EP 40 Bold Faith in Uncertain Times - Carmen Qualls

After a decade of gathering women together for prayer, we are inspired to bring our words of encouragement to you. This is iRefresh. I. Welcome to iRefresh. We're a group of ordinary women trying to do extraordinary things through God and His Word. I'm Christy Waters, and today I have Carmen Qualls, Veronica Scott, and we are going to be discussing with Ms. Carmen her journey and what God has led her in with her career and with her family and just the many facets of her fascinating life. So, Carmen, why don't you just give us just a quick bio. What do you do and why are you so fascinating to us? Well, I'm a licensed attorney in California. And I'm also, I got my master's in 2018 from ORU, and I'm a licensed professional counselor here in Tulsa. I became licensed attorney in 2007. And at that time I had just started my practice in California and also had gotten, obtained custody of my nephew, legal custody of him. And that led us to Oklahoma. So I keep here in California and Oklahoma. Actually, we were privileged to spend some time with you out in LA this past summer and you kind of showed us around. So that really is your home base. That's my home base. That is your home base. So why Tulsa? Well, when I became the legal guardian over my nephew, I had him for about three years in Los Angeles and he had started school there with me. He was in the sixth grade. And after those three years, I just saw that there was an agenda in the LA Unified School District that I was not happy with. And he started acting out on that agenda. And so my morning ritual was to watch Christian programs and I saw Billy Joe and Sharon Doughty at Victory and they advertised their school so I had the brilliant idea that I could board him. So maybe I'll board him so I called. It was not a boarding school, it was a regular school. So then I just, my spirit just led me to figure out how to get him out here. And because another one of my colleagues who is, you know, one of my friends, she lived, she moved to New York. So I put together that if she could live in New York and still practice in California, then maybe I could go halfway across and still commute and work my practice in California. and have PJ out here in Tulsa. And we did it. Wow, that's awesome. We got on the road, I split up the items in the house that I needed to have here, and he needed to be out here for August 3rd, 2010, I believe, because he was doing a middle school young men's camp at Camp Laughlin. Okay. And so I had to have him out here for the third. And so we put a little trailer on the back of the Jeep and we came out. So that sounds like a huge step of faith in my opinion and probably Veronica's as well. Yes. So basically you said this young man needs me to make a big move for him. Absolutely. And so you stepped out. And how did God meet you there? When you took that bold step... How did our Father God react to that? You don't see him there, but you see the fruits of what he does. Just driving out, we didn't have anywhere where we were going to stay. We didn't know anybody out here, so we didn't have anywhere where we were going to stay. On the highway, I located a place for us to come for that evening, Sheridan Ponds. And then they referred me to the storage unit, which was right around the corner. And then within a month, the house that we purchased was right around the corner. Wow. So the direction from California was just straight up the 40 over to South Tulsa. And I just didn't have to think about much. It was all because we were coming together. here for a purpose. It was for him to go to a Christian school, for me to find a new church, and just be in a more wholesome Christian environment. I absolutely love what you just said because what I'm hearing is that you put your nephew's needs ahead of your own and you were willing to take that as Christy said the step of faith to trust God to look for a new school for your nephew as well as a new church for you and just didn't think overthink it you just got up and moved and trusted that the Lord would provide the way and the opportunities which as you've explained he gave you a place to stay the first night and out of that came the storage unit came the opportunity to get him into a good Christian school with what you just shared was wonderful that they had a men's young men's program that he could immediately enter into. Yes, they were going to have them for the weekend and just some of the men from Victory were taking their their sons and some other 8th graders up just to talk to them about what they're about to enter in to as a young man, as an eighth grader. And so they they had a great weekend and and it just worked out really well. But in addition to it being for PJ, I had another thought that we needed to change the family dynamics with the California family. And sure enough, today there's two nieces that live out here. One's married with two children, one's engaged. And then I've got another niece who's here this weekend who's been accepted to you. And so she'll be out here at least for her school year for the most part, I believe. Wonderful. And those are the family dynamics that we're looking to have changed and they're there the the foundation is what we needed to have done and so that's where God worked in this family is to get that established more than what we already had. We already had that foundation. My grandparents. my grandfather was a pastor of Trite Stone Church in Oxnard so we already had a decent foundation but as we grew older sometimes those things just fall away and this was just something that he led us to let's establish this for your kids and your kids kids and that's wonderful and what I'm seeing is that you changed your environment in order to accommodate the family dynamic You knew the needs and you found the answer and you brought the family to the answer and God provided the way. Yes. And then I think we had talked earlier about at that time you were practicing law in California. And so when you came to Oklahoma, how did that law practice transfer? Well, it didn't transfer. I've been commuting for nine years now, and I still am doing my practice in California and working here in Tulsa counseling, getting hours out that I need to get to be fully licensed professional counselor. Wow, what provision? I just see provision all over your story. Everyone around me is concerned about the amount of travel that I do and how this is affecting me. But because I sincerely feel this is what I'm supposed to be doing, I'm not feeling the pangs of this kind of travel at all. that says a lot right there because that's quite a commute. It's quite a commute and I'm doing it every couple of weeks sometimes. I may have a full week in one place or the other, but for the most part, you know, I'm at least out monthly. Wow. So I want to go back. How did PJ adjust? Because if I'm thinking I'm from outside of Atlanta and when I moved to Tulsa, there was an adjustment. Um, But L.A., how did you help him adjust through those first weeks, months, years? I don't know that I necessarily thought about it, but what happened was God just brought godly men into his life. And so I didn't have to do a whole lot with him. Wow. had some really godly figures in Wayne Massacre, Pat Tascucci, and he's, it's, God has just worked it out. So I've not had to think very much on how this is supposed to be. It has just been. That's wonderful because I caught that earlier with your conversation about sending him into this men's encounter where men and their sons and they welcomed him. He didn't have a father figure to take to the event. Right. So it afforded him an opportunity to make those connections. Correct. So important for a young man in the eighth grade to have godly mentors. in his life, men that would teach him to love God. Right. That's awesome. That is just an awesome story. I love that. And he's really enjoyed coming out, and he's flourishing in the environment. He's had a couple of little stumbles, but immediately knows where to go back to. That's good. That right there is what's made the big difference. And God's word is true. He's the father to the orphans and the husband to the widows. And isn't he faithful? All he asked you to do was step out and obey. And he took care of the rest of that. Isn't that wonderful? And I'm sure you've seen that in other areas as well. I have. So how about you give us a great testimony? One large area was when I started practicing law. Okay. I am not one who speaks in public. And so I didn't know how I was going to do this law practice because you have to speak in front of people. It's kind of important. Well it was amazing to see for the first year of my practice God cleared courtrooms out. I've never sent out an announcement saying that I was practicing law. My phone hasn't stopped ringing and I would have these cases God would bring cases in different courtrooms where I probably wouldn't know anybody. And there was this one case I had in the Beverly Hills courtroom that the entire calendar was cleared so that I could speak to the judge just separately so that I could, you know, fill the courtroom, fill the judge's demeanor and all. And in fact, what I did after that, because I was the only one in there, I asked to go into the judge's chamber and ask her, okay, can you tell me how I did? I'm new to this and I just, is there anything I could have improved on? And so when you have a whole courtroom to yourself, I asked the clerk and she allowed me in and, That is a God moment. I just, because I don't think many people have that opportunity. And what an opportunity for you. And, you know, I love in that story how God knew your limitations. Yes. that he didn't allow those to stand in the way of what he called you to do. He made a way for you to continue on. And what a great example of taking what you had and learning from it and going further with getting the judge to give you the counsel that, you know, that's a God moment right there. How many lawyers have a judge that they can say, mentor them or counsel them? through their first few opportunities in a courtroom. Right, right. I was petrified. And I can't even imagine in a city the size of LA what that was like to have a cleared courtroom. I bet that would be unusual. It really was. And just going out to San Bernardino and there was another city that I went out to and I would be called last. Wow. And then I ultimately started seeing what he was doing. Okay. I said, okay, so I got this now. Nice. So now I'm fine and I can go in and I don't have any problem. That's wonderful. And how God developed confidence in you. Gave you what you needed for you to develop the confidence that you could continue to do the call. And that, I believe, is a call he has on your life. Right. Absolutely because my practice is basically probate and trust administration and it's for the disadvantaged. And so I'm having to, in fact I was in court last week and I talked to the people, there was about 15 of them all together. And something came over and I just started. One of them said, preach. And I said, you all have to stop this. You're passing this down from this generation to this generation to that generation. I said, and you have to stop acting like this amongst your family. You have to... So by doing that, they were all there just in amazement and just looking and really felt something about what I was saying. So I was doing a little preaching and a little counseling and then a little lawyer work. That's what I'm hearing. I'm hearing the crossover between the lawyer work and the counseling that ultimately benefited the client more than just being an attorney. So how did you get from, I found what God has called me to do as an attorney. I am working, I'm making a difference. You're obviously making a difference for many, many people. But then you go, but I still am not fulfilled. and you seek God and you started a counseling degree. What is that about? Where did that come from? Well, that's just because my, I will not be practicing law in Oklahoma and I'm at retirement age now. So that just came about so I can have what I call my retirement gig. So then I can just do, you know, because I won't be ready to stop working at 65. So I just figure that'll be a nice transition into retirement years. But do you find as an attorney, you probably were their counselor as well? So it probably comes naturally too. You're just putting a title to what you're already doing. Is that what I'm hearing? That's exactly it. And because we're attorneys and counselors at law. And so you're finding yourself doing counseling with them. As I was talking to you know that family the other day so I'm counseling them but It's a it's a whole different story with the counseling end of it now God's working some miracles through that now Which is amazing as well, but so but it's it goes hand in hand it absolutely does so Nice. Now, let me ask you a question going back a little bit. You said that you worked in a law practice as a receptionist and a paralegal? As a legal secretary. So is that what sparked your interest in law or were you already interested when you took that job? no I was not interested I was gonna be a court reporter okay I worked at Rockwell for 13 years and then I was gonna be a court reporter and I had to stop doing court reporting because my son wanted to eat so I had to go get a job And when I did that I started working in a legal office because I had just this little bit of legal experience from the court reporting. Okay. So I worked as a legal secretary in this building that housed this celebrity attorney that I didn't know who he was. And so. I was able to just go up there finally get a job with at that firm and just and and just became a secretary there and I still hadn't thought about being an attorney until I worked with this second celebrity attorney and then I was trying to figure out I was ready to go back to core reporting school and felt that it just was not where I was supposed to be. I said I had surpassed court reporting school. Right. Obviously you did. Yes. I did. And so then I found out in California you can just have your AA and go to law school and that's what I did. And so I'm guessing at this point in your life you were past school age. Well past school age. Which is another amazing testimony because I think for most of the viewers out there, we all go through a time in our life where we get to the place where we go, okay, now what do I do with the rest of my life? I've done something, raised children, maybe had jobs, worked, but didn't really feel like that was a career. So can you kind of share a little bit about that? how you developed a career at that stage in your life. Right. That was, I don't even know how I got there, it just kind of happened. Okay. But when I started practicing it's been 12 or 13 years now, 2007 and I was probably in my late 40s at that time and that's when I became licensed. Okay, that's amazing. So it's never... Everyone look at me, I want a camera over here. It is never too late. It is never too late for you to do what God's called you to do. Because really what happened, you just took a little bit longer to figure out what God created for you to do. Nice. And I love that you haven't put a lid on it, that you're still saying, okay, God, what else can I do to make this world a better place? Because that is what Carmen is doing. Carmen is helping others, whether it's with the law. Right. or whether it's helping them figure out they need to break generational curses. So you're bringing in the Spirit of God with your wisdom and your intelligence and your hard work that you've done, and you are making a difference. And that is so amazing. And we just applaud you for that. And now you're getting ready to go into another journey with this counseling. And I just can't wait to see what God is getting ready to do in you with that. Veronica, how about you tell us ways that they can find us? Well, one of my favorite ways is we do have a website. It's irefresh.net and it's a website of resources, information about podcasts as well as scriptures. If you have a question and you just wonder what does the word say about a topic, let's pick finances or marriage or children. The website has a tab that allows us to look at what does the Bible say about that topic and prayers and scriptures that we can pray. So I encourage you go on the website, look at the resources. They are just so helpful. And then also we do have the podcast through different avenues with iTunes, with Buzzsprout and with other however you find your podcast. Just do a search for iRefresh Ministries and you will be able to find all of our podcasts there. So also we're on Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to follow us and we do upload links there. So be sure to look for our next episode with Ms. Carmen because it's about to get very interesting in our meeting here. That's right. Thank you for joining us. Bye.