FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 148 –  WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT HAVING CHILDREN? Part 2

Find out how God loves to bless us? Of course, you love your children, but do you love motherhood? Check out the difference.

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello again, ladies! Well, I wonder if you were able to write a letter to Aldi's about that terrible transgender sign in their new shops. I hope you have. If you didn't, I know life is busy, and I give you a gentle reminder to please write. I think it is so important. We cannot just go and look at a sign like that, and think, “Oh, well,” and just carry on. Because it is totally, totally against everything of how God created us.

I will post the picture again at the end of this transcript to remind you.

In fact, I was thinking, it's quite interesting, I've never thought of this before. I see these signs all the time when it has a male bathroom, and it's got the picture of the lady with the skirt, sorry, with the pants! And then the female bathroom, the picture of the lady with the skirt. Man with the pants, lady with the skirt. I'd better get it right!

OK, isn't it interesting? I was thinking how they show the picture for the female with the skirt. And yet, today, hardly anyone wears a skirt! Isn't that amazing? And yet, that is still the picture that society shows to show which bathroom it is. Because sometimes there are foreign people, and they don't understand the writing. But they can see the picture.

The picture is that a woman is really revealed by a skirt. Interesting. Not so much these days, although I think it is so much more feminine. I'm  not saying you can't wear pants. I'm not saying that. But I think I should say, I think it is correct to say that it is more feminine. We do look more like women when we wear a skirt. It is so interesting that that is the sign, and it's all over the world. Amazing, isn't it, and yet how we are turning away, even from that.

All right, I said that I would share a few more Scriptures with you about the blessing of children. Well, what God thinks about children, because we've got to work out, who are we really listening to? Are we listening to God, or do we go by what society says?

I told you last time, well, I didn't tell you, sorry. I read the Scripture of how the very first thing that God did when He created male and female was to bless them. Bless them. To bless them with the anointing of fruitfulness.

Now, that wasn't a one-time thing. After the flood, God reiterated that blessing. In fact, this time, He didn't say it once like He did at the beginning. This time He said it two times. In Genesis chapter nine, verse one, it says: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.” And He said it in verse one and verse seven. Twice. He wanted to make sure they got the blessing, and that they knew what the blessing was.

Go to Genesis 17:15-17: “And God said unto Abraham, 'As for Sarai thy wife,” she wasn't Sarah yet, “thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her.'” Twice He gives the blessing. Twice. Interesting.

I don't think that God wastes words. And when He comes to the woman . . . When He speaks to the man, He says it once. When He speaks to the woman, He says it twice. He gives the double blessing, because she is the one . . . although the man and the woman are going to receive the blessing, she is the one who conceives and grows this baby in her womb. And so the blessing is given to her two times.

We go to Genesis 22. And talking to Abraham again: “In blessing I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore . . . And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed My voice.”

Speaking of Rebekah: Genesis 24:60 “And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, be thou the mother of thousands of millions.” Whoo, can you imagine it? Can you imagine the minister giving you that blessing on your wedding day? Wow! I'm not sure many married couples would be ready for that. But that was the blessing that they gave over Rebekah. “Be thou the mother of thousands of millions.” And that prophetic word came to pass.

In your mothering, ladies, do you think of the future? You see, it's not just today. We do not mother just for today. We do not have children just for today. It is ongoing. It is for the future. And the interesting thing is, ladies, that when we decide that we are going to say “no” to a baby . . . “Oh dear. I don't think we've got . . . It's just not working out at this time. Oh, we haven't got enough finance. Help! No, we can't do it.” And we say “no.”

When we say “no” to a baby, we don't say “no” to just one baby. We say “no” to a dynasty, because if we do conceive (and we can't make ourselves conceive, it is only the hand of God), if God gives conception, and a little baby comes forth, that baby invariably, unless something happens, will marry and have children.

BUILDING GODLY GENERATIONS

Their children will have children, and their children will have children. It is ongoing, down the generations. The greatest thing that we are doing as a married couple is building godly generations, is establishing a godly dynasty to go down the generations. It is important to think generationally as we are mothering, that we even pray generationally, that we don't pray only for our children now, but for their children, and their children and their children. We pray for the generations to come.

My husband, he shares the testimony of how he is blessed through the prayers of his great-grandmother. She was a great intercessor. He didn't really ever know her, but she did live in their home when he was a little baby. He said his mother said she was continually praying. She was in her 90's at that time.

She would sit in her rocking chair in the corner and be quietly praying. She'd be praying for people, praying for the family. People might even hear their name mentioned. But she didn't know because she was blind. And then it would be bedtime, and she'd go to bed, and she'd still be praying. And then they would hear her say, “Lord, let thy servant go to sleep now.”

But his mother, my husband's mother also said, she didn't just pray for the family, and people around her, but she prayed something quite significant. And what was it? She prayed for the coming generations, even a powerful prayer. And so, as she did, these prayers came to pass.

My husband is one of nine children, and all the family are all working for the Lord. Many of them are in full-time work for the Lord, pastors, and evangelists. They know it's a result of this great-grandmother's prayers who prayed for the coming generations.

So it's not just the children we have now. It's who will come from them. That's an exciting and amazing thing, isn't it? I'm already up to the fourth generation in my lifetime (see below to see that I am really in the sixth generation)! Because we had, my husband and myself, first generation, or I should go back, really, to my . . . and then my grandparents on both our sides. We had godly grandparents, so let's go back to that.

My godly grandparents, OK, we'll take that as the first generation that I have known in my lifetime. My parents, second generation. Colin and me, third generation. Our children, fourth generation. Their children, fifth generation. And now I'm still living and my grandchildren are now having children. I have at least twenty great-grandchildren now (fifty grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren so far). Of course, there will be many, many more of them to come. Praise the Lord!

Isn't it amazing? In my lifetime, from my grandparents, who I knew, it is now the sixth generation in my lifetime, still walking in the ways of the Lord! I guess I will be gone if the Lord doesn't come before that, for the seventh generation, well, unless something miraculous happens and I live to 120, haha! But at least I'm seeing the sixth.

But I am praying that even beyond what I won't see, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth generation, they will still be walking in the ways of the Lord! It makes me think of the Scripture, oh, it just blessed me many years ago. Let me go to it. I think it's in Zephaniah.

Zephaniah chapter one. Yes. “The Word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.” OK. Well, what did I get out of that? Help! Well, and sometimes it could be even other generations in between. Sometimes they missed some out.

But here, yes, it's talking about the son of Hezekiah. It's “Hizkiah” in my King James Bible, but it's Hezekiah. So here is Hezekiah, one of the good kings of Judah, praise the Lord. “He did that which was right, and that which was good in the eyes of the Lord.” So we go back from Zephaniah, to his father, to his grandfather, to his great-grandfather, and then great-great-grandfather, all in one verse.

And I thought, “Wow! This is powerful! This is Zephaniah now and he is a prophet to the nations. He came from Hezekiah, who was a good king, but now, down the line, he is still walking in the ways of the Lord, and a prophet to the nations.” And I said, “Oh, God, thank You, Lord! This is my prayer, that my children will still be serving You and following after You with all their heart, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth generation, and beyond!” Is that your prayer too?

BLESSING THE WORLD WITH GODLY OFFSPRING

Well, anyway, that's the vision that we are meant to have about having children. Blessing the world with the godly seed! Yes, because every child that comes into this world comes with the Image of God. As we train them and prepare them and teach them in the ways of God, they can go out into this world to shine for Him to reveal His love, and truth, and mercy, and justice in the world. We're bringing God into the world.

But when we stop, when we say “no” to a baby, we don't only say “no” to one baby, but to a whole dynasty! Think of how many generations are missing out on the blessing of God because we say “no”! Isn't it unbelievable?

OK. Yes, Genesis 28:3 speaking to Jacob, “God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people.” Do you notice that every time these words are spoken, it's first said, “God Almighty bless thee”? “BLESS THEE.”. You see, fruitfulness is the blessing of God. We either want to live and walk in the blessing of God, or not! Which do we want to do?

WALKING WITH GOD AND HAVING CHILDREN

I'm just thinking now of Enoch. Let me see if I can find where it talks about Enoch. Enoch, where was he? Oh yes, in chapter five of Genesis, Genesis 5:21: “And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah.” We know Methuselah lived for 969 years.

And then it goes on to say: “And Enoch walked with God.” He was a man who walked with God. But he did something else:“ After he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

So, after he begat Methuselah, it says that “Enoch walked with God,” but he didn't just walk with God, what else did he do? He “begat sons and daughters”! And he was walking with God! And he had such a glorious walk with God that God just took him.

But you see, that is a wonderful encouragement. Sometimes, dear darling ladies, you think, “Well, what am I doing in life? I'm just having these children and all my life is taken up with looking after these children! What am I doing for God?”

I know how you feel. I felt like that when I first started having my children. At that time in my life, I didn't have a clue or understand anything about motherhood! I was just catapulted into it! I had our first baby, and then, seventeen months later, we had our not just our second baby, but our second and third babies! We had twins! We had them unexpectedly. Didn't know I was having them until I was giving birth! I actually gave birth on my due date, having twins, and they were 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 6  lbs. 13 oz. so they weren't wee little preemie babies. They were big babies!

But I didn't know I was having them. That was back in the days when there were no ultrasounds. In fact, when the midwife was checking me in the hospital with the old doppler and listening with it on my womb, and listening in her ear, she said, “That's strange, I can hear another heartbeat! Oh, just could be an echo. We'll wait and see.”

So, we waited to see! Evangeline was born, and then she felt my tummy. “Oh yes, there's still another one there!” So about five minutes later, Stephen was born. And that was the biggest surprise of our lives!

So in those days I suddenly had three little children in 17 months! We'd just come back from the mission field. We were living out of suitcases. I was just overwhelmed. I hardly knew what I was doing. I just couldn't believe it!

Colin and I had gone out full time for the Lord when he was engaged. We had been in the mission field. We were out to change the world, and here I was, stuck in four walls with three screaming babies, with not knowing what I was doing. No help. We'd just got home from the Philippine Islands. Didn't know anyone, and I wondered what was happening to my life. I thought I was finished. I thought, “That's the end of my Christian life! Goodness me, can't serve God, just stuck with these babies!”

But I cried out to God, “Lord God, what am I doing? Help me, Lord God!” And He began to show me, because I was crying out to Him, little by little, He showed me I was in His perfect will. Wow! I thought I was meant to be out saving the world! He showed me that this is who He had created me to be. Oh wow! I'd never thought of that before. I always wanted to be out doing the adventurous man-things, not stuck in a home with babies!

But He showed me, He began to reveal to me, that I was created with breasts, with a womb. This is who I was. Wow! And gradually, I came to it. Gradually, I began to embrace it. And as I began to get the revelation of truth into my heart, into my soul, and embrace it, it was the first time in my life I'd ever embraced who I was as a female, as a woman, as a mother. As I did it, I began to have peace.

Instead I was in turmoil, frustration! “I'm meant to be out serving God! I'm meant to be doing this! I'm meant to be doing that! I can't waste my life stuck in these walls!” But God showed me I was doing the most powerful thing that I could ever do in my whole life. I was bringing forth children to affect this world for God. Bringing forth children, not only for this world, not only to bring forth generations, but for eternity! I was fulfilling an eternal calling!

And so, I just came into, began to . . . instead of being frustrated, to love motherhood. Because there's a huge difference, dear ladies, between loving your children, and loving motherhood. I loved my precious children. Oh, yes, I was just a gonner. I loved them. You love your children. But do you love motherhood? Big difference. I used the word “gonner” meaning “I was over the top in love with my baby).

We have to come to that place of not only loving our children, but loving motherhood. Embracing motherhood, because this is who we are, and who God created us to be. It's the greatest purpose He's given us in this world! And it's such a powerful purpose! As I said, there's not one thing going to happen in this world without the womb, without our bringing children into this world, to accomplish the things that God has for them.

And so, what Scripture were we up to when I got on to all that? Haha. Oh, yes. It was Jacob, how God was blessing him.

Then we go on to Leah, Genesis 30:13: “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed. And she called his name Asher,” which means “blessed.”

Let's go on here. Isaac, now Genesis 49, no this is Joseph. Yes, we read that one. “The blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”

Let's go to Deuteronomy 1:10, 11. I'm not giving you every one. We'd be here all day! I'm just giving you a few to show you that it just lines up. Every time God says: “And God blessed them,” then  He says: “Be fruitful and multiply.” Deuteronomy 1:10, 11: “The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you, as He hath promised you!)”

Deuteronomy 7. Oh, I love this passage! Deuteronomy 7, verse 12: “Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers.” The word “mercy” there in the Hebrew is chesed, a glorious, glorious word, meaning “God's love, and His commitment in His covenant to his people.”

Verse 13: “And He will love thee and bless thee.” And how does He love us, and bless us? The next phrase: “and multiply thee.” You get it? Every time it says, “I will bless you,” then it talks about fruitfulness and multiplying. “He will also bless the fruit of  thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which the Lord gave you.”

Now this is an interesting one, ladies. So many think, “Oh, no, I can't have another baby, because help! We're in such financial stress! How could we ever afford another baby?” Well, lovely ladies, God doesn't ever give you all the finance you need for another baby before you have that baby! No! You don't need it now. You haven't got another baby.

But when He brings another baby to you, then He provides. Did you notice it? What does it say? “I will love you and bless you and multiply you. I will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land. Your corn, your wine, your cattle, your sheep.” You see that blessing comes after the blessing of the womb. And when He blesses us from the womb, then He blesses us to provide for that child.

We see that again in Deuteronomy 28:3, 4: “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy womb,” and then it goes to say: “and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” Those blessings come after the blessings of the fruit of the womb.

Sometimes we do it all the wrong way round. We think, “Oh, well, we've got to get a house, we've got to get our house paid for, we've got to get this, we've got to get that, we've got to have everything. Then we can have a baby.” Or “Then we can maybe have another baby.”

But no, God's way is, “Let Me bless you.” It's God Who blesses us as we trust God with our womb. It's not just me to say, “We're going to have another baby.” It's God's doing. Sometimes a baby doesn't come straightaway. Sometimes it does. It belongs to our Sovereign God. But when this baby comes, then He has given us the promise, “And I will bless your ground, and your cattle, and your store, and your basket. And I will provide for the needs of that baby!”

Oh ladies, just get it! God has shown it all to us. Isn't it wonderful? Yes! So let's give you one or two more. Oh yes, go over to Deuteronomy 13. We start off this passage in verse 12. And it's very negative at the beginning, It's talking about how, if you hear about some folks in a city, or a town, and they are following after other gods, well, you'd better check it out. And you've got to find out if it be the truth.

It says here, verse 14, you've got to ask diligently, “and, behold, if it be the truth, and the thing certain, that such an abomination is wrought among you,” you will then, you've got to go and smite those inhabitants of the city “with the edge of the sword,” and destroy them utterly.

So they had to get rid of the evil, and those who were following after other gods, because otherwise, it would be like leaven. It would filter right through all the tribes of Israel, and they'd all begin to start following after other gods, which they did so many times. Of course, if they had put this into practice, it would have been stopped. So God is speaking to them here about arresting that evil.

But then it carries on, and it goes down, and we get to verse 17. It says that if they do that, “And there shall cleave nought,” nothing, “of the cursed thing to your hand,” and if you will do this, and you will destroy those who are following after other gods, “Then the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee.”

Oh, two beautiful words! Actually ladies, they're both the same Hebrew word! And yet they use two different English words. They are the Hebrew word racham. “And show thee mercy.” What is that Hebrew word racham? It is the word “womb.” It actually means to, really, how would I put it? To be soft, to be compassionate, to love this baby in the womb. It literally means “compassion” and “mercy.” Those are the two words that are mentioned here, mercy and compassion.

And that's what the word “womb” means. You see, ladies, we are not only physical, but transcendental. Our breasts are physical, but we not only have physical breasts. God has put within us, as females, an innate nurturing anointing.

And then we have the womb, which is physical, to nourish a child in the womb, but it's also spiritual, too, in that this word “womb” speaks of God. It's  interchangeable. This word racham is interchangeable. Sometimes, it speaks of the womb of a woman. Other times, it speaks of God's love, and mercy, and compassion. And we see it here.

“I will show you mercy and compassion. I will show you My wombness. I will show you racham and racham.” Not just once, it's mentioned twice. And then after that, it says: “And I will multiply you.” You see His blessing of mercy and compassion, then after that comes the multiplying.

Before being fruitful and multiplying, it is always the blessing of God: “I will bless you. I will love you. I will show you mercy. I will show you compassion.” It's so amazing, how that word is interchangeable.

When we embrace our womb, and a little baby is growing in the womb, there is a great anointing of compassion and mercy that comes over us, because we are revealing the mercy and compassion of God. This is the most amazing thing, precious ladies.

When we embrace who we are, and when we embrace the womb, we're showing something of God to the world. When we nurse a baby at our breast, and we show that love, and tender care, and protection to our little one, we're showing what God's love, and nurturing, and nourishing, and protection is like. We're a picture of God. Of course, it's not a full picture. It's like a shadow, but we're just showing something of what He is like.

So, OK, time's going. Let me just give you a couple more Scriptures of blessing. Let's go to Deuteronomy 28:63: “The Lord rejoiced over you, to do you good.” And how is He going to do them good? “To multiply you.”

Deuteronomy 30:5: “He will do thee good, and multiply thee.” Yes, and so it goes on, and on, and on. So many Scriptures. God blesses, then He gives us the blessing of conception and fruitfulness. This is Bible language, ladies. Let's get the Bible language, OK?

Let's pray.

“Dear Father, we just thank You so much for Your Word, and for showing us the way You feel, the way You think, the way You have planned for our lives. Help us, Lord, to be on Your side, and not the devil's side. Oh, God, help us to be women who embrace who You created us to be. We 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.

ABOVE RUBIES MAILING LIST:

If you want to receive the latest Above Rubies magazine, get on the mailing list, or receive extra magazines to share, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PICTURE OF SIGN IN ALDI:

 

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 147 –  What Does God Say About Having Children? Part 1

Whose viewpoint do we have on this subject? What society says, or what God says in His Word? God speaks of the “blessings of the breasts and the womb.” Of what importance is the womb?

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

Nancy Campbell: (Sorry we missed the first few minutes on this podcast). Anyway, what is happening? Well, the other day, I was in town, in Nashville, Franklin actually. I had to get one or two things. So I had been to Costco and then I noticed there was a new Aldi shop. We call it “Aldi's.” Some people say it differently.

Anyway, there was a new one there, so I thought, “I'll pop in and get my one or two items.” So I went in, got my items, and then I wanted to use the restroom before we traveled home. When I went to the restroom, I could hardly believe my eyes! I could hardly believe the sign at the restroom. It was now an ALL-GENDER restroom! (Actually, a TRANSGENDER restroom).

But more than that, what got me was the picture! It had the normal picture, the man with the leggings and the woman with the skirt. And then it had another figure with the skirt one side and the pants the other side! In other words, it was a half-woman, half-man! But I simply could not believe it. And I was so sad because Aldi is our favorite grocery store. Praise the Lord, up in Dickson, where we usually shop, it's an older shop and it still has separate bathrooms which I love.

Anyway, I went to the checkout guy. I didn't have time to see the manager and said my protest. He said, “Oh, well, you know, people go in at different times, so it doesn't matter.” But the thing is, they were making a statement with that picture. They were standing on the side of transgender. All the new Aldi's that are being built (and I looked up and found there's quite a lot that are opening up), they all have these transgender bathrooms.

So I believe, ladies, we have to make a stand. We have to protest. This transgender thing is a slap in the face of God, our Creator. Our God, our Creator. He created male and female. He didn't create half and half. Oh, it is horrific! It is sacrilegious! We must stand up.

So I wrote a Facebook post. Maybe some of you saw it. I asked everyone to please go to the internet, look up Aldi's, find the address, and write or call or email the head manager in USA. And also contact your local Aldi, if you have it in your area. If you do, maybe yours has still got the good old male and female bathrooms.

But you still need to write and say, “We see that this is happening with Aldi. Please do not allow it in your shop, because if you do, you will lose our custom.” Up there in Dickson, they will lose a lot of custom because loads of us shop there. I trust it never happens there.

But the sad thing is, ladies, I cannot believe it. I got 4,500 comments on that little post. No, it wasn't four and a half thousand “likes.” I didn't get that many “likes.” But they were comments. And most of the comments were against what I was saying. They were pro-transgender.

I could not believe it! I could not believe that this deception, this slap in the face of God, Who created us, could be already so entrenched in our society! Oh my, we are in a fight against evil! And I trust that this really affects you because it should. We are to abhor evil, and this is evil. This is evil!

(And I just checked my Facebook page now to find that they have removed this picture and post! So I have posted the picture for you to see in case you missed it. They must be so scared of being exposed! They also sent me to Facebook jail for 24 hours).

All this junk about, “Oh well, maybe I'm meant to be female or maybe I'm meant to be . . . ” This is ridiculous nonsense! It is evil and the Word tells us that we are to hate evil. Romans 12:9 says  we are to ABHOR evil. And that word “abhor” means “to shudder.” It makes us shudder. We can hardly bear to see it!

And so, lovely ladies, if you happen to have an Aldi near you, please stand up. Please write or call or visit your manager. Make sure that they never allow this to happen. I think we can all write to head office about what is happening in all these new shops that they are getting up now and opening.

Because if it starts here, it's just going to go from one to the other. We don't want this in our society. It's coming in but we need to stand up, stand up against evil. So, ladies, I hope you will do something.

I know this takes a moment. You know, when you have to . . . There's something happening, you have to call your senator, or email them, or write to them. It does take time in your busy schedule. But we've got to take time out and do these things.

Oh, it is so important, really, to call our senators and congressmen and governors, and tell them that we don't want this transgender thing overtaking our society. We need to tell them that we do not want to see these signs in our shops. We have to stand up!

I hope you have already called your senators about standing against the Equality Act, which of course is the opposite. It is actually totally bringing down the Christian faith. We will have no rights at all if this is to go through.

So all these things that are happening, and so many more. Let's be those who take a stand. We call, and we write, and we protest. Amen?

All right. Today I'd like to talk about another subject, regarding Who Are We Listening To? This is the subject of having children. What do we do about this, and who do we listen to, and who are we listening to? Who we are listening to will determine our lifestyle, our actions, what we do about it?

Now currently, the average number of children in the United States is about 1.8 per family. I don't think that's what God ever intended. Of course, there are many who can't have children. They're not able to conceive, and so on, many other things. So it works out that perhaps most are only having two children, maybe some three. Of course, there are many who are having more, opening their wombs to the children God wants them to have.

But this is a very, very foreign concept in our modern society. It has been for a number of decades now. And yet, who are we listening to? What does God say about the subject? Does God say anything? There was a time in my life when I thought that God didn't say anything about that. I'd never noticed anything in the Bible, and I thought you just used your brain, just used common sense.

But God has a lot to say! Oh, if we see, if we read the Word, we feel His heartbeat about children, from the beginning to the end. You see, children are God's plan. It's the way He intends the world to work. He designed marriage and that from marriage would come children, which keeps the world going, of course! So let's have a look at a few Scriptures, shall we?

We'll go first of all, well, let's go to the very beginning. That's a good place to start. “Let's start at the very beginning.” Yes, Genesis 1:26-27: “And God said, let us . . . ” I love that, don't you? God is a “let us” God, He is the triune God. He is a plural God. When He speaks, He says, “let us,” not just Me. “Let us, together.”

“Let us make man in Our Image, after Our Likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own Image, in the Image of God, created He him; male and female created He them.” No transgender. Male or female.

God, who is the Creator, He is the One Who created male and female. “And God blessed them.” Did you notice that? The very first thing that God did after He created mankind was to bless them, to pour out His blessing all over them. God is a blessing God and loves to bless us.

And how does He bless them? Well, we don't know, actually how He blessed them. I'm sure He spoke over them. Yes, He did because it says: “And God said unto them.” He spoke a blessing. Blessings are to be spoken. We can feel good about people. We can think in our heart, “Oh, I love that person!” But, if we don't say something, they don't know.

When we want to bless somebody, well, we can bless them by doing good things for them. We can bless them by hugging them, smiling at them. But the greatest way we can bless people is by speaking to them, speaking a blessing.

This was the blessing that God spoke. He spoke unto them: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish, (or fill), “the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion.” And so this was the blessing God gave to man, to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth.

Dear ladies, did you know that to conceive, and be fruitful is God's blessing? Why do people not think it is a blessing? It is the greatest blessing that God gives!

And then we go further. We go down to chapter two. And then, when God brings the male and the female together, and He says to them in verse 24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” And out of that one flesh union comes children, comes fruitfulness, comes blessing. And so this is God's heart.

Let's go over, shall we, to Genesis 49. This is the chapter where Jacob, the patriarch, is blessing his twelve sons. And we get down to Joseph. Verse 24: “But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; Even by the God of thy father,  who shall help thee; and by the Almighty . . .

The Almighty; the word “Almighty' in the Hebrew is El Shaddai. El speaks of God's strength, and might, and power. Shaddai is a picture of God as the Breasted One, as a nursing mother. The word shad is literally “breast.” And so El Shaddai is the Almighty Breasted One.

It's a picture of God as the Nurturer, the One who wants to take us up in His arms and love us, nurture us, protect us, comfort us. This nurturing anointing is the heart of God. It's part of His character. When God created females, He chose the female creation to ultimately reveal this nurturing anointing. So He created her with breasts—breasts and a womb—because the breasts are nurturing and nourishing.

This is who God created us to be. He doesn't say, “and by God who shall bless you,” but “by Almighty, El Shaddai, the Breasted One” “Who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”

Notice it doesn't only say “blessing.” It is plural, the “blessings” with an “s” on the end. The “blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” God sees that as the most powerful and wonderful blessing. And He gives that blessing over (Jacob gives that blessing, God speaking through him) over Joseph.

And it is so true. I think we've got to begin to see, lovely ladies, how God feels, and what He says in His Word. Society does not talk about the blessings of the breasts, and the blessings of the womb. We are in such a deceptive society that most women seem to have forgotten who God created them to be!

They seem to forget what God gave them breasts for, and that they actually have a womb. I mean, most women try to stop the function of their womb. They don't want a womb. “Oh, goodness me! I haven't got time for a womb! I've got a career, I've got this, I've got this to do! I don't want to be tied down with a baby that comes from the womb! Help me!”

And so the very, very (what would we say, the very center, the very ultimate thing of who God created us to be, is really a womb-man). There are only two kinds of people in this world. There is no transgender.

Well, they try to make themselves be one, but it really is totally fake. In fact, that little picture on the wall at Aldi really exposed it, because they had the male with the pants on, the woman with the skirt, and then they had this transgender half woman with a skirt one side, pants the other side.

They really exposed how confused they are, because they seem to think that it's the woman that changes, so they want to be a male. And some males say, “Oh, I was supposed to be a woman,” so they want to change to be a female.

But that picture showed it, half woman, half male! You are only one or the other, or you are a freak. God did not create half and half. And that's what that picture shows! They're showing even the deception of what they are doing!

But let's get back to the blessing of who God created us to be. He created us with a womb. We are a womb-man, and as I said, there are only two kinds of people in the world, a man who doesn't have a womb, and the man with a womb. We are a man with a womb, a womb-man, a wo-man. And our womb is our greatest distinction of who we are as a woman. A man doesn't have a womb.

We have the privilege of having a womb! And why is it that so many women want to stop the function of their womb? They don't want to have anything to do with their womb, when it is their greatest gift that God has given. It's not only a gift to them, it's a gift to the world.

Oh, I just think of that verse in Luke 1:49 when Mary was prophesying because she had been told that she was going to bring forth the Son of God. And she says: “For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His Name.”

Well, it's true that Mary was blessed beyond any other woman in the history of the world. She nourished Jesus, the Son of God, in her womb and gave birth to Him. That was a great thing. That word “great” is megalios, and it means “magnificent, conspicuous, wonderful.” I think it's where we get our word “mega” from.

And yet, lovely ladies, in a lesser way, God continues to do great things in every mother's womb that conceives a baby. Every new baby is born in the image of God. Every new baby is a fresh revelation of God to the world. And each one has the possibility of accomplishing marvelous things.

I like to think, but I can never fully just imagine it, of all the amazing things that have happened, are happening, and will happen in this world. Just think, think of the remarkable inventions, the incredible feats, both intellectually and physically. Mankind is advancing, advancing, advancing, all the time, the astounding advancements, and the brilliant discoveries.

And yet, lovely ladies, none of them ever happened on their own. Every one of them happened through a person. And where did that person come from? That person came from a womb. Let's get it, ladies. Just get this statement I'm going to say:

WITHOUT THE WOMB NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS WORLD!

IT ALL COMES TOA GRINDING HALT!

It is the womb, the womb, where life is conceived, and grows, and comes forth to do amazing things. None of these things can happen without the womb! They have to begin in the womb of a woman.

Even God shows the greatest thing that's ever happened in this world, where the Son of God left the glory of eternity to come into this world to take our sin upon Him, and our sicknesses upon Him, to take our place, to give us salvation and deliverance. But God chose for Him to come through a womb.

The womb is so powerful! Dear ladies, are you listening? Do you have a little baby growing in your womb? Oh, it is an amazing thing that is happening. God is working. God gave you conception. Nobody else.

You see, this is why, this is why Satan hates life. Well, I think there's many reasons he hates life. He is the destroyer. He is the liar. And he hates life. You see, he cannot create life. He doesn't have the power to create life. Only God has the power to create life. And so He is jealous of God and he comes against life. He wants to eradicate life in every way he can.

And dear, darling ladies, we have to be careful about what we say and what we do, because by doing that, we show whose side we are on. If we're on God's side, we will love life. Jesus said, in John 10:10: “I am come to give life, and to give it to you more abundantly.”

But before that word, it says: “But Satan comes to rob and to kill and to destroy.” He wants to rob life, kill life, destroy life. It’s interesting that there are three words that are used there, and there are three things that are used to destroy life: contraception, sterilization, and abortion. They are all life-destroyers. They want to get rid of life through contraception, and then through sterilization. And if that doesn't work, well, abortion is a back-up plan. Because Satan is the one who hates life.

And so, dear ladies, if we have a negative attitude to life, if we are trying to resist life, we have to be careful whose side we're on. You see, often we're not really aware of this, because we're not aware of the Scriptures. We're not reading the Scriptures. We're just hearing all this junk that we hear in our humanistic society today.

Be careful who you are listening to. Are you listening to the fake deceptions of the enemy, of Satan himself, who hates life? Or are you listening to God?

I love that quote of Frank Boreham. He says: “We fancy that God can only manage His world by big battalions abroad, when all the while He is doing it by beautiful babies at home. When a wrong wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants opening, God sends a baby into the world to do it. That is why long, long ago, a Babe was born in Bethlehem.”

You see, it's through the womb, through the womb, dear ladies. You have a womb. Begin to see the blessing of your womb. What does God say?

“The blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”

This is God's language!

Do you have the same language as God? Do you talk about the blessings of the breasts and of the womb? God does. He believes they are blessings and He's given them to us as blessings. We are blessed to be female. Oh, we are so blessed, dear ladies! We are blessed to have the privilege to be life-givers, to bring life into the world., to bring forth everything that's going to happen in this world! It comes through the womb!

Oh, let's look at a few more Scriptures, shall we? Let's go to Isaiah 49:11. This is actually a Messianic Scripture speaking of Christ, Who is to come. It also speaks of Israel, but as with every Scripture, it always has so many depths. It can be speaking to Israel, but it will also have a word for us. It is life-giving and every word is alive and has power. We see truth in every word. Not even every verse, but EVERY WORD!

Verse one: “Listen, O isles unto me; and hearken ye people from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath He made mention of my name.” Isn't that beautiful? In a prophetic word about Jesus, he is not ashamed to say these words. Look, two times it mentions “womb,” and “bowels,” (which is another Hebrew word for womb) and also mentions “mother.”

There are four Hebrew words for womb, different words. So here we have two. “You called me from the womb,” beten, “and from the bowels,” meah,”  two different words for “womb” in the Hebrew. “And the bowels of my mother.” Isn't that beautiful? In a Messianic prophecy, God speaks two times of the womb, and also speaks of the mother. That's how God sees the power of the womb, and the power of motherhood. It is so incredible!

Let's go over to Luke 1:31. Here, of course, it's about Jesus coming forth from the womb and it's actually happening  or getting closer to happening now. So let's go to it, Luke 1:31. All right: “And behold . . . ” This is the angel speaking to Mary, and prophetically saying that she is going to bring forth the Son of God. “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth,” (talking about birth) “bring forth a son, and shall call His Name JESUS.”

