Can faith, creativity, and extreme sports collide to help your family discover true purpose and character?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark chats with renowned action sports artist Lynne Ruttkay, whose career designing for top skateboard and surf brands shaped both her artistry and her journey of raising a Christian kid in Southern California’s action sports culture. Hear how Lynne’s faith was deepened by a unique community, why character matters in family life, and how her imaginative audio-fiction podcast, "Shred: The Legend of Kid Z," inspires spiritual growth, discipleship, and intentional Christian parenting through adventure.

• [00:03:05] Lynn’s unexpected path from single mom to action sports artist
• [00:09:29] Using art, design, and family life as a platform for discipleship and faith at home
• [00:11:39] The creative heart and faith behind The Shred Games Podcast

Resources:

• Lynne's Podcast sites: shredgames.com, @shredgamespodcast
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

What is an Audio Fiction Podcast?: "And a lot of people don't know what is an audio fiction podcast. And now I've kind of come up with this. Makes it simple."
— Lynne [00:03:41 → 00:03:49]

Inside the Action Sports Industry: "A lot of times I'd have to do R and D research and development and you go into the local shops and you see what's kind of trending with the youth so that you can design artwork for surf and skate and snowboard companies."
—Lynne [00:04:27 → 00:04:40]

Staying Ahead of Industry Trends
"I was kind of knowing what was cool before the industry had. Would shift toward it, which, that was pretty neat."
— Lynne [00:10:10 → 00:10:48]

Finding Self-Worth Beyond Physical Limitations: "The controlling idea is what gives you your worth, because that's what all of us, every single person alive, that's the thing you're searching for. What is it that gives me value?"
— Lynne [00:15:07 → 00:15:21]

Hollywood and Faith: "The lead character in real life is a pastor, but none of us ever knew that, you know, so they don't. They leave out."
— Ashley Bohinc [00:17:04 → 00:17:13]

Creating Magic for Others: "It was just fun to make things magical, you know, for another person to be having that uplift of joy, you know?"
— Lynne Ruttkay [00:20:13 → 00:20:22]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

Some days, you might play The River for some nice background music. Some days, you'll play it so your kids don't hear anything inappropriate. But some days, you listen because life has knocked you down, and you need help getting back up. We're here for all of them. Our goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus through music and service. You can listen and get connected at https://riverradio.com/

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What if understanding your story and God’s purpose for it could change your family’s perspective on faith, adoption, and belonging?

In this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark is joined by Emmanuel Jean Russell: first-time author, adoptee from Haiti, and son of bestselling author Karen Kingsbury. Emmanuel opens up about his “shadow memories” of childhood in Haiti, the incredible faith journey of his adoption, and how every child, adopted or not, can discover purpose and position through Christ. They explore international adoption, supporting adoptive families, and how discipleship and family time shape kids to know God’s love in tangible ways.

• [00:05:49] Emmanuel’s early memories in Haiti, and his grandmother
• [00:09:27] The meaning behind Emmanuel’s name (“God with us”)
• [00:13:30] Adjusting to family life in a new country
• [00:14:13] Writing his new children's book: “Hello, My Name Is Emmanuel”

Resources:

• https://www.emmanueljeanrussell.com/
• https://www.tyndale.com/p/hello-my-name-is-emmanuel
• https://www.karenkingsbury.com/onechancefoundation
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder

The Nature of Faded Childhood Memories: "I call my memories in Haiti shadow memories, because I can't fully remember them. But like, if you're like on a beach, you can see the shadow and you know, like, kind of maybe if the person's tall or like if it's a female or male, but you can't see the details. And so my memories in here are like shadows."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:05:56 → 00:06:12]

Dreams That Shape Destinies: "And so for that dream to come true, she gave me up to an orphanage."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:06:57 → 00:07:01]

Honoring Family Through Storytelling: "Well, there are a lot of reasons, but one of the main was, like, as I said, I don't remember what happened to my grandma, but I believe by telling her story and giving her an image, because I don't actually even remember what she looked like, but by giving her an image in this picture book, that it would help the memories become more clear."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:08:54 → 00:09:12]

Finding Purpose Beyond Circumstances: "So by having my story, that it can help kids and adults know that there is purpose and you can find it through him who is Jesus."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:10:59 → 00:11:08]

Helping Orphanages Without Adopting: "But you can always give to those companies that are helping people get the chance to adopt."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:16:04 → 00:16:10]

The Beauty and Caution in Adoption: "But I believe there's beauty in everything. And so if you are willing, if you're looking into it, ask other families who have done it, do research, because you do have to be careful on sometimes where you adopt to."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:16:36 → 00:16:49]

Childhood Mischief Gone Wrong: "And by the time it was 20, we realized we were all getting stung. And so we had to run back to our yard, back to our house."
— Emmanuel Jean Russell [00:19:55 →

Some days, you might play The River for some nice background music. Some days, you'll play it so your kids don't hear anything inappropriate. But some days, you listen because life has knocked you down, and you need help getting back up. We're here for all of them. Our goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus through music and service. You can listen and get connected at https://riverradio.com/

Support the show

What if the next generation’s favorite toys could help ignite faith and purpose at home?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark welcomes Howard Quiggly Chang, original designer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys and creator of Ancientz—a new collectible toy line based on biblical heroes. Howard shares his story of rediscovering faith, using creativity for inspiration in Christian parenting and discipleship, and how meaningful toys can point kids and families toward spiritual growth.

• [00:02:49] Howard’s journey from young artist to Ninja Turtle toy designer
• [00:09:07] A personal awakening: giving struggles to God and finding new purpose
• [00:12:41] How Ancientz blends faith, imagination, and biblical stories for family time
• [00:18:47] Building faith at home: the importance of faith-filled heroes in raising Christian kids

Resources:

• Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ancientz/ancientz
• Website: www.ancientz.com
• IG: @ancientz_official

Clip Finder:

Viral Topic: Creative Ninja Turtle Mashups
"I would come out with the Navy Seal Turtle. I would revisit some of the characters that they had and match them up into something fun and creative. And I would come up with all these fun, creative mashups of the Turtles with something else."
— Howard Quiggly Chang [00:08:04 → 00:08:17]

Finding Faith in Hard Times: "And when I gave my problems, literally to God, I encountered him for the first time. And I learned how to pray. I learned how to depend on something more than myself."
— Howard Quiggly Chang [00:09:27 → 00:09:39]

Making Bible Stories Accessible to All: "You don't have to be a believer, you don't have to come from faith household. But just love the characters. They look cool, the story's good, but they all have a story that come from the Bible."
— Howard Quiggly Chang [00:21:22 → 00:21:34]

Breaking Religious Stereotypes in Pop Culture: "But I really feel these characters, the stories that could be made, is strong enough that it could get into pop culture. People might love it as much as they like. The Ninja Turtles, the X Men."
— Howard Quiggly Chang [00:22:54 → 00:23:08]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

Some days, you might play The River for some nice background music. Some days, you'll play it so your kids don't hear anything inappropriate. But some days, you listen because life has knocked you down, and you need help getting back up. We're here for all of them. Our goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus through music and service. You can listen and get connected at https://riverradio.com/

Support the show