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Homeward Bound

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week it’s Part 4 of my 4-part series on my recent trip to visit family in the Wichita Falls Texas area.

On my final morning I actually watched my home church service LIVE on YouTube, and then I enjoyed my leftovers from dinner the previous night at Firefly. My dinner consisted of two MASSIVE panko herb parmesan fried pork chops served with brown gravy with two sides. (I chose a loaded baked potato and fried okra.) I don’t know why they gave me two pork chops, as the one was big enough, and I was expecting one – as pictured on the menu. I ended up eating one of those pork chops as my leftovers – warmed-up in the microwave. They were tasty the second time around !

After my cousin dropped me off at Wichita Falls Regional Airport (#SPS) I walked around their small museum area in the terminal (outside security).

My flight from #SPS to #DFW was packed and uneventful. I had an aisle seat again on the Bombardier CRJ-700 jet. We went up, and then we came back down again. It’s a short flight. Taxiing at both airports combined is actually longer than the inflight time. And taxiing (and waiting) at both airports was unusually longer than normal due to “traffic”. We got in to #DFW about 25 minutes late, and by the time I made it to my connecting gate (as far away as possible from my arriving gate) – we were minutes away from the start of the boarding process !

My flight from #DFW to #TPA was packed and uneventful, and finally – I had a window seat with a view towards the northeast. I got to study the weather and the landscape below. In fact – my window shade was one of only a few that was open. Most of the 200+ were taking a nap in the darkened cabin. I allowed daylight into my row.

There was a little bit of confusion on my part outside #TPA as far as picking up the shuttle back to the hotel where my car was parked, but I eventually figured it out. I’ll get it right the next time.

I got back to my car, and I drove 83.7 miles home. Navigating Tampa after dark can be tricky, as roads are closed due to construction. (Even Google Maps was in the dark about those road closures.) Once I got out to Florida State Road 60 east of downtown – it was smooth-sailing back home along the various dark, narrow, and winding two-lane backroads (with U.S. 17 and US. 27 as the exceptions.). I navigated those mostly secluded roads into the hills like a native.

I got home at 11:09 PM on that Sunday (September 28TH). Another fun-filled family vacation had come to an end. I enjoyed my time in Wichita Falls. I actually like the area more than the Dallas area (where I also have family). Wichita Falls has an amazing freeway system that I am not terrified of. They have a network of connecting freeways for a city and metro area that’s much bigger than they actually are. Much of it was designed and built in the 1950s into the 1960s when the city was growing rapidly (due to the oil industry), and they were anticipating that same growth to continue into the future. Growth actually stopped in the early-1960s when oil refining ended, and in fact the population today is roughly the same as it was in 1960.

I’ve been visiting my family in the Wichita Falls area almost every year since 2013, and I’ll continue to do so. I always enjoy my time together with family.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll review my neighborhood power-walking for this season thus far. I’m off to a great start. 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 453

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 October 19TH 2025 – the 453RD week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 12 Can’t Steal My Joy
[3RD week @ # 1]		 Josiah Queen X Brandon Lake
2 2 19 Breakdown Andrew Ripp
3 4 7 Still Crowder
4 3 18 What An Awesome God Phil Wickham
5 5 7 I’ve Just Seen Too Much Big Daddy Weave
6 8 5 Get Behind Me Emerson Day
7 9 3 Mighty Name Of Jesus Hope Darst
8 10 2 Dusty Bibles Josiah Queen
9 – 1 How Good It Is Chris Tomlin
10 – 1 God Story Anne Wilson

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Up + Up” – Colton Dixon
2023 – “Praise The Lord” – Micah Tyler
2022 – “Good Morning Mercy” – Jason Crabb
2021 – “What If” – Matthew West
2020 – “Rise Up (Lazarus)” – Cain
2019 – “Fear No More” – Building 429
2018 – “Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns
2017 – “Word Of Life” – Jeremy Camp

CHRIS TOMLIN – He’s back with his 11TH hit over the past 8½ years of this current era of my chart. It’s his first hit since June 2024 when “Strongholds” spent 2 weeks at # 3. “How Good It Is” has been building at U.S. Christian Radio for the past couple of months. As written on his official web site – it “is a celebration of the greatness of God, the goodness of God, and the faithfulness of God. Nearly every word is pulled directly from Scripture – from Psalm 92, 98, 100, and 113. When we sing it together – we’re proclaiming God’s Word, and there’s something powerful in that.”

ONE-HIT WONDER – Francesca Battistelli was quite active on the radio from the late-2000s through the late-2010s with more than a dozen Top 20 hits. One of them was late enough to make it onto my chart in 2018 – “The Breakup Song”. One of my favorite singers from one of my favorite bands – Bart Millard from MercyMe – is a cowriter of the song that’s all about breaking-up with fear. 5 years later in 2023 it became a certified gold smash with over 500,000 units sold, downloaded, and streamed.

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

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 19TH 2025, 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.

This past week I was trying to figure out what I wanted to write about for this edition. I’m in a great chapter of my life right now 20 months into retirement – with great things happening at my church, at my museum, and in my neighborhood.

I looked back in time for inspiration. I looked at my church “wrap-up” blog posts from this weekend in 2008 and 2009, and they were both a bit cringeworthy. Notably I began my public speaking ministry on stage 16 years ago this month when I began hosting Sunday morning services.

I looked back at my sermons that I’ve preached on this weekend over the years, and I stumbled across one that I preached to my second church family (in Homestead) exactly 5 years ago this weekend. It was titled “Apostle & Elder”, and it was based on the 13 verses of John’s second letter. It inspired me – even 5 years later. I thought about using an excerpt from the sermon for this edition, but I couldn’t figure out which excerpt to use. What I really want to do is transcribe the entire sermon in here.

What I remember behind the scenes of that sermon is that it was from October 18TH 2020 – 7 months after the start of the COVID pandemic, and less than 5 months after we reopened as a church. (We shut down for 10 Sundays because of COVID.) Everyone had their temperature taken at our front hallway, social distancing was in effect all throughout our sanctuary, and the wearing of face masks was required. (I got to take mine off while I preached from the pulpit.) We actually lost a few members of our small church family who were anti-face mask and refused to wear them. Our Pastor was (and still is) pro-COVID vaccine, and that turned them off as well. They never returned.

I just looked at the calendar. After today there are 10 Sundays remaining in 2025. I should be able to fill-up the next 9 weeks of #SundayScripture posts with that sermon – led with a little bit of commentary each week. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll get that started next week.

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) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Animals Bible Blogging Christian Commerce Driving Food Geography God Nature Radio Scripture Travel

It Starts With A Donkey And A Buffalo

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This week it’s Part 3 of my 4-part series on my recent trip to visit family in the Wichita Falls Texas area. That would make this the penultimate edition of this series. (I’ve always liked that word – penultimate.)

It’s the final Saturday morning of September, and we need to check on Reno – our approximate 25-year-old family donkey. He lives in a farm in Clay County about 500 feet away from the Wichita County line. He gets checked on every day. He’s fed (a pile of hay and a carrot), given fresh water, and sometimes even cleaned up a bit. (I actually Goggled “do donkeys like carrots”, and Google’s AI confirmed that “donkeys generally love carrots as a healthy treat”. I can confirm that Reno does indeed love carrots.

After our visit with the donkey we checked-in with the buffalo – as in White Buffalo Coffee Bar. It’s a Veteran-owned franchise with 18 locations in Oklahoma and Texas. We went to the one near Sheppard AFB. I got a hot Pumpkin Spice Latte and a breakfast croissant sandwich. Both were pretty good. My cousin liked her drink and food too. I have a feeling that we’ll be back there on my next visit – especially considering its proximity to the airport (6 minutes away).

Next stop – a wonderful roadside memorial off I-44 northbound – north of Wichita Falls and about 7 miles south of the Oklahoma State Line. It features a 77-foot Cross, 3 smaller crosses, and numerous plaques along a circular sidewalk with Scripture detailing the final days of the life of Christ Jesus. It was constructed from 2023 to 2025. KMOC 89.5 – a local Christian radio station – was behind the memorial.

Next stop – a classic car show at a church. We actually stumbled across this one, and this is a recurring theme on my visits to Wichita Falls. We go on a road-trip (either locally or regionally), and we stumble across a place or an event that we weren’t expecting on our way to another place or event. This was a fun event. I love classic car shows and museums. I love guessing the year each car is from before I check out its display card. I love looking inside the cars – especially at their dashboards.

We also checked out a small portion of the Wichita Bluff Nature Area (off Loop 11).

Later that same day (and the start of my final night) – 5 of us went out to dinner at a place called Firefly. The fellowship with family was wonderful, and the food portions were MASSIVE. I would’ve taken a picture of my dinner plate upon receiving it, but I didn’t want to waste any time. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to eat everything on my plate within an hour. (And I actually couldn’t finish it all.)

Next #TravelThursday starts with dinner leftovers for an early lunch the next day, and it’s my trek through the airports and inflight back home to Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

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