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Texas Concert

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I drove 76 miles from Sebring to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (#SRQ), and then I flew nonstop direct to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (#DFW). Last week I wrote about Jollibee, Starwood Cafe, and Texas Theatre.

This week – the adventure continues. We’re up to the day after Night 2 – Thursday – and this was really the only day that we were forecasted to receive nice weather. In fact – it was supposed to be sunny, clear, and warm on that day with a high in the mid-80s. Yeah – that didn’t happen. It was cloudy (even a bit foggy at times) and chilly with the 60s and the 70s. I think the sun finally emerged for an hour or so during the early-evening hours. North Texas weather can be difficult to forecast during the Spring and Fall months.

Me and my brother went to Barnes & Noble to check out books, magazines, and music. Remember all of the great bookstores that used to exist back in the ’80s and ’90s ? I’m thinking B. Dalton Bookseller, Waldenbooks, Borders, and even Crown Books up in Maryland and Virginia. Those were fun places to hang out at – those and record stores. Most of the bookstores had records, and most of the record stores had books. I’m glad that Barnes & Noble still exists as the last of all of them.

For lunch me and my brother went to Scotty P’s – a local fast-food restaurant. I had the chicken sandwich with fries. (I see a trend developing here.)

For dinner my brother picked-up Whataburger meals for our family. I requested a cheeseburger, fries, and fried apple pie. I got the fries and apple pie, but no cheeseburger. When my sister-in-law handed out all of the burgers – there was none left for me. My brother was either shortchanged, or he ordered incorrectly. (I suspect the former.) I watched everyone else eat their burger as I went without. I kept quiet about it. No need to dwell on it; although, let me just add that Whataburger does make a pretty good fast-food burger. Maybe next time I’ll get to enjoy one. Maybe in November.

OK – here’s the reason for the title of this blog post. Our family attended a circus-themed choral concert performed by a few hundred 5TH, 6TH, 7TH, and 8TH graders from two different schools – inside the auditorium of one of the local high schools. I think it was my first such school concert ever, and it was the first time that I’ve been inside of a high school in 40 years – since I was a graduate of the Class Of 1985. My youngest niece was a performer at the concert. She showed off her gymnastics skills. The concert was actually better than expected – a lot of fun. It was also a bit long – 90 minutes !

So that was my Thursday earlier this month in North Texas. Next #TravelThursday – it’s Part 3 of my fun with family, as me and my brother see a movie and I eat more chicken. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 430

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back almost 50 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday May 11TH 2025 – the 430TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 2 7 Unashamed
[1ST week @ # 1]
Matthew West
2 1 11 A Lil Church (Nobody’s Too Lost) TobyMac
3 3 15 Money Can’t Buy Cochren & Co.
4 4 8 You Never Gave Up On Me The Afters
5 5 7 Oh Death MercyMe
6 7 6 Jesus Loves Zach Williams
7 9 6 Your Way’s Better Forrest Frank
8 6 9 Whisper And The Wind Bodie
9 10 4 No Fear Jon Reddick
10 – 1 The King Is In The Room Phil Wickham

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Counting My Blessings” – Seph Schlueter
2023 – “The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)” – Matt Maher
2022 – “Wonder Working” – All Creatures
2021 – “Fires” – Jordan St. Cyr
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Alive” – Big Daddy Weave
2018 – “The Way (New Horizon)” – Pat Barrett
2017 – “Forgiven” – Crowder

CHARTBEAT – Back in the 1980s and 1990s I wrote about a lot of the chart moves of the week under the “CHARTBEAT” banner. Let’s go retro. My # 1 artist since 2017 is Matthew West. He’s spent more weeks on my chart than any other artist (176). And he’s got more # 1 smash hits than any other artist (7). “Unashamed” is his first # 1 on my chart in over 2 years – since February 2023 – when he ascended to the top with “My Story Your Glory”. TobyMac holds the record for the most number of hits on my chart since 2017. His 15TH hit – “A Lil Church” – drops from # 1 to # 2 this week. Down at # 10 it’s Mr. Phil Wickham with his 11TH hit since 2017. It’s a song that sounds like vintage Phil Wickham. It’s his trademark sound at work that praises and worships The King and acknowledges that He is in the room. This is a great song for church on Sunday mornings !

SPOTIFY – You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime by accessing my CountUp playlist on Spotify. All 10 hits are there from top to bottom. You can hear them in order from # 1 to # 10, or you can shuffle them. My playlist will be updated every weekend (usually before the actual chart is presented here on Mondays). You can link to it here.

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. God used loud music on the radio in South Florida to reach me in August of 2006. I’ve been testifying about Him ever since.

Be blessed my friends !  May our 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) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 429

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back almost 50 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday May 04TH 2025 – the 429TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 10 A Lil Church (Nobody’s Too Lost)
[3RD week @ # 1]
TobyMac
2 2 6 Unashamed Matthew West
3 3 14 Money Can’t Buy Cochren & Co.
4 4 7 You Never Gave Up On Me The Afters
5 5 6 Oh Death MercyMe
6 6 8 Whisper And The Wind Bodie
7 7 5 Jesus Loves Zach Williams
8 8 16 Let It Begin Big Daddy Weave
9 9 5 You Way’s Better Forrest Frank
10 10 3 No Fear Jon Reddick

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Counting My Blessings” – Seph Schlueter
2023 – “The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)” – Matt Maher
2022 – “Wonder Working” – All Creatures
2021 – “Fires” – Jordan St. Cyr
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Alive” – Big Daddy Weave
2018 – “What A Friend” – Matt Maher
2017 – “Forgiven” – Crowder

THE WEEK THAT WASN’T – This past week was not an active week of Christian pop music for me. I flew to North Texas to visit family this past Tuesday evening, and I returned home this past Saturday evening. I listened to The Joy FM to and from the airport, but aside from that I listened to secular music in Texas and inflight. I’m back to listening again, and that includes K-LOVE and The Message too. Look for some notable chart movements next week, and maybe a new entry or two.

SPOTIFY – You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime by accessing my CountUp playlist on Spotify. All 10 hits are there from top to bottom. You can hear them in order from # 1 to # 10, or you can shuffle them. My playlist will be updated every weekend (usually before the actual chart is presented here on Mondays). You can link to it here.

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. God used loud music on the radio in South Florida to reach me in August of 2006. I’ve been testifying about Him ever since.

Be blessed my friends !  May our 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) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 428

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back almost 50 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday April 27TH 2025 – the 428TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 9 A Lil Church (Nobody’s Too Lost)
[2ND week @ # 1]
TobyMac
2 3 5 Unashamed Matthew West
3 2 13 Money Can’t Buy Cochren & Co.
4 5 6 You Never Gave Up On Me The Afters
5 4 5 Oh Death MercyMe
6 8 7 Whisper And The Wind Bodie
7 7 4 Jesus Loves Zach Williams
8 6 15 Let It Begin Big Daddy Weave
9 9 4 You Way’s Better Forrest Frank
10 10 2 No Fear Jon Reddick

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “He Does” – Brandon Heath
2023 – “The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)” – Matt Maher
2022 – “See Me Through It” – Brandon Heath
2021 – “Fires” – Jordan St. Cyr
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Alive” – Big Daddy Weave
2018 – “Freedom Hymn” – Austin French
2017 – “Even If” – MercyMe

FORREST FRANK – “Good Day” spent 2 weeks at # 2, and “Never Get Used To This” spent 2 weeks at # 1. His 3RD hit is slowly building momentum on the radio. “Your Way’s Better” has a good melodic feel for the summertime, as lyrically – Forrest proclaims that our Lord’s Way’s better than anything the world has to offer.

SPOTIFY – You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime by accessing my CountUp playlist on Spotify. All 10 hits are there from top to bottom. You can hear them in order from # 1 to # 10, or you can shuffle them. My playlist will be updated every weekend (usually before the actual chart is presented here on Mondays). You can link to it here.

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. God used loud music on the radio in South Florida to reach me in August of 2006. I’ve been testifying about Him ever since.

Be blessed my friends !  May our 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) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp