Category: Politics

Hate

~ Chris M. Day

A couple of nights ago I tweeted this @ChrisMDay:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. (Ephesians 4:31). That applies to everyone – including those who accuse others of all of the above while declaring themselves pure.

Bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and evil behavior is a pretty good description of our nation today. It definitely describes our media and the entertainment and information industry – television, radio, newspapers, magazines, social media, et al. Nobody is exempt. Not even myself, yourself, and everyone around ourselves. That includes all of our leaders too – political or otherwise. We’re a messed-up nation (putting it mildly), and hatred rules the day. Hatred divides nations. Hatred destroys nations.

It’s easy to accuse others of espousing and spreading hatred, as we’re all pretty good at it in our own unique ways. We go around denouncing hatred online and offline, as we continue to hate certain types of people – because of the way they look – because of where they came from – because of where they live – because of what they do for a living. A lot of us believe that you can only hate other people if you’re a certain skin color or ethnicity. My friends – hatred comes from all skin colors and races. Hatred is colorblind. Hatred comes from deep within our hearts and souls. Hatred will continue to spread like wildfire as long as we have people deny that they can’t or don’t hate – while simultaneously spewing forth hatred.

Hiding hatred makes you a liar. Slandering others makes you a fool. (Proverbs 10:18)

Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible, and keep your mouth shut. (Proverbs 10:19)

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Weekend Kickoff Mini-Thoughts

~ Chris M. Day ~ 1 Comment

Let’s try this again – a rapid-fire session of thoughts in my mind right this minute:

  • Yesterday was not such a good day at work.
  • It only takes one person and a minute to ruin a whole work day.
  • I know that today will be a much better work day.
  • I know that God is always in control no matter where I go.
  • Sometimes during those not so good work days I forget that God is with me.
  • The past 12 years of my 34-year USAF career have been the best 12 years.
  • Is it a coincidence that Jesus Christ rescued and saved me 13 years ago ?
  • No coincidence, as God doesn’t do coincidences. He does intentionals.
  • Back on the homefront I enjoy relaxing in my 77°F living room.
  • I’m feeling good with my air conditioning taking care of business.
  • All of my modern technology is right here where it belongs.
  • If it’s summer then I’m watching “America’s Got Talent” and “Big Brother”.
  • I’ve never missed a single episode of either show since the beginning of both.
  • I’m also addicted to “Live PD” on Friday and Saturday nights.
  • There was a political debate on the NBCs last night.
  • I don’t get political online or offline.
  • As an apolitical person I’m in the minority fringes both online and offline.
  • I have very solid political beliefs, but I choose not to share them with anyone.
  • I’d rather talk about the weather.
  • I’m a weather expert, so I know what I’m talking about there.
  • I’ll even talk sports with you. Hail to the Redskins !
  • I’m so looking forward to the start of the NFL season.
  • I may go to a game this season – my Redskins against the Cowboys in Dallas.
  • 33 years ago tomorrow I attended the first concert of my life.
  • I was 19 at the time, and this young teenybopper was at the final Wham! show.
  • That was at Wembley Stadium in London England.
  • Google it. It was June 28TH 1986, and I was there singing and dancing.
  • I’ve been to 100+ concerts since that first one – an average of about 3 per year.
  • My two years of living in England as an 18 to 20-year-old were wild and crazy.
  • I haven’t been back since.
  • July starts in just 4 days.
  • 2019 is almost half over.
  • This whole decade of the 2010s (or #TwentyTeens) is almost over.
  • Will we all see better in 2020 ?
  • Will we all have the vision to love each other in 2020 ?
  • Will we change the world in 2020 ?
  • Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’ slippin’ – into the future.

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Behind The Scenes

~ Chris M. Day

Happy Thursday my friends !  It’s the start of an all-new blog weekend. I generally post new blogs on Thursday mornings, Friday nights, Sunday afternoons, and Monday nights (U.S. East Coast time). My Friday, Sunday, and Monday blogs all have the same respective format and structure each weekend – while my Thursday blog is a free-for-all where I blog about whatever comes to me in the moment. I usually have no idea what I’ll blog about on my Thursday blog until I actually get going with my fingers on the keyboard. (Yes – I still do most of my online activity via a traditional desktop computer system with a keyboard and a mouse – an hp Pavilion in fact. I’ve been using a series of hp Pavilions going back to the 1990s.)

I don’t get political online (or offline for that matter). I don’t discuss politics with anyone really. I have my own personal opinions and viewpoints on just about everything, and some of them are quite radical – on both ends of the political spectrum. Some are rather centrist. I’m really all over the place. I left Facebook after nearly 5 years because it got too political over there. Now I still lurk on Facebook because many of my friends from afar only utilize Facebook, and I wish to stay in-touch with them on all things non-political. I’ve recently come very close to expressing my viewpoint on a few key political issues on Facebook and Twitter, as it’s just so easy to do so – to be pulled-in to a discussion. Once I realized what I did I quietly backed myself out of the discussion. I’d rather talk about fun things on social media – like food and travel.

I spend most of my social media time here on WordPress (for blogging), Twitter (for tweeting), and Flickr (for photokeeping). I’ve been on WordPress since 2007, Twitter since 2009, and Flickr since 2011. I promote my blog on Twitter, and I promote my tweets here on WordPress. I also promote my photos here on WordPress. Collectively my WordPress, Twitter, and Flickr make-up my online ministry – CountUp Ministries. This blog serves as the flagship of CountUp Ministries at http://www.revchrismday.com.

When I’m at home I spend much of my time online, but when I’m not online I’m watching some of my favorite television shows, and I’m spending time with my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ reading and studying His Word and writing sermons based on what I’ve read and studied. I usually get the call to preach a full sermon about once per month, so I’m always ready with at least one – preferably two sermons that are ready to go. I’ve got my next two sermons already written, so I’ll probably start working on a new sermon this weekend. (Unless I get the call to preach this Sunday. If that’s the case then I’ll select one of my two sermons, enhance it, finalize it, and rehearse it.)

Well there’s a little “Behind The Scenes” action for you. I didn’t know how this blog post would go, but there it is. That’s how I write my Thursday blog. It’s really spontaneous. I’ll be back tomorrow night with my regular weekly Friday night blog – a venture back in time via the music soundtrack of my life. We’ll check-out Sunday March 05TH 1989.

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

No Politics Zone

~ Chris M. Day

I voted by mail last weekend. I’ve been voting by mail for many years now – ever since I realized that it was an option in my local area. I receive my ballot up to a month in advance, and I study the people and the issues that are on the ballot in the privacy of my own home on my own time.

I never discuss politics publicly – whether it’s on social media or in-person. I believe that if I know who you voted for, who you plan to vote for, who you love, who you hate, and if you voted “yes” or “no” on an issue – then I know way too much about you. I don’t want to know any of that information about you.

Broadcast and Cable TV News is extremely biased nowadays across the board since it’s very easy to know exactly what political affiliation most hosts and anchors are just by watching them report their version of the news and current events. Fact-based newscasts and daily, nightly, and Sunday morning news shows are few and far-between. Most are overwhelmingly opinion-based.

Almost a year ago I ended nearly 5 years on Facebook because it became so over-the-top political – by my own “friends” on there. I still go on Facebook throughout a typical day for a few minutes at a time. I’m pretty much looking for encouragement and inspiration on there, as well as a few laughs. After a few minutes I’ve had enough of everyone’s political opinions.

I know I just wrote this blog post on politics in general, but this blog really is a “No Politics Zone”. The same is true for my Twitter and Flickr feeds. Here on my blog I mostly write about God and music. I write about the music that I liked from my childhood through my late-30s, and I write about the music that God has introduced me to over the past 12 years of salvation. God rescued and saved me using His music. I am alive today, and I am here on this blog because of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Since He did this to me – I know that He can do it to you as well – if He hasn’t already done so.

I’ll always keep my political beliefs to myself, but I’ll never do that with my spiritual beliefs. I believe in God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit – as One God. I love God more than anyone and more than anything. I will praise and worship God above and beyond everyone and everything else in my life. I will share God’s Good News with you on this blog, on my Twitter feed, and out there in the world that we live in.

I know that what I write online is not for everyone. If it’s not for you then you don’t have to read it. If it is for you then let’s keep moving forward together as we get closer to God. That’s what this ministry is all about.

All rights reserved (c) 2018 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries.

Saturday Night Retro

~ Chris M. Day

Saturday November 20TH 2010
Volume 3 / Number 11 / Edition 108

31 years ago in November of 1979 66 Americans were taken hostage in Tehran Iran when the U.S. Embassy was invaded and seized by student radicals. This would begin an International crisis that would continue on for 444 days until January 20TH 1981 when President Ronald Reagan took the oath of office. President Jimmy Carter found opposition within his own Democratic Party, as Senator Ted Kennedy announced that he would seek the nomination for President in 1980.

I was 12½-years-old at the time and living with my Dad, Mom, and 4½-year-old brother on Red Wing Lane in Lanham Maryland. I was a 7TH grader at Robert H. Goddard Junior High School in Greenbelt Maryland – home of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Robert H. Goddard invented the liquid-fueled rocket back during the 1910s and 1920s. Many of my classmates were offspring of NASA employees. That would explain why many of them appeared to be ‘spaced-out’ most of the time.

In FM Stereo one of the hottest pop-country-crossover acts of the late-1970s was Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show out of New Jersey – although they certainly had a distinct ‘Southern Rock’ feel and style to them. As the Disco beat raged on in 1979 country music was quietly entering the pop music scene as an alternative to the club beat. One of Dr. Hook’s greatest hits was this cool track that kind of took on a subtle Disco beat to blend in with its pop chart neighbours. It even crossed the Atlantic Ocean to become a # 1 pop smash on the U.K. chart exactly 31 years ago this weekend. It tells the simple story of what happens “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman”.

Veterans Day – Honoring All Who Served

~ Chris M. Day

On this 11TH day of the 11TH month we salute our military veterans – about 25 million of us living today – who served our country during a time of war or conflict.

Some of us were ordered to go to war by our superiours, and some enthusiastically volunteered to serve. Some of us were overwhelmed and celebrated by our fellow Americans when we returned stateside, and some were ignored, abandoned, disrespected, and hated. Some of us were proud of our challenging work overseas, and some were ashamed of it. Some of us have good memories of our experiences abroad, and some never recovered from the hell on earth that they lived through. Some of us returned back home again to our friends and family armed with vivid war stories, and some returned back home lifeless in a casket.

On this day – and every day of the year – we should never forget our veterans. We are the reason why this free nation – The United States Of America – exists today. You may not agree with our reasons to be at war, but you should never take out your disagreement with national policy on those who served – on those who fought for your freedom to disagree. Let us always honor all who served. Let that honor be expressed in more than mere words.

Chris M. Day, USAF
Veteran, Operation Desert Shield & Operation Desert Storm
Tent W-23, Al Kharj Air Base, Saudi Arabia
05 January 1991 – 09 March 1991