Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

I am sure you will be blessed, challenged, and inspired by the beautiful words in this poem from Anna Frey . . .

THE MOMMY I AM NOW!
I sometimes wonder what they will say
When my children have their own children someday
And they tell them about their mom,
The mommy I am now.

I hope they’ll say she treated their dad
Like the most noble king anyone ever had,
On his arm she loved to lean,
She was happy just to be his queen.
She supported him through thick and thin,
Stood by his side, smiling up at him.

I hope that’s what they will say
When they have their own children someday
And they tell them about their mom,
The mommy I am now.

I hope they’ll say she looked straight in our eyes,
She listened to us through our lows and highs,
She encouraged us, prayed for us, helped us do more
Than we ever thought we could have done before.

I hope they‘ll say she laughed and smiled,
She worked hard, but all the while
She whistled and sang, and you can be sure
The most mundane job was an adventure.

I hope that’s what they will say
When they have their own children someday
And they tell them about their mom,
The mommy I am now.

I hope they’ll say she loved braiding hair,
Playing outside and catching toads there,
She planned picnics, tea parties, and wooded tree forts,
Expeditions, outings, games of all sorts.

She said our giggles were her favorite sound,
We’d tickle each other ‘till we rolled on the ground,
And when she read a story, the book came alive,
We could hear all the voices if we tried.

I hope that’s what they will say
When they have their own children someday
And they tell them about their mom,
The mommy I am now.

When Mommy taught us something new,
Hearts mattered more than how much we could do.
And now as we look back and see
Because of the helpers she let us be . . .

Her jobs took longer and made more mess,
But she knew relationships were the best.
And she always would include us too
In all the things she had to do.

I hope that’s what they will say
When they have their own children someday
And they tell them about their mom,
The mommy I am now.

Mommy always said, without a doubt
We were the best friends she’d ever known about.
We knew she was our best friend too,
And felt quite certain it was true.

Whatever the day, the plan, the weather,
We were happy just to be together.
Side by side and hand in hand
We learned to grow and understand.

I hope that’s what they will say
When they have their own children someday
And they tell them about their mom,
The mommy I am now.

She would quickly say she that was sorry,
Ask forgiveness for when she got angry.
We often heard her pray and ask
For strength for this important task
Of raising us, for well she knew
It was far more than she could do.

But in His strength, she chose to rest
Knowing His will was the very best,
And living it with all her might,
She embraced it all day, and also night!

I hope that’s what they will say
When they have their own children someday
And they tell them about their mom,
The mommy I am now.

ANNA FREY * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

But will you open the door
So that I can bring her in?
In exchange I’ll take
Your selfishness and sin.

I’ve created a masterpiece,
Uniquely designed for your family.
I’ve created a masterpiece,
By loving him, you’ll show your love for Me.

But will you open your heart
So that I can bring him in?
He will bring joy to your life,
You’ll never be the same again

I’ve created a masterpiece,
Believe the truth, don’t be deceived.
I’ve created a masterpiece
The world may scorn if you choose to receive.

So will you open your womb
So that I can plant this seed?
That will grow you in so many ways
And help you see I’m the One you need,
The Creator of this masterpiece!

PAULA SMITH
Pleasantville, Tennessee, USA
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Copyright ©2019 Holy Spirit (via Paula Smith).

It is endless and unselfish
And enduring come what may,
For nothing can destroy it
Or take that love away.

It is patient and forgiving
When all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
Even though the heart is breaking.

It believes beyond believing
When the world around condemns,
And it grows with all the beauty
Of the rarest, brightest gems.

It is far beyond defining,
It defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
Like the mystery of creation.

A many-splendored miracle
Man cannot understand.
And another wondrous evidence
Of God's tender, guiding hand.

By Helen Steiner Rice

Painting by Helen Allingham

Please don’t miss the rewards of a lasting marriage. You will be so glad you pressed through. And you will be amazed at how God molds you together over the years as you allow Him. I know you’ll love this writing from Renee Ellison, DAILY DUO DOIN’ THE DISTANCE!
~ Nancy

“Most marriages are a struggle in the beginning, but surprisingly, after several decades each good marriage discovers that they HAVE someHOW, someWHAT settled into their own unique way of communicating and operating between the two very distinct and different personalities and modus operandi.

Each good marriage has been building this lifetime "date" into something bigger than both of them knew. This steadfast commitment becomes something better than we each imagined. Such marriages emerge on the other side as dependable lead pipes of stability and "comforting slippers" in one's life. Marvel of marvels.

It is so interesting to note that no two couple's marriages ever look the same. Each marriage is world’s different in likeness and kind, apparently God's very design and intent. He fashioned each set of believer's marriages to differ like stars differing from stars in glory. Perhaps "glory" is too strong a word—more like "ordinary daily duo doin' the distance!”

RENEE ELLISON
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I love being your mommy! It really is the best!
I feel like the most blessed woman in the entire Southwest!

I love watching your joy when you learn something new
Or when you want to play Go Fish all afternoon.

I love the flowers and leaves you all pick for me
And when you call my name wanting me to see.

I love days filled with chatter, hugs, and questions,
Teaching, training, and discipline lessons.

I love teaching you to read and write,
Each one of you are so very bright!

I love your grand imaginations when you play,
Each of you dreaming of who you’ll be one day.

When I’m grouchy and tired, thank you for forgiving me
A kinder, more patient mommy is who I pray to be.

Being your mommy has stretched me to see,
That life is no longer just all about me.

Some people say I’m crazy for having all of you,
We laugh on the way home because we know it’s not true!

My erratic sleeping patterns some may not desire,
But cuddling little babes in the night, of that I’ll never tire.

I don’t mind the time cooking you healthy food,
I’m learning to find joy in cooking for my little brood.

You see, nothing I’ve ever done or seen in my life
Compares to being your mother and your daddy’s wife.

I’m understanding the blessings that you all truly are,
Being your mommy is THE BEST CAREER by far!

LAUREN BECK * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

I love the words Boaz spoke to her in Ruth 2:8: “Listen carefully my daughter, Do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but stay here close by my maids.”

Although this was spoken directly to Ruth, I believe God also speaks His word to every mother through this Scripture. He says to us: “Don’t go and glean in another field. I have given you your field in which to glean. It is my perfect and best will for you. Don’t leave it. Stay close.”

If God has given you children, then this is the field He has given to you. He doesn’t give you children to give to someone else to look after. He gives them to you to love, nurture, train, and prepare for the future and for eternity.

Ruth could have looked over at other fields and thought, “Oh, there is so much more to glean over there, but now I am stuck here.” Instead, she submitted to Boaz’ words and ultimately received incredible blessings. She was blessed to marry Boaz. She became the great-grandmother of King David and also in the Messianic line of the birth of Jesus.

Be blessed in your home today,

Nancy Campbell

He is El Shaddai, the God who is Enough.

He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.

He is the one of whom David testified: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

He is the God who states that pours out His blessing upon us to multiply us and give us children (Deuteronomy 7:11-15; 13:17; 28:1-12).

Do you remember how God provided for His people in the wilderness? When the provision of food ran out God sent manna from Heaven. Every single day (except the Sabbath) for 40 years! God never failed.

This was not a limited provision. God told the people that each day they were to go out in the morning and gather an omer of manna for each person in their family. I haven’t been able to determine the exact measurement of an omer. Different researchers give different answers such as it equaling 6 pints, 4 pints, 2 points, 9.30 cups. A couple did an extensive study and believed it was 3.4 US cups.

The Expositor’s Bible Study Guide gives this interesting information. To feed the three million people God would need to send down with the dew 18 million pints or about 13.5 million pounds each day! To get a better idea it would need a train pulling 45 cars with 15 tons of manna in each car to take care of one day’s supply. That means 1.5 million tons of manna gathered annually.

Has God changed? No, He is still the same God today. Do you believe in the God of the Bible? Or a god of your own imagination? A god who is only able to provide for two or three children? Sadly, this is the god that many believe in in the church today.

Let’s get to know the God of the Bible.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Motherhood is the most powerful position I can hold!

Written by Christina Jones
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Did you hear about the recent research, “The Ties that Bind: Is faith a global force for good or ill in the family?”? It was conducted in 11 different countries by the World Values Survey and Family Gender Survey? The New York Times published it and received a violent backlash from feminists.

Why? Well, they found that “Fully 73 percent of wives who hold conservative gender values and attend religious services regularly with their husbands have high-quality marriages.” They found that highly religious couples enjoy higher-quality relationships and more sexual satisfaction compared to less/mixed religious couples and secular couples.

A graph also showed that religious couples have more children than couples who rarely or never attend worship services and parents with four or more children were happier and more satisfied with their lives.

The liberalists couldn’t take these statistics. They did not want to believe them. But of course, they are true. We will always be happiest when we follow God’s plans. God divinely ordained a one flesh marriage, glued together physically, spiritually, and purposefully. He planned home and motherhood. When we embrace His ways with all our hearts, we find rest, joy, and happiness. We find that we are in the very perfect will of God. We are in the place where God intends us to be.

And what could be more wonderful than that?

Why would anyone trade this joy for leaving precious children in day cares and the public education system which has now been hijacked by the liberalists and the homosexuals? Why would they trade a beautiful home life for running around the city dropping children off and going to a career (deprived of their precious children) that only has temporary value? It has no eternal reward.

Oh yes, it may give a little extra cash. But they spend so much more too. It’s amazing how much you save when you cook from scratch and do things from home. It’s amazing how much gas you save and how much less you purchase that you don’t need because you are out always out and about.

And the adrenaline to make it happen! And the tension. And the overwhelmingness.

And all the time God’s wants you to experience His rest in your home.

Jeremiah 6:6 says: “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the GOOD WAY, and walk therein, and ye shall find REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” To obey God’s way is the good way to walk and it always brings rest. More than physical rest. Rest deep down in our souls. Don’t you love that rest?

I was reading Deuteronomy chapter 11 again this morning. What a beautiful picture of home life. It’s a picture of the family in the home—the mother teaching her children in the home in every situation of daily life and filling herself and her home and her children with God’s Word. Placing great emphasis on God’s Word so that it is entwined in every part of our lives.

And what is the result? Deuteronomy 11:21-23 says: “That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children . . . as the days of HEAVEN UPON THE EARTH. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; Then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. . . “

You and your family will do great things in God.

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting: Katie m. Berggren

Recently, I mentioned in my post, WHEN SHOULD OUR CHILDREN MARRY, that in all probability most of the disciples were teens. Why would I make that statement? Here are a few things to think about.

1. Jesus referred to His disciples as “little children.” E.g.
John 13:33: “Little children, yet a little while I am with you . . . “
John 21:5 (ESV): “Children, do you have any fish?” Read also Matthew 11:25 and Luke 10:21. Would older men like to be called “little children”?

Often Jesus said to His disciples: “How is it that ye do not understand?” (Mark 8:21). In Mark 4:13 we notice He is patient with His young students, but I am sure He would not talk like this to older men.

Do you remember the story in Matthew 20:20-28 of the mother of James and John who came to Jesus and asked: “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.”? Can you imagine grown men allowing their mother to ask such a question of Jesus? And even more embarrassing, to let their mother be their spokeswoman? Impossible. Her sons were obviously young boys.
Many references to the disciples in the gospels reveal their immaturity. Remember how they were so afraid of the storm on Lake Galilee? Seasoned sailors would be used to these storms and not end up in such panic (Mark 4:35-41).

James, son of Alphaeus, was also called James the Less in the Bible. He was obviously shorter than the other disciples and most probably because he was the youngest and not yet had his growth spurt which often happens in the mid-teens.

2. Most young men finished their early education by 13 - 15 years. If the young man was intelligent and interested in pursuing a religious training, he would seek a rabbi to disciple him. A rabbi began his ministry at 30 years of age and gathered young men around him to teach and disciple. That was the culture at that time.

If a young man did not want to pursue religious studies, he would usually be apprenticed by his father in the family business and help toward the economic success of the family. All young men would follow either of these courses by 15 years of age. They would be married at age 17 or 18 years.

A rabbi did not become a rabbi until 30 years of age and would then begin to gather students to him. A rabbi simply means master or teacher and his disciples were his students or learners. The Jewish Encyclopedia says that some rabbis continued in their former trades (such as a laundryman, shoe maker, water carrier, or sandal maker) while they continued to teach. Students joined themselves to a rabbi usually between the ages of 13 and 15.

Even today a young Jewish boy celebrates his Bar Mitzvah at 13 years of age where he is expected to leave his childhood behind and begin the journey into adulthood. It is a time of purpose and mission, not a time to waste on entertainment, self-serving, laziness, and teenage mentality as they wait for adulthood. No, they press into manhood and adulthood.

3. Do you remember the story in Matthew 17:24-27? Jesus told Peter to go fishing. He told him that the first fish he caught would have a coin in its mouth, the exact amount to pay the temple tax for Jesus and Peter. In Exodus 30:14, 15 it states that every person 20 years and over must pay the temple tax which was half a shekel.

Jesus miraculously provided a shekel to pay the tax for Peter and Him. Peter was the only disciple who was married (Matthew 18:14, 15) and at the time of this story must have been at least 20 years of age. Jesus didn’t need to find money for any of His other students because they must have all been under the age of 20.

4. The Bible does not tell us, but I don’t think Peter had yet been blessed with children. He must have been newly married. This is another reason Jesus would not have chosen grown men to be His disciples. Older men already had the responsibility of their families to provide, protect, and care for. They would not be so free to leave their families and livelihood to travel around the country as Jesus did with His young disciples.

Jesus often sent forth His disciples around the country to preach and heal the sick (Matthew 10:1-25; Mark 3:13-15; 6:7-13; and Luke 9:1-6).

Why should we be concerned at the age of the disciples? To me it is very challenging. I must admit that I always imagined them around the same age as Jesus (mostly because of pictures and movies). It shows how we can believe something without really checking it out. I have changed my understanding after looking into history and the above Scriptures.

Now I realize that the disciples were young, it inspires me to inspire our young people. It grieves me to see young people becoming the victims of a teenage mentality. I believe young people are capable of doing great things and mighty things for God. And yet so many waste these years in a self-centered lifestyle when they could be changing the world. Instead of growing into men, they prolong their adolescence. Instead of being passionate for God, they are more interested in the entertainment of this world.

But these young disciples of Jesus changed the world. As young people, Luke 9:9 tells us that they “Went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.”

That must have been exciting, but it would not have been a picnic. They would have suffered great hardships. Most likely dangers from bandits on the solitary mountain tracks and valleys. They preached this new radical message in a region controlled by Roman authorities who were always ready to snuff out political rebellions and messianic movements. They left the comfort of their families to hit the road, sleeping rough and relying on the hospitality of locals for food and shelter.

Are your teenage sons ready for this? Or are we still treating them as little boys?

Psalm 144:12 (Youngs): “Because our sons are as plants, BECOMING GREAT IN THEIR YOUTH.”

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

Photo: An old picture of our son, Rocklyn, when he was 13 years. Preaching in the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia. He was a powerful young preacher.

I notice another phrase in the Malachi 2:14-16 passage about marriage. This Scripture talks about the “wife of thy youth.” That’s a rather interesting phrase, especially in the light of society today.

The word youth is “na’uwr” and means “the state of juvenility, youthfulness.” That means they could have been married in their mid to late teens. That’s certainly a different concept than the average age for marriage in the United States which is nearly 30 years for men and nearly 28 years for women.

Although many couples may not meet the right one until they are older, there are some who meet when they are younger. I don’t think that should disqualify them from getting married if the parents believe that the one they have chosen is a godly young man or woman. The young man should have a good work ethic and be able to provide for his wife. The young couple should be ready for the responsibility of parenthood for that is part of being prepared for marriage.

I know many young couples who have married at 18 years of age. They have beautiful marriages. The young men are mature, providing well, and they are beginning their families with love and joy.

This maturity often depends on the way they were raised. Too many young people today are not raised for maturity. They are in a prolonged state of juvenility. When our children turn 13, we should be encouraging them and programming them into adulthood—to take responsibility, to work hard, and to prepare for marriage and parenthood. This training is even more important than the rest of their education.

Instead, many young people expect everything to be done for them. They have not been trained to work hard or to work for what they want. I don’t believe young people should be given everything they want. I believe that even while they are at home, they should seek extra jobs to earn money to pay for the extra things they need. This teaches them responsibility. Psalm 144:12 talks about our sons “grown up in their youth.”

This phrase in Malachi is not an isolated phrase.

Isaiah 54:4, 6 also speaks of the “wife of thy youth.”

Proverbs 2:17 speaks of the “husband of thy youth.”

Psalm 127:4 talks of the “children of the youth.” They not only married young but had their children young. Many young people waste the energetic and glorious years of their twenties, filling their lives with selfish pursuits that will be left behind, when their twenties are the greatest time to have their children.

I believe it is another ploy of the enemy to stop the “godly seed” coming into the world. Often it is more difficult to conceive with they marry later, and they miss the blessings of children God longs to give to them. We could even use a stronger word. They are often stolen from them by the enemy who deceives them into thinking that other things are more important than the eternal work of having children. And then sometimes it’s too late.

Before David went out to kill Goliath Saul called him a “youth” (1 Samuel 17:33). Most commentators say that David would have only been about 17 years when he killed Goliath. King Saul promised he would give his daughter to the man who killed Goliath so he must have married soon after.

King Solomon would have been no more than 20 years when he began to reign and began to make his kingdom the richest in the world at that time. Josephus puts his age at 14 years.

King Josiah became a king at eight years of age and was guided by the priest. However, when he was only 16 years of age “while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father” (2 Chronicles 34:3).

And did you know that the disciples were most probably all in their teenage years when Jesus called them? Peter would have been the oldest at 20 years and he was already married.

Let’s not settle for allowing our children to waste their adolescent teen years, but let’s prepare them for maturity and even for marriage if that should be God’s will for them.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Picture: Bowen and Kahoru Barrett. Bowen was 18 years when he married. They have a beautiful marriage and God has blessed them with a darling baby boy, Finn. And Bowen is a great provider.

Thoughts today from Malachi 2:14-16. We understood something of God’s heart yesterday when we read that God’s longs to see godly children come from our marriage.

What were the words again? “Didn’t the LORD make you one with your wife? And what does he want? Godly children from your union.”

The King James says: “That he might seek a godly seed.” The word “seed” is the Hebrew word “zera.” Did you know that God uses this same Hebrew word for sperm as He does for people?

The word “zera” is used for sperm in Leviticus 14:16-18 and 22:4. And then we read multitudes of Scriptures where God uses the same word for people.

Genesis 46:6, 7 tells how Jacob and all his family came down from Canaan to Egypt: “And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed (zera)with him: His sons, and his son’s sons with him, his daughters, and his son’s daughters, and all his seed (zera) brought he with him into Egypt.”

Did Jacob come down from Canaan with lots of little sperms floating down with him? No. This Scripture is talking about sons and daughters of all ages, and grandsons and granddaughters of all ages—babies, little ones, teens, and adults! And they are all called zera, the same word for sperm!

In Numbers 14:24 God says that because Caleb “followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed (zera) shall possess it.” Imagine if Caleb lived in our society today. There would be many people who God intended to be born, but were not born, and would therefore miss the blessings of possessing the land.

Because Phinehas was zealous for the Lord and stood against the adultery that was happening among the people, God said: “Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed (zera) after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God” (Numbers 25:12, 13). The blessing God gave him was also for his coming descendants. If they were contracepting as so many Christian parents are doing today, they would not have been born to inherit the blessings God gave to his future posterity.

Let’s go to the New Testament. Hebrews 7:9, 10 tells us how Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec while he “was yet in the loins” of Abraham who was his great-grandfather! He wouldn’t have even been a twinkle in Abraham’s eyes, and yet God knew him before he was conceived. The Bible states that he literally paid tithes as Abraham paid tithes (because he was already in his loins)! Wow, God’s understanding is far beyond ours, isn’t it?

We understand that life begins at conception, but God sees life coming from the sperm. He sees far ahead of our puny thinking.

Serene and I were talking about life on one of my podcasts. Her little one-year-old, Solly, was sitting on her knee, and she said, “Oh my goodness, imagine if I didn't have her! It's just too incredible and too amazing. And look at her personality! God had a vision of her. Imagine if I had said, ‘No, God, I don't want her, I don't care for Your desire to have her in eternity with You.’”

What a powerful revelation! This is something to think about. When we say No to a child that God has planned before the foundation of the world to spend eternity with Him, we deprive that child of life. Not only of life in this world, but of the opportunity to enjoy the glories of the eternal world forever—glories that are beyond the scope of our human minds to comprehend! How grieving to deprive someone of this glory.

Our minds are so puny. I constantly ask God to open my mind to think His thoughts and understand His ways. To save me from putting Him in a box, from bringing Him down to the level of my puny thinking, of making myself a god instead of allowing Him to be God!

If we belong to the kingdom of God, we better be on God’s side. God is a God of life and His kingdom is a kingdom of life. The devil hates life and his kingdom is a kingdom of death. John 10:10 says that he comes to “steal, kill, and destroy,” the anti-life trio. He does this through contraception, sterilization, and abortion. The devil wants to eliminate life before it is even conceived through contraception and sterilization. Abortion is his back-up plan!

Did you know we can be against abortion and yet not pro-life? If we are truly pro-life, we will not take the Pill or any of its associated methods which have the potential to abort babies. If we are truly pro-life, we will believe in life from the very moment of conception. And . . . even before!

Love to you today from Nancy Campbell

God ordained marriage for intimate companionship which every one of us need to truly enjoy life.

God ordained marriage to satisfy the sexual desires He put within His creation in this “holy estate” of marriage.

But ultimately God ordained marriage for the bringing forth and training of children. We see this in the very first words God spoke into the ears of man: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).

Let’s look at some other translations.

God’s Word translation: “Didn’t God make you one? Your flesh and spirit belong to him. And what does the same God look for but godly descendants?”

New Living Translation: “Didn’t the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union.”

Therefore, a young couple are not ready to marry if they are not prepared to embrace children. To go into marriage with the plan to stop children for a certain length of time is not God’s will. To stop God visiting you with His gift of life for any human reason (even “spiritual sounding” reasons) is not God’s will.

I know more than one couple who stopped having children because they were in “the ministry” and wanted to serve God. These couples have the wrong concept of God and the Bible. The perfect will of God will never negate God’s existing commandments.

God desires and looks for children from the marriage union. If we don’t want children, we have a different mindset than God. We are not in step with Him.

And it is not just children He looks for. It is “godly” children. The word is “elohim.” This is one of the names of God. The very first name of God revealed to us in His Word in Genesis 1:1.

God looks for goodly couples who will bring forth His children and who will train them, righteousness, and justice and godliness (Genesis 18:19). Who will faithfully teach them God’s ways. Who will daily pray for them that they will be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29) and reveal His image in this earth.

This is the highest purpose for marriage. When we refuse this command, we deny God. We deny His image in the world. We deny our own blessings. And we deny filling eternity.

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

We spoke our vows before God. We made a covenant. That’s why God uses the word “treacherous” because when we break covenant with our marriage vows, we also break covenant with God.

Proverbs 2:17 talks about the wife who “forsakes the guide of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.” Her marriage vows are called the “covenant of God.” The word “covenant” is “berit” and means “a compact (made by passing between pieces of flesh as God did with Abram in Genesis 15:17-21), a contract accompanied by signs, sacrifices, and a solemn oath which sealed the relationship with promises of blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.”

Do you notice the words again, “FORSAKING ALL OTHERS”? These words are part of our marriage vows. When we marry, we no longer have a “personal” male friend. Of course, we’ll have loads of male friends as couples and families whom we enjoy fellowship with. But never again will we go out for lunch or a cup of coffee or spend time away from our husbands in personal dialogue on our own with another man.

The covenant of marriage makes us “glued” to our spouse. We are one. No longer two. If we don’t understand this concept, we don’t understand God’s concept of marriage.

God makes us one, and remember, He is witnessing.

Blessings to you today from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Morgan Weistling.