Sometimes it can be easy to forget that as Christians we are part of The Church, the global community of believers with a mission from God. It can be easy to ignore the suffering and unpleasantness of the world because it makes us uncomfortable. But that isn’t what we are called to do. We have a responsibility to go out into the world and help get it ready for God’s kingdom that is coming. Relevant Magazine had some great thoughts on this that we shared today on the show. You can read them here.

After the heavy and serious conversation that was “What Does it Mean to Be the Church” we decided to make you laugh by sharing some of the weirdest products available online. Perhaps you could use the Glow in the Dark Toilet Paper. Maybe you want to work out while you work with the desk station treadmill. Or maybe you are throwing a party and want to impress your guests with canned unicorn meat. Whatever the need you may have these weird products prove that it can be met with the internet. You can check out all the products that we talked about here. Oh, and don’t actually serve the canned unicorn meat to your guests. It really is just a plush toy.

We also encourage you to check out the Cincinnati Zoo’s efforts to promote the upcoming All Star Game! They created over a dozen baseball cards for various animals at the zoo. They are both educational and entertaining! Check them out here: http://cincinnatizoo.org/blog/2015/07/10/zoos-animal-all-stars-lineup/

Merry Christmas! No, you didn’t sleep for five months and wake up in December. No, we didn’t accidentally mistake the date on the calendar. And no, we aren’t adding to the over-commercialization of Christmas by starting the music before Thanksgiving. Way before Thanksgiving. The reason we are wishing you a Merry Christmas and why we played nothing but Christmas songs on the show this morning is because tomorrow is Christmas in July to benefit Interchurch Social Services!

Christmas in July is an awesome day when collection points are set up all around Knox County for people to donate food and money to help a great organization. To learn more about Interchurch, check out their website here: http://www.interchurchknox.org/

We also had the privilege of chatting with the director of Interchurch, Joy Harris, about Christmas in July. You can hear the entire conversation here: https://soundcloud.com/wnzr/sets/joy-harris-christmas-in-july and to learn more about Christmas in July, including all the collection points across the county, go here: http://www.wnzr.fm/christmas-in-july.html

And we finished our conversations with the cast of MTV Arts production of Mary Poppins today. We chatted with David and Taryn, who are playing Mr. and Mrs. Banks in the show. You can hear the entire conversation here: https://soundcloud.com/wnzr/mtvarts-mary-poppins-david-and-taryn

Good Morning!

Today we got a chance to talk to Kennedy and Eli who are playing Jane and Michael Banks in the upcoming MTV Arts Production of Mary Poppins which is opening tomorrow (Friday) night at 7:30 at Memorial Theater. You can here the conversation here.

Also, remember that you can still win tickets to opening night tomorrow on the show!

Breaking NEWS! The movie God’s Not Dead 2 is set to release at Easter 2016. HE’S SURELY ALIVE stars Melissa Joan Hart as a Christian high school teacher who fights for her right to answer a student’s question about Jesus in class.  She is brought to court by her school’s principal, superintendent, and a zealous civil liberties group represented by an attorney with no love lost for God.  Jesse Metcalfe co-stars as her sympathetic and charismatic lawyer who defends her religious liberty.
The movie’s theme of fighting against religious persecution, and standing up for one’s religious beliefs and rights will really resonate with listeners. So make sure you keep a look out for that.

We also talked about Operation Christmas Child and just some of the amazing things they do. If you want to see how you can get involved or see what they are doing check here .

Prayer is important. Sometimes in our world that is based off of tangible evidence and results it can be easy to forget its power. It can be even easier to fall into one or more of the traps that Relevant Magazine outlines as barriers to prayer. They are: Focusing on Me and My Problems, Worrying if My Prayers are Worthy, Never Taking Time to Listen, and Making My Prayer Life and Idol. All serious issues, all easy to do, and all ones that we have probably struggled with at some point in our life. Take a look at the link below to read the entire article and receive some good encouragement for your prayer life.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/art-authentic-prayer

We also once again featured one of our conversations with the cast and crew of MTV Arts’ production of Mary Poppins. This morning we chatted with Ian Ernsberger who is playing the role of Bert. He had several thoughts to share about his role and the show. You can hear the conversation here: https://soundcloud.com/wnzr/sets/mtvarts-mary-poppins-chat-with-ian-ernsberger. Remember that you can still win tickets to opening night tomorrow and Friday on the show!

Lastly, in our look at What’s Trending we shared the news of the USA going up against Japan in a giant robot battle. Yes, it’s actually happening. Who knows? Maybe it will actually become a real sport…

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/07/tech/giant-robot-fight-challenge-accepted/

Good Morning!

There are so many ways you can use baking soda, it’s not just for baking purposes but for cleaning too. We found 40 ways you can use baking soda! Click here to find the list.

We also chatted with Bruce Jacklin who is the director of the MTVArts Production of Mary Poppins. Click here to hear the conversation.

Make sure to listen all this week for your chance to win tickets to opening night, Friday 7/10.
Click here for a complete list of show dates and ticket information.

Sibling Rivalry – what is a parent supposed to do??
Is there drama at your house?
We found some wonderful advice from www.imom.com. Click here for several wonderful articles that can help you find peace for your household.

Plus, all this week we will chat with the cast and crew of MTVArts Production of Mary Poppins. Click here to hear the conversation with Amanda Mayville, who is playing Mary Poppins.
Make sure to listen all this week for your chance to win tickets to opening night, Friday 7/10.
Click here for a complete list of show dates and ticket information.

The Morning Thing – Friday 7/3/15

We decided to kick off Independence Day weekend with a 4th of July quiz. See how much you know about our country’s history.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/july-4-quiz-see-how-much-you-know/2012/07/04/gJQAApNSMW_blog.html

We also talked with Dr. Henry Spaulding, MVNU’s President. His July Presidential Update gave us a timeline for the opening of the Mount Vernon Grand Hotel, shared highlights from recent new student orientations and provided an invitation for families to see Mount Vernon’s fireworks on the MVNU campus.
Listen to the conversation here.

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The Morning Thing shared some wonderful tips for parents on kids and allowance! These tips can help you as you teach your kids about earning money!

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2015/05/13/kids-and-allowance/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheArtOfManliness+%28The+Art+of+Manliness%29

We also shared some healthy recipes that will shake up your July 4th party! Check out these yummy (and healthy) choices from Cooking Light Magazine.

http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/holidays-occasions/4th-july-recipes

We also shared information about the annual WNZR Fireworks Viewing Party.

We hope that your family will join us at this celebration of independence. Check out our website to see how your family can win a weekend getaway from Experience Columbus valued at $500!
http://wnzr.fm/fireworks-viewing-party.html

Let’s be honest, we all could stand to clean out our homes with a well-timed garage sale every now and then. But sometimes we not only don’t have the time to host a full scale garage sale for the entire neighborhood to visit, we also may not have the location to do it either. For those of us living in apartments or condos garage sales are a luxury for getting rid of stuff that we cannot partake in. That’s why on the Morning Thing today we turned to some advice form artofmanliness.com for tips on “How to Have a Garage Sale Without the Garage.” There are a lot of ways that you can make the most of the internet for turning a profit. But don’t forget that you can also donate some items. And truthfully, the trash can is a better location than the internet or local Goodwill for some of the stuff we’ve all got lying around. At any rate, you can find all the tips that we shared right here:

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2015/06/03/tips-for-selling-your-stuff-online/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheArtOfManliness+%28The+Art+of+Manliness%29

We’re also full swing into Festival Season right now. That means we can enjoy rides, music, chances to win with WNZR (check out On the Road With Big Blue on wnzr.fm), and, of course, fair food. Listing off food items at the local fair makes one sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump- “There’s fried twinkies, fried candy bars, fried cheese, fried buckeyes, fried oreos, fried vegetables, fried cookie dough…” You name it and it will be fried at some point this summer. Add in all the sugar from the drinks and non-fried foods and you’ve got a rather intimidating calorie count. But it’s all so delicious!

That’s why we shared a few tips about how you can still enjoy the fair and the food at it, without going overboard and ending the day crying for penance on your treadmill. Check out the link below for the entire list. And remember the Golden Rule of Fair Food that we established on the show today: Limit and Share!

http://www.ihcbesthealth.com/articles/10-tips-for-healthyier-eating-at-the-state-fair/