Have you heard the fable of the boy and the butterfly?
One day, a boy is given a cocoon in his hands, but told not to touch it. When he looked down and saw something struggling on the inside of the cocoon, he took a pair of scissors and cut it open to free the butterfly.
To the boy’s dismay, the butterfly could not take off flying, fell to the ground and passed away.
When we find ourselves in the middle of the struggle, we need to remember that our strength is built through the storms and trials.
Romans 5:3-4 says, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
While we don’t deny that pain and struggles are difficult, God is going to use everything you go through, good and bad, to strengthen you. We can rejoice in the pain even when it’s hard.
If you need to lift up a hard-fought hallelujah, sing along here with Brandon Lake Jelly Roll:
Today’s Our Daily Bread Devotional dives deeper into this topic! Read more HERE.
Ethan talked about how he heard at an MVNU chapel service that God sometimes doesn’t always give us the quickest way out of the desert.
Instead, He does something incredible and chooses to plant and grow a garden in the middle of the desert! This reminds us of the song Flowers by Samantha Ebert and Seph Schlueter.
Listen along if you need a reminder that God sees you where you are. He is going to grow something beautiful!
We played Name That Tune today on The Afternoon Drive!
This week’s Name That Tune was a stumper!
Tune in next Thursday on The Afternoon Drive and see if you can figure out the song title and artist from our song clip! We will give you a chance to win on Name That Tune at 5:15pm next Thursday, March 12th! (Hint: This artist is coming to the Ohio State Fair this summer, August 3rd!)
Today on Who Knew? Wednesday, we learned that today is National Snack Day and National Dance The Waltz Day!
What is your favorite snack? Today is National Snack Day!
We are blessed to be able to enjoy snacks of all kinds, like granola bars, chips, fruit, veggies, and as Ethan shared on The Afternoon Drive today, candy bars!
Give this day a celebration by enjoying one of your favorite treats!
Here are a couple of suggestions to get you started:
Apples
Potato Chips
Oranges
Chocolate Bar
Bananas
Ethan Hershberger’s Pick: Mr. Beast’s Feastable Peanut Butter Cups
There are so many snacks we get to enjoy! What do you usually munch on while listening to The Afternoon Drive?
This dance originates back to the Tyrol region of Austira. Since it’s creation back in 1748, it has exploded in popularity all around the world.
You typically dance the waltz in a 1-2-3 rhythm with graceful turns, and it has grown to be very common in ballroom settings.
To celebrate National Dance The Waltz Day, we listened to Steven Curtis Chapman’s song Cinderella.
Learn more about National Dance The Waltz Day HERE!
Do you remember reading this verse last year? YouVersion announced that the verse Isaiah 41:10 was “the most engaged-with verse throughout 2025.”
Isaiah 41:10 NIV: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
What an encouraging verse to remind us to not rely on our own strength, but cling to God and depend on His strength alone!
Today’s Who Am I? mystery person was a famous actres!
Here were this week’s five biographical hints:
I was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Canada, and I grew up in a large family. I recently passed away this year, on January 30, 2026.
I got my start in comedy as a member of Toronto’s Second City improv troupe, which helped launch my career in television and film.
I became widely known for my work on the sketch comedy show SCTV, where I played many different characters and earned critical acclaim.
I am best recognized for my role as Kate McCallister in Home Alone.
Throughout my career, I worked extensively as a voice actress, including roles in several animated films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride.
I am… Catherine O’Hara!
Congratulations to Wid from Fredericktown for calling in and correctly guessing this week’s mystery person! He will be taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!
Tune in on Thursday with Ethan Hershberger for praise, worship music, and inspiring devotionals for Praise Thursday on The Afternoon Drive!
Today, on Monday Motivation, we shared some insight on spring and continued going over sermons, plus we had our Mystery Monday Family Feud-style question. Here’s what we talked about:
Gabriella’s Motivation: Let spring motivate you to start fresh. Spring represents “new life” and Resurrection, embrace it! Let go of your worries and remember that God is doing something new and great. Intentionally grow your heart, mind, soul, and body. Truly start fresh. Matthew 6:28 (NIV) “See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.”
Joe’s Motivation: We continued the book of Titus. What do you imagine when we say “live your life like a Christian”? Yesterday, I was put in an upsetting situation where I was required to take the high road and go about my day. My dinner plans fell through, instead of yelling at the manager for a problem he can’t help, I told him it’s no big deal and went somewhere else. Being slow to anger and patient is one of the actions we have to hold as Christians.
