Month: June 2025

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday June 22ND 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.

This is my 365TH #SundayScripture over the past 7 years. I always look forward to writing this blog post each week to share the Glory of God.

When I was working full-time I knew that I wanted to write more once I retired. And now I’m doing it. I’m a modern-day writer – a “digital creator” as it’s known today. Many digital creators specialize in short videos. Others showcase their photography skills online. I write Facebook posts, blog posts, and sermons. I’m the Social Media Director for the Sebring Historical Society, and I run our Facebook page. I also run my own Facebook page – CountUp – (same name as this blog). My Facebook page is an extension of this blog – specifically #TravelThursday. And I write sermons (and Communions – which are essentially mini-sermons).

I’ve written a lot of material online over the past 32 years, and I hope to continue to do so as long as it’s still enjoyable and people continue to read (or hear) what I’ve written.

I’m currently writing my 67TH sermon and 4TH in a row from First Timothy. It’s titled “Elders & Deacons”, and it’s based on 1 Timothy 3:1-13.

An elder must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. Also – people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap. (1 Timothy 3:6-7 NLT)

It’s all about humility. Gotta be humble as a Pastor, Preacher, Teacher, Minister, Elder, Deacon, Christ Believer. Humility leads to trust and respect. God teaches us how to be humble.

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other – making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. (Ephesians 4:2 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

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography Home Travel Weather

Sebring Florida’s Cold Winter Of 2024-2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week it’s a change-of-pace blog post. Here in Sebring Florida our wintertime population increases exponentially from the summertime – perhaps even doubling or even more. In my 55+ neighborhood we are about 35% year-round residents and 65% “snowbirds” – our endearing term for our friends and neighbors who fly (or drive) south for the winter. They come from the north (many from the Great Lakes States) to all over Florida – especially Central and South Florida – along both coasts and down the spine. They come for our weather in-between hurricane seasons.

Some of our snowbirds arrive as early as September and depart as late as May. The majority are here from December to March with January and February being peak season. It gets busy around here from about Thanksgiving to about Easter, and especially after the New Year !

Our coldest months up here in the Highlands of South-Central Florida are December, January, and February. Our average afternoon high temperatures are in the low-70s, and our average morning low temperatures are in the mid-50s. A cold day is when we don’t reach 70°F / 21°C. A cold night is a night in the 40s / below 10°C. We are generally warmer during the day and colder during the night than our neighbors at both coasts some 80 miles away.

This past winter season we had 19 cold days when we did not reach 70°F. 14 of them occurred in January – including a brutal stretch of 6 days in a row from the 20TH to the 25TH – when on a couple of days – we couldn’t get out of the 50s – and on one day – we were stuck in the 40s all day. In fact – we were stuck in the 40s for 46 hours in a row. I briefly thought about flying to the U.S. Virgin Islands during that Arctic blast.

We also had 50 cold nights when we were into the 40s (and 30s too). 4 were in November, 12 in December, 23 in January, 2 in February, and 9 in March. January was a very cold month indeed with 4 mornings into the 30s. In fact – it was one of the Top 10 coldest Januarys in modern recorded history – and the coldest in 15 years !

It was my 2ND full winter season here in Sebring Florida. (I moved here at the end of the 2022-2023 season.) I previously lived in Homestead Florida for 36 winter seasons. Down there we averaged less than 20 cold days and nights combined per season (compared with 60 to 70 combined days and nights here).

I know that those cold days and nights are just about 5 months away, and the snowbirds – well – they will be heading back here to their winter homes starting in less than 3 months.

We’re in our 4-month rainy season now. That’s when about 70% of our annual rainfall occurs. We’re also in our 6-month hurricane season. That started on June 01ST and continues until November 30TH with peak season being September and October. Hopefully the rain will fall (we’re recovering from a severe drought), but the hurricanes will stay out at sea.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll recap my walking season. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 435

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 June 15TH 2025 – the 435TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 13 You Never Gave Up On Me
[3RD week @ # 1]		 The Afters
2 2 12 Oh Death MercyMe
3 4 6 The King Is In The Room Phil Wickham
4 3 12 Unashamed Matthew West
5 6 4 God Did It Micah Tyler
6 5 20 Money Can’t Buy Cochren & Co.
7 7 11 Jesus Loves Zach Williams
8 8 9 No Fear Jon Reddick
9 9 3 I Know A Name Elevation Worship Ft. Brandon Lake
10 – 1 Breakdown Andrew Ripp

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Beautiful Life” – Pat Barrett
2023 – “Cornerstone” – TobyMac Ft. Zach Williams
2022 – “Sunday Sermons” – Anne Wilson
2021 – “Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight)” – TobyMac
2020 – “I Will Fear No More” – The Afters
2019 – “Church (Take Me Back)” – Cochren & Co.
2018 – “Do It Again” – Elevation Worship
2017 – “Home” – Chris Tomlin

CHARTBEAT – The Afters’ “You Never Gave Up On Me” spends its 3RD week at # 1 – becoming the 4TH song in a row to do so – starting with the oldest song on my chart – Cochren & Co.’s “Money Can’t Buy” – which debuted on my chart back in early-February. It’s actually Cochren & Co.’s 4TH hit to spend at least 20 weeks on my chart. And finally – Andrew Ripp is back with his 6TH hit in “Breakdown”. It’s his follow-up to his long-running (26-week) hit “Love’s Got A Way”. Get ready for a new # 1 next week. Maybe.

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

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday June 15TH 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.

This morning I’m waking up in a hotel room in Homestead Florida – my home from 1987 to 2023. I’m visiting my former church family – attending service and extending my birthday celebration. Afterwards a small group of us will gather together – probably at Longhorn Steakhouse – for fellowship and food. I’ll be on my way back home to Sebring after lunch.

Normally I watch my former Pastor on Facebook on Sunday afternoons. When I get home tonight – I’ll be watching my current Pastor on YouTube.

I like Psalm 96:3. The NLT uses the word “publish”. It says to “Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.” That’s what Pastors do when they publish their sermons online. That’s what Bloggers do when they publish God’s Word online. We tell everyone about the amazing things He does. Most other Bible translations use the word “declare” in lieu of “publish”. A few use the word “tell”. I like all 3 words, for we must tell, declare, and publish His Glory – starting inside the local church – and working our way outside the church and into the world – among all peoples. As Billy Graham famously said – “Christ belongs to all people – He belongs to the whole world !”

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