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The Secret Behind Christmas City's Success · Get The Hell Out of Your Life with Ron Meyers

• 0:01
  Announcer: It's time now to get the hell out of your life.
• 0:04
  Announcer: A weekly broadcast with real people, sharing real struggles, and offering real hope.
• 0:09
  Announcer: Today's show will encourage, inspire, and empower you to face life's challenges with a bold confidence and renewed hope now.
• 0:21
  Ron Meyers: Hello, my friends.
• 0:23
  Ron Meyers: Welcome to Get the Hell Out of Your Life.
• 0:25
  Ron Meyers: I'm your host, Ron Myers, and today's show, Misfit to Purpose.
• 0:29
  Ron Meyers: Rudolph has always been one of my favorite Christmas stories.
• 0:32
  Ron Meyers: His bright red nose made him different, and the other reindeer rejected him for it.
• 0:37
  Ron Meyers: But when the fog rolled in, the very thing that made Rudolph feel like a misfit became the gift that helped guide Santa Slay.
• 0:45
  Ron Meyers: Then there was the island of misfit toys, a place for toys that felt unwanted because they didn't seem to belong.
• 0:53
  Ron Meyers: Growing up, I often felt like one of those misfits.
• 0:56
  Ron Meyers: I carried a question in my heart.
• 0:59
  Ron Meyers: Why am I here?
• 1:00
  Ron Meyers: Why was I born?
• 1:02
  Ron Meyers: Then when I was around 12, I heard the quiet voice of God speak to my heart.
• 1:07
  Ron Meyers: Ronnie, I have a plan for you.
• 1:10
  Ron Meyers: I couldn't see the plan, but God could see what I couldn't.
• 1:14
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you have been asking the same question.
• 1:17
  Ron Meyers: Why am I here?
• 1:18
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes our search for purpose becomes the beginning of our search for God.
• 1:23
  Ron Meyers: That brings me to Christmas City.
• 1:26
  Ron Meyers: But today's program isn't an advertisement for a gift show.
• 1:30
  Ron Meyers: Christmas City is an example of what an idea, an inspiration, and a dream can become when someone is willing to take that first step.
• 1:38
  Ron Meyers: And I believe you have a Christmas City inside of you.
• 1:42
  Ron Meyers: Yours may be a book waiting to be written, a song to be sung, a business waiting to be started, a relationship waiting to be restored.
• 1:50
  Ron Meyers: Maybe your dream is simply to live a peaceful, joyful, and purposeful life.
• 1:56
  Ron Meyers: I'm sharing my story because small beginnings matter.
• 1:59
  Ron Meyers: Setbacks don't have to become endings.
• 2:03
  Ron Meyers: And God can guide us through people, closed doors, storms, and unexpected opportunities.
• 2:10
  Ron Meyers: Ephesians 2 10 tells us that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He prepared for us beforehand.
• 2:19
  Ron Meyers: Think about that, my friend.
• 2:21
  Ron Meyers: You are not an accident, you are not a mistake, you are not a misfit toy.
• 2:27
  Ron Meyers: You are God's workmanship created on purpose for a purpose.
• 2:32
  Ron Meyers: So let me tell you how one small idea became Christmas City and invite you to begin thinking about this question.
• 2:40
  Ron Meyers: What is the Christmas City inside of you?
• 2:43
  Ron Meyers: The Christmas market began at the Rice Pavilion in Gulfport in 1983.
• 2:48
  Ron Meyers: Now, I had no idea that small market would one day become the Christmas City Gift Show.
• 2:54
  Ron Meyers: The show had not even enjoyed a very successful year.
• 2:58
  Ron Meyers: I was under tremendous financial pressure.
• 3:01
  Ron Meyers: I started wondering whether event promotion had been a mistake.
• 3:04
  Ron Meyers: And that Christmas, I remember I was a single dad with two kids, and I had to sell my piano so I could buy a few Christmas presents for my children.
• 3:15
  Ron Meyers: When you're trying to build something and money is tight, a dream can begin to feel less like an opportunity and more like a burden.
• 3:23
  Ron Meyers: You start to question yourself.
• 3:27
  Ron Meyers: Am I wasting my time?
• 3:29
  Ron Meyers: Should I quit?
• 3:31
  Ron Meyers: Maybe I'm not even capable of doing this.
• 3:34
  Ron Meyers: I was standing in the fog, unable to see very far ahead.
• 3:39
  Ron Meyers: But one of my exhibitors at the Christmas market said something that changed the direction of my life.
• 3:46
  Ron Meyers: Ron, you're outgrowing this pavilion.
• 3:49
  Ron Meyers: Have you ever thought about moving your Christmas event into the Colosseum?
• 3:53
  Ron Meyers: Now here I had been thinking about quitting.
• 3:57
  Ron Meyers: And this friend of mine, this exhibitor, was talking about expanding.
• 4:02
  Ron Meyers: Isn't that how life works sometimes?
• 4:04
  Ron Meyers: You're staring at the problem in front of you while someone else can see a possibility beyond it.
• 4:10
  Ron Meyers: You know, God often brings people into our lives who can see something we cannot see.
• 4:15
  Ron Meyers: They may speak a word of encouragement, offer an idea, open a door, or remind us of the dream we were about to abandon.
• 4:24
  Ron Meyers: That exhibitor probably had no idea how important those words would become, but the suggestion stayed with me.
• 4:33
  Ron Meyers: I began to realize that it took as much time to do a small event as a larger one.
• 4:38
  Ron Meyers: The difference was the risk in the initial investment.
• 4:42
  Ron Meyers: I would continue producing the smaller events that brought in money and use them to help promote the larger events.
• 4:49
  Ron Meyers: And if that didn't work, I told myself I might have to go find what people call a real job.
• 4:55
  Ron Meyers: I wasn't ready to put away the dream.
• 4:58
  Ron Meyers: I didn't know exactly how it would turn out.
• 5:01
  Ron Meyers: I knew one thing.
• 5:02
  Ron Meyers: I would take one more step.
• 5:04
  Ron Meyers: That may be all God is asking from you today.
• 5:08
  Ron Meyers: Not to understand the entire plan, but to take the next faithful step.
• 5:14
  Ron Meyers: The first Coliseum event was held on November 10th, 1984.
• 5:17
  Ron Meyers: It was called the Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair.
• 5:20
  Ron Meyers: I also had to adjust my expectations.
• 5:23
  Ron Meyers: At the Rice Pavilion, this was really important to me.
• 5:27
  Ron Meyers: See, I had been able to sell beer and concessions.
• 5:30
  Ron Meyers: I mean, I sold the hot dogs, the beer, the Cokes, the sausages, but I couldn't do that at the Coliseum.
• 5:37
  Ron Meyers: And I remember wondering whether I could even make money without it.
• 5:41
  Ron Meyers: That may seem like a strange question now, but at the time it was a real business concern.
• 5:46
  Ron Meyers: I had to discover whether the event could succeed on the strength of the Christmas City shopping experience itself.
• 5:53
  Ron Meyers: Well, the first Coliseum event had 130 booths.
• 5:57
  Ron Meyers: I remember walking through the Coliseum hearing the Christmas music and watching families enjoy themselves.
• 6:04
  Ron Meyers: And I kept hearing shoppers say, Wow, this is nice.
• 6:08
  Ron Meyers: For the first time, I had created a family event that could stand on its own.
• 6:13
  Ron Meyers: It wasn't built around everything I had done before.
• 6:17
  Ron Meyers: It had its own identity, atmosphere, and heart.
• 6:21
  Ron Meyers: It brought people together through shopping family, and the feeling of Christmas was around the corner.
• 6:28
  Ron Meyers: I was starting to have fun.
• 6:30
  Ron Meyers: I was living my dreams.
• 6:32
  Ron Meyers: I was still learning, and I was learning to trust God.
• 6:36
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you understand that feeling.
• 6:38
  Ron Meyers: You want God to guide you, but then sometimes you want Him to hand you the complete plan in advance.
• 6:44
  Ron Meyers: You want to know where the money will come from, who will help, and what could go wrong, and exactly how everything will turn out.
• 6:51
  Ron Meyers: But friends, I found out that trusting God, everything begins to fall into place because God does have a perfect plan for your life.
• 7:01
  Ron Meyers: Ephesians 2, 10 tells us we are God's workmanship.
• 7:07
  Ron Meyers: Our purpose doesn't begin with proving our worth, who we already are in Christ.
• 7:13
  Ron Meyers: The good we do flows from the life He is shaping within us.
• 7:19
  Ron Meyers: Well, a few years later, another challenge forced me to think differently.
• 7:24
  Ron Meyers: I learned another promoter was planning the Christmas craft show two weeks before my Christmas city.
• 7:31
  Ron Meyers: Well, I was worried.
• 7:33
  Ron Meyers: I was threatened.
• 7:34
  Ron Meyers: I might lose an event that I had worked so hard to build.
• 7:38
  Ron Meyers: But then I realized I can't let fear make a decision for me.
• 7:43
  Ron Meyers: I have to trust God.
• 7:46
  Ron Meyers: But then I remembered about a church program that I had attended that had a little city on its stage with little wooden cottages, artificial snow, and I told myself, it's time for me to build a Christmas city.
• 8:00
  Ron Meyers: So I started thinking outside the box, and Christmas City, USA debuted in the Coliseum in 1988.
• 8:09
  Ron Meyers: And I remember hiring a local artist, Gary Stover, and I shared the vision with him.
• 8:14
  Ron Meyers: And friends, it was beautiful.
• 8:16
  Ron Meyers: I was the mayor of Christmas City, a city with no politics, only Christmas spirit.
• 8:22
  Ron Meyers: Gary helped turn ordinary materials into something that made people stop and smile.
• 8:27
  Ron Meyers: I watched the arena change into a holiday village under the Colosseum lights.
• 8:33
  Ron Meyers: It amazed me that something we had imagined was now standing in front of us.
• 8:38
  Ron Meyers: That is one of the beautiful things about a dream, my friend.
• 8:41
  Ron Meyers: First, it only exists in your heart.
• 8:44
  Ron Meyers: Then you share it with someone, and then that person adds their gifts to it.
• 8:49
  Ron Meyers: You begin working together, and eventually other people are walking through something that once existed only in your imagination.
• 8:59
  Ron Meyers: Well, today Gary is no longer with us, but I am so grateful that God placed him in my path.
• 9:05
  Ron Meyers: You know, Christmas City was never only my work.
• 9:09
  Ron Meyers: It took people who brought their ideas, abilities, energy, and care.
• 9:14
  Ron Meyers: The exhibitors caught the spirit.
• 9:17
  Ron Meyers: They would decorate their booths.
• 9:19
  Ron Meyers: Staff and helpers handled the work visitors never saw.
• 9:23
  Ron Meyers: Shoppers came and made the experience complete.
• 9:26
  Ron Meyers: A tradition may have one person's name attached to it, but it takes a community to keep it alive.
• 9:34
  Ron Meyers: That's another lesson I want to share with you today.
• 9:37
  Ron Meyers: Your dream may begin in your heart, but that doesn't mean you are supposed to accomplish it alone.
• 9:45
  Ron Meyers: God may have already prepared people who will help you.
• 9:49
  Ron Meyers: And somewhere, someday, someone else may need the gift God placed in you to help bring their dream to life.
• 9:57
  Ron Meyers: Christmas City eventually grew beyond Biloxi.
• 10:00
  Ron Meyers: I took the show to New Orleans.
• 10:02
  Ron Meyers: The Superdome.
• 10:03
  Ron Meyers: Wow.
• 10:04
  Ron Meyers: The first few years we were in the upstairs meeting rooms.
• 10:07
  Ron Meyers: And then the third year, we rented half of the floor of the Superdome.
• 10:12
  Ron Meyers: Friends, that is so cool to even think about this day.
• 10:16
  Ron Meyers: A few weeks ago, I attended a New Orleans Saints football game.
• 10:20
  Ron Meyers: And I looked down on the floor and I told my friend with me, I said, see that 50 yard line?
• 10:26
  Ron Meyers: We had our Christmas city from the 50 yard line to the entrance on Poydra Street.
• 10:31
  Ron Meyers: And I told him, I remember standing on that floor, looking up into the superdome and thinking, Wow, this is pretty cool.
• 10:39
  Ron Meyers: Friends, that's the power of an idea.
• 10:41
  Ron Meyers: From the imagination to reality, turning it over to God and discovering his plan.
• 10:48
  Ron Meyers: I really was living my dreams, someone with no college education, just a dream, a wish, and I trusted God to lead me.
• 10:59
  Ron Meyers: I also took the show to Mobile, Alabama for several years, Pensacola for one year in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
• 11:06
  Ron Meyers: The size of the show mattered, but what the growth made possible mattered more.
• 11:11
  Ron Meyers: It gave exhibitors places to present their work, grow their business, meet customers, support their families.
• 11:17
  Ron Meyers: It gave shoppers and families a place to spend time together and make memories.
• 11:22
  Ron Meyers: See, that is the domino effect of a dream.
• 11:25
  Ron Meyers: You take one step, and that step creates an opportunity for someone else.
• 11:30
  Ron Meyers: Their opportunity affects another family.
• 11:33
  Ron Meyers: That family touches more lives, and the effect continues moving far beyond what you can see or measure.
• 11:41
  Ron Meyers: I wish I could tell you that as the show grew, I always made wise choices and trusted God completely, but I didn't.
• 11:50
  Ron Meyers: I made mistakes.
• 11:51
  Ron Meyers: There were seasons when I focused more on what I wanted than what God wanted for me.
• 11:56
  Ron Meyers: I could feel the pull of my conscience and push inside.
• 12:00
  Ron Meyers: I wanted God's help, but I also wanted to remain in control.
• 12:04
  Ron Meyers: You see, I was still searching for purpose, but I didn't always understand that success would never answer the deepest question in my heart.
• 12:13
  Ron Meyers: You can have a successful career, financial security, recognition, and everything you once believe would make you happy and still feel that something is missing.
• 12:24
  Ron Meyers: Perhaps what is missing is not another achievement.
• 12:27
  Ron Meyers: Perhaps it's God.
• 12:29
  Ron Meyers: You know, John 10 10 tells us that Jesus came so that we could have life and have it abundantly.
• 12:36
  Ron Meyers: For years I defined success by what I could build, earn, improve.
• 12:41
  Ron Meyers: But abundant life is not something we earn by performing well enough for God.
• 12:47
  Ron Meyers: It's life with Jesus, a life grounded in his love, forgiveness, presence, and grace.
• 12:54
  Ron Meyers: Achievements can be wonderful, but they make a poor substitute for identity.
• 13:01
  Ron Meyers: A career can provide income, but it cannot provide the security of knowing you are fully known and loved by God.
• 13:09
  Ron Meyers: I had asked, God, why was I born?
• 13:12
  Ron Meyers: And over time I began to understand that the answer was not simply to build Christmas City.
• 13:18
  Ron Meyers: Christmas City was one of the expressions of the gifts God had placed in me.
• 13:23
  Ron Meyers: My deeper purpose was found in knowing Christ, allowing his life to work through mine, to encourage people, tell stories, create opportunities, and give hope to those who felt as though they didn't belong.
• 13:38
  Ron Meyers: Christmas City was part of the story.
• 13:42
  Ron Meyers: Jesus was the meaning behind it.
• 13:44
  Ron Meyers: Well then we all remember Hurricane Katrina, right?
• 13:47
  Ron Meyers: Well, Katrina changed the Gulf Coast and the lives of countless people.
• 13:52
  Ron Meyers: My family, we had eight feet of water and lost almost everything in it.
• 13:57
  Ron Meyers: The Coliseum was under renovation and for one year there was no Christmas city.
• 14:02
  Ron Meyers: That was a painful interruption in a tradition I loved.
• 14:06
  Ron Meyers: But it also reminded me that a show is not the most important thing.
• 14:11
  Ron Meyers: People are.
• 14:12
  Ron Meyers: In the aftermath, I worked at a Christian radio station and helped organize relief efforts.
• 14:18
  Ron Meyers: People came from all over with food, tools, supplies, campers, and helping hands.
• 14:23
  Ron Meyers: God sent people into the middle of our storm.
• 14:28
  Ron Meyers: Psalm 91 describes God as our refuge and shelter.
• 14:32
  Ron Meyers: That doesn't mean faithful people will never face trouble.
• 14:36
  Ron Meyers: I have faced plenty of trouble.
• 14:39
  Ron Meyers: I know what it is to lose everything.
• 14:42
  Ron Meyers: To me, Psalm 91 means God is our shelter, and in the middle of the storm, he can be near even when we don't feel him.
