Month: August 2024

Categories
Blogging History Travel

Tasmania Florida

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about the historic Avon Park Depot Museum – operated by the Avon Park Historical Society. It’s located about 4½ miles from my neighborhood. On a recent visit a friendly docent greeted me, and we had a nice conversation about local history – not just of Avon Park, but also of the entirety of Highlands County and beyond. Truly I could have spent several hours in conversation with him.

He told me about Tasmania (Florida) and Fisheating Creek. That led me to do some historical research on the ghost town and the natural free-flowing stream that runs alongside it.

So Tasmania is actually located in western Glades County (our neighbor to the south). It’s about 10 miles west of the small community of Palmdale, and about 4 miles south of the Highlands County line. What remains of Tasmania are foundations and a few farm buildings along what is now Tasmania Road, or Glades County Road 731. (That zigzagging road also enters Highlands County.)

Tasmania was established during the late-1880s, and it got its name in 1916. The small settlement along Fisheating Creek (its original name) was mostly abandoned during the Great Depression of the 1930s when it was bypassed by the railroad to the east (along what is now U.S. 27).

Fisheating Creek begins in the hills of southwestern Highlands County, and it flows downhill for about 50 miles southward into Glades County and then eastward into Lake Okeechobee providing the big lake with about 9% of its water (the second-largest natural source of water after the Kissimmee River). There’s actually a gap in the 30-foot-high Herbert Hoover Dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee where Fisheating Creek flows freely through to the lake on its west side. (The dike parallels the Creek at its mouth.)

I’m glad I had that conversation with that docent on that day in Avon Park. I got to learn all about Tasmania and Fisheating Creek. I’ve driven over the Creek about 60 times over the past 18 months via U.S. 27. Now when I drive over it – I’ll be thinking about everything that I’ve learned about it from source to mouth – from swampland past settlement to lake.

As a fellow historical museum docent – I’m encouraged to know that my visitors are learning about the local area from me, and then they are leaving and telling their family and friends about their experience. They may also be doing historical research of their own. That’s a great way to preserve, protect, and promote history around us.

Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commission –
Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook.

Next #TravelThursday – we take a trip out west to Texas. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 393

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 August 25TH 2024 – the 393RD week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 12 Take You At Your Word
[2ND week @ # 1]		 Cody Carnes
2 2 9 Good Day Forrest Frank
3 6 3 Count ‘Em Brandon Lake
4 3 18 Somebody Like Me Caleb & John Ft. Cain
5 4 16 Beautiful Life Pat Barrett
6 5 7 Take It All Back Tauren Wells
7 7 8 Nothin’ Sweeter TobyMac
8 10 2 Just As You Are Ryan Stevenson
9 9 3 Do It Again Steven Curtis Chapman
10 – 1 Up + Up Colton Dixon

# 1 This Week In:
2023 – “Praise You Anywhere” – Brandon Lake
2022 – “Hold You Tight” – Dan Bremnes
2021 – “When We Fall Apart” – Ryan Stevenson Ft. Vince Gill & Amy Grant
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

COLTON DIXON – It’s a good week for Colton – now and then. His “Miracles” was # 1 exactly 4 years ago. And his “Up + Up” becomes his 4TH hit on my chart over the past 7½ years. It’s a Jeremiah 29:11 testimony. When you’re down – He picks you up. From the ground – He gives you love. He lifts you up and up again – no matter who surrounds:

THE FORGE – I saw it at my local movie theatre this past Friday afternoon, and it was gloriously wonderful. It’s the latest from the Kendrick Brothers (“Facing The Giants”, “Fireproof”, “Courageous”, “War Room”, “Overcomer”, etc.). It’s actually a spinoff of “War Room” from exactly 9 years ago, and YES – Miss Clara and a few other characters are back from the original. I highly recommend this movie. See it this week if you can. It is a sound Christian movie based on Biblical Scripture. Stick around past the start of the closing credits at the end of the movie for an extra scene and a special message from the Kendrick Brothers. Fun Fact – this movie was filmed in Albany Georgia last summer (2023) – a city that I drove around and spent the night in as part of my April 2024 road-trip.

SUMMER OF 2024 – This is Week 14 of our 15-week Summer (starting with Memorial Day Weekend and ending with Labor Day Weekend here in the U.S.A.). As is tradition here on #CountUp – I’ll present “My Top 10 Hits” of the Summer after it’s over. It’ll publish on Wednesday September 04TH 2024. I wonder what my # 1 smash of the Summer will be ?

