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Animals Blogging Driving Geography History Home Nature Photography Travel

Highlands Hammock State Park Or Bust

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I continued writing about my trip out to the 9,000+ acre Highlands Hammock State Park here in the Sebring Florida area (about 10 miles from home).

#Recap – So the 11 AM tram tour was inexplicably sold out, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Museum was closed until 10 AM. I drove the 3+ mile “Loop Drive” through the park, and I walked the 3,005-foot in length Ancient Hammock Trail in the oldest part of the park. A large wild animal crossed in front of me from left to right. It was either a Florida Panther, a coyote, or a deer.

So now we’re back at the main Camp Store / CCC Museum area, and that’s when I saw 2 big yellow Highlands County School District buses.

I parked in front of the CCC Museum, and I got out – eager to enter the museum that I had promoted online just 2 days earlier. But from my car I could hear the joyful noise of children from inside the museum. They were quite loud. Hopefully they were learning a lot of good history inside. I decided that perhaps it wasn’t the best time for me to enjoy the museum with all of that rambunctiousness going on. I decided to wait until they were done before I would enter. I walked around the adjacent grounds of the area – amongst the picnic tables and pavilions. More school children were enjoying a portion of that area. As the group of children inside the museum were congregating outside – the group of children at the picnic area were forming a line and getting ready to head towards the museum. Soon after I was surrounded on both sides by children coming and going in both directions – led by their teachers.

Looks like I would have to wait a bit longer to enter the museum. I ran out of things to look at in the picnic area, so I approached the parking lot. A couple of vehicles were arriving at the same time, and they were full of visitors (who knew each other). They approached the front entrance of the museum, and it appears that they were turned away from entering and told to return after 12 Noon due to the children inside with more children expected to arrive after them. So the visitors got back in their vehicles and drove away. As did I.

So – my visit to Highlands Hammock State Park on Friday April 17TH 2026 was a – BUST !

No tram tour. No museum visit. But I did get to drive “Loop Drive” and walk a trail and have a close encounter with a wild creature.

I learned some lessons. I should call the park the day before any future visit to find out if there are any school field trips scheduled for the next day. I should also reserve my seat on the 11 AM tram tour (if it’s running), since I now know that you can do so a day in advance (instead of the same day). And I should also find out what hours the CCC Museum is open the next day. (Those days and hours change throughout the year based on demand.)

Applying those lessons learned will help in knowing what to look forward to at the park, and I can spend more than just 1-hour and 4-minutes there. (I was originally planning to spend up to 4 hours there.)

I’m going on another field trip – further west. I have a feeling that it’ll be far more successful than this one was. In fact I know it will be since it already occurred. I’ll tell you all about my return trip to Arcadia Florida – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 484

Every Monday (this week on a Tuesday) 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 24TH 2026 – the 484TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 19 Finished
[3RD week @ # 1]		 Caleb & John
2 3 9 Everything Is Better Hopeful.
3 2 19 Where Would I Be Peter Burton
4 4 4 Father, Let It Be Sidewalk Prophets
5 5 3 I’d Do It Again Andrew Ripp
6 7 4 Somebody’s Praying Bay Turner
7 6 6 Worthy Of It All (Worthy) CeCe Winans
8 8 4 demons Josiah Queen
9 9 3 Washed Elevation Rhythm
10 10 2 Perfectly Micah Tyler

# 1 This Week In:
2025 – “Unashamed” – Matthew West
2024 – “Counting My Blessings” – Seph Schlueter
2023 – “This Is Our God” – Phil Wickham
2022 – “Egypt” – Cory Asbury
2021 – “Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight)” – TobyMac
2020 – “I Will Fear No More” – The Afters
2019 – “Born Again” – Austin French
2018 – “The Way (New Horizon)” – Pat Barrett
2017 – “Oh My Soul” – Casting Crowns

SUMMER OF 2026 – Summer has begun here in the U.S.A. As is tradition – I’ll be keeping track of the hottest hits on Christian radio this summer. And due to the calendar – with Memorial Day Weekend as early as it can be – and Labor Day Weekend as late as it can be – there are 16 weeks this summer (instead of the usual 15 weeks). After summer ends – I’ll present a #CountUp of my Top 10 hits of the summer based on chart performance.

