Verse four begins: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel . . .
1) Build houses,
2) Plant gardens,
3) Bear children,
4) Encourage your children to have children,
5) Increase your family and don’t diminish,
6) Pray for your city, and
7) Don’t be deceived by the prophets in the midst of you.”

It’s hard to believe that this “down to earth” practical message is from THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF THE ARMIES OF HEAVEN! But this is the message God wants us to live.

And this is the message that precedes this famous promise! When we live this lifestyle, we can then claim the promise!

Be blessed.

Nancy Campbell

Next time someone asks you what ministry you do for the Lord, perhaps you could answer, “I’m involved in the signs and wonders ministry!”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool,” they answer.

“Yes, God says that my children are for “signs and wonders (Isaiah 8:18).”

Isn’t that amazing? Both words are similar. The word “signs” is “oth” and means “an appearance, a flag, a beacon, a monument, a miracle.” Each one of your children is a miracle from God. He gives them to you to train and prepare to be beacons of light in this dark and deceived world. They are to be a revelation of God to the world.

The word “wonders” is “mopheth.” It is a plural word meaning “wonderful deed, miraculous sign, miracle, prodigy.” The birth of each one of your children is a miracle of God. And their lives will continue to reveal the miraculous works of God.

Be encouraged today.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Photo: Some of our grandchildren singing the hymns with all their gusto.

Do you gather as a family to cry out to God for your city and nation? The Hebrew word “call” is qara. It does not mean to say a little quiet prayer, but “to cry out aloud, to roar, or to summon God’s aid.”

I wonder what would happen if God-fearing families put aside lesser activities and called upon the Lord together each day. We are living in an unprecedented time in history. We are living in a time when women have been so deluded that they can murder their own babies by law! How can that be? How can we get used to such a thing?

Are we burdened to pray? Are we burdened to rise up and be a voice? Are we burdened to encourage our fellow women back to embracing their womanhood and to God’s way?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

The character of Jesus is the spirit of FORGIVENESS (Luke 23:34 and Colossians 3:13). Sometimes we wonder how many times we have to forgive! Peter asked Jesus that question and He answered “Seventy times seven! Let’s keep a forgiving spirit. And it’s good to remember the late Ruth Gfraam’s quote: "A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers."

The character of Jesus is the spirit of HUMILITY (Matthew 11:29; Philippians 2:8; and Colossians 3:12).

The character of Jesus is the spirit of LOVE (John 13:34-35; 15:13; and Galatians 5:22).

The character of Jesus is the spirit of OBEDIENCE (Matthew 26:36-42; Philippians 2:8; and Hebrews 5:8). If we don’t have a spirit of obedience, how can we expect our children to have it?

The character of Jesus is the spirit of PATIENCE and LONGSUFFERING (Galatians 5:22, 23 and Colossians 3:12, 13).

The character of Jesus is the spirit of SERVING (John 13:13-17; Philippians 2:7; and Matthew 20:28). The Passion translation of the Matthew Scripture says: “For even the Son of Man did not come expecting to be served by everyone, but to serve everyone, and to give his life in exchange for the salvation of many.” It is the spirit of Jesus to serve.

The character of Jesus is the spirit of UNSELFISHNESS. (Philippians 2:4-8 and 1 Peter 2:21-24).

Will your husband and children see the character of Jesus in you today?
Love from Nancy Campbell

Black and white picture. This picture can seem a little old fashioned to the modern wife. And yet this is a basic wifely duty to prepare meals for our husbands and to serve them. Often modern women don’t like the idea of serving, but if we want to be like Jesus, we’ll delight to serve.

If you would like one of these birthday plaques, contact Val at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. She sells them for $20.00 with the
little circles.
~ Nancy
#birthdays #buildinggodlygenerations #nationbuilding #childrenareablessing #aboverubies #nancycampbell

Well, if we don’t, we are opposite to God, aren’t we?

Because this is God’s heart, we as parents should also rejoice over our children. Not complain about them but rejoice over them. And when our children grow up and get married, we’ll rejoice when God gives them children.

Isn’t it sad that so many parents warn their children NOT to have children when they get married, but to wait a few years. I think many of you have been reticent to tell your parents that you are pregnant again, knowing they would be negative about it.

Isn’t that strange? Parents should REJOICE that God is blessing their children with a new precious life. That they are building the family dynasty. This is for their GOOD. There is no greater blessing than a precious new life, filled with potential, given to the parents to prepare for God’s destiny for them in this life and for the eternal world.

We turn over to Psalm 107:41-43 and read the response those who are “wise” have toward having children, not only one or two, but “like a flock”: “He maketh him families like a flock. The righteous shall see it, and REJOICE: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.”

Let’s be a rejoicing people in the goodness of the Lord.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting: Frances Tipton Hunter (1896 – 1957, American) | I AM A CHILD.

Some parents do easy parenting. Others are in for the long haul of earnest parenting!

It’s easy to get lax and want to make our children happy, especially for the moment. But seeking to make our children happy doesn’t always make a happy household. Of course, we want our children to be happy, but we also have a higher goal. We want them to be holy. Well, that’s doesn’t happen automatically. But we seek to daily train them to be obedient, to do what is right, and prepare them to be responsible, hardworking, diligent people. We are preparing them for their future. We are preparing them to enjoy a good marriage.

Our ultimate aim is not just happiness for the moment, but happiness for their future!

When we continually give into our children to give them anything they want when they want it may make them happy for the moment. But it produces children with an entitlement mentality. It produces children who easily get into a mood or have a fit because they don’t get what they want. I am sure you never allow pouting or moods in your household!

I don’t believe children should expect something every time they go to the supermarket or you are out shopping. What does this do? It teaches them that they can have whatever fancies them. This becomes a habit. This produces adults who are impulse buyers who buy things because they see them but don’t really need them. They don’t learn to conserve. They don’t learn discipline. It does not prepare them for marriage and on day managing a home with frugality.

Sometimes we discipline our children for disobedience and other times we can’t be bothered. We are not consistent, so our children don’t think it is important. But if we don’t train them to obey us and they only obey when we shout and yell after the thirteenth time of telling them, we are vacating our responsibility as a parent. And making a chaotic atmosphere in our homes.

Proverbs 29:17: “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.”

Don’t give into the easy way out. Be earnest. Be consistent. Train your children to the behavior you want in your home. And you can all enjoy rest, peace, joy, and happiness.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Why do mothers want to do inconsequential things when they could be doing eternal things? Why do they want to spend their time on “lesser” things when they could be doing “greater” things? I think it is because they are brainwashed by the liberal media, our education system, and the humanistic values of this society.

This was not the psyche of the women of old; it was their highest honor to bear children. When Rachel was barren, she cried out to her husband, “Give me children, or else I die” (Genesis 30:1).

Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Painting by Cristina Movileanu

I am continually amazed at our great God. He creates each new individual in the world unique and special. God has given you gifts and talents that no one else in the world has. I am sure you notice this in your children too. God has created each one with different talents, abilities, and gifts. There is no one like them in the whole word, and there will never be anyone like them again. Isn’t it amazing?

I often look at my grown children and I am amazed at their gifts and abilities. Where did they get them? They certainly didn’t get them from me. They have accomplished things that I couldn’t even dream about. I acknowledge their gifts come from God. He is the gift-giver. And because of this none of us can boast about any gift or talent we have. We would not even have it if God didn’t give it to us. 1 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT) says: “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?”

What does God want us to do with these gifts? He wants us to develop more gifts as we use what He gives to us (Matthew 25:14-30). And because He has given them to us, He wants us to use them to bless others. They are not really ours, for our pride or personal gain. They are given for the blessing of the world.

1 Peter 4:10 says: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Let me share some more translations with you.

JBP: “Serve one another with the particular gifts God has given each of you, as faithful dispensers of the magnificently varied grace of God.”

AMP: “Just as each one of you has received a special gift (a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God), employ it in serving one another.”

I notice that God doesn’t say that He wants us to use our gifts for monetary gain. Yes, it is true that people’s gifts enable them to make money, provide for their families, and many other families as well as they provide employment.

Many mothers use their gifts and creative abilities to create a home business that can help provide for their families. This can be a blessing, especially if you do it in the right season. There is always a season for everything. It is not wise to do this when you have little children. This can sometimes work out as your children get bigger and often the children can eventually become part of the family business.

However, we must remember that God wants us to use our gifts to bless others because He wants people to be blessed. He is the blessing God. And He can only bless His people through His servants. Therefore, don’t feel you have to do everything for money. Do it for love. Do it to bless others. Give freely.

And don’t wait for some big ministry before you use your gift. Sometimes Above Rubies readers send me poems to include in the Above Rubies magazine. I don’t always have room to publish everything that comes to me. I encourage these lovely ladies to not wait for something to be published before they use it. Instead, you can write a poem for someone who is lonely and in need. Write it on a beautiful card and send it to them. You can write poems for your children. For your husband. You can write rhymes and verses for Table Place Cards.

Are you a great cook? One day you may end up establishing a baking business from your home. But don’t wait for that. Bless you family with your wonderful cooking. Show hospitality. Bake and cook for those who are sick, for mothers with a new baby, and the elderly.

Whatever your gift, use it where you are. Use it for the people who are around you. As you are faithful to use it, God will open the bigger doors in His time and His way.

We read about Dorcas this morning in Acts 9:36-42. Verse 36 says: “this woman was FULL OF GOOD WORKS and ALMSDEEDS which she did." The word “almsdeeds” means “compassion, especially to the poor.” This word is not only used of the feeling of mercy but the action. That’s why it’s translated almsDEEDS! It is also translated “acts of charity.” It is love worked out in action.

You know the story of how this woman died, they called for Peter who prayed for her, and she was raised from the dead. Before Peter prayed, verse 39 (TPT) says: “There were many widows standing next to Peter, weeping. One after another showed him the tunics and other garments that Tabitha (Dorcas) had made TO BLESS OTHERS.”

She had a sewing gift which she didn’t use to establish a big business, but to reach out to the poor and bless others.

Let’s not forget the most important reason for the talents God gives to us.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Dear ladies, Are you praying? To be more specific, are you praying for our nation? I am increasingly aware that we are in a fight to save our nation.

The homosexual agenda is entrenching it’s way into our schools to educate our nation’s children that this lifestyle is normal and to be desired. I have talked with teachers who are mandated to honor students who change to the opposite gender.

Young children of even ten years are being influenced to lesbianism. This is not made up. I groaned and grieved with a friend last night as she told me the story of snatching their granddaughter from the public school system because of this pressure on her young life.

Children in our schools dress up as Muslims on World Hijab Day. True? Yes, photos to prove it. They are expected to repeat the Five Pillars of Islam. And this is in my state of Tennessee, as well as yours!

We now have a Somalian elected congressman, Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, who is a hater of Israel, pro-Palestinian, and who believes 9/11 was just “some people did something,” but means nothing to her. She hates this country, so why is she a congresswoman? And she is only one of the extreme leftists.

And now we have Pete Buttigieg running for president. An open homosexual! He proudly has his “husband” with him as he speaks to the swooning crowds. And he is running for the highest office in the land!

What has happened to our nation?

What has happened to our youth? How have they become so deceived?

They are completely brainwashed by our colleges and schools. They are embracing the philosophies of Bernie Sanders and the extreme socialists who promise everything for nothing. These students are supposed to be educated, but they do not even stop to think who will pay for everything. They want extreme socialism, which is really communism, and yet they don’t even know history. They think they are educated, but they don’t remember that every country that has embraced these philosophies has turned to poverty!

How can we hear these things and stay unmoved?

Can you stay the same? Dear ladies, we must pray. We must pray as families. We must gather our children and young people to pray with us. To pray morning and evening. Imagine if every family began to pray for our nation earnestly and daily. For a great revival of righteousness and people turning back to God.

Do you have a prayer meeting in your home? Or do you go to a prayer meeting? If you don’t. Start one. Gather in friends and neighbors. We have always had a prayer meeting in our home. Since coming out to the woods here in Tennessee we have had a weekly prayer meeting in our home for over 18 years, never missing.

And if you have a prayer meeting in your home, don’t put the children to bed. Encourage them to part of the prayer meeting. The greatest thing your children can be part of is a prayer meeting.

It saddens me that so many young people from Christian homes are not interested in praying. Have they not been taught the power of prayer? Do they not know that they are the generation who will face raising their families in a God-forsaken country if they don’t pray? A country reduced to the poverty of Venezuela?

We have Prayer Boxes for our family prayer times. They help us to keep focused. We use our Family Prayer Box each morning and evening so we are faithfully praying for family members. And then we choose one other of our nine different boxes. Here is a picture of our Nation Changing Box which is a miniature of the Liberty Bell. We use this for praying for the nation.

You can read about our Prayer Boxes by going to this link: http://tinyurl.com/TryDifferentPrayerBoxes

Praying families are nation changing families.

Praying families are world changing families.

Arrange your days and your lifestyle in your home to become a praying family. You can be part of seeing God do a mighty work in our nation.

We cannot carry on life as usual. We must make time to pray.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

P.S. I have also listed 50 Scripture Prayers that David prayed against his enemies. You can use these prayers to pray against President Trump’s enemies (who is daily surrounded by enemies) and for the enemies of righteousness in the land. I can email them to you if you email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

http://aboverubies.org/morning-evening-principle

http://tinyurl.com/TryDifferentPrayerBoxes

WHEN YOU RECEIVE A LITTLE CHILD INTO YOUR ARMS, YOU RECEIVE JESUS
Let me encourage you mothers who are feeling that your role is not significant. Remember that Jesus said that those who receive a little one in his name, receive Him (Matthew 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37; and Luke 9:46-48).

WHEN YOU EMBRACE MOTHERHOOD, YOU ARE SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD
When he told his disciples to seek first the kingdom of God in order that all their material needs be met, He later compared the kingdom of God to ministering to children when he said, “of such is the kingdom.” (Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:4; and Luke 18:16).

WHEN YOU NURTURE CHILDREN AND SERVE THE NEEDY, YOU ARE DOING GOD’S WORK
When widows were to be considered by churches for receiving financial help, the criteria was that the widow had been known for nurturing children and ministering to the saints, not for having had a lucrative career, or some other socially recognizable achievement (1 Timothy 5:10). This is not to disparage women who have ministered through a career, but it is to encourage those whom God has blessed with children to see their short time with them as a stewardship and eternally significant calling.

YOU ARE STORING UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN
It is not an insignificant thing to see the children with which God has blessed us as the highest treasure that we have been given. Jesus said to store up treasure in heaven, not earthly things that fade away (Matthew 6:19-21). Children are eternal souls and any investment we make into nurturing and teaching them of their highest calling in life, which is to know, love, and serve God, is storing up treasure in heaven.

YOU ARE DOING WHAT GOD PLANNED
Titus 2 tells older women to encourage the younger women to love their husbands and children. If this priority weren't at the heart of God for women, He would've encouraged women in all the other things that the world encourages.

YOU ARE DOING THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB IN THE WORLD
Mother, don't let the world lie to you about what's important! Keep on investing in those lives that will all too soon leave the nest. You are doing the most important job in the world!

~ Val Halloran (mother and grandmother).

Painting by Jessie Willcox Smith.

Dear folks, sorry this is a hard article to read, but it reveals one of the sources of the intentional breakdown of family today. We must read it so that we know the source of our enemy. ~ Nancy

You can read the whole article below, but the following is an important excerpt to read:

“It was 1969 and she took me to a meeting at her friend, Lila Karp’s place, in Greenwich Village,” Mallory explains. “At a consciousness raising (an idea imported from Mao’s China), twelve women gathered at a large table. They opened with a type of Litany from the Catholic Church. But this time it was Marxism, the church of the Left.”

“Why are we here today?” the chairwoman asked. “To make revolution,” they answered.

“What kind of revolution?” she replied. “The Cultural Revolution,” they chanted.

“And how do we make Cultural Revolution?” she demanded.

“By destroying the American family!” they answered.

“How do we destroy the family?” she came back.

“By destroying the American Patriarch,” they cried exuberantly.

“And how do we destroy the American Patriarch?” she probed.

“By taking away his power!” “How do we do that?”

“By destroying monogamy!” they shouted. “How can we destroy monogamy?”

“By promoting promiscuity, eroticism, prostitution, abortion and homosexuality!” they resounded.

Such antics might seem insignificant except for the fact that these women achieved all of their goals.

The full article:
THE DARKNESS AT THE HEART OF RADICAL FEMINISM
And how it's savaging western civilization.

In 1970, the academically successful but mentally unstable Kate Millett found herself on the cover of Time magazine with the title “The Politics of Sex: Kate Millett and Women’s Lib,” featuring her book Sexual Politics. Considered groundbreaking, Millett quickly became the intellectual force behind radical feminism. Time called her the “high priestess” of the movement and her book, its bible.

The New York Times also called her book “the Bible of Women’s Liberation” and “a remarkable document because it analyzes the need and nature of sexual liberation while itself displaying the virtues of intellectual and emotional openness and lovingness.” Time also called her “the Karl Marx of the Women’s Movement” because her book laid out a course in Marxism 101 for women. “Her thesis: The family is a den of slavery with the man as the Bourgeoisie and the woman and children as the Proletariat.”

A few months after Millett appeared on Time’s cover, the magazine ran a second article about her, this time less laudatory. The article, entitled “Women’s Lib: A Second Look,” attacked Millett for her bisexuality. The fame and the shame, many people say, destroyed her. Her personality wasn’t strong enough for the glowing limelight, followed by the dark scrutiny.

Dark and Demented

“Kate had a s***load of charm and, in the beginning, a commanding presence,” Phyllis Chesler recalls. “But she also had periods in which she didn’t sleep, raged at others, attempted suicide, and exploited her groupies — all the while feeling victimized by them (which she was). She couldn’t be counted on to remain lucid at a press conference. She also fell in love, and tried to have her way, quite aggressively, with woman after woman (including me).”

Millett died in 2017. But her sister, Mallory Millett, has started speaking up about the irreparable damage Kate did to Western culture through the popularization of her dark and demented work. Mallory attests to the fact that Kate’s mania wasn’t brought on by the Time articles. It had preexisted her fame since childhood. “She was the most disturbed, megalomaniacal, evil and dishonest person I have ever known,” Mallory said. “Kate tried to kill me so many times that it’s now an enormous blur of traumatizing horrors. She was a sadist, a torturer, a deeply-engrained bully who took immense pleasure in hurting others.”

“What the Time article did do,” Mallory says, “is it destroyed her marriage. Despite being seduced by a female professor in college, Kate had given up her lesbian lifestyle when she married Fumio Yoshimura, and for seventeen years, they had a happy marriage.”

After the Time article appeared Kate got ambushed at an evening church meeting by a cabal of lesbians, who felt left out of the movement’s limelight. “To defend herself against their charges, Kate confessed that she had once been a lesbian, unaware that two Time reporters were among the throng. This prompted the second Time article, but it also led Kate back to promiscuity as a lesbian and the ruin of her life with Fumio. It was something that she would regret for the rest of her life.”’

Relationships Destroyed

Kate’s relationship and the years of heartache and regret it brought to both spouses proved hardly an isolated case. The movement destroyed relationship after relationship with the promise of free love and liberation. Bodies were used for amusement and vows and promises were quickly tossed aside.
Mallory spent a period devoted to her sister Kate and her radical ideas before returning to the Catholic faith of their childhood. She eventually left Kate’s inner circle when things just got too weird. But she spent enough time with women in the movement to see its underbelly. Mallory has dark stories that make it clear these women were involved in the occult, with a Marxist twist.

A Litany of Evil

“It was 1969 and she took me to a meeting at her friend, Lila Karp’s place, in Greenwich Village,” Mallory explains. “At a consciousness raising (an idea imported from Mao’s China), twelve women gathered at a large table. They opened with a type of Litany from the Catholic Church. But this time it was Marxism, the church of the Left.”

“Why are we here today?” the chairwoman asked. “To make revolution,” they answered.

“What kind of revolution?” she replied. “The Cultural Revolution,” they chanted.

“And how do we make Cultural Revolution?” she demanded.
“By destroying the American family!” they answered.

“How do we destroy the family?” she came back.

“By destroying the American Patriarch,” they cried exuberantly.
“And how do we destroy the American Patriarch?” she probed.

“By taking away his power!” “How do we do that?”

“By destroying monogamy!” they shouted. “How can we destroy monogamy?”

“By promoting promiscuity, eroticism, prostitution, abortion and homosexuality!” they resounded.

Pregnancy Is “Barbaric.”

Such antics might seem insignificant except for the fact that these women achieved all of their goals. The rhetoric used to convince women to engage in these things seems ridiculous now, but somehow it was compelling then.

But the craziness didn’t stop with Kate. “Shulamith Firestone called pregnancy ‘barbaric,’ preferred artificial reproduction and imagined a utopia in which children, like Eros, would roam freely throughout the world.” Mallory adds, “Greer, with a PhD from Cambridge, encouraged women to taste their own menstrual blood and discouraged them from partnering monogamously. ‘Women,’ Greer claimed, ‘have very little idea of how much men hate them.’”

These ideas extended beyond their little troop of women through the women’s studies programs they helped establish across the country. In those women’s studies classes, a young impressionable girl, Mallory explains, “will be told, ‘Be an outlaw, be a damned outlaw Every law was concocted by dead white men. Be a sl*t and be proud of it.’”

Millett and her crew of eleven young women lived by this very philosophy. They started calling themselves “sl*ts” and engaged in orgies and every other sort of thing that captured the imagination.

Marxism and the Occult

Mallory marvels at how it happened, how this anti-apostolic crowd succeeded so wildly in their ragtag efforts from start to finish. “These twelve American women who were the most respectable types imaginable. Clean and privileged graduates of esteemed institutions: Columbia, Radcliffe, Smith, Wellesley, Vassar. The uncle of one was secretary of war under Franklin Roosevelt. How could they plot such a thing?” she asks.

“Most had advanced degrees and appeared cogent, bright, reasonable, and good. How did these girls rationally believe they could succeed with such vicious grandiosity? And why?” Clearly, there had to be more to their motivation and Kate’s mania. Their adherence to Marxism, and their engagement in the occult, made it a perfect storm of destruction. It was an anti-Marian bomb that is still exploding throughout Western culture.

This post is an excerpt from Carrie Gress’ new book:
THE ANTI-MARY EXPOSED: RESCUING THE CULTURE FROM TOXIC FEMININITY

It comes down to this! The majority of women today want to take the man’s role. They want to get out into the market place and be the provider. There is not one career they haven’t invaded. Even the military and fire-fighting. And, of course, the standard has dropped to allow them in.

Not only do they want to take the man’s role, but they want their man to think and be like them. They don’t want to accept him as a real man with leadership and the anointing of authority. They want a weaker man they can order around. They want him to think like them and fit in with their plans.

This is utter delusion. We are created differently! Male and female are not the same. Each are totally different—physically, emotionally, and mentally. And this is the fun part. We do not blur the roles, which never works. We are two different people who when we embrace our unique roles and free each other to fulfill the roles God intended we fit together. We accomplish God’s plan and purposes.

The female body is geared to motherhood right down to her elbows which are bent differently than men’s. Why? To perfectly cradle a baby. Men are created with 50 percent more brute strength than men to do stronger work.

When are women going to stop heading down the path the enemy has planned for them? It’s the opposite to the way God created us. It’s the opposite to the way He planned for women to function.

It is a denial of God, the Creator. He is the Potter and we are the clay. And yet today, His creation no longer want to be clay in His hands, but are hard and cracked and cannot be molded to God’s plan. They fight it tooth and nail.

Dear mothers, we do not have to be intimidated by the feminists and humanists. We can lift up our heads and rejoice that when we submit to our Potter that He will work in us all that he has planned, not only for now, but for eternity.

He uses the powerful role of motherhood to fashion and mold us into His image to make a beautiful vessel for His glory. And our husband can become the man God intends him to be.

Be encouraged today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting by Sandra Kuck.

Have you seen the movie, UNPLANNED yet? Please go. Take people with you. Be a voice for God and a voice for life.
~ Nancy

Yesterday I posted Meadow's article about the misconceptions of non-feminist women. Today, I'd like to post about WHO WE ARE as feminine women.

QUINTESSENTIALLY FEMININE
Part 1

I read these beautiful words, “quintessentially feminine” in Song of Songs and was arrested by them. What does it mean to be feminine? I don’t mean feminine according to society’s standards, but rather what is quintessentially feminine. It means the perfect embodiment of who God originally created us to be. It is who we are in our purest form. Instead of looking around us to see what other women are doing to find our standard, we check the plumb line of God’s Word or even at our inherent inclinations which God has divinely put within us.

One of the most beautiful aspects of femininity is pregnancy. The pregnant figure is beautiful. In this awesome time of a woman’s life, she has the privilege of housing and growing a new life, a life that will not only be born into this world, but an eternal soul that will live forever. Absolutely nothing in this world is more powerful than nurturing an eternal soul. This season of a woman’s life is only for a certain time. It is her time of visitation which is only about 20 plus years of her whole life, not many years when you consider that most women live into their eighties and nineties today. It is the privileged time of a woman’s life when God can visit her to conceive life.

Every conception discloses a visitation of God. Mere man cannot give conception. After Hannah dedicated her firstborn Samuel to God and took him to live at the temple, God “visited” her five more times and gave her five more children (1 Samuel 2:21). Genesis 21:1 also tells us how God “visited” Sarah and she conceived.

There are only two kinds of human beings in this world—a man without a womb, the male; and a man with a womb, the woman. The womb is distinctive to God’s female creation.1 To embrace our womb is to embrace who we are; to reject the function of the womb is to not only reject the true essence of femaleness, but to reject our Creator who designed us.

Does the handicraft disown its Craftsman? Isaiah 29:16 (RSV) says: “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay; and the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” Have we become so shaped by a godless society that we no longer understand who we are? What perversity! 2

TO REJECT MOTHERHOOD IS TO REJECT
THE TRANSCENDENCE OF OUR FEMALENESS.

Motherhood is also part of our innate femininity. Noah Webster’s 1928 dictionary describes quintessential as “the highest essence of power in a natural body.” Motherhood is primal, powerful, protecting and permeating—not only in our children’s lives but in all of society. Motherhood is not something we perform at a certain time of our life. Motherhood is who we are as a female. When we reject mothering, we reject who God created us to be. The desire to nurture is divinely inherent in every woman, even those who seemingly reject motherhood. Those who refuse to embrace children into their arms will usually have a cat or a dog, which they nurture like a human baby!

To embrace motherhood is to embrace quintessential femininity. Motherhood is the highest career in the nation. It is a divine mandate. It is the glory of the nation. We read in Hosea 9:11 how God told Ephraim that He would take away their “glory” as punishment for their sins. What was their glory? Conception, pregnancy, and birth!

Not only is motherhood innately within us, but it reveals the nature of God. One of the names of God is El Shaddai which reveals God as a nursing mother. Motherhood is not something we “have to do,” but it is the revelation of the nurturing heart of God.

Webster (1913) describes quintessence as “an extract from anything, containing its rarest virtue, or most subtle and essential constituent in a small quantity.” We are not El Shaddai, but a little “shad” revealing to the world the rarest virtue of motherhood. When we embrace, and live in the glory of motherhood, we show to the world what God is like. When we reject motherhood, we deprive the world of seeing this characteristic of God.

There are some women who cannot conceive naturally. Are they denied motherhood? No. When a woman expresses her nurturing instinct to mother the hurting and needy, the elderly, the orphans and widows, or even to adopt a child, she finds her fulfillment in mothering. The most renowned mother of our last century was Mother Theresa, a woman who never birthed children, but who was the greatest example of motherhood as she poured out her life for the downtrodden.

PRAYER:
“I thank You, dear Father God for the gift of femaleness. You chose to create me female. This is how I will fulfill my destiny on this earth. Help me to understand the fullness of Your plan for me as a female. Help me to walk in the glory of femaleness You created it to be. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:
I live in the fullness of my femininity to glorify God.

NANCY CAMPBELL
www.aboverubies.org

Footnotes:
1. Go to http://bit.ly/ProtectYourWomb * an important document which every woman should read.

2. The Hebrew word for “you turn things upside down” is hophek and means “perversity!” Read also Isaiah 45:9-10; 64:8 and Romans 9:19-21.

Painting: Lullaby by Holly Irwin

The following is an article from my granddaughter, Meadow Hall. Meadow is Pearl’s daughter (Trim Healthy Mama). I know you enjoy hearing from Meadow.

FIVE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT NON-FEMINIST WOMEN
Are we non-feminists oppressed, misguided, or just deluded?

In a recent poll from Refinery29 and CBS News, 54 percent of young women in the US said they do not consider themselves proponents of the movement for gender equality, while 46 percent said they identified as feminists. If feminism is supposed to be a cause for women, why would more than half of us not identity as feminists? Have half of us just not caught up with the times yet?

Or maybe half of us are not being properly represented.

Feminists tend to be the loudest in their opinions among women (take the Women’s March for example), but the rest of us can often feel vastly misunderstood. So, before they try to convince us non-feminists that we’re still in the dark ages, maybe there needs to be more understanding about why we don’t find modern-day feminism appealing.

Misconception 1. WE HAVEN’T BEEN “ENLIGHTENED” YET
Some feminists assume that the only reason other women are not feminists, is because we’re “stuck” in traditional thinking and our eyes have not been opened to the “empowering” views of female equality.

It’s not because we haven’t been enlightened by feminist views. It’s because we’ve heard them, and we reject them.

The reasons for disagreeing can vary by person. For some, we see that many (but not all) feminists are extremely bitter towards men. They constantly punish them for being “animals,” “predators,” and “toxic” to society (and we kinda like men, and have some good men in our lives, so we think these gals are exaggerating a bit).

Many Christian women reject modern-day feminism because it’s pushing ideals that are completely out of line with the Bible and Christianity. Some women don’t like to be associated with feminism because they feel it has become an extremely far-left movement. And me? I’m not a feminist for these reasons and more.

Misconception 2. WE DON’T BELIEVE WE’RE EQUAL TO MEN
I feel like I shouldn’t need to explain this one, but unfortunately, I do.
I have never met a single anti-feminist who believes men are superior to women. I’m sure there are a small majority of women somewhere in our society who believe men are superior. But let’s face it, there are WAAAY more women who believe we are the superior gender. It is also more socially acceptable to call women “superior”.

Truth is, most non-feminists believe in some form of equality!

I believe in equality. I believe men and women are equally important. I believe Christian men and women are equal as inheritors of the Kingdom of God. And I believe both men and women should have rights.

*** “Men and women are created for DIFFERENT purposes!” ***

The reason I (and others) clash with feminism, is because men and women are not equally the same. Some of us are not caught up in the push to blur the line between genders. Not only do we recognize the clear biological distinctions between men and women, we believe that men and women were created for different purposes. Some of us even choose to embrace *gasp* traditional gender roles.

Of course, it would be silly to believe that men are not capable of doing domestic things at home, and women are not capable of running businesses and having careers. But we believe that women were put on earth for different reasons than men. We don’t feel the need to compete with men and prove how we are equal, because we embrace how we are unique. This also allows us to appreciate men for their own uniqueness without being jealous (or thinking they’re “superior”). We respect men for who they are, and we respect ourselves for who we are.

*** “We respect men for who they are, and we respect ourselves for who we are!” ***

Misconception 3. WE DON’T BELIEVE WOMEN SHOULD HAVE RIGHTS
Most anti-feminists are thankful that we have the liberty to attain higher educations, financial opportunities, and the right to vote. And most would agree that women should have equal pay (if they are in the same positions and putting in the same level and quality of work) as men.

We don’t believe women are supposed to be doormats and dominated by all men (even if we believe in the biblical commandment of submitting to our husbands).
Then why are we not advocating for women’s rights? Because we already have legal rights. We are living in the 21st century where women have all equal opportunities and the same important legal rights that men do! This is why many of us kind of see modern-day feminism as a dead cause!

What legal “women’s’ rights” are they talking about? The right to go topless like men? Reproductive rights (AKA, abortion)? The right to free birth control?
These so-called legal “rights” are nothing like the rights of first-wave feminism in the 19th and early 20th century that focused on overturning legal obstacles to gender equality and advocating voting and property rights. And many of us believe these new causes to be immoral.

However, there are a few feminists who are not advocates of these extreme so-called “rights.” And if they have no more legal battles to face, what are they fighting for? For social and cultural rights for women . . . we get it. There will always be women who will be raped, assaulted, or unfairly treated somewhere, even in our modern society.

Sure, there are plenty of women who need to be defended, but non-feminists recognize that women are not always the victims. Sometimes men are the victims. Sometimes men have it worse than women. Who’s fighting for them?

There are some feminists who claim that they fight for men’s rights equally, and maybe some of them do, but for us non-feminists, it just wouldn’t make sense for us to post hashtags like #Believewomen, or to march for a cause exclusively for women, or to be associated with the word “feminism”, which is a word for women.
Those things don’t sound like equality to us.

Misconception 4. IT’S THE WAY WE WERE RAISED
It is true that the way someone is raised may greatly influence their views on life and personal beliefs. A woman may be more likely to accept traditional gender roles if this is what her mother modeled for her. Likewise, many feminists may have had mothers who were more career-oriented.

However, we can still choose to reject or accept what we were taught. Sometimes women who were raised by more conservative stay-at-home moms, grow up to become far-left feminists. Some women who were told by their parents that they should put off having children and chase their career, may still desire a more domestic lifestyle.

The reason many women who were raised to embrace traditional gender roles may still accept them is because they have evaluated these beliefs themselves and they have seen the positive effects that this lifestyle had on their own mothers and families.

As a non-feminist, this is true from my own personal experience. My mother stayed home to raise us five children because she felt that we needed her during our growing years. My mother had other side careers going on, but she believed in putting us children first. This gave us comfort and security and highly benefited us in other ways. I see her years of staying home and serving us as a gift and self-sacrifice.

Because of her example, I wanted to be that kind of mother to my own children. I also want to give them the best that I can offer and impact the world through my children. When I was little, growing up to be a stay-at-home wife and mother was my ultimate dream. Now I walk in that role, not because I feel pressured by my family, but because this is a desire for me and a calling on my life.

Misconception 5. WE ARE “OPPRESSED” BY TRADITIONAL ROLES
Women who reject the idea that traditional female roles are oppressive, do so because they see those roles (such as placing family before a career) as an honor and more highly fulfilling than any career. It is society that teaches us these roles are “oppressive.”

*** “Women inherently want to nurture!” ***

But this doctrine goes against our womanly instincts. Women inherently want to nurture something. If a woman says she never wants to have children, she will still usually “mother” something (maybe a cat or a dog). And many mothers who do have careers, wish instead that they could stay at home with their children.

Maybe to feminists we are “oppressed” if we serve our families, but many mothers who get to stay at home and serve our families see it as an immense blessing. This is not to say we don’t have our own ambitions and passions, but we recognize what is truly precious in life.

It is true that there will be some women who will feel like they’re missing out when family gets in the way of their careers, but this is largely because society has taught that children are burdens instead of blessings.

Non-feminists reject the idea that we are free when we serve our employers, but slaves if we serve our husbands and children.

After all, love, family, and selflessness are really what life is about.

MEADOW HALL
Facebook: Meadow Hall
Instagram: _m_e_a_d_o_w_

This article is from SILK AND HONOR, her blog that inspires women in Faith, Fashion, & Femininity. For further articles, go to: www.silkandhonor.com

Photo: Meadow with her husband, Kendall.

Guard your resting place. Don’t let anyone or any organization or spoil your resting place. Deal with every situation that spoils the rest in your home. Don’t let them fester and grow bigger. Resist all outside evil influences. Take time to create order and peace in your home. Make it what God wants it to be—a “resting place.”

In Hosea 11:11 God says that He will “settle” Israel in their homes. God loves us to be settled. The Knox translation says: “In their own home, the Lord says, I will give them rest.” Isn’t that lovely? Often, we get overwhelmed and agitated in our spirits because we are too busy running here and there. When we get into this state, God reminds us to come back home. You’ll find rest in your home, not gadding about.

This doesn’t mean that you won’t be busy in your home. You can be busy and yet at rest in your spirit. Get into the habit of living a “restfully busy” life.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Theodore Robinson (1852-1896).