Nancy Campbell

THE UNKNOWN MISSIONARY

UnknownMissionaryMy mother, the unknown missionary

With five noisy children in tow,

From dawn till dusk we kept her busy

As she taught us and watched us grow.

Those child-days were long and wearisome

With babies, toddlers, and more.

But training up children in the way they should go

Was a mandate to Mum, not a chore.

It wasn’t easy with many small children,

The days stretched out long one by one,

“Don’t grow weary in doing what’s good”

Was the Scripture that encouraged Mum.

To God she always taught us to look,

Him we were taught to love,

As Friend and Savior, Lord of all,

Our minds were on things above.

Now we are grown and have all left home,

Waving goodbye one by one,

But we’ll always be impacted by the lessons taught

By the unknown missionary, our Mum.

~ Hannah Bronn

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IT’S ESSENTIAL

churchDo you plan to attend church this weekend and meet with the people of God? The gathering together of God’s people is not an option, but a command in God’s Word. Yes, I am sure you know Hebrews 10:25.
 
This last week I was also reminded from the Old Testament.
 
2 Chronicles 29:6, 7: “For our fathers have trespassed and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and have forsaken him, and have TURNED THEIR FACES AWAY FROM THE HABITATION OF THE LORD, AND TURNED THEIR BACKS. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense, nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel . . “
 
The habitation of the Lord was the tabernacle where they came to meet with God. We must never turn our faces from the house of God. When we choose to do something else rather than gather with the saints, we turn our faces away from God Himself. We turn our backs on Him.
 
I am amazed at how many excuses people use to forsake the weekly gathering of God’s people. Visitors arrive. “Oh, we better stay home.” No, bring your visitors with you.
 
“It’s such a glorious day. Too good to be inside. Let’s have a family picnic. It will be such a great family thing to do.” No. When you turn your face away from the gathering of God’s people, you turn your face away from God.
 
“I’ve got a headache today. I don’t feel so good. I think I’ll stay home.” No, the place to get healed is in the presence of God where His people are gathered.
 
Let’s put away all these feeble excuses. Even if we have to sacrifice, we keep to our commitment. Luke 4:16 tells us that it was Jesus’ habit to go to the synagogue every sabbath day. His parents established this habit in his life. This is a habit that we must instill in our children. It’s not something we do if we feel like doing, we do it because it is God’s plan! And we exemplify this habit to our children.
 
God’s fierce wrath was on the Israelites because they turned their faces away from His tabernacle. Conversely, we cannot expect God’s blessing upon us when we disregard the habitation of His house. When we turn our backs on God’s people, we turn our backs on God.
 
David said to the Lord in Psalm 26:8, 12: “LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth . . . in the congregations will I bless the LORD.”
 
Be blessed, Nancy Campbell
 

MORE SCRIPTURES FO YOU TO LOOK UP:

Psalm 22:22, 25; 35:18; 40:9, 10; 50:5; 55:14; 68:26; 92:13, 14; 106:47; 107:32; 111:1; 122:1; 149:1; Isaiah 2:3; Jeremiah 50:5; Zechariah 8:21, 22; Matthew 18:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; 4:31; 14:27; 20:7, 8; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 5:4; 10:17; 12:20; 14:23, 26; 16:2; Ephesians 4:15, 16, 25; 5:30; Colossians 2:2, 19; 1 John 3:14, 16; 2 John 1:12; and 3 John 1:14.

 
Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com
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ONCE UPON A TIME

OnceUponTimeI have been posting about living a lovely life. 1 Peter 3: 3-6 talks about this too. In fact it talks about living a BEAUTIFUL LIFE. It tells us about the women who lived “in the old time,” or as one translation says, “once upon a time.” Once upon a time, away back in history, women made themselves beautiful in a different way than now. But it is a way that is very precious to God. Let’s read about it in a few different translations so we can really get the picture:
 
New Century Version: “In this same way, the holy women who lived long ago and followed God made themselves BEAUTIFUL, yielding to their own husbands.”
 
New Living Translation: “This is how the holy women of old made themselves BEAUTIFU. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.”
 
New English Bible: “Thus it was among God’s people in days of old: the women who fixed their hopes on him adorned themselves by submission to their husbands.”
 
God never commands a husband to make his wife submit to him. God commands the husband to love his wife like his own body, as much as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:25-33). It is something she does of her own volition, from her humble heart of submission to the Lord. Submission is an adorning. It is something we put on and it is an adorning that makes us beautiful.
 
