Author: Chris M. Day

I'm almost 59 years old. I've been online for 33 years - starting with my own dial-up bulletin board system in 1993 - and continuing with AOL, my own dot.com web site, Myspace, WordPress, Twitter / X, Flickr, and Facebook.

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography Travel

25,000 Miles

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Sunday mornings ago I surpassed the 25,000-mile mark on my car’s odometer while driving out of Clewiston Florida and heading southbound towards South Bay on my favorite highway – U.S. 27. It took me 30 days to drive 1,000 miles from 24,000 to 25,000.

Speaking of 1,000 miles – for the first time since January (the month before I bought my new home) – I did not drive over 1,000 miles during the month that just ended (September). That ends an unprecedented 7-month streak that began in February and ended in August. The main reason is because I only took 3 trips between my new home and my old home. (I actually drove north to Sebring on August 31ST and October 01ST. Had I returned home a day later to start the month or a day earlier to end the month – it would’ve been another 1,000-mile-plus month.)

I drove 860 miles in September, and that’s still more than 11 out of 12 months in 2022.

The forecast for October – I’ll drive well over 1,000 miles with 5 trips up and down U.S. 27.

My goal is to actually not drive 1,000+ miles in a single month, and I should reach that goal in March 2024 once I’m fully retired and no longer have to drive south to Homestead. My goal is to enjoy my new home, and my new neighborhood, and my new county, and my new friends – full-time. #Retired

Oh wait – I’m probably driving 3,000+ miles the month after that in April when I embark on my retirement road-trip to and from North Texas.

Business is about to pick-up here on #TravelThursday !

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about the birds of Sebring. 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 346

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 October 01ST 2023 – the 346TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 11 Praise You Anywhere
[6TH week @ # 1]		 Brandon Lake
2 2 7 Hallelujah Feeling Caleb & John
3 3 8 Praise The Lord Micah Tyler
4 5 9 Heaven Changes Everything Big Daddy Weave
5 7 13 To Not Worship You MercyMe
6 4 12 The King Is Alive Jordan Feliz
7 6 5 Parking Lot Cochren & Co.
8 10 8 Jesus Does We The Kingdom
9 9 3 What Are We Waiting For ? for King + Country
10 – 1 Loved By You Riley Clemmons

# 1 This Week In:
2022 – “Good Morning Mercy” – Jason Crabb
2021 – “What If” – Matthew West
2020 – “God So Loved” – We The Kingdom
2019 – “Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West
2018 – “Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns
2017 – “Broken Things” – Matthew West

RILEY CLEMMONS – She’s back with her 5TH hit – and her first since January 2022 when “For The Good” peaked at # 6. In her new song Riley reminds herself that she is believed in, she is held on to, and she doesn’t have to wonder who she belongs to. She’s always wanted, she’s always known, and she’s always treasured. She is loved by You God.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again with the new weekend – and 3 new entries – known as #TravelThursday, #SundayScripture, and #MusicMonday.

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 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 God Internet Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 01ST 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.

WordPress (this social media platform) recently congratulated me for 16 years on here. I created my account during the last few days of September of 2007 when I was looking for an alternative to MySpace. A couple of weeks later I began promoting my future blog on here with a series of teasers. By the end of November my blog was active on here. I’ve been on WordPress longer than any other social media platform, but that comes with an asterisk. I was largely inactive on here for about 7 years from the end of 2010 through the end of 2017. (That’s when I was exploring the former Twitter – and eventually Facebook.)

This blog will continue on indefinitely into the future, and #SundayScripture will remain the centerpiece of it. This is actually the 275TH edition. I’m looking forward to sharing with you what God has done for me on this fantastic journey as I ease into full-retirement over the next 5 months.

And now here on #SundayScripture it’s the conclusion of the refresh, renew, and reboot of my sermon on “Pray & Believe” – originally preached on Sunday June 16TH 2019. Here’s Part 10:

[CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK]

Pray for your neighbors. If you know what their specific needs are – then ask God to fulfill them. Be intentional when you pray. If you don’t know what their specific needs are – then pray for them anyway. Be genuine when you pray.

(At this point in my original sermon I identified my family in Ohio and Texas at the time – followed by my church family – by name – and I stated what I was praying for each of them. When I preach this sermon again – I’ll update the names and the prayers.)

I pray for each and every one of you. You know – I don’t know your specific needs unless you’ve shared them with me. I’ve often said that if you want someone to pray for you – then tell them what they should pray for. God surely knows your needs. Pray to Him about them. Expect miracles. Never be discouraged. Be patient. God sends His miracles in His time – when we least expect them.

I don’t know your specific needs, but that will never stop me from praying to God for you and with you. I will always pray for my brothers and sisters – my friends and coworkers – my neighbors and even strangers – as the Holy Spirit calls on me to do so. That’s the living God at work within us.

And family – pray for me too. Pray for my continued forward momentum on this fantastic journey that God created and customized uniquely for me.

As our Worship Pastor Ben comes up here to the stage – I’ll close my message with this Scripture from Ephesians 6 – Verses 18 and 19. It’s Paul telling the church to:

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.

And that’s my message for you on this day. Let’s continue our worship. Let’s sing to our Lord.

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

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 Career Driving Geography History Military Nature Travel

Retirement 2024

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Mondays ago I finally did it. I revealed to my closest coworkers and friends my official retirement date. It will be “Leap Day” – 29 February 2024 – a great day to remember for the rest of my life. I’ll actually be reducing my 40-hour-per-week work schedule down to 16 hours per week with the start of the new year. I plan to take (“burn-off”) my remaining annual leave on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and that will give me 4-day weekends in January and February to end my nearly 39-year USAF military and civilian career.

This December will essentially be my final month of full-time work, as I gradually transition into long-awaited retirement. I’ve been dreaming of December 2023 for many years now, and it’s almost here. It’s when I reach my MRA (“minimum retirement age”).

Starting on April 01ST 2024 – the day after Easter Sunday – I’ll begin my 3,000+ mile post-retirement road-trip to and from North Texas. I’ll be visiting family over there – and friends along the way. I’ll also be visiting roadside attractions and historical museums between here and there. I know when the trip starts – but the end of the trip is open. I’ll be retired, so I can spend as much time as I feel like on the road and away from home. It will be my vacation of a lifetime.

Fun Fact: I will be in the Dallas Texas area for the 100% total solar eclipse on April 08TH 2024 at 1:40 PM CDT. Daytime becomes nighttime for 4 minutes !

I’ve often stated that planning a vacation is a lot of fun for me, but once it’s all planned out – now I have to actually do it. I’ve planned many vacations that I never went on. Normally I meticulously plan out a vacation weeks and even months in advance – to the hour – for each day of the trip. That won’t happen for this trip. I probably won’t even know where I’ll be stopping for each night (at a hotel) until it actually happens. It’ll be dependent on the people and the places that I visit during each day. I may drive 50 miles in a single day – or 100 – or 250 – or 500. OK – probably not 500. There’s no rush during this trip. I don’t want to miss cool people or interesting places along the way.

Next #TravelThursday – it won’t happen in September for the first time since January. I’ll explain. Let’s keep traveling together.

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