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Encouragement and Operation Christmas Child

Today for Praise Thursday, we continued our series on core values from Craig Groeschel’s book #Struggles.

Today, we focused on the value of encouragement. The main verse for this section is Ephesians 4:29, which says  “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen“.

Craig talks a lot in this section about discouragement, and how we need to avoid that in order to be encouraging to others. We’ve all logged onto social media, or read an article online, and automatically saw negative remarks in the comments section. When we focus on those negative comments, we see peoples failures instead of encouraging them.

Next time you’re on Facebook and see something you don’t agree with, or have someone argue with you, you can either 1) not respond, or 2) respond, but PRAY before you do so you aren’t just producing more negativity.

When we are able to remove this type of discouragement from our lives, it leaves more room for us to encourage others and build them up.

Today was also our monthly focus on Operation Christmas Child. You can find out everything you need to know about OCC here. Congratulations to Damika who was our winner of the OCC water bottle.

Also, congratulations to Pat who won our 2-pack of tickets to see MTVArts’ Production of Beauty and The Beast tomorrow night.

Our Word of the Day was hoity-toity (hoy-tee-TOY-tee), an adjective meaning frivolous or marked by an air of high importance. You can read more on that here.

Have a great evening!

-Jess

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NZ Top 10 for July 1st!

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Happy Independence Day weekend!

Here’s this week’s NZ Top 10:
10. Francesca Battistelli – If We’re Honest
9. Jeremy Camp – Christ in Me
8. Stars G0 Dim – You Are Loved
7. Casting Crowns – Just Be Held
6. TobyMac – Move (Keep Walkin’)
5. Johnny Diaz – Breathe
4. Ryan Stevenson f/Gabe Real – Eye of the Storm
3. Danny Gokey – Tell Your Heart to Beat Again
2. 7eventh Time Down – God is on the Move
1. Lauren Daigle – Trust in You

This week’s Breakout Hit of the Week is a new song by a new artist to WNZR, Zach Williams, with ‘Chain Breaker.’ See the video here.
We also have a new song from Unspoken, ‘Higher,’ that debuted today. Here’s the lyric video.

Our Word of the Day is churrasco (choo-RAHS-coe), which means ‘meat cooked over an open fire.’  It’s originally a Spanish word that was adopted into the English language during the 1900’s.  It originates from the Spanish verb socarrar, which means to singe or scorch.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

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The values series: Compassion

struggles
Today we continue our series on reclaiming core values essential to our faith, inspired by Craig Grosechel’s book, #Struggles.  Find out more by clicking here.

The value this week is compassion, which means sympathetic concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. Why is compassion threatened in 2016?  Because we live in a selfie-centered world. Because a study by the University of Michigan shows that young adults, 18-24, over the last 30 years (from 1979 to 2009) have 40% less empathy.

We can be tempted to become more obsessed with ourselves in a culture that focuses on ‘our’ social media sites and selfies.  Selfish behavior is the enemy of compassion. Now, does this mean we toss out all of our social media or YouTube channels?  No, but we MUST get control of the technology in our lives without allowing it to control us and desensitize us to the legitimate needs of others.

John 3:30 reminds us that HE must become greater and I must become less. Matthew 16:24 reminds us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him.

How do we resurrect compassion in our lives? Or at least keep it as a core value? We have to get outside of ourselves…and follow Christ’s example.  It’s okay to pray, “Lord, help me to focus more on you and less on me.”  I earnestly believe that he’ll answer that prayer. Compassion isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s messy because we’re helping someone who is in a tough situation. But it still remains a critical value of our faith.

———–

We’re giving away family four-packs of tickets to the Living Word Outdoor Drama in Cambridge, Ohio this summer.  Congratulations to Laura of Mount Vernon who won today. Find out more by clicking here.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

 

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Back in the groove…

goal postEddie, Jess and I are back from four days of planning for the 2016-17 school year at our annual WNZR Leadership Team Bootcamp.  It was quite an eventful weekend of spiritual renewal, planning our calendar and getting to know each other. It started Wednesday night with a photo scavenger hunt. Here was the first picture I sent the group where I was ‘hiding.’ Can you guess where it was? (The answer is at the end of today’s post)

THANK YOU for praying for our staff as we prepare for the remainder of the summer and the start of the new school year.

This week, we’re getting ready to enjoy another First Friday and spend time with friends and family for the Independence Day holiday.

Today’s Mystery Monday question came from a recent Gallup poll about professions – 85% of Americans surveyed in December said this profession ranks highest for honestly and ethics.  The answer was nursing; congratulations to Lorna from Mount Vernon for guessing correctly and winning the $5 gift certificate from Troyer’s of Apple Valley and the Pier House Coffee Shop.

Our Word of the Day is crackerjack, which is an adjective meaning ‘of striking ability or excellence.’

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

(the answer to the picture question is Kenyon’s McBride Field…that’s the base of the north goal post!)

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Game time and goofy stories

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(Picture courtesy of The Daily Mail.com and the People’s Daily Online)

Today we shared some off-beat stories from around the world…

Our first was from China, where a man trying to fix his washing machine (above) got his head stuck…CLICK HERE for the story…

Next we head to Hungary, where the grave digging profession needed a little public relations boost!  See the story HERE.

…and back to the good ol’ USA, where we find there is actually hot dog etiquette?  Mustard trumps ketchup? Yes, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council! CLICK HERE for more.

For Song Poetry, out featured lyrics were from “Eye of the Storm” from Ryan Stevenson and Gabe Real. Congratulations to Samantha from Mount Vernon, who won the $5 gift certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley.

Today’s Name That Tune song was “Everlasting God” by Lincoln Brewster. Marian from Danville was our winner of the Troyer’s certificate.

Our Word of the Day is MacGuffin – a movie term originated by Alfred Hitchcock, which speaks to an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance. An example would be the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

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A salty Monday!

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Yep – it was a SALT SHAKER in the Mystery Box today!  Congratulations to Kayley of Mount Vernon for helping me guess correctly! She wins the $5 gift certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley.

Today’s Word of the Day is jamboree – which means a gathering of noisy merrymaking or a large gathering of a group with speeches or entertainment.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

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The values series: Authenticity

struggles

Today we continue our series on reclaiming values, inspired by the book #Struggles by Craig Groeschel.

The value today is authenticity, which is the quality of being genuine or transparent.  This value is difficult to reclaim for a variety of reasons.  We want to put on a good face or impression for those around us, so we tend to communicate with filters and veils.  Think about how we can now alter our photos to make ourselves look the best, even if we may be feeling the worst!

Craig shares 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 as inspiration for us: “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.”

What can we do to work on authenticity?  First, decide that we’ll let our identity be driven by God and not by people. Next, we can try a few of Craig’s suggestions next time we’re in a group of people:

  • not name drop
  • not draw attention to ourselves
  • not massage the truth to try to make ourselves look better
  • not use put-downs or criticism to make ourselves look better
  • strive to be humbly and gently honest in what we do

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

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Iced Tea and Flags!

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June is Iced Tea Month, so Eddie and I picked a couple of special iced tea recipes that you might want to try out this summer.

Mine was a Lemon-Blueberry Iced Tea mix that I found from Southern Living magazine.

The ingredients: 1 (12-oz.) package frozen blueberries; 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice; 3 family-size tea bags; 3/4 cup sugar.

The instructions: Bring blueberries and lemon juice to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Remove from heat; pour through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, using back of a spoon to squeeze out juice. Discard solids. Rinse saucepan clean.Then, bring 4 cups water to a boil in same saucepan; add 3 tea bags; let stand 5 minutes. Discard tea bags. Stir in sugar and blueberry juice mixture. Pour into a pitcher; cover and chill 1 hour. Serve over ice. Garnish, if desired.

Eddie’s is a Honey-Milk Tea found at AllRecipes.com.

The ingredients: 2 orange pekoe tea bags, 1 cup boiling water, 5 ice cubes, 4 teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk, and 3 teaspoons of honey.

The instructions: steep the tea bags in hot water until the color turns dark red, about 3 to 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags and let the tea cool.
Then, combine the ice cubes, sweetened condensed milk, and honey in a glass or cocktail shaker. Pour in the tea and mix well. (If the tea is still warm, the ice may melt; add more ice if desired.) A strong, flavorful milk tea is ready for you to enjoy.

Today’s Word of the Day is vexillology (vex-il-LOL-ih-gee), which means the study of flags. Totally appropriate for today, since it’s Flag Day.

Here is some proper flag etiquette:
1. Never let your flag touch the ground.
2. Old, retired flags should be burned or buried.
3. Don’t fly your flag at night without a light.
4. The U.S. flag is always at the top of the pole, with other flags flying below it.
5. The flag is normally flown from sunrise to sunset.

Thanks for listening!

-Joe

 

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Not the Monday we expected…

prayer-warriorToday is not the start of the week we anticipated.  I fully expected today would be spent sharing about the wedding our family attended Saturday.

Instead, we reflect on two tragic events that have our hearts aching for the families and wondering what we can do to stop violence as a response to conflict.  First, we mourn with the families of those lost – the Grimmie family from Friday and the many families impacted by the Pulse shooting early Sunday. We pray with and for them. I also pray for the Orlando officials dealing with two high-profile incidents and for their ability to effectively handle the discussions with family members and the onslaught of media coverage.

I pray for our individual responses to the tragedy – the blame and insulting rhetoric will be tossed around (it already has) by public figures and politicians.  Let’s not fall into that trap.  These were terrible decisions made by two individuals who were clearly broken and frustrated and chose violence, and ultimately death, as their solution.

I read a column today calling on our Washington leadership, in the White House and in Congress, to ‘go big’ and work together for sensible compromises.

Here’s my thought: while that may be admirable advice, if you want to ‘go big’ and you want a practical solution, start by looking in the mirror.  Look inside yourself and evaluate where your heart is. The only change that can have any lasting impact is the change in the human heart, which drives every decision you make and eventually, influences those around you. That change happens when you come to the end of yourself and allow Christ to take His rightful place there, on the throne of your heart.

Allowing Christ and HIS power to be your motivation and your fuel can help you overcome the anger and the frustration you may be feeling right now. It also helps you respond and be bold when you see evil and don’t know what to do. I challenge all of us to earnestly pray for the change we want to see in ourselves and in the world.

Philippians 4: 6-8 reminds us: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 

Word of the Day: paranymph – it means a groomsman or a bridesmaid.

Thanks for listening and keep those prayers lifted!

-Joe

 

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