MVNU goes “Back to School” for September First Friday

Downtown Mount Vernon will be busy with activities tonight (9/1). Don’t miss the Back-to-School Celebration for September First Friday!

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is joining in the back-to-school celebration with a department and organization fair on West Gambier Street. Be sure to stop by to participate in activities and learn more about all the great things students and faculty are doing in our community!

Click HERE to find out more information about September First Friday.
Click HERE to find out more about Mount Vernon Nazarene Univesity. (Check out the NEW website)!

The Morning Thing shared conversations with 3 MVNU Faculty members about the activities planned for tonight.
– Dr. Rachel Young, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Traditional Social Work Program Director & Department Chair and GPS Social Work Program Coordinator
– Dr. Jessica Grubaugh, Associate Dean for the Jetter School of Professional Studies
– Dr. Dora Hawthorne, Professor of English and Chair of the English and History Departments

September First Friday is tonight (9/1) in downtown Mount Vernon!

WNZR is excited to be part of September First Friday tonight! Our Big Blue Crew will be on-site sharing updates and giving away WNZR goodies.
Please stop by our location, near the MVNU Dog Fountain, and register for our special “Clean Up, Drink Up, and Frame Up” prize basket featuring:
· An entire house cleaning from Carefree Cleaning Company. Amy McDougale gives you 4 hours of house cleaning (Valued at $120)
· One $15.00 gift card to Happy Bean Coffee Shop
· An 8 X 10 color portrait from Seavolt’s Studio Photography (Valued at $150)

Plus, WNZR goodies including an “On the Road with Big Blue” t-shirt, NIV Bible, coasters, cups, micro-fiber cloths, hand fans, Frisbees, guitar flyswatter, magnets, chip clips, and more!
The prize package is valued at over $300!

Experience Mount Vernon Board Member, Lisa Lloyd, shared highlights of the event with The Morning Thing. She talked about the “Back to School” Theme, food choices, and parking options. She also shared special thanks to the sponsors for September.
Click HERE for all the details about September First Friday.
Click HERE to stay connected and up to date on Experience Mount Vernon and all the upcoming acitivies in downtown Mount Vernon.

The Morning Thing Friday Favorites 9/1/23 – Forgiveness

Today for our Friday Favorites, The Morning Thing celebrated National Forgiveness Day. The hosts shared about a time when they experienced forgiveness.

Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Would you like to save money for your family?

Today on The Morning Thing, we talked about money. If your family is like ours, you are always looking for money saving tips. Today, we shared multiple ways to stay on the family budget.

Check out the full article HERE.

17 Money-Saving Tips for Families on a Budget
1. Make a Family Budget Together

2. Trim Your Family’s Grocery Bill

Some of the ways you can trim your spending on food include:

  • Making a Shopping List. A shopping list saves money by helping you avoid buying products you don’t need. The simplest way is to track consumables as you use them. Keep a magnetic notepad on the fridge and jot down what you need as you run out. If you’ve got an Apple HomePod or Amazon Echo device, you can also create shopping lists by voice command.
  • Reading Sales Flyers. Review each store’s flyer and match what’s on sale with what’s on your list or plan meals around sale items. Or you can download Flipp to see sales flyers and make grocery lists by tapping to add sale items on the flyer to your list. It’s sometimes more cost-effective to visit multiple stores in one week to get the lowest prices possible.
  • Using a Cash-Back App. Install a receipt-scanning app such as Fetch Rewards or Ibotta on your smartphone to take advantage of cash-back offers from grocery and discount stores. After grocery shopping, scan your receipts, and the app applies any special offers to your account.
  • Starting to Meal-Plan. Meal planning is deciding what you’ll eat for all or most meals for the week so you always have food ready to go. It helps you avoid last-minute fast-food runs, maximize your purchases (so you waste and spend less), and even eat healthier on a budget.
  • Avoiding Grocery Shopping When Hungry or StressedHunger and stress can make you do strange things, like buying lots of chocolate or gimmicky processed foods. Plan to go to the store when you’re well-fed and relaxed. That way, you can stick to your list and not overspend on food you don’t need.
  • Trying a Pantry Challenge. Part of saving money on groceries is making sure your family consumes everything you purchase. Every month or so, hold a pantry challenge during which you use up as many pantry goods as possible before you shop again. A pantry challenge cuts down on waste and lets you get a sense of how much you’re overbuying.
  • Reducing Waste. A 2020 study published in the Nutrition Journal found that the average American spends $1,300 on wasted food each year. Adopting better grocery shopping habits is one way to cut back on wasted food and money. Make a list of everything you throw out without using, such as spoiled leftovers or soggy lettuce, to get a sense of the full scale of the issue.

3. Never Pay Full Price on Products and Services

4. Cut Back on Subscriptions

5. Negotiate With Your Service Providers

6. Save Energy at Home

Some energy-saving habits to teach your family include:

  • Turning Off the Water. Teach your kids to turn off the water when they’re brushing their teeth or washing dishes rather than letting it run. You can make it easy for them to remember by putting little stickers on the wall or mirrors near the sinks.
  • Switching Off Lights and Devices. Another way to lower energy costs is to turn things off when no one’s using them. For example, turn off lights and televisions when they’re not in use. Put little notes by light switches to remind your kids (and adults) to flip the switch as they leave a room.
  • Adjusting the Thermostat. Teach your children the value of putting on a sweater when it’s cold out and wearing shorts and T-shirts when it’s warm. You can also set thermostat rules to ensure no one turns it up or down too much. A smart thermostat learns your family’s habits and can start to adjust itself, saving you money on bills. You can also program the thermostat to save even more. You can find models for less than $100.

7. Buy Reusable Goods

8. Go Thrifting

9. Hold a Swap

10. Get Stuff for Free

11. Get Deals on Gifts

12. Save on Parties and Celebrations

13. Take Advantage of Free Entertainment

14. Visit Your Library

15. Make It a Staycation

16. Right-Size Your Home

17. Sign Up for a Rewards Credit Card

WNZR encourages you to use this fabulous resource – Crown.org
Crown Financial Ministries offers budget calculators and tools, online courses and credit counselors to help you with your finances.
WNZR shares their feature My Money Life each weekday at 3:50pm.
You can listen to tips and insights from Chuck Bentley on how to manage your money life while still living on a budget!

The Big Blue Crew shares encouragement to MVNU Students

Today is the first day of classes for Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Members of the WNZR Staff share messages of encouragement to new and returning students.
We hope that you have a great day and make this a great semester.
Remember to connect with WNZR to find encouragement every day.
Find us at 90.9FM, wnzr.fm, wnzr.tv and apps for every phone.

August 2023 Spotlight on Mount Vernon with City Engineer, Brian Ball

Mount Vernon City Engineer Brian Ball shared updates on the City with The Morning Thing on Friday, 8/25/23.

You can hear the full conversation at the link below.

Topics included:

  • Updates on current construction and maintenance projects. He shares the progress of these projects:
    – Grange Avenue Sanitary Sewer replacement project
    – Stump and Northview Area project
    – Buckeye Addition project
    – Center Street project
  • Updates on tree trimming in the city
  • Updates on street sweeping in the city
  • City paving projects that will happen before winter.
    – Drainage improvements in the Industrial Park, Progress Drive
    – Dixie Drive
    – Plaza Drive, north of Coshocton Ave.
  • Update on the stoplight project on Mansfield Avenue near Dan Emmett Elementary School
  • Update on the Route 13 re-routing plan through downtown
    – The City has applied for funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
    – They have received 2.5 million dollars of congestion mitigation funds from the Federal Stimulus package. 
    – The goal is to have 20% of this project funded locally and the rest will come from a combination of federal and state funding.
  • He shared the savings projections for drivers.
  • A public involvement meeting is coming soon so that residents can ask questions and share opinions.
  • Update from the Mount Vernon Police Department.
  • Update from the Mount Vernon Fire Department.
  • Events planned for the city for the rest of August and into September.
  • The immediate goal for September includes the budgeting process for the City.

To stay in touch with the city, go to:

  • Website – http://www.mountvernonohio.org
  • Facebook – The City of Mount Vernon
  • Twitter – CityMV1805
  • YouTube – The City of Mount Vernon
  • LinkedIn – City of Mount Vernon, Ohio

Tiffany Van Dame, MVNU’s Director of Student Life shares excitement for Move-In Day

WNZR joins Mount Vernon Nazarene University to welcome new students today to campus.

It is NEW Student Move-In Day!

Tiffany Van Dame, MVNU’s Director of Student Life talked with Allison Prouty about this exciting day. She shared an overview of this year’s schedule including what she is most looking forward to as students return to campus.

Tiffany also shared goals that she has for the 23-24 school year and exciting new things that are happening for the student body.

Tiffany shares a special message for students and their families. She also shares how we can pray for her and her team as the school year begins.

Enjoy the conversation!

Dr. Matt Spraker talks to WNZR about MVNU’s New Student Move In Day

Today is a special day at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. It is NEW Student Move-In Day.

Dr. Matt Spraker, Vice President of Student Life talked to WNZR about the activities planned for this day and his goals for this academic year.

He also shared some exciting news about his office is intentionally reaching out to commuter students and striving to connect them to the student body and campus activities.

Dr. Spraker also shares a special message for new students and their families.

Listen to the full conversation here.

What can you say “No” to for a Good Marriage?

Today, on The Morning Thing, Marcy shared some biblical insight from Author, Jennifer Waddle. She wrote an article for Crosswalk.com called “5 Things You Need to Say NO to for a Good Marriage”.
Click HERE to read the full article.

It is easy to say NO to things that bother us – a telemarketer, kids who want to stay home from school or a child asking for more candy on the shopping trip.

Jennifer challenges us to consider these 5 things you can say “no” to in order to better your marriage.

1. Say “no” to social media comparison.
Say “no” to the damaging effects it can have. Stop scrolling! Stop following and lead the way.
Start thanking God for your spouse.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17)

2. Say “no” to too much work.
Having a work/life imbalance is one of the number one problems in marriages.
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (Colossians 3:23 NLT)

3. Say “no” to too many friends.
Discuss all friendships with your spouse and develop solid boundaries surrounding them. Say “yes” to only those friendships that are supportive of you and your spouse. 
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

4. Say “no” to extended family.
Consider these questions the next time you feel pulled to say “yes” to family members. They may help you gain clarity and decide when it’s time to say “no.”

  • Are you putting your family member’s requests above your spouse’s needs?
  • Is there a guilt trip involved in your family member’s demands?
  • Does this family member have a bad habit of expecting you to drop everything for them?
  • Do they respect your spouse and your marriage?

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)

5. Say “no” to debt.

Here are some resources to help you say “no” to debt and maintain financial health.

How to hire a financial advisor
Take control of your finances and career
Master your money

Jennifer Waddle is a Kansas girl, married to a Colorado hunk, with a heart to encourage women everywhere. She is the author of several books, including Prayer WORRIER: Turning Every Worry into Powerful Prayer, and is a regular contributor for LifeWay, Crosswalk, Abide, and Christians Care International. Jennifer’s online ministry is EncouragementMama.com where “Discouragement Doesn’t Win!” She resides with her family near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains—her favorite place on earth.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