I have travelled far and wide, yet never met thee; journeys have been shared; Your presence ever with me; I have read much about Thee questioning at every life’s page do’est turn; scholars have written about Thee; the ages taught eminently; but I remain so uneducated in what is truth for mere humanity; what was written seems mythical, seems unreal, apocryphal lectern.
They speak of You as a shepherd, a good one we have always known, and they say we belong to You; we are Your sheep from the flock flown; we destroy and we desecrate God’s creation in all we reside; our grace, our faith, our gratitude, fail to grow in Your true home; perhaps You are never truly where we think You perform; perhaps You are merely the myth and not my desire.
As I believe in God, I believe in the love that You doth bring the love that God graces us with freely, of Thee we sing; the myth of Your life is that you know the Father’s dove that this is true for all of us. The meaning being yet we do not learn to cease looking for a king; I know thee by Your name; Your name is Love.
P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others. Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty! Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt. If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99
I often wonder if I am the only person who is tired of only hearing bad news on the all day news programs. The cable channels are obsessed with what the latest Administration tragedy is, and the local stations are obsessed with how many people have killed others in DC.
I am convinced that we, as a people, are ready for some good news. We have to remember that our lives and the fullness of them is by keeping our eternal union with God. We want to wake up in the morning and see all people as human beings; we are not of different races; God does not care what religion we practice; She also doesn’t care what gender we are; She sees us only as her children, equal in all respects. I also think that God wants us to see each other the same way.In the Good Samaritan story, Jesus asks who proves to be the better neighbor. I try to be that neighbor, as we all should.
There is a lot of pressure in the news for us to turn back the clock and view people as Black, as alien, as queer (and I hate that word). These horrible memories and terms are meant to separate us, where God’s words unite us. God wants us to look toward the future and join hands in praise of Her and in praise of us. We are Her legacy: let’s not disappoint Her. Let’s look at each other as brothers… and sisters.
I received an email with a statement by Wangari Maathai, in which he wrote that the challenge (in our lifetime) is to restore the home to the tadpoles, giving the beauty of the world back to our children. We owe this to them. This means that we must control our waste, preserving natural beauty, and be respectful of those who live at the lower edges of our society. And, by respect, we cannot, must not, force them to do what they have rejected or been rejected by.Some have been forced from society by those who think they do not conform, or experiences such as war have left them empty, psychologically. Others have selected to reject society because they cannot stomach what society is today.
In either case, we must respect their feelings, their experiences, and their desires: we must invite them to join, or rejoin, our renewed society. We cannot offer them a Garden of Eden (even if we could), but we can offer them the chance to be part of the greater family of humanity, of peace, of understanding, just as God wants us to do. This, I feel, is the message of the Good Samaritan. The parable may be 2000+ years old, but its relevance is everlasting.
I pray that we join together, accept the word of God, and open a better world for the future.Have a good day, my brothers and sisters – those I know and those I have yet to meet.
God bless!
P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty!
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99
How great thou art allowing us the chance to meet others and befriend; to earn and accept them just by being… how they seek true beauty, whether they love plays or visiting museums, love traveling the world, or love sitting on a park bench reading, good friends seek friendship together.
P.S. I love you. And I pray you love others. Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty! Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. D.Litt. If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99
Back through the years I go wanderin’ once again Back to the seasons of my youth I recall a box of rags that someone gave us And how my momma put the rags to use
There were rags of many colors But every piece was small And I didn’t have a coat And it was way down in the fall
Momma sewed the rags together Sewin’ every piece with love She made my coat of many colors That I was so proud of
As she sewed, she told a story From The Bible, she had read About a coat of many colors Joseph wore and then she said
“Perhaps this coat will bring you Good luck and happiness” And I just couldn’t wait to wear it And momma blessed it with a kiss
My coat of many colors That my momma made for me Made only from rags But I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money Oh, I was rich as I could be In my coat of many colors My momma made for me
So with patches on my britches And holes in both my shoes In my coat of many colors I hurried off to school
Just to find the others laughing And making fun of me And my coat of many colors My momma made for me
And oh I couldn’t understand it For I felt I was rich And I told them of the love My momma sewed in every stitch
And I told ’em all the story Momma told me while she sewed And how my coat of many colors Was worth more than all their clothes
But they didn’t understand it And I tried to make them see That one is only poor Only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money But I was rich as I could be In my coat of many colors My momma made for me Made just for me
How much of your ego is wrapped up in material stuff? We often count our successes by material possessions, but it is our spiritual enrichment and inheritance that leave a true everlasting dream-like promise of a future that we can work for, or at best stumble to.
Consider this reflection by Saint Augustine:
God of our life, There are days when our burdens weigh heavy. Shine light on our path and lift our gaze to the hopeful skies; Inspire us with courage; Help us feel connected with the heroes and saints throughout time; and awaken our spirits so we can uplift all who travel with us on life’s journey, to honor and glorify You.
We have to give ourselves permission to make mistakes as we learn to live with others and understand that we are not perfect. We must remember that God is always in control; we are made in Her image, right from the very first step we made on this earth.
P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others. Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty! Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. D.Litt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99!
I’ll ask the question right away: if the Spirit is alive inside, is our life’s purpose to spread Love? Can we not ask God to grant us the power to love our neighbors and leave the rest to Her to sort out? Please allow us to have the courage to keep in sight what still needs to be changed. Our minds must be filled with praiseworthy thoughts to be truly spiritually worthy participants in God’s true world of honor and grace.
Perhaps we should concentrate on the godly gifts of patience, charity, and forgiveness to bring joy into our lives and to the lives around us. Could it be that on this late Sunday morning our message from God is this simple?
P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty!
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99
There is no joy in our society today. Our leaders suppress us in all that we do. The government takes all riches from the poor… and then hands back very little. Our leader takes and takes and takes like the kings of old. And our political leaders bow low to his bombast. And why is it that only one of our high religious leaders stands up and speaks out against him?
That crumb, however received, tastes good; because it does not come from the deceitful government but from the sweetness of God. God’s untainted fields of plenty. We go to our churches and mosques and synagogues. And we give thanks to God for what little we have. Because we know that what we get from God is what is true and honest; and is not the meager allowance permitted by our deceitful, vengeful, selfish, egotistic, self-praising government.
So I say to you: Joy is not made to be a crumb. Joy is something that comes from inside of us, where God lives. And that one very soft voice, coming from the only religious leader to speak out against our government, roars about the cruelty and selfishness, reminding us that God is always with us. That God always loves us.
P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others. Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty!
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt. If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99
People travel the world looking for God. They visit different countries, find shrines, and pray on their knees before statues of saints and crosses. They visit places like the Basilica of the Annunciation, which is built on the site where Gabriel is believed to have appeared to Mary, telling her she was chosen to bear God’s Son; it has become a sacred location. Others visit the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed just before His arrest. All of these places are visited to feel closer to God (out there).
Then there are those who study mysticism! They travel to Iona in Scotland, believing it to be a “thin place” where the boundary between our physical world and the spiritual world feels notably accessible.
I have many friends who go to these places, and I say, “Good for them!” I can’t afford to travel, but I can afford to study, and I can afford to think and pray. I found God in the pets we saved; I saw God in the birds in the sky; in my limited visits, I saw God in horses and goats, and all the farm animals.
I see God in all the people I meet…everyone…rich and poor…especially the unhoused. These are generally the kindest, most helpful, most loving people I know. I find God inside me. I share God with everyone I meet. God is not “out there;” She is right here with us every day.
P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others. Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty!
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt. If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99
Listening for His Voice enlightens my path, guides my footsteps to the goodness that surrounds me. God is the focus of my existence, and His voice is my strength and joy. I serve Him with gladness; I am victorious listening, for His voice shortens the time I am in darkness. When I falter, I fall upwards into His arms. His truth is my life, my truth; the Psalmist writes: “For the Lord is Good, His mercy is everlasting.” His voice comforts my soul.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ike the sound of a trumpet,” Revelation 1:10
Papa always said be quiet around adults; my teachers always said, “quiet in class, no talking.” Even when I was in the Marine reserves the sergeants would say, “stop your grab-assing,” meaning our complaining. And when I was a retailer, the council leaders would tell us to stop our complaining.
Then my life changed; my wife and I had children; we listened to them; they were smart! They had intelligence! They had sane ideas! Ideas we could live with. They grew into strong intelligent adults.
Something else! After they went to college, I became a high school teacher; I tried a new approach; let the students talk! Then I started to teach in college where I presented a topic, selected a student and let the class run the subject discussion. It’s amazing how much I learned. It’s amazing how much we all learned. We listened more than we spoke.
P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others. Love is God’s symphony, the perfect beauty!
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt. If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99
Meditating to Heal 
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