It is WinterJam Week on The Morning Thing. Today, we talked to Emerson Day!

This is Emerson Days first time on WinterJam! WNZR’s Ethan Hershberger talked with Emerson about the background story of how she came to be a Christian artist.

Emerson talks about her excitement to play her breakout hit “Get Behind Me” and how that song has impacted many listeners. She also shares what God is doing in her life and what He has put on her heart to share with others.

Click HERE to enjoy the full conversation or click the link below.

Click HERE for all the details about WinterJam 2026.

Make sure to listen to The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive all this week for your chance to win Passes to this year’s tour. We have WinterJam Artist Trivia each day this week!

Fun facts to start your week!

Today on The Morning Thing, Josiah and Xander shared some fun fact that we thought you should know about life! You can use these to improve your life or just get a good laugh.

Here’s the list!

1. Your shoes are the first thing people subconsciously notice about you. Wear nice shoes.

2. If you sit for more than 11 hours a day, there’s a 50% chance you’ll die within the next 3 years.

3. There are at least 6 people in the world who look exactly like you. There’s a 9% chance that you’ll meet one of them in your lifetime.

4. Sleeping without a pillow reduces back pain and keeps your spine stronger.

5. A person’s height is determined by their father, and their weight is determined by their mother.

6. If a part of your body “falls asleep”, You can almost always “wake it up” by shaking your head.

7. There are three things the human brain cannot resist noticing – food, attractive people and danger.

8. Right-handed people tend to chew food on their right side.

9. Putting dry tea bags in gym bags or smelly shoes will absorb the unpleasant odor.

10. According to Albert Einstein, if honey bees were to disappear from earth, humans would be dead within 4 years.

11. There are so many kinds of apples, that if you ate a new one every day, it would take over 20 years to try them all.

12. You can survive without eating for weeks, but you will only live 11 days without sleeping.

13. People who laugh a lot are healthier than those who don’t.

14. Laziness and inactivity kills just as many people as smoking.

15. A human brain has a capacity to store 5 times as much information as Wikipedia.

16. Our brain uses the same amount of power as a 10-watt light bulb!!

17. Our body gives enough heat in 30 minutes to boil 1.5 liters of water!!

19. Stomach acid (conc. HCl) is strong enough to dissolve razor blades!!

20. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day & while you walk, SMILE. It is the ultimate antidepressant.

21. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

22. When you wake up in the morning, pray to ask God’s guidance for your purpose today.

23. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

24. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, broccoli, and almonds.

25. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

26. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts and things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

27. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

28. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

29. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Forgive them for everything.

30. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

31. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

32. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

33. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

34. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

35. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’

36. Help the needy, Be generous! Be a ‘Giver’ not a ‘Taker’

37. What other people think of you is none of your business.

38. Time heals everything, except grief. Grief is a sign of Love.

39. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

40. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. Each night before you go to bed, pray to God and be thankful for what you accomplished, today. What if you woke up this morning and only had what you thanked God for yesterday? DON’T FORGET TO THANK GOD FOR EVERYTHING.

43. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

We hope you enjoy these!

Easy and yummy soup recipes!

Today on The Morning Thing, we wanted to share some warm ideas as the cold season ramps up! So these are some simple and tasty soup recipes for you and your family!

Our hosts favorite:

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup chunky salsa
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 4 tablespoons sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

Directions:

  1. In an electric food processor or blender, combine beans, broth, salsa, and cumin. Blend until fairly smooth.
  2. Heat the bean mixture in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated.
  3. Ladle soup into 4 individual bowls, and top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of the sour cream and 1/2 tablespoon green onion.

Click HERE to view the rest of the soup ideas and how to make them!

The Morning Thing Friday Favorites – Soup Recipes

January is National Soup Month, and to celebrate we wanted to give you some different soup recipes that you can try out. For our Friday Favorites, The Morning Thing hosts share their favorite soup recipes.

Click HERE to hear from the hosts or click the link below.

Great questions to ask your kids!

Today on The Morning Thing, we focused on open communication within your family! We shared 5 questions to ask your kids that are simple but important and will hopefully get them talking.

They come from Super Bowl winning Head Coach Tony Dungy! He knows a thing or two about communicating and cultivating people’s lives and he is trying to share that knowledge with you.

Out favorite question:

  • What made you happy this week?

Click HERE to check out the questions!

Ideas for New Year’s Resolutions!

Today on The Morning Thing, we shared some amazing and simple ideas for your New Year’s Resolutions! These are ways you can better yourself and others in 2026.

While they are hard to keep all year long, the pursuit of them is an accomplishment in itself.

Some of our favorites:

  • Be Present With Those You Love
  • Get Some Sleep
  • Try Something New

Click HERE to see and read the rest of the ideas!

WNZR’s Top 30 Songs of 2025

Today, our Music Director, Traven Griffith, highlighted the top thirty songs of the year in a special show in honor of New Year’s Eve! Check out the full list below!

30. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now | Music Video

29. Cody Carnes – Take You At Your Word | Lyric Video

28. Phil Wickham – The King Is In The Room | Music Video

27. Andrew Ripp – Loves Got A Way | Lyric Video

26. Katy Nichole – When I Fall | Music Video

25. Matthew West – Unashamed | Music Video

24. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River | Music Video

23. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors | Music Video

22. Hope Darst – Mighty Name Of Jesus | Music Video

21. ELEVATION RHYTHM – Goodbye Yesterday | Music Video

20. Crowder – STILL | Lyric Video

19. Micah Tyler – God Did It | Music Video

18. Jeremy Camp – Again | Lyric Video

17. Emerson Day – Get Behind Me | Lyric Video

16. Zach Williams – Jesus Loves | Music Video

15. Forrest Frank – Your Way’s Better | Lyric Video

14. Brandon Lake – That’s Who I Praise | Music Video

13. Brandon Lake f/Jelly Roll – Hard Fought Hallelujah | Music Video

12. Megan Woods – The Truth | Music Video

11. Elevation Worship & Brandon Lake – I Know A Name | LIVE Version Performance

10. Colton Dixon – Up + Up | Music Video

09. Leanna Crawford – Still Waters (Psalm 23) | Music Video

08. Josiah Queen & Brandon Lake – Can’t Steal My Joy | Lyric Video

07. TobyMac – a lil Church | Music Video

06. MercyMe – Oh Death | Music Video

05. Seph Schlueter – Running Back To You | Music Video

04. Jamie MacDonald – Desperate | Lyric Video

03. Crowder – Somebody Prayed | Music Video

02. Jon Reddick – No Fear | Music Video

01. Phil Wickham – What An Awesome God | Music Video | Sunset Walk 

Thanks for Listening!
-Traven

Things to Do with Your Kids Between the Holidays and New Year

If you’re feeling the effects of the lull between Christmas and the new year, there’s nothing better than finding something fun or productive to do to keep the family busy!

The holiday season has so much momentum and excitement leading up to all the celebrations. Slowing down after the holidays can be confusing for children, so how do we switch off this mindset of hustle and bustle leading into the New Year? It’s great to get back into the groove of your normal routine with your family and slow down, but keep the momentum going just a little bit with some family fun.

Today on The Morning Thing, we shared 10 Things to do with your kids between the Holidays and New Year straight from sunshinehouse.com!

You can click HERE to see the full list!

WNZR Morning Thing Hosts Share Their Favorite Christmas Movie!

One great part of the holiday season are the many options you have for Christmas movies.

For our Friday Favorites, The Morning Thing hosts share their favorite Christmas Movies. We want to inspire you to carry out some family time and watch a great Christmas story!

Olivia Stern and Kathy Brechler talk about Food For The Hungry Live and Drive Day!

Food For The Hungry Live and Drive Day is happening today (12/12)!

Olivia Stern, Digital Content and Marketing Director, and Kathy Brechler, Executive Director of Food For The Hungry, talk about what today looks like.

They share where most of the funds will be going and how you can get involved. They also give other details about the live broadcast.

For more information about today click HERE!

To watch the live broadcast click HERE!

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