Today I had my socks just blessed off! As I stood before the Lord in worship and praise at my church I happen to catch out of the corner of my eye a motley crew of young people. Not really a surprise except for the fact there was a whole row of them on the very front . And not only that they were there, each one of them were singing and worshiping also. Oh how the Lord must have been pleased! I know I was. I have talked to them several times and just recently again, about not being fearful to come to the Lord. He isn’t scary…He is AWESOME no doubt. We are to be in awe of Him and all His mighty works. But to be scared to approach Him…no that just won’t due.
When I was growing up I didn’t have the blessing of attending a church on a regular basis. My mother would take us from time to time but in no way did I feel apart. As a matter of fact, back in the day…. our teacher ( Mrs. Maude: a very tall, very sweet, amazing teacher whom I loved with all my heart) would ask us each Monday morning, “who went to Sunday school yesterday?” Each one of the children would gladly raise their hand, this of course was before we were to hide the fact we were Christians. Anyway, I would faithfully raise my hand, I mean all the other kids were doing it; until one day I was busted! There was this one girl, the root of all evil and the bane of my existence; piped in and said, ” Rosemary wasn’t at church”..blah blah blah! That little brat
( and I am being kind here, really), she loved that so much. And of course I firmly cowed down in totally embarrassment. Shamed and going to hell probably. So church became another way for me to suffer humiliation. How did she know that I didn’t go somewhere else, visited family at another church. It could have happened. Oops she was my family…grrrrrr! She would bite my ankles through my whole life up until about 5th grade, well it seemed like my whole life. So my church life was not very strong.As a side note: In no way do I blame anyone for my lack of church attendance. My mom did go more often but my father never did and I was a daddy’s girl. I would beg to stay home with him because he was always working on the farm in some way. I loved my farm, it was the most heavenly place on earth. Why would I want to go to a hot, stuffy church where I had to sit still. So I was relentless begging to stay home. And in that day, life was uneasy for my mom and the days were soon to be over for my happy home life so she was slammed with hard choices, no biggies, we survived) As I grew up I would periodically visit with some of my school friends at their church but not really very much. So when later in my life I actually took God for a spin I found out to my amazement that He is really cool. He really does care and he loves me most of all and I made the pledge to myself I would never be scared of Him again. So when I am able to speak into a child’s life and tell them how much God loves them and he is waiting to talk to them I try to help them become comfortable with entering into this friendship with Him. He is waiting and today those precious children, some younger and some older, were reaching up and out to love Him. So at one point the call came out for healing and me being the backward type hesitated to raise my hand for prayer but then I got the boldness from those kids. They were doing just what I said, NO FEAR! How could I back down now? So I asked for prayer and I received prayer….from those sweet babies lips my need was taken to God, with full belief that it will be done. God get ready…I am going for it. I am walking in faith. You are faithful and the lessons I have learned from the time spent with these kids is like marrow to my bones. Thank you for your love and grace. Yep, the little children will lead us, now that is cool!
Category Archives: humor,hope
Comfort Food
Today while I was out in the garden or should I say tomato patch, I was reaching to get a few of the nearly ripe ones and my toes squished into the wet ground. We had only a small rain burst but it was enough to make the air steamy and muggy. I love the south! But the garden dirt had become a thick mud and it reminded me of when I was younger and my daddy would plow up the garden; a big one, and the big mounds of dirt were all rolled over and I would run behind him and jump from one mound to the next. There was something about that thick mud that felt so good on my feet. The smell was as rich as the good smell of strong coffee. Things like that were a comfort to me, something you could count on year after year. The same reason I always without fail smell a book, new or old. It is a classic move of mine as well as sniff a new box of crayola crayons. That’s what the thought of fall on its way reminds me of, all the certain-ness. There are just certain things and times of year that are comforting. Like these things are comfort food to my spirit. There are so many times in my life that I have wondered and said out loud, what in the world is going on! Everyone has these times. But I can usually survive if I can get to what is home to me. New school supplies, fresh notebook paper that hasn’t been marked on or bent and erasers that haven’t been blackened and those wonderful crayons, always crayola by the way, that smell sooo good. And the smell of a tomato straight from the vine, that smell is pure and fresh and an amazement to see it comes from that smelly dirt. That God, he sure is smart!
WAR IS HELL
SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2010
War is Hell
As I sit here listening to the blasts of fireworks that erupt with timely explosion, I am reminded of the many days that have passed since I can first remember sitting out in a field in my hometown, Murfreesboro, TN, watching the elaborate cascade of lights. This wasn’t just a show, it was a spectacle. There was a huge factory, Chromolox, if my memory serves me and all around it was a big field and each July fourth we sat out on the grass, with mosquito’s biting and the grass itching and the smoldering heat of that small southern town. But for me it was magic illuminated. Everyone laughed and “oohed and awed” and we were, for at least a moment, happy. That was during the time when my older brother was far away from home, flying Huey helicopters, defending the very freedoms we hold so dear. He was in the awful Vietnam War, my beloved Jim, whom I missed with a never-ending ache. My heart was heavy knowing I was missing these precious moments of childhood with him. He himself was just the tender age of 21. How savage war is and fleeting is the time of the youth that is sacrificed on the field of battle. But, it has been that way through many centuries and yet it never gets any easier. It is a part of life, no matter how seemingly cruel, that mothers have to send their boys off to fight and possibly never come back home. The tragedy is, it appears we humans never learn how not to war, pride and arrogance are still alive and well, world-wide. Yet I am not bitter. I know it is a necessary evil, to defend what is right and those who are being oppressed. I don’t feel it is my right to lash out at the powers that be, but it is my duty to stand strong for those who have fought the good fight, those who have come before me and made the ultimate sacrifice. How ugly the bitterness is when we disrespect the faithful ones who give up everything to keep us free. We live in the greatest nation in the world. It is great because of our mercy and grace to help those in need. I still remember the excitement when I would go with my mom to pick Jim up at the airport, when he came home on leave. I was very proud and always without the right thing to say when I saw him again. He was the bravest person I had ever known; he was beautiful. I so wanted to tell him what he meant to me, I guess he knew, I never left his side. I wanted him to tell me all about the heroic missions he had been on and all the ins and outs of military life, but he didn’t. I know now he probably couldn’t. War is Hell. But, even as a young girl of eleven, I could see the pain in his eyes, surrounded by the excitement of a young man on a mission. I know our father, who himself fought in the Korean War, would have been proud, had he seen him coming off that plane. But as it turned out, he was not there, his choices had taken him away from us, living his life apart from our beautiful family. But, I am also proud of his service to his country. Those days are far gone now, but this little girl is still proud of her big brother and I am thankful for all those who have served our great country. I don’t know how they have done this mighty work, I tremble at the thought. I am also reminded that had they not I would possibly not have the freedom to enjoy the fireworks shows and live in a peaceful nation now. God Bless my Jim and my daddy and my hometown who has lost so many. Thank you to all the men and women who serve. God Bless those mothers who let them all go, with tears in their eyes and prayers in their hearts. God Bless America
Posted by Rosemary Mcknight Fritts at 6:46 PM
Escape
MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2011
Escape
Recently I was drawn into watching a “Mini-series” on the book and old movie, Mildred Pierce. I haven’t ever read the book, but now I want to and I had seen the movie, with Joan Crawford many years ago, so I was intrigued. The feature star was Kate Winslet of Titanic fame, and I love her in most everything she does so I gave it a whirl. Not that this was hard to decide to do, mind you….movie about back in the ’30’s, check!, movie that was a mini-series, check!, movie about love hate, strong women…well I was there! I was pleasantly surprised about it also, not that I had any preconceived ideas, I really couldn’t remember what it was about exactly, but not long into the picture..I knew I was hooked. This was set in the depression age and this women realized early on that she would have to be strong or she would never be able to rise above her circumstances. As I watched in anticipation, I found myself really connecting with Mildred, as a women. I was able to look back onto my life and see the areas that I have been strong and forge ahead even though all I wanted to do was hidden in the bed and pull the covers over my head. I know this is a fictional novel, but the real life contrasts were being made and it taught me about myself. I know that I am a hopeless romantic, that is a given and I am easily drawn into the storyline. But this lady was really impressive and at the same time sad and somewhat down trodden. There was never much talk about faith or God or any other comfort that would possibly help her, yet she was still strong. She is what the old folks call, a women of strong fortitude. As a wife and mother she led the family to where it needed to be, put up with a lot of slack and when the time came to put herself in a humiliating situation to provide for her children, she did just that which turned out to be her best decision yet. I am writing about this Mildred Pierce because of the striking honor she maintained even during the worst of times, I was impressed by her and moved that even during this era when the world was on its ear, Mildred became a women of valor, yet still vulnerable enough to fall into the trap of a man who would never be the one. She like most of us, never learned that lesson. I am different from her in that one, I found the one and kept him, I do live by faith and value the life I have been given. Sometimes it is just fun to escape and relate to someone else’s calamity! It makes me thankful as well. So this is just a silly testament to my life and how blessed I actually am…..that’s all. One more thing…you gotta give a girl a break that goes thru life named Mildred!
Posted by Rosemary Mcknight Fritts at 5:22 PM
Even so Lord……
Even So Lord…come quickly! All this talk about the end of the world…the Rapture of the Saints which is suppose to happen tomorrow, May 21, 2011, can be a bit disturbing. Not because I am not a believer or I am not ready, on the contrary. I know that I have the Blood of Jesus covering me, I know I have the Grace of God and His spirit running through me…I know that I Know that I KNOW, I am saved from a horrible eternity spent in Hell. I know there will be snakes there…wasn’t a hard decision some 30 yrs ago! I believe! The sad part is the multitudes of humankind that do not have that assurance, people who are clueless to what all that even means or what it takes to be “safe.” I have to think that if I truly have all this surety that my sins are forgiven..( I keep a short list on that one, I wouldn’t trust myself to go very long with one of those things looming over me, ha) I feel like I would have some sense of anticipation, a feeling of this is the time. But the people in the days of Noah didn’t seem to realize it, it is a for sure brain teezer..were all the people on earth way back then heathens? Was there nobody who said…hmmm maybe that dude is right, so just in case I am throwing in with ole’ Noah. What do we have to loose…our pride? I just don’t know…God is the only one who does. I can’t spend all my time on what was, I can only do my best to keep on top of what IS. If it happens tomorrow…Praise the Lord! If not, then there is a lot of work to be done. One thing I see good is that there have been a multitude of people talking about it…The Rapture, that is! I haven’t often heard that much in the news before now….if it brings people to their knees then it has been a good thing. The truth is the truth…WAKE UP WORLD…THIS IS GONNA WRAP UP SOONER THAN LATER! It will happen…some day, in Gods time. My prayer is that we all are ready..to all my family and friends…be ready…pray and believe…it will cost you little, but it cost our Lord it all. It’s not Religion…it’s a relationship with the best friend you could ever have. I love you all enough to say…Get on the Bus!!! Maranatha! (look up!)
Here’s your sign!
With all the current events that have developed lately, it is with great unsurety when I go to bed every night weather I will awake to find myself blown away or worse half dead. It has become a real life …now I lay me down to sleep moment! The times…. they are a changin’ to quote a well know philosopher/prophet/songwriter and it seems that the Lord is up to something. HE will have his way, one way or another. The awesome part is not the scary, worst one since 1953, tornadoes and the recent past, 100 year floods or massive tsunamis or volcano eruptions with a side of earthquakes; the amazing thing is that I have never heard so many people on TV or anywhere talk about the Lord. It has been a common thread, not a taboo anymore. From newscasters to reporters to regular people on the street. It is obvious that the people involved in the tragedy would be talking the about GOD; they have just been decimated, they’ve lost all their “stuff”… lost family and friends. Even when the man proclaimed the day that the “End of the World” was to occur…that got people talking. Even that poor man who seems not to have a grasp on the true Word of God appears to have played a part in bringing us into the conversation. The church world always talks a good talk but, when the rest of the crowd is interested and engaged in the discussion, the word Rapture was said over and over…. it tells this lady who is not a prophetess or the daughter of one, that this thing is wrapping up. These are the birth pains I have heard about. The signs of the times are upon us…it has been remarkable to me how much it is in the under current of our talk and consciousness. Gods love will prevail! One national talk host, from England, continues to call the tornado landscape Armageddon “like”. I have seen him over and over be in awe, as we all are, but he continues to call for us all to pray and appears to be moved with compassion. The church world looks for signs and wonders! Well folks….”Here’s your sign!” I would like to have a survey on the number of people who go through these life altering events and then end up in a church or synagogue or mosque or whatever the choice may be to give thanks to the God of us all who spared their lives. I would venture to say the number is high. None of this makes any sense to any of us. It shows no partiality to any one town or group or race, The Bible says, It rains on the just and unjust. That pretty much means ALL OF US! It turns out when all the fluff is blown away we see the real people that we really are, a known fact is…a nice new SUV flies through the air and smashes to the ground the same way my eleven year old, hand-me-down blessing of a Cadillac would…it’s all rubble when the end comes. Not that I would mind to have fluff too,(actually, I am very blessed, don’t let me whine!) but the point is that isn’t the important “stuff.” My four knot head kids and my loving preacherman husband are the “stuff” I want….when it’s time, I pray we all go together, Raptured or otherwise. OOPS! I about forgot our Buddy, poor dawg, him too Lord! All dogs do go to heaven …right?
Oh Christmas Tree!
As I settle in to an evening of watching my Christmas tree twinkle, I can’t help but think back to the days as a little girl. As with most children, the excitement that comes with putting up a tree each year is the biggest day of the season…well, the first in a row of biggest days, actually. Not to diminish the start of Christmas vacation from school and the biggest day, Christmas morning to say the least! That day was special as my dad or brother would go and cut down a big old cedar tree on the farm that we lived. None of those big city trees for us, nope…no way. And boy was I glad…that tree smelled so good, better than the others, literally fresh-cut! The tree was always huge, perfect and ours. My mamma had these beautiful decorations that she got from Germany when my family lived there during the Korean War. My daddy was in the Army and she went there to live with him. Bless her heart, she traveled on an Army transport airplane with two young children in tow. She recently told me about this trip, (these days she tells me a lot of stories from way back when, she remembers those better than what has happened today, bless her heart) when she went far away from home with these little ones all alone on a big “non luxury” plane that took her to my daddy, which made it all worth it. This was back when they were happy and even had a third child in Germany. Those were the best of times. I can only imagine the life she had there. Those decorations were beautiful glass balls and I had always loved what they stood for, beauty and adventure and a life that seemed so far away from what is was now. We also had the huge light bulbs all strung up in the primary and secondary colors, stark and bright! Cedar trees aren’t exactly known for their sturdy branches so needless to say it was an effort in fortitude to get those decorations to stay and not droop. We also had the bubble lites which were my favorite…always were a mystery! The tinsel was silver and like aluminum foil all crinkled up on a string and the finishing touch was icicles. At different years(when we were older and could do it ourselves) we would make ribbon chains for garland too and had painted wooden ornaments. Our trees were the prettiest of any ones….no ones ever could compare, I am pretty much a snob about that, unashamed so. I have no apologies to give because rarely do I profess so much surety about something about me. Even now as an adult, I will tell you if you ask me that I have the prettiest tree of anyone. A few things I know for sure and this is one of them, even though I no longer have a cedar tree, I am a city girl now and loving that fact. My sweetart husband did cut me one for our first christmas together…how cute was that? The second thing I know for sure, that man loves me, after that it is stuff like I know all four of my babies think the world of me, not bragging on me but them, they all have a tender heart and especially toward their mamma ( and dad!( I say they love me more..ha!))but We never doubt that one and I know I make the best potato salad….
bar none!!! Do I presume too much? I think not! This time of year brings out the brag in me and that is because I have so much to brag about…My GOD is so good to me….He has given me more than I could have ever asked for so I am only telling of HIS great love. This is my testimony of him. I am pretty sure he likes my Christmas trees the best too!
bar none!!! Do I presume too much? I think not! This time of year brings out the brag in me and that is because I have so much to brag about…My GOD is so good to me….He has given me more than I could have ever asked for so I am only telling of HIS great love. This is my testimony of him. I am pretty sure he likes my Christmas trees the best too!
Posted by Rosemary Mcknight Fritts at 7:18 PM
Best Friends
This is the day I reflect on the last year…not on New Years Eve or New Years Day but today…January 2nd. What is so great about this day? Nothin’ at all but, it is not a typical day that a person would typically make the run of the mill reflections or words of encouragement or wax poetic about the things to come. Since I do not consider myself…”run of the mill” I of course change things up and find myself on this day… pondering. The last year has been a time of many changes, the loss of precious family members, gone but never forgotten, as a matter of fact it seems as if they are only sleeping and soon we will be together again (that’s my two cents on the future…we will be together again soon…see you guys in heaven….Maranatha!!) We have survived another year of twists and turns, rebirths and confinements…healing and becoming the people we thought we had lost…..I am one happy Mom needless to say and I see a bright future for the first time in ten years. The world as we all know it has changed, presidents come and go, wars and rumors of wars stop and start and… the beat goes on. And sometimes lives sorta become frozen in time. The hardest thing about these times are the losses….or even more, the lack knowledge of the loss. There are times in a person’s life when the world becomes very small and somewhat retroactive. I have been plummeted in the middle of a life that has been halted, a season of unknowing the reality of the moment. And even though this time of life for us is demanding and frightening and even down right scary as hell(yes I said it) it has also had some comforting realities. I am living through a time in my mother’s life that has over the past year or so been gone, even though she is physically in the here and now, she is mostly living in her memories and wanting to share those good and bad times of her life with me. It is an education to say the least and even though painful, has opened up a whole world that I had not known…a time before me or at least before I was old enough to understand. It is somewhat fascinating to hear about what the life back then was for her, as well as sad but it gives me comfort in knowing that our memories are what we have, sometimes the only thing we have and they are precious…to be savored…until that day when they have vapor ed away. I do not look forward to that day for her or for that matter, myself. After one particular day of stories…painful…funny and at times disheartening it was time for me to leave and she thanked me for listening…it was sweet and I said I enjoyed it and she is my friend…and her reply was…”you’re my BEST FRIEND!” I was honored to say the least, knowing of course that my sisters are probably hearing the same stories and been given the same title, but for me it was a sweet surprise that I will always cherish. Mostly because she is my momma but also because maybe when the day comes that she may not know me as her little girl anymore…she may remember me as a friend…her best friend and that will be enough. I hope! Later that day as I was telling my precious husband the story of my day and I asked him if he will take care of me if this awful disease befalls on me…he smiled and said..”yes, I will NOTEBOOK you! Boy… what a way with words that man has….I instantly know what he meant.(his reference was to the book/movie THE Notebook by Nicholas Sparks)which is the sweetest story ever of unfailing love. Now there is a best friend and once again I am blessed by this man of mine. So to those people in my life that have given me so much love…I am the one that realizes my joy is in the memories we make and remembering the days..good, precious and even the hard ones and as long as I have my best friends I have a good year ahead. Look out world!
Reflection
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011
Reflection
When a person gets to a certain age it becomes apparent that the days are shorter and the time that we had which seemed so abundant is now only fleeting memories. My son is so looking forward to summer vacation. The clock couldn’t tick any faster for him..he is so ready to be out of middle school and move on the High School. Okay I must stop there for a minute. WHAT!!! High School already…case in point! He is the age that my oldest son was when he was born….good grief! Geeez….I can’t even talk about it without getting misty eyed. The hard thing for me is that these days of reflection seem to be coming upon me more and more. I can hardly get through one day without reminiscing about the life I have had in the past thirty years…WHAT! 30 years!!! Oh my goodness…I have been with my husband for 30 yrs and well where did the time go? WOW! I mean I can remember so well all those times then…seriously…the beautiful blond hair and blue eyes with cute freckles on his nose that instantly made me take a second look at him. It is a fact that Hubble Gardner had nothing on him…this man of mine. I knew he was the ONE! We were on our way and a few years later we were blessed with a beautiful, blond, blue-eyed baby boy…twenty seven years ago…WHAT!!! 27 years…I am about to give myself a heart attack! Later we had three more to follow, each one just as special as the first, just a beautiful. And then I realize we have four! Yowza! These have been good times, mostly and when it was hard or is hard it is my memories and my reflections back that keep me going. I don’t believe in looking back..turning into a pillar of salt is not my idea of a good time! Reflection is a good thing, it allows me to take stock of where I have been and what I value the most. I am able to adjust and give thanks to the one who has kept us all from harm. He is a good God, He has allowed us to walk this path with Him alongside us. He has given us the strength, He has carried us when we couldn’t go another step. Even so today I feel Him holding me up, encouraging me and standing with me in the gap, as I interceded for my family and my friends. This life can be interesting to say the least. I never know each day what twist or turn will come. All I do know is that I know who to turn to and that it is His comfort that keeps me, His abiding love that catches my tears and surrounds me like a warm blanket. Just the way I do as I mother these babies of mine. I have had a good teacher.
Posted by Rosemary Mcknight Fritts at 10:22 AM
preacherswifeintheknow 