Month: August 2022

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 288

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 21ST 2022 – the 288TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 2 10 Hold You Tight
[1ST week @ # 1]		 Dan Bremnes
2 3 9 Thank God For Sunday Morning Cochren & Co.
3 1 13 Love Is Everything We Need Unspoken
4 5 3 Don’t Lose Heart Steven Curtis Chapman
5 6 2 Good Morning Mercy Jason Crabb
6 – 1 New Creation Mac Powell
7 9 6 Good Lord David Leonard
8 4 10 Getting Started Jeremy Camp
9 8 2 All My Praise Ryan Ellis
10 10 5 We All Need Jesus Danny Gokey Ft. Koryn Hawthorne

# 1 This Week In:
2021 – “When We Fall Apart” – Ryan Stevenson Ft. Vince Gill & Amy Grant
2020 – “Miracles” – Colton Dixon
2019 – “Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music
2018 – “Who You Say I Am” – Hillsong Worship
2017 – “Hard Love” – NEEDTOBREATHE

DAN BREMNES – My 79TH # 1 smash of this current era and 11TH # 1 smash of 2022 is Dan Bremnes’ 1ST # 1 smash on my chart. His “Hold You Tight” ascends to the top in its 10TH week on my chart after spending at least 1 week at every chart position in my Top 5.

JASON CRABB – I love a debut artist on my chart. Jason is 45 years old, and he hails from southwestern Kentucky. He’s been singing about God since he was a kid – first with his family – and then solo since 2009. His breakout hit – “Good Morning Mercy” – is now Top 5 on my chart, and it’s approaching the Top 30 nationwide. Hallelujah it’s a brand-new day !

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again with the new weekend – and 4 new entries – known as #TravelThursday, #RetroFriday, #SundayScripture, and #Top10Monday.

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 21ST 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.

This week marks the 16TH anniversary of the start of my salvation. I was rescued and saved by my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ 16 years ago. It’s when my life changed forever. If it weren’t for God’s salvation – I wouldn’t be here today. This blog wouldn’t exist. I probably wouldn’t be physically alive today. God saved my life. I thank Him with each new day of this fantastic journey.

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

Last #SundayScripture I began presenting it in its original written form. Here’s Part 2 of this multi-part series:

We live in a world that’s hostile to our God and His followers – His church. And we have all experienced persecution over and over again along our journey.

But the Bible says that we are blessed when we are persecuted because of righteousness. Rejoice, and be glad in it. We must love our enemies. We must pray for those who persecute us. We must ask for strength and wisdom from our God so that we can react in a godly way. Don’t persecute those who persecute you.

I last preached from the First Letter Of Peter at the end of February, so picking-up where I left-off in my last message – as the Bible says (1 Peter 2:10):

“Once you had no identity as a people. Now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy. Now you have received God’s mercy.”

Before we accepted the LORD into our life we had no identity – other than our name and our address. We were just like everyone else. We were of this world. We belonged to this world. This world owned us. We received no mercy.

But now we are God’s people. We belong to God. We have received God’s mercy. What’s God’s mercy ?  It’s His goodness. It’s His kindness towards us – even though we don’t deserve it. It’s unmerited favor. God gave us grace and mercy with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world. His mercy appeared at our salvation. For me – His mercy appeared – 16 years ago – in a couple of weeks. And mercy is always victorious over judgement.

Dear friends – I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. (2:11)

Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong – they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world. (2:12)

You know it’s tough being a Christian. If it were easy – then everyone you know would be a Christian. But you know – that most of the people that you know – don’t know God. And some of those people that you know – know that you know God. So they are watching you. Those people that you know – that know – that you know God – they are watching you like a hawk – especially the ones who are defiant towards God. See some of our neighbors and coworkers and friends and even members of our own immediate and extended family – some of them just don’t care who or what we believe in as Christians. Some of those people just think that we’re crazy or wacky or loony – for believing a God who we can’t see.

“Hey look at that wackadoodle over there – with his arms held high towards the sky – talking to nobody.”

You know – I don’t mind being called a wackadoodle – if it means that when my temporary time here on Earth is done – that I’ll spend eternity with my God in Heaven. I don’t care what you call me.

(End of Part 2)

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 Music Radio

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 August 23RD 1992:

  1. “Restless Heart” – Peter Cetera
  2. “Steel Bars” – Michael Bolton
  3. “Lift Me Up” – Howard Jones
  4. “Too Funky” – George Michael
  5. “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” – En Vogue

2 weeks prior to Sunday August 23RD 1992 I compiled one last Top 40 hit music chart on notebook paper, but I didn’t really know that it would be the final one.

Hurricane Andrew destroyed my home, my workplace, and my entire region on the morning of Monday August 24TH 1992. It was the most frightening night of my life. By the end of that week I was driving northward away from the death and destruction of Homestead Florida to continue my life and military employment up in the Washington D.C. area (my original home-of-record).

I actually tried twice to restart my weekly hit music chart in late-September and early-November of 1992, but both attempts fizzled. I was no longer interested in writing down my favorite songs each week. That hobby came to a temporary close. 3 years later in late-1995 – back in a partially-rebuilt Homestead Florida – I tried again by bringing it back electronically (via spreadsheet), and that 2ND era was a success – lasting over 14 years !

This is my final look-back at 30 years ago in 1992. Starting in September I’ll look-back at 20 years ago in 2002.

Next #RetroFriday I’ll go back 35 years ago to the end of August 1987. It’s when my # 1 smash was a # 2 smash all across the British Isles.

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 Travel

My First Caribbean Cruise

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. On this exact date – the 18TH of August – 31 years ago in 1991 – I stepped foot on a cruise ship for the first time ever. It was my Dad’s idea at the time to go on a family vacation at sea. He worked with a local travel agency in McLean Virginia. He selected the Norwegian Seaward out of #PortMiami. It was a fairly new cruise ship at the time – about 3 years old.

I did not know what to expect prior to stepping foot in a brand-new world at sea. Remember there was no Internet 31 years ago. But once I entered that cruise ship – it was love at first sight.

I don’t remember much from that first cruise. It was 7 days – a Sunday to Sunday. There were several ports-of-call including Ocho Rios Jamaica and George Town Grand Cayman. I think we also visited The Bahamas and Cozumel Mexico. It was my first time in those 4 nations. In fact I haven’t been to Jamaica since then.

We had our family portrait taken on formal night, and I actually wore my military service dress blues for that session.

I think I had decided during that first cruise that there would indeed be a 2ND cruise, and a 3RD cruise, and so forth and so on. That 2ND cruise arrived almost exactly 3 years later – on the exact same cruise ship. Just 8 months after that I was on my 3RD cruise – on another NCL ship out of Miami. In just a few more months I’ll set sail on my 24TH cruise !

From the sea to the desert – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

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