Month: August 2022

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 289

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 nearly 45 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday August 28TH 2022 – the 289TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 11 Hold You Tight
[2ND week @ # 1]		 Dan Bremnes
2 2 10 Thank God For Sunday Morning Cochren & Co.
3 5 3 Good Morning Mercy Jason Crabb
4 4 4 Don’t Lose Heart Steven Curtis Chapman
5 6 2 New Creation Mac Powell
6 7 7 Good Lord David Leonard
7 10 6 We All Need Jesus Danny Gokey Ft. Koryn Hawthorne
8 9 3 All My Praise Ryan Ellis
9 – 1 Build A Boat Colton Dixon
10 – 1 Always Chris Tomlin

# 1 This Week In:
2021 – “Into The Wild” – Josh Baldwin
2020 – “Miracles” – Colton Dixon
2019 – “Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West
2018 – “Who You Say I Am” – Hillsong Worship
2017 – “Broken Things” – Matthew West

NEXT # 1 – I know it’s my chart, but I really don’t know what my next # 1 smash will be, and when it will occur. It’s entirely influenced by radio airplay. I listen to K-LOVE over the radio airwaves at home and in my car, as well as via my Amazon Echo Dot at home. I also listen to WGTS out of Washington D.C. via my Echo Dot. Based on what I’m hearing on the radio I think that Dan Bremnes will remain at # 1 for another 2 to 3 weeks into September, and then after that Jason Crabb will grab the top spot with “Good Morning Mercy”. (Of course I could be completely wrong.)

TOP 30 OF 300 – The 300TH week of the current era of my #Top10Monday chart is just 11 weeks away on Monday November 14TH 2022. The following Monday November 21ST 2022 I’ll present a very special chart in lieu of my regular weekly chart. It’ll be “My Top 30 Hits – 300 Weeks”. I’m getting ready to begin compiling it, and I’m looking forward to presenting it on here in less than 3 months.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again with the new weekend – and 5 new entries – known as #TravelThursday, #RetroFriday, #SundayScripture, a special holiday post on #LaborDayMonday, and #Top10Monday on a Tuesday.

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 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) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 28TH 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. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

A little behind-the-scenes information here: I generally prepare these editions of #SundayScripture on Thursday and Friday leading-in to each new weekend. Saturday (mostly afternoon and evening) is my Sabbath. That’s when I sit down and pray, read the Bible, and write sermons. The culmination of my Sabbath is Sunday worship and fellowship with my church family. So it’s a 24-hour Sabbath from about 2 PM on Saturdays until about 2 PM on Sundays.

3 Sundays ago I preached my sermon – “Honor & Respect” – to my church family. It’s based on 1 Peter 2:10-2:25.

Here on #SundayScripture I’m presenting it in its original written form. Here’s Part 3 of this multi-part series:

There’s a popular song from the mid-1990s cowritten by TobyMac – one of my favorite singers. He wrote a song called “Jesus Freak”. It’s all about persecution. Here are the lyrics of its chorus:

What will people think
When they hear that I’m a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it’s true
I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain’t no disguising the truth
Ain’t no disguising the truth
No – I ain’t into hiding the truth

Some people we know – who know – that we know God – are defiant towards God. They can even be hateful towards God. It could be for any number of reasons. Maybe they once believed in Him and followed Him, but so many bad things happened to them or their loved ones that they lost faith in Him and even in His existence. Maybe they were churchgoers, and the church – the system or its people – hurt them in some way. I can relate to that.

You know before my 7½ years here as your brother of this Living Waters church family – I was a brother for 8 years at my previous place of worship just down the road from here. It’s where I grew up in the Lord. It’s where I learned of His ways.

I know of many cases – too many cases – where brothers and sisters – most much younger than me – attended church, served others by making coffee, or vacuuming carpets, or opening doors, or ushering in the sanctuary, or even leading or teaching others. That was just 10 to 15 years ago, and now – they are anti-church, and some are anti-God. It’s heartbreaking. These people walked with me towards God. Some of them even taught me about God. And now – they are outspoken critics about (allegedly) being duped and brainwashed by it all.

And those are the people that tend to mock and ridicule those who are all-in for Jesus. They either do that, or they just completely avoid you in every way imaginable. You are no longer in their world. You are a Jesus freak. #Guilty.

