Month: October 2025

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Blogging Christian Geography God Health Home Music Travel Weather

Walking Around My Neighborhood

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I’m now halfway in-between trips to and from North Texas. I had fun with family in the Wichita Falls area near the end of September, and I’ll be back on Texas soil enjoying more fun with family in the Dallas area soon. I’m already thinking about what I’ll be packing in my big silver suitcase. I’ll need to pack for 10 days, 10 nights, and temperatures from the 20s to the 70s.

#ButFirst – This week’s trip takes me around the block – literally. The block is the approximately 1.1-mile circumferential road around my neighborhood that surrounds a long hybrid natural / manmade lake. (There’s also an “inner-loop” sidewalk that rings around the lake about 20 feet below the surface of the road and the homes.)

#SomeHistory – This is my 19TH season of walking around my neighborhood for fun and fitness. I’ve documented many of these walks in this blog’s history. They are tied directly to my spiritual journey following my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. God rescued and saved me 19 years ago. It’s when I began honoring my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. During the early years my walks were dedicated to my Dad (by name) who lost the ability to walk in 2007 due to the crippling effects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He would pass away from the horrible disease in 2010.

I’m currently in the best physical, mental, and emotional condition of my life. I’m in a much better place than I was before the age of 39. Walking around my neighborhood (or engaging in any intentional exercise) was an unknown concept back then.

My walks are essentially a 20-to-40 minute 1-to-2-mile walk where I listen to Christian pop music via my AirPods and talk to God – thanking Him for all that He has done in my life and all that He will do for me. I also thank Him for blessing my neighborhood with beauty, safety, security, and His abundant and endless miracles for my neighbors – those who believe, and those who do not yet believe. I pray for salvation for all !

Fun Fact: It takes about 19 minutes for me to walk a mile. I walk an average of about π MPH. (π = 3.14159265358979 …)

My 19TH season of walking started early – in fact – it was the earliest start ever. After a 12-week off-season (mid-summer) hiatus – I began this season on August 28TH 2025. I’ve walked 21 times so far, and my goal for this season is 100+. (Last season I walked a personal best 90 times, and that narrowly surpassed the 87 times I walked in Season 17 – 2023-2024).

If you wish to read about my very first walk ever – then click here. It occurred at High Noon on Christmas Eve of 2007, and it was inspired by a fellow WordPress blogger at the time. It was not a passing fad back then, and I’m still walking – more than ever before – nearly 18 years later.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll go back in time exactly 45 years ago to look back at a short road-trip across the river that would change my life forever. 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 454

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 October 26TH 2025 – the 454TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 13 Can’t Steal My Joy
[4TH week @ # 1]		 Josiah Queen X Brandon Lake
2 3 8 Still Crowder
3 4 19 What An Awesome God Phil Wickham
4 2 20 Breakdown Andrew Ripp
5 8 3 Dusty Bibles Josiah Queen
6 9 2 How Good It Is Chris Tomlin
7 6 6 Get Behind Me Emerson Day
8 7 4 Mighty Name Of Jesus Hope Darst
9 10 2 God Story Anne Wilson
10 – 1 Won’t Start Now Seph Schlueter

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Worship Through It” – Tasha Layton Ft. Chris Brown
2023 – “Praise The Lord” – Micah Tyler
2022 – “Good Morning Mercy” – Jason Crabb
2021 – “What If” – Matthew West
2020 – “Rise Up (Lazarus)” – Cain
2019 – “Fear No More” – Building 429
2018 – “Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns
2017 – “Word Of Life” – Jeremy Camp

NO CHANGE AT THE TOP – My current # 1 smash – and every # 1 smash this week over the years – is the same as it was the previous week. I’m wondering how long “Can’t Steal My Joy” can hold on at the top. Can Crowder reach # 1 with his 4TH chart-topper ?

ONE-HIT WONDER – For 3 weeks in February 2019 Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin were at the bottom of my chart with “Never Alone”. It’s a song about crying many rivers, and walking through some pain, and seeing my world crumble, and carrying the shame, but knowing that Somebody calls me His own. Heaven is singing out. You’re “Never Alone”.

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 October 26TH 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.

A couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday evening I was inspired by The Holy Spirit to begin writing a new standalone sermon. I completed it less than 24 hours later. It’s titled “Rescued & Saved”, and it’s essentially a follow-up to our recent “This Is My Story” message series at my home church. It’s my 68TH sermon overall, but it’ll very likely be the next one that I preach, so it will become my 64TH sermon. My 1 Timothy sermon series will slide down to # 65 to # 68. (And I’ll continue progressing forth with it.)

This week I begin transcribing my “Apostle & Elder” sermon that I preached to my previous church family on Sunday October 18TH 2020.

Here’s Part 1:

Today I want to preach from the shortest book in the Bible – almost. It’s the 2ND Letter of John. It has 13 verses in it. No multiple chapters. Just 13 verses. As far as verses – no other book in the Bible has less than that. As far as words – there’s actually one other book in the Bible that has less than the 2ND Letter of John – and that – is the 3RD Letter of John.

So back to 2ND John – and its 13 verses. I think I can preach on this entire book over the next 1 hour and 45 minutes. Just kidding. I’ll do it in the next 30 minutes. (Julie doesn’t like it when I’m long-winded.)

So 2ND John was written by the Apostle John – one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. He probably wrote it when he was very old. He was probably in his 80s. (That was “very old” – at the time.) He lived to be an old man. He was about 95 when he passed on peacefully of natural causes. He was not murdered like many in his day were.

John was the youngest of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was still in his mid-20s when Christ died and rose again. He outlived the other 11 Apostles. He was truly an elder some 60 years later when he wrote what we now know as the Gospel of John, and the 3 letters of John. Oh – he also wrote the Book of Revelation; although, some will dispute that it was not the same John. Some believe that it was another John of the time. But most believe that it was this John.

In his 2ND letter John the Elder warned his fellow believers and followers of Christ that there are some in the region – the region being Asia Minor – present-day Turkey – there are some in the region – preaching that Jesus – did not have a physical human body. They believed that His human form was a mere illusion. Some members of the young church in the region believed these deceivers, and they ended up leaving the church and following them.

So here’s how 2ND John begins:

This letter is from John – the elder. I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children – whom I love in the truth – as does everyone else who knows the truth – because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy, and peace – which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ – the Son of the Father – will continue to be with us who live in truth and love. (1-3)

So you may be thinking – which lady and her children – is John writing to in his letter ? I believe that the “chosen lady” is probably a local church in the region that John is responsible for. “Her children” are probably the brothers and sisters that make up the church body. John is their Elder. John is caring for God’s children.

[TO BE CONTINUED – NEXT WEEK]

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 Food Geography Home Travel Weather

Homeward Bound

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week it’s Part 4 of my 4-part series on my recent trip to visit family in the Wichita Falls Texas area.

On my final morning I actually watched my home church service LIVE on YouTube, and then I enjoyed my leftovers from dinner the previous night at Firefly. My dinner consisted of two MASSIVE panko herb parmesan fried pork chops served with brown gravy with two sides. (I chose a loaded baked potato and fried okra.) I don’t know why they gave me two pork chops, as the one was big enough, and I was expecting one – as pictured on the menu. I ended up eating one of those pork chops as my leftovers – warmed-up in the microwave. They were tasty the second time around !

After my cousin dropped me off at Wichita Falls Regional Airport (#SPS) I walked around their small museum area in the terminal (outside security).

My flight from #SPS to #DFW was packed and uneventful. I had an aisle seat again on the Bombardier CRJ-700 jet. We went up, and then we came back down again. It’s a short flight. Taxiing at both airports combined is actually longer than the inflight time. And taxiing (and waiting) at both airports was unusually longer than normal due to “traffic”. We got in to #DFW about 25 minutes late, and by the time I made it to my connecting gate (as far away as possible from my arriving gate) – we were minutes away from the start of the boarding process !

My flight from #DFW to #TPA was packed and uneventful, and finally – I had a window seat with a view towards the northeast. I got to study the weather and the landscape below. In fact – my window shade was one of only a few that was open. Most of the 200+ were taking a nap in the darkened cabin. I allowed daylight into my row.

There was a little bit of confusion on my part outside #TPA as far as picking up the shuttle back to the hotel where my car was parked, but I eventually figured it out. I’ll get it right the next time.

I got back to my car, and I drove 83.7 miles home. Navigating Tampa after dark can be tricky, as roads are closed due to construction. (Even Google Maps was in the dark about those road closures.) Once I got out to Florida State Road 60 east of downtown – it was smooth-sailing back home along the various dark, narrow, and winding two-lane backroads (with U.S. 17 and US. 27 as the exceptions.). I navigated those mostly secluded roads into the hills like a native.

I got home at 11:09 PM on that Sunday (September 28TH). Another fun-filled family vacation had come to an end. I enjoyed my time in Wichita Falls. I actually like the area more than the Dallas area (where I also have family). Wichita Falls has an amazing freeway system that I am not terrified of. They have a network of connecting freeways for a city and metro area that’s much bigger than they actually are. Much of it was designed and built in the 1950s into the 1960s when the city was growing rapidly (due to the oil industry), and they were anticipating that same growth to continue into the future. Growth actually stopped in the early-1960s when oil refining ended, and in fact the population today is roughly the same as it was in 1960.

I’ve been visiting my family in the Wichita Falls area almost every year since 2013, and I’ll continue to do so. I always enjoy my time together with family.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll review my neighborhood power-walking for this season thus far. I’m off to a great start. Let’s keep traveling together.

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