Now here again, we see in this prophetic word, of Jesus, the Son of God, coming into the world. These words they use, conceive, wow! Conceive. That's an interesting word, ladies. Now, this word “conceive” is the word in the Greek sullambano. It literally means “to clasp, to seize, to catch, to capture.” Now that's interesting.

I actually looked this verse up a long, long time ago. I was looking up the Greek to see, well, what does “conceive” really mean? And oh, I was rather surprised, because I was still believing the old scientific way, that we get the picture.

We've always been told there's all these thousands of sperm, which there are, of course, these little sperm, they're all swimming up the Fallopian tube and they're all trying to get to the egg first. “Who's going to be the first one to get there and to claim the prize?” And that's the picture that we have.

And then I read this meaning, well, that's a little different. It says here that “conceive,” which is the woman's part, OK, we're the ones who conceive in the womb.  The man doesn't conceive, he releases the sperm, but we conceive. And this, once again, is in a Messianic prophecy.

So I began to do some research. And I found out, ladies, that science has moved on. Science is always moving on, as they have the ability to see more with greater microscopes, or whatever they use today. They can understand and see a lot more.

And they have found that the egg is actually an aggressive sperm catcher! Now, isn't that interesting? Yes, let me read you a sentence: “It's an aggressive sperm catcher, covered with adhesive molecules that can capture a sperm with a single bond and clasp it to the zonal surface.”

I was reading one scientific article, and it had the word “seize” in it so many times. I couldn't believe it, because that's what the Bible says! Isn't it amazing, ladies, that after all these years, and years, and years of scientific discovery, they have now just caught up with what “conceive” means in the Bible! I mean, God could have told them ages ago!

There it is. The egg seizes, and of course, there's a lot more to the wonderful way it all happens. It's all kind of amazing. But I won't go into all that now. But we see that the Word of God is always correct, more up to date than science! Isn't it incredible? Yes.

So anyway, “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb.” There is it again, “thy womb.” Yes, the Son of God was going to come into a womb and bring forth a Son. Oh, the blessing of the womb!

Well, I've hardly started ladies, so I think I'll have to do another podcast and give you a few more Scriptures, because I can't leave you with only those few! There are so many, many more! In fact, I know, even if I do another podcast, I won't get through them all. But I want to give you some to get you to be listening to God's heart, to His Word, and what He says.

And God's language is “the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”

Let's pray.

“Dear Father, oh, we want to thank You that You are our God. We can trust You. You are our Creator. Lord God, we want to listen to You. Save us from being brainwashed with fake messages and deceptions. Lord God, we're only on the right track when we listen to Your Word. Only Your Word is truth. Your Word is truth from the beginning. And from the beginning Your Word is truth.

Lord God, I pray that You will help each one of us to understand from Your heart, and to embrace with all our hearts “the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” Lord God, help us to see who You created us to be, and to embrace it, and to walk in it, and to fulfill all that You have planned for us as female. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

 

Translated by Darlene Norris. If you would like to thank her for giving up her time to do this for you every week, you can contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Scripture quoted in prayer:

Psalm 119:160: “Thy word is true from the beginning (the margin of my Bible says that the Hebrew is: “The beginning of thy word is true”): and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.”

 

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 146: GOD LOVES FOOD

Rashida (The new Trim Healthy Mama author) joins me again today, and we talk about marriage, mothering little ones, and the joy of food. We discover how much God is all about food. Did you know there are 22 food twins in the Bible? God links 22 different things in life to food! Check them out.

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello ladies! I have with me again today Rashida. Rashida Simpson, that is Evangeline and Howard's daughter, my granddaughter, and the author of the latest Trim Healthy Mama, which is called Trim Healthy Future. So it's the next generation.

Some of you will have this book. If you don't have it, go to TrimHealthyMama.com, or go to Amazon, and get this book. You will love it! I mean, I don't know what recipes to talk about, because every recipe is so wonderful! You're just going to have to find out for yourself.

Rashida was with us last week. Here she is again! We're going to find out a little bit more about Rashida, and then we'll perhaps go on, and talk more about food, because we didn't exhaust talking about food in our last podcast. We could do ten podcasts about food because, did you know, there’s so much in the Bible, about food!

You know, the Bible is not all doctrines. It's, well, it's all doctrine, yes, but it's not all just something that's out there. No, it's right down to where we're living, and how we live, and eating every day in our normal lives. God wants to be involved in it.

So anyway, Rashida, just want to find a bit more out about you. Now Rashida is this young wife. They have three young children. How long have you been married now, Rashida?

Rashida: Almost six years.

Nancy: What

Rashida: Yeah...

Nancy: When did that? I cannot believe it. It was like yesterday, your wedding.

Rashida: I know.

Nancy: I still just see it out there in that beautiful field, with a beautiful wedding day. Wow! So after six years of marriage, which you know, that's pretty good. I mean, just a little way to catch up to Granddad and me. We've been married 58 years! Hey, and you know what, when you brought me my Christmas present the other day . . . (laughter)

Rashida: I know, such a rotten granddaughter! (laughter)

Nancy: Oh goodness me, we're like that. We rarely give presents on the right day!

Rashida: Yeah...

Nancy: Somehow, the Christmas, I don't know, we just didn't even get to it. Oh, I have to say to you, Rashida is the most amazing, amazing gift giver! Oh, I can't tell you how I am blessed by Rashida's gifts. Oh, birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas. Oh, Rashida just comes, and pours all over me these beautiful gifts, and clothes. And Rashida, I was just so blessed out of my brain!

But do you know, you didn't realize you came and gave it to me on our exact day, on 2nd March. It was our 58^th wedding anniversary!

Rashida: I know. I didn't know that until I saw Facebook later on that day!

Nancy: I know! So, it was the perfect day. It was so wonderful! But Rashida doesn't only do that to me, she does it to everybody! She's just a gift giver! Oh, it's amazing! And always just wrapped so gloriously, and so thoughtfully!

I mean, I am not a shopper. I never go shopping. I go get my groceries and that's about all I do. I just don't have time to shop for clothes. But God is so good. Somehow my clothes arrive! Often through Rashida! So beautiful! Thank you so much!

But anyway, after yours ix years, is there something you've found that's so great in your marriage that you could pass on to others?

Rashida: Well, last night, this is kind of funny, I'll just say . . .

Nancy: Yes, yes!

Rashida: I was just telling my husband, I was asking him, “Well, what should I talk about? Nana wants me to talk about something I'm passionate about.” And he says, “Sex!” And so, I would say, actually, I would say that, (Roland yelling) “Roland, honey.” I would say just being excited to make love with your husband has been a big thing. Yeah, I just . . .

Nancy: Yes, well I think that's an amazing testimony, Rashida, because you're not a couple just living life on your own. You have three little children around you. You have . . . Ezzie's how old?

Rashida: She's four and a half.

Nancy: Emory?

Rashida: Three.

Nancy: And little Roland?

Rashida: Eight months.

Nancy: Yes, eight months. So she has got three little children four and under. Sometimes people just say, 'Oh, I'm so tired with these children, and I don't feel like it.” And I think that's a beautiful testimony, because I believe this is such an important thing in our marriage.

Once again, it's God-given and God-intended. Perhaps the most glorious gift that we could ever receive from God, apart from our great salvation, that God should give this glorious blessing and gift to marriage. It's not something to be forgotten about, because I always say, this is how I think, Genesis 2:24, how that, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.”

God is just giving the description of marriage, the very first description, and what is it? One flesh. That's it. OK. There's no kind of, “All right, well, this would be just a certain time.” No, one flesh, that's it. That's marriage. If you haven't got that in your marriage, and it isn't a huge part of your marriage, what kind of a marriage have you got?

So I think that's a great testimony, especially these years when little ones are around you. Yes, that's very important. In fact, oh, a while back, and you can go down the list of all our podcasts if you go to the website, AboveRubies.org. You can look for the podcast . . . I did one last year with Serene. It was about, how do you keep intimacy with your husband when you've got all these little children around you? So it's a good one to go back and find that, if you didn't ever listen to it. You will be so blessed. So thank you, Rashida. I think that was good advice.

Now, you're also just a young mother. You've got three little ones. Tell us, there's something you've found that you've had to work out, you know, with mothering these little ones.

Rashida: Um, I mean, my girls, they're pretty wild. They have so much energy. They're like my mom. They have tons of energy.

Nancy: It's amazing, because I always used to feel really put out because I had to raise this Evangeline. She was wild, adventurous, non-conformist! Could never be put into a box. I mean, goodness me, it was, it was a huge challenge to raise her!

And then she had.. . . I thought, “Well, just wait till her children come along. She'll just find out what it's like.” And instead, she had nine, no ten, sorry. She had ten perfect children. Goodness me! Well, they did things wrong, but they were really perfect!

None of them were like her. Oh, goodness me! Oh, goodness me! I mean, why didn't she get one like her? (laughter) But no, they were all just these wonderful, amazing children. But so now she's got two little granddaughters, but they're gorgeous and wonderful too.

Rashida: Yeah, they are. So's my mom.

Nancy: They're so amazing!

Rashida: They're super energetic, and always into things, and always into new things. Yeah.

Nancy: Well, when I go round there, oh goodness me! Oooh! They are changing their clothes into their beautiful princess dresses, and then into this, and then into that! About every five minutes they're coming out with a new one, and they're twirling around and dancing for us! And they're doing this . . . Oh!

Rashida: Yes, they are super high energy. That's why I do two cups of coffee a day! (laughter) They're so fun. They are so fun.

Nancy: They are amazing girls.

Rashida: Yeah, I guess I just let them make a mess and I let them get into things and stuff. Then we all clean it up together. Sometimes it's a few days before I clean their room with them. Because, yeah, I would rather that, than . . .

Nancy: Well, every time I go to your house, it's like, perfect. Spotless, not a thing out of place! And just glorious, because Rashida loves everything glorious and does everything glorious. But I love the way that, even though you are someone who just loves that perfect house, you give the children freedom to play.

Rashida: Yeah, and I let them mess up their room. Literally, it's like a tornado in their room right now.

Nancy: Yes, and I mean I've been into their room. OK, that's a tornado, but you just close the door.

Rashida: Yeah, I'll literally lock the door when we have company, to their room, so nobody can look in there! (laughter)

Nancy: I know! I love that!

Rashida: We do some cleaning up and make it nice, and then 20 minutes later, it's a big mess again!

Nancy: Yes, that's right! But that's the thing. You know, I believe, I'm a great believer in children having opportunity and freedom to play. I believe play is very powerful. Play is preparing children for life. Because you have found, Rashida, that when you allow them to play creatively, not giving them all these little toys and things, but you just let them play creatively, wow, they do real stuff!

I mean, I can remember when my little ones, they would rearrange my house. I'd have all the chairs around the table, but they would get all the chairs and they would become a train. And then they'd get the blankets, and they would become a house. And they would do this. The whole place was rearranged!

And they were so into it, and so concentrating and busy playing and creating this thing that they were doing. In fact, by the time they created it, help! They were so tired and worn out, that they could never actually play the thing! They would eat and go to bed for a rest!