SALVATION ERA – This upcoming August marks the 20TH anniversary of the start of my salvation in my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. To celebrate this life-changing event I’ll be looking back at the soundtrack of those early years. In fact I’m presenting a #CountUp of the Top 40 hits of that era that started in August 2006 and ended in January 2010. I’ll present one hit per week. First up – it’s The Fray. Their debut single – “Over My Head (Cable Car)” – was recorded and released in 2005. It entered my chart in June 2006 – 2 months before I was saved. It spent 3 weeks at # 1 in late-July / early-August. After salvation started a few weeks later – the local Miami Florida Christian pop station that God used to save my life – also played the song in rotation. It had crossed over from secular to Christian radio. It stayed on my chart for 5 months into my salvation. It spent a total of 31 weeks on my chart, and it was my # 7 hit overall of 2006. It’s also the biggest hit of my Salvation Era. It’s from the appropriately-titled album – “How To Save A Life”.

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

Categories
Bible Holidays Military Scripture

Memorial Day

2008 Memorial Day Poster #3.

It’s Memorial Day here in the U.S.A. It’s not appropriate to say “Happy Memorial Day”, for this is a truly solemn holiday. It’s the day each year that we honor our fallen heroes – those military personnel who served their country – and who gave the ultimate sacrifice to keep our freedom strong. They gave their life.

This is not a day for those like me who once served in the U.S. Armed Forces, for I am still alive. My day is Veterans Day on November 11TH. It is not a day for those who are currently serving in the military. That day is Armed Forces Day – the 3RD Saturday of May. In fact – the entire month of May is National Military Appreciation Month here in the U.S.A.

On this day – I remember our fallen heroes. I will never forget.

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13 NLT)

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday May 24TH 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 13, Edition 413
“Cain & Abel – Part 1”

It’s been a while since I transcribed one of my old sermons on here. But what I really want to do is to not do a word-for-word transcription (like I’ve done previously), but rather include significant portions of an old sermon – updated in real-time.

8 years ago I preached on Cain & Abel to my church family in Homestead Florida. It was actually my first Old Testament based sermon – and 19TH overall. My Pastor at the time loved preaching out of the Old Testament, and I was (and still am) a New Testament Preacher. He wanted me to broaden my preaching skills and check out the Old Testament more often. I accepted his challenge.

Here’s the first portion of that sermon – updated 8 years later:

We all know the story of Adam & Eve in the Garden Of Eden. It’s where sin was born. The first man – Adam – and the first woman – Eve – disobeyed the Creator. As a result – it brought sin, and suffering, and death into the creation.

That’s Satan’s first dirty deed – done dirt cheap. Satan – via a serpent – tempted Eve in the Garden. He convinced Eve that maybe – just maybe – she misunderstood what God had commanded. God said don’t eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or you’ll die. He said that to keep Adam and Eve from sinning. But Eve was manipulated by Satan. Satan said that she would be just like God – knowing everything – both good and evil – if she ate the fruit from the tree. It was so tempting. So she ate the fruit. And he ate the fruit. And the creation was changed forever.

See Satan twisted the truth back then, and he’s still doing it today. That’s what he does. He does it to try to bring us closer to him – and away from God. Satan called God a liar. Eve took Satan for his word. Eve fell into Satan’s trap. And we do that today – usually when we don’t even realize it.

When we don’t do what God tells us to do – when we don’t follow God’s lead – we’re falling into Satan’s dirty hands. Satan will guide us straight into the dark – where we came from. Satan will keep up his utter madness until the very end – until the last days. He won’t give up.

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