Our Troubles lead to Hope

Now that we have already broken most of our new year’s resolutions, let’s take a look at our lives and honest virtues that are always with us. First and foremost, we have our family. And we all have a family that nurtures us. Our traditional family, we all know about, but for too many of us, a non-traditional family that also is one of support and love, lives on the streets of our towns and cities. They too have their codes of friendship and family, one of hidden love and support. But do not despair the love of God is always with us and the darkness is not permanent. Regardless of what our life circumstance is faith and virtue can be and are ours to live and love. Fear and doubt can be left behind by the faith and love of the ever-present love of God leading us through the tunnels of darkness to a full life of meaning. A life of struggle and doubt at times, yes; but a life that is always a life of faith, virtue, and always, love.
©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book.

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Life is Good

In the spiritual adventure of what we call life we discover that our life is like a drop of water in God’s eternity. With our family and friends always walking beside us, catching us when we falter, we are always assured that we are on the safe and treasured path that God has given is yesterday, today and tomorrow, allowing us to walk in His grace. When we forever take God’s Love and Grace as our everyday mantra, we treat all whom we meet with love and peace in our hearts and on our lips.
Truly, Life is Good.

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book.

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Love (God) Casts Out All Fear

I was raised in a wealthy family, but not how you think. My father took a train to work every morning (we owned no car). My mother arose at four AM every morning to work in a bakery across the street from our third-floor apartment in which we lived. My sister and I walked to school every day carrying our deluxe lunches of lettuce and mayonnaise sandwiches. My father always told us before he left for work that God loves and protects us, and we should not be afraid of anything as we go to school. It was a code we were taught to live by.
That was over 70 years ago. I have had a very good life, a sometimes-rough life, but a good life. My wife and I (together 57 years) live quietly, enjoy our children and grandchildren and occasionally get the chance to travel. My father was correct, God does not expect us to go it alone. Every time I fell, God was behind me to help me get back on my feet. With love of both God, my wife, and a lot of hard work, we gave life with lots of love to a healthy family hopefully raised in the old-fashioned way.
As we begin a new year, we see our world as a very scary dangerous world. I see the headlines and there are no safe places to hide from those who want to do harm to whomever is in the way. New Orleans, Arizona, Virginia; individuals or groups have the intent to do harm to innocent people everywhere. My only defense is an offense, and that is to have love and peace in my heart and on my lips at all times, and to know that Love casts out all fears. So, trust God. You are not alone. God loves you.

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book.

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A New Year

Here it is, the end of another year! As true with all years, we have had to climb a few hills, but we also had some smooth paths to walk also. Generally, God has been good to us. As we approach the new year let us all keep on the path that God has paved for us. Greet others with a smile and share with them God’s love. Know your own heart and its ability to grow every time you meet others. Be in good health and trust your instincts; God put them there for a reason.

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book.

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Light within you

Do you feel it deep within you?
It’s always there but not beating.
Not beating like your heart.
It’s a warmth that’s always there.
Sometimes you try to ignore it.
But it shines through regardless.
This light is the soul that God
places in our hearts that shines
up through our faces for others to see;
we feel, but cannot see it in ourselves
as others do. We can only see it shine
in others. It is God’s wonderful plan
seeing the light within you shine
for others to see, and for you to see
their light shine to see their beauty.

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book.

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Strength of Goodness

I awoke this morning with the blood of God flowing through the veins in my body. If you ask me how I know, I will tell you that I live with the goodness that God has blessed me with allowing me to live for the better part of almost 82 years on this small orb we call Earth in the atmosphere somewhere in the vast milky way God created billions of years ago. After I thanked God for allowing me one more day, I kissed my wife, told her I loved her, and bounded out of bed (slowly creaked my ancient bones) to face the new day.
Let’s face facts, our lives are difficult; we face some troubling times in our lives, but we make our way through these times. My grandmother always said that the tunnel may be dark, and it may be long, but there is always light at the end of that tunnel, and that light is God, and if you add one more letter “O” to God, which is :Good; and we know that God is Good., we are born of God; we are born of Good; therefore, we are all born with the strength of Good, the strength of God.

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book.

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“Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes”

It is that time in church when we sing hymns of praise celebrating the birth of Jesus so many years ago. For all the non-French students out there, the title translates as “Angels We Have Heard on High,” truly one of my favorite carols, if not for the angels that have stayed with me since my near-death experience four years ago.
I believe in angels; mine have kept me on the path of righteousness, allowing me to greet all whom I meet with God’s gentleness, but more importantly with God’s everlasting Love. So, I try to go through life with a song in my heart and the words on my lips: “What the gladsome tidings be, which inspire Your heavenly song.”
Merry Christmas, all my beloved brothers and sisters.
©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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Exploration

I walk out on my front lawn at night and look up at the night sky. I am in awe at the portion of the great Milky way that is splayed out for me to see. The beauty is overwhelming. Not being a scientist, I am truly amazed at the grandness of the universe that is beyond my imagination. I am envious of those who are capable and have the equipment to see the beauty of the colors and hues of the cloud structures that surround the planets circulating the stars that are our nearest galaxies.
As a youth growing up, I was a Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers fan in the 1940s and 1950s; I faithfully watched Star Trek but was not a Trekkie; and Star Wars was interesting until it got too violent. All this means that I am one that mankind is truly interested in investigating what we refer to as outer space.
I think our space exploration is an excursion into another realm of God’s creation. Do we have the intelligence to understand and accept any differences we meet? Or will we meet these differences with the violence shown to us from the Buck Rogers days to the Star Wars Days?
I walk out on my front lawn to see the peace of the night skies. . . to see the peace of God’s creation and be blessed by God’s love.

©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

If you are inspired, read my latest book.

The Virtue of Dreaming

“And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.” Numbers 12:16
Any student of history is familiar with these words: “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Of course, these come from the very moving speech given by Martin Luther King in 1963.
They were in an important message to all God-loving people to open our eyes to the status of the poor and the Black families in the United States. They moved a people to demonstrate in the streets against this almost 400 years of oppression to people of color.
But there are other ideas of dreaming. Mama Rose in Gypsy sang the following: “I had a dream, a dream about you, baby. It’s gonna to come true, baby.” Of course, she ended up singing about how everything’s coming up roses, for herself. It was a self-positive wish in a troublesome movie. This is true also when Lun Tha and Tuptim sang “I have dreamed and enjoyed the view,” about their forlorn and impossible love in the King and I. My favorite, however, is from The Man of La Mancha: “To dream the impossible dream,” a forlorn reverie by a slightly daffy landowner in Spain.
In all cases, the dreams are promises of better things to be.
Not all dreams are happy dreams; but that is a later note. I am in constant pain/discomfort, and I awake two or three times at night due to this condition. The dreams I awaken from during the night are precious to me; they always are dreams of great promise. I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room, during the night. The dreams are pleasant; they are happy dreams. The unpleasant dreams come in the morning, telling me to get out of bed, I have been lazy too long.
I also meditate a great deal; I find myself meditating when I first get into bed; I also pray for those who I know need God’s love and affection. I rarely pray for myself. The meditations I have are always in the mode of a prayer. Not a prayer for forgiveness, but a prayer for a better understanding of who I am, what my relationship with God is. Through my meditations, I have learned to listen for God’s voice; it is very gentle; it is the wisp of the wind rustling the outer edges of my consciousness. It is a true reverie of beauty. I sit on the patio behind our house; it is a favorite place of meditation. More often than not, I will picture a beautiful cardinal; when I open my eyes, I am surprised when a cardinal is sitting on the table in front of me. One time, I was a little upset, only to open my eyes and see a hawk snatch a mouse from our back garden. At first, I was terribly upset, but then I realized that both creatures were of God and what I saw was a normal occurrence.
This brought me closer to understanding how God is directing my life. I no longer fear my pain; so, I decide to write about my dreams and what dreams are for.
When I meditate, I am almost in a dream state; many of the ideas that come to me are a result of these meditative times. I do not consider the dream states as a time of unconsciousness, because my mind is so active learning who I am and what my relationship with God is, what my relationship with my family is, and what my relationship with all whom I meet, old friend or newly discovered friend. Oh how blessed I am when the virtue of dreaming turns to meditation.
©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.


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Who am I

I am a retired high school history teacher and college writing and literature professor. In my prayer life, I have attended church since I was a five-year-old in East Orange, NJ. After a tour in the Marine Corps, I was in my own business for almost twenty-five years. During this time, I attended a UCC church in Summit, NJ and served as the chair of the Christian Education program and was a Sunday School teacher for almost twenty years. While there, I became a Stephen minister tending to the needs of those in spiritual need of missing God in their lives.
My wife and I moved to Fredericksburg, VA in 2009 and I immediately became active in prayer ministries. With two others, I helped create a Stephen Ministry at our local Episcopal church. I also helped in the creation of a prayer corner allowing people to offer prayers after our celebrating the Eucharist.
I am now an active member of prayer programs in both churches (NJ and VA). With others I spend most of my day in Bible reading and prayer.
This website is dedicated to prayer through meditations, prayers, and poetry and prose meditations on Love, Faith, Community, and prayer.
I pray that you will be nourished by my offerings of prayer.
©Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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