LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 178 – Creative Hospitality

Wendy Shaw joins with me again today as we talk about more creative ways of showing hospitality to people in all walks of life. The Shaw family operate by The Triple A. What is it? Wendy also shares how they do family Bible reading in their home. It's great to hear the different methods families use, isn't it? We all learn from one another.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to the Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello everyone! Well, I have Wendy Shaw with me again. We still have things to talk about together. We were talking in our last podcast about hospitality. I wanted to read this Scripture to you. It’s in the passage in 1Timothy talking about widows. 1 Timothy 5:9: “Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man.”

Now, what was happening here within this church? There were apparently many widows. Young Timothy didn’t know what to do with them all, so he asked Paul. Paul writes back to him and says, “All right. The women who are 60 years of age and over, they are the older women. If they’ve lived a certain lifestyle,” (and we’re going to read the lifestyle) “I want you to look after them. They can be cared for by the church. Now that’s if they have nobody to care for them, because if they have children or grandchildren, they must look after them.”

That is the Biblical principle, that families must care for their elderly. It comes down to children, and if the children are not able to do that, then the grandchildren. Families should take that responsibility, but here there were some who did not even have families. So, he said, “If they’ve lived this kind of lifestyle, I want you to look after them.

1 Timothy 5:10: “Well reported of for good works.” So, we’re going to read about these good works. “If she has brought up children.” It’s interesting that the Bible always puts everything in order. There’s nothing out of place. everything is in order, and the very first thing is, “If she has brought up children.” She’s embraced children. She’s raised children. This was her very first thing.

Now the word “brought up” is the Greek word teknotropheo, from two Greek words, teknon, which is “child,” and trepho, which means “to feed, to pamper with food, to nurture, to suckle.” It’s all about feeding. Interesting, isn’t it, dear mothers, that that is such a big part of our mothering. We’re always feeding. There’s breakfast, there’s lunch, there’s supper. And there’s the in-betweens. And they’re always hungry, so we’re always feeding.

But, OK, that’s part of bringing up children. Don’t despise it. Embrace it. It’s part of your mothering. A feeding anointing, that’s what we have to have as mothers. It’s a beautiful thing to serve our family with food.

But this Scripture carries on. Now we see the progression and the seasons of life of this woman. Because as her family is growing, she is reaching out more to people roundabout her. It says, “If she has lodged strangers.” She’s opened her home in hospitality.

Ladies, I found that my heart was for mothering, which was my number one, because that’s who I am. I am a mother. God created me to be a mother. But out of that, my greatest ministry as I was raising our children was hospitality. I mean, it’s just so wonderful, because there you are. You’re in your home. You’ve got a home. You’re cooking meals. OK, just reach out beyond to bless others. It is such a wonderful ministry you can have. You don’t even have to go outside your door! Goodness me! And you can touch so many lives!

It’s interesting. The other day, we had a guy living with us. He comes and goes, and lives with us off and on, and has done over the years. He was working for someone. It was an older lady. She was looking after her mother who was 100 years old. He was saying, “Yes, but once a week someone comes and bathes her for her so she can get out. She only gets out once a week.”

I thought to myself, “Wow, goodness me!” It’s quite amazing if I even go out once a week, because currently I don’t have a car. I borrowed it to someone, and it never came back. Anyway, so many times I don’t go outside this place. Wow, often more than a whole week.

And yet, do you know, I thought about that. I thought, “Goodness me. I don’t even notice.” I don’t even notice it, because I have so much to do and accomplish in my home. I have so many people coming and going. There are so many people to invite. I have so many on my list that I can never get through the whole list. I can never get lonely or feel that I am not fulfilled. I feel and think I’m going everywhere because I’ve got people all the time. So that’s amazing, isn’t it?

You know, you never have to be housebound. Never in your life! People say, “I’m housebound.” Oh, what a disgusting phrase! I don’t even believe in it. I can be in my home, but I never feel housebound, because the home is the greatest place to accomplish so many things! It’s a place where you can invite so many people that you would never even notice that you’re housebound. So, she opened her doors in hospitality.

It says: “If she has washed the saints’ feet.” That was hospitality too, because back in those Bible days, they walked the dusty roads in their sandals. No woman wants to see dusty feet walking all through her house so they would wash their feet if they came in the door. Often it was the lowly servant who washed their feet. But this woman, maybe she couldn’t afford servants. But she had such a big heart. She washed their feet herself. But that was to show hospitality. Washing feet is just to bring people into your home, to show hospitality.

Of course, if you’re going to show hospitality, you’ve got to cook. You’ve got to feed people. But remember it started: “If she has brought up children.” She’s been feeding children. As you’re raising children, and you’re feeding them, and you’re cooking meals, you’re getting so good at cooking that it’s nothing to cook for a few extra.

Then it says: “If she has relieved the afflicted.” And so, she’s reaching out to those who are needy. You see the picture of a mother. Her mothering keeps extending and enlarging and showing hospitality all through her life. This is the lifestyle, because God says, “If this woman, these women 60 years of age or over, have got no family, and that is this lifestyle, I want to reward them. I want you to care for them and make sure they’re provided by the church.” Isn’t that great?

Wendy: Oh, I love all of that. One thing about washing the feet, it seems like an older tradition, but really, I’ve done it for a lot of my friends, and ones in the hospital, several in their homes. It’s something that the first time was a little bit new, but after a while, you just focus on that other person.

I’ve got a thing for oil, and I just washed her feet, and then rubbed some essential oil into them. It’s just a good way to still serve others, even though it’s an older practice. It still can be modern day.

Nancy: Yes. You know, we were talking about other ideas of hospitality. There’re so many amazing things you can think about. Just be creative, ladies. There are so many people who need encouraging. I remember back in New Zealand days; I remember I got this burden. I was thinking about all the older people in our fellowship living on their own. Oh, I just loved to reach out to them. of course, I would often have older people to my table. But I decided to do something big.

I didn’t keep it to myself. I began to talk to all the other young mothers. I said, “Hey, let’s get together. Let’s see if we can put on this amazing dinner for all the older people.” Then it got beyond our homes. We asked if we could have this big room in the church. We began to put out the invitations. Every older person we knew, we even went to older people’s homes. We invited all these older people. We ended up with about 100 older people.

We all brought this food. You’ve never seen a feast like it. Everyone, all the mothers, we all got together. Well, we cooked in our own homes, but then we brought this food. I looked at this feast, and I thought, “Wow! These older people, they’re just hardly going to dent it. You know, they don’t usually eat very big." You wouldn’t believe it! They scoffed the lot! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such glorious food. It was such an amazing day.

I can remember another day. This was on the Gold Coast. “Oh, well, let’s do something special for the widows.” I often loved to have widows at my table. I believe it’s very important to reach out to those living on their own.

But once again, I talked to some of the other mothers. I said, “OK, let’s get together and do something beautiful for all the widows that we know.” So, we all together thought of every widow that was living on their own. We had it at our home. But we put on this great big luncheon. We just made all this beautiful food and invited them all.

Of course, they were so blessed. Not only did we feed them, of course, but amongst our children there were those who could sing, or recite, or play a musical instrument. We put on this little concert for them and gave a little word to them and little gifts to each one. It was such a blessing.

You can do these things. Sometimes they get bigger. Sometimes I would think of things, and my vision gets bigger than me. So then, I just include others to come in with me and do it together. It’s even more exciting.

Include your children in hospitality. When you have a family over, or you have widows or an older person over, you can not only feed them at your table, but you can bless them. Maybe your children play a musical instrument, or they sing, or they recite, or they’ve been learning memory verses. Get them to do it for them. These people will love it!

Oh, another thing I love is having young married couples over too. That’s a beautiful thing. Oh, I remember. I often do this on Shabbat. Every Friday evening, we keep Shabbat. We are not Jewish. But we do keep the Shabbat meal, because it is the most beautiful meal I think you can ever enjoy as a family, because it is a meal where the mother of the home is blessed.

The father reads Proverbs 31, and he blesses and encourages his wife in front of the family. Then he as the father blesses and encourages each one of the children around the table. It’s just so beautiful. You can read more about it. Go to my webpage and look up the Shabbat meal and read about it.

One night I decided we’d have a couple’s night. It was just the couples on the Hilltop. There were about five couples. We had a glorious meal together. Then it was time where each husband will bless and minister to his wife and say all the beautiful things he can think about her, which is so amazing.

Then the wife can reply and speak to her husband. I’ll never forget that night. everybody was. . . It was such beautiful things that were said. But I remember Charlie. And all of us girls, we always remember this night, because we always say how great it was. All we wished that our husbands had said that to us. But he was talking to Pearl, and of course Charlie dotes on his beautiful wife, Pearl. You all know Pearl from Trim Healthy Mama. I don’t think I know a husband who so dotes on his wife like Charlie does.  He just adores her.

But he said, maybe I haven’t got it perfect, because it was a few years ago. “If I could choose, and I was blessed to live another hundred years without Pearl, but I had the choice of only one day with Pearl, only one day more of my life, I would choose that one day with Pearl.” Isn’t that beautiful?

But I think you used to do things with marrieds too, didn’t you?

Wendy: Yes, we love to encourage marriage. I love hearing all the things you’ve done. It’s so edifying. One thing that we did was to have a marriage dinner. For several years in a row, on February 14, we would invite couples over. We’d try to mix and match the newly married with couples that have been married a long time.

We’d have about five or six couples over. We would recreate our wedding day. We would have a white runner come all the way up our steps and into our house. And have rose petals on there, and have everyone sign a guest book when they walked in. We would have a table with an official wedding cake made from a baker.

We asked everyone to bring their wedding photos, either an album or framed, whatever they wanted to share from their wedding day so that we could all look at each other’s and see the differences that have occurred over the years and get to know a little bit more about each other. Then we would have a five-course dinner.

Our children served us. It was so much fun. We would put together a quiz. Previously, before they came over, we would ask them to fill out this little survey and tell us the funniest thing that happened on their wedding day, or most unexpected, or the most surprising in the end. But like a survey of different odds and ends that people wouldn’t normally know.

Then my husband would put it together in his notes. So, we would all get to find out details about each other’s special days. And then just bless each other and celebrate our marriages and what God has done through each other as we conform to His image, seeing how God uses other people, specifically our mates to shape us. To see all the different blessings that come from that.

That’s one thing that we really enjoyed. If anyone could do anything even similar to that in your own personal special way, we highly encourage it.

Nancy: Yes! As you’re listening to us share some of these things, I know that God will be putting creative ideas in your heart and mine. You don’t have to do it exactly like we’ve been sharing, but just sparks off something creative you would like to do. I think it is a beautiful thing to reach out to married couples, because I believe in this hour, marriages need strengthening.

Oh my, there’s just so many marriages falling apart. I was just thinking this morning, marriage is God’s idea. It’s God’s plan. He’s the one Who designed it. Because He designed it, He designed it to work. It’s not meant to fall apart. It’s only sin that comes in. It’s the work of the devil that causes marriages to fall apart.

Now, I know that maybe I’m talking to some, and you are part of a marriage that did fall apart. Sometimes when one of the spouses just has given into the devil, and into sin, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it, which is so sad. But when we are willing to do it God’s way, it does work, because God designed it to work! But it only works when we do it biblically.

So, we do need to encourage one another in marriage. We don’t really hear very many messages at church on family or marriage, do we? I think we need to hear a few more.

Now, Wendy, I remember you telling me that when you meet an older couple, you always ask them a question. What is it?

Wendy: We have an opportunity to travel throughout the United States and go to many different places. I will seek out the older married couples there. I always ask a question. The question is, “What advice would you give to someone else to tell us how you have been able to keep your marriage going and lasting so long?”

I’ve heard different responses, but generally the few that are the most common are:

One. Communication. Make sure that you are communicating with each other. Work on that.

Number two is forgiveness. One lady, a sweet, sweet lady. I think they were married 60 years. She had said, “Every day I forget what my husband did the day before. So, each day is brand new.” I loved that. I really, really loved that. Remember the good things he did the day before but forget the bad. That’s been really encouraging to me to hear these things, seeing over and over from the couples that have been married so long.

Nancy: I love that. Forgiveness. I think forgiveness is such a big one. People can become stubborn in their unforgiveness. It’s just going to ruin their lives. Not only does it ruin their marriage, but it will ruin their life, and it will ruin their family’s life, and everybody’s life. Because unforgiveness, oh, it’s one of the most destroying things that we can ever hold onto in our lives. We have to let go and forgive. Often that’s the hardest thing to do, but we must forgive.

Jesus said we’re not even going to be forgiven ourselves if we don’t forgive. We have to keep forgiveness in our marriage.

Now, Wendy, what about your marriage? Tell me.

Wendy: Our marriage? We’ve been married 29 years. It’s been great. We met and were married within a year. Kevin is nine years older than me. We are opposites in a lot of ways. That has been something that has been challenging, but also strengthening, because God is made strong through our weaknesses.

Also, what I can see in our marriage is how He perfectly designs couples to complement each other, where my weaknesses are Kevin’s strengths, and what little weaknesses Kevin has, sometimes I’m stronger in. That’s been really fun to see how God uses different personalities to accomplish our goals of conforming to His image.

Nancy: I think sometimes you see couples, one is more outgoing, and one is quieter. They blend together. I’m not quite sure what happened with our marriage, because Colin and I are both outgoing and both strong. But somehow, we’ve managed to keep together as one and love one another more and more as the years have gone by. Even though we’re both strong in our convictions, we don’t even always agree, but as Colin says, “We don’t have to agree with one another. We just have to love one another.”

Wendy: Kevin has a thing that we don’t have to think alike. Just think together.

Nancy: That’s good! So good, isn’t it? Now, there were some other things that we were talking about that you wanted to. . . Oh, yes, we talked on one of the podcasts with Wendy about praying for your children. Some of you have already written in and asked for those links. If some of you want to yet, I’m happy to send them. Just send them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I can send you Wendy’s 20 points for praying for your children. I have a list of 23 points for praying for your children. It just gives you some encouragement there.

But you were sharing with me how you have different seasons throughout your life with your children. There’s when they’re little, and you’re praying different things when they’re little than when they’re getting older. Then they get older again, and there are different areas where you’re honing in in prayer. What’s your most honing-in prayer thing at the moment, Wendy?

Wendy: Nancy, I love your. . .  We had similar things on our list, and I love how yours were phrased and worded too. Right out of Scripture. It’s so good to see all the different ways that we’re praying for our children. It’s so encouraging to see all these ways that you can pray.

You make it more habitual. You make it to remind ourselves how essential it is. So, anything we can have in front of us. I take my list I have in my Bible to refresh and remind myself because there’re so many things to pray for.

Right now, I am concentrating on that they would love God’s Word. And they do love it, but I want them to fall in love with it more and more. God’s Word is His love letter to us. I want them to love His love letter. As I am praying for that, I remembered, we have Triple A, we call it. This is a quote from your book:

“The Attitude of your heart will determine

the Atmosphere of your home which will

Affect the actions of each member of your family.”

We have AAA roadside insurance, and this is like our Triple A culture Christ-like insurance in our home, that we are reflecting Christ in our attitude because that says each one of our attitudes affects each other. The more that we love God’s Word and love to do it, then the more that we’re going to be blessing each other, and serving each other, and living the way He wants us to.

Nancy: Amen. I think, another thing, as the children are getting older, they’re getting to go out and face the world. We have to pray so much for them to be strong and to stand. I remember when I was back in Australia, our children were in their late teens, going on to their twenties, out there facing the world. We were very close to the beach, right on the Pacific Ocean.

I used to walk down every morning. It was so great. I could walk the beach. The Pacific waves were pounding in, and nobody could hear me crying out. I could cry out aloud to the Lord to keep them in His will, and in His righteousness, and keep them from evil. Help them to stand strong and cry out for them. I would often do that for an hour, walking along the beach. That was where I prayed when I was on the Gold Coast of Australia. I think you, that’s something on your heart too, isn’t it, Wendy, is praying for courage and strength.

Wendy: Absolutely. Yes, especially, in our culture, as it gets darker, we need to be an even stronger light. I pray for our children to stand up for what’s right and have the courage, even if it means to stand alone. That is something that we have to take the first step in. God gives us the courage when He sees our willingness. It’s not something we can say, “Give us courage, and then I’ll do it.” We have to show God that is what our heart’s desire is, and then He will finish that.

There’s a quote that I read, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” And that’s basically been our life, that we always had to take that first step. And then God says, “OK, now I’ll show you the next step.”

We have been so centered on our following God that sometimes our convictions are different than other people’s, even in the Christian community. And that takes courage to stand alone too. If all Christians are going to see a movie, (and these are good Christians, they love God) we think, “No, this isn’t something that we think we should do.” To be able to stand firm in our hearts, knowing God is calling us this way, and we need to go a different direction.

Nancy: Amen! I am amazed that often many people know my standards of what I would go to see. Sometimes I’ve had, “Oh, well, Nancy, this is a very good movie, and I think you would like it.” I’ve actually gone, and I’ve been disgusted. I can’t believe how low the standard is in the Christian world of what we look at.

We rarely do go to a movie. But sometimes there is something that is wholesome and powerful, and there’s been some good Christian movies that have come out. Did you get to see the last “God’s Not Dead. We the People”? Wasn’t that good? Boy, they were really standing up for homeschooling and it was really very good.

But I love this Scripture. This is in the face of persecution. Daniel 11:32: “But the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” That’s the King James version. But actually, when you go to the Hebrew, you find the word “exploits” is not in the original! It just says, “But the people who know their God shall be strong and do.” I like that. That’s just as powerful, really.

Of course, there are other translations that say that “They will be strong and take action.” Some other translations say: “They will be strong and resist.” You know, we’re facing evil. We’re facing wickedness. We’re facing tyranny. Do we succumb to that? No. We stand strong, and we resist!

So, we’ve got to train our children to have this attitude, don’t we? To have this strength in this hour of such deception and delusion all around us, particularly at this time. It’s just an amazing time in our whole world. But I’m amazed at how it seems to be that there are more and more who are now standing up, who are beginning to see what is actually happening, and they are beginning to stand up and to resist.

But we have, as mothers, we are the ones to show our children the way. If we haven’t got strong convictions about what is evil and what is wrong, how are they going to have them? They have to see, in fact, we are to teach our children to discern between that which is evil, and that which is righteous, between that which is clean, and that which is unclean.

It shouldn’t be blurry. We’re raising our children to have that strong . . . they see clearly the difference. And they will stand against the evil. We’re to hate evil. We’re to abhor evil. Romans tells us that word “abhor” actually means “to shudder” at evil (Romans 12:9). That’s a huge thing, because it’s so easy to get used to things, isn’t it? Just get used to things.

We dare not let ourselves ever get used to abortion. We can even forget how terrible it is and that it’s murder. We have to keep strong in our hearts of what it is, so we will never, ever take it lightly.

We must never get used to homosexuality because the Bible says it’s an abomination.

We must never get used to transgenderism and all this evil because it’s so against God. We must resist! We must stand strong, and we must do that which God wants us to do. Amen?

And so, as we have these convictions, then our children will get them. If we’re all fluffy, and we don’t really know . . .  I was reading the other day. Someone asked a Christian a question. It was on an issue, and I thought, “Well, my answer would be, this is what the Bible says, and I’m against it!” But this Christian was saying, “Well, we don’t always know everybody’s circumstances. Really, we can’t take a strong stand.”

Oh, for goodness’ sake! If we can’t take a strong stand against evil, well, where are we going? It’s either one or the either. We belong to the kingdom of God, which is a kingdom of holiness, or the kingdom of Satan, which is a kingdom of death and destruction and evil! One or the other, isn’t it?

Wendy: Yes, knowing God’s Word is knowing God. And the more we know God, the more we know His will and His ways. So, it’s important to refresh ourselves with that every single day.

Nancy: Oh, yes! Which reminds me, we’ve got to stop. We’re coming to an end. We always come to an end too quickly. But you have a special way of reading the Bible in your family. Tell the ladies about it before we close.

Most of you know that we like to read The Daily Light on the Daily Path. Just Scriptures from all over the Bible on a different theme for each morning and each evening. We love that, although now, currently in the evening, we’re going through the book of Revelation, reading a chapter each night. Whoa, we are wowing ourselves every night as we read. Revelation is so powerful, isn’t it?

In fact, I have just read it through a couple of times myself. But somehow, when I’m hearing it aloud, wow! I’m just hearing things that, somehow, I didn’t hear when I was reading personally. Anyway, tell us what you do, Wendy.

Wendy: I love how everyone does the Bible differently for their family time. This is something we’ve been able to do in ours that we have so thoroughly enjoyed. We took the Moody Bible schedule for reading in a year. We’ve done it for the last 16 years. We’ve never missed a day. So, that looks different every day. It maybe not typical of what other people do, but we want to hear His spoken Word every day.

My husband being a teacher, he thought, “Oh, I’ll make quizzes for each of these Bible readings.” So, he came up with 365 quizzes. It’s over 4,000 questions. What it does is just facilitate the understanding that our children have when they’re reading it. Or discussion starters. We haven’t done the quizzes every single year, but it’s really been beneficial for us, and our children love to do it.

That’s something that gets us to read the Bible from cover to cover in a way that really seems to mean more. I’ve noticed that our children will bring up, sometimes stories that aren’t the most popular ones like Daniel in the lion’s den. It’s because they’re so familiar with the Bible. The passages in there, that it’s just part of them. Like God said, His Word never comes back void. So that is a part of them. God can use that in their life later on, whenever He needs to.

I also like, because we can do what’s called “flyover books” my husband calls them. Nahum isn’t something that people go to, to usually start their Bible time. It’s not one of the most popular books, but we get to read through all of those books. They’re all in the Bible for a reason, so we don’t want to miss anything.

Nancy: Amen! You’re giving your children the whole counsel of God. That’s about four chapters every day, isn’t it? That is so wonderful. I love it. It reminds me of a couple of things.

One time Colin and I were ministering in Europe, and we actually got on the boat. We usually fly over to Europe, but we’d been ministering in the UK, and we got a ship from UK to The Netherlands. These folks were there to meet us. We went back to their home. We'd been on the boat overnight. Then we arrived at their home for breakfast.

They had these little children around the table, and they were reading through the whole Bible. They would read through the Bible, and then they would start again. They were up to a chapter on all the begats. I was amazed. Here they were, the father was going through this chapter. “This one begat so-and-so, and this one begat so-and-so.” And he didn’t even leave one out. I was amazed. And these little children are just listening. I thought, “Wow, that’s faithfulness to the Word of God!” So, you would always include all the begats?

Wendy: We did. We probably totally butchered their names’ pronunciations, but we would say them. We were thinking to that person whose name is in the Bible, it’s probably really important to them. I’d love my name in the Bible for part of that genealogy.

Nancy: I know. I remember one preacher saying, “If your name was there, you would read it every day!” Yes. Oh, yes, that also reminds me of the book, Ten Peas in a Pod. Have you read that book?

Wendy: It’s one of our favorites.

Nancy: Yes. Oh, dear ladies, I’ve got this book in stock at here at Above Rubies. You can just go online to AboveRubies.org, and you can buy Ten Peas in a Pod. Well, it was written years ago. But it’s the most amazing story of this father who had a heart to preach. He gathered up his eight children, and they went right through USA and Canada, preaching everywhere, wherever God opened up the door.

But this man loved the Word of God. He was faithful to read it to his family. And it didn’t matter where he was, he would do it. So, wow. I have to confess, ladies, I’ve never got to what he did. But it’s worth reading about. Anyway, can you just hang on a little bit more? I’m overtime but let me tell you what happened.

He would read to his children for one hour after breakfast. Then, after lunch he would read to the children again for one hour. Then after supper, he would also read to the children for another hour. Three hours of hearing the Word of God. And as the children got older, he would encourage them to have their own quiet time, and to have their reading of the Word before they got up for breakfast. So, they were encouraged to have an hour before they got up. That’s four hours in the Word!

Well, consequently, these children grew up totally knowing the Word. Most of them could recite the whole New Testament verbatim, and many chapters of the Old Testament. But there was one thing I read in this book that really was quite amazing. It was the oldest son who actually wrote the book. He has been to our home. We sat together in this very lounge and talked. It was so beautiful to talk with him. I was able to ask, “How has this lived out in your lives?” He was able to share, how in all the family, the Word has produced such blessing. Now they’re having grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

But anyway, he said that many times, they would be staying with Christian families as they were preaching in a certain church. Each time the father would always say to the host and hostess, he would say, “Now I love to read God’s Word to my family after the meal. Would you be happy for me to do this?” And they’d say, “Yes, yes, of course! Yes!” I mean, they were a Christian home.

But then he would also ask another question. “Would you like to join us?” Did you know that the answer was no one ever joined them “Oh, you just go ahead. We’ve got things to do.” And these were Christian homes. Isn’t that amazing?

But that’s always been a great challenge to me. Oh, you’ll love the book. It’s also a great adventure, all their adventures.

But let’s pray, shall we?

“Oh, dear loving and heavenly Father, we love You. We love Your Word. We love Your ways. Lord God, please draw us closer to You, closer to Your heart, closer to Your ways and Your desires, the way You’ve planned for us to live. In our marriages, in our homes, in our families. Draw us more into Your heart and into your ways. We ask in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

NEW ABOVE RUBIES MAGAZINE

The new Above rubies magazine, #99 printing. Look out for it coming. If you are not on the mailing list, send your name and address to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will be happy to send it to you.

 

BIBLE QIZZES FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR

Wendy and her husband are happy to make available to you all the quizzes he prepared for every day of the year as they read God’s Word. There are 365 quizzes with over 4,000 questions. You’ll never run out of questions to help teach your children from every chapter I the Bible.

You can download them by going to:

https://fa15989f-b43a-4c89-aae6-1d95bb78d494.usrfiles.com/archives/fa1598_0d479bc9784948f1a80870767b6daefa.zip

This will download in all browsers except Duck Duck Go. 

TEN P’S IN A POD

A Million-Mile Journal of the Arnold Pent Family

By Arnold Pent III

I mention this book in this post. I know you will love to read it if you haven’t already. I love this book. It is the story of the million-mile journey of Arnold Pent, Jr. and his wife and eight children as they travelled through US and Canada together. The father preached along the way. But no matter where they were, or whoever they stayed with, they never gave up their practice of daily Bible reading and memorization. It will inspire you like no other book to begin reading God’s Word together as a family, but it is also a great adventure

The author of this book wrote it when he was 21 years old and it is still popular today Recently my husband I enjoyed meeting this wonderful couple in our home and he testified of not only the impact of the Word in his own life as a child but in the following generations. This habit is now continuing with his grandchildren.

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/10PsBook

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY?

“TEN P’S IN A POD should be required reading. I still count it among one of the handful of most important books I have ever read.” 

~ Andrée Seu Peterson, World Magazine Columnist

 

“Your book is a breath of fresh air.”

 

“In a society where the Bible is rarely read, even in Christian homes, this book should be necessary (but enjoyable) reading for EVERY Christian family.”

 

 “How this husband and wife were able to take a family of eight children across both the United States and Canada throughout the 1950s and early 1960s in various old cars is a story worth reading.” 

—

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 177 – Celebrate with Your Family

Wendy Shaw is with me again today. We talk about the joys of family celebrations. Celebrating for big things and little things. And also, the joys of hospitality.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to the Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello everyone again! It’s always great to be with you. And guess what? I’ve got Wendy Shaw with me again! Isn't that wonderful? Well, just as well she doesn’t live too far away. We’re out here on the hilltop in Primm Springs, and they’re living in Franklin. So that’s only about an hour away.

But Wendy was saying, “Oh, there were so many other things that I forgot to share about.” So, I said, “OK, let’s do another one!” So, here we are together again! It’s just so good, isn’t it, to talk with other families, mothers who have been raising their families for many years. And all the different ideas that they have.

We did mention in one of the last podcasts about my book, The Family Meal Table and Hospitality, which is out of print, but which I will be reprinting. I promise to have it. I just promised Wendy.

I won’t have it advertised for this coming magazine, which I’ve just about got finished, and should be at the printers soon. I’ve got three books going to be advertised in this one. But the next magazine, I’m going to have it ready! Can you believe it, Wendy? She's been telling me for so long because it ran out of print.

The printers, they folded up, so I had to redo it all again. It wasn’t just say, “Print so many more copies again.” I have to start again, which I want to, because I want to update. I’m always wanting to update things.

Wendy, tell us, what’s the first thing that you were thinking about that we forgot to talk about?

Wendy: Hey, Nancy. Well, I’m so thankful for your influence. It’s always an honor to be able to talk to you. I do love living near you so I can see you so much more often.

Nancy: Oh, yes! The last time, after our podcast, guess what we did? Evangeline appeared on the scene. She said, “Let’s go picking muscadines!” Or muscadines. I say “Muscadines.” What do you say?

Wendy: I just learned what they were. Muscadines?

Nancy: I say “Muscadines.” These glorious big fat grapes that are so unbelievable! So, we went muscadining! And it was so good! Came home with these wonderful grapes. They have big thick skins and lots of pits in them, but my, they are so good! I’m not sure what adventure we’ll do today.

Wendy: It’s always fun to be over here because there is always an adventure. The muscadine picking was amazing! They are so sour. They’re sweet inside, but sour outside. The seed is sour. I guess some people just eat the inside. I ate the whole thing. It was so good! I also tried the tamarinds. Is that how you say it?

Nancy: I had also bought some tamarinds from the Middle Eastern shop, from the Kurdish shop where I often shop to get my meat, and get all our Middle Eastern food, which we love. I had bought tamarinds, which, oh! they’re just such a wonderful, strong, tarty flavor. It was the first time you’d seen them, wasn’t it?

Wendy: Yes. And I love them now, so I went to a Mexican grocery store in Nashville. They had four bags! They taste like dried apricots. I was looking up the benefits. They’re so amazing. Great anti-cancer and high in vitamin A. It’s actually a meal suppressant too. If you eat it, it curbs your appetite. It has all these random things as part of, I already liked the taste.

Nancy: And they last because they’re dried. So, I think I’ll be buying more next time I go in, too!

Wendy: They look like bean pods or seeds, so I would never have thought it was actually something edible. They’re really interesting. I’m so thankful for that.

But yeah, it’s fun to visit with you and talk with you. You’ve heavily influenced our family culture. In part, a lot of what you have printed in your magazines, and your books, and your resources, and your conferences, just creating that Christ-like culture in your family that honors God. I’ve used everything. We take what we can and incorporate it and make it our own, and personalize it, and follow where God’s leading us to do.

There’re some things that are a theme that we have taken away and wanted celebrations. To be able to celebrate everything and anything. There are specific ones that we do commonly, birthdays and graduations, anniversaries and marriages. But then, those are the passages that give us also victory. We like the small victories to the largest victories. It covers everything, from little Joshua losing a tooth. “Yay!” They get so excited about that. Let’s celebrate that. Make a big deal about it.

Nancy: What would you do to celebrate that?

Wendy: We would probably get our favorite things, our favorite meal. It would just be a time where we all gathered together and have joy and rejoice. Whether it’s memorizing Scripture, or accomplishing a goal, any time we can all get together and focus on what’s good and right, and lovely, and pure, it seems that God has done it.

Then it’s a time to reflect on Him and be thankful because God says rejoice. “Again, I say rejoice.” There’s always so much in Scripture about having joy. We want to enjoy everything. Even when there’s a time of mourning, it says, “Joy comes in the morning.” So, absolutely, celebrating everything.

There’s a website called NationalDayCalendar.com. It’s really fun. It has these random things that are national days, like some things I never even thought of. Today is actually National Chocolate Day. So, we would personalize that and have dark chocolate. That’s our favorite. We would definitively do that. And tomorrow is . . .

Nancy: Oh, I didn’t know there was a National Chocolate Day! Wow! I’m going to find out and remember that for next year!

Wendy: Yeah, it’s really fun to see what it will be. Tomorrow is National Oatmeal Day, so we probably won’t be celebrating that. My kids, my children do not really like oatmeal so that would be one we skipped.

But there’s just fun things to do, to be creative and say, “Hey, this is something that we can do, and it’s good. So, let’s enjoy life.” There’s a lot of times where there’s situations offered to us. “Let's go see this movie,” and it’s not something that we would see. So instead of having always, “No, we can’t do this,” we say, “But we can do this! So, no on this movie, but yes on this movie!”

Or “No on this event, but let’s do this event,” and create something that maybe we didn’t do before. We can start a new tradition. But just creating those happy moments, and those times where we can have fun with everyday life.

Nancy: Oh, that’s so great! I think I’m going to look up that NationalDayCalendar.com, because it can give you ideas, new things to celebrate. If you’re just a mother, what a terrible statement! “You’re just a mother!” I didn’t mean to say that!

I meant to say, “If you’re just a mother with little ones, and those little ones around you, you’re just starting off your celebrating days.” But do start celebrating. The only thing you will find is that as your children grow, there is more and more to celebrate. As more children come along, then there’s more and more to celebrate. Now, here I not only have children, but grandchildren, and not only grandchildren, but great-grandchildren.

So, wow, my calendar just gets fuller and fuller with celebrations. We had a baby shower last week which was so beautiful. Now I see in my calendar for this month, three baby showers, all within about a week of one another.

And then, another couple have just got engaged. Cherish and Ben got engaged on the weekend, so that was so exciting! They’re planning now to be married on the fifth of February in the new year. Of course, when someone gets married, there’s engagements, and then there’s wedding showers, and then there’s the wedding.

Then there will be baby showers to come. Of course, more and more are getting married, so there’s going to be more and more showers. And more and more celebrations, and more and more birthdays. It's amazing.

Out there in the world, there’s a lot of people who, they don’t even have a heart for family, or an understanding of the joys of family. They think, “Wow, we’ll have our two children. We’ve done our bit. That's it.” You cut everything off. “Goodness, we’re finished with that!”

They don’t realize they’re cutting off a life of joys and celebrations and parties! I mean, wow, the more children you have, and the more the years go on, there are just more celebrations and more parties! And life is just so filled with joy and excitement and glory! Don’t you believe that?

Wendy: Oh, absolutely. It’s fun to include other people in that, too. We can usually encourage each other and edify each other, just by celebrating each other’s events. Yes, absolutely.

Nancy: Of course, now, we’re coming up to Thanksgiving. I know you’ll all be celebrating in your different ways. We have found that, you know, we start off celebrating. In fact, for us, when we came to the States, it was a very new thing for us to celebrate Thanksgiving. We don’t have that way down in New Zealand where we come from.

But we are so glad that we are now American citizens and that we can celebrate Thanksgiving. We started off doing it, but as we have continued every year, and family has grown, we keep adding new traditions. We began, as the children began to get a bit bigger, we would have a tug of war. That has now been, well, of course, we have our great, big, wonderful, glorious, amazing Thanksgiving dinner.

We usually, in our basement area, where we have all our social gatherings, I think last year we had a sit-down meal (we love to have a sit-down meal) for about 85. But that wasn’t all the family because some of them couldn’t come. It may be just as well because we couldn’t fit in anymore! I don’t know how we’ll manage this year. I think by next year, Sam’s barn will be finished, and we’ll have a bigger place to celebrate, because the family just keeps growing and growing.

So, we have a glorious meal. We’re not like a lot of average families in this state who sit around and watch football. We don’t do that. We love to celebrate! To celebrate, you’ve got to really eat. Of course, with so many people, we have so many turkeys, and so many pieces of lamb. Others are bringing beef. Everybody brings something, so the food is amazing.

After our meal, then speeches. We always have speeches. They’re usually the best thing in the whole day, when people will get up and share about something that’s happened through the year, or even something that is on their heart. Most of the speeches are so powerful. You would think you were at some amazing conference or something!

But, anyway, then we’ll go outside, and we have our tug of war. Children, girls against boys, and then, of course now, it’s young people against the adults. Of course, it used to be the adults would win, but now, the competition is so strong. We’ve got all these tough guys. Often, they’re winning. We keep on having that competition.

We have egg-throwing, where we have these raw eggs we have to throw to one another. We get further and further apart, until we have the winner. We’ve got to have all these amazing things for the younger ones. Sack races and three-legged races.

Then we’ll come in, and often we have arm wrestling. Then as the evening is coming on, we’ll then have dessert, because we can’t eat dessert at lunchtime, because we’re too full. Then we get out the food again, and we have dessert together, and loads of things after that.

But you’ve got other things you want to say!

Wendy: I love listening to other people. I love listening to what you do. Anyone, like you were saying, we can so much glean from each other about how everyone does something a little differently, or a little different way. It's so fun. I love it.

So, OK, so another thing that I wanted to share about, the amazing things that I’ve incorporated in our family culture from all your resources, is having a revolving door of guests with many different backgrounds. People, all different kinds, besides our friend’s family.

The Bible talks about those who can’t pay back, those who can’t have you over themselves. We could also bless ministries or even strangers who are also. . . I hope one day that we would find out that we served angels. That would be really amazing. But we have some, as the Lord leads. I would encourage everyone to just follow that, because you never know what that will lead to.

We’ve had some pretty life-changing things happen because we just reached out to someone. That went to someone else, and it really influenced our family. One example is just following God’s leading. Kevin was on his way to school one day and along the highway there were Amish.

Nancy: So, where were you living then?

Wendy: OK. Thank you. This was in California.

Nancy: I didn’t know you had Amish in California!

Wendy: We don’t! But we lived next to Yosemite National Park, which is a tourist destination for global, and all around the world. There were continually people from all over the world who would be in the town, this gateway to Yosemite. When he was on his way to school, even though we homeschooled, he was teaching at a public school.

He was travelling there, and he saw these Amish walking with suitcases along the highway. He was so fascinated. Where were they going? What were they doing? He pulled over and rolled down his window. They looked at him, like “Who are you?” He found out that they had laundry in their suitcases, and they were walking from their hotel to a laundromat. They were just right there. They were going to be doing laundry.

So, he said, “Come over. Can we have you over to our house?” He told them a little about our family and gave them our number. I was surprised they called and said, “We’ll come over.”

We went to pick them up that night and brought them over. It was so fun. It was such an amazing visit. They said, interestingly, what convinced them to come over, was when Kevin shared, “We don’t have a TV.” They thought that was a safe house to be at.

After the dinner, they went back home and shared with their family and friends. We became known as a safe house to go to. So, we got calls from a lot of other people to come over too. It was just so fun. One of the ladies made a dress for our daughter, Holly, and sent it to her, a little Amish dress. So, so fun.

It’s just random things like that, where you feel, “Maybe God’s leading me in this direction,” and you follow through with that. Our little efforts, God works through, in a great way.

What we encourage other people to do is to reach out to people who you feel have made a difference in the impact that you see God working through their life in amazing ways. This can bring home to your children and have them learn how different God works in two different people.

There was a musician who we had her music. We did listen to Scripture. Our children just absolutely loved it. Her name is Judy Rogers. We called her and said, “Hey, can you come over?”  She was in Georgia, and we were not even expecting her to say yes, but she did. So, we flew her and her husband out, and said, “Hey, we want to know you, because we like what you’re doing, and bless you.”

We asked if she would do a concert at our house and invited a lot of people over. Then we had a few days with them. Judy gave Macy her first guitar lesson, which at that time, our family was just a lot of violin players. So that really changed the course of the direction of our band at that time.

Nancy: I think that’s very interesting. When you reach out to other people, you do it to bless them. But in the end, you’re the one who gets blessed.

Wendy: Oh, always. Yes. And the interesting thing is that this is a story of how God works. She liked what Kevin did with his Bible quizzes. She printed it in her newsletter. This newsletter went out all over.

We got a call a few weeks later from this older lady, asking for Kevin. It ends up that she lived a few streets over from us. Her name is Cora Mae. She’s a godly older woman and we adopted her as our grandma. We would have her over a lot and go to her house and serve her. It was interesting. We would have never met her had we not had the Rogers over from Georgia. But that was a really good connection.

That was 13 years ago. Just recently, the Rogers celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary out here. We got to meet up with her children. Now I’m friends with her daughter who lives near us in Tennessee. So, it’s really amazing how God makes the connections, how He uses each other to bless each other and to bring glory to Him. We never know how many years later that impact can still be felt, and what He will do through that.

Nancy: Oh, exactly! I think hospitality is . . . A lot of people think, “Well, some people, they’ve got their gift of hospitality, but I’m not really very good at this.” I think often it’s the way that you were raised. Many people are raised with very insular homes. They’re not being used to other people in their homes, so it’s a new thing for you to do.

I was blessed in that I was raised in a very, very hospitable home. I mean, if anybody came to our door, my father would be there. “Come on, come in, come in! Come and sit at our table!” He’d be getting out the food. He just loved to bless everybody. So, I was used to, OK, this embracing lifestyle, which is the lifestyle of the kingdom of God.

Even if we haven’t been used to it, we have to realize that when we come into God’s kingdom, we’re coming into a whole new way of life. We’re coming out of the old kingdom, this kingdom of selfishness and living unto ourselves, into a kingdom where we live for others. Often, it’s a totally new way of life. Sometimes we just have to start, little by little. But I would encourage you to start. Even if you ask one person to come to your meal table because it is the lifestyle that God wants us to live.

I remember writing, many years ago, three things about hospitality.

Hospitality is a biblical doctrine that starts in Genesis, and weaves through the pages of the Bible until the last book of Revelation, where we see the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Whosoever will, is invited. The whole last chapter of the Bible is whosoever will, come! Come! Those are the words, even in the very last chapter. These are the words of God. “Come! Buy milk and bread without money or price,” it says in Isaiah 55:1.

These are the words of Jesus, “Come unto Me.” They’re the words of the Holy Spirit. They should be the words of us, the bride too.

Hospitality is an extension of our mothering and homemaking anointing.

We have, you know, lovely mothers, you’re blessed to have a home. It’s a sanctuary for you to raise your children. But it’s also a place that God has given you to use for His kingdom.

Oh, a home, I believe the home is the greatest place in the world to impact people for God. To invite people to your home, to your table, but I think we impact people in a greater way, because it’s more personal. It's more real than maybe just inviting them to a church service where they sit and listen. Yes, that’s good, but in fact, often, you’ve got to get people to your home first, before you even have the right to ask them to a church service!

But the home is so powerful. Realize that your home, God has given it to you to use for His glory, to draw people closer to Him, to draw them into His kingdom.

Thirdly,

Hospitality is not an option. It is the lifestyle of the kingdom of God.

I mean, there are so many Scriptures in the Word about hospitality. Sometimes it will be asking someone for a meal. Sometimes it’s having them stay in your home.

I remember when we moved to Australia from New Zealand. We were pioneering a church on the Gold Coast of Australia. We had so many people, not only coming and going, but living in our home. All our children were home. Some of these people were pretty interesting. I remember one guy. He was one of the first guys who landed up in our church when we started to pioneer there on the Gold Coast of Australia.

He was this great big black guy. He wasn’t American black, because he had, I think, because we were Down Under, he had Island and Aborigine in him. But he was a big guy. He’d just come from a life of gangs. He knew no other work than being a bouncer. All he knew was how to go and bounce people out of nightclubs. Well, we were on the Gold Coast of Australia, filled with nightclubs. Plenty of work there!

But he came to know Jesus. Of course, in the beginning, he was pretty raw. But Colin invited him. He had nowhere to go. “Come and live with us.” Oh, I could tell you so many stories. But anyway, this guy lived with us. If he heard a knock on the door, he would say, “If that’s the heat, don’t tell them I’m here!” He was used to getting pulled up by the police. He called them “the heat.”

Every night, he would come to Colin and me and say, “Can you pray for me?” as he’s going out in the night to bounce at these nightclubs. He still didn’t know how to get another job. So here we are, praying over this guy, to bounce! My, you get one kind of knock from him, and you’ll go ten feet out the door!

That was back in 1982. Well, here we are. 2021. And although we’re here in America, we will still get calls from this guy who became an evangelist and who has walked with God all these years. And who is still winning souls to the Lord. We’ll get this voice on the other end of the phone. “It’s Brian Israel Thunderbolt Booker here.” His name was Brian, but he changed his name to Brian Israel Thunderbolt Booker because he became so on fire for God.

When you met him, he’d put his arms around you, and he would say, “God love ya, Jesus love ya, I love ya, and God bless you!” Your whole ribs would be squashed to pieces!

Of course, in the early days, it was pretty hair-raising. We had other guys, another hippie, and other people who came from the most amazing backgrounds. And yet, God was so good. Here we were, with our children, and yet, they were never actually affected negatively. In fact, they had that same, because growing up, they had the same sort of attitude that, yes, we want to bless people.

I remember one day Colin and I were out. We came home and the children, well, I guess, they were early teens or something. But anyway, they said, “Oh, So-and-so came to see you. They needed counseling, but we thought, ‘OK, we’ll do it. So, we did the counseling!’” They were used to that kind of thing and all kinds of people coming.

Wendy: I think that’s another idea for a book for you. Write all your experiences. You know, hospitality is . . .

Nancy: But you know, it’s not always perfect. I remember us on the Gold Coast as well, because we’re pioneering this church. It was a lovely family who came one Sunday. We thought, “Oh, we want to really encourage them and get to know them.”  The normal thing that comes out of our mouth is always, “Come! Come and have a meal with us! We’d love you to come.”

So, we arranged it for, I think it was the Monday night. But I got so busy, I forgot all about the fact that we’d invited them! We were just having our meal round the table. It was a pretty full table. We had people living with us. Always had people living with us. I don’t think we’ve ever had a time when we haven’t had people living with us!

And here we are, Colin and me. I’m 80, he’s 81, and we still have people living with us! You know, most people are sort of doddering on their own by this age. But here we are.

So, anyway, we were all sitting around. In fact, it was one of those naughty nights. Oh goodness me, I can’t even believe it! I don’t believe in ever putting a pot on the table, but I remember that night I even had a couple of pots on the table. I think someone wanted leftovers, so I just brought the pots over. Oh, so disgusting! But, you know, we were just family.

And there was a knock on the door. I went to the door, and there was this family, all dressed up so beautifully to come to the Campbells for their evening meal. And a lovely dish in hand to help with the meal.

Well. We’d eaten everything. And here they were! What could we do? Well, we just had to apologize, and sort of clear the table, and suddenly get some more food onto the table. But I don’t think we ever redeemed it because they never came back to the church! [laughter] So, I’ve blown it plenty of times!

Wendy: We had an experience similar to that where we had invited a couple over. We forgot. It was a lunch. We had just had lunch and put everything away. Then they came to the door, and we just realized at that moment, “Oh, no!” So, we had a second lunch. We got everything back out again and fixed something. It was really fun.

Nancy: You know, a lot of times, we don’t reach out in hospitality, because we think, “Well, help! How can I? I mean, we’ve got our . . .” What do you do to keep your money all in order? What’s the word? Budget! Yes, a budget.

OK. So, everybody has their budget. Well, I don’t really know about a budget. Forgive me, ladies. I have never ever done a budget in my whole married life. Goodness me! What an example are you, Nancy Campbell?

Well, I’m sorry. Because if I had done a budget, we could never have lived the way we lived. Because if I had done a budget, I don’t think we’d have ever been able to ask anybody to our home. We’ve always forgotten about budgets. We never ever thought of a budget in our lives! We just lived, and we’d just say, “Come!”

So, we’ve lived beyond our budget. And God provides. I don’t think He provides when we try to be miserly and live unto ourselves. But you see, God aligns Himself with hospitality, because He is a hospitable God. He now dwells in us, and He wants to be hospitable through us. We just have to forget about budgets and just say, “Come!”

It’s amazing. I believe God has always provided. Well, maybe not in just elaborate times. In fact, I think that we all have, or will, if we haven’t yet, have the experience of Paul, who said, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.”  There are times in your life of abounding. There are times of hardly scraping through.

We’ve had many of those times. And yet, even in those times, we’ve never gone without. God is so good! He is so faithful! I remember one time, and fortunately, it was someone we knew. It was actually my dear friend, Val Stares, who is the director of Above Rubies in Australia. She and her husband just came by. It was lunch time.

But, oh, we were going through one of those scraping-through times. All I had in the house was potatoes. Nothing else! I thought to myself, “Oh, I don’t think I’ll invite them for lunch, because I can’t just give them potatoes.” And then I thought, “Well, no! How terrible to not invite people when they’ve come to your door. So, I said, “Hi! Come in! Well, I’ve only got potatoes, but come and sit down to our meal of potatoes!”

Well, we sat around that table, and we had such a great time of fellowship. The amazing thing is, Val has never ever forgotten that meal, where we only had potatoes! They have been to our home hundreds of times, and I don’t think she’ll ever remember all the beautiful meals I’ve cooked for her. But she remembers the potatoes! [laughter] Often those times are remembered more than all the more elaborate times.

Wendy: Oh, yeah. That brings memories because people mostly want the fellowship more than the food.

Nancy: They do!

Wendy: Yes. That is, a hospitality guestbook is what our go-to is for a newly married couple, to get them going on that. It’s fun to look back over the years and see all the different people who have come over. Remembering we lived those experiences and know that that has been such a blessing for us to be able to reach out to them.

Nancy: Yes. I know. Do you keep a guestbook all the time?

Wendy: We have one, and we don’t always remember to use it.

Nancy: Yes, that’s been my trouble. Oh, I wish I had kept a guestbook. When I think of over 58 years of marriage together, and the people who have been to our home. We would have to have a hundred guestbooks. But do you know, I always forget the guestbook. I’ve missed out on remembering them all! I think it is a great idea.

Our time is gone again! So, do you think we could do another session? I think there’s some more things we were going to talk about. Wow! OK. Let’s pray, shall we?

“Dear Father, we thank You so much for Your Word. Thank You for fellowship. Lord, we’re fellowshipping together now, even over this podcast, although it’s not one-on-one. It would be even greater if we were face to face.

“But Lord, we know that You consider fellowship so important. Encouraging one another is so important. So, I pray that, Lord, every precious one listening today will be encouraged. Be encouraged to just reach out beyond themselves a little more, and to reach out to those who are lonely, hurting, just needing a blessing.

“Oh God, we pray that You will give us a heart for others, and a heart to open our homes. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

NEW ABOVE RUBIES MAGAZINE

The new Above rubies magazine, #99 is in the printers. Look out for it coming. If you are not on the mailing list, send your name and address to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will be happy to send it to you

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 176 – How Soon can Children come to Know Christ?

Wendy Shaw joins me again today as we talk about raising children in the ways of God. Making the family meal table a place of fun and discussion times with the children. We also discuss at what age a child can come to know Christ.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: We are continuing with Wendy Shaw today. Oh, there were so many things we needed to continue talking about. So, Wendy, it’s so wonderful to have you with us again today.

As you were sharing about your beautiful family and how they developed this beautiful musical band, I was thinking more and more of how it isn’t just passion. Nothing just happens, does it? They had to work hard, and practice hard, and put their minds to it. I think that’s such an example.

It’s amazing, because I was just reading the Word this last week. I read Daniel 2:21: “God giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.” I read that and I thought, “Oh, my. That is so opposite to what we would do. We would think, ‘Oh, my, if someone is wise, why would You give them more wisdom. Someone who’s got lots of understanding, well, why do you have to give them more knowledge for?’”

But I see this throughout the Scripture, because we go to the New Testament, and we see the same thing. It's a Scriptural principle, that God gives more to those who have, and to those who don’t have He takes away.

We go over to Matthew 13:12: “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.” Wow. Actually, that word, ladies, is a word that I’m often telling you about. It’s the Greek word, perisseuo. It means “super-abundance, over the top, more that is necessary, to excel, to exceed, to increase, over and above.”

It’s an amazing word. It’s a word that is used often in the New Testament, because it’s actually the lifestyle of the kingdom of God, which is not normal, not status quo, but more. It’s more than. It's more than the normal. It’s increasing. It’s excelling. Abundant, over-abundant.

And here it’s used again. It says that the one who has, God will give more, even more abundance. “But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” Well, we look at that, and it doesn’t sound very fair, does it?

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about it, and I realized, yes, God looks upon our hearts. And He sees, He sees how we look at things, even listening to His Word, His precious Word. If we just take it lightly, “Oh, well, I guess I’d better read my Bible,” and we just read a few verses and we forget about it, we’re taking it lightly. Do you think God’s really going to give us revelation? No, I don’t think He is.

But if He sees us coming to His Word, and we are there to wait and listen to what He says to us, we’re looking, and we’re searching. We’re longing to hear God’s voice. Maybe we’ve got our journal ready, which I have every day, ready to write what God is saying. God sees our hearts and He says, "Yes, that person is going to take this seriously, what I’m going to say. I’ll give her some more.”

I believe it applies because it talks about in Mark 4. In each place this word comes again in Matthew, and then in Mark. Then over in Luke, and each time it’s slightly different. Mark 4:24-25: “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

Here it’s in the context of hearing, hearing what God is saying to us, and listening. God will give to those who already have, because they’ve already been seeking, and searching, and longing. They’re getting truth from the Word. They’re living it. It’s their life. So, God will give them more!

But, if we take it lightly, we can expect to have nothing. We go over to Matthew 25. That is the passage about the talents. This is where I was thinking of you, Wendy. I’m talking away here. But what I’m saying, does this really relate in your family? And how you have raised your children?

Wendy: Oh, absolutely. I love everything that you were saying there. Those were the things that I thought about seriously. Actually, it reminds me of how I’ve never arrived. There’s always a place that God’s given us, that if we’re not actually using it and developing it, then it’s as. . . He wants to keep doing that and teaching it, and teaching it, and never stop. So, never just coasting, but always going forward. I tend to think, “Oh, I’ve got this down,” and then, uh oh! Be careful.

Nancy: I think one of my favorite Scriptures. . . Well, how can I say I have a favorite Scripture? Because every word is alive and active. Every word is life! But I love Proverbs 4:18: “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

I always look upon the Christian life as a MORE AND MORE life. If we stop where we’re at, well, we’re finished. No, it’s more and more. There’s always more understanding and revelation. And God is waiting to give it to us, but He’s going to give it to those who He knows are going to take it. It’s precious to them. They’re serious about it.

But over here, in Matthew 25, this same principle comes up in the parable about the talents. This I’m reading from another translation now. Matthew 25:28-29: “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance.” There’s perissueo again, that same amazing word.

“But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It’s interesting that the one who got five talents, he made five more. The one who got two, I think he made two more. The one who got one, he went and buried it.

But God called him an unprofitable servant. We go down in the chapter, and it says that those who develop their gifts and work on them, they were “good and faithful” servants. But the one who buries his talent, he was called abundance Most translations say, “lazy.”

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that it’s a very, very powerful principle that God has in His Word. That one, he was lazy. We can’t be lazy about things. God is not going to give more to those who are lazy. Good principle to teach our children, isn’t it? It really is. Yes. I’ve been thinking about that, and it’s very, very powerful.

OK, well! I’ve got to ask you a little bit more about your family. Tell me, Wendy, did you, how did you get to lead your children to Jesus? And did they come to the Lord when they were young? Tell us about that.

Wendy: Absolutely. Thank you for your insights on being profitable in what God’s given us. That's something I always want to keep in mind and try to teach that to our children, over and over still.

When we were evangelizing our children, we first wanted to make sure that we were good examples. And that they knew we were following Someone who we loved, and enjoyed serving, and not just formal religion that we were going through. They saw that we had a passion already for who Jesus is, and really wanted to form our lives and everything that we were doing with the structure of His Word.

That was something that we . . .  everything that we did was through that lens. Is God’s will here? When they were young, there was a point where they all had a lot of questions. We encourage lots of questions. We love them. They had some really good ones and they always led to different discussions about personal relationships that they can have on their own with Jesus.

They were all very young when they wanted to do that on their own. Kevin would take them aside to make sure they understood. I would say afterwards, “You’re talking them out of it!” And he said, “No, I just want them to count the cost. I want them to understand that this is a disciplined life. This is not an easy path and that this is something, a big decision.

He wanted them to know that this was on their own, and not something that they knew we would be happy with. There was a very strong conviction that they would have on their own.

So, yes, they were all between five and seven years old, very early. We baptized them early. Sometimes in a church, sometimes in a little kiddy pool in our front yard. Just depends.

One child was saying, “Why do I have to obey?” I read them the story of the Ethiopian, “Look, there’s water.” She said, “Look, there’s my pool! My kiddy pool.” That was Macy. Kevin baptized her in our front yard.

So, we were talking about that, what do they understand? I feel like I’m going to believe them, what they say. Now I need to make sure that they’re discipled and they’re showing fruit. That’s how I would know if it was a true conversion, that they would be showing fruit.

Nancy: I think that’s beautiful, Wendy. I do believe myself that children growing up in a godly home where they’re hearing the Word of God daily, that they can be ready for salvation at a very early age.

I think of the Word, what does it say in Peter? 1 Peter 1:23: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” We come, we’re brought to Christ through the Word of God. This incorruptible seed, which is alive. What does it say here? It lives and abides forever.

Now, children who grow up in home where they’re hearing the Word of God every day, it’s going into their spirit. It’s building faith in them, and it’s preparing them to be so ready to embrace Jesus, and to embrace truth.

We go over to 2 Timothy 3:15. Here Paul is writing to Timothy. In fact, at the beginning of the book, in 2 Timothy 1:5: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Timothy’s faith came right down through his grandmother and his mother who were pouring the Word of God into him.

2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures.” Even “from a child, thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

So, the Word makes us wise to salvation, to understand salvation. A person growing up in an ungodly home and never hearing the Scriptures, they’re not ready. Often, later in life, they’ll hear the gospel, and they will receive Christ. But children in a home where they’re living under the anointing of God’s living Word can come to faith very, very early.

That word, “from a child,” in the Greek, is the word brephos. That word is used when Jesus was in the womb. The word brephos is also used of Jesus when He was a babe, lying in the manger. That word, “babe,” is brephos. So, this word is used of a babe in the womb. It’s used of a baby born, and, of course, as a little toddler, and a little child. It’s of a very young age.

So, I think the best time to start reading the Word to our children is when they’re in the womb. We don’t wait even until they’re born! And then, even when they’re born, and as a family we’re having family devotions together, mother’s just nursing her baby, and of course, the baby doesn’t understand a thing, but he’s hearing the Word. It’s already going into him.

I have a little quote here. One time I read the most beautiful book. It’s now out of print, but I think you can find it on the internet if you look it up. It’s How to Have a Family Altar, by Norman Williams.

In his book he writes: “A child of three months is too young to understand Galatians 5:22-23,” which is of course, talking about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He says: “But he’s not too young to enjoy it. The greatest secret of shaping the life of the child from day one to six years of age is to make Galatians 5:22-23 the very spirit and life of your home. Then your child will literally feed on the love of God, both emotionally and spiritually. He will absorb that out of his environment, which will make him emotionally and spiritually healthy and strong.”

In another place he writes: “The parents’ great privilege during the first six years is to make this child acquainted with Christ as his maker and his loving friend. Before the child is three-and-a-half, he should be saved and know that Christ made him and loves him. The child should learn to lovingly speak the Name of Jesus, right along with the name of Daddy and Mommy.

“In the first six years of life, the child has a strong sense of the reality of the invisible. There is a strongly developed dimension of his being that senses the reality of the invisible, and that reaches out to experience and to know that reality. The failure to supply this need through the Word of God causes him to people the invisible with objects of his own imagination, such as fairies and gremlins and Santa Claus, and so on. They are a fantasy.

“God has given the child a strong sense of the reality of the invisible as a foundation for receiving the truth of Christ and His Word in the earliest and tender years. We should pray diligently for those parents who starve their children for the Word of God, and then feed them lies about fairies, witches, gremlins, and Santa Claus.” So true. “These are the devil’s lies and substitute for the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word.”

I’m thinking back to our own children. Most of them received Jesus into their lives about four years of age. I noticed last week you were saying how that at four years of age, you started your children practicing the violin. They got a little tiny violin. Well, if a child is old enough to begin practicing a violin, he is old enough to receive Jesus. Especially when he’s filled with this Word which has been constantly read out loud to him every day.

I love to encourage you young moms to be watching your precious children. When you see their tenderness and openness to Jesus and His Word, to give them that opportunity to ask Jesus to come into their lives. Because they can do it at such a tender age, and it can be so real.

I remember Evangeline’s testimony. I had just prayed with her brother. They were twins, Stephen and Evangeline. Then I went into Evangeline, and I said to her, “Stevie’s just asked Jesus to come into his life. Would you like to, too?”

I didn’t know what was going on in her life. But she told me later, especially even years later. She said, “It was as though there was this fight between heaven and hell.” She said, “Everything in me was fighting to say, ‘No! No! No! No! You must not!’” There was this enemy trying to stop her.

But then there was that beautiful tender voice of Jesus saying, “Come, I want to come in.” She said she had to fight, but eventually she said, “Yes, Lord Jesus. Come into my life.” She said at that moment, that moment, her life changed, at four years of age. She has never (you know Vange), I don’t think for one day of her life she has ever even had negative thought of turning away from walking with God. She has totally followed Him.

She was very scared of the owl outside her room. She says from that day, she was never scared of that owl again. She’s never been scared of anything since, as you know.

That was a real salvation. I know, as a young child, I was a little older than that, but I also fought with the powers of darkness. It shows you how the enemy is vying for our children. He wants our children. And the sooner they belong to Jesus, the better, because also, when Jesus comes into their lives, He dwells with them. We are now able to teach them more, in a greater way, how to walk with God.

OK, this is every child. Of course, even us, we deal with the flesh all the time. Our children are going to deal with the flesh. They’re going to get mad, and get rebellious, and get mad with their brother and sister. We can then say to them, “But Johnny, you have Jesus living within you now. He doesn’t get mad. He doesn’t scream and fight and kick. No, He loves your brother, and He wants to live His life in you. You’ve got to learn to say, ‘Yes’ to Jesus, and ‘No’ to the devil.”

They begin to learn. Often, we start learning when we’re adults. They learn now because now they have Christ helping them. He is in them. He wants to live His life in them. It is such a beautiful thing.

I think it’s something that we should encourage. I love to encourage you, lovely moms, especially when you’re having family devotions. You’re reading the Word, and there’s many times you sense the Presence of God on your children. It’s a beautiful time to ask them, at that time, “Would you like to ask Jesus into your life now?”

If the Presence of God is on them, and they’ve been living in the Word, they’re going to be ready to do that. It is so wonderful. So, of course, that’s important. The sooner the better!

But then, of course, all our lives we’re little by little teaching them how to walk with the Lord. How did you teach your children to grow stronger with the Lord?

Wendy: Well, a lot of what you’re saying we did with the Scripture, because it is powerful. There's so much power in God’s Word just being spoken out loud. We would do that often, as far as, in many ways.

We would always lead them back to the Bible if they raised any kind of argument or discussion on something, and there was a question about it. We would say, “Well, let’s look. Let’s see what God says. I don’t want to make something up for your life. I want you to be able to do this on your own when you’re older, so let’s start early, and see what God says we should do.”

Also, we started reading the Bible as a family every day, about 16 years ago. We made it a commitment to never miss a day. That could be, we were in the car, in a restaurant, in a hospital room, in many different states and places. Even if we had company over, we made sure to always get God’s Word spoken out loud.

I’ve underestimated sometimes what my children can understand. Even at an early age, they understand a lot more than I think they do. God, of course, in His Spirit, can always teach them through His Word, even better than I can. Just by them hearing it, even if they were in the other room, and someone said, “Go bring them in.” Just to have that spoken Word spoken over them, and they’ll remember it.

I’ve been surprised to find in different conversations we’ve had with our children, and they’ll bring out this random story from the Old Testament. We were like, “Wow! They remembered that!” Their minds are sponges. They soak everything in. Even if it doesn’t seem applicable right now, God can use that later on in their life and remind them of that spoken Word, to speak to them in a different situation.

Nancy: That is so wonderful. I love the challenge of your not missing a day. Doesn’t matter where you are, and in what circumstances. That is incredible. It reminds me of a wonderful family in New Zealand. This father of the family was an evangelist, actually preaching on end times events.

He had such a great teaching ability. He would come to churches. Often, he came to our church. He could preach for two hours non-stop, and everyone was spellbound. Even the children would be spellbound.

But their walk really was lived out in their lives. I remember one time they were staying with us. It came the next morning, they were off to go. They had to leave by a certain time. But I noticed that as they were going off, all the children were piled in the car, before he drove off down the drive, he said, “Children, OK, get out the Daily Light,” because he used to read that. That’s just Scriptures for every day.

He didn’t even start the car until they had read the Scriptures for the day, before they even started on their journey. Here they were, traveling not only all-over New Zealand, but they even travelled to other countries of the world. It didn’t matter what they were doing. Even if they were in hotels, or wherever, they read the Scriptures daily.

I think that is so good. It is the Scriptures really, that are our answer. I would find that in any situation I had with the children, I could always find God has an answer in His Word. The times too, when you see some sort of weakness in their lives, something which wasn’t right. “OK, what does the Scripture say about this?”

I’d not only have it maybe in our reading when we were as a family, but I would write them out in big words, and pin them up in the bathroom, or the toilet, or their bedrooms where they could read them. So, the Word is just going into them. There’s just nothing like the Word! Amen.

Oh, yes, Wendy, you’ve often said to me how you love that book that I wrote, The Family Meal Table and Hospitality. Sadly, that book is out of print. But because of you, I’m going to be reprinting it soon. Because you keep saying to me, “When is it coming back into print?” But tell me, why was it special to you? How did it affect you in the raising of your children?

Wendy: Thank you so much for that. That is one of my all-time favorite books, and I’ll tell you why. Because hospitality is a way to serve others in so many different ways. I feel like hospitality starts in the home, but it extends out. You can be hospitable in someone else’s house, or in a restaurant, or in a church.

Just the whole concept of it, it was something that really resonated with me. “Oh, I want to be good at this! I want to do it!”  I remember the very first time that we had a couple over, a family over. It took me all day long to prepare. I was so nervous.

I was thinking, “Did I do this all right?” Now, we have so much experience, being in other people’s homes, and having people over is like, “Who wants to grab something from the freezer?” And it’s very fine.

But I loved your book because it gave practical examples to do. It reassured me that nothing has to be perfect. People just want to show up. Hospitality is basically serving them. In every situation where we’ve been in someone else’s house, I’ll take away, “Oh, I like how they did that,” and I’ll try to do it in my house.

Or “Oh, that made me feel awkward. I’m going to try to not do that.” I know that feeling now. That’s good. It was a good thing. Always feel it’s a reminder that it’s a good way to keep and train around the family meal table.

You had a lot of creative ways to do that. I brought the book with me. Yes, I’ll remind you that it was printed in 1999, so it’s time!

Nancy: Oooh, that’s a long time! Well, what happened, we just ran out, and the printer that was printing it, they went out of business. So, I have to start again. I couldn’t just say, “Oh, print another so many copies!” That was a bit of extra work, but I really am planning to do it, because so many people keep calling for it.

Wendy: I remember when I got my hands on this book, I loved it so much that I bought a whole bunch of copies for my friends at that time. They could have it, too. I have so many dog-ears and highlights in here. I have this one from 2012 where I had written out different children to bless on each day, and the music night, and a color night.

It's been so fun to use this as a springboard to be creative on my own, too. To think, “Oh, that gives me a good idea!” It’s out of print, but it’s not out of date.

Nancy: Of course, you can’t get it just yet, but you will be able to in the future. You don’t have to wait for the book. You can start being hospitable now. I think, even before you begin to be hospitable, which is a Biblical concept, you know. The early church, that was their lifestyle. It was hospitality. They met in each other’s homes daily (Acts 2:46, 47).

But I think even before you do that, you’ve got to get it going in your own home. The meal table needs to be a very special place for your family. You want to bring people to something that is special to you. So, begin making your mealtimes so precious and wonderful.

In that book, I know, I gave lots of ideas I found when I was raising our children. At least once a week, sometimes I do it more, I would think of something different or special to do at the meal table.

I do have a goal. It’s a quote that I heard one time, to “Make every meal a love affair.”

I love to do that for every meal. But then, I love to make special meals, too, especially when the children were growing. I love to do special things. I know that you said, “Color Night.” Don’t children love that? When they get older, they get past that. But when they are young, oh! They think that’s so fun.

I think we went through every color of the rainbow. I would say to the children, “All right, children! Tonight, is red night! I’m going to make a red meal for you. But I want you to all go back to your rooms and find clothes that are all red. You’ve all got to come out when it’s time, and everybody’s got to be dressed in red!”

And I would have red plates and I would cook food that was red. We’d have beets, and we’d have mashed potatoes, which were colored with red food coloring. You know, everything we could find that was red. red juice, and red everything. Maybe some little gifts that were red. But the children, they think that’s fun. And it’s very simple, but it’s such fun.

Then, other times, I would have to spend time on this, and I would think of little rhymes or little couplets that rhymed. I would write them about the children. Then I’d make these little name cards for them and put them on their places with the little rhyme or couplet, or four lines of rhyming, just about them. They would think it was so special.

Then we’d have other nights where we’d do special things. What were some of the special things you liked to do? Can you remember them?

Wendy: Yes. As I was going through this book, I was thinking, “Oh! All these things that we did a lot with our older, and now, because they’re all going out and about in different places. . .

Nancy: You have such different seasons in your life, don’t you? I do encourage you, when you’re in this season, lovely moms, and all your children are around you, OK, they’re not quite to that older group, where they’re all going out to their various ways. Or you’ve just got all these little younger ones, who are too young yet to do these special things.

When you’ve got this middling time, and they’re all there, can I please ask you, don’t just let it go by? Don't get so busy. You’re out doing this and that, and you don’t do special things. Because this is the season to do very special things with your children at your meal table.

You don’t have to go out and pay to go to some entertainment. You can do things that are so special that they’ll be memories for a lifetime. So, make the most of these days. You were going to share something?

Wendy: I’m so glad you said that because I need to make more time for this for all the rest that are still at home. Because we get so busy, coming and going. I want to still make it fun and special. Well, I know that encouragement is big for us. You all do this for your birthdays. It’s great. It's where everyone goes around and says something encouraging about the other person. I love doing that. That’s something that we try to do a lot.

I think that a lot of this is that we made it into our lives. We automatically just do it. We encourage questions. We ask, we have discussions. This is just who we are now. I just need to add those fun things in because I'm listening to this, thinking, “Oh! Yeah.”

Nancy: Because this season changes, and the older children are getting involved in things, you can forget. I need to be reminded too. I love it. If you’ve got a big family, you need to take it one by one. “OK, Sarah, tonight I want you to bring a poem to the family table, and to read it. Share with us why you like it.” It gives the whole family an appreciation for poetry and things like that.

“Or some quote from a wonderful book you’ve read.” Get them to do that. Those are good things to do. You can think of so many thousands of things. I’ll have to get this book out for you again!

But anyway, our time has gone again. Thank you, Wendy. It's been so good to share with you, to hear about your family. Thank you.

“Father, we do thank You so much for families. We pray that You will save us from getting taken up with so much around us that, Lord, we don’t see that our most precious thing we have is right in front of us. It is our family.

“Lord, I pray that You will show each precious mother new ideas, that You’ll put in her mind different things she can do at her family table to make it exciting and wonderful and meaningful for her children.

“Lord God, we thank You that family is the very first thing that you instigated into this world. Before church, before government, before every organization on this earth, Lord, it was family. Help us to, Lord, keep putting family first, Lord God, because this is Your priority. We ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

NEW ABOVE RUBIES MAGAZINE

The new Above rubies magazine, #99 is in the printers. Look out for it coming. If you are not on the mailing list, send your name and address to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will be happy to send it to you

 

This is the book I mentioned. Many of you will already use it, but if you don’t have it, it is a great boon to have in your home.

DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH

Plus CREATIVE WAYS TO READ GOD’S WORD TO YOUR CHILDREN

The most popular Bible devotional for the last 150 years!

It’s your answer to Family Devotions with your Family! It has Scriptures compiled on a certain theme for every morning and every evening of the year. No more hassle! No more wondering where to read in the Bible! All you do is go to the date and the Scriptures are waiting for you to read.

Plus, this special copy of THE DAILY LIGHT has creative ideas for each month on how to make these Bible times with your children exciting and full of life.

They will keep your children “on their toes!”

Ears alert! No more bored faces.

Only eager, happy hearts, hearing and receiving God’s living Word that will change their lives and prepare them for life.

 

Go to: http://tinyurl.com/CreativeIdeasToReadBible

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 175 – The Joys of Family Life

Today you will meet Wendy Shaw, mother of ten children. Joshua, their last little boy (Down’s Syndrome) is the STAR of their family and the greatest blessing to all. The Shaw family have a musical band called SHAW--CITIZENS OF GLORY. We talk about how they fitted in homeschooling and musical practice and how they have brought up their children on the Word of God and prayer. One of their daughters is now married to Ben Crevier, one of the CHAMPIONS FOREVER family. You can look them up on the Internet.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to the Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Well, I’m looking out the window here and it’s the most glorious fall day, still so sunny and warm. But the leaves are falling down and it’s so beautiful. And I have with me today another wonderful mother I’m going to introduce to you. Her name is Wendy Shaw. Say “Hi!”

Wendy: Hello, everybody.

Nancy: Yes, now Wendy is originally from California. Were you anywhere before that, Wendy?

Wendy: No, just California.

Nancy: Well, I met Wendy in California because she asked me to come and do an Above Rubies Day seminar in her home. That was such a wonderful day. I can’t even remember how many years ago. Can you?

Wendy: Oh, my. 2012?

Nancy: It was a long time ago. The children were all young. So that’s where I met the wonderful Shaw family. Then, just a couple of years ago, I found that they turned up here in Tennessee! They came to live in Franklin. We found out they were here and so we got together again.

We have a volleyball court on our land here, so the young people used to come out and play with our young people in the midst of their very busy lives, because you’ll get to hear more about Wendy and all their wonderful busy lives.

But anyway, I should get you, Wendy, to just start off introducing your children. I think you really only know someone when you know their children. I go to hear a speaker, and they’re up there on the platform, I’m thinking, “I wonder what they’re really like? I wonder what her husband’s like? I wonder what her children are like?” Do you think of that? Yes, I do.

Wendy: Well first, I want to thank you for having me here. I just love talking with you. You have been instrumental in our family, a big influence for more than 20 years. A lot of what we are right now is because of your encouragement and your ministry. So, I’m just completely honored to be able to talk to you and I never fail to gain an insight at any time from you, whenever personally talking to you, or listening to you, it’s always been a great lesson. Definitely so, so grateful to know you.

Nancy: Thank you.

Wendy: We have ten children, ages 28, almost 28, next week, down to seven years old.

Nancy: I can’t believe that, because Chase was just a young guy when he was there. How old was he then?

Wendy: I think he was around 12.

Nancy: Yes, he was only 12. He did all, not only the recording, the filming. You filmed that day, and then he put together the DVD, and organized it, and did everything. We sold that DVD for many, many years, until somehow, you know, things sort of have their day. Everybody’s got it.

I remember speaking on who are we, as a woman. What is our purpose, and who are we really? I can’t believe that the years have rolled on. He’s married now, isn’t he?

Wendy: He has our first grandchild, with his wife, Jaeleen. They're really excited about that. I remember that conference that you did. It was all day, and it was just thoroughly so beneficial, from young women all the way up to older women, including everybody on the benefits of being a mom.

I thank you for giving Chase that opportunity to be able to film you and do all that. That was so exciting for him to learn those skills. He was serving God very well. So, thank you.

Nancy: Tell us who comes next!

Wendy: Ok, so we have five boys and five girls total. They’re about every two years. I remember when Chase and Holly, our first boy and girl were born. It was at that time I thought, “OK, so everyone’s asking if you’re done, right? You’ve got your boy and your girl.”

About that time, I received an Above Rubies magazine, and I was thinking, “Yes, everything within me agrees with this!” At that point, we kept going. I loved being a mom. Our pregnancies were very difficult, but it’s just birth season. Then at the end, there a lifetime of blessing with the children. It’s been fun to be able to go through life with them. There’s so much to celebrate.

Nancy: And Holly is married now, too?

Wendy: Yes.

Nancy: That was recently, wasn’t it?

Wendy: It was just last month that she got married to Ben. That was a really fun wedding. They’re living in South Dakota now.

Nancy: That was another exciting Above Rubies romance, really. We’ll have to tell you this little story, because Allison and Daniel Hartman, who put on the Above Rubies retreats in Panama in Florida (Actually, the one for next year is coming up in April).

Their daughter (the Hartman daughter) met this lovely young man from the Crevier family. They got married, and of course now, the Hartmans know the Creviers. So, they asked the Crevier family to come down to the Above Rubies retreat in Panama, Laguna Beach.

They have this amazing family of 12 children, and they are also called CHAMPINS FOREVER. I wonder if you’ve ever heard of them? They are literally amazing. I mean, all these young men, and some of the girls, they ride these huge, one-wheeled cycles. Do you know how high they are?

Wendy: I can’t remember. I should know this. No, I do not.

Nancy: I can’t remember how high they are, but they are high! I know my brother was also a one-wheel cyclist. He used to ride a 14-foot high one-wheeled bike. I think these would be about the same. They’re really high.

They do amazing tricks on them. They also do all this basketball stuff. The father, Bruce Crevier, he is the world-record-holder for spinning a basketball, I think for over 22 hours. He’s in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Wendy: I think several times he’s in it.

Nancy: Yes! He’s just done so many things. I think he spun, how many balls at once? It's about 30 bowls at once, or something.

Wendy: I get nervous.

Nancy: You can actually go on the internet and look up CHAMPIONS FOREVER. You will begin to read all about them. They’re pretty amazing.

So, what happened was, of course the Shaw family came down to the Above Rubies Family Retreat too. Of course, all the young people were meeting one another. That’s where they met!

Wendy: Yes, exactly. That was so funny. We have a joke between our families, be careful of who you park your bus next to! Because as soon as he drove up, and it was Vange who had talked us into coming, because we had just gotten home from a tour, and we just needed to stay home for couple of days.

She said, “No, you’ve got to come! You’ve got to meet this family, the Crevier family!” We didn’t even know them at that point. She said, “You’ve got to meet them!” We were so thankful that we went, not only for meeting them, but the whole conference was so good. So many good families that we were able to meet there. And, of course, you and Colin.

Yeah, right when we pulled up close to them at night, the kids got up and were talking to each other, and were just instant friends. Actually, our other daughter, Ellie, is dating Ben’s brother, Micah.

Nancy: Isn’t that just too exciting? OK, so this is the CHAMPIONS FOREVER family. But the Shaw family are the CITIZ3ENS OF GLORY family. They have amongst all their children, they have the most beautiful, glorious, musical band. They are so amazing.

When the Shaws arrived in Franklin, we got to know they were here. We said, “Oh, you’ve just got to come out and play.” In our big room downstairs, where we have church, and we have all our social gatherings, we packed in everybody we could, and they put on a concert.

You’ve done three concerts for us here. And they’ve just been so special. Now, I think you also need to go onto the internet and look up CITIZENS OF GLORY. Maybe you can ask your church folk if they could invite them to come and play. They are so beautiful.

I think I have never actually heard girls play the violin like their girls. We were all with our mouths dropped open. We were screaming and cheering and clapping. We just couldn’t get over how amazing they were! We’re just so proud of your amazing family. So, tell us who they are!

Wendy: OK, yes. So, we’re Citizens of Glory. We started our family band several years ago, just wanting to teach the children music.

Nancy: Teach the children.

Wendy: The children need to get such an important tool that God uses. He invented and created it. It speaks so much, sometimes when we dance to songs and melodies. We started them early, when they were four years old. Then we went to nursing homes and retirement centers.

Nancy: So, they started learning the violin at four? Could they play loads of instruments? They started some of them at an early age too.

Wendy: Yes. They started violin. As soon as they turned four, they got this cute little mini violin. It looked like a toy. They had to stay with it and learn it well before they could go to any other instrument. Once they learned it, they had to stay in music. That was our family rule. You must stay in music. Pick out any other instrument you want, but you’ve still got to play something.

It went from there. We prayed over them, prayed a lot, that God would use music as a tool to point to Him. We weren’t sure what that would look like, so we kept thinking one step at a time and seeing where God was leading in it. It’s really exciting to see how He’s led us.

Nancy: So, you took the children to play and sing at these nursing homes. I think that’s so great. I think it’s so true, that everything starts little, doesn’t it? We have to be faithful in the little things, even the littlest things of life. I think if we’re faithful in them, God always sees that they get bigger.

Sometimes I have ladies who will send me in a poem, or something like that, and say, “Could you publish this in Above Rubies?” I may not always have room, because a poem is something you can pop in a little free spot that you have.

But I write back to those ladies and say, “Don’t wait to be published in Above Rubies. If God’s given you a beautiful poem, or even something that He’s given you to write, share it with someone who you know will be blessed. Write it out beautifully, or type it, and send it to them or give it to them or make it into a plaque. Do something, but use what God gives you to the people around you, and then it grows from there.

Wendy: Absolutely, because God gives within all of us everything that we need to be able to bless and serve Him. Everything that to us, it might seem that we don’t know much, or it’s not that big, or who would want to know? But there is someone out there who needs that, who needs that encouragement, that would be blessed by it.

Whatever it is, whatever talent or gift that God’s given us, they’re there for a purpose. And those are to please Him. So as soon as you serve with them, it might seem little to us, but it would be very big, possibly, for the person receiving it. So, we always want to encourage everyone to never think that they don’t have anything to share. There’s always something.

Nancy: God obviously gave those beautiful gifts of music to your family, but when I listen to them, and their skills, you know that they must have practiced for hours and hours and hours and hours, the skills that they have. So, we can have gifts, and yet not really use them. You have to actually work at gifts too, don’t you? Did you have to make them practice, or did they just do it? Tell me about that!

Wendy: Yes, of course, they didn’t always want to do it. Nothing in life that is well worth, or of high quality, comes easy or free. We always need to instill in our children that you need to work, and so diligently, and give all, whatever we’re doing. Sometimes serving others is not always convenient or fun but it should be at the top of the list.

But when we know we’re practicing with a purpose in mind, a goal in mind, it did not make things a lot easier. When we’re asked about how to get the children to practice when they’re not wanting to, at least they’ve put that goal out there. Give them a vision outside of themselves, bigger than themselves. They see where it’s going. They can see, this is the end result of what it can go for. It’s not just for nothing. It’s got, there’s got to be something we can aim for.

Nancy: Yes. So, even in the early days, when they were still young, you weren’t just saying, “You must practice your music!” But no, “You’ve got to practice because we’re going to go out to these nursing homes, and you’ve got to be ready!” So, they were working towards something, even if it was smaller than what they’re doing now. That's a very good thing.

It’s a very difficult thing to get children to practice, just for the sake of practicing, isn’t it? Really, that’s just about, that gets a bit difficult. But I think that’s very important, that there was something that they were doing it for. Did they mostly do it because they wanted to?

Wendy: That’s a good question. We tend to bring personalities and dynamics and strengths and weaknesses. There were sometimes others really wanted to have that practice, and others didn’t. Sometimes it rotated. Sometimes there were concerts we gave. We’d have to pull one aside, “You know, you weren’t smiling during that concert.”

It's just something that we learned as we were doing, how what we’re reflecting, we’re reflecting Christ. People will reflect also, us. So, we want to make sure that, if we’re smiling, then people will smile back. If we are, whatever we’re doing, we’re doing well, and we’re excited and passionate about it, then it can get other people excited and passionate as well.

We want to be passionate about Christ and about what He is excited for. And then that breeds the synergy that gets everyone else involved and excited with it.

Nancy: Did you incorporate their music with your homeschooling or was that separate? How did that all work?

Wendy: Yes. The music was definitely. . . There is a lot of practice, and it was every day. A couple of hours. There’s individual practice and there’s also the group practice. It did take some time. We had some lessons also in that. A lot of our family meetings and talks were centered around music. It was a lifestyle. It was not just a subject, separated out, but it really included everything that we did.

When we did go out on the road, it was something that was natural. This is what we do.

Nancy: I guess they learned so many skills, apart from music and sound, and all this stuff. Recording and everything. It’s got bigger and bigger.

Wendy: Absolutely. So, everyone that had different talents outside the band also got to use them for putting the CDs together, for contacting churches, for putting together different marketing tools we had. There are skills in video, the visual art of it. They all contributed. It was like a big, huge unit study of life.

And, of course, going on the road, meeting people, was huge too, because when you meet some more people, that we were able to meet, the more people we’d see. We get to see a lot of diversity, a lot of culture, a lot of ways that God has worked in people that we would have never known. We’re always quick to ask people their God stories, to see what has God done, how has He moved in your life in a miraculous way? That encourages us. We get excited to also hear those things from people.

Nancy: Now, you’re only up to Holly. Keep going down the line!

Wendy: OK. Macy, and she is 23. She has taken on most of the booking. She does a lot. But she has her own businesses. Kevin encourages the children when they’re little to be very productive. To be producers, not consumers. Start little, start young in coming up with things. Now is the time.

