Yahweh Tsuri

by rkcdlitt

“Yahweh Tsuri-The Lord Is My Rock!” is one of the ancient Hebrew names of God. I recently wrote a reflection on whether I was worthy enough to refer to God as “ABBA,” the name Jesus used for God. I am not strong enough, or pure enough in my own mind, to call God Abba, but from my earliest religious Sunday school education, I am sure, no, I know that God, you are my way, my truth, and my life. No one has the power to change that. My relationship with my Father is too strong.

I know that life throws us many problems to face; I have stumbled over many, and with the help of a strong family, a super-loving wife, and my faith in a loving God, I have been able to surpass these problems and journey on the path to spiritual enlightenment.

I’m a practical person, so I do not believe in a return to Eden, but I do believe in a path to return to earth, God’s creation, to some semblance of rightful peace. Yet I fear that humankind is too enamored by its toys of warfare! I feel that I am blessed to believe that I can luxuriate on the final lines of Maya Angelou’s Poem, “On the Pulse of Morning”:

                              “The Rock cries out to us today,   

                                You may stand upon me,   

                                But do not hide your face.”

 ©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

 

 

 

Musings

by rkcdlitt

I have been contemplating my navel a great deal lately, which is a futile attempt at hypocrisy since the last time a had a naval was 1985 after a nearly fatal auto accident and major surgery on my abdomen.

 

Anyway. I’ve been seriously contemplating life. Because at the ripe young age. Of 82. I sometimes wonder how I’m still here. But God does have something for me to do. Maybe it’s just writing this blog. Where I attempt to pull that past love and kindness together, Peace and charity through my words. to those who read my blog three or four times a week I publish. Today my musings settle on medieval doctors, you remember the ones with the masks and the large horns that stick out about a foot and 1/2 from their faces, practicing voodoo medicine. I’m seeing one today because I’ve had migraine headaches for about two 2 1/2 years. I feel pressure on my brain. You know, sleeping, lying down, sitting in chair, standing, walking, exercising, reading, writing. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 1/4 days a year. And all they do is say, here, take this pill. All from their horned masks. Voodoo. . .boo!

 

There is no Jesus walking around here and able to place his hands on my head to cure me. But. . . there is a God. . . and he does reach down every day. . . to comfort me and tell me that everything’s going to be fine. Because like you and all sons and daughters, I am one of His beloveds, and the path I walk on is sacred, as I do His bidding on Earth. In my daily meditations I receive a message to meet people with agape love, recognizing the face of God is in every person that I meet. 

Friends, I am a great skeptic. I am of great faith. I believe in God, and I believe that She believes in me. I believe there was a man, a prophet, a healer named Jesus. When he gathered his disciples, he merely said, “Follow me!” He never said to believe in him, but always to believe in His Father. I understand this to mean that his miracles were performed by God, not by man. 

Therefore, As I walk the streets of Virginia, I meet God with a smile and a blessing every time I say hello to someone new. 

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

 

 

 

Offerings, not Weapons

by rkcdlitt

Violence rules our world. If we don’t like something, we burn it down; if we don’t like someone, we shoot him. See? Problem solved in one easy step. Suspicious boat heading to our shores, shoot it out of the waters; politician we don’t like, kill him; high school kid playing a prank on my lawn, shoot him dead. It’s OK, our guns rule the world; ask our President.

Isaiah 24

They shall beat their swords into plowshares

Our politicians agree, because they dare not make any laws against the gun money being passed around the halls of Congress. (Sshh! we’re not supposed to know or talk about that.) We just visit the families of all the children and kneel and pray with them when their children are killed in the mass shootings at their schools or their church schools. This shows we really truly care!

I truly believe that mankind is not a feebleminded as we appear. Sometime in the distant future we will come to our senses   snap judgements, not hate make offerings more important than weapons, where lovingly  kindness is our first response to hardships and not violence.

 ©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

 

 

 

Harvey ‘Big Daddy’ Pollitt

by rkcdlitt

 

Harvey ‘Big Daddy’ Pollitt is the father of the two grown boys in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Gooper, the older son, is the play-by-the-rules son and kisses up to Bid Daddy because he wants to inherit the farm when Big Daddy dies. Brick, the younger son, drunk and drifting through life, couldn’t care less. He is the favorite son.

In a very good dramatic scene, Brick and Big Daddy confront each other in the basement of Brick’s house, where Brick stores all his childhood toys and football honors. Big Daddy cannot understand why Brick is throwing away his life with alcohol, and Brick cannot understand why Big Daddy will not have the operations or take the medicine to ease his pain. Big Daddy says, wincing with pain, “It’ll kill the senses too! You… you got pain – at least you know you’re alive.”

With the pain, you know you’re alive. He’s wrong, you know! Forty years ago, I was involved in a near death auto accident. Since then, I have lived a very successful and prudent life. I have no complaints except that I have experienced pain every day since that dreadful day, and I will tell you that when you got pain, you know that parts of your body are dead.

BUT, with a strong faith, I have been able to overcome all of this and realize that my eternal body is pure and belongs to God. God does not allow that body to feel pain, so I comfortable with that fact and blessed every day of my life.

So, Big Daddy, pain don’t tell me nothing about being alive, only God does.

 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

 

 

Abba, Do We Have the Right

by rkcdlitt

If I read the Bible correctly, and accept the mythology as written, exactly, about, 2000 years ago, in the aught twenties, a vagabond man named Jesus wandered around the lands east of Jerusalem causing an awful lot of problems for the religious leaders of the times. He healed the sick and the lame, raised at least two from death, and forgave many from their sins. We call Him the Son of God; and He called God, Abba. And my question is: do we as sinners have the right to call God, Abba, as Jesus did? Jesus being the official Son of God, or Son of Man as He called himself.

I was raised in the mystic faith of Christian Science where we all we created as people who could heal as Jesus did, therefore, I deduced that we were all children of God, so I being a son of God could legitimately call God, Abba. When I moved to Virginia, my wife and I joined an Episcopal church, and I very quickly learned how much of a sinner I was to assume being an equal of Jesus. I was not allowed to take this liberty. I was not pure enough.

Being completely lost, I began a life-long study of Jesus and Christianity and have been turned around several times, led down blind allies, turned around, started over, questioned Jesus, questioned myself, never truly questioned God. My faith remained with me. There are two truths we can pull from history. Jesus preached and told many stories and parables promising that we are all children of God.

At the Council of Nicaea, to end all the bickering and arguing, Constantine finally called an end to it and demanded it be as it stood st that time; all agreed. And the structure of the church they created was similar to that of the military Constantine led. The exception being in names, instead of Lieutenants, Captains, and Majors led by the General, the church would be led by priests, bishops, cardinals, and the Pope. Just as strict a hierarchy.

I call God, Abba, because I believe I am a child of

God: because for the past dozen years, even though I have an undeniable strong Christian history, I have called myself a man of faith, faith in God, faith in Jesus. Faith in Abba! 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

 

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The Morning Sun

by rkcdlitt

My eyes open to complete imagination;

my mind filled with thoughts of dreams,

only to be broken by a sight too wondrous,

too brilliant to be described by any poet’s

imaginatous, yet  creative verbiage.

 

The deep orange, inverted circle growing

on the eastern horizon, enlightening the

brilliance of a beautiful creation is a breath-

taking beginning to each day given to

us by a loving God.

 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

 

by rkcdlitt

Being Meek

From my old 1896 King James Bible, Matthew writes “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (5:5);” but in the Old Testament, the Pslamist writes, “but the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (37:11).” Meekness is also one of the four dignities in the study of Buddhism. Being meek is not being weak; it is being kind and bringing love into all situations which we find ourselves involved. You may be surprised how many irate people become tongue-tied when my last words to them are “I love you.”

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

Fellowship with All

by rkcdlitt

 We are not well;

yet no doctor needed.

We are sick,

but do not need to bed.

 

We ignore the inner

forget our strength.

We lack trust and

our ability to live.

 

We have mercy;

we sacrifice;

we are not righteous, yet

we are not sinners!

 

We reform,

we repent,

we refresh our souls,

and search for what God has given . . .

 We are Known by Love!

Love!

 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

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Recusiveness

by rkcdlitt

Thomas Merton made a simple choice to live a life of personal love and communication with God when he entered the Trappist Monastery. Some of my friends in one of my reading clubs condemn his reasoning believing that personal prayer and a closer relationship with God does nothing to change society. I disagree. I am merely small cog in life’s spinning wheel. I have no political or social power the effect instant much less lasting change, but I can recuse myself in my private room and pray, as Jesus invites in our New Testament. I do believe that prayer is effective; therefor, my prayers and my nearness to God are beneficial, even in our Facebook and Instagram society. 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

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Light and Pray

by rkcdlitt

I have come to the conclusion that joyful living is always when we are moving toward the light of God’s Love and our love of life. All is love and everything I understand is Love because it comes from God through the goodness of people. I always imagine the threshold of God’s heart shining through us, teaching us to love our enemies, again and again, and again. What a wonderful world it would be!

 

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

                 

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