Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

God hovers over motherhood. He is with you from the beginning to the end. Are you waiting to give birth to a baby soon? God will be with you in your birth. David confesses in Psalm 22:9, “Thou art He that took me out of the womb.” Many translations say, “You brought me safely from my mother’s womb.” Whether you are having your baby at home or in a hospital, put your trust in God. He is the one who brings the baby safely from the womb. He is hovering over you for the life of your baby.

When the baby is born there comes the very precious awareness of the presence of God in your home. It always comes with a new baby who is sent fresh from heaven. I reveled in this time when my babies came.

David continues, “Thou dist make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.” As the little babe nurses at the continually available breasts of the mother, the baby learns that he can totally trust God. As the breast is always accessible, so he learns that God, Jehovah Shamah, will always be there for him.

Another Psalmist confesses the same thing as David, “Upon Thee I have leaned from birth; it was Thou who took me from the maternal womb. My praise is continually of thee” (Psalm 71:6 MLB). Put your trust in God who is watching over every aspect of your motherhood.

Love from Nancy

In Obadiah verse 11, it talks about foreigners entering into the gates of Jerusalem. My, how we have to watch for the “foreign” sneaking through the gates of our home, don’t we?

The “foreign” is all around us. We live in the midst of it. God doesn’t want to take us out of it, but to be shining lights in the midst of it. Jesus prayed, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 13:15).

But, although it is all around us, we must be on guard that none of the “foreign” enters our home. Our home is to be a sanctuary from evil--all that is opposite to God’s standard, His Word, and His heart.

The adversary looks for any opening he can find to intrude into your sanctuary. Guard your gates. Guard your home on all four sides. Guard with prayer. By intercession and prayer, put a hedge of protection around your home (Job 1:10).

Give no foothold for the enemy. Allow no estrangement in your marriage. Don’t allow any worldly spirit to come in through the media. Be ruthless against the enemy.

May we have the testimony of Nehemiah when he confessed, “I purged out everything foreign” (Nehemiah 13:30 NLT).

Love from Nancy

P.S. Read these Scriptures also: Deuteronomy 7:25-26; Palm 144: 7-8, 11-15; Lamentations 4:12; Ephesians 5:11; 6:10-13.

Jacob said to Laban, “I will again feed and keep thy flock” (Genesis 30:31). For 20 long years Jacob shepherded Laban’s flock (Genesis 31:38), but he continued shepherding all his life.

Our mothering is also a shepherding role and even though we may continue mothering for 20 years or more, it doesn’t stop there. We are shepherd-mothers all our lives. This is our role.

What does it mean to shepherd? Two massive tasks—to feed and to keep.

The word “feed” is raah and means “to feed, pasture, rule, and care for our flock, but it also means to associate with as a friend.” The Hebrew literally means “to continue tending.” Like a literal shepherd, we don’t leave our flock. We are always with them—feeding (it’s hard to get out of the kitchen, isn’t it?), leading, and guiding them.

The word “keep” is shamar and means “to guard, keep safe, watch over and protect.” Once again, we are always near our flock. We can’t watch over them if we are not with them. And, of course, we not only protect their physical lives, but their souls and spirits.

A powerful full-time career. Embrace it and enjoy it today.

Love from Nancy

Psalm 37:34 NLT says, “Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Travel steadily along his path.”

I don’t have visions and dreams (I would love to). I don’t live by my feelings. How then do I live out my walk with God? By plodding on from day to day.

I don’t have to be disturbed by my circumstances because God is bigger than all the challenges I face. I don’t have to be intimidated by my antagonists because God’s truth will eventually win the day.

I don’t have to be fazed by what is going on in the world for God is in control. He is the only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords. All presidents, prime ministers, and leaders of this world are all in His hand and He will have the last say.

Therefore, by faith, I walk steadily along God’s path. I don’t have to be high one day and low the next. I keep on plodding on faithfully from day to day, no matter what the day brings. I can patiently wait for God to move because His timing is better than mine.

Steady your soul today, dear mother. God is in control of your life and the life of your precious children.

Love from Nancy

How much to do you believe in the power of God’s Word? I read this morning in Psalm 19:7-11 that His Word restores the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, gives us warning, and “in keeping of them there is great reward.”

I believe God’s Word has the power to fill up weaknesses in our own lives and our children’s lives. If you have a weakness in your life, search the Scriptures for God’s victory in this area. Meditate on and memorize these Scriptures. Constantly confess these Scriptures out loud. As you do, you will find that the weakness will turn into a strength in your life.

I also used this principle as I raised our children. When I saw an area of weakness in their lives, or an area where I knew God needed to work in their lives, I would search the Scriptures to find answers. I would then minister these Scriptures into their lives. It is not your words, but God’s Word that will change their lives.

I would encourage you to do this also in the training of your children. Write the applicable Scriptures up on your walls. Teach and explain the Scriptures you researched to you children. Use them as memory verses. Repeat and recite them over and over again.

You will be amazed at how the Word brings change into their lives and mold them into the image of God.

Love from Nancy

Can I remind you today to make every decision in the light of building your marriage and your home? Ask yourself, “Is what I am doing, or what I plan to do going to fragment my home or build and strengthen it? Are the words I am speaking to my husband strengthening my marriage? Are the words I say to my children building them up?

In this hour of the weakening of families, we must make every decision in this light. The decisions we make not only build or pluck down our family life now, but also future generations.

You as a wife and mother have power to affect this nation. You can strengthen this nation and turn it more toward God as you strengthen your marriage and your family life. The decisions to build can sometimes be sacrificial, but they bring great fruitfulness. The decisions to take the easy or selfish route may seem fine for now, but in the end they wreck havoc on the family.

Think not only of the now, but of the future. Be a nation builder today.

Love from Nancy

What does a mother of many children do when she has a new baby? How does she get to nurse her baby?

What a beautiful sight as I beheld all Serene’s children gathered around their new baby sister, Haven Rest. And not only all her children, but all the cousins too. They all wanted a turn to hold the baby, some getting put out because they hadn’t had a turn yet. Their eyes were filled with wonder and delight. The room was suffocating with children and Serene had to prize her precious baby away to feed her.

Oh the joy of new life. There is no greater wonder and blessing that can come into the home than a new precious life that comes freshly from the hand of God, “the descent from heaven of a new soul,” a child destined by God for specific purposes on this earth and who will live forever.

There is no greater gift to give children. There is nothing they would rather have than another baby sister or brother. And no matter how many children in the family, the wonder and excitement never fades.

This is the “life” of familiness. What sadness and deprivation when there is no new life. How sad that modern Christianity has been seduced by the enemy who hates life to limit their families. They not only limit children, but dynasties to come. They not only limit children, but the joy, laughter, wonder, delight and the divine visitation that comes with new life.

Love from Nancy

I can remember times during the days of our marriage when my husband would come home tired and ready for his evening meal, but I had planned to go out to a meeting or activity. What should I do? Place his dinner in front of him, say Bye, and leave him to all the children? Or should I stay with him and the children for the evening?

The modern viewpoint would say, “Well, you’ve been with the children all day long. It’s about time he had his turn!”

But what decision will build into the marriage and the home? I think you’ve guessed it. It is so easy to build into so many other things in this life and forget our greatest building project.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that you will never go out. There are always special occasions. But we need to be sensitive and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as to what is the best thing. Good things are often the enemy of the best!

Proverbs 14:1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” The New Century Version says it very clearly, “A wise woman strengthens her family, but a foolish woman destroys hers by what she does.”

As wives and mothers, we constantly have to make decisions. Make your decision to BUILD AND STRENGTHEN.

Love from Nancy

Yesterday we talked of how God wants to be the God of our family. What are some of the ways we can make Him God in our home? How do we make Him preeminent? I will look forward to hearing your thoughts.

I believe that one of the ways we make God paramount in our family life is by taking time each morning and evening to read God’s Word and pray with our families. Is that too much to ask? I think it is the least that we can give God each day. If our lives are too busy and our schedule so tight that we can’t fit morning and evening devotions into our family life, then obviously other things are more important than God.

I know it takes reorganization. I know it takes effort on our part. In fact, I often say that making Family Devotions happen is 98% the wife’s part. It won’t happen if we don’t work to make it happen.

I believe we also have to watch going out too much in the evenings. It’s easy to get involved in many Christian activities, even good and worthwhile things, and yet they take away from building into our family and making God the Lord of our home. We are not to make the church the lord of our home. We are not to make “good” activities the lord of our Home. We are to make Him Lord IN OUR HOME!

Love from Nancy

P.S. I would encourage you to check out the following links:
http://bit.ly/TheWifesPart
http://bit.ly/MorningEveningPrinciple
http://bit.ly/HowWeUseDailyLight

I have always loved the Scripture in Jeremiah 31:1 where God says, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel.” God is the originator of families. He loves families. And He wants to be the God of each individual family.

God cannot be God of the nation unless He is God of the families. It all starts with families. That means it starts with us. The most powerful thing we can do to bless our nation is strengthen our individual marriage and family.

The devil wants to weaken families. He tempts us with things that look good to lure us away from the home. Yes, even homeschooling mothers can often be more involved out of the home than in the home. I want to encourage you that the greatest thing you can do is to build your home. Put an end to everything that fragments your family life. Cancel everything that weakens your marriage and family structure at home (Proverbs 14:1). Know your purpose and stick to it.

Are you running your home from the periphery of your home, or from the heart of your home? Is God the preeminent One in your home, or someone to be called upon when you need Him?

Love from Nancy

Are you currently facing an impossible situation? Can I encourage you to not look at the “impossible” situation, but to look to God? The word “impossible” means nothing to Him. It is not in His vocabulary.

What did Abraham do in the impossibly looking situation when God promised him a son? He was 100 years old and Sarah was ninety! It couldn’t happen naturally. Romans 4:20 ESV says, “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”

I was challenged as I read this Scripture again. Abraham became strong in faith as he praised God. He would have become weak in faith if he had kept dwelling on the impossibility of the situation.

Praise God in your situation. Give glory to God that He is in control and He can do what man cannot do. Even when you feel full of doubt, keep giving glory to the Lord, and your faith will grow strong.

Love, Nancy

What kind of “way” do we live in our families? God has provided a “new and living way” to live (Hebrews 10:20). But, the question is, do we really live the “new and living way” that has been provided for us through God sending His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and rise again?

Jesus’ death upon the cross was not only to save us from our sins, but to come into our lives by the power of His Holy Spirit and give us the power to live in victory, overcome evil, and the bondage of our self life (2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 1:4 and Colossians 1:27b).

You don’t have to live the old way any longer. You don’t have to let your flesh rule as you face all the interruptions, frustrations, and challenges of your mothering day. You have Christ living in you. You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have a new way of living.

Live the new way today. Teach your children how to live the new way. No Christian family should be bound to the old fleshly way of living. That is an indictment to the cross of Christ and gives the victory to Satan. Let Christ rule in your heart today and let Him have the victory in your home.

Love from Nancy

Paul asked the question in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you were not given? And if it was given to you, how can you brag?” (CEV). How we need to be reminded of this question. Truly, everything we have and everything we are as a person has been given to us by God. We cannot lay claim to one thing! We have no room for boasting.

What a difference this truth makes to our lives. We are cast upon God for our every breath. He is our Source, our Life, our Hope, and our Salvation. Every gift and talent we have has been given to us by God and therefore we are responsible to Him to use it for His glory (Matthew 25:14-30).

What about our children? We cannot claim them as our own, either. They are gifts from God, and therefore, once again, we are responsible to God for the way we train them and prepare their hearts to receive God’s direction for their lives. We cannot plan their path, or even bend them in a certain way, apart from God’s way. God has already put His chosen gifts and talents in them and planned their destiny before the foundation of the world. We can’t take any credit for their gifts. They are all given by God.

I look at my grown children (and some of them already have grown children of their own) and I see more than ever that God created each one uniquely. I cannot boast of their gifts and talents because they were indelibly placed within them by the hand of God.

You can trust God for your children because He has planned their lives.

Love from Nancy

It’s our attitude that counts, isn’t it? What kind of an attitude do you wake up with this morning?

Don’t let your feelings control your attitude. Determine your attitude and your feelings will follow! That’s the victorious way to live!

I was challenged today by the attitude of Jesus. When He came from the glory of heaven to this earth to accomplish the Father’s will, He didn’t do it grudgingly, but He delighted to do the Father’s will, even though it meant giving His life. Psalm 40: 8 says, “I DELIGHT to do thy will, O my God.” His was the ultimate sacrifice, and yet He DELIGHTED to do His Father’s will.

You are in the Father’s will as you create a godly home and tenderly nurture the children God has given you. He is the One who has given you this task. What’s your attitude? Do you complain and groan? Or do you DELIGHT to do His will?

Change your attitude to DELIGHT today. Check out Deuteronomy 28:46-47 which tells us that God takes His blessing from us when we do not serve Him with “joyfulness, and with gladness of heart.”

Love from Nancy

I mentioned yesterday that God always blesses before giving conception. So you know I am telling you the truth, here is just one of many Scriptures. Deuteronomy 7:13 says, “And He will love thee, and bless thee.” How does God show His love and blessing to us? The next words of this Scripture say, “And multiply thee: He will also bless the fruit of thy womb.”

The blessing that God delights to give more than anything else is the blessing of the fruit of the womb, and even multiplication.

Imagine a young couple receiving this blessing on their wedding day? Genesis 24:60, “And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her… Be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”

Isn’t it amazing how we are so far removed from the Scriptures and the heart of God that this generation of Christians believe the opposite to God’s plan? How can it be that the majority of Christians are trying to stop the blessing of God?

Do you think it is time for us to return to God’s heart and His plan for us?

Love, Nancy

In my last post, we talked about the first thing God did after creating man—He blessed them.

Do you remember what He did next? I’ll give you a minute to think about it.

Yes, I’m sure you got it right. He spoke. What did He say? Genesis 1:28 says, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” The very first words that man ever heard from the mouth of God were to be fruitful and fill the earth. These words followed His blessing.

It is interesting that when God talks about being fruitful, or children coming, that He first blesses the couple. Blessing always comes before fruitfulness. You can’t even have a child without the blessing of God. Isn’t it amazing that God’s blessing is always fruitfulness, and yet so many don’t want to receive it?

Let’s keep under the fount of God’s blessing.

Love, Nancy

P.S. I have given a whole chapter of my book, BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY to the Scriptures that speak of God’s blessing before He sends fruitfulness. You can check them out by ordering the book from www.aboverubies.org

What was the first thing God did after He created man? I'll give you a little moment to think about it?

He blessed them. Did you get the right answer?

God is a BLESSER. He wants to bless you. He wants to bless your family.

And because we are created in His image, we should be blessers, too. It should be second nature to us. More correctly, it is God's nature in us.

Did you bless your husband this morning? Have you blessed your children today? If not, there's still more time in the day.

Let's make it a habitual part of life to speak life, blessing, and encouragement to each one in our family each day, and to all we meet.

Love from Nancy

God told His people of old, and I am sure we need to be constantly reminded today, “Do not learn the way of the nations… for the customs of the peoples are delusion” (Jeremiah 10:1-3). Read also Leviticus 18:3 and 20:23). And yet, we assimilate. When we look into the mirror of God’s Word we can be surprised at how much we are like the world rather than the standard of God’s Word.

That’s why it is so important to daily fill our minds and hearts with God’s truths and impart these truths to our children. Otherwise, we have no standard, except what we see around us, and often it is contrary to God’s way.

Why is it that Christian parents limit their families, and sometimes even scoff at having more children? Why do Christian parents want to send their children to state schools where the Bible and prayer (which are foundations of our nation) have been banned? What do Christian parents run their children around to every sport and extracurricular activity? Isn’t it because they have assimilated?

In many cases, the Christian’s standard of dress, movies, literature, and divorce, etc. lines up more with the world than God’s Word. And they think it’s normal!

Isn’t it time for a turning back? Isn’t it time for “normal” to be God’s normal, rather than the world’s normal?

What’s your “normal”?

Love from Nancy

Some extra Scriptures to check out if you have time!
Isaiah 60:1-2; Jeremiah 6:16; 18:15; Matthew 5:13-16; James 4:4; 1 John 2:19-21.

Jeremiah 10:7 asks “Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is your due!” What comfort to know that our God is King of the nations. No matter how much the nations rant and rave and turn away from God, God will have the last say. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Not only is He King of the nations, but He wants to be King in our lives and in our homes. If He is King, we are His subjects. We are to serve Him and honor Him for it is our due! If this is true in our family life, it will be surely the least we can do to come before our King as a family morning and evening to hear from Him, to worship Him and to pray to Him.

It is sad that many Christian families are too busy to take time for the Family Altar twice a day. Sports and other extracurricular activities take precedence. Is this making Jesus King in our home? What example are we teaching our children?

Who or what reigns as King in your home?

Love from Nancy

“She always made home happy.” This was an epitaph a husband inscribed on his wife’s grave after 60 years of marriage. What a powerful life. Imagine 60 years of making a home happy. As she put aside her own interests and sought to make her husband, her children, and all her came into her home happy, she must have influenced thousands—and generations to come.

Could this be written over my grave, or yours? Are we consciously seeking to make our husband happy? Are we intentionally blessing and encouraging our children each day? Are we seeking to make our home a delight? Or, are we too busy taken up with our own problems, self interest, and self pity.

Can I tell you a secret? The best way to get out of the doldrums and depression is to forget about you and try to make someone else happy. “How can I make someone happy when I feel so lousy?” you ask. Forget your feelings. Just do it. You will be amazed at what happens.

When you make others happy, you become happy yourself. As you become happy yourself, you’ll make others even happier. Your husband will be happier. Your children will be happier.

This is the way to go, mother! Start making someone happy right now. If your husband is around, sneak up on him and give a big kiss and cuddle. Or give him a call at work and tell him you love him. Do something special for one of your children.

Have a fun day making your home happy.

Love from Nancy