Far Greater

by rkcdlitt
Sandy beach with umbrella, wooden boat on clear blue lake, surrounded by forest and mountain peaks

I find myself very comfortable with my life. As an 83 year old man with several old age physical problems that keep me limited in what I do, I am comfortable in who I am and what I am for I am what God has made me become. I am a man whose sole purpose is to be kind to others and to comfort them. I am not a healer, but I can pray with them and hopefully bring the comfort of God’s Love into their open minds so that they too remember that God loves them.

Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians said to pray continuously. I agree with this because this is what God desires, because when we pray we are talking with God. And God is listening and talking back. And when we keep our heart open to God’s Love all the time, every hour of the day, that means we are praying continuously.

And I want to advise you how import this is. I have optical vertigo. . . BAD!

I can be reading a book, blink, and all of a sudden have the feeling my room just did a perfect back flip off a pool’s 10-meter-high board. . . and I’m flailing my arms falling into the water. (I never was an Olympic diver).

When I go for a walk with my wife, and I use a walker all the time, I never know where my foot will land, not knowing how uneven the sidewalks are in our communities, to say nothing about the uneven concrete slabs for my upright walker to faceplant over. Going for walks are lessons in prayers. Remember we are what we are seeking and God loves us. And I love you.

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

Springtime

by rkcdlitt
Bright spring meadow with fewer animals

I celebrated my eighty-third birthday, just two days after Easter. It feels nice having an April birthday, because more often than not, my birthday does fall within a week or two of Easter, and it definitely falls at the onset of Spring. And this is always a time when everything is fully charged in my house. It’s a time of change-over from winter to spring household decorations and winter-to spring wardrobes for both of us. This is to say nothing about getting used the setting the clocks back. One thing I always appreciate is the emphasis on Easter and the teachings of Jesus. And it’s those parables of Jesus that keep me returning to Matthew and Luke as often as I do. Jesus is truly the greatest prophet and I am so lucky to be born so close to the time we celebrate his rising. I feel renewed along with Him. I feel I still have something important to do in my life. I have a renewed enthusiasm.

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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Man and God 

by rkcdlitt
Large mossy boulder on a coastal cliff featuring the word HOPE in white paint.

I quote from Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” And earlier in Genesis 1:27 , God directed man to write: “ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  There are those in Christianity who believe that God made man to be a god. this is ludicrous; nowhere in any religious writing does man write God allowing man being a god, or even godlike. Except of course, Jesus the Nazarene, whom God did elevate to that status. And whose Godly resurrection we just celebrated.

And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen1:27)

I sometimes wonder how and why God puts up with mankind. The Old and New Testaments that are used as the Christian Bible are filled with instances of mankind outright killing God! in my current version, including the Apocrypha, there are 70 stories {books} that comprise the Christian Bible. That excludes many of the relatively newly discovered Gospels found from the deserts in northern Africa or the caves in the mountains of East Asia referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

So, now that we have taken the time to bless ourselves for recognizing the sacredness of the resurrection of Jesus we can return to our professions of war-making, dropping bomb on other societies, killing their people, making death count. And why, for oil of course. Money, or some other reason God didn’t  make us for. Jesus asked us to do two things: Love God and love one another, I know it may not seem like it but I must leave by saying that I love you and I love God.

A burlap banner reading 'love God and neighbor' displayed in a vibrant community garden.

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

Why Are We Boasting So?

by rkcdlitt

We strut around with our heads held high thinking that we are the greatest thing in the world. Maybe this is because we earn the most money, drive the biggest or classiest car, or live in the most luxurious home. If we stop and think about our lives, we should realize that everything we have was in some way or other was given to us. We may have sweated to get it but in the end, it was given, not truly earned.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

We really need to celebrate the miracle of being alive and reach out to those who are suffering in our midst. We can use our voices as a force for good and use the courage to do what is right, not what is easy. May have the strength to shine a light in the darkness and not distance ourselves from ourselves. This way we will always be present for others, realizing that what we have is a gift to be shared and a blessing to have for the community of man, not just for ourselves.

Wooden cross on a hill of spring wildflowers during a misty sunrise.

Teachers get it! They commit to a lifetime of learning new teaching methods to allow their students to learn. For instance, I learned to stop talking from the front of the class as the teacher and allow the students to carry the conversation, so I wandered around the classroom. It’s amazing how much my students taught me!!! We have to rethink our modes of operation and our own importance. We might learn something.

Happy Easter

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

Hell, a Homecoming?

by rkcdlitt
Rivers of glowing orange lava flowing through a dark, jagged volcanic rock landscape.

Okay, here I am. I admit it. I am a softie; I am an 82-year-old ex-Marine who loves the Hallmark channel on TV. And I know it’s 9:57 PM, my bedtime, because the two leads, indicating that the show is over, have gotten together. . . and kissed! Amen! And Good night!

I know this sounds awfully negative but that is not my intention here. But what better time than Easter. I know we celebrate the raising of Jesus from death. There can be nothing more profound or glorious than that to celebrate. However, and this is a huge however; this is NOT what Jesus would want. Now I am speaking of the first century Jesus, not some twenty-first century mock-up.

Jesus did not teach from a beautiful flower-gilded altar; His altar was a hillside. I think he would be much more comfortable in a run-down building with cobwebs in the corner and people sitting on the floor rather than on padded pews. There would be no organs playing and certainly no demand for a weekly offering called a tithe. And His words would not be shouted out through a microphone but softly spoken for all to hear.

Thinking of the simple messages of Jesus, I quote the intelligence of James in the novel, of the same name by Percival Everett, “If one knows Hell as home, then is returning to Hell a homecoming?” We do not and never have truly listened to the messages of Jesus. True, He spoke in parables, which we still do not understand. Whlat? Did you say we do? Then how come we cannot follow His two simple commandments?

Come on now! You remember them! Love God! Love your neighbor as you love yourself! In our world today, our neighbors are half a world away! We do have an odd way of showing our love, one Jesus would not approve of. I have no trouble with loving God, and I try my best to love my neighbor, but I forget that includes our politicians and I fail miserably at the second. I ask God’s forgiveness every tie that I pray for tis failure in my character. Do you do the same?

So, “If one knows Hell as home, then is returning to Hell a homecoming?”

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

God’s Kingdom (. . . part two)

by rkcdlitt

“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” (Dan.2:44)

I read this today just prior to my allotted time of meditation. Now the book of Daniel was written sometime in the vicinity of the sixth century BC, or around the corner of three thousand years ago. Who knows how many “adjustments” have been made by the religious authoritarians as they stumbled their way through translation after translation to the present undecipherable version . However, there seems to be a valid point: God Loves Us, as He Loves all of His Creation.

Regardless, I doubt they have the insouciance to deal with such a minor topic

Anyway, my point is that God had and has already created the enduring overpowerful kingdom here on earth that can demolish any evil that man can imagine. God created it; God improved it; and God enhances it with each generation. That Kingdom that God reinvents is the human mind, the intelligence that in its stupidity rejects God, but when it gets smart accepts God in all Its Greatness, Kindness, and All-consuming Love, finds the ability to create a civilization that flourishes. History has shown this several times. That is until man’s greed takes over, and he no longer listens to God.

So, look around! . . . God, I hate that word (so). Thus! No, too archaic! Anyway, look! Around you! At your family! See the beauty! Look in the mirror! See the beauty! God created all of that! That, and the kingdom of God’s world of Love is yours! Just go out and spread the word to all. It is easy! Just say “Good Morning” and pretend you are seeing God’s face in that person. And you are on your way!!! (and here is the secret – soon. . . very soon. . .you will be seeing God’s face in all you meet) And boy oh boy will your days be bright.

 And your life will, I repeat will, change. The love in your heart will change, will grow, will bound out of you, others will see your love, see your heart, see you in a whole new light. You will be spreading God’s Love throughout your group of friends. . . without bringing religion into the picture.

That is my uplifting thought for today!

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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Do You Love Me?

by rkcdlitt

I need only say, “ I am slipping

For your faithful love, Yahweh, to support me.

how great the anxiety of my heart,

Your consolations soothe me.” (Ps 94: 18,19 New Jer. Bible)

I awaken each morning with awe in my heart that God has allowed me one more day.

One more day; if I were a great poet, or a great song writer, I would compose something that would be a show stopper on Broadway that would wake everyone up to what one more day really means. One more day means life; but more than that it means that God loves me. And God loves my family; my wife, two children, their spouses and my three grandchildren are foolish enough to still want this crusty just about 83-year-old to stay around awhile longer.

Come to think about this, Goldie does sing about this in Fiddler on the Roof. I share a lot in common with Tevya; I also think that idiot on the roof playing the fiddle  is tempting nature. Or maybe, like Tevya, I’m deathly afraid of heights.

So, before I get to maudlin, and as a Christian who is trying to emulate a wonderful Jewish friend, Tevya, To Life, to Life L’chaim; and yes, Tevya, I think we are loved by an all-loving God and an all-loving family.

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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Unsettled Mind

by rkcdlitt

During my morning meditation, I could not settle my mind. I could never calm myself to a state of pure serene prayer; so, I returned to my old trick of letting my Bible open to a passage to allow me to read unprepared for what was to follow; and hence this is it:

“Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:10.)

So, I ask another of Jesus’ questions. “Do you love me?” Who is to argue with either of these? Jesus taught us to love those who suffer at the hands of those who have it all on this earth. You know the stingy ones. They drive the fanciest cars, eat at the fanciest restaurants, and ignore those suffering in the streets. I’m not saying all the rich do these selfish misguided deeds.

I am fortunate to have two of the haves in my life who are aware of the needs of those not a fortunate and are willing to share. Their hearts are in the right place, and I hope that in their daily lives they’re actions model what God freely shares. . . love; God did not create hate. Man created this in his search for identity. Man also joined people together in community. However, by forming a community, this closed the door on others to be denied entrance; thus, creating jealousy and hatred.

This community also set up a strict set of rules to be followed, and all must join, otherwise be expelled from the community. These rules became religions. As the religions became the strong word of God, the men in charge inadvertently caused an increase in the hatred of all outsiders.

“Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:10)

So, I go back to my questions from above and ask, “Do you love me?” And don’t recite any religious doctrine created by those ancient men who also created division and hatred to hide behind.

I would love to drop all the rhetoric, for when God created everything, including Man, nowhere in the story is there mention of God creating hate. That is created solely by man.

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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The Mind

by rkcdlitt

Truth be told, our hunger for knowledge of our personal minds is brought on by our own desire to be closer to God. And we study the Bible and other religious literature to enrich our understanding of who we are and how our minds work in conjunction with the physical brain. In truth, it is a search for lifelong serenity; at least that is one man’s opinion. . . mine!

Our minds, as with our souls, are the sole possessions of God. People say they change their minds, what they really do is change their thinking, which is part of their active brain function. What we really need to do, and doing this in a controlled group is probably the best way, is to choose a primary goal while studying biblical writings (not just the Bible), dissect any suspicions or questions we have individually, or as a group, and discuss, discuss, discuss.

Posturing in our pride hides the truth of our suffering about many things that a great deal that goes on around us of which we have no control and of which we are no long a part of. This is our antiquated brain trying not to let go. It is telling us to remain aware of everything around us as it did for so many years; we have to do this to make it in the world, to be aware of everything that is going on, and to control it. AND. . . NO WE DON’T!!!!

Let your mind take over! It won’t hurt. Stop thinking!

Let God in! Let God In. . .

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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Losing Your Way

by rkcdlitt

Some days it’s so easy to lose direction that we need a giant compass to find our way. Some things just do not fit the way they should. It is those days that we need a magic genie on our shoulders to tell us what way to turn and where to go. I thought I would get past this age when I grew up; then I thought as I grew  older, I would know better; then as I aged, well, now I realize that as long as I am alive there will be days when no matter which leg I step out with first, it will be the wrong one.

What can we do, oh. . . what can we do! We can turn around, go home; get back in our jammies; climb back in bed; turn the electric blanket up to 9; resume the pre-natal position; suck our thumbs; and hope the day passes us by. Or. We can act like true children of God and realize that days like this are of our own making. And there’s nothing to be worried about.

Because God will be with us. Always. . . Especially on days like these, and any trouble that we seem to be in, or make for ourselves. . . well, our paths will be smoothed out,  and  we will come through the other end just fine.

Can you tell my day is starting out bad? Pray for me as I pray for you.

See you tomorrow.

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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