Amplified Bible
O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places. Psalm 43:3
Young’s Literal Translation
As to me, in mine integrity, Thou hast taken hold upon me, And causest me to stand before Thee to the age. Psalm 41:12
I will tell of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
According to all that the LORD has done for us,
And His great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has shown them according to His compassion
And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.
8For He said, “Be assured, they are My people,
Sons who will not be faithless.”
So He became their Savior [in all their distresses].
9In all their distress He was distressed,
And the [a]angel of His presence saved them,
In His love and in His compassion He redeemed them;
And He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Isaiah 63:7-9 Amplified Bible
“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”
― The Irony of American History
A poem by Hagar ~
I do not mourn you less
for never having met
in mind’s heart you lived
and loved me more
than any here on earth before
I do not mourn you now at all
in occasional dreams you visit still
fragrant blossoms speak, “until…”
https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2026/01/31/weekend-writing-prompt-453-mourn/
https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2026/01/28/its-thursdays-six-sentence-story-blog-hop-56/
Richard prayed a quick blessing over the meal, the lasagne’s aroma was intoxicating–after savoring the first bite, he said, “Wow, I haven’t had lasagne like this since I don’t remember when–delicious, Lorelei.”
She blushed, they talked around the subject of his book–Lorelei suggested he check with the librarian about hosting a “meet the author/book-signing”; a moment later she couldn’t contain her curiosity: “so, Richard, I’m wondering if you’re an author who enjoys discussing your book…or, not so much?”
Judd’s foot nudged hers beneath the table and his glance said, “no fishing”, but Richard smiled, and Judd was ready to defend her: “she won’t rest unless you share a snippet–otherwise she’ll disappear into the book and finish at dawn.”
Richard laughed softly, he wasn’t keen to invite nightmares–(Judd’s use of the word disappear was unfortunate)–but she was a delightful hostess and when he nodded for her to speak, she asked, “how did you find such an obscured place, Birchwick Cliff isn’t on the maps–and was it really a cult at the time?”
He dabbed his lips with a napkin, took a shallow breath: “not a cult, no–some of the people were a bit off…others, entrenched in myths which morphed into tragic history…some were ‘normal’ like us; I hadn’t planned to go there–it was a wrong turn off the highway, I needed sleep; and I was living a 5-year mystery…so whatever direction I traveled could thoretically unearth answers.”
After another pause, he continued: “I was engaged to be married–two weeks before the wedding my fiancee and my mom left for a weekend bonding trip, and never returned; no trace of the car…no bodies…officially declared ‘missing’; my life was T-boned–so I took a leave from work, packed the V-Dub, headed out with no destination; next thing I knew, I was driving through that imposing wrought iron gate at the entrance…into the next chapter of ‘Worst of Times’…which ultimately became a blessing I never imagined.
~ Cale
Each year my best friend paints/decorates rocks with a word, phrase or Bible verse–whatever we’ve chosen for ourselves or received during prayer. I call them “altar rocks”, because men in the Old Testament–like Abraham and Isaac–would set stones as memorials of momentous points in their pilgrimages with God.
A large wicker bowl is filled with the ones she’s made for me–testimony of my faith journey, and our long-distance friendship which has grown and meshed through 15 years of blogging, emails, occasional texts, lots of cards and gifts, a rare phone call–but we’ve never met in person. She’s God’s gift, the dearest sister.
In His divine compassion and great love, the Lord matched us up and tied a cord around our hearts, connected to His.
We are 2 Sisters/1 Heart💝✝💝
~ Cale
King James Bible
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12
My collection of altar rocks is much bigger than when this photo was taken, they fill the entire red basket beneath the wicker heart💝
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/rdp-monday-cord/
“Those whom you have lost here, you will find in some other place.”
~ Hazrat inayat Khan
https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2026/01/28/its-thursdays-six-sentence-story-blog-hop-56/
It’s amazing how a bad day can turn around as soon I as grab my clipboard and start numbering the lined notebook paper 1-6…where a story’s about to happen! Our 5-Star host, Denise, never fails to deliver a weekly prompt word filled to the brim with creative potential. So if you need something to lift those winter blues, I recommend you click her link above, get the info you need, and WRITE. Then join all the fine authors for their big reveals by week’s end. Don’t just sit there, do it!😊 The prompt is CHECK!
☑🎨🖼📚❣
Coming back from the frost-covered mailbox, Lorelei shivered as she entered Judd’s studio–“warm me up and I’ll let you have this ivory vellum envelope that smells like a Big check,” she teased.
He pulled her close, rubbed her back and chided gently, “you know–you could wear that sweater I gave you for Christmas”; smiling, he then drew out a thank you note and check, payment for a commisioned painting he’d done two months before.
“Now you can buy me another sweater,” she whispered, planting a kiss on his gray temple– “and you’d best change into something not paint-spattered before Pastor Richard gets here–dinner’s in an hour.”
The pastor wore a shy smile as Judd opened the door, welcoming him–the two had exchanged only brief small talk, infrequently (Judd mainly served as Lorelei’s chauffeur on Sunday mornings).
Her greeting was effusive: “come in, Pastor! hope you’re hungry”, to which he responded, “I am indeed–and please call me Richard.”
“Oh my! you brought your book!” she exclaimed, and he handed it to her, his cheeks pink…whether from winter chill or bashfulness; “our friend at the library told me Judd’s been asking for it a couple times a month”, he said–“so, as it seemed an urgent request, I thought it might substitute for a potentially bad choice of wine.”
~ Cale
I’ve combined Di’s 3TC (three things challenge) with Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt, “Letter” ~ their links are at end of poem.
Di’s prompt words are: Youth, Yesterday, Yonder
💘💌💘
Since youth, her heart
had penned this letter…
living cossetted
in imaginary world
she possessed no skills
for reality’s requirements–
At 30 she remained
naive…lacking good
sense she followed
her heart instead
of guarding it
and thus set her course
certain that with yesterdays
long passed, “he” would
receive her with love equal
to hers, and make invitation…
But his kind reply did not–
Yonder, all dreams fled
out of reach forever–
~ Cale
https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2026/01/24/weekend-writing-prompt-452-letter/
https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2026/01/25/three-things-challenge-mm315/
https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/23/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-23rd-2026/
FROM LINDA:
Hi there! How are you? I’m here with our 23rd daily prompt for Just Jot it January 2026. Our prompt today is brought to us by Rohini. Thank you, Rohini! Please be sure to visit Rohini’s blog to read their posts and say hello.
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 23rd, 2026 is “altruism.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
💖🌞💖
The thought which arrived during my pondering may not be exactly what altruism means, but it might be one aspect of it.
I’m thinking a person who is truly altruistic will neither be a braggart, nor one who hides Light under a bushel…if it’s a selfless generous deed or gift, they won’t be concerned about receiving recognition. That person will “just do it” and enjoy the glow of satisfaction within, because it’s a privilege and honor to be blessed to be a blessing.
This is what I strive for, and it possibly benefits me more than those I’m intent on blessing.😊
~ Cale
Poetry ~ Cabbage After Christmas 