Name something you’ve been wishing for years your husband would do.
Be more romantic (27)
Housework/ Chores (13)
Grow up (12)
Take me on a trip (12)
Be less angry (11)
Lose weight (6)
Congratulations to Lisa of Howard for guessing the top TWO answers correctly and taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!
Tune in for Artist Newsday and GameTime Tuesday with Joe and Gabriella!
09. Jamie MacDonald – Left It In The River (Previously #1 for 9 weeks)
08. Chris Tomlin – How Good It Is
07. Katy Nichole – Have Your Way
06. Anne Wilson – God Story
05. Jeremy Camp – No Survivors (Previous #1 for 2 weeks)
04. For KING & COUNTRY ft. Taylor Hill – World On Fire
03. Seph Schlueter – Won’t Start Now
02. TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind (Second week at #2: first appearance was December 26th because of the chart’s hectic post-Christmas chart transition back to regular music)
01. Lauren Daigle – Let It Be A Hallelujah (2nd consecutive week at #1)
New Music This Week:
Blanca & Ryan Ellis – I’m Yours
Tune in Monday for Monday Motivation with Joe and Gabriella!
…Sooner than later for our MVNU students, faculty and staff! Spring Break officially starts tomorrow (Friday) night for our campus. Please pray for everyone’s travel, especially members of our staff traveling overseas for mission projects. Prayers for traveling mercies and good decisions!
Brook Abella is going on a family vacation in Florida, Destini Turcotte (first-year DJ) is heading to Spain, while our Morning Thing men’s volleyball guys (Xander DeVault, Josiah Pletcher) are playing in the middle of their season. Baseball, lacrosse, indoor track and softball are also traveling. Many of our students are also staying here to work at WNZR over break.
Today we shared some inspiration from Colossians 3 and Paul’s encouragement to ‘set your hearts on things above.’
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
We can commit each day to transforming our hearts and minds, even when we wrestle with the temptations of this world.
Today our song was a NEW one and a three-week stumper! “Peter Burton’s “Where Would I Be?” – congratulations to Reagan of Mount Vernon, who solved the mystery and wins a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!
Today on Who Knew Wednesday we gave some out of pocket Who Knew Facts and our Who Am I Trivia! Here’s what we talked about!
Who Knew Wednesday: Inconvenience yourself day – Go out of your way to do something!
Who Knew Wednesday: I can only imagine 2 IN THEATERS NOWW!!!!!
Who Knew Wednesday: National Chocolate Covered Nuts Day – What’s your favorite? Peanuts, almonds, cashews, maccadamia? Click HERE to read some of our dad jokes we shared!
You have one more chance to win a pair of tickets tomorrow, on The Morning Thing! Be prepared to be the first caller to call in and tell us your blessing!
Who am I?
I was born today, in 1963, in Columbus, Ohio.
I made my Major League Baseball debut in 1985 with the Cincinnati Reds.
I am best known for playing right field for the New York Yankees from 1993 to 2001, where I was a key part in their championship teams.
I won five World Series championships: 1 with the Reds (1990) and four with the Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000).
After retiring in 2001, I became a television broadcaster and analyst for the Yankees on the YES Network.
I am… Paul O’Neil!! Congratulations to Steve of Mansfield for guessing our Who Am I correctly and taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!
Tune in Tomorrow for Praise Thursday With Brook Abella and Joe!
This week’s Artist News Day featured some of your WNZR artists coming to Ohio in concert!
This week, The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive have been giving you a chance to win tickets to see Seph Schlueter’s Counting My Blessing Tour, with our Tell Us Your Blessing Giveaway. Seph is coming to Ohio this week!
Seph Schlueter will be at the Crossroads Church in Mansfield, Ohio, on Thursday, February 26.
There are some concerts that feel good to be in the room for, and the “Counting My Blessings” Tour is one of them. Seph Schlueter will take the stage with the songs that have been repeated in your playlists and church services like “Counting My Blessings” and “Running Back to You.” Plus, the warmth of Allison Eide and her breakout, “Love Who I Am,” and the storyteller charm of Charles Weems with his “Slow Me Down.” You’ll leave this evening counting more than a few blessings of your own.
