Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

The is the seventh and last post in a series of things the Bible says are "good" to include in our lives. This one is found in the story of Martha and Mary where "Mary sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word." But, poor Martha! She was left in the kitchen cooking and serving. She started to feel really mad inside and asked Jesus to send Mary to help her! I'm sure we'd feel the same!

What did Jesus answer? "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42).

It's hard to reconcile this incident, isn't it? When we are running a home and have little children all around us, it's hard to find time to sit at the feet of Jesus, even though we long to do so. Before I was married, I had time to spend up to three hours in the presence of the Lord each day. When I married and children came along, I no longer had those precious times and had to find little moments to read the Word in the toilet room or from a Bible on my windowsill as I prepared food and washed dishes. My prayers were no longer hours long, but little cries of help to God throughout the day.

But, God understands a mother's life. He "gently leads those that are with young" (Isaiah 40:11).

My life is still full and busy. One of the things I love about each day is when we take time out for Family Devotions each morning and evening. I take time to sit and listen to God speak to me through the Word as my husband reads it to us. We take time to worship and pray together. I am doing the "good" part, and I WILL NOT LET IT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME!

Love from Nancy

Another thing the Bible says is "good" is the blessing of unity. Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Notice this Scripture has an exclamation mark!

David wrote this psalm after the terrible heartache he experienced with the rebellion of his son, Absalom. After this heartbreak he acknowledged and longed for the blessing of unity which is "good" and "pleasant" which also means "delightful and sweet." The precious ointment that was poured out upon Aaron was a sweet perfume and the fragrance filled the sanctuary.

It's not always easy to have unity, is it? Because we are not perfect, we can easily become agitated, offended, upset, or even angry with one another. But, will we hang on to these feelings and stay in discord? Or, will we humble our hearts, swallow our pride, forgive, and love in spite of everything?

We are a family of strongly opinionated ideas. We don't all agree with each other. Not even Colin and I agree all the time. But, as my husband says, "We are not commanded to agree with one another, but we are commanded to love one another." And so we learn to love one another and have unity even when we don't agree. That's not always easy, but it's exciting and victorious living! And it brings the blessing. The sweet perfume fills the home.

David likens this unity to the ointment poured upon the head of Aaron. It starts at the top. It starts with you, Mom and Dad. When you live in harmony, with a tenderhearted spirit to one another, the blessing runs down to the very bottom of the garments. The blessing comes down on every child in the family.

Choose unity.

Love from Nancy

Not all good things feel good. There are some good things that we would rather not experience, and yet they are for our good. Psalm 119:71 says, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted: that I might learn thy statues."

There are times when God allows us to go through affliction and difficult times. These experiences cause us to run to God and to His Word. When we cast ourselves upon Him, He leads us from our own way to learn His way. Without these times of humbling and chastening, we would stay in our same old rut. If we want to climb higher and become more and more conformed to the image of Christ, we will embrace the afflictions that lead us closer to Him.

I am always amazed at Paul's testimony when he confesses, "We glory in tribulations," but he says this because he understands that tribulation leads him to patience (Hebrews 5:3-5). Read also 1 Peter 1:6-7; 4:12-14 and Hebrews 12:11.

It is usually the difficult experiences of life that teach us more of God's ways than the sunny times, isn't it? The important thing is: will we learn from our tough times, or will become bitter and complaining?

I have always loved the following words...

'Tis better far to let Him choose the way that we should take;
If only we leave our life with Him, He will guide without mistake;
We, in our blindness, would never choose a pathway dark or rough,
And so we should never find in Him the GOD WHO IS ENOUGH!
In disappointment, trouble, or pain, we turn to the Changeless One,
And prove how faithful, loving and true is God's beloved Son.

Love from Nancy

Here's another "good" thing to do in your home. Psalm 91:1-2 says, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night." And Psalm 147:1 says, "It is good to sing praises unto our God."

To cultivate an attitude of thanks toward the Lord is so much better than an attitude of negativity and complaining, isn't it? Don't wait to thank God for the big things, but instead get into the habit of thanking the Lord for each little thing that happens throughout the day. Encourage your children in this habit, too.

Although a thanking heart should be our attitude all the day long, this Scripture specifically states that we should thank the Lord every morning and every evening. Gathering our family together each morning and each evening for Family Devotions provides a foundation for us to do this faithfully.

I am so grateful for these very precious times in our home each day. I know that without these specified and committed times, we would not take this time to thank the Lord and sing praises to His name. God knows that we need specific times to remind us.

Love from Nancy

I am now on a roll about things the Bible says are "good" things to do.

Lamentations 3:27 says, "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth."

Many modern parents think children should be spared from doing too much work and taking on too much responsibility while they are young. Many Children's Protection Services workers think it is abuse if children are expected to do dishes and other chores around the home. This is a humanistic way of thinking and the antipathy of preparing children for life.

Of course, I believe children should enjoy being children and have lots of opportunity for play, but they should also be taught responsibility. As they get older, they should be given more and more responsibility.

It is sad to see young people today (older teens and young twenties) who don't know how to get "stuck in" and work hard and don't know how to take on responsibility. They are not prepared to for life, because to be successful in life you have to be experienced in how to work hard, complete a task efficiently, and take initiative. This only happens with training. The "yoke" was put on the oxen when they went to work.

Of course, there are also many wonderful young people who have a wonderful testimony in this area.

You are training your children now for success or failure. Don't get taken up with the humanistic mindset of our society.

Love from Nancy

Yesterday we read that it is good to draw near to the Lord.

This morning at Family Devotions we read about another "good" thing to do. Lamentations 3:26 says, "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."

The Hebrew for "quietly wait" is "silent, or dumb." In other words, keep your mouth shut! Moffat translates it correctly, "It is good to wait in silence for the help of the Eternal."

Isn't it amazing how we habitually do the opposite? We find it hard to be patient to wait for the Lord to bring deliverance to our situation. But, God brings His salvation at the perfect time.

Joseph expected to be released from prison immediately after he interpreted the dreams of the baker and butler, but it was another two long years after he had already been in prison for a length of time. But, God delivered him at the very perfect time and he became next in power to the Pharaoh of Egypt. If he had been delivered before that time, that would not have happened!

When did Jesus show up at the tomb of Lazarus? After he had been dead for four days! But it was the perfect timing.

Are you getting impatience because your deliverance has not yet come? You're not very silent! God is getting a lot of complaints in His ears!

Do you think you could try to shut your mouth? The best thing you can do is wait for God's timing. It will be the perfect timing.

Love from Nancy

It's good to do what is "good" isn't it? There are lots of good things we can do each day, but there is one very good thing we can do. In Asaph's psalm he says, "It is good for me to draw near to God" (Psalm 73:28).

Are you feeling miserable and downcast? Draw near to God. It's not only a good thing to do, but the best thing you can do. Are you feeling a failure and inadequate? Draw near to God. You will find your sufficiency in Him.

Draw your children near to God throughout the day, too. When they have a problem, or are feeling unhappy, or complaining, pray with them. Turn their hearts to the Lord.

Le's also make time every morning and evening to gather our family together to draw near to God as we pray together, sing together, and listen to Him speak through His Word. This is such a good thing to do. Better than most other things you will do today.

Love from Nancy

It is sad to see so many marriages breaking up today, even amongst the Christian church. I think that one of the things that hurts marriages is pride. We are too proud to say sorry. We are too proud to back down. We are too proud to have a submissive spirit.

I was reading in Proverbs 21:4 NIV this morning, "Haughty eyes and a proud heart produce sin." God hates pride and runs from it. We can guarantee that we don't have God in our marriage when we have pride.

On the other hand, God loves humility. He always aligns Himself with humble hearts. We can know for sure that God will come into our situation and into our marriage when we keep a humble spirit.

Which one are you aiming for? Which one am I? The proud spirit, or the humble spirit?

Love from Nancy

We have been talking about building a beautiful home for God and were inspired that David wanted to build a home for God that was "exceeding magnificent." Why did he want to do this?

We find the answer in 1 Chronicles 22:19, "Arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God... Why? ...to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to built to the name of the Lord."

The ark of the covenant of the Lord was where the Shekinah glory of God resided. David's longing and passion was to bring the presence of God to the house. This should also be our ultimate aim above every desire we have for our home--to make it a place where God's presence can dwell and be manifest. In every heart. In every room. In every situation.

Make this your prayer, your passion, and your purpose today.

Love from Nancy

We continue to discuss the vision we should have for building a home for God. David wanted to build a home that was "exceeding magnificent" (1 Chronicles 22:5). We discovered that "exceeding" means to be "above the normal."

What does "magnificent" mean? In the Hebrew it is "gadal" and means, "To make large, advance, exceed, excellent, great, grow up and increase, lift up, magnify, promote." This gives us a big vision, doesn't it?

Our home should never become stagnant. We should always seek to be advancing and thinking of better ways to beautify our home. We should be constantly praying about how to allow more and more of the presence of God in our home.

We should always want increase--increasing in the presence of God and increasing in better functioning and order. And of course, we'll always be open to the increase of children. This is what makes a home magnificent. It's not things. It's life--babies and children.

Our passion will be for our children to grow in the knowledge, but primarily in the knowledge of the Lord and His truth. Therefore, we'll be thinking of ways to enable them to grow in God. We'll arrange the whole order of our home in order to have Family Devotions with our children morning and evening. We'll establish a memory program for them to learn the Scriptures.

And we won't limit this to our children. We will be a family that grows together. We'll all be learning in the ways of God. We'll walk together in the ways of God. We won't leave one child behind.

We'll be seeking to make our marriage greater every day.

Keep building a magnificent home--increasing and advancing in the ways of God and in the blessing of children.

Isaiah 54:2-3 says, Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right and on the left."

Love from Nancy

What kind of home do you want to build for God? An average home? One that is like everyone else around? It so easy to assimilate to be like everyone else, isn't it? We judge our style of living according to others in our church or neighborhood.

But, God never intends us to assimilate. God does not want His people to conform, but to be separated from the norm (Leviticus 20:24,26; 2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

Last post I wrote of the vision to build an "exceeding magnificent" home for the Lord. The word "exceeding" in the Hebrew is "ma'al" and means "above, very high, the upper part." This word, "ma'al" is translated "above" 53 times and "upward" 59 times!

I think we should change gears in our brain from building an average home that meets the standard of everyone around us, and instead seek to build a home that is above the normal, above the mediocre, and above the status quo. We should seek to build a family that not only just functions, but is abundant in every area, giving glory and honor to God. We should build a home that is above the average, so we can reach out and show the way to those who are still in the average rut.

In the average home today, there are more TVs in the home than children. The "above the norm" home will have more children than TVs.
In the "above average" home the siblings will be friends rather than fighting with one another.
An "above the norm" home will be filled with the joy of hospitality.
The "above the norm" family will take time to pray and read God's Word together each day.
The "above the norm" family will spend more time in productiveness at home rather than running here and there to every extra-curricular activity.

Aim for the "above average," not "below average."

Love from Nancy

Each one of us are establishing and building a family. I know that your purpose is to build a home for God.

David wanted to build a house for the Lord that was "exceeding magnificent" (1 Chronicles 22:5). Shouldn't we have this same vision, too? Why build something ordinary for God? Shouldn't we build the best home we possibly can for Him, for ultimately our home should be His home.

Can you get a vision to build an "exceeding magnificent" home? I am not talking about a mansion with expensive decor. I am talking about the atmosphere and presence of God in the home.

Let' seek to build a home that is...

exceedingly magnificent in godliness
exceedingly magnificent in the beauty of order and simplicity
exceedingly magnificent in the disciplines of prayer and love for God's Word
exceedingly magnificent in peace and harmony
exceedingly magnificent in joy and laughter
exceedingly magnificent with the awareness of the presence of God.

Of course, this won't just happen. David worked hard to make preparation to build God's home. The Bible says he prepared abundantly.

Let's go all out in our building program.

Love from Nancy

CALLED TO QUEENHOOD

 I love to think of myself as the queen of my home, don't you? Here is an article to encourage you. http://bit.ly/CalledToQueenhood

Love from Nancy

PROTECT YOUR WOMB

I wrote this article many years ago, but as mothers, we need to be reminded of these wonderful truths continually. Here it is. http://bit.ly/ProtectYourWomb

Love from Nancy

MOANHOOD OR MOTHERHOOD

Here is a neat article that Serene wrote many years ago. I know you will be blessed.

http://bit.ly/MoanhoodMotherhood

Love from Nancy

YOUR FAMILY TREE

What kind of family tree are you going? Check out this article and especially the illustrations. Amazing! http://bit.ly/FamilyTrees

Love from Nancy

THE KISS

Do you remember reading this amazing testimony in Above Rubies a couple of years ago? Here it is for you again. You will be blessed. http://tinyurl.com/Marriage-TheKiss

Love from Nancy

GOD WANTS TO BE PART OF YOUR WHOLE LIFE

Why is that we often try to separate our spiritual lives from our practical lives? It's all meant to be one. Every practical thing you do in your home is sacred when God is in it. Always be aware that God is with you, no matter what mundane task you are doing.

In Nehemiah chapter eight we read of how all the people gathered together to hear Ezra read the book of the law. As they heard the words of the Lord their response was to worship and bless the Lord, and even to weep with conviction. But, they didn't keep this awesome time of spiritual renewal separated from life.

Ezra and Nehemiah told the people to "Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord... And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them" (Nehemiah 8:9-12).

What did they do after understanding the words of the Lord? Eat, drink, and have a great celebration.

God is not only part of your life when you are reading His Word and praying, but when you are eating and drinking, when you are having a celebration, and when you are accomplishing every practical and necessary task.

Embrace God's presence in EVERYTHING you do today. What a day you will have.

Love from Nancy

PUT SOME JOY INTO YOUR HOME TODAY

We are talking about the things that God loves to see in our home. Another thing that God loves is gladness (1 Chronicles 16:27). God is not a kill-joy. God is the instigator of joy, laughter, fun, fellowship, and feasting.

If you want your home to be filled with the presence of the Lord, fill it with gladness. This word "gladness" is the same Hebrew word that is used when it tells us the "joy" of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

It's so easy to get into a rut, isn't it? A rut of boringness, negativity, and gloom. Why not change the atmosphere of your home? No matter what your feelings, add some gladness to your home today. Put a smile on your face. When you catch yourself frowning, make yourself smile instead. You don't have to feel like it. You do it anyway and your feelings will catch up with your facial expression.

Whisper loving and passionate secrets to your husband today. Whisper secrets into the ears of your children that you love them and are so blessed to be their mother. Think of something new and special to do that will surprise your children. Cook a special meal that your husband loves. Write encouraging notes to your children and place them at their plate at the evening meal or pop them under their pillow to find as they go to bed.

Take time to watch your children and laugh. Laugh at your problems. It's not the end of the world. And God is bigger than your problem.

Have fun adding gladness into your home today.

Love from Nancy

A FRESH TOUCH OF BEAUTY

As we seek to make our home a sanctuary for God, we must fill it with things that God loves. Yesterday we talked about strength. God also loves beauty in His sanctuary (Psalm 96:6).

Fill your home with beauty. God loves it.

We love to decorate our home to make it look more beautiful, don't we? Beautiful music, pictures, plants and greenery, and flowers add loveliness to the home--whether it is a spacious home or a very humble home.

But, beauty is even more than things. Beauty is order. There is no beauty in a home that is filled with junk and clutter. There is no beauty in a home that is not ordered and running smoothly. Order and simplicity will not only fill your home, but your soul with beauty.

Beauty is peace. That sure doesn't mean that you live a quiet home where there is no noise or hubbub of activity. If you have children, there will be noise, and even mess (but you don't leave things in a mess). Don't forget this fact--your peace is not in quietness; your peace is in God. Look to Him in the midst of everything happening around you.

Beauty is the joy of big and little children all around us. They are the gladness of our home. Beauty is the aroma of food cooking and a delightfully set table that woos each family member. Always seek to make your table beautiful--a tablecloth (use a plastic cover over it if you have little ones and don't have time for extra laundry), and flowers (even a bouquet of weeds your children have gathered) or perhaps candles.

Beauty is love, joy, laughter, and especially sweet and encouraging words to your husband and children.

Seek to add a fresh touch of beauty to your home each day, both practically and spiritually.

Love from Nancy