WinterJam is back for another year! I don’t know about you, but I am stoked. It’s an amazing concert with a fantastic lineup all about giving glory to God- for only ten bucks. An absolutely incredible experience, and it’s coming our way! There are three stops in Ohio- Columbus on January 9, Cincinnati on February 19, and  Cleveland on February 21! You can find out all about the tour at the official WinterJam website.

Since the tour will be here before we know it, we are making this week on the Morning Thing WinterJam Week! We are going to be chatting with several of the artists on the tour. Today we kicked the week off with Michael Cleveland of Stars go Dim. He told us all about the founding of the band, the story behind some of their music, what we can look forward to from them at WinterJam, and more. You can hear that entire conversation here.

For more info on Stars Go Dim you can check out their website. And be sure to catch tomorrow’s WinterJam Week conversations- with Lauren Daigle and Newsong!

Merry Christmas from The Morning Thing!

For our Fave 5 this week, we are sharing some pictures of our favorite gifts or moments from our Christmas celebrations.

1. Jenna Potts is a huge Star Wars fan. She got some fancy pajamas along with her siblings. The Potts family is definitely “feeling the force!”

2. Joe Rinehart of The Afternoon Drive also loves Star Wars. Here he is showing off his new shirt featuring the droid BB-8!

3. Marcy Rinehart loves both Star Wars and Star Trek. Here is a picture of her 2 favorite gifts: a Star Wars spatula and a pizza cutter shaped like the USS Enterprise! So cool!

4. Wesley Boston was up early this morning, ready to open up presents. He shared this picture by the family Christmas tree.

5. Aubrey Bailey also had fun opening presents with her brother and cousins. Here they are celebrating Christmas together.

Merry Christmas from The Morning Thing crew and everyone at WNZR. We pray that you are creating wonderful memories with family and friends. We also pray that you are celebrating the true reason for this season – Jesus!

Do you believe in Christmas miracles? We do!
Take a few minutes to be inspired by these real, true-life stories from Reader’s Digest.

Click HERE to read a story about how a storm and a tablecloth brought a family back together.

Click HERE to read 5 true, old-fashioned Christmas miracles. The stories will help restore your hope for the holidays.

As you read, please remember the true miracle of Christmas in the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Click HERE to read HIS story.

“White Christmas”, one of the most beloved holiday classic has loads of fascinating back stories.
Check out this list of 21 surprising facts about the movie.
Click HERE to read the list compiled by Good Housekeeping.

What will YOU be watching this holiday season?
Tell us which Christmas movie is your favorite. Email wnzr@mvnu.edu

Today, The Morning Thing featured several WinterJam artists on the show.

They talked about Christmas traditions, plans and their favorite Christmas songs.
Click HERE to listen to the conversation.
Artists featured include: Matthew West, David Crowder, Lauren Daigle, Matt Butler of Newsong and Michael Cleveland of Stars Go Dim.

Click HERE for more information about WinterJam 2016 and how you can get tickets.

Do you love watching Christmas movies? WE DO!
We found 24 interesting facts about the classic, “It’s A Wonderful Life”.
Check out what Good Housekeeping shared about this amazing film.
Click HERE.

The Morning Thing co-hosts shared their favorite Christmas movies for our Fave 5.
Aubrey Bailey – click HERE to hear why she loves “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
Jenna Potts – click HERE to hear why she loves “The Santa Clause” movies
Marcy Rinehart – click HERE to hear why she loves “White Christmas”
Wesley Boston – click HERE to hear why he loves “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “A Christmas Carol”

Are you stressing out about Christmas? 
Check out this “To Don’t” list from Huffington Post.
Click HERE and start to feel more relaxed!

Remember that WNZR is here for you and your family this holiday season.
Tune in for wonderful Christmas music with inspiring messages all day long. You can also hear inspiring messages from Insight for Living (weekdays at 9am) and Focus on the Family (weekdays at 9:30am).
Click HERE for the complete list of programs at WNZR.

Merry Christmas from The Lifeline, WNZR!

Even though it is still 54 degrees in Mount Vernon CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!! The WNZR staff is excited to celebrate the joy of this holiday season with you! With our traditional 24/7 Christmas music and WNZR’s Christmas Gift Exchange we thought it would be fitting to look at Christmas traditions around the world.

To read about these unique traditions click HERE!

Plus, WNZR staff will be ringing bells for the Salvation Army at Kroger in Mount Vernon from 9am to 6pm today! All donations will support this organization and the many things they do for our community. Last year we raised $644.78 and this year we need your help to double that total! So stop by to see our DJs and donate to the Salvation Army.

For more information on the Salvation Army check out their website HERE!

Today, we shared some NEW Christmas music for 2015.
Check out these great NEW albums by some of your favorite artists.
Chris Tomlin – Adore, Christmas Songs of Worship (Live)
Rend Collective – Campfire Christmas Vol.
Laura Story – God With Us
MercyMe – MercyMe It’s Christmas

Here are the favorite Christmas songs from The Morning Thing
co-hosts:
(Make sure to click on each link to see a video for each song)
Aubrey Bailey – Oh Holy Night by Barlow Girl
Wesley Boston – Silent Night by Kim Walker Smith of Jesus Culture
Jenna Potts – It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Michael W. Smith
Marcy Rinehart – Give This Christmas Away by Matthew West/Amy Grant

Today on The Morning Thing we recapped the Food for the Hungry broadcast that took place over the weekend.

Click HERE to hear comments from crew members and volunteers as the broadcast wrapped up Saturday night. We were all celebrating an amazing day!

The totals from Saturday were amazing! $190,000 and 65 truckloads of food were collected! More specific totals and lots of pictures coming soon.