Quirks, Bumps, and Bruises
Take a trip with the Morning JoyRide®️ as Melody discusses the humorous side of real issues facing families today.
Quirks, Bumps, and Bruises
Beyond Grades and Sports: Investing in Your Child's Spiritual Journey
What really matters in parenting? Not trophies or test scores—but your child’s soul.
In this honest, hope-filled episode, Parker, Melody, and Candy share how they’re raising kids with eternity in mind. From Bible studies to bedtime devotions, they offer real talk and practical tools for spiritual growth—even when mornings feel like “Monday Night Raw.”
Hear why early faith habits matter, how to make prayer feel natural, and what research says about shaping beliefs by age nine.
Listen now and discover simple ways to nurture your child’s soul in today’s world.
So it's Melody, it's Candy, it's Parker here on this episode of Quirks, bumps and Bruises. We love having Parker come in and hang out with us, and he's never the same when he leaves.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:But I want to ask you both of you have children. Candy now has three, you have two, parker and so, as parents, one day our children are going to stand before King Jesus, that's right, and he is going to care very little about the grades they made in school, their batting average, their three point percentages, their yards per carry, their popularity, their college transcripts or their class rank, all that stuff. Jesus is not going to care about that. And so how do we invest in their souls? So, as parents and Parker, I'll just ask you first, as a parent, what are some things that you want to make sure you do each and every day, or weekly or whatever, that those little boys of yours know how important Jesus is For sure?
Speaker 2:You know, melody, my wife Melody and I started early on with the boys trying. Now y'all we miss quite a bit Every morning when we get up. I had a pastor friend share with me that he did this with his family Made a total difference in the trajectory of their day. Have just a short devotional. It doesn't have to be deep, you know. It doesn't have to be a whole chapter of Proverbs or whatever. I mean just enough to where their little minds are going in the right direction. Now we have some. It looks like Monday Night Raw wrestling when we're getting ready for work or church or whatever. But that is our goal. Also, I like to take my boys. So last night I go over to a Bible study at Richard Childress Racing. I take one of the boys with me. Now these are grown men and y'all we're talking about serious stuff that grown men deal with. My little boys are asking questions all the way home, good questions about God's grace and his goodness and how he did chase after us until he finally caused.
Speaker 2:Some of these guys have lived rough, rough lives, and so that's where I try my best is just bring the boys with me. They'll hear it. They'll experience it, especially being a worship pastor. They'll hear all kinds of different opinions and approaches to life and ministry and sin, and hopefully it will be a warning to them as they grow up, and I love that they're asking questions too, yep, totally.
Speaker 3:Sometimes I think we shy away from the hard stuff we don't want our kids to see some of those things, but it is good that they're seeing that with you.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 3:And that they can go home and ask Dad, tell me about this. I think that's wonderful.
Speaker 1:And feel comfortable asking. That's right. Well, I think that's wonderful and feel comfortable asking.
Speaker 2:That's right. Well, who do you want them to teach? Who do you want your child to learn these bad things from?
Speaker 3:Because they're going to learn from somebody Either they'll be told about it by their friends.
Speaker 2:They'll experience it firsthand, which is the worst.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:So go ahead and head them off at the pass. I mean, that's our job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is. We're talking about investing in our kids' souls because one day they're going to stand before the Lord and the Lord's not going to care about all the things that so many parents are just obsessed about. You know, sports I'm not saying sports aren't good. Sports are good, but it's not the most important thing. I know, the other day, my little grandson he just turned three Benson and he said me mommy David killed a wife. And I told my daughter later I said y'all were doing something right, oh yeah he's already at.
Speaker 1:You know barely three learning these bible stories and what they mean. So, candy, what do you and Jake, your husband, do to kind of invest in the souls of your three kids? Well, I know, the baby is different but for the boys what?
Speaker 3:So kind of like Parker was saying just intentionally and you have to be intentional about it because time gets away with you and a lot of times we'll go to bed at night and I'm like we forgot to do this or we didn't do this, but devotion time together, and that we would love to do it. I think it's wonderful to do it first thing in the morning, just like you said, it changes your day. But our schedules are just so crazy that we're unable to do that, and so we do it more after dinner, kind of right before we start to wind down for the night, and we do that. Jacob will lead us through a devotion and it's a perfect time where they can ask questions For sure I don't understand that, or what does that mean, or any different things so where they can ask questions.
Speaker 3:For sure I don't understand that, or what does that mean, or any different things. So that has been such a bonding time for us, I think too, and even we're a blended family, so I mean having it. Just when you put God into something like that, you know, it's just, it's wonderful the spirit that you feel and it's just wonderful to do that. But that's been something that we definitely, you know, we want to make sure the craziness of the day and all the fun activities. We've had fun, it's been a good day, we've had attitudes, we've all these things but it goes back to let's center it around you know Probably helps you sleep better.
Speaker 2:It does it helps the kids sleep better? Yes, putting their mind in the right place before they lay their heads down.
Speaker 3:You were talking about David and Goliath, which is hilarious, because tonight I go home and Hunter and I have always had this thing where we do like a little Bible. He's got like a children's illustrated Bible and so we'll do story time with that at night before his bedtime and so tonight he's so excited, it's David and Goliath.
Speaker 2:He loves that story. So that's our Bible story tonight. What boy doesn't like that? I know that's a great one.
Speaker 1:I know both of you too and I think let me let me back up. Let me say this I know that church does not save people, right, but I do think keeping your kids grounded in a church setting is extremely important. Now, I know many parents. I think feel like the church, that's their job. You're supposed to teach my kid, right? The church is just an accessory. I guess. Come along a support system that's much better word than accessory, and we're not talking about earrings and jewelry, but uh, yeah, a support system to come alongside your child. They are there to help teach your child about the lord, but they are not the primary teachers. It is the parent, and so it is important for these kids to see worship Parker. Your kids get to see you lead worship every Sunday.
Speaker 2:Y'all. I can't even look over. Typically, bryce, our seven-year-old, is in the worship service with us, especially when Melody my Melody is on the praise team. He's by himself. Usually and with our pastor, who just now took another church, Pastor Brandon, one of my best friends in the world. He would sit with Pastor Brandon and now he sits with our interim pastor, Dr Rick Bird, and both of those men. I don't look at him because the little boy is so engaged.
Speaker 2:I will forget what's coming next, but they said if you could sit beside him and hear. He is singing as loud as he can and as sincere as he can.
Speaker 1:Now he's a pistol a lot of the time he's a pistol, aren't they all? But he's already learned to worship.
Speaker 2:He has already learned corporate singing worship, yeah, and so I'm thankful for that. You know, and we've talked about that little story of caleb sitting and singing god is so good. I think we talked about that several weeks ago. So they're hearing God's word through music and I'm thankful, I'm very thankful to have the church.
Speaker 1:And then, candy, your husband is in ministry now, yeah, and so he is getting to see Jake in the pulpit at times, oh yeah, and you know, just to see that is. You know my kids for a lot of years, you know, saw me leading worship and I also led children's ministry and so I got to teach them at church and at home as well. But I just think the church is so important and I'm praying that we'll see a return of parents with young children and not just the fluff of children's ministry. And not that that stuff is all bad. They should have fun at church, they should do fun things and go have ice cream and do all those things. But you want a church situation and a children's program that teaches who Jesus is Totally.
Speaker 1:And I know and feel like by the time and I think you all would agree with this by the time we are seeing kids go to college, they really still don't know why they believe what they believe. Sure, and that's why apologetics is so important. If you don't know why you believe what you believe, that foundation will crumble pretty quick when you have professors that are teaching the exact opposite of that, professors that are teaching the exact opposite of that, and so it is just. You know, I've always thought, even years past, that churches put more emphasis on youth, and I realized really quickly that in today's time, with kids learning so much so early, that really a lot of emphasis needs to be on children. Barna Research says that children by the age of nine will believe what they believe about the Lord for the rest of their life. That is very young.
Speaker 1:So it shows you the importance of teaching early, getting it early worshiping early, praying and teaching them to pray. So let's hunker down a little bit on teaching children how to pray at an early age. You know that prayer doesn't necessarily come naturally, and so to teach a child to pray, why do you think we have so many adults that won't pray? Oh yeah, do y'all have that in your churches? Oh yeah, for sure, and they're good godly people, but they don't want to pray out loud, isn't?
Speaker 2:that to me, which is so strange to me. I mean, I, I don't know, maybe it's because I was around my dad was always the one, and around our family, so we would. So we have different denominations on my dad's side as we would come together and very much so some of his relatives would oh no, no, no, I don't pray. Well, my dad just started so that he wasn't always the one praying. He would point to my brother or me, or my sister and have us pray out loud so that we were used to it.
Speaker 2:Well, now, y'all and there are some people that maybe they're nervous being in front of people and they even have to write out their prayer. I think it's like singing a song, you know if it's a prayerful song, but to me, I'm just going to get up there, whether it's before a presidential event or whether it's in front of my two little boys. I want them people to see a conversation between a man, a sinful, hell-bound if not for the grace of God man talking with the Almighty Creator in public.
Speaker 1:I just think we worry too much about what other people are thinking 100%.
Speaker 2:That's what it is.
Speaker 1:And prayer. Billy Graham says that prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God. That's right. We have a man at our church that just prays, like he was sitting at the kitchen table and the Lord was right across from him and they were having a cup of coffee. I love to hear him pray because he's not worried about everything else.
Speaker 1:He's just talking to the Lord For sure. And so, anyway, just to see that with kids, it's so important that they learn at home, it's so important that they're in a church setting, because it's hard it is. And even all of that, let's be honest, even if you have them in private christian schools, which my kids did, that candy, your kids, your kids, all of that, take, all of those wonderful things, that doesn't even assure that they will know the lord one day. Oh no. But at least and I've always said this, I've told my husband this we can say we did all we knew to do as parents. Unfortunately, both of my kids are believers and will be in heaven one day, but that could have not been the case. It is only by the grace of God that that's the case.
Speaker 1:So just a good topic, something to think about with your children. If you're wondering how you should get started, the little devotional books are great ways to do it. Little sentence prayers, like teaching them. Why don't you thank God tonight for one thing? Think about your day and let's thank Jesus for that. So the child will say thank you, god for my food.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's okay, right, because thankfulness is a massive part of prayer and you learn as opposed to ask, ask, ask, yes, and you know I hate to say it our kids expose what they're learning, they emulate what they see, they do, and there's so many little kids that you hear Lord, please give me this, and Lord, give me this and help me sleep and help me do this and help me do this. Thankfulness comes before all gratitude right.
Speaker 1:You have to teach that.
Speaker 1:You do have to teach it, yeah, yeah, well, this was just a great conversation starter, because there's like we could do this for hours, so we could talk about this topic a very long time. But hopefully that will help you, not only with your children but with your grandchildren as well. I have grandchildren, I have a little grandson. I keep every day, so you know we're always, even if we're outside. Look what God made Benson, look at the birds. You know it's a constant reminder of the majesty and the sovereignty of God. And it's hard work, y'all it is. It's hard work because life gets busy, everything gets kind of crowded and in your way and you know I don't have time for that, I'm just too tired and I get that, I totally get that. But it's so important, especially in today's society. So thank you, candy and Parker. Hopefully that will help quite a few people today and at least start some great conversations.
