CountUp

Publix

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last month (February) was Homecoming Month. I wrote about driving around Florida and walking around my neighborhood (Feb. 05TH), the Avon Park Depot Museum (Feb. 12TH), the Sebring Historical Society (Feb. 19TH), and the Charles F. Weigle House Museum & Gift Shop (Feb. 26TH). This week I write about a place that is quintessential Florida, and that is – Publix – where shopping is a pleasure.

Publix is my playground. It’s my favorite store in the entire world. I’ve spent more money at Publix over the past 33 years than any other store, and it’s not even close. And this month – March – does indeed mark 33 years as a Publix customer. I first started shopping at Publix in Melbourne Florida when I moved there in March 1993. I shopped at Publix # 704 on South Babcock (built in 1959). I lived a half-mile away from there.

When I moved back to partially rebuilt (post Hurricane Andrew) Homestead a year later in 1994 the Publix (# 510) on U.S. 1 eventually became my new go-to store. And then a 2ND Publix (# 1029) opened in Homestead in 2005. And then a 3RD Publix (# 1136) opened in Homestead in 2007. I shopped at all 3 almost equally. # 510 was my “Original Publix”. # 1029 was my “Work Publix”. # 1136 was my “New Publix”. They were each located just a few miles away from each other. They each had their own unique character. And then a 4TH Publix (# 1229) opened in Homestead just a mile down the road from my longtime neighborhood – a year after I had moved away to Sebring.

And now my Publix (# 1347) – opened in 2008 – is my home away from home – just a couple of miles away from home. I would not have moved to Sebring if there was no Publix. We have 3 Publix stores here in Highlands County, and I’ve never been to the other 2. (No need to.)

Nowadays I average about 40 Publix visits per year, and that’s actually down from my 2015 to 2023 average of 60 visits per year. (I often went to my “Work Publix” for lunch when I was working in Homestead.)

“But Chris – Publix is so expensive. How can you afford it there ?”

I probably don’t pay what you pay at Publix. I meticulously create my shopping list on their digital app based on weekly sales, BOGOs, and coupons. (Wednesday is a great day, as that’s the day they reveal their new weekly ad online.) I typically save anywhere from $10 to $30 or more on my average Publix receipt. Most of the items on my receipt are on sale. And everything I buy is actually less expensive than Walmart. (Believe it or not – I only go to Walmart about 8 to 10 times a year – more so now than I did when I lived in Homestead. Both of our Walmart stores are nicer here.)

So when I enter a Publix store I become noticeably happier. I belong there. If you see me singing in the aisles it could be because of the awesome music that’s playing on the sound system. Long live the ’80s and ’90s !

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll begin a multiple part series on a unique agriculture and natural resources tour of the local area. Go Gators ! Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Florida, Homestead, Melbourne, Publix, Sebring

Blogging Internet

Welcome To My Blog

Greetings my friends. It is Tuesday March 03RD 2026, and this is a special edition of my blog. Normally I publish new posts 3 days a week – on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays at 0300 U.S. east coast time (0700 UTC during much of the year).

Each day has its own unique theme. My Thursday posts center on travel. My Sunday posts center on Scripture and the Gospel. My Monday posts center on current Christian pop music. So – my hashtags are #TravelThursday, #SundayScripture, and #MusicMonday.

Occasionally during the year I’ll publish a special post on a Tuesday (like today), a Wednesday, or a Friday. That’s over 150 posts per year. Each post is about a 2-to-4 minute read.

If you’re new here – then welcome to my blog. Thank You for checking it out. You may have clicked on my link on my Facebook, X, Flickr, or Spotify profile. Perhaps Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo sent you here awhile back, and you’ve been returning on a regular basis. Maybe you only read my posts on #TravelThursday, or you’re only interested in my Gospel messages on Sundays. Either way I’m glad you’re here. This is a no-judgement zone. This is also a political-free space online. There’s plenty of judgement and politics elsewhere. There’s lots of hate in this world. I try to shine light and bring encouragement and love into this world.

Feel free to comment with relevance on any post. Some of you have your own blogs that I check out on a regular basis. Keep doing what you do. Keep blogging alive !

