CountUp

The Sun

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 21, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. One of my all-time favorite lyrics in a song is from R.E.M. in “Stand” when they sang – “If you are confused – check with the sun. Carry a compass to help you along.” It was a quirky song with nerdy lyrics, so that explains why I immediately related to it.

I am not confused. I know exactly which direction I’m standing, or driving, or flying – simply by checking with the sun (or moon) and noticing in which direction the clouds are moving. I don’t need a compass. I don’t need a road sign. A sense of direction is a gift that God blessed me with.

Today (and tomorrow) is the First Day of Winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and it’s the First Day of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The Sun reaches its southernmost point above the Earth along the Tropic of Capricorn (23.4394° south latitude) where it’s directly overhead today at 10:27 PM U.S. East Coast time. (So that’s actually December 22ND across much of the world.)

It’s the shortest day of the year and the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and it’s the reverse in the Southern Hemisphere. Here in the north sunrises continue occurring later in the morning well into January. But our earliest sunsets of the year already occurred 1 to 3 weeks ago (depending on your latitude), so the Sun is actually staying up later each evening. Starting tomorrow – the days will start to get longer.

The front of my new home (at 27.5436° north latitude) faces almost (but not quite) due NE out front, and of course almost (but not quite) due SW out back. During much of the year the sun’s rays enter my home office (where this blog is written) during the morning hours. But in December the sun can’t quite reach into this room. It’ll be back though in January. Meanwhile my master bedroom, lanai, and living room get full direct sunlight in the afternoon during this time of the year, but those sun rays will soon start becoming more diagonal, and then they will completely disappear later in the year as the sun retreats northward.

When I was a little kid growing up in Lanham Maryland in the mid-to-late-1970s I always noticed how the sun hit my home, my neighbors’ homes, and my grandparent’s home in the morning and in the afternoon / evening. I noticed that the extreme angles occurred during both solstices in June and December. Every March and September there were no angles. It was straight up and down. So – I’ve pretty much been an astronomy (and of course) weather nerd for the past 50 years.

Next #TravelThursday – it’s my personal travel recap of 2023. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Florida

Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 357

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 18, 2023

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 December 17TH 2023 – the 357TH week of this current era that began on Presidents’ Day Weekend of 2017:

TW	LW	WKS	SONG TITLE	ARTIST / SITE
1	1	9	I Thank God [7TH week @ # 1]	Housefires Ft. JWLKRS Worship
2	2	18	Hallelujah Feeling	Caleb & John
3	4	19	Praise The Lord	Micah Tyler
4	3	16	Parking Lot	Cochren & Co.
5	7	6	I Believe	Phil Wickham
6	6	3	Grave Robber	Crowder
7	5	22	Praise You Anywhere	Brandon Lake
8	9	2	Lead On Good Shepherd	Patrick Mayberry
9	10	2	Trust In God	Elevation Worship
10	8	2	Strong	Anne Wilson

# 1 This Week In:
2022 – “Who I Am” – Ben Fuller
2021 – “Weary Traveler” – Jordan St. Cyr
2020 – “Every Step Of The Way” – Cade Thompson
2019 – “Dead Man Walking” – Jeremy Camp
2018 – “Well Done” – The Afters
2017 – “Control (Somehow You Want Me)” – Tenth Avenue North

TOP 23 OF 2023 – My end-of-year tradition has a date, and it’s Tuesday January 02ND 2024. That’s when I’ll publish my Top 23 Of 2023. That’s the day after I publish my final Top 10 weekly chart of the year (on New Year’s Day). The 23 hits are already known, and exactly half of this week’s Top 10 is in. It’s easy to figure out which ones they are, but will one of them actually be my # 1 smash of the entire year ? We’ll find out in 2 weeks and a day.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again with the new weekend – and 4 new entries – known as #TravelThursday, a special Saturday post, #SundayScripture on Christmas Eve, and #MusicMonday on Christmas Day.

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. I’m also on X and Flickr.

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.

Tags Blog, Chart, Christian, God, Jesus, KLOVE, Music, Radio, TheJoyFM, WayFM, WGTS, Z883

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 17, 2023

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday December 17TH 2023, 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.

Today I’m in Homestead Florida for the 4TH Sunday in a row. It’s actually my final day of 2023 here. I’ll return home for the holidays to Sebring right after today’s church service and lunch.

Today is a first for me. I’m preaching to my church family for the 4TH Sunday in a row. It’s my 8TH and final sermon of 2023, and it’s the continuation and conclusion of my sermon that I started last week titled “Pray & Believe”. I’m looking forward to sharing what God has placed on my heart.

Once I return to Sebring I plan to write my next sermon on two of the founders of my new hometown – neighbors George Eugene Sebring, Jr., and Charles Frederick Weigle – and their vision for the new town in the Florida Highlands. Researching and writing my sermon will prepare me as I begin serving as a docent in Mr. Weigle’s former house – now a museum. I plan to preach it as my next sermon – and first of 2024 – at my longtime home church in Homestead. I also hope to preach it in Sebring sometime in the future. And finally – I plan to contribute my sermon – in written form – to the archives of the Sebring Historical Society.

Sebring has a glorious early history thanks to Mr. Sebring and Mr. Weigle, and I want to share it with the world.

My testimony is featured here each week 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.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Blogging Driving Geography Home Travel

SW 328TH Street In Homestead Florida

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date December 14, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. There’s a street in Homestead Florida that I’ve driven on more than any other in America. It’s SW 328TH Street – a Miami-Dade County road that runs about 13 miles due west / east in the far-south of the county from the edge of the Everglades on the west-end through Homestead in the middle to almost Biscayne Bay on the east-end. At its most primitive – it’s a narrow dirt road through rural farmland. At its most busy 2½-mile stretch – it’s a sometimes congested 4-lane divided road (recently widened from 2 lanes) with a couple of dangerous intersections.

My longtime home of the past 28½ years is near the middle of that busy stretch. That easily makes it my most driven road of my lifetime. I can’t go anywhere without getting on that road. It’s much nicer now than it used to be when it was a narrow and bumpy 2-lane road (up until just a few years ago).

Fun Fact: SW 328TH Street is exactly 20½ miles south (as the crow flies) of Flagler Street (which is Zero Street and divides Miami-Dade County into north and south). Every 16 streets north / south is exactly a mile on the county grid. Most streets that are a multiple of 8 (particularly in the south part of the county) are major thoroughfares.

SW 328TH Street is also known as Lucy Street for its western-most 5½ miles – and North Canal Drive for its eastern-most 7½ miles. It’s also known as SW / SE 8TH Street within the city limits of Homestead. For 1.7 miles Lucy Street serves as the border between Homestead (to the north) and Florida City (to the south). And speaking of Lucy Street – Lucy was one of the daughters of the first Mayor of Homestead in 1913. It’s been Lucy Street ever since, and it’s one of the longest-named streets in the region.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll follow the Sun. I’ll write about the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. And I know that I have readers in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the South American continent. I won’t forget about your Summer Solstice. Let’s keep traveling together.