We got into some big subject matter on the show today and a few times we needed to change the subject. 

Carmen almost got us started this morning with the Midweek Praise Break but quickly changed her mind and gave us a song from last week, Tauren Wells with Elevation Worship, on "Never Lost". Taking a hard right after that, she brought up omelettes! Apparently, Brandon Heath makes the best ones. 

She also got a new poinsettia plant at home and needed to name it but Bill stole her thunder. That required a 6-step apology but it also got us some suggestions on plant care over the text line. 

As the school year is under way, a change of routine is probably in order. Bill shared a list of habits and routines you might want to consider. 

Dave, on the other hand, is a creature of habit and has not changed his routine despite a change in circumstances. 

For this week's Midweek Praise Break, Carmen gave us a mashup of Agnus Dei/ King of Kings by Hillsong Worship, Build My Life by Pat Barrett and I Know A Name by Brandon Lake and CeCe Winans. 

When Dave saw that he had an incoming FaceTime call from his daughter-in-law, he anticipated that it would be his granddaughter. But, it was the youngest girl in the family rather than the oldest this time. 

Carmen shared how she has developed a sort of relationship with ChatGPT and that got us wondering just how much AI knows us. Especially with Dave as the subject matter since he doesn't interact with AI as much. 

Bill was encouraged by some news that Liberal Arts majors are gaining ground in the job market and that got us into a philosophical debate on-the-air and behind-the-scenes over AI. 

Once the conflict was resolved, Dave tried to change the subject but Carmen wanted to clear the air. Bill pointed out that the whole conversation was a subject that helped iron sharpen iron. 

00:32 Tauren Wells with Elevation Worship - Never Lost 

02:56 Brandon Heath makes the best omelettes 

07:25 Poppy The Poinsettia 

12:22 Bill's 6-step apology/ plant tips over text 

14:56 Routines for a stress-free morning 

19:26 Starting your day in the dark 

22:56 Midweek Praise Break - Agnus Dei/King of Kings, Build My Life, I Know A Name 

24:04 Recap 

25:35 FaceTime with Nora 

30:02 How well does ChatGPT know us? 

33:46 How well does ChatGPT know Dave? 

40:34 Liberal Arts majors gaining in job market 

48:10 Behind-the-scenes sparring on AI

53:20 Conflict resolved/ Dave changes the subject 

54:19 Bill's BIG Word

After a long bike ride last night, Dave took the option of making himself a PB&J for dinner. But then he wanted to know what options Bill and Carmen would take when it comes to the peanut butter and jelly flavors. 

There are a lot of options out there when it comes to Bible Studies. Carmen is often asked for recommendations and one of those she points people to is Elijah by Priscilla Shirer. And she's looking forward to a new one from Beth Moore for her Bible Study group. 

When you take the option of reading scripture, you see the good bad and ugly of the people the stories focus on. 

When you have the option to take the easy route or do something hard, the rewards of doing the hard thing can be much more valuable. 

Dave had the option of getting in the miles for his cycling challenge or mowing the yard. He chose the miles but needs to figure out when he can mow the yard. 

Bill shared an article from The Wall Street Journal reminding us to pray for Christians in China. And Carmen shared how those Christians who live in areas where they can be persecuted, have the option of a Bible that needs a special light to read the Word. 

Carmen is considering the option of decaffeinated coffee in the afternoons. Dave detests that idea. 

When getting dressed for a job interview over Zoom, would you take the option that Dave's son took of a suit and tie? 

00:32 PB&J Options 

04:33 PB&J Texts 

07:03 Elijah and Bible Studies for women 

11:51 Heroes warts and all 

15:40 Rewards of doing something hard 

19:32 Miles or Mower for Dave? 

22:16 Pray for China 

27:08 Spy Tech Bible 

31:17 Carmen's Caffeinated Coffee Crisis 

36:29 Texts 

38:32 Suit and tie for job interview 

42:04 face-to-face interviews vs online 

44:29 Bill's BIG Word

As Your Christmas Music Station come December, you may think of us as experts on the subject of Christmas. And we have to work well ahead of Christmas to be on top of things. Carmen ordered a pencil tree version of a Christmas tree that was viral on TikTok and is happy to report that it arrived. Dave, on the other hand, has some areas in his house that have been resting places for some of his home decorations. 

Dave, an expert bike rider, is raising money and awareness for the American Cancer Society by cycling 300 miles in the month of August. He is just over 2/3rds of the way done as of yesterday. 

They may be relatively new to the game of Mahjongg, but Carmen found herself helping her daughter, Abbey, with some Mahjonng classes and she learned a few tricks while Abbey led the class. 

Bill shared some ancient wisdom for the digital world and we continued the conversation on the moral center and comments. 

Carmen is excited for the return of Paige Brown's Fall Bible Study as she will gain some expertise through Paige on 1 John. 

You don't have to be an expert to know that Jinny Lu is now the World's Ugliest Dog. And speaking of dogs, Anne Wilson is a new dog owner. We'll get the chance to ask her about her dog and a few more topics when she is here later this week. 

They aren't experts but they are fans. Dave and Carmen are counting down the days until college football. 

Dave and Carmen want to know who the experts are that put together a study on "Good Neighbors". 

Carmen loves her word games but sometimes she needs a little more expertise to know what some of these words mean. Today she was prompted by a listener wanting to know if she got the Wordle word on yesterday's puzzle. 

That led to some further chats about what exactly aspic is and that Julia Child was an expert on the food product. 

00:32 Pencil tree arrived, not fall 

04:03 Dave's Decorations at home 

06:45 Dave's Weekend Rides 

09:48 Abbey's Mahjongg Weekend 

13:03 Ancient Wisdom for Digital World 

18:04 Moral center and comments 

22:17 Paige Brown's Fall 2026 Bible Study 

30:13 That You May Know 

33:59 Jinny Lu - World's Ugliest Dog 

37:09 Anne Wilson later this week 

38:30 19 days till college football 

44:14 Good Neighbors Study 

48:03 Carmen's bigger words  

51:32 Trying to convince Carmen on aspic 

54:18 Bill's BIG Word

If you saw a biography was written by AI, would you buy it? Bill shared the story of one writer who learned that someone else had written a biography about them using AI and was selling it online. As with anything incorporating AI, some discernment is needed. 

Dave has a couple of new songs but he wanted Bill and Carmen to decide which one to highlight. 

If you are in the Aiken, SC area and looking for something to do, go see Hannah Harper perform at the Praise Beneath The Stars. If you are closer to our main studios in the Tampa area next week, don't wait too long to decide on registering to win a chance to see Anne Wilson perform. 

Bill wanted a moment for skeptics. 

Carmen doesn't have to discern what to watch on TV now that the NFL Preseason has started. But Dave is more focused on his upcoming trip to LSU to catch their season opener. 

00:32 AI biography 

04:14 Developing Discernment 

07:46 New song from Francesca Battistelli 

10:22 Reaction to song 

15:32 Going down memory lane with Francesca 

18:59 A moment for skeptics 

24:18 The drought is over! Preseason football started

27:28 LSU Tailgating and GameDay

We started the show off today with a chat with American Idol winner, Hannah Harper. She's navigating a new path with her family's help on the road as she shares her talent. One of the places she is headed is to Praise Beneath The Stars, a benefit concert for iCare, an organization in the fight against Human Trafficking. That event takes place on Friday, August 14th at the USC Aiken Convocation Center. 

Do you remember the days of wandering the aisles at your local Blockbuster Video trying to decide what movie to rent? Well, now you can peruse the virtual aisles on Bingebuster.net which offers up tv shows and movies currently running on some of the major streaming channels in a virtual world very reminiscent of a Blockbuster Video store. 

Our own Michelle Tellone is navigating a new path on a healing journey after a recent diagnosis involving the "C" word. She shared that diagnosis with us as well as how she's hearing the songs differently and how we can pray for her. 

00:32 Hannah Harper - Raising Kids, American Idol and "String Cheese" 

04:28 Hannah Harper - Grand Ole Opry Debut, Her Prayer Life Now, and Faith in Country Music Community 

08:52 Hannah Harper - Duet with Kellie Pickler, Sponsorship with Sargento Cheese, Being a Part of Praise Beneath The Stars 

13:16 Praise Beneath The Stars with Hannah Harper 

14:54 Bingebuster.net 

18:38 Checking out bingebuster.net 

20:12 Michelle Tellone in next 

21:39 Michelle - getting the diagnosis 

31:27 Michelle - hearing songs differently now 

39:18 How we can pray for Michelle 

There's a lot going on now that schools are back in session. Everybody's busy with something! Bill's got some fun facts that he couldn't wait to share. We've got Ford Taylor coming to town this week and we've got a few more items on the calendar for this month. 

But since it is Wednesday, we needed to slow things down a bit and give you our Midweek Praise Break. This week's songs inlcude Never Lost by Elevation Worship and Tauren Wells, Lord I Need You by Matt Maher and Gratitude by Brandon Lake. 

We love seeing all the pics of kids heading back to school. 

One football player was too busy getting ready to practice that he missed something dangerous lurking in his helmet. 

With all that's going on, there are days that it feels like you can't get it all done. As Carmen reminds us, those days matter! 

The news headlines are so busy that you might have missed the news about the earthquake in Colombia. Bill shared some of that news with us this morning. 

There's lots of ways to tune into The Morning Cruise. How do you listen to us on your busy morning commute? 

Carmen's not too busy to go Christmas tree shopping. But it took her awhile to secure the tree she was hoping for. 

00:32 Schools in today/ Bill's Wednesday Fun Facts 

04:06 Ford Taylor, Busy August 

08:30 Midweek Praise Break - Never Lost (Elevation with Tauren Wells)/ Lord I Need You (Matt Maher)/ Gratitude (Brandon Lake)

10:22 Midweek Praise Break Recap 

12:04 Grandkids first day pics 

15:14 Snake in Football Helmet 

19:06 1% days matter 

23:10 text 

25:23 Colombia Earthquake 

30:39 How are you listening to us? 

34:19 Carmen's Christmas Tree quest 

40:38 Carmen finds the tree 

43:16 Bill's BIG Word 

It's not surprising to hear that Augusta is the #1 city on the rise. What is surprising is where Dave, Bill and Carmen would move to if they could work from anywhere! 

Carmen shared a video that'll make you wonder if its real as a raccoon was filmed falling out of the ceiling tiles at LaGuardia airport. 

When you discover that you share something in common with someone, is your response, "Really?". As more schools have their first day today, Bill wanted to talk about school and friendships. 

Later this week, Ford Taylor will be hosting a conference on Transformational Leadership. A lot of what he had to say will make you say "really?!" and what Carmen has to offer will have you saying it as well. 

A new study from the American Heart Association on coffee will have you questioning your habits. 

And Carmen is beginning to realize a dream as a new Dutch Bros is closer to being built near her. 

Bill was surprised when he shared a prayer and learned that AI had something to do with it. And Carmen had a similar reaction when she discovered an AI content creator. 

And the results of a survey on the number one fast food restaurant in the U.S. will have you saying "really?" 

00:32 Augusta - #1 on the rise 

03:30 Where would you work? 

06:10 Raccoon falls through ceiling tile at LaGuardia 

08:50 Schoool and Friendships 

14:10 Ford Taylor - Scholarships available 

18:45 Ford Taylor - relational vs transactional people 

29:05 Ford Taylor - gossip 

35:45 Ford Taylor scholarships 

37:39 American Heart Association Coffee Study

43:05 Russian Manicure and Dutch Bros 

45:56 AI Prayer 

53:13 AI Influencer 

58:49 Fast Food Survey 

1:05:36 Bill's BIG Word

Today is the start of the school year for a large portion of our listening audience. 

There's talk that MySpace isn't quite finished yet and may restart soon. 

Candice finished off a local TV interview about her e-bike accident with a joke and now that punchline is starting to make headlines globally. 

With the first day of school, there are bound to be some fails. We asked if you had experienced any. 

When Dave started out on his bike rides this weekend, he didn't expect the heat and to finish the last few miles in the rain. 

Carmen started out on her walk this weekend but soon realized she misjudged her measuring tool. 

As kids and teachers start back to school, Bill shared from 1 John 1:7. 

Staying up to finish a cake until 2am, paid off in a big way for one kid. 

The start of the NFL season happened this weekend as the newest members of the Hall Of Fame were inducted. 

Behind the scenes, we've been getting a lot of first day pics from coworkers. 

Looking for a city to get life started in? Check out Augusta, now the #1 city on the rise. 

Later this week, we'll have Ford Taylor in town helping those in Tampa get started on a new way of thinking about relationships. 

And Bill didn't get off to a great start with his BIG Word for the first day of school. 

00:32 First Day of School in Florida 

03:28 MySpace Relaunch 

06:53 Candice goes global 

13:06 Dealing with comments 

19:02 First Day Fails 

22:47 Texts 

25:32 Dave - weekend bike ride had heat and rain 

29:42 Carmen misjudged weekend heat 

34:30 1 John 1:7 

36:58 Kids cake sells for $15K 

41:32 NFL Hall of Fame Induction (Drew Brees) 

47:15 First Day Pics from Coworkers 

50:58 Augusta - #1 City on the rise 

53:58 Ford Taylor 

57:25 Bill's BIG Word homework missing 

The gap of no football on TV is closing as the Hall of Fame Game was last night. Carmen got us all caught up on the action. But Dave is still counting down the days for college football. 

Bill tried to give us an American Culture Quiz from The Wall Street Journal but there seems to be a gap in their thinking between culture and history, so Carmen gave us her own quiz as well. 

There are those that don't mind plant milk and there are those who don't get it. The gap between them is closing as more Americans move away from using plant-based milks. 

Staying in the beverage category, Carmen is trying to close the gap between those who like matcha and those who don't, as she is now on the train. 

As school is starting up again, Bill has a reminder for us to leave a gap between our cars and stopped school buses. 

And that gap we call summer break seems to be getting shorter and shorter with these earlier start dates for school. 

No word yet on whether or not Jules oldest daughter will be taking a gap year after graduation. She needs to get through her Senior Year first and Jules is struggling with that idea. 

Bill wanted to know if Suzie had any gaps in her education and he used a big word to ask. But Jules had a doozy of a story to share about that gap. 

If you went to a book club hosted by Jules, would you mind if she picked the book? And if she did the audio version as well? 

00:32 Football back on TV 

03:55 College Football Countdown 

07:17 WSJ American Culture Quiz 

13:01 Carmen's Culture Quiz 

15:33 Americans giving up on plant milks 

21:06 Matcha 

24:05 Back To School - don't pass the stopped bus 

28:46 Earlier Start Dates 

32:25 Jules - Suzie going into Senior Year 

34:39 Jules - Be Present rather than look forward 

39:18 Jules - Suzie's lacunae 

43:49 Jules - Book Club 

47:43 Bill's BIG Word

While on vacation, Dave lost his hat. To overcome that challenge, he ordered a new one and is anticipating the arrival of it today. 

Candice had to overcome quite the challenge after her e-bike accident. She shared her story yesterday on the Fox affiliate in Tampa as well as advocating for wearing a bike helmet. 

Carmen felt challenged to start up her Bible Study group. Now she's trying to figure out which Bible Study to do. 

Bill was still trying to overcome his challenge with Carmen and Dave after bypassing their offices with chocolate. As he shared some chocolate with them, he talked about calorie cutting and exercise. It got us thinking about our past fitness challenges. 

Dave overcame the challenge of having his house invaded by all the kids and grandkids. But now he's gearing up for round 2 as his youngest son and family are coming back for some dental work. 

Blessing Offor's song "Believe" is a song to help us overcome our doubts of God. 

Mahjongg can be a challenging game. But for some summer campers, they overcame the challenge and have a new favorite game. It could be because it's trendy to take up some "grandma hobbies" these days. 

00:32 Dave's lost hat and new order 

04:28 Candice on Fox 13 yesterday 

07:27 Women's Bible Study Ideas 

14:19 texts and having a study 

17:18 Chocolate and calories 

21:57 Our past fitness challenges 

27:10 The Invasion Part 2 

30:28 "Believe" in your love again 

33:17 Mahjongg summer camps 

38:00 Grandma hobbies/ Mahjongg giveaway coming soon 

40:20 Bill's BIG Word