PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | Episode 8 – ANY JOYFUL MOTHERS LEFT?

Episode 8: ANY JOYFUL MOTHERS LEFT?

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

God equates JOY with motherhood (Psalm 113:9). How do you become a joyful mother when you feel overwhelmed? How do you break through self-pity? How do you move from being despondent and in despair to being delightfully happy? You’ll find the answers in this episode.

I got to share things in this episode that I never meant to talk about. But I believe it is a message that every mother in the world needs to hear. Please don’t miss this one. It’s a little longer than usual, but you’ll want to hear it over and over again to get it into your very being. Share it with your friends too.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy: Hello ladies, how are you today? Today we're going to speak about another dwelling word. On the my very first podcast. I told you about the word, “dwell.” That word occurs 468 times in the Bible, just in the Old Testament. Actually, there are 26 different Hebrew words for that word, “dwell.”

On the first podcast I told you about the word, naveh.  Today we're going to look at another word. This one is yashab, spelled y a s h a b. This word occurs over a thousand times in the Bible. Sometimes it's translated “dwell,” but it's translated many other different words as well. The Hebrew word occurs over 1000 times.

It's a very important word. What does it mean? It means “to marry, to settle down, to remain, to continue, to keep house, to inhabit, to endure, and to sit down.” It contains all those meanings, so we'll look at a couple of Scriptures today with that word.

The first one we'll turn to is Psalm 113:9 where it says: “He makes the barren woman to keep house.” There it is. That's the word. Yashab, meaning “to dwell in a house, and to be a joyful mother of children.”

As we read this Scripture, oh, by the way, I didn't read it all. The last phrase of this Scripture says: “Praise ye the Lord!” This is worth praising the Lord about! It's talking about the woman in the home, keeping her house, managing her home, living in her home, and making her life in her home.

How is she to do this? Well, it tells us how! It says that she does it with a joyful attitude. God makes her to be a joyful mother of children. Joy is the attribute that God equates with motherhood.

Now, dear mother, did you know that sometimes you don't really feel very joyful, do you? You feel overwhelmed, and you feel despondent, and you just wonder how you going to manage everything. But God wants you to . . . He wants to bring you into a place of joy. He wants mothers to be joyful.

I wonder why so many mothers are not joyful today. I believe it's because of the attitude in society toward mothering. It's the attitude in our education system toward mothering. It's the attitude we hear from the feminist and humanist agenda.

It all puts down motherhood, so we see it as something insignificant and not important This is the enemy, who is robbing us of the truth. Because we've got to learn to see motherhood, not as society looks upon it, but as God looks upon it, because precious mother, God is the One Who designed motherhood.

He's the One who created us to be mothers. He put this mothering anointing deep within our hearts. Every mother has a mothering anointing in her heart. She has a nurturing desire that is in every female person. Every female created by God has this nurturing instinct within her.

Now you say, “Hey, I know some mothers who are not motherly at all, and I know mothers who don't even want to have children.” Yes, that is true. Because many of them have been brainwashed. They've been propagandized. They have been infiltrated with lies. So, they have suppressed this instinct, but they never can truly suppress it. Because if they say they don't want motherhood, and they deny motherhood, they don't even want children, you will find that they will have a pet. Oh yes, they will, because they must nurture something!

They'll nurture a little dog or a cat because it is within them. This is how God created us. Not only did He create us with this instinct innately within us, but He created our bodies for the very purpose of motherhood. He created us with a womb. Why do we have a womb? A man doesn't have a womb.

That's the difference between male and female. There are only two types of people in this world; a man without a womb, the male; and a man with a womb, the woman, the womb-man. This is who we are, dear ladies. How sad to go through life, and not embrace who we are, and who we were created to be.

You see, the devil is a deceiver. The devil is a robber, and he has robbed so many beautiful women of the truth of who they are. We have women today who have been brainwashed with feminism who are denying their womb and their womanhood.

They are denying who they are. It is totally ridiculous. In fact, the foolish, the so-called wisdom of man is so foolish. It's foolish to God. God gave us a womb, a womb to be used, a womb to bring forth life, a womb to continue the generations. For if all women were to deny their womb, civilization would stop!

We are the continuers of civilization. Not only do we bring life into our own precious families, and into this nation, but we bring it forth for the generations, and ultimately for eternity. In fact, just the other day, a lady commented on one of my Facebook posts. She was saying how, “Oh, it's not about having children. I believe God wants us to be saving souls. We don't have to be having children. We just need to be saving souls.”

That sounds very spiritual. But if we, as mothers, don't bring forth children, there'll be no souls to be saved. My, we can actually . . . Do you know, precious mother, sometimes we don't really think things through. Do you know that we can deny precious babies life whom God has destined before the foundation of the world, because every life is destined?

God knows every life before the foundation of the world. We, because of our selfishness, or our ignorance, we can stop them coming into this world, who God intended to come in.

More than that, we forfeit them from experiencing eternal life. Now on this earth, we cannot, even with our wildest imaginations, understand the glories of the eternal Kingdom. They are beyond what we will ever even imagine, the glories of the eternal Kingdom. And, we can deny lives being born to experience that. Unless they are born and they come into God's Kingdom, they will never experience it.

You think, “Oh well they weren't born, they won't know!” But, oh to deprive them of the glory, which is beyond all glories. Why would we want to deprive someone of the glory of the eternal world? This is what we do when we stop a child coming into the world. We don't only deprive ourselves of the greatest blessing that we could ever enjoy. Because that's another thing, the enemy robs women of the greatest blessing they can ever receive.

I'm in the process at the moment of printing the new Above Rubies, Number 95. It's rolling off the presses now. In my editorial, I have a picture of four new babies already born into our family this year. I got each mother to write a little sentence about how they felt about motherhood. So beautiful to just read how each one felt, and how, oh, this is the greatest blessing that could ever, ever happen to them.

I think of Serene now, her new baby, little Solly (Solace Ling), she is number nine biologically to Serene. Although there are 14 children in the family. Now you could think, “Okay, number 14 in the family coming in. Well, we're used to having babies. It's lovely. But, you know, this is old hat.”

Oh no! Oh, when little Solly was born, Serene said, “Mother, I am smitten!” She is in total love with this baby. What did Sam say? “I am besotted.” I mean, this is the joy of a baby, and Satan wants to deprive women of this joy. All their precious babies.

They not only deprive themselves but deprive grandparents. They deprive the church. They deprive the world of the influence in the image of God. They deprive future generations, because when we stop one child, no, no, we don't. No, we stop a whole dynasty. A whole dynasty. How many children? How many amazing children who would impact the world for God come from one child? Then we deprive God, and we deprive eternity.

So not only has God created us with this womb, but with breasts, to nurture this life. This is who we are as mothers. We must understand the truth. When we understand the truth, and we know that motherhood is mandated by God, it's the highest career He has given to women. When we understand this and embrace it, then we can walk in the joy of it.

There is something that I often say to women: “Every mother loves her children, but not every mother loves motherhood.” I think this is where it comes down to the core, because it is true. Every mother loves her child. She would die for her child, but there are so many mothers who don't actually love motherhood.

They love their children, but they think they could be doing something more exciting, more powerful, whatever, and they really find, “Oh, this motherhood! Oh goodness me, yes, I love my child, but, oh, I've got to keep on with my career. I've got more important things to do!” So, there is confusion, and you never ever really come into the fullness of motherhood when you have this attitude.

I know because I was there when I started off mothering. I didn't understand all the beautiful truth I share with you today. I didn't know. I so intensely loved my children, but all this motherhood business, oh goodness me. I just wondered what had happened to me. Help!

In fact, there was a time when I wondered whether I should have even got married. I wondered whether I was out of the will of God because I could no longer serve God in the way I thought I could serve God.

Because my husband and I, we went out full time for God when we were engaged. We were ready to change the world. We went out to the mission field, and we were going to do great things for God! Then, babies came along .  . . Well, my husband carried on doing great things, but where was I? Stuck in four walls at the very beginning with three screaming babies!

I knew nothing about motherhood. I had my first baby. Seventeen months later, I had another two babies, unexpectedly! Didn't even know! That was way back in the days when they didn't have ultrasounds. Nobody checked me.

I knew I was having something pretty huge. I thought, how am I going to get this baby out? I didn't know it was twins. Actually, I have to confess, well, I didn't really get much attention. We were in the Philippine Islands doing missionary work when I conceived. We didn't get back to New Zealand until I was eight months pregnant, and I went to a doctor in the hospital.

He checked me over and said, “Oh yes, everything's fine. I’m going off to England, so when you're in labor, just come in and whoever's on duty will attend to you.” I didn't know anything about home birth in those days. And so, I thought I was in labor, went into the hospital. They checked me all over again and it was a false alarm. So away I went home again.

Still nobody had even detected twins. I went in, I got right to my due date. I went in, and the nurse was just listening to the heartbeat with the old Doppler. She says, “That's interesting. I can hear another heartbeat, but it just might be an echo. We'll wait and see.” So, we still don't know anything.

Then came the time and Evangelina was born. She was born breech as often twins are. I really didn't notice any difference between her breech birth and a head birth. They checked my tummy. Oh yes, there's another one there. So that was the very first moment that I knew I was having twins. He was born about five minutes later.

Here we were. Oh, with twins! Oh, we were so excited, my husband and I! My husband went home to my parents who were looking after my son at home. He was on cloud nine. He had brought forth twins. Well, he was the father of these twins.

He went into their room, and he said, “Guess what?” And they said, “A son!” He said “Yes, and a daughter!” Well, there was stony silence. My mother had always said to me, “Nancy dear, never have twins.” And I went and had twins!

Why did she say that? I think she thought they would be a lot of work. So, we didn't really get any great congratulations from them. My dearest mother, who stayed with me for a few days, was not very well. She couldn't really take it with these three little babies. We had nothing. We just come back from the Philippine Islands and we were living out of suitcases.

She couldn't take it any longer. She left me and went to stay with a friend. So here I was with these three screaming babies all on my own. I knew no one. We had just come back from the Philippine Islands. Oh, I hardly survived those days.

I think it was in those days I wondered what had happened to me. Would I ever be able to serve the Lord again? What have I done? Is this my life? I had to cry out to God: “Oh God, oh God, what have I done?” Oh, but as I cried out to Him, He was so faithful. He began to show me, little by little, that I was in His perfect will. This is who He'd created me to be.

Yes, I was fulfilling my destiny. Little by little, the revelation came. I began to understand who I was, and the power of mothering. As I embraced it, instead of living in the confusion and the torment, I came into the joy of mothering. Because it's all in our attitude. It’s all in our understanding of what it's about.

So, precious mother, if you're in this state of confusion today, and you know, oh yes, you love your children, but, wow, you're not really loving this motherhood business, you get up each day, and it's just another day to face. Oh, can I encourage you? Come into the truth. The truth sets you free. Yes. And when you know who you are . . . “I am born to be a mother. I am created physically to be a mother. I am created to nurture with all the mothering hormones to be a mother.” Oh, we are so blessed, precious mothers!

Oh goodness me! Fathers, they don't have the blessings we have. When we have a baby, we have this beautiful little baby and God just fills us to overflowing with motherly hormones. Every time we put the baby to the breast, oxytocin flows, that beautiful hormone, oxytocin, which is the love hormone, and the cuddle hormone, and the bliss hormone, and the stress-free hormone.

God gives it to you, precious mother, so that when you're facing all the tensions of caring for a new baby, and other little ones, and maybe older ones, He gives you this stress-free hormone, so when you nurse your baby . .  .  sometimes you just want to go off to sleep.