Are you getting the picture? Let me give you one more translation where the word “beauty” is mentioned SEVEN times! It’s the Barclay version: “Your BEAUTY must not be the superficial BEAUTY which depends on elaborate hair-styles and expensive jewellery and the wearing of fashionable clothes. No! Your BEAUTY must be the BEAUTY of your inner character and personality. It must consist of the BEAUTY of a gentle; and serene character, a BEAUTY which the years cannot wither, for in God’s sight that is what is really precious. This was BEAUTY with which once upon a time consecrated women, whose hopes were set on God, adorned themselves. They accepted the authority of their husbands. It was in this that Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him master.”
 
Why is submission a beautiful thing? Because it is the same attitude of Jesus who submitted to His Father’s will. Although Jesus was God, He was willing to leave the glory of Heaven and become a man, humble Himself, even to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
 
Do we have a submissive heart or a stubborn and rebellious heart? Are we making ourselves beautiful?
 
Blessings to you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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THE LOVELY THINGS THAT YOU’VE BEEN TAUGHT TO DO

LovelyThingsTaughtOne night I was laying in bed thinking about living a lovely life. I wrote about it in my post yesterday. A quote filtered through my mind about “the lovely things that you’ve been taught to do.”
 
Where did that quote come from? Who wrote it? I couldn’t remember. The next day it came to me! How could I forget? It’s the words in one of my own books! It’s one of the rhymes in NANNY’S NURSERY RHYMES called LEARN TO SHARE. The last lines of the second stanza say:
 
“For each other you should care
And always be aware
Of the lovely things that you’ve been taught to do!”
 
It made me realize how powerful the lines of little rhymes are for our children. These simple lines for children came back to remind me to live a lovely life. They will remind your children too.
 
Our children need constant reminders, and so do we.
 
Do you have this nursery rhyme book for your children? I’ll post details in the next post for you in case you don’t.:
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
 
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LIVING THE LOVELY LIFE

LiveLovelyLifeWhat a lovely thing to live a lovely life. Does that seem like a testimony of your life? Or do you feel you are living a sad life? Or a hard life? Or an overwhelming life?
 
Each one of us face challenges in life. Difficult things. Hurtful things. But they should not determine our lifestyle. Our lifestyle depends not so much on what happens to us or what happens around us but what is happening in us. When we are born again, we receive the life of Christ. We experience the truth of the Scripture, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1 27).
 
The “Christ in me life” is the lovely life. His life is filled with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, patience, rest, sweetness, victory and so on. Oh what a lovely life! Therefore we choose to live the lovely life, the life of Christ within us, or by the dictates of our flesh which is usually rather ugly.
 
1 Peter 2:12 (Barclay) tells us: “Live a LOVELY life among the heathen.” Yes, the Greek word is “kalos” and means “beautiful (even more than lovely), good, honest, worthy.”
 
We also read this word in Matthew 5:15, 16: “A lamp is not lit to be put under a bowl. It is lit to be put on a lampstand, and then it shines for EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE TO SEE IT. Just so, your light must shine for everyone to see, so that, when they SEE THE LOVELY THINGS YOU DO, it may make them want to praise your Father who is in heaven.”
 
The lovely life starts in the home. Our light first shines for everyone in our home to see and then shines out to neighbors and people around us. How do they see this light? By the countenance upon our faces. By our smiles. By the lovely things we do and say.
 
Do you speak lovely words to your husband? Oh dear one, speaking lovely words to your husband makes a lovely marriage. And a lovely marriage is one of the most beautiful things on earth.
 
Do you speak lovely words to your children? It’s hypocritical to speak nice words to others outside the home if you are angry, shouting, and nasty in the home.
 
Let’s yield to the life of Christ who lives within us and live a lovely life today—filling our homes with lovely words and actions.
 
May God smile upon your home today,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
Painting: Box Canvas Print. Husband and wife sit holding hands Date: 1913.
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THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE

BestYearsThese are the best years of your life,
Mothers, don't wish them away,
There's no greater joy on earth
Than these little ones at play.
No career can take the place
Of each precious little face,
As you savor all the love that's yours today.
 
These are the best years of your life,
Reject the lures and lies.
There's no thrill outside your door
That compares with what's inside.
The fulfillment that you seek
Is yours seven days a week
Through the children that God gave
to bless your life.
 
O turn back to the way it's meant to be,
Seek God's plan and the truth will set you free.
Death to self will bring forth life,
Joy is found in sacrifice,
Embrace the very best years of your life.
 
These are the best years of your life,
Just let contentment start.
You can touch unnumbered souls
Just by guiding your child’s heart.
To be faithful in the task
Will bring joy that really lasts,
In eternal blessings you are taking part.
 
O turn back to the way it's meant to be.
Seek God's plan and the truth will set you free.
Death to self will bring forth life,
Joy is found in sacrifice.
Embrace the very best years of your life.
Just embrace these very best years of your life.
 
C 2002, Val Halloran
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EACH NEW DAY

EachNewDayThe other morning Colin read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 in our daily devotion: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed year by year.”
 
“No,” we responded, “that’s not correct!” Colin often does this to trick us to see if we are really listening. Sometimes we may not pick up his Ploy. That means we’re not listening!
 
This Scripture does not say “year by year,” or even “month by month.” It says “day by day”! Take hold of this, dear mother. It’s DAY BY DAY. The Holy Spirit who dwells within you is alive and constantly working in you. He wants to refresh, revitalize, and renew you each new day.
 
How does it happen? Paul goes on to say, “While we look not at the things which are seen: but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal.” When you put all your energy and focus on the problems you face at hand they wear you out and grind you down. When you concentrate on how tired or how sick you feel, the more tired and sick you feel. There’s nothing like being depressed, despondent, and full of worry and self-pity to wipe you out and make you feel lousy.
 
However, when you look up to the Lord and see beyond the temporal, to understand that your problem is only a light affliction compared with eternity, to believe that God is bigger than your problem, and that you can totally trust Him, you will be carried along by the strength and anointing of the Holy Spirit who indwells you. Your problem may not be fixed immediately, but you are no longer bogged down by it. You are renewed and lifted up in your spirit as you trust in God.
 
Don’t look past today. Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 (HCSB): “Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Instead, trust in the “day by day” renewing of the Holy Spirit. He wants to come to you like the dew that waters and refreshes the grass each new day.
 
Live in His anointing today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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IT’S A MIRACLE!

ItsMircleIt’s a pink line! You’re pregnant! Wow!
 
Maybe you’ve been longing for this day. Or maybe it’s a surprise! Maybe it wasn’t the news you wanted to hear! Whatever the reason, I want to remind you that it is a MIRACLE FROM GOD. God is the author of this life. He destined this baby that is conceived in your womb. He has plans and purposes for this precious and unique child. Let’s contemplate the MIRACLE.
 
M God chose you to be the MOTHER of His child.
 
I God is INTERESTED in every minute detail of your baby, from creating every part of his/her body in the womb to His plans for his/her life in the future.
 
R God will REVEAL more of His character and His ways to you as you embrace and nurture your precious baby.
 
A God will give you His ANOINTING and ABILITY to train this child. He knows you cannot do it in your own strength. And He will AMAZINGLY provide every need for this coming baby. He doesn’t necessarily provide before the baby comes, but when your baby arrives, you will see His daily provision.
 
C God has CALLED and COMMISSIONED you for this great task.
 
L God will LAVISH you with His LOVE for this sweet baby. You will not only be overcome with love for your baby, but if you have other children, you will fall in love with them all over again too. And what about all the negative gainsayers and family members? When the baby is born, they will fall in love with the baby too.
 
E God is creating within you an ETERNAL soul that will live forever. You are embarking on an ETERNAL mission.
 
Praise God for this wonderful miracle.
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
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GET THEM READY

GetEmReadyChildren love to have friends. That’s why they like to have lots of brothers and sisters. As they get older they love to have more friends. They love to get in the groove with their friends. In fact, many times peer pressure from friends becomes a greater influence than parent pressure! That’s why it is imperative to guard your children’s friends.
 
Pray and look for godly friends for your children. This is even more important if there are fewer siblings in the family. Refrain from putting them into environments where they may be influenced by worldly and unbiblical lifestyles. That’s why so many concerned parents homeschool their children today. They do not want to put their children into an environment where they could be drawn into sinful habits which will wreck their lives.
 
Proverbs 13:7 was one of my favorite Scriptures in raising our children: “He that walks with wise men will be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Many wonderful parents cannot understand how their teenagers go astray. Most times it is because they are influenced by the wrong crowd.
 
I certainly don’t believe in keeping our children at home forever. Our children are all grown and are changing the world. We train them to send them out into this sinful and dark world to bring God’s light and truth.
 
But we don’t send them out . . .
Until they are ready.
Until they are strong.
Until they are ready to face the wolves.
Until they can “withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” against the foe that comes against them (Ephesians 6:13).
Until they come to that place in their hearts where they love righteousness and hate evil and will say No to all temptation.
Until they are established in the truth of God’s Word and can therefore discern all the deceptive garbage that fills our society.
 
Until then we have a big job getting them ready . . .
Training their senses to understand true judgment.
Filling them with the truth of God’s Word.
Imparting godly convictions.
 
This is our responsibility as parents which we cannot take lightly.
 
Blessings to you and your children,
 
Nancy Campbell
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HOW GRATEFUL ARE WE?

HowGratefulI recently read an article by the Puritan, Thomas Doolittle (1632-1707). His words were challenging. I don’t think many Christians could receive them today. They would be outraged. But would you mind if I shared two little excerpts from his writings? He wrote:
 
“When God is a Benefactor to a people and they do not serve Him, what monstrous wickedness it is! God hath kept you all safe in the night, and yet in the morning you do not say, ‘Where is the Lord that did preserve us? Come, come, let us give joint praises to Him?’”
 
Talking about all the blessings God pours out upon us—salvation, healing from sickness, and deliverance from affliction, etc. he writes: “And yet you do not pray to nor praise this your wonderful Benefactor together. Let the very walls within which these ungrateful wretches live be astonished at this! Let the very beams and pillars of their houses tremble! And let the very girders of the floors on which they tread and walk be horribly afraid! That such as dwell in such an house together go to bed before they go to prayer together! Let the earth be amazed, that the families which the Lord doth nourish and maintain are rebellious and unthankful, being worse than the very ox that knoweth his wonder and of less understanding than the very ass (Isaiah 1:2,3).”
 
Wow, were you able to take that? Not for the faint-hearted! But it is true, isn’t it? Are we truly thankful if we don’t gather as families to praise and worship God each day? We give more importance to all the plans we have for the day than taking time to praise and worship the God who gives us our very breath.
 
We praise God that there is no longer any need for the daily sacrifices for sin. Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb slain before the foundation of the world was slain ONCE AND FOR ALL (Hebrews 9:11-14; 25-28; 10:10-14; and 1 Peter 3:18). But just as every morning and evening sacrifice pointed to Calvary, I feel strongly in my heart to look back to the cross. I don’t like to let a day go past without thanking Him for His eternal salvation which is beyond all comprehension. I love that we meet as a family to take the time to do this.
 
And not only for our great salvation, but for all His goodness to us. We pray daily for God’s protection over all our family. I know you do too. But we also need to thank Him for His covering and protection. Oh, how many times He delivers us, many times when we don’t even know it.
 
Let’s be grateful people, not every now and then, but DAILY.
 
In His love,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
Picture: The Johnson family praising the Lord at the beach.
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DOING GREAT THINGS FOR GOD

GreatThings4GodWhen you hear about someone who “walks with God” you imagine someone who walks a godly life and who does great things for God. You think, “I wish I could walk with God like that, but I’m just mothering children in my home. I don’t have time to do anything for God.”
 
The opposite is true. To walk with God is to raise children. Two times the Bible says that “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:21, 22). However, we must read the full Scripture: “Enoch walked with God . . . and begat sons and daughters.” Here is a man who had such a wonderful relationship with God that he didn’t even die. “God took him.” The NLT renders it: “Enoch lived 365 years, WALKING IN CLOSE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.”
 
Dear mother, God wants you to walk in close fellowship with Him as you mother your children. You are not doing this great job on your own. God is with you. Every moment. When you are doing the most mundane tasks. When you are doing the same tasks repeatedly each day. Not one chore is insignificant. Each one is sacred because He is with you and abides in you.
 
But sometimes you forget. Remember the truth, no matter how you feel. God is with you. He is Emmanuel, GOD WITH US! Your feelings are not facts. They come and go and change with the wind, or whatever is happening in your life. But the real truth is that whatever is happening, good or bad, GOD IS WITH YOU!
 
Acknowledge His presence with you. Thank Him that He is with you. Thank Him that you are in His perfect will as you mother your children. Rejoice that He is with you. Thank Him for every little blessing that happens—a smile from one of your children, the adoring look of your baby as you nurse him at the breast, provision of food, your husband who provides for you, and on and on. Bring every little sigh to Him. Don’t take one burden on yourself because He is with you to carry your burdens and He is so much better at it that you. He is bigger than every problem you face.
 
And He delights to be with you in your home. He created you for the home. He created you for motherhood. And He delights in you when you embrace the way He created you. This is how you bring glory to your Creator and Redeemer.
 
Every son and daughter God gives you is a gift from Him. You didn’t plan each child. God did. And He is with you to help you raise them for His glory. He wants to walk with you and He wants you to walk with Him in close relationship just like Enoch did, all the time begetting and raising sons and daughters.
 
Be encouraged today,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
Go to this link to check out these beautiful paintings:
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IT’S TIME TO SAY NO

TimesayNoThe devil wants our children. He will take the souls, minds, and hearts of our children if we let him. He wants to take them down his road of destruction. We cannot give him an inch or he takes a mile. We must be fierce guarders!
 
Because the devil hates everything that God loves and planned for His creation, he robs women of their God-given home and mothering by wooing them into their careers. He robs children of being raised in the home which is their inheritance. He robs families of more children that God eternally destined for them by contraception, sterilization, and abortion. He robs marriages through pornography and adultery. He robs our silver and gold by tempting us to spend it on wasted material pleasures instead of God’s kingdom.
 
We see an example in the life of King Ahab. Ben-Hadad, king of Syria sent messengers to king Ahab of Israel: “Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.”
 
And what did king Ahab answer? “My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.” He even stated: “I denied him not” (1 Kings 20: 2, 3, 7). Can you believe it? Because of the fear of man, or because he didn’t have the courage to stand up against king Ben-Hadad, he surrendered to him. He gave up everything that was precious to him.
 
How sad to read such a testimony? And yet we can so easily get caught. God gives us our children to raise for Him and for God’s destiny. And yet we give them to daycares and hand them over to the state education system.
 
Somehow, even some Christian parents don’t mind that their children are taught that Islam is a peaceful religion. Many children in state schools have been asked to draw posters of the Five Pillars of Islam and pictures of the Prophet Muhammad, sing Islamic songs, wear Islamic clothes, construct a 3-D model of a mosque, design an Islamic prayer rug, and do calligraphy for “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet.” Yes, this is in American schools.
 
Some parents don’t mind that their children are openly taught about alternative lifestyles and that transgender is a choice for them. They may even be ignorant that the gay agenda now pushes their lifestyle in our state schools through books and curriculums (even on-line school). One of their latest books available to schools is “It’s Perfectly Normal” which contains material so sexually explicit that, according to the American Life League, it has been ruled inappropriate for prisoners by a Washington State court.
 
Some parents don’t mind that their children are taught that abortion is a woman’s right. They don’t seem to mind that their children are brainwashed in socialism.
 
Let’s not give in like Ahab. Let’s have the courage to rise up and say No to the enemy! No to his robbing of all that God has given us.
 
Speak your confession out loud: “I will not give anything to the devil. He has no right over me. I am God’s possession. He has no right over my children, and I will not give him any authority over them. They are God’s possession, and I am their guardian. I will not give up what is precious to me.”
 
It’s time to say No.
 
Blessings to you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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WHERE HAVE OUR BIBLES GONE?

WhereBiblesGoneEvery now and then I like to get on my “band wagon” or my “soap box.” I have quite a few soap boxes! Which one am I on today?
 
I wonder why people are forgetting about their Bibles. Yes, I know most people read their Bibles on their iPhones today and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. But I feel sad that they are discarding their Bible they can hold in their hands. There’s something about holding the written Word of God. I love to hold it in my hands. I love to even caress it. I love to underline my Bible. I love my well-used Bible and I constantly wear them out.
 
In my personal devotions, I use my iPhone to check Hebrew and Greek words and sometimes another translation, but I love to read my printed Bible. Far less side-tracking.
 
It is rare to see people bring their Bible to church today. That really saddens me. Even the preachers preach from their iPhones. Oh my, I think there is so much more authority about them holding God’s Word in their hand as they preach!
 
And the congregation. There are those who are diligent to read along on their iPhones when the Scriptures are being read, but oh my (oh my again!) we have to be diligent. I am, on the whole, a disciplined person. But even as a disciplined person I find I must use extra discipline when I read God’s Word on my iPhone. It’s so easy to be distracted by a message coming in or something that pops up as you look for a reference.
 
I know that most young people give in to these distractions! I have seen people checking their messages while in church! Oh yes, they are just too tempting and distracting!
 
I think it’s time we brought our Bibles back to church. What a wonderful thing it is to see a whole congregation with their Bibles open and a notebook ready to write down what God is saying to them. When people bring their Bibles to church you know they mean business with God. You know they are a student of God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15).
 
Here’s a good challenge. Why not make it a new project to go to church this coming weekend, making sure everyone in the family is carrying their Bible! It will give your children a renewed encouragement of the importance of the Bible. It’s not any ordinary book. It contains the eternal living words of God. And when other families see you all with your Bibles, hopefully they will be encouraged to do the same thing.
 
What about when you are reading the Bible in public, perhaps on an airplane or waiting room. You may love to do it on your iPhone, but that doesn’t scare anyone. Get out your Bible and you’ll get some reaction or even avoidance! The literal Bible has power to convict people even without reading the words.
 
It’s time the Bible came back into the open! Anyone with me?
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
 
Picture: My morning Quiet Time: My Bible, my notebook with Scriptures and ideas waiting to study, and my journal in which I write my revelations for each day. I keep everything in my Bible basket which I can carry wherever I want in the home.
 
P.S. Do you have a picture of all your family going to church with your Bibles?
 
Or do you have a picture of your children having Bible reading, each with their own Bible? I’d love to see these pictures if you have them. Email them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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HOW DO YOU GET THE JOY?

GetTheJoyWe talked yesterday about the joyful mother. Sadly, this seems to be the opposite testimony of many mothers today. They look downcast. They are overwhelmed. They are full of self-pity. They moan and groan. Where has the joy gone?
 
Let’s look at some ways to get the joy. These are principles that have worked in my own life.
 
1. Embrace the truth. What is the truth? When God gives you precious children, He doesn’t give them to you to give to someone else to care for. He gives them to you! He created you to be a mother—physically and innately. You are in His perfect will.
 
2. When you understand the truth, it sets you free to be who you are. And when you are free, you’ll live in joy.
 
3. Acknowledge that you are in His perfect will. “Á double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
 
4. Confess the truth. It’s not enough to know and acknowledge the truth, you need to confess the truth. Your words determine your life. What you speak is what you become. Therefore, each new morning, thank God for the joy of being a mother.
 
Speak the words out loud: “I am a joyful mother,” “I love being a mother,” or “Motherhood is my greatest career.” You’ll experience what you confess.
 
5. Change your attitude. Your words and your attitude affect your life. The wrong attitude makes you miserable. The right attitude fills you with joy.
 
6. Purpose to be joyful. Joy has nothing to do with feelings or circumstances. Anyone can be happy when everything is going according to plan. But life isn’t like that. It’s full of challenges and difficulties which must be overcome. But this is how we mature in life. This is how we become one of the overcomers!
 
Jesus Christ is filled with joy and He dwells in you if you have accepted Him into your life. Therefore, you can live His life of joy, no matter what circumstances you face or what your lying feelings are telling you. Come to the place of living by the truth rather than by your feelings or the lies that society tells you.
 
May you have the greatest fun day in your home,
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
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THE MERRY-HEARTED MOTHER

MerryHeartMomYesterday we talked about nesting in the home. But we must look at something more in Psalm 113:9 which describes the mother as JOYFUL. Did you know that God equates motherhood with joy? And it’s not an average kind of joy. It’s exceeding joy.
 
The Hebrew word is “sameach.” It means “to be blithe and gleeful, to be merry-hearted.” It’s the same word used in Proverbs 14:13: “A MERRY HEART maketh a cheerful countenance.” And again, in Proverbs 17:22: “A MERRY HEART doeth good like a medicine.”
 
But there’s more. It’s the same word that is used when people drink wine and get happy (Isaiah 14:7). When you are “eating and drinking, and making merry” (1 Kings 4:20). It’s the same word that was used when Solomon was made king and the people “rejoiced with GREAT JOY, so that the earth rent with the sound of them (1 Kings 1:40). Did you get that? The HCSB makes it clearer: “rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.”
 
This the joy of motherhood! “This is a bit over-the-top” you exclaim! Dear mothers, it’s meant to be over-the-top! God is not average or ordinary in any way. He doesn’t only give us life, He gives us ABUNDANT life. He not only gives us joy, but EXCEEDING joy and “JOY UNSPEAKABLE and FULL OF GLORY” (1 Peter 1:8).
 
So, why aren’t mothers joyful? Unfortunately, most women are brainwashed against motherhood by in-laws, out-laws, the media, and the education system. They are told that motherhood is an insignificant career and they should be doing something more beneficial. Because of this they have the wrong attitude about motherhood, and if you have the wrong attitude, you’re not going to be very happy.
 
The truth is that God created you for motherhood. Your body is created for this purpose. When God gives you children to raise in your home you are in the very perfect will of God. God does not see motherhood as insignificant. He exalts motherhood (Ezekiel 19:10, 11), He glorifies motherhood (Hosea 9:11), and He enthrones motherhood (Psalm 113:9 Sugden).
 
Tomorrow we’ll look at how we can get the joy in motherhood. I know you’ll be wanting to hear that!
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
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ARE YOU A NESTER?

NesterPsalm 113:9 says: “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.”
 
The phrase “to keep house” is the same Hebrew word I have been sharing with you recently, “yashab.” Do you remember what it means? To marry, to dwell in a family with children, to sit down, to settle, to abide, to remain, to continue.”
 
I love the CEB translation of this Scripture: “God NESTS the once barren woman at home—now a joyful mother of children.” To nest in a home means to settle in. To make a snug abode, a sweet resting place. A nest is a place to rear little ones such as a bird with her nestlings. Why are baby birds called nestlings? Because the mother nurtures them in a nest where it is safe and secure.
 
Our babies and young children are also little nestlings. God intends them to be nurtured in the home, not in daycares. And therefore, we make our home a safe nest.
 
We cannot be a nester if we are not in the home. We work in our home. We mother in our home. We nurture in our home. We love our nest.
 
Did you notice that this Scripture ends with the exclamation, “Praise ye the Lord”? What is your response to nesting in the home? A sigh and a groan or the bold exclamation, “Praise ye the Lord”?
 
Can I hear you say it aloud? Come on, say it with me, “Praise ye the Lord.”
 
Have a blessed day in your home today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?

WhatAboutChildrenYesterday we talked about how God wants us to settle in our homes (Hosea 11:11). The ESV and some other translations give another thought to this Scripture: “I will RETURN them to their homes, declares the Lord.” In other words, when we get away from our homes, God wants to return us back to our homes for this is where He has placed us.
 
The picture God gives of a blessed family is of the wife in the heart of her home with all her children sitting around the table (Psalm 128:3). If we read the Scriptures and hearken to God’s voice, we will voluntarily return to the home.
 
However, in this passage God had to use might to get the people back to their homes. Hosea 11:10, 11 says: “He will roar like a lion: when he roars his children shall come trembling from the west, they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will RETURN them to their homes, declares the LORD.” I hope God doesn’t have to ROAR to get our attention to draw us back!
 
We get a little more understanding how God feels about this when we read Micah 2:9: “The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory forever.” God was angry because the women were forced from their homes. Is God angry at the voices of humanism and feminism which coerce and draw women out of their homes where God has placed them? God called them “pleasant” homes. The word means “delightful.”
 
However, God was not only angry that the mothers were taken from their homes. He was angry because the children were taken from their homes! God calls the inheritance of children being raised in the home “my glory.” We better tread carefully about what we do with what God calls His “glory.”
The HCSB translation says: “You take my blessing from their children forever.”
 
AMP: “You take away my splendor and blessing forever (by putting them among pagans, away from Me.)” Wow, those are powerful words. God says that when children are taken out of the home to be cared for by pagans who don’t love and worship Him that they are taken away from Him. He wants children to be raised in His presence, in His truth, in the sacred atmosphere in the home of godly parents. How much do we revere God’s Word? I feel the fear of God in my heart when I read these words.
 
NLT: “And forever stripped their children of all that God would give them.”
 
NET: “You defraud their children of their prized inheritance.” God says it is children’s inheritance to be raised in the home.
 
May you and your precious children be blessed with all the blessings of God in your home today.
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
 
Painting by Jim Daly
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IT’S TIME TO ARISE!

 
Dear mother, you are not insignificant. You have great power and influence as a mother in your home. You may be hidden away but you are wielding a mighty power. You are training the next generation. You will ultimately determine the destiny of the nation. The children who come forth from the homes of mothers will determine whether it will be a godly or ungodly nation.
 
Rise up into your calling dear mother. This is an hour for courageous mothers. We must be mothers who know the truth and impart it to your children. We must be mothers who are not deceived by the fears and paranoia that comes through the fake media. We must be mothers who will not give into the tyranny that we are being subjected to.
 
It’s time to rise up on the behalf of our nation. I think of Deborah. How did she arise to save her nation? She arose as a MOTHER! In Deborah’s day they had been under the servitude Jabin, the Canaanite king for 20 years! The people were under such fear that they avoided the main roads, and few were left in the villages until . . . “until I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel” (Judges 5:7).
 
We are currently entering the time Purim that we read about in the book of Esther. Haman, the enemy, planned to destroy every Jew in the kingdom, but we know how Esther, who had been chosen to be the new queen, rose up to speak for her people. She was most probably only a teenager, but she overcame her fear and trembling with bravery and courage.
 
“If I perish, I perish,” she cried as she took her stand.
 
I believe it is time for courageous mothers.
 
It’s time to rise up in the anointing and authority that God has given to us
to embrace our calling of motherhood and raise godly sons and daughters.
 
It’s time to rise up with courage to stand against tyranny and live in the
freedom that God and our Constitution gives to us.
 
It’s time to rise up and take back the freedoms that are being stolen from us.
 
It’s time to rise up and shine the light of God’s truth in the midst of darkness and deception.
 
It’s time to rise up into the throne room of God to intercede for our families and our nation.
 
It’s time to rise up with boldness and courage to resist the onslaughts of the enemy.
 
It’s time to rise up in victory with the overcoming power of God that is given to us as children of God.
 
It’s time to rise up and turn away from listening to the fake media and listen instead to God’s infallible word.
 
It’s time to rise up against all fears and paranoia and live in the truth that sets us free.
 
It’s time to rise up and turn away from mediocrity, luke-warmness, fearfulness, sub-zero Christianity, and live the abundant life Jesus came to give us.
 
We don’t want to be spineless mothers, do we? Become the strong backbone of your home. Build a strong marriage and family. Pound your stakes deep. Gather your family daily to your table. Fill them with God’s word. Eliminate all fears in the name of Jesus. Stand up boldly for truth. Raise sons and daughters who will stand strong against the deceptions of this hour.
 
Are you ready for the challenge?
 
Rise up today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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SIT DOWN A LITTLE MORE

Sit Down A Little MoreAre you nestled in your home? God wants you to nest, rest, and invest in your home. He made the home for you. He created the home for you to raise your children. Before God created Eve, He first prepared the home for her. When she woke up to life, she was in her delightful home of Eden. Adam had already been created before the home, but not the woman!

Whenever God talks about the home, he invariably uses the Hebrew word "yashab." It means "to sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to continue, to abide, to keep house." That doesn't sound like gadding about everywhere, does it? Interestingly, the Geneva Bible of Titus 2:5 where it tells us to be "keepers at home" describes this phrase as "not gadding up and down."

In Hosea 11:11 God uses the word "yashab" and says: "I will settle them in their own homes, declares the LORD." Are you settled and nestled?

The KNOX translation says: "In in their own home, the Lord says, I will give them rest." Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you running ragged? Too much to do? God always has the answer. Stop running around so much. Come back home. In your own home God gives you rest.

It's not only we who get tense and stressed out. Our children do too. When we hustle them around to go to this place and that they also get restless and upset. Did you notice one of the meanings of "yashab" is to "sit down." The Young's Literal translation of Psalm 113:9 renders it literally: "Causing the barren one of the house to SIT, a joyful mother of sons." Even in the home we can be so busy running around that we don't take time to SIT DOWN with our children.

Children need mothers to SIT DOWN! When your little ones get out of control, instead of screaming at them and feeling you are going crazy, stop what you are doing and say, "Come, let's sit on the sofa and have a story." Grab your baby to nurse and gather your little ones all around you and read some stories to them until they are all relaxed and settled. They will then be ready to play happily again. I did this many times a day. There's nothing like sitting down with your little ones to bring peace and calm. And you become calm in the process too.

Take time to sit with your older ones to talk to them too. You mother much better sitting down than running around the house doing all your own projects! Remember, you are a mother before everything else you do. This is your highest priority.

Love and blessings from Nancy Campbell

Painting: "The Alphabet" * Pierre Auguste Renoir (1897).

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WARFARE READY

WarfareReady(Question at the end about the picture).
 
Life is not a vacation. We are in a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. We face challenges and battles each day in our daily lives. Praise God, He doesn’t leave us weaponless. He gives us many weapons to face the enemy.
 
We have our sword which is the Word of God, the same weapon Jesus used to defeat Satan (Matthew 4:1-11 and Ephesians 6:17).
 
We have the power of prayer that can annihilate hundreds and thousands of enemies (Leviticus 26:7, 8 and Ephesians 6:18).
 
We have the power of the blood and the name of Jesus from which the devil flees (Revelation 12:11).
 
But do we use our weapons? Psalm 78:9 tell us about the Ephaimites who “being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.” Isn’t that amazing? They had their armor on and their weapons with them, but they didn’t use them. They weren’t skilled and practiced with their weapons and therefore they were fearful when facing the battle.
 
We’ve got to get familiar with our weapons. They’ve got to become part of us. Remember when King Saul gave David his own armor and a sword? When David tried to walk, he was not comfortable because he hadn’t proved them, and took them off (1 Samuel 17:38, 39).
 
If we are not familiar with our weapons, we won’t be ready to use them when the need arises.
 
LET’S GET PRACTICED and LET’S TEACH OUR CHILDREN HOW TO USE THE WEAPONS GOD GIVES US!
 
We have a responsibility to daily fill them with God’s Word. God’s powerful words must get into their mouths (Isaiah 59:21). Let’s teach them how to pray. The way we do this is pray! Never let a day go by, morning and evening, without praying together with your children. Teach them the power of the blood of Jesus and how to use the name of Jesus against the enemy (James 4:7 and 1 John 3:8).
 
By the time your children leave home and go out into this world they should be so proficient at using their armor that they are ready for any battle they face, and they will face many. Our military don’t go into battle until they are proficient with their weapons! We, and our children, must also become skilled.
 
Let’s be “warfare ready” families in this hour.
 
Be encouraged.
 
Nancy Campbell
 
Picture: Which one do you think looks ready for war? The roaring bold lion or the one who is pretending to be a lion?
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