Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

We mostly receive one baby at a time, but sometimes two! I was blessed to have twins many years ago and I used to say: “There’s only one thing better than having a baby and that’s having two babies!” We also read about twins in the Bible; not only physical twins, but character twins. It’s fun to look out for them. You will have already noticed “faith and love,” “grace and truth,” and “prayer and thanksgiving.”

Another set of twins you will notice over and over again is “salvation and righteousness.” They are inseparable (Isaiah 46:13; 51:5, 6, 8; 56:1; Romans 1:16, 17; 10:10). When we are saved, we are saved to righteousness. The scepter of God’s kingdom is a scepter of righteousness (Hebrews 1:8, 9). He holds out His scepter of salvation and righteousness to us. When we accept, we enter into a kingdom of righteousness. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we also accept Him as our righteousness. If we don’t want righteousness, we don’t want salvation.

We all know the Titus 2:3-5 passage in the Bible where the older women are instructed to be “teachers of good things.” The Mirror paraphrase of the Bible says that it is “irresistibly beautiful teaching.” The phrase in the Greek is “kalodidaskalos” from two words:
1.”didaskalos” meaning “ teacher, instructor,” and
2. “kalos” meaning “good, beautiful.”

Arm your children with the truth of God's Word. Not haphazardly, but every day!

Hospitality is the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. It should not be a haphazard occurrence,but the habit of our lives (Acts 2:46, 47).

~ Nancy Campbell

Isn’t it amazing how you miss things in God’s Word? It is so rich and full and every day you see something new. It was already there but you hadn’t noticed it before. Reading James 5:7 I noticed the words, “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth.”

I was amazed to notice that God calls the harvest of the garden the “PRECIOUS fruit of the earth.” It is not something to take lightly or be despised. The Greek word for “precious” is “timios” and means “honorable, beloved, esteemed, and valuable.” It is exactly the same word that is used when it talks of about “marriage which is honorable,” “the trial of our faith which is more precious than gold,” the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven and the light is like a stone most precious,” the foundations of the new Jerusalem which are built with precious stones,” the exceeding, great, and precious promises of God’s Word,” and the most precious of all--“the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

And God uses the same word for our gardens! God comes down to our world. His Word is not only spiritual, but practical. Gardens are gifts from God. They are provision from God. I am so aware of this as I plant my garden. All I do is prepare my soil and plant the seeds (and of course I have to weed and water), and then I watch God work. I see God-miracles every day as these seeds become little green shoots appearing out of the earth and then grow to big plants and then bring forth a harvest of food for us and many people. It is very precious. And it is all the work of God. Thank you, Father.

We can often forget the reality of God’s provision when we are used to going to the supermarket to purchase our fruit and vegetables. We can buy any variety from any country at any season of the year! Forget planting a garden! But can we really? Even the organic vegetables, which are usually too expensive to purchase, often look wilted and you wonder how long they have been sitting in the shop--losing vitamins and nutrients each day.

I love to go to my garden and pick my salad for lunch. I then go out again at supper time and pick ;my harvest to prepare for my evening meal. Everything is so fresh and lush. And not only is it so much healthier, but it is God-commanded. The very first task God gave Adam and Eve was to work in the garden He created for them (Genesis 2:15).

When the people of Judah were taken to Babylon as captives, the prophet Jeremiah brought the word of the Lord to them. Actually, from “the Lord of Hosts,” the God of the armies of Heaven! What great word would he give to His people, taken from their beloved homeland and now living in a materialistic, deceived, and ungodly country?

He reminds them of seven things, principles He gave them in the very beginning of time. And now He says: I want you to keep doing them. Yes, I know you are in captivity, but I don’t change my plans. Keep doing them no matter where you are or what your circumstances.

This post is getting too long to tell you all of them but the first two were: “Build houses, and dwell in them; and PLANT GARDENS, and eat the fruit of them” (Jeremiah 29:4, 5).

Why? Because they are God’s idea. They are God’s provision. And they are PRECIOUS!

Love from Nancy Campbell

Picture: The children of a dear friend of mine in Scotland--showing off the harvest of their garden. Colin and I stayed in their home again this last spring. I have walked around their lovely garden many times.

There’s more to motherhood than feeding and clothing our children, isn’t there? It’s not hard to do that even if you are holding down another job. However, there is far more! It’s not enough to care for their bodies; it is even more important to care for their souls and spirits. I not only want our children and grandchildren (and great-grandchildren) to grow up to be good citizens--I have a greater vision.

I want children who love God above all else.
I want children who are growing into the likeness of Christ.
I want children who love righteousness and abhor evil.
I want children who have a biblical mindset and stand for God’s truth.
I want children who will not compromise godly standards.
I want children who will not be tainted by the spirit of this world.
I want children who will not give in to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, but who will pursue the will of God.
I want children who love God’s Word and love to pray.
I want children who will blaze across this world with the gospel and message of truth.
Amen.

In our family we read THE DAILY LIGHT at our morning and evening devotions. We love it because it is only the Word of God, Scriptures put together on a particular subject. Did anyone else read it this morning? Wow, what convicting Scriptures. In this short reading I counted 21 attributes of God which He wants us to manifest in our daily lives. I’ll list them for you--full of mercy, graciousness, longsuffering, abundant in goodness, abundant in truth, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness, purity, peaceableness, gentleness, easy to be entreated, full of good fruits, patience, love and all without partiality and without hypocrisy!

Our power and influence as mothers, not only affects the destiny of the nation, but future generations. It is easy to get bogged down with the grind of daily activities in the home, isn't it? There can be times when you feel you are stuck in the mire with no hope of accomplishing anything. But dear Mother, you are not only training children for today, but for the future.

Begin to see your mothering in the light of future generations. As you mother your children, you are also affecting grandchildren and great-grandchildren to come.You are a generational mother!

God says that godly mothers are worth more than precious jewels. Some time ago an Above Rubies reader wrote to me:

"When we were getting life insurance, I was taken aback at my husband's view of my monetary value. He said if I died he would have to hire a maid, a gardener, a cook, umpteen babysitters, private tutors, a tailor, etc., and he would still be without his best friend."

No one can replace you, Mother! You have the greatest career in the nation!

It 's not always easy to do what God has commanded us, but this is the proof of our Christianity. Jesus said: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" (John 14:21).

All I am, I learned from my mother!

• My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE: “If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside, I’ve just finished cleaning!”
• My mother taught me RELIGION: “You better pray that will come out of the carpet!”
• My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
• My mother taught me LOGIC: “Because I said so, that’s why!”
• My mother taught me MORE LOGIC: “If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the shops with me!”
• My mother taught me FORESIGHT: “Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident!”
• My mother taught me IRONY: “Keep crying and I’ll give you something to cry about!”
• My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: “Shut your mouth and eat your dinner!”
• My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: “Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
• My mother taught me about STAMINA: “You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone!”
• My mother taught me about WEATHER: ”Your room looks like a tornado’s been through it!”
• My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: “If I told you once, I told you a million times, don’t exaggerate!”
• My mother taught me about ENVY: “There are millions of unfortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do!”
• My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: “Just you wait until we get home!”
• My mother taught me about RECEIVING: “You are going to get it when you get home!”
• My mother taught me about MEDICAL SCIENCE: “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes like that, they’re going to freeze that way!”
• My mother taught me about ESP (6th Sense): “Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you’re cold?”
• My mother taught me about HUMOR: “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me!”
• My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT: “If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up!”
• My mother taught me about MY ROOTS: “Shut that door behind you! Do you think you were born in a tent?”
• My mother taught me WISDOM: “When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
• And finally, my mother taught me about JUSTICE: “One day you’ll have children, and I hope they turn out just like you!”

~ Anon.

Yesterday we talked about being the Watchmothers of our homes. However, there is more to being a “watchman” than guarding your home. We are also responsible to teach and give warning.

God said to Ezekiel: “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor SPEAKEST TO WARN the wicked from his wicked way, TO SAVE HIS LIFE; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but HIS BLOOD WILL I REQUIRE AT THINE HAND . . ." (Ezekiel 3:18-21 and 33:7-9).

I sometimes hear women use Proverbs 31 as an excuse to be career women. They say that this woman was in real estate because verse 16 says: “She considers a field, and buys it.” To purchase land to plant a vineyard is not the same thing as being in a full-time career. Vineyards were part of home life in Israel. They were part of their survival. As this family grew, they needed land to plant another vineyard and so she needed to check out the most suitable land. It is still the lifestyle in Israel and European countries today. When ministering in different countries in Europe Colin and I have stayed with a number of families who own their own vineyards nearby to their homes.

Two bright EYES are watching you, Mother and Dad,
They’re watching you all the day long,
Absorbing unconsciously all that you are,
Not dreaming that you could be wrong.

"IN EVERY THING GIVE THANKS for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

In Ezekiel chapter 19 we read an allegory. God talks about the tribe of Judah and likens her to a mother. As we read this passage, we understand God’s value of motherhood.

Ezekiel 19:10, 11: “Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.” The Hebrew word for “exalted” is gabah and means “to soar, to mount up, to lift up, to raise up to great height.”

Mother, you are a sculptor, shaping lives to affect the nations. Your influence is greater than you realize. You determine the destiny of your nation. Not only do you influence a nation, but future generations! Not only do you influence future generations, but also eternity. When God gives you a little baby, you hold eternity in your hands! Your children come from God and will go on to His eternal purpose in the eons of eternity. What a privilege we have as mothers to prepare them in this life for their future destiny!

~ Nancy Campbell

It’s a dreary life with a quarrelsome wife;

I’d rather be out in the rain.
Her nagging words drip out from a constant spout;
I feel cold and drenched and in pain.
The corner of a roof is where I’d like to be
To escape the constant war.
It’s safer and warmer and more comfortable;
Why should I come down for more
Of that complaining and discord and conflict and strife
From that woman You gave me to keep as a wife!

“You are as much serving God in looking after your own children, training them up in God’s fear, minding the house, and making your household a church for God as you would be if you had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of Hosts.”

Charles Spurgeon

Dear ladies, Did you read yesterday's post, BIGGER THAN YOU THINK? The truth in this post is essential to living in victory each day in your home. If you didn't get to read it, check it out now. Or if you did, read it again. Sometimes it takes time for the revelation of truth to get into our sousl to become experiential in our lives.

~ Nancy