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.

Strengthening Families Across the World through the encouragement of women in their high calling from God as wives, mothers and homemakers.

STAY AT HOME DADS

StayHomeDadsIn response to my post below, BE PROUD OF YOUR CALLING, a mother asks: “And what about the dads? Aren't they able to be a 'stay-at-home-dad' while 'mommy' works?”

This is becoming more accepted in our humanistic society. However, it is the opposite to God’s plan for men and women. God created the woman to be the nurturer, nourisher, and nestbuilder of the home. He created the man to be the provider, protector, and priest of the home.

When a mother, to whom God has graciously and miraculously given children, leaves her children in a daycare, or even with their father, to pursue a fulltime career out of the home, she denies who God created her to be. When a father refrains from taking up his responsibility to provide for the home, he denies who he is as a man!

The only way you can accept this state of affairs is if you have a humanistic and progressive mindset. You cannot accept it if you have a biblical worldview.

God gives a warning to men in 1 timothy 5:8: “If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” Take notice that these words were spoken to men, not to women.

Two verses onwards, God speaks about the woman and gives a description of the lifestyle He has planned for her: “Well reported of for good works; if she has brought up children (FIRST ON GOD’S LIST), if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed very good work” (1 Timothy 5:10). It is a picture of a mother ministering to her children first and then opening her doors in hospitality and reaching out to the needy around her. Her ministry is in her home.

The picture God gives of the wife in Psalm 128 is of her in the heart of her home with her children all around her table (Psalm 128:3). The picture God gives of the wife in the New Testament is of her being a keeper at home, ministering to the needs of her children and managing her home (1 Timothy 2:15).

To accept the reversal of roles, we must be brainwashed in some way. Why? Because it is opposite to nature. God has not invested in men the same maternal anointing He put in women. Yes, fathers love their children, but they do it in a different way to mothers. They have a strong instinct to protect their children. They want to provide for their children, but they cannot “mother” their children, especially babies and little ones. They are anointed to “father’ their children. And children need both mothering and fathering.

Babies and toddlers need the comfort of their mother’s breasts. Breastfeeding is tied up with motherhood. Scientific studies reveal that the more frequently a mother breastfeeds her baby the more motherly and nurturing she becomes. The hormones release the mothering hormones. A man does not have the same hormones God gives to mothers.

God has also put within women a love for home, unless of course it is brainwashed out of her by our education system, the media, and the deception of our progressive society. A man is not cut out for the finer touches of the home and to making a home feel like a home. He was created to go out and to provide. To work hard for his family.

And what about the following generations? The greatest teaching we give our children is our example. They watch what we do. They observe our roles. When we reverse the roles, they grow up confused. What happens to society? As more men stay home and more women enter the work force, there will be less and less children born. A career woman who is fulltime providing for the family does not have time to have children. Already we are being overtaken by the Islamic population who surpass us. Our average is only 1.8 children per family. Their average is 6.8 per family.

And God’s very first commandment carries with it a mandate for dominion (Genesis 1:28). Those who are fruitful and multiply will be those who take dominion. We see this already happening in Europe.

Let’s stop this ridiculous deception now--for the sake of our families now and for the sake of future generations.

Be blessed,

Nancy Campbell

Painting by Holly Irwin.

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A TODDLER’S HANDS

ToddlesHandsKristin wrote this poem after a long day of chasing her toddler. She says: “I'm not able to get much done during the day with a toddler and preschooler around the house, but I try to remind myself that this season will soon be past.”

A TODDLER’S HANDS
Busy hands throughout the day,
Pulling, grabbing, while you play.
Exploring hands that spill and break,
Beginning from the time you wake.

Active hands that like to throw,
Little hands that’re sure to grow.
Tugging hands there at my skirt,
Reaching hands for love when hurt.

Tired hands in blankets tight,
Quiet hands throughout the night.
Waking hands that tie my feet,
They slow me down--my goals defeat.

But though your hands sure wear me out,
I wouldn’t want to do without.

~ Kristin Eason from Missouri is blessed with five children: Emma (16), Rylan (13), Ellie (8), Nathan (4), and Elizabeth (1).

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BE PROUD OF YOUR CALLING!

BeProudDear mother in the home, beloved of the Lord,
Your power as a mother cannot be ignored,
You are the heart and the queen of your home,
Making it a haven so your children won't roam.

As you nurture and teach your children each day,
Discipline, train, and watch over their play,
May your heart fill with joy and overflow with love
That God gave you these “gifts” from heaven above.

Each precious child is a “blessing” from the Lord,
No longer will you ever have time to be bored!
You have the greatest career in all of the land
As you teach your children to heed God's command.

Lift up your head; be proud of your calling,
It’s an eternal work, totally enthralling!
I know you often feel tired and worn,
But claim God's promise, His truth He has sworn.

"The joy of the Lord is your strength," God has stated
Whatever He’s promised cannot be negated!
As you shine with His joy, you'll be a beacon to all
That embracing God’s children is His will and call.

Don't be intimidated by those who ignore God's way,
Who limit their children and leave them each day,
As you receive God's “rewards” and at home with them stay
You’ll be a light to save others from going astray.

Your sweet, gentle spirit is precious in God's sight,
As you serve in your home with all of your might
You reveal the spirit of Jesus your King
Who showed by example to serve in everything.

May God bless you and strengthen you each new morn,
May you know His faithfulness with each new dawn,
May God's presence be with you in a mighty measure
As you train your “arrows” for God's purpose and pleasure.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Painting: “Tender Affection” by Georges Moreau de Tours (1848 – 1901, French).

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THE BREATHTAKING PRIVILEGE

BreathtakingPriv

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YOUR NEEDED NOW

SecularCareerismMothers you, are needed by your children. Be available to them now. They grow up so quickly.

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WITHOUT MOTHERS . . . .

WithoutMothersMothers are needed in their homes.
It is God's plan for them to raise their children in their homes.
They are the heart of their home.
They are the pulsating life of their home.
They are the anchor of their home.
Be blessed in your home today!

~ Nancy Campbell

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YOU ARE YOUR CHILDREN’S BEST TEACHER

BestTeacherFurther to my post below, I know you will be blessed by also reading this article:

http://tinyurl.com/yabpghxg
~ Nancy

Painting by J. Brickey

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A MOTHER’S ANOINTING

MothersAnointingI think that many parents are not aware of the true agenda of our current public school system which is to indoctrinate our children with their progressive agenda. They now teach Islam in schools. They now teach the gay agenda. They now teach alternative sex education. And that’s only the top of the iceberg.

And yet parents say it wasn’t like that when I was at school. What about grandparents? They can’t imagine it being different to when they were at school. But it’s time to wake up to what’s happening now. How can God-fearing parents send their children into this godless place to be educated?

I hear many mothers say they are concerned, but would never be able to teach their children themselves. They undermine their God-given abilities. God has put an anointing in mothers to teach their children. It is ingrained in them. They do it automatically. They teach their children naturally about life and knowledge before they ever send them off to school.

Who do you think is the best teacher? Job 36:22 asks the rhetorical question: “Who teaches like Him?” Of course, the answer is God. There is no teacher greater than Him? But now I want to ask you another question. Who dwells in your heart? Doesn’t God dwell within you by the power of His Holy Spirit? The greatest teacher in the universe lives inside of you? He enables you to teach.

What is the purpose of God’s teaching? Isaiah 48:17 says: “I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” God’s teaching profits us. It leads us in the right way. The Hebrew word is ya’al and means “to ascend, set forward, valuable, useful.” God’s teaching doesn’t leave us in the same place. It takes us forward. It’s always ascending, taking us upward, leading us more and more into God’s ways (Proverbs 4:18), and conforming us into the image of Christ.

This is the heart and passion you have for your children. You want them to move forward in God’s ways, His knowledge, His wisdom, and in preparation for God’s destiny upon their lives. Is this the vision of public school? No, they have an agenda that is opposite to God and His ways. It is anti-God, anti-family, and anti-righteousness. Why would you send your precious children to receive this kind of education (Psalm 1:1)?

You have far more anointing and ability to teach your children. God is in you. His anointing to teach is in you. You have the right motive for teaching. You want your children to ascend, not descend into the ways of the enemy. You can do it. You are the one who will inspire them in the way they should go.

The next verse (v. 18) says: “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” If we do it God’s way, we and our children will be blessed. And did you notice the exclamation mark? The Bible exclamation mark, not mine!

