It’s the last program of the year on Midday Connection and we’re going to open the phone lines to hear from you. It’s an open forum broadcast where we’ll pose the question, “What was the best book you’ve read over the last year?”  We think it will give us all a good book list to enter the new year with.  It’s all about what you’re reading when you call in with the best book you’ve read in 2009.

Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

If you've ever committed to a diet, exercise, or ministry plan, you've probably realized that it's much easier to start something than to finish it. As we prepare for 2010, we talk with author Gordon MacDonald about the key element to not quitting—resilience. On today’s Midday Connection, we examine characteristics of resilience and encourage you through the process needed to develop them. 

Featured Guest: Gordon MacDonald
Host: Anita Lustrea

Do you ever dream about how you’ll use the second half of your life? Perhaps you’ve thought about missions, or maybe mentoring.  On this Midday Connection Kay Marshall Strom talks about how you can have a second half adventure. We’re talking about assessing your skills, how to connect your gifts and interests with organization with needs. 

Featured Guest: Kay Marshall Strom
Hosts: Anita Lustrea

Matthew Stanford comes back to Midday Connection to talk about another important issue many parents are struggling to deal with: their children who have ADD. How does ADD affect someone, and what are the possible treatments, including  how to navigate this in the context of family relationships, and how to know when medication is needed? It’s all about ADD on Midday Connection.

Featured Guest: Matthew Stanford
Host: Melinda Schmidt

On this Christmas Day, we are re-airing the second hour of Steve Green taking Christmas song requests from our in-studio audience. It's more of our festive lunch and live broadcast with Steve Green. Merry Christmas from all of us at Midday Connection.  

Featured Guests: Steve Green, Dick Tunney, Roy Patterson, Angie Thomas, Steve Wick
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

Today we are rebroadcasting our live event with Steve Green as he took Christmas song requests from our in-studio audience. It's the Christmas Eve rebroadcast of our festive lunch and live broadcast with Steve Green on Midday Connection.

Featured Guests: Steve Green, Dick Tunney, Roy Patterson, Angie Thomas, Steve Wick
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

Your child has been uniquely made by God, and on Midday Connection Laura Hendrickson joins us to talk about the challenges and victories of raising a child on the autism spectrum. She'll discuss social skills, rituals, options for education and career as well as managing emotions and discipline.

Featured Guest: Laura Hendrickson
Host: Anita Lustrea

How can you best connect with your grandchildren? This is an important question, especially if distance is an issue. On this Midday Connection, Cheri Fuller talks about how to not only have fun with your grandkids, but how to connect with them deeply about spiritual things. She also shares great ideas for connecting at a distance.

Featured Guest: Cheri Fuller
Host: Melinda Schmidt

Shelly Beach helps us deal with negative inner dialogues that blind us to scriptural truth. We'll learn how to practice self-assessment, repentance and commitment in order to conform our thoughts to the mind of Christ.

Featured Guest: Shelly Beach
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

It’s Friday 4 on Midday Connection and we’re doing something a little different. In three of the segment we’ll be hearing a drama of Leo Tolstoy’s short story, “Where Love Is”, and you won’t want to miss this very touching drama. The other segment we are hearing from you, from your facebook responses to the question “Has our ministry focus affected how you are celebrating Christmas this year?”  

Featured Guest: Lori Neff
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

Have you ever had a growth chart on your wall for the height of your kids? On this Midday Connection Jane Rubietta joins us to talk about ‘what if’ we had a spiritual growth chart like that? What would it look like? In Luke 12:27 we read, “Consider the lilies, how they grow.” Join us as we consider our own growth.

Featured Guest: Jane Rubietta
Host: Anita Lustrea

It’s time for our book club discussion program, and on this Midday Connection with the help of Dr. Rosalie de Rosset we’ll discuss Les Miserables. With transcendent themes we’ll examine one of the great works of Western literature penned by Victor Hugo. We’ll take a look at Jean Valjean, Javert, Fantine and Cosette as we see what this novel says to us today.   

Featured Guest: Dr. Rosalie de Rosset
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

Sara Groves is one of the premiere singer/songwriters of our day. If you’ve listened to Sara much, then you know she also has a prophetic voice. On this Midday Connection she joins us to talk about her latest release that is her most personal to date. You’ll hear some of Sara’s struggles and inner feelings like you haven’t in the past.

Featured Guest: Sara Groves
Host: Anita Lustrea

Maybe you can’t see right now how God could possibly get you to a place of inner joy and well-being. Leslie Vernick joins us to talk about the fact that it’s not the new circumstances we often pray for that move us toward lasting happiness, but rather something entirely different.

Featured Guest: Leslie Vernick
Host: Melinda Schmidt

When Steve Green comes to town and offers to sing our favorite Christmas songs, we need to take advantage of the opportunity! So on this Midday Connection we have the continuation of what we began yesterday - more of Steve singing your favorite Christmas music requests. Do you enjoy music, especially Christmas music? Then you won't want to miss this Midday Connection.  

Featured Guests: Steve Green, Dick Tunney, Roy Patterson, Angie Thomas, Steve Wick
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

It’s Midday Connection’s annual Christmas music request program, and on this broadcast Steve Green joins us to sing your music requests live! We’ll have a studio audience enjoying lunch and hot cider and cookies with us and we’ll get them to sing a few carols too. Roy Patterson, Angie Thomas, and Steve Wick will join us as well. It’s your favorite Christmas songs on Midday Connection. 

Featured Guest: Steve Green, Dick Tunney, Roy Patterson, Angie Thomas, Steve Wick
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

In Psalm 42:7 we read, “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.”  On this Midday Connection Dee Brestin helps us unpack this verse in light of someone who has experienced great loss. 

Featured Guest: Dee Brestin
Host: Anita Lustrea

Christine Colon and Bonnie Field join us to have an honest discussion about celibacy. We'll explore a deeper understanding of celibacy and affirm singles' decision to be sexually pure, acknowledge the struggles, and take a look at the importance of singles in the church community.

Featured Guests: Christine Colon, Bonnie Field, Marcy Hintz
Host: Melinda Schmidt

It’s been a year and a half since Steven Curtis Chapman's precious 5 year old daughter Maria went to heaven.  We’ll hear the heart of Steven through a brand new release that is his most personal to date. If you’ve ever suffered loss, or walked with someone through a difficult time, you won’t want to miss this Midday Connection.  

Featured Guest: Steven Curtis Chapman
Host: Anita Lustrea

It’s the Friday 4 on Midday Connection and we’ll hear some Christmas stories from Governor Mike Huckabee, hear some wonderful sounds of the Christmas season from Sara Groves and Fernando Ortega, and we’ll round things out with some Christmas thoughts, scriptures and traditions from Melinda and Anita. 

Featured Guests: Fernando Ortega, Mike Huckabee, Sara Groves
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

Scrapbooks and sock drawers and top shelves - these are some of the places we store our treasures. Leigh McLeroy says that God is a collector, too, whose treasures are tucked securely into the pages of his book: a golden bell here, an olive leaf there, a scarlet thread, a blood-stained cloth, a few grains of barley. One by one these saved artifacts reveal his heart, and tell the story of a Father whose most precious possession is us.

Featured Guest: Leigh McLeroy
Hosts: Anita Lustrea

Have you found that some holiday movies can foster insightful conversation in your family? Has a Christmas movie moved you and made you reflect on a powerful truth? Margaret Manning joins us to encourage us to watch holiday movies thoughtfully.

Featured Guest: Margaret Manning
Hosts: Melinda Schmidt

We have a tradition here at Midday Connection to talk about new Christmas books and music and then have a big giveaway. You certainly won't want to miss this program and your opportunity to win 19 different Christmas items from us!

Featured Resources: 33 Miles, Big Daddy Weave, Downhere, Mark Harris, Aaron Shust, Chris Tomlin, Christine Wyrtzen, Various Artists, William J. Bennett, John Blase, Ace Collins, Lori Copeland, Hank Hanegraaff, Tammy Maltby, Robin McGraw, Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, Greg Holder, Donna VanLiere, Susan May Warren, Cindy Woodsmall
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

It’s open forum on Midday Connection and time to think about the Christmas holiday. We want to hear your funniest Christmas stories, whether it had to do with the annual Christmas pageant, or dad staying up all night and never figuring out how to put that special something together. It’s your funniest Christmas stories on Midday Connection.  

Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

It’s the Friday Four on Midday Connection and Midday Producer, Lori Neff, with the help of our facebook friends, takes a look at Thanksgiving. Lee Jenkins gives Biblical financial advice as we head into the Christmas season, Bobby Gross helps give us a fresh perspective on Advent, and recording artist, Aaron Shust brings us some of the music of Advent with "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". 

Featured Guests: Lee Jenkins, Aaron Shust, Bobby Gross, Lori Neff
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

The Bible is clear; thankfulness should be a part of everyday life. Too often the stuff of life gets in the way of counting our blessings. On our Thanksgiving edition of Midday Connection, Karla Dornacher joins us to help celebrate thankfulness. 

Featured Guest: Karla Dornacher
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

What does Simplicity look like as a way of life?  On this Midday Connection we conclude our series with Mindy Caliguire as we talk about rigorous, honesty and ruthless trust. What does it look like to embrace this path? The only way we can is when we take hold of the very source of life that is available to us.

Featured Guest: Mindy Caliguire
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

What is God’s heart for the poor and the marginalized? How do we live out principles of justice and compassion? Keri Wyatt Kent helps us find some action steps so we can move beyond asking, “What difference can I make?” to actually doing something.  

Featured Guest: Keri Wyatt Kent
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt

As we look at fulfilling The Great Commission, sometimes we struggle with how to share our faith. Rick Richardson joins us to talk about the cultural languages we need to know in order to present the Gospel most effectively. 

Featured Guest: Rick Richardson
Host: Melinda Schmidt

On this Friday Four Midday Connection, we’re going International. We’ll take a trip to Uganda as we talk with the First Lady of Uganda about the state of things in her country. We’ll also hear from founding editor of Kyria, Ginger Kolbaba, find out what we need to learn from Africans through Andrew Rugasira, the founder of Good African Coffee, and wrap things up with the music of Natalie Grant. 

Featured Guests: Mrs. Janet Kataha Museveni First Lady of Uganda, Ginger Kolbaba, Andrew Rugasira
Hosts: Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt