Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

 

The word in the Greek is “perisseuo” which means “to be over the top, exceedingly, abundantly, superabounding, enough and to spare, over and above.” Is your thankfulness OVERFLOWING?

 

What are some of the things for which you are grateful?

 

T I thank God for TEACHING me His ways. Where would I be if I wasn’t walking in God’s tracks?

 

H I thank God for giving me my HUSBAND. Marriage becomes more and more beautiful with time.

 

A I thank God for ANOINTING me to be a mother. Is there any greater blessing, apart from our salvation, than to enjoy the blessings of children and grandchildren?

 

N I thank God for creating me to be a NURTURER and NOURISHER to my family and to others.

 

K I thank God for His KINDNESS to me.

 

F I thank God for our FAMILY and His daily FAITHFULNESS to me. We are often so busy we don’t take time to thank God for His daily faithfulness, His goodness, and His unseen protection over all our lives.

 

U I thank God for giving me UNDERSTANDING of His truth. My greatest delight is to receive revelation of God’s truth from His living Word.

 

L I thank God for LOVING me enough to die for me and shed His precious blood for my sins. I don’t like to get a day go by without thanking Him for His unspeakable and eternal salvation.

 

I am also challenged by 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In EVERY THING give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” That means in the difficult times as well as the good times. God is working out everything for good even in our bad times.

 

Can we take action today to thank God for every blessing in our lives, even the little mundane things as well as the big things. And let’s show this thankfulness not only to God but to those around us.

 

Love from Nancy Campbell

 

“When God is a Benefactor to a people and they do not serve Him, what monstrous wickedness it is! God hath kept you all safe in the night, and yet in the morning you do not say, ‘Where is the Lord that did preserve us? Come, come, let us give joint praises to Him?’”

 

Talking about all the blessings God pours out upon us—salvation, healing from sickness, and deliverance from affliction, etc. he writes: “And yet you do not pray to nor praise this your wonderful Benefactor together. Let the very walls within which these ungrateful wretches live be astonished at this! Let the very beams and pillars of their houses tremble! And let the very girders of the floors on which they tread and walk be horribly afraid! That such as dwell in such an house together go to bed before they go to prayer together! Let the earth be amazed, that the families which the Lord doth nourish and maintain are rebellious and unthankful, being worse than the very ox that knoweth his wonder and of less understanding than the very ass (Isaiah 1:2,3).”

 

Wow, were you able to take that? Not for the faint-hearted! But it is true, isn’t it? Are we truly thankful if we don’t gather as families to praise and worship God each day? We give more importance to all the plans we have for the day than taking time to praise and worship the God who gives us our very breath.

 

Just as every morning and evening sacrifice in the Old Testament pointed forward to Calvary, as we have our family prayer times morning and evening, I love to take time thank Jesus for His great salvation and to realize again that every sacrifice was pointing to the ONCE AND FOR ALL sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:11-14; 25-28; 10:10-14; and 1 Peter 3:18). I don’t like to let a day go past without thanking Him for His eternal salvation which is beyond all comprehension.

 

And how grateful we should be for all His goodness to us. We are constantly aware of God’s great protection and delivering power with us here on the Hilltop. Let’s be grateful people, not every now and then, but DAILY.

 

In His love,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

Therefore, we ask the question: How can I help my husband?

 

I help him by coming alongside to help him as he needs me.

 

I help him by speaking sweetly, kindly, and positively into his life.

 

I help him by fulfilling the role that God has given to me rather than competing for his role of provider and leader of the home. I don’t help my husband by taking his responsibility. This undermines his manhood.

 

I help him by caring for our children and making our home a place of joy and sweetness.

 

I help him by making life easier for him to do his work.

 

I help him by being a sounding board for his dreams and visions for life.

 

I help him by caring for him physically and nutritionally.

 

I help him by having an aroma-filled nutritional meal ready for him when he returns home at the end of the day. This is one task of your great motherhood career that you cannot let slip! It is more important than you realize!

 

I help him by having the home ready for him when he arrives home—toys and mess cleaned up and thrown out of sight!

 

I help him by being excited to see him when he arrives—even if I have had a lousy day! It is a strong woman who can put aside her self-pitying spirit and by faith put on a smiling face. Greet your husband with joy and talk about the troubles later on—after the evening meal and the children are in bed.

 

I help him by being available sexually to him. I was created to be “one flesh” with my husband, to delight him rather than deprive him.

 

Have a wonderful day blessing your husband,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

The devil hates life, he hates the home, and he hates mothering. He is intent in wooing mothers out of the home so he has more power to influence their children.

 

He is scared of mothers who know who they are and who God created them to be, the mothers who embrace the children God has planned for them and who are raising them to be godly children in this “crooked and perverse society.”

 

Don’t you love being dangerous?

 

Never forget! The more children a godly mother brings into this world, fills them with God’s truth, and prepares them to be God-loving, truth-filled, holy, upstanding, devil-defeating, and overcoming sons and daughters . . .

 

The more scared the liberalists will become!

The more will evil be defeated in the land!

The more the kingdom of God will be advanced!

The more the gospel will be spread across the earth!

The more the image of God will be revealed in the earth!

The more righteousness and morality will pervade the land!

The more righteous leaders will arise in the nation!

The more justice, honesty, and truth will flood the land!

The more God will be glorified in the earth!

The more the economy will boom in the land!

The more the nation will prosper and be blessed!

And the more the statists will fear and tremble!

 

Rise up into your anointing today, dear Mother.

 

Love from Nancy Campbell

 

~ Billy Sunday

 

 

Painting: Ethel Pennewill Brown Leach (1878-1959).

Where are you dwelling, dear mother? We are always dwelling somewhere, on something. Are you dwelling in your frustration and weariness? Are you dwelling in the opinions of others? Perhaps you are dwelling on comparisons and your shortcomings. I was.

 

As I rocked in the dark with my sleepless little baby, I cried in exhaustion, frustrated by my inability. “I should have this figured out and be able to mother as well as ‘she’ does,” I thought. “There has to be a right way to do this, how do I know what is best?” I was bogged down by the weight of perfectionism and unrealistic expectations. Lines of contradictory mothering advice and mantras played over and over in my head, overwhelming and far from helping me in the middle of the night.

 

“God, what am I to do? Can’t you make this clear? Simple?”

 

How thankful I am that our Father God cares for us and hears the woes of our weary and immature hearts. He revealed Himself through His Word in Psalm 84 which begins: “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty. My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord . . . Amen!

 

But the next verse I had somehow never taken note of before: “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.” Incredible. This Psalm is for mothers! Through it, God was telling me: “Make your nest, love your young ones, and MOTHER IN MY PRESENCE. REST HERE, NEAR MY ALTAR. MAKE YOUR DWELLING IN ME.”

 

In Old Testament times, the altar was the place of sacrifice and atonement for sin. This certainly is representative of our need to lay ourselves down and submit our lives to God, and the ultimate sacrifice of Christ that covers our homes.

 

Motherhood is sacrificial love. Yet I think there is another significance to the altar. For the majority of Israelites in those days, the altar was the closest that they could get to God’s holy presence. Only the High Priest could be cleansed to go beyond into the Holy of Holies. The psalmist so desired God’s presence that he noted the humble little birds who also desired the presence of God, even to the point of making their very home at His altar. In that place they found safety, rest, peace, and provision.

 

Our hearts too can be so desirous of the Living God that we seek to center our entire existence on Him, seeking His presence. The amazing truth for us today is that we, unlike the early Israelites, are part of His royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)! We, by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:25) and the washing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-6) can enter his very presence daily. We can truly dwell in His holy presence and make our homes a dwelling place for Him. How do we do this? Psalm 84 and other scriptures describe how:

 

We dwell in him when we put Him first, recognizing that he is desirable before all else (Psalm 84:10).

We dwell in him when we behold his unveiled glory (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

We dwell in him by continually praising him, and praise is a natural response to our awareness of his presence (Psalm 84:4).

We dwell in Him and he in us when we draw on his strength (Psalm 84:5; 2 Corinthians 12:9) and put our total trust in him (Psalm 84:12).

We dwell in him when we pray throughout our day (Ps 84:8-9).

 

This mothering journey is about Him. It always has been, just like every aspect of life. Meditating on this Scripture has changed the way that I approach my days, taking the focus off of myself and the details and putting it on our worthy God.

 

Has mothering become easier? Certainly not, but he is teaching me to rest in him, just like those little birds, as a Psalm 84 mother. He is showing me the glory of his presence in my home as I dwell in him and share his Spirit with my children and my husband.

 

Often, I must evaluate, as I encourage you also to do, asking “Where will I dwell today?” or rather, “On whom will I dwell?” May it always be Him, and His dwelling always be mine.

 

MIKAYLA DEWING

 

Picture: Garrett and Mikayla with their children: Conrad (18 months) and Daisy Jane (4 months).

 

The devil hates life, he hates the home, and he hates mothering. He is intent in wooing mothers out of the home so he has more power to influence their children.

 

He is scared of mothers who know who they are and who God created them to be, the mothers who embrace the children God has planned for them and who are raising them to be godly children in this “crooked and perverse society.”

 

Don’t you love being dangerous?

 

Never forget! The more children a godly mother brings into this world, fills them with God’s truth, and prepares them to be God-loving, truth-filled, holy, upstanding, devil-defeating, and overcoming sons and daughters . . .

 

The more scared the liberalists will become!

The more will evil be defeated in the land!

The more the kingdom of God will be advanced!

The more the gospel will be spread across the earth!

The more the image of God will be revealed in the earth!

The more righteousness and morality will pervade the land!

The more righteous leaders will arise in the nation!

The more justice, honesty, and truth will flood the land!

The more God will be glorified in the earth!

The more the economy will boom in the land!

The more the nation will prosper and be blessed!

And the more the statists will fear and tremble!

 

Rise up into your anointing today, dear Mother.

 

Love from Nancy Campbell

 

Will this fragment our family or will it strengthen our family and keep us together?

If it will fragment the family, forget it.

If it will strengthen the family, go for it!

 

Here is a poem to encourage you today:

 

T Traveling through life is no good on your own,

To do it with family is the best way known.

 

O Old and young, the toddlers and teens,

All add to the mix with their family genes.

 

G Gathering together as much as we can,

Putting aside time to be with the clan.

 

E Enjoying suppers, parties and feasts

Where we all bring food and special treats.

 

T Talking and laughing, shouting, debating,

It’s a great lot of fun, certainly not sedating!

 

H Helping one another in times of need,

Going the extra mile to do the deed.

 

E Embracing the children, the more the merrier,

Enlarging our homes to all fit in one area.

 

R Remembering each other, even those far away,

Cementing the bonds by praying each day.

 

N Never holding a grudge--for hurt or lies,

Forgiving freely when offences arise.

 

E Expect perfection? We all fall on our face,

We’re sinners redeemed, needing God’s grace.

 

S Strengthened by unity--we must guard it well,

And watch “little foxes” don’t come in to dwell.

 

S Serving each other with a humble mind

This is the way as a family we’ll bind.

 

Love from Nancy Campbell

The following is a challenge if you are up for it!

 

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon

 

It is sinful to neglect the common duties of life under the idea that we shall do something more, by-and-by.

 

You do not obey your parents, young man, and yet you are going to be a minister, are you? A pretty minister will you make! As an apprentice you are very dilatory and neglectful — and your master would be glad to see the back of you! He wishes that he could burn your indentures and yet you have an idea you are going to be a missionary, I believe. A pretty missionary you would be!

 

There is a mother at home and her children are neglected while she talks to her neighbors. But when her children are off her hands, she is going to be a true mother in Israel and look after the souls of others. Such conduct is sin! Mind your children! Darn the stockings and attend to your other home duties! And when you have done that, talk about doing something in other places. If present duties are neglected, you cannot make up for the omission by some future piece of quixotic endeavor to do what you were never called to do!

 

If we could all be quiet enough to hear that clock tick, we should hear it say, “Now! Now! Now! Now!” The clock resembles the call of God in the DAILY DUTIES of the hour. “To him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin,” even though he may dream of how he will, in years to come, make up for his present neglect!"

 

I love Hebrews 9:1: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” What is this Scripture talking about? It is King James language. Let’s read it in the J. B. Phillips’ translation: “. . . and it had a sanctuary, A HOLY PLACE IN THIS WORLD FOR THE ETERNAL GOD.” Don’t you love those words?

 

Back in those days, God dwelt in the midst of His people, Israel. God dwelt in His Shekinah glory in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and later the temple. Today, God does not live in a temple but He still wants a dwelling place on earth. Now He comes to dwell in our hearts and He also wants to dwell in our homes (2 Corinthians 6:19, 20).

 

On this bit of earth, in the neighborhood where you live, you have a great commission to make your home a holy place for the eternal God! What could be more powerful? Can you seek to make your home a holy place for Him?

 

But there’s more. God not only wants our homes to be holy, but all the area around our homes. Talking about Ezekiel’s temple in Ezekiel 43:12 it says: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be MOST HOLY. Behold, this is the law of the house.” You may only have a little backyard, or you may own many acres. Whatever God has given to you, He wants it all to be holy.

 

We not only guard what goes on in our homes, but what goes on around our homes. Who hangs out with our children? What is happening on the inside? What is happening on the outside?

 

God wants every material thing in our homes to be anointed with His presence. Yes, even our pots and pans (Zechariah 14:20, 21). Fill your home with everything that promotes holiness and cast out every evil thing.

 

Holiness begins with us wives and mothers. We are the heart of the home and it is our responsibility to make it holy. Let’s make holiness our vision.

 

Hebrews 13:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”

 

 

I am sure many of you would like to discuss this point.

 

1. We must begin with having a positive and happy attitude ourselves. If we don’t know how to do it, how will our children? Of course, we don’t always feel happy and joyful and in good spirits. But feelings are not the point. We don’t live by feelings; we live by the truth. And the real truth is that if Christ dwells in us, we can live in joy because HE IS JOY! Dear mother, your attitude sparks the attitude for the rest of the home.

 

2. If your child has already received Christ into His heart and life remind him that Jesus lives in Him. Teach Him how to yield to Jesus rather than yield to his feelings and the flesh. You can start teaching your children this habit from when they are young.

 

3. Sing with them. “Come on, Johnny, let’s sing together.” And them get them singing a joyful song with you. Do you know “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, down in my heart”? That’s a good one with actions too. Don’t let him off the hook. Get all the children singing to help him along if necessary.

 

4. You can also inspire good and positive attitudes by doing something like a weekly competition. Pin up on the fridge the names of your children with columns for each day of the week. As you notice good attitudes give them stickers. When they have a good or bad attitude, put a black mark. The one who gets the most stickers for the week receives a prize. Make it something special.

 

5. Don’t allow your children to get away with bad attitudes and moods. This habit must be broken. If they come to the table with a sour and glum face, encourage them to put on a smile. If they are stubborn and refuse, they should go to their room until they are ready to come to the table with a happy face.

 

I am sure you have other ideas that have worked for you. Please share them.

 

Blessings from Nancy

 

P.S. Do you know the song?

 

Joy is the flag flown high

From the castle of my heart

From the castle of my heart

From the castle of my heart

 

Joy is the flag flown high

From the castle of my heart

When the King is in residence there

 

(So) let it fly in the sky

Let the whole world know

Let the whole world know

Let the whole world know

 

(So) let it fly in the sky

Let the whole world know

That the King is in residence there.

 

Our young grandchildren love to sing this song. We remind them that when the queen or king is in his castle, they fly the flag so everyone knows they are in residence. Jesus, who is King of king’s lives in our hearts. We must fly the flag of joy to let everyone in the family and around us know that He is there! Look up the tune on the Internet if you don’t know it.

 

Why? Because they are preparing their children for life--to one day be the best employee in the company, to have good attitudes, to be a vessel ready to be used by God, and also to enjoy a happy and successful marriage. If we allow our children to grow up with negative habits, those habits will one day destroy their marriage.

 

In the same way God diligently works in our lives. His wants to conform us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). This certainly doesn’t happen without some serious working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul said to the Corinthians: “Our one prayer is for the complete correction of your lives” (2 Corinthians 13:9 Barclay). The KJV uses “perfection” for the word “correction.” I checked my Lexicon and it says the word “denotes a process in the progress.” This can only happen through correction of what is wrong in our lives.

 

We must always be open to God’s gentle correction. He uses many ways to do this. He speaks to us as we read His Word and shows us what grieves the Holy Spirit in our lives (Ephesians 4:27, 30). He uses other people to correct us (sometimes our husbands). We don’t usually like it, do we? But we must remember that it is ultimately God who wants to correct us and conform us into His image.

 

If we don’t listen to God speaking to us through His Word, or we don’t have a soft heart to receive correction from our husbands or other people, He often allows difficulties and trials to come our way to wake us up, refine us, and bring us into line with His will.

 

Let’s keep soft hearts, always open to correction. If our children are stubborn and do not receive our correction, they become willful and rebellious. It’s just the same with us. We either have soft and tender hearts to God’s correction in our lives or we become stubborn and rebellious.

 

The Amplified version talks about the “all-round strengthening and perfecting of the soul.” I want this, don’t you? It only comes through correction—for ourselves personally and in the training of our children.

 

Love from Nancy Campbell