Author: rkcdlitt

                           Dust in the Wind

My wife and I, while visiting our grandchildren, were driving along route 25 in New Mexico, on our way to Taos. Not a fan of today’s pop music, when driving I listen to my favorites, such as John Denver, Harry Chapin, Joan Baez, and so may others. Today, as a part of the station on Pandora, we listened to “Dust in the Wind” by the group Kansas in the 1970s. Written by Kerry Livgren, it is a song with deep spiritual undertones, mentioning how delicate our lives are. One of the most profound lines is, “All we are is dust in the wind.” 
We are made from dust and the Bible relates that from dust we come and dust we shall return. We cannot think of our lives as merely dust to be controlled by the wind; unless, of course, we speak of the breath of God. Then we are under His complete control.
We are brought into this world without our consent. It is what we do in our lives that makes it worthwhile. Personally, I believe in service. After almost fifty selfish years, I became a high school teacher and began a life of service. With respect to Kerry Livgren, during my first fifty years I was just dust in the wind. I lived for myself and my immediate family. Although, as a small businessman, I am sure I served some people, but it was not the kind of service that is important.
As a youth, my father took me to the local Christian Science church, which I did not stay with after my years as a Marine in the 1960s. One of my Sunday school teachers had us learn, memorize, and adopt as a credo for life, one verse in the Gospels. I did: Matthew 5:16. (You can look it up). I did not live up to this during my first fifty years; for this I am sorrowful. I began living up to this idea of service to God when I began to teach, and I have enjoyed a world of unasked for and unexpected grandeur ever since. I became alive as a teacher and I truly did the good works God wanted me to do all along. I was no longer dust in the wind. I was giving all glory to God.
As with all people, there are times in my life that I feel alone and totally lost; I say this as a seventy-eight-year-old sometimes frustrated male. However, when I remember that I am made from the dust of the ground and to it I shall return, I rejoice that as a . creation of God, I am entrusted with the divine invitation to share my God-given Love to all whom I meet. This is why I write; God gives me the words and I merely put them on the page.
I may be dust in the wind, but I am God’s dust and I pray that I land on your doorstep and share the Love that is eternal.


© Russell Kendall Carter

Like Jesus, we are examples of how we can help those in need by  serving God. We remember that Jesus preached that it is more blessed to give to those in need and that it is more blessed to give that to  receive. The essence of love is that what is ours should belong to someone else. Feeling the joy of someone else as joy within ourselves — that is loving.

Why do we think that Jesus has mercy on us? We are invited to be receptive to Jesus and his healing power that is present in our lives today. It does not matter what your faith is or what your belief is, put the kindness of God and the love of Jesus into your daily practice. This assures God’s peace is always with us and our ability to share is always present.

Each of us is unique in our world; this is God’s intent; and . . . we must reflect our gifts as given to glorify God. we cannot be formed by what occurs in this world but by what God has planned for us so we can reflect the good and perfect will of God. shares your gifts and please God who made us all. Personally, I listen to God’s voice I pray; it is the only way I utterly understand how to serve God.

© Russell Kendall Carter

     What is our foundation but in the service of God. We are now one full year into this worldwide pandemic. We have quarantined, kept clear of our friends, and given up Sunday services in church. We are like lost sheep trapped in our own gullies called home.
     But it needn’t be like this. Are we people of courage? Is living well in community the only way to survive? One year of isolation. One year of feeling alone against this world filled with disease and angry people.
     We are never truly alone; God is cradling us in His loving arms each and every day. We still have great courage. Courage that is demonstrated by our determination to do what we can in the present moment. In the present moment I ask myself if I can do more than I already am doing. And, if I am called upon to do more, am I willing, am I brave enough, am I strong enough to step up and do what needs to be done.
     My prayer for the day is that all of us find the courage to do what has to be done, when it has to be done. This is the foundation we must build upon. 

 Imagine being in a story with Abram;
 an infinity ago.
 God speaks to him, changes his name,
 not for his sake, but for ours.
 
 Listen as  Abram did,
 not with ears, but with
 heart, with soul, with strength, 
 but mainly with mind.
 Listen and see with thy heart;
 walk with the ears of your heart - 
 wide open.
 Listen – be doers, not just listeners.
 
 Pray the word, returning,
 to the path of life;
 God speaks – we then are refreshed,
 But we understand not.                                                
 We ignore wisdom,
 playing to our prejudices.
 
 Like Peter, we deny the Word,
 deny the path laid before us.
 We ignore where Jesus leads us,
 being flattered by what we are called.
 This is not about us being better than we were,
 but better than we can be.
 God leads us to places we fear to go,
 but we go, listening, stepping carefully,
 fearfully - 
 rewarded by peace, by grace, 
 by Love.
  
 © Russell Kendall Carter 

 The Land of Opportunity;
 The United States of Actors;
 Hypocrites all, pruning,
 posing before cameras;
 Taking firm stands on issues;
 only changing -  
 when the weather does!
  
 Called a Christian nation
 praising the rich, the powerful;
 oppressing color, gender;
 oppressing the poor;
 following Jesus to the bank - 
 not the Temple;
 turning it to a den of vipers;
 turning churches into places
 of money changing, places of trade;
 the selling of tithes
 to the dealers of the
 Three-Card Monte!
  
 Calling to defund education;
 defund healthcare;
 lower the minimum wage - 
 all practices approved by Jesus!
  
 So . . . they say!!! 

© Russell Kendall Carter

 Sunlight
  
Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” Matthew 11:2-5
 
 
     We search in the darkness for answers that are at our footsteps, but we know not to look for them. We enter through the secret doors of our wardrobes only to find a barren wasteland of snow and ice; this is not what we desire. 
     However, we do meet enlightened messengers alone the way, perhaps it is Tumnus leading us to the warmth of permanent summer or Jadis bringing a long winter. If we only believe in Truth and those whom we share this with believe also is when we see the brightness of the sun. But, no, we turn our backs when offered with finery: jewels, warm meals, comfortable homes. We find ourselves dwelling in the lands of the wicked princes, who only serve themselves.
     We search for God; we search for Jesus; we search for the house of God, the one with many rooms. We trust princes who promise us salvation, but we do not experience the calm and love brought by the Son of Man. We love calm, but constantly enter the quarters of the wicked and the self-serving princes. 
     Find refuge in the eternal love of the living God. As the cloud recedes from vision, we are blessed with a rainbow of chances illuminated by the God’s true sunlight.
  
   © Russell Kendall Carter 

 
 And still does; the poor are still with us; the infirm are still ailing; and we live under non-caring rulers - both political and religious. Many leaders on the local level are very caring and attentive toward those who suffer, but those populating the upper ranks of leadership are more concerned about their images and their jobs that they forget about the people.
 Jesus wept when hearing of the death of Lazarus; we weep because in the United States, there are almost 500,000 people who have died unnecessarily. Jesus lifted Lazarus from death to life; we cannot do the same with the many who have died from this pandemic, who die from poverty and starvation, who die from exposure, living homelessly cuddled in thin rags beneath the bridges of our cities.
 Jesus weeps for all those who die without the love and comfort afforded the by well-to-do. As with his disciples, Jesus invites and challenges us to turn our backs on greed and envy and lift our brothers and sisters from their society-induced oppression. Perhaps during this 2021 Lent, we should begin listening to Jesus and listening to the voices crying in the wilderness and do God’s will.
    
  
 © Russell Kendall Carter 

Cats

The variety of cats are unimaginable. I think of the grandeur of the magnificent lion with a mane so glorious. The beauty of the coats of the spotted leopard, the stripes of the Bengal tiger, the shining ebony coat of the panther, and the purity of the snow leopard. All are glorious in their own right and in their own habitat.

I have three versions of these in my abode, just as wild at heart, but seemingly comfortable in my habitat. Cats are truly gifts to enjoy, but only on their terms. They are like potato chips; you cannot have only one. At times, the three that live within my walls are truly Jellicoe cats; except for feeding times, they hide in their hidden corners only to emerge at night to prowl the house.

The queen of our pride is Lucy, our bringing of light to the house. She is our snuggler, again on her terms. She is our oldest and boxes with talon-less forepaws with the alpha male. Lucy is a Russian Blue with a cat so soft that the pillow manufacturers are jealous. Too old to jump, Lucy sits at our feet begging to be lifted to a lap. If you don’t pet or scratch in the right way, she lets us know with a friendly nip. Lucy is a gift from our son.

The little princess is Noelle, our mackerel tabby cat and like her name a true gift of Christmas. Lies next to my dinner plate, begging for an ear scratch or a long scratch down her back. But don’t lift her up. She will not be held. She almost smiles when next to me, but sheer panic shows when I pick her up. She is our symbol of daintiness, with a peep more than a meow. Her coat represents prettiness beyond compare. Lucy is a gift from our daughter.

The wannabee ruler of the pride is Sebastian our venerable hunter, wanting to rule the pride, but spars with Lucy, sometimes hourly. He is our black panther cat sitting by the window, chirping at the birds in our feeders outside his private window, will come for a periodic ear scratch but fights a snuggle or lift. Will race around the house talking with himself and sometimes crying out like a lost cat in an alley. Sebastian is another gift from our daughter.

According to ancient Egyptian culture, cats are godlike. There are so many instances and Egyptian gods associated or symbolized by cats that their importance cannot be overstated. Many ancient cultures revered cats as protectors of both man and gods. Which means, cats, like chips, you need more than one. Our three, independent, singular in nature, all independent, all singing in different voices. Cats, all gifts not from children, but from God.

© Russell Kendall Carter

 
 We live in a very convoluted and troubling world. Each day we awaken to a new threat to our existence causing us to separate our everyday lives from our spiritual lives. Furthermore, this separation is worldwide. The last time this separation rose to the same degree was in the 1930s during the Great Depression, and we all know what followed that tragedy, a greater worldwide tragedy costing millions of lives and lives tragically living confinement forced by intolerant governments.
 During this Lenten season, I will spiritually enter a desert to rid my mind of all troubles in my world and in the world at large; I will allow my self to be challenged by those elements in my circle of interests and to deny the importance of them in my life. Also, what I mean by my life is my true life as a creation of God. in God’s world this is no duality. There is no separation between what is and what it should be. I am one within God’s creation.
 I want to grow in my relationship with God; we are created to grow, to evolve during our life. We need to grow; we need to change. If we don’t, we cease living; our lives disappear for others to grow. During this 2021 time of Lent, I am delighted to walk with God in my personal spiritual desert, where I will grow in comfort with God’s holy presence and grow in spirituality which I can then share with others as they also grow in their personal deserts.
 Those who walk in this self-imposed spiritual deserts this Lenten period can truly appreciate the beauty gained by the experience. It is enjoyable, but it is also a promise and gift of love, the love promised by Jesus. God is that which was, that which is, and that which will come to us.
 I am a simple blog writer; but my meditations on life are gifts of love given to me by He whom we all should follow.
  
  
  
  
 © Russell Kendall Carter 

When I think of the Divine, my attention immediately turns to God. God is the ultimate divine; God is Life, Love, and Truth. God is Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence. God is Transcendence, celestial, and mystical. God . . . the Sacred.  

I live in a world of strife and anger, but my life is neither led nor affected by these outer forces. My life is a spiritual existence that brings me closer to the Holy Spirit that dwells within me. When I sit and meditate on my life, I feel all of the attributes that make up God.

The beauty of the divine is all around me and it is all within me. I look at the birds voraciously attacking the feeders in our yard. I look at the squirrels and groundhogs foraging what the birds drop to the earth. All are fed by the feeders, but all are fed by the divine. As I look at the snow on the ground, I remember how much I enjoyed romping in the snow as a young boy.

Although I am not as giddy with the snow, I recognize it as part of the climate of the Earth that God created. I don’t know why God created snow, except maybe to allow young children to play eagerly. When I was a freshman in college, there was a young man from an African nation. The first time he saw snow, he ran out of the dorm, wrenched his face to the sky and cried. He was overwhelmed by the feeling of snow falling on his face. What a beautiful image of God’s divine world.

So, I sit here as an old man, writing in my blog, praying that some of the words that God puts in my mouth mean something and bring the beauty of the divine into reality for all.

© Russell Kendall Carter