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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends ! This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us continue to believe, to follow, and to trust our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

It is Sunday January 03RD 2021. We finally made it into a new year. It’s a new beginning. It’s a new thing. I’m not into New Year’s resolutions. I used to be, but that’s such a secular thing that the world does. I have a simple goal that’s not confined to a new year. That goal is to get closer to God with each new day – closer than yesterday.

How do I get closer to God ? I spend more time in His Word – reading and studying and writing about His Good News. This past weekend I finished writing the second-half of my current sermon titled “Kingdom & World”. I had the first-half written. I just needed to continue it and close it. I was able to do that this past New Year’s Day. Now I have a full sermon that’s almost ready to preach when I’m called upon to do so.

It’s based on John 16:16 to 17:26. Here’s an excerpt:

… Christ continues His final prayer to the Father:

I pray that they will all be one – just as You and I are One – as You are in Me – Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me. “I have given them the glory You gave Me, so they may be one as We are One. I am in them, and You are in Me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me, and that You love them as much as You love Me. (John 17:21-23)

God wants us to be one – one church body – just as the Father and the Son are One. As a church body we represent Jesus – out there in the world. Nobody’s gonna listen to us out there if we’re not one – if we’re not unified in our message. If we’re sad – if we’re miserable – if we show no joy – if we’re combative – if we’re intolerant – if we’re hateful – the world won’t see God in us.

We must not be judges out there in the world. We must be witnesses of the Kingdom.

When we’re the hands and the feet and the mouthpiece of God – and we act like it – and our walk verifies our talk – that’s when the world takes notice. That’s when the world sees a new thing going on. That’s when there may be one or two or more people of the world who want to check-in to the Kingdom we’re in.

This Just In:  Our God rescues and saves lost souls all around the world every moment of every day. God’s Kingdom continues to expand. You won’t ever see that on the Evening News, but God is at work via His disciples who have the power of the Holy Spirit living within. And that’s God’s Good News ! …

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

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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 January 01ST 2006:

  1. “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” – Fall Out Boy 
  2. “Photograph” – Nickelback
  3. “Gold Digger” – Kanye West
  4. “My Humps” – The Black Eyed Peas
  5. “Check On It” – Beyoncé Ft. Slim Thug

Happy New Year 2021 my friends. With this edition of RETRO we leave 2005, 1995, 1990, and 1985 behind, and we jump forward into 2006 (this week), 1996 (next week), 1991 (in 2 weeks), and 1986 (in 3 weeks). I’m looking forward to looking back at these years in pop music history.

Fall Out Boy led my chart as we flipped from 2005 to 2006. Their debut smash reached # 1 on my chart in mid-December 2005, and it stayed there for 9 weeks in a row. It’s a good durable pop-rock song that I still listen to occasionally via my iPod Shuffles at work.

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 25 years ago to January 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

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Blogging Driving Military Nature Photography Travel Weather

A Cold Day In The Everglades

Back in November when I found out that The United States Secretary Of The Interior David Bernhardt made it free for life for U.S. Veterans to enter America’s National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and other public federal lands – first of all I was extremely grateful. It’s probably the best gift that has ever been given to me as a Veteran. After all this is a gift that keeps on giving every single day – not just on Veterans’ Day.

I live between two U.S. National Parks – Biscayne National Park to the east – and Everglades National Park to the west. Both are about 10 miles away from my home. Biscayne does not charge an entry fee. It’s free for everyone. Everglades charges $30 per vehicle for a 7 consecutive day pass, or $55 for an annual pass. I no longer have to pay either fee. I’m free !

I actually got in to Everglades National Park for free during 2 consecutive winter seasons (2015-2016 and 2016-2017) when I worked out there as a volunteer (in uniform) giving tours at the NIKE Missile Site (HM-69). I worked 31 Saturdays out there showing hundreds of visitors from around the world a sampling of authentic military history from the mid-1960s to the late-1970s (when it was an active duty base out in the middle of the Park).

Back in November I said to myself that I would visit the Park on a cold day this winter season, and so last Saturday was that cold day. With temperatures in the upper-40s and lower-50s at dawn I entered the Park for the first time since my last Saturday working out there in March of 2017. It was like a homecoming for me. I actually drove the entire 38-mile main park road down to Flamingo on Florida Bay. It was my first visit there in nearly 7 years. I took a fun 90-minute organized boat tour up-and-down the waters north of Flamingo. I took the same tour almost 8 years ago.

After the boat tour I did a lot of walking all around Flamingo and then at a couple of stops along the way back up the main park road. I took a lot of pictures. I walked over 13,000 steps / 6 miles.

The Park was packed on that Saturday / day after Christmas. Everyone else had the same idea as me to visit during a rare cold South Florida day.

Now I need to figure out what my next fun cold day out will be here in my local area. Maybe Vizcaya ? (also free for life for U.S. Veterans)

All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 20 Hits – 2020

59 hits created 52 weeks of Top 10 Christian hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – my Top 20 hits of 2020:

RK PK WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 22 Almost Home MercyMe
2 1 26 I Will Fear No More The Afters
3 2 25 Alive & Breathing Matt Maher
4 1 18 Rise Up (Lazarus) Cain
5 1 20 No Impossible With You I AM THEY
6 1 20 Keep Me In The Moment Jeremy Camp
7 1 19 The God Who Stays Matthew West
8 1 14 No Hold On Me Matty Mullins
9 1 15 God So Loved We The Kingdom
10 2 18 Your Name Is Power Rend Collective
11 1 12 Rescue Story Zach Williams
12 3 14 This Is What We Live For Big Daddy Weave
13 1 12 Jericho Andrew Ripp
14 2 14 The Father’s House Cory Asbury
15 2 11 Amadeo (Still My God) Ryan Stevenson
16 3 16 Waymaker Michael W. Smith Ft. Vanessa Campagna
17 3 12 See A Victory Elevation Worship
18 3 12 Truth Be Told Matthew West
19 1 9 Miracles Colton Dixon
20 1 11 There Was Jesus Zach Williams Ft. Dolly Parton

# 1 For The Year In:
2019 – “Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West 
2018 – “Do It Again” – Elevation Worship
2017 – “Broken Things” – Matthew West

What a great year for positive and encouraging music that tells the story of God. What a great chart to represent His music. What a unique year that 2020 was – a year like no other. 

My # 2 artist of the past 202 weeks – MercyMe – scored my # 1 smash of 2020 with “Almost Home” – a song that spent 12 consecutive weeks at # 1 from late-February to early-May. MercyMe return to my year-end chart after no-showing in 2019. (“Even If” was my # 2 hit of 2017, and “Grace Got You” was my # 2 hit of 2018.)

My # 1 artist of the past 202 weeks – Matthew West – makes it 4 years in a row on my year-end chart, and this year he places 2 songs on it including the still-climbing “Truth Be Told” which is now at # 3 for the week. There’s a good chance that it could compete for # 1 next week.

My # 2 hit of 2020 – The Afters’ “I Will Fear No More” – was my longest-running hit of the year at 26 weeks – from late-January to mid-July. It was quite the timely song to hear during the peak of the pandemic.

Elevation Worship have now placed a song on my year-end chart for the past 3 years in a row.

Unspoken’s “You’ve Always Been” missed out on my year-end chart by just 2 chart points. It’s officially my # 21 hit of 2020.

My Top 20 Of 2020 chart was compiled by awarding 10 points for each week at # 1, 9 points for # 2, and so forth and so on down to 1 point for # 10. The points are then added, and the hits are ranked.

There were 14 # 1 hits in 2020, and 2 of them failed to make my Top 20 – “Holy Water” (We The Kingdom) and “Every Step Of The Way” (Cade Thompson). They were my first and last # 1 hits of the year respectively.

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) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries