Month: March 2019

Sunday Scripture

~ Chris M. Day

Some Assembly Required (2)

It was a great message and a great sermon on a great day at Living Waters in Homestead Florida. Our Lead Pastor Bob preached on the power of the Holy Spirit in his sermon titled “Breath Of God, Breathe On Us” based on John 20:22 and 3:5, Acts 2:1-4, Luke 24:32, Exodus 3:2 and 13:21-22, Leviticus 6:13 and 9:24, Numbers 3:4, and 2 Chronicles 7:1.

Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22 NLT)

DON’T LET THE FIRE GO OUT !

Today is my 6TH Anniversary on Facebook. I was one of the last of my friends to join Facebook due to peer pressure. I created an account on Easter Sunday March 31ST 2013. It was supposed to be an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke, but it backfired.

The first 3 years on Facebook were fun. I tried this blog on Facebook, and it started out strong but then it quickly faded after that. None of my friends really cared to read a 5-minute blog about my journey once or twice per weekend. Nowadays I’m just a lurker and occasional commenter of other peoples’ posts on Facebook.

WordPress is where I belong. I get to blog alongside fellow bloggers !

I’ll be back tomorrow night with my new Top 10 music chart for this weekend. No April Foolin’ !

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1989

~ Chris M. Day

Every Friday night I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 10, 20, or 30 years ago (rotating each week). Here it is – for the week ending Sunday March 26TH 1989:

  1. “I Beg Your Pardon” – Kon Kan
  2. “Soldier Of Love” – Donny Osmond
  3. “My Prerogative” – Bobby Brown
  4. “Like A Prayer” – Madonna
  5. “Wild Thing” – Tone Loc

I remember when my local Top 40 radio station – Y-100 (Miami) – first started playing “Soldier Of Love”. They withheld the artist of the song so that we could hear it, like it, and request it without prejudice. It worked, and it became a hit before we discovered that it was child star Donny Osmond singing it. Once that was revealed the hit became a # 2 smash from coast to coast. It began a short comeback for Donny, as it was his biggest hit in 18 years since he was 13.

Nationwide Casey Kasem counted down the hits on “Casey’s Top 40”, and Shadoe Stevens did the same on “American Top 40” on this Easter Weekend in 1989. The results were the same. Mike And The Mechanics scored the new # 1 smash from coast to coast with “The Living Years”. It replaced Debbie Gibson’s “Lost In Your Eyes”.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with two more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Make memories that will last a lifetime !

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Exponential 2020

~ Chris M. Day

Well I know where I’m gonna be during the first 5 days of March of 2020. I’ll be in Orlando Florida attending Exponential 2020. I’m fully registered (and paid) for the annual church planting conference in Orlando. I’m so looking forward to returning there for the first time in 12 years. I’ve already made my own hotel reservations near the site.

A little history:  I attended my very first church conference ever as a baby Christian back on 21, 22, and 23 April of 2008. At that time I was only 20 months into my salvation. I was honored and elated to even be invited to attend Exponential 2008 with a small group from my church family at the time. I couldn’t turn down such a wonderful opportunity. As it turns out the church conference was everything I expected it to be and a whole lot more. I grew in Christ exponentially during those 3 days, as I praised and worshiped God with thousands in the biggest sanctuary I had ever seen in my life, and I networked with pastors, ministers, and leaders of the church in much smaller workshop sessions which I hand-selected myself based on my interests at the time. It was at one of those workshop sessions where I was addressed as “Pastor Chris” for the first time ever. That totally blew my mind, and I was surely not worthy of that respect.

That church conference changed my life forever. I decided during that conference that I wanted to eventually go in to full-time ministry, and that part-time ministry must begin immediately. (And it did.)

I was not invited back to Exponential by my former church family – not in 2009 – not in 2010 – not ever again. I was saddened, heartbroken, and devastated by that fact for many years. I’ve kept that to myself for all of these years. Sure I could’ve registered and gone on my own (independently), but it just didn’t seem right to do so. After all if my own church family didn’t want me to go with them then why should I go on my own ?  That was not a Godly attitude at the time, but it was how I felt. God doesn’t like bitterness.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart – because I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 NLT)

Earlier this week I suddenly realized that yet another Exponential conference had come and gone in Orlando for the 11TH year in a row without me. I’ve been praying to God about this for a long time now, and I’ve finally come to terms with this situation. I went to Exponential’s official web site, and I spent a good hour-plus checking it all out. I used God’s courage in me to register for the next conference in 2020. In fact I even registered for a pre-conference equipping lab on leadership. I’ll be taking full advantage of every opportunity I can engage in from before the conference officially starts through the last hour of the conference.

Those close to me know that my plans remain to go in to full-time ministry in about 5 years after I retire from my 38-year USAF career. I don’t know what exactly that full-time ministry entails. It could be planting a new church. It could be joining an established team of church planters. It could be pastoring an existing church. It could be training up-and-coming church leaders. Whatever it is God will lead me there, and He will equip me every step of the way.

My passion in all of this continues to intensify in my 13TH year on this fantastic journey. Some of my brothers and sisters in Christ have believed in me and supported me all the way through. Some believed in me for a season, and then gave up on me for various reasons. Some believed in me, gave up on me, and then returned to me after a period of time when they saw that I was still here living and loving in Christ. Some pretended to like me somewhere along the way, but as it turns out they weren’t really being genuine. Some even used me for their benefit.

Walking this journey is tough. I’ve been saying this since I was a baby Christian in 2007. This journey is not a straight line. You can’t see to the end. It’s a long and winding road with numerous sharp curves. It’s easy to fall into the slimy pit – into the mud and mire – along both sides of the narrow road. It’s easy to make a U-turn and go back to where you came from. It’s hard to continue progressing forward. That’s why you can’t walk alone. That’s why you need brothers and sisters to walk alongside you. But brothers and sisters will eventually let you down, so you need God right in front of you to lead you forth. If you believe, follow, and trust our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ – then He will lead you to those heavenly gates for eternal life with God.

P.S. If you plan to attend Exponential 2020 then let me know so that we can network before, during, and after the conference. #Fellowship #Together2020

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

My Top 10 Hits – Week 110

~ Chris M. Day

Every Monday night I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday March 24TH 2019:

  1. “Confidence” – Sanctus Real [# 1 last week / 5TH week on chart]
  2. “Church (Take Me Back)” – Cochren & Co. [2 / 5TH]
  3. “Red Letters” – Crowder [3 / 14TH]
  4. “Greatness Of Our God” – Newsboys [5 / 5TH]
  5. “My Feet Are On The Rock” – I Am They [4 / 6TH]
  6. “Maybe It’s OK” – We Are Messengers [6 / 17TH]
  7. “Born Again” – Austin French [7 / 4TH]
  8. “Build My Life” – Pat Barrett [8 / 3RD]
  9. “Resurrecting” – Elevation Worship [9 / 2ND]
  10. “Alive” – Big Daddy Weave [10 / 2ND]

# 1 One Year Ago This Week:
“No One Like Our God” – Lincoln Brewster

I’m a big concert-goer. I attended my very first concert about 3 weeks after my 19TH birthday in 1986 over in London England. (I lived in England at the time.) Ever since then I’ve been to over 100 concerts and other LIVE shows. I’ve got tickets to 3 concerts this May and June. I’m constantly checking-out the official web sites of various arenas and performance halls here in Florida (and Ticketmaster too) for upcoming shows (Christian and Secular) that would be awesome to see LIVE and in-person. 9 years ago tomorrow (March 26TH 2010) I saw TobyMac and Skillet for the first time. I’ve now seen both artists a total of 3 times. I’ll see them again too when they return to Florida.

WELCOME Sanctus Real to Florida. I can’t see you guys later this week in Oxford or New Port Richey, but I know that you will put on a great show that glorifies God, and lives will be saved. I hope to see you LIVE on your next swing through Florida.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again next weekend – 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

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. Enjoy this week my friends. I’m on Twitter @ChrisMDay, and I’m also the man behind the tweets for my church @LivingWatersHFL. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. AMEN.

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Sunday Scripture

~ Chris M. Day

After 2 weeks off our Lead Pastor and our Praise & Worship Pastor returned back home to where they belong – up on stage and leading our church family in music and message.

Our Lead Pastor preached from the first-half of Ezekiel 37 with his sermon titled, “Can These Dry Bones Live ?” The answer is “YES !”

For most of us who are born again God rescued us when we were at our lowest of low points of our life. He rescued us from the valley floor.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. (Psalm 40:2 NLT)

We were dead because of our sins, but God did not leave us in the pit. He lifted us out. He gave us life by His Spirit. He transformed us into a new creation. He gave us a purpose for a new life. We didn’t deserve any of that. But God chose us. He gave us grace and mercy.

This is what the Sovereign LORD says:  “Look !  I am going to put breath into you and make you live again !  I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”  (Ezekiel 37:5-6 NLT)

It was a great message from our Lead Pastor. I appreciate his sermons from the Old Testament. I plan to spend more time reading and studying the Old Testament. Most of my sermons over the past 2½ years have been based on the New Testament. (It’s what I “grew up with” during my years as a baby Christian.) My next sermon that I’ll preach is titled “Gloom & Despair”, and it’s based on Psalms 34, 40, and 150. My next sermon after that (which I’m currently writing) is tentatively titled “Pray & Believe”, and it’ll be all about the power of prayer. For my next sermon after that I’m studying The Book Of Jeremiah. There’s 52 chapters there, so I need to narrow it down to the one (or portion of one) that I hope to share with my church family in a 35 to 45-minute message.

One of my favorite Twitter accounts to follow is @TheMajestysMen. There’s Good News posted there every day. This morning the following was tweeted, and I ended-up sharing it with my church family:

Read more than you write.
Listen more than you speak.
Pray more than you preach.
Compliment more than you correct.

I followed that up with Proverbs 16:24 – Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1999

~ Chris M. Day

Every Friday night I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 10, 20, or 30 years ago (rotating each week). Here it is – for the week ending Sunday March 21ST 1999:

  1. “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here” – Deborah Cox
  2. “Slide” – Goo Goo Dolls
  3. “We Like To Party” – Vengaboys
  4. “C’est La Vie” – B*Witched
  5. “That Don’t Impress Me Much” – Shania Twain

I looked at my chart that was online exactly 20 years ago this weekend – back when I was the proud owner of my original dot-com web site (that was actually worth a lot of money at the time). And then the bubble burst in 2000.

My web site was actually an affiliate of the once-proud CDNow web site – once a billion dollar music store company on the web. CDNow swallowed-up smaller music companies during the late-1990s. And then the bubble burst in 2000.

What a wild and crazy time it was back during the infancy of the World Wide Web. Much of our younger generation today don’t know what the web is, but they sure know how to work an app on a smart phone or a tablet. I’m still on the web, and as history repeats itself – I’ve got my own dot-com web site again. (This blog is at http://www.revchrismday.com.)

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with two more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Go outside and have some fun in the sun !

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Weekend Kickoff Mini-Thoughts

~ Chris M. Day

Once upon a time during the early years of this blog one of my weekly features was the “Thursday Night Mini-Thoughts”. It’s where I got spontaneous, and I typed thoughts directly from my mind onto my keyboard in 15 words or less. I did 69 editions of these Mini-Thoughts from early-2009 to mid-2010, and it was a lot of fun while it lasted. I don’t plan to bring it back as a regular weekly feature, but here goes the 70TH edition:

  • It’s Spring y’all !
  • It began last night at 5:58 PM EDT.
  • The Sun is on our side of the Equator now !
  • It’s actually “chilly” here in South Florida.
  • We could feel wind chills in the upper-40s on Friday and Saturday mornings !
  • We may not even hit 80°F on Friday and Saturday !
  • I feel like going out and doing something fun out in the sun this Saturday.
  • I may visit the Fruit & Spice Park a few miles away.
  • It’s been almost 4 years since my last visit.
  • It’s a fun place to walk around and enjoy nature.
  • I’ll also take a narrated tram tour through the fruits and spices. #FreeSamples
  • If I get the call to preach this Sunday then those plans are out the window.
  • My brackets are busted.
  • Actually I have no idea how to fill out brackets for March Madness.
  • I also don’t watch or know much about College Basketball.
  • I’m a lifelong fan of the NFL.
  • It’s still a little over 4 months until NFL Preseason begins.
  • “Dr. Pimple Popper” is one of the top shows on TLC.
  • It’s on the same night / same time as “Toe Bro” – a doctor that works on toes.
  • There’s a lot of weird reality shows on cable TV nowadays.
  • I avoid most of them.
  • I do have a new Sunday night addiction though.
  • I watch the entire HGTV line-up of couples seeking and buying beach homes.
  • I’m looking to buy my retirement home in a few years.
  • It’ll be in Central Florida, but it won’t be at or near the beach.
  • It may be along the shores of a large lake though.
  • I need to find and see a dermatologist.
  • I’ve had red splotches on my face for the better part of the past year now.
  • It’s not really itchy, but it’s a bit unsightly.
  • Maybe I’m allergic to the bar soap that I use.
  • I may stop washing my face in the shower to see if it improves.
  • Well there you go – my “Mini-Thoughts” for this weekend.
  • I enjoyed doing this.
  • Maybe I’ll do it again next month.
  • This blog post goes online at 3 AM EDT (U.S. East Coast) on Thursday.
  • Thanks for making it through all 36 of these “Mini-Thoughts” !

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries