Categories
Blogging Driving Geography History Travel

Mississippi

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my trek eastward along U.S. 82 and my overnight stay in El Dorado (pronounced “el-duh-RAY-doh”) Arkansas. I also wrote about my wonderful morning visit to the historic (built in 1859) Lakeport Plantation on the Arkansas Delta.

Back on Day 3 of my April retirement road-trip I drove westward across southern Mississippi – mostly along U.S. 98 and U.S. 84. I spent the night in Natchez. This is Day 15 of my trek, and I drove eastward across north-central Mississippi – mostly along U.S. 82.

I crossed the Greenville Bridge – about 140 miles upstream (north) from my crossing westward on the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge. I actually drove non-stop eastward across Mississippi. There were no stops for food or gas. (I had filled-up with both in Arkansas.)

As I drove eastward away from the Mighty Mississippi and its Delta – the land got more hilly and even mini-mountainous. Elevations in the north-central part of the state exceed 200 meters (over 650 feet) above sea level. It’s a noticeable change compared to the Mississippi Delta region. It’s very scenic. Mississippi is such a beautiful state along the old U.S. highways. I especially loved seeing the several giant white crosses along my trek.

Just west of Starkville – Google Maps recommended that I leave U.S. 82 – and take Mississippi Highway 182 (former U.S. 82) right through the heart of downtown (which seemed very weird to me). But it seems like when I deviate from Google Maps – weird things happen, so I decided to allow Google to be weird on my behalf.

From Highway 182 – Google routed me onto Alternate U.S. 45 southward. Now she wanted me to completely avoid Columbus Mississippi. I went along with it. I then followed Google onto Mississippi Highway 388 eastward for 16 miles – which became State Route 86 at the Alabama State Line. That came up on me suddenly. I wasn’t expecting it, but there she was – Sweet Home Alabama.

Fun Fact: I was born in Sweet Home Alabama exactly 57 years ago as of a few hours ago of this published blog post (late on June 05TH). Happy Birthday to me !

But not so fast on Alabama, for this blog post is about my afternoon crossing Mississippi. Back to Starkville. It’s a young college town with about half of its residents under the age of 25. It’s the home of Mississippi State University (founded in 1878). Go Bulldogs ! I drove right by one of the main entrances. About 25,000 residents live within the city limits of Starkville, and over 50,000 residents live in the metro area (including the city and all of Oktibbeha County).

Mississippi is known as “The Magnolia State” – as well as “The Hospitality State”. There is so much to this state that I haven’t seen – and I want to see. As long as my family lives in North Texas – I’ll be driving through Mississippi to and from there every year. I’d like to spend more time exploring Hattiesburg and Natchez to the south – and museums along the U.S. 82 corridor to the north. And perhaps next time – I won’t bypass Columbus Mississippi. It may even be an overnight stop. I see some intriguing places there that I wish to visit.

Next #TravelThursday – Sweet Home Alabama – where the skies are so blue. Sweet Home Alabama – Lord I’m comin’ home to you ! 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 381

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 June 02ND 2024 – the 381ST week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 11 Counting My Blessings
[5TH week @ # 1]		 Seph Schlueter
2 6 4 Beautiful Life Pat Barrett
3 5 6 Somebody Like Me Caleb & John Ft. Cain
4 3 15 You’ve Already Won Shane & Shane
5 2 26 Lead On Good Shepherd Patrick Mayberry
6 4 6 Unsung Hero for King + Country
7 – 1 Strongholds Chris Tomlin
8 8 3 Always Only Jesus MercyMe
9 10 2 God Is With Us The Afters
10 – 1 Made For More Josh Baldwin

# 1 This Week In:
2023 – “This Is Our God” – Phil Wickham
2022 – “Sunday Sermons” – Anne Wilson
2021 – “Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight)” – TobyMac
2020 – “I Will Fear No More” – The Afters
2019 – “Born Again” – Austin French
2018 – “The Way (New Horizon)” – Pat Barrett
2017 – “Live Like You’re Loved” – Hawk Nelson

PAT BARRETT – His 4TH hit on my chart is on the verge of becoming my 100TH # 1 smash of the current 7-year era, as “Beautiful Life” surges 4 notches to # 2. His debut hit – “The Way (New Horizon)” – was my 21ST # 1 smash exactly 6 years ago. Both songs remind me of each other. It’s good to have Pat back on my chart with another summertime smash !

CHRIS TOMLIN – He’s got his 10TH hit on my chart over the past 7 years, and it’s his follow-up to his # 1 smash last summer – “Holy Forever”. It’s his 3RD radio single from his 2022 album “Always”.

TOP 40 OF 400 – This October I’ll present my Top 40 songs of the first 400 weeks of this chart. Right now at # 40 on the chart – it’s “Come What May” from We Are Messengers. But there’s a reasonable chance that it won’t be at # 40 on the final chart, as there’s a particular song on my chart right now that could push it off. But #WAM – you’ve already won with that wonderful song.

SPOTIFY – You can hear “My Top 10 Hits” anytime simply by heading over to 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 June 02ND 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.

This morning I’m waking-up in my former hometown of Homestead Florida. I’m here visiting longtime friends and celebrating my upcoming 57TH birthday with them. Today I’ll praise and worship our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ with my brothers and sisters of my church family here, and then we’ll enjoy fellowship and food at Texas Roadhouse.

I’m also today’s special guest Pastor. I’ll be preaching my sermon on “Sebring & Weigle” to my church family !

Since the start of April and for the next couple of months – I’m presenting the full transcription of my recent 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 now provided for Parts 1 to 8 of “Jude & Judgment” over on my SERMONS page. (It’s Sermon 56.) Here’s Part 1 of “Jude & Jury”:

[BEGIN SERMON]

Well Good Morning again church family. Thank You for being here with me on this Sunday morning. Thank You for supporting me with my ministry. Thank You for taking church seriously – by not coming to church – but by being the church – and bringing the church in everything you do and everywhere you go. We – You and I – are the living and breathing church body.

It is the 1ST Sunday of Advent. The 1ST candle on the Advent wreath (or crown) represents God’s Hope. (Everyone say “hope”.) We are led to anticipate the birth of Christ in this start of a new season. We are reminded of all of the promises that God gave us in the Old Testament. They are fulfilled in the New Testament by the birth of Jesus.

One of my favorite Benedictions at the close of our services is from Romans 15:13. You know this one. You’ve heard it many times from me:

May the God of (what ?) hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with (what ?) hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN

Last Sunday I preached on the first 11 verses of Jude’s letter near the end of the New Testament – just before Revelation. Today I’m preaching on the remaining 14 verses of Jude’s letter.

Now if you weren’t here last Sunday morning, or if you just need a refresher – here are 7 key points from my sermon last week:

• God’s Word is not an ‘either-or’ book. It is an ‘all-or-nothing’ book. It is not a dingy all-you-can-eat buffet (or “boo/fay” as I like to say) where you can pick and choose what you wish to believe. It is a glorious full-course meal. It all comes down to whether or not we are willing to consume it all.
• People all over the world know of Jesus, but they don’t really know Him, or understand Him, or even believe in Him as God. Oh – and that includes a lot of self-proclaimed Christians too. They don’t really know Him.
• We need God’s mercy. We can’t live without God’s mercy. It comes with His grace.
• God’s grace is power that He has given to each of us believers as a gift, and that power allows us to overcome every sin – should we choose to accept His gift.
• Sin must not have dominion over us. We can’t use God’s grace to justify our sin.
• We know that sin is what separates you from Christ. If you continue to live in your sins – then you will die in your sins. You are headed straight to a fiery forever in hell without God.
• And finally – there is Heaven – and there is hell. Those people that we know that don’t believe and follow our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ – and never do so before they pass on – they are headed for a fire and brimstone future. Their punishment from God’s judgment will last forever.

So that’s your refresher – 7 key points – from my sermon last week.

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

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
Blogging Driving Geography History Travel

Arkansas

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my trek eastward along U.S. 82 across the southern part of Arkansas. It was my first such trip in this part of Arkansas (east of Texarkana) in my life.

As I wrote last week – Arkansas has a nice and well-maintained U.S. 82 that was recently modernized, repaved, and restriped.

I made it to El Dorado (from Wichita Falls Texas) on the afternoon of Day 14 – having driven 366 miles. It was my most-driven day of my 18-day retirement road-trip between South Central Florida and North Texas. I checked-in to my hotel for the night along U.S. 82 Business. (It was the original alignment of U.S. 82 when it went right through the middle of the city up until 1982. U.S. 82 now bypasses the city to the south.)

Some interesting facts about El Dorado: First of all – it’s pronounced “el-duh-RAY-doh”. I was mispronouncing it (en Español) up until the moment a fellow docent at a museum corrected me. El Dorado is a principal city in its television market (which it shares with Monroe Louisiana). I found that out by watching the news. Finally – my new favorite gas station at home and nationwide is Murphy USA, and its corporate headquarters – is in El Dorado.

It’s Day 15 of my retirement road-trip, and I’m heading out of El Dorado along U.S. 82. Before leaving “The Natural State” Arkansas – I made a final pitstop on one of the last turns you can possibly make before reaching the Mighty Mississippi River. That’s Arkansas Highway 142 in Chicot County, and it’s a narrow two-lane road that leads straight to the historic (built in 1859) Lakeport Plantation.

What a hidden treasure this house is. I got there a bit too late for the guided tour that starts on the hour, so I opted for the self-guided tour of the house. I ended-up spending well over an hour slowly touring the house (both floors) and its adjacent grounds, as one of the docents remained in the house on the ground floor near the main entrance. She was there to answer any questions that I had (and I had a few). She was also there for security purposes – to ensure that I didn’t steal anything from the historic house. That is the proper way to manage a museum. When you’re in charge of a museum – you never want to leave it unattended when it’s open for visitors.

I enjoyed a very productive conversation with both of the docents on duty at the time back at the standalone Visitor’s Center / Main Office – which also serves as a sort of museum annex to the main house. (It’s also where you pay admission to tour the house.) We talked docent-to-docents for a little while. I appreciated the time that they spent sharing and talking with me about museum operations and processes.

I headed back to U.S. 82, and I immediately crossed the Greenville Bridge; thus, leaving Arkansas and entering Mississippi. It was about 140 miles upstream (north) from my crossing westward on the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge 11 days earlier.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll drive across Mississippi, navigate up and down mini-mountains and around curves, and take some back roads into Sweet Home Alabama – where I was born 57 years ago. Let’s keep traveling together.

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