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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.
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An Above Rubies reader, Brittany Howell writes:
“Nancy, thank you again for providing the wonderful Prayer Box at the conference. I had read all your articles on the importance of doing Prayer Boxes and had been convicted. I had even put aside a box to decorate and make up but had not completed it. So the box you gave me was just the push I needed to get this habit started
Since my three children are under three years I made a Family Prayer Box and put pictures of the family members on each card. I want to show what it looks like in the hope that it inspires others to start their own box too! Once we have used this box for a few weeks I plan to make a World Changing Prayer Box, an Evangelism/Unsaved Prayer Box and several other boxes you mentioned!”
P.S. In case you haven’t read about Prayer Boxes, you can go to these links:
http://tinyurl.com/OurPrayerBox
http://tinyurl.com/TryDifferentPrayerBoxes
http://tinyurl.com/IdeasForPrayerCards
http://tinyurl.com/RecommendedLinks
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How are you training your children? Are you training them to be grown up babies or mature sons and daughters in the Lord? Sadly, too many adults are still babies in the Lord, even though they may have been Christians for years. They haven’t yet learned to feed from God’s Words daily. They still rely on their pastor or minister to give them a meal once a week when they go to church? But during the week they starve. They never open their Bible and don’t know how to feed from the Living Word each day.
Is this the habit of your children? Or are you training them, as soon as they are old enough, to spend some time each day to read God’s Word for themselves? Are you training them how to hear from God as they read this living Word? It’s not enough for them to read, they must know how to HEAR from God.
To begin this training you may like to try this idea. Start your homeschooling day this way. Teach them to look for treasures in the Bible. Purchase for yourself and each one of your reading children a hard-covered diary with a page for every day of the year. Begin with opening your Bibles and journals at the appropriate date. Decide which book of the Bible you will go through, reading a chapter each day.
Pray first and then encourage them to silently read the chapter, LOOKING AND EXPECTING GOD TO SPEAK TO THEM PERSONALLY. Do it together. You, along with your children. We all look for the Scripture that speaks to us most powerfully in the chapter.
We write the Scripture at the top of the page and then write what God says to us. It is amazing how that even writing the Scripture brings more understanding. As you write the revelation, more understanding comes. We then write a prayer of response to the Lord. This makes the Word of God personal and real, rather than a reading chore.
After we have all finished, I read out loud the Scripture and what God has revealed to me. The children then read their Scripture and what God spoke to them. We are blessed not only by reading, but also by writing and sharing.
Of course, everyone has their own ways that suit their lifestyle and family life. You may prefer to encourage your children to find a special spot on their own where they can have their Quiet Time with the Lord. Whatever you encourage, inspire them to listen carefully to the Holy Spirit and to write down what God speaks to them. Writing daily what God speaks to me has been the greatest blessing of my Christian walk.
I remember reading about a wonderful father who as he came to say goodnight to each of his eleven children lay a Bible on their pillows so they would remember to feed from the Word of God before they arose for the day.
Also, when you have Family Devotions together each day, remind your children to listen to what the Holy Spirit says to them as they hear His words. Then, of course, ask them to share when you have finished reading. You will be amazed at what God speaks to your children. And they will get into the habit of hearing from God.
Mothers, don’t raise handicapped spiritual babies. Raise your children to be young men and women who are tall and strong in the Lord because they know how to daily feed for themselves?
Have a blessed day, Nancy Campbell
To read more, go to DON’T STAY A BABY. Link: http://aboverubies.org/…/916-bible-in-the-home-dont-stay-a-…
P.S. In the next few days I will post further articles that will help you and your children how to make your Bible reading exciting and how to really hear from God as you open the Word.
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What is your relationship with God? Moses had a “face to face” relationship with Him. Exodus 33:11 says: “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend.”
Sadly, the rest of the children of Israel had a “afar off” relationship. When Moses went out to the tabernacle, “the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshipped, each man in his tent door.” They saw the glory of God and worshipped from afar, but Moses went in and spoke with God face to face.
Many Christians have this same relationship today. They go to church on Sunday and sing and worship, but they rely on the pastor to meet with God face to face during the week to listen to what God is saying and proclaim it to the people. That’s second hand Christianity. Each believer has the privilege of meeting with God every day and hearing from God first hand.
Every family has the privilege of meeting with God each morning and evening to hear from God and enter into His “face to face” presence. Why do we let other things take precedence to this great honor and privilege? Why do we let busyness crowd out our visiting with God each day? When we allow this to happen we teach our children that other things are more important than God. That He takes second place, or even last place! Or does He have a place at all?
How much time do you give as a family to God each day? Are you wooing your children into a “face to face” relationship with Christ, or allowing them to grow up with a “afar off” relationship, which is indicative of most Christians today.
May we aim to be nothing less than “face to face” with God families.
“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance;
to seek Him the greatest adventure;
to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”
~St. Augustine of Hippo
Amen!
Have a wonderful day,
Nancy Campbell
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Are you going through a difficult patch in your marriage? Do you feel like your love is petering out? Perhaps you are even estranged from one another. I would encourage you to go to the following link on the Above Rubies website. There you will find over 30 testimonies of marriages that have been healed and articles about marriage that will encourage, strengthen, and inspire you. There is always hope. Check these amazing testimonies out now: http://aboverubies.org/index.php/2013-11-12-17-55-51/english-language/marriage
Is your husband one who does not know how to take the lead in your home? Perhaps he is not even a Christian. You will be blessed by this testimony where the husband always said to his wife: "Please yourself! You usually do!"
http://aboverubies.org/index.php/2013-11-12-17-55-51/english-language/marriage/256-marriage-please-yourself-you-usually-do
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We all know that our thinking determines who we are and how we live. It determines the atmosphere of our home. It determines how we relate to our husbands and children.
Left to ourselves, we are prone to low thoughts. Self-pitying, discouraging, despairing, doubting, and negative thoughts. It’s unbelievable how we gravitate to these kind of thoughts. But there is good news. When Jesus Christ died upon the cross, He died to not only save us from our sins, but from our debilitating thought life. If Christ dwells in our hearts, we have His mind.
Jesus Christ does not think low, negative thoughts. His thoughts are high thoughts. Isaiah 55:8, 9 says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
And of course you know 2 Timothy 1:7 where it tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of a “sound mind.” This is God’s gift to us through the cross of Christ, through the life of Christ who lives within us.
What does this “sound mind” mean? Let’s check it out. The word is “sophronismos.”
“Sophron” comes from two root words:
“sozo” meaning “to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, be made whole.”
“phren” meaning “to rein in or curb, fence or enclose; the mind or cognitive faculties, understanding.”
In other words, it means to have a saved, healed, and redeemed mind. Saved from what? Saved from our low negative thoughts. One translator says, “a mind saved from tolerating inferior thoughts.” Wow! Do you get that? The power of Christ within you enables you to be saved from tolerating inferior, second-rate thoughts!
Come on dear ladies, let’s rise up from our low, inferior thought life. Let’s embrace the mind of Christ within us and begin to think His thoughts. Fill your mind with His Word which are God’s thoughts, His high thoughts. Do not tolerate any longer the humanistic thought patterns that seek to overcome you.
Please be blessed as I encourage you, for this is what God tells me to do. When God tells the older women to teach the younger women in Titus 2:3-5, He emphasizes this word two times. We are to teach the younger women to be “discreet” which is “sophron” and to be “sober” which is “sophronizo” meaning “discipline, self-control.”
Rein in your self-defeating bucket thoughts. Yield to the Spirit instead of the flesh. Think God’s HIGH thoughts today. Proverbs 23:7 says: “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
Be blessed,
Nancy Campbell
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Dear Mother, you are not only mothering for today, but for generations to come!
~ Love from Nancy
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God, who touches earth with beauty
Make me lovely too,
With thy Spirit recreate me,
Make my life anew.
Like thy springs of running water
Make me crystal pure,
Like thy rocks of towering grandeur
Make me strong and sure.
Like thy dancing waves in sunlight
Make me glad and free,
Like the straightness of the pine tree
Help me upright be.
Like the arching of thy heavens,
Raise my thoughts above,
Turn my dreams to noble actions
Ministries of love.
God, who touches earth with beauty
Make me lovely too,
Keep me ever, by thy Spirit,
Pure and strong and true.
~ Mary S. Adgar
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Does anyone remember singing the old chorus, “Trust in the Lord and don’t despair”! We used to sing it as children. We’d sing it everywhere we went with all our hearts and as loud as we could.
Trust in the Lord and don’t despair,
He is a friend so true!
No matter what your troubles are,
Jesus will see you through.
Sing, when the day is bright;
Sing, through the darkest night
Everyday, all the way,
Let us sing, sing, sing!
And here’s some of my favorite lines. I trust they will bless you today, too.
Trust Him when dark days assail thee,
Trust Him when thy faith is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him
Is the hardest thing of all.
You’ll never go wrong putting your trust in the L9ord. Isaiah 2:22 says: “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”
Blessings today,
Nancy Campbell
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This is God’s daily admonition to us and our children. It’s not easy to take advice, but it’s a wonderful habit. Keep a soft spirit and always be open to correction and advice. As we cultivate this kind of spirit, it is easier for our children to pick it up.
By the way, have you taught your children this nursery rhyme?
A wise old owl lived in an oak,
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard,
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?
Love from Nancy Campbell
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This is what it is meant to be if your home is dedicated to God. How many times a day do you pray in your home? How many times a day do you pray together as a family? We can’t really confess that our home belongs to God unless we are a praying family (Jeremiah 10:25).
May each one of us be encouraged to fill our homes with prayer. Whenever your children nave a need, pray for them. If someone calls on the phone with a need, pray for them right then. When you face serious or urgent matters for payer in your family, set the timer every hour to stop and pray.
And of course, don’t neglect to keep up the habit of praying every morning and evening as you gather to read the God’s Word and worship as a family.
What will happen in this nation if God’s people really become praying families? If only we could realize the power of our family prayers. Satan know it and that’s why he seeks to keep us from prayer.
Love from Nancy Campbell
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The devil wants to keep everything about God in a little box. He does not want us to spread the truth and light of the gospel. He does not want us to have more children because each new babe is a fresh revelation of the image of God.
Do you remember when Peter and John prayed for the man who was lame from his mother’s womb and he was immediately healed? He began walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw it and began to praise God. In fact, about 5,000 people believed on Jesus. This was too much for the devil.
The priests and Sadducees put Peter and John in custody until the next day when they met together to make their decision. Their verdict? “That it SPREAD NO FURTHER among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:17, 18).
Did Peter and John become victims to their verdict? No. They answered: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19, 20).
We see how the enemy became very agitated when the children of Israel multiplied in Egypt. The new Pharaoh was shaking in his boots. He said to his people: “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; LEST THEY MULTIPLY.” The devil is scared of God’s people multiplying. He does everything in his power to “rob, kill, and destroy” to stop children coming into the world.
Praise God, we will not give into the deception of the devil to hide God’s light and truth and the revelation of His image on the earth. We will spread His truth wherever we go. We will not hold back the children God wants to bring into this world.
I am so glad you are a testimony to God’s truth and that you are shining the light in the midst of the darkness. Keep spreading the Word. Never be silent. Keep spreading Above Rubies wherever you go. And don’t discriminate who you give them to. Give them to everyone you meet. You will be surprised who God will speak to through the magazine--sometimes the most hardened feminist!
Love and blessings to you today from Nancy Campbell
P.S. If you would like to read more ideas about sharing Above Rubies, go to: http://tinyurl.com/DistributingIdeas
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Deception is such a subtle thing, isn’t it? It is so subtle that we usually don’t know we are deceived. We can not only be deceived by the encroachment of out humanistic society, but we can be self-deceived. William Barclay’s translation of James 1:22 says: “You must not only listen to the word, you must act on it. Otherwise, you indulge in self-deception.” This is very challenging to me. To daily read God’s Word and yet not put it into action is self-deception. The more I do this, the more I deceive myself. I pray that the power of the Holy Spirit working within me will keep me from this deception.
But mothers, we face another challenge. This challenge is not only for ourselves, but for our children. God has given us the responsibility to train our children to obey when we speak to them. This trains our children into the habit of obeying God when He speaks to them through His Word. If we are lazy about training our children to obey, we set them up for the habit of continually disobeying God’s Word.
One of the secrets of teaching your children to obey is to first of all teach them to listen. If we do not teach our children how to listen, they will not learn to obey. Make sure your children hear what you tell them to do. Make eye contact with them. You may need to get them to repeat it back to you. Then expect them to do it! True hearing results in actions.
When your children learn to listen, they will learn to obey.
When they learn to obey you, they will learn to obey God.
Get them into the “obeying habit” now so that when they hear God speak through His Living Word, they will automatically respond and obey.
What kind of ears are you training your children to have? Lazy ears? Dull ears? Defiant ears? Resistant ears? Gullible ears? Or are you training them to have diligent ears that are quick to hear and obey you, and ultimately God’s words?
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God has willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure;
One little word shall fell him.
Aren’t these words powerful? We sang them this morning at our Family Devotions. They are from Martin Luther’s famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” May they encourage you today. You may like to sing them with your family too.
~ Nancy Campbell
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Home based upon Christian marriage is so evidently an institution of God, that a man must become profane before he can deny it . . . Of this realm woman is queen. It takes its cue and its hue from her. If she is in the best sense womanly--if she is true and tender, loving and heroic, patient and self-devoted--she consciously or unconsciously organizes and puts in operation a set of influences that do more to mould the destiny of the nation than any man, uncrowned by power or eloquence, can possibly effect.
~ Dr. J. G. Holland
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Mothers, you determine the destiny of the nation and future generations! Don't leg anyone rob you of the enormity of your God-given career of motherhood.
~ Nancy
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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 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!
~ Nancy Campbell
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