Then, well, we'd have a time, OK, just put it all away. It's not hard to do that. But they had that creativity.

Rashida: Yes, and speaking about that, I wouldn't be able to be creative if I didn't let them have their creative time. If they weren't distracted and playing whatever, I couldn't take the time...

Nancy: So while you're creating recipes, they're just doing their thing! (laughter)

Rashida: I mean, you have to be tough if you want to accomplish stuff while being a mom, like other things. You have to let your children make a mess. Let them play and stuff and think outside the box.

Nancy: Exactly.

Rashida: To be able to do things like that.

Nancy: They learn to be creative. And actually, it doesn't always happen, because sometimes mothers have to wait for their next baby. But I think it's a wonderful blessing when babies come quickly, because they grow up friends and can play together.

I mean, soon as you're . . . when you have your first baby, you are 24/7 entertaining that child. Because there's no one else to entertain it, just you. But when you have another baby, it's not long before that one grows up and they're both toddling around. They can both play with one another. Wow! It's amazing! Suddenly you can do something!

Rashida: Oh yeah, Ezzie and Emory are best friends. They're inseparable.

Nancy: Exactly. And because they're so close together and play together all the time, you're not always having to entertain them every minute. It's amazing, isn't it? You can do other things.

Rashida: Yeah. They are so . . . yeah, they're best, best  friends. Even sometimes we have to separate them for nap time because they'll just want to continue to play, and talk, and sleep together and stuff, so . . .

Nancy: Isn't that beautiful?

Rashida: Yeah, it's so sweet.

Nancy: So wonderful. It's so great when children, siblings are best friends. I think that's so wonderful. I find that with our children today, most of my children now are in their 50's. They're still best friends. I mean, they'd rather hang out with each other than anyone else in the world. It's so great.

Yes, so anyway, you'll get to know Rashida more as you read her book. It's all about food. We should talk a little bit more about food because food is just so much on God's heart.

Did you know, ladies, that I actually found, just looking up the Scriptures about food in the Bible, I found 22 different twins about food. Yes, there're lots of twins in the Bible. I love looking for twins, and even for triplets.

You know, we have twins like “love and grace,” and “truth and love,” and “mercy and righteousness”. All these things that go together, they're twins. The Bible couples them together. But then I found, as I said, 22 that relate to food. I don't know whether I'll even have time to tell you them all today. But let's start.

The first one: FOOD AND THE TABLE

God links food and the table. Now it seems so mundane. That's just a statement you would understand. But really, it's a doctrine, because it's in the Word, and it's something we do need to take notice of.

I find that there are people today who actually don't eat food around the table. They eat food just walking around. They eat food in front of the TV. They eat food in the car, just getting some fast food, and coming home from somewhere around. But God associates food with the table.

Like everything, I have many Scriptures about this. Perhaps when we do the transcript, I'll put the Scriptures in. I won't give them to you all here. But there are loads of Scriptures where food is linked with the table. Let me just give you one that we all know: Psalm 128:3, describing the woman in the home. “She is like a fruitful vine in the heart of her home, her children all around the table.”

There is a picture of the family eating together around the table. God wants us, so ladies, that's Biblical. Therefore, try and make it an effort in your home to start the habit of the children sitting at the table. Now it's hard when they're little, I know. But you see, it is possible. And, just gradually, you get that habit, so they know they don't eat food running around the house. They don't eat food in front of the TV. No. Food we eat at the table. Yes.

It's interesting. Oh, so many things about the table. God wants us to sit at, it even talks about sitting at the table. I've got quite a few Scriptures of examples of Jesus sitting at the table. Even about putting a tablecloth on the table and eating our food at certain times. And oh, there's so many things.

Number two twin: FOOD AND ABUNDANCE

God doesn't want us to be skimpy about food, but to prepare it abundantly. I think that's good. That's God's heart, isn't it? God is a God who just loves to give.

Number three: FOOD AND FULLNESS. Yes, it says, eat TILL you're full. Isn't that great? We're allowed to do that.

Number four: FOOD AND COOKING. Of course, we've been talking about that, especially in the last session.

Number five: FOOD AND HEALING

Yes, food, God created food to bring healing. Healing to our bodies, healing to our spirits, healing to our emotions. You know, food is not only healing to the body. When we sit down at a table, a table that's been set and prepared, and we sit, and we talk, and we fellowship, we can have healing. It brings healing to us.

And so God associates food with healing. And, of course, it says that He gives the trees there in Revelation, they were for the healing of the nations. God has got so many healing foods. If we can only just find out what they are for things that we have wrong with us, usually that's a better way to go than even drugs.

Rashida: If you look up the simple things that were used every day, like peppers and stuff, if you look up the benefits of them, they are healing. So many vitamins, minerals, all these different things. We don't even know...

Nancy: Every food, every vegetable, every fruit, has so many things in it...

Rashida: That we don't even know. And it makes you more inspired to eat them once you know what's in them, at least for me.

Nancy: So the more vegetables and fruits we can include in our diet, the better, because that's what God provided for us. He didn't actually provide these packaged foods. I mean, you know, on occasion you'll get something packaged or something.

On the whole, I never even go near that part in the supermarket. I go mainly to the produce side. That's where I buy most of my stuff. And you know, there's other things that you get. You get your dried beans, and you get your this, and you get your that, but packaged foods, I just don't go near the packaged foods. Because, really, when you can eat these healing foods, why eat them?

So what's our next one? Number Six: FOOD AND COMFORT

Seven: FOOD AND CELEBRATION. You can't celebrate without food!

Rashida: No!

Nancy: If you try to have a celebration without food, well, it's not a celebration. I've got three lines of Scriptures about that from the Word.

Number eight: FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP

Nine: FOOD AND GLADNESS

Ten: FOOD AND GOOD CHEER

Eleven: FOOD AND GOOD THINGS. These are all Scriptures that link food and these other things together.

Twelve: FOOD AND JOY

Number thirteen: FOOD AND LAUGHTER. You see, ladies, if we want to bring joy and laughter into our homes, well, let's prepare some good food.

Rashida: Yeah, people get angry.

Nancy: Yes, of course! They get hungry, and we have to prepare food.

Rashida: No, but angry! It's like, when you haven't eaten in a while.

Nancy: When you're feeling hungry, you're agitated, aren't you?

Rashida: Yeah!

Nancy: Until you eat, yes. I must look up here, this Scripture on food and laughter, because, yes, it's food. You may not have realized that the Bible associates food with laughter. It's in Ecclesiastes. Let's see if I can find it. Ecclesiastes 10:19: “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry.” So, when we're having a feast, or a celebration, or I believe, just even a meal, it's made for laughter.

It's so great, isn't it, when you can sit around the table and laugh together as a family. Or invite friends in and have a good old laugh. There's nothing like it! It's healing, because food, good food, is healing, and laughter is healing, isn't it? Yes. That is so great.

Number fourteen: FOOD AND LEISURE

This is an interesting one. We'd better look it up. Mark 6:31. Let's look this up here: “And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And He said unto them, 'Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while;' for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure, so much as to eat.”

Now isn't that interesting? You see, it was time to eat. Obviously, it was lunch time. And Jesus said, “Well, look, we can't just eat here. There's too many people coming and going. We've got to find a leisure place, a secluded place where we can sit down and where we can eat leisurely.” Now isn't that amazing? I am totally amazed of how there's not one thing left out in the Bible.

And even here, Jesus saw the necessity that, when you eat, you don't just eat on the run. Because Jesus was busy. I mean, there were crowds around Him, wanting His attention the whole time, just pulling on Him, needing Him to heal them. But no, it was lunchtime, so He says, “No, we've got to get away, find a little place where it's quiet. We'll sit down, we'll just take a little bit of time and leisure to eat. And then we'll be refreshed to go out and minister again.”

I think it has become the habit of so many, in our day in which we live, to eat on the run. OK, we're so busy, we're just going to grab something. We eat on the run. We eat walking around. We don't take time. Because I see it as Biblical, I have made it a habit now, whenever I eat, when it's time for breakfast, or lunch, or supper, to sit down. I mean, for our main meals we sit together as a family, or whoever is in the home.

But maybe lunchtime, I could be eating on my own. Now, I could just get on the run, keep doing what I'm doing, or I can sit down, enjoy God's food. When you do that, science has already revealed to us that you get so much more out of your food. You don't hardly get anything out of it when you just eat it on the run. So, all biblical. Isn't it amazing?

Food and leisure. That's how food is meant to be eaten. We're not meant to “OK, just eat all the time.” We take time for those leisure times.

Fifteen: FOOD AND MERRIMENT

Sixteen: FOOD AND STRENGTH. We get strength from our food, of course.

And number seventeen: FOOD AND RAISING CHILDREN

That's all part of food. Dear lovely wives and mothers, if you have children, well, that's it. You've got to prepare food! You know that, of course. But let me take you to 1 Timothy 5:10, and we'll just see it here. Just but in Rashida, I'm talking too much!

It says here, of this woman, it's actually the women who were widows. Their husbands had passed away. They needed looking after. Some of them had no way to provide for themselves. And back in those days, it was a real issue. They just had no provision.

And so Paul is writing to Timothy, and he says, “OK families, children, or grandchildren, if you have got widows, older women that belong to your family, grandparents or whatever, you are to look after them. You take them in, and you provide for them.”

Now, if they don't have any family to look after them, then it says: “lived a certain lifestyle.” You can then embrace them into the church fold and the church can provide for them. But they had to have lived a certain lifestyle. Here it is: “Well reported of, for good works.” And then the next thing.

OK. Four things here. The first one is: “if she has brought up children.” First thing. Now, what's the word? Teknotropheo, from two Greek words, teknon, “child,” trepho, meaning “to feed, to nourish with food, to pamper with food.” So it's saying here, has she brought up children? It's saying, has she nourished children? Has she fed children? And it's embracing the fact that mothering is feeding. It's just feeding with food! So, dear ladies, OK, that's it. Don't think, “Oh, I've got to get another meal! Help, I could be doing this, I've got this to do, I don't know!” No, embrace it! This is part of who you are as a mother.

It goes on to say, “if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted,” and so on, all those things, which actually all contain food too. You can't minister to others, and bless them, and reach out to them, unless you are feeding them. So it's all to do with food, ladies! Food!

Rashida: I know a lot of those Scriptures.

Nancy: We haven't even gone into them. I'll put them in the transcript, all the Scriptures. Wow, it's so amazing!

Eighteen: FOOD AND TEACHING

Jesus, most times, where did Jesus teach? At people's tables. He would go to their homes and they'd sit around the table. And He taught. This is the most beautiful place to teach our children. To share the Word with them and others who come to our table. It's a glorious place to teach.

Nineteen: FOOD AND HOSPITALITY

. Oh wow, all these Scriptures! Help, I've got four lines of Scriptures about hospitality! And you can't show hospitality without food. I mean, when you invite people, you've got to feed them! Now I know that takes work. It takes extra work, but God is a hospitable God. He loves hospitality.

I mean, oh, in fact, the Bible says that a man cannot even be an elder, or a pastor of a church, unless he is a lover of hospitality. That is one of the criteria written in 1 Timothy, and in Titus. And yet, there are so many pastors today, wow . . . you know, they don't really, they wouldn't even allow anyone in their homes.

And yet God says, if they're going to be a pastor who shepherds the flock, they have got to be given to hospitality. That's got to be their heart. That is the heart of a shepherd. It's not just someone who can run a big church. No, they have to be reaching out in hospitality.

Number twenty: FOOD AND PROVISION

Yes, God loves to come to our table with His presence. Food is associated with the presence of God. The presence of God is not just for church or someplace where God is really moving, and we feel His presence. No, He wants to come to our tables. He associates His presence with food. Maybe these are some Scriptures we should look at.

Exodus 18:12. Yes: “And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and: Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread (so they were going to eat food) with Moses' father-in-law, before God.” Now, that's King James. If you go to other translations, it was translated as it literally means, the word “before” in the Hebrew, means “in the presence of God.”

So they all came together, and they ate their meal in the presence of God. Isn't that amazing? I just love that. I love it! And they weren't all down on their knees worshipping or being all very religious. No, they were eating! Eating! Fellowshipping! Eating! And God was there with them.

We go over to Exodus 24:11  and see what this says. Yes: “And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.” Wooo. That's unbelievable.

Now, of course, we have other Scriptures in the Bible that say if anyone sees the face of God, they cannot live. But I think if we read back, and you can read back in that chapter, they didn't see the face of God. They saw something of God, and I haven't just got the reference here at the moment. But you can read that. They were in His presence.*

Rashida: Isn't there a Bible verse where it says the Son of God came eating and drinking? It was in Luke.

Nancy: Yes! The Son of Man came eating and drinking (Matthew 11:19). He was into food. He was into coming to people. In fact, there's a book written about Luke's gospel and the writer says that, mostly Jesus in Luke's gospel, we read about Jesus either “going to a meal, sitting at a meal, or leaving a meal.” Yes, it was just all part of eating and drinking. You're so right on!

And the last one Twenty-two: FOOD AND PRAYER AND PRAISE. So many times when they got together to eat, they also had prayer and praise and so on.

So, lovely ladies, I gave you those twenty-two twins! When we do the transcript, I'll give you all the Scriptures. Wow!

Let me leave you with this quote that I wrote but I think it's powerful.

“Cooking and preparing meals for your family is not an insignificant task. It is a powerful part of your divine mothering career.

It holds your family together.

It keeps generations alive.”

Amen?

Well, anything you want to say because we're closing out this session.

Rashida: I don't think so.

Nancy: Oh, it's been so good to have you with us, dear Rashida. You’re just going to love her book. If you've got it, you'll be enjoying it even more after hearing from her. If you haven't got it, make sure you get it from TrimHealthyMama.com, or Amazon.

Dear Father, we thank You again that we can talk about Your Word, to discover that, Lord, You're so involved in life, and in our living lives, in our eating, in our enjoying. We thank You that You have given us richly all things to enjoy.

And, Lord, some of these things are the glorious, beautiful, delectable foods that You created for us to eat. And You want us to enjoy them, and eat them, and not only eat them, but enjoy fellowshipping together.

(Roland talking) And little Roland is saying “Amen!” Now he wants to high-five me! Isn't he the cutest little darling in the world?  Yes, so Roland said “Amen,” and we all say “Amen!”

Transcribed by Darlene Norris. If you would like to thank her, her email is: momcat617

I promised I would give all the Scriptures for those who like to dig into the Word or to check out what I am saying. It’s great to be a Berean and search the Word to make sure what I am saying is correct. Here are the headings with the Scriptures. I know you will be amazed as you read them to read how much God speaks about food.

FOOD TWINS

Twenty-two different things God associates with food in the Bible!

We find many things associated with food in the Bible. Food is more than feeding hungry stomachs. Food ministers to the whole person—body, soul, and spirit.

Enjoy looking up these Scriptures and sharing them with your family.

1.     FOOD AND THE TABLE

1. Tables originate in Heaven: Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:29; 14:15; 22:29, 30; and Revelation 19:9. God told Moses to make The Table of Shewbread after the pattern of God’s table in Heaven (Exodus 25:23, 40; 26:30; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:1-5; and 9:8).
   
   
2. God wants us to eat at the table, not on the run, or anywhere around the house: 2 Samuel 9:7-13 (19:28 and 1 Kings 2:7); 2 Kings 25:29 (Jeremiah 52:32, 33) and Psalm 128:3.
   
   
3. God wants us to SIT at the table to eat: 1 Samuel 20, especially verses 5, 18, 24-29; 1 Kings 10:4, 5 (2 Chronicles 9:3, 4); Matthew 8:11; Luke 12:37; 14:15; 22:27; and 24:30.

When feeding the five thousand plus Jesus “COMMANDED them to MAKE ALL SIT DOWN by companies upon the green grass” (Mark 6:39). Have you found that you also need to MAKE your children sit down? The word “commanded” is in every gospel (Matthew 14:19; Luke 9:14; and John 6:10 11).

1. Examples of Jesus siting at the table: When Jesus came to the table, they not only ate, but he taught, shared stories, and did miracles. The table is a great place for mighty things to happen, but it all starts with food: Matthew 26:6, 7 (Mark 14:3); 6:20, 21 (Mark 14:18); Luke 7:36, 37; 11:37;14;1-4;  and John 12:2.
   
   
2. We should set the table and even spread a tablecloth: 1 Kings 10:4, 5 (2 Chronicles 9:3, 4); Isaiah 21:5; Psalm 23:5; and Proverbs 9:2.
   
   
3. We should eat food at set times: Luke 12:42 tells us that the steward of the healing household served food “at the proper time.”
   
   
4. God loves a full table: Psalm 128:3 and Luke 14:23.

2.     FOOD AND ABUNDANCE

God delights to give food in abundance: Genesis 1:29; 9:3; Deuteronomy 6:11; 8:9, 10; 10:18; Job 28:5; 36:31; Psalm 103:5; 104;14, 15; 111:5; 136:25; 145:15 16; 146:7; Isaiah 25:56; and Acts 14:17.

3.     FOOD AND FULLNESS

Leviticus 26:3-5.

4.     FOOD AND COOKING

You cannot enjoy food without cooking. We read of Jesus cooking a meal for His disciples, even after He rose from the dead! A resurrected Christ and yet cooking? It was not too lowly a task for Him. Read the story in John 21:4-17 (v. 9). Genesis 19:3; 1 Chronicles 9:31; and Proverbs 31:14, 15.

5.     FOOD AND HEALING

Luke 12:2 (Matthew 24:45); and Revelation 22:1, 2.

6.     FOOD AND COMFORT

Genesis 18:5 and Judges 19:5.

7. FOOD AND CELEBRATIONS

Genesis 21:8; 40:20; Exodus 5:1; 10:9; 12:14; Deuteronomy 14:23-26; 16:14, 15; Job 1:4; 1 Kings 3:15; 19:21; 1 Chronicles 12:39, 40; 29:22; Ezra 9:19, 2; Esther 9:20-22; Isaiah 25:6; Daniel 5;1; Matthew 22:2; Mark 6:21; and Revelation 19:9.

            Wedding feasts: Leah’s wedding (Genesis 29:21, 22); Samson’s wedding (Judges 14;10); Esther’s wedding (Esther 2:17, 18); Cana wedding (John 2:1-11); and Matthew 22:2.

Reconciliations feasts: Genesis 26:26-31; 31:53, 54; 2 Samuel 3:12-30; Job 42:10-12; and Luke 15:21-24.

8.     FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP

Eating at the table should be “face to face table fellowship.” We sit around the table so we can see one another, look at one another’s faces, and dialogue and discuss things together: Acts 2:42 and 20:11. Read also 2 John  1:12 and 3 John 1:14).

9.     FOOD AND GLADNESS

Acts 2:46 and 17:17.

10.  FOOD AND GOOD CHEER

Acts 27:25, 36.

11.  FOOD AND GOOD THINGS

Psalm 103:5; Ecclesiastes 3;13; 5:18;  and Ezekiel 24:15.

12.  FOOD AND JOY

Ezra 6:22; 9:19, 22; Nehemiah 8:9-12; 12:27, 43; Ecclesiastes 5:15; 9:7; 1 Chronicles 12:39, 40; and 1 Timothy 6:17.

13.  FOOD AND LAUGHTER

Ecclesiastes 10:19.

14.  FOOD AND LEISURE

Jesus showed us the example of how food should be eaten with leisure, not in a hurry: Mark 6:31.

15.  FOOD AND MERRIMENT

Genesis 43:23; Ruth 3:7 and Luke 15:23.

16.  FOOD AND STRENGTH (to the heart and body).

1 Kings 19:4-8 and Psalm 104:15.

17.  FOOD AND RAISING CHILDREN

1 Timothy 5:10 talks about the women who “brought up children.” The word in the Greek is teknotropheo meaning “to nurture with food.” One of the biggest jobs of raising our children is feeding them!

18.  FOOD AND TEACHING

Jesus used the mealtime at the table or teaching time: Mark 16:14, 15 and Luke 24:41-49.

19.  FOOD AND HOSPITALITY

It is impossible to show hospitality without feeding your guests: Genesis 18:5-8; Deuteronomy 10:17-19; 14:27-29; Judges 6:18, 19; 13:15-21; 2 Samuel 9:10; 2 Kings 2: 7; Nehemiah 5:17, 18; Job 31:32; Matthew 25:35; Acts 2:44-47; Romans 12;13; 1 Corinthians 16:15; 1 Timothy 5;10; Hebrews 13;2; 1 Peter 4:9; and 3 John 5:8.

20.  FOOD AND PROVISION

Deuteronomy 28:4-6; Nehemiah 5:17, 18; 1 Kings 4:17; Psalm 37:18, 19; 78:19-22.

21. FOOD AND THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Exodus 18:12 and 24:11

22.  FOOD AND PRAYER AND PRAISE

When the disciples met together to eat, they also prayed and praised God: Acts 2:42, 46, 47; Deuteronomy 8:10; and Joel 2:26.

Love and blessings from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

 

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 145: A PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES WITH RASHIDA

At last, I have been able to kidnap Rashida to come and talk with me on the podcast! Rashida Simpson is my granddaughter, and the latest recipe creator of the new Trim Healthy Cookbook, Trim Healthy Future! You'll find out the secrets of Rashida's creativity with food and the unfolding of her life.

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello! Here I am today, with another guest. This beautiful young lady I have been waiting to do a podcast with since the time I started doing podcasts! I can't believe, Rashida, that it's been all this time. This is podcast 145, and here you are at last! Oh goodness me!

She's just always been too busy doing what she's meant to do—having babies, and of course, doing other things we'll tell you about. Anyway, some of you will know, some of you won't, Rashida, my granddaughter, is Evangeline's daughter. Rashida and her husband, Jack, have three precious children so far. Ezzie, Emory, and now there's this little gorgeous boy, Roland.

He's just a little fat, chunky, gorgeous little boy and he's right here sitting with us, so I'm not sure whether he'll say hello. We might hear him. He's eight months now. (So anyway, he's OK there, Ellie (my Above Rubies helper) I think, except for Sargy. Yes, that's right. Just talking about my little poodle here. He likes to be here where I am, but I think he might not be too good with Roland and him together)!

Anyway, so not only has Rashida been busy mothering, but Rashida is just, well, I think she was born to cook. Some of you may already have Rashida's cookbook, which is the fourth Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook. I'm sure most of you are all familiar with Trim Healthy Mama. You most probably have all the books. Rashida's is the fourth one. Actually you do need them all because everyone has particular recipes that you'll just love.

I wonder who has got the first one, Trim Healthy Mama? That was what it was called. No More Fads! And that was the first book the girls, Serene and Pearl, put out. They wrote about their way of eating the most delectable foods and yet keeping wonderfully slim.

And then they did Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook, the second one. Then they did Trim Healthy Mama Table, and everyone was just so great. And then a fourth, the latest one. And they called it Trim Healthy Future.

Rashida's on the front cover of this one. She did the majority of the recipes, all her own creations. She also did all the photography for the meals in the book. She did all of this while she was pregnant with little Roland and had her other two little girls all around her.

Evangeline the grandmother, who's called Pippi, now don't you like that for a name? Evangeline could never be called Grandma or Nana. I'm called Nana, but it's all just too boring to her. She had to think of a different name. So she came up with Pippi, after Pippi Longstocking, because Pippi, of course, had lots of adventures. (Baby crying in background . . . Oh, here's little darling Roland).

Anyway, Pippi Longstocking, she had lots of adventures, and Evangeline has adventures every single day. In fact, at the moment, she's writing a little book for her grandchildren about Pippi's adventures. So how did I get onto Pippi?

Yes, well Pippi calls Rashida's little girls, whom she adores, she calls them, I think she calls them the “Wild Tornadoes,” doesn't she? Yes, because they are not little girls who just sit on purpose, reading books. They just take on the world! But Rashida is so amazing with them. Now if you have, oh Rashida, I'm going to let you talk in a minute, but I'm just talking all about you!

So, oh goodness, I could spend this whole podcast just talking about Rashida. We all live on the Hilltop, and of course, Rashida's been taken away because now she's married. Well, she doesn't live too far away. But all her life she just lived on the Hilltop. Her home was only a couple of minutes from ours, so every day I would see her at some stage. So we certainly got to know Rashida.

Now there's something special about Rashida. And if you have the new cookbook, Trim Healthy Future, which you can get by going to TrimHealthyMama.com, or you can get it off Amazon. Make sure you get it. You'll love every recipe.

You'll love reading the introduction by Serene and Pearl because it tells you all about Rashida. They tell how she started to cook when she was so young. I think Serene mentions about this amazing meal she cooked for her grandfather. That was my father. She actually talks about it from memory, and she didn't get it quite right.

But you see, I'm actually, although my daughters write these books (they've written all these amazing books, which I know you love). They're coming out soon with a book that's going to change the world, called I'm That Girl. But although they are prolific writers, I'm really the scribe in the family who keeps records of everything.

Way back when you were only seven years old, Rashida, my father came to stay. He would come from New Zealand once a year. Then from about five years of old (and this was when she was seven), it was her biggest thing in life to cook a meal specially for her grandfather.

Well, of course, the whole family, their family, and Colin and I, and great granddad, would come for this meal. And it was always the highlight of my father's life to enjoy this meal by Rashida. He was so proud that his little great-granddaughter, only seven years old, could cook this amazing meal!

So now I'm going to tell you the truth, because I was so amazed. I simply couldn't believe it. I went home after that meal and I wrote down the whole meal. I've kept it all these years. Did you know that? So I'm the scribe, and it's all being recorded accurately, so this is the accurate version.

OK, so she was seven years old, and she prepared this feast all by her little selfie. This is what she cooked. OK?

Roast turkey with couscous stuffing, including sun-dried tomatoes, cashews, pine nuts, figs, and raisins. Oh, goodness me, I'd like to try some of that again today, Rashida! Wow!

Marinated grape leaves, stuffed with lebani, placed in a bowl with figs, dates, and black and green olives (we were all into Middle Eastern food back in those days).

Mashed potatoes and gravy (And little Roland is looking up at me, and he can hardly believe it)! (Laughter.)

Salad, with homemade dressings (Almondaise and Green Greek dressing.

And tamarind-date chutney.

Oh yes, she made dessert too, a ginger steamed pudding, and raw nut balls. Wow!

Can you even imagine doing that dinner yourself?? Well, Rashida was seven years old. Yes, she did it all! I came home and wrote it down.

I wonder if you even know what a steamed pudding is? Well that's very New Zealand. We even have steamed pudding basins where you make this pudding. It's made of flour and other things. This particular one is ginger-flavored with ginger powder. Then you put it in this steamed pudding bowl, which has a lid. Then you put it in a big pot with water. The water cooks around it and it steams the pudding.

When our children were growing up in New Zealand, I would make a steamed pudding nearly every week at least! In fact, back in those days, we always had dessert with every evening meal. I wouldn't even think of doing that now! Goodness me, I'd be as huge as an elephant if I kept doing that! But that was tradition back then.

That's what we used to do. Although every Thanksgiving, and every Christmas, I still make a steamed pudding. But for our Christmas pudding, which in the English way, they call it a “plum duff,” I actually cook it in a big sort of calico material. I put everything in, the flour, and the raisins, and the nuts. It all goes in and I tie it up this calico. I tie it up and put it in the pot of boiling water. It boils for two or three hours. It's all steamed. It's very traditionally English, but we love that.

So Rashida has always loved to cook. She cooked for her family from a young age. She did all the cooking. Evangeline just vacated the kitchen. Wow, isn't that exciting? Of course, when Rashida left to get married, oh help! Goodness me! Tiveria, well, she had to take her place, but it was a while, I think. Messed up for a while.

Anyway, but Rashida, oh, this book is amazing! Oh, you're just going to love her book! You'll love her recipes! Well look, I can just keep talking about Rashida, but Rashida, you've got to talk! Oh, goodness me! Tell me about your love for food and cooking.

Rashida: Mmm. Well yeah, as Nana says, I've always been passionate about cooking. I started off making mud pies and mud cakes in the woods because that's where we roamed. My mom, I do write about it in the book, but my mom saw that I had a passion and love for it. I'd always go watch my aunts, and watch my mom, and Nana cook. So it's always been a part . . .

Nancy: Yes, I think it's really, not everybody has the same . . . well, you've got genes that have passed down. My father, he was a great cook and he loved to cook. I love to cook, and of course, we all love to eat! So if you love to eat, you've got to cook!

Oh, it is so sad that many people, they cook today, but they, well, half the time they don't cook. There’re so many young mums who have grown up and they haven't really learned to cook. Really, I think it’s because they've had such boring meals.

If you really love food, and love taste, you love to cook, because you love making tastes. I think most probably that's what you love, Rashida. It's really, to me, it's not just that I'm cooking food for the sake of cooking. I want to create a lovely taste. Don't you?

Rashida: Uh huh.

Nancy: That's the thing. You're trying to create something that tastes so palatable. And that's exciting, because we all love taste, don't we?

Rashida: Yeah.

WE ARE FOOD PROVIDERS

Nancy: And if something's so delectable to eat, well, you just love cooking! Oh, I wrote something down here. I wonder if I printed it off. Oh yes. Proverbs 31:15. It says: “She rises also while it is still night, and gives food to her household.”

You know, we read that over and we hardly take notice of it. But I was reading it again this morning, and I love to notice every word when I'm reading the Bible. Do you like to look at every word? Oh, it gets so exciting! When you see the words, every word is powerful. Every word is given by divine inspiration. Every word means something  and it's powerful.

It says that she, notice, she, she, yes, we're still allowed to say “she,” and I will be saying “she,” even if they change it! She, that is the mother of the home, she's the one who gives food to her household. It's her responsibility. It's part of what she does. What does she do?  Gives food, provides food.

Yes, dear mothers, part of our mothering is providing food for our husband, for our family, and for many, many others. We are food providers. The Passion Translation, (Rollo cooing), “Yes, you like that, Rollo! We call him “Rollo.”

Meadow has Raymond, and they're similar ages. He's called “Ray-Ray.” So we've got to remember which is Ray-Ray, and which is Rollo! (Laughter)

The Passion Translation says, “She arises, and sets food on the table for her hungry ones in her house, and for others.” Yes, (Rollo laughing) I wrote here, “She is the one who sees beyond the work of cooking food to the great things that will happen as the family, and others, come to the table around her food that she cooks.”

Yes, therefore, Rashida, she just kept on making all these wonderful recipes. This is the thing about Rashida. I'm still talking about you, Rashida! (Laughter) Oh, goodness me...

Rashida: I might have a big head by the time you're done!

Nancy: Yes! Well, when Rashida, I remember when she had, well, her first baby, Ezzie, and second baby, Emory. I think this was when Emory was born. Now she had two little babies close together. They were only how much apart?

Rashida: Sixteen months.

Nancy: Sixteen months apart, yes. Rashida was tandem nursing. She nursed both of them because Ezzie wasn't prepared to give up at that time, was she?

Rashida: No.

Nancy: So everywhere Rashida went, these were two babies hanging on her! One was a toddler hanging on her, and one was a little baby. But Rashida just  hardly noticed. How long did you tandem nurse, Rashida?

Rashida: Well, until Ezzie was like three. So Emory was almost two. So, two years.

Nancy: Yes, wonderful! Did you know, ladies, that you can tandem nurse? You can nurse two babies. So if the baby you have is not ready to wean because every baby weans at a different time. They each have their different inner needs. Some will wean earlier. Others want to linger on, they just have that greater, greater need.

I've known of moms, too, where the older tandem nurser actually kept on nursing longer than the younger one! Just because they're different personalities. So tell us, how did you find . . .

Rashida: I do have to say I did stop nursing while I was pregnant, because it was too painful. Then I started again.

Nancy: Oh, yes, and you  . . . you had enough milk, of course, because you were nursing. And she was just ready to go.

Rashida: Mm huh. She still knew exactly how. I would nurse her maybe once when I was first pregnant, like a few times a day. I couldn't just cut cold turkey when she was a baby. She was still six months old. But then, like towards the end, she didn't really nurse that much. And then she just started again.

Nancy: Yes, and got into it full time!

Rashida: Yeah, and it helped me so much because I had so much milk. That was a blessing actually.

Nancy: Yes, that's right. Now with little Roland, you've been just nursing him alone. The girls, you were nursing them together. Did you find any difference? It wasn't any more overwhelming, actually?

Rashida: No, actually, I had to pump so much, because my body was so used to making milk, I think? I had to pump so much this time, and I got mastitis really badly.

Nancy: You really needed another baby to nurse!

Rashida: Yeah, I just pumped like all the time and I got super sick. I had to have IV's and stuff and go on antibiotics and stuff because it was recurring mastitis. I guess my body likes making a lot of milk!

Nancy: So tandem nursing was perfect for you!

Rashida: Yeah.

Nancy: Yes, yes. So I remember going around to Rashida after Emory was born, taking gifts and bringing something, some food to her. But you simply can't win with Rashida! Because even though I took food for her, we arrived—and there's a glorious meal waiting for us!

She just had a baby, and she's tandem nursing, and it's not just something plopped on the table! It's a beautiful meal, and not just a meal. There's a lovely dessert too. And then maybe some special little treats made! Oh, you just can't get over it!

In fact, Pearl was telling me that when they were doing the book, you were doing it right through being pregnant with Roland, weren't you? And then afterwards, after he was born.

Rashida: Yeah, I tried to get everything done when I was pregnant. But, of course, literally I finished two days before he was born. Then, of course, afterwards we did the book cover too, and there were always things, days of editing and stuff. But yeah, mostly when I was pregnant, I was still working really hard with him.

Nancy: Well, Pearlie was sharing with me how one day, it was just after Roland was born. Rashida came round to her place and she had the two little wild tornadoes, and it was so gorgeous. Two little blond gorgeous darlings, and Roland. Pearl said, “Oh, it was just impossible!”

They had all this editing to do, to make sure that each picture was with the right recipe, and so on. She said they just couldn't get a thing done because Rashida's nursing the baby and these little children playing around. Pearl couldn't think. Oh, goodness me! So she said, “Look, Rashida, go home. Just rest a bit, and I'll come over to your place, and it'll be much easier.”

So Pearl goes over a little bit later to Rashida's place, and instead of Rashida just resting for a little bit, she's right there, and she prepared this beautiful lunch for Pearlie, made this glorious lunch, and some special little new recipe. She just can't help herself!

Pearl said, they actually worked on that all morning, till late at night that night. But she couldn't get over it, how in the midst of all the pressure, and she was feeling the pressure, that Rashida was still calm. Children around her, but still getting a special lunch for Pearlie. Because we can't ever go over to Rashida's without a beautiful meal just ready on the table, and always just something, oh! So delectably delicious! Goodness me!

Now, OK, ladies, you're most probably feeling, “Oh, help! That's not me. I can't be like that. I just hate to cook, and I don't even know how to cook!”

Well, sadly, I think a lot of young mums don't know how to cook, or haven't even grown up to like to cook, because it wasn't a passion with their mothers. And maybe they just ate boring food, and maybe it was just cooked, and you came and got it. It wasn't a great emphasis put on gathering around food and the table which is very much part of God's heart.

But, dear ladies, because that wasn't . . . Maybe you didn't have that blessing of growing up in a family where people loved to cook, and they loved to eat and to eat together. And you never quite got into it.

Don't keep passing that on down the generations. You can start to become a lover of cooking and preparing food yourself, because everything is attitude. It is not how good you are, it's your attitude and what you want to do about it. Anyone can become a good cook if you have a passion to bless others. Really, you know, everything in life is about blessing others, don't you think, Rashida?

Rashida: Yeah.

Nancy: It is! If you're doing it just because, well, “I like to do this,” it's not the same as doing it because . . . Why does a wife cook for her husband? Because she loves him, and she wants to bless him. Why do we prepare food for our children? Because we love them, and we want to cook healthy food because we want to see them growing healthy and strong.

We just couldn't bear to put all this junk food in them like so many mothers. They don't seem to care what their children eat! I can't even understand it! When you absolutely love your children and care about them, you want to give them the best! Because you love them, you want to do something that blesses them.

When you love your husband, you just want to make the most delectable food for him. And so out of that love and passion, you'll begin to create more creatively! Don't you think?

Rashida: Yeah, definitely. I think too, starting off small, not giving yourself . . . Like right now, I don't make all those fancy things my Nana was talking about every single night.

Nancy: No! Not that feast, like that feast you made for your grandfather, that was like a once-a-year-thing for her grandfather. You don't do that every day!

Rashida: Yes, definitely! My recipe book, I tried to do simple. But healthy and fast, but also fun. You know what I'm saying?

Nancy: Yes, this book is filled with simple recipes.

Rashida: Yeah, so if you're just learning to cook, or if you're just starting off, it's not like you give yourself this big, long list of things to make. Go small and give yourself some grace.

Nancy: Yes, that's true. You'll find these recipes are easy. They're simple, they're easy. Rashida has created them all in the midst of three little babies, two toddlers and a little one. You know, doing lots of other things as well.

Rashida: Oh yeah. Can I say something? Yeah, if it was up to me, I would make bigger dinners every night if I had the time. But I don't, so some things just have to be fast. They can still be healthy and fast. You know what I'm saying? They don't have to be this gourmet whole meal that takes hours and hours. You can cook at home, and still be very efficient and fast in the kitchen.

Nancy: Yes, and you still make . . .

Rashida: And it doesn't taste like cardboard!

IT’S OUR PURPOSE

Nancy: No, that's right. And also, when I'll come over to you for a meal, and I'll say, “Oh, you're so busy with babies, Rashida! You don't have to cook anything!” And I go, and there's still this glorious meal! I know that you haven't actually spent hours, but somehow you, because of your creativity, you just made it wonderful! And I think it's how we think about things.

The thing that I would like to encourage you with, is whether you think that it's your gift, or it's not, it's still your purpose as a mother. You cannot be a wife or a mother without embracing the anointing to prepare food. And remember that Scripture in Proverbs 31 that describes the woman? It says she provides; she gives food to her household.

It's part of what we do. And everything we do, we should do wholeheartedly, to the best of our ability. So embrace it, lovely mothers! Even if we have to embrace motherhood, we can mother, because we adore our children. But there is a greater realm of not only loving our children but loving and embracing motherhood. That just makes all the difference.

EMBRACE THE ANOINTING

It's the same with cooking. We cook because we have to cook and they're all hungry. If we don't cook, well, help! There's bedlam because everybody's screaming for food! So we have to do it! We can do it out of having to, or we can embrace the anointing. Embrace the anointing.

And to know, “OK, Father, You've given me this responsibility. I'm responsible to minister. Yes, ‘minister’ is the word. To serve, and minister, and impart blessing and love to my husband through my food, and to each one of my children. So I'm going to embrace it, and I'm going to delight to do it! And, Lord, just give me creative ideas. Show me how. Just bring new ideas to me.”

And you will find that it will begin to happen, little by little. So don't despair if you think you're not really a cook. You do it because you have to. No! Oh goodness, no, don't let's do anything in our home just because we have to! What a boring way to live!

We don't live in fullness that way. We live the full life when we embrace our role. This role of preparing food is a glorious role. Yes, it's not just mundane. It's not just boring. It's not just, “Oh, I have to do this.” It can be glorious! And fun! And amazing! And, of course, at the end, you get to eat this good food! (Laughter.) This good stuff! I love to eat food. In fact, I love eating Rashida's food!

Rashida: I love your food too! Nana is an amazing cook. I do have her Brussels sprouts in my book.  They're so good. They're my favorite.

Nancy: Oh, yes, and I noticed something else. You have “Creamy Dreamy Limas.” Did you know, Pearl got that from me?

Rashida: Oh really? That's easy. It's one of the first twelve recipes.

Nancy: Oh, was it hers? Oh, she's naughty, because it was really mine. But that's all right. We're all one together. I mean, goodness, me. (Laughter) And we all just love each other's cooking. In fact, the other night we had, oh, what did we have? We're always having a celebration.

Oh, yes, it was Auntie Pearl's 50th birthday celebration. So we all bring a wonderful dish. The table, as usual, is laden with glorious food. But I'm just searching down the table, looking for Rashida's dish. And I could tell it was yours. I knew it was yours, so that was my first choice, and it was so nice. (Laughter)

Rashida: I do have to say, sometimes I mess up. And I do. If you guys are just starting off cooking, or whatever, you're always going to have mistakes. I've ruined things countless times. Like making one dish, sometimes in the teens, how many times I've ruined it before I've perfected it.

So it's not “if you mess up, and the food tastes bad.” You can always try again. It's not like it's the end of the world. I've had that happen so many times.

Nancy: And Jack has been quite good to eat your failures too, hasn't he?

Rashida: Some of them I wouldn't even give to him! (Laughter)

Nancy: You do have to go out on a limb, don't you, to try, and if it doesn't work, well, who cares? You try something else. But yes, go out on a limb, ladies, and just try different things. It's not just the basic foods of meat and vegetables, but it's your spices, and your herbs.

You know, I grew up in New Zealand, where the food, well, maybe it's changed. Other nations have come in. Back when I grew up, we were pretty well New Zealanders. It was very bland food. Of course, we loved it.

Our basic food was roast lamb. I love roast lamb to this day. It's still my favorite. Every special occasion, we cook roast lamb. But it was roast lamb, roast potatoes, roast kumara (which is our New Zealand sweet potato), and we'd roast parsnips around the meat. Then maybe we'd have some frozen peas and a salad. Pretty basic. That was a good old New Zealand meal. We loved it.

But it was a bland flavor. Salt and pepper were about all we used. But then, as we began to travel in different countries and experience the food of the world, we found that oooh, other countries, they have hot food! And they have it hotter than we've ever known! And they have these spices, and this spice, and all the different ways. So you begin to expand and try all these different things. So I've always loved doing that. You've grown up with that too.

Rashida: Yeah, actually this was funny. I just thought of this now. My dad, growing up, my dad was always saying “I never used black pepper ‘til I was out of the house, really.” My dad always said that  black pepper was for people that don't know how to cook because they just salt and pepper things.

So I didn't even use black pepper ‘til I got out of the house. Now I love putting black pepper in my recipes, but it was funny that you say that. I do think that's probably another reason people don't like to cook. They don't like . . . it’s just bland.

Nancy: It's too bland! There is nothing to endear you about bland food except filling up your hungry tummy! But when food is spicy, and got these glorious flavors, oooh, you're not just eating because you're hungry. You're eating because of your taste buds. And that's what I love about food.

Rashida: Yeah, you can actually create instead of just cook!

Nancy: We now, our whole family, has just . . . we’ve just branched out. Colin and I, we don't ever go out very much. I think, “Goodness, I can cook better at home!” I just love my homemade food.

But if we go out for a special occasion, we always choose Indian, because it's curry, and it's very hot, and I just love that. I have to confess I haven't mastered real, genuine, glorious Indian cooking, so I keep that for my special when I go out.

The other night my son and daughter-in-law came for supper. Steve and Simone. He said, Mum, don't cook tonight. I'll bring out Thai. So he brought out some very hot Thai food. That was so lovely too.

But anyway, time has gone, but we're going to do another session. Can you wait?

Rashida: Yes!

Nancy: OK, let's pray. Lord, we just thank You that we can talk about food. And Lord, this is so biblical, and so spiritual, and so everything. Because, Lord, You created food, and You talk about it so much in the Word of God. Lord, we just pray that You'll help us to think about food like You think about it. I ask that You to bless every lady listening today. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Transcribed by Darlene Norris.