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Blogging Career Home Life Military

Anniversaries

It’s Thursday June 11TH 2020, and weekends begin on Thursdays here at #CountUp. This is the start of another weekend of blogging for me. Tomorrow (Friday) it’s RETRO, and I’ll check-out my life and times via music from this weekend 15 years ago in 2005.

I’m observing a series of personal anniversaries during this first-half of June. I graduated from high school 35 years ago last weekend. I attended all 4 years (1981-1985) at Langley High School. YES – That’s the same Langley that is also the home of the Central Intelligence Agency. Many of my classmates were sons and daughters of CIA agents, and many others were sons and daughters of senators and congresspersons. I was an odd one out there. I wasn’t rich. I wasn’t cool. Nobody remembers me from high school – aside from perhaps my Spanish 1 teacher from 1981-1982. I actually follow him on Facebook, and he sends me “Happy Birthday” greetings each year. I wonder if he really remembers me ?

35 years ago tomorrow is my official 35TH Anniversary in the United States Air Force. It’s the day that I left home for a new life and adventure. It unexpectedly became my career. It’s been a pretty good career. There were some bad years including a 13-year pit of despair (1994-2007). But that’s been followed by a 13-year peak (2007-2020) that I hope continues on until the day that I retire and move away from here.

Speaking of moving away from here – I moved in to my current home 25 years ago this Saturday (June 13TH). It’s the longest I’ve ever lived in a single home in my entire life, and it’s not even close. I previously lived in the same home for 5 years and 9 months (1975-1980) as a kid in Lanham Maryland. I moved in to my current home as a 28-year-old who had never set foot in or even knew of this neighborhood’s existence until a few days before I actually moved in. A local Real Estate agent showed me this home, and she didn’t have to show me any other. I accepted it. It’s one of the best decisions of my life. I rented it for 6 years, and then I bought it.

So that’s where I am during this 2ND week of June of 2020. I hope that you’re having a better June than was your March, April, and May. We’re getting back to normal after an unexpected season in hibernation. Let’s root for each other. Let’s cheer each other on. Let’s be nice to each other. Let’s love our neighbor.

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

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Blogging Life Music Radio Television

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1971

I love doing this feature on Fridays. It’s an ode to my long-running hobby of a #CountUp of the top pop hits each week. It’s also a nod to my previous endeavor online – the predecessor to this blog – my own once-popular dot.com hit music web site that ran from the late-1990s through the first year of my salvation. I once had a feature on there called “The Major’s MASSIVE Memories” where I highlighted the greatest hits of my life.

Today – Friday June 05TH 2020 – is my 53RD birthday ! It feels great to be 53. Some days I feel 53. Some days I feel older than 53. Other days I feel younger. Speaking of younger:

YEP – That’s me from exactly 49 years ago on Saturday June 05TH 1971. There I am turning 4 years old blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. That was in our cozy apartment in Greenbelt Maryland.

If I was listening to the radio on that day (and I probably was) I was listening to WWDC AM-1260 where I first discovered pop music. Here are the Top 5 hits from coast-to-coast on my 4TH birthday:

1. “Brown Sugar” – The Rolling Stones
2. “Joy To The World” – Three Dog Night
3. “Want Ads” – The Honey Cone
4. “It Don’t Come Easy” – Ringo Starr
5. “Rainy Days And Mondays” – The Carpenters

I loved Three Dog Night growing up as a little kid, and I still love them today. “Joy To The World” is actually in heavy rotation today on my iTunes Library and iPod Shuffles. It’s one of the greatest hits of my life. Here’s Three Dog Night performing at the cocktail party on the Monday November 29TH 1971 episode of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” – one of my favorite TV shows back in the day:

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

Categories
Blogging Driving Food Home Life Travel

My New Normal

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began – or more specifically since Friday March 20TH 2020 – I’ve driven a grand total of 367 miles over the past 76 days. That’s an average of less than 5 miles per day. (Generally I average 28 miles per day over the course of a year including road-trips.)

Over the past 76 days I drove 0 miles on 47 of those days. #SaferAtHome

I haven’t driven more than 3 days in a row since March 17TH to 20TH (4 days in a row).

I filled-up with gas on April 27TH – 48 days after the previous time I filled-up. I still have more than a half-tank remaining.

All of this ends later this month when I embark on a 1,600+ mile road-trip. That 1,600+ miles will occur during an 8-day stretch in which I’ll visit longtime friends along the way, and spend quality time with family. #Excited

I finally got a haircut for the first time in over 4 months. Usually I get one after a little more than 2 months. My hair was out-of-control. I was starting to look a lot like disheveled “Younger Me”.

This Friday June 05TH is my birthday, and I’ll be enjoying a nice delicious Lunch inside a popular local restaurant for the first time since March 15TH. I’ll be eating out a lot during this month, as I take advantage of lots of free birthday delights !

It’s Thursday June 04TH 2020, and this blog post goes LIVE at 3 AM EDT (U.S. East Coast time). It’s the start of a fresh new weekend of blogging for me. I’ll be back tomorrow (Friday) to go RETRO – back to a previous birthday from 49 years ago. #1971

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

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 172

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 – for the week ending Sunday May 31ST 2020:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 19 I Will Fear No More The Afters
2 3 7 Keep Me In The Moment Jeremy Camp
3 2 12 Alive & Breathing Matt Maher
4 5 5 Love We Are Messengers
5 4 24 Almost Home MercyMe
6 6 6 Great Things Phil Wickham
7 7 3 Amadeo (Still My God) Ryan Stevenson
8 8 3 No Impossible With You I AM THEY
9 9 3 The Father’s House Cory Asbury
10 1 See The Light TobyMac

# 1 This Week In:
2019 – “Born Again” – Austin French
2018 – “The Way (New Horizon)” – Pat Barrett
2017 – “Live Like You’re Loved” – Hawk Nelson

Welcome to June. It’s one of my favorite months of the year – mostly because it’s my birthday month. I turn 53 this Friday, and I’ll celebrate with a special edition of my Friday blog series RETRO.

This past week marked 13 years of this blog. It started on Myspace during the final week of May of 2007. After 6 months and 310+ blog posts I moved it here to WordPress. It was also on Facebook from 2013 to 2017. As I enter my 14TH year of blogging my commitment remains the same – to maintain a positive Bible-based and Christ-centered blog with a music theme – and new material posted 4 times per weekend on Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays. Occasionally I’ll post a 5TH entry during a week on a Tuesday.

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