Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

"Be strong . . . and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:4).

"To whom did God say these words?" my husband asked as he read this Scripture in Family Devotions this morning. God was encouraging Zerubbabel and all the people who were rebuilding the broken down temple after coming back from Babylon. They had many adversaries as they tried to build. They had one setback after another. But God encouraged them to be strong and work because He was with them to help them.

You too are in a great building program--the biggest building project of the nation! The building and strengthening of your family. Building takes work. It doesn't just happen. You constantly face new challenges and difficulties. But, dear mother, please be encouraged. God is with you! In fact, the Lord of hosts is with you--the God of the armies of heaven who fights on your behalf.

He encourages you today. "Rise up, be strong, and work!" "Ouch! Do I have to work?" Yes, God doesn't give you His strength to sit on the couch and look at the mess around you. He doesn't give you His strength to sit and watch TV. He gives you His divine strength to enable you to do this great task of mothering and managing your home that He has given you. When your strength runs out, He gives you His strength.

You can do it with His strength, because He is with you.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Jesus said, "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today" (Matthew 6:34 NLT).

What a beautiful thing to be a "blessing soul." Proverbs 11:25 says, "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." The margin in my Bible says the "liberal soul" is a "soul of blessing." Don't you love that?. It's talking about someone who can't stop blessing people. It's talking about a GENEROUS blesser. And it comes from out of their soul, not only their mouth.

The "blessing soul" reveals what God is like. He is a Blesser. The first thing God did when He created the man and woman was to BLESS them.

How do we pour out blessing to our husband, children, and those around us?

Bless them with smiles--not just when we feel like it, but smiling to bless them.
Bless them with kind and encouraging words.
Bless them with a listening ear.
Bless them by serving them.
Bless them by doing surprises for them.
Bless them with love and hugs.
Bless them with writing encouraging notes and poems.
Bless them with positivity which uplifts them. A downcast, sour face is a wet blanket in the home.

May God help us to be generous blessing souls.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Strength and dignity are traits of the Proverbs 31 woman.

One of the BLESSED women in the Bible was called Jael. God said that she was to be blessed above all women who lived in tents (that's how Jael, who was a Kenite, lived in those days). Why was she given such honor? Because she destroyed the enemy who came into her home. You can read the whole story in Judges 4:17-23 and 5:24-31.

God gave the Israelites victory over the Canaanites who had held them in slavery for 20 years. Captain Sisera was running for his life and came to the home of Jael. She took him in, gave him milk, and a bed to sleep. But once he was asleep she took a tent peg, silently crept up to him and nailed it through his head, crushing his head with a shattering blow. Why would Jael be honored for such a gruesome deed?

This story reveals a spiritual principle. Jael did not give the enemy a foothold in her home. She dealt him a death blow. This is the same spirit God wants us to have. The enemy of our souls and the souls of our children is always lurking around to gain a foothold in our home. We must be on the watch. And when he makes an appearance we do not sit idly by. We must not be tolerant. We must take action. Pray. Intercede. Speak out the Scriptures. Lift up the name of Jesus. Plead the blood of Jesus. Deal him a death blow.

Jael didn't even have to go out to war. She won the final victory for the nation right in her home. As a mother, you are also a warrior for God in your home. Don't give the devil who comes "to steal, kill, and destroy" one inch of comfort in your home. In the powerful name of Jesus Christ, throw him out.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

It's difficult to accomplish anything very powerful when you are apathetic about it, isn't it? Many things can only be accomplished by the "zeal of the Lord." Isaiah 9:7 tells us that "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." How is this going to be accomplished? The rest of the Scripture says, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." It is the passion and zeal of God that will perform this wonderful promise.

When Jesus behold what was happening in the temple which was called "The House of Prayer" he didn't stand by indifferently. He rose up in righteous indignation and drove the sheep, oxen, and money changers from the temple, kicking over all their tables. When the disciples saw it they remembered the Scripture, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up" (John 2:17 and Psalm 69:9).

I believe we also need the zeal of the Lord as we tackle the greatest career in the nation, that of mothering and training the next generation who will detriment the course of the nation. WE CAN'T DO IT HAPHAZARDLY. WE CAN'T DO IT APATHETICALLY. WE CAN'T DO IT HALF-HEARTEDLY. WE CAN'T DO IT PART TIME!

We must rise up in the zeal of the Lord, knowing the power and destiny of our calling and the urgency of this hour. Titus 2:14 exhorts us to be "zealous of good works" and the greatest work you are doing is raising your family. Do it with zeal.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Our God is a God of increase. Therefore, He wants us to be people of increase, too. Colossians 1:10 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." The word "increasing" is "epignosis" and means more than just knowledge. It is knowledge that powerfully influences our lives.

It's so easy to become stagnant and stay the same from day to day, isn't it? This is not God's plan for us. He wants us to daily increase in our understanding and knowledge of Him and working it out in our daily lives. It's good to ask the question, "Have I learned more of God today?" Well, if I haven't made time to read His Word, how can I understand more of Him?

"How do I get time to read the Bible when I have a new baby and little ones all around me?" you ask. In this season of your life you may not have time to set aside specific times, but it's amazing what you can fit in as you make it your aim. Keep a Bible in the bathroom to read a verse or two throughout the day. Keep a Bible at your windowsill where you prepare the meals and do dishes. Open it at Psalms or Proverbs. You can look up every now and then and read words that will strengthen and calm your soul.

What about your children? Are they increasing in the knowledge of God each day? This won't happen either without your imparting it into their lives. Like you, my life is filled from morning 'til night. That's why I am so grateful for our morning and evening Devotions where we all sit together as a family to listen to my husband read God's Word. If we didn't make time for these times, we would miss out on so much of what God wants to speak to us. It's how we grow and increase in the Lord--little by little, and day by day.

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

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

I was saddened as I read God's lament about the children of Israel in Jeremiah 7:23-28. He said: "They hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck . . . This is a nation that obeys not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receives correction: truth is perished and is cut off from their mouth."

Why were they so disobedient? Where did this trait begin? Did it begin in their homes? It is a fact that obedient children will usually be obedient to God. Disobedient children will be disobedient to God.

This is why God is so emphatic about training our children to obey. It is not only for their benefit; they will live a happier lives and ultimately a longer life. It is not only for our benefit; we will also live happier and more restful lives. But it is for God; He wants children who will obey Him. We train our children to obey us so obedience becomes a habit of their lives. They will be trained and ready to obey God when they hear His voice speaking to them.

I have always been challenged by the words from Surveying the Evidence, where the authors state: “If atheism is not normal, why do certain people become unbelievers? First of all, it is well known that the seeds of atheism can be planted early in life. One of the most dangerous contributions a parent can make toward the spiritual delinquency of his child is a failure to instill within him a wholesome respect for authority. If the parent neglects to set the proper example as an authority figure, or refuses to exercise discipline with love, he might well be rejected as an authority-figure by his child, and thus, by transference, the child ultimately may come to disdain all authority, including the Supreme Authority, God.”

The greatest aim of parenting is preparing our children to have the right attitude to God--to love Him with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength; but also to fear Him, honor Him, and obey Him. If they do not have the right attitude to their parents, they won't know how to relate to God.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Through all the little trials we face each day, motherhood is still the greatest. It is what we were born for!

It has always grieved me when I hear people say they are angry with God. Really? Who do we think we are to be mad at Him? He is the God of the universe, the Creator of the world and we ourselves, the God who judges righteously and perfectly, the God who loves us with an everlasting love, the God who is working everything out for our good even when we can't see it, and the God who sent His only Beloved Son to die and save us from our sins,

Romans 9:20 (NLT) asks the question: "Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God?"

Give up your contest with God. It takes too much energy. It is much easier to yield to His will and trust Him in whatever you are going through. Surrender. Lay on His breast and let Him quiet your spirit just as a babe is quietened at his mother's breast.

Although you cannot see it, God is working everything out for good. And no matter what you have suffered, God is able to heal your broken heart. He is the great healer and restorer. But He waits for you to come, give up all resistance, and rest in His love.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Have you miscarried or know someone who has? You will be blessed and comforted by this beautiful poem from Ashley Plourd
IN HIS ARMS

My dearest little baby, my dearest little flower,
The time of your departing, was my darkest hour.

I longed to see and touch you, I longed to hold you close,
I dreamed of counting fingers, and all your little toes.

I dreamed of what we'd name you, and the joy that you would bring
To your brother and your sister, oh how they'd laugh and sing!

For there is nothing quite as precious as a brand new little life,
And nothing quite as empty, when it's takes eternal flight.

Others think I'm mourning over such a little thing,
"We'll have plenty more and our lives are still the same."

But what is greater than life? And what is deeper than its loss?
Is it not what Jesus gave us when He died upon the cross?

Life is the greatest of all gifts, life is the greatest of all joys,
Life is ever so much more than just another girl or boy.

And so our lives are NOT the same, they never will be again,
Because we'll never know or see, all that might have been.

If you had come into the world and lived life to the full,
Perhaps you would have stopped another shooting at a school,

Or maybe you would have been the one to find a cure for cancer,
Maybe you would have found that long and sought for answer.

Of course the Lord can still choose to use another way,
But maybe it would have been you, who on earth can say?

But no, they never stop to think of what you might have been,
As life is not highly regarded by our modern man.

They move on and they forget. The unborn never gets a thought,
They say things without thinking and crush a mother's heart.

It's amazing how you've changed me, and for that I have to smile,
I'll not soon forget the lessons I've learned through this great trial.

I'll use it for God's glory and to bring others comfort too,
It wouldn't be this way at all, if it hadn't been for you.

I'm so glad God gave me a glimpse, as painful as it's been,
For I see His unseen hand, and I trust His master plan.

I'm so glad you're in His arms, though I'd rather have you here,
But it won't be long until I'm there, holding you my little dear.

© Ashley Plourd

Dear Ladies, Here is your list of GOD'S 31 PROMISES TO THOSE WHO WALK IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD! Print them out so you will have them for reference, not only for yourself, but to share with your family. Once again, you can take one promise each day for the 31 days of the month. Blessings from Nancy

"A WOMAN THAT FEARS THE LORD, SHE SHALL BE PRAISED" (Proverbs 31:30).

1. You will be prepared for leadership (Exodus 18:21).
2. You will receive the Lord's protection (Job 1:9, 10; and Psalm 34:7).
3. You will receive honor (Psalm 15:4 and Proverbs 22:4)
4. You will receive wealth and riches (Psalm 112:1-3 and Proverbs 22:4). Your wealth and riches may be greater than material wealth.
5. God will confide in you and tell us His secrets (Psalm 25:14).
6. God's eye will be upon you (Psalm 33:18).
7. You will have no want (Psalm 34:9).
8. You will be delivered (2 Chronicles 17:39; Psalm 34:7; and 85:9).
9. God will show you His mercy (Psalm 103:11, 17; 118:4; and Luke 1:50).
10. God will have compassion on you (Psalm 103:13).
11. God will provide food for you (“He provides food for those who fear Him” (Psalm 111:5).
12. God will fulfill your desires (Psalm 145:19).
13. God will take pleasure in you (“The Lord delights in those who fear Him” Psalm 147:11).
14. God will bless you and your children (Exodus 1:21; Psalm 112:1, 2; 115:13, 14; Proverbs 14:26; 28:14; and Luke 1:50).
15. God will bless you with many children around your table (Psalm 128:3, 4).
16. God will accept you (Acts 13:26).
17. God will store up goodness for you (Psalm 31:19).
18. God will teach you in the way He has chosen for you (Psalm 25:12).
19. God will hear your cry and save you (Psalm 145:19).
20. God will prolong your days (Deuteronomy 6:2 and Proverbs 10:27: “The fear of the Lord adds length to life”).
21. God will give you strong confidence (Proverbs 14:26).
22. God will give you a fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27 and 19:23).
23. You will be satisfied (Proverbs 19:23).
24. You will not be visited with evil (Proverbs 19:23).
25. You will prosper (Psalm 128:1, 2 and Ecclesiastes 8:12).
26. Things will go well for you (Psalm 128:1, 2; Ecclesiastes 8:12).
27. You will be rewarded (Proverbs 13:13).
28. You will receive wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; and 15:33)
29. God will give you life and peace (Malachi 2:5).
30. God will write about you in His book of remembrance (Malachi 3:16).
31. God will come to you with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).

Hebrews 11:5 tells us that Enoch had the testimony "that he pleased God." Do you long to have this testimony too? I do. What a great way to start the day praying, "Dear Father, help me to please you in everything I do today. Help me to please you as I mother my precious children. I want every thought to be pleasing to you. I want every word I speak to please you. Please help me by the power of your Holy Spirit, Amen."

We cannot please God with our own works of the flesh; only that which we do in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We only please Him as everything we offer to Him is in righteousness. Sometimes we have to let the Holy Spirit do some purging and cleansing in our lives too, or we certainly won't be pleasing the heart of our Father.

In Malachi 3:2-5 we read how the offerings were only pleasing to the Lord after He had purged and purified the people. Look up the passage and read it.

Let's live lives that are pure and pleasing to Him today.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

We are often reminded that there is a coming Judgment Day. Yes, that is true, but God also judges in the present tense. 1 Peter 1:17 says: "And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear."

In this Scripture God is described as both Father and Judge. He is our loving, approachable, compassionate Father, but He is also Judge. The judgment of God also reveals His love for us. If there was no judgment upon our lives, there would be no safety and we would end in destruction.

There are many folks who only want to know God in HIs love. There are others who only talk about the judgment of God. Both are wrong for we must embrace God as both loving Father and loving Judge. It is this understanding that causes us to walk in the fear of the Lord while we sojourn on this earth. We walk in fear before our Father because we do not want to hurt Him or displease Him. We walk in fear before Him as Judge because we know that sin is so hateful to Him that He had to send His beloved son to take the punishment we deserved because of our sin.

I had a beautiful relationship with my father as I grew up. My father had such great faith in me and believed in me. He believed I was great and wonderful and because I loved him, I couldn't bear to do anything that would displease him. This love for him kept me walking in purity as a young person. And yet I didn't miss out on judgment from my father. I was rather wild, rebellious in spirit, and independent. I received severe spankings, but never once did they hurt my relationship with my father. I knew I deserved everyone of them and they came out of his great love and concern for me.

Do we have this relationship with God? We walk in fear of displeasing Him. We walk in fear of being deceived and falling into sin because we know we are only human. Therefore we embrace Him as our Father and our Judge. Alexander Maclaren writes that this fear is. "A lowly consciousness of the heinousness of sin, and consequently a dread of offending the Divine holiness. He who thus fears, fears to sin more than anything else, and fears God so much that he fears nothing besides." He also writes: "The strongest needs to fear; the weakest, fearing, is safe. For such fearfulness is indispensable to safety . . . The only safety for any of us is ever to be on the watch, and to dread our own weakness."

F. B. Meyer writes about this fear: He says that it is "Not the fear of consequences to itself, but to the fear of grieving the Father, of bringing a shadow over His face, of missing any manifestation of His love and nearness to Himself, which may be granted to the obedient child. Love casts out fear, but it also begets it. There is nothing craven, or fretful, or depressing; but a tenderness of conscience which dreads the tiniest cloud on the inner sky, such as might overshadow for a single moment the clear shining of the Father's face."

May we, and our children, learn to walk in this kind of fear as we sojourn in this alien land.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Did you know that the terrorist group, Boko Haram, have just kidnapped 80 hostages in a northern city of Cameroon, mostly women and children? This comes on the top of the killing of about 2,000 (mostly women, children, and older people) in another attack in Nigeria. It was described as "the deadliest massacre" in the history of Boko Haram.

Please pray against the continuing of this evil terrorist group. Pray also against the evil killings and continuance of the terrorist groups of ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestine Liberation Front, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and many, many others.

There is no greater protection than prayer, and no more powerful weapon we can use than prayer. Let's keep praying.

~ Nancy

Here are 31 characteristics that show we are walking in the fear of the Lord. There is one for every day of the month. Share them with your family too:

If we are walking in the fear of the Lord. . .

1. We will not withhold from God whatever He asks of us (Genesis 22:12).
2. We will keep from sinning (Exodus 20:20, and Deuteronomy 4:9, 10).
3. We will not compromise with evil (Exodus 1:15-20).
4. We will walk in the truth (Exodus 18:21).
5. We will hate covetousness (Exodus 18:21).
6. We will not despise the blind or deaf (Leviticus 19:14).
7. We will show honor to the aged (Leviticus 19:32)
8. We will not take advantage of the poor, but help them (Leviticus 25:35-43).
9. We will obey God's commandments and walk in His ways (Deuteronomy 5:29; 6:2, 13; 8:6; 10:12, 13; 13:4; 17:19; 31:12; 2 Chronicles 6:31; and Ecclesiastes 12:13).
10. We will cleave to the Lord (Deuteronomy 10:12).
11. We will not be presumptuous (Deuteronomy 17:12, 13).
12. We will tithe (Deuteronomy 14:22, 23).
13. We will be morally clean and pure (Psalm 19:9).
14. We will walk in wisdom (Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs1:7; 9:10; and 15:33).
15. We will walk uprightly (Proverbs 14:2).
16. We will serve the Lord in sincerity and truth (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20; Joshua 24:14; 1 Samuel 12:14, 15, 24; Psalm 2:11; and Hebrews 12:28).
17. We will love God (Deuteronomy 10:12).
18. We will praise and worship the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:58; Psalm 5:7; 22:23; 135:20; and Revelation 14:7).
19. We will declare to others what God has done for us (Psalm 66:16; 118:4).
20. We will trust the Lord (Psalm 115:11).
21. We will hate evil (Proverbs 8:13).
22. We will depart from evil (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3; Proverbs 3:7; 14:16; and 16:6).
23. We will keep from vanities (Ecclesiastes 5:7).
24. We will talk and fellowship often with the people of God (Malachi 3:16).
25. We will give generously to those in need (Acts 10:2).
26. We will pray always (Acts 10:2).
27. We will walk blamelessly before the world (Acts 10:22 and Nehemiah 5:9). Nehemiah said in Nehemiah 5:15 (HCSB): "The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the people . . . but I didn't do this, because of the fear of God." Someone has said: “Others may, but I cannot"!
28. We will walk in holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1).
29. We will have a submissive spirit (Ephesians 5:21).
30. We will give obedient and good service to our employers (Colossians 3:22).
31. We will prepare an ark for the saving of our family (Hebrews 11:7).

“Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long” (Proverbs 23:17).

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

I hope you are brave enough to read this post after reading the title. We don't want to hear about such things as fear and trembling. We'd rather read about hope, love, joy, and all the lovely things we can think about. However, the Bible is filled with Scriptures about walking in the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.

It seems that we are gradually moving away more and more from walking in the fear of the Lord. We don't even fear God's Word and yet the psalmist proclaimed: "My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments" (Psalm 119:120). God tells us in Isaiah 66:2 that the person He looks to is the one who "is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." Is this my attitude to God's Word?

Philippians 2:12 tells us to "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." It is the fear of the Lord that keeps us from walking in sin and walking away from God.

Do our children see us walking in the fear of the Lord? Are we teaching them what it means to walk in the fear of the Lord? Our children face a world of temptations from the enemy, "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). The only thing that will keep their hearts pure in this dirty world is to walk in the fear of the Lord.

This is one of the prayers that we constantly pray for our children, that they will walk in the fear of the Lord. We pray it into their lives, but we must also teach it to them. Deuteronomy 4:10 tells us that we must "learn" to fear the Lord.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Let's make this the finality on every decision we have to make.

Godly families who hold fast to God's truth are the desperate need of this nation. Isaiah 26:2 says, "Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation, which keepeth the truth may enter in." The word "keepeth" is "shamar" and means "to preserve, to guard, to give heed to, to keep watch."

It's the righteous nation that enters in to all God's blessings--the nation that observes and guards God's absolute truths. And not just one truth, but all of God's truths. The margin in my Bible says the word "truth" should be "truths," plural. It's not enough to pick a psalm to be comforted. We have to seek the whole counsel of God. When was the last time you read Leviticus?

But a nation is made up of families and will only be righteous when we have righteous families. If fathers and mothers are not keeping God's truths alive in their families, the nation gradually looses the truth and slowly succumbs to deception. And when God's truth departs from the nation, darkness, depravity, and destruction begin. Where do you think we are in our nation today?

Isaiah 59:14, 15 (NLT) says, "Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked."

But, we never give up hope. God will revive and restore us as we turn back to him. It starts with me. With my family. With your family. And as each family begins to seek after God's truth in His Word, impart it daily to their families, and seek to live it out, we can restore righteousness in the nation.

All it takes is godly families who will uncompromisingly hold on to the truth.

Will you and your family begin the restoration?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell