Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Reading through the Old Testament I often notice the phrase "MANY SONS." For example, 1 Chronicles 8:40 says, "And the sons of Ulam had MANY SONS, and sons' sons, 150." Again, in 1 Chronicles 28:5 David says, "The Lord has given me MANY SONS." We find reference to 19 sons of David in the Bible, although some Bible scholars say there could be 20 or more. Every theme of the Old Testament is reiterated in the New, and so we come to Hebrews 2:10 and read, "For it became him, for him are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing MANY SONS unto glory, to make the captain (the Leader-in-Chief) of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

We see the heart of God from Genesis to Revelation. God begins with His vision to fill the earth to overflowing with many sons and daughters (Genesis 1:28) and then we go to the end of the Bible and read John's vision, "I beheld, and, lo, a GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, say, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9-10).

Why does God want us to bring forth many sons and daughters? Just for the sake of doing it? No. It is all for God. It is to fill eternity to overflowing with sons and daughters who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Every child you bring forth and lead to salvation, will be part of that innumerable company and live forever and ever. You are in an eternity impacting and eternity filling career.

Love from Nancy Campbell

You know the old saying, “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” This applies to marriage, too.

Satan would like to destroy your marriage. He loves to bring deceiving and dissatisfying thoughts to your mind. Don’t listen to his lies!

Instead, water, feed, and fertilize your marriage. It will grow so luscious and green that you’ll never want to take another look anywhere else.

~ Nancy Campbell

(One of my favorite little poems)

She rocked me as a little tyke
I happily recall,
In winter, summer, autumn, spring,
And never let me fall.
I've gotten where I am (and here's
A psychiatric shocker)
Because I had a mother who
Was seldom off her rocker!

Sometimes, dear Lord, it seems as tho'
the children never stop!
They ask and ask, and ask again,
until my ears near pop!

"Mum, fix my shoe," "Help brush my hair."
"I want another drink."
"Come quickly, Mum, I think the cat
has fallen in the sink!"

Demands, demands, and more demands,
Help, Lord, it's getting tough.
I know that mothers should be kind,
but this one's had enough!

What's that, dear God? You mean to say
These children are in Your plan?
To help me learn to grow into
A more mature woman?

Dear Lord, I know You gave and gave,
Had so much patience too,
.Help me to see a mother's job
Can make me more like You.

By Jenny Hodgkinson
Printed in Above Rubies, #11.

Mother, you are in the most important career in the nation!
Without you the nation will cease to function!

I often hear women sharing, "I am going through a real battle." Or, "We are facing a real battle in our family at this time." In stating this, they own the battle as theirs. My, that's tough when you have to battle through on your own, isn't it? Sometimes it's almost impossible.

However, did you know that God will take up the battle on your behalf? God is a battle fighter. And He knows how to win!

In 1 Chronicles 5:18-22 it tell us about some of the tribes of Israel who went to war with the Hagarites (descended from Ishmael). Even though they were mighty warriors "skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows" (v. 18 NLT), the battle was too much for them. In their distress, they screamed out to God for help. Verse 20 tells us that because "they put their trust in Him" God helped them. They wiped out the enemy. Why? Because verse 22 tells us, "the battle was God's." God fought on their behalf.

Are you going to keep fighting your battle in your own strength? Or, will you give it to God? Will you let it become His battle? I think we can trust Him to win the victory better than we can, don't you?

Love from Nancy Campbell

Here's one more poem our children learned when they were young and now many of the grandchildren are memorizing it. I think it's a great poem for all children to learn. Perhaps you would like to get your children to learn it, too. It's another one by Edgar Guest, called "It Couldn't be Done." However, I prefer to call it, "IT CAN BE DONE." Love from Nancy

IT CAN BE DONE

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and YOU'LL DO IT.

One of our readers shared her favorite poem. I think it is very powerful, and so am sharing it with you, too. Love, Nancy

I AM A WOMAN
by Christiana Moss

My willingness to carry life is a revenge -
the antidote,
the great rebuttal of every murder,
every abortion,
and every genocide.

I sustain humanity -
deep inside of me life grows;
I am death’s opposition.

I have pushed back the hand of darkness today
I have caused there to be a weakening tremor among the ranks
of those set on earth's destruction.

Today -
a vibration that calls angels to attention
echoed throughout time;
our laughter threatened hell today.

I dine with the greats of God’s army -
I make their meals,
I tie their shoes.

Today,
I walk with greatness,
and when they were tired,
I carried them.

I’ve poured myself out for the cause today.

It’s finally quiet,
but life stirs inside of me -
gaining strength.
The pulse of life
sends a constant reminder to both good and evil
that I’ve yielded myself to heaven
and now carry its dream.

No angel
has ever had such a privilege
nor any man.

I’m humbled by the honor;
I am great with destiny -
I birth the freedom fighters.

In the great war
I am the leader of the underground resistance.
I smile at the disguise of my troops,
surrounded by a host of warriors.
Destiny swirling - invisible yet tangible
and the anointing to alter history.

Our footsteps make our land for conquest,
we move undetected throughout the common places.

Today -
I was the barrier between evil and innocence.
I was a gatekeeper,
watching over the hope of mankind,
and no intruder trespassed.

There’s not an hour in the day or night
when I turn from my post.
The fierceness of my love is unmatched on the earth.
And because I smile instead of frown,
the world will know the power of grace.

Hope has feet -
it will run to the corners of the earth
because I stood up against destruction.

I am a woman
I am a mother.
I’m the keeper and sustainer of life
here on earth.

Heaven stands in honour of my mission.
No one else can carry my call.

I’m the daughter of Eve,
and Eve has been redeemed.

I am the opposition of death;
I am a woman.

We used to have Poem Nights when our children were young and now we continue to do it with all the grandchildren. We are having another Poem Night in about three weeks. All the children are now learning their poems (or, I hope they are learning them) in readiness to recite at our evening. Every child will have an opportunity to share a poem, right down to the little ones, even if they can only memorize two lines! It won't be a short night with about 30 of them to have a turn!

Anyway, here is another poem our children learned when they were young. It's one by Edgar Guest, one of my favorite poets.

THE THINGS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE

The things that haven't been done before,
Those are the things to try;
Columbus dreamed of an unknown shore
At the rim of the far-flung sky,
And his heart was bold and his faith was strong
As he ventured in dangers new,
And he paid no heed to the jeering throng
Or the fears of the doubting crew.

The many will follow the beaten track
With guideposts on the way.
They live and have lived for ages back
With a chart for every day.
Someone has told them it's safe to go
On the road he has traveled o'er,
And all that they ever strive to know
Are the things that were known before.

A few strike out without map or chart,
Where never a man has been,
From the beaten path they draw apart
To see what no man has seen.
There are deeds they hunger alone to do;
Though battered and bruised and sore,
They blaze the path for the many, who
Do nothing not done before.

The things that haven't been done before
Are the tasks worthwhile today;
Are you one of the flock that follows, or
Are you one that shall lead the way?
Are you one of the timid souls that quail
At the jeers of a doubting crew,
Or dare you, whether you win or fail,
Strike out for a goal that's new?

Our children loved the lines of the last stanza, and especially the last two lines...
"Or dare you, whether you win or fail,
Strike out for the goal that's new!"

They have done and are still doing things that others have never done before. Did the words they learned as a child have something to do with it?

Love from Nancy

All this talk of poetry inspired me to quickly write one, but the baby is calling so I must run! Enjoy, love Michelle

Sure I'm 'pro-choice', what can I say?
I get to make my own choices every day.
I choose to live my life as a believer you see,
And that means the Bible reveals how I should be.
It means I respect life at every stage of the game.
From conception to the grave, it's all the same.

The Creator makes each one so individual,
And each life truly is such a miracle!
Why would I interfere with His creative power?
The very thought of trying to makes me want to cower!
HE knows best, I know this full well,
So resting in His will makes me feel just swell.

And being 'pro-choice', I get to choose each day
How to live my life in a way that'll really pay.
So each day I choose to submit to my role
As a wife and a mother, and I feel totally whole.
It is so fulfilling, and challenging too,
There is never a dull moment in our family "zoo".

Sometimes I even choose to bite my tongue
And that keeps my marriage much more fun.
I sometimes choose to serve selflessly
And those are the days that I really feel free.
I can also choose to praise instead of criticize
Following that advice is a good word to the wise.

I love all of the choices I get to make.
Nothing about them makes me feel fake.
I have chosen the good path, of this I am sure;
For there is no other workable cure.
To live this life full of sin and pain
I need God's grace to remove my stain.

I have always loved poems. And I love rhymes. I loved reading to my children when they were young and especially loved reading them books in rhyme. That's why Bill Peet was my favorite children's stories author. Have you ever read any of them? Wonderfully illustrated and fun to read.

I also encouraged the children to learn poems. I would pin Scripture verses and positive little poems up around the house, and even in the toilet--a great place for them to read and memorize! Here's one the children loved and learned when they were young and they can all still quote it today. You may like to share it with your children, too.

TWO LITTLE MEN
Two little men stood looking at a hill,
One was named, Can't and one was named, Will.
Can't said, "I never in the world can climb this hill."
So there he is at the bottom of it still!
Will said, "I'll get to the top because I will."
Two little men are living by the hill,
At the bottom is Can't, at the top is Will!

I'll share another one with you for your children, tomorrow.

Love from Nancy

It is so easy to become complacent, isn't it? We get into a groove and find it comfortable. We may love the Lord with all our heart, but if we in a rut, we are a sitting duck for the enemy. We cannot stand still. We must continually move forward. God is always leading us onwards to more and more of all that He has for us.

When we get into a rut, God sometimes needs to prick our nest. Or give us a push! One of the Hebrew words that is used for teaching our children God's ways is "lamad." It comes from a root word that means an ox goad which they used to prod the oxen to keep them working.

In Gary Inrig's book, "Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay," he tells the story of an old man traveling on an ocean liner." A huge storm blew up without warning. One woman lost her balance and fell overboard. People stood frozen with horror. Suddenly, a man plunged into the wages, grabbed her, and held her until a rescue boat came. When they were pulled out, everyone was astonished and embarrassed to discover that the hero was the oldest man on the boat--a man in his eighties.

That evening they held a party to honor him. When they called on him to make a speech, the old man rose slowly. He looked around at the people, then said, "I would like to know just one thing." There was an embarrassed silence. "Who pushed me?"

To move forward in God's kingdom we often need a push. or perhaps lots of goading. Our children need goading. Making a set time to have Family Devotions with our children each day gives God an opportunity to gently push our children in His ways and lead them on to all that God has planned for them. There is nothing more powerful than the daily input of God's Word. Weekly church attendance (not just when we feel like it) is also important in the lives of our children. It gives another opportunity for God to push them into His ways.

Let's not get comfortable in our nest, but always be open to God's pricks. We don't like it when our nest is upset, but often this is the only way God can lead us on to new things He has for our lives. If God had not pricked our nest in New Zealand, we would never have moved on to Australia. After nearly 10 years in Australia, God upset our nest again. It was a very difficult time to go through, but if it hadn't happened, we would not be in USA today where we know we are God's perfect will. We need God's pricks and pushes.

Love from Nancy Campbell

As for the one who shares my life,
It was my choice to be his wife!
And for our jobs, if I could choose,
I wouldn't want to wear his shoes.

No, I won't sign the lib's petition
To do away with wife's submission,
I'd be a fool. to boss my spouse,
I want a man and not a mouse!

I do not have to prove my might
For we are equal in God's sight,
But we're to function differently,
God made us that way purposely.

He's my provider, what a gem,
And I'm a helper fit for him.
To live the role God planned for me
With joy, makes me completely free!

Are we a "seeking first" family? I'm sure you can repeat Matthew 6:33 by heart, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  We know the Scripture well, but do we act it out?

I think that if we are a "seeking first" family, we'll begin the day seeking God, don't you? Not only individually, but as a family. How paramount it is to start the day with FAMILY devotions, gathering the family together to hear the living Words of God and to pour out our hearts to Him. Of course, we'll want to end the day this way too. If we are too busy to come together as a family morning and evening, we cannot call ourselves a "seeking first" family. There must be other things we are seeking first.

The word "first" in the Greek means "firstly in time, place, order, and importance." Therefore He will have first place with our time, first place in our home, first place in the order of our day, and He will be our first thought in everything we do.

We'll seek His righteousness instead of the blaring secularism that pours through the TV and questionable movies. We'll seek His truth in order to discern the deceptions of this world. We'll seek His wisdom and knowledge instead of leaning on our own understanding and we'll seek to fill our home and our children's hearts with the "exceeding great and precious" truths of His Word (Colossians 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:4).

Love from Nancy Campbell

Further thoughts on my post below:

HOW TO BE PERFECTLY MISERABLE
(This recipe is guaranteed infallible).

Think about yourself,
Talk about yourself,
Use "I" as often as possible,
Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others,
Listen greedily to what people say about you,
Expect to be appreciated,
Be suspicious,
Be jealous and envious,
Be sensitive to slights,
Never forgive a criticism,
Trust nobody but yourself,
Insist on consideration and respect,
Demand agreement with your own views on everything,
Sulk If people are not grateful to you for favors shown,
Never forget a service you may have rendered,
Be on the outlook for a good time for yourself,
Shirk your duties if you can,
Do as little as possible for others,
Love yourself supremely,
Be selfish!
~ Source unknown.

We are constantly bombarded in society today that we must take time for ourselves. Mothers are encouraged to take time for self-pampering. Does this make them happy? Unfortunately, no. I find that women who are so concerned about having time for themselves are usually more miserable than those who forget about themselves in the joy of serving their family.

It is a God-given principle that never fails to work. When we try to pamper self we lose our life. When we lay down our own life to serve others, we find our life. Jesus said in Mark 8:35, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it."

In fact, when Peter tried to pamper Jesus and advise him not to go to Jerusalem and face suffering and death, Jesus rebuked him, "Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's" (Matthew16:23 NLT).

Pouring out your life in self-serving love for your family will not impoverish you; it will empower you.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Do you have bills you cannot pay? Is your washing machine broken and you can't afford a new one? Is your husband working long hours and you are looking after the children all by yourself? Is your husband out of work and things are really tough? You feel overwhelmed with all your little ones around you. These situations happen to us all at different times. But, what do you do? Do you grumble and complain? Get into a self-pity trip?

The memory verse in our home this last week is Habakkuk 3:17-18, "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Wow, that's a total wipe out! And yet the writer STILL REJOICES IN THE LORD!

What a challenge! It sure is to me! What is wrong with us? We gripe and groan over the slightest little problem. We have no fortitude or backbone. We don't know what is ahead of us in the future. It may not be as easy as it is currently. Let's get into the habit NOW of rejoicing in the Lord, no matter what is going wrong. Rejoice in the small "difficult" things that happen in your life now. You'll then be able to continue rejoicing even if everything falls down around you (Isaiah 32:18-19; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

Let's get practicing.

Love from Nancy Campbell

This is a poem I wrote for my grandchildren as it is the prayer and vision of my heart for them. I share it with you as I am sure you will love it for yourself and your children, too. Nancy

The morals of this world are going downhill,
Against God’s Holy Word and His divine will,
No longer black and white, it’s now mushy gray,
God’s eternal absolutes many shun today.

Will you stand against this tide when others are crumbling?
Will you stand on God’s Word when many are stumbling?
Will you stand against sin and the devil’s deceptions?
Making no excuses or subtle exceptions?

Never be intimated, never be fooled…
Neutralized,
Fraternized,
Mediocre-ized
Or your fire be cooled!

When there’s no justice and only confusion,
And God’s people are hiding their light in seclusion,
Will you rise up and be counted, open wide your mouth,
And proclaim God’s truth to the north and the south?

Will you be strong in the Lord and the power of His might?
Always standing up for that which is right?
Rich in discernment, wisdom never ignored,
And walking daily in the fear of the Lord?

When you are tyrannized, never cower…
Patronized,
Victimized,
Or terrorized,
Before the enemy never bow!

Will you stand the test when you are wronged and hurt?
When you are persecuted and treated like dirt?
Will you have backbone when the pressure comes on?
Or be a spineless jellyfish with purpose all gone?

Will you keep on standing if you’re the only one?
Lifting up the name of Jesus, God’s only Son?
Will you stand true now, holding on to the end?
No matter what it costs, God’s truth to defend!

Never be wimpy or crumble at the knees…
Normalized,
Traumatized,
Luke-warmized,
And the devil never appease!

Love from Nancy Campbell