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