Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse. Mama show, prescribing Hope for Healthy Families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends, and welcome to my favorite part of the afternoon, getting to spend time with you. Prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. And today's prescription is all about putting your faith in action. That is so important and something that our families need to see us model. We can believe all the things we can think all the things we can pray, all the prayers, but really they need to see us putting our faith into action. And today we're going to talk a lot about Generation Alpha. Now that is the youngest generation. We actually have a generation being born now after Gen Alpha that is yet to be named. But Gen Alpha is just now starting to reach those teenage years. They are the most connected, the most tech savvy and the most visually oriented generation in history. They don't grow up as digital natives just expecting there to be technology integrated into their lives. They expect that, technology to be good. They expect to, see things in visual format and visual content because they are growing up in a world that is providing constant brain stimulation and instant access to materials. Now, I remember when I was growing up and I was an avid reader, I was a nerd for sure. I love to read, but shout out to all the nerds out there who love to read. But I would have to wait. If there was a series that I liked, I would have to wait for that book to come out and there was no telling when it was going to come out and there was no email. Maybe if you had a print newsletter, but you would just go to the bookstore and look for that date when it was supposed to be supposed to come out. But now kids have instant access and we need to reach them with timeless truth. But that is going to require some creativity and some innovation. And that is what the Action Bible, Faith in Action Edition delivers. This is reimagined. It's got high energy illustrations that kids love, but also some interactive digital experiences that meet Gen Alpha right where they are then that is on screens. They're in stories they are wanting to discover. And the question that we're answering today is how do we help a generation that was raised on devices fall in love with the living word of God? And I've got a guest on again who was here before and I'm so delighted to have back Brock Eastman and he is really involved in this. And Brock, so, so glad to have you back. Thanks so much for joining us.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Hey, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. It's always a pleasure.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Brock, for those who missed our last episode, which I encourage you to go back and check it out, I'd love for you just to give a little brief introduction to your to of yourself, to our listeners. Just tell us who you are and what you're doing in this incredible work and the Faith in Action Bible.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's funny because, you know, last time you probably saw me a different costume. I believe I was in costume, right?
Dr. Jessica Peck: That's correct.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): As Dr. Fizzlebop. Not a real doctor, but Dr. Fizzlebop, a character I play. Helping kids connect faith and science together and just really exploring this beautiful world that our creator made for us, this intelligent designer that made this wonderful world and how we fit into it. And so that's how you would have saw me last time. Or if you go back and listen to it, that's who you'll see me to be. But hopefully what you take away from that is that I am passionate about creating great products for kids, helping connect them to their faith, how that works and how they can use those in their daily lives and how parents and grandparents can use those in their daily routine with the kids in their lives.
How does being a dad inform this work that you do
Dr. Jessica Peck: And you're a dad, Brock, so you are living, breathing this at home and at work. And I know you and I talked last time so much about how our kids really inspire and inform us about this generation. And how does being a dad inform this work that you do?
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Oh, absolutely. I'm a husband and a dad. And yes, my wife does most of the effort on keeping us on track. She's good at keeping our schedules, helping me I think. What's that?
Dr. Jessica Peck: Go mom. I love that. Go mom.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): You know, it's funny, like I joke, seriously, you know, wives, they save husbands. And what I mean by that is I'd probably still living in my parents basement playing video games if when we got married we didn't establish what it meant to be a husband and wife and how we would raise our kids. We have no video game systems in our house because at an early stage my wife saw the dangers in those. We don't have those. I don't play them, my kids don't play them. And so anyhow, that's a little side tangent. Shout out to my wonderful wife for how amazing she is and how she's really helped form our family and who they are. but I've got Four kids. And as you said earlier, they are all Gen Alphas. Well, Kinley, my oldest, she'll debate me on Gen alpha because she's 16, born in 2009. 2009, 2010 is that cutoff year and they go all the way to being born up until this year, 2025. Right. So like you said, the new generation is being born right now, the old ones ending. But, I call her a Gen Zalpha because she has more. She has, I know Gen Z. She has three younger siblings who are all alphas. And so she's at the tail end of Gen Z. So she acts more like a Zalpha whether she wants to or not. As, a firstborn. Definitely likes to act like an Alpha. But, yeah, so four kiddos. and what I think I love the most, Jessica, is that when we're doing and creating these products, I as a dad and thinking about how this impact my own family and that's what makes it a heart mission. That's what makes us a passionate about is you as a mom. When we do things like this and we share information about how we can connect kids to faith, it becomes a heart mission. It's not just about products about how do we do this together to build a generation that loves Jesus with all their heart and so that my kids can find other kids who they can connect with. Right. And be in relationship with. So sorry, that's not exactly.
Dr. Jessica Peck: No, it's okay. Because I, I have to say I just want to put it out there that I am one of those fellow radicals. My husband and I join you and your wife in solidarity there and that we had a video game free home. Now I have talked to some families who have found some healthy adaptations of that and have used that in a way that has been edifying and building relationships. But we also where we raised our kids in a home where that didn't happen. Now I will say that resulted in a lot more messiness than we probably would have had because there were a lot more adventures, science experiments for one thing, or you know, just other. Like maybe, they. Maybe my boys made their bunk bed into a slide like repeatedly. And maybe I just finally stopped pretending like I knew, you know, but at least they were doing something, just productive and playing with each other and seeing that imagination. And Brock, I'm on the other end of, of Gen Z with you because my kids are all Gen Z, except for my youngest. Really kind of has that little bit of crossover there with Gen Alpha and maybe the siblings, you know, Affectionately call him an iPad kid, because that's what Gen Alpha is. Although, you know, he was raised up right when the iPad was, was, born. And it's amazing to see how different the world is even between Gen Z and Gen Alpha. And I hear my Gen Z kids talking about Gen Alpha like they're, you know, 50 years old. They're talking about, oh, kids these days, you know, and I'm like, you're only like, five years older than them. But I think that just shows how much the world has changed. So what do you see in the differences in Gen Z and Gen Alpha? What are the things about Gen Alpha that we need to know?
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Yeah, well, you hit a lot of it off in the, in the very beginning. And I know we don't want to keep going back here and talking about this, but this generation truly was impacted by the pandemic. It's as if they were in a war. And I think that's what we have to continue to remember. so my kids go to a classical school, so there's no devices in the school. So when the pandemic hit, we had to rush out and buy iPads, which were hard to find because we suddenly became a homeschooling family. and why I mentioned that is because my kids, unlike some, weren't ready for devices. What does that look like to be on Zoom with my teacher? So that was. That's. That's a, that's a nuance. However, this affected all the kids because even the kids that were in school with devices suddenly were not in a room with other students. They suddenly didn't have lunch with their friends or recess. They didn't have adults walking around the classroom who are trusted adults in the school. A principal, a PE teacher, their music teacher, their art teacher, to interact with them and to develop these relationships on what it means for a kid and an adult to interact in a respectful way. But also as a trusted adult. I can trust these people. They didn't develop some relationships early on. We're talking. These kids were 4, 5, 6, 7, like all the way up, right? Everybody was home for six months to a year, whatever that might have been, depending on where you live. And they're lacking these relationships. And even though we like, okay, let's get technology to step in here and help us out. We started connecting through Zoom and meetup groups, and all these online great free things came on so your kids could learn stuff. Still. It's not the same. It's never the same. It's not going to be the Same, you know. And so I think what, Well, I don't think this is what happened was in that moment, we made this massive fast, fast shift. Kids were already using devices, but suddenly it became we're on devices for eight hours a day. And our technology got better and how we presented information got better. And kids got used to being with their friends on technology in that way at a younger age. Not at 15, 16, 14, 13, at 8, 7, 6, 5, if you're a kindergartener. They got used to being on devices all day long, and not just for entertainment, but. But for interaction. And so it just made this massive quick shift to the typical go outside and play together. Now, I will say I think we've seen some recovery recently where we're seeing more people, parents being intentional about getting kids to do playgroups together, getting kids back out together. I think we're seeing an intentional active movement to move us out of that and get here. But some of that has already been done. there's a video that, we played here at cook that we watched as we were going through the Faith in Action edition as figuring out how to do this. And it's this video of this little boy at home during the pandemic. He's in his kitchen and he's making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I'll never forget this video because they played it for us. And the kid is singing all by Myself, Don't Wanna Be. And I don't know if the parents set it up, but the fact that this kid is singing this and making his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, getting ready to have lunch by himself, it just put it all into context for me that this is how many kids were feeling. You know, as adults we can process things differently, but kids, that process is so different. And so we saw this change in Gen Alpha and we realized that there's this desire in these needs. I'm gonna stop for a second because I've got so much more to say, but I want to let you react to what I said. I'm so sorry. I get going. You know that.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I know that, but it's great. We already talked about. We both have a propensity to yap, but it's okay because this is a good thing to yap about. We need to be talking about this, Brock.
Dr. Jessica Peck writes about the impacts of the pandemic on Gen Alpha
And that's such interesting perspective. And I agree with you. Nobody wants to go back and talk about the pandemic. But it's really odd because I look at. I write an article every month for the Stand which is the magazine put out by the American Family Association. And I realized for four months in a row I talked about the impacts of the pandemic on Gen Alpha. And it's just now, I think we're just now, as the dust is still settling, starting to see those impacts, starting to see some signs of recovery like you said. But I know that my kids even experienced that during the pandemic. How do you adjust to that when you have parents who are working or worried about, you know, all of the impacts, all of the holistic impacts that really impacted families. And you're talking about families who were afraid to go visit their grandparents or grandparents who were afraid to go visit their kids because we didn't want to get them sick. You want to do the right thing, but we didn't know what the right thing was, all of those kinds of things. And I think it has fundamentally transformed this generation. One of the things I've been talking about a lot, Brock, is the concept of digital soothing. Because when we have those devices so easily accessible, what I see parents and grandparents doing is when kids have emotions that are uncomfortable, when they're feeling lonely, when they're feeling angry, when they're feeling overwhelmed, when they're feeling bored. I mean, just you name it. Put in that the answer is to insert a device if you're lonely. Oh, here's this device for companionship if you're, you know, if you're feeling angry. Oh, here, this will help you just Netflix and chill. Right? Like all of these things in the way that that parenting has changed. And I think that, I think that we really need to give some serious thought to how we're engaging, these kids in faith and faith conversations and faith content. So I would love to bring you back in. Keep telling me more information about Gen Alpha and tell me about how David C. Cook and just give me a preview because I've just gotten the two minute warning. We have just two minutes. Give me a preview of the Faith in Action Bible and then we'll dive into it really deep when we get back on the, from this, from the first break.
Brock Eastman talks about the Faith in Action Bible for Gen Alpha
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Oh, I love it. And I definitely would talk about what you said about these digital soothing because that is so real. Oh yeah, yeah. After the break we'll talk about what we've aligned with how Gen Alpha sees and G and who Jesus was and is. And so I really want to dive into that and say, here's how they align. It's a one for one map on who they are and who Jesus is. And if we can connect them, they're going to see this man, this hero that in their life who did something, who changed the world just like they want to. So I'll go with that and I'll talk about how Faith in Action, how we've taken seven attributes and tied those to Gen Alpha for the attributes they care most about to make this Bible something they can easily reference as they're experiencing something. So little preview if that works.
Dr. Jessica Peck: That was quite the teaser. Okay, Yes, I definitely want to hear this. And it's called the. The Action Bible. This is the Faith in Action Addiction edition that I'm holding up right here that you can see would make a great Christmas gift. And like, like Brock said, we've got so much more to talk about. We are both living this from different perspectives. And I think all those perspectives are really helpful in helping people, parents to meet their kids where they are, which is a world that frankly, we don't recognize. But there is help and hope to help your family and especially those Gen Alpha kids to put their faith in action. We will be right back after this break with more from Brock Eastman about the Faith in Action Bible. The Faith in Action edition for the Action Bible. See you on the other side of this break. Candace talks about finding out she was pregnant. Thankfully, an ultrasound provided by preborn allowed her to hear her baby's heartbeat. The sonogram sealed the deal for me. My baby was like this tiny little spectrum of hope and I saw his heart beating on the screen and knowing that there's life growing inside, I mean, that sonogram changed my life. I went from just Candace to Mom. Thank you. To everybody that has given these gifts. You guys are giving more than money. You guys are giving love. PreBorn currently has clinics that do not have ultrasound machines. Would you consider a leadership gift and sponsor a machine today? These life Saving machines cost $15,000 more than most centers can afford. Your donation will save countless lives for years to come. Dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby or go to preborn.com/AFR.
Then Christ Came by MercyMe: Like a. Soldier with no armor. In the middle of the battle I was broken. I was broken. It was only getting darker in the valley of the shadow I was hopeless. I was hopeless. I never thought that I would ever see the day when every single chain would break or hear the voice of heaven call my name. Then Christ came changing everything he took my sin and shame away now every song I sing will be for him Ever since the moment he walked in Then Christ came.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back Friends, that is. Then Christ Came by. MercyMe
How do we reach Gen Alpha? And what if growing faith was an exciting mission
And today we are talking about how to help your kids put their faith in action. How do we reach Gen Alpha? And what if growing faith was an exciting mission where every story of, faith leads to action, every action builds character. We're talking today a lot about Gen Alpha and how they are being raised in a world that we as parents, as grandparents simply don't recognize. Things have changed so radically. And I was talking before the break about how even my Gen Z kids can see that the world has so dramatically changed for Gen Alpha kids. And they see already, even in this young adult, older teenager stage, they can see how the world has completely changed. My guest today, Brock Eastman, has talked about how the pandemic changed that so much. And even before the break I talked about Netflix and Chill, which actually you might think, okay, that's just watching Netflix and that's just chilling out. Gen Alpha is taking that to a new level and it has other meanings, like meaning making out while you're walking, watching Netflix or even other things there. if you start to look at the ways that the world has changed, it can, it can make us really feel fearful and it can make us feel like, oh my goodness, we don't know this world. This world is scary. But we do know the timeless truths of God's word and we know that Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. And we know that God has equipped you to parent Gen Alpha for such a time as this, to be an influence, to be a light. And Gen Alpha, when we're talking about stories, they don't want to just hear stories, they want to experience them. Gen Alpha is an experiential generation. And so today we're talking about the a, the Action Bible, Faith in Action Edition. And there are it. This is really an innovative concept that transforms reading into really interactive, purpose driven engagement. And there are lots of action points to engage with. Devotionals, games, playlists, prayer activities, all kinds of things through safe QR codes that are here. I'm going to let Brock tell you all about it.
Brock says digital devices are isolating parents from their children
But first, Brock, let's go back like we promised our listeners we would do. And I would love to hear your thoughts on the digital soothing that is happening in Gen Alpha.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Yeah, yeah, no, I mean I think what you said specifically about how it's as if, as we, these devices that we have begun to isolate us as individuals in our own home. Right. We have our own screens, we're driving down the car and when growing up, driving down the car Avengers in Odyssey would play on the CD radio and we would listen to Adventures in Odyssey. And that's what we do as a family, right? That was one channel one. Now we drive down the road. My older two do have phones at this point. because one's driving, we're all on our own devices. Who gets to be the dj, who gets to do what? It's a very isolated thing. Why I say that is because then as individuals, as parents, we've learned that our own devices are. There's so much happening here for me to take attention. If my child has an issue or problem, I just want them to kind of go solve it themselves. So here's your device. Go just watch something. Just go, relax, take it easy, right? Instead of, hey, honey, what's going on? How can I help solve your problem? How can I walk you through it or talk to you? Or maybe here's what makes me so sad. Maybe they just need a hug. Oh, yeah, they just need a hug. So at what point used that word, soothing? At what point with this, I'm just gonna use the word dangerous. This dangerous electronic device, I'm holding mine up right now, becomes that blanket, that security blanket that kids feel. Right? we don't even need to talk about what's behind here, once unlocked, that kids can get access to without anyone caring. I'm going to go on a quick tangent and cut me off if I need to. The people behind YouTube and behind Facebook and behind Instagram and TikTok, they don't care about your child whatsoever. They could care less what your child gets, receives or has knowledge of. They don't care. The only one in the whole world that really is going to care about what your kid receive is you. The parent, the grandparent, hopefully a trusted adult, a, ah, coach or teacher. Those people behind those Instagram posts and making the content creators to the people who own the platforms, they could care less what your kids getting. They care about one thing. That's the bottom line. That's the money coming in from those ads. That's all they care about. And so I just mentioned that, because when this device becomes that soothing tool, you're unlocking a gateway to all kinds of stuff that nobody's protecting your children from. You are that protection. So we as parents, we need to remember when our kids come to us and they're frustrating us and they're angry or they're crying or upset, it's because they have a real need for human interaction with someone they trust and care about. And that's something only a parent or a grandparent can give to that child. A warm hug, a shoulder for those tears to cry on. Words, of encouragement in the moment, words of advice. Do you want YouTube giving your kids advice how to deal with a relational problem, or do you want yourself to give that advice to your child? And so I feel like we've lost some of that, that ability for parents, our confidence. It's not all parents. That confidence to. How do I deal with this? What do I do? Oh, I'll turn to chatgpt and have it give me the answer. No, the answer is actually in the Bible. The Word provides so much details on how to solve problems for our kids. Right? It's all there. But if we as parents are so busy on our devices and we're not diving into the Bible, we're not equipping ourselves to handle situations. So sorry, long story to say that that soothing problem is it goes all the way back to us not even being equipped because ourselves are isolated and distanced. And so we've got, ourselves as parents, grandparents, dig into the word. So when those moments come, we aren't just, oh, here's the device. Go, go solve that. We can step into the moment and say, what's the problem, honey? What can I do? How can I answer it? And guess what? We're going to mess up as parents. You may not have the right answer. So if you don't have the right answer in the moment, do this next. Let's go look in the Bible and see if we can find the answer together. Do you know what that will do for your child? If you're saying, let's go do it together now you're on a mission together to work on the problem. You're arm in arm and you're going into the Word. I promise you, parents and grandparents, that's going to create a foundation that's going to take your kids so much farther. And when they're 25 years old and they're struggling with some sort of problem that they're dealing with, maybe their own kids, or maybe it's a problem with their relationship at work, and they call you up and say, dad, I don't know what to do here. What should I do? They trust you because you've already built a foundation that says, we're gonna go figure it out together. So sorry, I'll hop off that soapbox.
Dr. Jessica Peck: No, it's so good, Brock. It's so good what you're saying. This is something that parents and grandparents need to hear. Over and over and over again.
What you're talking about with these digital silos is so important
What you're talking about with these digital silos is so important because I remember when my kids were young, we were all watching on a dvd, by the way, I think it was a Blu Ray, so it was, you know, kind of technologically savvy. There we were watching I'm really going Time Machine, but we were. And we did listen to Adventures in Odyssey on car trips together too, and so similar things. But I remember specifically we were watching a movie called the Little Princess, and it's based on a classic novel. And of course, the end is just so emotional, you know, this girl who has been separated from her father during wartime, and then he does he. They're finally reunited, but he doesn't recognize her. And I just remember looking around and there was just not a dry eye on the couch. We were all just so touched by this moment of, you know, reuniting between father and daughter. And we all had that same emotional experience together. And then we could talk about it. And we talked about, what would you do if you were in that situation? What characteristics did this girl have that were admirable? How did she show bravery? How did she show, you know, courage? How does she show kindness even when kindness wasn't shown to her? But when you're all streaming your own thing, that kind of shared emotional experience, and those prompts don't come because you don't know what your kids were watching. And actually, just this recently, just recently, Brock, I was at a conference. Most of what I do as a professor is in the human trafficking. Ah, Prevention is what I'm trying to do as a professor. And so we did a deep dive with law enforcement, with technical experts, with social experts across the country, seeing what is behind that screen online. And I cannot affirm enough that you are so right that those platforms do not care about the emotional or spiritual health of your kid. They only care about engagement. And every time I think, you know, okay, I think I know what's out there is pretty bad, I'm, drawn deeper into it to think, no, it's. It's even worse than I can possibly imagine. And we've got to be intentional, not in fear mongering, saying, don't watch that. It's so bad, it's so scary. But as you said, making that connection to say, what do we. What do we do? Because we can't just act like we're automated assistants on a website. And sometimes we do that with our kids. Like, oh, honey, what's your problem today? Well, have you tried this. Well, have you tried this? Well, have you tried, this? Have I solved your problem yet? Can you take a survey about my service? I feel like that's how we do that. But we've got, got to make sure that we're on guard knowing that that engagement that they have online, it is literally shaping their worldview.
