Right on Top

By Ronnie Ruff

What is your greeting? Do you have one specific to all occasions? What does it say about you and the way you view your life experiences? "Right on top" is the characteristic greeting of the author, defining his mind-set for the early start of each day. Our word of greeting flows from our lips as words and ends up flowing from the tip of our fingers as actions regarding everything we do. This book examines nine areas of importance in his life with helpful encouragement to others to replicate his daily experience: heritage, balance, rules, success, heroes, posterity, wife, work, God. "When an old man dies, a library burns." The challenge presented in his book is for the reader to examine the important things in life and share their experiences before the library burns. The author's hope, for the many who consider themselves only average, is that they would rise up to a new level of living; that they might regard every day as a gift and approach every situation as a giver; that the biblical concept of salt and light would become a daily reality; and at the end of the day, when all has been considered, they might conclude that the best description of their time here on earth could be summed up in three simple words--right on top.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645696438

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Right on Top

Ronnie Ruff

Copyright © 2019 by Ronnie Ruff

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984. By International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from THE MESSAGE Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Taken from Can Man Live Without God by Ravi Zacharias Copyright © 1994 by Ravi Zacharias. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com.

Taken from Bonfoeffer by Eric Metaxas Copyright © 2010 by Eric Metaxas. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Heritage

Balance

Rules

Success

Posterity

Heroes

Wife

Work

God

To the many people who have had such a magnificent impact on my life:

To my greatest gift—my wife, Debbie. She is the quintessential definition of the term helpmate. Without her, my successes would be little and my life incomplete. I am eternally grateful that she loves me with her whole heart. God brought her to me at just the right time and, since that time, has made all the time just right.

To our three sons, Travis, Brad, and Todd, who have become men of honor, respected in their business endeavors, and faithful to their families. Some of the sweetest words to grace my ears are when I hear one of them voice a public prayer. Many men never enjoy that grand experience. It is only on the basis of grace that I do. The great desire of every dad is to raise sons who are better than himself. Thanks to each of you for the fulfillment of that desire.

To our three daughters-in-law, Cheri, Katherine, and Candace, matched to perfection with our three sons. We thank you for your acceptance of Debbie and me, for your love for our boys, and for your desire to make your home everything that God would have it become.

To our grandchildren: Austin, Braeden, Conner, and Dawson; Garrett, Jessie, and Kody; Morgan, Mallorie, Mollie, Madilynn, and Mac. You are all made in the image of God. The horses on the hill above our home are a constant reminder of your great value and our great responsibility. Our prayer is that you would fulfill your purpose while here on this earth and remain constantly within the custody of your Creator.

To my many mentors and unnamed friends who have dared share their deepest thoughts, reveal their personal struggles, and granted me encouragement in desperate hours—I will forever be grateful.

Memorial

Charles LeRoy Ruff, February 4, 1928–October 13, 1987

Lumberjacks best measure a tree after it has fallen. Beautiful things come from the wood it produces. Life is like that. My dad was the only son of Charles Chester Silas Ruff and his wife, Viola Leonard Ruff. He was killed by accident doing a project that I had requested at thirty-one seconds past 5:00 p.m. on October 13, 1987. The crash was incredibly violent. His watch stopped at the exact moment of his death. He was fifty-nine years old. At this writing, over thirty years later, the sights, sounds, and interactions of that day still linger in my memory as if only yesterday. To this day, I have never asked why because I have always considered it absolutely none of my business. Some years ago, Debbie found a yellowed piece of notebook paper buried in a stack of old letters. In the early morning hours of October 14, 1987, around 3:00 a.m., unable to sleep, I had gone to the feed yard to begin the morning feeding. As I struggled to face the first daylight without my dad, these words that came to me in the middle of the night some thirty years ago were scribbled on that paper:

Cattleman’s Prayer

Lord, before the sun comes up, give me strength today.

That I might in some sweet way, a message from you relay.

Make me salt, make me light. Make my spirit bright.

Into the night, a beam of light, pointing the way to you.

When my day has not gone just exactly as planned, whether it is a simple breakdown or a great tragedy, it is reassuring to know that God controls all things and that much good often comes from a bad situation.

As we work our way through today, this time spent will help us better face our next day. Tomorrow is a new day, so we need to stay right on top. When morning comes, the sun will come up, people will go to work, babies will be born, birds will sing, and children will play, people will laugh, and friends will continue to care—life will go on.

Foreword

It is an honor to be able to write the foreword for this inspirational book Right on Top , written by my special friend Ronnie Ruff. Our friendship started in 1973 when I moved to Robert Lee, Texas, to teach. During the five-year period that I was able to work with Ronnie—first as his colleague, then for two years as his assistant coach—this friendship grew, as did my appreciation for Ronnie and his wife, Debbie, and their unique ability to reach and help others. After they returned to Kansas, our friendship was strengthened through many visits in their home, their trips back to Texas, and numerous telephone conversations. I have had the privilege to be his sounding board through the years and have really gotten to know and appreciate him and these principles. Ronnie is the most widely admired man I have known and, next to my father, the man I have most admired.

This book is more than just some man’s idea and philosophy. It is a reflection of his life and the teachings that he has tried to instill in so many others. There are three things that make this book special. First, it is based on the Scriptures. As in his life, Ronnie uses God’s Word to direct him in formulating these principles. Second, it is based on the principles that he has lived, the ones that have guided his very successful life all these years. Few men have been as successful in every aspect of their lives as Ronnie has. Finally, it is based on the principles that he has consistently taught his family, his athletes, his friends, and his employees. Those who have listened and heeded his words of wisdom have been successful, changing from clueless, wandering children to upright and responsible adults. These principles are tried and true, and they will work for you.

I realize there are many books published today that are very good, but next to the Bible, this book is a must-read, especially in our society today. Thank you, Ronnie, for taking the time and effort to write all this down for us.

Clyde Dukes

Clyde Dukes was born and raised in Abilene, Texas. He graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1970 with a BA in math and physics. He has taught in public school systems for forty-eight years, teaching math, physics, computer science, and Bible studies. He also coached basketball and track for nearly thirty years. He is currently, at age seventy, continuing to teach at Sonora High School in Sonora, Texas. Clyde has been the minister of the Cedar Hill Church of Christ for the past thirty-six years.

In an age where many seek retirement at their earliest convenience, Clyde continues a life of service to his students, his community, and a multitude of family and friends. He has been one of Ronnie’s closest friends for over forty years. His dedication to all areas of his life is second to none.

Acknowledgments

Everyone has a certain amount of talent. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, much talent is left undiscovered—both to the holder of the talent and to those who would benefit from it. I have a friend whom I have known of for over thirty-five years. Only in the past three years have I been able to spend some time getting to know him. He has amazing business talent. He also has a talent for cowboy poetry. Although he has never published any of his work, he has afforded me the opportunity to place a poem in this book that was written in honor of his dad. Whatever your station in life, if you love your dad, you will identify with the words written about a cowboy’s dad. Thank you, Randy Fisher, for great words that will tug at the heart of all who read them. The last few lines of your poem are a challenge to all of us.

My Dad

My dad’s a cowboy, a hardworkin’ man.

Work all day, rope all night, fits right in his plan.

If it’s after supper an’ way past time for bed

You’d find him at the barn, ropin’ the dummy instead.

I first had this dream several years ago

While living at Obelin, after Baxter’s show.

I asked, How do ya do that and make ’em rhyme?

Randy—he smiled—straight from yer heart, one line at a time.

’47 brought marriage with his love named Warrenetta.

Now ’93, they’ve survived fer worse for the betta!

Four sons they were blessed—Steve, Stan, me, and Bryan.

Don probably wished they’d never quit tryin’

Ya see he had dreamed of a fam’ly of seven.

But four boys, no girls! Mom stopped—thank heaven!

Some guys hunt or golf, seeking personal joy

But Dad? Horses and cattle, just bein’ a cowboy.

Roscoe, Quimby, AW, and his dad

Won’t know the influence on young Donnie they had.

He befriends young cowboys, likes to laugh and give hope.

Have I yet mentioned, my Dad likes to rope?

His club-footed mare he loved with his heart.

Was a gift from his Dad, which gave him his start.

There’s old Dixie, Studebaker, Brown Clown, Scuba Sue,

Blue Jay, and Chester to name just a few.

Ol’ Dixie was past twenty when she breathed her last sigh.

This was the first time I knew my Daddy could cry.

His dogs all loved him: Roxie, Marge, Queenie and Bear,

Peachos and Blackjack with his thick shiny hair.

When he buried ol’ Blackjack, once again I saw tears.

Did I tell you yet, Dad loves to rope steers?

He takes pride in his work and his words are few.

But he means what he says and what he says is true!

Nothin’ makes him feel better and brings on the smiles,

Than to win fifty cents from the vet, Dr. Miles

Growing up I had chores, unlike the town jerk.

I understand now Dad’s lesson on work.

He taught us how to build fence on the run.

Wheat pasture at Richfield, that’s the way it was done!

When horseback movin’ cattle my Dad used to say,

"Speed ’em up, slow ’em down, get outta the way!

His favorite quote was, "If a steer dropped behind,

One dog beats two kids, ’cause the dog would mind!"

I love him, respect him, he’s my Dad, a best friend

He just called, Six o’clock at the practice pens.

’Cause reckon you’ve concluded by now I hope,

Rather eatin’ or sleepin’, he’d just as soon rope.

It’s said that success is based many-a-way.

Most important, however, is what your grown children say.

If you also believe that this measure has worth.

Then my Dad’s the most successful man on this earth.

I pray that before my life is complete,

My children someday these words can repeat.

When I pause and look back at the best that I’ve had.

I thank God for making Don Fisher my dad!

Randy Fisher, ’93

Introduction

When an old man dies, a library burns.

How will you be remembered? Will family and friends gather at your graveside to bury a stranger? Is there someone who knows you better than you know yourself? I know so! Years ago, I memorized the words below. Freeze frame them in your mind and park them in your heart. They are marvelous words of encouragement and security, my favorite psalm— Psalm 139:

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up into the heavens you are there. If I make by bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body, and all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious are your thoughts to me O God, how vast is the sum of them. If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

Great words close the chapter:

Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.¹

These are amazing words—frightening on the one hand and comforting on the other. They are frightening because we hide portions of our lives that we consider inappropriate. We wear masks—holding even those closest to us at arm’s length, fearful of revealing current thoughts and past action. These words force us to a thought that can cause discomfort—God knows what everyone else does not.

Our identification with Adam and Eve, as they hid themselves in the garden, confronts us continually within our fallen state. We are creatures in need of constant correction. What we want to do, we often do not do; and what we do not want to do, we end up doing. This predicament, and our desire to show the world that we can overcome it, often leaves us hollow—in a state of extreme helplessness.

The apostle Paul dealt with these issues in his own life as well. He pours his heart out to us in Romans 7:15–25:

What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad; but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influences of sin to do something totally different.² (MSG)

We travel life’s pathway concealing much, revealing little, knowing all the time that the Creator of the universe knows our every hidden thought.

The antithesis of all of this also resides within us—the desire to be known, to share our private thoughts, to open our heart, and be seen as authentic. We ache inside when we are misunderstood or misrepresented. We have a deep, longing desire to be known—for our sense of sincerity to receive total acceptance. How reassuring to know that God knows our deepest thoughts—and stands ready to cancel all that would convict us. How wonderful to be known in the deepest sense of the word. Nothing in this life adds more to the value of any person than the knowledge that God knows everything about us and has granted us the great privilege to be made in His image.

When we get to the place in life where we don’t mind people really knowing us, in the deepest sense of the word, we arrive at exactly the right place. I am at that place. I want people to learn from the good in me and the bad in me—to replicate the one and run from the other. Unless I miss my guess, I suspect that many who read this book have this commonality. Perhaps they will follow my lead and share their thoughts before the library burns.

This book is about some specific things in my life that are important to me. You will find many passages of Scripture within this text. The Bible is my ultimate guide book, and it needs to be yours as well. If you dismiss this idea, your life will never be all that it should be. If you are already a student of Scripture, you may not learn anything new—but you will be reminded of many good things that you already know but may not be currently applying in your daily walk.

This book will take a serious look at many of my life experiences and attempt to relate the truth of scripture in the workings of these experiences. There will be some overlap. Some points may be repeated. That is by design because repetition promotes remembrance.

My hope, for the many who consider themselves only average, is that they would rise up to a new level of living; that they might regard every day as a gift and approach every situation as a giver; that the concept of salt and light would become a daily reality; and at the end of the day, when all has been considered, they might conclude that the best description of their time on this earth could be summed up in three simple words—right on top.

Chapter 1

Heritage

At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.³

—MSG

When decisions made by our ancestors are ignored, by preference or by indifference, the result is the same—we are bound to repeat their mistakes. Without a sense of history, we are lost in our own present perspective. To know best what is happening today, you must know what happened yesterday. When you understand what happened yesterday, you face today with confidence—and tomorrow is an adventure in anticipation.

—Ronnie Ruff

We finally found them. The search took place in a graveyard within the city limits of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The search was arduous and seemingly timeless. We walked up and down countless hills and looked under numerous trees. In a final effort, we searched the last location—and there they were—the grave markers of my great-great-great grandparents. Their name was Stevens, and they had come from Scotland in the very early 1800s. Henry Stevens was a carpenter by trade. His daughter, Clementine, fell in love with an immigrant from Germany, Charles Chester Ruoff/Ruff. Christina Ferber Ruoff, the boy’s mother, had settled in the same community, Pittston, Pennsylvania. Her son, Charles Chester Ruff, enlisted in the Union Army at the age of fifteen and fought for the Union in the Civil War. He participated in many major battles. He was captured by rebel forces on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. As plans were being made to transfer the prisoners to Andersonville prison in the state of Georgia, every tenth man was selected to work in the hospital assisting doctors treating wounded soldiers. Charles Chester was selected as one of those men.

Throughout the remainder of the Gettysburg Battle, he administered chloroform during crude surgeries and was responsible for throwing amputated arms and legs from a two-story window. This would help us understand why he could not concentrate on further schooling after the war. Today psychologists call this Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, he was released. He traded his drum for a gun in the fight at Boyden Plank Road. He was promoted to corporal, later to sergeant, and spent the rest of the war fighting in many other major battles: Manassas, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Laurel Heights, Cold Harbor, the Petersburg Siege, Weldon Railroad, the Battles of the Wilderness, North Anna, and South Anna Rivers, and was even involved in Sherman’s infamous march across the south, leaving a path of devastation hundreds of miles in length. In short, he saw it all! He had one bullet hole in his hat and another in his coat. The number of other close calls, we do not know. His final participation would be at Appomattox—the culmination of the war where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. Letters sent to his sweetheart, Clementine, indicated a profound sense of gratitude for survival during the entire ordeal. He firmly believed in the hand of Divine Providence guiding his safe return to the private sector.

After the war, he returned to the mining community of Pittston, Pennsylvania. Clementine became his wife. She was a teacher in a private school, very much interested in culture, the arts, and music. Her husband was a man of adventure and quickly took advantage of a federal program for veterans. President Chester Arthur signed a land grant in Kansas for a quarter section of Kansas land at a value of one dollar per acre. The recipient was required to live on the property for five years to prove up the purchase.

In 1877, Charles Chester left his wife and children in Pennsylvania and traveled by train to Larned, Kansas. He then traveled approximately thirty-five miles west by horse-drawn wagon to his quarter section located eight miles north of the current community of Hanston, Kansas. He dug a hole in the dirt for living quarters. Few trees existed in Western Kansas during this time. When wood products began arriving by rail, he began using carpenter skills learned from his father-in-law, Henry Stevens. These skills served as additional sustaining income throughout his farming career. The wooden tool chest that carried his tools from Pennsylvania, along with the original land-grant document, both reside in the living room of our home—located only eight miles from the original homestead.

After a two-year period, his wife and four children joined him on the Kansas plains. One of their daughters left a written record of one amazing example of the hardship the family endured. Abbie Ruff Sidebottom wrote that word had come from the East saying Clementine’s father was dreadfully ill from complications of a stroke. Charles Chester was away from home working a job. Clementine took one of her daughters by the hand, went outside in the night air, and paced back and forth along a prairie path underneath a moonlit sky. No doubt, a battle raged within her troubled mind that night. One can only imagine the loneliness, the heartache, and the homesickness for family and familiar surroundings. How difficult this savage land must have been for this woman of social refinement.

When Charles Chester returned home, he begged her to take the money he had earned the previous week and travel east to see her father. She would not hear of it, knowing of the needs of her children. She remained in Kansas with her family and, consequently, would never see her parents again. Nor would she ever totally acclimate to Kansas and the harsh life she had to endure. From an urban setting surrounded by friends and family, a professional career, and a frame house, to an unsettled prairie expanse, living in a hole in the dirt—is a transition that few would be interested in enduring. Her level of commitment to her husband and the cost she endured has never been honored enough. From urban refinement back East, to homemaking initially in a dugout, took a resolve that few would grasp today. The level of commitment shown to her husband and family lives now only in the memory of a few—but is not forgotten by the God who created her. After seven generations of Ruffs living within eight miles of the original homestead, Debbie and I recognize her great contribution to our lives.

In an amazing twist of events, her son Charles Henry performed the marriage ceremony for the great-great-grandparents of Katherine Shank—who would become the wife of Travis Charles Ruff. Their firstborn son, Charles Garrett, along with his elder cousin Braeden Charles and younger cousin Mac Charles have become the seventh generation of Charles Ruffs