Ruth Revisited ... a pure reunion: 2010

Ruth Revisited is ONE DAY AWAY

October 22-23, 2010

An overnight retreat for women and girls.

The teaching is of course on the book of Ruth.

Don't hesitate - call that friend and invite her - registrations are coming in. Register at the door.

So many exciting plans have been made and the event will take place at the peak of Fall foliage. There's hiking, secluded cabins, 3 delicious homemade meals, exciting activities, and powerful teachings. Training young ladies to be decisive standing against life's greatest challenges. Women working with girls, empowering them to make healthy, moral, Godly choices and become leaders among their peers.

Mothers and daughters are attending, young ladies are coming on their own, and Godly women are preparing for a powerful life-changing event. Don't miss it!!

FACEBOOK THIS EVENT TO FRIENDS or EMAIL IT just below this post!!

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY

Please pray for the Seminar in this way.

Pray that the ladies and girls who are supposed to be there will sense an urgency to be a part of the event, sign up, attend and participate.

Pray that God prepare their hearts to hear from Him during the teachings and free time.

Pray that each participant have something to offer another lady or girl as they receive what God has for them.

Pray for the leadership, that each one who is to do a presentation will have clarity of mind, and gentleness of heart during preparation and the event.

Because over 300 girls went through the seminar in the early 90's the planning committee is asking you to pray that no matter what circumstances they have faced in the last 15 years, they will see the Ruth Revisited conference as a safe place to come away for a refreshing. Pray it will be a place for them to fall into the "arms of the ones who cared enough to reach out to them then, and now."

Pray that those who have been through trials will have the patience and show the mercy needed for those who are still facing daily trials. That they will be able to open up with a message of victory to pave the way of hope for others. We want to present unconditional love, as Christ commanded.

Pray for any woman or girl who may be thinking, "I'm an exception, I cannot be loved, I'm too messed up;" and that our unconditional love response for ladies and girls will be,

"You can't make me not love you!"

Pray in this way: Lord this world is pretty messed up, give us the wisdom, strength and love needed to plan, prepare, organize, publicize and orchestrate this event and we will give you

all the glory and honor and praise.

Thank you Lord for laying this on the hearts of women in this community, now we pray you bring it about, close doors that distract, open doors that keep us on target.

Amen

Please bookmark this page www.ruthrevisited.blogspot.com and come back often for new posts.

Ruth Seminar 1995 was an effort to empower girls in the community with answers before the questions were ever asked. It was a community effort to present life principals to young ladies in order to prepare them for future friendships and lifetime relationships.

In an ideal world, where the wise and learned give instruction and live by example, the students listen and learn from the experience of others - then immediately put into practice what they understand to be the correct response; that's when purity is simple.

Knowing we did not live in a perfect world, and that situations, circumstances and life's trials interrupt the best made plans of mankind, the women came up with a plan. The Ruth Seminar. The effectiveness of these seminars cannot be measured yet, because none of us are finished living in this impefect world. But the need for the seminars remains. The ache for love and support during trials remains a human condition and is magnified among our young girls and young women.

There remains a resource:

Women who've been there.

This is such a crucial resource that it is mentioned in the Bible, "Treat older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity." 1 Timothy 5:2 And, "By looking at them (older women) , the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. Titus 2:4

Workshop leaders have had victories along the way and can demonstrate hope by coming together with younger women, meeting them where they are, encouraging them with unconditional love.

The seminars became an annual event in Southern Indiana. The youngest girl to participate that first year was 8 years old. She becomes a mother next month.

The theme was purity.

The information was Biblical.

The workshop speakers were everyday people.

We were all driven by a deep concern for the condition of families in America. We asked ourselves, "How can we make a difference?"

Our goal was clear, and the community got behind us, with donations, gifts, and publicity.

15 years later a reunion of sorts is in the making.

Register for RUTH REVISITED

The Modern Wedding "I give" in addition to "I do"

This is a great concept. The bride and groom choose a project, "charity," that they want to support, buy simple trinkets that remind their guests of the donation, to promote the cause of their choice. This is an unselfish act for sure, and what an inspiration to those who are recipients of this kind deed. I hope this is a trend that remains.

Reading this article causes me to pause. Weddings have changed so much in my lifetime.

Planning for that day, searching for THE ONE, your mate that you will spend your lifetime with, has transformed into something I barely recognize. I've already seen the "pretend and planning process" in my 3 year old granddaughter. She recruits one of her brothers to be the Daddy, and she's the Mommy, there are always domestic things involved, like meals, babies, baths, more meals, tea parties and even clean-up in her pretend home she calls "a tea house." She has her little wife and homemaker built into her daily playtime, she's subconsciously makin' plans.

What bothers me is the "lifetime-plan," that is missing in many vows:

Commitment.

Oh, they still say, "Till death do us part," but it has become, "Till I hate you do we part," or "When we fall out of love, or you offend me, or you hurt me, or you disappoint me - then we part."

I think I've landed on some of the issues that undermine the marriage commitment. Some key issues include: high expectations of others, unforgiveness and a longing for things out of reach. Of course there are circumstances where divorce is inevitable, and I'm not judging here, I'm just saying that our young people seem to go into marriage lightly and are surprised by the amount of work it takes to stay in the relationship.

This, the information age, of course has sped up the deterioration of the marriage commitment.. Not only do our young people have the immediate family's issues in front of them on a daily basis, but the world itself isn't outside their doors anymore ... it is before them on a screen at all times. Whether it is TV, or the computer or other electronic devices, everyone's faults from the President to the Lindsey Lohan's are introduced to them for their immature evaluation.

Moral failure does still make news, but the moral failure experts with their talking heads explain it away, and divorce court with big payoffs fixes the pain so the split up goes off the air with a huge chunk of change in everyone's pockets. The pain of the transition is never a reality ...they only see that in their own homes if things go awry, and no parent is prepared to help children through this pain at the moment because they are in so much pain themselves.

Honestly, the most destructive issue in a marriage is the lack of fortitude. (fortitude: mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously.) A willingness to work it out, a determination and steadfastness that doesn't come naturally. I believe that America's work ethic reflects our marriage ethic, our moral ethic, our political ethic. We hold our moral standards (which are shallow to say the least) up to the moral standards of fake-reality shows, and justify that we aren't as awful as them, so we must be OK. We are not OK.

The most incredible two words I've ever uttered besides, "I do," were hand written on a piece of notebook paper, in a rainbow of color pencils and hung on my kitchen cabinet for 1 1/2 years. We were married 11 years when a huge change came into our relationship. A move uprooted all of us from our dream home. We had visualized it for years, drawn the plans, got the construction loan, built the foundation, enclosed it furnished it and lived in it 10 months when we moved. I was so scared, totally away from all family, living in less than desirable circumstances, selling nearly everything we owned to downsize, driving a beat up old van, and absolutely no extra money. Our sons were 8 and 10. No jobs and down to our last cash, with a roof over our heads, I landed a job. The six weeks of waiting was horrid, but the first day in our new living space I had made this sign, "Yes Lord." It wasn't super spiritual, or anything I tried to push off on my kids or life transforming, I haven't thought about this for years, but seeing it kept me sane from one day to the next.

I believe that our young people deserve a fair shake. I can't imagine how they sort out what future goals they can look forward to, when so much information is pushed on them daily. Young ladies, young moms and maturing women all have one thing in common with humanity. They live one day at a time. If there is a way to slow down a day, get perspective and weed out some of the misinformation that distracts us, we can be real and see the fake-reality that appears transparent, but in fact is pulling us away from the one who can help us set our goals.

There is a longing - an ache beyond our ability to comprehend it ... a drawing to something that can give peace amidst this storm of life. ... a pure reunion with our maker, creator of the universe. Pause with us at Ruth Revisited, just 24 days away.

REGISTER HERE

SEE WEDDING ARTICLE HERE

Registrations are coming in.

Girls and ladies are mailing registrations or paying on-line. It's time to register if you're coming. We have expenses to cover in these last 4 weeks before the event.

Door prizes are being donated, and a girl's committee is being formed to plan activities for Friday "late night."

The Friday/Saturday schedule is in place. We have ladies willing to pray for the event while it is in progress.

Hope to see you there!

No Deal!

No Deal! Ruth Revisited 2010 is fast approaching.

Click on the link "No Deal" to read this devotion that says it all! One of the topics at Ruth Revisited will include learning,and planning our reactions to tempting "shortcuts" that cause a detour from the PURE HEART God had intended and is designing in us.

In this "fast food," "instant text," "breaking news" world, we are all tempted to value and chase after instant gratification and hide from fears the world throws at us. God is challenging us to slow down and experience His promises, His peace, His ways, and His timing.

Lots of preparations are being made - have you registered?

Who will be attending Ruth Revisited?

We are praying that mothers and daughters will attend. Girls of all ages are invited. If a girl is under the age of 8 she may not get much out of the seminar.

Ruth Revisited 2010 is a weekend retreat for girls and ladies. A challenge for girls to prepare for tough choices in their future; and time for women to review their choices, seek forgiveness and go forward with purpose.

Girls dream, plan and hope for their future, and face trials from peers, relatives and community. SEE ARTICLE ON HOPE

Ruth Revisited is designed to compliment her feminine qualities, and equip her with loving responses to daily and lifetime decisions and attitudes.

In 1995 when we designed Purity Seminars for our young ladies, it seemed simpler. The task before us was clear. It is somehow muddied now. The only way to clarify our purpose is through prayer and God's word, the Bible. Please pray for the success of this "Pure Reunion."

Many ladies who plan to attend were young girls in the 90's, they made a pure commitment to their future, some met those goals, others did not. There is a lot of pain represented in the choices made, but God provides healing through His people who are willing to accept with open arms.

The book of Ruth is a story of tragedy, heartache, hard work, Motherly advice, family traditions, and in the end, redemption with a reward.

A weekend set aside to place our lives in the mirror image of the life of Ruth, and that of her mother-in-law Naomi ... to see ourselves in the reflection of the decisions, joy, pain, disappointments, heartache, sincere love, and the hopes of these women ... this alone should send us out with an improved view of our wonderful future, walking in God's purpose for our lives.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

So looking forward to the Ruth Revisited ... a pure reunion

Starting to get a lot of feedback on the reunion. People saying they're praying for us as we prepare for the event. Others wanting to come but have other commitments. Others coming for sure. We're about to pull together some young Moms and young Girls for a planning committee to finalize details. If you know someone who would be interested email me or comment here!

I just love being a woman, sharing in God's grace, creation, redemption, love. Nothing like a Mother's love.

Daily devotions today was so awesome.

Just a believer sharing God's grace in her life.

How to clean your heart. ... a pure reunion is coming.

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,

scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.

Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

set these once-broken bones to dancing.

Don't look too close for blemishes,

give me a clean bill of health.

God, make a fresh start in me,

shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don't throw me out with the trash,

or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile,

put a fresh wind in my sails!

Give me a job teaching rebels your ways

so the lost can find their way home.

Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,

and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.

Unbutton my lips, dear God;

I'll let loose with your praise.

16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,

a flawless performance is nothing to you.

I learned God-worship

when my pride was shattered.

Heart-shattered lives ready for love

don't for a moment escape God's notice.

Psalm 51:7 - 17 The Message

Register Now

Follow us on "FaceBook" as we post all the plans and details.

Judy Cockrum, Amanda Tanner Stewart,

Traci Ewert, or Robin McDaniel

I set up a walkthrough for the campground for next week.
This web page needs a countdown!

We have a location for Ruth Revisited.

On October 22-23, 2010

Ruth Revisited ... a pure reunion

Bradford Woods

Martinsville, IN

Registration (ON-LINE and US MAIL) TBA.

Donate a $40.00 scholarship.

Your donation will pay for a lady or young girl to attend the entire event.

Donate any amount. We will send you a certificate, receipt and

a thank you from the girl who attends as a result of your contribution.

Click HERE TO DONATE.

I wrote a poem several months ago.

Knowledge Hindered

So crazy!

What was I fighting?
Beating my way out of a rice-paper cage.
If hope tore it , I repaired it.
If dread wore it thin, I asked others for help mending it.
When I began to see through it,
I covered my eyes with sun-shades.

Faith came, and went!
It drifted with circumstances.
It hoped beyond hope till hope failed.
It was clouded by shadows of fear;
darkened by temporal desires.
My heart darkened by dread and shame.

Arms reaching? Fall in.
Wanting peace more than victory.
Longing for purpose above the cloud shadows.
Aching for lasting contentment.
Awaiting in the recesses, wide open arms;
my hero, my knight, my prince, my Lord.

Fear - my knowledge hindered.

We are a few short days away from announcing a date and cost for the Reunion.

Ruth Revisited is coming together. As soon as a contract is drawn up with our accommodations, we'll be announcing the location, and cost for a weekend retreat for ladies and girls. We'll open Registration 6 to 8 weeks before the event.

HINT: We can now officially say mark your calendars for the weekend of October 22-23, 2010. We are working on keeping the registration fee under $40.00.

And the location is very close to Martinsville, IN

Here are some of the things we will be needing. Some people have already offered to help. But we need committments to these items: (To make a committment to these items please COMMENT BELOW to this post and indicate a way to contact you.)

3 Donated meals carried to our location: Dinner, Breakfast and Lunch. We'll know the number of people we're feeding closer to the date - there is a kitchen for our use.
Variety of Donated snacks
Door Prizes large and small, and huge variety from coupons to electronics and everything in between
25-40 gifts - this item can be a journal, toiletries, coffee mugs, a cloth carry bag, but all the same for each attendee (we'll have better numbers once we open registration)
Pens and Tablets
A Lady to Plan Outdoor Activities
A few ladies to prepare unique crafts (Bring all necessary supplies to sell to the participants keeping the cost under $5.00/per person)
Event T-Shirts if we can get them at minimal cost or donated we'd be willing to have them printed about 2 weeks before the event we'll know the numbers and sizes.
Meeting Room decorators to arrive early and set up for the theme (TBA)
Donations:
$40.00 will pay for one lady or girl to attend.
The meeting rooms and kitchen will be around $400 total
Donations will cover the cost of the meeting rooms, or if designated to help with registrations or cover an individual's registration. The designated amount will be honored. Click here to donate and receive a certificate of appreciation as your non-profit donation receipt.

The Pure Reunion is for any woman or young lady who would like to attend. We look forward to not only catching up with each other from the seminars that were held in the 90's, but to encourage, inform and inspire today's mothers and young women still making plans for their future whether they were a part of the seminars in the 90's or not. The minimum age has not been determined, it's still in discussion.

CLICK HERE TO STAY UP TO DATE ON THIS EVENT

We are here for you! Walk this path with us.

Your participation is welcome, and any creative ideas will be considered. Please EMAIL ME before August 24 (our next planning meeting) to let me know your suggestions and/or donations.

Judy Cockrum, Ruth Revisited, a pure reunion

Taking the "Y" in the Path.

I'm guessing I was about 10 when I, my older sister 11, and my younger sister 9, took a detour on the way home from the local park swimming pool.

We initially took our normal path, but along that path was a very shady looking character. By the time we got into his view, he looked over and started walking our way. Between us there was some under the breath discussion about taking the "Y" in the path to avoid him. We elbowed each other to the left, onto a different sidewalk and never looked back as we picked up our pace without being too obvious, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves.

To add to the tension us two older sisters were trusted with our baby sister on this swimming trip, she seldom got to go with us because of a recent illness.

Our first big mistake was when the path threw us onto an unfamiliar street about a city block down from our normal - designated by parents - street that took us home. We walked several blocks on that street, talking all the way, still pretty shook from the incident, when suddenly we saw our Dad's car coming towards us. We panicked. We were late, and on the wrong street.

What made us do what we did next still surprises me.

Our Dad came looking because he loved us, he was worried because we were late, and he had already checked our designated streets for us. I can only imagine the panic he was in looking everywhere for his 3 little girls.

WE DOVE BEHIND SOME BUSHES UNTIL HE DROVE PAST.

The 3 of us sisters discuss this incident a lot. Knowing what punishment was ahead, facing the wrath of an angry Dad, yet not being a parent yet, and not knowing the panic he was suffering, let alone the Mom at home scared to death, we made the wrong decision and paid dearly.

To this day decades later I still have a sick feeling when I think of the pain I brought to my parents that day. It seems no discipline can remove that sinking feeling that I failed them. I remember having second thoughts about hiding from my Daddy, but following the lead of my big sister.

I would never blame her for this because she was carrying the heavy weight of responsibility for 2 sisters and therefore in even deeper doo-doo than me.

We ran through an alley, got over onto our own street and the next time he drove past us we were within view of our own house, we got in the car and heard the screaming silence as he parked the car in the alley behind our house and marched us into the house. Our Mom's red eyes as she met us at the door were our only greeting.

The rest is history. Trips to the pool were limited, and there was a drill before we left, a lecture, threats and even some tips on avoiding shady characters.

I've never told my Dad about hiding in the bushes. I suppose it would give him a chuckle now, or would it break his heart?

I think of excuses we use to take another path, reasons we come up with to take a situation into our own hands, rationale we use to go against the flow and then I comprehend why there must be guidelines and boundaries for our lives.

God lays out a path for each of us, a purpose and a plan. We hide in the bushes of our bad decisions, call it what it isn't (a slight detour because someone else - a shady character - looked our way) and suddenly we're so full of shame and facing such painful discipline, we have no relationship with God.

Been there? Ask for forgiveness, move forward and watch what God can do with your life.

Hebrews 12:9-10 (NIV)

⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

A Day of Panic, Prayer and finally PEACE

I did a lot of research before naming this seminar.

I even checked to see if there was a web page with the name Ruth Revisited. I could've bought the domain name, but decided to do this format instead. I found nothing that had "Ruth Revisited."

It was important to me because of trademarks, copyrights, etc. I take that stuff serious.

So after making several announcements, having planning meetings and even making calls in the name of the event. I typed Ruth Revisited (with a space between the two words) meaning to type ruthrevisited to go to the blog, and walla, the term came up on a ladies page from Focus on the Family.

I was horrified and mortified.

Nothing is carved in stone mind you, we just loved the name of the event, and now a huge pause, while I research this "Ruth Revisited" article. At first I thought it must be a book, I'd buy it and read it, then I found it to be an article, a follow up of an article called "Pulling a Ruth," written by Candice Watters, for boundless.org.

OK so, it sounds like I'm out of touch right. Well, motorcycle ministry and ministry to teens and young Moms really are two different worlds, but are they? I'm not out of touch, but I haven't followed Focus on the Family in a long time. I'm an empty nester that still loves ministry to young people and mentoring moms, but I'm not, well ... faithful to reading about young families like I was when I was raising mine. (so I said it)

When I felt strongly that I should pull together this reunion, somehow calling it a Ruth Seminar like we did in '95 just didn't seem to fit, so I challenged a few people to pray about a name. It hit me one morning as soon as I woke up ... revisited. That is very much like a reunion, going home, visiting, regrouping, looking back with the future in mind. Revisited was so good, and everyone likes it, so "Ruth Revisited 2010, a pure reunion" is alive and well. We've used the term, given it a date and a by-line. We own it now!

I found Candice Watters on Facebook and requested to be her friend, sent her a message that told her the deal. No response yet, but I'm loving her stuff on-line, I'm pumped about the reunion, the name and an announcement we're about to make about the date and place. It was a long 24 hours though, getting all this calmed down in my spirit.

Location, Location

OK, more details.

The committee went to a campground in the area today.

We aren't asking for much, a place to sleep, showers, a place to meet as a group.

And a break-out area, small rooms work.

We want to carry in our own meals if possible because it will keep the expense down.

The date we're looking at doesn't work out at area campgrounds. Suggestions welcome. Comment.

This will be a seminar for women and girls, an opportunity to study the book of Ruth and renew old friendships while learning from the teachings.

People who attended Ruth Seminar 1995 or any of the next 4 sequels know it is an incredible time of family, friends and faith!

So let's pray up a location to meet.

Ruth Revisited Planning Committee

The planning committee met last night and once we've decided on a place on the date we've selected, we'll know the registration price. We're probably about 2 weeks away from announcing the EVENT on Facebook and this web page, so be sure to follow us to stay informed.

Why we're doing this? Well, this world piles on a lot of stuff - we want to encourage girls and women to never give up hope, return to the God of their youth, and move forward ... that's a lot for a 24-hour time period.

We're putting together a Mission, Purpose and Goals statement and compiling a list of ladies who were young girls when then participated 15 years ago, and our leaders who helped from 1995 to 1999. If you know anyone who worked with us or attended please comment below and I'll receive an email!

History of Ruth Revisited!