Dear precious mother, I know that sometimes you feel like a failure. Sometimes you wonder if you are accomplishing anything as you are hidden in your home raising your little ones, middling ones, and big ones! I want to remind you that you are not wasting your life. You are in the perfect will of God and you are in the most powerful career in the nation. You are determining the destiny of this nation, and nations or the world.
I want to remind you of the ENORMITY of what you are doing. Be faithful. Embrace your calling. Put your whole heart and soul into it for one day you will get to see how your children will touch the lives of so many people for God and His truth.
I have always loved to pin quotes, Scriptures verses, poems, and powerful statements on the wall for my children to read and be inspired. Many years ago, when most of them were late teens, I posted some words on the boys' bathroom where we lived in Australia at the time: "Australia waits to see what will come out of 18 Welby Street."
Not only did Australia wait to see, but the world. I thought of this again this morning as I realized that we now have over 48,000 people on our ABOVE RUBIES Facebook (although I am looking forward to reaching out to many more than 480,000!). But, then I checked some of my children's Facebooks. Our daughters, Serene and Pearl of TRIM HEALTHY MAMA now have well over 100,000 on their Facebook. Then I checked the NEWSBOYS, owned and managed by our sons, Wes and Steve, and they have 1.2 million on their Facebook (I'd secretly like to beat the Newsboys!). Wes was also the inspirer of the recent movie, "God's Not Dead"!
Apart from the other members of our family who are also touching many people for God through their daily lives, this one little family is reaching out to millions across the world--AND WE'VE HARDLY STARTED YET! Get ready, world.
Dear mother, lift up your head. Put a smile on your face. Stir resolution again in your heart. You can never imagine now what will happen with your children, too. Be ready for surprises. Be ready to REAP THE REWARD OF YOUR FAITHFUL MOTHERING, nurturing, and daily imparting of God's truth to your children.
Much love from your older mother, Nancy Campbell
A Piece of Trivia: When Serene and Pearl were thinking of a name for their Publishing Company, they decided on WELBY STREET PRESS.
Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Do you always seem to be facing some challenge? Forever going through a difficulty? You can't pay your bills? Can I share a little secret with you? It's actually Paul's secret. He was constantly facing hardships, beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments, and suffering, but what was his confession? "Always 'going through it' yet never 'going under'" (2 Corinthians 6:9 JBP).
He goes on to say in verse 10, "We know sorrow, yet our joy is inextinguishable. We have 'nothing to bless ourselves with' yet we bless many others with true riches. We are penniless, and yet in reality we have everything worth having."
No matter what you are going through, you don't have to go under. Well, you may, if you trust in yourself and your own resources. But, when you put your trust in God, He will not fail you. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5-6). He is bigger than your difficulties. No problem is too big for Him to handle. Trust Him.
Trust Him when dark days assail thee,
Trust Him when thy faith is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him
Is the hardest thing of all.
When all seems dark around you, the Lord will be your light. Even in the raging torrent He says to you, "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee" (Isaiah 41:10). Even if you fall, you still can't go under. His everlasting arms are waiting to catch you and hold you (Deuteronomy 33:27).
Love from Nancy Campbell
Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatsoever ye do in WORD or DEED, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
This Scripture doesn't give us any way out, does it? All day long I am to be a walkie talkie for God. In my home. In my kitchen. Whatever I say and whatever I do. Whatever I say to my husband. Whatever I say to my children. Every time I open my mouth, I speak on His behalf. Glorifying His name all day long.
No task is too demeaning when we do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Washing dishes, doing laundry, scrubbing floors, and tending to children are sacred tasks when we do them in the name of the Lord.
Every day we walk. We walk in our home. We walk up and down the aisles of the supermarket. We walk to places we want to go. Every step we take we take in the name of the Lord. This makes our walking supernatural. Instead of being insignificant, every step we take can be divinely anointed. What an exciting way to live.
1 John 2:7 says, "He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked." Am I walking how Jesus walked in my home today? I am talking how Jesus talked in my home today?
As you walk each step with Him, acknowledge that He is walking with you. When He is walking with you, you can expect miracles to happen at any moment. Walk with expectancy.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
After sharing the prayer for pregnancy yesterday, some ladies requested a prayer for infertility. Oh yes, how I love to pray for you. I know the ache and yearning in your heart is so strong, sometimes it is unbearable. You are not strange for feeling this way. It is God-ordained. God created the womb to cry out for life (Proverbs 30:15-16). Here is a prayer for you to pray. Although once again, I would encourage you to ask your husband to lay his hands upon your womb and pray over you every day. Your husband is your covering and God hears his prayers on your behalf. The prayers of a husband are powerful.
"Dear Father, the Life-giver, You know the yearning and ache in my heart for a baby. I cry out to You to fill my womb with life.
Please cleanse my womb. I confess any negative word I have ever spoken over my womb or my female cycle. I renounce any negativity over my womb that could have come from past generations on both my mother's and father's side.
I ask that You will clear my fallopian tubes. Please heal every part of my womb. Make it ripe and ready to receive conception. I wait in anticipation. I come to you in faith, acknowledging that You are the one who gives life. I will keep trusting You and never give up hope.
And I yield myself to Your sovereign will. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Love from Nancy
Pray this prayer over your precious baby growing in your womb. Even better, pray together with your husband. Ask him to lay his hands upon your womb and pray over you every day of your pregnancy. If you have a friend who is pregnant, pray this prayer for them.
"Father, I thank You for filling my womb with life. I know this precious little baby comes from You and has been destined by You from the beginning of the world. I thank You for this miracle growing inside me, in the "secret place" of my womb. I thank you that You are giving this little baby to us as a gift, but also as a gift for the world. We can't wait to see another image of Yourself come forth into this world and the plans You have for this child.
We ask you, Father, in Jesus' name, to hedge our little baby about with Your mighty protection. Watch over this little one each day as You intricately create him/her in the hidden sanctuary of the womb. We ask for Your divine health and that you will sustain me in good health and vitality throughout this whole pregnancy.
I ask that You will fill me with Your joy and that everyone will see the glory of God upon me as I nurture this precious life within me. Thank You again for this amazing miracle and for giving us an eternal soul that will live forever. It is awesome to think that I am part of something eternal.
I pray that You will keep this baby growing in the womb until FULL TERM and this baby will come forth in Your perfect timing.
In Jesus' name. Amen."
Great miracles don't always happen in the open. Jesus, the Son of the God of Glory was conceived in the hidden place of the womb. This divine miracle happened in "the secret place" which is the term God uses for the womb (Psalm 139:15). The angel Gabriel told her that the Holy Ghost would come upon her and "thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS" (Luke 1:31). Although this conception was hidden, Jesus came forth to be revealed to the world as Savior and Deliverer.
It is similar with every conception. It doesn't take place in the open for everyone to see. God's handiwork (for only God gives conception) takes place in the recesses of the home and in the womb, the hidden part of the woman.
But, this miracle doesn't stay hidden. Children are born who will one day come forth from the home to reveal God's image in the earth.
In Psalm 128:3 God also gives the picture of the wife in the heart of the home (the Hebrew word means "the recesses, the inner part.") Is this because she is insignificant? No, it's because she is dwelling in her glory. God uses the same word "recesses" to describe the wife in the home as He does for the "inner sanctuary" of the temple where He dwelt in His Shekinah Glory (1 Kings 6:16)..
From the recesses comes forth great miracles and "sharpened and polished arrows" to change the world.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
To which kingdom do you belong? God's kingdom is a kingdom of life, love, light, and liberty. Satan's kingdom is one of lies, deception, death, and destruction. He is a murderer! That's what Jesus said in John 8:44, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth; because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it."
Because he is a murderer, no wonder he is the mastermind behind birth control, sterilization, and abortion. His plan is to stamp out life before it is conceived, but abort it if it is conceived.
The Scriptures tell us that the Father has "delivered us from the authority of darkness and transferred us into the reign of the Son of His love " (Colossian 1:13). Therefore, is it right to live in His kingdom and still adhere to the principles of the old kingdom? Don't you think we should be loyal subjects of God's kingdom?
Can we confess one thing and do another? We have to decide whose kingdom we belong to. If we truly belong to God's kingdom we must stand with life because God is a God of life. He is originator of life. He loves life and loves every new baby that is conceived.
If we side with terminating life, or even hindering life before it is conceived, we can't be a hypocrite. We must confess that we side with the enemy and therefore are not loyal subjects of His kingdom.
Blessings from Nancy
Enjoy a thankful day today, not only toward God, but toward your husband and your children. A heart of thankfulness is a contented heart.
Love, NANCY
We love it when our children look like us, don't we? We want them to show resemblance to our features and personality. Who is she or he most like, Daddy or Mommy? We always hope it's "me." This is a God-given desire. God Himself wants children in His family likeness. That's why He created us in His image.
Although this image was destroyed through sin, God is so intent on having His family likeness, that He sent His own beloved Son to die for our sins and redeem us back again to Himself. He not only redeemed with His precious blood but comes to dwell in our hearts by His Spirit to conform us to His image. Romans 8:29 tells us that the purpose of our redemption is "to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
Jesus is the firstborn son, but God wants many more sons who wear the family likeness. Are we allowing Him to conform us and mold us to His image? Or, do we want to stay the same? Would we rather keep our stubborn will? It takes daily dying to the flesh to allow the Holy Spirit to make us more like Him (Romans 12:1-2).
Hebrews 2:10 tells us that because of Jesus' suffering and death He is "bringing many sons unto glory." Do the people around us recognize that we are one of God's sons? Do they see the family likeness?
Nancy
With one little member of your body you can light a fire for God in the hearts of everyone in your home or set them on a course destruction (James 3:2-12). With one little member you can minister life or death to those you speak to each day (Proverbs 18:21). With one little member you can build up your marriage or destroy it (Proverbs 14:1).
With one little member you can change the atmosphere in your home, melt your husband to pieces, determine the destiny of your children, and inspire and encourage everyone you meet.
You know what it is, of course. Your tongue.
Proverbs 16:24 says, "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." Positive and lovely words actually make your bones healthy. They keep you filled with life and vitality or miserable and in poor health. Your words have power to bring health to your husband and children.
The Hebrew word for “health” is "marpe" and means, “a medicine, curative, therapeutic and healing, and a source of vitality.” It's the same word in Proverbs 12:18, “The tongue of the wise is health (marpe).”
It's the same again in Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome (marpe) tongue is a tree of life.” God wants your tongue to be a healing tongue—healing wounds, hurts, insecurities, resentments, and estrangements. Your healing words are the best doctor's prescription you can give to your family members. They work much better than drugs!
Will you ask God to fill your tongue with loving, joyful, positive, and healing words today.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
I love the story where Jesus comes alongside the two disciples who were walking dejectedly back to their home in Emmaus. They were disillusioned. They thought Jesus would have delivered them from the tyranny of the Romans. But, now he was dead.
The resurrected Jesus draws near and begins to talk to them. They don't know who He is but as He reveals God's plan for a Savior from the Old Testament Scriptures their hearts "burned" within them. Later, after they recognized Him, "They said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?" (Luke 23:32). Their hearts were actually "on fire."
Robert J. Karris talks how Jesus "seared their hearts." I love this thought, too. When an animal is branded with the name of the ranch to which it belongs, the name is seared into their skin so all will know who is their owner.
Ask Jesus to draw near to you. As you meditate on the Scriptures, ask the Holy Spirit to sear them into your heart and mind so they will become flesh and blood in your life. You will be so indelibly branded with His Word, that wherever you go and whatever you do, all will know to whom you belong! You will be so identified with His truth that you will always recognize deception. Your heart will be so seared with the revelation of His truth that all other pursuit of knowledge will seem empty.
And what about your precious children? Are you daily penetrating God's Word into their hearts that they will also be seared with His truth? So much so that nothing--either conflict, disappointment, persecution, or opposition--will ever cause them to turn away from their unflinching commitment to Christ and His truth.
Love from Nancy Campbell
What is the atmosphere like in your home? Is it filled with bickering, arguments, criticisms, and complaining? Or, is it filled with the sweet presence of Christ?
God wants us to live in an atmosphere of His sweet presence, just as He wanted His priests to live in the aroma of a sweet anointing in the tabernacle. The recipe for the incense in the holy place was to be made of SWEET spices that were to be tempered until they were PURE and HOLY (Exodus 30:34-38).
2 Corinthians 2:14 WEB says that Christ "reveals through us the SWEET AROMA of his knowledge in every place." Did you notice that it says "IN EVERY PLACE"? That means your home. That means in your kitchen. That means when the baby is crying, the toddler is having a fit, the pots are boiling over on the stove, and your husband is demanding your attention right now!
It doesn't matter what is happening in your life, Christ lives in you and His attitude is SWEET! Therefore, when you yield to His Spirit, you will be sweet! You can't do it in your own strength, but only as you acknowledge His sweet presence in you.
I love J. B. Phillips' translation, "Thanks be unto God who leads us, WHEREVER WE ARE, on his own triumphant way and makes our knowledge of him spread through the world like a lovely perfume! We Christians have the UNMISTAKABLE 'SCENT' OF CHRIST." Unmistakable!
Do your children recognize the sweet scent of Christ upon you? Does your husband smell this lovely perfume? I face the challenge, too.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
What kind of a table do you have in your home? Round or rectangular? Old and shaky? Or, shiny and brand new? It really doesn't matter what it looks like but the important thing is what happens around your table. Your table is the most central piece of furniture in your home.
Did you know that God loves tables? And do you know where they originated? Did you know they go back even further than the Bible?
Yes, they originate in heaven! They are God's idea. God has a table in His heavenly kingdom. When Jesus spoke to His disciples of His home in heaven, He promised them that one day they would "eat and drink at my table in my kingdom" (Luke 22:30). Check out Matthew 8:11 and Luke 13:29, too.
God's picture of a family focuses on them sitting around the table. I like the Living Bible translation of Psalm 128:3, "Your wife shall be contented in your home. And look at all those children! There they sit around the dinner table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees."
Where are the children? Not sitting in front of TV. Not eating on the run. They are all together around the table. And this next verse says, "Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord."
It's a picture of the heavenly kingdom. What a blessing to make our homes a taste of heaven on earth now.
Nancy
What do you love to do when you get together with other believers? What do you love to talk about it?
Malachi 3:16 says, "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name."
This Scripture is a beautiful picture of the saints fellowshipping together. Not gossiping together, but discussing God's Word and sharing testimonies with one another of His goodness and daily mercies to us.
I am always excited to learn more of the Scriptures and love to hear what others are discovering.
"What has God been saying to you lately?" I will sometimes ask. Blank stares. No reply.
"What book are you reading in the Bible at present?" Once again there is no reply.
We are always eager to talk about what is on our heart, aren't we? Therefore if we are thinking about the Lord, don't you think we'll want to talk about Him? As we receive new understanding from reading God's Word each day, we'll be keen to share it. So, why the silence?
Surely, as believers, we are not talking more about movies, concerts, shopping, clothes, and anything but God and His Word.
Will our pages in God's Book of Remembrance be blank, or are we filling them up?
Blessings to you today from Nancy Campbell
We don't see as many people being born again today as we used to see, do we? I don't know the reason, but I wonder about a couple of things. Could one reason be that the majority of God's people refuse to have natural babies and therefore God is holding back spiritual babies?
1 Corinthians 15:46 tells us that the natural comes before the spiritual. God not only wants to bless us with a great spiritual harvest of souls, but with the blessing of babies, too. How can there be a harvest of souls if there are not natural souls to harvest? And how can there be a great harvest of souls if we haven't brought forth the laborers to harvest the vineyards that are ready to harvest?
Could another reason relate to the lifestyle of the early church?
In Acts 2:46-47 it tells us that the believers continued DAILY in breaking bread with one another in their homes. They did not live to themselves but freely opened their homes in hospitality.
What's our modern lifestyle? Do we show hospitality once a year, once every few months, or once a week? What about daily? Maybe this would also make a difference to souls being saved. The fruit of the early church lifestyle was that as they daily opened up their homes "the Lord added to the church DAILY such as should be saved."
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
One of the beautiful Hebrew words in the Bible is ta' anuwg and it means "delightful, lovely, precious, cherished, pleasant." This word is used in three different ways about family life.
1) The love of a husband and wife. In Song of Solomon 7:6 NLT the husband says to his wife, "Oh, how beautiful you are! How pleasing my love, how full of delights!" Why is she so delightful? Because she takes time to make herself delightful and pleasant to her husband.
2) A mother's love for her children. Micah 1:16 ESV God calls them "the children of your delight" Our children are to be "loved," "cherished," and "fondled." They are too precious to give to someone else to care for, aren't they? We treasure them enough to take this responsibility ourselves.
3). A woman's love for her home. Micah 2:9 ESV says, "The women of my people you drive out from their delightful houses." God was angry with those who would evict women from "the homes they love" (GNB). It is inherently within us to love our home. It is how God created us. Adam was created before God created the Garden of Eden, but He had the home waiting for Eve (Genesis 2:7-8, 18-22).
And what did God call His first home? Eden means "delightful." God wants us to make our homes delightful--a delightful place for His presence, for our husband, and children. And why would we want to leave our delightful homes? Why would we forsake something we love for something lesser?
Be blessed today, Nancy Campbell
My little four-year old granddaughter, Breeze (Serene's daughter) has just run into my office dressed up as a princess, twirling around with happiness as she shows me her dress. In fact, all the little granddaughters love to dress up. They run to the dress-up box when they come to my home and never fail to dress up as princesses. It's inherently within them to do this. It's a God-given instinct.
Breeze loves to wear princess dresses every day of the year, even at home. One night at their dinner table the subject got on to marriage. Breeze's sister, Cherish leaned over to Breeze and said, "Breeze, one day your prince is going to come to daddy and ask him for your hand in marriage."
Her eyes lit up with wonder. But then she looked down. "But, I can't be wearing this dress," she exclaimed and began to describe the princess dress and jewelry she would wear and how she would do her hair!
As we get older, we succumb to the fashion of this world. We become victims of culture. However, no matter how we change our style, let's always remember that we are daughters of the "blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1Timothy 6:15).
Because we are born in His image, we are stamped with royalty. We are representatives of a royal kingdom. Therefore, let's seek to speak, walk, dress, and act like one who belongs to His holy, glorious, and royal kingdom.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
I recently read that 47 percent of Christian women do not believe we should put emphasis on the roles of marriage and motherhood. I beg your pardon? What has happened to our Christian society that they no longer think like the Bible? In the first few Chapters of Genesis God establishes His plan for mankind which includes both marriage and motherhood.
I know that all women will not marry, but some of the greatest examples of mothers are women who have never married or born children. We immediately think of Mother Theresa, Corrie Ten Boom, Gladys Aylward, Mary Slessor, Amy Carmichael and the list goes on--women who embraced their motherly anointing. They poured out their lives to nurture and mother the hurting and needy and in turn were totally fulfilled women.
God only made two species of humankind--male and female. He didn't make two Adams to both do the same job. That would have been superfluous. He gave male and the female a different assignment each and they both fit together perfectly.
If we are female, we should seek to embrace our femaleness. To do anything else is a waste of our life. The more we reveal our "femaleness" the more we give glory to God our Creator.
Let's be fully who God created us to be.
Nancy
There was once a Shakespearean actor who was known everywhere for his one-man show of readings and recitations from the classics. He would always end his performance with a dramatic reading of Psalm 23.
Each night, without exception, as the actor began his recitation, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want," the crowd would listen attentively. And then, at the conclusion of the psalm, they would rise in thunderous applause in appreciation of the actor's incredible ability to bring the verse to life.
But one night, just before the actor was to offer his customary recital of Psalm 23, a young man from the audience spoke up. "Sir do you mind if tonight I recite Psalm 23? "The actor was quite taken back by this unusual request, but he allowed the young man to come forward and stand front and center on the stage to recite the psalm, knowing that the ability of this unskilled youth would be no match for his own talent.
With a soft voice, the young man began to recite the words of the psalm. When he was finished, there was no applause. There was no standing ovation as on other nights. All that could be heard was the sound of weeping.
The audience had been so moved by and amazed by what he had heard, the actor said to the youth, "I don't understand. I have been performing Psalm 23 for years. I have a lifetime of experience and training, but I have never been able to move an audience as you have tonight. Tell me, what is your secret?
"The young man humbly replied, "Well sir, you know the psalm, but I know the Shepherd."
~ Unknown.
The Lord is my Pacesetter. I shall not rush.
He makes me to lay down my worries and rest in His love.
He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency through calmness of mind and His guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day, I will not fret, for His presence is with me.
His timelessness, His all-importance, will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my mind with His oils of tranquility.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for I shall walk in the pace of My Lord and dwell in His house forever.