Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.

Script Notes:

My child, obey the teachings of your parents, and wear their teachings

as you would a pretty hat or a lovely necklace.

Proverbs, chapter 1, verses 8 and 9. Contemporary English Version

VK: Hello! Welcome to another episode of Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K in the studio and today we’re going to begin a new series on Anchored by Truth that we call “Raising Christian Kids in a Creepy Culture.” Frankly, that’s job number 1 for every Christian parent today. Parents must make consistent, conscious, and disciplined choices to raise a Christian kid in that creepy culture and today we’re going to hear the story of someone who has done that. In the studio today we have Candy Coates. Candy worked for the State of Florida for 30 years and spent several years as a senior administrator. She also helped her husband build a very successful legal practice. Just about every family that has ever built a successful small business knows that the business success is a team effort. But, most importantly, Candy raised two children who have strong and solid Christian faiths of their own and are building careers and lives for themselves. Candy shared her own story with us on an earlier episode on Anchored by Truth but today we want to shift the focus to helping kids get a positive start on developing an enduring Christian faith. And we strongly believe that the foundation must be built early and purposefully. Candy, is there anything you’d like to say to the audience before we get started on how to raise Christian kids in a creepy culture? (2:45)

Candy: Thanks for inviting me to join you on Anchored by Truth.

- Introductory comments -

VK: So, Candy, what are some of the big ideas that you think that we should keep in mind as we discuss raising Christian kids in a creepy culture?

Candy: Principles – intentional, allowing kids to be kids (age appropriate), find or build a community of faith.

VK: Well, there’s a lot more intrusion by the world today – television time, internet time, video games and other distractions. (8:15)

VK: Are there any stories that you remember from when your kids were younger that stick in your mind as a time when you were so glad you were focused on helping your children learn about their faith? (8:50)

Candy: Train ride story.

VK: Laughs …

VK: You were telling us a story about your mother and father and they had a new born? (10:15)

Candy: Story about uncle.

VK: In some of our earlier conversations you have told us that your father and mother made building a devotion to Christ was a disciplined process at your house. Your father and mother didn’t just talk about their faith in Jesus and in the Bible but they lived it out faith every day. How did your home life influence how you decided to raise your own kids? (11:00)

Candy: Comments about her family’s faith and its influence on her life

VK: I think it’s fair to say you felt led to lead your children to Jesus in a positive way as soon as they were old enough to understand some basic ideas. What ideas did you think it was important for them to understand and how did you go about helping them learn?

Candy: Comments about building an anchor for their kids.

VK: Your son and daughter are about 4 years apart in age. Did you do anything differently when your daughter came along?

Candy: Son was happy about having a younger sister.

VK: I understand that you decided to teach your kids to read very early in their lives. In fact, I believe they could already read before they went to first grade. Why did you think it was so important to give them an early start and how did you go about helping them learn to read?

Candy: Comments about teaching the kids to read.

VK: Well, I’m sure parenting made you see scripture in a new light?

VK: What devotional practices did you introduce to your kids even before they started school?

Candy: Comments about early efforts to introduce Jesus to children.

VK: What did you do with your kids to introduce them to a positive church life?

Candy: Comments about getting kids started on church life.

VK: Candy, I think that parents always wonder whether their efforts with their kids are making a difference. But you had an experience with your daughter early on that helped you see that the effort you and Richard were making to develop a Christian character in your child was making a difference. Please tell our audience about what happened in the Volvo.

Candy: Volvo story.

VK: Well, Candy, before we close out for today I think it’s important for the Anchored by Truth audience to know that you are going to help us continue to build this Anchored by Truth series that we are calling “Raising Christian Kids in a Creepy Culture.” And you are highly qualified to help us because you actually did that. Can you give our audience a few big observations about raising Christian kids in a creepy culture?

Candy: Comments about big ideas about raising Christian kids.

(Move up before final thoughts)

VK: Candy, do you remember the first encounter that your son and daughter had with Jesus? (21:00)

Candy: Baby Jesus story.

VK: And your daughter – did she have a first moment with Jesus?

VK: Candy, do you have any final thoughts for the Anchored by Truth audience for today - perhaps thoughts about things for which you’re particularly grateful?

Candy: Final thoughts (Baby Jesus

VK: We’d really like to thank Candy Coates for being our guest on Anchored by Truth today. I think we can all be inspired by the kind of faith that Candy and Richard have. Candy came to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus by way of being raised in a strong Christian family and she was determined to pass that faith along. Candy’s story is just one more example of how sacred scripture –the Bible – continues to demonstrate its supernatural nature through lives that are changed for the better for all eternity by its saving power. Candy’s life has been immersed in the Bible and the Bible continues to be the center of Candy’s life and faith. Today since we are closing in on the 4th of July which is celebrated as Independence Day in America let’s listen to a prayer of celebration for the gift of freedom that comes from God but has been protected by those who came before us.

---- PRAYER FOR 4TH OF JULY

VK: We hope you’ll be with us in the future when we’ll continue our discussion with Candy. And we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show.

If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!”

(Bible Quote from the Contemporary English Version)