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Homestead / Florida City

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. A couple of Sunday mornings ago I departed for my former home of 35+ years – Homestead Florida (at the south-end of Miami-Dade County). It was my first trip back in nearly 9 months (38 weeks to be exact) – since the end of June 2025 – when I closed on the sale of my 30-year home.

I departed my current home about 50 minutes before sunrise, and I arrived at my former home church in Homestead about an hour before the start of the 11 AM service. (It was a typical 3-hour and 20-minute drive.)

It was a great Sunday morning service – with wonderful Praise + Worship music and a relevant sermon from the Lead Pastor. And it was great to see everyone again. (I wrote about this church a couple of weeks ago on #SundayScripture. You can link to it here.)

I enjoyed ministering at the church from 2015 to 2024, and I learned a lot from the Lead Pastor. But nowadays it’s great sitting in the back row with friends as a guest observer and worshiper.

A small group of us went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch (my choice). I had a gift card from last year, and there is no Texas Roadhouse back home. Fellowship, food, and service were all great. I got to catch-up with everyone. I plan to visit again perhaps in 6 months. We have some birthdays to celebrate in September.

I checked-in to my hotel for 2 nights, and I settled in until the next day.

Day 2 was Monday, and after filling up with gas and shopping at Kohl’s – I met two former coworkers / bosses (also retired like me) at Longhorn Steakhouse. We enjoyed lunch together and reminisced, and we’ll probably meet again in 6 months.

After lunch I headed to the tiny mainland portion of Biscayne National Park (at the western edge of Biscayne Bay) for the 3RD time in the past 15½ years. I previously visited in October 2010 and May 2016. In April 2019 I actually took a fun boat tour of the 95% of the Park that is water. (Embarkation of that tour was actually about 10 miles up the coast at the Deering Estate.)

Biscayne National Park was stunningly packed when I arrived at 12:40 PM on Monday. There were only a few empty parking spaces remaining in their relatively large parking lot. I couldn’t believe it. Why were all of those people there ? Oh – Spring Break continued. I stayed there for about 2 hours, and by the time I left there were more empty parking spaces.

A lot of people were fishing at the Park. I have some unpopular opinions about that, but I’ll keep them to myself (as a non-fisherman). I didn’t appreciate how portions of the narrow bridge / walkway were essentially blocked by groups of people fishing (and not particularly watching who was walking behind them or in-between them). It was kind of a safety hazard. But who I am to raise a concern ? I’m just a tourist now. It may be another 10 years before my next visit.

Back in Homestead I hit some stores, and Starbucks, and Outback Steakhouse where I enjoyed dinner with a former coworker friend. And then it was back to my hotel for the 2ND of 2 nights.

The Homestead / Florida City half of my trip to South Florida was planned and implemented perfectly. I’m looking forward to my next visit later this year.

I’m headed to West Broward County for the next 2 days to hang out with my brother visiting from the Dallas Texas area. I’ll write about it – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 29TH 2026, 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.

Volume 9, Number 5, Edition 405
“Palm Sunday”

The next day – the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet Him. They shouted, “Praise God !  Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord !  Hail to the King of Israel !” Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it – fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid – people of Jerusalem. Look – your King is coming – riding on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into His glory – they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about Him. Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb – raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet Him – because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look – everyone has gone after Him !”

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem appears in all 4 Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Scripture above is from John 12:12-19, and that’s the New Living Translation (NLT).

I greet you each Sunday with the words of Psalm 118:24 – This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it.

The next 2 verses right after that are quoted in John’s Gospel:

Please – LORD – please save us. Please – LORD – please give us success. Bless the One who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless You from the house of the LORD.

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) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 22ND 2026, 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.

Volume 9, Number 4, Edition 404
“Returning To My Former Home Church”

This morning I’ll be returning to my former home church of almost exactly 9 years – from March 2015 to March 2024.

It’s the church that I went to the following Sunday after I left my first church of 8 years. It’s the church where I knew exactly one person when I arrived. It’s the church that was perhaps 40 times smaller in attendance than my first church (800 vs. 20). It’s the church that I went to for peace and quiet and recuperation and restoration. It’s the church that I sat in the back pew and kept quiet for more than a year in the beginning. It’s the church where the Pastor asked me to preach in that first year, and I politely turned him down. It’s the church where the Pastor asked me to take over Communion on the first Sunday of each month 17 months after my arrival, and I accepted the honor to do so. It’s the church where the Pastor asked me to preach (again) less than 2 months after my first Communion, and I said “YES”, and I did so in a hotel room in Hattiesburg Mississippi while driving home from visiting my families in North Texas. It’s the church where the Pastor let me preach over 60 sermons from 2016 to 2025. It’s the church where I was part of the Praise + Worship band for my final few years. It’s the church where I received my ministerial credentials.

Yeah – that church. It’s good to “go home” to my former home church. I no longer live in Homestead Florida. I moved away 3 years ago. But there’s still a home for me at Living Waters Full Gospel Church. I’ll be there this morning for the first time in almost 9 months. And then after our church service several of us will go out to lunch together and fellowship.

I was glad when they said to me – “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” (Psalm 122:1 NLT)

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) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 15TH 2026, 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.

Volume 9, Number 3, Edition 403
“Following God In The Military”

Can one serve in the military and still be a believer and follower of God ?

My answer is “Yes – Of course.”

Nowhere in God’s Word does it prohibit military service. Soldiers are represented well in the Bible. In Luke’s Gospel – John The Baptist tells local Jewish soldiers under the authority of Herod Antipas to “don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.” He doesn’t tell them to stop serving. He tells them to serve with honesty and integrity.

But what about the King James Bible that includes the phrase “do violence to no man” in that same Scripture ? In proper context – John The Baptist’s advice to the soldiers is to not abuse power and engage in extortion to receive money. It’s about being righteous while serving.

That’s great advice for today’s military. Serve with integrity, and don’t abuse your power. Serve God before man. I know – that can be difficult in the military. It’s difficult out of the military too. Some Christians in the military believe that their service conflicts with God’s call to love everyone.

I served via active-duty from 1985 to 1993 – long before I ever knew who God was. And then I worked for the USAF for the next 31 years after that. I answered to civilian supervisors and military commanders alike. At one of the lowest points of my 39-year USAF career (and life in general) in 2006 – God rescued and saved me. Salvation started. The military led me to Christ. If it weren’t for 12 mostly miserable years working for the USAF (leading to rock-bottom in 2006) – I probably wouldn’t be where I am today – writing to you every Sunday about God.

I served my final 17½ years for the USAF as a Christ believer and follower, and it was the greatest 17½ years of my entire 39-year career.

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) 2026 Christopher M. Day, CountUp