Lament

by rkcdlitt
Russian Orthodox funeral procession with people carrying crosses and icons in snowy landscape

Lament is one of those old-fashioned words that we really don’t use anymore. But it means to feel sorrow or to feel a loss of something close to us. In times past, we might say that we lament the loss of someone dear to us and then go into a period of mourning for that loss. And people would understand what we meant and take that into account in dealing with us. For the near future, it could be that business dealings be suspended or scaled back, at least until the person is interred or when the funeral is held.

So now we don’t use lament; we just use sorrow or sadness. We don’t have the ease or closeness in relationships that a word such as lament may give us. Hell, we don’t have the variety and usage of vocabulary anymore to use words. Which is why the poet remains the one to use it.

Ruined ancient city with people walking amid rubble and smoke from fires

Poets cry lament. It is the cry that is directed more towards God than it is towards man. It’s a cry that expresses the deepest wounds that only God can heal. It’s nothing that individuals can either see or heal. It’s a loss that is going to be forever felt. It is for the closeness of God so She can cover the wounds, and those left behind can heal.

As an example, we read the five letters of Lamentations in the Bible. Written by Jeremiah, these letters of loss are prayers of loss, written to God after the destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC.

So I prayed to you, friends, that you have nothing to lament. And if you do, take them to speak to God. For She is the only one that can truly help you.

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

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by rkcdlitt

Evil Spirits and Negative Influences

Dark hooded figure with skeletal hands grasping gold coins and jeweled treasures surrounded by black smoke in a stone chamber

There are no evil spirits that serve as personal negative influences in our lives. Any negative influences we encounter are purely man-made. We create these influences ourselves. From a very young age, we are taught to fend for ourselves. Is it any wonder that we become egotists in later life? People often blame us for putting ourselves first and ask, “Why are you so selfish?” They forget that since childhood, our parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have instilled in us that if we want to get ahead in life, we must prioritize ourselves.

Unfortunately, for some, this mindset becomes a sickness. They take this notion too far. They constantly demand more; they want, want, want! They take, take, take! They will do anything to acquire all that they desire. In their eyes, not only are you an opponent, but you become an enemy. If you possess a pound of gold, they must possess ten. They feel no obligation to show you affection, warmth, or regard. Everything they can obtain is, in their mind, rightfully theirs.

The consequences of this mentality are dire: we see poor people begging on the streets, children with incurable diseases suffering in hospitals, and animals trapped in cages. Nations wage wars for trivial reasons.

I am reminded of a profound truth: “Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness.” – 1 John 2:9

A winding dirt path leads through grassy hills toward a small stone chapel near a stream with mountains in the background.

P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.

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

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Earth: a Type of Eternity and Immortality

by rkcdlitt
Sun with planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune orbiting

Earth! A mere rock hurtling through space
At a speed we know not how to measure
Though we pretend to understand how
We amass knowledge at the speed of sound
And pretend to know the why and the how
And prove to others how great we are

But alas with every turn we find change
Our paths change as quickly as our emotions
When in our sacred spaces can we pray
And remember those forgotten by others
Forgotten by ourselves in our rush for riches
May God forgive us for our egotism

May we remember that although Earth is a mere rock
It is our sacred rock upon which we were placed
And made shepherds of Your great creation
There are those deniers who protest saying it is too late
But certainly not; for You alone are eternal
And You alone will determine the future of Earth our Rock

P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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by rkcdlitt

Purification by Spirit

Radiant white dove with glowing wings descending toward a kneeling group by a river

None of us are perfect. Good knows our mothers and wives are the first to remind us of that fact. We need these other voices in our lives to keep us on the straight and narrow road of life. Nobody can truly live alone! The jungle we call life is rife with everyday problems and obstacles that need to be faced, and a strong family is one of man’s fortresses.