Be inspired today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting: “A Gift of Time” by Jim Daley

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BUILDING GODLY DYNASTIES

CareersDieWe do not live for ourselves or only for this generation. We are influenced by those gone before and we determine the future of the next and future generations. What are we passing on? What is our legacy? How will our lives influence the generations to come? And eternity?

~ Nancy Campbell

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DELAYED OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE

DelayedObObedience is a very important principle in training our children. Rather than training children to obey immediately, many parents teach them to obey when they are telling them for the tenth time and are now shouting!

You decide! First time or tenth time? God's way or your way?

However, this principle also relates to us as parents. Do we obey God the first time He speaks to us? Do we respond to Him immediately when He speaks to us from His Word?

By the way, how do our children see our attitude toward our husband? Do we obey him and respond to him or do we have an indifferent and rebellious attitude?

Not only are we responsible to train our children to obey, but we also show them by example.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING?

BuildingWhatI have a dear friend who literally built her own home. Her husband worked full time and earned the money, but because she was at home with her little baby, she decided she may as well build the home. With the advice of her father and studying building books she did it! She built this beautiful five-bedroom two-storied home which she and her family continue to live in today. And now she is a grandmother!

Lois Jordan was the design artist for Above Rubies back in the beginning days, forty years ago! I would often have to call her down from the roof to do some art work when we were working on a new magazine.

I know there are very few women who would have the capacity to do what Lois did. She is not the ordinary person! But God says that women are builders! We don’t have to build a house with hammer and nails. We are building a family. We are building godly generations.

Proverbs 14:1 says: “Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands.” What are you putting your time into? Into building up someone else’s organization or business? Or are you building up your home? That takes being at home. It takes time to build up your home and family. It doesn’t happen by gadding about here and there,

What about your marriage? Are you building into your marriage? That takes time too. What are you speaking into your marriage? Loving words? Encouraging words? Sweet words? More than anything else we build our marriage and our family with words. Words either build up or destroy.

Let’s be builders, not destroyers.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Photo: This is the home Lois built (and her beautiful garden), Palmerston North, New Zealand. I was blessed to see Lois again in New Zealand in March of this year.

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ARE YOU PREPARING YOUR CHILDREN?

DeceptionWe live in a deceived society. There are many antichrists and false prophets around. And one day there will come The Antichrist and The False Prophet. Even now, we get little glimpses towards that day. Just recently we read where Pope Francis warned 33,000 Catholics in Rome to avoid a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” which he said could be “dangerous and harmful.” He also advocates for a New World Order. This leaves many of his followers confused, especially when he led Islamic prayers in the Vatican.

He also made statements to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in which he claimed that Americans have a distorted view of the world and put forward the idea that the people of the United States need to be ruled by a world government “for their own good.”

The Pope also believes that guarding America with the full muscle and might of a governmental oversight will be good for all humanity. In conversation with reporters from Ecuador’s El Universo newspaper, he said that it was essential to do so in order to formulate a cohesive, international stance against climate change. Can you believe what you are reading?

You can read and watch this and much more on this link: http://www.disclose.tv/…/popes_latest_warning_relati…/139720

Does this not grieve your spirit? I personally know many born again Catholics who love Jesus and walk godly lives. I hope they will stand up against this deception. But I think of so many who don’t know Jesus personally and how they will be so easily deceived.

It is false and reveals an antichrist spirit. As we see more of this, it is so important to ingrain our children in the truth of God’s Word. Are you daily implanting God’s Word into your children’s hearts? It’s only God’s Word that will keep them from being deceived, even by Christian leaders. The Bible is the great lie detector!

If you want your children to stand strong for Christ in this end time, fill them with the Word. It is imperative that you and your husband make this a priority in your life.

Matthew 24:24 says: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

Will your children know how to discern? Will they stand strong for truth even when Satan comes as an angel of light and with signs and wonders? Will they see through the lies? Will they will be willing to be persecuted or even face death for the sake of truth?

We must be preparing them now. We have a big task on our hands.

Be blessed,

Nancy Campbell

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THE GOOD OR THE BEST?

EverythingWe need great discernment to truly know what is good and what not just “looks good,” don’t we? Many times, things that are good rob us of the best! We can be involved I so many “good things” in our parenting and in Christian work and yet they are not God’s best. They are what we think is good. Or even what the enemy tricks us to think is good.

This is how Satan tempted Eve in the beginning. He didn’t tempt her with anything evil, but what looked good and wise (Genesis 3:6). If Eve could be so easily tempted who walked with God each day in the garden, how much more are we be susceptible to Satan who is “an angel of light.”

The greatest antidote to deception is God’s Word. It is our plumbline for everything we believe and do. It is also the great lie detector. Many times, we don’t know things are lies until we line them up with God’s Word.

One of the ways the enemy robs families of what is best is many of our extracurricular activities. None of them are bad. They are all good. And yet often they rob us of what is the most important. The tricky thing is that most of them are always around about the time we should be in the home preparing meal for the family so we can enjoy family togetherness around the table each evening. And of course, to have family devotions and worship together. And pray together.

The devil hates families praying and he will use good things to stop us. He’ll get us doing all these great things for our children, which are good, but which stop us from coming together as a family to pray. And the devil laughs. He wins the victory.

It’s praying families who are world-changing families. And as you know, this doesn’t easily happen. It takes a complete life change in our families to make it happen. But world-changing families are also sacrificing fmailies. They’re families who know what is the BEST, not only what is good.

Blessings, Nancy Campbell

Nancy Campbell

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BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

BattenDownThe Number One vision of our lives should be to strengthen our marriage and family. Everything else should surrender to this priority. A child can be saved from much heartache later in life when brought up in a family where the father and mother love one another, are committed to one another, and the family ties are strong.

Can I encourage you to strengthen your marriage a little more today? Ask God for something you can do today to make your marriage a little lovelier, sweeter, and stronger. You may like to call your husband right now to remind him that you love him.

Perhaps you don't feel very loving to him at the moment? Forget your feelings and do it by faith! And watch what will happen. Plan a delightful meal and have it ready for him as he walks in the door this evening. Write a love note to have waiting on his pillow as he goes to bed.

How many extra things are you doing outside the home this week? How many evenings have you planned to go out? Why not cancel something and stay home with your husband and family instead? Think of a special thing you can do together as a family this evening. Turn off the TV and read a story together. Or, get each one to do a mime, read a poem, put on an act, or do something fun. You and your husband will be the audience, but be ready, the children will want you to perform something, too!

Batten down the hatches! In other words, close your doors to the outside world and shine the warmth of God's sunlight inside your home.

Build up your family life rather than things outside your family.

Make surprises happen today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting: Art print by John Walter

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NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD

BRING HIM HOMEDo you need encouragement in your marriage? Or do you know of friends or acquaintances that are struggling in their marriage? I’d encourage you to forward this testimony to them. I have published this testimony twice in the Above Rubies magazine, but I want to share it with you again today. I think it is one of the most powerful marriage restoration testimonies I have read. There is absolutely no situation too hard for God!

Go to: http://tinyurl.com/Marriage-BringHimHome

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PREPOSTEROUS

This is too hard to believe that the education department are now bringing gender identity teaching to our state schools, beginning with kindergarten! Third graders will be taught they can choose their own gender. This is all being planned without informing parents!

It’s time to stand up. Parents can make changes. If all parents had taken their children out of the state schools when they took prayer out of schools, the education system would have had to back down. What will happen now? Will parents be like the ostrich and put their nose in the ground as if it is not happening, or will they act? If all parents took their children out of the state schools, they would soon get the message that they can’t teach this diabolical anti-God, anti-family junk in our; schools.

The education system should not rule the parents. Parents should have the last say! It is their children. We must stand up for the protection of our children.

Check out the full article:
http://www.fpiw.org/…/washington-schools-to-teach-gender-i…/

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EXTRAORDINARY!

ExtraordinaryOrdinariness. It’s a place where many people live. I’m not talking about the “sameness” of your everyday tasks, for even the most mundane tasks are sacred and therefore extraordinary when you allow God into them. I am talking about living in the state of thinking like the status quo, fitting in with the humanist agenda of our society, and trusting in your own resources and understanding. There is no other word for this state than ordinariness.

To move out of this comfortable state and live with a biblical mindset takes you into extraordinariness. It is a challenging life--a realm of faith, hanging on the edge of a limb, adventures of trusting God when you cannot see where His provision is coming from, battles against the adversary, speaking up for truth and God-given convictions in the face of popular opinion, and often receiving ridicule.

We are out of step with the world but in step with God. We are out of sync with public thinking, but we are listening to the mind of God. It’s not the easy life, but it’s definitely NOT ordinary.

Why live in ordinariness when you can live in extraordinariness? If God has anything to do with your life, it will be extraordinary, for God is never ordinary. Where do you and your family live?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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IS IT POSSIBLE?

PossibleI have a question for you. I asked this same question to the folks around our table this morning. Do you think it is possible to “glorify God in your body” which the Scripture tells us to, if we tamper with the way God created us?

We know that all God’s ways are perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30; and Revelation 15:3). Therefore, the way He created our bodies is perfect. He created the female body for childbearing. He designed her body that during “the time of life,” which is the time of ovulation each month, that she has the opportunity to conceive a baby.

However, we live in a society where many women don’t want to have babies. They don’t want to live the way God designed their bodies so they use contraception, or even sterilization, to make sure God cannot bless them with life.

Sterilization tampers with the Creator’s design for our bodies. It changes the function. More accurately, it stops the function! It stops the ultimate plan of our Creator. Therefore, in doing this, is it possible to glorify God in our body? Let’s be honest now.

We need to read the Scriptures again: 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 (ESV): “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN, for you were bought with a price. So GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY.”

And the Scripture we all know, but need reminded of daily: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye PRESENT YOUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1, 2).

We notice that this Scripture exhorts us to present our BODIES to the Lord, not just our spirits. How are we to offer them? “Acceptable” to God. This word means “what is agreeable and well pleasing to God.” And its repeated in verse 2. The perfect will of God is that which is agreeable and well pleasing to Him. It’s not what is agreeable to us and fits in with our lifestyle, but what is in accordance with His eternal plan and purpose.

We either live according to the humanistic plan of our modern society or according to God’s eternal plan that has never changed and never will change from the beginning of time.

In His love,

Nancy Campbell

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PURE AND BLAMELESS

PureA couple of days ago I wrote a post called WHAT IS YOUR BOAST? It was about raising children ready for the coming of Jesus. Paul called the Thessalonian young believers his “glory, joy, and crown of rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming.”

I noticed he had the same heart for his babes in Christ at Philippi. He called them his joy and crown too. In Philippians 4:1 he says: “Dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” In verses 7 and 8 he says: “I have you I my heart . . . how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.”

This was his life. To pray for and exhort and encourage these young believers so they would be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (1:10 ESV). We should have this same passion for our children. More than any other aspiration for our children we should long for them to live lives that are “pure and blameless” in this evil society.

It was the same kind of society in Philippi. He exhorted them to “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (2:15,16 ESV).

To keep our children straight and not veering into the humanistic lifestyle that is so prevalent today, and even in the church, we must constantly fill our children with God’s Word. It is the only antidote against deception. We must do it daily. Morning and evening. Without fail.

We must be strong to speak out against evil. We love people, but we don’t love and tolerate sin. If we don’t speak up against what is evil, our children will not know God’s standard and can easily fall into the groove of society. There are too many Christian young people who accept homosexuality! How can that be? Do they no know God’s Word? Do their parents not speak up?

We are not raising children to be like the word, but children who walk pure and holy lives. Children who will shine their light in the darkness of this world. Children who will be our “joy and crown” at the coming of the Lord.

We’ve got to become passionate parents for the Kingdom of God.

Be blessed,

Nancy Campbell

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THREE LOVES

3LovesCan I tell you about a beautiful word in the Bible? I should say, one of the many beautiful words. The Hebrew word ta' anuwg means "delightful, lovely, precious, cherished, pleasant, fondled." This word relates to us because it is used in three different times 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 and thought to make herself delightful and desirable to her husband.

2) A mother's love for her children. In Micah 1:16 (ESV) God calls our children a “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 evicted 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). She woke up to life in the home God prepared for her.

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 our children. And why would we want to leave our delightful homes? Why would we forsake something we love for something lesser?

Be blessed in your delightful home today,

Nancy Campbell

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Above Rubies Address

AboveRubies
Email Nancy

PO Box 681687
Franklin, TN 37068-1687

Phone : 931-729-9861
Office Hrs 9am - 5pm, M - F, CTZ