We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura Cohn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Laura, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from a very simple, steady truth: I know God loves me, and because I belong to Him, He blesses me in everything that happens in my life.
I have loved God for as early as I can remember being ‘me.’ When I was younger, He was my inspiration while I was drawing or writing music. Spending time with God as an artist was my happy place. He was the still, gentle, quiet presence that got me through the tough times—the beacon of light I chased after and the one I talked to when I had no one else.
Everything changed for me when I became a born-again believer. I stopped trying to ‘fix myself’—which I was never able to do anyway—and put my faith in the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross. At that moment, I was forgiven, washed clean, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. I am Jesus’ property now; I was bought with a price. Knowing I belong to Him changed how I view every challenge.
I’ve noticed that in life, people who love God want to be near Him, while those who don’t often run away. In simple terms, I think about it like the community of feral cats my husband and I care for. There are about 15 cats that we feed, and at first, they kept their distance. But then the first one, ‘Daddy Cat,’ decided I was okay. He started wanting me to pet him, then hold him, and he became so affectionate. The other cats watched how happy he was and slowly started coming closer too. Now, most of them love to be held and cuddled.
The cats that come close always get extra treats and massages; the ones that run away limit what they can receive. It’s the same with God. If you run away, you limit what He can give you. Over time, I’ve learned that even the hardest things I’ve gone through have ended up blessing me the most. It sounds counterintuitive, but now when something difficult happens, my reaction is: ‘God is blessing me with this.’ I may not understand the change, but because I know He only blesses me, I can relax and stay with Him until I see what He is doing.
Promises I Lean On:
Isaiah 41:10: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
Psalm 68:19: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.”
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
At 416 Sales, we specialize in wholesale custom labeled bottled water—turning a simple necessity into a high-impact branding tool for businesses and organizations. After 14 years in the digital marketing industry, I’ve seen firsthand how essential brand identity is to a company’s success. I’ve transitioned that expertise into the physical world, helping brands elevate their in-person customer experience.
What excites me most is seeing how a custom labeled bottle of water transforms a simple, everyday interaction into something special for a business. In professional settings like law firms, medical clinics, or banks, replacing generic water with a custom branded bottle instantly elevates the interaction for a waiting client and gives them more of a ‘white-glove’ experience. The same is true in the automotive world, where car dealerships are finding that placing a cold, branded bottle of water in a cup holder after a service appointment or handing one to a new car buyer turns a simple courtesy into a mobile advertisement that travels with the customer. It works just as well at high-stakes trade shows or community events; where every booth is competing for attention, a bottle of custom label water is one of the few promotional items people actually want and will carry around with them. Whether it’s for a hotel, a private club, or a non-profit hosting a charity run, custom bottled water does more than just hydrate—it reinforces a sense of premium service and makes the brand part of the person’s experience.
The biggest priority for me is the integrity behind the 416 Sales brand. My supplier was actually a long-time client of mine back when I did internet marketing, so I know their products are five-star rated and held to the highest industry standards, and that matters to me. It’s a great feeling to sell something I believe in 100%. When I provide this high-quality product to a business, I know it helps them make their own clients feel valued. It’s a subtle but powerful way to strengthen a company’s brand—every time a customer reaches for a drink of water, they are literally holding that business’s brand in their hand.
I’m currently focusing on reaching out to more specialized industries, like car dealerships, resort hotels, and corporate event planners, because I’ve seen how well this works for them. Since we have seven bottling locations in the US and one in Canada, we can offer fast, reliable shipping for businesses with multiple locations or those looking to save on freight. It’s exciting to grow the business into these areas knowing we have the infrastructure to handle the orders and get them delivered quickly.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, there are three areas of knowledge that have been the most impactful in my journey. I didn’t understand these for decades in my working life, so I struggled for many years. That struggle was part of my growth, but I believe if someone starting out can understand these things, they will have more joy.
1. Know that God is your provider—not people or circumstances.
Whether or not you are a believer, you need to understand that God is the One providing all things. If we rely on someone for something, there’s a good chance they will let us down. God is the only One who is truly trustworthy. If we put our faith in an outcome outside of God’s will, it will likely fail; God does this to get our attention and to turn us back to Him. He is not letting us fail to hurt us; He is letting our failures happen so we have to evaluate what we’re doing and try again.
I think of the story of the scribe whom God blessed substantially in his work. When someone commented on how well he was doing, the scribe said that as long as he had his hand, he would do well. God heard the comment the scribe made and felt bad that the scribe didn’t know that God was the one making him successful. So, God injured his hand and the scribe couldn’t write again. God did that so the scribe would understand that God was taking care of him whether or not he could write.
2. Understand that you are subject to laws and consequences you may not know about.
We live under spiritual laws, physical laws, and governmental laws. The KJV Bible is helpful for understanding how to navigate this because God tells us in His word how to live according to the laws we are subject to. For instance, what we think about and focus on continually creates aspects of what we experience.
Imagine standing on a map with your feet on Los Angeles. If you turn toward New York and start moving, you’ll eventually get there. But if you keep looking at Florida and facing that direction, you’re not heading to New York anymore. You are either moving towards God or away from God. God doesn’t change; we do. Consider these truths:
Job 3:25: “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”
Isaiah 26:3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
2 Timothy 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Job focused on fear and got what he was afraid of. Isaiah tells us that God will keep a person in perfect peace when they keep their mind focused on Him. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about how God equips believers with power, love, and a sound mind. Believers don’t have a spirit of fear when they stand firm in understanding who they are in Christ.
3. The choice that determines your eternity.
This is the most important of all. The only thing a person needs to get right in their life is to decide to put their faith and trust in what Jesus did to pay for their sins. Jesus shed His blood, died on the cross, was buried, and rose again alive the 3rd day according to the scriptures. This is the choice that determines where you will spend your eternity—heaven or hell.
First, let’s look at the gospel that saves from the letter the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
When Paul says “according to the scriptures,” he is referring to prophecy like Isaiah 53 which describes Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins and God’s reward to Jesus for His victory over sin, written 700 years before Jesus was born:
Isaiah 53:5-6 (KJV) – “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:11-12 (KJV) – “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
What happened at Jesus’ crucifixion was also foretold in Psalm 22, written approximately 1,000 years before His birth:
Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Jesus said this when He was on the cross before He died.
Psalm 22:7-8: “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him”
This scripture foretold how the Pharisees would mock Jesus while He was on the cross.
Psalm 22:14-18: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
This describes Jesus’ physical experience during the crucifixion and the Roman soldiers casting lots for His tunic after they split up His garments, which was described in John 19:24.
Psalm 16:10: “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.”
This foretold that Jesus would be resurrected and His body would not decay. In Acts 2:24-27 and Acts 13:35, The apostles Peter and Paul refer to this scripture being fulfilled when God raised Jesus from the dead. Psalm 16 was also written around 1000 years before Christ lived.
Leviticus 17:11: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul.”
The reason Jesus had to shed His blood goes back to this law that God gave the Jews in the Old Testament. You have to make a choice about whether or not you are going to trust what Jesus did to pay for your sins in full. What you decide about that one thing determines where you will spend eternity – in heaven or hell. I hope you will choose to trust what Jesus did so you will spend eternity in heaven.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The book that has played the most vital role in my development is the Bible, specifically the King James Bible (KJV). In 2021, I began a discipline of reading through the entire Bible every year. This practice has sharpened my discernment which helps me recognize when something is biblical or not, like when ‘New Age’ or secular philosophies have taken biblical truth from the Bible but removed God from their teachings. It has taught me to verify things I am told rather than just trust what someone says because of their title or position.
One of the most valuable nuggets of wisdom I’ve gained is the importance of precision and preservation. The Bible is the most distributed book in history, yet it is often the most misquoted. People will repeat what pastors or other people have taught them about the Bible but don’t read the Bible for themselves. Learning from Bible scholars and watching videos by Robert Breaker about the King James Bible on YouTube, I realized another problem is that modern translations contain contextual differences that alter the original meaning. Modern translations aren’t translated from the original texts. Many of them are missing verses and change or omit words which changes the meaning of the verses.
A perfect example of this is in John 7:8-10. In the KJV, Jesus says, ‘I go not up yet unto this feast.’ This ‘yet’ is crucial. Many modern translations (like the ESV, CSB, NIV, and NASB) omit that word, making it sound as though Jesus said He wasn’t going to the feast and then went anyway. Without that one word, the text inadvertently paints Jesus as a liar, which would disqualify Him as the sinless Lamb of God. This taught me that details matter. In life and in work, a small omission can change the entire truth of a situation.
Reading the Old Testament also gave me a profound realization regarding God’s sovereignty. When I first read Job 38-41, I was floored by God’s response to Job. God asks, ‘Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?’ and then continues for 67 verses describing His creation. Job is left in awe, admitting he is ‘vile’ and has no answer. This gave me a deep sense of reverence for God. It reminded me that while God cares for me deeply, He is Holy and He is also a Judge.
My study of the whole Bible taught me that precision in the text is vital because the stakes are eternal. I’ve realized that people who haven’t studied the entire Bible often don’t understand that God’s wrath is no joke. When you read the Old Testament, it is crystal clear how serious God’s wrath is. While it is popular to focus only on God’s love, the scriptures point out that God is going to judge every person that has ever lived by their works on earth. Heaven and hell are very real places, and every person will spend eternity in one of them. Hell is a literal place of eternal torment, described in scripture as a lake of fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Understanding this as a reality should lead someone to a sober-minded reverence for God and a clear need for Jesus’ salvation. Living in Texas, we understand what it means to seek relief from the heat. But in hell, there is no air conditioning and there is no relief—only conscious, never-ending suffering. That perspective makes the gift of salvation even more precious.
Finally, the most impactful wisdom is the clarity of the Gospel. As outlined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, salvation isn’t about church attendance, baptism, or my own good works. It is solely about trusting that Christ died to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Realizing that I was ‘saved and sealed’ the moment I put my faith in His finished work—not my own efforts—has given me peace and a moral foundation that influences everything I do. Knowing that my foundation is secure allows me to run 416 Sales by God’s grace. It has changed me in the most remarkable ways because I now have a spirit that is truly born again.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.416sales.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gospelglass/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/416SalesTX/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraanncohn/
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