You have one more chance to win a pair of tickets tomorrow, on The Morning Thing! Be prepared to be the first caller to call in and tell us your blessing!
We revisited our conversation with Blessing Offor about his Heart So Real Tour!
This concert is happening tonight at the A&R Music Bar in Columbus!
If you’re still looking to see Blessing in concert, last-minute tickets are available HERE!
Listen to our full conversation with Blessing on our SoundCloud:
We had a stumper for this week’s Song Poetry!
Here were this week’s lyrics:
Sometimes I feel like I just keep pretending And I’m slowly going out of my mind And I, I feel like you could be the one Who would catch me when my wings won’t fly
These song lyrics were from Lift Me Upby Blessing Offor!
Congratulations to Christina from Mount Vernon for calling in and correctly guessing the song title and artist, taking home two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!
Tune in on Wednesday for Who Knew Wednesday, and another chance to win a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant, with a game of Who Am I?.
Today for Monday Motivation we talked about our identity in Christ, started The Afternoon Drive’s first “Give Us Your Blessing Giveaway”, and played our family fued for Mystery Monday! Here’s what we talked about:
Joe’s Motivation:
The Cretan Church. Cultural problems affecting the church: if you lied, you were a Cretan! Titus 1:12. Liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons. Jewish Cretan Christians. In that order. Detestable, disobedient.
Moral looseness – sensuality normalized.
Deceptive speech – truth was flexible.
Laziness and indulgence – discipline was rare
Story-driven spiritually – myths more attractive than the truth
False teaching doesn’t usually deny truth. It dilutes it. Making it less powerful. Be careful of taking away the power of the gospel.
Why does this matter today?? The greatest threat to the modern church is not persecution, it is profession without transformation.
They claim to know God, but their actions deny him. Colossians 3:1-11. Set your hearts on things above. When you come to Christ, that is now your culture. A follower of Jesus. He transforms you. How do we live and dwell when we’re Christians? Transformation. Our culture applauds belief as long as it costs nothing. Being a Christian is tough and it costs something. You are going to wrestle with everything. How do I be a Christian and do this? (Fill in the blank) He’ll give us strength and hope as we wrestle.
But…Scripture never separates belief from behavior. It does the opposite. Behavior indicates what we believe. Romans 3. Paul wants Titus to understand that the Gospel should be changing everything. They say they know Jesus, but deny His power.
Claim vs action. It’s that simple. Our question? How is it changing us? Me? You? If we believe that the Gospel has power, we have to stop living like Cretans. We have to yield to the Gospel.
Gabriella’s Monday Motivation: Guilt should not be a paralyzing burden of blame, but rather a tool for spiritual growth that leads to repentance, healing, and deeper reliance on grace. Instead of staying stuck in shame, we are called to turn guilt into gratitude by accepting Christ’s forgiveness, replacing guilt with the joy of freedom in Him. Here’s some steps to move forward:
Turn Guilt into Gratitude: Instead of dwelling on a mistake, let it remind you of how much grace you’ve been given. This creates a heart of gratitude that motivates you to live better.
Stop “Worshiping” Your Mistakes: Remaining stuck in guilt is like worshiping your failures rather than God’s mercy. Accept that you cannot pay for your own sins—Jesus already did.
Focus on Identity, Not Action: Your identity is “child of God” and “new creation,” regardless of your performance
Hebrews 8:12: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Based on His sacrifice, Christ will never bring up our past sins and he will treat them like they never happened.
An exciting NEW Contest is coming to The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive Monday February 23rdthrough Wednesday February 25th! Listen to The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive for the “Tell Us Your Blessing Giveaway”! Tune in at 7:30am and 4:30pm for the “Tell Us Your Blessing Giveaway”. We are going to open up the phones at both of those times and the first person to call in and share a blessing wins TWO tickets to the Seph Schlueter concert at Crossroads Church in Mansfield on Thursday night. Go to our website wnzr.fm for more information! Congratulations to Brad of Bellville for sharing his blessings and taking home a pair of tickets to Seph Schlueter’s concert!
Name something that contains the word ‘mac.’
Macaroni
Big Mac
Macintosh
Mac Book or iMac
McDonald’s
A McIntosh apple
Congratulations to Sue of Mount Vernon for guessing the top two answers correctly and taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Resturant in Utica!
Tune in Tomorrow for Artist Newsday and Gametime Tuesday with Ethan and Xander!
Driving Notes 