Our good friend, Jim Houser, didn't get much time with his dad as he passed when Jim was a teenager. But he learned a valuable lesson that stuck with Jim about maintaining relationships with others. And he also touched on the disappointments he has had with his relationship with God but he recognizes the value of those disappointments. 

It got Dave thinking about the ways he connects with each of his sons. He'll be going to an LSU game with his middle son. He connects over comedy with his oldest and he's trying to figure out how he connects the best with his youngest. 

Bill talked about the ways in which he connects with each of his kids as well. 

Carmen is very happy to be in relationship with the women in her Bible Study. She's starting that back up tonight and loves just how much value they get out of their time together. 

Being a listener of this radio station is a relationship as we consider all listeners "family". And it takes the support of our listening family to financially support the operations of the station. As we gear up for Sharathon, it's surprising just how much of the audience gives towards our fundraising efforts. 

As Tropical Storm Edouard has made landfall in Louisiana, Bill wanted to know if that would impact Dave's upcoming trip. As we get closer to the fall season, Bill has an interest in seeing fall foliage which is something on his bucket list. Dave often claims he doesn't have a bucket but he realized that isn't necessarily the case. 

The Midweek Praise Break is a valuable time and this week we filled it with Nothing But The Blood by CeCe Winans, Oceans by Hillsong, and Never Lost by Tauren Wells. 

Being in relationship with someone can be hard at times. But truth in love is valuable to sustaining that relationship. 

Dave has done a lot of reflecting on a term that is new to us and sees a lot of value in "new joy". 

00:32 Jim Houser's Dad story 

03:07 Jim Houser - Disappointment in God 

08:22 Dave connecting with his sons 

11:51 Bill connecting with his sons 

14:57 Carmen's Bible Study starts tonight

18:48 Behaviors in her Bible Study 

22:50 Sharathon 

27:49 TS Edouard/ Bucket Lists - Fall Foliage/ Ireland 

32:48 Midweek Praise Break - Nothing But The Blood (CeCe Winans)/ Oceans (Hillsong)/ Never Lost (Tauren Wells) 

34:12 Midweek Praise Break Recap 

35:05 Truth in Love 

39:45 Healthy Relationships go through hard 

43:58 New Joy 

46:42 Psalms on JOY 

48:40 Bill's BIG Word

With Sharathon just 3 weeks away, we need your help with the running start to help us reach the goal. 

Dave has learned to not ask his sons what the grandkids want for their birthdays, but rather ask their wives. 

Flock cameras have become an issue. There is certain need for them, but the misuses of them and the privacy concerns have people wanting them off the street. 

Our good friend, Jim Houser, has been in town and we spent some time catching up with him. Back in the day as we tossed around the idea of The Summer Cruise, Jim wanted a new artist to join Dave, Bill and Carmen on the road. That artist was Brandon Heath. 

Jim also shared a lesson he learned from his dad and how he has handled disappointment with God. 

When Carmen wants to learn about a word she's not familiar with, she brings it to the show and asks Dave and Bill. But sometimes we need a little more help to explain it. 

What do you need to eat to live a long life? We're still not sure but a centenarian has gone viral for what she wants as a treat every night. 

Where do you want to go on vacation? We can help you get there. We just need your help with the running start towards Sharathon. 

00:32 Sharathon 

04:05 Dave's Popsmaxxing 

08:07 Flock Camera Issues 

12:13 Responses 

14:25 Jim Houser and The Summer Cruise 

19:52 His Perspective 

21:42 Jim's Dad 

24:07 Disappointment with God 

29:01 Carmen's Bigger Word 

32:24 More on capon 

34:30 100 yr old's nightly treat - hot dog and Diet Coke 

37:58 Sharathon and Vacay Your Way 

42:22 Bill's BIG Word

As Bill prepares for September, he's got to be ready for quite a bit of dental work and a wedding. 

Are you ready for new music from Brandon Lake? 

Are you ready for some football? It was Week 0 of college football and the last week of pre-season for the NFL. Carmen gave us all the details on what went down. 

When Bill arrived this morning, he had several stories ready for him to read. He questioned why he got one of those stories and then shared some fun facts about the #2 pencil. 

Dave was ready with some space news and some news about his grandson's baptism. 

If you are getting ready to paint, you'll want to hear what the Behr Color of the Year is. 

Dave had to quickly get ready to mulch his yard so that he wouldn't be in violation of the HOA. 

We are getting ready for Sharathon which is 3 weeks from today. 

We are also getting ready for Paige Brown's Bible Study that starts next Wednesday, September 9th. 

Bill is getting ready to officiate his oldest son's wedding. But he also wants to learn how to prepare a cup of matcha tea. 

00:32 September is Dentist Month for Bill 

03:18 Carmen's stuck floss 

06:41 New Brandon Lake song 

08:42 Football is back! Week 0 recap 

12:51 SLOW Running is beneficial 

14:43 #2 Pencils Fun Facts 

19:13 Rocket Launch 

22:21 Ransom's Baptism 

26:13 Paint Color of the Year 

29:15 Dave mulching 

32:36 Sharathon starts 3 weeks from today 

37:20 Paige Brown's Fall Bible Study 

39:26 Bill - Wedding Course Weekend 

42:53 Bill wants to learn to make matcha 

44:54 Bill's BIG Word

As college football players start to take the field in Week 0, Carmen wanted to give Bill a little payback for the questions he asked of her yesterday with some SEC Football Trivia. 

A lot of questions and concern are raised when someone gets a cancer diagnosis. That was the case for Michelle Tellone. But, today, we are celebrating with her as she got to ring the bell! Bill also shared a note of encouragement for anyone going through a hard time with Isaiah 43. 

Because of Carmen sharing her dream of being an audiobook narraotor yesterday, Dave brought up a story of a woman who had a dream that turned nightmarish in real life. And it had Carmen and Bill asking a lot of questions. 

Bill shared some research on morning habits, and while they sound great, Carmen had some questions about the validity of the claims. 

There's no question in our minds that when you ride an e-bike, you should be extra careful around others and on the roads. 

00:32 Carmen's College Payback 

06:42 SEC Trivia text 

09:16 Michelle rings the bell 

13:29 Encouragement from Isaiah 43 

16:14 Bat crawls in woman's mouth 

21:37 Texts and stories 

23:40 Research on Morning Habits 

29:10 Protein trends 

34:00 E-bike safety 

38:58 Week 0 games of interest 

41:10 Bill's BIG Word

After re-sharing some of our favorite moments remembering Dolly Parton from Wednesday's show, Carmen shared that she had a dream last night. And this one involved Dave Cruse as she dreamed of being an audiobook narrator. Bill then put her to the test with some famous literary lines. 

Bill was aware that it is Week 0 of College Football this week, only because he saw that YETI now has tumblers with college logos. 

Dave had a dream of a time with his grandkids last night, despite the A/C being out. 

Justin and Trisha Davis joined us for the first time in our new studios. Every time they join us they have some of the wildest stories to share and this time was no exception! 

00:32 Carmen dreams of being an audiobook narrator 

04:25 Famous First Lines 

08:22 NCAA YETI Tumblers 

12:30 Grateful for Grandkids 

16:01 Justin & Trisha Davis - a hard fought 31 years of marriage 

20:07 Their thoughts on Dolly Parton 

24:10 Updates on their bio dads

31:02 Messy Family 

36:12 The Honeymoon

42:18 We can't wait for more stories next time. 

Carmen was raised on the music of Dolly Parton and when we heard the news of her passing yesterday at the age of 80, a flood of memories came back. Most of this morning's show, we spent time reflecting on the impact she has had on so many and listening to much of her music including songs with the likes of Blessing Offor, for King & Country, Natalie Grant and Zach Williams. We even got a phone call from Luke Smallbone of for King & Country all the way from The Netherlands to share a story of working with Dolly. 

We also got a quick story from Dave about his grandkids being in town and we shared our Midweek Praise Break. This week's songs included Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Carrie Underwood/CeCe Winans)/ Firm Foundation (Cody Carnes)/ and Graves Into Gardens (Elevation Worship). 

00:32 Getting the news of Dolly Parton's passing 

05:51 Catching up with Dave's grandkids 

08:10 Midweek Praise Break - Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Firm Foundation, and Graves Into Gardens

10:15 Midweek Praise Break recap 

12:24 Dolly's Impact on our listening area

18:02 Reach of Imagination Library and Blessing Offor's Somebody's Child 

22:30 Luke Smallbone call

30:32 He's Alive 

33:06 Dolly's Love Story/ Step By Step - Natalie Grand and Dolly Parton 

37:32 Resetting today's show

44:00 Zach and Dolly Interview ( Part 1) 

51:00 Zach and Dolly Interview (Part 2) 

57:14 texts 

59:15 Bill's BIG Word

We had a number of issues to discuss on the show today: the faith walk of college students, Dave's mini invasion, Carmen's reduced dip problem, a stress-relief technique, humility, a musical institution shutting down, the price of beef and when the right time is for chili. 

00:32 Michael Kruger - Intellectual Struggles for College Students 

04:55 Follow-up: Campus Ministries 

09:39 Texts on Campus Ministries 

12:37 Dave's mini invasion 

14:27 Carmen's reduced dip issue 

19:36 responses

22:54 Rolled towel under hips for stress-relief 

26:20 Bill's results 

28:05 Humility 

32:00 James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:6, Philippians 2:3 

34:45 Columbia House Records shutting down 

38:26 Scholastic Book Fairs 

41:02 Increased price on beef 

44:11 Bill's magic spices/ right time for chili? 

47:10 Bill's BIG Word

When you think of Theo of Golden, does Tom Hanks come to mind? There's talk that he will help produce and star as Theo in a movie version of the book. And that got us thinking about aging and mindset. 

Bill is in a relaxed state of mind after a staycation with his wife over the weekend. 

Carmen went for a walk and got in the pool to beat the heat this weekend. Then she got it in her mind to watch a Bible Study on her laptop while enjoying the backyard pool. 

When Dave saw that Bay Turner's song was about to play, he had it in mind to share a new version with us this morning. 

One sweet listener had Carmen on her mind a few weeks ago when we were discussing hymnals and she sent a hymnal to Carmen. 

Dave's got a lot on his mind as he has a mini invasion coming to his house. So much on his mind that he forgot to plug his coffeemaker back in last night so he was sans-caffeine until Carmen came to the rescue. Speaking of coffee, Carmen is more of the mindset of an iced matcha latte in the afternoon these days. 

For Chick-fil-A fans, the new Chicken and Waffles Breakfast sandwich was on their minds today as it officially became available. 

Moving away to college, students have a lot to think about. As Michael Kruger pointed out, there faith is one of their biggest intellectual struggles. 

Clearly we had a lot of food and drink on the mind this morning. Dave told us how 7-Up is making a subtle but big change. 

After having some banana bread last week, it seems like bananas are on the minds of those offering banana-flavored drinks and sweet treats. Carmen would like them without the bananas, please! 

On her trip to Utah, Carmen's family had it in their minds to try In-N-Out as that seems to be a trend for people travelling out west. But once she saw a Del Taco she changed course. Her hot take, she wasn't impressed with either! 

00:32 Theo of Golden movie 

03:17 Aging and mindset 

06:23 Bill's staycation 

09:13 Poolside Bible Study/ New version of Somebody's Praying 

14:44 Listener sends hymnal 

18:06 Mini invasion starts today/ Dave's coffee issues 

21:39 Chicken and Waffles at Chick-fil-A 

24:57 texts and iced matcha lattes 

28:37 Michael Kruger - challenges of faith in culture

33:00 More on Kruger's thoughts 

37:42 New Lime-forward 7-Up 

42:31 Bananas having a moment 

47:45 Del Taco/ In-N-Out in Utah 

51:22 Carmen's hot take on In-N-Out 

55:04 Bill's BIG Word 

After resharing our conversation with Anne Wilson from yesterday' show, we talked about some great games. Among them: Mahjongg, Husker Du, Risk, Life, and Wordle. We also talked specialty ice creams and a possible movie in the works starring Tom Hanks. 

00:32 Specialty Ice Creams 

03:50 texts 

06:40 Floating Mahjongg

11:04 Mahjongg good for mental health

15:10 Husker - Du 

18:10 Gen Z playing older games

21:32 Dave's Wordle Hole-In-One 

23:53 Theo of Golden Movie in the Works 

25:52 Bill's BIG Word

Anne Wilson came to town to share her new song, Who I Am To You. Before she joined us, we got to talking about Dave's routine, the Hatch clock, school morning routine hacks, top sandwiches, egg frittatas and royal news. 

00:32 Dave's Routine and Missing Hat 

03:09 Hatch wake up machine 

06:24 Text us your school morning hacks 

10:11 Texts and listener routines 

12:57 Hellmann's Poll- Top Sandwich 

17:48 Carmen's Egg Frittatas 

21:26 Interest in Harry and Meghan? 

26:22 Harry and Meghan move to UK 

28:11 Anne Wilson - Update since last visit in 2021 

33:15 Anne Wilson - lyrical theology of Who I Am To You 

36:59 Anne Wilson - Artemis II Launch and My Jesus 

43:06 Anne Wilson - Famous Wilsons Game 

46:43 Anne Wilson - Dutch Bros and Me & Jesus 

52:43 Anne Wilson - experiencing loss and Carry Me 

58:03 Wrapping up our time with Anne Wilson