SPOTIFY – You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime by accessing 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.

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. God used loud music on the radio to reach me in August of 2006. I’ve been testifying about Him ever since.

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) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 25TH 2024, 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.

During my last few years of living and working in Homestead Florida – I vowed to not be the person that I was for all of those years once I move away and enter the retirement chapter of my life. I was an anti-social loner in Homestead. I basically went to work, and then I came home exhausted after a long day. I rarely associated with coworkers, friends, or neighbors. I actually didn’t know a single one of my neighbors, and I lived in a gated neighborhood of 640 condos.

I didn’t want to be that person in Sebring Florida, so I prayed a lot about it. 17 months after moving away – I’m thankfully not that person. I’m more socially active today than I could have ever imagined back at my previous place. I know many of my neighbors, and I hang out with them each week – particularly every Monday night at BINGO as well as at various breakfast, lunch, and dinner events during the year (all food-related). You know – food and fellowship go hand-in-hand with each other. Can you have food without fellowship ? Of course. How about fellowship without food ? Definitely. But food and fellowship – it’s a match made in Heaven.

And then there are my museum friends – at 3 different museums in Sebring and Avon Park. I actually spend more time with my museum friends than I do with my neighbor friends. Again – food is generally involved. And not only that, but I get to welcome and meet and guide and share information with locals and tourists – visitors alike – at one of my museums every Tuesday. It’s like my workday in retirement. I actually dress-up a bit on Tuesdays – much like I did on Tuesdays when I was working (before retirement).

But wait there’s more. I can’t leave out my new church family. Next week marks exactly one year with my Highlands Community Church family. I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. About 20 of us meet every Friday night for Bible Study hosted by our Senior Pastor. It’s a great time for fellowship (without the food). And then there’s what we call Men’s Ministry – which should really be called Men’s Fellowship (with food – usually home-cooked). I just recently immersed myself into this every other Tuesday night event. And finally – we praise and worship our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ corporately every Sunday morning. More fellowship.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another – especially now that the day of His return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT)

You know – I should write a sermon on fellowship. Actually – I don’t really need to write one. I can just preach all about it from the heart (and experience). I can preach on how God gradually transformed me and used fellowship to change my life. I can preach on the importance of fellowship on this day-to-day journey with Christ. It’s not just a Sunday morning thing. It’s not just a church thing. It’s life sharing. It’s life changing.

My testimony is featured each week here 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) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging History Travel

Avon Park Depot Museum

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 113 weeks ago I wrote all about my first visit (which was really my second visit) to the historic Avon Park Depot Museum – operated by the Avon Park Historical Society. It’s located about 4½ miles from my neighborhood. I visited the museum on a previous trip to the area in February 2021. I arrived at the museum. I took a couple of exterior photos. I walked-up to the front door, and it was locked shut. #COVID

What a disappointment. I immediately returned southward to Sebring. That disappointment actually led me to a big “reveal” with the Sebring Historical Society that began my relationship with them.

Meanwhile I’ve been visiting the Depot Museum in downtown Avon Park on a fairly regular basis. My friend Elaine is the Museum Curator, and she frequently updates the museum with new displays – both temporary and permanent. It’s a very nice museum to visit set in a historic train depot, and the trains keep on rolling by. (They just don’t stop.)

On some days you may even be able to get a bonus exclusive behind-the-scenes tour inside this railroad dining car (acquired in 1986) that last saw action as part of Amtrak’s Auto Train. It’s now used for special catered dining events by groups of 16 to 36 (by reservation only).

The museum is a traditional historical museum for the city of Avon Park. You can easily spend an hour or two checking it all out and allowing the docent and curator to share history with you. It’s currently open from 10 AM to 3 PM on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It’s located at 3 North Museum Avenue right after the first set of railroad tracks if you’re driving east on Main Street from U.S. 27. Make a left at Museum Avenue, and you’ll see the museum and the dining car on the left-hand side.

The docent on duty at the museum during my visit last month told me all about Tasmania Florida and Fisheating Creek. That led me to do some historical research on the ghost town and the natural free-flowing stream that runs alongside it. I’ll share what I learned next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp