Month: December 2023

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Holidays Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday December 31ST 2023, 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.

It is the last day of 2023, and this is my 186TH and final blog post of the year. That’s actually the least amount of blog posts in a year since 2018. It’s down because I eliminated my #RetroFriday posts in May. I’ll be back in 2024 (starting tomorrow) for my regularly-scheduled #TravelThursday, #SundayScripture, and #MusicMonday posts – with occasional special Tuesday and Wednesday posts.

I thank you all for reading my blog each week. I’ll continue writing it as long as you continue reading it. And I’ll continue to respect your time. Each of my blog posts can be read in less than 4 minutes.

The old – 2023 – has passed on. It’s behind us. We can’t do anything about it. What’s said is said. What’s done is done. But behold – the new creation – 2024 – has come. The Lord said, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold – I am doing a new thing.” Our God said, “I am making all things new.”

2023 was a great and life-changing year for me. Miracles occurred. Dreams came true. But I know that God will lead me to an even greater 2024, as I continue to move closer to Him. I pray that 2024 is a greater year for you as well.

My testimony is featured here each week on #SundayScripture whether it’s part of a sermon, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord, and get closer to Him with each new day.

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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography Home Travel

2023 – Year In Review

Welcome back to #TravelThursday, and the final edition of 2023. It’s been a crazy year – even a life-changing year for me. It all changed on the morning of February 16TH 2023 when I drove 3 hours north from Homestead (my home since December 1987) to Highlands County Florida. I checked-in with my Real Estate Agent at her office in downtown Lake Placid (who I had met in June 2022), and we drove up the road to Sebring. We drove into my new neighborhood – which I had confirmed (to her and myself) – would be my new neighborhood when I toured it with her just 2 days after my 55TH birthday in 2022. (It’s a 55+ senior community.)

Long story short – I bought my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida. The area that I had been driving through, and visiting, and vacationing occasionally for 8+ years, and stating that it would be my future retirement home – had become reality. It’s one of countless miracles for me from my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. He knows the plans He has for me. They are plans for good and not for disaster – to give me a future and a hope.

I love reading (some of) my old Facebook blog posts from 2015, and 2016, and 2017 (before I returned here to WordPress) when I wrote about retiring in Highlands County and other adjacent areas.

Here’s what I wrote on February 09TH 2015:

“I’m embarking on another classic sightseeing road-trip vacation next weekend. I’ll cover about 575 miles of South, Southwest, and South Central Florida as I visit Fort Myers, Lake Placid, Sebring, and Lake Wales – all of which are currently in the running for my future retirement location. U.S. 27 is pretty much my main north-south route now from the Miami-Dade / Broward County Line straight-up past the Orlando area. I really like the classic route as well as all of the small historic towns along the way. It’s “Forgotten Florida” along the spine of the peninsula some 100 to 250 feet above sea level / both coasts on either side – lots of scenic hills and lakes.”

(I soon eliminated Fort Myers and eventually Lake Wales from consideration.)

I moved-in and closed on my new home on March 15TH 2023, and ever since then I’ve been driving back-and-forth between Homestead and Sebring. (I still have my Homestead home.)

Each trip northward is an “A” trip, and each trip southward is a “B” trip. I’m currently on “20A” – my 20TH trip to Sebring since buying my new home. “20B” occurs on January 02ND 2024 when I return to Homestead for 6 days and 5 nights. It’s 1 of 4 remaining trips to Homestead until I retire.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll continue my “Year In Review”, and I’ll reveal if it was a record-breaking year of driving for me in 2023. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 358

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 over 45 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday December 24TH 2023 – the 358TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 10 I Thank God
[8TH week @ # 1]		 Housefires Ft. JWLKRS Worship
2 2 19 Hallelujah Feeling Caleb & John
3 3 20 Praise The Lord Micah Tyler
4 5 7 I Believe Phil Wickham
5 4 17 Parking Lot Cochren & Co.
6 6 4 Grave Robber Crowder
7 7 23 Praise You Anywhere Brandon Lake
8 10 3 Strong Anne Wilson
9 9 3 Trust In God Elevation Worship
10 8 3 Lead On Good Shepherd Patrick Mayberry

# 1 This Week In:
2022 – “Who I Am” – Ben Fuller
2021 – “Weary Traveler” – Jordan St. Cyr
2020 – “Every Step Of The Way” – Cade Thompson
2019 – “Unstoppable God” – Sanctus Real
2018 – “Well Done” – The Afters
2017 – “Control (Somehow You Want Me)” – Tenth Avenue North

SPOTIFY – Merry Christmas to you ! My Christmas gift to you is something that I hinted at about a month ago. This chart is now on Spotify. You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime simply by heading over to my CountUp playlist on Spotify. All 10 hits are there from top to bottom. You can hear them in order from # 1 to # 10, or you can shuffle them. My playlist will be updated every weekend (usually before the actual chart is presented here on Mondays). You can link to it here.  

TOP 23 OF 2023 – There’s just 1 more weekly chart to go for 2023, and I’ll publish it on New Year’s Day. The following day – Tuesday January 02ND 2024 – I’ll publish my Top 23 Of 2023. And it will also have its very own Spotify playlist.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again with the new weekend – and 4 new entries – known as #TravelThursday, #SundayScripture on New Year’s Eve, #MusicMonday on New Year’s Day, and my #Top23Of2023 on 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 Spotify, X, 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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church Food Football God Holidays Home Ministry Scripture Sports Television

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday December 24TH 2023, 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.

I wish each and every one of you following me and reading my blog a very Merry Christmas.

My traditional family “Christmas” actually occurred 4½ weeks ago in North Texas on Thanksgiving Day. For the past dozen years or so my brother has prepared a hearty home-cooked Breakfast for he and I, and then shortly after that we’ve opened all of the presents underneath the Christmas tree. Once they are all opened it’s time to watch football for the rest of the day and into the night – including for about an hour while we’re enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at around three or four in the afternoon.

On the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”) Christmas is done and over for me. Well – sort of. For the first 3 weeks of December I get to observe and celebrate bits and pieces of Christmas here and there by listening to Christmas music on the radio, watching Christmas shows on television, writing and sending Christmas cards and messages to family and friends from afar, and enjoying several Christmas meals with friends and neighbors. I’m especially looking forward to my first Christmas potluck dinner with about 100 of my neighbors in our clubhouse.

We all celebrate Christmas in our own unique and traditional ways. May you spend this holiday season with your loved ones. Make and share good memories that will last a lifetime. Honor each other. Love one another.

And let’s remember why we celebrate Christmas.

And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21 NLT)

The LORD saves.

My testimony is featured here each week on #SundayScripture whether it’s part of a sermon, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord, and get closer to Him with each new day.

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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp