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.