It’s National Hamburger Month, just in time for Memorial Day Weekend! With summer coming just around the corner and things heating up, it’s the perfect time to break out that grill and try some of these delicious new burger combinations!
Click HERE to learn everything you need to know about National Hamburger Day and finding your new favorite burger!
You’ll find some delicious combination and topping ideas, like caramelized onions, cole slaw, avocado and more!
Today on The Morning Thing we celebrated National Streaming Day by discussing the history of the day and streaming as a medium, as well as seven new family movies and TV series available in May. If you’re looking for family friendly options for content and entertainment, Crosswalk.com has you covered!
Click HERE to read the full article.
Some of your streaming options for this month include:
And so many more!
The Morning Thing talked about communication on today’s show.
We want to help you spark conversations and connections at your dinner table.
Focus on the Family has created a list of 50 questions to ask your kids at dinner. These questions can help establish a foundation of trust and love to help your kids grow. Click HERE to read the full article.
Check out the list below. The questions are divided up into age groups! Try a few tonight and see what happens.
This will be a special week on The Morning Thing. Today, we kicked off Mom’s Week – a week to honor and encourage Moms at all stages of life.
Today, we shared 5 ways to be a mentally strong Mom. Click HERE to see the full article from imom.com
1. Empower yourself.
To be a better mom and mentally strong in trying times, revise your default phrases. When you’re stressed or challenged, try these instead: I’ll rise above this. I won’t let this bother me. I’m human. I’m gonna do the best I can.
2. Be content with who you are.
Comparing ourselves to others in person or on Instagram steals our joy. Self-worth is built on contentment with who you are. If you want to be a better mom, start with identifying your own wonderful qualities instead of comparing yourself to others. Are you a good listener? Are you crafty and creative? Are you the best at making your kids laugh.
3. Let your mind wander.
Instead of scrolling your phone when you have downtime, try turning inward. Think about your experiences and look for solutions to your problems. Building mental strength takes effort. Sometimes that means facing the hard or challenging thoughts we’d rather choose to avoid. But the payoff comes with being a more thoughtful mom.
4. Be on the lookout for progress.
In this moment in your life, you may feel frustrated with your child. But instead of holding her to standards you’ve read about or seen in your friend’s child, shift your focus to small, measurable goals. You’ll not only be a better mom, but you’ll build mental strength because you’re feeling hopeful rather than defeated.
5. Lay your head down more.
Getting more sleep will help you be mentally strong on those days when your kid refuses to get dressed or your teenager blames you for not waking him up for school. When you’re sleep deprived, you’re much more likely to lose your cool. Stixrud and Johnson say, “[S]leep deprivation decreases your flexibility, weakens your ability to see things in context, and impairs your judgment.” Getting a good night’s sleep can help deliver the patience we need in a heated moment.
imom.com also has 7 quick prayers of encouragement for moms. Print this one off! 🙂
February 27th is Big Breakfast Day! It was established on this day in 2020 to encourage us to slow down and eat a good breakfast with friends and loved ones. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
This morning on The Morning Thing, Allison and Josiah found some fun, over the top breakfast ideas that you can try with your family.
Allison shared recipes for breakfast brownies, breakfast fondue, and bacon, egg and cheese tacos.
Josiah shared recipes for an air fryer breakfast bake, low carb breakfast meatballs, and spicy homemade hash browns.
Click HERE to see the full list of fun breakfast recipes.
Today in Canada, they will celebrate Family Day. This day was established with the purpose of bringing relatives together, strengthening family ties and celebrating the importance of family.
Click HERE to read more about the history of this special day and find some ways that you can celebrate (from Days of the Year).
The Morning Thing decided that since the USA was celebrating a holiday today (President’s Day), it would be a good day to focus on the family. They shared 5 ways to strengthen your family. We hope you try an idea today, while most families have the day off.
Click HERE to see the list created by the Department of Homeland Security.
Valentine’s Day is next Wednesday! YES – 1 week away!
Today, The Morning Thing shared some fun ideas on how to make this day extra special for your family.
Thanks to imom.com for their wonderful and creative ideas!
Let us know if you try any of the ideas. We would love to share your family’s story!
This is Talk Money Week!
The hope behind this week is that more people will start talking about money. If people can share their financial problems, then they should find it a lot easier to deal with and manage their money.
Click HERE to find out more about this special week.
Today, The Morning Thing shared 13 money saving tips from Crown Financial Ministries.
They are a great program partner of WNZR. You can hear their program “My MoneyLife” each weekday at 3:50pm on WNZR.
Click HERE to connect with Crown for biblical financial resources.
Click HERE to read the FULL article with these money saving tips.
If you are paid biweekly, you actually receive 26 paychecks a year instead of 24. Instead of budgeting based on those 26 paychecks, budget based off getting paid twice a month – 24 times – instead.
Sometimes you can be your best source of motivation! Challenge yourself (or your spouse or a friend) to spend $3 less per meal every time you go out to eat.
Automating a certain amount to go straight from your paycheck to your savings account will help you reach your goals quickly. If you can’t see the money to spend in the first place, then you won’t be tempted to spend it!
Adjust your withholdings so you have that extra money in your account every month. However, you will need to plan in case you owe the government money come Tax Day!
Apps and browser extensions make it easy to shop with coupons and earn money back from rebates. Download apps like RetailMeNot, and Ibotta. Install extensions like Honey so you never miss a deal when online shopping.
A lack of planning is a major spending trap. Before you go shopping anywhere – the grocery store, Walmart, the mall – make a list. Then stick to it!
It may be uncomfortable if you’re not a natural bargainer, but it’s always worth it to ask for a discount. Try this especially with your cable and internet provider once a year. Ask about loyalty discounts, sales, or other offers they have going on.
Ask your friends to share when they find good sales. Ask around for the best prices.
Before you purchase a big item, spend time researching to see if you can find a better deal. If you find a better price non-locally, ask for a price match. A few minutes online can save you lots!
One of the Crown staff members has most of her Christmas shopping done by September. She finds and purchases gifts for members of her family throughout the year when she finds a good sale. By doing so, she avoids the stress and markups of the Christmas season and can actually relax and enjoy the holidays!
Goals will motivate you to keep saving. Proverbs 29:18 says, Where there is no vision, the people perish. If you don’t have a vision for your savings, you won’t make any progress. Decide on a realistic amount of money to have saved by a certain date and then align your budget to reach that goal.
Every time you reach a goal, celebrate, make another, and keep going. You should always have short-term and long-term goals!
If you use cash for all of or some of your budgeting categories, commit to saving every $5 bill you touch. Proverbs 21:5 says, Steady plodding brings prosperity. Start plodding!
Switching to only water can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year. A latte out costs around $5. A soft drink or tea at a restaurant costs around $2. If you have one coffee and one tea or soda out every day, by switching to water, you’ll save around $2,550 a year. And it’s significantly better for your health!
Crown also recommends that you start by saving $1,000 in an emergency fund.
Once you have $1,000 in an emergency savings account, work your way up to 12 months’ of living expenses. The Money Map can help you set and track financial goals like these. Download it for free here!
It can be a difficult thing to do, but its not necessarily about trying to stay positive all the time. Instead, its more about trying to pull the good from the situations and circumstances of every day life. If we do this, we can find that there is a lot in life to be thankful for! God calls for us to count our blessings, so lets try and find some good to be thankful for. How can we do this? Well, our cohosts found a few great ways to get started in your journey of cultivating a gratitude practice!
Here are a few examples of how to practice gratitude!
Studies show that keeping a gratitude journal can have positive psychological and physiological effects. There are a variety of ways to build this practice, including:
Make your gratitude practice social by writing and sending thank you letters to someone who has done something for you. (Note: emails and even texts count.) Studies show that this act can strengthen relationships, help people to appreciate what they’ve received in life, and feel like they’ve given something back to those who have helped them.
Click HERE for the full list from the John Hopkins University blog.
Did you know that families who eat a meal together are happier and healthier? Perdue University’s Extension Nutrition Education Program encourages families to make mealtime family time as you cook, eat, and talk together! This can build your family’s relationship, promote healthy eating, foster your children’s sense of family stability, save money, develop everyone’s cooking skills, help your children develop important social skills, and even let everyone try new foods.
Click HERE to learn more from Perdue University Extention Nutrition Program.
Need some cheap and easy dinner ideas for your family? We shared some recipes from Country Living. They include pictures of every recipe so you can see what amazing food you can make You may even have some of these ingredients in your pantry now so you could even try one tonight!
Click HERE for 68 cheap dinner ideas for families from Country Living.
Rise and Shine 