Search

Driving Notes

The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

Author

afternoondrive

Gospel Gone Viral!

Ever thought a gospel artist would go viral? I didn’t, but I’m so happy this is the case!

It’s Artist Newsday and Game Time Tuesday on The Afternoon Drive, and we love seeing gospel music making an impact!

God can reach anyone, at any time, and this was the case when he used Brandon Lake and his song “Hard Fought Hallelujah” to open Jelly Roll’s heart to the gospel again: https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/how-a-brandon-lake-song-got-jelly-roll-to-worship-again/

How about gospel star Marvin Sapp’s Tiny Desk Concert on NPR going viral?? The singer-songwriter’s 18 minute music set racked up the 12th most views on YouTube in 24 hours!: https://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2025/03/17.MarvinSappsTinyDeskConcertHitsOneMillionViewsinTwoWeeks!.asp

“I’ll bring my storm-tossed, torn sail, story-to-tell hallelujah
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh
God, You’ve been patient
God, You’ve been gracious
Faithful whatever I’m feeling or facing”

A stumper today! Next week’s is worth TWO $5 Watts Restaurant Gift Cards!

Thanks for listening!- Judah

Starting the week right!

Today we kept the motivation going strong – here are some of the uplifting songs we shared to start your week!

Name something you might associate with a pirate.

  1. Ship (29 votes)
  2. Sword (24)
  3. Scarf (23)
  4. Rum (16)
  5. Parrot (8)

Congratulations to Jack from Mount Vernon who guessed correctly and wins the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica.

Also, Rhonda from Mount Vernon won our Tim Hawkins tickets for this Saturday’s 1pm show. Congrats!

Thanks for listening!
– Joe

NZ Top 10 for 3/14/25

Praise the Lord it’s Friday! Here’s this week’s countdown:

10. For King & Country ft. Michael W. Smith – Place In This World
9. Brandon Lake – Hard Fought Hallelujah
8. Jamie MacDonald – Desperate
7. Brandon Lake – That’s Who I Praise
6. Jeremy Camp – Again
5. Megan Woods – The Truth
4. Leanna Crawford – Still Waters (Psalm 23)
3. Colton Dixon – Up + Up
2. Seph Schlueter – Running Back To You
1. Crowder – Somebody Prayed (6th week at #1)

New Music Friday adds this week:

Phil Wickham – The King is in the Room

Thanks for listening!
– Joe

Almost Friday…

Might as well rename Thursday this.

It’s Praise Thursday on The Afternoon Drive, and we had a ton of fun on the show today!

We shared encouragement to pick up your bible and get in the word again, because we need that encouragement just as much as you do!

We also gave away tickets to Tim Hawkins’ comedy routine March 22nd on the campus of MVNU! Congratulations to Doug Litteral for making me (Judah) laugh! He wins two VIP tickets to Hawkins’ 7pm show!

Marissa is going to see Tauren Wells this summer at the Ohio Sate Fair Summer Concert Series! She played Beat The Box Office and correctly named the track “Take It All Back” by Tauren!

This week’s track was another stumper. Call in next week for your chance to win TWO $5 Watts Restaurant Gift Card!

Thanks for listening!- Judah

Weird But True!

Our world is an amazing, and a very weird, place.

It’s Who Knew Wednesday on The Afternoon Drive, and what better to do for who knew than fun facts…weird fun facts!

Did you know…

A shark grows and loses up to 30,000 teeth in it’s lifetime!

A piece of cake more than 4,000 years old was found in an ancient tomb in Egypt! Must’ve been pretty stale.

Hamster’s teeth never stop growing! As if my fear of rodents needed to be even worse.

A group of jellyfish is called a ‘smack’. What?!

-I was born March 12, 1962 in Los Angeles, California

-I was one of the most feared sluggers in the MLB, known for my prodigious home runs and intimidating presence in the batter’s box.

-I won one World Series with the New York Mets (1986) and three with the New York Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999).

I am…Darryl Strawberry!

Congratulations to Maude from Mount Vernon, she wins the $5 Watts Restaurant Gift Card!

Thanks for listening!- Judah

Toby’s Coming To Columbus…

Ok, so we’re a little excited. Actually, VERY excited.

TobyMac is bringing his HITS DEEP tour, along with Crowder, CAIN, Ryan Stevenson and Terrian to Nationwide Arena in Columbus THIS Sunday night! For ticket information, check out our website WNZR.FM!

Still going strong, Toby dropped his latest album, Heaven On My Mind, last Friday!

Plus, Tasha Layton released her live album Worship Through It last Friday. The album features her hit single of the same way, and next week, on Sunday, March 16th, Layton appears as part of the Faith & Friends Series on Fox & Friends Weekend!

“So I hit my knees ’cause I’ve seen all heaven move
(Don’t matter if you hit rock bottom)
(My God pick you up when you call Him)
I pray, “Father, please” ’cause I’ve seen what He can do
(Don’t matter if the storm cloud coming)
(My God come through when you call Him)
These hands have no power
But there ain’t an hour He don’t come through
That’s why when mountains move, I say…”

That was ‘Somebody Prayed’ by Crowder, and congratulations to Scott from Mount Vernon! He wins TWO $5 Gift Cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica, since last week’s was a stumper!

Thanks for listening!- Judah

Maybe it’s okay…

Our family continues to join many others in mourning loss this week. Our friend Jessica, from Florida, died unexpectedly the last week of February. She leaves behind a husband and four kids. We’ve had some pretty transparent texts and calls with our daughter, who considered Jess to be like a big sister to her.

I keep thinking of this song…because maybe it’s okay, if I’m not okay…

Praising God in the good times and the bad times…we know what it’s like to broken and are thankful for His restoring power.

Name a popular candy bar!
1 – Hershey’s Chocolate bar (27 votes)
2 – Reese’s peanut butter cups (22)
3 – Snickers (21)
4 – KitKat (17)
5 – Twix (13)

Congratulations to Isabella from Mount Vernon, who guessed correctly and wins the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica.

Thanks for listening!
– Joe

NZ Top 10 for 3/7/25

Praise the Lord it’s Friday! Here’s the countdown for this week!

10. Andrew Ripp – Loves Got A Way

09. for KING + COUNTRY ft. Michael W. Smith – Place In This World [6th week at #9]

08. Jamie MacDonald – Desperate 

07. Jeremy Camp – Again

06. Brandon Lake – That’s Who I Praise

05. Leanna Crawford – Still Waters (Psalm 23) 

04. Megan Woods – The Truth

03. Colton Dixon – Up + Up

02. Seph Schlueter – Running Back To You

01. Crowder – Somebody Prayed [5th week at #1]

We debuted new music on the show as well, with The Afters and “You Never Gave Up on Me”!

Thanks for listening!- Judah

Finding Joy in Tough Moments

You’ve heard it before. I know, I know, it’s extremely cliché. But life is hard. Sometimes, its really hard. When it gets hard, what do we do? To be completely honest, I haven’t quite figured that part out. But what I have figured out is that when things feel overwhelming, the one place to turn where peace is always guaranteed is.

It’s Praise Thursday here on The Afternoon Drive, and if life has you down lately, you definitely aren’t alone. I’ve found it draining just getting through the week. But thankfully, we have a source that is the ultimate provider of joy:

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

When you feel overwhelmed with worry, anxiety or just exhaustion, remember that the source of true strength is not found in yourself, but in the Lord.

We also had some fun sharing weird, but very true facts, including Neil Armstrong selling his hair for $3,000. Wish I could sell mine for that much…

Today’s track was “Never Get Used To This” by Forrest Frank and JVKE. Congrats to Terry from Mount Vernon for naming the right tune. Since last week’s was a stumper, he wins TWO $5 Watts Restaurant Gift Cards!

Thanks for listening!- Judah

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