• 14:49
  Ron Meyers: He can be working even when we can't see him.
• 14:53
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes we only recognize his presence when we look back and realize he carried us through a chapter we never thought we could survive.
• 15:02
  Ron Meyers: Katrina taught me that we cannot control every storm that enters our lives, but we can decide how we respond, whom we help, whether we accept help, and whether we allow loss to convince us that our story is over.
• 15:18
  Ron Meyers: Perseverance doesn't mean pretending that nothing hurts, it means allowing yourself to grieve, to receiving the help that God sends, and eventually finding the courage to take another step.
• 15:32
  Ron Meyers: Jeremiah 29, 11 speaks about God's plans for hope in the future.
• 15:38
  Ron Meyers: Those words were originally given to people living through a long and painful season.
• 15:43
  Ron Meyers: They were not promised an immediate escape from every difficulty.
• 15:47
  Ron Meyers: They were reminded that their hardship was not the end of their story.
• 15:52
  Ron Meyers: And friend, your hardship is not the end of your story either.
• 15:57
  Ron Meyers: The door that closed, the plan that failed, the person you lost, or the storm that changed everything does not place you beyond the reach of God.
• 16:07
  Ron Meyers: He can be present even when you can't see him.
• 16:10
  Ron Meyers: There were seasons when I was not faithful, not surrendered, and not listening too well.
• 16:16
  Ron Meyers: But the Bible tells this when I was faithless, he remained faithful.
• 16:22
  Ron Meyers: Today, when people walk into Christmas City, they see hundreds of booths, decorations, music, Santa, families, and a building filled with holiday energy.
• 16:33
  Ron Meyers: But behind every booth and every display is a person.
• 16:36
  Ron Meyers: These are vendors who took a risk on their own ideas.
• 16:40
  Ron Meyers: There are artists and craftspeople using their gifts.
• 16:43
  Ron Meyers: There are staff members and helpers who make the show possible.
• 16:47
  Ron Meyers: There are families who return year after year, and people who have made the event part of their Christmas story.
• 16:54
  Ron Meyers: A shopper purchases something from a small business.
• 16:57
  Ron Meyers: That purchase helps the business owner provide for a family.
• 17:02
  Ron Meyers: That business grows and creates opportunities for other people.
• 17:06
  Ron Meyers: A child visits Santa and carries the memory into adulthood.
• 17:11
  Ron Meyers: Years later, that child may return with children or grandchildren.
• 17:16
  Ron Meyers: One idea, my friend, begins creating ripples.
• 17:21
  Ron Meyers: I can't tell you exactly how many people Christmas City has touched, but I know the effects of a dream can travel far beyond anything the dreamer can count.
• 17:31
  Ron Meyers: One dream can touch thousands, and through the people affected, perhaps millions.
• 17:38
  Ron Meyers: That's why your life matters.
• 17:42
  Ron Meyers: A teacher may never know how one encouraging sentence can change a student's future.
• 17:47
  Ron Meyers: A lawyer may use knowledge to defend someone who feels powerless.
• 17:53
  Ron Meyers: A student may make a choice today that leads to an opportunity years from now.
• 17:58
  Ron Meyers: A parent may plant faith, courage, and love in a child who will eventually share those gifts with another generation.
• 18:06
  Ron Meyers: A volunteer, neighbor, nurse, cashier, mechanic, business owner, or friend can influence lives in ways no spreadsheet will ever record.
• 18:17
  Ron Meyers: And friend, your purpose is not limited to your profession.
• 18:21
  Ron Meyers: It can be expressed through the way you treat people, the gifts you share, the courage you pass along, and the love you offer when nobody is keeping score.
• 18:33
  Ron Meyers: Romans 15, 13 calls God the God of hope, the one who fills us with joy and peace as we trust him.
• 18:42
  Ron Meyers: Our hope does not rest on having everything figured out.
• 18:47
  Ron Meyers: It rests on God's faithfulness.
• 18:51
  Ron Meyers: I spent years asking why I was born.
• 18:55
  Ron Meyers: God did not give me the whole answer in one moment.
• 18:59
  Ron Meyers: He revealed pieces of it through people, work, family, mistakes, faith, storms, and dreams I was willing to pursue.
• 19:09
  Ron Meyers: Now I want to turn the question to you.
• 19:12
  Ron Meyers: What's your Christmas citty?
• 19:15
  Ron Meyers: Is it a book, a song, a business, a ministry, a healing, an education, a restored relationship, or a peaceful and purposeful life?
• 19:24
  Ron Meyers: What dream have you postponed because you feel unqualified, different, or afraid?
• 19:31
  Ron Meyers: What idea keeps returning to you?
• 19:33
  Ron Meyers: What gift have you dismissed because it doesn't look like someone else's gift?
• 19:39
  Ron Meyers: The bright red nose that made Rudolph feel like a misfit became the light that guided others through the fog.
• 19:46
  Ron Meyers: Maybe the part of your story you have tried to hide will someday help another person find their way.
• 19:53
  Ron Meyers: Maybe your struggle will deepen your compassion.
• 19:56
  Ron Meyers: Maybe the unusual gift you have questioned is exactly what somebody else needs.
• 20:02
  Ron Meyers: And maybe the dream that looks too small today will create a domino effect that reaches people you will never meet.
• 20:10
  Ron Meyers: You don't need to know the entire plan.
• 20:14
  Ron Meyers: You only need enough faith to take the next step.
• 20:18
  Ron Meyers: Write the dream down.
• 20:20
  Ron Meyers: Pray about it.
• 20:21
  Ron Meyers: Make the phone call.
• 20:22
  Ron Meyers: Ask for advice.
• 20:23
  Ron Meyers: Take the class.
• 20:24
  Ron Meyers: Begin the first page.
• 20:26
  Ron Meyers: Apologize to the person.
• 20:28
  Ron Meyers: Apply for the opportunity.
• 20:30
  Ron Meyers: Set the date.
• 20:31
  Ron Meyers: Just do something.
• 20:32
  Ron Meyers: Do one thing that moves you from dreaming toward doing.
• 20:37
  Ron Meyers: Never quitting doesn't mean you never change direction.
• 20:41
  Ron Meyers: The Christmas market moved from the rice pavilion to the Coliseum.
• 20:45
  Ron Meyers: Competition pushed us towards a new creative vision.
• 20:49
  Ron Meyers: Katrina stopped the show for a year, but it did not erase the dream.
• 20:54
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes courage means pressing forward.
• 20:57
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes it means changing the plan.
• 21:00
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes it means receiving help.
• 21:03
  Ron Meyers: And sometimes it means releasing one version of the dream so God can lead you toward another.
• 21:11
  Ron Meyers: And don't allow fear to make every decision for you.
• 21:16
  Ron Meyers: But while you pursue your dream, don't become so focused on the destination that you miss the life God has already given you.
• 21:26
  Ron Meyers: Stop and smell the roses.
• 21:29
  Ron Meyers: Notice the people beside you.
• 21:31
  Ron Meyers: Be grateful for the moment you're living.
• 21:33
  Ron Meyers: Make room for joy while the picture is still being painted.
• 21:38
  Ron Meyers: The world is a canvas.
• 21:40
  Ron Meyers: Life will not always hand you the colors you expected.
• 21:44
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes the paint will run.
• 21:46
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes part of the picture will need to be changed.
• 21:50
  Ron Meyers: Sometimes you'll wonder whether anything beautiful can come from what you see.
• 21:55
  Ron Meyers: But God, He is still at work.
• 21:58
  Ron Meyers: John 10 10 reminds us.
• 22:00
  Ron Meyers: That Jesus gives us life.
• 22:02
  Ron Meyers: Ephesians 2.10 reminds us that we are God's workmanship.
• 22:06
  Ron Meyers: Psalm 91 reminds us that God is our refuge.
• 22:10
  Ron Meyers: Jeremiah 29, 11 reminds us that hardship is not the end of our story.
• 22:16
  Ron Meyers: And Romans 15, 13 reminds us that God is the God of hope.
• 22:22
  Ron Meyers: You, my friend, are deeply loved, fully forgiven, and complete in Christ.
• 22:27
  Ron Meyers: Your value doesn't depend on the size of your dream or the applause of other people.
• 22:33
  Ron Meyers: So dream, but don't make the dream your identity.
• 22:37
  Ron Meyers: Work, but don't make achievement your source of worth.
