Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 444

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 August 17TH 2025 – the 444TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 9 What An Awesome God
[2ND week @ # 1]		 Phil Wickham
2 2 13 God Did It Micah Tyler
3 3 10 Breakdown Andrew Ripp
4 4 20 Jesus Loves Zach Williams
5 10 2 Preach Ryan Stevenson Ft. Matt Hammitt
6 5 15 The King Is In The Room Phil Wickham
7 7 21 Oh Death MercyMe
8 6 18 No Fear Jon Reddick
9 8 3 Can’t Steal My Joy Josiah Queen X Brandon Lake
10 – 1 Come Jesus Come CeCe Winans

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Take You At Your Word” – Cody Carnes
2023 – “Big God” – Terrian
2022 – “Love Is Everything We Need” – Unspoken
2021 – “When We Fall Apart” – Ryan Stevenson Ft. Vince Gill & Amy Grant
2020 – “There Was Jesus” – Zach Williams Ft. Dolly Parton
2019 – “Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music
2018 – “Who You Say I Am” – Hillsong Worship
2017 – “Hard Love” – NEEDTOBREATHE

RYAN STEVENSON – His catchy “Preach” is his 9TH hit on my chart. It quietly entered my chart at # 10 last week, and this week it moves up 5 notches to # 5. I love the song, and it deserves more airplay on the radio. Assisting him is Matt Hammitt – who you may know as the 19-year lead singer of Sanctus Real from 1996 to 2015. Ryan was # 1 exactly 4 years ago with one of my favorites from 2021 – and another collaboration – with Vince Gill and Amy Grant. (That song also deserved more radio airplay than it got.)

ONE-HIT WONDER – Jasmine Murray spent 5 weeks on my chart in May and into June 2017 with her uplifting track “Fearless”. It was the only time she appeared on my chart. Nationally she followed-up “Fearless” with another Top 10 radio favorite – “For God So Loved”. She was a finalist during the 2009 season of “American Idol”.

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
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 17TH 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.

19 years ago this upcoming week my life changed forever. God rescued and saved me, and I didn’t even know that He was doing so. In the days and weeks after – I realized what was going on. I saw the light. I repented. He saved my life. I truly believe that this blog would not exist, and I would not be alive today if it were not for my salvation in Jesus Christ. But here I am – 19 years later at the age of 58 and getting ready to enter my 20TH year as a believer and a follower. It’s still not a passing fad to those who may have thought so in 2007.

I’ve been telling my story for 19 years, and I’m going to keep on doing it. The best is yet to come !

Last month here on #SundayScripture I began transcribing my original sermon that I preached to my church family in Homestead Florida on Sunday October 16TH 2022. The title of the sermon is “Blessings & Benedictions”, and it’s my 50TH sermon as identified on my SERMONS page.

Here’s Part 7:

Paul’s Benediction follows:

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Back in the First Century – the time of the New Testament – Greek and Roman letters generally ended with a wish for the good health of the reader. Jewish letters ended with a wish for peace (Shalom). Paul closed his letters with a combination of both good health and peace.

I like that part that says “God will make this happen”. I believe that. I believe that God can and will make anything happen. He can make the impossible happen. He is faithful, and I have faith in Him. He strengthens us, and He guards us – from the evil one – from the liar.

So earlier in my message I talked about the Apostle Paul, and how he wrote 13 books of the New Testament, and how many Bible scholars call the Letter to the Hebrews Paul’s 14TH book – even though he probably didn’t write it. Hebrews is written by an unknown author in the style of Paul. It’s actually written in the form of a sermon – just like most of Paul’s letters.

So Hebrews is 13 chapters. It’s 303 verses. It’s a little less than 7,000 words. It sounds like a lot. But you can read it from start to finish in about 30 minutes. Why are you telling us this Pastor Chris ? You know – it’s my responsibility to encourage you to open your Bible, and read it during the week. That’s how you get closer to our God and His blessings for you.

(To be continued 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

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography Travel Weather

Tampa International Airport

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. At the end of last week’s edition I teased that I was heading somewhere – outside of Florida – that I haven’t been to in exactly 10 years, and that I would write about it for the next 3 weeks. Well – it’ll actually be a 6-part (possibly 7-part) blog series starting with this edition and continuing through this month and next month. This vacation was so much fun that I plan to reenact it in words until I run out of material to write about.

So – if you’re ready to go traveling together (virtually) – then let’s get started on this new adventure.

The fun started 3 weeks and 1 day ago when I departed my home with my very durable and somewhat attractive American Tourister Moonlight Carry-On Stardust – along with a personal item bag that fits underneath the seat in front of me. Can you tell that I’m getting ready to fly somewhere ?

It’s on to the Tampa International Airport (#TPA) area on a Wednesday afternoon during the rush hour – oh – and also during a driving downpour. There wasn’t much lightning and thunder, but there was an abundance of ominous dark clouds overhead and a plethora of rain falling from them. As I drove further west the brighter skies to the west filled-in with the darker and rain-soaked clouds from the east. (I was driving in the same direction – westward – as the squall line of downpours.)

2 hours and 38 minutes and 82½ miles later – I had arrived at my destination for the night – a hotel near #TPA. They have a plan where you spend the night, and you can leave your car parked in their parking lot for up to 7 days as you fly away somewhere. Their shuttle will take you to the airport, and it will also pick you up from the airport upon your return. That’s what I did. I essentially paid less than $3 extra per day to leave my car parked there – well – sort of. When we get to Part 6 (or 7) you’ll see why it was actually a bit more expensive than that – due to more bad weather.

The hotel was nice. It was an older hotel – built in 1988. I believe that it was the very first one in the area for my favorite hotel brand – the brand that I’ve stayed at far more than any other. The hotel was much newer when I actually lived and worked a few miles down the road in Tampa for about 7 months in 1993 into 1994. I probably drove right by it a few times back then.

The next morning I took the hotel shuttle to the airport. I was the only rider for the 8 AM run. I got to sightsee along the way to the departures drop-off zone 2½ miles away.

So #TPA. I think I’ve flown in and out of it at least once – possibly twice – back in 1993. But then again – I could be wrong. I just don’t remember my mid-20s all that much. It was a crazy and hectic time of my life.

I thought that #TPA was a very strange airport to experience as a first-timer (possibly) – at least for the first time in over 30 years. From the Main Terminal you scan your boarding pass in order to enter the secure area and board the SkyConnect train to your respective airside concourse. (All of the concourses are detached from the Main Terminal.) Once you arrive at your concourse you immediately begin the TSA security process by checking-in with your REAL ID driver’s license or passport. You then walk through security before heading towards your gate. I probably didn’t explain the process as good as I could, but it was very different for me. I’ve never experienced any other airport like it. Also – most of the concourse gates shared one huge area that sort of resembled an aircraft hangar. Small walk-up restaurants were in the middle of it all.

#TPA just seems so much more modern and efficient than any other airport I’ve been to. Perhaps it’s the airport of the future ?

My American Airlines flight departed for its destination on time (even a few minutes early), and next #TravelThursday I’ll reveal that location. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 443

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 August 10TH 2025 – the 443RD week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 2 8 What An Awesome God
[1ST week @ # 1]		 Phil Wickham
2 1 12 God Did It Micah Tyler
3 4 9 Breakdown Andrew Ripp
4 3 19 Jesus Loves Zach Williams
5 5 14 The King Is In The Room Phil Wickham
6 7 17 No Fear Jon Reddick
7 8 20 Oh Death MercyMe
8 10 2 Can’t Steal My Joy Josiah Queen X Brandon Lake
9 6 5 What If Consumed By Fire
10 – 1 Preach Ryan Stevenson Ft. Matt Hammitt

# 1 This Week In:
2024 – “Somebody Like Me” – Caleb & John Ft. Cain
2023 – “Big God” – Terrian
2022 – “Love Is Everything We Need” – Unspoken
2021 – “Gospel Song” – Rhett Walker
2020 – “There Was Jesus” – Zach Williams Ft. Dolly Parton
2019 – “Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music
2018 – “Dream Small” – Josh Wilson
2017 – “Wonder” – Hillsong United

PHIL WICKHAM – He’s back atop my chart with his 4TH # 1 smash out of his last 5 songs. “What An Awesome God” replaces “God Did It” (Micah Tyler) which replaced “The King Is In The Room” at # 1. This is turning out to be the “Summer Of Phil Wickham”.

ONE-HIT WONDER – Hillary Scott spent 3 weeks in a row at # 10 on my chart in May 2017 with “Still”. It was from her 2016 album “Love Remains” which also included the 2016 radio smash “Thy Will”. I’m speculating that “Thy Will” would have been huge here on my chart if it was active in 2016. Country music fans know Hillary as one of the lead singers of Lady Antebellum (now known as Lady A).

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