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Driving Notes

The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

Get into a Routine!

Today Lilly and I talked about five healthy nightly habits to help you ease into sleep and had a mystery question for your chance to win a $5 gift card to Troyers!

Here is our mystery question:

What Would You Hate To Live Next To, Because The Noise Would Prevent You From Sleeping?

Answers:

Airport: 31 points
Train: 24 points
Restaurant: 19 points
Fire Station: 9 points
Highway: 7 points
Dog: 6 points

 

Congratulations to David from Fredericktown who guessed those top two answers!

Here is the link to those five healthy nightly habits to ease into sleep!

Thank you so much for you’re support of the Afternoon Drive, we can’t express how much it means to us!

Hannah and Lilly

NZ Top 10 1/18

Here’s this week’s countdown!
10. Best News Ever – MercyMe
9. Survivor – Zach Williams
8. Confidence – Sanctus Real
7. Stand in Your Love – Josh Baldwin
6. Everything – TobyMac
5. Only Jesus – Casting Crowns
4. You Say – Lauren Daigle
3. Even Then – Micah Tyler
2. Who You Say I Am – Hillsong Worship
1. Known – Tauren Wells

New music came to us courtesy of Danny Gokey – “Haven’t Seen It Yet” and For King and Country – “God Only Knows“.

Thanks for listening!
– Joe and Lilly
Stay safe this weekend!

The building blocks for a prayerful father

Today Todd and I begin a new devotional series based on the book “Time With God for Fathers,” from Jack Countryman.  This devotional is meant to encourage fathers (and really all parents) with scripture that can guide them as they raise their children.

Today we focused on some building block verses from the NKJV:

The Essence of Worship – Psalm 95: 3-7
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
[a]In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep [b]of His hand.

We grow in our relationship with God when we worship Him…

Obedience is Essential – Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Obedience is expected by fathers of their children, but we also understand that our Heavenly father expects the same of us…

A Father’s Prayer – Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Guide me with my words and actions toward my children…

Listen to the Holy Spirit – John 14:14-18
14 If you [a]ask anything in My name, I will do it.
15 “If you love Me, [b]keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [c]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Meditate on God’s Word and the spirit will abide with you…

Thanks for listening!
– Joe

 

A Who-Knew about Nothing!

Yes, you read that right! Nothing! Today is Nothing day!
We couldn’t just celebrate by doing nothing, so we did something!

Nothing Day has been commemorated since 1973. The day is literally about doing nothing at all, placing it in a similar vein to other such surreal non-occasions as an Un-Birthday or Buy Nothing Day. There is absolutely no purpose or intended structure for this pointless celebration.
As it is all about expending no effort on celebrating absolutely nothing, Nothing Day can also be about celebrating life itself. The only limits on how the day is spent are the imagination and bank balance of the participant.

The day was first proposed by the late American newspaper columnist Harold Coffin. Nothing Day was founded with the intent of eventual self-destruction, through satirically reigning in what Coffin considered a glut of recently established, useless commemorative days. Coffin’s Nothing Organization was simultaneously formed in order to raise awareness. Fittingly, the organization has not yet held a single meeting. The continued official celebrations stand testament to Coffin’s ultimate failure.

So, for Nothing Day, we decided to share with you some things to do to celebrate today!

Do nothing for two minutes.
You can head to our blog and read the article we’re talking about today! They have a link to a two-minute timer with a nice sunset background. Or you can set a 2-minute timer on your phone, go somewhere quiet and just relax for 2 minutes! Block out distractions, don’t focus on work, just breathe and sit for two minutes.
As much as we’d like to, we cannot condone doing absolutely nothing for a day, but 2 minutes isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Get comfortable doing nothing!
Assuming you’re not dead, you’re always doing something – even if you’re just savoring the pleasures of idleness. But what’s usually meant by “doing nothing” is doing nothing useful. The problem is that “useful” gets defined in ways that don’t always serve our interests. Working harder to earn more to buy more stuff is useful for the people selling the stuff – but not necessarily for you. And usefulness is intrinsically future-oriented: it yanks you from the present, making savoring impossible. So perhaps “doing nothing” is synonymous with feeling alive.

Aimlessness, rest, and even boredom can boost creativity. There’s good reason why so many celebrated authors and artists incorporate long walks in their daily routines. One is the well-studied “incubation effect”: ceasing to focus on a project seems to give your unconscious permission to get to work. (In one study, people who knew they’d be returning to a creative-thinking task after a break did much better at it when they resumed, unlike those who weren’t expecting to return to the task – suggesting that it was unconscious processing, not simply taking a rest, that made the difference.)

Take a trip to the town of Nothing, Arizona.
It’s a 30-hour trip by car, so if you drive, and you’re the passenger, you can really get good at doing nothing. And just an FYI, Nothing, AZ is a ghost-town that has been uninhabited since 2011, so yes, it really is the epitome of nothing.

You can read more about Nothing Day here and here!

We also began a new feature here on the Afternoon Drive called the Who-Knew Food Corner! Because it’s not the Afternoon Drive without food, right?
Today for the WKFC, we’re celebrating International Hot and Spicy Food Day!
I shared a recipe for Nashville Style Hot Chicken, and you can find that here!
Check out some more hot and spicy recipes here!

Artist News + Prizes 1/15/19

Artist News Day and Game Time Tuesday today –

Todd started us off with details of the New Release Today and Visible Music College’s 7th Annual We Love Awards, where you can vote on 23 different categories of Christian Music.

You can vote by clicking here

Then today’s Song Poetry featured these lyrics:

I’m coming back to the start
I got this freedom
In here we feel your heart
Your heartbeat for us

The answer? “God’s Great Dance Floor” by Chris Tomlin.  Congratulations to Travis of Mount Vernon, who wins the $5 certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley.

Today’s Winter Jam Artist Trivia – Rend Collective originally contained what additional word in their band name?

The answer? Experiment. Congratulations to Marissa of Fredericktown who wins the passes to Winter Jam 2019.

Thanks for listening!
– Joe

 

How about those Resolutions?

A couple of the most common resolutions are to travel more and to lose weight.
Today on the Afternoon Drive, we talked about both of those things!

We shared with you some good tips for traveling and for weight loss!
Why this combination of topics? Well, it has to do with our Mystery Question!

The question today? Name a foreign country that people vacation to where they could easily pack on 10 pounds
Italy (54)
France (20)
England (5)
Mexico (5)
Germany (3)

Congratulations to our winner Kaleb from Fredericktown! 

Of course, our WNZR staff are travelers at heart, so here are some pictures from our staff that have ventured to some of the countries on our list!

Here are a few pictures from Daria Swisher when she traveled to Italy!

Here’s some more pictures of Italy from WNZR’s former News Director, Brooke Schnipke!

Here are some pictures from resident staff mom, Carol Buckley from Germany!

And here’s some pictures from yours truly when we traveled to Mexico!

Besides sharing pictures, we also shared= some tips on how to travel efficiently!

Try new food.

Don’t ask what it is. Just put it in your mouth and see if you like it. If you put your guard up, you might miss out on some unusual and delicious local cuisine.

Lunchtime is the best time to visit historical sites.

Be a contrarian. You’ll have fewer crowds getting in your way as big tour buses, groups, and most travelers head to lunch. It’s always best to visit an attraction super early, late, or when people eat. You’ll have even the most popular places to yourself!

To read the whole article and see all 61 travel tips, click here!

We also talked about the other common resolution… weight loss.
We shared three tips on how to help you lose weight this year!

  1. Cut back on starches and carbs
    The most important part is to cut back on sugars and starches (carbs).
    When you do that, your hunger levels go down and you end up eating much fewer calories. Now instead of burning carbs for energy, your body starts feeding off of stored fat.
  2. Eat protein, fat and vegetables      Each one of your meals should include a protein source, a fat source and low-carb vegetables. Constructing your meals in this way will automatically bring your carb intake into the recommended range of 20–50 grams per day.
  3. Lift weights three times a week
    You don’t need to exercise to lose weight on this plan, but it is recommended.
    The best option is to go to the gym 3–4 times a week. Do a warm-up and lift some weights. If you’re new to the gym, ask a trainer for some advice. To see the whole article, click here

Thanks for listening!
– Lilly and Hannah

NZ Top 10 1/11

Here’s this weeks countdown!

10. Zach Williams – Survivor
9. Josh Baldwin – Stand in Your Love
8. Sanctus Real – Confidence
7. For King and Country – Joy
6. TobyMac – Everything
5. Casting Crowns – Only Jesus
4. Micah Tyler – Even Then
3. Hillsong Worship – Who You Say I Am
2. Tauren Wells – Known
1. Lauren Daigle – You Say

Thanks for listening!
– Joe and Lilly

Believing what we say…Part 2

New Year’s resolutions… we talked about these last week…people making ‘changes’ for the new year.  But what does it really mean?  To RESOLVE to do something different in 2019.

Today we’re discussing some ideas for us to consider if we call ourselves Christians; people “of and for Christ.”  What are some things we could resolve to do differently in 2019 as believers?  Author and producer Phil Cooke offered some suggestions in an article this week where he challenged readers to do things that show we actually believe the Bible.  Last week we shared:

READ THE BIBLE
TAKE PRAYER SERIOUSLY
BE THE CHURCH INSTEAD OF JUST GOING TO CHURCH
BE MORE MINDFUL OF SOCIAL MEDIA

This week, here are four more:

SERVING OTHER PEOPLE: many people want to complain or gripe about how Christ is not “known” in the culture anymore.  Here’s a quote from Pastor John Piper, “Christ will be known in the culture when we begin treating people better than they deserve.” Knox County alone has so many great ways for you to get connected to serving others.  Your church probably does, too.  Think about practical ways to serve with nothing more than your hands and feet.

TAKING BOLD CHANCES: Phil Cooke shares that it’s rare that we hear of a standout leader in science, politics, business, or even entertainment who is a believer.  Maybe our influence is disappearing because we’re not raising up remarkable people in those fields.  What are we doing in the Christian community to find, mentor and raise up those types of leaders?

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF LIVING A MORAL LIFE: Rather than criticizing immorality in the outside culture, we lead by starting on the inside, becoming examples ourselves of what a moral life could accomplish.  The fall of Christian leaders does damage to our witness.  Losing our moral authority diminishes our chance to influence others…and the culture at large.

INVESTING OUR LIVES IN JESUS: we talked about living a moral life earlier, but that starts with investing in Jesus first.  In other words, not being so concerned about our status, title or position, but being concerned about investing in Christ first, and then letting him take care of the rest.

Thanks for listening!
– Joe and Todd

2019 is YOUR Year at Work and at School!

We all want to be more productive, right? Maybe one of your resolutions was to be more productive this year, whether that be at work or at school… maybe even both!
Today on the Drive, we shared 5 ways to be more productive at work, and another 5 on how to be more productive at school!

For work…
1. Stop multitasking

It can be tempting to want to take care of a few tasks at once, especially if they seem small or easy. But it simply doesn’t work. According to neuroscience professor Earl K. Miller, “multitasking is not humanly possible.” We’re fooling ourselves when we say we can easily juggle phone calls, presentations, and eating lunch. Focus on one task at a time, and you’ll actually end up completing it faster.

2. Take breaks

We might think working longer hours means we’re getting more done, but we never work as well when we’re burned out. Studies show taking regular breaks helps concentration and boosts your mood. Take a five-minute walk around the office, or spend 15 minutes grabbing that mid-afternoon coffee.

3. Set small goals

Sometimes, looking at our goals can be overwhelming. Seeing a handful of big projects on our calendar can be stressful… but if you break it up into smaller tasks, you’ll feel more in control and will be much more productive. Rather than write down “finish project,” break that into all the tasks it will take. This will keep you on track in your day-to-day and make the bigger projects seem less daunting.

4. Take care of the biggest tasks when you’re most alert

We all sometimes push aside big goals because we’re not confident we’ll accomplish them… And by the time we get to them, we’re too burned out from our day to give it the attention it needs. That’s how projects end up bleeding into additional days, and making it feel like productivity has disappeared.

5. Implement the “two-minute rule”

Make the most of your time at work by filling those tiny windows with actual tasks. According to entrepreneur Steve Olenski, finding and immediately completing tasks that take two minutes or less actually saves you time. So, if it takes less than two minutes, do it now.

The other aspect of the two-minute rule is that any goal or habit can be started in under two minutes. This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to complete every task in 120 seconds, but starting new goals is the first step to accomplishing them!

Here are 5 ways to be more productive at school…

1. Start homework within one hour of coming home.
It is important to get a snack and take a break.  It’s been a long day!  But, keep the break short so you can get homework done while your brain is fresh.  The later you wait, the more fatigued your brain will be.  In other words, the earlier that you do homework, the less time it will take.

2. Take advantage of “down time.”
We tend to do a lot of “waiting” during these hours.  Waiting for a ride home.  Waiting for a doctor appointment.  Waiting for basketball practice to start.  Pull out your homework and get something done!  You will be amazed how much you can do in ten-minutes.  In fact, your brain prefers shorter work segments. Your brain works faster during these short homework times than it will during a two-hour homework marathon.

3. Use a timer.
No one likes to do homework.  But, you can challenge yourself to do it fast by working to beat a timer.   Your body will respond to this challenge with a natural adrenaline rush that will last about 15-20 minutes.  That is PRIME time to be productive with your homework!

4. Power down.
Turn off all of your electronics.  I know this does not sound like fun, but electronic devices will always control you if you don’t control them.  Students who “power down” for 1-2 hours a night report getting their homework done 2-4x faster!  Try it.

5. Learn study skills to help you work efficiently.
The national and state education departments tell schools what they have to teach and there’s a LOT!  But, it is all content.  They do not allow schools the time to teach how to learn that content, which is absurd! Learning HOW to learn takes a little bit of guidance and practice, just as a baby needs when he first learns how to walk.  But, once you get it, you GET IT!  Study skills help all students, from those that struggle to those that get straight-A’s, use their brain’s strategically to get better grades in LESS time.

Thanks for listening!
– Lilly and Todd

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