biography
Candice Mary Thomas
Candice Thomas was born and raised in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. In 1970 and 1975, she received degrees in English Education from Oregon State University and Library and Media from Southern Oregon College, respectively. Being passionate about Jesus, family, and children, she became a teacher, librarian, administrator, and children's church director. Even more important to her was and is her role as wife, mother, and grandmother. She loves being with her husband and family, crawling with grandchildren on hands and knees, and/or simply providing a listening ear.
After five decades, Candice retired to pursue writing professionally, having creating stories since childhood. She believes in delighting younger children with words that paint pictures and characters whose actions give opportunity for laughter, thought, and discussion. She creates Bible studies to assist teens in studying God's Word to learn His truths, to accept Christ as Savior, and to grow in a close, personal relationship with Him. Having thus developed a heart for Jesus, teens are enabled to live in obedience to God's design, to stand tall as they love God and people, and to honor His name by affecting their communities for good.
Candice enjoys reading, writing, walking, swimming, sewing, and knitting. She resides in Southern Oregon with her husband, Terry, and her sweet but silly dachshund, Bentley.
After five decades, Candice retired to pursue writing professionally, having creating stories since childhood. She believes in delighting younger children with words that paint pictures and characters whose actions give opportunity for laughter, thought, and discussion. She creates Bible studies to assist teens in studying God's Word to learn His truths, to accept Christ as Savior, and to grow in a close, personal relationship with Him. Having thus developed a heart for Jesus, teens are enabled to live in obedience to God's design, to stand tall as they love God and people, and to honor His name by affecting their communities for good.
Candice enjoys reading, writing, walking, swimming, sewing, and knitting. She resides in Southern Oregon with her husband, Terry, and her sweet but silly dachshund, Bentley.
Candice's Testimony
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My wonderful husband, Terry, led me salvation in Christ. Saying "yes" to Terry and accepting Jesus as my personal Savior were two of the very best and important decisions of my life!
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Using Terry, God showed me a new, better, and "less traveled" way.
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"At the age of thirty-two, life took an amazing change. I had finally agreed to go to a Christian non-denominational service with Terry, and there I first heard the gospel preached clearly and succinctly. I learned the importance of asking Jesus to be my personal Savior and of developing an intimate relationship with Him. I did ask, and from that day forward, committed my life to Christ.
Thus began my over forty-year journey with Jesus. I began studying the Bible, seeking God's truth for my life and that of my family, and because I am passionate about all children, I wanted that truth for them also. I began teaching Sunday school two weeks after accepting Christ, then continued in Christian ministry, teaching and directing children's church and working with teens or college-aged groups.
In 1988, I began working in Christian schools. I taught, developed a middle school program for a previously high school only, became a principal and administrator, helped found a preschool through twelfth-grade school, and from 2015 through mid-2017, directed a birth through fifth-grade program for a large congregation in Grants Pass, Oregon. I then retired to help my daughter's family when they were having their fourth child.
Because I believe that ministry never stops, I continue in a new season of life involving writing and helping homeschool my youngest grandchildren. With regard to writing, God placed an urgency on my heart in 2017 to develop a Bible study for teens where youth DIG IN to His Word to develop convictions and unshakable unbreakables that will lead them through life's troubling times. The Jesus' Words for Teens series is the result.
Each day I pray, listening for God's voice, that deep feeling inside me that helps guide my life; then I continue by reading God's Word, most importantly to grow in my relationship and walk with Christ, then to refine all I write, making certain to the best of my ability that the theology I present is biblically accurate. Because of the enormous amount of theology presented in Standing Tall, I did have it thoroughly reviewed by an amazing and brilliant pastor for theological soundness.
Currently, I have felt called to publish devotionals beginning in October. Praying for direction each day, I am writing what God places on my heart with the desire to impact lives for Christ."
