Having attended the graveside service for Dave's wife yesterday, we know that upon his return there will be a difference, but we are looking forward to having him back. His granddaughter, Emmie, named after Emilie, certainly made the difference yesterday as she displayed so much empathy. 

When we have a praise break on The Morning Cruise, we know that it makes for a different sound on our airwaves but it also makes a difference for so many listeners. 

With Jayar filling in for Dave, he knows that Carmen's birthday is tomorrow, so he has done something different for the first time in 18 years. 

Knowing your love language and the love language of your spouse can make a difference. 

FriendRaiser feels different this year and we've got plenty of analogies to share as well. 

Did you know that the tea bag you use makes a difference to the water it is in. 

Jayar had a different sort of day yesterday and he shared some of the highlights. 

If you are one that struggles with prayer, Carmen has a book recommendation for you. 

00:32 Emilie's Graveside Service 

05:48 Dave and Emmie 

09:33 Praise Break 

11:28 Jayar - 18 years and no birthday gift for Carmen 

14:56 Love Languages Quiz 

19:16 FriendRaiser 

22:48 Tea as a filter

27:35 Doing a new thing 

32:42 Struggle with Prayer 

39:21 Book texts 

42:36 Bill's BIG Word

Our dependence on coffee use to rely on Starbucks. And now the coffee company is depending on a new strategy from their CEO to turn things around. For the past 5 years or so, Carmen’s been depending on her at-home coffeemaker.

Is Ranch a dip or a dressing? Depends on who you ask.

Bill shared a word from Paul David Tripp about our dependence on God.

Back in Victorian England, the size of your collar depended on the status of your wealth.

Depending on who you ask, Carmen is approachable. But when you ask ChatGPT (and Jayar) you tread lightly.

Jayar depended on his journal while in Jamaica to write down his thoughts and questions. He brought a question to Bill and Carmen about the “anchor for the soul” and how much we depend on hope.

When do people get their taxes done? Depends on what all they have to provide to the government.

Cotton’s husband, Garrett, is embarking on a new career path today as he officially becomes a police officer. Understandably, Cotton is a bit apprehensive but the support system she has found from listeners has helped her along the way.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but when Jayar saw Carmen’s shirt, he had to wonder what the reason for wearing it was.

00:32 Starbucks layoffs

04:25 Starbucks back to basics

06:11 Story of Carmen’s coffeemaker

10:11 Ranch – a dip or dressing?

12:36 Depending on God – Paul David Tripp

15:20 He is holding you

19:42 Status and Collars

23:46 Carmen needs to talk

26:44 Jayar- anchor for the soul

30:38 Taxes

34:05 Garrett graduating

37:44 Carmen’s prison orange

40:07 BWOD

We kicked off the show today with a chat with Hitch as he celebrates his birthday and that brought up the question of the preferred way to celebrate a birthday with a big get-together, a meaningful gift, or an unexpected gift or experience. For Carmen and Hitch, the experience was the preference. 

Over the weekend, many in Florida took in the experience of a Spring Training game and this year, they'll see the robot umpires having more of a presence. 

Carmen had quite the Florida experience over the weekend while out on a walk in her neighborhood. 

Jayar is back in for Dave after a weekend experience in Jamaica and he shared some meaningful moments from his journal of the trip. 

While we have experienced many fundraisers over the years, this year's FriendRaiser is about a month away and it already feels different. 

Bill got to experience some birds feeding in his backyard and now he needs help with some names for the birds. 

Having Jayar in in the mornings is quite the experience, on and off the mic! 

00:32 Hitch's Birthday 

03:52 Categories of Birthday gifts 

08:04 Spring Training 

14:13 Gator Near Sidewalk 

19:01 Jayar's Jamaica Trip 

27:14 Jayar's Journal - Marley and Cornerstone 

35:28 texts 

37:08 FriendRaiser a month away 

41:11 Cardinal Couple 

46:19 Name Suggestions 

47:51 Jayar's clock and Cain's devotional 

50:36 Bill's BIG Word

Jayar has shared that he has been having a hard time over the last several months. He shared an analogy of what it feels like with the doubts that creep in. 

As Dave continues to grieve the loss of his wife, we are doing what we can to walk alongside him through the hard parts. 

If you are going through something hard, take time to refresh your soul. 

As AI is making the workload easier for HR departments, it is certainly harder for job applicants to get to the interview stage. 

Jules often learns lessons the hard way and she had another hilarious experience that reminded her to slow down. She also shared our latest JOY Story featuring Holly who is the mother of a chronically ill child, which is certainly a hard job. 

Carmen has been having a hard time finding a meal delivery service that she likes. 

As it has been a hard week around here, we appreciate your support that you've shown in many different ways. 

Brandon Lake's new song, Hard Fought Hallelujah, certainly reflects how we view our walk with Jesus. 

Sometimes it helps to laugh your way through the hard parts. We just had to share our funniest moment from the week. 

00:32 Jayar's analogies 

01:27 Jayar - doubts like rats in the attic 

08:48 Walking with Dave 

11:46 Refresh Your Soul 

15:46 Job Applications 

21:24 responses 

24:11 Jules - Running Car 

27:24 Jules - JOY Story  

30:35 meal kits 

37:08 responses 

41:02 reflecting on a hard week 

48:36 Hard Fought Hallelujah 

51:06 laughing through the hard 

53:30 President's Day - George Washington's teeth 

57:39 Bill's BIG Word

Bill was missing Dave this morning in a discussion on the planets but he doesn't want you to miss out on the planetary parade in the skies. 

Around here, we've got a lot of February birthdays so Carmen was wondering what happens in May... 

Jonathan Pokluda asked ChatGPT a question about religion that was surprising for many and a must-see. And Ben Stuart has a message on the reliability of the New Testament that you don't want to see. 

While we miss Dave, we understand the need for some time away but were happy to have a few minutes with him yesterday for a quick visit. 

We don't want you to miss out on an upcoming chat with Jonathan Pokluda about his new book, Your Story Has A Villain. 

Carmen shared the viral story of a wedding that featured a loud toddler making noise during the nuptials. Would you miss out on a wedding if your child was crying during the vows? 

Jayar has been going through it and he shared how the doubts he has are like rats in the attic. Trust us, you don't want to miss what he had to say. 

Often, when we come across a life hack, we'll find a way to save it so we don't miss it later. But, inevitably, we forget all about it. Carmen has a similar issue with taking screenshots of stuff she wants to revisit but then her camera feed becomes cluttered. 

Mohair is watching Dave's dog, Lagni. When it is time for Lagni to go back to Dave, Carmen is sure that Mohair will miss the dog quite a bit! 

Jayar is flying away for the weekend but with the news of the Delta accident in Toronto, would Jayar be willing to miss his flight? 

00:32 Planetary Parade 

03:51 February Birthdays 

05:52 Jonathan Pokluda on AI 

08:57 Ben Stuart talk on reliability of New Testament 

12:54 Quick Visit with Dave 

15:13 Your Story Has A Villain 

20:23 Crying Child at Wedding 

28:49 More on Crying Child at Wedding 

34:13 Jayar - doubts like rats in the attic

42:45 Saving life hacks on Instagram 

47:01 Carmen's camera roll 

50:39 Lagni and Mohair 

54:12 Would you fly after Toronto accident? 

59:25 Bill's BIG Word 

As we continue to work through the emotional loss of Dave's wife, Emilie, we shared a story of how one listener who was close with her might have reacted. And we revisited Emilie's journal entry as she was working her way through chemo. 

One way that we are starting to work through our week is with the Midweek Praise Break. And this week's selections are helping us work our way through Emilie's passing. 

Bill told us how his granddaughter is motivated to get through the things she needs to do so she can watch a new episode of Danny Go. And that Carmen and Jayar reminiscing about the shows that worked for their kids. 

Carmen and her husband were very proud that they worked their way through some technical issues to cast to her TV. 

With the increase on prices for orange juice and eggs, we may have to get a little creative to work our way through it. 

To help Dave, Carmen offered to have her mom watch their dog, Lagni. But will Mohair's approach work for Dave? 

If you would like to send a card for Dave, visit thejoyfm.com for details. 

As Carmen was thinking about Emilie, she came to the realization that her family would have this as a marker through their lives of a time before and after her passing. 

00:32 She Made It 

04:28 Emilie's Journal Entry 

08:21 Midweek Praise Break 

11:19 Kids Shows 

14:10 Carmen casts to her TV 

18:54 Orange Juice and Eggs 

25:43 Egg texts and goats 

30:51 Lagni 

35:57 Where to send cards 

36:13 Before and After Emilie

Last night, we received word that Dave's wife, Emilie, had passed away and is now walking alongside Jesus. Bill and Carmen spent the morning grieving the loss and remembering her life and legacy. 

00:32 Sharing the news of Emilie's passing for the first time 

03:42 1 Corinthians 11:26 

06:55 A model marriage 

11:48 Emilie's call to Bill during Dave's interview process 

15:11 Emilie made clothes for Carmen's Raggedy Anne doll 

19:49 John 16:20 

21:55 Walkin' Her Home 

27:08 Bill's last text exchange with Emilie 

31:04 Carmen reads a journal entry from Emilie 

35:27 Where to send cards 

35:54 Emilie's big personality 

39:06 mourning is a ministry 

43:42 sharing the Truth 

50:04 We grieve together 

Bill's son-in-law, Christian, got a helpful lesson from the HVAC guy that came to fix their A/C. Bill found it helpful to celebrate Valentine's Day for breakfast on Saturday. 

Jonathan Pokludaa has a new book that is sure to help you wrestle with the villian in your story. And he's got some What If questions you may want to ask yourself. 

Jayar needed a little extra help to wake up this morning and he wanted to blame the poor sleep on red dye. 

Jayar's son could have used some help to get to his seat to see Messi play a soccer game on Friday, but they had to miss out on the opportunity as he was dealing with a hamstring issue that made it nearly impossible to walk. 

Bill told us how the Meta glasses are helping the blind. 

Carmen gave us some helpful fashion advice with skinny jeans. 

And Bill wanted to help us get a lesson on President's Day but a lesson that Jayar learned back in college did not help us stay on track. 

Saturday was a time that helped Carmen spend some time with her girls and Jayar spend some time with coworkers and friends. 

Our chat about George Washington's teeth had Carmen thinking about a story when her dad needed help replacing his dentures. 

And BIll turned to AI for some help with his BIG Word and got a word that doesn't exist...yet! 

00:32 HVAC Lesson for Christian 

04:51 Valentine's Breakfast 

07:35 Yesterday's chat with Jonathan Pokluda 

11:40 Jonathan Pokluda - What If Prayers 

15:30 Jayar Red Dye 

18:19 Messi miss for Boston 

23:39 Meta glasses help blind 

30:23 Skinny jeans coming back

35:39 texts 

38:58 President's Day - 1 tooth 

42:56 1 tooth? Really? 

45:58 Saturday walk and Willa 

51:34 Stories of Lost Teeth 

56:30 Bill's BIG Word

It's Valentine's Day and Carmen made sure Bill didn't forget it! With Dave out, Jayar joined us once again this morning and while we love having him here we had to give him a little bit of a hard time for brushing his teeth in the communal sink! Jayar is also celebrating his 17th anniversary here at the station this week and he answered 17 questions and felt the love from listeners this week. 

Jayar and his son love the game of soccer and they are going to see "the G.O.A.T" tonight! 

To show our love to listeners, we've got a special treat on Instagram. 

Sometimes, in love, an apology needs to be shared. And Ford Taylor has a 6-step apology that will help you with any relationship. 

A lot of flowers will be coming through the Miami airport today in celebration of Valentine's Day. 

Jayar apparently loved the Paddington movies so much that he's going to see the latest one in theatres by himself this weekend. 

And we love a good story or two from Jules. 

00:32 Reminding Bill it's Valentine's Day 

03:57 Jayar Brushing in the sink 

06:48 17 questions recap 

09:48 Jayar and son going to see Messi 

16:45 Treat for you on Instagram 

18:09 Ford Taylor's Six Steps 

23:01 Ford Taylor clip 

27:07 Valetine's Gift for you

32:36 Flowers imported 

38:50 Jayar going to see Paddington movie 

43:43 Jules - Prideful 

47:20 Jules - Pulled Over 

51:31 Bill's BIG Word

Jules may not have been at her best with the stories she shared, but her stories are the best! 

A.J. Brown did his best to keep a promise to a young Philadelphia fan who was recently injured in the plane crash there. 

One way A.J. Brown worked to do his best on the football field was through a book that has now gone viral after seeing him read it on the sidelines. 

What are some of the best words associated with love that you wouldn't expect? Bill fills us in. 

Carmen is often asked, "what are the best Bible studies out there?" One of her favorite authors on her list is Kristi McLelland and she has a new study called "Luke In The Land". 

At church the other night, Bill was asked what the best cheese in the world was as we had discussed that on the show. He, of course, couldn't remember, as we talked about it back in December. 

What's the best song on the airwaves at the moment? In the #1 spot is Crowder's "Somebody Prayed" and we had to share how we surprised him with the announcement that that song would be hitting the airwaves. 

The best cheese that Bill was asked about came from the band, Tillamook. And you could win a boatload of their cheeses! 

Is naming an animal after your ex the best way to celebrate Valentine's Day? 

00:32 Jules - Prideful 

04:10 Jules - Pulled Over 

08:27 A.J. Brown makes good on promise 

11:23 Inner Excellence 

14:16 Words associated with Love 

17:48 Love and Confession 

23:20 Kristi McLelland - Luke In The Land 

27:39 Best Cheese in the World 

30:32 Crowder - Somebody Prayed at #1 

32:59 Somebody Prayed Interview Clip 

37:18 Win a Boatload of Tillamook Cheese

41:23 Naming Animals After Your Ex 

43:14 Bill's BIG Word