CountUp

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday May 17TH 2026, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Volume 9, Number 12, Edition 412
“Unwelcomed At Church ?”

I was recently asked if I’ve ever felt unwelcomed while visiting a church.

YES – I have – several times. One notable situation occurred about 12 years ago when I was looking to leave my first church in Homestead, and I was searching for my new church. I went to one that met in the conference room of a local area chain hotel. I walked in. I sat down. Nobody talked to me, but several looked at me as if I was not where I belonged. What was I doing there ? Was I up to no good ? I also didn’t really look like anyone else in the congregation, and quite frankly – the congregation didn’t really look like Homestead.

It’s been said in many different iterations that the church hour on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America.

There’s a difference between a church with a poor hospitality / welcoming ministry and a church where everyone looks similar – but not like yourself – and you feel uncomfortable from the moment you arrive. I try to be part of the solution by continuing a ministry that began 19 years ago at the front doors of my first church – welcoming my brothers and sisters to our Sunday morning gathering.

I’ve also been to many churches with poor hospitality at the doors, but then once you enter the sanctuary you feel like you’re instantly family.

I’m part of a church family now where I pray that everyone feels like they belong there – from the moment they arrive to the moment they depart.

I’ve heard it said that the church should look like Heaven on Earth. Heaven won’t look like one group of people, so the church shouldn’t either. The church should include different races from different cultures and different social classes. We have one God Almighty who wants us all in fellowship together. He is not calling us to different sides. He is calling us higher, for we are better together.

As the Bible says in Romans – Chapter 15 – Verses 5, 6, and 7:
May God – who gives this patience and encouragement – help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice – giving praise and glory to God – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore – accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.

My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture – whether it’s part of a sermon, a testimony, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord – and get closer to Him with each new day.

If you wish to learn more about the God I know – then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Blogging Driving Geography History Home Nature Photography Travel

Highlands Hammock State Park Or Bust

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date May 14, 2026
No Comments on Highlands Hammock State Park Or Bust

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. If you’re familiar with my social media work for the Sebring Historical Society – then you may remember a recent #HistoryTuesday Facebook post where I wrote about one of our true gems here in the Sebring Florida area – the 9,000+ acre Highlands Hammock State Park – established during the 1930s by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). I promoted their upcoming (at the time) 8TH Annual Earth Day Festival. Due to another scheduled event on the same day at the same time – I was unable to attend the Festival. It looked like a fun day out there at the park with some very interesting special guest speakers.

The following day on the Sebring Historical Society Facebook page I wrote about the historic CCC Museum inside Highlands Hammock State Park, and I included a photo of the building that I took on my last visit in February 2023. I visited the museum 4 times as a tourist – in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2023. During those 3 earlier visits I had envisioned myself serving at the CCC Museum as a docent. By 2023 – I had already committed to serving with the Sebring Historical Society in the same capacity. I don’t regret my decision at all.

Earlier that same week my Pastor took his family to Highlands Hammock State Park, and he posted some nice photos on his Facebook page. A couple of days later one of our members at the Sebring Historical Society told us all about her fun trip to the park with her husband and their daughter visiting from up north. They took the tram tour, and they had a wonderful time on it.

And that got me wondering. Why have I not even visited the park once since I’ve lived here over the past 3 years and 1 month ?

Well the answer is quite simple. The Sebring Historical Society keeps me busy. As does my home church. As does my home and neighborhood.

Anyway I got excited about visiting Highlands Hammock State Park for the first time as a local. (The park attracts up to 200,000 visitors annually, and I’m guessing that more than half are tourists from outside of the local area.)

I planned my day at the park. I’d leave home by 9 AM, arrive at the park 20 minutes later, pay my $4 admission at the gate, head straight for the Camp Store, buy my $15 ticket for the 11 AM tram tour, and then head over to the CCC Museum to check it out for a good solid hour until about 15 minutes before the start of the tram tour. After the approximately 1-hour and 15-minute tram tour I’d drive the 3-mile-plus / one-way Loop Drive through the park and stop at one of the trails that I’m not sure I’ve previously been on.

That was the plan alright. Let’s go !

So I went on a Friday 4 weeks ago. I arrived at the empty parking lot of the Camp Store, and (luckily) it was open. I walked in, and I asked about the 11 AM tram tour. I figured that the guy behind the counter would tell me that I was the first person to sign-up for it, and if he didn’t get a minimum of (whatever number) to sign-up for it then it would be cancelled. That’s not what he told me. He told me that it was sold out !

I’m silently thinking – how can it be sold out when I’m the only visitor within eyesight ? From what I understood – you can’t sign-up for the tram tour until the same day. (I later discovered that you can sign-up one day prior. Had I known that then I would’ve signed-up one day prior !)

He said that he’d be adding an additional 1 PM tram tour, but I declined. I couldn’t see myself being at the park until 1 PM. I looked around the Camp Store for a few minutes. They actually have some very nice souvenirs there. I actually wish that we sold some of those souvenirs in our own gift shop at the Sebring Historical Society. #MentalNotes

I went out to my car to plot my next move – since the CCC Museum was still closed until 10 AM. (They had recently switched from their 9 AM to 5 PM winter “peak season” hours to their 10 AM to 2 PM weekends-only – including Fridays – “low season” hours.)

My next move is revealed – next – #TravelThursday. And speaking of moves – what was that wild creature that ran right in front of me ? Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Florida, Hammock, Highlands, Park, Sebring

Career Holidays Military

Happy Armed Forces Week

It’s Wednesday May 13TH 2026, and National Military Appreciation Month continues here in the U.S.A. with Armed Forces Week (all this week), and that culminates this Saturday with Armed Forces Day. Unlike Memorial Day (this year on May 25TH) and Veterans Day (November 11TH) – this is an opportunity for us to honor everyone who currently serves within our military.

A couple of years ago I retired from a nearly 39-year career with the United States Air Force. I actually committed to 4 years of active-duty service about a month into my Senior year in high school in 1984. 6 days after graduating from high school in June 1985 – I was on my way to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas for 6½ weeks of Basic Military Training.

My 39 years in the USAF included 31 years as a civil-servant. Prior to that – I served 8 years on active-duty and 6 years as a reservist (overlapping with the first 6 years of my civil-service).

Up until about the age of 16 – I intended to go to college after high school and emerge with a degree in either Meteorology or Communications (radio and television broadcasting). That didn’t happen, but the USAF trained me well. It was determined that I was great at math, so I was made to be an analyst / statistician / number-cruncher for most of my career. I served as a Financial Manager for my final 16½ years.

In the USAF I had some great years, some good years, some bad years, and some horrible years. There’s an entire 13-year era that was the worst of my career (and life). Thankfully – I followed that up with the best 16½-year era of my career (and life). My career ended near a high in 2024.

To all military service members – whether you are currently on active-duty, a reservist, a civil-servant, or a contractor working alongside all of the above – I thank you for all that you do with each new duty day. Represent well.

Tags Air Force, Armed Forces, Military, USAF

Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 482

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date May 11, 2026
No Comments on My Top 10 Hits – Week 482

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back almost 50 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday May 10TH 2026 – the 482ND week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW	LW	WKS	SONG TITLE	ARTIST / SITE
1	2	17	Finished [1ST week @ # 1]	Caleb & John
2	1	17	Where Would I Be	Peter Burton
3	3	7	Everything Is Better	Hopeful.
4	4	4	Worthy Of It All (Worthy)	CeCe Winans
5	10	2	Father, Let It Be	Sidewalk Prophets
6	–	1	I’d Do It Again	Andrew Ripp
7	8	2	Somebody’s Praying	Bay Turner
8	9	2	demons	Josiah Queen
9	–	1	Washed	Elevation Rhythm
10	7	2	Alleluia	Elevation Worship

# 1 This Week In:
2025 – “Unashamed” – Matthew West
2024 – “Counting My Blessings” – Seph Schlueter
2023 – “The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)” – Matt Maher
2022 – “[wonder working]” – All Creatures
2021 – “Fires” – Jordan St. Cyr
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Alive” – Big Daddy Weave
2018 – “The Way (New Horizon)” – Pat Barrett
2017 – “Forgiven” – Crowder

SIDEWALK PROPHETS – Their first hit since December 2019 / January 2020 is my fastest climber this week – up 5 notches to # 5. “Father, Let It Be” is a song to God asking Him for help to believe. The singer acknowledges the Trinity. He wants Christ to tell him stories of times He felt like him. He’s asking for the Spirit to let him see the forest through the trees. He wants help to understand the plans He has for him. If it’s Your will – God – let it be.

ONE-HIT WONDER – Hopeful. spend their 2ND week in a row at # 3 with their California surf-pop track for Christ – “Everything Is Better”. I’m hopeful that this track will continue its momentum to the top of my chart.

SPOTIFY – You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime by accessing my CountUp playlist on Spotify. All 10 hits are there from top to bottom. You can hear them in order from # 1 to # 10, or you can shuffle them. My playlist will be updated every weekend (usually before the actual chart is presented here on Mondays). You can link to it here.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. God used loud music on the radio in South Florida to reach me in August of 2006. I’ve been testifying about Him ever since.

Be blessed my friends ! May our God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.