Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 278

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 June 12TH 2022 – the 278TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 18 Sunday Sermons
[3RD week @ # 1]
Anne Wilson
2 2 12 Fill My Cup Andrew Ripp
3 4 6 Me On Your Mind Matthew West
4 3 14 Egypt Cory Asbury
5 6 4 I Will Carry You Ellie Holcomb
6 5 20 See Me Through It Brandon Heath
7 7 20 Brighter Days Blessing Offor
8 8 3 Love Is Everything We Need Unspoken
9 9 5 For God Is With Us for King + Country
10 10 2 Hymn Of Heaven Phil Wickham

# 1 This Week In:
2021 – “Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight)” – TobyMac
2020 – “I Will Fear No More” – The Afters
2019 – “Born Again” – Austin French
2018 – “The Way (New Horizon)” – Pat Barrett
2017 – “Live Like You’re Loved” – Hawk Nelson

499TH # 1 – Close observers of my blog and music chart may have noticed that “Sunday Sermons” is my 499TH # 1 smash ever (since my chart’s inception in 1985). So my 500TH # 1 smash is likely on my chart right now. It could be “Fill My Cup”, or “Me On Your Mind”, or maybe even “I Will Carry You”. We’ll find out next week, or the following week, or the week after that. #StayTuned

FORMER # 1s – Close observers of my blog and music chart may have also noticed that there have been some subtle updates recently to my # 1 HITS INDEX page. I’m currently updating the “Stateside Pop Era” which represents my 105 # 1 hits from the end of 1987 to nearly the end of 1992. I’m hoping to get that chart completed and uploaded in the weeks to come. #StayTuned

2 HITS TO BEAT – Both “See Me Through It” and “Brighter Days” spend their 20TH week each on my chart this week. They are back-to-back # 1 hits from March and April that entered my chart at # 9 and # 10 respectively at the end of January. Right now they are my Top 2 hits of 2022. They are two different styles of music, but they both point to our God Almighty as the Way – in the trial and the pain – fire and the rain – love will find you in your pain. #OurGodIsGreat

This would normally conclude another weekend of blog posts, but I’ve got another one tomorrow (Tuesday). Next weekend it’s back to normal – with 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 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 June 12TH 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.

Several weeks ago here on #SundayScripture I began transcribing one of my recent sermons that I preached to my church family at the end of February – “Stones & Stumbles”. It’s the follow-up to “Holy & Redeemed” which I presented on here in December and January. “Stones & Stumbles” covers 1 Peter 1:23-2:9.

Here’s Part 4 of my sermon:

… So back to Psalm 118:22:

The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

And here’s the very next verse:

This is the LORD’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.

And I know that you know this verse:

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

I say that every Sunday morning during Praise & Worship. I say it to myself every morning. And I’ve programmed Alexa (she’s a friend of Siri). I’ve programmed Alexa to say it to me every morning. You see 15½ years ago when my salvation started – it was the start of a new day. It was the start of a new life. It was the day the LORD had made. Our Lord – our cornerstone. He’s done great things in my life. He’ll continue to do great things. Our Lord is victorious. The day of His victory has already arrived. Its completion awaits another day. Until then – let us rejoice, and be glad – in His day of victory.

And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more – you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ – you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say – “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem – chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” (1 Peter 2:5-6)

Yes – you who trust Him recognize the honor God has given Him. But for those who reject Him – “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And “He is the stone that makes people stumble – the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s Word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. (1 Peter 2:7-8)

So we believers – You and I – God’s people – we are living stones. We are the spiritual temple that’s built on the foundation of Christ. We are heirs of God’s blessings. He lives within us, for we belong to Him.

You know on this journey God did not intend us to pray, and praise and worship Him, and celebrate Him – in isolation – in private – in secrecy. He wants to build us together – publicly – as His living stones in His spiritual temple. God chose us to carry out His mission to the world out there. He commands us to go and tell the world about Him.

First Peter Chapter 2 Verse 9:

You are a chosen people. You are royal priests – a holy nation – God’s very own possession. As a result – you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.

Allow me to unpack this verse – as a modern preacher would say.

The Apostle Peter looks back at Scripture (in other words – the Old Testament) – back when the Israelites were a holy people – who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth – the LORD your God has chosen you to be His own special treasure. (That’s from Deuteronomy Chapter 7.)

Peter continues referring to Scripture – back when the Israelites were My own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth – for all the earth belongs to Me. And you will be My kingdom of priests – My holy nation. (That’s from Exodus Chapter 19 where the LORD called out to Moses from Mount Sinai and gave him instructions to announce to the Israelites.)

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 – 1997

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 2ND Friday of the month, so I go back 25 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday June 15TH 1997:

  1. “Call Me” – Le Click
  2. “Bitch” – Meredith Brooks
  3. “Your Woman” – White Town
  4. “I Want You” – Savage Garden
  5. “MMMBop” – Hanson

“Call Me” was my # 1 smash of all of 1997, and “I Want You” was my # 2 smash of the entire year. Both hits spent 30+ weeks on my chart.

Coming in at # 3 for all of 1997 was the debut smash from Third Eye Blind. Their “Semi-Charmed Life” entered my chart at # 16 on this weekend 25 years ago, and just 2 weeks later it was my # 1 smash. It spent 32 weeks on my chart. They followed it up with other great memorable songs – “How’s It Going To Be” (another # 1 smash on my chart), and the very long-running “Jumper” which spent 43 weeks on my chart. All 3 tracks were from their self-titled debut album that has been certified platinum 6 times.

Third Eye Blind dominated the Top 40 airwaves for a short period of time. They were an integral part of the soundtrack of late-’90s U.S. pop music. They are currently on tour this summer celebrating “25 Years In The Blind”.

Next #RetroFriday I’ll go back 30 years ago to June 1992. It’s when Red Hot Chili Peppers were at # 2 with a song in which Anthony Kiedis shared some dark parts of his life with the world.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday with 3 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
Animals Blogging Nature Photography Travel

Zoo Miami

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of weeks ago on the Friday leading-in to Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S.A. I visited the Miami-Dade Zoological Park And Gardens – also known as Zoo Miami. It’s about 18 miles from my home.

This was my 6TH visit over the past 11 years – but first in over 5 years. I usually like to visit once every 2 or 3 years on a cool day during the wintertime (dry season). On this occasion I visited on a sunny and hot day at the end of May (rainy season). I actually took advantage of free admission for all military and veterans during the holiday weekend.

Zoo Miami is huge. It sits on about 750 acres of land – of which less than half is actually developed for animals, employees, and visitors. Over 3,000 animals and 500 species call Zoo Miami home.

This place holds a very special place in my heart, as it’s the first zoo that I ever visited in my life – as a 20 or 21-year-old in 1988. (I never got the zoo experience as a kid.) So I consider it my “childhood” zoo that I’ve now been visiting every few years for the past 34 years. I usually spend a little over 3 hours with each visit. I also don’t see everything during those 3 hours, so I try to visit the exhibits that are new, or that I didn’t get to experience on my previous visit.

On this Friday before the Memorial Day holiday the zoo was absolutely packed with hundreds (maybe over a thousand) elementary, middle, and high school students – roaming in packs large and small – counterclockwise around the park (4 miles around). So I followed the few adults and families that traversed the park clockwise – to mostly avoid the packs of school kids.

That would’ve been nice to visit the National Zoo in Washington D.C. as a school kid in the area back in the late-1970s and early-1980s.

I took 40 photos during my 3-hour trip around the zoo. Here are a few:

Next #TravelThursday we’ll visit my future retirement area of Highlands County Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

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