Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

~ Nancy

 

Lois Jordan was the design artist for Above Rubies back in the beginning days, over 44 years ago! I would frequently go out to her home and call her down from the roof to do some artwork when we were working on a new magazine. Those were the days when we didn’t have computers and all the design was done with cut and paste.

 

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 all have to build a house with hammer and nails. But we do have to build. We are building a godly family. A strong family. A family that can ride the storms and stay intact. 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

 

The first is ”oikourogo,” coming from two words:

oikos meaning “home” and ergon meaning “to work.”

 

The word literally means HOME-WORKERS!

In other words, the mother is not working out in the corporate world, but in the home.

 

The second is ”oikouros.” also from two Greek words:

oikos meaning “a home, a dwelling, or by metonymy--a household or family” and

ouros meaning “to guard, to watch, to keep, to have the oversight and responsibility for something.”

 

This translation means HOME-GUARDERS!

 

It is the picture of a “keeper of the castle” who guards it from any intruder.

 

The above word is only used in this Scripture in the New Testament. Therefore, we must look to similar words in the Greek language to fully understand its meaning. This word and all derivatives of this word were used in the context of a woman who stayed at home for the purpose of managing her household. In the language of the day this same word referred to a watch dog who guarded the house. It was also used of men who stayed home to avoid military service. They were called “stay-at-home” men.

 

Therefore, this word means a “stay-at-home” mother, which is also the exact meaning from the Strong’s concordance, “a stayer at home.” She does not stay home for the sake of staying home. She is home to watch over and guard her family. She is a Watch Dog. What is the use of a Watch Dog who is not at home?

 

This woman does not stay at home because of legality. No. She sees her home as a powerful place to raise her children and prepare them for their destiny and to impact the world. She also sees it as a glorious opportunity to bless many people as she invites them into her home to bless and encourage them.

 

She loves her home. She is happy and contented in her home. She knows the power of her home. She is proud of her career in her home.

 

Be blessed in your home today,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

I happen to agree with him. Why do we think that we have a better plan for our lives that the one who intricately, wonderfully, and marvelously created us?

 

God, in His perfect design, for “all His ways are perfect,” created a father and a mother. He gave each one distinct roles to fulfil. Each brings their own strengths to the parenting career. Many want to change the roles because of convenience. The wife wants to take on the role of provider which means she must give her children to someone else to watch. And yet no guardian, no matter how loving, can ever be in tune to the innermost needs of her child like the mother.

 

Sometimes a mother can earn more money than her husband, so she goes to work while her husband stays home with the children. This is a role reversal and not planned by the God who created us.

 

But you say, “I know fathers who are great stay-at-home-fathers to their children.” That may be so, but they cannot be a mother no matter how they try. God has put within women a maternal anointing that men don’t have. Yes, men love their children. They have a strong instinct to protect their children. They want to provide for their children, but they cannot “mother” their children; they were created to “father” children. There is a difference.

 

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. These hormones release mothering hormones and a man simply does not have the abundance of these hormones that God gives to a mother to nurture.

 

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 making a home feel like a home. He was created to go out and work hard to provide for his family.

 

To get back to our original statement, I do concede that men and women can transfer their roles to a certain extent, but only at the expense of God’s ultimate blessing for the family. God intends fathers and mothers to fully embrace the way He created them and to reveal these strengths to their children which are to pass on from one generation to the next. Children who grow up in a family where the mother works, and the husband stays home with the children, will have a distorted understanding of God’s definitive plan. They will be confused and deceived. And what happens in the next generation? Will they think it normal to carry on this pattern until we have a society of men at home and women in the work force? God forbid.

 

Be blessed today in your God-given role of mothering,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

The following are just a few of the things for which I am thankful.

 

T I thank God for TEACHING me His ways.

 

H I thank God for giving me my HUSBAND. Marriage becomes more and more beautiful with time.

 

A I thank God for ANOINTING me to be a mother. Is there any greater blessing, apart from our salvation, than to enjoy the blessings of children and grandchildren?

 

N I thank God for creating me to be a NURTURER and NOURISHER to my family and to others.

 

K I thank God for His KINDNESS to me.

 

F I thank God for my FAMILY, extended family, and those who consider themselves to be part of our family. Yesterday on Thanksgiving we were blessed to receive another greatgrandbaby into our family.

 

U I thank God for giving me UNDERSTANDING of His truth. My greatest delight is to receive revelation of God’s truth from His living Word.

 

L I am thankful for LIFE. I thank God for LOVING me enough to die for me and shed His precious blood for my sins. He not only redeemed me but dwells within me to give ABUNDANT LIFE. I don’t like to let a day go by without thanking Him for His great and unspeakable and eternal salvation.

 

May thankfulness fill our hearts every day of the year, even in the most difficult and darkest times.

 

Have a wonderful day,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

Hebrews 9:1 tells us: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” That’s King James language, not always easy to understand if you are not used to it.

 

Let’s read it in the J. B. Phillips’ translation: “. . . and it had a sanctuary, a holy place in this world for the eternal God.” Don’t you love those words? Let’s read them again: “A HOLY PLACE IN THIS WORLD FOR THE ETERNAL GOD.”

 

Back in those days, God dwelt in the midst of His people, Israel. God dwelt in His Shekinah glory in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and later the temple. Today, God does not live in a temple in Jerusalem, but He still wants a dwelling place on earth. He now comes to dwell in our hearts, and He also wants to dwell in our homes (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 and 2 Corinthians 6:16).

 

The eternal God desires your home to be a holy place for Him on this earth. Can you seek to make your home a holy place for Him?

 

God wants every material thing in our homes to be anointed with His presence. Even our pots and pans (Zechariah 14:20, 21).

 

But there’s more. God not only wants our homes to be holy, but all the area around our homes. Talking about Ezekiel’s temple in Ezekiel 43:12 it says: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain THE WHOLE LIMIT THEREOF ROUND ABOUT SHALL BE MOST HOLY. Behold, this is the law of the house.” You may only have a little backyard, or you may own many acres. Whatever God has given to you, He wants it all to be holy.

 

We not only guard what goes on in our homes but what goes on around our homes. Who hangs out with our children? What is happening on the inside? What is happening on the outside?

 

Fill your home with everything that promotes holiness and cast out every evil thing.

 

Holiness begins with you, dear wife and mother. You are the heart of the home, and it is your responsibility to make it holy. Make it your vision to make a holy place for God in the midst of this sinful world.

 

Hebrews 12:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”

 

May you have a beautiful day in your home,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

1 Timothy 2:15 (BSB) reminds us that women will be “saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love, and HOLINESS, with self-control.” The Scriptures combine motherhood with holiness. This word is translated “sanctification” in other places and literally means to be purified. Motherhood is certainly a role that exposes our flesh and our need to be purified, doesn’t it?

 

There is an interesting verse in the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha was not included in the canon of Scripture, but it is good reading. Ecclesiasticus 1:16 (Knox) says: “Wouldest thou be wise, the first step is fear of the Lord . . . it goes with holy motherhood.”

 

Mother, God sees your work as holy. You are called into holy employment! You are set apart by God for this sacred task, the mightiest career in the nation. Motherhood is what keeps civilization going. Motherhood determines the rise or fall of the nation. Motherhood is eternal. God has divinely called you to not only train your children to spread the kingdom of God on this earth but to prepare them for the eternal realm.

 

You may think that much of what you do in the home is mundane and worthless. Wrong thinking! Everything you do in your home—scrubbing toilets, changing diapers, teaching your children, or preparing meals are all part of the holy estate of motherhood. Every task is holy, no matter how lowly.

 

Zechariah 14:20, 21 talks about even our pots and pans being holy unto the Lord. That makes a difference to preparing meals, doesn’t it?

 

What a privilege and blessing to be employed in a holy vocation.

 

May your home be filled with the presence of the Lord today,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

Painting by Trent Gudmandsen

 

Let’s talk about our marriage first. When a couple stands before the minister to take their marriage vows, he begins with the words: “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this man and this woman in HOLY matrimony . . . and therefore, is not by any, to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly – but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and solemnly. Into this HOLY estate these two persons present now come to be joined.”

 

Hebrews 13:4 (NET): “Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.” Marriage is a holy estate. Because God ordained it, it is sacred and to be set apart for Him. It is not something we take lightly because we are taking part in a God-ordained holy institution.

 

A holy marriage begins before marriage. It begins in the courting days of keeping ourselves pure and undefiled to come to the marriage as a virgin. It should be exemplified on the wedding day. It grieves my heart that so many young brides come to their wedding day exposing so much of their flesh. Most wedding dresses today are strapless and many show too much cleavage. Why would a holy daughter of God show off her flesh to all her guests? At some weddings you hardly know where to look. The beautiful wedding dress is spoiled by the low-cut dress and the same with all the bridesmaids. It’s no longer holy. I believe a virgin should come to the wedding covered! It is her husband’s privilege to uncover her.

 

We then continue to build a holy marriage. A holy marriage begins in the mind. The devil will try to bring tempting thoughts to your mind which you must constantly resist and cast off in the name of Jesus. Your marriage is exclusive to you and your husband, not to be shared with any other man. You would never think of meeting with another man for coffee or fellowship. Once you are married, you enjoy friendships with the opposite sex only with your husband, not on your own.

 

We need to be reminded again of the marriage vows. “I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, and FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, keep myself ONLY unto you as long as we both shall live.”

 

Let’s remember we have been called into a holy estate.

 

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

 

I shared with you recently that the Proverbs 31 woman is described as a strong woman: “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is above rubies.” The word “virtuous” is “chayil” and means “strength, valiant, and is usually used in the context of an army.”

 

But although we must be strong, we dare not lose our softness. It is one of the beautiful characteristics of being female. I love the way the Hebrew uses organs of the body to express emotions and affection. There are four different Hebrew words for “womb” in the Bible. Let me share the meaning of just two of them.

 

“Racham” comes from the root word “to fondle.” It means “to cherish a babe in the womb, to love deeply, to be compassionate, to show tender mercy and pity.” This word is used interchangeably in the Bible for the womb of a woman and also to describe God’s compassion and mercy.

 

“Meah” comes from a root word meaning “to be soft.” It refers to the internal organs including the reproductive organs. It speaks of our emotions and also of God’s emotions.

 

The womb is more than a literal place to conceive and nurture a babe. It is the seat of our compassion and tenderness. As we embrace our womb and childbearing, we return again to a soft and tender spirit. Little babies keep our hearts soft and at the same time we reveal the compassionate and tender heart of God.

 

God has chosen His female creation to reveal His mercy and tenderness to the world—firstly to our children and then to a hurting world. No wonder 1 Timothy 2:15 says that we will be preserved through embracing childbearing. We are saved from becoming tough and hard. Motherhood keeps us soft, tender, and beautiful in our femaleness.

 

Be blessed,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

We read the word chaste in the Bible. It’s one of the attributes that older women are to teach the younger women (Titus 2:5). The Greek word “hagnos” means “clean, pure from every fault and carnality, modest, moral excellence,”

 

Do we have this quality about us? Are we showing it and teaching it to our daughters and the next generation? It is one of beautiful attributes of a Christlike character.

 

Perhaps we should ask ourselves some questions:

 

Am I clean in my mind? Chasteness begins in the mind. You will remember that Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on the things that are “pure.” That is the same word that is translated chaste.

 

Am I sexually pure and faithful to my marriage?

 

Am I chaste in my conduct and how I dress? Morally pure? It is sad that you could not describe much of the clothing in the Christian church today as “chaste.”

 

1 John 3:2, 3: “We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth (hagnizo – to keep clean and pure) himself, even as he is pure (hagnos).”

 

 

Love from Nancy Campbell

 

Awhile back I read the book, “A Severe Mercy” by Sheldon Vanauken which also includes 18 unpublished letters by C. S. Lewis. It is the true story of Sheldon and Davy’s romance and life together. They lifted love to a new plane and called their love relationship “INLOVENESS.” To them it was “the greatest glory ever known.” Isn’t this a lovely word to aspire to in our own marriage relationships?

 

Awhile back I read another new word in one of George McDonald’s books. He talked about “HOMENESS,” picturing the warmth, love, and joy of home. I love this word too. It takes thought, time, love, and prayer to make our home a place of “homeness,” doesn’t it? It’s never wasted time. It’s a beautiful thing. I’s a nice word to add to our vocab too, isn’t it?

 

Let’s keep going. What about “WOMBNESS”? Did you know there was such a word? Yes, it’s not some imaginative word. It’s a reality. It’s very much part of who we are as women. In fact, you would not be a woman if you did not have a womb!

 

However, did you know that that wombness also applies to God? The Hebrew word “racham” is used in the Bible to describe the literal womb of woman and to also reveal God’s compassion and tender mercy. It is translated “mercy” 32 times. When we embrace our wombness, we reveal the compassion and mercy of God.

 

The meaning of “feminine” in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary is as follows: “The first syllable is probably from womb . . . The last part of the word is probably from man, quasi, “femman,” womb-man. To be feminine is to be ‘a womb man.’”

 

Embrace these lovely words. And there are so many more words that end with “ness” that describe our beautiful role as a mother and wife. I will share some more with you in future posts.

 

Have a beautiful day. It’s a lovely fall day here in Tennessee. Hope yours is wonderful too.

 

Nancy Campbell

 

Picture: Noble and Megan Barrett. One of my lovely grandbabies growing in the womb. Isn’t it such a beautiful picture?

 

The word “virtuous” in the Hebrew is “chayil” meaning “virtue, valor, military strength.” It is the same Hebrew word that is translated “valor” or “valiant” for men.

 

This woman is not a wimp. She is someone to be reckoned with. She has the strength of a soldier in battle. She has physical strength, but her inward strength is even greater.

 

She is not strong in independence but strong in the precious qualities that God has given to His female creation.

 

Her strength of character enables her to submit to her husband instead of jumping up and down and demanding her own way.

 

Her strength of character guards her mouth instead of spitting out harsh and hurtful words.

 

Her strength of character enables her to stand strong against temptations of lust. She is strong in morality and purity. She will be true to her husband as long as she lives. She lives “only unto him” as she vowed on her wedding day. She stands true to her marriage vows in the good times and the difficult times, “for better, for worse, in sickness and in health . . .”

 

Her strength of character enables her to trust God even when life is overwhelming and full of trials. She keeps calm no matter what is happening around her.

 

Her strength of character causes her to purposely do good to her husband every day of her life (Proverbs 31:12).

 

Her strength of character saves her from getting sucked into the humanistic mindset of this world. She is not swayed by the crowd and what everyone does. Instead, she searches God’s Word to see what God says. She lives by the eternal principles of God’s Word rather than the mindset of current society. She is prepared to do it God’s way even if no one else follows (Romans 3:4)!

 

Her strength of character keeps her from lowering herself to gossip and worthless words. When she speaks, she opens her mouth in kindness (Proverbs 31:26).

 

Her strength of character saves her from selfishness and thinking only of her own needs. Her heart is big and open to the needs of others (Proverbs 31:20 and 1 Peter 5:10).

 

Her strength of character enables her to work hard and not neglect the feeding and clothing of her family (Proverbs 31:14, 15, 21, 27).

 

Her strength of character causes her to fear the Lord rather than man (Proverbs 31:30).

 

Dear mothers, don’t despair if you don’t feel that you have arrived. You cannot wave a wand and become a virtuous woman. You grow into it as you go through your trials and your battles. They make you stronger and more “valiant in the fight” (Hebrews 11:34). You grow into it as you seek God, His precious Word, and His wisdom.

 

Day by day you are becoming a woman who is strong in character.

 

Be blessed,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

It’s more than kindness. Lovingkindness is a better word. It’s a kindness which involves two parties. It speaks of God’s covenant with Israel which is an everlasting covenant. His dealings with Israel show how He deals with us. Because of their waywardness and rebellion, God had to continually judge and punish His people. Because He is God, He cannot let go His justice and righteousness and must execute judgment on sin. Eventually, He could not tolerate the evil of the Israelites any longer and scattered them to the four corners of the earth.

 

Nevertheless, God had made a covenant. He is lovingkindness (chesed). His lovingkindness will not let go. He will not wash His hands of Israel, nor of us. He judges, but never gives up. Rebellion cannot destroy His love. It is the essence of that lovely old hymn, “O love that will not let me go.”

 

After vomiting the Israelites out of the land because of their sin, God sent hundreds of promises through His prophets to tell them that He will one day bring them back to the land again. These prophecies are being fulfilled before our eyes. We saw the miracle of Israel become a nation again on 14 May 1948 and now Jews are pouring back to the land from all over the world. This is God revealing Himself as “chesed.”

 

It is also related to the old English word “troth.” Have you heard this word before? At the end of their vows, the bridal couple says: “And thereto I give thee my troth." Our children used these original wedding vows on their wedding day. It means that the couple confesses publicly that they will be faithful to their marriage covenant.

 

Because God is a God of lovingkindness and we are created in His image, He desires us to show forth this grace too.

 

Let’s practice being kind. Kind to our husbands. Kind to our children. Kind to the people around us. Do you notice this Scriptures says that the virtuous woman reveals kindness through her tongue? Are you speaking kind and loving words to your husband today? Are you speaking kind words to your children?

 

May your home be blessed today,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

Two different words are used to describe a woman’s strength in this chapter. The Hebrew word in Proverbs 31:25 is “oz” and means “majesty, might, power, and strength.”

 

Proverbs 31:10 gives us another picture of a woman’s strength: “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.” The word virtuous is “chayil” and means “might, strength, power, valor, and wealth. It is used mainly in the context of an army or war.”

 

“Chayil” is used to describe men of valor. Here’s an example in 1 Chronicles 12:8 where the Gadites are described as: “Men of might (chayil), and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as roes upon the mountains.”

 

It’s interesting that translators used the word “valor” for men, but the word “virtuous” for women, and yet it is the same Hebrew word. That doesn’t mean that we go out to fight in an army. I believe that is the place for men, not women. But God also wants us to be strong. Strong to fight, not flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. Because God ordained marriage and family, Satan hates it. He is out to destroy it.

 

Therefore, we are in the fight against the enemy. We fight against all his temptations to destroy our marriage or fragment our family life.

 

We need to be strong in the Lord, strong in faith, strong in truth, strong in our convictions, strong in embracing our femininity in a deceived world, strong in commitment to our marriage and to our family, and strong in faithfulness. We need to be strong spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

 

Who knows that motherhood is not for wimps? We need to be strong in every aspect of our lives for this high and noble calling. No wonder God pictures women clothed with strength.

 

Proverbs 31:17 says: “She girdeth her loins with strength (oz), and strengtheneth her arms.” Have you found that you have become stronger the longer you mother? Your arms certainly get stronger holding babies and toddlers. You become more mature and stronger in every aspect of your life.

 

Of course, we know our strength comes from the Lord. We can confess “I am clothed with strength,” knowing that we walk in His strength.

 

Be blessed today,

 

Nancy Campbell

 

Painting: “Climbing Mother” by Brian Kershisnik