Always building up; never tearing down. As we speak life, love, encouragement, kindness, and vision into our marriages and families each day we build strong families and ultimately a strong nation.
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
We read an amazing description of the bride of Christ in Song of songs 6:10: “Who is this that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY WITH BANNERS.”
This is not the picture we would equate with a bride, is it? But this is how God sees His church, the bride of Christ—and of the wife of a husband in the home.
This is a picture of an army marching to battle with their banners lifted high. They are not retreating. They are on the attack. They are a scary sight as they push back the enemy.
Let’s look at some other translations:
HCSB: “awe-inspiring as an army with banners.”
CJB: “formidable as an army marching under banners.”
ESV: “awesome as an army with banners.”
Banners are a sign of victory. They reveal what we believe and what we stand for. God is a banner holder. One of His salvation names is Jehovah-Nissi, The Lord is my banner (Exodus 17:15).
He wants us to hold up our banners too. Yes, we as wives and mothers in our homes must be banner holders. We hold up the banner of God’s truth in our homes. Holding it high. Never letting our banners fall to the ground. We are the transmitters of God’s truth to our children and this generation.
One of my favorite Scriptures is Psalm 60:4: “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be DISPLAYED because of the truth.”
Are you holding the banner of truth high mothers? This takes purpose, tenacity and strength. Never let the enemy grab your banner, carrying it off, and laughing in your face. Keep standing strong in this evil day and “having done all, stand” with your banner lifted high.
You are the protector of your home front. You are not cowardly hiding from the enemy. You are waving your banners high. You will not allow the enemy to come against your marriage, to woo your children from the truth, or to enter your home. The only way you see the enemy is a foe to be utterly defeated and routed.
Psalm 20:5: “In the name of our God, we will set up our banners.”
Psalm 84:16: “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?”
Let’s be banner waving mothers . . .
Holding up the banner of truth against all deception.
Holding up the banner of love against all bitterness and hate.
Holding up the banner of righteousness against all evil.
Holding up the banner of purity against all immorality and uncleanness.
Holding up the banner of unity against all dissension and strife.
Holding up the banner of contentment against all discontentment.
Holding up the banner of faithfulness against all faithlessness.
Holing up the manner of motherhood against all counterfeits of Satan.
Are you flying the banners of the Lord from your home?
Love from Nancy Campbell
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What a momentous job we have as wives and mothers. It’s no ordinary job. It’s the most powerful in the nation. One of our many great tasks is to be the peacemakers and to keep unity in the home. Wow, that’s not easy, is it? Sometimes we ourselves can be the cause of disunity!
What did Jesus say? “No house divided against itself will stand” (Matthew 12:25 ESV).
Here are a few more translations:
“A family splintered by feuding will fall apart” (NLT).
“Every household divided against itself will not survive” (CJB)
“Any household that is disunited cannot last” (Goodspeed).
Do you want your marriage to last? Do you want your home and family to stand together to the end? Here’s the answer. Guard your marriage. Keep the spirit of unity. Cultivate family togetherness. Work toward harmony. Romans 12:16 commands us to “Live in harmony with one another.”
Now that doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything! Colin and I don’t always agree about everything, but we don’t let that hinder our togetherness. My husband says, “We don’t have to agree with each other on everything; we just have to love one another.” Our grown children are independent and outspoken and sometimes have differing views. But that doesn’t hinder our unity together. In fact, we love discussions and debates together. We enjoy sharpening one another’s minds.
Therefore, even in our differences, we seek to keep unity. We seek to keep a good attitude. We keep forgiving. We keep loving. We forbear with one another. And most of all, endeavor to keep the unity.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
P.S. A good way to do this is to put into practice all the ONE ANOTHER Scriptures that God gives us in His Word (41 of them!). You can find these in 100 DAYS OF BLESSING, Volume 4. Available from www.aboverubies.org
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Ephesians 6:8 tells us: “Whatsoever GOOD thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive the Lord.”
Dear mother, I want to remind you that you are doing a GOOD work. God tells us in Titus 2-5 that the “GOOD” things the older women must teach the younger women are all about the home--loving your husband, loving your children, and being a keeper at home. When you embrace this lifestyle God planned for you, you are doing a GOOD work. When you nurse your baby, teach your children, prepare the meals, clean, and keep your house in order you are doing GOOD things.
1 Timothy 5:10 also describes the woman in the home--embracing and nurturing children, showing hospitality, and ministering to the needy. Once again it says these are “GOOD works.”
And what does God say when you do these good things? You receive your reward from the Lord. Be encouraged today. As you pour your life into building your marriage and your family, it is never wasted. God sees every effort. And you will not miss your eternal reward.
1 Corinthians 15:8: “Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye now that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Live in the joy of knowing you are doing a good work,
Nancy Campbell
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Do your children know God as real and personal in their lives? Many children grow up in “Christian” homes and yet never have a personal experience with Jesus Christ. They don’t get to know God in a personal way. And yet our God is a personal and relational God. He longs for fellowship with His people.One of the names that God calls Himself is “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Our God is the Creator of the world and yet He does not call Himself “the God of Creation.” He is the creator and upholder of the whole universe, but He doesn’t call Himself “The God of the Universe.” He calls Himself by the names of His covenant people.
As we read through the first book of the Bible, only two chapters tells us of the creation of the whole world. The rest of the book until chapter 50 is all about people—about His chosen servant, Abraham, and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This is our God. He is a family God. He says in Jeremiah 31:1: “I will be the God of ALL THE FAMILIES of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
When God introduced Himself to Moses out in the backside of the desert, He said: “I am the God of thy father (that would be Amram), the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
When God gave the commission to Moses to tell the Israelites back in Egypt that God was coming to deliver them, He told him in Exodus 3:15: “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is MY NAME FOREVER, and this is my memorial UNTO ALL GENERATIONS.”
He also wants to be your personal and family God. He longs to be your friend. He wants you to teach your children to be friends with God. God created us for His fellowship. Of course, we can’t be frie3nds with God if we have sin in our hearts as our sin separates us from God. That’s why He did to save us and free us the power of sin so we can enjoy fellowship with Him (Isaiah 59:2).
Don’t let your children grow up in your home without knowing God. Teach them who God is. Draw them close to Him so they will love Him with all their hearts and minds and souls and strength. Teach them to talk with Him and be friends with Him so they not only know about God but learn to know Him experientially.
I pray that God will be personal and real to you and in the lives of each one in your family.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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I was reading this morning of Paul’s passionate desire for the new believers in Thessalonica. He said to them: “You know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. We PLEADED with you, ENCOURAGED you, and URGED you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 NLT).
How does God want fathers (and I believe that includes the mothers) to treat their children? He doesn’t want them to take their parenting casually or complacently. No, it is full on and full time—ardently, diligently, and passionately pleading and urging your children to walk worthy of the Lord.
This is not only feeding and clothing our children. This is not sending them off to be educated by a liberal and socialist agenda that seeks to destroy our children and turn them away from their faith, this not living our own lives and hoping our children will make it.
This is full on intentional parenting! This is taking time every morning and evening to read God’s Word and pray with your children. This is diligently teaching them God’s word and His ways to your children throughout the day, on the road, when getting up and going to bed (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
We are living in an unprecedented hour when only six percent of Christians have a biblical worldview! This is the falling away of the church. And why? It comes back to the family. It comes back to the fathers and the mothers. We are the ones who are responsible to imbed God’s truths into the hearts and mouths of our children (Isaiah 59:21).
It’s time to wake up. It’s time to rise to a new level of parenting. We cannot take our children to church and hope for the best. We must night and day penetrate God’s laws into their hearts. Encouraging. Pleading. Imploring. Urging, Charging. And praying!
“Dear God and Father, we pray for a new spirit of parenting to arise in this land. Draw fathers and mothers back to their families. Give them a vision to passionately urge their children to prepare for the eternal world. Amen.”
This is the only thing that matters. We have been wondrously called into God’s kingdom. But also to glory! Nothing else is as important in this world than preparing ourselves for the glory that awaits us. Give your children a vision of the glory that awaits them if they will learn to live worthy of God in this world.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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We learn to do this more and more as wives and mothers, don’t we?Jesus first
Others second
Yourself last
Spells JOY.
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...the foundation of the nation. The state of the homes will be the state of the nation. This is not a time for mothers to vacate their homes; it’s time to build stable and loving and godly homes.
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I heard Tucker Carlson share on YouTube, asking everyone in this nation to pray for at least 10 minutes a day for this nation. This comes from a secular news anchor, not a pastor. We should be hearing this clarion call from pastors all over the nation.I believe it comes back to families. Family is the first institution God ordained and everything should begin in the family. Prayer should begin in the family. I believe it is the responsibility of every God-fearing family to pray for the nation. I know we are all grieved and concerned at the wickedness that is now openly displayed in this nation. How can we not cry out to God for His mercy and deliverance?
Can I encourage you, dear parents, to gather your family together night and morning to read God’s Word together and pray for this nation? Teach your children how to pray for the nation. God hears the prayers of children as much as adults. We not only do this every day in our home, but we also have two prayer meetings a week for the nation here on the Hilltop.
I wished I could have taken picture on Wednesday night at our prayer meeting at Sam and Serene’s home. Not only parents, but children and young people filled every space, even down to the little toddlers and babies going to sleep on the floor. Prayer is not just for adults. It’s for the whole family.
I am always challenged by this Scripture in Jeremiah 10:25: “Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name.” Wow, that’s powerful, isn’t it? If we as a family are not calling upon the name of the Lord, we may as well be a heathen family.
Just think of what could happen if every God-loving family began to intercede with their families each day for great repentance and revival in this nation. God has promised that He will hear our prayers. We all know 2 Chronicles 7:14 by heart, but are we doing it?
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and PRAY, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will HEAL THEIR LAND.”
Love and blessings from Nancy Campbell
Painting: “The Family at Prayer” by Haddon Sundblom
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Are you making it sweet? Have you said something very sweet to your husband today? Are you speaking sweetly to your children? You show the example for how your children willspeak. Build a sweet family, not a hedgehog family.
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Save Me, Lord Jesus, from living in the flesh,
For when I do, my life gets in a mess!
Help me, instead, to look to You,
And live in the Spirit all the day through.
Save me, Lord Jesus, from speaking in the flesh,
For when I do, everyone is depressed!
Touch my lips with fire from Your altar,
Pour Your Spirit upon me; I don’t want to falter.
Save me, Lord Jesus, from wanting my way,
I want to obey Your voice each moment of the day,
I want to trust You fully with every decision,
And rather than mine, I want your vision!
Help me, Lord Jesus, to give up my will,
Instead of demanding my own rights still!
Help me to yield my body and my mind,
To You, my Savior, so loving and kind.
Save me from groveling with selfishness,
I want to think like you think and to confess,
That your ways and thoughts are higher than mine
And with your thoughts I want to get into line!
I confess You are with me in each battle I face,
I don’t have to worry, for You fight in my place,
As long as I trust You with all of my heart,
I know Your presence will never depart.
Thank you, dear Lord Jesus, Amen.
Love from Nancy Campbell
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I am so challenged. Hebrews 9:1 (JBP) says: “Now the first Agreement had certain rules for the service of God, and it had a Sanctuary, A HOLY PLACE IN THIS WORLD FOR THE ETERNAL GOD.” This Scripture speaks of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle in the wilderness. God dwelt in His Shekinah glory in the Holy of Holies. It is the holy place God chose to dwell on the earth. No man could enter this sacred place, except the High Priest once a year. And he dared not enter without carrying the blood.However, when Jesus died and shed His own spotless blood, the thick curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place tore from top to bottom. It is now open. Now in the New Covenant God wants to dwell in our hearts. Our lives are now the Holy of Holies for Him to dwell.
Is this true? Unbelievable! But yes. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and You are not your own?” The word “temple” is “naos” which is the word for the “Holy of Holies.” The word “hieron” is the word for the temple, but “naos” refers to the Holy of Holies.
Can you get this? God has chosen you to be His residence, a Holy of Holies where He can dwell.
Because God is a holy God, He looks for holy people in which to dwell in this world. We as the people of God are to be a holy people. A set apart people. A sanctified people. A suitable vessel for God’s holiness. We cannot afford to be friends with the world. James 4:4: says “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
God is a holy God. The Bible states “holy” three times because once is not enough to describe His holiness (Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8). Therefore, God wants holy people. holy parents, holy homes, and holy children—yes, God wants us to raise “godly” children (Malachi 2:15). The word is “elohim,” one of God’s names. He wants children in His likeness filling this world. He wants holy families.
Let’s answer honestly: Are we a worldly family? Or are we a holy family?
Be encouraged today,
Nancy Campbell
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“I don’t know how we are going to survive. My husband doesn’t earn enough money to even pay our bills.”“We couldn’t possibly have any more children. We only just make it with what we have already.”
And so, we continually make negative statements. I was very challenged as I read Hebrews 3:12 the other morning: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an EVIL HEART OF UNBELIEF, in departing from the living God.”
We tend to think it is a light thing not to trust God, don’t we? We are all guilty of not trusting. Well, I admit, I am. We worry, fret, and try to work out our problems with our own understanding. But God calls it wicked! Ouch!
Why is it so wicked? Because it belittles God. We make him into a little god of our own imagination, a god that can fit in with our finite thinking. But God is so much bigger. His ways are so much higher. His thoughts are beyond finding out.
In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus told us to pray “Deliver us from evil.” This is the exact same word (poneros) as the “evil” heart of unbelief. We must ask God to deliver us from this lack of trust.
Ephesians 6:16 encourages us to take up the shield of faith so we will be “able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (poneros).” It’s the same Greek word again. With the shield of faith and the power of the name of Jesus we must quench these evil thoughts of unbelief. Evil? Yes, God calls them evil!
Let’s get to the nitty gritty in order understand the seriousness of our lack of trust in our God. Satan is called “the wicked one.” It’s the same word again. When we embrace belief, and make it part of our life instead of trusting God, we give access to the devil, who is the wicked one, and wants to keep us in unbelief.
Romans 12:9 tells us that attitude we must have to this evil: “Abhor that which is evil.” Same word again!
Let’s be like the women of old who “trusted in God” even I the most difficult circumstances (1 Peter 3:5).
Love from Nancy Campbell
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I have been thinking of the blessedness of motherhood. Yes, along with the blessedness is hard work and heartache. However, I believe that the devil robs mothers of the joys and glory of motherhood. Because God ordained motherhood and created us for this high purpose, the devil hates it. He hates what God mandates. He feeds us with lies to think we are wasting our lives when in fact, we are fulfilling the very perfect will of God. When we embrace motherhood, we are on Gods side.No other woman can compare with the highest favor that was ever given to a woman, a young teenager named Mary, who was privileged to carry the Son of God in her womb. The angel called her “highly favored” in Luke 1:28 and 30. This privilege was given to only one woman in the whole of history.
However, each time a new baby is conceived in a womb, it is also a God moment. It is God who gives the conception. It is God who creates this new, precious life in the womb—a life that has never lived before and there will never be anyone like this one again. And because God gives life and loves life, His favor is also upon every pregnant woman.
In the original Greek, the word for “highly favored” is “charitoo.” This word was never used before the New Testament! It means “to be accepted, to give grace to.” It was God’s grace to Mary to receive the privilege to carry Jesus in her womb. It is also God’s grace to us to carry a life in our womb.
Dear mother, don’t be deceived by the lies of the world and society around you. There is no higher mission you can do in your life than to carry a new human being, and more truthfully, an eternal soul in your womb.
Embrace the blessedness. Embrace the truth. Live in the joy of it. Live in the glory of it. Lift up your head for you are doing something eternal. Everything else you do in life will be left behind, but you will take this precious child into the eternal realm with you if you are faithful to lead him/her to salvation.
What an amazing assignment. You are giving a child the opportunity and privilege to experience the glory of eternity with Christ forever. It’s only in the “forever glory” that you will truly understand the enormity and power of carrying a child in your womb.
Be blessed,
Nancy Campbell
Painting “Waiting for the birth” by Marco Ortolan, Argentina (Oil on
Wood).
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When you hear about some who “walks with God” you imagine someone who walks a godly life and who does great things for God. You think, “I wish I could walk with God like that but I’m just mothering children in my home. I don’t have time to do anything special for God.”The opposite is true. To walk with God is to raise children. Two times the Bible says that “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:21, 22). The full Scripture says: “Enoch walked with God . . . and begat sons and daughters.” Here is a man who had such a wonderful relationship with God that he didn’t even die. “God took him.” The NLT renders it: “Enoch lived 365 years, WALKING IN CLOSE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.”
Dear mother, God wants you to walk in close fellowship with Him as you mother your children. You are not doing this great job on your own. God is with you. Every moment. When you are doing the most mundane tasks. When you are doing the same tasks repeatedly each day. Not one chore is insignificant. Each one is sacred because He is with you and abides in you.
No matter how you feel. God is with you. He is Emmanuel, GOD WITH US! Your feelings are not facts. They come and go and change with the wind. But the real truth is that whatever is happening, good or bad, GOD IS WITH YOU!
Acknowledge His presence with you. Thank Him that He is with you. Thank Him that you are in His perfect will as you mother your children. Rejoice that He is with you. Thank Him for every little blessing that happens—a smile from one of your children, the adoring look of your baby as you nurse him at the breast, food to prepare for lunch and supper, your husband who provides for you, and on and on. Bring every little sigh to Him. Don’t take one burden on yourself because He is with you to carry your burdens and He is so much better at it that you. He is bigger than every problem you face.
God delights to be with you in your home. He created you for the home. He created you for motherhood. He planned each son and daughter He has given to you and He is with you to help you raise them for His glory. He wants to walk with you and He wants you to walk with Him in close relationship just like Enoch did, all the while you are raising sons and daughters.
Be encouraged today,
Nancy Campbell
Painting by William Sergeant Kendall.
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Dear Canadian readers,Forgive me. It has just come to my attention that the new email address for all Canadian changes is wrong in the current magazine. I was meant to change it and somehow omitted to do so. Naughty me!
Please make note of the change. The new address to add a new address, give a change of address, or to make a cancelation is as follows:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you have sent any changes to Marie at the old address, they will be lost! They will not have got to her. Can you please send them again? Make a note of this address for the future.
Marie Ferreira does an amazing job in upkeeping the Canadian data base and she wants to make sure she keeps it correct. Marie Ferreira has been faithfully doing this for years and I am so grateful for her love and faithfulness to the ministry of Above Rubies.
So, here it is again:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
P.S. To send donations for Above Rubies in Canada, contact Anita Johnson: PO BOX 68, KRONAU, SK, S0G 2T0 / E-transfer: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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We either yield to our flesh and our feelings or we yield to the life of Christ who dwells within in us. “It is no longer I that liveth, but Christ who liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Repost from my friend, Rosa Brandt.
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...a miserable atmosphere. Fill your home with joy, happiness, and a thankful heart instead. Show thankfulness to your husband. Be thankful for your children. Encourage a thankful and grateful spirit in the home, starting with yourself!
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Satisfying, supplying, succoring, serving, supporting, strengthening, sheltering, sustaining, showering, and saving from harm.
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