You just have this relaxing hormone, and He gives you prolactin. The more you nurse your baby, every time you nurse your baby, presto, prolactin operates. The more you nurse your baby, the more prolactin you have, and prolactin is a motherly hormone. You become more motherly.

You see, in the doing of these motherly things, we have the hormones that make us more motherly.  This motherly love pours out upon you, not just for your baby, but for all your other children. God is so amazing!

Do you remember when you had your first baby? Oh, I just couldn't believe how much love I could have for a person, for this baby. The love was so incredible, and I used to think, well, how could I have another baby because I could never love another baby like this baby. It would be impossible!

But then you have another baby, and that love pours in. You love these babies. Then you have more love for your other baby, and it happens with every baby. Another baby keeps a mother flowing with love, even for her other children.

And for her older children, who are, maybe, getting a bit stroppy, and she's perhaps not feeling quite so loving to them. She has a new baby and this motherly hormone just flows out on the whole family. God is so good, isn't He? So, embrace your motherhood today, darling ladies. Oh, and as you do, you will be filled with joy.

What kind of joy is this? Well, the word in the Hebrew is sameach. If you want the spelling, it is, s a  m e a c h. It's the very same word that's used in Proverbs 15:13: “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance.” And again, in Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” It means to have a merry heart. You're full of joyfulness and merry-heartedness.

It's the same word used in the Bible when people drank wine and became happy. It's the same word when you're celebrating. It's the same word that was used when the people celebrated, when Solomon was made King. In 1 Kings, Chapter 1:39-40, it says: “And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy.” 

Here is that same word in 1 Kings 1:40 that's used to describe the joyful mother: “They rejoiced with great joy so that the earth rent with the sound of them.” I beg your pardon? What happened? The earth broke open? Yes, that's what it says. I checked out the Hebrew because when I read that I thought, Oh, that couldn't have happened, so I checked out that word.

“Rent” is baqa in the Hebrew. It means “to cleave, to break, to rip open, to make a breach, to divide.” The Holman translation says it correctly. They rejoiced: “with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.” Did you ever read that before in the Bible? Well, it's there. That's how much the noise of the joy was that it actually split open the earth! Amazing.

Now that is the same kind of joy that is spoken of in Psalm 113:9, that the mother in the home who is yashab (living, dwelling in her home), will be a joyful mother of children. So dear mothers, as we live in our homes, let's do it with joy If you just don’t have any joy, and it's all flown out the window, and you are just a mess of self-pity, well, what are you going to do?

This is what you're going to do. You're going to confess it to the Lord. “Oh God, I am so sorry. I confess my self-pity before You. Lord, It's a sin. I confess it. I thank You, Father, that You fill me with joy, because You are joy and You dwell within me. I thank You for Your joy that fills my heart. Thank You, Lord. I'm going to live in Your joy today. I thank You in the Name of Jesus.” And appropriate it!

Now, does Christ dwell in your heart? Well, if He does, joy fills your heart. Jesus, who lives in us, is not filled with self-pity. He's not filled with despondency. He's not filled with despair. He is filled with joy, because He is joy. This is where joy originates, in God, and now He is in you. So appropriate it!

I love that Scripture in Philemon 1:6 which says: “That the communication of your faith may become effectual,” how? “By the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Now what is this Scripture saying? It's that King James language. How can our faith be effectual? We want it to work, don't we?

In our home, in our kitchen, with all the children screaming at once, how do we make it work? Well, we acknowledge the truth. That's what it says, “by acknowledging.” We acknowledge, we appropriate the truth, that is “Jesus Christ lives in me. Every good thing that is in Jesus also lives in me, because if it's in Him, it's in me.”

Are you getting it? If Christ lives in me, His joy lives in me, and I can thank Him for it. If I'm getting angry and upset, and, whoooo, “look out, everybody!” Hey, just a moment, stop and thank the Lord Jesus.

“Thank you, Jesus, that Your patience dwells in me. You are patient. You are long-suffering. You live within me. I thank You for Your patience now. Thank You, Lord. Thank You. I'm the most patient mother in my city. Thank You, Lord!”

Now you're not confessing lies, because who is more patient than Christ? He dwells in you. You see, dear ones, we've got to acknowledge the truth, that every good thing that is in Jesus is in us. You either live according to the flesh, and by your feelings, or you live according to the truth of the Word of God.

“Man shall not live by bread alone,” Jesus said, “but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” This is how I learned, I should say, gradually learned, to live as a young mother. I started off living by my feelings, up one day and down the next.

It's a terrible way to live, isn't it? But I learned to live by the truth of the Word of God. What God says, whether I feel like it or not, I'm going to live by it. I'm going to confess it. Now, the amazing thing is that when you confess the truth out loud, your body begins to line up. Even your attitudes begin to line up.

Confession is powerful. So, confess the truth! Don't confess lies. Your feelings are lies! If you live by your feelings, you're going to live mostly in the downs, rather than the ups. Oh yes. Sometimes you'll feel up, but most of the time you'll feel down, because feelings are deceiving. You cannot live by them. They come and go and they're a lot of rubbish. You live by the truth of the Word of God.

This is how you come into the joy of the Lord. I remember one time, this is a New Zealand story. I started (we are New Zealanders), and I started raising my children when we were in New Zealand. I remember one time feeling overwhelmed. I didn't really feel I could keep going. It was just all too much. Everything was on top of me, poor me, and I'm just getting into a state of self-pity.

Anyway, I got up to have my Quiet Time in the morning before I faced the day. I was reading Second Corinthians, I'll turn to it here to remind myself, yes, it's Chapter One. I was reading verse eight: “For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength”.

Oh, I stopped. Wow, this is amazing. I'm reading about me. Wow. I just feel I'm pressed out of measure. It's more than my strength can cope with, “insomuch that we despaired even of life.” Well, I hadn't got to that, of course, but then I read on.

Paul says: “But.” But! “We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver: in Whom we trust that He will yet deliver us.”

As I read those words, I was convicted. Oh, my. I realized, what was I doing? All this self-pity junk. I was trusting in myself. “Poor me. I've got too much to do. I can't cope.” Well, what's that? Trusting in myself, in my flesh, in my capabilities! I wasn't trusting in God!

That's what Paul said: “We should not trust in ourselves, but in God, a God Who raises the dead!” Wow! No matter how low I get, He's able to pick me up. And so, I said, “Oh God, I am so sorry. I confess my sin of trusting in myself. I'm so sorry. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Lord, I trust in You. I give it all to You. All these worries and concerns, and Lord, all my weaknesses, I give them to You. I thank You. I trust You. You are my strength. You are my portion. I trust You, Lord. Thank You. In the Name of Jesus.”

Well, it left me. Wow, all that self-pity was gone! I remember, I can still remember later in the day, thinking, “Now what was all that? What was I in such a state about?” Do you know, I couldn't even remember what it was all about? It was just in my mind, it wasn't even real. I was able to come out of it because I was trusting in God.

Can I pray for you as we close today?

“Oh Father, we thank You. Thank You for Your beautiful plan for us as mothers. Thank You that You have created us for this glorious anointing, and that You love for us to dwell in our homes and love mothering in our homes.

I pray for every precious mother today, that You will bless them, and encourage them, and lift them up out of the doldrums, and their self-pity, and into the truth, and into trusting You. Oh God, save us, each one of us, because we're all tempted to trust in ourselves, which is so ridiculous.

Lord, how can we trust in ourselves when we can trust in You, the God Who raises the dead, the God Who delivers. I pray that You will bring each one into that beautiful place of trusting in You and living in the Truth. You will make them joyful mothers of children in their homes today. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.”