Cook defines seven attributes that kids seek to build their faith
And now, see, you talked about Soapbox. Here, here's mine. Because, you know, we talk about now we. A new threat that parents have is the AI Companions. They're built into every platform. They're built into so many toys. Brock and I wrote an article for the Stand about AI and toys and looking at that and being savvy consumers as you're buying things for Christmas. Because those AI Companions, they don't tell you hard things. They don't tell you, oh, no, God's word says, this is how you die to self. This is how you, you know, develop character. They're like, oh, how can I just make you feel good? How can I be the best friend we can. So we gotta come alongside with truth. And so I would love for you to tell us more about these seven attributes of, Gen Alpha. I'm super curious about this and how you intentionally mapped them.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Yeah, and that's part of our mission here at ah Cook is to serve the church and serve those people that need the need to understand who Jesus is. And that's the whole goal. And so we're always looking at ways to interact with every generation on how that does. And I don't know if you know about, Cook Global Media or Cook Media Global. I said that wrong. is that we have actually, Integrity Music is our music brand. we have Group Publishing, who does Sunday school curriculum and bbs, and we have David C. Cook, who does, publishing of books and other curriculum as well. So we really try to cover the full family wherever you're at, as an individual, at home or at church. And so, so it's part of our mission. So we do lots of research and we started to lay a map out on who is Gen Alpha and what do they want. And we define seven attributes that we believe that these kiddos are really seeking. And that's courage. They're in a time and culture where they need to know how to stand up for what is right, true and good and beautiful. What does that look like to build their faith? So courage, faith, faith. What does that look like? What does it mean to have faith? What is that foundation? Because faith can mean all kinds of things. If it's not Grounded. And how long does that faith last and where does it start? Hope coming out of the pandemic. What more do we need than hope that it will be better? And we have that hope in Jesus. We know the end story is amazing. We can have hope. We can have hope for everlasting life. Love. What does it really mean to love your neighbor? What does it really mean to love your parents? What does it really mean to love your enemy? And that's all in the Bible. And kids want to know. We hear the word love tossed around all the time and love has become so distorted to what that means. I can love anything. But what does love really mean? And I know I'm not, I'm not smart or haven't gone to my master's divinity or any of those things, so I don't know all the Greek words. But I will tell you one thing, that the only real love is what's in the Bible and how Jesus sacrificially died on the cross for us and he showed what real love is. We want kids to know that service. We are so selfish these days. How do we begin to serve our community? Listen, I was talking to somebody today about a, school lunch program here in Colorado that are launching to provide free meals to every kiddo for breakfast and lunch. And we have this little debate on what that means and why are we socializing this. And I said, the problem is I'm not for socializing and for the government to take care of everything. I'm not for that. But the problem is this. The church has stopped. If the church would step up and care for those kids who can't get a meal. Our church we go to actually provides lunches, lunch bags for every kid at one of the elementary schools. If every church in our community did that, every school kid could be confident going to school that there was a church providing food for those kids for breakfast and lunch, the government wouldn't need to step in because let's just be honest, it's hard on parents right now. Sometimes parents really can't. And some parents don't make the right decisions with their money and they would rather do this than that with their meal. I'm not trying to judge that. I'm trying to say let's get the church to stand up and instead of building bigger buildings, let's go provide food for kids in really be who Jesus asked us, be the hands and feet. That's what service is about. If we can get the next generation to understand what it means to serve those around Your community or neighborhood. Like Jesus. Oh, my goodness. Dr. Peck, what would the world be like in just 10 years? What would it be like? So service sounds boring, but it's actually the one I'm most excited about. Because if kids can learn that, it'll be great. Trust. Who do we trust? What is my worldview? What do I believe in? How do I care? Well, the only thing we should trust is what's in the word, because that's what God has given us. To understand what everything is about, what we should do, how we should act, how we should treat others, what we should believe. It's all there. We can't trust everything. So what does that really mean, to have trust? And who do we put that trust into? And then last wisdom. There's so much great wisdom. We can look in the proverbs, and there are so many things that the world has taken and made it their own, but it's all here in the Bible. They've just twisted it to be theirs. But it's here in the Bible. The Bible is full of wisdom and knowledge, and it's the one source we should use. Not even, unfortunately, your pastor's sermons. If he doesn't say something directly from the Bible, go to the Word.
Faith in Action uses color coded stories to help kids find courage
It's all right there. And so courage, faith, hope, love, service, trust, and wisdom are our seven attributes. And we spent time as a team developing what those would look like. And so the action Bible, this is the standard, one. It's been around for 15 years. Okay. And it's had a crazy season of growth recently. And it's a wonderful book. It's the foundation. We just took one step further. And with the Faith in Action, we took the stories and we actually color coded them to say, if you're looking for a story on courage, go to these stories, and it gives you the page number, and you flip to a story of courage. Because while going through the whole action Bible was great. We know that there's a need a kid might have, and we want them to easily find all those stories of courage and find that hope in that moment that they can turn on. Be like, I know what that means now. I know where my courage comes from. and so that's what excites me about faith in Action. And, I got more, but I'll pause because here I go again.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I love it, though. But you know, Brock, I am seeing such a stark contrast as you're talking. We're talking about the online world that is feeding our kids content, and it's on autoplay. Right. Like a lot of times the for you page, all of the social media or even streaming on your tv, you don't even have to intentionally choose. It's just, it's, it's learning what you like, which is really kind of creepy when you think about it, and just feeding you more of that content. But you are saying here at David C. Cook, you do care deeply about kids. You care about their biblical worldview. You care about biblical wisdom, about soundness, about theology, all of those things. And we have got as parents to intentionally choose where we're going to help our kids engage with a company that's easy, but is feeding our kids garbage that's just the absolute truth or are we going to engage them in their biblical worldview? Listen, we've got much more to talk about with the Action Bible and Gen Alpha with Brock Eastman when we come back right after this break. Don't go away. And my father, your great grandfather, fought in m World War II. Really? He was a gunner on the big ship out in the Pacific Ocean. Wow. Your great grandmother did her part too. Was she on a ship? Oh, no, she stayed back home. She and a lot of her friends worked really hard. And I factory because the men had gone off to war and they held scrap metal drives to help in the war effort. The folks back home were heroes, too.
Jeff Chamblee: Here at the American Family association, we consider you the heroes back home as you fulfill your responsibility of caring for your family day to day. Your partnership with us is crucial as we fight the enemies of freedom in America. Thank you for your commitment to the American Family Association. Grandpa, what's a scrap metal drive? Let's get some cookies and I'll tell you all about it.
Friend in Jesus by CAIN: I, have a shepherd. Who always keeps me safe. And I found a healer yes, I did. Who knows my every pain And this is my story of redeeming love. I have come to know him well oh, I have found a friend in Jesus. To me and I have found a friend in Jesus yes, he is my everything oh, I have found a friend in Jesus he is everything to me I have found a friend in Jesus
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. that, is Friend in Jesus by CAIN And we are helping your kids today, especially those kids in Gen Alpha to find a friend in Jesus. And when we look at the digital world that is surrounding them and the ways that Gen Alpha, who are known as the iPad kid generation, seeing the ways that the world has changed, the ways that they engage with digital technology, we have got to be intentional and making sure that we as Parents, as grandparents, as any other caring, committed adult are on the forefront of that world, that we are right there connecting them to biblical truth. And when we look at the world, one of the ways that the world is changing right now is we see all of the ways that social media has been working, that the online world has been working over the last two decades almost to influence our thoughts, our beliefs, mainly our consumer behaviors is what those companies are after. But one of the ways the world is changing right now is the rise of AI companions. And we have been talking about this on the show and about these companies that want to develop a friend for your child. Although it's not a friend, it is something that's going to dictate their consumer behaviors. It's something that's going to influence them to buy things, to stay on certain platforms. And as my guest today, Brock Eastman, has shared, those companies don't care about your kids, but there are companies out there that do care about your kids. And one of those is David C. Cook. And we're talking about the Action Bible. I've got it right here in my hands. Let me tell you, this thing is a really big book. There are a lot of stories in here. It's really colorful. It's very engaging. It sparks curiosity, which is really important. And Brock shared with us before the break how David C. Cook, I wrote these down here so that I wouldn't forget them. How they looked at seven attributes that are really important to Gen Alpha and connected those to stories in the Bible. Courage, faith, hope, love, service, trust, and wisdom. And as Brock was saying, when we talk about love, there are so many definitions for love. We've got to point them back. I think when my kids ask me about those, I point them back to First John 4:10. This is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We got to have the word of God deeply rooted in our own hearts so that we can share it with our kids. And just as much as it needs to be in our hearts, it needs to be in our home.
The Action Bible is a great interactive resource that would be a great Christmas present
So, Brock, I'd love for you to bring us back in and to tell us more about this really amazing interactive resource that would be a great Christmas present to give. And not only just give them the book, but give them the gift of your time. As you said earlier, Brock, do this together. Make it not just here's a book you can read, but here's a commitment that, that I'm going to make to walk through things with you this year with a biblical lens. I'll let you take it from there. Step. We're just, we're just hopping on and off the soapbox today. We're just taking turns. So here, I'll let you have your turn.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Oh, I love it. I love it. So I'm going to read this to you because I think this is, this is, this will help. Gen Alpha, knows who they are and take ownership of it. They are open and accepting. They believe in inclusivity. They want to take active roles in forging their future and believe they can change the world. Jesus, a world changer who forged ahead despite opposition. He is inclusive, accepting of others and took ownership of his father's plan for him. They want to be who Jesus is and was. That's what they, that's who these kids want to be. So what we love about the Action Bible, again it's got, it's got this beautiful rich history. If you didn't know this, it actually came off a book called the Picture Bible, which came out 50 years ago last year. It's a beautiful book of an illustrator, edition. And you mentioned earlier, Gen Alpha is visual stimulus. Okay? They want visual from cartoons to graphics, everything is graphic to them, right? And the Action Bible, what It does in 238 stories, 800 some pages, that's that brick you held up there earlier. It brings the story to life in a way that it actively pops off the page. We're talking full colored panels of graphic illustrations of the story moving in front of you. So as you see it, scene from scene, the scene, it comes to life in your imagination, right? You put the movement together because it is just a piece of paper, but it's an active narrative. We're talking quote bubbles and narrative text that makes it feel like an active story in a conversation. And so when kids dive into each story, any of the stories, they see these images of people from the Bible, real people. We're not talking cartoon characters, we're talking real people that actually lived in the Bible and their stories. And then you're hearing a dialogue between what would happen based on scripture and everything in the Action Bible. It is all derived directly from translation. We don't add stuff to it. We don't make things up that we're not sure. It all comes right from scripture. It's all based in scripture. And so that's the beauty of the Action Bible when parents do this. Just last weekend I'm out in my, on our backyard. I'm laying in the Hammock, reading my own book, thinking, oh, I've got a nice Sunday afternoon. We've gone to church. I'm gonna relax. And Declan, he's my youngest. I've got, like I said, Kinley, Elsie, Waverly, Declan, four kiddos. He comes running out, and you know what book he carried? The Action Bible. He comes running out the Action Bible, jumps onto the trampoline, says, dad, let's read together.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, interesting.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): And he can read. He's 10 years old. He doesn't need me. It was about that time and why I'm saying this because I love what you just said. As we came back from the break, you said, it's about that time together.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Yeah.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): This isn't. I still don't want to say parents. This is a way to get your kids in the Word, because it is. Kids will get this Action Bible, and they will read through that thing so fast. You'd be like, where's volume two? Well, there isn't, but they'll read through so fast. But do it together. Make it your Bible story in time, around the kitchen table that night or before bed, in their bed, open it up and read together. You're, as a parent, gonna learn some stuff, too. I promise that. But your kids taking this time together, creating that relationship and that foundation of experiencing God's Word together in a way that they can easily understand. And I'll be honest, I'm 41 years old. I think I can understand it better sometimes when I read the Action Bible than the full text Bible. You know, I'm organizing a, book, a Bible study around the act with a bunch of men my age, because I think it'll be easier for us. But, you know, I just love it. I just love what you said about the idea of this is something to do together. And so what the Faith in Action Edition does. I held the, Action Bible up earlier, but the Faith in Action Edition does is through every story, there's a QR code in it. You scan that QR Code, and it takes you to our website, and there's all kinds of great content on there, and we're adding content constantly. But what you will find on every single story, a devotional challenge. There's a devotional and a prayer challenge and some talking points. So we want to make it really easy for parents to do this at home with their kids. Read the story. Maybe you've never read that story in your life or heard that story. That's okay. We're equipping you as the parent to be the Hero to open that story, scan the text and go through a devo that's explained with your kids and you'll walk away with a moment of learning together as a family. So we want to equip both the parent and the kid. Something the kid loves to get into, but something the parent can feel confident they'll have the knowledge they need to walk their kids through that and learn. and also we're adding the audiobook. We have an audiobook of the Action Bible. We're actually adding that on there too. So in the next couple months or so you'll be able to scan that and hear the story read aloud to your kids as well. you highlighted that what we talked about earlier about these other channels, right? They don't care what your kids do. We care. I'm not trying to say we are, we're going to be all digital because we think we. But what we want to do is a lot of kids are going to be in the digital space anyways. We want to provide good content in that space so we can put up content that when kids search on YouTube, that's the number one search channel. For 12 year olds, the number one search channel is YouTube.
Action Bible is designed to help kids understand what love is
When they type in what is love? An Action Bible video pops up and says this is what love is. Not some random creator from who knows where who has a weird idea of what love is. And so that's what our mission is here at the Action Bible is to continue to create content, build that digital platform of content so those kids who are on digital can find the right answers that are faith based and grounded in who God, how God created the world and who Jesus is.
Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, Brock, I think in this social, media saturated world that impacts us as parents too. I think sometimes we think those moments of winning as parents are, you know, when our kid wins the game or they get on a sports team or they have an academic achievement. Those are the kinds of things that we see. And then we're like, oh, well then they're clearly good parents because look at what their kids are doing. But I just want to say to you Brock, you are winning as a dad. If your 10 year old son is coming to you on a Sunday afternoon and saying let's read the, the Action Bible together, that is really winning as a dad. I mean that's what, that's what it's all about. Those are the moments that are so important that is helping our children lift their gaze to eternity when they're biologically not wired yet to think long Term. But planting those seeds in there, I think is so, so, so important. And I recently had a guest, Valerie Ellis on. She's an author of children's books. And, and you know, Valerie. Okay.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): I love her book. Just came out. I was celebrating her new 52 week devotional. Yes. Beautiful book.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Beautiful book, Brock. This is why we get along so well.