• 22:42
  Ron Meyers: Keep moving, but don't forget to enjoy the people and blessings God has already placed along the road.
• 22:49
  Ron Meyers: Your purpose may still be hidden in the fog, but you are never hidden from God.
• 22:55
  Ron Meyers: Now I'm going to take a short break, but when I return, I want to bring this story back to Rudolph, the island of misfit toys, and the question I carried for years.
• 23:05
  Ron Meyers: God, why am I here?
• 23:07
  Ron Meyers: Stay with me.
• 23:08
  Ron Meyers: I'll be right back.
• 23:09
  Announcer: You're listening to Get the Hell Out of Your Life with your host, Ron Myers.
• 23:14
  Announcer: Real stories, real struggles, and real hope.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_03: From crafts to trees to sides.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_02: Join us November 13th through the 15th for the Ron Myers Christmas City Gift Show.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: At the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, shop over 300 booths filled with gifts, fashions, food, decor, and holiday surprises.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: Make your plans now.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: Visit Christmas City Gift Show.com for a complete vendor listing and money-saving coupons.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_03: Shop the magic, find the joy at Ron Meyer's Christmas City.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: Ron will be back in a moment to wrap up today's conversation.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: We want to encourage you today with God's promise to you.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: It comes from the book of Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_02: Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and the future.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: That's God's promise to you.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: When you choose to commit your plans and future to Him.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: Now, back to Ron.
• 24:51
  Ron Meyers: Now today I've shared the story of Christmas City, but this episode has never really been about a gift show.
• 24:56
  Ron Meyers: Christmas City is simply my example of what can happen when an idea is nurtured, when other people bring their gifts, when setbacks become lessons, and when someone keeps taking the next step.
• 25:10
  Ron Meyers: Now the question belongs to you.
• 25:14
  Ron Meyers: In Rudolph's story, the bright red nose that made him feel like a misfit became the light that guided Santa's sleigh through the fog.
• 25:22
  Ron Meyers: Growing up in Iowa, I felt like I was one of those misfit toys.
• 25:27
  Ron Meyers: I spent years asking God why was I here?
• 25:32
  Ron Meyers: I didn't discover the answer all at once.
• 25:35
  Ron Meyers: God guided me through one step, one person, one setback, and one opportunity at a time.
• 25:43
  Ron Meyers: A small Christmas market became the Christmas City Gift Show.
• 25:47
  Ron Meyers: And the journey taught me that God can use the gifts we have overlooked, the experiences we thought had disqualified us, and the dreams we almost abandoned.
• 25:58
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you feel as though you don't fit.
• 26:01
  Ron Meyers: Maybe you're in a foggy season and can't see what comes next.
• 26:06
  Ron Meyers: The fog may hide the next step from you, but it can never hide you from God.
• 26:12
  Ron Meyers: He is with you, he is for you, he is not against you.
• 26:16
  Ron Meyers: He sees what you cannot see, and he can guide you one step at a time.
• 26:22
  Ron Meyers: So if you are standing in the fog today, let the bright light of Jesus guide you on the path to peace, purpose, and remember, on this journey, stop and smell the roses.
• 26:37
  Ron Meyers: God has such a beautiful life.
• 26:40
  Ron Meyers: Enjoy each and every day as a gift from God.
• 26:44
  Ron Meyers: I will be back next week with another episode of Get the Hell Out of Your Life available wherever you listen to podcasts.
• 26:52
  Ron Meyers: And if I get the pleasure to meet you at this year's Christmas City gift show, November 13th through the 15th, I hope you will be as blessed as I will to meet one of the listeners of this show.
• 27:06
  Ron Meyers: God bless each and every one of you.
• 27:07
  Ron Meyers: And remember, when you give your heart to Jesus, not only do you get the hell out of your life, but you have the bright light of Jesus to show you the way to your purpose and destiny.
• 27:20
  Ron Meyers: See you next week.
• 27:31
  Announcer: Today's show was produced by Ron Myers Ministries, a listener-supported ministry.
• 27:36
  Announcer: For a copy of today's broadcast, please visit our website, thepromoter.org.
• 27:42
  Announcer: 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?
• 27:49
  Announcer: And join us next week for another broadcast of Get the Hell Out of Your Life Real people, sharing real struggles, and offering real hope.