Month: January 2022

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 258

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 40+ years. Here’s this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING SUNDAY JANUARY 23RD 2022 WEEK 258
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 11 Weary Traveler
[6TH week @ # 1]		 Jordan St. Cyr
2 3 16 Come What May We Are Messengers
3 2 13 In The House Crowder
4 7 3 River Of Life Mac Powell
5 8 4 Walking Free Micah Tyler
6 6 7 Jesus Is Coming Back Jordan Feliz Ft. Mandisa & Jonathan Traylor
7 4 8 Heart Of The Father Ryan Ellis
8 5 8 God Turn It Around Jon Reddick
9 – 1 Too Good To Not Believe Brandon Lake Ft. Jenn Johnson
10 10 3 Know You Will Hillsong UNITED

# 1 This Week In:
2021 – “Every Step Of The Way” – Cade Thompson
2020 – “Rescue Story” – Zach Williams
2019 – “Nobody Loves Me Like You” – Chris Tomlin
2018 – “Lions” – Skillet

WEEK 258 – Well after a 1-week diversion last week from my weekly hit music chart (“My Concerts – 2021“) I am back with an all-new published Top 10. My chart continued on last week (unpublished) with minimal movements and no new entries. This is the 258TH week of the 3RD era of my chart. I’ll be celebrating 5 years of this era next month. That’s 5 years of listening to K-LOVE on the radio !

WEARY TRAVELER – Jordan St. Cyr spends his 6TH week atop my chart with his sleeper smash “Weary Traveler”. It’s now doubled the number of weeks at # 1 of “Fires” – Jordan’s debut smash that was my # 1 smash of all of last year. “Weary Traveler” turned-out to be the instant anthem of my long 18-day road-trip this past November between South Florida and North Texas. It was also the most-played song (and very appropriate) during the Christmas season. Finally it played on the radio during my short (1-hour) drive home from PortMiami and my recent cruise vacation. ♫ I won’t be weary long. ♫

Here’s the brand new (just released) official music video for “Weary Traveler”:

This blog is # 35 worldwide on the Top 80 Christian Music Blogs and Websites chart. Thank You for including us Feedspot !

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.

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday January 23RD 2022, 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.

This is also the day that I return home to my brothers and sisters of my church family to celebrate Christ in community. It’s been 3 weeks since we’ve been together, as I’ve been on vacation. I’m very much looking forward to bringing the church this morning. It was exactly 15 years ago this weekend that I attended a church service for the first time as a born-again Christian. My Sunday mornings changed forever on Sunday January 21ST 2007. I was no longer an orphan on this fantastic journey.

Last month (December 2021) I preached to my church family on being “Holy & Redeemed”. It’s based on 1 Peter 1:13-23. Here’s the final excerpt – Part 6:

Before we knew God our life was empty. It had no purpose. It had no meaning. It was led by the world. But now we are “Holy & Redeemed”. You know it’s not easy being holy. To be holy requires us to separate ourselves from the world. We’re still in this world, but we are not of this world. You remember how you used to act and think back then before you knew Christ. Do you want to go back to that darkness ?

We turned away from that nonsense – that chaos – that evil. It took a lot for us to do that. For some of us it was the most courageous act of our life. For all of us it changed our life forever. We couldn’t have done it without our God guiding and directing us every step of the way.

You know to outsiders – those of this world – it may seem pompous – if you will – to call yourself “Holy & Redeemed”. But that’s what we are. And that’s who we are. Because that is who He is. When you’re talking to God – tell Him who He is, and tell Him who you are. You are His child. You are for Him. You want to be more like Him. You are a citizen of His Kingdom. And His Kingdom is your new homestead.

But guess what ?  And this is where I’ll close. Because we’re all getting hungry.

It’s redemption season. The entryways to God’s Kingdom are wide open, and our God – He has His arms wide open. Yeah – we’re “Holy & Redeemed”, but anyone out there of this world can be “Holy & Redeemed” too. Some of our neighbors out there are hungry too. Some of them are hungry for physical food. And some of them are hungry for something different – something that they don’t currently have. They are hungry for guidance and direction from a higher being. They are hungry for a new life that’s completely different from their current life. They are hungry for a fantastic journey that leads them to an eternal life in Heaven.

Go be the disciples that God made you to be when you became born again. Go and tell God’s Good News to your neighbor who needs to hear it from you. Tell them that you are “Holy & Redeemed”, but don’t stop there. Tell them how they can be “Holy & Redeemed” too. Introduce them to God’s Word. Invite them into God’s Kingdom. There’s plenty of room, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)

Lord we thank You for making us “Holy & Redeemed”. Lead us to opportunities where we can share Your Good News with others. Soften the harder parts of our heart so that we may show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters and as neighbors of this temporary land. Show us the way to expand Your Kingdom here on earth. We love You Lord. It is in Your powerful name that we pray this to you. Amen.

And that’s my message for you today. Thank You for allowing me to share the Gospel with you. Now go out and do the same out there.

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) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
1990s Blogging Football Movies Music Radio Sports Television

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1992

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 3RD Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday January 19TH 1992:

  1. “Black Or White” – Michael Jackson
  2. “Can’t Let Go” – Mariah Carey
  3. “He Don’t Know” – Huey Lewis And The News
  4. “Kiss Them For Me” – Siouxsie And The Banshees
  5. “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” – George Michael & Elton John

“Kiss Them For Me” – What a great song that is. I consider it to be one of the greatest songs of all-time. It’s definitely the song that I’ve performed (sang) on “Rock Band” more than any other. It’s my signature song. It was quirky 30 years ago, and it’s just as quirky today. It was produced by Stephen Hague who is the man behind some of my other greatest songs of all-time from Erasure, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, and Pet Shop Boys.

At the box office later in January 1992 I saw “Kuffs” starring Christian Slater. Anyone remember that ? No ? I didn’t think so.

I do remember this though – my Washington Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI 37-24 over the Buffalo Bills 30 years ago this month.

Next #RetroFriday I’ll go back 35 years ago to January 1987.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going retro with me !

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Food Travel

My Carnival Liberty Vacation 2022

And I am back from another fun-filled vacation. This time it was 8 days on the Carnival Liberty out of Miami Florida. Over the next 7 weeks of #TravelThursday I’ll blog about this cruise, so let’s get started.

In order to get started we need to go all the way back to a time shortly before we all knew what COVID was.

I actually booked this 8-day cruise out of Miami to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao on February 10TH 2020. And then COVID shutdown the world a month later.

I booked this cruise 1 year and 1 week after returning from my last cruise on the Carnival Glory out of Miami. That was my 14TH Carnival cruise (in early-2019) and 22ND cruise overall since 1991. I love Carnival cruises, and I’ll share the many reasons why over the next 7 weeks.

I booked this cruise on the newer and bigger Carnival Horizon (in-service since 2018). It would’ve been my first cruise on a new(ish) cruise ship since October / November 2007 when I sailed on the Carnival Freedom out of Civitavecchia Rome Italy for its maiden voyage across the Atlantic to Miami. That Carnival Freedom cruise over the course of 14 days remains as my favorite cruise of all-time.

I’ve actually sailed on the Carnival Freedom more nights (29) than any other cruise ship. I sailed 2 more times on her in 2010 and 2014. That 3RD Carnival Freedom cruise in 2014 was not such a great experience, and I thought that it would be my final Carnival cruise ever.

I gave Carnival another chance almost 5 years later in 2019 on the Carnival Glory, and that turned out to be an excellent cruise; hence, my booking of the January 2021 cruise on the Carnival Horizon.

Well COVID canceled that cruise, and in lieu of getting my money back from Carnival I simply rebooked it for exactly a year later with a generous financial incentive included.

This past November the Carnival Horizon began experiencing propulsion problems with its maximum cruising speed. It was pulled from service and sent to an urgent extended dry dock over in Palermo Italy so that it could be repaired and also freshened-up a bit. It was replaced by the Carnival Sunshine for some of its December sailings – and the Carnival Liberty for some of its January sailings. Again – I could’ve chosen to cancel this cruise (due to the ship change), but I chose to sail on the replacement ship for even more financial incentives. I could’ve canceled this cruise at any time up to the day of sailing for no penalty at all (due to the CDC’s warning against sailing on cruise ships), but I kept this vacation intact.

And so I sailed on the 16½-year-old Carnival Liberty with an embarkation date of Saturday January 08TH 2022. I arrived at PortMiami shortly before 10:30 AM EST, and I stepped foot on the ship less than 45 minutes later. (It took less than 15 minutes to actually check-in at the terminal, but customers weren’t allowed on the ship until just after 11 AM.)

As this was my 7TH Carnival cruise in a row on the mid-2000s Carnival Conquest-class cruise ship (Glory, Valor, Liberty, Freedom) I knew where everything was on the ship. Of course it’s been almost 3 years, so I was confused at times. That just increased my steps on my Fitbit.

The ship set sail at 6 PM on that first night (about 2 hours late due to an unspecified maintenance issue that was awaiting a part). At that time I was already halfway into my dinner at the upscale steakhouse on deck 10. It’s a $38 upcharge to eat there, and that’s a bit steep, but they do serve the best food on the entire ship (and the biggest portions). Check out my cheesecake dessert !

After dinner (and that ENORMOUS slice of cheesecake) I enjoyed playing my first round of BINGO (3 games) – followed by the main show in the main lounge (which seats 1,400). I actually attended (and enjoyed) every main show in the main lounge during the course of this 8-day cruise, and it was never more than about 25% full.

This was a cruise for the fully-vaccinated, and you had to present proof of a negative COVID test taken within 48 hours of cruise embarkation in order to get on the ship. I believe that the cruise ship sailed at about 40% to 50% full. It’s my first cruise ever that wasn’t at or near 100% full. It was at less than half capacity more so for the change (downgrade) in ship rather than the strict COVID vaccination and testing rules. Nobody booked this ship. Carnival rebooked everyone (who didn’t cancel) from the Carnival Horizon. The Carnival Liberty was actually out-of-service for almost 22 months during COVID, and it was brought back into service a month earlier than planned to fill-in for the Carnival Horizon. After almost 22 months of inactivity there were most certainly maintenance and repair issues on this ship. I’ll explain some of those issues next #TravelThursday.

All rights reserved (c) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp