It’s GAME WEEK on The Morning Thing. Tune in from 6am – 9am for some FUN in your morning.

On today’s  show, we played Grammies on Grammys. We had a chat with several amazing grandmothers about Music’s biggest night and tried to stump them with Grammy trivia. We’ll also featured songs from Christian music’s Grammy nominees throughout the show.

Good luck to these nominees for the 58th annual Grammy Awards. They will be handed out tonight (2/15/16) at 8pm on CBS.

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
Francesca Battistelli, “Holy Spirit”
Crowder, “Lift Your Head Weary Sinner (Chains)”
Matt Maher, “Because He Lives (Amen)”
Third Day feat. All Sons & Daughters, “Soul on Fire”
Tobymac feat. Mr. Talkbox, “Feel It”

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Jason Crabb, Whatever the Road
Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be
Matt Maher, Saints and Sinners
Tobymac, This Is Not a Test
Chris Tomlin, Love Ran Red

Click HERE to hear from Dr. Karen Doenges, Grammy #1.
Here are some cute pictures of Karen’s grandchildren. Emmi and Grayson.

Click HERE to hear from Dr. Yvonne Schultz, Grammy #2.
Here are some cute pictures of Yvonne’s granddaughter. Emery Rose.

Click HERE to hear from Diana Tocheff, Grammy #3.
Here are some cute pictures of Diana’s 6 grandchildren: Madelyn, Mason, Morgan, Jonah, Lance and Olivia. Diana also has 3 grand-dogs: Sam, Mia and Turner.

The Morning Thing Fave 5 for today features our favorite gifts for Valentine’s Day.

1. Wesley Boston talks about why 2015 was so special for Valentine’s Day. Click HERE to hear his story.

2. Aubrey Bailey talks about a gift from the 3rd grade! Click HERE to hear about this special gift.

3. Jenna Potts talks about the gifts she receives from her family. Click HERE to hear her story.

4. Marcy talks about some amazing pictures that she received in 2015. Click HERE to hear about her great gifts from last year.

5. Joe shared about some of his favorite gifts, PLUS surprised Marcy with pictures of Agent Carter and Ray (from Star Wars) for this year’s Valentine’s Day (see above). Click HERE to hear why Joe wants a quiet dinner.

The art featured in Marcy’s gifts is from John DiBiase. Click HERE to see his amazing work.

We wrapped up Love Week with a message for singles – CELEBRATE!
Are you single on this Valentine’s Day? No problem, the bible gives direction on how to lead out of your singleness. Click HERE to learn what the bible says about single.

We also explored the science behind kissing. There are benefits!
Dr. Harold Katz, America’s Bad Breath Doctor and Founder of TheraBreath (www.therabreath.com) offers some facts on why kissing offers such a rush.

• Kisses elevate your blood pressure, make your heart beat faster and send blood all throughout your body. All this activity makes it easier for you to get excited.

• A variety of studies have shown that couples who kiss regularly tend to live longer. Even a quick good-bye kiss before leaving home can have huge benefits.

• Kissing makes you feel happy, positive and less stressed because it releases endorphins and oxytocin. Our lips are super-sensitive and have approximately 10,000 nerve endings – and that’s why we love kissing so much.

• According to a University of Albany study, open-mouth kissing transfers testosterone. Men move toward open-mouth kissing faster than women because men want to share their testosterone and thereby increase their partner’s libido as quickly as possible.

• Kissing is good for your teeth. The anticipation of a kiss increases the flow of saliva to your mouth and gives your teeth a plaque-dispersing bath.

• The mouth is full of bacteria… and when two people kiss, they exchange between 10 million and 1 billion bacteria. Yikes! Remember to brush, rinse and floss!

Happy Valentine’s Day from The Morning Thing. Remember that YOU are LOVED!

John 3:16New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Photo from http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/

As you search for the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, don’t forget that prayer is very important for every relationship.

Today on the show, we shared powerful prayers for both the husband and wife.

Click HERE to see 16 Power Prayer Verses you can pray for you man!

Click HERE to see 13 bible verses that you can pray over your wife.

Praying for our spouse invites God into our relationship and is an expression of
our loyalty to our marriage and support of this precious gift from God.

Picture from http://www.comfortencouragement.org

Last week we shared “The Husband List: 12 Non-Negotiables.” It was an amazing conversation about what it was to be a man of God and what qualities women should truly value, despite what society has to say. Of course, that meant we also had to share “The Wife List” so that guys could have some guidance too and ladies could have some encouragement on what qualities to grow. This comes from Kris Wolfe at GoodGuySwag.com.

Ultimately our goal here in sharing this is to promote what relationships are all about. Culture has stolen relationships and everything that goes along with them from God, and it’s time for Christians to step up and take them back. It’s up to us to not only teach what God expects and desires from relationships, but also to model it in our own lives. So check out the complete Wife List here. It also has a link to the Husband List if you want to check that out too.

In addition to chatting about the Wife List, we took a look at another one of Kris Wolfe’s articles. This one was “10 Ways to Win a Girl’s Heart.” It was a good reminder of what men daily need to do for their lady to truly win their heart. And ladies, don’t settle for less than you deserve. This list can also double as making sure you’re with a man who truly treats you as the one desire of his heart.

Valentine’s Day can be special even if you do not have a sweetheart. 
It is a great day to show your friends how special they are to you.
Click HERE to see a list of ideas on how to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your friend.

The Morning Thing also shared 15 reasons why your partner should be your best friend. Click HERE for some amazing insight into relationships.
We love the idea of focusing on building the friendship while dating. Having a strong friendship before walking down the aisle will strengthen any marriage.

Mark 10:9
“What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

(Picture from https://sarahandstyle.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/how-every-single-lady-should-celebrate-valentines-day/)

Today, The Morning Thing shared 21 lost gentleman traditions that still apply today.

Note: This is an article about being a gentleman: honor, respect, courtesy, and manners. It’s for men, by a man.

We hope that chivalry is NOT dead. Click HERE to see the list.
It is our hope that men, young and old, will adopt some of these traditions in 2016.

Valentine’s Day is just days away! Looking for a creative way to find a date for the 2/14?

The Morning Thing is here to help! For our Fave 5 this week, we came up with 5 very creative ways to get that date on Valentine’s Day.

1. Aubrey Bailey has a great idea with hiding a note sharing details of the upcoming date. Food, roller skating and a movie are all great choices. Click HERE to hear Aubrey’s idea.

2. and 3. Click HERE to hear a real life idea of singing to your Valentine. It actually happened to Miriam Hayslett, WNZR Promotions Director. Wesley Boston also shares his ideas of how keeping things simple can be the perfect idea for surprising your Valentine. Listen as Wesley shares how a surprise for his girlfriend ended up as a search for Big Blue’s keys. (It is SO funny)!

4. Jenna Potts loves Pinterest. Click HERE to hear Jenna’s idea. It involves crafts and coffee!

5. Marcy Rinehart has a great idea, but it will take some time and planning. It involves homemade valentines, hiding them for your Valentine to find and ending the day with a special meeting place to reveal your LOVE! Click HERE to hear Marcy’s idea.

Do something special for your sweetheart this year. We hope our ideas help you be a little more romantic.

The Morning Thing crew LOVES Fridays! 
On today’s show, we talked about the BIG GAME coming up on Sunday.
Yes, it is the Super Bowl, but did you know that those two words are under copyright restrictions? Click HERE to read more about who can and can not use these words.
Click HERE to find out about this year’s halftime show.
SPOILER ALERT – click HERE to see some of this year’s commercials. (Only if you want to see them now instead of on Sunday during the BIG GAME).

We found a fun quiz from The Washington Post that can add some fun to your party. Click HERE for a Fact or Fiction quiz about the BIG Game.
(Super Bowl 50 picture from http://www.nfl.com)

We also talked with Dr. Henry Spaulding for the February MVNU Presidential Update.
Click HERE to hear our conversation about the changes in the MVNU calendar, the opening of the Mount Vernon Grand Hotel and his plans for Valentine’s Day.

Even before the invention of the camera people were obsessed with looking their best in lasting images. Hence the extravagant oil paintings that over exaggerated the good qualities of the individual. Today, more than ever, we have the opportunity to have our photos taken and be seen by who knows how many people. Thank you internet for putting so much pressure on us to look good! (That’s sarcasm, internet. We’re not grateful.)

Well you can relax because we are here to take the pressure off of you. That’s right, we can help you naturally look more photogenic. How you ask? With some handy tips and tricks, of course! They are simple guidelines to follow to make sure that you always look your best. You can check out the entire list, with explanations as to why they work, here. As you can see above, angles, expressions, and more really can make a change. So try these tips out!

We also shared some tips not just for looking good, but also for staying warm. Yes, it is winter- despite yesterday’s 60 degree evidence to the contrary. With winter comes the challenge of keeping your house effectively sealed so that the cold air stays out and the warm air stays in. You can get the whole scoop here.