ABOVE RUBIES NEWSLETTER #2, Mar 2018
MINI ABOVE RUBIES, No 2 for 2018
Dear Above Rubies reader,
My husband, Colin and recently returned from two weeks speaking in the United Kingdom. It was a good time. We traveled one day and spoke at a seminar the next day, throughout the two weeks. The first day we woke up in England we looked out on snow and trained and traveled in snow for the rest of the trip. In some parts they had never had snow before, and in a few places some people couldn’t even get out to the meetings.
It was just as well we left Scotland the day we did, for the next day the snow dumped Scotland. The people we were staying with were snowed in. Her husband, a professor in a university, couldn’t get back home and her son studying in another university was also stuck. We wouldn’t have been able to finish our itinerary! She wrote that at least they had their chickens they could kill for food and if they ran out of those they could start on the guinea pigs! A joke of course!
We arrived home on Thursday night and next morning we had to be at the Teach Them Diligently Convention in Nashville where we had an Above Rubies booth and spoke at different sessions.
Featured Articles
LATEST ABOVE RUBIES RETREATS AND FAMILY CELEBRATIONS
NEW DIGITAL MAGAZINE – JOURNEY UP
NEED TESTIMONIES OF GOD’S PROVISION
LATEST ABOVE RUBIES RETREATS AND FAMILY CELEBRATIONS
ABOVE RUBIES LADIES RETREAT IN OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
My next trip out is to the Ladies Retreat at Black Lake Bible Camp, Olympia Washington, the first weekend of April (6 – 8 April) where we are going to have a very special retreat with my daughters. In the early days, Pearl and Serene used to come with me to the Above Rubies retreats and sing and share. Since beginning Trim Healthy Mama, they haven’t had time to join me. They don’t even accept their own speaking invitations as they are too busy.
However, recently Pearl said to me that they would love to do one more retreat with us all together. It will be a ONCE IN A LIFE TIME! I am so excited to have them with me again. We have big family entourage! There will be twelve of us altogether:
Pearl and her daughter Meadow (and baby Warren) and Autumn Rose
Serene and new baby Solace
Evangeline and her daughter Rashida (and second baby Emory)
My sister Kate and her daughter Promise
The only sad thing about it is that when the news got out, the retreat was booked out immediately! We have a waiting list in case people can’t come at the last minute and others can fill their place. Here’s the contact just in case: Nicole Stol: Ph: 253 312 0906 * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABOVE RUBIES FAMILY CELEBRATIONS
This year we have more Family Retreats than Ladies Retreats. This is amazing because it is usually the other way around. I am so excited because when we have a Family Retreat my husband gets to speak to the men. And they get so blessed! Plus, of course, it is such a wonderful time for families to get away and have a fun time together as a family and at the same time be strengthened in the great job they are doing.
Check out the following and I do hope you can get to the one nearest to you.
26 - 29 APRIL, PANAMA CITY
Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Center, Panama City
20026 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach, Florida 32413
To register, go to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WFEeIP7ojeVPzNRL5o0qOGKAlGByU2lDOjFNo8p9N-s/viewform?ts=590e8faa&edit_requested=true
Questions: Brittany Howell @ 321-356-8621 * Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Or Allison Hartman @ 850-221-1222 * Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
What’s happening at this retreat? It’s an amazing place, right on the beach for families to enjoy, and it’s always an incredible time. The official retreat is for the weekend, 26 – 29 April. However, because the families love it so much we now make it available for a whole week. Those who want to come for the whole week, from Wednesday to Wednesday for extra vacation time as a family, can book the extra time.
For the last two years our grandson, Zadok Johnson has come to speak to the youth. This has been REVOLUTIONIZING for the young people, and praise the Lord, Zadok is coming back again this year. Bring all the youth you can--teens and twenties.
And more special guests this year!
On Thursday evening we will have many speakers and on Friday Zadok will speak to the youth, Howard and Evangeline Johnson (Zadok’s parents) will speak to the parents, and yes, Serene Allison will also be with us (their whole family are coming too)! Serene will mainly be enjoying a rest with her family—her schedule is so huge.
Colin and I will begin ministering Friday evening until Sunday afternoon (including the other speakers)—and then for those who stay on for more vacation time, there will be continuing meetings with Zadok with the youth.
The following weekend we have another Family Retreat in Tennessee.
4 – 6 MAY, TENNESSEE
Natchez Trace Wilderness Preserve, 1331 Napier Rd, Hohenwald, TN.
Contact David and Sherri Leiter * Ph: 931 964 9944 * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Or Amy Brewer * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I don’t know where the years have gone, but we haven’t had a Family Retreat in Tennessee for 16 years! It certainly is time for another one. Don’t miss this one.
And great news. Zadok Johnson will also be coming to this retreat to speak to the youth. This will be a God-anointed time for the youth. If you have older young people, make sure they join you for this retreat.
8 – 10 JUNE, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Zephyr Point Conference Center
Contact: Shannon Carpenter
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cell: 530-718-0989 * Home (cell is best): 530-745-6328
24 - 26 AUGUST, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
Pine Valley Bible Conference Center, near San Diego
Contact: Gary and Trish Evans
Ph: 951 681 4858
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
31 AUGUST – 2 SEPTEMBER, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA
Wolf Creek Circle Square Ranch, Wolseley.
Contact: Anita Johnson * Ph: 306 522 7601 * Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Or Theresa Vanderstoel * Ph: 306 345 2039 * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
26 – 28 OCTOBER, PENNSYLVANIA
REFRESHING MOUNTAIN RETREAT
For more details contact:
Miranda Roth * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. * Ph: 610-442-3861
Zadok will be out of the country ministering in Kurdistan for the month of August, but we trust he will be able to come to this Pennsylvania retreat too.
Try and get to the one nearest you. Don’t miss out! A wonderful vacation time for the whole family, Plus, you will be strengthened and inspired in your great calling of parenting.
FREE DIGITAL MAGAZINE TO ENCOURAGE YOU AS A FAMILY
In Above Rubies #93, Kimberly Bryant wrote an article called “Winning the Heart of my Sons.” Many were blessed by her testimony. Scott and Kimberly Bryant (the parents of twelve wonderful children) have now begun a new family magazine called, JOURNEY UP—Restoring the Family * Reviving the Church * Retelling His Story. It’s a free digital magazine which you can receive going to: www.myjourneyup.org
For further enquiries go to: Kimberly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SIGN A PETITION FOR MOTHERHOOD
CitizenGO have made a petition to elevate the status of motherhood and reclaim our culture for our children and the future of America.
Here's the link: http://www.citizengo.org/en/node/104502?tc=ty&tcid=46520505
You may like to read the proclamation before you sign.
A Proclamation for the Preservation of Liberty & Virtue
As the mothers, primary Makers of the Homes of America and molders of the future of our nation, we declare that the liberty and freedom of all people begin in the home and that a nation is but a magnified home. The values and virtues taught within the family will determine the values and virtues of the nation as a whole.
We recognize the sacred role of mother as the heart of the home and home as the heart of society. The liberty of each individual begins in the home and parents are, first and foremost, the primary teachers and protectors of their children in a free society. Properly constructed social, religious, and governmental institutions are designed to support and strengthen the family unit, not replace it, or regulate it. No association or government organization can replace the family no matter how well-intentioned or well-designed it may be.
Living as a free people in a free society is directly linked to being a people of faith, virtue, and patriotism—the three pillars of liberty. Homes and families with mothers who nurture and teach these principles produce leaders who honor and hold sacred the nobility of the individual.
We affirm that “All men and women are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” and to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, [receiving] their just powers from the consent of the governed.”[1]
To secure the blessings of liberty, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America created a written constitution under the inspiration of Almighty God. Each generation is responsible for safeguarding the Constitution and teaching their children the responsibilities associated with the preservation of this sacred document and the rights secured by it.
Each member of the human race is born with intrinsic dignity and the right to liberty, self-determination, and self-governance. The individual’s responsibility of work, education, and industry are crucial elements of self-governance in society and the preservation of human dignity.
The rights of a free people are protected and preserved through honorable, virtuous, leadership which invokes the nobility inherent in all men and women. Successful leaders in the home and family govern by correct principles, teach by example and stand for self-evident truths and liberty sustaining principles.
As the lessons of history clearly demonstrate, we recognize that freedom is fragile. It is a rare and prized possession and requires constant care and vigilance for its preservation. Living as a free people does not come instinctively; principles of freedom must be studied and applied. Each generation has a responsibility to instill a love of liberty and virtue in the hearts of the next generation.
To safeguard the liberty and enhance the future of our children and grandchildren, we affirm our commitment to “stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made us free”[2] that “government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”[3]
1. Declaration of Independence
2. Galatians 5:1
3. Gettysburg Address
To sign, here is the link again: http://www.citizengo.org/en/node/104502?tc=ty&tcid=46520505
WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR YOUR CHILDREN?
What is the most important thing you want to teach your children? Does your vision match up with God’s vision? I know you have great aspirations for our children. You want them to be successful, that’s for sure. And therefore, you spend much time on their education and taking them to all the different extra-curricular activities.
But have we missed it? I find that even among wonderful homeschooling families that most children come forth from their homes knowing very little of God’s Word. Yes, they had a Christian education, but they don’t know the Word. It’s not inside them. It’s not coming out their mouths.
God makes His plan for raising our children very plain. Let’s remind ourselves of just a few Scriptures, among hundreds:
Deuteronomy 6:6, 7 (AMP): “These Words, which I am commanding you today, shall be (written) on your heart and mind. You shall teach them diligently to your children (impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths) and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.”
Isaiah 59:21 (ESV): “’As for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the LORD: ‘My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your MOUTH, shall not depart out of your MOUTH, or out of the MOUTH of your offspring, or out of the MOUTH of your children’s offspring,’ says the LORD ‘from this time forth and forevermore.’”
The above Scriptures command us to get God’s Word, not only into the hearts of our children, but into their mouths. God is very concerned about making sure our children are constantly speaking His words.
We need to also remind ourselves of the Scriptures which promise that if we get God’s Word into our children and they daily walk in obedience to them that they will prosper and be successful:
Joshua 1:8: “The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way PROSPEROUS, AND THEN YOU WILL HAVE GOOD SUCCESS.”
Psalm 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and WHATEVER HE DOES SHALL PROSPER.”
Let’s take notice, dear parents. If we want our children to be successful, we’ve got to get God’s Words into their hearts and MOUTHS! It’s more important than all the rest of their education. It’s more important that all their extra activities. It’s the most important part of every day.
Therefore, do we plan our children’s days with this purpose in mind? Deuteronomy, chapter six tells us to be ready to talk of His commands and ways at any moment of the day. But I believe we also need to make specific times. The biblical pattern is the morning and evening principle—to gather the family together every morning and every evening to read God’s Word to them and to pray together. This is the very least we can do.
Make sure that you plan your day around making this happen for the blessing and success of your children.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN?
In our Bookstore I have two wonderful books called THE DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH. One is in the New King James Version. The other is the King James Version.
This book was first published by the Bagster family over 150 years ago and continues to flourish to this day. It became a great blessing for families all over the country. Many fathers worked long hours and did not have time to prepare Bible readings for their families. The Daily Light on the Daily Path provided the answer.
Because it was the habit of Christians back in those days to read God’s Word twice a day, the Bagster family prepared Scriptures (on a certain theme) for every morning and evening. This book became a great blessing for families all over the country. Many fathers worked long hours and did not have time to prepare Bible readings for their families. The Daily Light on the Daily Path provided the answer.
It continues to be the answer for you today. Even the busiest father has no excuse when he has this book. Fathers who have never experienced doing Family Devotions in their own home and who do not feel confident about doing it with their own children will also be encouraged. This book takes all the sweat out of knowing what to do. All you need to do is go to the appropriate date and read the Scriptures that are prepared for you. What a blessing!
You can choose either book:
New King James Version: Daily Light on the Daily Path.
Go to: http://bit.ly/DailyLightDailyPath
King James Version: Daily Light on the Daily Path, Plus Creative Ideas Ways to Read God’s Word to Your Children.
Go to: http://tinyurl.com/CreativeIdeasToReadBible
I’d like to encourage you to purchase the second book because of the creative ways to help you keep your children interested.
Not only does it give you selected Scriptures for every morning and evening of every day of the year, but each month you can read another creative idea on—
How to keep your children attentive.
How to keep them excited!
How to keep them “on their toes.”
How to get them to participate.
Go to: http://tinyurl.com/CreativeIdeasToReadBible
HAVE YOU GOT A TESTIMONY?
I’d love to hear from families who have already purchased this book and who find it a blessing in their family. And those who are trying out the creative ideas to get their children excited as they read God’s Word each day. Please write and tell me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thanks so much.
ARE YOU HOSTING AN ORPHAN THIS SUMMER?
In our last newsletter I posted about the opportunity to host an orphan for the summer from BLOOM WORLDWIDE. Here is a reminder:
“We are now in the process of matching families with host children from POLAND. I am happy to announce that this summer we are adding a new country to our host program: BURUNDI! You may know that Burundi is one of the world’s poorest countries, so I know the children from there will be especially blessed to be able to come to America this summer if we can find host families for them.”
Families who are interested in hosting a child should visit our website, http://www.bloomworldwide.org/ where they can fill out a pre-application in order to access our photo listing. Then, a member of our BLOOM team will contact the family to see if they have any questions about hosting in general, or inquiries about hosting a child.
Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity.
WE WERE FOREVER CHANGED
A wonderful testimony from a family who hosted orphans.
Ten years ago, my family began a journey we never expected, one which led us to adopt three special children from overseas who have disabilities. First, we adopted Sean, who has Down Syndrome and was four years old. A year later, we adopted Lily (age three) who also has Down Syndrome, and Joshua (age four) who has a partial deletion of his 14th chromosome.
Through these adoptions we came to understand more fully our Heavenly Father’s love for each of us and the value of human life. It wasn’t just a matter of us blessing them, but rather, of them blessing us! Adopting from an orphanage changed us too. We would never forget what we saw, and we feel a burden to share and do all we can for these children who are discarded and unvalued by much of the world, but precious in God’s sight.
For years since then my daughter Naomi has sent me pictures . . . almost daily. Little children with disabilities who were languishing in orphanages and older “typical” children who soon would “age out” and not be able to be adopted. Our hands were full, but we found ways to help. We raised money for other adoptive families through yard sales, handmade items, and auctions. We shared and prayed for orphans, but we always wondered if we could do more. Have you ever had that feeling that there are children missing? Happens to us all the time!
One day Naomi shared with me about two children whose host family had fallen through. They were siblings--a 14-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl. We had thought of hosting before but honestly, never REALLY considered it, thinking the fee too high and life too busy. I don’t know what caused me to think about it this time and share it with my husband, except that God led me. We had no doubt that it would be a good experience to serve the Lord as a family.
My children were willing and most of them begging us to host these children. I knew that this was a MAJOR decision, because I knew they would likely want to adopt them. We made it clear that this didn’t mean we would adopt. They understood and wanted to host them anyway! These children had been preparing to come to America for four weeks for Christmas, had gotten tickets, passports, and clearance, and suddenly NEEDED a family.
The real question was: COULD/SHOULD we? Could we open our home to share it with two orphans for four weeks? Could we show them the love of Jesus and the joy of family? We knew we could. We knew we weren’t perfect – our home is busy and noisy and not always orderly, BUT we have love, plenty of room by most of the world’s standards, and the most powerful gift of all to share--the love of Jesus!
Could we afford it? My husband told me that he had received extra pay for his last course he’d taught. We didn’t REALLY need to get new couches this Christmas. What are couches anyway? We are talking about children’s lives! Should we care for orphans if we could? We knew the answer.
After praying and talking as a family, we decided to do it if God opened the door. We applied, got a home visit, filled out paperwork, background clearance, and sent in the money--a month before Christmas! We knew that it would not be easy as they would speak a different language, we would deal with behaviors, and would be with strangers 24:7 for four weeks. Yet we knew in our hearts this would be the best Christmas, and no present could match touching the lives of two precious children!
Only three days after they came, my reasonable husband told me in tears, “I don’t know how I’ll be able to send them back!” Somehow, as only He can do, God knit these two children into our hearts. There were challenges, of course, but we kept reminding ourselves of what they had endured, that they had no parents to nurture them, and likely had no understanding of God, who loved them so much that He died for them.
We saw God work in wonderful ways as these two orphans learned to be in a family--and in our children as they learned to love sacrificially and communicate with them. Did you know that eight and 14-year-old boys do not need to speak the same language to bond deeply as they dig in the dirt, care for chickens, wrestle, and play together? Or that two 11-year-old girls from different countries can be mistaken for twins and enjoy spending every minute together?
Our host children “V” and “V” (we cannot share their names) were integrated into every aspect of our lives together--eating meals, prayer time, reading the Bible (and then translating it with Google Translate), playing, working, going on outings, and learning time. Simple things like making Daddy’s coffee, building a fire, painting Mommy’s nails, helping a younger sibling, joking with Daddy, and being tucked in at night were special moments. Receiving and giving gifts at Christmas, celebrating our host girl’s birthday, witnessing our daughter’s baptism, and going roller skating were unforgettable too.
To be honest, they amazed me—that they could travel across the world to live with strangers who speak a different language, that they could give love, trust us, and have such joy. It surprised me what a deep love God gave us for them. In our effort to show them what a family was, they became our family. Nothing prepared us for the heartache we felt when they traveled across the world back to the orphanage.
We were given greater insight into the heart of our Heavenly Father, who is “a Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5). So, now here we are again—changed forever by loving orphans and stepping out in faith as we seek to bring them and little sister home.
If you have wondered about hosting children but have thought like I used to, that you are too busy or it’s too expensive, I hope our story will encourage you. What orphans need the most is to experience every-day life as a family: you just include them in your busy life! I was once turned off by the cost, but now I know it’s worth it to pay for the needed expenses to get them here. Many families prayerfully fundraise and see God provide. Just as with our previous adoptions, “God can make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, always, having everything you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
No, you do not have to adopt! We know children who have been hosted who can NOT be adopted and other children who do not WANT to be adopted, yet the experiences they have here greatly enriches their lives. Sometimes they meet their future family through others they meet. A host mom shared with me that two boys they’ve hosted put their faith in Christ and were baptized here. I have also met families who love their host children from across the world and continue to impact their lives. What a testimony to the love and power of Christ!
Unbelievably, some people are critical of host programs that bring orphans here only to send them back. I wrestled with these comments, until I realized that adoption was not the only purpose of hosting. These children learn a different culture and language, new skills, and experiences, what a family is (which can open their hearts to adoption) and most importantly, experience the love of Christ Jesus our Lord. Compare that to staying at the orphanage during a “holiday,” with little recreation, insufficient supervision, and devoid of love.
If love is your focus, hosting is a blessing for them, your family, and even others. We have friends who were deeply touched by meeting our host children. They cried when our children went back and are praying about hosting. We are counting down the days until ours come back this Summer and pray that soon after we will travel to their country for their adoption! Please pray with us. You can learn about hosting at https://www.ukrainianresourcecenter.com/hosting.html I know I had many questions! You can also follow our current adoption journey, or read about our previous adoptions, on our blog below.
And if you are looking for a way to serve the Lord as a family, why not minister to orphans in your own home?
TRACI HEATHER ADAMSON
John and Tracy are blessed with Haylee (20), Naomi (18), Jonah (15), Annabelle (13), Sean (12), Joshua (11), Elsie (11), Lily (10), and Aidan (8) and soon to be “V” (15), “V” (11) and “L” (4).
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Blog: https://childrenpreciousinhissight.blogspot.com
NEEDING A MIDWIFE IN JAPAN
Lillian in Japan is desperate for a midwife. Her baby is due the end of April. She is happy to pay the airfare for a good midwife. All other details can be worked out when contacting her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Looking for a Christian Midwife
Hello!
I am a 30-year-old American mom living in Japan with my Japanese husband and we are pregnant with our 3rd baby due at the end of April. We are a bilingual family and would be more than excited to share Japanese culture from a Christian perspective. We are willing to pay airfare and look forward to working out other details to make sure everyone is happy and comfortable.
I am specifically looking for someone who:
- Loves God
- Loves travelling
- Loves toddlers (there are 2 of them)
- Cares about nutrition
Details to be worked out:
- Total cost
- Place to stay
- Length of stay
- Birth supplies
I am currently signed up to give birth at the hospital and have passed all tests so far. No placenta previa. No gestational diabetes. No high blood pressure. No anemia. We have the hospital as a back-up plan in case anything goes wrong. For more detailed information, please contact me.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Lillian
HAS GOD PROVIDED FOR YOU?
I need testimonies on this subject for the next magazine. I would love to receive testimonies of how God has provided for you as a family and especially what God has done when He has sent another baby to your home. Often parents think they can never ever afford to have another baby. God doesn’t provide for the baby before it arrives, but oh, He is so faithful to show His provision when the baby comes. He does it in the most surprising ways. I’d love to hear your stories. Please email them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and put PROVISION in the Subject Heading. Thanks.
WHEN DO WE STOP MOTHERING?
When I sent out the last issue of Above Rubies I was saddened to receive emails from older ladies asking to be taken off the mailing list. Their comments include: “My children are now grown,” or “I’m done raising children,” etc.
When I read these words, I had to say: “I beg your pardon?” Have these lovely ladies forgotten God’s admonition to the older women to teach the younger women? Yes, I do think it is a forgotten passage of God’s Word, for there are so few older women who take it seriously.
It is true that most women move on to a different stage of life when their children are grown. They leave the home (if they were even there before) and start thinking increasingly of their own agenda.
Dear precious ladies, we don’t stop mothering when our children leave the nest. We keep enlarging our mothering. It won’t be long, and grandchildren will come. And these years go so quickly and then another generation begins.
Life as a mother is meant to enlarge, broaden, and unfold more and more into the fulfillment of God’s plan for families. We keep on mothering. Plus, we have a new responsibility to encourage and teach the new generation of young mothers.
How do the new generation of mothers know what to do unless the older generation teaches them? It is sad that in many homes today young women grow up not knowing how to cook or run a home. Many of them are unfamiliar with babies. If there were only two children in the family, they haven’t experienced babies around them as they grew up. They are unprepared for mothering and homemaking.
This is not how God intends it to be. He has COMMANDED that the older women teach the young women HOW to love their husbands, HOW to love their children, and HOW to be keepers at home, etc. Read it all in Titus 2:3-5 (JBP). It’s not enough to teach them. They must show them how.
Can I ask: how can they show them how if they leave the home? How can they show them how if they are no longer interested in mothering? I believe that we as older mothers should continue to seek God for His plan for us as women. I continually cry out to God to show me His ways for us as women and I am amazed that after all these years God continues to show me more and more of His beautiful plan in His Word. Sadly, most older women do not even know God’s ways to pass them on to the younger generation.
To teach the new generation, we as older women must continue in the anointing of motherhood. Continuing to mother. Overflowing in it. Immersing ourselves in it. And seek to faithfully and continually teach it to the new generation of mothers.
The Titus 2 passage ends with very strong words. It tells us that if the older women are not faithful to teach the younger women the truths of motherhood, wifehood, and homemaking that the Word of God will be BLASPHEMED! Wow, that’s a strong word. I’m glad the Bible said it and not me or you’d be wanting to throw rocks at me!
Why does God use such a strong word? I believe it is because if mothers do not embrace their role of mothering and the beautiful place of the home God has provided for them to raise their children, they show an opposite picture of God’s ultimate plan. And this is blasphemy t God.
Dearest fellow older mothers, let’s keep getting out Above Rubies and passing it out to the younger generation of mothers. Pass it on to our daughters and daughters-in-law. Give it to every young mother you see.
SNIPPETS ABOUT ABOVE RUBIES
“It’s the first time I ever read Above Rubies. I love it and need it like a long thirst for oasis.”
“I was given Above Rubies by a close friend after the birth of my ninth child. I have never, in all my life as a mother, been so encouraged. I have been scolded everywhere I go on how we are over populating and everywhere I turned, I just couldn't find rest, until I opened your magazine. It was as if God said, “Be blessed with what I gave you. Don't let others put you down based on how I chose to use you.
IS YOUR HOME A HEALING HOME?
Did you know our homes are meant to be healing homes? In Luke 2:42, 43 Jesus tells a parable of the master of the household who appoints a faithful and wise steward to be in charge of his home and to make sure his servants have food while he is away. The same parable is also told in Matthew 24:45-47. The word household is “therapeia” in the Greek and means “attendance to medical needs, domestic, healing.”
In other words, out homes should be homes of healing—healing the spirit, the soul, and the body. That’s why God ordained the home. It is an oasis from the storms of life, a sanctuary from the chaos and strife in the world, a place of safety to nurture and raise children, and a place of healing.
One of the powerful places in the home is the table where we eat and fellowship. It is the gathering place. The home centers around food and fellowship. If we do not smell the wonderful smells of spices and herbs enhancing the food cooking on the stove and the aroma of homemade bread in the oven we miss some of the joys of home.
If we do not sit around the table to communicate, discuss, and share our revelations and thoughts as we eat together we miss the true essence of home. The table is communal. It promotes oneness, not independence.
The picture God paints of a blessed family is of children “all around the table” (Psalm 1238:3). Tables are meant to be filled. God didn’t intend the 1.8-member family of today’s society. He loves the filled table. And not only the immediate family, but often grandparents and extended family. And friends and strangers. Each one comes with expectancy, ready for new dialogue. The place hums with conversation. No one is lonely. The togetherness brings healing and joy.
To talk about the things that are on our hearts help to heal our confusions or brokenness. And when we eat, it is important to eat healthy foods. This word “healing” that is used for “household” is used in only two other places in the Bible. Both talk about healing.
Luke 9:11 where Jesus “healed them that had need of healing (therapeia).”
Revelation 22:1, 2 speaks of “A pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing (therapeia) of the nations.” Healing foods, not refined junk foods.
Are we careful to prepare healing foods for our husbands and children? This is such an important part of being a homemaker.
Make your home a beautiful place of healing for the spirit, the soul, and the body.
Be blessed and encouraged.
TEN GREAT REASONS TO HAVE ANOTHER CHILD
You will love to read these reasons by Steve Mosher.
One: Have another child to join with God in the creation of an immortal soul.
Parents are given the incredible opportunity to assist God in the creation of an immortal soul. As the late Cardinal Mindszenty said, even the angels have not been given such a grace.
“The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral—a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body...Even the angels have not been given such a grace! What is more glorious than this—to be a mother.” Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty Reason
Two: Have another child to bring joy into your life.
There is no joy like the joy of welcoming another child into your life. You will marvel anew at how perfectly formed your little one is and over how quickly you will fall head over heels in love with him. You will be enchanted with every tiny aspect of his/her appearance. The color of his/her hair, the shape of the nose, and the winsomeness of the smile will occasion endless happy debates about from which side of the family (yours, of course) he/she got that adorable trait.
The birth of a child will bind you to God more tightly than ever before, in awed gratitude. “She was the most miraculous thing that had ever happened in my life,” Whittaker Chambers wrote about his new daughter in Witness. And in the lives of most of us.
I thought that one day
I would be a famous artist
and create great works of art.
Instead, God made me a mother,
and my children are His masterpiece.
The design of their lives
will live on after me.
What is painted on their hearts
will last an eternity.
~ Anonymous
Three: Have another child to grow in holiness and virtue.
For those who marry and have families, children are the primary means God uses to help them grow in holiness and virtue. Children teach their parents patience, perseverance, charity, and humility. They give their parents the opportunity to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They come into the world naked, and we clothe them, hungry and we feed them, thirsty, and we give them drink. All of these things we are required to do for the “least of these our brothers,” we do first and foremost for our own children. St. Catherine of Siena once had a vision in which God took her to a roomful of crosses and told her to pick one. St. Catherine went to the largest, heaviest cross in the room and would have chosen it. But God told her that it was not for her: That was reserved for the parents of large families.
Four: Have another child to help end abortion.
When Mother Teresa of Calcutta was asked by a young mother about the best way to proceed with pro-life work, she responded emphatically, “Have a big family. That is the best way to end abortion!”
How this works is not difficult to understand. As children become rarer due to contraception, sterilization, and abortion, whole segments of society become less and less familiar with the sense of joy and hope that only babies and children can give. In this climate, contraception and abortion feed on themselves, as the increasingly selfish few further reduce their number.
By having another child, you demonstrate once again to the world that children are God’s greatest gifts. “Children build up the life of the family and society,” Pope John Paul II said. “The child becomes a gift to its brothers and sisters, parents, and entire family. Its entire life becomes a gift for the very people who were givers of life and who cannot help but feel its presence, its sharing in their life, and its contribution to the common good and to the community of the family.”
The more children there are in society, the more pro-life that society will become and the easier it will be for the great evil of abortion to be eradicated once and for all.
“Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Five:
A) Have another child so your sons will have brothers and your daughters will have sisters.
Children who have siblings learn early to share. They learn to take turns and to put the needs of others before their own. The bond formed between brothers and sisters is lifelong, and stronger than the bond between the closest friends.
“How good it is, how pleasant, where the brothers dwell as one!” (Psalm 133:1-2).
B) Have another child so your sons will have sisters and your daughters will have brothers.
Boys who have sisters learn the dignity of women. They learn to treat other girls and women with respect as they consider how they would like their own sisters to be treated. Girls who have brothers learn the complementarity of men and women, both fashioned in the image and likeness of God.
“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones—the ones at home.”
~ Mother Teresa
Six: Have another child so you (and your parents) won’t be lonely in old age.
People who have children don’t have to rely upon strangers to care for them in their old age. Children also become the parents of your grandchildren. Grandchildren bring joy, happiness, and laughter, while still allowing you to get a good night’s sleep!
“Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their parentage” (Proverbs 17:6).
Seven: Have another child because people are our greatest resource.
Humans are blessed with the gifts of an intellect and free will. It is human ingenuity that discovers creative solutions to the problems which confront us. People without children should remember that it will be someone else’s child who will become the doctor that performs their life-saving operations. Someone else’s child will become the firefighter that saves their house. Someone else’s child will become the railroad engineer.
“How can there be too many children? That’s like saying there are too many flowers.”
~ Mother Teresa
Eight: Have another child to contribute to the economy.
Families with children are fuel to the economy, purchasing houses and cars and college educations. Without young people to enter the workforce, social security systems fail. Without children to attend school, teachers are jobless. Many industries, from fast food restaurants to toy stores, obviously rely heavily upon business from and for children to stay in business. But ultimately the whole economy does.
“Like a fruitful vine your wife within your home, Like olive plants your children around your table. Just so will they be blessed who fear the Lord” (Psalm 128:3-4).
Nine: Have another child to counter global depopulation.
Anyone who has traveled from coast to coast in the United States and seen the vast empty spaces should know that America is not overpopulated. In fact, the entire population of the world could live in the state of Texas, in single-family dwellings with front and back yards. Fertility rates are falling everywhere. The world’s population will never again double. If current trends continue, world population will peak by the middle of this century and then begin demographic freefall. Our long-term problem is not too many children, but too few children. Having another child will help offset the coming population implosion.
“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
Ten: Have another child to help populate heaven.
The child that you and your spouse have been generous in accepting from God was created to return to Him, after a life of love, service, and obedience on earth, to spend eternity with God in heaven. Our Lord Himself said that there was plenty of room for those immortal souls. There is no overpopulation problem in Heaven!
“There are many mansions in my Father’s house” (John 14:2).
“Ten Great Reasons to Have Another Child”
Permission to reprint granted.
Credit requested. http://www.pop.org
A WEALTH OF INFORMATION
Just a little reminder that we have a wealth of information on the Above Rubies webpage, www.aboverubies.org.
If you do not get on to Facebook, you still receive the daily posts that my husband Colin, and I write each day. You’ll find them on the web.
Also, go to Articles and Stories when you have time. Whatever subject on family that you need to check out, you’ll find loads of articles and stories about it there. You’ll be so blessed.
NANCY CAMPBELL
www.aboverubies.org