I’ve been blogging here on WordPress and on Facebook since 2007, and really – I was blogging for 14 years before that (before it was universally known as blogging) via my own dial-up bulletin board system (BBS) and its spinoffs on the early World Wide Web of the late-1990s into the early-2000s. It’s my favorite hobby online.

My Facebook presence has substantially increased and expanded over the past year-plus. #TravelThursday is promoted on my CountUp Facebook page, and on most Fridays – I post #FollowUpFriday – which are essentially follow-up thoughts on my blog post from the previous day.

I also run the Facebook page for the Sebring Historical Society – an organization that I’ve written about often here on my blog.

A new #TravelThursday is up next in less than 48 hours. I hope that you’ll check it out.

Tags Blog, Blogger, Blogging, Facebook, Wordpress

Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 472

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 2, 2026
No Comments on My Top 10 Hits – Week 472

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 01ST 2026 – the 472ND week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW	LW	WKS	SONG TITLE	ARTIST / SITE
1	1	7	Where Would I Be [5TH week @ # 1]	Peter Burton
2	2	7	Finished	Caleb & John
3	3	7	Homesick For Heaven	Phil Wickham
4	6	9	Heaven On My Mind	TobyMac X Forrest Frank
5	7	6	The Love I Have For You	Colton Dixon
6	4	20	How Good It Is	Chris Tomlin
7	9	5	Make It Well	MercyMe
8	10	4	Good	Matthew West
9	–	1	Keep Holding On	Jeremy Rosado
10	–	1	I’ve Got A Fire	Pat Barrett

# 1 This Week In:
2025 – “Goodbye Yesterday” – Elevation Rhythm
2024 – “Strong” – Anne Wilson
2023 – “The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)” – Matt Maher
2022 – “Jesus Is Coming Back” – Jordan Feliz Ft. Mandisa
2021 – “Say I Won’t” – MercyMe
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Red Letters” – Crowder
2018 – “Gracefully Broken” – Matt Redman Ft. Tasha C. Leonard
2017 – “Love Broke Thru” – TobyMac

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE 2 – Great movie. 4 stars. A+. I saw it at my local movie theatre on opening day a couple of Fridays ago, and the theatre was more than half full. It was wonderful to see so many people watching the movie with me. It’s a great sequel to the March 2018 original that was a surprise smash. While the original focused on how MercyMe’s 2001 platinum smash “I Can Only Imagine” came to be – this one focuses on their 2017 hit “Even If” and the 16 years since their first big hit. (“Even If” was my 3RD # 1 smash of this current era of my chart back in April 2017.)

ONE-HIT WONDER – Benjamin William Hastings – formerly of Hillsong Worship and Hillsong UNITED – teamed-up with Blessing Offor to create “That’s The Thing About Praise” in May and June of 2023. It reached my Top 5 for 2 weeks before falling off 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.

Tags Blog, Chart, Christian, christianity, faith, God, Jesus, KLOVE, Music, Radio, Spotify, TheJoyFM, WayFM, WGTS, Z883

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 01ST 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 1, Edition 401
“Saved By God”

I was recently asked if one could be saved by God and not know it. The answer is yes. I am a prime example of that. I was rescued and saved by God at a particular moment at dawn during the latter portion of August of 2006, and I didn’t realize it until weeks later. Songs about Christ began playing on my car radio as well as Bible verses. I searched those Bible verses online. Yahoo and Google were my first Bibles before I was given a physical Bible. The more I heard song lyrics about God – the closer I got to Him. The more I searched and studied those Bible verses online – the closer I got to Him. Salvation started before I knew what it meant. But it didn’t take very long to realize it, as I was immersed in God’s Word.

19½ years later – at Thursday Night Bible Study here in my neighborhood – we’re currently reading and discussing 1 Peter. We hit one of my favorite verses – 1:23 – this past Thursday night. It was one of the earliest verses of Scripture that I heard on the radio and searched on the Internet in 2006:

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God.

Once I understood that verse – I knew that I had been rescued and saved and born again.

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.