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Stateside

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my arrival in the south of England 38 years ago on November 10TH 1985. Tomorrow is the 36TH anniversary of the date (November 17TH 1987) that I left England behind and arrived back home stateside.

I actually don’t remember much about that day. My memories are quite vivid from the Sunday morning 2 years and 1 week earlier when I arrived in England, but when I left England – not so much.

A friend of mine drove me from our (military) dormitory over to Billeting / Lodging at dawn, and from there I got on a shuttle that I think took me all the way to the airport. I don’t think I did the whole British Rail trek going to London (like I had when I arrived). I got on my flight at Heathrow, and I was back in the Washington D.C. area a few hours later that afternoon. (I got those 5 hours back that I lost 2 years and 1 week earlier.)

My Dad picked me up at the airport, and we went home. My cat – Fluffy – went ballistic with joy and happiness when she saw me. It was a wonderful stateside homecoming.

I got to hang out with my family – dad, mom, brother, and cat – for almost 2 weeks through the Thanksgiving holiday week. Again – I don’t remember much from those 13 days, but I know that it was a good time because I was back home with my family again.

I’m with my family right now – mom, brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and dog. We’re continuing our annual November tradition that goes back almost 20 years – #ThanksChristmasGiving – or #Thanksmas. It’s where we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas combined in a single week. The Christmas tree and decorations have been up for a couple of weeks, and we are actively engaging in Christmas shopping and gift-wrapping. We’ll open all of the presents by the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving morning. Shortly after that the entire house will be filled with the aroma of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Next #TravelThursday is in 2 weeks – when I celebrate my 36TH (and final) anniversary in Homestead Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Home Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 24TH 2023, 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’m back in Homestead for the first of 2 Sundays in a row at my longtime home church of the past 8½ years. I’m looking forward to service and fellowship with my closest brothers and sisters of my church family and this fantastic journey.

Back home in Sebring I’ve been working on my next sermon on “Jude & Judgment” (based on Jude’s letter near the end of the New Testament). I hope to preach it to my Homestead church family at the end of November.

And now here on #SundayScripture it’s the continuation of the refresh, renew, and reboot of my sermon on “Pray & Believe” – originally preached on Sunday June 16TH 2019. Here’s Part 9:

[CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK]

There was an excellent movie in the theatres in early-2019. It did pretty good at the box office too. It made over 40 million dollars here in North America. That’s a lot of people seeing a faith-based movie at the theatres. It was called “Breakthrough”. It’s available at many stores – on DVD and Blu-Ray – and you can also stream it. It’s about a suburban mom who loved Christ and her family. She was a prayer warrior. She prayed often. She prayed intentionally.

Her 14-year-old son was playing with two friends on a frozen lake in mid-January during a milder-than-normal winter day. The kids were warned to get off the unsafe ice, but like typical teenagers – they brushed aside those warnings. They all fell through the ice. Two recovered safely back to the surface. One did not. He was underwater for 15 minutes before he was eventually rescued by a first-responder who refused to give up. Was the first responder led by an angel ?

After 15 minutes underwater the kid was lifeless. He was rushed to the hospital in a coma.

The movie was based on the real-life events that occurred in January of 2015 just outside of St. Louis Missouri. It made national headlines. The mom got an entire small town to pray for her son. Guess what she got ? She got miracles ! God hears our prayers. God responds with miracles.

It was a great movie. I shed tears several times, and I nearly wept out loud once or twice. And that’s OK to do – even for a guy in his 50s. I was also overwhelmed with joy. Watch this movie on DVD or online or on TV if you get the chance. Hollywood doesn’t make too many movies like this.

But that’s the power of prayer. Think about this. Who do you pray for ? Who do you pray for ? If all of your prayers today were answered by God tomorrow – then how many people – other than yourself – would experience life-changing miracles ? How ‘bout this. Would any of those people be complete strangers ?

But Pastor Chris – why would I pray for complete strangers ? I want God to answer the prayers for my loved ones – my family and my friends.

Yeah – same here. But God commanded us to love your neighbor as yourself, and everyone is your neighbor. If you see or hear another person – no matter where you are – then he or she is your neighbor. Love them. Pray for them.

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Home Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 17TH 2023, 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.

6 months ago I moved in to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida – 185 miles away from my Homestead homes of the past 36 years. 7 months ago I bought my new home. I thank God every single day for providing for me and bringing me here to my current place. With each new day that He has made – I rejoice. Every morning I press the remote control that raises the motorized blinds out in my lanai, and it reveals the landscape behind my home. I thank God for His glorious creation. I thank Him for blessing this beautiful neighborhood and all of its residents.

It’s “Back To Church” day at my new church here in Sebring. That’s a lot of fun and food after our 10:30 AM service. I’m looking forward to hanging out with my new church family in fellowship with one another.

And now here on #SundayScripture it’s the continuation of the refresh, renew, and reboot of my sermon on “Pray & Believe” – originally preached on Sunday June 16TH 2019. Here’s Part 8:

[CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK]

Peter didn’t stay very long. God sent him on a mission – to continue to evangelize and spread the Good News throughout the lands. God’s Message continued on despite opposition and persecution. God’s Message continues on 2,000 years later. Today – you and I – we have been sent on a mission – to be disciples – to go and tell – to evangelize and spread the Good News throughout the lands. That’s everywhere we go.

Peter lived for another 20 years after that. Meanwhile King Herod’s demise came very quickly – like a week or two later. It was a wonderful day. He had on his royal robes. He was on his royal throne. He was living large and in charge. He gave a speech to his loyal followers. He received a great ovation. His subjects referred to him as a God. And then – as the Bible says:

Instantly an angel of the Lord struck (King) Herod with a sickness – because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died. (Acts 12:23)

And that ended the short 3-year reign of King Herod Agrippa of Judea.

I like the Book of Acts. A lot of great stories there. A lot of great stories involving angels of the Lord. Angels accomplishing the work of the Lord. Angels spreading the Good News of the Lord. Angels performing miracles of the Lord. Angels protecting the people of the Lord. Angels protecting us.

Angels are spiritual. Angels are heavenly. But we must never worship angels. Angels are inferior to Christ. Angels are servants of God. The Son is far greater than the angels. God said to Jesus, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” He didn’t say that to any angel. God said, “Let all of God’s angels worship Him.” (meaning His Son).

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
1990s Blogging Career Driving Geography Home Military Travel Weather

From Melbourne To MacDill

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. In last week’s edition I wrote about my hectic 6-months right after Hurricane Andrew destroyed Homestead Florida. That’s when I was driving back-and-forth between Fairfax County Virginia and Prince Georges County Maryland (Andrews AFB) along the Capital Beltway and also through Washington D.C. I put a lot of miles on my red 1989 Geo Spectrum sedan back then, but I was not yet done.

I drove / moved to Melbourne Florida in March 1993 – just a few days before “The Storm Of The Century” swept through the U.S. Eastern Seaboard bringing hurricane-force winds, sub-freezing temperatures, and even snow to North and Central Florida.

5 months later in August 1993 I was offered a job on the opposite coast over in Tampa at MacDill AFB. I accepted, but I kept my home in Melbourne. I ended-up living in a hotel (paid for by the USAF) in Tampa, working on-base during the week, and taking I-4 and U.S. 192 back to Melbourne on most Friday afternoons – returning back to Tampa on Sunday afternoons.

That was about a 140-mile drive in each direction, and it took anywhere from 2½ to 3 hours. That was also back when I freely drove on Interstates and high-speed expressways. (I don’t do that anymore.) That was also when far less people lived along the U.S. 192 corridor from Melbourne through St. Cloud and Kissimmee to Walt Disney World. Back in 1993 into 1994 St. Cloud had a population of about 15,000. Now it’s over 65,000. Kissimmee is up from about 35,000 to over 80,000. That’s a lot of traffic along U.S. 192 these days. It wasn’t too bad back in 1993.

That back-and-forth commute between Melbourne and MacDill lasted about 7 months until March 1994 – when I moved back to Homestead Florida. For a short period of time I thought that I would live in Melbourne for the rest of my life. But then when I got the job at MacDill AFB I thought that I would eventually move to Tampa full-time and live there for the rest of my life. Then I moved back to Homestead for the next 29 years.

Now I have my longtime Homestead home – and my new Sebring home. And I have a commute of about 185 miles that I do several times per month. I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I enjoy the scenic and mostly rural drive. I enjoy seeing my church family and even some of my coworkers at my longtime workplace in Homestead. But I especially look forward to the return trip back north again to my new home and pre-retirement life and times in Sebring. I plan to live there for the rest of my life – less than 2 hours away from both Melbourne and Tampa.

Next #TravelThursday we’ll check-out Weeki Wachee Springs. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp