Oh, don't you love children? God loves them too! Apart from your salvation, they are the greatest blessing you can receive in life.
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
Strengthening Families Across the World through the encouragement of women in their high calling from God as wives, mothers and homemakers.
Satan is scared of mothers who know who they are and who know their purpose! He doesn’t want homebuilding mothers. He doesn’t want home teaching mothers. He doesn’t want mothers who want more children. Oh no! He wants to get His hands upon the children to influence them for His kingdom so he lures the mothers out of the home. Be aware of his tactics. Embrace your powerful calling of motherhood and you’ll make the devil scared!
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Such a good reminder!
An Above Rubies reader for many years shared this picture with me (in fact, Paula was one of very original Above Rubies helpers many years ago).
“Here is a photo of the twins (Tiveria and Tikvah). I keep all of my old Above Rubies in the loft and within the last year or so they discovered them, and I think they have already read them through once and are on their second round.”
Paula Smith, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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I was reading again in Philippians 2:7 how Jesus “made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant.” I was arrested by the fact that no one made Jesus a servant. He made Himself a servant. He took upon Himself the position of a servant!Why did He do this? “For the joy that was set before Him he endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2).
Although Jesus endued such agony and took upon Himself the sin and sickness of the world, He saw ahead to His glorious purpose of getting a bride who would dwell with Him in Heaven eternally. He saw the joy ahead.
Sometimes we despise the role of a servant, don’t we? I can remember back to my early days of motherhood with all my children around me and everything I had to accomplish and saying, “I’m just a jolly servant around this place.!” Oh, what disgusting words! I didn’t understand the glory and blessing of being a servant.
When we willingly take upon us the servant role, because we know this will bring great blessing to our husbands and family, we can do it with joy When we don’t want to serve or do the lowly monotonous tasks each day and have a bad attitude about them, we usually bring gloom and chaos to our household.
But when we willingly serve to bless everyone in our homes and make things run smoothly we bring joy to everyone in the home and joy to ourselves.
Servanthood equals joy!
Love from Nancy Campbell
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If you want to enjoy vitality, confess the joy of the Lord. If you grumble and complain and live in self-pity, you'll be miserable and tired!
~ Nancy
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...to feed our children’s bodies. We must feel their souls and spirits too. Don’t neglect feeding them with God’s nourishing food from His Word. It’s as important or even more important than their natural food.
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I have a dear friend who literally her own home. Her husband worked full time and earned the money, but because she was at home with her little baby, she decided she may as well build the home. With the advice of her father and studying building books she did it! She built this beautiful five-bedroom two-storied home which she and her family continue to live in today. And now she is a grandmother!Lois Jordan was the design artist for Above Rubies back in the beginning days, over 44 years ago! I would frequently go out to her home and call her down from the roof to do some artwork when we were working on a new magazine. Those were the days when we didn’t have computers and all the design was done with cut and paste.
I know there are very few women who would have the capacity to do what Lois did. She is not the ordinary person! But God says that women are builders! We don’t all have to build a house with hammer and nails. But we do have to build. We are building a godly family. A strong family. A family that can ride the storms and stay intact. We are building godly generations.
Proverbs 14:1 says: “Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands.” What are you putting your time into? Into building up someone else’s organization or business? Or are you building up your home? That takes being at home. It takes time to build up your home and family. It doesn’t happen by gadding about here and there,
What about your marriage? Are you building into your marriage? That takes time too. What are you speaking into your marriage? Loving words? Encouraging words? Sweet words? More than anything else we build our marriage and our family with words. Words either build up or destroy.
Let’s be builders, not destroyers.
Love from Nancy Campbell
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What a lovely day we enjoyed on the weekend. Began with a three generation walk with Serene and granddaughter Chalice who is due to have her baby tomorrow. We walked down to the river and back, a long hard walk. Serene walked with weights, I just walked, and Chalice waddled and yet kept up with us all the way. She is amazing. She hoped it would help baby come, but it hasn’t happened yet!Colin and I then drove into the city to see a dear friend who was displaying all the beautiful clothes she makes at SewPop. And then we drove on to see our lovely family which you can see in the picture. Joseph and Psalmody, Anthony and Aden and Sapphire. Always fun to see them. And then in the evening a surprise birthday party for Kendall’s 30th birthday. Kendall is Meadow’s husband and we enjoyed the party at Pearl’s home.
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The best way to live and the way God intends us to live.
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Many women don’t like the phrase “keepers at home.” Even Christian mothers. And yet it’s in the Bible! I wonder why they think they know better than the Bible. The phrase is found in Titus 2:5 and is translated from two different manuscripts.The first is ”oikourogo,” coming from two words:
oikos meaning “home” and ergon meaning “to work.”
The word literally means HOME-WORKERS!
In other words, the mother is not working out in the corporate world, but in the home.
The second is ”oikouros.” also from two Greek words:
oikos meaning “a home, a dwelling, or by metonymy--a household or family” and
ouros meaning “to guard, to watch, to keep, to have the oversight and responsibility for something.”
This translation means HOME-GUARDERS!
It is the picture of a “keeper of the castle” who guards it from any intruder.
The above word is only used in this Scripture in the New Testament. Therefore, we must look to similar words in the Greek language to fully understand its meaning. This word and all derivatives of this word were used in the context of a woman who stayed at home for the purpose of managing her household. In the language of the day this same word referred to a watch dog who guarded the house. It was also used of men who stayed home to avoid military service. They were called “stay-at-home” men.
Therefore, this word means a “stay-at-home” mother, which is also the exact meaning from the Strong’s concordance, “a stayer at home.” She does not stay home for the sake of staying home. She is home to watch over and guard her family. She is a Watch Dog. What is the use of a Watch Dog who is not at home?
This woman does not stay at home because of legality. No. She sees her home as a powerful place to raise her children and prepare them for their destiny and to impact the world. She also sees it as a glorious opportunity to bless many people as she invites them into her home to bless and encourage them.
She loves her home. She is happy and contented in her home. She knows the power of her home. She is proud of her career in her home.
Be blessed in your home today,
Nancy Campbell
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Writing about parenthood, the great preacher and writer, J. R. Miller says: “Duties cannot be transferred.”I happen to agree with him. Why do we think that we have a better plan for our lives that the one who intricately, wonderfully, and marvelously created us?
God, in His perfect design, for “all His ways are perfect,” created a father and a mother. He gave each one distinct roles to fulfil. Each brings their own strengths to the parenting career. Many want to change the roles because of convenience. The wife wants to take on the role of provider which means she must give her children to someone else to watch. And yet no guardian, no matter how loving, can ever be in tune to the innermost needs of her child like the mother.
Sometimes a mother can earn more money than her husband, so she goes to work while her husband stays home with the children. This is a role reversal and not planned by the God who created us.
But you say, “I know fathers who are great stay-at-home-fathers to their children.” That may be so, but they cannot be a mother no matter how they try. God has put within women a maternal anointing that men don’t have. Yes, men love their children. They have a strong instinct to protect their children. They want to provide for their children, but they cannot “mother” their children; they were created to “father” children. There is a difference.
Babies and toddlers need the comfort of their mother’s breasts. Breastfeeding is tied up with motherhood. Scientific studies reveal that the more frequently a mother breastfeeds her baby the more motherly and nurturing she becomes. These hormones release mothering hormones and a man simply does not have the abundance of these hormones that God gives to a mother to nurture.
God has also put within women a love for home, unless of course it is brainwashed out of her by our education system, the media, and the deception of our progressive society. A man is not cut out for the finer touches of making a home feel like a home. He was created to go out and work hard to provide for his family.
To get back to our original statement, I do concede that men and women can transfer their roles to a certain extent, but only at the expense of God’s ultimate blessing for the family. God intends fathers and mothers to fully embrace the way He created them and to reveal these strengths to their children which are to pass on from one generation to the next. Children who grow up in a family where the mother works, and the husband stays home with the children, will have a distorted understanding of God’s definitive plan. They will be confused and deceived. And what happens in the next generation? Will they think it normal to carry on this pattern until we have a society of men at home and women in the work force? God forbid.
Be blessed today in your God-given role of mothering,
Nancy Campbell
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I love this quote. The Bible clearly tells us that when we marry, we are no longer two, but one. The math for marriage is one plus one equals one. To enjoy marriage as God intended we must think God’s way. When we begin to think oneness, we will walk more and more in true oneness.
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I trust you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner yesterday with your family. We were blessed again to gather together. Because it rained all day we couldn’t do our usual outside activities but the day was filled with laughter and fellowship, some leaving about 2.00 am. I was in be dwell before that!The following are just a few of the things for which I am thankful.
T I thank God for TEACHING me His ways.
H I thank God for giving me my HUSBAND. Marriage becomes more and more beautiful with time.
A I thank God for ANOINTING me to be a mother. Is there any greater blessing, apart from our salvation, than to enjoy the blessings of children and grandchildren?
N I thank God for creating me to be a NURTURER and NOURISHER to my family and to others.
K I thank God for His KINDNESS to me.
F I thank God for my FAMILY, extended family, and those who consider themselves to be part of our family. Yesterday on Thanksgiving we were blessed to receive another greatgrandbaby into our family.
U I thank God for giving me UNDERSTANDING of His truth. My greatest delight is to receive revelation of God’s truth from His living Word.
L I am thankful for LIFE. I thank God for LOVING me enough to die for me and shed His precious blood for my sins. He not only redeemed me but dwells within me to give ABUNDANT LIFE. I don’t like to let a day go by without thanking Him for His great and unspeakable and eternal salvation.
May thankfulness fill our hearts every day of the year, even in the most difficult and darkest times.
Have a wonderful day,
Nancy Campbell
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We’ve been talking about holy marriage and holy mothering. Did you know that God wants your home to be holy too? Wow, that’s a huge undertaking, isn’t it? Especially when our homes are filled with sinners. We are sinners and our children are sinners. Even though we are sinners saved by grace, we are still prone to sin. But as we invite God to come and dwell in our live and our homes, He woos us to holiness.Hebrews 9:1 tells us: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” That’s King James language, not always easy to understand if you are not used to it.
Let’s read it in the J. B. Phillips’ translation: “. . . and it had a sanctuary, a holy place in this world for the eternal God.” Don’t you love those words? Let’s read them again: “A HOLY PLACE IN THIS WORLD FOR THE ETERNAL GOD.”
Back in those days, God dwelt in the midst of His people, Israel. God dwelt in His Shekinah glory in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and later the temple. Today, God does not live in a temple in Jerusalem, but He still wants a dwelling place on earth. He now comes to dwell in our hearts, and He also wants to dwell in our homes (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 and 2 Corinthians 6:16).
The eternal God desires your home to be a holy place for Him on this earth. Can you seek to make your home a holy place for Him?
God wants every material thing in our homes to be anointed with His presence. Even our pots and pans (Zechariah 14:20, 21).
But there’s more. God not only wants our homes to be holy, but all the area around our homes. Talking about Ezekiel’s temple in Ezekiel 43:12 it says: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain THE WHOLE LIMIT THEREOF ROUND ABOUT SHALL BE MOST HOLY. Behold, this is the law of the house.” You may only have a little backyard, or you may own many acres. Whatever God has given to you, He wants it all to be holy.
We not only guard what goes on in our homes but what goes on around our homes. Who hangs out with our children? What is happening on the inside? What is happening on the outside?
Fill your home with everything that promotes holiness and cast out every evil thing.
Holiness begins with you, dear wife and mother. You are the heart of the home, and it is your responsibility to make it holy. Make it your vision to make a holy place for God in the midst of this sinful world.
Hebrews 12:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
May you have a beautiful day in your home,
Nancy Campbell
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Marriage is a sacred institution and motherhood is also a sacred calling. The humanistic programming of today, masterminded by Satan, relegates motherhood to the “common” or even the “inferior.” This is a lie. It is time we saw motherhood as God sees it, a holy and elevated estate.1 Timothy 2:15 (BSB) reminds us that women will be “saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love, and HOLINESS, with self-control.” The Scriptures combine motherhood with holiness. This word is translated “sanctification” in other places and literally means to be purified. Motherhood is certainly a role that exposes our flesh and our need to be purified, doesn’t it?
There is an interesting verse in the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha was not included in the canon of Scripture, but it is good reading. Ecclesiasticus 1:16 (Knox) says: “Wouldest thou be wise, the first step is fear of the Lord . . . it goes with holy motherhood.”
Mother, God sees your work as holy. You are called into holy employment! You are set apart by God for this sacred task, the mightiest career in the nation. Motherhood is what keeps civilization going. Motherhood determines the rise or fall of the nation. Motherhood is eternal. God has divinely called you to not only train your children to spread the kingdom of God on this earth but to prepare them for the eternal realm.
You may think that much of what you do in the home is mundane and worthless. Wrong thinking! Everything you do in your home—scrubbing toilets, changing diapers, teaching your children, or preparing meals are all part of the holy estate of motherhood. Every task is holy, no matter how lowly.
Zechariah 14:20, 21 talks about even our pots and pans being holy unto the Lord. That makes a difference to preparing meals, doesn’t it?
What a privilege and blessing to be employed in a holy vocation.
May your home be filled with the presence of the Lord today,
Nancy Campbell
Painting by Trent Gudmandsen
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This was the motto of a Chinese Evangelist, Leland Wang and he lived by this motto for 44 years. He wouldn’t eat breakfast until he had read at least one chapter of the Bible to begin the day. I also like to keep to this motto. It’s such a good reminder to feed my spirit before I feed my body. It’s a good reminder to feed on God’s word before I check messages! It has been the habit of my life to get up early and immediately get into God’s word. It is one of the best habits off my life which rewards me the greatest blessings. Leland Wang also said that it was “not a law to bind me but a motto to remind me.”Encourage your children and your young people to take up this motto too.
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Here is another “ness” word for you today—HOLINESS. We all know this word and it is very much part of our lives as wives and mothers. God wants us to enjoy a holy marriage, holy mothering, and to build a holy home.Let’s talk about our marriage first. When a couple stands before the minister to take their marriage vows, he begins with the words: “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this man and this woman in HOLY matrimony . . . and therefore, is not by any, to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly – but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and solemnly. Into this HOLY estate these two persons present now come to be joined.”
Hebrews 13:4 (NET): “Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.” Marriage is a holy estate. Because God ordained it, it is sacred and to be set apart for Him. It is not something we take lightly because we are taking part in a God-ordained holy institution.
A holy marriage begins before marriage. It begins in the courting days of keeping ourselves pure and undefiled to come to the marriage as a virgin. It should be exemplified on the wedding day. It grieves my heart that so many young brides come to their wedding day exposing so much of their flesh. Most wedding dresses today are strapless and many show too much cleavage. Why would a holy daughter of God show off her flesh to all her guests? At some weddings you hardly know where to look. The beautiful wedding dress is spoiled by the low-cut dress and the same with all the bridesmaids. It’s no longer holy. I believe a virgin should come to the wedding covered! It is her husband’s privilege to uncover her.
We then continue to build a holy marriage. A holy marriage begins in the mind. The devil will try to bring tempting thoughts to your mind which you must constantly resist and cast off in the name of Jesus. Your marriage is exclusive to you and your husband, not to be shared with any other man. You would never think of meeting with another man for coffee or fellowship. Once you are married, you enjoy friendships with the opposite sex only with your husband, not on your own.
We need to be reminded again of the marriage vows. “I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, and FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, keep myself ONLY unto you as long as we both shall live.”
Let’s remember we have been called into a holy estate.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Be faithful to imbed God’s truth into your children while they are young. You can never start too soon. Read 1 Timothy 3:15.
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There was a time when females were equated with softness and men with toughness. I believe that females should also be strong. We need to be strong physically. Childbearing and caring for a family is not for wimps. We need to also be strong emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. We must be strong to stand against all evil that the devil wants to bring to our marriages and families.I shared with you recently that the Proverbs 31 woman is described as a strong woman: “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is above rubies.” The word “virtuous” is “chayil” and means “strength, valiant, and is usually used in the context of an army.”
But although we must be strong, we dare not lose our softness. It is one of the beautiful characteristics of being female. I love the way the Hebrew uses organs of the body to express emotions and affection. There are four different Hebrew words for “womb” in the Bible. Let me share the meaning of just two of them.
“Racham” comes from the root word “to fondle.” It means “to cherish a babe in the womb, to love deeply, to be compassionate, to show tender mercy and pity.” This word is used interchangeably in the Bible for the womb of a woman and also to describe God’s compassion and mercy.
“Meah” comes from a root word meaning “to be soft.” It refers to the internal organs including the reproductive organs. It speaks of our emotions and also of God’s emotions.
The womb is more than a literal place to conceive and nurture a babe. It is the seat of our compassion and tenderness. As we embrace our womb and childbearing, we return again to a soft and tender spirit. Little babies keep our hearts soft and at the same time we reveal the compassionate and tender heart of God.
God has chosen His female creation to reveal His mercy and tenderness to the world—firstly to our children and then to a hurting world. No wonder 1 Timothy 2:15 says that we will be preserved through embracing childbearing. We are saved from becoming tough and hard. Motherhood keeps us soft, tender, and beautiful in our femaleness.
Be blessed,
Nancy Campbell
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