Jesus knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture He said – “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips. When Jesus had tasted it He said – “It is finished !” Then He bowed His head and released His Spirit. (John 19:28-30 NLT)
“For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16-17 NLT)
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming !
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Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Sunday mornings ago I departed for my former home of 35+ years – Homestead Florida (at the south-end of Miami-Dade County). It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.
I departed my current home about 50 minutes before sunrise, and I arrived at my former home church in Homestead about an hour before the start of the 11 AM service. (It was a typical 3-hour and 20-minute drive.)
It was a great Sunday morning service – with wonderful Praise + Worship music and a relevant sermon from the Lead Pastor. And it was great to see everyone again. (I wrote about this church a couple of weeks ago on #SundayScripture. You can link to it here.)
I enjoyed ministering at the church from 2015 to 2024, and I learned a lot from the Lead Pastor. But nowadays it’s great sitting in the back row with friends as a guest observer and worshiper.
A small group of us went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch (my choice). I had a gift card from last year, and there is no Texas Roadhouse back home. Fellowship, food, and service were all great. I got to catch-up with everyone. I plan to visit again perhaps in 6 months. We have some birthdays to celebrate in September.
I checked-in to my hotel for 2 nights, and I settled in until the next day.
Day 2 was Monday, and after filling up with gas and shopping at Kohl’s – I met two former coworkers / bosses (also retired like me) at Longhorn Steakhouse. We enjoyed lunch together and reminisced, and we’ll probably meet again in 6 months.
After lunch I headed to the tiny mainland portion of Biscayne National Park (at the western edge of Biscayne Bay) for the 3RD time in the past 15½ years. I previously visited in October 2010 and May 2016. In April 2019 I actually took a fun boat tour of the 95% of the Park that is water. (Embarkation of that tour was actually about 10 miles up the coast at the Deering Estate.)
Biscayne National Park was stunningly packed when I arrived at 12:40 PM on Monday. There were only a few empty parking spaces remaining in their relatively large parking lot. I couldn’t believe it. Why were all of those people there ? Oh – Spring Break continued. I stayed there for about 2 hours, and by the time I left there were more empty parking spaces.
A lot of people were fishing at the Park. I have some unpopular opinions about that, but I’ll keep them to myself (as a non-fisherman). I didn’t appreciate how portions of the narrow bridge / walkway were essentially blocked by groups of people fishing (and not particularly watching who was walking behind them or in-between them). It was kind of a safety hazard. But who I am to raise a concern ? I’m just a tourist now. It may be another 10 years before my next visit.
Back in Homestead I hit some stores, and Starbucks, and Outback Steakhouse where I enjoyed dinner with a former coworker friend. And then it was back to my hotel for the 2ND of 2 nights.
The Homestead / Florida City half of my trip to South Florida was planned and implemented perfectly. I’m looking forward to my next visit later this year.
I’m headed to West Broward County for the next 2 days to hang out with my brother visiting from the Dallas Texas area. I’ll write about it – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.
All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp
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 March 29TH 2026 – the 476TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:
HOPEFUL. – I love a debut artist, and here we have one from the surf of Southern California. They are 5 guys who love God and are hopeful of His promises. “Everything Is Better” is their debut hit that’s starting to make waves on the radio. It’s my first new entry on my chart in 4 weeks – since Pat Barrett entered at # 10 with “I’ve Got A Fire”.
ONE-HIT WONDER – Jamie MacDonald spent 2 weeks at # 10 on my chart in February 2025 with “Desperate”. It was a big hit nationally that simply underperformed on my chart. Her follow-up was a # 1 smash nationwide – “Left It In The River” – but it never made it onto my chart. It’s actually still in the Top 10 nationally, and there’s a small chance that it could still enter my chart. If that happens – then Jamie MacDonald will no longer be a one-hit wonder.
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.
All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp
Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 29TH 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 5, Edition 405 “Palm Sunday”
The next day – the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet Him. They shouted, “Praise God ! Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord ! Hail to the King of Israel !” Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it – fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid – people of Jerusalem. Look – your King is coming – riding on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into His glory – they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about Him. Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb – raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet Him – because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look – everyone has gone after Him !”
The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem appears in all 4 Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Scripture above is from John 12:12-19, and that’s the New Living Translation (NLT).
I greet you each Sunday with the words of Psalm 118:24 – This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it.
The next 2 verses right after that are quoted in John’s Gospel:
Please – LORD – please save us. Please – LORD – please give us success. Bless the One who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless You from the house of the LORD.
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.
All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp
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