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 Photography Scripture Travel

Carnival Miracle

#TravelThursday continues, and in this edition we visit the Western Caribbean Sea aboard the Carnival Miracle – exactly 15 years ago this week.

The Carnival Miracle was a fairly-new cruise ship at the time – 2½-years-old. Nowadays she sails short 3, 4, and 5-day cruises between Los Angeles (Long Beach) California and Baja Mexico.

I was on the Miracle from 08 to 15 October 2006 out of the Port Of Tampa. It was my 10TH cruise overall and 5TH on Carnival. It was also my only cruise out of Tampa; although, that will likely change in the future as I move closer to Tampa than Miami in the next few years (post-retirement).

Our ports-of-call were Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize (first-time ever), and Costa Maya (first-time ever).

Costa Maya is located on the south coast of the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico – less than a 2-hour drive to the northern border of Belize. It’s a popular cruise ship port that was fairly-new back in 2006. I remember getting off the ship, walking around the small beach and pool area right at the debarkation point of the pier, and then within the hour getting back on the ship. (There’s likely much more to do there nowadays than there was 15 years ago.)

10 months after my visit to Costa Maya Hurricane Dean destroyed much of the cruise ship port (and region including Belize). It was one of the most intense hurricanes to make landfall anywhere along the Atlantic basin during the modern tracking era. It was a Category-5 with maximum sustained winds of 175 MPH and gusts over 200 MPH at landfall !

I have not been back to Costa Maya since 15 years ago (October 13TH 2006). I’m interested to see what it looks like today via a future cruise.

Here’s a rare picture of me posing along the rocky coastline of our first port-of-call – Grand Cayman.

Join me next #TravelThursday as we visit another location on the face of this earth.

They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear. You will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. (Proverbs 3:23-26 NLT)

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 243

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 40+ years. Here’s this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING SUNDAY OCTOBER 10TH 2021 WEEK 243
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 13 What If
[2ND week @ # 1]		 Matthew West
2 3 2 Promised Land TobyMac
3 4 7 Promises Maverick City Music
4 2 9 Thank You Lord Chris Tomlin Ft. Thomas Rhett & Florida Georgia Line
5 6 11 House Of The Lord Phil Wickham
6 7 23 Yes He Can Cain
7 8 27 Gospel Song Rhett Walker
8 9 3 Relate for King & Country
9 10 2 Stand In Faith Danny Gokey
10 – 1 Come What May We Are Messengers

# 1 This Week In:
2020 – “God So Loved” – We The Kingdom
2019 – “Fear No More” – Building 429
2018 – “Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns
2017 – “The Gospel” – Ryan Stevenson

PRAISE & WORSHIP @ # 5 – Yesterday morning at my church service we kicked-off Praise & Worship at 11 AM with Phil Wickham’s “House Of The Lord” for the very first time. I was hoping we would eventually add this “jam” to our rotation, as it seems to be the perfect “pick-up” song to kick-off our weekly celebration in our house of the Lord. I thought we sounded pretty good considering it was our first time singing it. We’ll be even better next time when we sing it to our Lord again.

#WAM @ # 10 – It took awhile (much longer than expected), but one of my former #CHARTBUSTERS (from 9 weeks ago !) has finally entered my Top 10. It’s the latest from We Are Messengers, and it’s their 7TH hit on my chart over the past 4½ years. It’s from their forthcoming album “Wholehearted” – which drops this upcoming Friday. They are fun to see LIVE in concert. I’ve seen them twice (2019 and 2021) – both times as an opener for TobyMac.

This blog is # 37 worldwide on the Top 80 Christian Music Blogs and Websites in 2021 chart. Thank You for including us Feedspot !

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again this upcoming weekend – with 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

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 Twitter and Flickr.

Be blessed my friends !  May the 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) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 10TH 2021, 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.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month (also known as Clergy Appreciation Month), and today – the 2ND Sunday of October – is Pastor Appreciation Day.

We love our Pastors – those by position and title and those in theory who serve God, the church body, and the local community alongside the Pastor. I’ve been honored to be able to serve in various Pastoral roles for the past 12 years. (This month marks my 12TH anniversary in church leadership.) I honor all of the Senior Pastors, Lead Pastors, Executive Pastors, Associate Pastors, Worship Pastors, and all other Pastors, Ministers, Directors, Helpers, et al that I have celebrated Christ with, learned from, and prayed for over these past nearly 15 years of being part of a church body in my local hometown. May our God bless you all abundantly and eternally !

Dear brothers and sisters – honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.
(1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NLT)

And Thank You everyone around the world for checking-in to #SundayScripture this week. It is always an honor to serve you with God’s Good News each week. Tomorrow it’s #Top10Monday, as I present my personal Top 10 hits this week that honor our God Almighty.

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) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
1990s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1996

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 2ND Friday of the month, so I go back 25 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday October 13TH 1996:

  1. “Let’s Make A Night To Remember” – Bryan Adams
  2. “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)” – John Mellencamp
  3. “If It Makes You Happy” – Sheryl Crow
  4. “Counting Blue Cars” – Dishwalla
  5. “C’Mon N’ Ride It (The Train) – Quad City DJs

I’m gonna do this “Mini-Thoughts” style. Longtime readers of my blog know what that means:

  • Bryan Adams will be 62 next month.
  • He released his first single – a disco song – at age 19.
  • His breakthrough hit here in the U.S. – “Straight From The Heart” – early in 1983.
  • He’s still touring and performing today. I’d like to see him LIVE.
  • “Let’s Make A Night To Remember” is one of my favorites from him.
  • I like John Mellencamp’s music more today than I did back in the day.
  • 25 years later I forgot how “Key West Intermezzo” sounded like.
  • So I went to YouTube of course to play the video.
  • Good song. Good beat too. I was actually singing along to it.
  • It was his 22ND and final Top 40 hit here in the U.S.
  • When Sheryl Crow debuted in Spring of 1994 I said she’ll be around for awhile.
  • “If It Makes You Happy” rocked my face off in 1996.
  • It won a Grammy in 1997.
  • I wrote about Dishwalla’s “Counting Blue Cars” last month.
  • Fun Fact:  Quad City DJs are not from the Quad Cities. They are from the #JAX.

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 30 years ago to October 1991. “There’s a hole in my heart that can only be filled by you – and this hole in my heart can’t be filled with the things I do.” That Top 5 hit will be featured next week.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries