. And we're on the same page. Your company name is Rockwell Thurk, right? That's right. Yes, sir. Tell us about your company. All right. We need, this is, this is pretty cool. Yeah. Well, talking about it right quick. Sure. So we are a fashion company. We are a Christian fashion company. We are a Christian based Christian faith. My wife and I'm one of the co founders of the company alongside my wife, Christy Rockwell Thurk. And we design and sell boots and shoes and handbags and apparel. And we're all about unique and fashion and faith. And we're all across North America and in some other parts of the world and back as well. And yes, you're right. About a decade ago, Mike and Sheila Ingram. You know, I'm introduced yourself and your beautiful life. Karen and many other folks to us as well. And we just had a relationship that just sort of took off from there. And we're sure life became a client and a customer. And you know, we just built bridges from there. So. Well, Sheila is one of the lights of her life. I think she's the light of everybody's life. There were, there were a lot more loving or caring, more thoughtful, you know. Is so when she was the actual one to bring us over there. We do it and be pretty special. She was so excited about you. Sorry. Karen was right in on you. Do have amazing, how can people get in with your website. So people go and see you your products. Sure. Our company is Rockwell Thurk. And our website is rockwellthurk.com. and all those social media platforms, but rockwalthart.com. Yeah, there we go. So we're both a cortical Christian businessman. Yes, sir. Who are more excited about being Christian than being businessman and the joy of our lives can be there. Talk about, let's go back to your background right quick and some but I don't even know. But tell us how you came to know the Lord, what's the background with you guys? Really, you want to go back to the core is my brother, my younger brother, died of cancer when I was a child and my family was searching and seeking and looking for answers and really saw all over the world and my parents discovered Christ, the real Christ. And that trickled down to the rest of us children and we accepted Christ as our savior. How are you? How was approximately eight years old? So I've been sharing Christ at a minimum since I was eight and unabashedly and I mean, and it's carried now into the business world which is reaching probably millions of people. Yeah, let's start to begin here back to eight years old. How does an eight year old think in term? You do know, of course, that a lot of people would accept the Lord when they're young, when they're children, but they don't necessarily become a faith shareer. You know, they go along with the crowd. You're different. What happened to you that sets you apart differently and you wouldn't share your experience? Barry, I spent a lot of time at that age. I mean, just be blunt and upfront. I mean, I was crying. I was hurting our whole family was turned upside down and tragedy. I would sneak into the Bible studies that my parents would have in their living room at their home and... You stuck into the Bible study? I stuck into the Bible study because it was really for adults. But I guess I thought I was a little adult. So yeah, and when Christ is inside of you and dwells in you, you can't take it out. It's there and I knew it. And you know, or we all sinners absolutely, you better believe it and have I sinned many times since then? Of course, but so... And I've just been tested time and time again and I've got multiple stories I can share with you over that. And... But yeah, sneaking into the Bible studies, sharing, going through some of the ups and downs and then being given different platforms that, you know, one of which I have right now to share on. Give an example of how an eight-year-old would share his faith. Yeah, so you know, it may have been eight. It may have been nine. I don't know, it's actually short, but an eight-year-old... I got very involved with adults, actually, at eight. And people kept calling me like a little adult because I was so mature in my wanting and my desire, my quest for to know more about the Bible and the truth. And so I would share. And I would share with anyone in the room, anywhere, anytime. So you were focused on the word. Your understanding of the word must have been a bit beyond your years. I mean, this is... In this category, I wouldn't say I'm mature in all categories, but in this category, I would say I was. And perhaps, you know, it claims still am. Yeah. It takes some people many years to figure some things out. And for me, this didn't take very long because I heard the truth, I knew the truth, and I accepted the truth. It's interesting, and I do say this in occasion. The people I know who are sharing their faith the most have the most joy. You tell it when people have joy. I like hanging around with people. I have the joy of the Lord. But when I get to meet them and talk to them, almost without exception, I would dare say without exception, there is great pain that has been experienced, great losses. That's very, and I was prepared to talk about some of that. I mean, just because I've accepted Christ, just because Jesus is my Lord and Savior, just because I choose to share Him does not mean I have a golden road. I do not, and I have not. It didn't just go happily ever after that didn't happen for you. I'm sorry, it didn't. Now, he has opened some beautiful doors for me, and he's smacked some shut. But I mean, Barry, I've been through some major life and death situation. I am, I want to hear where you're going to this, but just my first observation from my own life and from others I've watched, but the wages of pain is more pain when you respond correctly, because he doesn't, first off, he doesn't give us more than we can endure, we know that. So when I'm going through pain, it's actually a compliment. He's actually, he knows I can get through that pace. Folks, if you're in the middle of something right now, it's a compliment from God. He knows, he's made you, he knows you, he knows you're strong enough to get through this pain if you choose to, you can curse God and go the other way, but he knows you're strong enough. But when you get through the other side, it's setting you up for something stronger. Unfortunately, it's, the heat building, they don't get smaller. They keep getting, they don't get, now I can trust you with this. I quarried to him, boom, I recall what I heard words about she wanted to pick up a piece of leggings or dead since you're not strong enough to pick that up, you pick up that one. And she had a spiritual truth, that you pick up what you could handle now and that'll give you strength. And then you can pick up the next one and the next one. And such as we go through life, it's called maturity, we mature through the years, but also not only what we can do, but what we can handle. And so you have meered this, I'm waiting to hear your story, but this is for me this exciting, yeah. You're right, Barry, and I know to put a different perspective on that, too. Almost like if you don't get presented some tragedies and some tough times, it's almost like you may not be doing the right thing. Or he can't trust you, he knows you can't handle, you're too weak. Or that, exactly. And so when I went to school at SMU in Dallas and I was going home to see my grandmother and I flipped my car on the way home from Dallas to Alabama, I flipped my car 13 times a highway, just a solo highway crash, Wattlip, and essentially, yes, I was injured, but of course I had staples in my head and some tore my eye and this is the mother, I actually had a hole through my foot, which I can look at every day and still to the day to see that scar, which is a reminder of Jesus and his tolls in his feet, but so that's one thing that I went through, flipped my car 13 times, essentially walked away and survived. And then when Christie rockwell tharp and my- Wait a minute, wait a minute. So where did you learn through that? It wasn't for not. What did you learn through that experience? Oh, that was a very big wake-up call, especially in my college years when I was having some fun, I suppose, and I never can forget it. I mean, every day a person looks in the mirror, looks at their feet, looks at their hands and I see this old scar of a hole through my foot and I think of Jesus in one way or another. So what have I learned? I mean, I tremendous amount. You know, this was many, many years ago. I've been through some more recent stuff that's been tragic life and death, but this is, you know, I just feel like a lot of attacks have come my way, but God has continued to protect myself, my wife, us, our family, and our company. You can curse God. You can say, God, where are you? Where are you? I thought you're here. A lot of good you're doing me. Or you can go the other way which you have, I have. And say, God, I need you now more than ever. I trust you. You're gonna use this. You're glory. And we keep the joy. We don't let, I tell everybody, never lose your joy. Don't let anything rob you of your joy. And nothing can rob you of your joy if you're living for his purpose. He says, if you bear fruit by joy remain with you and your joy remain full. And that's the worst of times your joy just keeps on. And you and I both had, I'm not talking about mine, but I've had in my few of those moments without losing my joy. In fact, learning more about his faithfulness, having intimacy with God. So I don't mean to interrupt you. I just say, amen, amen, keep on going, share with us. Yeah, well, I'll tell you that when Christian, I started this company and about 15 years ago, we made some decisions. We walked away from our corporate jobs and we made, and walked into the fashion industry, which is, yeah, there's a pretty big lack of faith in the fashion industry, you know, if we'd be frank. But we decided against our business mentor friends to incorporate God and Jesus into our, into our business. So we, on all of our boots, we took a Bible verse and have inscribed it on the back of each one of our zippers. So if you ever have a pair of our boots or ever worn a pair and as a zipper on it, you will have a Bible verse on it and you'll know that you've been prayed for. And before you ever even got those boots, before you ever even came to know us personally. So that's something we do. We also give these coins that say, where will you spend eternity? They're in every shopping bag. They're free. We give them to every person. They can grab them, they can take them, they can take as many as they want. Obviously, you know, they get them in the, we also give the, you've probably seen like the eternity bracelets, where will you spend the eternity? You know, God sent His Son Jesus Christ and I on the cross for my sins. He was buried in the tomb. He rose again on the third day and He promises to return. It's on our very, it's on our business cards. We put our Bible verse on our business cards. This is huge. This is a track. I guess you call it, you know, old school version track, but that's a big track. Yeah, that's a big one because it's got it all. And, but it's where we, you know, where will you spend eternity? And then if you want to know more, you just keep reading and if you don't, then you can, you're all in. We're all in. And I do believe that this is why we are protected, but I also believe it's also why we get thrown some of these attacks like you were. Yeah. We'll refer him to and yeah. You asked about one and one I went through three years ago. I think I had just seen you right afterward, but I had major cancer in my throat. Yeah. I had a golf ball size tumor. Not legal. Yes. It was probably a 50, 50 will I live will I won't? And they took 46 lymph nodes out of the side of my neck and then robotically, this was at the Mayo Clinic. And then robotically went down with two surgeons and a robot went down to my throat and cut the entire tumor out. And I had two prayers. And I don't feel these were selfish prayers. I said, dear God, please don't make my wife a widow at this early age in marriage. And dear Lord, please, would you please spare me from chemo and radiation? I got a boy and incredible. That that to me was super powerful. I wasn't praying for all the other stuff that I wanted just those two things. I felt I was too young to be going through a clinical treatment and radiation. And I did, of course, I didn't want to. So I'll talk about your faith at that point. You're trusting God at that point. Before the surgery, explain where you were spiritually. What was going on in your mind and your heart? Okay, so I felt strong spiritually before, even stronger spiritually, I never, ever blamed God. I never cursed God like you mentioned before. I never, you know, there was a perhaps some doubt, some wise maybe, but I became closer with my wife. I became more intimate with God. And I just, I got through it. And it was just, it was, it was quite amazing. And, you know, I had a story to tell. My story got picked up on different news outlets. They got picked up, they got published. Many different languages have circled around the world. I mean, people were very interested to know the story. And it's because I chose to speak about it. I chose to share it. Like many people keep their store private. And they don't put it on Facebook or social media. They don't share that they don't do something like this on this platform that you have. But I, you know, Christie asked me, do you want to share? Do you want people to know what do you want to know? And I said, I want to know everything. Open book, they can know it. Especially if it's about faith or whatever. So we shared and then it just started getting picked up and published. And it was, it's been quite an amazing journey and ride. In that amazing, and then you understand why, you know, there is a why to, there's a purpose, there's a purpose to these things. They get how many people have been touched by your story around the world, around the world. And the entire world, Barry, I mean, I couldn't put a number on it. But I would definitely say a million people have seen. So I'm sure you're at this point. Instead of cursing you're just the evidence of saying, God, thank you. Thank you allowing me to go through that. I do, and it's okay. It really is okay. It's okay. I was being rushed to surgery. They thought I was dying. I was being rushed to surgery 430 the morning. So I'm on the gurney and they're racing down the hallway. And my daughter Nicole was racing, is ready running as fast she could beside me. And she was yelling. And she wasn't yelling. It's gonna be okay, dad. It's gonna be okay. Dad, I'm praying for you. Dad, keep the faith. They'll be fine, dad. She didn't say any of that. You know what she was saying? This is her spiritual maturity coming through at that moment of crisis that it was. She's yelling to me, dad, this is your testimony. Yes. This is your testimony in that moment that racing down that corridor, she's yelling at me of all things because she had spiritual maturity. She could see the whole picture. She's, dad, this is your testimony. And I'm thinking what? The drugs hadn't quite set in yet. You know, they're starting as they gave me some pre-drugs. Well, I was still cognizant. Testimony, testimony, dad. This is your testimony. And also it hit me, it is my testimony. I have no fear. I know it's gonna be fine. This is my testimony before the surgery. Yes, this is my testimony. Bam, we went into that surgery, you know. And since then, you know, it's been almost 20 years since then. It's been my testimony. I had the faith before the storm, before the problem, before the challenge. My faith was intact. I was given praise to God. I knew it was gonna be fine. That's faith for God. You can't have it for just everything. The hospital focuses on your problem and the odds and the odds against all the things and disclaimers have to give you. My focus wasn't any of that. My focus was on, it is my testimony. Let's go for it, you know. And so you can't have those moments unless God allows you to have those moments because He loves us. And those are real life experiences. Gives me a faith, gives you a faith that nothing can shake us nor faith. At our worst moments, God was there. He's there. He promises. I can't take any cannot take back His word. Yeah. This, I mean, very this led to so many different things, including meeting governors and senators and secretaries of state and the vice president of the United States and being president of the presidential medal, coin of freedom, or, you know, I mean, it's like, I got to share my story to the highest. This isn't world. I got to, you know, and part of that was, you know, the fact that Mike and Sheila Ingram and, you know, who they, who a couple of the people that they introduced us to and then, you know, we met other people who, yeah, and it's just, it's just amazing. And I got to sit down with the vice president and we called a national prayer circle and I led the national prayer. That's what we nicknamed it, I guess. I don't know if that's really what it was, but in Las Vegas, standing there in the middle of the Las Vegas Cominches Center, we had the vice president and his wife and we all built a circle and we prayed for the nation and we prayed for God's help. Only by his grace. Could you ever imagine, could you ever imagine having that kind of a platform, a pulpit, if you will, to share your faith? That's God. I didn't see that coming. That's God, no way, no way. Hey, we're out of time, but I'm hoping you said you, you come back for another half hour. Sure, yes, of course. Let's break this one up. This is great conversation. Come back and hear the next episode of this one. We have an expanded version of how Cameron is actually sharing his faith. Yes, on the broad scale. We're also on one-on-one, most importantly, we want you to hear how we share faith, the most unexpected situations on a one-on-one basis every day as we go along. And how much fun, how easy and how much fun we have to do with that. Come back to the next episode. And Barry, I have a surprise for you. Oh, good. Can't wait. Hey, and your followers. All right. You hear that folks? Come back and join us. That's all for now. See you next time.