Categories
Blogging History Travel

Avon Park Depot Museum

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 113 weeks ago I wrote all about my first visit (which was really my second visit) to the historic Avon Park Depot Museum – operated by the Avon Park Historical Society. It’s located about 4½ miles from my neighborhood. I visited the museum on a previous trip to the area in February 2021. I arrived at the museum. I took a couple of exterior photos. I walked-up to the front door, and it was locked shut. #COVID

What a disappointment. I immediately returned southward to Sebring. That disappointment actually led me to a big “reveal” with the Sebring Historical Society that began my relationship with them.

Meanwhile I’ve been visiting the Depot Museum in downtown Avon Park on a fairly regular basis. My friend Elaine is the Museum Curator, and she frequently updates the museum with new displays – both temporary and permanent. It’s a very nice museum to visit set in a historic train depot, and the trains keep on rolling by. (They just don’t stop.)

On some days you may even be able to get a bonus exclusive behind-the-scenes tour inside this railroad dining car (acquired in 1986) that last saw action as part of Amtrak’s Auto Train. It’s now used for special catered dining events by groups of 16 to 36 (by reservation only).

The museum is a traditional historical museum for the city of Avon Park. You can easily spend an hour or two checking it all out and allowing the docent and curator to share history with you. It’s currently open from 10 AM to 3 PM on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It’s located at 3 North Museum Avenue right after the first set of railroad tracks if you’re driving east on Main Street from U.S. 27. Make a left at Museum Avenue, and you’ll see the museum and the dining car on the left-hand side.

The docent on duty at the museum during my visit last month told me all about Tasmania Florida and Fisheating Creek. That led me to do some historical research on the ghost town and the natural free-flowing stream that runs alongside it. I’ll share what I learned next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 392

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 over 45 years. Here’s this week’s chart – for the week ending Sunday August 18TH 2024 – the 392ND week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 2 11 Take You At Your Word
[1ST week @ # 1]		 Cody Carnes
2 4 8 Good Day Forrest Frank
3 1 17 Somebody Like Me Caleb & John Ft. Cain
4 3 15 Beautiful Life Pat Barrett
5 5 6 Take It All Back Tauren Wells
6 8 2 Count ‘Em Brandon Lake
7 6 7 Nothin’ Sweeter TobyMac
8 7 9 Miracle Child Brandon Lake
9 10 2 Do It Again Steven Curtis Chapman
10 – 1 Just As You Are Ryan Stevenson

# 1 This Week In:
2023 – “Big God” – Terrian
2022 – “Hold You Tight” – Dan Bremnes
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 – I enjoy compiling and looking back at # 1 hits this week in history. This is a big turnover week for new # 1 hits – representing 5 out of the past 8 years (including this week). Ryan Stevenson hit # 1 exactly 3 years ago with a song that was an emotional tribute to his Mom in Heaven. It was underrated, and it underperformed nationally. It should have crossed over to mainstream pop and country radio. It should have won awards. It spent 15 weeks on my chart – 14 in my Top 5. It could’ve likely gone another 10 weeks had it been supported by continued radio airplay. As his 8TH hit debuts on my chart this week – I present the official lyric video of his 6TH hit from the Summer of 2021:

TOP 40 OF 400 – And speaking of Ryan Stevenson – his “When We Fall Apart” is his biggest hit of this current era, but it missed my Top 40 by far. I’ll present my Top 40 hits cumulatively of the first 400 weeks (since February 2017) this October.

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 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) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 18TH 2024, 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.

Last #SundayScripture I finished posting the full transcription of my Jude message series consisting of two sermons – “Jude & Judgment” (Verses 1-11), and “Jude & Jury” (Verses 12-25). I preached them to my Homestead Florida church family on November 26TH 2023 and December 03RD 2023 respectively. Links are provided for Parts 1 to 8 of “Jude & Judgment” (Sermon 56) and Parts 1 to 9 of “Jude & Jury” (Sermon 57) over on my SERMONS page.

It was in May of 2023 that I first announced in here that I had begun writing my sermon on Jude. It eventually became two sermons, and I was blessed to preach those sermons on back-to-back Sundays after Thanksgiving. (It was actually the first 2 of 4 consecutive Sundays that I preached at my longtime home church in Homestead Florida.)

I enjoyed studying Jude, and then I prayed on how to effectively preach on Jude. I wrote, enhanced, and rehearsed the sermons, and then I preached them. And then I got to preach them again in here over the past 4 months.

As a bivocational Assistant Pastor of a small church from 2016 to 2024 I was blessed to preach from the pulpit 60 times over the past 8 years. So I had plenty of time to prepare my sermons. Some took a few weeks, and some took several months. All were guided and directed by God and based on His Truth. I preached them when I was called upon to do so. Many were preached with my Lead Pastor physically there, and some were preached while filling-in for him during his absence.

I continue to write sermons that I hope to preach at my longtime home-away-from-home church. My 61ST sermon (“Music & Lyrics”) is done (for now), and I’m currently working on # 62 based on King Solomon.

Here in Sebring – I have a new home church – Highlands Community Church. I’ve been part of the church body for almost a year now. Much like my first year at my former church 9 years ago – I’m in a season of rest from Pastoral ministries. I’m loving our Sunday morning services. I’m enjoying formal Bible Study with my Pastor and 20 brothers and sisters every Friday night. Just recently I’ve immersed myself into “Men’s Ministry” every other Tuesday night at the church where about a dozen brothers (Pastor included) break bread (eat food), and we engage in current-event-type conversations that wouldn’t normally be discussed as part of our Sunday morning services.

After 4 months of presenting 2 sermons in here – I plan to spend the next 4 months (probably the rest of the year) just writing about my ministry and how I feel about certain things related to ministry and the church. I’ll also write about some of the Scripture that we’re learning on Friday nights and Sunday mornings at my church. It’s a new season here on #SundayScripture, and I’m looking forward to where God leads me.

My testimony is featured each week here 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) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
1990s Blogging Travel

My First Caribbean Cruise

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 33 years ago this weekend on the 18TH of August of 1991 – I stepped foot on a cruise ship for the first time ever. It was my Dad’s idea at the time to go on a family vacation at sea. He worked with a local travel agency in our hometown of McLean Virginia. He selected the Norwegian Seaward out of #PortMiami. It was a fairly new cruise ship at the time – about 3 years old.

I did not know what to expect prior to stepping foot in a brand-new world at sea. Remember there was no Internet 33 years ago – as least no Internet that normal people like You and I could use. But once I stepped foot on that cruise ship – it was love at first sight – starting with the first buffet meal.

I don’t remember much from that first cruise. It was 7 days and 7 nights – a Sunday afternoon to Sunday morning. There were several ports-of-call including Ocho Rios Jamaica and George Town Grand Cayman. I think we also visited The Bahamas and Cozumel Mexico. It was my first time in those 4 nations. In fact – I haven’t been to Jamaica since then.

We had our family portrait taken on formal night, and I actually wore my military service dress blues for that photo session.

I think I had determined during that first cruise that there would indeed be a 2ND cruise, and a 3RD cruise, and so forth and so on. That 2ND cruise occurred almost exactly 3 years later – on the exact same cruise ship. Just 8 months after that I was on my 3RD cruise – on another NCL ship out of Miami. In January 2023 I sailed on my 24TH cruise – and my 16TH on Carnival. (I sailed 6 times on NCL, once on Royal Carribean, and once on Disney.)

I’m fully retired now – only collecting a monthly pension. I don’t know what the future holds as far as cruising is concerned. That 24TH cruise was a great one on a great ship. Perhaps it was “The Grand Finale” – my last cruise – at least for a while. But I’ll never say never for a 25TH cruise.

I would really love to go on a 22-day Mississippi River Viking cruise, but I don’t have that kind of fun money. Can you imagine how many #TravelThursday blogs I could create based on that cruise ? !

I have been quietly checking out Carnival’s web site for short 4, 5, and 6-day cruises out of Tampa (the nearest cruise ship port to me now), but even those cost a bit more than I can afford right now.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about the Avon Park Depot Museum, and how my life today could’ve been a bit different if that museum had been open on a specific day in 2021. Let’s keep traveling together.

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