Category: Blogging

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2000s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 2006

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 1ST Friday of the month, so I go back 15 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday February 05TH 2006:

  1. “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” – Fall Out Boy
  2. “Dirty Little Secret” – The All-American Rejects 
  3. “Photograph” – Nickelback
  4. “Everytime We Touch” – Cascada
  5. “Someone” – D.H.T.

What a fantastic chart that was exactly 15 years ago this week. Rock & Dance !

Germany’s Cascada and Belgium’s D.H.T. were late Eurodance acts that made an impact around the world – including here in the U.S.A.

Cascada’s debut (and only) smash on my chart spent 33 weeks in my Top 20 including 24 weeks in my Top 10 and 2 weeks at # 1. It was actually my # 1 smash overall for the entire year of 2006. It’s currently in heavy rotation on my iPod Shuffles at my workplace. I hear it almost every day. It still sounds great today like it did back then.

D.H.T. managed 2 hits on my chart – “Listen To Your Heart” in 2005 and “Someone”. “Listen To Your Heart” is also in heavy rotation at work.

Both “Everytime We Touch” and “Listen To Your Heart” crossed-over from the dance clubs of the city to the airwaves of mainstream Top 40 radio where they were both Top 10 hits. Longtime fans of this blog know that I was a part-time “clubber” from the late-1980s through the mid-2000s. I still like the music today, but I can barely move to it like I used to in my 20s and 30s.

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 25 years ago to February 1996.

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

Categories
Blogging Food

My Top 5 Restaurants

And now – for something completely different. It’s my current Top 5 Restaurants within 5 miles of my home. In traditional #CountUp fashion I’ll start with # 1 and work my way to # 5.

  1. Olive Garden
  2. Outback Steakhouse
  3. Longhorn Steakhouse
  4. Texas Roadhouse
  5. Red Lobster

Can you tell I love steak ? We have 3 major chains of steakhouses less than 10 minutes away (in normal traffic), and I love all 3. Longhorn opened in 2009, and I’ve blogged about it often over the past dozen years. They used to be my runaway # 1 smash restaurant for many years, but recently they’ve been trounced by both the brand new Outback Steakhouse in town, and Olive Garden (next door to Longhorn).

I’ve only been to Outback twice since they opened late last year, and I’ve been impressed both times. Their warm, soft, and curiously dark “Honey Wheat Bushman Bread” that you get with every meal while you wait for your meal is absolutely scrumptious. I actually thought it was Pumpernickel until I did a Google search on it. My first two times at Outback I got their Outbacker Burger with swiss cheese. Again – mouthwateringly delicious. It comes with Aussie Fries. I think they are the best fries of the 3 steakhouses.

Olive Garden tops my current list. You know there are places where the food is great, but the customer service leaves a lot to be desired. There are some places where the food is average, but the customer service is top-notch. Other places have food and customer service that fluctuates back-and-forth and is not very consistent. My local Olive Garden is none of these things. The food is great. The customer service is great (perhaps the best of any restaurant in the local area). Both are very consistent. They used to have a popular slogan – “When you’re here – you’re family.” Well whenever I visit my local Olive Garden (almost always during the first Lunch hour) I feel like I’m part of their family there.

Incidentally it was a tough call for that # 5 spot. I went back-and-forth between Red Lobster and Applebee’s. The former has the better food, but the latter has the better customer service. Also the food is less expensive at Applebee’s. I eat at Applebee’s far more often these days than I do at Red Lobster – almost always on Sunday afternoons after church service. Ultimately it was Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits that catapulted it over Applebee’s. Red Lobster’s house bread tops the house bread at every other restaurant in my Top 5.

Who’s hungry ?

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

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 207

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. Here it is – this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES WEEK ENDING SUNDAY JANUARY 31ST 2021
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 10 Every Step Of The Way Cade Thompson
2 2 17 Truth Be Told Matthew West
3 3 12 Out Of My Hands Jeremy Camp
4 4 10 Sparrows Cory Asbury
5 5 6 Another In The Fire Hillsong United
6 6 3 Say I Won’t MercyMe
7 9 2 Less Like Me Zach Williams
8 10 2 Fires Jordan St. Cyr
9 – 1 Next To Me Jordan Feliz
10 7 23 Rise Up (Lazarus) Cain

# 1 This Week In:
2020 – “Rescue Story” – Zach Williams 
2019 – “Nobody Loves Me Like You” – Chris Tomlin
2018 – “Gracefully Broken” – Matt Redman Ft. Tasha C. Leonard

January ended the way it began. And it began the way December ended. And December ended the way it began.

YEP – Cade Thompson is still at # 1 – for the 9TH week in a row – with one of my favorite songs in a long time. It’s a simple and catchy radio-friendly pop song, but it’s got powerful lyrics sung by a powerful voice that praises and worships God. He’s the God that’s working everything for the best of us. He’s the God that’s fighting and writing His love in our story – “Every Step Of The Way”.

Debut artist Jordan St. Cyr climbs up a couple of notches with his track “Fires”. It’s a song all about those fires along this journey. It’s not a perfect straight line believing and following and trusting Christ. It’s a long and winding road with sharp curves and deep pits of despair along the way. If we should so happen to drift off the journey our God will reach for us to pull us out of the mud and the mire. He’ll walk us through fires. He’ll pull us from flames. We must not be afraid.

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

After saying these things – Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with His disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas – the betrayer – knew this place – because Jesus had often gone there with His disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons – they arrived at the olive grove.

That’s from the first 3 verses of the Gospel of John – Chapter 18. It’s the start of the suffering and death of Jesus. He had just completed His final prayer to the Father (John Chapter 17). On that Thursday He and His disciples left the city and walked across the dry river valley just outside the east walls of town.

He wanted to pray once more in one of His favorite places – Gethsemane – a beautiful garden of flourishing olive trees along the western foot of the Mount Of Olives. He and His disciples went there often to rest and pray.

Armed Roman soldiers and Temple guards – led by Judas – met Jesus and His disciples there. Jesus already knew what was going to happen.

At The Last Supper Jesus said, “I tell you the truth – one of you will betray Me ! It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” He gave the bread to Judas who ate the bread. Satan entered into him at that moment. Judas left at once. He went out into the darkness of the night.

I’ll continue this journey through John Chapter 18 – next Sunday Scripture.

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