Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Why is it that Christian parents limit their families, and sometimes even scoff at having more children? Why do Christian parents want to send their children to state schools where the Bible and prayer (which are foundations of our nation) have been banned? What do Christian parents run their children around to every sport and extracurricular activity? Isn’t it because they have assimilated?

In many cases, the Christian’s standard of dress, movies, literature, and divorce, etc. lines up more with the world than God’s Word. And they think it’s normal!

Isn’t it time for a turning back? Isn’t it time for “normal” to be God’s normal, rather than the world’s normal?

What’s your “normal”?

Be encouraged today, Nancy Campbell

Some extra Scriptures to check out if you have time!
Isaiah 60:1-2; Jeremiah 6:16; 18:15; Matthew 5:13-16; James 4:4; and 1 John 2:19-21.

Have a wonderful day,

Nancy Campbell

You as a wife and mother have power to affect this nation. You can strengthen this nation and turn it more toward God as you strengthen your marriage and your family life. The decisions to build can sometimes be sacrificial, but they bring great fruitfulness. The decisions to take the easy or selfish route may seem fine for now, but in the end they wreck havoc on the family.

Think not only of the now, but of the future. Be a nation builder today.

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

P.S. Painting by Tom Browning

When God tells us that our bodies are now “the temple of the Holy Spirit” the word used for “temple” is the Greek word “naos.” That’s the word that was used for the Holy of Holies where God dwelt in His Shekinah glory. God now uses that word for us! Can you take it in? Surely this changes the way we live and act! And every moment in our homes.

But there’s even more. Psalm 74:7 calls the tabernacle of God’s presence “the dwelling place of thy name.” God is His name and all His name represents. His name is powerful, mighty, and awesome. His name is “goodness, merciful, gracious, longsuffering, truth, and forgiveness” (Exodus 33:19; 34:6,7) and the continuing revelation of His name all throughout the Scriptures. The more we understand of His name, the more we are awed at who He is. And yet this is the One who wants to dwell in us.

We read in Psalm 74:7 that the enemies of God defiled the “dwelling place of thy name” (by burning it with fire and casting it down to the ground). The word “defiled” means “to profane, to defile (originally referring to sexual defilement), to desecrate something which is holy.” The enemy of our souls tries to tempt us to defile our bodies in order to defame the name of God, but because we are bearers of His glory and His name, we seek after purity and righteousness.

Our God is a dwelling God. He not only wants to indwell our bodies, but our homes. He wants to fill them with His presence and all that His name represents. May our bodies and our homes be worthy of His presence.

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

Did you know that Ted Cruz learned the constitution by heart as a young teen. He was able to recite it by heart and write it by heart. At that age he became passionate for the constitution and has never lost that passion.

With the possibility of the next president appointing up to three or four more Supreme Court Judges, we must vote in a man who would appoint judges who will not deviate from, but stand strong with the constitution of this country.

~ Nancy

One man, one woman,
Fused into one.
God's plan! Is there a better?
There is none.

One body, one flesh--
Indescribable!
One purpose, one vision--
Unconquerable!
One soul, one spirit--
Invincible!

What is the foundation?
Praying together daily--
High priority!
Reading God's Word together daily--
Paramount for success.

What does it take?
Sacrificial love.
Yieldedness and submission.
No longer "me" but "you."
Laying down my life.
Delighting to serve.
Sticking together through thick and thin.

What is the fruit?
A union that cannot be broken.
A union that survives the storms of life.
A union that forges a path for God in this world.
A union that builds a godly generation
for now and generations to come.

What is the power?
A God-fearing family who are
formidable to the enemy!

~ Nancy Campbell

Just as every sacrifice pointed to Christ, now we look back to His sacrifice for us. And personally, I do not want to forget. That’s why, when each of us pray at our Family Devotions every morning and evening, I like to thank My Savior for His sacrificial death upon the cross for my sins. If every morning and evening sacrifice pointed to Christ, surely the least I can do is to gratefully thank and worship Him every morning and evening for His eternal salvation. We are not mandated to do this, but it is my personal conviction.

We know that Jesus was “The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). But we often forget that He was the Lamb of God before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:18-20 and Revelation 13:8). But more. He will always be the Lamb. Throughout all eternity. In the book of Revelation John reveals many pictures of the Lamb.

I love Revelation 7:17: “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Even in the eternal realm it is the Lamb of God who leads us into blessings which our eyes and ears cannot even imagine. We will not even need the sun or moon because “the Lamb is the light thereof” (Revelation 21:23).

Let’s daily give to the Lamb the honor that is due to Him, for He was the Lamb from the foundation of the world and will be Lamb forever and ever. What a privilege to praise Him now. And of course, you will want to do this with your children each day. We, along with our families, must never take for granted the enormity of our salvation.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

I pray that God will raise me to a higher plane. May we all rise to a higher plane. Why live on the plane of doubts, fear, and despair when God wants us to come up to the plane of faith? I love the words of the hymn by Johnson Oatman, Jr.:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s table land,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

We are also encouraged in 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Do you think we could seek to live by the truth of “what we cannot see” today? Try it for a day. When difficulties, afflictions, and problems arise, turn your eyes away from them and turn them on the Lord and the eternal perspective. Look at them with the eyes of faith. Look at how God sees them from the eternal point of view.

And remember, God is far bigger than your worries, your problems, and the biggest mountain you can face. He sees beyond what you see. As we look to the Lord and allow Him to have His way, our afflictions work for us a “FAR MORE EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL WEIGHT of glory.” Do you notice that God uses five adjectives to describe the eternal blessings we receive for a temporary affliction here on earth?

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

The way to abundant life is losing your own life by pouring it out for others. Jesus takes the challenge even further when He said in John 12:24, 25: “Truly, truly, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

I love the lines from Elisabeth Elliot in her book “Love Has a Price Tag” where she writes: “The routines of housework and mothering may be seen as a kind of death, and it is appropriate that they should be, for they offer the chance, day after day, to lay down one’s life for others. Then they are no longer routines. By being done with love and offered up to God with praise, they are thereby hallowed as the vessels of the tabernacle were hallowed. A mother’s part in sustaining the life of her children and making it pleasant and comfortable is no triviality. It calls for self-sacrifice and humility, but it is the route, as was the humiliation of Jesus, to glory.”

In other words, it is the path to glory. Check out these Scriptures too: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Philippians 2:5-9; and 1 Peter 1:7.

We get another glimpse of the life in which God delights when we read the description of the older women God wants the church to provide for and to bless: “She must have been the faithful wife of one husband. She must have a reputation for good works. She can only be enrolled, if she has brought up children, if she has practiced hospitality, if she has been prepared to render the most menial service to God’s people, if she has been in the habit of helping people in trouble, if good works of every kind have been the aim and object of her life” (1 Timothy 5:9, 10 William Barclay trans.).

As usual, I am challenged again. Are you?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Dear mother, we are accountable before God to fill our children with God’s Word. We must not only get it into their hearts, but into their mouths (Isaiah 59:21). How can God’s Word be their guiding light if they don’t know it? How can it become their world view if they don’t know it? How can it affect their lives to change them into the image of Christ if they don’t know it?

It won’t just happen. As mother we have the responsibility to make it happen (Proverbs 6:20-24).

John Quincy Adams (6th President of the United States) said, “So great is my veneration of the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society.”

As you impart the principles of God’s Word deep into the hearts of your children, you become a nation-impacting mother, defending the freedoms of your nation.

God bless you today,

Nancy Campbell

This is why many mothers are frustrated with their mothering role. They spend years training for careers and find motherhood a threat to their career. Of course they love their children, but the actual function of motherhood is a hindrance to their plans. This causes vexation and frustration. God wants us to not only love our children, but to totally love and embrace the high calling of motherhood which He has given to us as a divine charge.

Blessings to you today from NANCY CAMPBELL

Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan!
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!

How can we go for one day without thanking and praising Him for His sacrifice upon the cross for our sins and for the eternal redemption we have received? I think this is one reason why it is so important to have Family Devotions morning and evening with our families. At least two times in the day we can remember His lovingkindness to us and His great salvation. And isn’t this the least we can do?

David made sure that he declared out loud the lovingkindness of the Lord every morning and every evening. Psalm 92:1-2: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to show forth (declare, tell, proclaim) thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”

Did you notice this is a good thing? Better than a lot of other things that compete for our time.

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

You are doing the greatest and most powerful thing you could ever do. Be encouraged today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

“Help,” you cry out! “My whole day is filled with cooking, caring for my baby, teaching my children, cleaning the house, and a thousand other interruptions—and you expect me to pray all day too? Impossible!”

I know. My day is filled to the max, too. So, how do we do it? How can we continue in prayer throughout the day? I believe it is having an attitude of response toward God. We turn every frustration and problem into prayer. We turn every sigh into a Hallelujah!

The children are squabbling; hold their hands and pray with them. It sure works better than screaming at them. One of the children is having a problem with his lesson; pray together about it. One of them falls over and scratches his knee; pray for him.

Perhaps a friend calls to ask prayer for a specific need or to share that a friend is in labor. Don’t say, “I’ll be praying.” Instead, pray together immediately over the phone right at the moment.

My, we as mothers can be continuing in prayer all day long as we constantly and instantly bring every matter to God. Don’t forget the “Thank You” prayers, too. Whenever something good happens, even a little thing, praise and thank the Lord.

Have a great day prayer day in your home today.

Be blessed,

Nancy Campbell

But what does this word really mean? The word “old” is olam in the Hebrew. It means “from time immemorial, without end.” In most places in the Bible this word is translated as “everlasting.” God’s ways for us are everlasting ways. They stand the test of time from the beginning of time to the end. They were refined in the courts of heaven before they were given to us on earth. They are divine, they are eternal, and they work!

And the are “good.” And the bring us into “soul rest”! Who doesn’t want peace and rest?

Forget the modern humanistic trend. They are going down the wrong track. Dare to stand up and be counted. Go after God’s everlasting plan, no matter what relatives or friends have to say. Embrace your divine career of mothering Become the greatest homemaker. Rejoice when God gives you another baby. You are walking in the everlasting plan. You are doing something that is eternal.

What could be more important that nurturing and caring for an eternal soul who will live forever? All other careers will be left behind.

Love from Nancy Campbell
Painting by Alessandra Vitelli

God also wants to show forth His praise through you. 1 Peter 23:9 tells us: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar (set apart) people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

“To show forth” is the Greek word “exaggello” and means “to publish, to celebrate.” It comes from a root word “aggelos” which means “a messenger, or especially an angel.” What does God want you to do? To be an angelic messenger! God wants to use you has His messenger to bring His Word, His truth, and His love to people every day.

This means of course that you begin in your home. Mother, you have little ones, and maybe bigger ones around you every day. You are God’s messenger to each one of them. You have the opportunity to bring God’s Word and truth to them every day--when you are lying down, walking around, or sitting at the table (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). You are to light up their lives and day by day bring them from darkness to light.

You’ll continue to be God’s messenger when you leave the home too--when you go out to get the groceries or whatever you have to do. Remember you are God’s messenger to everyone you meet.

Have a lovely day being God’s angel to everyone in your home.

Blessings to you,

Nancy Campbell