Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Can you believe it? When I studied the Greek words for food, mealtimes, and tables in the New Testament, I found 31 different words! God certainly loves the subject of eating. Many of these words give the picture of eating together with others. Jesus loved to eat with others.

Our first ministry is to our family of course. But do you also like to invite “others” to your table who are not part of your family? Hospitality is not an optional ministry but the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. It is an extension of our mothering anointing. We have big hearts. We want to invite people. We want to feed people. We can’t stop saying, “Come.”

We read about the lifestyle of the early believers in Acts 2:45: “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.”

Breaking bread was not specifically speaking about communion but sharing meals with one another. They didn’t cook elaborate meals. How could they do that if they were sharing meals with others every day? They ate simple meals and shared them. Hospitality is not trying to cook a three-course meal to impress visitors. It’s sharing our homes, hearts, lives, food, thoughts, and revelations with others.

Do you notice that they ate with “simplicity” of heart? They kept it simple. When you keep it simple you can do it? You cook what you prepare for your own family, except add more to the pot!

I remember one day some folks arrived at our home at lunchtime. All we had in the house was potatoes! I was most embarrassed to invite them in for potatoes only, so nearly refused to offer hospitality. However, I managed to subdue my pride and invited them in. What great fellowship we enjoyed together. This couple always remember our lunchtime of potatoes. In fact, I don’t think they remember the times when I prepared a beautiful menu for them.

And do you notice something else? They ate their food with glad hearts. Food always makes us cheerful, especially if we fellowship together at the same time. Do you have a small family? Do you get bored at mealtimes? Invite another family to join you. At least once a week. It adds spice to your life. And gladness. And joy.

And one more thing. As the early believers ate together DAILY, the Lord added to the church DAILY those who should be saved. I wonder if we would see more people coming to Jesus if we lived this biblical lifestyle.

Love and blessings,

Nancy Campbell

Painting by Harold Anderson

Here, in my humble kitchen,
Christ dwells.
And oh, what joy and peace
That spells.

For He, the King of Kings,
Brings hope
As bread brings bodily strength
To cope
With ev'ry daily task.

He makes
Just baking common pies
And cakes
Seem sort of special, an art
Which excels.
For where Christ is,
There, too, love dwells.

~ Phyllis Michael

God promises us that He will strengthen us with “His glorious power.” We couldn’t want for a better promise. We need God’s strength moment by moment, don’t we? We need it physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

However, when we read this, we often think of being strengthened to do mighty works and miracles. Let’s look closer and find out How God wants to strengthen us. It’s something very personal for us as mothers in our homes as we raise our children.

Colossians 1:10, 11 says: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God: strengthened with all mighty, according o his glorious power, UNTO ALL PATIENCE AND LONGSUFFERING with joyfulness.”

Did you get it? He strengthens you with all His glorious power to be patient! And longsuffering!  You don’t have patience in your own flesh, but when you yield to His life in you, His patience, and longsuffering pours from you.

Thank Him for His glorious power filling you with His patience. Thank Him for His longsuffering that fills your heart and consequently pours into our kitchen and your home. One translation calls it “unlimited patience”! Our patience runs out quickly, but God’s patience and longsuffering is unlimited. No matter what is going on in your home, no matter how frustrated you feel. God’s unlimited patience is greater than your fleshly impatience.

And did you notice that we don’t live in God’s patience with resignation and desperation, but with JOYFULNESS?

The works of God are beautiful in us as we yield to Him. James 1:3-4 says: “Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” The strange thing is, most of the time we are not patient enough to let patience have its full work! We give up before God has finished working out in our lives what He wants to accomplish.    

I love how The Living Bible puts it: “When the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete”.   

Dear mother, don’t despair when everything is going wrong. Rejoice! Let God work out His patience in you. This is how He will make you strong in character. God doesn’t want to do a half-work in you, but a full-grown work!

Love from Nancy Campbell

Don’t miss the most important family appointment of the week—taking your children to be with the people of God (Hebrews 10:25).

Keep shining in your home, mother

1. Finish the Meal

I guess I am from old school, but I hate waste. I hate to see good wholesome food left on plates. It seems to be a current fad for people to take what they feel like, eat a little, and throw the rest out! Help! Such waste.

I think it is a good idea to give children a small amount of each food on their plate. They should eat this first and come back for more if they are still hungry. I’m always happy to dish out seconds. I love to be generous with food, but I certainly don’t like waste.

But there is more! The table is not only a place to feed the body, but the soul and the spirit. Therefore, we never want to leave the table before we feed the most important part of our children—their spirits. They need feeding as much as their bodies. The spirits of some children must be literally starving! Famished. Dying.

Before we leave the table, my husband opens the Bible and reads a portion to the family and then we pray together. We call it Family Devotions in our home. You may have a different name. I love what they used to call it in Holland—Finishing up the Meal! Isn’t that great? These parents would not allow their children to leave the table until they truly finished their meal by feeding and nourishing their spirits from God’s living Word.

The following are a couple of tips for this part of the meal.

2. Bring out the Bible!

Because most men have a one-track mind, they often forget about having devotions with their family. They have their mind on other things, and they don’t get around to it. My husband is entrenched in this habit now, but when the children were growing up and we came to the end of the meal, I would bring the Bible or The Daily Light on the Daily Path (which we mostly use) and place it by his plate. I didn’t have to say anything. Just placing it there jogged his memory and he would pick it up and begin to read.

3. Don’t Clear the Table too Soon!

This is a necessary tip. I have found that if we begin to scrape the dishes, clear the table, and take them to the counter before we have our Family Devotions, that it’s nearly impossible to get everyone back to the table! Once they are up, they’re gone! So, I don’t let them get up!

“Do you mean to say you have Bible reading with all the dirty dishes still on the table?” Yes, we do, and we hardly notice it. It keeps everyone at the table and doesn’t break the atmosphere.

I trust these practical tips will encourage you as you establish the habit of gathering your family to eat around the table.

Many blessings, Nancy Campbell

DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH

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1. No iPhones

The purpose of the table is not only to eat, but to communicate together. We gather for “face to face table fellowship,” to dialogue, and converse with one another. From the moment of birth, feeding is face to face. God orchestrated His creation so beautifully that when a mother puts her baby to the breast, they are face to face. The babe not only draws milk from the mother’s breasts but looks and communicates with the mother.

We don’t need the competition of iPhones when we gather at the table. They inhibit family communication. They interrupt—and are very rude.

This is another thing you must make happen. Nor do you give in to whining about the matter. Perhaps you could have a basket where each one drops their iPhones before coming to sit at the table. Place the basket far enough away that no one can hear any “dings.”

You will need to watch carefully. At times I have noticed teens and even adults looking down past their meal plate and I realize they are looking at an iPhone hiding under the table! I beg your pardon! Are they so addicted they cannot put it away even for a meal?

2. Direct the Conversation

Have you noticed that family conversation can be shallow or even turn to nothingness? I believe we as parents should direct the conversation. When I prepare a meal, I not only think of what I will cook, but what we will talk about at the table. I like to bring a subject or a question to the table for discussion so we can enjoy stimulating conversation. It’s a time to learn new things from one another, to hone our ideas, and cement convictions. And this saves the conversation from spiraling down into negativity and complaining. Table time should be positive, enjoyable, and fun. You make it happen, dear mother.

Make wonderful things happen at your meal table,

Nancy Campbell

1. Sit at the Table

Sitting at the table is also a Bible principle. I know it takes training to get your children to sit through the meal but keep on training, little by little. 

Not one word is wasted in the Bible. Every word is important. It’s interesting how the Bible takes time to talk about such a practical thing as sitting at the table. First Samuel, chapter 20 tells the story of how David and Jonathan planned David’s escape from the palace. It was mandatory for each person to be present for the evening meal at the palace and they all sat in their assigned places.

David said to Jonathan in verse 5 (ESV): “I should not fail to sit at table with the king.” No one was meant to be missing. All places were to be filled.

Later, down in verses 24 and 25 it says: “And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. The king sat on his seat, as at other times on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place as empty.” Each person had their own assigned seat.

A mother shared with me that she allows her children to sit where they like when they come to the table. “But,” she complained, “they continually bicker and argue about where they are going to sit.” I suggested she assign seats for each child. It’s biblical, and it stops the arguing.

Let’s go over to the New Testament. There are many Scriptures about sitting at the meal table (not standing around)! However, let’s look at when Jesus’ fed the five thousand plus people. Jesus did not feed the multitude until they were all seated. He didn’t suggest they sit down. He “commanded” them to sit down. We get the same message in each Gospel.

Matthew 14:19 “He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass.”

Mark 6:39, 40: “He commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks . . .” Do you notice that they “all” had to sit down, not just those who wanted to. No food unless seated!

Luke 9:14: “And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down . . .”

John 6:10 (NKJV): “Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down . . . So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down.” We certainly get the feeling that there had to be some organization to get them all seated.

This certainly relates to our families, doesn’t it? Have you found that you need to make your children sit down? Unless you train them to learn to sit at the table they will be jumping up and down like a yo-yo!

We must also teach our children how to sit. I can’t believe how many children and teens sit with their knees up at the table! Has no one ever taught them how to sit correctly?

Unless we sit at the table, we will not receive the same nutritional benefit from our food or from fellowship together.

Have a great day,

Nancy Campbell

Do you love to gather your family around your table to eat and fellowship together? The family meal table is one of the foundations of family life. It’s a biblical principle. The picture God gives in the Bible of a blessed family is the wife in the heart of the home and all the children sitting around the table. Read it again in Psalm 128:3.

The first mention of the word table in the Bible is The Table of Shewbread in the tabernacle in the wilderness. On this table there were twelve loaves of bread called The Shewbread. The table was also called The Table of Faces and the bread, The Bread of Faces (Lechem haPanim). The bread upon the table pointed to Christ who is our bread, our life, our sustenance. As we look to Him and feed from Him, we are fed and satisfied.

Do you notice that a plural word is used for bread? Christ is more than one face. He has many attributes and the more we look to Him in His Word the more we come to know Him and all His glorious attributes. Colossians 2:3 says: “In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

The twelve loaves upon the table also pointed to the Israelites. God also wanted the bread upon the table to represent His people. In the loaves, He saw each one of their faces. He wanted them in His presence. Each week the priests would take the week-old bread off the table and replace it with new bread. The priests would then eat the bread (which was still fresh because it had lain in the presence of the Lord) and fellowship together.

The Table and the Shewbread were considered one. They were like twins. Just as mother and home are synonymous, so the table and food are synonymous. They go together. In other words, we eat food at the table! We don’t eat food in front of the TV. We don’t allow each member to grab their food and eat in their rooms or wherever they like. God wants us to sit around the table together.

But the table is not only a biblical principle, it is a heavenly principle. Did you know that God had a table (or tables) in His heavenly kingdom before we ever had them on earth? Yes, tables originated in Heaven! Jesus often talked about His table in the heavenly realm (Matthew 8:11; Luke 14:15; 29:30; and Revelation 19:9).

Therefore, the more you gather at your table, the more of the heavenly atmosphere you will bring to your home! Ooops! “It’s not very heavenly at my table,” I hear you reply. “It’s welcome to the shambles.”

Don’t despair. God gives us principles in His Word about how we should gather at the table. Let me share some of them with you.

Set the Table

If you do not take time to set and prepare the table, your children will not feel it is important. How you prepare your table is how they will perceive the importance of the table. Proverbs 9:2 (RSV) says: “Wisdom has built her house . . . she has also set her table.” I love to set a beautiful table each evening. I love to use a tablecloth. It makes such a difference to the table and to the atmosphere of the meal. Food on a naked table does not have the same welcoming touch.

“Help, do you expect me to add more laundry to my already huge pile?” you scream. Dear lovely mother, you can purchase a lovely tablecloth and put a piece of clear plastic over it which you wipe down after the meal. There are seasons in life. As your children grow, there will come a time when you can eliminate the plastic.

Are you still thinking of the extra work? Teach your children how to set the table correctly. And beautifully and creatively. They love to do it. The children can take turns. They can become very competitive as each one seeks to outdo the other. You can encourage them to add centerpieces, candles, go outside and find wildflowers or leaves, or use their imagination to make something creative.

More ideas tomorrow.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Painting: The Marriage Supper of the Lamb by Lambert Dolphin

I think one of the most important things we as mothers must have is a spirit of discernment. We must know the difference between good and evil. That seems a very basic statement, doesn’t it? You’d think everyone would know the difference between good and evil. But no. One of the biggest movements among Christendom today is the “spirit of tolerance.” Many Christians have been brainwashed that they are not allowed to judge anything or anyone. They must be tolerant to all and everyone.

This is not Bible This is not God. God is a merciful and forgiving God, but He is not tolerant of sin. Nor should we be. We must know the difference between good and evil and we must impart this strongly to our children. Job 34:4 says: “Let us KNOW among ourselves what is GOOD.” If we don’t know and discern, how will our children know?

I love the old hymn by Clara Scott, “Open my eyes, that I may see, Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.” The second stanza says:

“Open my ears, that I may hear

Voices of truth Thou makest clear;

And while the wave notes fall on my ear,

EVERYTHING FALSE WILL DISAPPEAR.”

I want everything that is false to be cast out from my mind and heart, don’t you? I want this for my children and grandchildren too. I don’t want them to be subtly deceived by the lies and delusions of this age. I want them to KNOW TRUTH. I want them to exercise discernment. I want them to be able to judge between what is right and what is evil.

The greatest, or perhaps the only way, we can truly discern is through filling our hearts with God’s Word. His eternal Word is the ultimate deterrent to deception! If His Word is not in us, we don’t have what it takes to discern!

Let’s RICHLY fill our hearts and the hearts of our children with His Word (Colossians 3:16). That means gathering them every morning and evening to read His Word to them. To discuss it together. To ask questions. To talk about it. To get it into their hearts and mouths (Isaiah 59:21).

Let’s get it into them so faithfully that EVERYTHING FALSE WILL DISAPPEAR. Amen

Be blessed today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Mother, it is not enough to care for the physical bodies of your children. We must guard their minds, their souls, and their spirits.

The Beauty of Surrender

I have always loved the lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "A Psalm of Life."

"But to act that each tomorrow
Find us further than today."

I love to learn something new every day, don't you? Recently I learned the difference between a Shepherd's Pie and a Cottage Pie. How come it has taken me so long to know the difference?

A Shepherd's Pie is made with ground lamb whereas a Cottage Pie is made with ground beef. I guess the reason I didn't know is that growing up in New Zealand we called it a Shepherd's Pie even though we always cooked with lamb.

I also learned recently that The American Life League estimates that "Using formulas based on the way the birth control pill works, pharmacy experts project that about 14 million chemical abortions occur in the United States each year." Wow, that bit of information is just about too much to take in.
More abortions through the Pill than Clinic abortions!

Another interesting fact I learned recently was the loudest sound that has ever been heard by human ears. It was when the volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883 at 310 decibels. People in Alice springs, Australia, 2,233 miles away heard it!

Anyway, I think it is a good thing to encourage your children to learn something new every day. I think this is more important than making sure your children get through all their lessons each day. They can do them and yet often not remember anything. But if they learn one specific new thing
every day, they will become very knowledgeable.

A good idea is to check how everyone is learning in the family at your evening family meal table. When you have sharing time around the table and talk about different questions, every now and then give them this question: "Children, what is something new you learned today?"

Start with the first child and go around each one to ask them one new thing they learned. This is a good way to check if your homeschooling is effective. And don't leave out you and your husband. Your children love to hear something new that you have learned too.

We are all learning together. This is true education. It's for life. It's learning something new every day. It's inspiring an excitement for learning. When you give your children this challenge, they'll start looking for things to really remember. And you will too.

And even more than learning something new every day is to have the vision to grow a little more in Christ every day. We should never stay the same, but each new day seek to be conformed to the image of God's dear Son. 1 Timothy 4:15 tells us that we are to immerse ourselves in the teachings of Christ and the Scriptures "so that all may see your progress." Our progress should be evident in our lives.

Our Christian walk is not a stay-at-the-same-place walk, but a MORE AND MORE walk.

Proverbs 4:18: "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth MORE AND MORE unto the perfect day."

Be excited to learn something new today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

P.S. More Scriptures to check out: 1 Samuel 7:26; Psalm 92:12-14; Proverbs 4:18; Romans 5:2-6; 8:29; Ephesians 4;11-16; Colossians 2:6, 7; 1 Timothy 4;11-15; Hebrews 6:1; 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2, 3; 2 Peter 1:5-8; and 3:18. 

Are you learning something new each day

The value you put on your meal table will determine the behavior of your children at the meal table. Make every meal a love affair. Make every meal special.

Eleven beautiful girls graced our Shabbat table last night, granddaughters and friends in the Hilltop. It was such a precious time.