A few weeks ago, we got the chance to sit down with Blessing Offor for the first time. We had a great conversation about many of the songs on his album, My Tribe, and learned about the foundation he has setup in honor of his sister, Mercy. 

Before we shared that chat, we reflected on the launch of our new signal in Chattanooga and prayed for the people of Baltimore after the Key Bridge collapse last night. 

00:32 Welcome Chattanooga

02:50 Katherine's cancer conversation

07:36 Call from Chattanooga

09:47 Chattanooga Tree Houses

12:51 Baltimore Bridge Collapse 

16:56 Pic for Emilie from Greg

19:58 Where To Find Easter Montage 

21:09 Blessing Offor - Meeting Chris Tomlin and Tin Roof

26:34 Blessing Offor - Back To Nigeria 

34:12 Believe 

38:29 My Tribe 

42:50 These Are The Days 

44:40 Brighter Days 

47:10 Rollin' 

48:35 The Voice (and staying humble)

As you travel throughout Florida, Georgia and Alabama, you can hear The JOY FM just about anywhere you go and now you can add Tennessee to the list of places we are helping you find JOY with the addition of a signal in Chattanooga at 95.3 FM. 

00:32 Announcement coming 

02:40 NCAA Brackets 

04:10 Power Up Chattanooga! 

11:07 Info and texts from listeners 

13:50 Hello Chattanooga! 

15:05 Jesus calls us friends 

17:28 ELVIS Act in Tennessee 

20:22 NCAA Brackets 

23:58 Holy Monday 

29:07 figs 

33:51 first text from TN 

35:49 Princess of Wales cancer diagnosis

40:01 2nd text from TN 

42:13 Essie's 5-year adoption anniversary 

46:57 Bill's BIG Word 

It's the Friday before Holy Week and we are ready for the weekend and a great week ahead. We were sort of all over the place tostart to the show but got things rolling with our reading of When God Weeps by Joni Eareckson Tada. 

Bill wondered how many people were on the train with him when it comes to washing fruits and veggies. 

Dave told us about a home for sale in Tennessee that once belonged to Johnny Cash. We were curious enough to look it up and see just how stunning it is. 

Carmen has dinner plans with friends on Sunday evening, but to help her out, they are eating much earlier than they are used to. 

Dave also shared the avenues that people are taking to be more active in this country and one sport in particular is drawing a lot of attention. Perhaps it is because of its quirky name. 

00:32 It's A Friday! 

03:41 He Became Sin - A reading from When God Weeps 

07:49 Washing Fruits and Veggies 

12:57 text responses 

15:04 Johnny Cash Home For Sale 

21:37 Dogwood Estates 

23:39 Carmen's early Sunday dinner 

28:59 text responses 

31:55 pickleball 

37:15 How pickleball got its name 

39:07 Bill's BIG Word 

As we get closer to Holy Week, Carmen thought it wasn't quite feeling like Easter yet, but she was ready for it. And you were too! So we pulled out the Easter Montage (hear it HERE).  Then we followed that up with CeCe Winans version of Holy Forever. We actually have an interview with CeCe setup soon and Carmen needs your help preparing for it. 

Bill has had a keen interest in all things AI. So he turned to the technology to help determine his bracket. But it wasn't an exact science. 

Dave gave us the good news that his wife is home from the hospital after a weeklong stay to improve her white blood cell count. 

It seems as though Hollywood is having a hard time coming up with new  ideas and the remakes and sequels they are currently producing are not doing well. That led to Bill turning to Ecclesiastes to look at meaning and satisfaction. 

Carmen got a DM from her first boss yesterday, and she wondered who gave you your first break. Among the responses we got, teachers were quite popular. 

Bill shared a list of proper etiquette in everyday life and that prompted a response from one Millenial listener. 

00:32 Doesn't feel like Easter 

04:38 How 'bout the montage? 

06:12 Response to the montage 

08:10 How 'bout CeCe Winans and Holy Forever? 

