I liked Larry’s blog on this so much I will share the link with you. larrystockstill.com

Yesterday around 2:30 Ruth Stockstill, affectionately known as “Mimmi,” joined the great cloud of witnesses in Heaven! I had the most incredible honor of holding her hand as she slipped out of her body and into glory. I had left a lunch appointment and was going to our south campus to prepare for a meeting, planning to prepare and rest for a while and then run and see Mimmi before the meeting. As I neared the intersection that led to the hospice where she was, I found myself turning right (right hand turns are important in the Stockstill family ) toward the hospice instead of going straight toward the campus. I decided I would visit her before AND after my preparation. I parked, walked casually into the building and into the room, set my purse down and took her hand. Her breathing was labored so I began to talk to her about Heaven. I told her how much I loved her, then began naming some of the many people that were eagerly awaiting her arrival. I told her to give our love to our Amy. Within less than ten minutes, she slipped into eternity. I was stunned at the favor of God to allow me that awesome privilege. “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives” (Ps.37:23). Her memorial service will be this Friday, October 24, at 11:00 A.M. in the main sanctuary of the North Campus. Visitation will be in the main sanctuary from 9:00-11:00 A.M. We plan to post the service on the Bethany web page. Donations in her name can be made to the Global Twelve Project. Her life keeps giving!

My precious mother-in-law, Ruth Stocktill, is in her last days here with us on Earth. What an incredible example she has been to women all over the world! For years, she kept our six children every Saturday so that I could maintain my sanity and she her treasured place of “Mimi.” More times than I can count, Bro. Roy would say of her after one of her delicious Mississippi meals, “Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou exellest them all” (Prov.31:29). She is the Proverbs 31 lady of all times! Incidentally, our home for unwed mothers for over twenty years was called the House of Ruth in her honor. She has quite a legacy and so do you if you will remain faithful in being the mother, wife, and/or friend God has equipped you to be. Thank you for praying for Bro. Roy.

“If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring” (Prov.25:26). We cannot give in to the ungodly influence of our age concerning abortion and homosexuality. As the light of the world, we cannot afford to dim our wattage. We cannot grow weary, and certainly not “throw in the towel.” We need Supreme Court justices and federal judges who will refuse to legislate from the bench and who will uphold righteousness, and this presidential election will determine many such appointments. We must pray, pray, pray! Our threat of economic crisis is only the tip of the iceberg of God’s judgment upon America if we don’t turn from our murder of innocent babies and our filthy perversions. No plan of man can bail us out if God becomes the “enemy” of our nation. I have a greater resolve than ever to do all I can to save my great nation - “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” I believe in the power of corporate prayer! If the churches of America will unite in prayer, we can turn our nation around. The weapons God has given us are powerful to “knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments”(2 Cor. 10 4).

On the eve of our “Shake the Nations” conference, I’m contemplative concerning the Body of Christ in America. As we endeavor to shake the nations with the Gospel, are we being shaken and sifted in our commitment to one another as brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God? We are, first, Christians with a responsibility toward the Kingdom of God. Second, we are citizens of an earthly kingdom which is political in nature. Our second responsibility should never eclipse our first devotion and commitment. At least two factors in the upcoming election pose a greater than ordinary threat to our unity as Christians: one is gender in nature and the other is ethnic in nature. Although it would be ideal if we all agreed on the ethical and moral principles at stake, even those issues are potential lines of division. My prayer is that we will allow each other the freedoms afforded to us by our great constitution, especially by the Amendments, and not devise spiritual ways to prohibit the expression of those freedoms. While it is my responsibility as a spiritual leader to encourage all to be morally and ethically responsible in the support of candidates, it is also my privilege as a citizen to have and express private opinions. I refuse to use my God-given platform to endorse candidates, but I must use that platform to endorse or repudiate issues that affect the morals of our nation. I will not reject a brother or sister because of a political stand - the blood of Jesus is too strong for that! The love of God within me embraces and loves my blood-washed family and gives me the ability to understand and appreciate our differences of opinions. May we all remember our strong family-in-Christ ties and make room for each other’s private opinions and beliefs - the Scriptures being the boundaries for all persuasions. Let’s not allow a temporal kingdom to jeopardize the unity (which is our witness) of our Lord’s Kingdom. “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony” (Col.3:14).