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Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus Raising His Kids to 'Know Who Jesus Is'

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Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus and his wife Allison say they believe in raising their two children with traditional southern values.  And the most important of these? Going to church. 

In a recent interview with People Magazine, Jay said, "To live country is more of a state of mind, and not about cowboy hats and living on a farm, It's about your core values, and your beliefs, and a way of life."

He told the magazine one of his guiding principles is making sure Dylan, 6, and Madeline, 7, are taught to be right with God.

"We live in the Bible belt. I was born and raised in church," Jay said. "That's something that was really, really important to me, to build that foundation with our kids so they at least went to church."

"God knows Dylan's gonna need it later in life. I've actually started putting the handcuffs on him so he could get used to the feel of them," he joked. 

"We try to take him to church — try to let him know who Jesus is," Jay added. "It's really important for me that they're ingrained in a good church and have that good foundation to build upon. I think that's a core value system that you'll find anywhere you go in the south."

One of Allison's main values she tries to impart to her kids is to be well-mannered and respectful and saying "Yes, ma'am and "No, sir."

Another thing the couple is trying to do is teach their children to be humble.  This, they say, can help them live better lives when they grow older. 

Both Jay and Allison can remember vacations they were never able to make as kids, because of their respective families budgets. Even though Jay knows that his kid's lives are a lot different than what his childhood was, he's happy to be blessed to make their early years very memorable. He and his wife want to strike a healthy balance. 

"I wanna do everything I can to make their lives as magical growing up as I can," Jay told the magazine. "But at the same time, you don't want them to be spoiled brats because that would be no fun to live with either."  

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of