09:37 How bout a question for CeCe? 

13:11 Brackets via AI 

17:36 Emilie from the hospital

19:08 Remakes and sequels not doing well 

25:54 Meaning and satisfaction not on this side 

27:55 Who gave you your first break? 

33:12 Responses: teachers 

35:50 Etiquette, especially phones 

41:02 Response from Millenial 

Jackie Hill Perry wants more of God. Carmen's getting less sleep these days despite her tart cherry juice. She's also getting less sugar and helping others kick the sugar habit. And on the tart cherries, she could use a tart cherry smoothie recipe that is less sweet. 

Do you want Bill to play more of his "classic" games? He played one today that he called "Carmen Calls It". In response to that game, Carmen is looking more forward to Bill's birthday for a chance to turn the tables. 

More and more we are starting to see cassette tapes making a comeback. And that technology brings up a funny memory for Carmen. 

Bill shared some thoughts from Georgue Mueller on the goodness of God. 

We keep thinking more and more about our former coworker, Steve Swanson, who passed away late Sunday night. Carmen shared some more about him and his last words. 

McDonald's had a bit of an issue last week when they experienced a tech outage that hit stores across the globe. Carmen also learned recently that McDonald's has birthday cakes and she wanted to know more. 

00:32 Jackie Hill Perry - More of God 

03:22 Carmen's not sleeping 

05:47 Carmen kicking the sugar habit 

10:19 Tart Cherry Smoothie 

13:53 Carmen Calls It 

20:36 Trivia Day for Bill's BIrthday 

22:09 Cassettes coming back 

27:10 Carmen's auto-rev burglar 

31:26 George Mueller - God Is Good 

36:12 Steve Swanson's last words 

38:27 McDonald's tech outage 

42:45 McDonald's Birthday Cakes 

47:17 Tony's JOY Story 

49:06 Bill's BIG Word 

It's that time of year once again, as today is the first day of Spring, Bill is working on his March Madness bracket. Will his tactic for picking teams be a winning one? 

And since today is the first day of Spring, Bill was curious to see if the groundhogs' prognostications came around to be true. 

The community of neighbors and friends have come around Dave and his wife to help them around the house as Emilie continues her fight against cancer. 

Carmen spent some time focusing around the situation in Haiti. And BIll brought that around to discuss "My Kingdom Come". 

A lot of our JOY Stories share the stories of believers who once turned away from the Lord but have come back around. None of the stories that we have shared thus far have told the story in a way that Tony shares today. 

While giving an update on our tower in Georgia and building in Tampa, Carmen was reminded of the first breakdown in communication between her and Ed, who is overseeing the building project. It took some work for Ed to have come around and embrace his idea. 

Dave hopes for his wife's sake (as she is an avid crafter) that Joann's Fabrics is able to turn things around after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

If you are looking for a way for your old jeans to come around, you might try the jean recycling programs that Madewell and American Eagle have in place. 

Bill and Hitch have taken Carmen's advice and purchased white sneakers. Will Dave come around to make it a trio of fashionable footwear? 

00:32 Bill's Bracket System 

03:38 First Day of Spring 

06:00 Community helping Dave 

08:22 Lament for Haiti 

14:13 My Kingdom Come 

16:44 Tony's JOY Story 

19:08 Updates on building and tower 

22:03 texts on JOY Story/ Carmen vs Ed 

22:46 Carmen vs Ed on the slab for "artwork" 

33:09 Joann's Fabrics files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

37:34 Jean Recycling 

41:05 White Shoes 

43:13 Bill's BIG Word 

Today's show was a mix of emotions as we got an update on Emilie's hospital stay, Bill finally got ordained as a pastor, and we shared memories of Steve Swanson, a former colleague, who passed away last night. 

00:32 Sam Ponder and instilling confidence in girls

04:35 Kids and sports in video

09:03 Emilie update 

13:46 Bill got ordained

15:00 The ordination service 

20:10 Randy's sermon 

24:19 Irish party at Bill's ordination dinner 

29:04 St. Patrick and human slavery 

32:55 Relatable Peter 

38:26 Peter's first encounter/betrayal 

42:03 Steve Swanson's passing 

48:46 Memories of Steve 

54:00 March Madness Brackets 

58:10 JOY Story coming tomorrow 

1:00:21 Bill's BIG Word

We've got all sorts of provisions to talk about!  From food to books and God's word, you'll hear about on today's episode of The Morning Cruise Replay. 

00:32 Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup 

04:43 March Madness begins 

07:38 Friday Food Fun 

13:15 Chicken Shwarma 

16:22 Library fugitives and cat pics 

23:03 Community book boxes 

27:00 Jeremy Rosado video 

30:47 Tart Cherry Smoothies 

35:47 Cheapest Grocery Stores 

39:14 Instacart's higher prices 

43:49 text responses 

44:41 more text responses 

47:32 Psalm 144 

49:10 Bill's BIG Word

We started the show by sharing part of our conversation with Pat Barrett from earlier in the week ( listen to the full conversation HERE). It would be hard to measure just how much fun we had with him. It would probably be even harder to measure if we had Pat and his Dad on the show at the same time. 

If there was a measure for flavor of protein balls, Carmen's husband would find a certain protein ball difficult to measure for its lack of flavor. Carmen shared a video of Pete trying protein balls that she had found online but they were less than impressed with. 

While Dave's wife was getting chemotherapy yesterday, the staff noticed that when they measured her white blood cell count, it was very low. They got her to a hospital where she spent the night last night to keep her from getting sick and increase her hydration levels.  

As we shared that news, our text line and phone line had a number of prayer petitions for Dave and Emilie.  Bill used that opportunity to discuss the hope of resurrection. 

Carmen shared about a recent conversation with Josh Wilson about a friend with special needs. Josh helped that friend spread the ashes of the woman who raised him. For Josh, he was able to measure that that moment was the "thinnest the veil (between heaven and earth)" had ever been for him. 

As today is Pi Day, there are a ton of deals out there to be had. Especially when it comes to round foods. Dave can't stop thinking of pizza now, but there is a specific place in mind. 

00:32 Pat's Dad 

02:46 Pete, the protein balls guinea pig

08:39 Emilie's cancer update

14:21 Hope of Resurrection 

18:04 Josh - thinness of the veil 

25:02 text from listener 

26:32 Pi Day Deals 

29:58 Anticos Pizza 

33:31 Bill's BIG Word 

With Friendraiser, the time change, and 2 guests back-to-back, we've been busy and missed National Napping Day. As we shared that, we missed a couple of points on the subject. 

When Bill hits the gym, he heads for the dumbbells and kettle bells. We got all sorts of details on why they are called "dumbbells" and some of those, we could have gone without knowing.

In preparation for Pi Day, Google missed the point in an article with a headline looking at the most popular pies in each state, when the article highlighted the most unique pies searched for. 

Carmen has hit the 72-day mark of no sugar and she does not miss it! 

Looking for an easy recipe for Easter? Carmen found a recipe for Chicken Salad Easter Rolls that could be an instant hit...or miss! 

Bill hit upon some thoughts from Paul David Tripp on marriage and Carmen followed that up with her own thoughts. 

Need AI to help you with math? If you don't ask the right question, you might miss the answer. 

And Bill shared some thoughts on the truths that could be missing if AI is implemented with the Bible. 

00:32 National Napping Day 

04:53 Corrections 

06:31 Dumbbells and Kettle Bells 

11:51 texts 

13:06 Google Pie List for Pi Day 

19:36 72 Days of No Sugar

22:30 Easter Chicken Salad Rolls 

26:04 texts 

28:06 Marriage - Paul David Tripp 

33:23 Carmen - thoughts on marriage 

37:50 Star Trek helps AI with math 

42:45 AI vs Truth