Conqueror

Conqueror
Something much bigger than all of us is bringing us together
Drawing us from all parts of the world, all parts of society
Drawing us into itself and thus into each other
Something that has been forever known to change the world
But is rarely shown
Something that has freed men and women and children from slavery
Something that has conquered disease and even death
It is drawing us, wooing us, calling for us, longing for us
And it is Love.
It is Love.
Love conquers all

K. Duane Carter 5-13-09

Wow. Two months since I have posted anything at all. I have my reasons, but I will have to wait until later to explain them. I have basically spent the last 2 months of my life having God give me a complete overhaul. Now please don't misunderstand me. I know He isn't finished, but I am definitely not the same person I was just a couple of months ago. The changes He has made are beyond my reasoning, so I can't really do a good job writing it out right now. Maybe one day I'll be able to look back and find the words, but I'm kind of hoping that I don't. I think the biggest change in me has been my losing the need to know the answer and embracing the mysterious side of God. God owes me no explanations, and I am happy to trust Him and love Him even in those places where I have no idea what He is up to and where it even seems like He is absent. I will have no opportunity to praise Him in heaven during times of loss, disappointment, and confusion. I have that opportunity here and I will not waste it. I've spent so much time and energy in my life looking for answers, and all He wanted me to do was to sit at His feet and love Him. So that is where I am at. I may seem a little more care-free, and I may seem even disinterested, but I only care about what He cares about. I am definitely losing my "serious" side. I'm tired of having to be serious with God. He laughs a lot. He is joy. He is happiness. He is peace. That doesn't sound somber to me, so why do I have to be somber every time I do something "spiritual"? That's another thing He has taught me. My whole life is spiritual. It's not just church. It's not just something I do. It is who I am. I am His. I am always with Him, and He is always with me. I can worship anytime, in any place, and in many ways. And I don't even have to be serious about it. So if you see me in church during prayer with my eyes wide open looking up to the ceiling, don't be offended. I just simply refuse to be confined by religious rules and somber rituals. Plus I want to see Him smiling on me, because that is what He does all the time. Sorry, I've gone long. I pray He brings all of us into His love, because when He does that He brings us all into Himself, and that is truly heaven on earth. Father, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done on this earth right now as it is in heaven right now. I love You.

Trilogy

Trilogy

Light
I see the shadows shifting
Moving across my window pane
The dancing of light in moving motion
It travels down the lane
The moving speaks of time and times
That sing and dance all around
Just what you think is moving up
Is really coming down
As His goodness showers us all

Wind
I cannot see You, I cannot see You
Yet I see You move in what You do
The swaying branches, the rustling leaves
The golden harvest in browning sheaves
The movements, the motions, the sounds, the dance
They level and flatten all mere circumstance
I see You, I see You in all that You do
I see You, I see You making all of me new

Water
The power of droplet, and the cleansing of wave
Universal solvent meets the passion of love
That washes over and over and over again
It cleanses what will be, it cleanses what has been
Even cleansing what is and what is now
Though I know it with my brow
I still cannot comprehend, no, I still cannot comprehend
But I drink it in.

I drink it in

K. Duane Carter
3-19-09

Cage of Lights

Cage of Lights

I am sitting in a cage of lights
Yet pretending I am unseen
Looking out at those looking in
And wondering what it means
I sit here in my sleeping dreams
Releasing all of my doubt
I wonder when the Sun will rise
And cast the darkness out
I am sitting in the silent noise
That speaks but doesn’t say
I am wandering as a little boy
Just wondering how to pray
I live in a land of wonder here
And when I open up my eyes
I hear the sunlight coming through
My heart is mesmerized

I am free


K. Duane Carter

3-16-09

The Mystery in a Rose

Σπιριτυαλ

there is something fascinating about the rose
that not even quantum physics can quite explain
though it seems to be getting closer and closer
just like we could be doing
if we would simply allow ourselves to see what is real
instead of seeing with our eyes

there is a mystery here in the subtle depths
there are patterns and contrasts that point to God
there is a picture of a never-ending promise of love
that continues to unfold and unfold and unfold and unfold
just like the string theory

there is something fascinating about the rose
that not even quantum physics can quite explain
yet we get closer and closer and closer
rather He gets closer and closer and closer
so we can see what is Real
instead of what we see with our eyes


K. Duane Carter

3-13-09

Color of Light

Color of Light
I see color now in mixed array
I see light now joining in the fray
I see goodness flowing in it all
I see darkness falling in a glorious fall
I see mercy flowing over me
I see grace now rising from a tree
I see green and yellow and red and blue
I see light and know that I’m seeing You
I see roses and daisies and flowers of spring
I see beauty and stillness and in You everything
I see lilies and buttercups and flowers of spring
I see beauty and stillness and in You everything

K. Duane Carter
3-11-09

Picture of God

I see God in this picture
First in its mystery that some would say
This isn’t in focus, the camera did sway
But no, it did not, there was simply delay

And the lens captured God in the moment

We see Him through glass and darkly at that
But He is here, He is here and today as I sat
And I saw Him my heart did leap up with glee
Because He had chosen to give His picture to me

I see Him in rock, I see Him in water
I see Him in light and all other matter
I see Him in the flowing, I see Him in the still
I see Him amongst us in the wonder of will
I see Him in the contrasts of shadows and light
I see Him in the depths and in the midst of my sight

As I ponder this picture I could go on and on
But I will give you time to see Him
And to sing your own song

K. Duane Carter
3-1-09

The Great Exchange

It has been a while since I have blogged because I frankly have been struggling with who I am and where I am and what I am supposed to be doing, and it is very difficult to write in the midst of a battle. It all started with a trip to a marriage conference with my wife, and as God is prone to do, He addressed way more than my marriage. He plunged into the depths of me and brought up what was there and I was none too proud of it all. In fact it made me mad because I thought all of that stuff was “under the blood of Jesus” and gone and forgotten. He quickly showed me how it was still affecting the way I act and think and respond to others (including my wife), and that even though Jesus had paid the price for its removal I had simply hidden it all away instead of allowing Him to take it away. In fact, I was lying to myself thinking it was gone when it manifested itself every day in the way I acted and lived. I then spent some time in sheer drudgery and in even more anger because I began to rehash through all of my old stuff, but I forgot that God is found in conversations and not in mere introspection, so that opened the door for the accuser to come in and just hammer me. Finally, God got my attention and gently reminded me that He is often found in the conversations of life, in the face-to-face interactions with others that I so rarely enter into and even more rarely seek out. He began to show me that if I would simply listen to what He has to say, that His truth was more than adequate to set me free. Even deeper than that was the fact that the truth was found in the seeking itself; that is, in my simply being present with Him and before Him, I am being transformed. In other words, I don’t have to work to be perfect anymore. I can actually be honest before Him and give Him all of my failure and heartache and loss and allow Him to give me Himself. WOW! It’s no wonder it is called “the great exchange!” So, that is the point today. I had to learn that God doesn’t want me to clean up before I can approach Him. Rather, He saw me off in the distance dirty and stinking and covered in pig filth, and He ran to me. And before I could even explain what had happened and what I had done, He was looking at me and saying, “Bring the best clothes, put the ring on his finger, and let’s have a big party! My boy is home!” THAT is God. That is how He responds to me right in the midst of my garbage. And that is how He responds to you, too.