So be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Some of them are judging you and your every move. Some are curious about you. If they see you do good – over and over again – and they know that you know God – then maybe – just maybe – they may want to learn more about the God you know – from you.

“There’s something different about that guy over there. He’s a good guy. He does good deeds. And he raises his arms up high – while praising God and singing about Him. I want to be like that guy, so that I can find out about this God that he loves.”

You see – when you love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind – and you love your neighbor as yourself – your neighbors see that, and they become curious as to who this God is, and what is He all about. And that gives you the opportunity to go and tell them all about the God you know.

(End of Part 3)

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
1980s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1987

Hello again retro music fans. 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 4TH Friday of the month, so I go back 35 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday August 30TH 1987:

  1. “What Have I Done To Deserve This ?” – Pet Shop Boys With Dusty Springfield
  2. “Call Me” – Spagna
  3. “Toy Boy” – Sinitta
  4. “True Faith” – New Order
  5. “U Got The Look” – Prince With Sheena Easton

“It’s A Sin” (Pet Shop Boys) was a great track during the greatest summer ever – the British Summer of 1987. I still love to hear it today. But then Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe released a track that was even greater than that – a collaboration with Dusty Springfield titled “What Have I Done To Deserve This ?”. I consider it to be one of the greatest songs ever made. On this weekend 35 years ago it hit # 1 on my weekly Top 50 chart at the time. It did so in its 3RD week. The previous week it was at # 2, and the week before that – # 44. (It surged 42 notches in its 2ND week.)

But it had trouble reaching # 1 in most places around the world. In the U.K. it spent 2 weeks at # 2, as it was held back for both weeks by Rick Astley’s debut smash “Never Gonna Give You Up”. 6 months later in the U.S. it also spent 2 weeks at # 2, as it was held back by Expose’s “Seasons Change” and George Michael’s “Father Figure”. (Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” actually replaced it at # 2.)

“What Have I Done To Deserve This ?” also peaked at # 2 in Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, and Sweden. But in one nation it was a # 1 smash – Ireland !

Next #RetroFriday I’ll go back 15 years ago to the start of September 2007. It’s when a young pop-punk trio from upstate South Carolina took their “Galactic Conquest” to # 1 with God’s love.

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 Career Military Travel Weather

Phoenix Arizona

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Yesterday was the 30TH anniversary of Hurricane Andrew’s destruction of Homestead Florida – my home of almost 5 years at the time. After 19 months of living in Maryland, Virginia, and Central Florida (Melbourne and Tampa) – I returned to Homestead in March 1994, and I’ve been here since. That’s almost 35 years (minus 19 months). When I first arrived here in Homestead – I was 20½-years-young. Now I’m 55.

I don’t think I’ve told anyone this before – other than my coworkers at the time in Gloucestershire England – but in July 1987 I actually received vague military orders for my next assignment / duty station to Phoenix Arizona. (Those orders were inexplicably replaced 3 months later with orders to Homestead Florida.)

I’ve never been to Phoenix – “The Valley Of The Sun”. Someday I’ll probably visit. I wonder how much different my life and career would’ve turned out had I gone to Phoenix instead of Miami / Homestead. There would’ve been no hurricane to drastically change my life 7 years into my military career. Maybe I would’ve stayed 20+ years on Active Duty. Maybe I would’ve fallen in love with Arizona – much like I’ve fallen in love with Florida. Maybe I would’ve never gone on a Caribbean cruise.

I know that I would’ve thoroughly explored much of what there is to see and do in Phoenix and beyond. I’ve only stepped foot on a small part of Arizona – the northern part from Hoover Dam to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. That was part of a family excursion out of Las Vegas in January 2002.

I grew up with hot and humid summers up in the Washington D.C. area, so South Florida’s weather wasn’t such a shock when I first arrived here. It just lasts much longer here than there. British weather was similar to Maryland and Virginia weather in the wintertime. Of course winter weather lasted much longer in the U.K. I generally don’t do good with dry desert weather – whether it’s sizzling hot in the summertime or freezing cold in the wintertime. I guess if I made that move to Arizona I would’ve gotten used to it after a short little while.

As a creature of humidity – even North Texas (where much of my family lives) – is too dry for me. My nose and skin don’t like arid-extra-dry. South Florida air always feels refreshing after returning home from a week or two in Texas.

Next #TravelThursday let’s visit Luxembourg. Let’s keep traveling together.

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