Month: December 2020

A Cold Day In The Everglades

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 31, 2020

Back in November when I found out that The United States Secretary Of The Interior David Bernhardt made it free for life for U.S. Veterans to enter America’s National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and other public federal lands – first of all I was extremely grateful. It’s probably the best gift that has ever been given to me as a Veteran. After all this is a gift that keeps on giving every single day – not just on Veterans’ Day.

I live between two U.S. National Parks – Biscayne National Park to the east – and Everglades National Park to the west. Both are about 10 miles away from my home. Biscayne does not charge an entry fee. It’s free for everyone. Everglades charges $30 per vehicle for a 7 consecutive day pass, or $55 for an annual pass. I no longer have to pay either fee. I’m free !

I actually got in to Everglades National Park for free during 2 consecutive winter seasons (2015-2016 and 2016-2017) when I worked out there as a volunteer (in uniform) giving tours at the NIKE Missile Site (HM-69). I worked 31 Saturdays out there showing hundreds of visitors from around the world a sampling of authentic military history from the mid-1960s to the late-1970s (when it was an active duty base out in the middle of the Park).

Back in November I said to myself that I would visit the Park on a cold day this winter season, and so last Saturday was that cold day. With temperatures in the upper-40s and lower-50s at dawn I entered the Park for the first time since my last Saturday working out there in March of 2017. It was like a homecoming for me. I actually drove the entire 38-mile main park road down to Flamingo on Florida Bay. It was my first visit there in nearly 7 years. I took a fun 90-minute organized boat tour up-and-down the waters north of Flamingo. I took the same tour almost 8 years ago.

After the boat tour I did a lot of walking all around Flamingo and then at a couple of stops along the way back up the main park road. I took a lot of pictures. I walked over 13,000 steps / 6 miles.

The Park was packed on that Saturday / day after Christmas. Everyone else had the same idea as me to visit during a rare cold South Florida day.

Now I need to figure out what my next fun cold day out will be here in my local area. Maybe Vizcaya ? (also free for life for U.S. Veterans)

Tags Everglades, Florida

Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 20 Hits – 2020

59 hits created 52 weeks of Top 10 Christian hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – my Top 20 hits of 2020:

RK	PK	WKS	SONG TITLE	ARTIST / SITE
1	1	22	Almost Home	MercyMe
2	1	26	I Will Fear No More	The Afters
3	2	25	Alive & Breathing	Matt Maher
4	1	18	Rise Up (Lazarus)	Cain
5	1	20	No Impossible With You	I AM THEY
6	1	20	Keep Me In The Moment	Jeremy Camp
7	1	19	The God Who Stays	Matthew West
8	1	14	No Hold On Me	Matty Mullins
9	1	15	God So Loved	We The Kingdom
10	2	18	Your Name Is Power	Rend Collective
11	1	12	Rescue Story	Zach Williams
12	3	14	This Is What We Live For	Big Daddy Weave
13	1	12	Jericho	Andrew Ripp
14	2	14	The Father’s House	Cory Asbury
15	2	11	Amadeo (Still My God)	Ryan Stevenson
16	3	16	Waymaker	Michael W. Smith Ft. Vanessa Campagna
17	3	12	See A Victory	Elevation Worship
18	3	12	Truth Be Told	Matthew West
19	1	9	Miracles	Colton Dixon
20	1	11	There Was Jesus	Zach Williams Ft. Dolly Parton

# 1 For The Year In:
2019 – “Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West
2018 – “Do It Again” – Elevation Worship
2017 – “Broken Things” – Matthew West

What a great year for positive and encouraging music that tells the story of God. What a great chart to represent His music. What a unique year that 2020 was – a year like no other.

My # 2 artist of the past 202 weeks – MercyMe – scored my # 1 smash of 2020 with “Almost Home” – a song that spent 12 consecutive weeks at # 1 from late-February to early-May. MercyMe return to my year-end chart after no-showing in 2019. (“Even If” was my # 2 hit of 2017, and “Grace Got You” was my # 2 hit of 2018.)

My # 1 artist of the past 202 weeks – Matthew West – makes it 4 years in a row on my year-end chart, and this year he places 2 songs on it including the still-climbing “Truth Be Told” which is now at # 3 for the week. There’s a good chance that it could compete for # 1 next week.

My # 2 hit of 2020 – The Afters’ “I Will Fear No More” – was my longest-running hit of the year at 26 weeks – from late-January to mid-July. It was quite the timely song to hear during the peak of the pandemic.

Elevation Worship have now placed a song on my year-end chart for the past 3 years in a row.

Unspoken’s “You’ve Always Been” missed out on my year-end chart by just 2 chart points. It’s officially my # 21 hit of 2020.

My Top 20 Of 2020 chart was compiled by awarding 10 points for each week at # 1, 9 points for # 2, and so forth and so on down to 1 point for # 10. The points are then added, and the hits are ranked.

There were 14 # 1 hits in 2020, and 2 of them failed to make my Top 20 – “Holy Water” (We The Kingdom) and “Every Step Of The Way” (Cade Thompson). They were my first and last # 1 hits of the year respectively.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again this upcoming weekend – with 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. I’m also on Twitter and Flickr.

Be blessed my friends ! May the 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, Christian, KLOVE, Music, Radio

Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 202

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 28, 2020

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday December 27TH 2020:

TW	LW	WKS	SONG TITLE	ARTIST / SITE
1	1	5	Every Step Of The Way	Cade Thompson
2	2	7	Image Of God	We Are Messengers
3	4	12	Truth Be Told	Matthew West
4	3	18	Rise Up (Lazarus)	Cain
5	5	7	Out Of My Hands	Jeremy Camp
6	7	3	Man Of Your Word	Maverick City Music
7	8	6	Famous For (I Believe)	Tauren Wells
8	9	5	Sparrows	Cory Asbury
9	10	5	Wake Up Sleeper	Austin French
10	–	1	Another In The Fire	Hillsong United

# 1 This Week In:
2019 – “Unstoppable God” – Sanctus Real
2018 – “Well Done” – The Afters
2017 – “Lions” – Skillet

And there you have it – my final Top 10 of 2020. It’s another slow chart week with minimal movements up and down.

Hillsong United is back with their 5TH hit since 2017. A live worship version of “Another In The Fire” was recorded late in 2018, and the studio version was recorded later in 2019. It was released as a single about 7 months ago, and now it’s an emerging radio hit for 2021.

This is not the end of the weekend here at #CountUp. I’ll have a special Tuesday blog post tomorrow, as I present my Top 20 hits of 2020. 2 of my Top 10 hits above are on my Top 20 chart. (Spoiler Alert: They are logically my longest-running hits right now.)

Tags Blog, Christian, KLOVE, Music, Radio

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 27, 2020

Greetings my friends ! This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us continue to believe, to follow, and to trust our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

It is Sunday December 27TH 2020 – the final Sunday of 2020. You know as 2019 was coming to an end we were all looking forward to a new year, a new decade, and a new beginning. It started off rather promising, but then it turned into something that none of us had ever seen or experienced before – a global pandemic that shut the world down.

For some of us 2020 was the worst year of our life, but for many of us it was a great year. It was definitely a year like no other. I think most of us spent more time in our own homes than in any previous year of our life. I learned how to work from home this year, and while it was convenient it wasn’t particularly practical for me. (I’m now back at the workplace full-time.)

The old – 2020 – is almost over. It will soon pass. It will soon be behind us. We can’t do anything about it. What’s done is done. Behold – the new – 2021 – will soon arrive. The LORD said, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing.” [Isaiah 43:18-19a]. God said, “I am making all things new.” [Revelation 21:5a].

My hope for you is that 2021 is truly greater for you than 2020. I pray that for you. I pray that for me. It’s a new beginning. Our God loves new beginnings. He loves new creations.

In this upcoming new year – in this new season – let us renew our commitment to getting closer to Christ our Savior.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created, and is supreme over all creation. For through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see – and the things we can’t see … Everything was created through Him, and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church – which is His body. He is the beginning – supreme over all who rise from the dead, so He is first in everything. For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Christ is Supreme. He came to this earth as a man, but He was and He is God. He’s the Creator of everything. He created each and every one of us. He created a fantastic journey with a unique purpose for all. He was and He is a Savior. He loved us so much that He was willing to die for us just to save us. And then – He conquered death and came back to Life. He’s eternal. He’ll never ever fail us. We must always honor Christ in everything we do and everywhere we go so that we too can rise again – after our time here on Earth is done – so that we can spend eternity with Him.

Let us believe that God is in total control of all of His Glorious creations – then and now – always and forever – through the sunny and clear and pleasing days – and through the dark and stormy and uncertain nights. God is there to lead us. He wants us to follow Him. Let’s do that. Walk with me.