You should be wide awake after hearing today's eye-opening show. Bill got us started with some thoughts on memorizing scripture. 

Dave then perked us up with some chatter on coffee makers and how he is planning to add one more to our collection around the office. You can definitely say we have an emotional relationship with the beverage around here. 

Carmen shared a question from Storyworth, a service that is asking her mom and aunt questions that will eventually be turned into a family keepsake. One of those questions had us opening up about the most important person in our lives. 

We couldn't believe our eyes yesterday to see the beginning of the Georgia tower going up, earlier than anticipated. Carmen gave us a bit more of an update on the tower and on the building in Florida. 

If you have purchased Robitussin Honey cough syrup, keep your eyes open as Dave told us about a recall on the product. 

Carmen's eyes have been fixed on a lot of football news as the off-season gets underway and many eyes are on the transfer portal. 

Bill told us how one man's keen eye paid off big time at Crater of Diamonds National Park. 

Keep your eyes peeled for a new product offering from Oreo that could get you a trip to space. 

00:32 Scripture Memorization 

04:55 More thoughts on scripture memorization

10:48 Coffee makers galore! 

15:14 Emotional relationship with coffee 

19:07 Most Important Person In Your Life? 

24:00 Text Responses 

27:42 Text from a leader 

28:05 Carmen's response 

32:37 Tower and Building Update 

35:16 Recall on Robitussin Honey Cough Syrup 

39:04 Transfer Portals open 

46:27 Oreo Space Dunk Contest 

49:22 Bill's BIG Word 

We went in just about every direction on the show today! Dave started us off with a little course correction for Bill on his pronunciation of a very Southern word. That led to Bill sharing a recipe he came across for Turnip Green Soup. 

We've been trying to get Blessing Offor on the show for awhile now. It took him going to Nigeria and connecting over video chat to talk with us and share why he was there. 

Bill missed an opportunity to ask Brandon Heath earlier this week about his upcoming travel plans. So, he asked Carmen and Dave some "Would You Rather - Travel Edition" questions. 

Carmen shared that her summer vacations include checking off a bucket list item for her this year. 

Jules and Carmen agreed to read a book in 2024 together. Carmen got started but Jules forgot which book. After reading a little bit of it, Carmen offered Jules the chance to take it much slower. 

Hotels are changing the way you access your rooms. In an effort to be more sustainable, some hotels are ditching the plastic keycards in favor of wooden keycards. 

Carmen was excited when she saw some pictures and video of the tower base going up in Georgia...ahead of schedule! 

Dave was disappointed that Carmen and Bill went in different directions with some stories he had on hand yesterday, so he shared the story he was hoping to share today. And it did not go over well with Carmen. But then, Carmen shared the story of one passenger's actions that did not go well for the other travelers and caused the plane to be diiverted. 

Bill tried to course correct and offer some positive news for the airlines to finish off the show. 

00:32 Vittles 

03:20 Turnip Green Soup 

07:13 Blessing Offor from Nigeria 

11:03 More with Blessing Offor 

13:43 Would You Rather Travel Edition 

17:43 Banff 

20:17 Jules - Reading Martin Luther 

27:08 Text responses

28:38 Wooden Keycards 

34:13 GA Tower Base GOING UP! 

38:18 Stuck in Plane Bathroom 

45:38 Overly Flatulent Passenger 

49:27 Best/Worst Airlines 

Want to hear more from Brandon Heath? He joined us yesterday for most of the show and then after the show he wanted to have one more chat which we recorded and shared with you this morning. That led to us sharing some more reflections from our time with him. 

Carmen told us how one woman got in trouble with the law for taking more Stanley cups than one can imagine and brazenly walking out of the store! 

We all know Carmen's liking for the Stanley Adventure Quencher Tumbler but one teen in Alabama has more than one could ever need! 

Want more than a second date? Bill told us how one woman takes her dates to the library for the second meeting to determine if there will be a third and possibly more dates ahead. 

Do you keep adding more attributes to your list of a perfect spouse? Bill shared an article from The Gospel Coalition that cuts back on that idea and recommends a solid biblical basis for a relationship. 

Every few years, the south is treated to the song of millions of cicadas during the summer. This summer, there will be millions more than we are used to as 2 broods will be active together for the first time in more than 200 years. 

Wanting more in your walk with God? Camren shared some thoughts on listening to the music we play and choosing to believe. Bill followed that up with some more discussion on the idea of "Gospel your heart". 

Dave told a story about a stolen truck that had us wondering what more could be done. 

Want more quiet time and possibly a large supply of yogurt? Siggi's Dairy is offering a digital detox challenge for you to spend more time away from the distractions offered by the technology in our hands. 

00:32 Brandon Heath and Warts! 

04:30 Reflections on Brandon's visit 

08:42 Stanley cups theft 

13:56 Teen's Stanley cup obsession 

18:18 Second date at library 

21:38 Perfect spouse? 

26:46 Cicada broods this summer 

31:39 Cicada texts 

32:56 Choose To Believe 

37:44 Gospel Your Heart 

40:00 Stolen truck tracked to UAE

44:33 Yogurt Company Digital Detox Challenge 

49:10 BIll's BIG Word 

Our longtime friend, Brandon Heath, joined us in the studio this morning. We shared a lot of memories that we've had with him over the years while listening to brand new music in anticipation of the "God Is Good" Tour coming through Alabama, Florida and Georgia. 

00:32 Almost a month since Christmas 

02:00 The Gift That Emilie Never Gave 

04:20 Review Subscriptions 

09:22 NFL Playoffs 

13:10 Brandon Heath concerts coming soon 

15:44 The Only Artist We Don't Prepare For 

19:16 Memory Lane Monday 

25:06 Remembering Melissa Moore 

30:42 About the new album

39:33 The Candy Store story and Can We Go Home Now 

44:58 reactions to Can We Go Home Now 

46:40 upcoming concerts and Instagram Ticket Giveaway 

52:06 A Gift for Dave and Gospel Truth 

57:17 The album is still not done 

59:00 Love Never Fails and Thank You. Need You. Love You. Amen

1:02:21  Bill's thoughts on Thank You. Need You. Love You. Amen. 

1:05:33 Jesus In Disguise and hearing music on radio and live in concert

With 3 daughters, it can be hard to show affinity evenly. Jules recently asked Bill for some advice dealing with the age gap between her two teenagers and a 10-year-old. To help the 10-year-old out, Jules' husband, David, took her skiing for the first time. It was an activity he did not have an affinity for until Jules took him for the first time several years ago. 

Jules also got some help from Haley in communicating with one of her daughters for an assignment at school. 

If your loved one has an affinity for pickles, you may want to get them a pickle bouquet. And you may want to do it even if they don't like pickles, now that Carmen is putting dinner and tickets to a concert on the line. 

Bill has an affinity for sharing random facts on the show. He just needs to find the right title for his presentation of those facts. 

Being from the south, Dave and Carmen both have an affinity for pimento cheese. Carmen had some leftover that she shared with Dave and Emilie. She just left one detail out about the ingredients she used...until this morning! 

If you're like Carmen and have an affinity for Reese's Eggs, you can now have them delivered to your home "direct from the factory"! 

Bill shared some findings from a study that looked at just how much Americans like using voice assistants. But what voice do they have an affinity for? 

If you have an affinity for the teachings of Paige Brown, you should know that week 2 of her Bible Study has been postponed but you can still access the teaching from week 1!

00:32 Jules - Daddy/ Daughter Ski Trip 

03:31 Jules - co-parenting with Haley 

06:25 Pickle Bouquet 

10:47 texts and contest 

13:40 contest guidelines

14:17 Amazing Fact Friday 

20:17 Blessing Offor next week

20:52 Pimento Cheese tasting 

26:24 Reese's Eggs Direct From The Factory

29:19 find the link on themorningcruise.com

29:38 Voice Assistants and voice options 

35:11 Paige Brown cancelled this week 

36:41 Bill's BIG Word

We got a lot of responses to the conversations we had on today's show. 

Carmen got us started with some points on prayer from her pastor. 

Bill shared a bad poem that we had several suggestions on how to improve it. 

Dave thinks the weather lately would be a good time for cheese toast. As he pondered that, we heard from quite a few people that have never had it! 

Carmen shared a prayer for her children and we had several requests to repeat what she said, 

When Carmen heard that Madison Cain would be on the phone with Jayar, she responded with a request to chat with her on her own. 

He may not have done well on a test before he was drafted, but C.J. Stroud has responded in a big way that has paid off with a postseason run for the Houston Texans. 

Carmen got a question about dress options for a mother of the groom and she brought that question to the show. We got many responses with suggestions on where to shop. 

As Dave's wife, Emilie, has needed to isolate while dealing with chemo, FaceTime and calls have come through in a big way for her. 

In response to that conversation, Carmen learned of Spoonful of Comfort, a service that provides all sorts of care packages to the homebound. 

00:32 Prayer Points from Aaron Burke

04:22 Avoiding Transactional Prayer

08:09 Bad Poem Improvement 

11:21 Responses

13:26 Cheese Toast 

17:55 Responses 

21:13 Prayer For Our Children 

26:58 Responses 

28:13 Carmen's chat with Madison Cain 

32:45 CJ Stroud and football brain science 

37:23 Mother of Groom Question for Carmen 

41:58 Responses 

44:57 Kids FaceTime with Emilie 

48:27 Spoonful of Comfort 

51:12 Bill's BIG Word

Today's show was a big helping of people coming to the aid of others. Dave had been trying to come to the aid of Carmen but was having trouble remembering to bring something in for her. He finally got around to it this morning. 

Bill shared how he and his wife sought the help and wisdom of an older couple in the early days of their marriage and now Bill and Kimberly have become that couple that younger couples seek advice from. 

Dave came to the aid of 2 of his sons yesterday. One had a question about his car and the other needed help with his rice. 

Carmen shared some unwritten workplace rules that may help you be a better coworker. We also heard from many of you with some additional rules suggestions. 

Carmen followed that up with a story of Hulk Hogan coming to the aid of a teen girl that was in an accident just ahead of him. 

That led to Bill sharing some of the weird injuries that led to ER visits. And we got quite a few texts describing the weird injuries that required medical attention for listeners. 

We've needed a lot of help to replace the tower that fell in Georgia just over one year ago. We're getting closer to rebuilding and Carmen gave us an update. 

Dave told us how playing guitar helped one Florida man and his doctors during a brain surgery. We heard from Dana, a distant family member of the man, who asked for prayer as he continues to recover. 

00:32 Dave leaves gift for Carmen

02:38 Catalogue and Dad's Strawberries 

07:31 Intergenerational Relationships 

11:32 Sons texting questions

13:34 Workplace Unwritten Rules 

21:04 More Workplace Unwritten Rules

25:01 Hulk Hogan comes to the rescue 

28:43 Strange Injuries 

31:40 Weird Injuries from listeners 

34:32 GA Tower Update 

39:52 Patient plays guitar during brain surgery 

42:08 Family member asks for prayer 

43:26 Bill's BIG Word

You might think we just got done with birdwatching after today's show as there were quite a few bird-centric conversations throughout the morning. 

While it didn't necessarily start the way, you could argue that the rose garden/ backyard is a common place to do birdwatching. Carmen is more interested in starting a rose garden and she got quite a bit of support from listeners offering suggestions. Bill, on the other hand, has a bit of yard envy, and wants his yard to be a bit more like his neighbor's yard. 

For the early birds that make a pit stop at Starbucks, like Carmen; she was wondering what happened to the cup sleeves. We quickly learned from like minded individuals that you can buy reusable sleeves online. 

The Philadelphia Eagles had a long flight back home last night after the Bucs beat them in the NFL Playoffs. And that had Dave wondering how Popeye's planned to continue with their promotion for their new wings. 

'In Christ Alone' is among the most popular modern church hymns and often you can find a chorus of believers singing that song. For Joni Eareckson Tada, there is one stanza that stands out. Bill shared that stanza with us this morning. 

Carmen was "flying" down the road the other day and saw Bruce Arians "flying" right beside her. And we heard from several others that had interesting encounters with celebrities. 

Bill shared the healthy benefits that bird sounds have for treating paranoia and anxiety. 

Miss America 2024 has a history of flying amongst the birds as an active duty Air Force officer. Miss Colorado received the crown over the weekend. 

00:32 Carmen's Rose Garden

03:50 Bill's Yard Envy 

07:02 Starbucks sleeves? 

09:51 Hot Sok 

11:40 Bucs Win! 

17:17 Popeye's Wings Promotion

20:44 Joni Eareckson Tada - In Christ Alone 

24:15 Video of new version 

25:20 Carmen drives next to Bruce Arians 

29:52 Celebrity encounter text responses

31:48 Health Benefits of Bird Sounds 

35:35 2024 Miss America 

38:57 Bill's BIG Word

Home and Garden were two subjects that bookended today's episode of The Morning Cruise. We had a lot of other ground to cover on this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as well. 

Dave got us started with a chat about his HOA woes. 

The cold weather has us hankering for chili and gumbo and watching some great games during the NFL Playoffs. 

Speaking of football, several college head coaches will be looking for new homes as they take on new roles. Like Kalen DeBoer who will be moving from Washington state to Tuscaloosa, Alabama as he succeeds Nick Saban. 

At home this weekend, Carmen got caught up on week 1 of Paige Brown's Bible study on Daniel and she shared a few of the nuggets with us. 

There are many stories in the Book of Daniel to recall. Dave was reminded by one of those stories that January is human trafficking awareness month. That is particularly poignant as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today. Bill shared some thoughts on Gospel and Justice as it relates to the work of the civil rights leader. 

Dave caught up with Darren Mulligan of We Are Messengers on Zoom last week and we learned that he has moved back home to Ireland. We also heard new music from him as well. 

The fruits that can be grown within from reading the entire Bible are plentiful. Carmen shared just how rich her experience has been as she is now working with The Bible Recap on her 4th time through the Scripture. 

Carmen also wants to grow roses at home. She has been thinking about it as she was looking at arrangements to send to a friend. Dave, the only one with a bit of green thumb, tried to persuade her otherwise. 

00:32 Dave's HOA Woes 

05:00 Chili and Gumbo 

07:16 Football Weekend 

10:29 Coaching change at Alabama 

14:14 Paige on privilege in Daniel

19:54 Human Slavery 

21:52 Gospel and Justice a la MLK, Jr. 

28:48 We Are Messengers - back in Ireland 

34:10 Reaction to To God Be The Glory 

34:54 The Bible Recap

39:58 Reading with a Western lens

43:55 Can Carmen grow roses? 

50:14 Dave's link for roses

54:11 Bill's BIG Word

Carmen has given herself the assignment of reading Luther by Eric Metaxas. It's a big book with a lot of big words, but in the end, it will surely be worth it! Speaking of Martin Luther, on Monday, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

A planned mission for NASA has failed midway through, but the education that the scientists are gaining from the failure is always worth it...even when they admit that "Space is hard!" 

Winter Jam is the largest concert in Christian music and it is coming to Tampa and Jacksonville this weekend. The tickets are only $15 to see some of the biggest names in Christian music. A price that is more than worth it! 

Storyworth is a gift that gives back. Carmen recently purchased a subscription for her mom and aunt. Each week they get a question emailed to them to answer and it will eventually be turned into a family keepsake book. Most definitely...worth it! 

It's been awhile since we got new music from Brandon Heath. He's got a new song that Dave shared with us and he'll be coming to Alabama, Georgia and Florida along with Josh Wilson and Natalie Layne. We shared some memories of our times with him in the past and are looking forward to seeing him soon. His first song, I'm Not Who I Was, reminded Bill of 2 Corinthians 5:17 which  talks about the value of a new life in Christ. 

Digital security in the form of 2-factor authentication is a valuable tool against hackers. Especially when they target government organizations. And while you're at it, get the latest update on iPhone as it helps to protect your passwords in addition to other security measures. 

Nick Saban's career in football is coming to a close but by all accounts, playing and working for him, was invaluable. We even heard from a UGA fan that will miss him! 

Dave has always wanted to travel to space. He heard from a friend about one option that only gets you to the edge of space but doesn't require any training. Is the price tag for this experience worth it? 

This past Wednesday was the first session of Paige Brown's Bible Study on Daniel. Take some time this weekend to watch the teaching. Trust us, it will be worth it! 

00:32 Carmen reading Luther 

06:36 MLK Day on Monday 

08:26 NASA planned mission 

13:37 Winter Jam 

15:28 Storyworth 

20:22 Texts 

20:51 Brandon Heath memories and new song 

26:41 Show dates for Brandon Heath and "I'm Not Who I Was"

29:43 2 Corinthians 5:17 

31:22 Digital Security 

36:12 iPhone Updates 

37:59 Nick Saban 

43:38 text from UGA fan 

44:46 Space Balloon Travel 

50:36 Paige Brown responses 

52:17 Bill's BIG Word