Today on the show, The Morning Thing shared a full circle story from Operation Christmas Child.

Kojo Abakah was born and raised in a very poor town in Ghana. His family of nine lived in a one-room clay house. He remembers walking one and a half to two miles each day to school, having no money and no food. Kojo is grateful for the challenges and the financial difficulties he faced as a child, as that was what made him rely on God.

Kojo was in 4th grade, 12 years of age when he received his Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift. He remembers it being a Friday afternoon when majority of the students had already gone home and those who were still present began hearing a lot of noise outside the building. When they ran outside, they saw other schools join them. After all the students assembled, the visitors told them about Jesus and taught everyone the song “Jesus Loves Me.” After the song, the students received shoeboxes. Kojo remembers everyone jumping up and down with excitement. For him it was his first gift he has ever received. His favorite items in it were school supplies, a set of toy cars and a yo-yo. Every time he rolled the yo-yo out he remembered the song the missionaries taught him, “Jesus loves you this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

The song that he learned that day always stayed with him. The seed was sowed in his life and he knew he needed a good farmer to take care of that seed. He started going to church and his faith started to grow from the simple truth of the song “Jesus Loves Me This I Know.” He started serving in the church and serving God with all he had in him.

Kojo came to the United States in 2012 to attend Tusculum College in Tennessee. He dreams of finishing pharmacy school and to use any opportunity available to share the truth that he now knows without a shadow of doubt – Jesus loves me THIS I know, for the Bible tells me so!

Please take a few minutes, click HERE and listen to Kojo’s amazing story!
Also, click HERE to find out how YOU can pack a shoebox and help change a life forever!
Click HERE to see a countdown to National Collection Week in November.

Photo courtesy of christianconcertalerts.com

Its SonFest week on The Morning Thing!

Everyday this week you have a chance to win two general admission tickets to SonFest 2016 by answering one of our SonFest trivia questions! You can also tune into the Afternoon Drive if you miss our morning giveaways. For more information about our giveaways and SonFest 2016 visit our website, wnzr.fm.

Today we talked to Ben Calhoun of Citizen Way, one of the amazing bands that will be coming to MVNU’s campus this Saturday, September 24th. You may know Citizen Way from their hit songs Nothing Ever (Could Separate Us), When I’m With You or How Sweet The Sound.

This morning, Ben talked about why he loves Ohio and their new album When I’m With You. He gave us the story behind the song Nothing Ever (Could Separate Us) and a sneak peak into the new music coming from Citizen Way. To hear our full conversation with Ben, click HERE!

Make sure you tune in tomorrow at 7:20 a.m. for The Morning Thing Game of the Day and your chance to win SonFest tickets!

We wrapped up our health-focused week by talking about financial health!

The best place to start a conversation about money is to start  at the definition – what is financial health? www.financialhealthinstitute.com says financial health is: The dynamic relationship of one’s financial and economic resources as they are applied to or impact the state of physical, mental and social well-being.

These experts say that health and finances are dynamic, always changing, in flux, up and down. Your personal financial situation can be unhealthy and the result of that can lead to problems in other areas of your life. Click HERE to read more about how to define financial health.

So where do you start to achieve your financial goals?
One easy step is to listen to “My Moneylife” each weekday at 3:50pm on WNZR.
This 2 minute feature looks at the world of finances through a biblical perspective. Crown Financial Ministries is celebrating 40 years of empowering and equipping families with financial tips and advice. Click HERE to go to Crown’s fabulous website with superb tools to help you and your family navigate the path to financial health.

Crown Financial Ministries has a Money Map that will give you a step-by-step guide to gaining victory in your finances and life.

Inside you’ll find:

• Seven clear, achievable goals to reach on your way to True Financial Freedom.
• Access to practical online tools and content to help you along the journey.
• An updated design and format that will harness the proven success of our MoneyMap to address today’s issues.
• And more!

Click HERE to find Crown’s Money Map.

Wells Fargo promotes the belief that small changes can easily turn into habits that could have a big impact on your financial health.
Here are 8 Rules of Thumb to Financial Health  – a set of easy-to-follow guidelines, along with simple steps on how to get started on your journey to better financial health.
Click HERE to see the entire article.

Pay yourself first

Set aside some income for savings — about 5 – 10%.

Start turning savings into a habit

Track your spending

Make sure you know where your money is going every month.

Start tracking everyday expenses

Create a safety net

Build up emergency savings to cover 3 – 6 months’ worth of expenses.

Start your emergency savings fund

Pay down high-interest-rate debt

Spend less on interest by paying down the debt that costs you the most.

Start taking steps to manage debt

Pay on time, every time

Improve and maintain your credit score by paying your bills on time.

Start paying your bills on time

Know where your credit stands

Check your credit report annually to make sure it’s accurate.

Start checking your credit report

Review your insurance annually

Protect what counts by checking your insurance coverage every year.

Start protecting what counts

Save for a better retirement

Save at least 10% of your income each year for retirement.

Start planning now for more money later

Here are Bible verses about money, debt, giving, and finances – Find out what the Bible has to say about money, giving, debt, and finances as you learn to be a wise steward of the resources God has given you. Click HERE for 50 bible verses!

(Picture from www.picturesofmoney.org)

On Thursday’s show we focused on improving our physical health.
Check out these 16 simple ways to upgrade your health today. This wonderful advice is from www.care2.com. Click HERE for more information.

1. Drink more water. Your body is 90 percent water and needs water for almost every function.  Many of the aches and pains, headaches, and other symptoms we experience would lessen if we just drank more water.

2. Go for a brisk walk. Your body was made to move. Your heart is a muscle that needs movement to function optimally. We know this but we often need a reminder to just do it.

3. Better yet, take your brisk walk in nature. Trees and other plants are regularly turning our carbon dioxide into rich oxygen we can breathe. Getting rich, oxygenated air help kill bacteria and viruses, improves breathing, and may even help prevent cancer.

4. Hug someone you love. When you hug someone you love (someone who actually wants to be hugged), your body releases feel-good hormones like oxytocin that ward off depression.

5. Eat 2 or 3 pieces or servings of fruit (count ½ cup of fruit like grapes, blueberries, cherries, etc. as a serving). Brilliantly-colored fruit is packed with disease-fighting phytonutrients like proanthocyanins that protect against brain diseases and quercetin which helps alleviate allergies and breathing problems.

6. Eat a large salad. I’m frequently told by someone who is making excuses for his/her bad diet that eating healthy is expensive. Nonsense. Some of the best superfoods are cheap and readily available in the form of salad greens. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll (gives plants their green color and boosts our blood health), enzymes (that improve digestion and increase energy), and many phytonutrients.

7. Meditate. Just taking some time out to clear your thoughts and unplugging from technology and people can help you feel more balanced and peaceful.

8. Deep breathe for at least 5 minutes, as often as you can. Research shows that deep breathing, even for minutes, can reduce stress hormone levels. That translates into less anxiety, better sleep, and less likelihood to pack on the pounds.

9. Snack between meals on healthy snacks like almonds, veggie crudite, hummus and whole grain pitas. Not only will you stabilize your moods, you’ll balance your weight thanks to regulated blood sugar levels.

10. Drink a freshly made juice—preferably with green veggies. Green juices are Mother Nature’s healing nectar. They are powerhouses of nutrients that help your body heal and energize you all at once.

11. Stop and smell the flowers, literally. Not only will slowing down make you feel great, you will be exposed to natural aromatherapy with relaxing, energizing, or therapeutic effects. The fact that you can smell the flowers means molecules of their essential oils are coming into contact with your sensory systems—one of the fastest ways to balance hormones.

12. Write down at least 10 things for which you are grateful.  Increasing amounts of research show that gratitude builds better health and happiness.

13. Eliminate at least one item from your life that contains toxic chemicals (all commercially-available dryer sheets, almost every type of commercial laundry soap sold in grocery stores, dish soap, “air fresheners,” etc.) For essential items, choose a natural option instead. (See: 10 Cancer-Causers to Remove from Your Home)

14. Do something nice for someone. Years ago my husband and I were out in a restaurant in Pemberton, BC, Canada. When we asked for the bill we learned that it had been paid by a gentleman with whom we’d had a lovely conversation shortly after arriving. It not only made our day, we still think back with fondness about this kind man and how it gave us more faith in the goodness of people. You don’t even have to know the person for whom you do something nice.

15. Dry skin brush. Dry skin brushing in small circles with a natural bristled brush, working from your extremities toward your heart boosts your blood circulation and the movement of lymph through your body to help eliminate toxic waste buildup in your tissues while boosting your energy.

16. Soak in a warm bath with Epsom salts. The magnesium in Epsom salts absorbs through your skin and helps relax your muscles and reduce pain levels while contributing to your heart health.

What will you do today to upgrade your health?

Subscribe to my free e-newsletter World’s Healthiest News to receive monthly health news, tips, recipes and more.  Copyright Michelle Schoffro Cook. Follow me on Twitter@mschoffrocook and Facebook.

We also shared 25 ways to exercise without realizing it!
Click HERE to see some crazy (but helpful) ways to get moving!  Ideas from http://www.nerdfitness.com
(NOTICE – you will find some negative language in this article!)
(Photo from http://www.sheknows.com)

 Photo courtesy of Disney’s Inside Out

Emotional health is just as important as physical health but sometimes we neglect it. Poor emotional health can often lead to problems with our physical health. Its just as important to develop healthy emotional habits as it is to eat right and exercise regularly. Check out this article for 7 habits you can work on right now!  Click HERE!

We also found 10 ways to boost your emotional health and help you feel better during the ups and downs of life. Click HERE!

No matter where you are, whether you are strong or weak emotionally, we recommend digging into God’s word to discover His truth. God’s love and guidance always gives us the emotional support and boost that we all need.

During this morning’s show we had the opportunity to talk with Kelly Brenneman, Executive Director of United Way of Knox county, about their campaign kickoff week. The goal is to raise $1 million. Listen to our conversation HERE to find out how you can get involved.