God’s Goodness, Grace, Generosity

April 7, 2026

Dear Readers, you can be “G, as in Grateful” I didn’t copy the entire Bible over here today!  Hope you are blessed by the Lord God’s generous grace. ✝💖✝ ~ Hagar

Psalm 106:1
Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

Psalm 107:8-9
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men. / For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, / He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. / This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, / who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. / They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!

Your strength comes from God’s grace.  Hebrews 13:8 

1 Chronicles 29:12-14
Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all.

Psalm 145:7-9
They will extol the fame of Your abundant goodness and sing joyfully of Your righteousness. / The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion. / The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.

Ephesians 1:6-8
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace / that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

New Living Translation
Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. 2 Corinth 9:11

John 1:16
From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

Colossians 1:13-14
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, / in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Faith & Favor

April 7, 2026

~ FAITH ~

F

Faith is substance, not shadow

A

A daily decision to believe in and trust the True but unseen God

I

Is overseeing my life, working Good behind

T

The scenes and in surrounding situations

H

He’s Always been Present, is In the Here & Now, & will Be my Future~

He is for me, not against me ~

♥♥♥

~ FAVOR ~

F

Favor of God shows up in mini- & maxi- miracles:

A

A day that’s going south, until He turns it around

V

Visits unexpected, His hands hold “just what I wanted” gift

O

Or He speaks word of confirmation I desperately need…HIS

R

REALITY is defined differently (much better) than mine ~

*†*

Faith might be quiet, or fierce, but it’s my way

to walk the journey, and to fight Life’s battles ~

God rewards our faith (with His favor)♥

~ Cale

Amplified Bible
But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

Mark 11:22-24
“Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them. / “Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him. / Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Berean Standard Bible

Enduring Love of the Father

April 5, 2026

Eternity is both a place

and unfathomable measure

of time that stretches

out to a distance I can’t see

not even in my imagination

And so is my vision

of Eternal God–

soon I’ll see Him face

to face, but for now I

only know Him by

His enduring love

which whispers in breeze

that stirs my windchimes–

Abba’s voice is always near

warm like Summer’s sun

HE is the Voice

of strengthening comfort

to a child who never

felt her father’s love

only his selfish demands–

Father God blesses generously

on good days, and other days

closer than my shadow

He is the One who stays

we will live together

forever… in Eternity

~ Cale

Silent Saturday

April 4, 2026

This poem is a product of imagination and contemplation regarding the scene of the Crucifixion.  John 16:32 records that many of Jesus’ followers “scattered”, leaving Jesus alone.  But there were “crowds, viewing the spectacle” of the crucifixion–some people expressing “mourning or repentance, as they left” (Luke 23:48). 

I suspect some were among those who’d been mocking Him with verbal cruelty; they weren’t mournful or repentant, and were not affected by the horror–I’ve put them in this poem.

And each year I find it painfully easy to “see” myself at the scene.  I’d like to think I would have been one of the women who were helpful to Jesus.  Matthew 27:55 mentions there were “many women looking on from a distance, who’d followed Jesus from Galilee to minister to Him”.  And John 19:25 states that “standing by the cross” were His mother and 3 other women.

I don’t know how close “distant” might be, but there was a group of women who just had to be there; they loved Jesus and were respectfully loved by Him, and nothing would keep them away–no matter how distressing the event would likely be.  I don’t believe they were stoic, stiff-upper-lip gals…I think the whole lot of us would have been devastated, wrecked.

If I’d been there perhaps I would have made observations, overheard conversations:

The night was longer…

darker… after He died…

the silence, suffocating

heaviness reverberating

in sweat-soaked air

once the loud mocking crowd

had wandered from the scene

thinking it was over, the drama…

Jesus, the Nazarene

promised Messiah

all the craziness, confusion

complete chaos which some

thought He’d brought on Himself–

was He a king, or not?  were His

followers ordinary losers

who’d jumped on a bandwagon

doomed to self-destruct?

“He was a teacher, gifted speaker

and yes, some strange wondrous

‘miracles’ had happened

at His touch…but what now?”

The women were a wreck

most still sobbing, unable

to stand, walk away from

the bloody cross that

seemed to shudder…

Maybe his B-team

headed toward a local tavern

to drink their deep sorrow

 soothe doubting questions 

which itched beneath the skin…

what were they going to do next–

was there even a Next to contemplate?

The night went on…darker…longer…

their very souls dragged in the dust…

~ Cale

Heart’s Desire & Delight

April 4, 2026

To live the blessed abundant life

in the Presence of the Lord

to abide in His eternal courts

where, ever radiant

shines His Light

and songs of praise

by saints are sung

the old among them

forever young–

that is my heart’s

desire, delight

~ Cale

💖✝💖

Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness.

4Delight yourself in the LORD,

And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.

5Commit your way to the LORD;

Trust in Him also and He will do it.

6He will make your righteousness [your pursuit of right standing with God] like the light,

And your judgment like [the shining of] the noonday [sun].

The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the LORD,

And He delights in his way [and blesses his path].

24When he falls, he will not be hurled down,

Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand and sustains him.

Psalm 37:3-7; 24 Amplified Bible

 

I will exalt You, my God, O King,

And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2Every day I will bless You and lovingly praise You;

Yes, [with awe-inspired reverence] I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,

And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].

6People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will tell of Your greatness.

8The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

9The LORD is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].

10All Your works shall give thanks to You and praise You, O LORD,

And Your godly ones will bless You.

13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

14The LORD upholds all those [of His own] who fall

And raises up all those who are bowed down.

16You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17The LORD is [unwaveringly] righteous in all His ways

And gracious and kind in all His works.

18The LORD is near to all who call on Him,

To all who call on Him in truth (without guile).

19He will fulfill the desire of those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];

He also will hear their cry and will save them. 

Psalm 145:1-3; 6; 8-10; 13-14; 16-19

 

14This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that [d]if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. 15And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:14-15

The Day They Crowned a Carpenter

April 4, 2026

This poem is from 2015 ~ Cale

The crowds were there that day
To see Him passing by
The crowds were there that day–
In turn, they saw Him die

And no one could prevent
Nor stop the flow of tears
His death, no accident
Would mark for many years–

The day they crowned a carpenter
With scarcely noble thorns
The day they might have hailed a King
They rained upon Him scorn

Disappointed, broken hearts
Believing He was just a man–
If they’d known Him as the Lord
Then they would understand:
According to His Father’s plan
He’d die, but rise to live again

The crowds were there that day
To see Him passing by
The crowds were there that day–
In turn they saw Him die

And all would mourn the season
Though none could know the reason
For lost youth and lost glory–
What appeared the end of story

No crowds were there that day
Only a chosen few–
His awesome transformation
Was theirs alone to view

“You are the Christ, the Living Lord

You are the King of kings
We praise You and receive You
And the truth for Life You bring”

All that is past is done–
The victory has been won
By Him, Who once was merely
A carpenter’s son

The crowd will meet again one day
The carpenter to laud–
The crowd will meet again one day
And join the Son of God ~