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): I love Valerie.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Yes, yes, Valerie. So that, that devotion, by the way, is wild faith. So I'll just put out another plug for it because I love that devotional to talks about the integration of science and, and faith. But we had a long conversation, Brock, about the importance of time together and how opening this physical media together, it means you're sitting side by side, you're sitting shoulder to shoulder, you're, you know, in the hammock, you're on the trampoline, you're on the couch, and you have that shared heartbeat, you have that shared ritual, which is important. Those rhythms in childhood, you know, that established core memories of turning the pages together and seeing where, oh, this is where we, you know, we spilled spaghetti sauce on this page or, you know, whatever happened, or the dog took it and you know, now it's got like little dog teeth marks on it or whatever that might be just some of those, those things that differentiate, that differentiate from what's happening online and just those connections that happen. So I really do encourage parents and grandparents that this would be a great gift to give. But one of the ideas that Valerie had, engaging digital media was for grandparents to get this her, her devotional or the action Bible. Here we can intersect, whatever, swap out whichever resource you want to have. But saying, saying if they don't live close, read it to them online. If you're FaceTiming together, say like, hey, we'll have devotional time at night with, with Gammy, with Grammy, with, you know, grandpa, whatever grandpa name you have or grandparent name you have, that would be a good way to engage. But really here the gift is time. And I love seeing that. So what, is there anything else that you want to share with us about this resource?
Brock Eastman (Dr. Fizzlebop): Yeah, you hit it though. I mean, there's nothing better than sitting on the couch and your kids will have those memories locked in about opening that book together and sharing that spiritual development together. Right? you know, there's not a lot. I mean, there's so much. Oh, I shouldn't say. There's so much I would share. You know, as families go into this Christmas season, you know, what I really hope is, and then we enter the new year right like get the resources and products this Christmas that you feel like it will start your next year off to build a strong spiritual foundation. And with the Action Bible we try to make it really easy. We've got this beautiful new activity book that just came out and it connects to every story. But in the activity book it doesn't connect back to the Action Bible story. You don't need the Action Bible to do the activity book, I'll make that clear. But it connects to every story in there so you can do a fun activity, tangible of kind. Some kids are tactile. They want to cut out the Esther dress up doll that we have in there and play with their little Esther dress up dolls while they hear the story of Esther read from the Action Bible. And then we connect it to actual verses in the Bible. Because we always say the Action Bible is an amazing book. It's a great entry point for kids to get into the Bible to explore stories, to see them come to life in these beautiful graphic illustrations that Sergio did. But we want to connect you to a study Bible too. We want you to go to that study Bible and read the Word and get so much more to those stories. Because the Action Bible only has 238 stories. There are a whole lot more stories in the Bible. Right, I know, but there's so many more stories in the Bible. So I would say that, I would say the Action Bible as a whole when you start to look at it. It's a family of products. We're creating a family products that can be for any kid, that can allow kid go whatever they, how they might learn, whether it be text on a page or actively doing something or listening to audiobook or watching a video, whatever that might be. We're trying to, to make it easy for kids to interact with the Bible, to learn stories and to walk away with those seven attributes you talked about to know who they are foundationally in Jesus Christ. We also make parents it really easy for parents to do that. We want to equip you with tools to make it fun and exciting to engage with the Bible for your kids. You can do it with them. Or if you do need that moment, you can give the Action Bible to them. They'll read it on their own. It'll be okay, I promise. but that's the idea is make it easy for kids faith based, grow with parents and grandparents. So I don't know if I said anything that you wanted me to say there, but.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you did. And, and really what we're trying to do Today, here is Help parents to put their faith into action. Help parents to put the faith into action for their family. And I think it is such a great time to think as you're thinking about those gifts that you're giving, that it's not just a book, that it is a commitment, it is something that you will do over the next year, that it will be a reminder that when you see that book on the shelf or on your child's nightstand or, you know, wherever it is in your house, that it will be a prompt and a reminder to invest in your child's worldview, to invest in their faith and to show them how to put those attributes into action. And Brock, I'm telling you, you know, when people ask me, how do you find hope in the world? Because, you know, I see a lot of things that are really, really terrible and some of them the worst parts of society, it is people, it is companies like David C. Cook who are investing in the future of children who are working so hard to translate those timeless biblical truths into the world that our kids are living in today. And so again, what we talked about today, the Action Bible, Faith in Action edition, it would make a great Christmas present. And just, I honestly, Brock, I just smile for this days thinking about all of the people who will pick that up, the memories that will come, the worldviews that will be shaped. It is amazing. And wherever you are, as you're Christmas shopping or getting ready for Christmas, I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you peace. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
