Month: May 2025

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Blogging Commerce Driving Food Geography Movies Travel

Texas Chicken

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about Barnes & Noble, Scotty P’s, Whataburger, and the circus-themed choral concert performed by a few hundred 5TH, 6TH, 7TH, and 8TH graders from two different schools – inside the auditorium of one of the local high schools.

That was the first time I entered a high school in 40 years – since I graduated with the Class Of 1985 in Northern Virginia. But wait – there’s more school fun !

Me and my brother went to Chick-fil-A (via the drive-thru), and I got the deluxe chicken sandwich with waffle fries. We then took our meals and went back to school – back to the 6TH grade. My youngest niece’s school has a program where students can eat with their parents / adult relatives on Fridays at special tables set aside in the cafeteria. So – we checked-in at the front office (excellent security), and we proceeded to the cafeteria and waited for my niece (my brother’s daughter) to arrive. (We bought her lunch too.)

It was my first appearance inside an elementary school since 1979 – at the end of the 6TH grade for me. I attended Magnolia Elementary School in Lanham Maryland from 1972 to 1973 (Kindergarten), and from 1975 to 1979 (3RD through 6TH grades). ♫ “We’re the blue and gold. The pride of P.G. Magnolia Mustangs # 1 …” ♫ (We had to sing that school theme song a lot back then, so I still remember it nearly 50 years later. I doubt they’re still using it.)

After lunch with my niece – me and my brother headed over to the local AMC Theatre to see “The Surfer” starring Nicolas Cage. It was a good movie about local Australian surfers protecting their territory from outsiders who don’t live there. (It was a psychological thriller.)

Later that afternoon we (as a complete family of 7) ventured over to Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. We went there once perhaps 16 or 17 years ago, and I loved it. I think we went back another time since then, but it’s been a long time. I’ve wanted to go back there for the past several years. It’s probably one of my favorite non-steak / non-fast food restaurants in the #DFW area. We finally made it there after all of these years – despite the objections of my sister-in-law and oldest niece who wanted to go to Chili’s instead. Chili’s is OK, but I can go there anytime I want right here in Sebring. (I go there a few times a year.)

At Babe’s each person at the table orders what drink they want, and what type of chicken they want (fried, hickory smoked, tenders, etc.). A few minutes later the chicken arrives family-style (4 pieces per person) – along with buttermilk biscuits, house salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and corn. Everyone digs in. There’s plenty of food to go around, and whatever chicken doesn’t get eaten – they will bag it up for you so that you can take it home. Each meal costs less than $20 per person. It’s a good deal, and it’s good food. Hopefully we’ll make it back there again in less than a decade.

So that was my Friday May 02ND 2025 in North Texas. It was a fun day of chicken, grade school, Australian surfing, and more chicken. Next #TravelThursday – it’s Part 4 of my fun with family, as we attend a full Catholic church service and watch my oldest niece get confirmed. And then I fly back home to Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 431

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 almost 50 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday May 18TH 2025 – the 431ST week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 8 Unashamed
[2ND week @ # 1]		 Matthew West
2 4 9 You Never Gave Up On Me The Afters
3 3 16 Money Can’t Buy Cochren & Co.
4 2 12 A Lil Church (Nobody’s Too Lost) TobyMac
5 5 8 Oh Death MercyMe
6 10 2 The King Is In The Room Phil Wickham
7 9 5 No Fear Jon Reddick
8 6 7 Jesus Loves Zach Williams
9 8 10 Whisper And The Wind Bodie
10 7 7 Your Way’s Better Forrest Frank

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Counting My Blessings” – Seph Schlueter
2023 – “This Is Our God” – Phil Wickham
2022 – “Egypt” – Cory Asbury
2021 – “Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight)” – TobyMac
2020 – “I Will Fear No More” – The Afters
2019 – “Alive” – Big Daddy Weave
2018 – “The Way (New Horizon)” – Pat Barrett
2017 – “Oh My Soul” – Casting Crowns

THE AFTERS – Their 4TH hit over the past 6½ years reaches # 2 this week, as “You Never Gave Up On Me” continues to impress. All 4 of their hits have reached my Top 3 – including the # 1 smash hits “Well Done” and “I Will Fear No More” (# 1 exactly 5 years ago during the pandemic). You know – when I hear songs that were playing on the radio during the pandemic – I sometimes get goosebumps. It brings me back to that uncertain time in an eerie homebound world when our lives were disrupted. We had never experienced anything like it in our lifetimes, and hopefully (with lessons learned) we’ll never go through any of that ever again. But even during that dark time – God’s light was still shining bright. The Afters’ song “I Will Fear No More” was the right song at the right time.

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 in South Florida 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) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday May 18TH 2025, 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 recently completed a test online consisting of 45 questions regarding my personal ministry. (There’s a “full version” and an “express version”. I took the full version.)

As you can see – the test determined that I am best as a Teacher in ministry. Evangelist came in a surprising 2ND place, as that’s actually my favorite area of ministry. Pastor was an unexpected 4TH place. I wonder which questions I answered that negatively impacted that score. I’ve been a Teacher in the church (mostly at my first church), and of course I’ve been an Evangelist and a Pastor (mostly at my second church). I actually didn’t think I was a very good Teacher, but perhaps I’m being too self-critical. I do love to evangelize. I love to bring the Good News of God to the public – those in and out of the church – those online and offline. When evangelizing (and preaching) there’s a great deal of teaching involved. I’ve always said that when you proclaim and teach the Gospel – you preach.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church – the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT)

My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture – whether it’s part of a sermon, a testimony, 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) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Books Commerce Driving Food Geography Music Shopping Travel Weather

Texas Concert

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I drove 76 miles from Sebring to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ), and then I flew nonstop direct to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (#DFW). Last week I wrote about Jollibee, Starwood Cafe, and Texas Theatre.

This week – the adventure continues. We’re up to the day after Night 2 – Thursday – and this was really the only day that we were forecasted to receive nice weather. In fact – it was supposed to be sunny, clear, and warm on that day with a high in the mid-80s. Yeah – that didn’t happen. It was cloudy (even a bit foggy at times) and chilly with the 60s and the 70s. I think the sun finally emerged for an hour or so during the early-evening hours. North Texas weather can be difficult to forecast during the Spring and Fall months.

Me and my brother went to Barnes & Noble to check out books, magazines, and music. Remember all of the great bookstores that used to exist back in the ’80s and ’90s ? I’m thinking B. Dalton Bookseller, Waldenbooks, Borders, and even Crown Books up in Maryland and Virginia. Those were fun places to hang out at – those and record stores. Most of the bookstores had records, and most of the record stores had books. I’m glad that Barnes & Noble still exists as the last of all of them.

For lunch me and my brother went to Scotty P’s – a local fast-food restaurant. I had the chicken sandwich with fries. (I see a trend developing here.)

For dinner my brother picked-up Whataburger meals for our family. I requested a cheeseburger, fries, and fried apple pie. I got the fries and apple pie, but no cheeseburger. When my sister-in-law handed out all of the burgers – there was none left for me. My brother was either shortchanged, or he ordered incorrectly. (I suspect the former.) I watched everyone else eat their burger as I went without. I kept quiet about it. No need to dwell on it; although, let me just add that Whataburger does make a pretty good fast-food burger. Maybe next time I’ll get to enjoy one. Maybe in November.

OK – here’s the reason for the title of this blog post. Our family attended a circus-themed choral concert performed by a few hundred 5TH, 6TH, 7TH, and 8TH graders from two different schools – inside the auditorium of one of the local high schools. I think it was my first such school concert ever, and it was the first time that I’ve been inside of a high school in 40 years – since I was a graduate of the Class Of 1985. My youngest niece was a performer at the concert. She showed off her gymnastics skills. The concert was actually better than expected – a lot of fun. It was also a bit long – 90 minutes !

So that was my Thursday earlier this month in North Texas. Next #TravelThursday – it’s Part 3 of my fun with family, as me and my brother see a movie and I eat more chicken. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp