Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

The ark kept Noah and his family safe from flood. But, although they were safe, they had to go through the storm. We will never be able to avoid the storms and tempests of this life. Consequently, we have to learn how to navigate them. God shows the way through the example of Noah who built a strong home, a home that could withstand the biggest tempest that ever hit this earth.

Each one of has faced our different storms. We may face bigger storms ahead. The most important thing we can do is to continue strengthening our marriage and our home. Ask God to show you any leaks where the destroying enemy can enter in. Our homes constantly need repair. I am glad I married a “Mr. Fix It” as I call my husband. But more than physical wear and tear is spiritual wear and tear.

Constantly check what is going on in your home, what is being watched and read in your home, and what is coming into your home. The enemy hates godly homes and he looks for openings in the walls where he can enter in. He looks for broken down walls. Close up all holes. Take authority over compromise, worldliness and all evil. Plead for God’s protection and cover your home with the power of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Become such a diligent watchwoman that you scare the devil!

Love from Nancy

My friend’s mother is one of the most loving grandmothers that I have ever met. She recently returned from a trip to Hawaii, where she attended a church service with a beautiful female choir and traditional Hawaiian music. There was a baby crying in the service, and many in the congregation were turning their heads, beginning to wonder when that mother would take the baby out. Then the minister said straight from the pulpit “I love to hear babies in the church. Babies belong here. This is a baby born in the congregation and she belongs here with us”. This sweet grandma cried as she retold the story to me, and said how ashamed she was of thinking that the precious mother and baby were disruptive. She was moved and impressed with the minister’s correct opinion on the high value of children. I think that congregation heard a very godly message that day, don’t you? Love Michelle

Yesterday we talked about Lot who lost most of his family. Noah also lived in a culture of evil, filth and violence. He didn’t have one other person standing with him. His children had no righteous friends. Everyone around them was corrupt! But he saved his family. How did he do it?

He built an ark. He built an Anointed haven to protect his family from the storms of life. He built a Rock of truth from the deceptions of society and a little Kingdom of heaven on earth. He built it according to God’s specifications, not his own ideas (Genesis 6:22). He secured it “within and without with pitch” (Genesis 6:14). He made sure that it was not only water-tight on the outside, but on the inside too.

It is not enough to protect our children from the storms outside our home, but we must watch that we don’t have storms going on inside the home. In-house storms will often do more damage than outside storms! May God give us His wisdom, anointing and strength to seal our homes inside and out.

Love from Nancy

Sometimes the demands of home and family life make a mother feel pulled in too many directions. Yet this is not a bad thing, this is a great thing! This testifies to the high significance of her role. The amazing truth of motherhood is that a mother can and does meet multitudes of needs each day. She is a worker like no other, rising to the challenges of each situation, regardless of the personal sacrifice involved. This is one of the beautiful ways she exemplifies Christ to the world.
Each of her days is filled with accomplishing so very much, and each new day brings more to do. She is not to be pitied for being in such high demand, but rather praised. She is absolutely irreplaceable! Employees in the workforce strive to be irreplaceable in order to secure their jobs. They never want work to run out. An irreplaceable worker is envied, valued, praised and never pitied. That is you, dear Mother. Your job is not only secure, but eternally important. You are irreplaceable and highly esteemed! Love Michelle

Where is your family headed? Because we live in the midst of a humanist society that rejects God and His infallible truths, we must constantly guard against being subtly assimilated into the culture. Even righteous people can be fooled.

Lot was a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7-8) but the Bible says he “pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Genesis 13:12). He pointed the direction of his home toward this evil place. He could have pitched his home toward the mountains and been drawn towards God. What we look on, read, spend most of our time on, and think about is what we will become. Soon Lot and his family landed up living in Sodom (Genesis 14:12). Then we read of how he is totally entrenched in the city life. He is an elder in the Gate of Sodom (Genesis 19:1).

He was still a righteous man who trusted in God, but he lost most of his family! When he tried to warn his sons in law, sons, and daughters to run from the coming judgment, they thought he was crazy. They were entrenched in the culture—and were destroyed (Genesis 19: 12-28).

What is the passion and direction of your family? The direction you are pointed is where you will end. Keep pointed towards God’s ways.

Love from Nancy

I heard the following words repeated often when I was young.

If you have all Word, you’ll dry up.
If you have all Spirit, you’ll blow up.
But if you have the Word and the Spirit you will grow up.

I think there is a lot of truth in these words. Many people read God’s Word, but it is the letter of the law to them because they read it without faith. God’s Word becomes alive when the Holy Spirit illumines it to us. In the tabernacle in the wilderness, the light from the seven-branched candlestick shone upon the bread on the Table of Shewbread, which represented God’s Word. That’s why the best translation of the Word of God is the Holy Spirit.

As you read the Word individually, and when you come together as a family at Family Devotions, come in faith. Come, believing that God is going to speak to you. Come, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to you. And what will happen? You will all grow.

Love from Nancy

It is a sad day at our house. My dad lies dying in the hospital at the young age of 63. We got the call late Thursday night. He has lived a lost life, and although he has been exposed to the gospel many times over the years, he has not made it his own. He lived with our famly for a time, but fell back into his old habits, moved out, and we haven’t seen him in almost 10 years. He has not met many of our younger children, but the older ones remember him well, from when he shared our home. Today I will visit him, perhaps for the last time. I will speak of eternity, and forgiveness, and I will pray that the Spirit will move. All things are in the hands of the Lord, and it is still a day of miracles. My verse for the day comes from Luke 1:79,”to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” Although this verse refers to John the Baptist, it is my prayer today for myself, and for all of you, because we all can be used of the Lord, to guide others from darkness to light and peace. What a privilege! Love Michelle

Sometimes I feel stressed out. Life is so full of unexpected events. A sudden job loss, an unexpected expense, an accident or illness to contend with, or an unforeseen problem or breakdown. These all threaten to unravel us, don’t they? Our natural inclination is to feel discouraged and downtrodden.
Today, I read II Kings 6 and 7, where the people were under siege and famine, and were completely devastated. They made my problems look miniscule. In ch7:2, Elisha told a man that it would get better the next day, and was met with unbelief . Isn’t this just like us to doubt and feel that there is no way out when we are in the thick of things? Look what happens though. His doubt leads to his demise.
What a wake up call! We must remember the truth. God never leaves us or forsakes us. He never stops working out His purposes in our lives, and nothing is too great for Him, regardless of how things look to us. Be of good courage, and walk in faith and hope today. I am leaving all demising doubts at the doorstep, out of here, where they belong. Love Michelle

I read the sweetest thing today, and it is so true. Alistair Thomson said, “I’m 72 and I’ve learned a truth about Valentine’s Day. Act as if every day is Valentine’s Day and you’ll be happily married forever.” Who wouldn’t want to be happily married forever? We do not make wedding vows temporarily, we make them for life. To be happily married forever, we must not take advantage of each other, and we need to cherish and respect one another continually. Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to remind ourselves to treat every day like Valentine’s Day. I am actually married to a Valentine’s baby, so Valentine’s Day is used to celebrate his birth and our love, both of which need to be celebrated daily. Love Michelle

Convictions don’t come suddenly. They take time to reinforce. We often start off thinking this way or that. We change our mind as we go along. We are influenced by what people say and society around us.

But, we cannot stay “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” We must become cemented in our convictions. The New Living Translation of Ephesians 14 says, “Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.”

Convictions become part of us as we seek after truth and search God’s Word for understanding. Truth becomes “flesh and blood.” When Jesus came, He was “made flesh… full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The truth was part of Him. When truth is not only “a bit of head knowledge” but part of who you are, you will not be intimidated by those who do not understand, or who ridicule you for your stand. When truth is cemented in your heart, you will not change your mind when it seems too hard to walk in your conviction.

Godly convictions, rooted in God’s Word, will stand up against all ridicule, debate, criticism, agnosticism, insurmountable difficulties, persecution and “situational ethics.”

Love from Nancy