Nancy Campbell

HE WILL BLESS...

HeWillLoveTheeWe all want to be blessed by the Lord, don’t we? Did you know that God’s first and greatest blessing to you as a mother is to bless you with the fruit of your womb? There is no greater blessing that can come to you (apart from your salvation). Never despise or hold back from receiving this incredible and eternal blessing.

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CAST OUT SELF-PITY!

SelfPity

It keeps you depressed and your whole family with you!

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TIME TO SHINE YOUR LIGHT

TimeToRiseYes, it’s time to shine your light. Teaching God’s truth to your children at home and shining His light wherever you go. When you go shopping with your children, put a smile on your face and let the world see your joy in motherhood. Never be ashamed to show that you are a full time mother! You are showing to a deceived world God’s truth in living form.

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THE ANSWER TO REST

AnswerToRest

Do you enjoy a restful home?

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WHAT ARE FAMILY DEVOTIONS?

FamDevosGathering your family together daily to read God’s Word, Pray and worship God.
 
Why Is it important? Because…
 
1. It brings the presence of God into your home (Exodus 20:24).
 
2. It strengthens your marriage and family ties (Joshua 1:8 and Isaiah 59:21).
 
3. It is the greatest way to make sure your children are daily filled with God’s Word (Colossians 3:6). It is only the truth of God’s Word that fortifies them and saves them from the deceptions of our humanistic society.
 
4. It gives opportunity to discuss the Scriptures and divine truth together. It is an opportunity for the children to ask questions and for we as parents to ask the children questions.
 
5. It is the best way to make sure we pray together as a family—for one another, for our nation, for Israel, for the nations of the world, and for all those in need (2 Chronicles 7:14 and 1 Timothy 2:1-3).
 
6. It is imperative for beginning each new day by honoring and worshipping God as a family and to sit and listen to Him speak to us. We should gather as a family morning and evening (92:1-2).
 
7. It is essential for the blessing of the nation! When families no longer take time to pray and read God’s Word together, the family weakens. And when the family weakens, the nation weakens (Psalm 1:1-3 and Jeremiah 10:25).
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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FEED THE FIVE SENSES

FEED5SENSESSitting down to a meal is far more than eating food. Eating not only feeds a hungry tummy but includes all of the five senses—sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Can I encourage you to think about this as you prepare meals for your family? It will bring such blessing to your children.
 
SIGHT
 
To dish up a meal on an unset table is, I think, a sacrilege. I don’t even like to eat at a naked table (without a tablecloth). It is even worse to prepare a meal and let everyone eat it at different times and wherever they want or in front of the TV.
 
You can spend time preparing a lovely meal but if it doesn't minister to the sight, it doesn't have a great appeal. On the other hand, you can sit down to a humble meal, placed on a table that is prepared with dignity and love and it can be a spiritual experience. Proverbs 9:1-2 tells us that the wise woman PREPARES her table.
 
Even young children are aware of the atmosphere when they sit up to a delightfully prepared table. Perhaps you are a mother of young children, and you can't imagine one more task during the busy supper time. It takes all your effort to cook a meal without the extra work of setting a table!
 
But obstacles are only in our mind. It doesn't take long, and you can teach young children how to set a table properly. It is a basic task for them to learn and they will love to do it. You can make it a competition, as they each have their turn to see who can set it the most attractively.
 
It adds a touch of class and delight to use a tablecloth. If you haven't time for washing tablecloths, purchase some clear plastic which you can place over a pretty tablecloth, or purchase some attractive plastic cloths that you can wipe down after the meal. Add a candle, some flowers (even if they are wild flowers or weeds that your children find around), or a centerpiece to your table.
 
Encourage your children to set the table beautifully, not haphazardly. It will make all the difference to your meal.
 
Did you know that we taste with the eyes as well as the mouth? Make your food look attractive, too. Arrange it appealingly on the table in serving dishes or on individual plates if you do it this way.
 
HEARING
 
If you do happen to have TV in your home, make sure you turn it off during mealtime. Put on lovely peaceful music which you can have quietly playing in the background. Create a soothing atmosphere.
 
TOUCH
 
Hold hands together as you give thanks to God at the beginning of the meal. Create an atmosphere of togetherness and love.
 
SMELL
 
This is a very important part of each meal. Use herbs and spices to enhance your food. It will not only taste better but will fill your home with tantalizing aromas. There is nothing like smelling the food that is cooking for supper. It really makes home feel like "home, sweet home."
 
Did you know that God loves aromas? The meat that burned upon the altar was a "sweet smelling savour" to God (e.g. Genesis 8:21; Exodus 29:18, 25, 41; Leviticus 8:21; and 2 Chronicles 13:11).
 
TASTE
 
We wouldn't want to eat food if we couldn't delight in the flavor, would we? Make your food palatable and tasty. Be creative and make different kinds of tastes. Delight in the flavors of the foods God has created. We like to ooh and aah over the tastes of food in our family. I think God is happy about that. He likes us to appreciate what He has created.
 
You can also train your children's taste buds from a young age. Don't give them sweet junk foods when they are young, and they won't clamor for them when they are older. Feed them healthy food rather than junk food and that's the kind of food they'll enjoy. Don't even bring junk food into your home and you won't have trouble trying to stop your children eating it.
 
As you prepare your meal each evening, think about how you can impact the five senses of your husband and children. They will take these memories with them for life.
 
Blessings from NANCY CAMPBELL
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ARE YOU A LIFE-LONG LEARNER?

RULearningEducation is for life. Not only should our children learn something new each day but we as parents should also. A good question to ask at your family meal table is “What is something new you have learned today?”

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DO YOU EAT TOGETHER?

DoUEatTogetherIn a day when many families eat on the run, around the TV, or at different times, why is it important to come together as a family and SIT AT THE TABLE FOR FAMILY MEALTIMES? Because...
 
1. The table is a GATHERING PLACE. There is nothing like food to gather the family together. And when we come together, we relate to each other. And when we relate together, it binds us closer together.
 
2. The table is a COMMUNICATING SPOT. It's where we interact with our children and talk heart to heart and soul to soul. Food and fellowship go together. They are twins. It’s “face-to-face table fellowship.” God didn't intend us to eat on the run. When Jesus fed the 5,000 plus, He made them first sit down in groups before He fed them.
 
3. The table is an ENQUIRING PLACE. It's where we have more time for the children to ask us questions and we can ask them questions. We become part of one another's lives.
 
4. The table is a DISCUSSION ASSEMBLY. I believe it is as important to prepare what you are going to talk about at the table as what you are going to eat. Think about topics you can discuss when you sit down for your evening meal—biblical, spiritual, geographical, or political, etc. Ask fun questions and get everyone involved.
 
Or you can ask each person to come to the table prepared to share about a book they have been reading recently. Or share about a person who has impacted this world. Sometimes, we have a general knowledge quiz at the table. Use your imagination to make your family table fun and exciting.
 
5. The table is a RELAXING OASIS. Ooops. I know that it's not often like that when you are still training little ones. However, be diligent to keep training for you will eventually reap wonderful blessings. Food releases oxytocin which is a calming hormone. Therefore as you gather together as a family to eat and share together, you relax. Isn't that great?
 
6. The table is a SPIRIT-FEEDING PLACE. We must change our mindset. The table is not only a place to feed our children's hungry tummies, but a place to feed the whole man—body, soul, and spirit. If we let our children leave the table before we feed their spirit, they leave half fed.
 
The physical food fills us up, relaxes us, and prepares us for the most important feeding, the feeding of the spirit—the reading of God’s Word which feeds the inner man. It is even more important than the outer man. We call it Family Devotions in our home, but you may use a different name. Christian families in The Netherlands call it "Finishing up the Meal." They don’t leave the table only half fed, but finish up their meal by feeding their spirit, the most important part of our being.
Don't starve the inner man of your children.
 
7. The table is an ALTAR, A PLACE FOR PRAYER. After the reading of God’s Word we love to pray and worship with a hymn or worship song. It is a great time to pray as the whole family is gathered together. You can understand why the enemy tries his hardest to stop us from gathering together at the table. He knows we’ll most probably miss praying together and he doesn’t want prayer! It’s prayer that destroys his works and enhances God’s kingdom.
 
Don’t let the devil win in your home.
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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BOYS MUST BE BOYS

BoysBoysCurrently my sister and her husband are living with us as they wait for their new home to be built. Because we are together, often memories of our childhood come up and we talk and laugh about them.
 
The other day we were reminiscing about how all the children on our street would converge on to our front lawn and play together. After a big conflab about their next venture, they’d soar into action.
 
My father possessed a large box of boxing gloves, and the neighborhood boys loved to have boxing matches (or wrestling matches). This often culminated with boys going home with black eyes and bleeding noses! Did anyone worry about it? No. Did concerned parents call up and complain? No. The boys were back the next day for another round!
 
Now we live in a different world. Many parents today would be calling the CPS to complain about these parents allowing their boys to be so rough, coming home with torn clothes and bleeding faces! But these boys loved every minute of it. They were boys! And the parents thought nothing of it! They wanted their boys to be boys. To grow up to be men who could face the struggles of life and know how to take a blow!
 
What a life these children had. On our back paddock they’d set up racing tracks. They wrecked every bicycle in the neighborhood. Each time my parents bought me a bicycle it would be in pieces in two weeks by the time my brother had finished with it.
 
They built underground tunnels that went for hundreds and hundreds of yards. It must have been good practice for when my brother later owned his own plumbing business.
 
Psalm 144:12 speaks of our “sons as plants, becoming great in their youth.” We don’t keep them like little boys. We train them to become mature and grow into manhood even in their youth.
 
Of course, they won’t be playing all the time. They are also learning how to work hard, how to finish a job, and take responsibility.
 
Make opportunities for your boys to be boys.
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
 
 
 
Painting: Susan Blackwood
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SERVE OTHERS WHEN YOU'RE DOWN

wheneverBlueWhen you are facing sickness or troubles, minister to someone else who is sick or in trouble and you’ll be amazed how healing will come to you.

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A FRESH ACT OF GOD

FreshAct“The newborn babe is a fresh act of God. He is the latest revelation of God’s creative handiwork.”
- S. D. Gordon
 
I love this quote.
 
Drawing by my current Above Rubies helper, Greta Adams.
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REPORTING FOR DUTY

ReportDutyKeep your eyes upon the Lord rather than your difficulties and obstacles. God is bigger than any challenge you are facing today.

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THE LOVELIEST MASTERPIECE

LovliestMasterpeice

So true.

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HOW HIGH IS YOUR VISION?

HowHighVisionWhat is your ultimate vision for your children? To get them into the best college? Push them to get a degree and make a name for themselves? Or to see Christ formed in them? To see them walking in the truth? To see them passionate for Jesus Christ and His kingdom?
 
We encourage and spur on our children according to the vision we have for them. I am sure, along with me, your vision is higher for your children than the temporal things of this world. You long for them to grow into the likeness of Christ and to walk in the fear of the Lord.
 
To do this takes more intensive mothering. You not only care for your children physically, but you watch over their souls and their spirits. You not only encourage your children, but sometimes you must warn them. It’s much harder to warn and admonish. But we do it out of our intense love for them and our desire to see them walking in holiness.
 
Colossians 3:16 tells us that God’s Word should “dwell in you RICHLY in all wisdom.” That means we must also get it RICHLY into our children’s hearts. This Scripture then goes on to say: “Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” ADMONISHING one another. What does that mean? The word is “noutheteo” and means “to put into the mind, to reprove gently, to warn.” In other Scriptures this same word is translated as “warn.”
 
I love the words Paul wrote to the new Corinthians believers. He wrote from the heart of a father, but it also speaks to us as mothers too. 1 Corinthians 4:14: “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn (noutheteo) you. For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have you not many fathers.” Paul wrote to warn them, but do you see his heart? He wrote to them as “BELOVED SONS.” He warned them because of his great love for them and his longing to see them grow in Christ.
 
Acts 20:31 shows us again how Paul warned his children in the faith. For three years Paul “ceased not to warn (noutheteo) every one night and day with tears.” How did he warn and admonish? With tears. Tears in their presence and tears before the throne of God.
 
Dear mothers, let’s not lack in our mothering. We are nurturing the spirit of our children as well as the physical. We cannot let sin and waywardness go unattended. We must admonish and warn, but we do it with tears. We do it because they are our BELOVED sons and daughters. We will not let them be taken over by the deceptions of the devil.
 
Be encouraged today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE BEING TAUGHT?

EducateChildrenDo they have a biblical world view? Are God’s truths penetrated into their hearts and minds more than the ideologies of this world? Can they contend for their faith? This is your responsibility as a parent.

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THE HEART OF THE MATTER

HeartofMatterGod is Father. He loves to father. He is the source of all parenting.
 
Talking about Jesus Christ, God says in Hebrews 1:5: “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” As we read this Scripture, see God’s heart as a Father. Jesus Christ is His “beloved Son.”
 
When we have a desire to bring forth children, we reveal the heart of our God. To desire to be a father and a mother is God-like. God gives to every man unique and differing gifts. However, no matter what gifts or career a man has, his greatest calling is fatherhood. He is made in the image of God who is a Father. Everything else in life serves this highest purpose.
 
It is the same for us as women. Each one of us has different gifts and abilities which we use for the blessing of others in this life. But we are essentially mothers. Or I should say quintessentially, for we were created for this purpose. When we embrace mothering and our nurturing anointing, we reveal God’s heart. The core of His heart.
 
Embrace your beautiful calling, mother. You are in God’s perfect will. You are revealing His likeness to the world.
 
To reject mothering is to reject the likeness of God. (And precious mothers who are unable to have children of your own, please don’t despair. You are also great mothers as you release your nurturing anointing to those God brings into your life).
 
We see such a hatred today to God’s ultimate plan for families. It comes from the pit of hell. When it comes to our attitude toward family, we are either on God’s side or the devil’s side. There is no in-between.
 
Be blessed,
 
Nancy Campbell
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ARE YOU BUILDING A FIRM FOUNDATION?

BibleAsFam

Are you making this a priority in your home each day?

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THE DREADED WORD

DreadedWordI wonder why the modern women, even Christian women, hate the word submission. Help! I wonder what they do with this Scripture in 1 Timothy 2:11? “Let the woman learn in silence with ALL subjection.” The Greek word here is “hupotage” which is a little stronger than the usual word for submission which is “hupotasso.” Other translations of the Bible translate it this way:
 
CJB: “fully submitted.”
 
NASB1995: “entire submissiveness.”
 
MLB: “complete submission.”
 
What does the usual word, ‘hupotasso” mean?
 
“Hupo” means “under” and “tasso” means “to set in order.”
 
I know that you are familiar with the Scriptures on this subject. Let’s remind ourselves of just one or two:
 
Ephesians 5:24: “Therefore as the church is subject (hupotasso) unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”
 
Colossians 3:18: Wives, submit (hupotasso) yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”
 
Oh, I know there will be lots of “buts.” It’s amazing how we have the audacity to "but" at the Word of God, isn’t it?
 
I think that often women don’t embrace submission because they don’t fully understand who God is. Our God is not one God, but three in one. The triune God live together in perfect harmony and unity, each submitted to one another. God did not make up the idea of submission as a negative to place upon people. No, it is inherent in the Godhead. It is who God is. And we are created in His image.
 
Look at this Scripture in 1 Corinthians 15:28: “And when all things shall be subdued (hupotasso) unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject (hupotasso) unto him that put all things under (hupotasso) him, that God may be all in all.” God who is ALL IN ALL, wants to give all authority to His Son and put all things under Him. But when that time comes and all people and dominions and kingdoms will bow down to the Son of God, then the Son submits all things back to the Father. Submission is a delight in the heart of God.
 
If we want to be like Him, we will want to have a spirit of submission in our hearts towards our husband and to all, as it says in Ephesians 5: “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
 
It is the spirit of Jesus. Read Philippians 2:5-8. It is the opposite of the humanist and feminist spirit today that will not submit to any law of God and who only want to be a law unto themselves.
 
To which kingdom do we belong?
 
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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LET’S LIVE IN THE REALITY

LiveInRealityYesterday I shared how day care is counterfeit for a mother being with her little one in the home. There is no way to give back to your child all they miss by being in daycare and away from mother. The constancy of motherhood can never be duplicated. In fact, the baby begins to bond with the mother while in the womb and listens to hear her voice when coming into the world.
 
It is interesting to note that when a babe is nursing at the breast and their eyes begin to focus, their first focal length is about eight inches, the length from the baby’s eyes to the mother’s face. God intends that the first thing a baby beholds is his or her mother’s face. Face to face is true communication. It begins at the breast and should continue through life.
 
That’s why it is important for us to gather our families around the table to enjoy face to face table fellowship. When we do not eat our meals together and when family members are instead glued to social media, they are not living in reality but a counterfeit world.
 
It is God’s plan for the mother to nurse her baby from the breast. Bottle feeding is also counterfeit. Now please don’t get upset. I know there are sometimes physical difficulties that don’t allow a woman to breastfeed. I have dear friends who have faced this problem. But we know it is God’s original plan and therefore the mother needs to be with her baby. The baby needs her, and she needs her baby. The nursing mother is blessed with oxytocin and prolactin which release calming, joyful, and mothering hormones that enable her to mother even more intimately and powerfully.
 
Now here’s another counterfeit, the pacifier. It’s actually a “mother substitute.” Oh my, I hope that doesn’t make you too angry with me. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use one, but the fact of the matter is that God created our babies with a sucking instinct that is to be satisfied by the mother. Sometimes we can’t believe that our baby wants to nurse AGAIN, and he has only just been fed.
 
Nursing a baby is far more than just feeding a baby. It is nursing the baby to minister to every need of the baby. When we read Isaiah 66:10-13 we see an allegory of where God likens the city of Jerusalem to a nursing mother. We don’t even read the word food, but we read the beautiful attributes to satisfy, console, delight, comfort, and the anointing of peace. The baby needs more sucking than only for feeding. It is important for their facial development. It is important for their inner soul.
 
And once again, it is a blessing to the mother. The more the mother suckles her baby at the breast, the more she holds back ovulation. Satisfying the baby’s sucking needs is a natural form of contraception.
 
A few thoughts for you to contemplate.
 
Love and blessings from Nancy Campbell
 
 
 
Painting: "Maternity," 1959 -- by Jurandir Ubirajara Campos
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YOU CAN’T BEAT THE GENUINE

BeatGenuineGod has the genuine, the devil has the counterfeit. This is true in every situation. The devil hates every plan and purpose of God and therefore seeks to deceive people and give them a counterfeit of the real. Often the counterfeit looks very good, especially to the wise of this world, but God laughs at the wisdom of man. It is foolishness in His eyes.
 
Motherhood is God’s genuine plan for caring for children—for all generations. What do I mean by motherhood? To embrace it with your whole heart. To receive with joy each little baby God sovereignly gives to you. True motherhood does not give away a baby, toddler, or young child to someone else to raise. This is the devil’s counterfeit.
 
And yet it is accepted as norm in our society today. Truly we have turned things upside down. God says these very words in Isaiah 29:16 (ESV): “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that 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’?”
 
No one can mother a baby like the true mother. Day care workers can be conscientious to protect, feed, and care for babies and young children, but they do not intuitively understand the inner needs of the child. They don’t even have the hormones of oxytocin and prolactin filling them with motherliness. In fact, they are doing it for pay!
 
Oh, there is a great difference when we do something for pay than when we do it instinctively. I remember watching my daughter, Serene, nurture her last baby, Solly. She mothered her to pieces. Nursed her constantly. She was rarely out of her arms or her baby carrier. When she was on her lap, she was talking to her, adoring her, squeezing her fat little thighs, massaging her, and doting on her.
 
And then she had all her siblings vying to hold her, laugh and smile at her, and love her. A baby in a day care is watched over, but never gets this amount of love and attention. And it is all for delight and love. The mother isn’t dreaming of money.
 
Job 7:2 talks about the employed person who waits for his or her wages. A day care worker can do her work diligently, but ultimately, they do it for pay. They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t getting paid. Conversely, the mother nurtures out of her mothering anointing. Jesus also speaks of the difference between the hired worker and the true shepherd in John 10:11-13. The true shepherd gives his life for the sheep whereas the hired worker does it for pay.
 
Let’s not get sucked into the deception of this society. There’s just too much deception around. Let’s stand up for the real and genuine, even if we need to sacrifice and go without!
 
Love to you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
 
 
Painting by Annie Henrie Nader
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