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1980s Blogging Career Driving Geography Military Music Radio Travel

The Other Side Of The Ocean

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It was exactly 40 years ago this past weekend – on the 10TH of November of 1985 – that I arrived in a foreign country solo for the first time in my life – as a young 18-year-old. I was 5 months into my USAF career – having spent 6½ weeks at Basic Training at Lackland AFB near San Antonio Texas and 3 months at Tech School at Chanute AFB near Rantoul Illinois.

It was a cold Sunday morning at London’s Heathrow Airport, and I had flown all night from Washington Dulles Airport. Of course I lost 5 hours overnight with the time difference.

I made my way to the British Rail station at the airport. I took that to Reading – where I got off the train. Oops. I wasn’t supposed to get off there. I got confused. I ended-up waiting at that station until the next train arrived. That didn’t take very long. I got on it, and I continued on to Swindon. At the Swindon station I hired a cab to take me to my new home and workplace – RAF Fairford – about 13 miles / 20 kilometers away.

The cab driver was nice and friendly. He welcomed me to the U.K., and he turned up the radio for us to listen to. I think we were listening to GWR. An eerie song came on that I had never heard before. It was Talking Heads with “Road To Nowhere”. How appropriate for that song to play on the radio as I was being driven on the left along narrow and winding country roads from Swindon in Wiltshire to RAF Fairford in the Cotswolds of Gloucestershire.

That was the start of my 2-year and 1-week adventure in the south of England as an 18, 19, and 20-year-old. I got to see a lot of England, Scotland, Wales, France, Belgium, and Netherlands. I wish I had seen more of the European continent, but I’m grateful for the areas that I did get to experience while I was over there.

I’ve attended over 150 concerts and live events in my life (115 since 2000), and the first 17 all occurred during those 2 years in England.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my driving – or lack of it – over the past year. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Categories
Blogging Career Holidays Military

Honoring My Fellow Veterans

It’s the 11TH day of the 11TH month – Veterans Day here in the U.S.A.

I was employed by the United States Air Force for almost 40 years – going back to when I first signed on the dotted line of the delayed enlistment program near the start of my senior year in high school in 1984. I was hesitant in joining the military way back then, but it all turned out just right, and it became my career – both military and civilian. I’m enjoying retirement now, as I receive my monthly pension at the start of each new month.

To my fellow Veterans – this is our day. From one Veteran to all of you – I thank you for serving your nation, so that we may be free indeed.

Veterans – Get the help that you need at VA.GOV.

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

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 456

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 November 09TH 2025 – the 456TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 15 Can’t Steal My Joy
[6TH week @ # 1]
Josiah Queen X Brandon Lake
2 3 5 Dusty Bibles Josiah Queen
3 2 10 Still Crowder
4 4 21 What An Awesome God Phil Wickham
5 5 22 Breakdown Andrew Ripp
6 6 4 How Good It Is Chris Tomlin
7 10 2 Lift Me Up Blessing Offor
8 9 3 Won’t Start Now Seph Schlueter
9 8 4 God Story Anne Wilson
10 1 World On Fire for King + Country Ft. Taylor Hill

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Worship Through It” – Tasha Layton Ft. Chris Brown
2023 – “I Thank God” – Housefires Ft. JWLKRS Worship
2022 – “New Creation” – Mac Powell
2021 – “Promised Land” – TobyMac
2020 – “No Hold On Me” – Matty Mullins
2019 – “Fear No More” – Building 429
2018 – “Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns
2017 – “Different” – Micah Tyler

FOR KING + COUNTRY – Brothers Joel and Luke are back with their 12TH hit on my chart since 2017. Check out the official music video for “World On Fire” – filmed in the Dominican Republic:

ONE-HIT WONDERMack Brock led Elevation Worship for 10 years from 2007 to 2017, and then he left and went solo. Before he left – he cowrote, coproduced, and sang lead on “Do It Again” which is my # 8 hit overall of the past 456 weeks. During the Summer of 2019 he did it again. He cowrote, coproduced, and sang lead on their follow-up hit – “Resurrecting”. At the same time – he spent 13 weeks on my chart with his debut solo hit – “Greater Things”. He’s still releasing new music these days, but none of it seems to be catching on via radio.

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 November 09TH 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’ve been asked what kind of a preacher I am. I’m mostly an expository preacher – more so nowadays than during my earlier years of preaching. I like to start with a chapter (or a portion of a chapter) of Scripture, and then write my sermon based on it – verse-by-verse. My favorite sermons that I’ve preached have been part of my message series on the letters of 1 Timothy, Titus, James, 1 Peter, 2 John, and Jude.

My first Pastor (2007-2015) was an occasional expository preacher, but mostly a topical preacher. I preferred his expository messages. As a baby Christian – I was learning the Bible verse-by-verse.

My second Pastor (2015-2024) was (and still is) only a topical preacher, and some of his topics were borderline controversial – especially those that incorporated views on politics and COVID. He’s mostly an Old Testament preacher. But – I learned a lot from him. Also – he gave me the opportunity to preach 60+ sermons during my tenure there – allowing me to preach in my own unique style on whatever I wanted to preach on. I am forever grateful for that.

My fourth (and current) Pastor is an expository preacher through and through, and his preaching style is as close to mine as I’ve ever seen and experienced during my 19 years of being part of a church family. I started watching his sermons on YouTube a few months before I ever set foot in his church, and I instantly related to him.

A couple of weeks ago I began transcribing my expository sermon titled “Apostle & Elder”. I preached it to my second church family on Sunday October 18TH 2020.

Here’s Part 3:

You know John mentions the word “truth” 4 times in those first 3 verses of his 2ND letter. He writes “whom I love in the truth”, and “who knows the truth”, and “the truth lives in us”, and “who live in truth”.

You see John wanted to get his point across. The truth was very important to him. If we truly believe and follow our risen Christ – then the truth must be important to us as well. There is only one Truth – and it comes from God the Father and from Jesus Christ – the Son of the Father. No truth comes from the deceivers who don’t believe in the human form of Christ.

And in these last days no truth comes from the modern-day pharisees who believe in a religion over Christ. No truth comes from cable or network TV news or social media. No truth comes from Hollywood or Washington. The Truth comes from the Bible. The Truth comes only from God.

John the Elder continues with his letter to the church:

How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth – just as the Father commanded. I am writing to remind you – dear friends – that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. (2 John 1:4-5)

John personally met some of his brothers and sisters at that church, and he was happy with what he saw. He saw them living according to the truth. He saw them loving one another – and loving others. He saw fellowship amongst the children of the lady – the brothers and sisters of the church. He wants it to continue, so he reminded them again of God’s commandment to love. And then he writes this in Verse 6:

Love means doing what God has commanded us, and He has commanded us to love one another – just as you heard from the beginning. (2 John 1:6)

I love that ! I love that love means doing what God has commanded us to do, and He commanded us to love one another. Love – is love. If you love God – then you must love all of His children – whether or not they love you back – whether or not they did you wrong – whether or not they believe and follow God like you do. Love one another. No conditions.

[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