Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

“You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be—

I had a mother who read to me.”

(Strickland W. Gillilan, The Reading Mother.

FAVORITE STORY BOOKS    

I loved reading to my children when they were young. We read serial stories every night after supper. I'd find a great book and we'd read a chapter or two a night. No, that's not correct. They would always cry for more and so we usually read many chapters. One of our greatest favorites was "Children on the Oregon Trail" by Anna Rutgers van der Loeff--a most heart rendering story and I cried along with the children.

However, when they were smaller, one of our favorite authors was Bill Peet. He wrote the most amazing children's stories, most of them in rhyme. I never tire of reading stories in rhyme. Bill Peet's books are incredibly illustrated, the stories are exciting and imaginative, and the language interesting. Our children still love to say, "Doggon and dagnabit, That's what I call a whopping big rabbit!" (From "Huge Harold.")

Some of our favorite titles are: HUGE HAROLD, KERMIT THE HERMIT, FAREWELL TO SHADY GROVE, RANDY'S DANDY LIONS, and BUFORD THE LITTLE BIGHORN. Google Bill Peet for a complete list. I really recommend these wonderful stories for your children. They were definitely our favorites.

And yes, another favorite was "Tikki Tikki Tembo" by Arlene Mosel about a little Chinese boy who nearly died because his name was so long. His full name is "Tikki Tikki Tembo-no Sa Rembo-chari Bari Ruchi-pip Peri Pembo." The name is fun to say and our adult children have never forgotten the name and can still recite it today. You'll love this one, too.

Have fun reading stories to your children today. Whenever my little ones would start bouncing off the walls, I would haul them all in for story time! There's nothing like gathering your children close in around you and on your knees and reading to them. it calms them down, and you'll most probably need to do it more than once a day!

Love from Nancy

Every day each one of us faces challenges. It's hard not to face them when raising a family is it? Each child has their own particular needs, quirks, and character that needs training. Sometimes we face a trauma that is too big for us to handle, or sickness, or even tragedy in the family. What should we do?

I have found the only thing I can do is LOOK UP. Look up to God and put my trust in Him. Sometimes, I may physically look up, but it is more a raising of the inward eyes to our faithful, limitless, and unchangeable God. Absolutely nothing takes Him by surprise. He can handle anything. He is bigger than the mountain that looms in front of us.

When you look at your circumstances, you crumble. When you brood over your problem it only becomes worse. When you try to fix it in your own strength you usually make a mess of it.

Get into the habit of looking up, dear mother. CONSTANTLY RAISE YOUR INWARD EYES to your God. As you do this in the little things you face each day, you will be in the habit when you face bigger mountains. Instead of going into stress and despair, you will have learned the secret of knowing God's calm in the midst of the storm and experiencing His rest in the midst of trauma.

Love from Nancy

After writing the post below, I thought of something my eldest son said to me when facing great difficulties and when he lost millions of dollars with a big project he was doing. I remember asking him at the time, "How are you getting on with all these problems?"

He looked at me and replied, "Mother, I don't have problems, only challenges!"

Love from Nancy

LOOK UP!

How can I do it? I have too much to do,

I’m overwhelmed and feeling real blue,

I’m stuck in this house like super glue.

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

The dishes and laundry are piled up high,

When I look ‘round the house I have to sigh,

And for supper my husband’s expecting a pie!

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

We can’t pay the mortgage; bills are overdue,

I’m tired and have headaches, not a few,

These children are driving me crazy too!

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

My husband comes home late; he doesn’t care,

He doesn’t help with the children; it’s not fair!

I don’t want to smile; I just want to glare!

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

Take your eyes off your problems, look up to Him,

God’s presence is with you, even in the din!

Confess your bad mood and He’ll cleanse your sin.

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

He will show you how to order your place,

He will give you direction as you seek His face,

He wants to pour upon you His anointing of grace.         

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

Keep your eyes fixed on Him; He is your Stay,

He is your Wisdom for problems each day,

He will bring His presence right into your fray.  

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

Each morning He comes as the refreshing Dew

To revive your body, and your spirit too,

He is your Deliverer and He’ll make you new,

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

Love from Nancy

Do you want to raise wise children? The Bible gives us the answer. Fill their hearts and minds with the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:15 says, "From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to MAKE THEE WISE unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

There is no wisdom on earth that is greater than God's Word. Guard against their minds being filled with humanistic wisdom. Establish Family Devotions with your family to DAILY fill them with God's Word.

How many Scriptures do your children know? Are they RICHLY FILLED with the Word (Colossians 3:16)?

Don't wait. You can start reading the Scriptures to your child while still in the womb.

Love from Nancy

P.S. Further Scriptures to read: Deuteronomy 4:5-6; Jeremiah 8:9; Psalm 19:7; 119:98; Proverbs 28:7; Matthew 7:24-27.

Don't you hate being in debt? There are always so many bills to pay and you are scrounging from here and there to pay them.

I've got some good news for you. There is one debt you don't have to pay! Oh yes, there is great pressure on us to pay this debt, and many times we pay it unnecessarily. What is it? It is the debt to our flesh--our feelings and fleshly desires. Romans 8:12 says, "We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." In others words, we are not obligated to the flesh one tiny bit!

You do not have to give into that anger! You do not have to give into bitterness and self-pity. You do not have to retort back to your husband. Instead, deny your feelings and flesh! That means say No to it, and yield to the Holy Spirit instead. The life of Jesus, who lives in you, is filled with love, patience, longsuffering, and joy.

If only we could go through each day being reminded of this truth! What a difference it will make to the atmosphere of our home. What a difference it will make to our marriage relationship and to our children who are learning how God wants them to live.

Love from Nancy Campbell

As God blessed us with children, my husband began to pray that God would keep our children from "All accident, harm, sickness, and danger, and all enemy attack--physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally." This prayer has become entrenched in our lives and every day we pray this prayer over all our children and grandchildren. And now our children use the same prayer to pray over their children. I think it will continue down the generations. You are welcome to use this prayer to pray over your children, too.

Of course, after praying this prayer, we pray other things over our children about which we are burdened.

Love from Nancy

The following are the prayers that my husband and I pray for our children, grandchildren and generations to come. We pray personally by name for each of our children, their spouses and our grandchildren daily.  We do not pray for every one of these requests every day, but pray for different ones each day as the Holy Spirit directs.

I have printed out the following for myself, covered with plastic. Many times I like to lay it upon my heart as I am praying for our children so God can see the longings and requests I have for the children and grandchildren as we bring their names before Him in prayer.

You may like to copy and print this out, too, so you can have as a guide in praying for your children. At certain times, you may like to look up the Scriptures and pray the Scriptures out loud before the Lord for your children. This is a very powerful way to pray for your children. Here we go...

Oh God, hear our cry for our children, grandchildren and the children who are yet to be born. We pray…

That they will have a real born again experience and come to know God personally. (John 3:3)

That they will have soft, tender hearts to hear and obey the voice of the Lord. (1 Samuel 3:10; Isaiah 57:15; 66:2)

That they will walk humbly before the Lord. (Micah 6:8; 1 Peter 5:5-6)

That they will love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:50)

That they will love to read and meditate on the Word of God and will receive revelation and insight as they read. (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:9, 11, 18, 97, 105; Ephesians 1:17-18; Colossians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:2)

That they will love to pray. (2 Corinthians 7:14; Psalm 55:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

That they will be committed to the gathering together of God’s people. (Hebrews 10:25)

That they will love righteousness and hate evil. (Psalm 97:10; 101:3; Amos 5:15; Romans 12:9)

That they will stand strong against the wiles of the devil and never compromise. (Ephesians 5:11; 6:13-14; 1 Peter 5:8-9)

That they will hate the spirit of this world and not give in to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. (1 John 2:15-17; Romans 12:2; James 4:4)

That they will hate lies and deception and seek after truth. (Psalm 51:6; 119:30; 163; Proverbs 12:22; 13:5; 19:9)

That they will shine as lights in this dark and deceived world. (John 17:18; Philippians 2:15)

That they will understand true justice and have discernment regarding good and evil, the holy and the profane. (Leviticus 10:10; Isaiah 59:14-15; Jeremiah 15:19; Ezekiel 22:26)

That they will seek God with all their hearts. (Psalm 27:8; 105:4; 119:2; Proverbs 28:5; Zephaniah 2:3)

That their whole spirit, soul and body will be kept pure and blameless for the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

That they will be kept from evil. (John 17:15-16)

That their faith will not fail. (Luke 22:32)

That God will pour out His Holy Spirit upon them mightily. (Isaiah 44:3-4; Acts 2:16-18)

That they will keep themselves pure and holy (body, soul and spirit) for the man/woman that God has chosen for them. (Romans 6:12-13; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4)

That God will even now prepare for them godly wives and husbands who will be committed and faithful in marriage. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

That they will love and embrace children and establish godly homes. (Psalm 27 and 28: Malachi 2:15)

That God will keep them from accident, harm, sickness and danger and all enemy attack. (Psalm 91)

Love fromNancy Campbell

When in Israel last year I was privileged to visit with some of the settlers out on the West Bank. At one home I gave an "Above Rubies" magazine to a mother. She looked at it and immediately exclaimed in Hebrew, "Paniyn, panyin... pearls." "Panyin" is the Hebrew word for pearls.

"But," I said to her, "I didn't think you had pearls in Israel."

"That's the reason it says we are pearls," she replied. "The man has to go far away to look for such a treasure."

Of course I checked out the word "far" above rubies or pearls. Yes, it means, "far, far away, abroad, precious." The man has to go far to find such a precious jewel.

Isn't it amazing? I have read the Bible through over and over again, but never found a Scripture that says that a man's worth is more than rubies or pearls!

As wives, mothers, and homemakers, we are indispensable to our husband and our home. As home-loving, home-keeping, home-cooking, home-working, home-advocating and child-training mothers, we are indispensable to this nation!

Love from Nancy

The psalmist proclaimed in Psalm 135:13, "Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever, and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations." The more correct Hebrew translation should be "to generation and generation."

How is God going to be remembered from one generation to the next?  By fathers and mothers imparting God and His truth to their children. Our greatest responsibility is to reveal God to our children, through our lives and through the Scriptures. It is not enough for them to know about God. We must pray that each one will experience and know Him in such a way that they will continue to reveal Him to their children, and their children to their children. His words must not depart out of the mouth of our children, or our children's children, "from henceforth and FOREVER" (Isaiah 59:21).

We see God revealing Himself from one generation to the other in His name, "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:15).

Our children will pass on what fills their hearts. Are their hearts filled with the revelation of God and His Word? Is it so ingrained in their hearts that you can be sure they will pass it on? We have a responsibility to make this happen, dear mothers. It takes purpose, consistency, and effort.

God is a generational God. He wants us to have a vision, not only for our children now, but for the coming generations.

Love from Nancy

Read Psalm 102:12 and 145:4-7.

God has many names. Not one is enough to describe Him. Each one reveals another aspect of His character to us, even though they are only glimpses of Him. We are finite and He is infinite and therefore we will never fully know or comprehend Him. He is incomprehensible because He is God!

Recently I noticed a name of which God says, "This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Exodus 3:15).

I checked out the concordance and found that this is the ONLY name in the Bible where God actually states, "THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER." It must be very important. Do you know what it is?

God reminded Moses of this name when He spoke to him at the burning bush. He said to Moses, "Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you."

We as Gentile believers rarely use this name. And yet God says it is the name by which He wants to be remembered forever! Therefore, if the God of the Bible is our God, we must acknowledge who He is. He is the God of Israel--the God of the land of Israel and the God of the people of Israel. If we do not acknowledge Him as such, we are serving a different God than the one in the Bible.

As He loves Israel, so we must love and stand with Israel. As He loves the land of Israel, because He found it and chose it, so we must love the land of Israel.

We must pass this name on to our children. They also should be familiar with it because God wants it to be remembered in ALL GENERATIONS.

Love from Nancy

It is vitally important to daily feed your children's spirits every day. It is as important as feeding their physical bodies. But how do you do it? The Bible doesn't tell us to have devotions that are "long and drawn out," or "boring and tedious."

Instead, what does it say? "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:10).

The main thing is to be consistent. Every day. The Bible gives us the Morning and Evening Principle.

Keep it short. Ask questions. Get the children involved. Remind them that they are listening to God speak to them personally. At the end of devotions, ask the children what God spoke to them. You will be amazed at how God speaks to your children.

Love from Nancy

It must have been very important in God's heart and mind to give Adam and Eve the blessing commission to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth" (Genesis 1:28). He had already created them with a sexual desire for one another, consequently fruitfulness would have happened naturally (at least back in those days when they didn't use birth control).

However, God not only created the man and wife with a sexual desire for one another,  but issued a mandate for them to be fruitful as well. He wanted to make sure they knew this was His plan for subduing the world and advancing His kingdom.

God's plan hasn't changed since He first gave the mandate. God does not chop and change His ideas. Are we in line with God's plan?

Love from Nancy

Have you noticed that before God gave His first commission to Adam and Eve "to be fruitful and multiply" that He first BLESSED them? The fruit of the womb is the blessing of God. Having children is all to do with God's blessing.  After the flood, God again BLESSED Noah and his sons and reminded them also "to be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28; 9:1-7). That's not all. There are over 25 more passages of Scripture that speak of God BLESSING a couple before giving them children.

We cannot conceive without the blessing of God. However, we know that Satan hates every purpose of God, and therefore deceives mankind to think that having children is a nuisance (or even a curse) rather than a blessing. He seems to be more intent in deceiving God's people to think like this than even the heathen. The reason is that he hates the godly seed and wants to eliminate them any way he can.

Do you agree with God? Of course you do. Therefore, embrace children as a blessing. This was the first blessing He gave to mankind and is still His greatest blessing to us today.

Love from Nancy

We hope that one day we may receive the reward of "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord" (Matthew 25:21).

Who gets the "Well done..." It is the good and faithful SERVANT! Oops! We don't always like being a servant, do we? The word really means to be a SLAVE. Ready, eager, and faithful to do whatever we have to do, no matter how insignificant or lowly.

I have to confess that I remember once getting tired of serving everyone and began to mumble, "I'm just a jolly slave around this place!" But, the Holy Spirit didn't like that attitude in me. I felt Him say to my heart, "But, didn't Jesus come to serve?" (Matthew 20:28). That put an end to that attitude!

As wives and mothers, we are in the perfect career for servanthood! Instead of groaning about all the mundane things you have to do each day, embrace them with joy. Be a faithful servant. A good servant. A joyful servant.

You are getting ready for the "Well done!" from the Lord Himself, King of kings and Lord of lords, and yet the greatest servant of all (Philippians 2:5-8).

Love from Nancy

The Number One priority of our lives should be to daily strengthen our marriage and family. Everything else is secondary. Everything else must surrender to the priority of our marriage, home, and family.

However, families are in such disarray today that we cannot hide our head in the sand and only think of ourselves. We must also think of hurting marriages and how we can help them. We are our brother's keeper. We can get so used to marriages breaking up that we think nothing of it. But, we cannot take it sitting down. Especially if it is someone close to us, we must do everything in our power to encourage them to stay together. We must speak up even if we are disliked for it. You are fighting, not only for their marriage, but for their precious children who will be affected forever, and for generations to come. Generations are at stake (Nehemiah 4:14)!

You can also strengthen families by sharing the Above Rubies magazine with friends. It is filled with testimonies to encourage marriages and families. You are on the Above Rubies Facebook, but perhaps you don't even receive the Above Rubies magazine! This is how Above Rubies began--a magazine to encourage and strengthen marriage, motherhood, and family life. I have been producing this magazine for over 35 years! And you don't have a copy yet? Help!

If you would like to receive this magazine, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your name, email, and full mailing address and I'll be happy to send the magazine to you. For those who already receive the magazine, you are welcome to email for extra magazines to share with others.

Love from Nancy

The following link gives you some ideas for sharing Above Rubies: http://tinyurl.com/IdeasForSharingAR

Yesterday, we talked about how God is the restorer of broken lives. However, I think it would be even better if we could prevent so many brokenhearted and crushed lives. I believe the greatest way to do this is to strengthen our marriage, our family life, and to do everything we can to strengthen other marriages and families.

A child can be saved from much heartache and brokenness in later life when brought up in a family where the father and mother love one another, are committed to one another, and the families ties are strong.

Can I encourage you today to strengthen your marriage a little more today? It can never be too strong for the enemy is always lurking around to trip us up. Call your husband now to remind him that you love him. You don't feel very loving to him at the moment? Forget your feelings and do it by faith! And watch what will happen. Plan a delightful meal and have it ready for him as he walks in the door this evening. Write a love note to have waiting on his pillow as he goes to bed.

How many extra things are you doing outside the home this week? How many evenings are you going out? Why not cancel something and stay home with your husband and family instead? Think of a special thing you can do together as a family this evening. Turn off the TV and start reading a serial story together. Or, get each one to do a mime, read a poem, put on an act, or do something fun and you will be the audience.

Batten down the hatches! In other words, close your doors to the outside and shine the warmth of God's sunlight on the inside. Build up your family life rather than things outside your family.

Become a "repairer of the breach and the restorer of paths to dwell in" (Isaiah 58:12).

Love from Nancy

And yet God is waiting to heal. He is the healer of broken lives. When Jesus went into the synagogue at Nazareth, He picked up the Bible and read from Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he that anointed me... to heal the brokenhearted" (Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:16-19). This word," brokenhearted,"  really gets to the core. It means those who are completely crushed, those whose lives are shattered and broken to shivers.

Perhaps you are one is feeling utterly crushed. Your life is broken in little bits and you can't imagine how to get it back together again. Dear hurting one, God is waiting to heal and restore you. Lay your life before Him and let Him come in with His light, His love, His healing balm, and His restoring anointing. He will do it, little by little, if you let Him. Allow His living Word will heal you. Your circumstances may not change right away, but God will heal your soul.

You cannot cope unless your soul is whole. Let Him come in and flood your life. His love will enable you to forgive, to let go of hurt and bitterness, and to be healed and restored.

Love from Nancy

P.S. God's Word is a mighty healer. Here are a few Scriptures to take into your life. Read them and speak them out loud so they will go into your soul. The Holy Spirit will highlight the ones that are especially meant for you.

Genesis 28:15; Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Joshua 1:8-9; 21:45; 1 Kings 8:56; Job 1:20-22; 2:9-10; 13:15; Psalms 23; 27; 30:1-5; 31; 32; 37:3-9; 40:1-5; 69:14-18;  Proverbs 3:5-6, 11-12; Isaiah 26:3-4; 41:10, 14; 42:3; 43:1-2; 54:4-10; Jeremiah 17: 14; 30:17; 31:3, 20; Nahum 1:7.

Matthew 5:11-12; John 10:27-30;  14:15-18, 23, 26-27; 15:9-17; 16:33; Romans 8:18, 28-39; 1 Corinthians 15:53-58; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18; 12:9-10; Ephesians 3:16-21; Philippians 3:10-11; 4:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Timothy 2:12, 19; Hebrews 12:1-11; 13:5-6; James 1:2-4, 12; 5:10-11; 1 Peter 1:5-9; 2:19-25; 3:12-14; 4:12-19; 5:10; Revelation 7:17; 21:3-4.

In my last post, I talked about the importance of sitting down to eat. We noticed that even Jesus commanded the people to sit down before He fed them. Another thing Jesus was concerned about was not wasting food. After all the people were filled Jesus told his disciples to "Gather up the fragments that remain, that NOTHING BE LOST" John 6:12).

Most people live so affluently today that they don't seem to worry about wasting food. But, I have to confess that I hate to see wasted food. When we gather together for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Family Celebrations throughout the year, I usually give my little lecture to all the grandchildren before we begin the meal. "Now children, remember to only put on your plate what you can eat. You are welcome to come back for seconds, thirds, and even fourths if you are still hungry, but I don't want to see any food left on your plates! Look out if Nana sees any waste!" They are really learning and now, even with up to 50 of us at a gathering, I will hardly throw out any food.

We always encouraged this habit with our children when growing up. If they didn't eat what was on their plate, they kept it until the next meal. And yet, I see children today take whatever food they want from the table, and leave most of it! And they don't like this, and they don't like that--especially vegetables. Who is training them?

If Jesus didn't like waste, I don't think we should either.

Love from Nancy

I am a great believer in sitting down to eat! Is it my own idea? No, I get it from the Bible. In fact, I believe the Bible has the "last say" on anything we need to know.

On the whole, I don't believe we should stand up, or walk around while eating. We are not meant to do it "on the run." I believe that eating is far more than digesting food. It is a time to relax instead of work. It is communion and fellowship together. It is sitting around a table together.

When Jesus multiplied the food and fed the multitudes, He made sure things were done in an orderly manner. Matthew 14:19 says, "He COMMANDED the multitude to SIT DOWN on the grass..." In John's account it says that Jesus "distributed to the disciples and the disciples to those WHO WERE SITTING DOWN" (John 6:10-11). In Mark's Gospel he says that Jesus told them to "all sit down by groups" (Mark 6:39-42). I am sure this would have aided in the distribution of food, but also enabled them to fellowship together as they ate.

I don't believe that children should be allowed to eat whenever they like, or wherever they like in the home. I believe that we as mothers should order the home. We should make each meal time special where we all sit down together.

I love the picture God paints of a family that is blessed of the Lord, "Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young live trees as they SIT AROUND YOUR TABLE" (Psalm 128:3 NLT).

Love from Nancy