Both my wife and I are dominant figures, and we raised both our daughter and son to be dominant personalities, both of whom in turn have married dominant personalities. I believe that the one who has paired us up is the only one who truly matters. And His will is always done when the final count is made. As John writes: “And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever.” (1 John 2:17)

Silhouetted couple holding hands with glowing heart and stars above at dusk

P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. DLitt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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Telling Stories

by rkcdlitt
Boys playing stickball in a 1950s urban street with vintage cars and hanging laundry

I am a little too old to remember if either of my parents read stories to my sister and I at bedtime. I know my wife and I read to our children at bedtime when they were young. It is a great idea and custom to read bedtime stories. The custom is worldwide. However! Another custom comes from this, and this custom is so much more important: storytelling. We all have it; some of us are better than others.

In times past, the storytellers were those that kept the histories of the tribes, passing the knowledge from generation to generation. This was how the Bible was first written for us to read today. The bound book that we call the Bible is actually a collection of books that were written ages ago; they were stories told over and over again in the Twelve Tribes of the Israelites. Go look for some of the books left out of our official Bible; they are fascinating reading.

But getting back to telling stories, think back to your childhood and sharing some of your childhood with your children. Tell them the stories of your life! Tell them about growing up in East Orange, New Jersey, and playing baseball on 19th Street with a 36-inch piece of wooden dowel and a red rubber ball, with cars as first and third bases, and manhole covers as second and home plate. And no overhand pitching allowed. One cardinal rule: you could always call someone’s father a dirty name, but if you foul-mouthed his mother or sister, you were out of the game. We did have our honor rules.

So tell your stories; they can be fun sharing histories.

P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. D.Litt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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Girls playing jump rope on a city sidewalk with vintage cars in background
by rkcdlitt

Life Itself Becomes the Path

Man holding hands with a glowing angel ascending a celestial staircase.

I remember the times that people would tell me that it’s too bad that life sometimes gets in the way of having a good time. Is that mismanagement of time or trying to stuff too much into an otherwise productive day? Every moment of life is a dress rehearsal for true life. And our life is a play that doesn’t quite make it to Broadway. “Hamnet” we are not! (Although the book IS better than the movie).

Our blessed God, however we name Her, placed us on this rock in space to nurture it as caretakers. And we have done a terrible job! We pray to Her daily asking for forgiveness and then leave our churches and continue to destroy our planet with no remorse. We fear flushing the toilet in which we live.

But we do have one saving: “Grace.” “Love.” Love abides in God, and since God abides in us, Love thusly abides in us. This has been true since time immemorial! When we accept that God lives within us, God becomes our life and it comes down from God and embraces spirit, soul, and body, and LIFE THEN BECOMES OUR PATH.

P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99.

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Our Intimate Relationship with God

by rkcdlitt
A burlap banner reading 'love God and neighbor' displayed in a vibrant community garden.

I apologize if I offend people, but I am very disappointed in our political leaders and many of our religious leaders who talk a good game but live a life much different from that which they preach. Throughout the history of the United States, there has been an undercurrent of pure hatred of the other… just simmering, waiting for an evil leader to allow it to surface. We are in the midst of one of those times now.

Large crowd kneeling and praying on grassy hillside around an outdoor altar

When we stop and pray and really listen for God’s word, we hear Her words in Lamentations: “Let us test and examine our ways and return to the Lord (3:40).” Our true relationship with God asks us to love the other as ourselves, care for the forgotten by society as if they were kin, and not allow them to feel thrown away.

P.S. I Love You. And I pray you love others.
Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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God Chose You for Good

by rkcdlitt

The new day is born with the Sun growing afore us. . .

With the new morning, we have new life to spread our wings and go into the world to have an influence on all around us. “Teach me to do Thy will; for thou art my God: thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness” (Psalm 143:10).

This is a good thought to keep in your mind. This is a good thought to keep in your heart. You never do know how things may turn out. For God has chosen you. . . for your good. For God has chosen you. . . for His good. For God has chosen you. . . for Her good. For God has chosen you. . . for all mankind’s good.

You never do know how things may turn out!

God Chose You for Good!

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. D.Litt.

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

Spiritual but Not Religious

by rkcdlitt

I respect religions, and on some level, I love religions. I’m a member of two different faith communities: one in my old community in New Jersey, where I lived and served for 35 years, and the second in Virginia, where I have now lived for the past 15 years. I have served on both executive boards and as a prayer minister. I am fortunate that, thanks to the modern technology of Zoom, I am able to watch both services on Sunday mornings and be a part of their family communities.

I believe in religion and strongly support it. Basically, this is because of the sense of community it provides. Community is necessary. However, what often comes from the pulpit is almost always a bunch of hypocritical dribbles. I’m not educated in theology, but I wonder what they teach in seminaries, because a lot of it seems to be merely opinion presented as fact. When you look closely, nothing in the Bible is presented as fact; it is all myth, written several hundred years after the events it describes. There is no legitimate Bible scholar who would admit otherwise, which is why I say that I am spiritual but not religious.

A man in biblical-style clothing standing outdoors with glowing white dove above him

Was there Jesus? Yes. Was he the Son of God? Yes, but so am I. And so are you. And so are we all. Was he a great prophet? Yes. Did he have special powers? I assume that he did. The stories that were handed down orally have great value because the people trained to pass them down imbued those stories with significance.

Getting to the religious side of things, I want to quote Brian McLaren, who writes in a missive from “The Center of Action and Contemplation”:

“It’s better that I go away so that the Spirit can come,” Jesus said. If he were physically present and visible, our focus would be on Christ over there, right here, out there … but because of his absence, we discover the Spirit of Christ right here, in here, within.”

This aligns closely with my belief. Yes, there is a God, and we needed Jesus to let us know that there is a God. This God is always with us, as the biblical prophets said—we are created in His image. But we’re not gods; rather, we are made in the image of these gods. Our innermost being, our souls, reflect what these gods made us of. God is projected outward through us, our souls embodying God within.

We can’t escape from God. God is always present. When we look at another person, we see God. When we look in the mirror, we see God. In every act of love toward another, we expand God’s reason for being here. When we welcome a third person into our circle, we expand God’s love. God is always with us in the present and will always be with us in the future. God is love, and I don’t need organized religion to teach me that, but I do need to be spiritual.

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. DLitt.

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

Living in Trust

by rkcdlitt
A winding dirt path leads through grassy hills toward a small stone chapel near a stream with mountains in the background.

Now is the time as good children we are living in the arms of our loving God and allowing our loving God to live in us and share Her healing touch with all those we meet. However, what we do with this time falls at our own human feet, and most times we fail at the opportunities to prove worthy to be called sons and daughters of God. If we are truly people of compassion, unity, and understanding as we avow to be on Sunday mornings, or Saturdays, or whatever holy days we celebrate each week. Or should I say weak since our avowals of faith seem to evaporate as soon as we leave the doors of our cathedrals of faith.

People traveled the world, spending millions of dollars, waiting in line with other tourists to visit the grave sites of Saints and prophets. They travel to villages that are advertised as thin places so that they can pray to be closer to God. How foolish us backward humans can be. Even in the Bible, one of the stories told about Mary when she finds out that she is pregnant with Jesus. She’s cramped up in the dirty, filthy alleyway. And she prays to God, and there’s this beautiful Magnificat that she somehow produces. Is she not close to God in this dirty, filthy alley? Is that not a thin place? Can your backyard not be a thin place? When you need to speak with God? Can your dust-ridden, cobwebbed attic be a thin place when you need to speak with God?

Woman kneeling and praying over a book in a rustic basement

Let me tell you a secret, folks. We are human beings. And to be a human being means that we are unfinished. We are not gods. We are only made in the image and likeness of a God. We need to talk to God. To be complete. And that is why we pray. When we pray, we don’t talk. When we pray, we shut up. And listen. And trust!

Russell Kendall Carter, BA. MAT. Dlitt.
If you are inspired, read my latest book. Kindle eBook $3.99

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Man kneeling on one knee in forest with sun rays shining through mountains