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Florida Homecoming

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my trip to North Texas – where I spent 9 days and 9 nights with my family in Wylie – about 30 miles northeast of the center of Dallas Texas. I arrived during the early evening of Wednesday November 20TH 2024. I wrote about me and my brother’s visit on that Saturday to historic downtown McKinney Texas and the Collin County History Museum.

During the rest of my time with my brother we shopped, we ate, and we saw 3 movies – “Heretic”, “A Real Pain”, and “Red One”. I think that me and brother both liked “A Real Pain” the most. It’s a dramedy written, directed, and produced by Jesse Eisenberg. He and Kieran Culkin are the stars. It’s a good well-written story of two cousins visiting Poland on a tour to connect with their Jewish heritage.

As is tradition – my brother prepared a home-cooked Breakfast twice – on that Sunday morning and on Thanksgiving morning. We also opened all of the presents underneath the Christmas tree later on that same holiday morning, and then we watched football for the rest of the day while smelling (and eating) our traditional Thanksgiving dinner at around 3:30 PM.

Fun Fact: The weather in North Texas was all over the place – to include the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and even 80s. As an amateur weather forecaster – it was not unexpected. Thanksgiving Day was the coldest day (40s), and the next morning was the coldest morning (33°F / 1°C). I brought that cold air (modified) back home to Florida.

The next day – Friday November 29TH 2024 – my brother dropped me off at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), and I flew to Charlotte Douglas (CLT) with a short layover before my connecting flight to Sarasota-Bradenton (SRQ). (My nonstop direct flight back to SRQ was cancelled about 3 months prior just for that afternoon, and I was automatically booked on the two replacement flights.) Both flights were packed, but they actually departed and arrived early !

Fun Fact: It was my first time in North Carolina since the last time I flew through CLT as a layover between Miami (MIA) and Salisbury-Ocean City (SBY). CLT was also a layover for the return flight between Reagan (DCA) and MIA. That was in July 2015.

I returned back home to Sebring (76 miles from SRQ) right at 9 PM on that Friday, and I was in my own bed less than an hour later. It was a long travel day, and I was exhausted.

The next day – Saturday November 30TH 2024 – I awoke knowing that it was on that date 37 years earlier that I left my family behind in Northern Virginia and flew to MIA en route to my new USAF duty assignment and home for the next 36+ years – Homestead Florida. I’ve now entered my 38TH year as a Florida resident. I’m a #FloridaMan forever.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my road-trip to and from Homestead. It’s my 32ND trip southward – and my 33RD trip northward – since relocating from Homestead to Sebring almost 2 years ago. Let’s keep traveling together.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook. I usually post there on Mondays and Thursdays.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Texas

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 4 days ago – I returned home from Texas. Back in mid-July I got a really good deal on American Airlines for round-trip airfare from Sarasota-Bradenton (#SRQ) to Dallas-Fort Worth (#DFW) and back. It cost less than $225 – taxes and fees included. I flew out on Wednesday August 28TH, and I returned on Sunday September 01ST. (There’s only one flight daily between the two airports.)

Fun Fact: I sat in a window seat on the 32ND row out of #SRQ, and I sat in an aisle seat on the 33RD and last row out of #DFW. I guess when you pay the bottom-of-the-barrel cost for airfare – you’re placed at the very back of the aircraft. (I could have paid extra to sit closer to the front, but why bother ?)

The inbound flight on that Wednesday afternoon flew a bunch of circles off the Florida coast northwest of the Tampa Bay area, and then it was diverted over to Jacksonville (#JAX) due to heavy thunderstorms over Sarasota at the time. It refueled there, and then it continued its flight to Sarasota. I got in to #DFW about 2½ hours late. Better late than not at all.

Me and my brother packed a lot of activities into our 3 full days together.

On Thursday I experienced a couple of firsts. A bunch of outdoor scenes were filmed for an upcoming movie that I’ll be appearing in. I’ll be an extra with about 20 others, and I do have a speaking role. I’ll be appearing (with the others) as a protestor. (Dress code = all black.) More on that (perhaps) sometime next year when the movie premieres. Later that same day – I attended a high school football game for the first time in my life. My oldest niece is in high school now, and she’s a cheerleader for the junior varsity football team. We watched her, and we cheered on the Raiders. (They won.) #DUBEAST

On Friday we drove up to Wichita Falls to visit our Uncle and Cousin. At their home – a dog (Lacey) and a cat (Gracie) loved me dearly. We enjoyed reminiscing about our extended family, and we also enjoyed a nice Mexican buffet lunch at El Mejicano.

On Saturday we rested and stayed at home for much of the day, and we enjoyed WWE Bash In Berlin (LIVE from Germany). We also watched one of my favorite recent movies – Thelma.

On Sunday it was the return flight back to Florida. It departed early. It arrived early. Thunderstorms were approaching the Sarasota area from inland, so the pilot wanted to get up, get over, get down, and then get back up again before the storm clouds descended.

It was a fun 3 days and 4 nights in Texas with family. I’m looking forward to my next visit in a couple of months. I’ve already got my flights reserved.

#CountUp & #TravelThursday is on Facebook.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll tell you all about a historic hotel in Avon Park Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 08TH 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 in Sebring Florida this morning for the first time on a Sunday (all day) since 3 weeks ago, and I’ll be praising and worshipping my Lord God Almighty alongside my Highlands Community Church family for the 3RD time. We’re also having a potluck luncheon after service, so I’m looking forward to food and fellowship with my new brothers and sisters of this fantastic journey.

I’m still settling into my new home (after nearly 7 months). I’ll be doing that well into 2024. (It’s a marathon – not a sprint.) Over the past few days – I’ve been reviewing and sorting church bulletins (what we handed out as you entered the sanctuary) from my first church from 2007 to 2015. (I saved all of them.) Seeing and remembering those old Sunday morning memories from 10 to 15 years ago brings a smile to my face – especially the ones with a photo of me and my brothers and sisters at the time. I thought I would be with that church family forever, but forever only lasted for 8 years. God had other plans for me after 8 years, and He led me to new open doors and new unlimited horizons.

A couple of days ago I saw “The Blind” at the movie theatre. What a fantastic faith-based movie. You know I’ve never seen a single 1 of the 131 episodes of “Duck Dynasty”, so I know little to nothing about the show. And the same with Phil and Kay Robertson. This is a biographical movie about Phil and Kay and their family, so everything I know about them now – I learned from the movie. It’s rated PG-13 due to heavy smoking and drinking and domestic violence – depicting Phil’s life as he was spiraling out-of-control. He eventually hit rock bottom, and this movie depicts that event with the devil intensely.

He was soon rescued out of the pit of despair – out of the mud and the mire when he accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord + Savior, and he got baptized in the water. I shed tears of joy at that moment, as I was recalling the start of my own salvation some 17 years ago. I also saw the devil before I was rescued. The final 30 minutes of the movie showed him as a born-again Christian getting closer to God with each new day.

There’s an excellent review of this movie here.

Stay tuned at the end of the movie, as Phil Robertson (today) delivers a short message on God’s salvation.

My testimony is featured here each week on #SundayScripture whether it’s part of a sermon, 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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Movies Scripture Sports

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 03RD 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.

Yesterday afternoon I saw “The Hill” at the movie theatre. It’s a faith-based true story about a young baseball player with a disability and his family including his Pastor Dad in a small town in Texas. The story was uplifting, and I enjoyed every minute of it. 4 stars. “A+”. I recommend !

This morning I’ll be checking out a new church here in Sebring. I’ve decided to leave my first church here in my new hometown after about 4½ months. I’m looking forward to a new Pastor and a new church family to meet and greet.

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another – especially now that the day of His return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT)

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 6:

[CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK]

So back to our story on King Herod of Judea. In 44 A.D. – some 10 or 11 years after the death and resurrection of Christ – King Herod had the apostle James (the brother of John) killed with a sword. Now this is a different James than the James that I preached on for much of 2018. That James was the half-brother of Jesus Himself. This James – son of Zebedee – was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. In fact he may have been the first of the 12 to join Jesus. He was also the first to be murdered for his faith. The other James – the one that I preached on for much of 2018 – (and into 2019) – well – he began his letter – what we now know as the Book Of James – about 5 years later – addressing it to the 12 tribes – the Jewish believers that were scattered abroad due to persecution.

So King Herod had the apostle James killed with a sword, and he continued the momentum by arresting Peter during Passover of that same year – 44 A.D. He sent Peter to jail where he was heavily guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. There was no way that Peter could possibly escape … or was there ?

While Peter was in prison – the church prayed very earnestly for him. (Acts 12:5)

You know that God answers the earnest – the intentional prayers of His believers and followers – His holy people ? I know that. I hope that you know that too. God answers your prayers. Are you talking to Him ?

I’ve asked God for miracles – big miracles – impossible miracles – life-changing miracles – over these past 17 years of this journey. Guess what I got ? I got miracles ! I know I’m not alone. I’m looking at miracles – beautiful living miracles – here in this church body. I am in the presence of miracles, for with God – who we are all in the presence of – all things are possible. There is always a way with God.

You know that none of us are supposed to be here. If the enemy had his way – we wouldn’t be here. This church body wouldn’t exist. We probably wouldn’t know each other. Some of us wouldn’t be alive today. But we are. And we’re here. And God put us together as His church body in this place. He did that intentionally. We are not here by accident. We are not here by coincidence. We are His holy people. We are His disciples. We are His messengers. We are His miracles. (Everyone say “miracles”.) We belong to each other. We need each other.

[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