Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Home should be the greatest drawing place on earth. God is the originator of the Home. Homes are His idea.

Embrace and love your home today.

Nancy Campbell

Therefore, if you are born again and have entered the kingdom of God, you may as well get used to the fact that God’s eternal truths are at loggerheads with human wisdom. Why are you so concerned that you think differently to our culture? You’re not meant to think like our humanistic culture today. Your thinking should be transformed! We are meant to think like God thinks, not like the world thinks (Isaiah 55:8, 9).

Jesus went on to explain to his disciples the meaning of the parable of the sower where people hear “the word of the kingdom.” Verses 20, 21 say: “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has not root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises BECAUSE OF THE WORD (the truths of the kingdom of God which are opposite to the thinking of the natural man), immediately he stumbles.”

If we believe and receive God’s Word from beginning to end. If we obey the words of His kingdom, we will receive reaction from family and people around us. We may face ridicule. Be scoffed at. We may even face persecution.

The question is: will we be offended? Will we turn away because kingdom truths are opposite to man’s ideas? Or will we stick fast?

We belong to a kingdom that is not of this world. It is an everlasting kingdom. A kingdom that will never be shaken. A kingdom that will one day rule every other kingdom. Because our kingdom is not of this world, the natural man cannot understand it.

In a society where marriages are breaking up, you build and strengthen your marriage. You are sticking to your sacred vows. In a culture where people do not understand the value of children, you embrace the children God planned to give to you. Even though you receive pressure to leave your children and get out of the home, you stand your ground. You will not give the children God has given you to someone else to raise. You know who God created you to be. You embrace motherhood, home, and family. You are out of step with culture, but you are in step with God.

People can’t understand you, but you are coming to understand the “mysteries of the kingdom.” You know they are God’s eternal truths. They are God’s blueprint. They bring peace, joy, and rest.

“Blessed are your eyes, for they SEE: and your ears, for they HEAR” (Matthew 13:16).

Be blessed today.

Nancy Campbell

What is the most important thing you want to teach your children? I know you have great aspirations for your children. You want them to be successful, that’s for sure. And therefore, you spend much time on their education and taking them to all the different extra-curricular activities.

But have we missed it? I find that even among wonderful homeschooling families that most children come forth from their homes knowing very little of God’s Word. Yes, they had a Christian education, but they don’t know the Word. It’s not inside them. It’s not coming out their mouths.

God makes His plan for raising our children very plain. Let’s remind ourselves of just a few Scriptures, among hundreds:

Deuteronomy 6:6, 7 (AMP): “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be (written) on your heart and mind. You shall teach them diligently to your children (impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths) and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.”

Isaiah 59:21 (ESV): “’As for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the LORD: ‘My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your MOUTH, shall not depart out of your MOUTH, or out of the MOUTH of your offspring, or out of the MOUTH of your children’s offspring,’ says the LORD ‘from this time forth and forevermore.’”

The above Scriptures command us to get God’s Word, not only into the hearts of our children, but into their mouths. God is very concerned about making sure our children constantly speak His words. They should be coming out their mouths!

We need to also remind ourselves of the Scriptures which promise that if we get God’s Words into our children and they daily walk in obedience to them that they will prosper and be successful:

Joshua 1:8: “The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way PROSPEROUS, AND THEN YOU WILL HAVE GOOD SUCCESS.”

Psalm 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and WHATEVER HE DOES SHALL PROSPER.”

Let’s take notice, dear parents. If we want our children to be successful, we’ve got to get God’s Words into their hearts and MOUTHS! It’s more important than all the rest of their education. It’s more important that all their extra activities. It’s the most important part of every day.

So what are we doing about it? What plans do we have? Do we plan our children’s days with this purpose in mind? Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us to be ready to talk of His commands and ways at any moment of the day. But I believe we also need to make specific times. The biblical pattern is the morning and evening principle—to gather the family together every morning and every evening to read God’s Word to them and to pray together. This is the very least we can do.

Make sure that you plan your day around making this happen for the blessing and success of your children.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

We can’t let this go without standing up for what is right. We must always stand for life. God is for life. He is the author of life, but Satan hates life and wants to kill, rob, and destroy.

What can you do? Pray above everything else. Pray for repentance among our national leaders for helping to kill babies. Pray for God to change their hearts. Pay for leaders who will stand for truth. Pray for pastors and clergy who will stand for truth. Pray together as a family each day.

And pray in your churches? Did your church pray about this matter on Sunday?

And be a voice. Go to https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ where you can leave a message for President Trump. Tell him that you expected him to keep his promise. Tell him to stand up for life and do something to defund Planned Parenthood.

Phone your senators. Go to:
https://www.dailykos.com/…/-Call-your-senator-Phone-numbers…

Phone your congressmen. Go to: https://www.house.gov/representatives

If you would prefer to email, click on the name of your representative which will take you to where you can email them. I both emailed a message and phoned my senators and representatives.

By the way, why did I say I was shuddering with horror? Paul writes in Romans 12:9: “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” The Greek word “abhor” is very strong and means “to shudder with horror.” Is there anything more horrifying than the killing of unborn innocent lives? If it doesn’t make us shudder, we should ask God to soften our hearts to beat with His heart.

Proverbs 31:8, 9 exhorts us: “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and please the cause of the poor and needy.”

Did you notice that this Scripture doesn’t tell you to keep your mouth closed, but to OPEN YOUR MOUTH!

Make your voice heard.

Thanks for standing for life,

Nancy Campbell

No children in the house at all,
No finger marks upon the wall,
No corner where the toys are piled—
Sure indication of a child.
No little lips to breathe the prayer
That God shall keep you in His care,
No glad caress and welcome sweet
When night returns you to your street;
No little lips a kiss to give—
Oh, what a lonely way to live!

No children in the house! I fear
We could not stand it half a year.
What would we talk about at night?
Plan for and work with all our might,
Hold common dreams about and find
True union of the heart and mind,
If we two had no greater care
Than what we both should eat and wear?
We never knew love’s brightest flame
Until the day the baby came.

And now we could not get along
Without their laughter and their song,
Joy is not bottled on a shelf,
It cannot feed upon itself;
And even love, if it shall wear,
Must find its happiness in care;
Dull we’d become of mind and speech
Had we no little ones to teach.
No children in the house to play!
Oh, we could never live that way!

By Edgar Guest.

It all starts with us. First, we choose what we do with our emotions. We choose how we handle our trials. I know that life isn’t perfect. Many things don’t go the way we want them to. Life often hits us whammies we never imagined.

Whatever we face today, we can choose to trust God. He is bigger than any situation we face. We can choose to praise Him in the midst of the storm. We can choose to rejoice in every situation. We can choose to see things in the light of the eternal, instead of the here and now (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

We can choose to fill our home with God’s presence. We do this by choosing to praise God instead of complaining, moaning, griping, and falling into self-pity. Psalm 22:3 says that God dwells in our praises! That means that when we choose to praise instead of groan, God dwells in us. His presence comes to us and fills our home. The word is “yashab” and even means to “sit down.” He sits down and rests in our praises. Some translations say that He is “enthroned” in our praises.

1 Peter 4:12-14 inspires us to rejoice even in the midst of fiery trials. Actually, we are to “exceedingly rejoice.” And when we rejoice instead of grumbling, “the spirit of glory and of God rests upon” us (v. 14). Isn’t that incredible? That sure brings a wonderful atmosphere to your home.

What rests upon you and your home today? The morbid mud of self-pity, or the glory of God?

Love to you today,

Nancy Campbell

But what decision builds into the marriage and the home? I think you’ve guessed it. It is so easy to build into so many other things in this life and forget our greatest building project.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that you will never go out. There are always special occasions. But we need to be sensitive and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as to what is the best thing. Good things are often the enemy of the best! It’s so easy to get into the habit of always going out, which doesn’t build up the marriage and the home. I believe it is important, as much as possible, to be home with your husband and family to prepare the evening meal, to sit together for the evening meal, and to enjoy family worship together.

Proverbs 14:1: “Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands.” The New Century Version says it very clearly: “A wise woman strengthens her family, but a foolish woman destroys hers by what she does.”

Every day make decisions. Every day we plan our schedule. Let’s always make our decisions in the light of building up and strengthening our marriages and families. And remember, it’s not just the big things, but the little everyday things that are the most powerful building tools.

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

Your Bible. Most important of all.

A Daily Devotional of your choice. You may love to have “100 Days of Blessing” which is a devotional especially for wives and mothers. We have both volumes 1 and 2 available for you at http://tinyurl.com/100DaysBundle

A different version of the Bible than you normally read. I keep my “Hebrew/Greek Key Study Bible in the King James Version. However, I love to have a couple of different translations to also refer to. I am a connoisseur of Bible translations and change them in my basket from time to time.

An old hymn book (it is wonderful to read some of the wonderful old hymns to inspire you in your worship and walk with the Lord).

A hard-covered diary in which you can write the most important Scripture God gives you for the day.

Two or three pens (or even more as they seem to disappear quickly), as you want to have a pen on hand when God speaks to you. I need a load of pens as I am a professional pen looser!

Keep your Meditation Basket in the place where you love to sit with the Lord. You can pick up your basket and take it with you anywhere in the house. To your bedroom. Or to the sofa where you are nursing the baby. You may like to take it outside under a tree while you watch the children play, or wherever you want to go. It’s all in the basket. You don’t have to run around finding everything when you find another cozy nook somewhere.

I hope this is an inspiration to you. Have a lovely day.

NANCY CAMPBELL

But it rarely happens without food. Food paves the way for these life-changing and sometimes nation-changing moments to happen. And who does it come back to? The mother in the home. She is the one who prepares the atmosphere by lovingly preparing the food and graciously setting it on the table. It doesn’t have to be exotic food. It only needs to be simple food. But food is needed!

How Jesus loved to sit at the table and share divine truths. What was Jesus own testimony of himself? “The Son of man is come eating and drinking” (Luke 7:34). Robert Karris, the author of “Eating Your Way Through Luke’s Gospel” says: “In Luke’s Gospel Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal.”

Proverbs 31:15 (NASB) says: “She (the mother in the home) rises also while it is still night and gives food to her household.” SHE is the one who prepares the food. SHE is the one who prepares the way for family togetherness. SHE is the one who sees beyond the work of cooking food to the great things that will happen as the family and others come to the table around the food.

Of course, it’s not always perfect. Especially when your children are little. It can be exhausting and hair-raising! But dear mothers, keep establishing the habit of family meals around the table. You are training your children. You are establishing godly and biblical habits. Eventually your work and training will be rewarded. Your children grow, and you will eventually have amazing times of conversation and discussion together.

In the meantime, if you are desperate for more intelligent fellowship, open your home in hospitality. Invite people to your home to sit around your table with you. This is normal Christian life. It is the extension of our mothering and homemaking ministry. It is the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. Acts 2:46, 47 (NET) says: “Every day they continued to gather together . . . breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.”

Rejoice in the power of preparing meals in your home today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Phoebe Wahl

Blessing, breastfeeding, compassionating (I’ll explain further down), conceiving, consoling, comforting, cuddling, delighting, embracing, encouraging, gestating, guarding, guiding, giving selflessly, keeping watch, loving, leading, longsuffering, mothering, mending broken hearts, making lovely memories, ministering, nurturing, nursing, nourishing, nesting, praying, protecting, shepherding, serving, sacrificing, strengthening, suckling, soothing, satisfying, satiating, sweetening, teaching, training, tenderly caring, and yearning over our children’s souls.

What beautiful words. Titus 2:3 tells us that the older women are “to be teachers of beautiful things” which are all to do with motherhood and being wife. Why is that artists love to paint mothers and babies? Because there is nothing so beautiful.

I mentioned the word “compassionating.” A. W. Tozer says we should change compassionate into a verb. It then becomes “to compassionATE.” When you show compassion, you are compassionating. When you embrace a baby in your womb, you are wombing.

We don’t hear many of the above words in conversations today. And yet they are the description of our lives as mothers. It’s time to get back to the real world.

Have a blessed day,

NANCY CAMPBELL

It is a picture of God, who like a nursing mother, loves to gather us in His arms and tenderly comfort and nurture us. We see a little glimpse of this in Isaiah 40:31: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom and shall gently led those that are with young.”

The blessing God gives over Joseph says: “The God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty (Shaddai), who shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb” (Genesis 49:25).

The Hebrew word for “womb” is “racham.” This word means “compassion, mercy, tender love.” The amazing thing is that this word is used interchangeably in God’s Word to describe the mercies and compassion of God and also the womb of a woman! Same word!

God’s comfort comes from His breast (from His heart) and also from the very bowels of His womb of compassion and tender mercies. As a mother, you have much need of His comfort, counsel, and comfort. As you find your nourishment in Him, you then minister it to your precious children. As you seek Him to find Him as your solace and source of strength, stability, and comfort, He ministers into your life, so you can comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).

As mothers, our “others” are first our children God has given us. God has wondrously created us in His image to reveal His nurturing heart and His compassion and tender love. This anointing comes from God Himself and He has put it divinely within us. And even more! He created us physically to reveal these powerful attributes. He created us with the blessings of breasts and the womb. As we embrace the function of the breasts and the womb in childbearing we reveal the image of God. We become pourers forth of God’s nurture, compassion, and tender love.

How privileged we are. Embrace who God created you to be. Find God as your El Shaddai and then as a little “shad” pour out His love and nurture to your babies, children, and to the hurting around you.

In His love,

Nancy Campbell

Belgian paintings: Armand Rassenfosse - Maternité, 1921

But then I thought again. Yes, they are afraid of what we stand for! The first thing God established when He created the world was the institution of marriage and family. Because it is God’s design and His idea, Satan hates it. He seeks to undermine and destroy it every way he can. He loves to pull marriages apart and distort the image of God because marriage is a picture of Christ, the Bridegroom, and His church.

And he is desperate to destroy motherhood. Through the mediums of feminism and humanistic deception the devil woos woman out of the home. He deceives them from knowing they are in the most important career in the nation. The fact is, Satan fears motherhood. That’s why he wants to eradicate it!

He knows that he doesn’t have any power over the women who know who God created them to be—women who embrace motherhood and their home. Women who leave their careers, which are only a passing phase, to pour their lives into an eternal work that will last forever. Women who willingly embrace the children God gives them and are filled with a divine passion to instill God’s principles into their lives and raise mighty young men and women for God.

Satan can’t get his hands on these children because they have a mother guarding over them in the home. She determines the education of her children. And she is at home to fill them minds with God’s truth and a biblical worldview. She is preparing them to go out into the world, strong and bold, to stand against the wolves!

Dearest mother, you are the devil’s biggest problem! Lift up your head. Stand strong in who you are as a mother. Don’t ever give into his temptations and wily deceptions. You are in the most powerful career for women in the nation. You are employed by God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. You determine the destiny of the nation.

And remember, the devil is afraid of the power of motherhood.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir