Ten days ago, on the 14 June, Elisabeth Elliot went to be with her Savior and Lord. It is most fitting on this Above Rubies page to honor one of the greatest “older women” in our nation. She originally became known world-wide because of her husband Jim Elliot’s martyrdom (along with the five American missionaries) who gave their lives to bring the gospel to the Auca Indians, and the writing of her powerful books. I read “The Shadow of the Almighty”as a young woman, before I was married, and it totally revolutionized my life. Jim was the one who wrote the lines: “He is not fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”
However, Elisabeth also became a faithful teacher of God’s truth to the wives and mothers of the nation (Titus 2:3-5). Who will now stand in the gap? May God raise up many more older women to walk in her steps.
Here is a quote from Elisabeth to encourage you today. It is taken from her book, The Shaping of a Christian Family:
“There is no nobler career than that of motherhood at its best. There are no possibilities greater, and in no other sphere does failure bring more serious penalties. With what diligence then should she prepare herself for such a task? If the mechanic who is to work with “things” must study at technical school, if the doctor into whose skilled hands will be entrusted human lives, must go through medical school . . . how much more should the mother who is fashioning the souls of the men and women of tomorrow, learn at the highest of all schools and from the Master-Sculptor Himself, God.
To attempt this task, unprepared and untrained is tragic and its results affect generations to come. On the other hand there is no higher height to which humanity can attain than that occupied by a converted, heaven-inspired, praying mother.”
Be encouraged today,
Nancy Campbell
The kitchen is where we do a lot of taste testing, isn’t it? We have to taste the meals we create to make sure they are palatable and have a great flavor.
Home is a place of . . .
Did you know that in 1945 the average elementary school student had a vocabulary of 10,000 words? Today, the average child has a vocabulary of only 2,500 words!
DID YOU KNOW THAT NURSERY RHYMES HELP YOUR CHILD'S BRAIN?
“Each child will in the process of time be a defense, support and propagation of the eternal reproduction of man and fulfillment of the plan of God for man. The more arrows one has, the more enemies he will slay, the more powerful will he be in the earth. The more children born and saved to help God administer the affairs of the eternal plan for man, the more reward God will have.”
Some time ago I asked our readers to share the little things they do to show their husbands they love them. The following are the replies I received. Each one of us are different personalities and therefore we show our love in different ways. You may not do everything written in this list, but take time to read it through. Add some extras to the list of what you already do. Never be content with a boring marriage. Always be thinking of new and excitin
Did you know that your home is meant to be a treasure house, filled with the good things of God? Proverbs 15:6 says: “In the house of the righteous is MUCH treasure.” The word “treasure” in this Scripture also means “riches, strength.”
The other night, my two Above Rubies helpers, Eliza and Stephanie, came home through the woods from Evangeline’s place when it was dark. They had flashlights with them but still lost their way (even though it is only a few minutes from our home). As they had newly arrived to our place, they realized they should have become more familiar with the path during the day time. They certainly know their way now.
“During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman
We are the only creatures who have the privilege of bearing the image of God (Genesis 1:27). In so many aspects of our parenting we show what God is like. Some of them we take for granted, but if only we realized that we were being like God Himself, we would embrace them more eagerly.
In Psalm 133 it talks about the anointing oil running down from the head of the high priest to the skirts of his garments. The anointing oil was poured upon Christ (the anointed One) who is the head, but it is not stay only on Him. He wants it to run down His body, His body that is upon earth. He wants it to flow down upon you, even to the bottom of your skirts.
Where should we fight our battles? Preferably at the gate--before they come into the home! This is why we are gatekeepers. When the enemy comes to our gates, we contend with him there. We resist him and send him bouncing.
King David appointed 4,000 gatekeepers to watch over the treasures and entrances to the temple, each doing their duty in their courses. I was amazed to notice when reading 1 Chronicles 26 about the caliber of these men. They weren't wimps. Here's some of the descriptions in verses 6-8.
Isn't it amazing to think that Jesus chose His own mother? He was the Creator of His mother. The angel who came to her called Mary "highly favored" and three times she is referred to as "blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:28, 42, and 48).
The inspirational writer, A. W. Tozer writes: "How can God continually manifest His presence to the proud and the arrogant when He is so humble and low? To the lukewarm and the carless when He is so zealous? To the hard and the vengeful when He is so forgiving? To the harsh and severe when He is so kind? To the calculating when His love led Him to die? When we are so stained, how can we have fellowship with Him?"
Worry? Why worry? What can worry do?
Another lady comments on my post, WHAT I WOULD HAVE MISSED which you can read below. "I am torn with allowing God to bless us with children and the call to be good stewards of our money. If we are struggling financially, I've been told it is the responsible thing to take a pill or use condoms or take some measure to make sure we don't have any more children we can't afford. I've been told if we use WIC, we shouldn't have children anymore. I've been told if we 
One of our readers posted a reply to the post below: WHAT I WOULD HAVE MISSED. I would like to make some comments.
Below you can read a story of how a couple shared the news they were pregnant with all their friends. I know many of you have thought of unique and ingenious ways to tell your husband, your children, and your friends that you are having a baby. I would love to hear these wonderful stories. If you would like to share your story, can you please send it to me at