Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

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

NO LONGER WISHY-WASHY!

What a privilege we have as mothers to create a home that is a sanctuary for God. God loves to dwell in our homes and walk in the midst of everything we are doing (Leviticus 26:11-12 and 2 Corinthians 16-18).

Psalm 96:6 says, "Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary."

Strength is one of the characteristics of God's sanctuary. Therefore, as we prepare our home to be a sanctuary for God, we need to build strength into our home. I believe the greatest way we do this is to fill our hearts, and the hearts of our children, with God's truth. Unless we, and our children, know the truth, are convinced of the truth, and are prepared to contend for the truth, we are wishy-washy and have no strength. We are a home that has no strength and can be battered by the storms of life.

I am amazed, or I should say, very burdened, at the state of Christianity today. Many do not have strong convictions of God's principles. They are tolerant of what God says is an abomination. They are raising children who are more familiar with the entertainment of this world than they of God's Word.

Let's build strength into our home. Let's become mothers of strong convictions. Let's raise children who will not fear to stand strong for truth, and who will "be able to withstand (stand against, oppose, resist) in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Ephesians 6:13.

Love from Nancy

DID YOU KNOW?

What was one of the things that was restored in times of revival in the Old Testament?

The altar of the Lord. Everything they did back in Bible times is a type and example for us today. The patriarchs made altars to meet with God and call upon His name. We can also make an altar in our home. Many years ago, Christians called it the Family Altar, but not many hear those words today.

We know we are living in Laodicean times when God's people are too busy to establish a family altar and meet with him as a family each day. We are still in our state of lukewarmness, mediocrity, and  complacency. However, we will know we are in revival times when family altars are repaired and established all over the land. We will see God move His mighty hand of power as God-fearing families gather together daily to cry out to God for their city and nation and to listen to Him speak through His Word.

It was a spiritually barren time in Israel when Ahab and Jezebel reigned. Do you remember how Elijah met with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and challenged them to which god would answer by fire? After the prophets of Baal had screamed and cut themselves, all to no avail, Elijah "repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down" (1 Kings 18:30). He prepared the sacrifice on the altar and then ordered 16 barrels of water to be poured over it. As he prayed at the time of the evening sacrifice the Bible tells us, "Then the fire of the Lord fell... and when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God, ; the Lord he is the God" (1 Kings 18:37-39). The fire fell after the altar was repaired.

You can also read the story of revival in Asa's time. 2 Chronicles 15:8 says, "When Asa heard... the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of the land of Judah and Benjamin... and renewed the altar of the Lord." Check out the blessings that came to the land after they renewed the altar (2 Chronicles 15:9-15).

Manasseh was a very wicked king, but he humbled himself and repented. And what was the fruit of his repentance? "He repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed theron peace offerings and thank offerings and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel" (2 Chronicles 33:12-16).

Revival starts in the home. Revival starts with repairing the altar of the Lord.

Love from Nancy

FAMILIES PREPARING FOR ETERNITY

 

I cannot help share a Scripture we read in our Family Devotions this morning speaking of Christ "Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own PURPOSE and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN" (2 Timothy 1:9).

 

Isn't this absolutely amazing? God planned to save us and bring us into His family, even before the world began. How can we not praise and thank Him for His glorious and eternal salvation? He thought of each one of our children, too.

If only we would think more clearly. We get so taken up with the now. And yet our lives, and the lives of our children, were thought of in the eons of eternity. We were born for eternity. We are only strangers and pilgrims in this life.

 

May we as families live for the eternal realm. As we plan each day, let's plan it around what will count for eternity. God's purpose from eternity was to save us and bring us into His family. Let's make it our purpose to be ready for His eternity.

I learned the following lines as a child and they are continually a challenge to me:

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last.

Let's be "families preparing for eternity." Wouldn't that make such a difference to each day?

Love from Nancy

ENDURE WITH COURAGE

This is my prayer for you. "We pray that you will be strengthened from God's boundless resources, so that you will find yourselves able to pass through any experience and endure it with courage" (Colossians 1:11 J. B. Phillips).

Life consists of good experiences and difficult experiences. I often think of Paul's testimony, "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound" (Philippians 4:12). It is part of the journey of life, isn't it? What we have to learn is how to rejoice and trust God even in the tough times. This is the proof of our relationship with Christ.

Perhaps you are going through one of the tough times. Don't despair. Remember, God's boundless resources are available to you. You can walk through your trial as if it was sunshine.

Love, Nancy

GOD SENDS A BABY

"We fancy that God can only manage His world by big battalions abroad, when all the while He is doing it by beautiful babies at home. When a wrong wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants opening, God sends a baby into the world to do it. THAT IS WHY LONG, LONG AGO, A BABE WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM."

~ Frank William Boreham

A PLEASANT PLACE

Do you feel hedged in? Do you feel the desperation to get out of your home? Sometimes you can feel like this because of the pressure of people around you who only know a humanistic viewpoint.

Can I ask you to think differently? Psalm 16:5-6 NIV says, “Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

Boundary lines are necessary in life. They are for our protection and blessing. Isn’t it wonderful that our boundary lines are our home and family? We have a delightful inheritance.

The first home was called The Garden of Eden, which means delight. When we embrace the fact that God has assigned this portion for us, we find joy and security. Instead of being frustrated we begin to flourish. Instead of drudgery we find delight. Instead of seeing the problems we find pleasantness.

We make our home what we want t it to be. We build or we pull down.

Enjoy your “pleasant place” today.

Love from Nancy

ARE YOU A GATHERING TOGETHER FAMILY?

God loves families gathering together.

One of the greatest places to gather together as a family is around the meal table where we eat together, fellowship together, and meet with God together. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” God loves to gather in the midst of families.

And one of the greatest things God wants us to do when we gather together is to pray. Yes, it is good to pray individually, but God loves it when we come together to pray (this Scripture is in the context of praying).

Dear precious mother, this is not just a good idea. It is imperative, especially at this hour of history in our nation. This nation began with prayer, and yet now it is banned from our schools. But we can gather together at home. I believe the greatest thing that Christian families can do at this time is to pray together.

Don’t let a day go by, morning and evening, without gathering the family together to pray, and especially to cry out to God for our nation.

Love from Nancy

Why is justice perverted? Why is truth fallen in the streets? (Isaiah 59:14-15). Do you think it is because it is failing in the homes?

I believe the answer to truth reigning in the streets and the market places of this nation again is by it coming back to the family. The family was the first institution God ordained (before the church and before government) and it is where He wants things to happen first.

I hear of families who once were shining brightly who are now backslidden. Unless we are “rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith” (Colossians 2:7-8) we can easily be uprooted.

Become a truth-seeking family. Become a Word loving-family. Become a praying family. You can be an excellent homeschooling mother, but if your children graduate without being RICHLY FILLED WITH THE WORD OF GOD, they will not be ready to resist the adversary in the evil day (Colossians 3:16).

It’s interesting that after this lament of truth falling in the streets, this chapter ends with God’s plan for His families, “My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, SHALL NOT DEPART OUT OF THY MOUTH, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever” (Isaiah 59:21).

That’s our answer.

Love from Nancy

What are you alive to? God wants us to be alive to Him. When we are alive to God, we are alive to life, for He is the life-giving God. Did you wake up this morning ready for life? Every day is a new exciting day for life.

When we are alive to God, we will also be alive to our destiny and God’s plan for us. That means if God has blessed us with children, His destiny for us is to nurture and train these children for Him. Of course, we’ll have many other projects and passions in which we love to be involved, but mothering will be our paramount passion.

Are you alive to motherhood today? Don’t let the negatives and deceptions of people around you dampen your vision for motherhood. Let God renew His passion in you.

Romans 6:1 says, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Love from Nancy

I started out mothering by listening to the “good advice” from people around me. I was told I should wait four hours between feeding my baby. But he couldn’t wait four hours. I was told I should train him to sleep through the night. Oh how frustrated I was. I loved by baby, but oh this motherhood was painful!

Then I read a statement by a doctor that was my lifesaver.

“There is more in a mother’s intuition than all the books you’ll ever read.”

Praise the Lord, I didn’t have to listen to all the “old wives’ tales.” I could listen to the maternal intuition that God put within me. I was free to respond to my baby. I could nurse him when he cried! I could bring him to bed and let him sleep with me. What bliss! What freedom.

Forget all the books. Forget all the humanistic advice. Listen to God. Listen to your mothering heart. It will release you to be the greatest mother to your baby and your children.

Love from Nancy

The Bible talks a lot about banners. Banners are a sign of victory. We should be always heralding the banners of God’s truth in our home, in the church, and in the world. If our banners are not waving, it is a sign of defeat!

Never compromise the banners of God’s truth, even in the face of opposition and persecution! Keep them flying high.

I love to write encouraging posts, but I felt grieved this morning as I read Psalm 74:3-4, “Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations: even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns (battle flags) for signs.”

The Amplified says, “They set up their own emblems for signs of victory.”

Can you believe it? The enemy had come into the heart of God’s sanctuary and established their banners! And yet we see the same thing happening today. Right under the nose of God’s people, the enemy has entered into the heart of the church and set up his banners.

In most of Christendom today, the banners are raised…

“Wait a few years until you are established before you start a family.”

“Make sure you use birth control.”

“Don’t have too many children.”

“Put your children in daycare so you can enjoy your career.”

These ideologies are now entrenched in the church. They are not God’s signs. They are not taken from the Bible. Instead, the enemy has staked his emblems in the heart of the church.

Let’s take the flag of God’s truth which is lying in the dust and lift it high.

Love from Nancy

What are you making happen in your home today, sweet mother? Are you sowing discord? Are you sowing a bad attitude? Are you making it a negative and dissatisfied atmosphere?

Or, are you sowing joy and happiness? Are you sowing positivity and encouragement? Are you making your home full of gladness?

I love Psalm 46:4-5, “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her: she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” God wants to dwell in the midst of your home. He wants you to make it a glad place to live.

You can’t do this in your own strength. Often, you feel absolutely the opposite! You don’t feel glad and you don’t feel like making anyone else glad! But how does the gladness come? There is a river! The Living Bible translates it, “There is a river of joy flowing through the City of our God—the sacred home of the God above all gods.” Praise God for the river of life of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Let the life of Jesus Christ (the One who has more joy than all His fellows) and who lives within you, flow from your life today.

Don’t give into your fleshly feelings. The secret of my life is learning to not live by my feelings but by the life of Christ within me. Let the river flow from your heart today and into your home. Let the river of the joy of the Holy Spirit overflow your home today.

Keep smiling.

Love from Nancy

Recently I read of a wife who was having marriage problems. He husband was unkind to her and didn’t want to spent time with her, choosing to spend all his evenings in other company. She went to a counselor. He didn’t spend hours counseling her, but instead gave her one simple message, “Always treat your husband with a smile.”

She began to put it into practice. A few months later she returned to the counselor with the news. Her husband no longer sought other company, but longed to be with her and treated her with constant love and kindness.

This secret works wonders for a problematic marriage. It enhances a good marriage. Each time you look at your husband, smile at him. Make it a natural habit of your life.

Love from Nancy

Today is my last comment from the I LOVE HOME post. A mother writes, “I worked until our first child was born. Now he is 18 and we have seven more blessings. Working isn't an option with nursing babies, but I would love it if you would comment on the women who work at husband's insistence even after the wife has expressed the desire to stay home. Will G-d bless the wife or is she in the wrong?”

This is certainly not an easy question to answer and yet many women find themselves in this situation. I think the reason for this is that the husband has never grown up with a vision for family. The only experience he knows is of his own mother working. He also imbibes this philosophy from his education, the media, and society as a whole. Unless, he has been taught the truth, what else does he know? May God raise up pastors all over this land who will have courage to share the truth and God’s ways for families with their congregations.

But, what would should the wife do? She needs to spend a special time with her husband sharing her heart, or perhaps even writing down the feelings of her heart.

What about writing down on a piece of paper…
1. All the advantages of staying at home—financial, emotional, generational impacting, and eternal accountability, etc. List specific items as you think of them under each of these headings. The greatest thing we can do in this life is to give our lives to that which will last beyond our lifetime. A career will not last even for this life, let alone beyond our lifetime. Mothering and training children lasts into generations to come and even eternity.

2. All the disadvantages of leaving the home to go out to work—the effect upon the children, the effect upon your marriage because of less time to minister to your husband, and even less energy and time for love-making with your husband which is a high priority in your marriage, and extra stress upon you which also affects your home and marriage, etc. List items specifically under these headings also.

3. All the biblical reasons why you should be at home. Biblically, motherhood is synonymous with home. The Bible always paints the picture of the mother in the home. Psalm 113:9 says, “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.” The home and children are “twins.” When describing a home that is blessed of the Lord, God paints the picture of the mother in the very heart of the home with all her children sitting around the table (Psalm 128:3). Once again, the home and children are synonymous.

4. All the pros of building into the home and the cons of weakening the home because you are no longer in the home.

5. All the reasons why you cannot afford to go to work.

6. All the reasons how you can save money at home. Scaling back and doing without things you think you need is a better way to save money than going out to work where you have to spend more money to go out, e.g. extra gas, extra clothes, fast food, daycare etc. It’s amazing what you can save at home with home gardening, home cooking, and home rationing of what you don’t need.

It may take some time and prayer to complete this project. When you have completed it, one evening ask your husband with your sweetest and loving voice, “Darling, I have written down some thoughts for you. Could you please take time to read them and pray over them? Thank you so much.”

I am sure that as he reads these important truths and all the reasons of how going out to work will negatively affect not only you, but your husband, your marriage, your children, and your home, that he will begin to see things from a different light.

Some women like to do a business in their home, but this doesn’t always work out. Another idea is to look after someone else’s child or children in your home. This can often be accommodated because you are already looking after your children. If you seek Him, God will always give you a way to work it out without leaving your home and your precious children.

When God gives you your children, He gives them to you to nurture and train, not somebody else! This is a deception of the enemy.

By the way, my husband said that he is happy and available to encourage any husband about this issue if they would like to call him. He can be contacted on his cell at 615 948 5958.

Blessings from Nancy

Yesterday we talked about de-cluttering. It’s important to keep the home clean and free from junk and stuff that we don’t need! Isn’t it true that we can live on far less than we think we need? And yet how we need to watch accumulating!

We have moved not only across state, but from one country to the other—New Zealand to Australia and 10 years later from Australia to America. You can’t put all your stuff in a moving van and set off. You have to get rid of everything. Each time we purged a home and started again in another country, I would say, “I’m never going to have another piece of junk in my home again!” And yet, somehow it accumulates. We have to keep purging and not wait until we are moving, don’t we?

But, there is more to organizing a home than de-cluttering. We also have to make our home “feel” a home. You can have a de-cluttered and organized home that has no atmosphere. Everyone wants to walk into a home where the atmosphere is warm, cozy, and inviting.

I love the words one mother wrote in answer to my I LOVE HOME post, “What makes cozy? Touches of homemade, lamps, and things that invite people to snuggle up and be friendly. Ask the items in your home ‘Are you inviting me to you?’ I made a plan for my home. I called it the common sense home. I planned it around sight, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch. Have music, sweet words, and nice odors wafting thru—and of course, lots of hugs.”

Home is a place to feel welcome, not only for your visitors, but for the members of your own family. It is a place for God to feel welcome. God is a dwelling God and wants to dwell in your home. He loves to have the freedom to walk in every room.

A warm and welcoming home doesn’t just happen. We have to make it happen. It is a never-ending opportunity for creativity to make our home a place where everyone wants to be. How could anyone say they could get bored at home?

I think that one of the ways to make a home inviting is the cooking of meals. Meal times gather the whole family together. Meal times fill the home with delightful aromas that whet the appetite and make each one feel warm and satisfied. It is pitiful to be in a home where you cannot enjoy the smells of cooking and homemade bread coming out of the oven and where instead some pre-cooked meal is served.

There is no atmosphere to a meal if the family does not sit around the table together. This brings an ambience that cements the family together over the weeks, months, and years.

This is a Facebook post and not an article, so I must stop. I pass it over to you. I’d love to hear how you make your home a warm and welcoming place. I close with another comment that came in, “I love my home inside out! And I want same for my children.” Amen to that.

Love from Nancy

In reply to my post, I LOVE HOME, here are a few comments that came in about de-cluttering.

“I do love being home, but sometimes the clutter gets to me.”

“I'm on a de-cluttering kick, because I'm realizing the less you own and have to care for, the more you can LAUGH and enjoy what you have--your husband and children. You can make your own happy and peaceful and have a spirit of joy rather than stuff.”

“I'm currently redoing our budget as my husband's income is down. For us, doing without things and cutting back is a better fit for our walk in Christ than for our household to do without ME.”

I think we could receive a load more comments on this subject. I am sure many of you have found great ideas to keep your homes free from clutter. Feel free to share to encourage and bless other mothers. This is what this Above Rubies Facebook is all about—to help and encourage one another in our great calling of making our homes the greatest places on earth to live!

It certainly is true that we can’t enjoy living in our home if it is unorganized and full of clutter. Clutter in the house clutters the mind. You can’t even think straight. If only we could get it into our heads that less is better than more. The more we have, the more we have to care for and thus the more work! The less we have, the less we have to worry about which equals a lot less stress.

If your house is in a clutter and you don’t know how it can ever change, don’t despair. Instead of looking at the whole mess, take one room at a time. Start with one room and get that organized, and then start on the next.

One of the blessings in our home is Preparation Day. Did you know that this is an actual day that is mentioned in the Bible? It is the day before Sabbath when they cleaned their house and prepared their food so they didn’t have to work on their rest day.

Every Friday in our home we clean the house from top to bottom. Although we tidy every day, it is great to have one day when you thoroughly clean, involving all children in the clean, of course. You can’t do it all on your own (although mothers with little ones have to wait a few years for their reward years when they have older children to help).

Some ladies wrote yesterday, “Why not work WITH the children to get the house clean? That makes more sense than ignoring them to clean the house.” And “My children always joined in with the cleaning and cooking because that is how they learn these skills to later use in their own homes. Both my sons are excellent cooks as a result.”

On this day, I usually like to clean one extra thing, such as a fridge, the pantry, or a cupboard, etc. And so gradually the whole house keeps organized. You can read more about this by going to the web page and checking on The Preparation Day. Although Preparation Day is officially Friday, you can make it any day of the week to work for you.

Love from NANCY

We continue to discuss comments from the I LOVE HOME post. One mother says, “This is our home and I love it but I don't want to love it more than the children.”

This comment reminds me of a little poem I have always loved. I’ll share it with you.

“I LOVE YOU, JOHNNY!”

I love you, Johnny, said mother one day,
I love you more than I can say,
Then she answered his questions with,
Don’t bother me now!”
And just didn’t have time to show him how
To tie his truck to his tractor and plough,
But she washed her windows and scrubbed the floor
And baked, and cooked, and cleaned some more.

“Bring the boy next door in?” “Well, I should say not,
You’ll mess up the floors and I don’t want a spot.”
“No, we don’t have time for a story today,
Mother’s too busy cooking, so run out and play,
Maybe tomorrow,” she said with a sigh,
And Johnny went out almost ready to cry.

“I love you, Johnny,” again she said,
As she washed his face and sent him to bed.
Now how do you think that Johnny guessed
Whether ‘twas he or the house that
She really loved best?

Love from Nancy