The window of opportunity in youth to experience things, and for older, to share with them is unlimited, because you always tell them, if you went in to see the president of a corporation, it would be very difficult. But a little young child, like ten, they might be more well-received and shared with. Take every advantage right now of the youth to explore and find out what interests are. Macy has done that when she was young. She’s ventured out in some things that she’s doing.

And then we have Justus. He had a drone business for a while for real estate. He would do drone footage. He’s now getting into some other things that he’s finding interesting. But it’s great that they can make their trial and error now. We can support and invest in them as they’re young. It gives them a great head start when they do go out on their own,

And then we’ve got Ellie. She’s the one that is dating Ben’s brother, Micah. They are a fantastic family. I’m so excited. I’ve only been able to tour with them a couple times.

Nancy: That would be so wonderful, having both the Champions Forever and Citizens of Glory. It must have been wonderful!

Wendy: Yes, it was just a blast. It was so fun. We couldn’t believe we got to do this for work! Actually, I have to say, Citizens of Glory was the name we have still going, but we changed to SHAW.

Nancy: Oh, you just called it SHAW, because that’s your family name. Well, I like that!

Wendy: That’s what people were calling us anyway.

Nancy: Yes, I know. We call you “Shaw.” “The Shaw Family is coming out!” We never really used Citizens of Glory. But you could have Shaw and then in smaller letters The Citizens of Glory.

Wendy: Yes. Yes. That's what it looks like on all our marketing material, yes. It’s been exciting to see what God does.

Nancy: So, when they look up, what do they look up next?

Wendy: Either. OK, so we’re down to Amy and Lilly. They're both very gifted musically. Their ages are, Amy is 16, and Lilly is 14. We make sure to remind our children that when we’re faithful in little, then more will be given, like we mentioned earlier.

Every time they use their skills, they can count on God increasing that, as long as they’re using that in the right way for Him. So, they’re going in a great direction. They’ve got lots of talent in their areas.

Then we’ve got the three little boys, Peter, Daniel, and Joshua. Our youngest, Joshua, has Down’s Syndrome.

Nancy: Before you get to him, even. Peter, oh! He’s so, he’s young, but he gets up there and sings as though he’s just been a star for twenty years! I mean, he’s just amazing!

Wendy: Yes, I think you’re thinking of Daniel.

Nancy: I am?

Wendy: Yes, Peter’s the drummer.

Nancy: Oh, That’s right! But they’re both . . .

Wendy: People get them mixed up.

Nancy: How old is Daniel?

Wendy: Daniel is nine.

Nancy: Nine! Yes, this nine-year-old, this nine-year-old sings like, well, as though he’s been a pro for years! He’s just unbelievable.

Wendy: He grew up on the road singing, so he doesn’t know. He thinks, “This is what I do. Doesn't every nine-year-old do this?” He does really love it. He loves people.

Nancy: He’s not just singing because his momma and daddy say, “You’ve got to be part of it.” No! He loves every second of it, doesn’t he?

Wendy: He absolutely does. He puts his whole heart and soul into every song. He really loves being up there and interacting with the audience.

Peter is a fantastic drummer for our band. He’s only 11, and he keeps the beat for us. It’s amazing what he can do at his age. He’s great.

And then Joshua.

Nancy: And before she tells us about Joshua, I have to tell you, of all their beautiful family, he is the star of the show. Definitely the star of the show. I mean, he has certain times when he comes up, and oh! The whole place melts.

Wendy: Yes. Every one of us in our family, when we think of Joshua, we get this huge smile on our faces. He has so much personality. He really does have a way with people. He sees a lot of people. Those with Down’s Syndrome do. They have their . . . I once heard this term. They’re love generators. They seem to bring out love and they love unconditionally.

Of course, their human nature comes out too, but just the sense of caring, and nothing to hold them back from showing it. No inhibitions. So, yeah, Joshua touches people. One is that they see someone up there who has a disability who is fine with it. He has so much to offer, without being, quote-unquote, perfect in the world’s eyes, because he was fearfully and wonderfully made how he is. And God does have a reason and a purpose for him.

We share that message with others. We have seen grown men cry, because they’re so touched by that message that’s so contrary to what the world tells us in aborting for that very condition that he has. The high rate of abortion for children diagnosed with that is so sad. They are very special in God’s eyes, and He made them. Like anybody else, they have a soul like anybody else.

He gets up there and he is amazing. He loves it. Kevin says, my husband says he has stage fright. He’s afraid of not being on the stage! He has a special song that Macy wrote for him called “You Are Perfect.” He goes up there with his ukulele and he sings alongside her. He takes a little bow afterwards and he’s just glowing.

After the concert, he’ll usually go back up to the stage. He has a lot of people who come up and watch him and talk to him because he is prime, all by himself up there. He likes that. Yeah, he’s really special.

We were surprised about his Down’s Syndrome. I didn’t know. I’m glad I didn’t because I probably would have worried. God took care of everything. He knew exactly what our family needed. Joshua has made our family better. I’m very thankful for him, for all our children. Everything that we are is because God has enabled us all to do what He has given us to do.

Nancy: Little Joshua, he has a special something with everyone in his family. It's been a blessing. He is a blessing, not only to you and Kevin, but everyone in the family. Can you share a little bit more about that?

Wendy: Yeah, sure. He actually gets the most hugs out of everybody. He does have a special relationship with everyone. Everyone is his favorite. He’s everyone’s favorite. He makes coffee with Ellie. He’s got his little thing with everyone.

Daniel is someone that he’s always copying the most. Whatever Daniel says, Joshua, very specific details, will do. He imitates him a lot. That's a big responsibility for Daniel, he’s done a great job.

Nancy: It’s just so wonderful to see how, I think in many ways he adds an extra sparkle to your whole family, doesn’t he? It's like a sparkle, you know? It actually is. His eyes sparkle, don’t they?

Wendy: They do. And he does the craziest things that catch us off guard. A lot that we’re not expecting. He keeps us on our toes all the time. Because of the mental side of Down’s Syndrome where he’s a little bit slower, he’s not slower physically. So, he’s capable of doing things, but not really thinking about what he’s doing.

We found him in our car in the driveway waiting to go somewhere. We were asking, “Where’s Joshua? Where’s Joshua?” Then, “Oh, he’s in the car waiting for us!” He can do things like that. We had to, just a couple of years ago, we had to put knobs on all our doors so that he wouldn’t go out on his own, because he can.

He would just say, “Bye!” He’d get all his extra change of clothes with him for some reason. He would just say, “Bye!” He’d make sure he said “Bye” to everybody, and then walk out. So, we watched him a lot more.

Nancy: How far would he go?

Wendy: Oh, he went down the street one time. When we were in California, our neighbors brought him home. He was trying to find Justus. But he hasn’t done that in a long time. He pretty much stays close to home. He gets well-prepared for leaving.

Nancy: He likes going out on the road, does he?

Wendy: Oh, yes, he loves it. He has a little bowtie that he wears for shows. When it’s time to change, he makes sure that he’s warming up with everyone. And changing at the same time everyone else is. All his brothers and sisters get stands, and he’ll sit in the back and sing along with them, really loud something, and clap. He’s the first to clap and stand for them. He’s very much a part of everything that we do.

Nancy: I know your Instagram account is The Prayerful Mom. Yes, if you’re on Instagram, you can look up Wendy, The Prayerful Mom. Choosing that name, has prayer been a big part of raising your children?

Wendy: Oh, it’s been central. It’s like breathing. Yes. Yes. Daily, we have things that we pray for them, every single day and every night.

Nancy: You have a list of twenty things to pray for your children. Did you write those? Did you?

Wendy: Tom Harmon, who is a pastor from Michigan, came up with 16 things to pray for your children and I loved them. I took those, and I thought, “Well, I need to combine these two, and add my own. Just make it my own thing.” So, I came up with those 20 things I’ve been praying for many years.

I did make a list of those, and I put it on my Instagram account to share with others. If that is helpful for others, not to pray exactly, but as a jumping-off point, to pray for whatever their specific needs are. It gives you areas. Sometimes, if I don’t have everything written in front of me, I forget something, and I don’t want to forget anything.

Nancy: Will you go through the whole 20?

Wendy: I do. Yes, I do, and beyond.

Nancy: That’s amazing. How do you do it? Do you read them, or do you know them by heart?

Wendy: The first one, is I pray for their salvation. I pray for the ones who have already been saved, that they would continue in that, and that they would show the fruit of that. The ones that haven’t yet, that they will, at an early age start serving the Lord, and know Who He is, personally.

Then I also pray for, going down the list, some things that really pop into my mind, is that they’re protected from evil. Because we are in a huge spiritual battle right now in our world. It's not hidden as much as it was. Culture is always giving us messages through the media, through movies, and music, and books. I want to make sure that their hearts are filtering all that out.

I pray that they would find the right mate. And then, once they find the mate, that they would both be able to be better together for the Lord. That they would continue in that, in their own home, to raise their children in the ways of the Lord.

I pray for them to . . . Now my mind’s going blank! [laughter]

Nancy: I think that is so wonderful, Wendy. If you’re on Instagram, they can find it there somewhere, can they?

Wendy: Yes, it’s on my account on the page.

Nancy: But if you’re not on Instagram, because I know a lot of you aren’t, I’m going to get Wendy to email it to me. Then you can always email into me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I’ll send you her 20 points.

I also have a list, too. I actually have 23 points on mine. I was looking at your list today and noticed that a lot of them are very, very similar. It seems as though all those cries we have as mothers seem to be the same.

So, OK, Wendy’s got a list, and I’ve got a list. You can write in for Wendy’s list. You can write in for my list. I actually had my list for many years. Just recently (I actually had Scriptures beside each point, too) I also did one copy with all the Scriptures written out so that you don’t have to look them up.

Of course, that takes a long, long time. I could never get through that in one day. But what you can do is you can take maybe one, only one point, for a day. Or a couple, and look up the Scriptures, and pray those Scriptures over your children.

There’s something very powerful about praying the Word. The Word is alive and active. It’s God’s living Word, and we can pray it back to the Father.

Yes, lovely ladies, you can write in for Wendy’s list. If you want to have one with Scriptures as well, you can write in for mine. You can write in for both. You can get everything you can get, because I think that’s great. Get everything you can get!

Of course, then you can make your own list. Maybe out of these, you’ll find that you’ll make your own very personalized list. But I do think it is very good to have a list, because, as you say, you forget. We’re talking, and we forget. I can’t remember everything that’s on my list right now. But then, that’s why I’ve got a list! So, I’ve got it there.

I would encourage you. You can use our lists, but you could even make a personalized one yourself. I do believe it’s the responsibility of parents to pray for their children. Because if we’re not praying, who else will? Maybe grandparents, but then, grandparents go on to be with the Lord, and then we’re the only ones left.

That’s the case with me now. My husband comes from a wonderful praying family. His great-great-grandmother was a mighty intercessor, who not only prayed for the family and people around her, but she prayed for the coming generations. They believe that their family of nine children, who are all serving the Lord, only happened because of the prayers of this great-great-grandmother who prayed for coming generations.

Then the grandparents pray, but they have gone too. On my side of the family, my parents prayed. They prayed for their grandchildren, our children. But they’re gone. They’re with the Lord. So, it’s up to Colin and me. We’re the last ones left to be praying over this family—children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and generations to come. It’s so powerful. I encourage you in that.

Well, time is gone. So, let’s pray, shall we?

“Lord, we thank You. It’s such a joy to be talking about family together. Lord, this is where our hearts are. I know every precious family who are listening, mothers, and young people, Lord, it’s because we love family.

“I pray, Lord, that You will put in every heart a longing, and a desire, and a passion to pray. To pray for their families, to pray for their children and grandchildren, and the coming generations. Lord, to pray for our nation. Let’s become, Lord God, praying families. I ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Here are the Prayer lists for you.

PRAYER LINKS:

WENDY SHAW’S 20 POINTS FOR PRAYING FOR YOUR CHILDREN:

https://fa15989f-b43a-4c89-aae6-1d95bb78d494.usrfiles.com/ugd/fa1598_f7aa179334234b9c8dff5a69a171da10.pdf

NANCY CAMPBELL’S 23 POINTS FOR PRAYING FOR YOUR CHILDREN:

https://tinyurl.com/HowPray4Children

NANCY’S PRAYER POINTS WITH SCRIPTURES LISTED OUT FOR YOU:

https://tinyurl.com/WhatPray4Children