What Are Your Thoughts on Singing?

Our church worship leaders recently requested the thoughts of us (the members) in regard to singing and songs for an upcoming Wednesday night time of worship. We could choose one of their suggestions or make one of our own. I decided to answer all four of the Cloze-type queries and to share them on my blog. I hope you will relate to what I've written here.  Perhaps what you read will conjure up some memories you have of singing in church. --ML

·      The songs and singing that have meant a lot to me are…

hymns sang at a time when everyone in the place was of one thought and mind. At a Women of Faith conference where literally thousands of female voices lifted hands and voices to worship in one accord. At funerals where we all loved & mourned the life of one we would miss here on earth. After 911 when many of us gathered to sing and pray to God for strength.  At the close of Abilene Christian University functions and now, family gatherings, when we all sing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”

·      What I hope to hear is…

a joyful noise lifted up to heaven.  So many times, I think we forget to be happy in our relationship with God. Our sins are many for sure, but Praise the Lord, we are saved through our savior Jesus Christ.  Our songs should be joyful.  I hope to hear joy in our voices as we sing songs of praise.

·      My memories have a great deal to do with my favorite songs. Sometimes my mind travels to…

a church in Beaumont where we gathered one Sunday afternoon a month for a time of Gospel singing. There was always a full house on those Sunday afternoons where I witnessed so many other Christians lifting their voices in song. The song that I always hoped we’d sing was “Master the Tempest is Raging”. That one could lift the rafters and my young mind would picture a ship being tossed on a dark sea of waves in a terrible storm.  Powerful words with the perfect music to accompany a strong message.

·      If I could write the music and lyrics of a song, this is what I would want it to say…

(The tune to “Gilligan’s Island” oddly enough fits this meter. The words and tune I want to evoke happiness and joy.)

There is a new day coming,

We’ll sing a happy song.

There is a new day coming,

 When we can do no wrong.

There is a new day coming,

 When blue skies open wide,

There is a new day coming,

We’ll see Jesus eye to eye.

Praise God for all creation.

Praise God for Sun and Rain.

Praise God for food and water.

Praise God for Jesus’ name.

One day I’ll go to heaven.

One day I’ll see loved ones.

One day I’ll stand as one brand new.

One day I’ll be with You.

One day I’ll be with You.

Embracing Today

Christmas, 1970-something, my cousins, brothers and I in Port Neches with our grandmother

For all of the years I lived in Port Neches, Texas, and even for many years to follow, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and my grandparents would all gather at my parent’s house for holidays. My mom’s parents, who lived a short drive away, celebrated with us every year. My dad's parents lived in Oklahoma and I have assumed all of these years it was because they just lived too far away to drive to Texas for the holidays. It might be safe to think that my grandparents just didn't drive very far across the Oklahoma border. We visited them about one time a year.

If the Abilene relatives drove down by Christmas Eve, mom and her sister would bake in the kitchen for the next day.  The East Texas cousins would arrive on Christmas Day. While cooking and baking was going on in the kitchen, we kids would play games, the men watched football on TV, and at some point in the evening a domino game of Forty-Two would start up.  What a great memory for me to remember the shouts of victory, explanations of why someone had lost or the laughter as a team caught up to the winners.  Those happy sounds blended with delicious smells wafting from the kitchen, were a real joy to me as a child and a comforting memory to me as an adult.

All the beds in the house, plus sofa beds and pallets on the floor, were filled on Christmas Eve with family members.  When us kids would wake up, we'd head straight for the Santa presents. I had to be careful not to reveal Santa’s true identity to my younger cousins. Mom explained the Santa thing sort of like this:  "It’s fun to pretend there is a Santa Claus, but we are the ones that bring your presents." Mama felt she should not lie to us and so, I never "believed" in Santa as a real person. However, I sure believed in Christmas. I loved the decorated tree, the presents, the fun I had with my cousins and all the wonderful food my mom, aunts and grandmother would fix. Those were special times locked away forever in my memory.

Just thinking about all the scrumptious foods prepared at Christmas makes my mouth water. My aunts, grandmother along with Mama were experts at making fluffy white divinity candy so sweet that one piece was all you could eat.  Mother's enticing pecan and coconut cream pies were a standard for the holidays. She baked ham, surgery yams, potato salad, baked beans, fruit salad, and hot soft rolls. Oftentimes, she also prepared turkey and dressing, in spite of having just served it on Thanksgiving. There was always enough food to feed "Cox's Army" as my mom would say.  It all came so naturally for her to make Christmas a joyous time to be with family.

The last Christmas we celebrated in my childhood home, was 1992 before Mama passed away in May of 1993.  Mom cooked her usual spread of Christmas food for all of us who gathered.  We played games and laughed ourselves silly.  However, mom was sick and was not to be with us for the next Christmas.  She passed away in from cancer. That same year, my brothers and I learned that Daddy’s forgetfulness wasn’t just natural aging. He had Alzheimer’s disease.  Christmas, 1992, closed the book on my childhood Christmas holidays.  Even though I was an adult, as long as my parents were living, I still felt like a child. My dad passed away five years after Mom in September of 1998.

Even though I made attempts to continue my mom’s kind of Christmas with my brothers and sisters in law at our house, it never caught on.  We all knew it was time to split up where we spent the holiday. Aunts and Uncles spent future holidays with my cousins' families. My brothers went with their wives' families and I with my husband's family at Christmas. Depression began to seep into my holidays as I mourned the passing of the Ritchey/Bond Christmas in Port Neches.

When Christmas with our three sons and their families come to our house, I anticipate a wonderful day shared with them, my husband, and three very fun grandchildren. With Mom’s recipes, I can prepare some of the tastes from my past and honor her, my grandmother and aunts. Traditions are perhaps a past generation’s idea. I am learning that it’s okay to let those traditions pass with their  generation and not mourn their death over and over again. Our children and grandchildren will celebrate any occasion with their energetic youthful joy filling our home with laughter, songs and fun. So, I know it is better for me to dust off my Holiday Spirit and embrace the present generation through our children while fondly remembering my parents and days gone by.  
(Embracing Today, originally written Dec., 2010)

Christmas, 2008, The Martins at our house in Baytown

Obituary

I've never written an obituary, but it was a privilege to write this for Johnny. The obituary will appear in the Beaumont Enterprise next week without the photo. I was alarmed at how much adding a photo to an obit cost.  Johnny didn't want the picture in the paper anyway. He was a good brother and I'm going to miss him a lot. - ML

Johnny Elton Ritchey, 68, of Beaumont, died June 20, 2011 at Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital East.

Johnny “Big John” Ritchey was born January 24, 1943 in Ryan, OK, to the late Elton and Louise Ritchey from Port Neches. Following graduation from Port Neches-Groves High School in 1960, he attended Lamar University.  He served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1972, serving much of that time in Japan.

Johnny was an employee of Richard Design Services, Inc. in Beaumont as a draftsman. He loved his pets and as an avid outdoorsman, enjoyed the shooting range, a deer lease or fishing hole better than any other place.

Johnny is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Cynthia Hayes Ritchey, and his parents. Survivors include his nephew, Charles Hunter of Austin; mother-in-law, Barbara Hayes, of Beaumont; one brother, Richard Lee Ritchey and wife, Melissa , of Kingwood; one sister, Mary Lou Martin and husband, Kim of Baytown; loving uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces.

A private memorial will be held on July 9, in Jasper, TX for family.  Memorial gifts may be mailed to the Humane Society of Southeast Texas, P.O. Box 1629, Beaumont, TX 77704.