Author: rkcdlitt

I pray continually; no matter what I do, I am thinking and living a life of prayer. Sometimes, I am in my quiet space, but most times I am busy throughout the day. But every moment I live, I am in prayer of thanksgiving. One of my prayers, my desire is to see the face of God in others’ faces; I pray also that they see God in mine. God graces me not for my benefit, but for me to love and serve all men and women.

Disappointment comes no more; as a symbol of lost hope, it crosses my path no more, for my faith has no boundaries. I am lifted by love, which allows me to laugh a lot in my quiet life. I look outside myself to look at myself and often see the mysticism in my life; my heart is gladdened by the presence of God. He makes my spirit a strong wind that allows me to do the works of God as I travel through my long days.

I leave my spiritual blindness behind me as I greet my fellow man on the street; I recognize him as a part of our one disparate family of man, children of God. I pray that God’s angels watch over us all throughout the tempestuous times. May God encircle us all in our group hug as our storms come and go. May we leave our lives of denial accepting God who has no deadlines or requirements. We know the future of our lives is with God. We are small, but our witness to others of God’s blessings fan the globe with Love and brotherhood.

We lay offer our burdens to God for our future is only within Him. Our spirit is within God, and we find Him within during our quiet times. Heavenly Father, You have no time deadlines for you are infinite; accept us into Your mercy as we offer compassion to all our fellow creatures that You created. Help us tear down the walls created by society so that all walk in peace and the light of Christ.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Ask most people where they are going and they will say to work or the store, not understanding the question. When I ask again, I will get anything from a scowl to a “why ask again” and finally to an “Oh!”

All of us are on a journey, not a journey with a defined end, but a journey just the same. It is the experience of the journey, the spirituality, which is important, not the end; we all know what the end will be. Our journey begins in our personal desert, void of spirituality; we have none, or little. We have mountains to climb and rivers to cross. And we never stop to notice what they are.

I believe the mountains are the experiences which bring us closer to God and the rivers are the prayers of hopes that God answers every day. On my journey, I ask if I truly want to get where I am going. I know that when I face trouble, God is with me to show me how to overcome obstacles. This is the spirit life at work that God gives me. Justice prevails on my journey.

My dreams are important; they lead me through the doorway that is my life to the future that is my destiny. They are the gifts of my spiritual life that have travelled with me since my own childhood.

I study scripture; the presence of Jesus in my consciousness reminds me of the compassion God has for me and for all. God’s Wisdom as my companion, charms the bright fires of my spirit that weave in and out of my life.

Each day I rise! I face the world, usually grumbling; after my morning coffee, I vow to walk with kindness greeting everyone I meet with love.

I regret I cannot sing like a bird, so I have to use mere words to say hello each day. I laugh with all whom I meet, allowing them to know that we are never alone; we have each other; we have the Holy Spirit, always with us, sharing kindness, sharing love. I will not try to be false in my greeting for I know that to share God’s Love, I must be true to myself, true to those I meet, and true to God.

Do I want to get there? (Where?) yes! And I want you to be there also. Let us share the goodness of God and travel in the same love the pets we share offer us. Wherever we end up, we will be in God’s Love.

© Russell Kendall Carter

There is one exercise that all should practice before beginning their day, whether this is leaving the house to work or merely being productive by sitting in front of their computer. This is meditation. You do not need to be a William Shakespeare or a Stephen King to be on the road to success.

When meditating, my life becomes one of deep passion. I am presently writing about meditation and prayer. Saying this, I begin each day with a twenty-minute period of meditation without planning any thoughts. My meditations become a streaming river, calming me, relaxing my mind, opening it new ideas. At this time, many ideas pass by the row boat that carries me along my daily path. At times, this feels like an old-fashioned mule-drawn barge along the Erie Canal; at other times, my little craft is in a roaring torrent down the Snake river.

No matter which feeling I experience, my meditation and closeness to God covers my presence with a feeling of safety and courage.

One of my most beneficial forms of meditation is a modified version of Lectio Divina. Being away from physical contact with my church brothers and sisters, my Lectio becomes a solid conversation and meditation between me and God. Try it! It works! I do my daily Bible reading, ask questions to the authors, and meditate on how they would respond.

Recently, the idea of writing poetry based on scripture came to me during one of these quiet times. My immediate thought was how can I improve on the poetry of the Bible. God immediately reminded me that the words were His, not theirs. And, if I followed His lead, my poetry would be just as meaningful.

Psalm 23:

As I travel on my journey,

You are my Shepherd;

You are my holy God.

You bless me as I live

in Your wonderful Edens;

You bless me as I drink from the fruits of Your vines;

Your comfortable blessings save me from the trials of life;

Your strength usurps my fears.

My faith is restored with Your grace;

I am filled with Your blessings.

Love surrounds me,

as I live in Your light forever.

This may not be as powerful as what David penned, but it comes from my heart and expresses my modern thinking. But God reminds me that the thought and the purpose remains the same. I am safe in God’s arms.

Meditation and spirituality go a long way in sustaining our inner calm and inner strength; do not overlook the power of meditation to enhance your spirituality. Find your personal niche and proceed.

©Russell Kendall Carter

Many times, we are confused about who God truly is when we read the Bible. The God in the Old Testament seems to be a vengeful God, punishing and reward, punishing and rewarding. Whenever mankind strayed from God, painful penalties were applied, from sending grasshoppers to destroy the

fields to God granting Isaac wells wherever he dwelt. It can be confusing.

Jesus, however, brough forth a new benevolent God, a god of peace. A god who forgave transgressions and sins, such as the prostitute whom Jesus saved from the crowds. And yet, in John, Jesus proclaims a list of transgressions and the penalties forthcoming. All was not peace; there remained this hidden threat that if mankind strays, God will be vengeful. . . very similar to the God of the Old Testament.

One thing I accept is that this is one of the many examples that ties the New and Old Testament together, showing us that Jew or Christian, we all are safe in God’s loving arms. (And I apologize for humanizing God for God is infinite, not human.

Humanity continually searches for God’s eternity. We can only find eternity through our faith and communication with God. We grow ourselves internally and spiritually to have a true relationship with one so powerful, so forgiving and gracious as God.

Are we ready to grow, to hear, to listen, and to understand? If we are not, then we can never know or understand God.

My brothers and sisters, we must first learn to love our true selves. Then, we can turn to love our neighbor as ourselves, just as Jesus asks us to do. When we can truthfully do each of these, we are then able to love God, not the vengeful god of the Old Testament, but the gracious and forgiving God brought to us by Jesus, our pathway to God.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Passion is good; passion is not so good!

Okay, that’s out of the way. Passion is described as a compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate. It is also defined as lust, a strong sexual desire. A milder definition is a strong enthusiasm. In the Bible, The Passion of Christ is the story of Jesus Christ’s arrest, trial, and death. In this case, passion means suffering.

So, what does it mean to live with passion?

Every minute of our existence is like a precious pearl pulled from the deep. This is true because we are God’s agents of grace and unlimited sources of hope to all creation – our God-given duty. We are born into passion by the will of God who asks us to live a life of love and giving. We are to live a spiritual life filled with words of comfort, filled with a life of joy and sharing, and led by universal love with no prejudice or malice. We are loved; therefore, we love in return.

We free our spiritual energy boosting the Goodness. When we open our hearts to other people, we open ourselves for God to enter and something wonderful begins to happen to all. As our passion grows, so does our love; as our love grows, our lives become whole. We are calm; we are as a carnival, a place of joy and wonder. We hear the hush of the birds as they laugh at us while walking with nature and suddenly knowing all of their individual names. The calmness of the soothing breeze testifies to our reverence of life.

My passion grows and I appreciate all of God’s nature; love surrounds me; my happiness is your happiness; my success is your success. My laughter is your laughter. We are one with nature. We are nature’s passion. We are God’s passion!

© Russell Kendall Carter                                           

I reported to Parris Island, South Caroline in February 1964. While I was there the Beatles came to the United States and had hit upon hit in the rock charts. I came home in late August and heard them for the first time, exclaiming how unique and great they were. My friends laughed at me and asked where I had been for the past six months. To say the least, I felt a little foolish.

One of their early songs was “Help.” The opening lines are: “Help, I need somebody, (Help) not just anybody, (Help) you know I need someone, help.”

Recently, I was discussing the Beatles with a friend. I said that both McCartney and Lennon were very spiritual and probably very religious. He laughed, almost a horse laugh of guffaw. I reminded him of Lennon’s Imagine, where he asks us to “imagine there’s no heaven.” I went on to quote Let it Be, “Mother Mary comes to me;” and Hey Jude, “Hey Jude (Jesus), don’t let me down.”

There are others in Rock with religious meanings also; one in particular: The Byrds, Turn, Turn, Turn, (written by Pete Seeger) taken directly from Ecclesiastes.

God surrounds us wherever we go, thankfully. Humanity is filled with worry; we do it all the time. But if we have faith, we can leave our despair behind us. Our fathers and grandfathers are calling to us, telling us not to fear trials and tribulations, for Jesus walks with us. God hears our worries and sends the Holy Spirit to comfort us.

Isaiah reminds us, “Fear thou not, I am with thee.”  So. . .

“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of Wisdom. . .”

Amen.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I begin my daily meditations with a simple line, “Please God, hear my prayer; Wisdom, hear my prayer.” I rarely ask anything for myself. My thoughts are always on others. I do have problems; the same problems that all seventy-nine-year-old people face; but I will not ask something for myself; God always provides!

From my very first Sunday school lesson, I learned and believed that God is Love. And because God is Love, He gifts us Wisdom.

The more I age and experience life, the stronger and more important  

Wisdom is the Divine Feminine, the nurturer we all need. If we lack the Wisdom sent by God, we can be lost in a never-ending forest of confusion and grief. One way to avoid this is to meet God everywhere. If needed, and it is, our entire focus of life must be on God. He knows where we are; remember Jesus telling Philip that He saw him under the fig tree; this reminds us that we are never out of the sight of God.

Clothe yourself in God! Set your heart on the simple, the thin; find God within where He dwells. Lift your heart and mind above, not on earthly troubles. Have faith! Concentrate on your future; the past is gone. God will always be with you.

God, hear my prayer; Wisdom, hear my prayer. God of deliverance, You are always in my life; Your Grace and Love carry me through the day.

O Wisdom hear my prayer; O God deliver me to do your wishes.

© Russell Kendall Carter

We have too much anger in our lives, anger that is stoked by television news, social media sites, and newspapers. Society has faced many times of trial, what some have called the hot winds of war. Born in the middle of World War 2, I lived through the struggles of the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s, the Vietnam War, and the medical emergencies created by Polio, AIDs, E bola, and now Covid. All life is filled with these problems.

Unfortunately, I have also lived through many struggles in church leadership. I remember times when women could not be ordained ministers and priests, or when Gays were not pure enough. And my goodness, we now experience a rise in leadership both in the church and in politics with people of color. What’s next? Open and affirming churches that welcome anyone in, no matter what lifestyle they live . . . oops, these are already with us. I happen to belong to a very open and affirming church. Isn’t that wonderful? As I look to the future, I am encouraged that finally we as people of humanity are beginning to realize that every creature created by God is worthy to be called brother or sister.

All of the above negative thoughts and practices create a hidden anger living beneath the surface of society that periodically raises its ugly head to disrupt any progress, creating problems, creating hate. I fail to remember where I read this, but someone once said that problems are just solutions in disguise. The more we muse on this, the more we realize the truth of this simple sentence. I pray that we can solve present and future problems by recognizing how foolish negativity is.

One sure way of cooling the effects of this negativity of power and greed is to bring God back into the life of community. It is up to us to share the genuine self of God’s unchanging hand of Love.

We struggle to understand God, understand why there is pain and suffering in the world. But we cannot concentrate on these negative thoughts and practices. We will never understand God’s purpose if we avoid accepting the intimacy that God offers. We fear the unknown, and God can be one of the most mysterious unknown parts of our lives. However, we must recognize the light of Truth at the end of any tunnel.

We live in an unfair and unequal world; it seems that all news is harmful. It is understandable that we are filled with anger, but anger will not help us. It is only through the love and presence of the flicker of God in our lives that we can avoid having the hidden anger affect us. All we must do is change this small flicker into the roaring fire of Love.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Our lives are tradition without a doubt. We live in society; therefore, we are part of a tradition. Unfortunately, the tradition we celebrate originates in humanity and therefore is doomed to failure and death. Nothing man-made is eternal.

God is the creator of all; God creates all human beings, all genders. Thus, all are holy. All of nature knows that God created every living thing, all living things. . . as they are. We are not to judge. God made us strong, giving us the power of love and self-discipline. These are from His Wisdom; His Wisdom is the world as He created it. If we love God, we love Wisdom and we love Life, all life.

Our duty is to be firm in faith, the faith given by a loving god in a community given by a loving god. With our faith in God, we gain the assurance of Hope, all Hope, the hope of the poor, the needy, the hope of the other. All mankind is the manifestation of God. Love God, love self, love all mankind; it is that simple an idea but difficult to achieve, for most of us tend to live in a state of worry. . . mortal, material worry. This prevents us from seeing God in everyone, all around.

If we recognize the Wisdom-gift, we recognize, receive, and give love, justice, protection, faith, and hope to all community in all traditions. Honor yourself, honor your brothers and sisters, honor your neighbors; honor everyone’s uniqueness; this is the work of Love. This is the work of being in the moment of reality with God as our guide.

Live in the moment; live in the tradition and live in the community of Love, of God.

© Russell Kendall Carter

May God’s Peace enfold us; drowning us in the glowing luxury of God’s Holy Word. Open our inner minds to the many mysterious impressions God send to us daily. We study and accept God’s Holy Wisdom, allowing us to listen in silence to the voices within us, teaching us who our true selves are. When the Kingdom of God is in our midst, our breathing becomes an invitation to languish in the desire for God to reach us.

God is our eternal companion; absolutely nothing is more powerful than the love and presence of God in our lives. We live in a dual world of light and dark. These twin pillars can make our lives difficult and make us angry. But when we open ourselves and let our hearts return to God, we restore our beings to the perfect world God wants for us. We are never alone, and therefore, our faith and trust grows with each passing day. We love, we hope; both are lifelines given by God. God is in our lives; let the Peace of God enfold us every day.

© Russell Kendall Carter