Tag: blessings

A Servant’s Zeal for the Lord

April 26, 2026

Z E A L

Lord, Your Word

is so full of pageantry

promises and purpose!

Keep my heart’s zeal strong, steady

 for serving You and others–

Would that I could

be there now, as You

are prepping for

the Great Celebration

Your Kingdom come

at last!

~ Cale

Amplified Bible
For He [the LORD] put on righteousness like a coat of armor, And salvation like a helmet on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And covered Himself with zeal [and great love for His people] as a cloak. Isaiah 59:17

Amplified Bible
For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. Isa 37:32

Amplified Bible
There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, [He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From that time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Isa 9:7

 “Fan into flame the gracious gift of God, [that inner fire—the special endowment] which is in you…” 2 Tim 1:6

Amplified Bible
Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit. I Thes 5:19

9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

11 Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord 

12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.

13 Share with the saints who are in need.

Practice hospitality. Rom 12:9-13

Amplified Bible
Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor]. I Pet 4:10

Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.  Eph 4:29-32

YES, LORD!

April 25, 2026

Letter “Y” is for YES!  I chose the song mainly for the chorus, because I LOVE it.  The rest of the “trading my sorrows” lyrics are rich too, and sometimes I need to sing the whole thing really loud!

But, at 73 I’m probably running out of time on Earth, and the one thing I’d better be doing everyday is saying “YES, LORD” to whatever He says to me…no matter my circumstance, mood, or level of “old and decrepit” limitations.

This song pumps up my energy, a huge (and necessary) blessing.😊

May the Lord bless your day Abundantly!

~ Cale

NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES (& when a ‘negative’ is actually a blessing!)

April 14, 2026

I don’t know if you’ve noticed (I only realized it today), but with just a shift of letters, NAME becomes AMEN.  In the context of Christian faith this really thrilled me–because JESUS is the Name above all names, and to whatever He says, I strive to shout out an enthusiastic AMEN, LORD!

Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, / that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, / and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Amplified Bible
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].” Acts 4:12

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

EXTRA GOOD NEWS!

There are some words we usually consider “negatives”, at first glance: no, not, never, none, nothing–but did you know that God’s Word contains promises of His love and goodness, using the same words??  Check out these next verses and be BLESSED!

Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

1 Samuel 12:22
Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.

Good News Translation
neither the world above nor the world below–there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:39

AND THIS VERSION IS FOR ALL MY FELLOW SUFFERERS OF DEPRESSION:

Haweis New Testament
nor exaltation, nor deepest depression, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Rom 8:39

John 10:28-29
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. / My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

English Standard Version
The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. Psalm 34:22

Jeremiah 32:40
I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.

Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 49:15-16
Amplified Bible
[The LORD answered] “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.  “Indeed, I have inscribed [a picture of] you on the palms of My hands ~ ♥

BLESSED ASSURANCE

April 2, 2026

His Heart full of LOVE

God filled the pages

of His Book

with words of assurance

promises to bless

nurture, protect, rescue

Love of a Father

love now and forever

not conditional

to be earned, merited

not denied due

to our flaws, faults

bad choices, behavior

ladled with forgiveness

second chances

Blessed Assurance:

“YOU ARE MY CHILD”

~ Cale & Hagar

Ten Things of Thankful

March 22, 2026

Happy and thankful to be here once again!  I love weekends…there are no business calls to take, so I do regular stuff I enjoy: church, cooking/baking, emailing with my Bestie, movies, and visting my 2 cat nieces downstairs.  (We’ve concluded that slow and rhythmic waving of tail by Sammie as she stares at me, is feline version of human eye-rolling🙄.  I get it…I’m jibber-jabbering away, and she can only feign interest for so long.)

I’m beyond blessed and grateful to be using my cell phone exclusively.  The landline service became ridiculously/outrageously expensive–so I took a deep breath and downgraded to Internet only!  The first day was both scary and funny: I had to call a list of folks to update my records with new phone number…and more than several times I accidentally disconnected before people could answer the rings.  But I’ll get the hang of it before too awfully long–I have faith!

I’m thankful that although my corned beef was not especially successful this St Pat’s Day (I tweak recipes unwisely sometimes)–my caregiver was glad to take home all that I would have tossed!

It was a delight to celebrate her birthday this past week:  I baked a cake of course, and found 3 Russian versions of the traditional “Happy Birthday” song on YouTube.  She was so surprised.  The cake was absolute perfection (whew!):  Black Magic Chocolate Cake is very delish, and has a secret ingredient! (if you ask, I’ll tell you)

As always, I’m glad and grateful for blogging–so many wonderful people, and every day is different.

6-Sentence Story is dear to my heart–I’m thankful for new prompts each Sunday (and grateful the Lord drops an idea in my head)!

I’m beyond grateful the snow was fleeting…enough to satisfy folks who didn’t get a white Christmas, and not sufficient to freeze the parking lot into an ice rink.

I’m thankful for very old needle-nose pliers.  I’m no “Tina-the-Tool-Gal”, and the knob broke off the thermostat in the Upper Room…who knows when Maintenance will respond…so the pliers are ugly but handy.

Alright-y…I don’t know how many thankfuls that is, but you’ve probably heard enough of Cale’s world–so I’ll just tell the Lord I’m grateful He stuck with me another day, and sign off.  See y’all next week, if He doesn’t call me Home!

~ Cale

Gentle Rain

March 7, 2026

Sovereign’s steady hand

pours gentle rain of blessing

tastes like coming spring

though chilly gray it’s welcome

singing prayers of gratitude

~ Cale

Love Prays

February 6, 2026

When we pray for others, there will be blessings😊

New International Version
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

Job 42:10

~~*~~

I Kings 17:17-23 Christian Standard Bible

…the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “Man of God, what do you have against me? Have you come to call attention to my iniquity so that my son is put to death? ”

But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son? ” Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again! ”

So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived. Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.” 

~~*~~

Acts 9:36-41 Christian Standard Bible

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated Dorcas). She was always doing good works and acts of charity. About that time she became sick and died. After washing her, they placed her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who urged him, “Don’t delay in coming with us.” Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. And all the widows approached him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. He called the saints and widows and presented her alive. 

~~*~~

Young’s Literal Translation
but I — I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those accusing you falsely, and persecuting you.  Matthew 5:44

A Valentine Story

February 4, 2026

It began with “hello”

just that

an ordinary greeting

ordinary day

ordinary-looking man–

no, not quite ordinary

he was helpful…

handy in ways

beyond her expertise

so, she thanked him

with her speciality…and

with every traded favor–

his chores, for her

tasty home-cooked meals–

he became more handsome

as she grew ever lovelier…

“hello” changed to

“I can help you with that”

and one day:

“how about we get married?”

she said, “yes”❣

~ Cale

https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2026/02/03/three-things-challenge-mm324/

https://thedailyspur.wordpress.com/2026/01/18/expertise-2/

Groundhog Day

February 2, 2026

Groundhog Day:

every anniversary

(48 yrs)

failure’s reminder…

now I’m mildly amused

celebrating freedom

courage, strength to leave

abuse, shame behind–

forged new future, solo

(an underrated blessing)

bearing best fruit ever–

don’t need groundhog

to look for shadows

spring flowers early bloom

where once was marriage tomb–

~ Cale

Check, Part 2 (6SS)

January 31, 2026

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