Dear readers, I’d love you to read this article written by my granddaughter, Meadow. I couldn’t have written it better myself. Thank you, Meadow.
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
Psalm 133 talks about the anointing oil running down from the head of the high priest to the skirts of his garments. The anointing oil was poured upon Christ (the anointed One) who is our heavenly High Priest. But it is not to stay on Him only. He wants it to run down His body, His body that is upon earth. He wants it to flow down on you, even to the bottom of your skirts.
The main description of the anointing is that it is HOLY and never to touch the flesh. It was also made of SWEET spices (Exodus 30:22-33). It was an oil of JOY (Hebrews 1:9). It was a HEALING and RESTORING anointing (Acts 10:38). It was a DELIVERING anointing (Isaiah 61:1). It was the anointing of UNITY and HARMONY (Psalm 133:1-3).
It's this anointing God wants to flow down from you, right to where you meet life--in your kitchen, dealing with your little ones, and all the mothering challenges you face today. I remember how my little ones used to love to hang on to my skirts. Where I walked, they walked. They played in my skirts. They hid in my skirts, especially when a stranger came.
The skirts speak of getting down to the nitty-gritty. To the lowest. To where your little ones are. The menial day to day tasks of life. Dear mother, you can’t accomplish these in your own strength. Instead, let God's anointing flow down to where you are at this moment! Whatever is happening now! Ask God to pour down His anointing to the bottom of your skirts. There is where He wants to come--to the very reality of your life (Psalm 113:4-8).
God bless you in your home today,
Nancy Campbell
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I asked the Lord for children
Who'd serve him with their lives.
I told him I would trust him
To plan our family size.
Along came precious babies
Until the count reached eight.
We did our best to train them,
For results we'd have to wait.
The world had things to offer
That lured their hearts to roam.
Some of them had wandered
From things they learned at home.
Philosophies, wrong thinking,
Things beyond control,
Were there to steal our children,
To claim their heart and soul.
The family dream that started
Went far from what I planned.
In anguished prayer I cried out,
"Lord, I don't understand."
I gave my life to bear them,
To raise them for your name.
When others would prefer a job,
That led to wealth or fame.
In spite of my best efforts,
I'd hang my head in shame.
The thing I wanted most of all
Dissolved like coals in flame.
But as I prayed and pondered,
With still so much to learn,
Some of those who'd wandered
To home and faith returned.
They had to seek their own faith.
They had to know their need.
To learn how great the Savior
We'd taught them to believe.
I couldn't just protect them
From things they had to learn.
Some, more than the others
Had to feel that fire burns.
I also learned they aren't mine,
But God's, to do his will.
I trained and taught them best I could.
He's God, I need be still.
In time, my prayers were answered,
Beyond what I could ask.
One by one some who’d wandered,
Returned to faith at last.
I'm waiting still for others
Still lost along the way,
Trusting God will hear my cries
For their return some day.
Perhaps if I'd done better
From faith they'd not have roamed.
But grace is greater than my faults
And prayer can bring them home.
2016 Val Halloran
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What a privilege to be a woman!
We are created in the image of God.
We are created to reveal the nurturing and mothering heart of God.
We are created with a womb to be a life-giver.
We are created with breasts to nurture and nourish life.
We are created to be a vessel of God to bring forth life into this world--a life that is planned before the beginning of time, a life with a God-given purpose to fulfill on this earth, and a life that is an eternal soul. We are created to be the nurturers and trainers of God's children, the children He gives to us to train on His behalf.
We are created to be feminine.
We are created to be a divine helper to our husband and blessed by God's plan to live under his covering and protection.
We are created for good works.
We are created to bring glory to God.
Thank you, Lord God. What a privilege. And thank you for purpose for each new day.
Be encouraged and blessed today,
Nancy Campbell
Painting: I AM A CHILD by Zula Kenyon (1873 – 1947, American)
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"She who can paint a masterpiece or write a book that will influence millions deserves the admiration and the plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose influence will be felt through generations to come, whose immortal souls will exert an influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest of blessings of God. In her high duty and service to humanity, endowing with immortality eternal spirits, she is co-partner with the Creator Himself."~ David McKay
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I love the different words God uses to describe our children. God loves to reveal His plans to us by pictures. Psalm 128:3 tells us that our children are like "olive plants" sitting all around our table. The Hebrew word for "olive" which is "zayith" means "an olive (as yielding illuminating oil)." Among many other uses the olive was used as oil for the lamps to light up their homes. It was also used to light the golden candlestick in the holy place of the tabernacle.
Think about it. God gives you your children to light up your home. John 1:9 says that Christ lights each one who comes into this world. As we feed this light with God's Word, our children will become more and more filled with light, not only to bring more light into our home, but to one day take the light of God to a dark and deceived world.
Every child you embrace from the loving hand of God is another illuminating light to light up this world. In fact, the only way God can bring His light into this world is by His people (Matthew 5:14-16). Don't deprive the world of God's light by saying No to His children.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Painting: One of Jessie Willcox Smith’s beautiful paintings.
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My husband asked everyone at breakfast, "What good things are you going to do today?" That's a good question to start the day, isn't it? It's a good question for us wives. "What is something good I can do for my husband today? Take time to think about it. Be creative. Do something you’ve never done before.
What good things can we do for our children today? Yes, we do good things for them every day. But can you think of something special and different? Something that will make memories?
It’s a good question for your children, too. "Children, let's stop for a moment and think of something good you can do for one of your siblings (or mommy and daddy) today. We’re all going to close our eyes and think about it. No one is to get up from their chair (or the sofa) until they have thought of their special surprise.” At the end of the day, as you sit together at the family meal table, each one can share what happened to them. The children can also share what fun it was to go out of their way to do something for someone else. What an exciting home to live in.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works. If Christ lives in us we should live like Him. Acts 2:38: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil." Jesus went about doing good works. Sometimes we just go about!
Instead of just going about in your home, go about doing good works!
Have fun today,
Nancy Campbell
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The greatest temptation from the enemy of our souls is in our minds. Revelation 12:9 calls him “that old serpent.” The mind is where he seeks to attack us most, or should I say, even torment us. He brings to our minds thoughts of doubt, deception, despondency, rejection, anger, self-pity, and even despair. And yes, worry, worry, worry! If we are not aware of his tactics and do not resist them, they become bigger in our minds and he wins the victory.
Daniel 7:25 speaks about the coming anti-Christ (although this same spirit is already in the world): "He shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High." The words "wear out" in the Hebrew mean "to afflict mentally." These words are only used in a mental sense. This is Satan's strategy. To wear us out in our minds with unbelieving and deceiving thoughts. If you are filled with worry, confused, and tormented in your mind, you can't function emotionally or physically.
Therefore, you must be on the alert. You don't have to let the enemy wear you out! This is not God's plan. You can't stop these thoughts coming to your mind, but you stop them embedding in your mind! You don't have to dwell on them for one minute! Resist them in the name of Jesus. Throw them out of your mind. They don't belong in your redeemed mind. My daughters call them “bucket thoughts” which they throw in the garbage!
1 Peter 1:13 says: "Gird up the loins of your mind." In Bible days the men wore long tunics and when doing physical exercise pulled up their tunic and tucked it in their belt so they would not be hindered. In the same way, we must eradicate of any thoughts in our minds that hinder us from walking in the victory which Jesus Christ died to give us.
Be encouraged again today with 2 Corinthians 5:4, 5: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity EVERY THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ."
May you have a victorious day triumphing over the wiles of the devil. You do not have to let him wear you out.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Yesterday we discussed whether we are wilting, just surviving, or flourishing in our home. God's will for you is to FLOURISH. Here's some ways to flourish in your home:
F Flavor your home with joy, sweetness, and happiness (what a nice flavor)!
L Love every moment of your mothering (rather than dreaming of when these days will be over).
O Offer your life as a living sacrifice (knowing that you save your life by losing it--Mark 11:35 and Romans 12:1-2).
U Unify your home by speaking peace into every situation.
R Revel in the joy of mothering and nurturing the precious gifts
God has given to you (knowing that your Employer is God Himself).
I Intentionally make positive things happen in your home (don't let the day lead you around in circles, but instead purposefully direct your day by the leading of the Holy Spirit). Make wonderful things happen.
S Sanctify your home daily with prayer, praises, and the washing of God's Word (Ephesians 5: 26).
H Heap hugs and kisses on your husband and children daily
God bless you in your home today.
Nancy Campbell
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Did you know that God's plan for you is to FLOURISH? And He has a special place where He wants you to flourish? Guess. Yes, it’s in your home. Psalm 128:3-4 (TLB) says: “Your wife will be like fruitful vine, FLOURISHING within your home. And look at all those children! There they sit around your table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees. That is the Lord’s reward for those who fear Him.”
You may not feel as though you are FLOURISHING. Perhaps you feel like a WILTING plant. You feel "half dead"! Or maybe, like some plants, you are barely SURVIVING. You get through each day, but only just!
God has more for you, dear mother. He wants you to flourish and bloom. I believe we only come into the flourishing mode when we embrace our mothering role with all our heart; when we know we are in God's perfect will. No matter what the hardships and challenges, we face them with joy. We are not dreaming of some day when we will be through these mothering days. Instead, we live every moment to the full. Every moment is an abounding moment because Christ lives in us and His life is not wilting, but full of life and power (John 10:10).
Embrace your powerful calling of motherhood. Make every moment a God moment. Think of yourself as a flourishing plant--abounding, blooming, blossoming, enlarging, expanding, flowering, growing luxuriantly, increasing, and thriving (Isaiah 54:2-3)! This is God's plan for you.
God bless you today,
Nancy Campbell
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Did you know that you don't have to teach false doctrine to pass it on to your children? You teach it by the way you live. Our children learn more from observing our lives than from what we tell them. Do your children see the image of God in you? Do they see you as a feminine, nurturing mother, the picture God wants you to reveal as a female?
Do they see you reveling in the heart of your home and gathering your family to sit together around the table for your meals? This is the picture God paints of a blessed family (Psalm 128:3).
Do they see your sweet spirit of submission toward your husband who is your head and covering? Do they see you delighting to serve? Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church and we certainly wouldn't expect to see the church ordering Christ around, would we?
Titus 2:3-5 describes the lifestyle God wants us to live and goes on to say that when we spurn this lifestyle that we blaspheme God’s Word. That’s because we reveal a false doctrine.
What kind of doctrine do you show to your children?
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Yesterday I posted the Scripture: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). I am posting it again today. In fact, one day, I would love to get a beautiful painting with this Scripture to put on my wall. Not a little one, but a huge one!
I speak this Scripture out every day as I cry out to God for the people for whom I pray and for the nations of the world. I have no power to change people’s hearts or work miracles in nations; it is only the moving of the Holy Spirit, and therefore I am cast upon Him.
This Scripture was also the cry of my heart yesterday and last evening. And truly God moved by His Spirit. No man can take any glory. In His mercy God came and answered the cries of millions of His people all over this nation, and the world, as we pleaded for mercy to save us from an agenda of progressivism, of murdering babies, of appointing liberal supreme court judges, the influx of terrorists into our nation, hidden corruption, lies, and more.
We were not fighting flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. And the surprised liberal media had no idea of the thousands of praying believers across the land who believe that “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).
That’s why only the power of the Holy Spirit could bring down “the great mountain”! The words following this Scripture say: “Who art thou, O great mountain? . . . thou shalt become a plain.” God brought down a huge mountain last night.
We humbly give God the glory. But we cannot relax and think it is all over. It is only the beginning. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness more than ever. We must cry out for revival in the church and across the land. We must be faithful to pray every day—pray individually, pray as families, and pray as groups of believers. God comes by His Spirit in answer to prayer. Amen.
Humbly and thankfully,
Nancy Campbell
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Tomorrow I will vote against Hillary. Forget politics, I must be faithful to my conscience. Because I belong to God’s kingdom, I belong to a kingdom of life. Therefore, I must vote for life, to save life, to preserve life, and to vote against murder. Dear fellow wives and mothers who love life, we must face the fact that to vote for Hilary is to vote for death.
She will continue her war against babies and 60,000 more babies will die in the womb every year, paid for by our taxes. She will repeal the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds to pay for abortions (except for the life of the mother, rape or incest).
We cannot bury our head in the sand to the fact that she believes “The unborn person doesn’t have Constitutional rights,” right up to its due date. Another 18,000 or more babies will die each year in excruciating pain through late term abortions! How can we blindly let this happen?
Before Proverbs 31 gives the description of the virtuous woman, it first states: “Speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable. Speak out in order to judge with righteousness and to defend the needy and the poor” (Proverbs 31:8, 9 CEB).
She cannot wait to appoint pro-choice unconstitutional Supreme Court judges and boldly states: “The only people that I would ever appoint to the Supreme Court are people who believe that Roe V. Wade is settled law.” She will continue to finance Planned Parenthood to do more and more abortions and sell the body parts. In fact, she stated, “I would like to see Planned Parenthood even get more funding.” Why did Planned Parenthood invest $30 million toward her presidential race?
And you know, of course, that this is issue is only the beginning of her destructive plans to bring down this nation that was founded on godly principles.
I do not vote for myself, but to save this nation from destruction. I vote for my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the generations to come. I don’t want them to live in a country where God’s original plan for man is totally violated. Already LGBT people have the same rights as lawfully married couples, and it will get worse. If we don’t vote against Hilary, we will see the beginning of Christian persecution. She has already told the nation that “Deep seated cultural codes, religious beliefs, and structural biases have to be changed.” Look out everyone.
But we have a chance today and tomorrow to stop this landslide of death and destruction of all moral and biblical values. It’s no use crying out for the life of the unborn after this election if we don’t take a stand today. It’s no use crying out because we face persecution when we have an opportunity now to vote against it. It’s no use complaining that terrorists are filling our nation if we don’t vote to stop it now.
We have the opportunity and power in our hands today and tomorrow to stop evil! “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers: or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Psalm 94:16).
Here’s one more article to read amongst the thousands that are out there:
https://mariomurilloministries.wordpress.com/…/gullible-ch…/
Let’s turn back the tide of evil,
Nancy Campbell
WE CAN’T SIT IDLY BY
Dear readers, some folks commented on Facebook that we don’t have to worry about voting, but instead just trust God. Yes, I believe in trusting God, but we also must take action. Does a mother sit by when her child is in danger, or nearing a cliff? “I’ll just trust God,” she says as she relaxes.
No, she rushes to save her child. She screams out to save her child. She will lose her own life to save her child. God puts this fierce protecting instinct within us to save our children. We should have this same alarm as our nation rushes to destruction, because we want to save our children and children's children.
~ Nancy
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Tell me, what is half so sweet
As a baby's tiny feet,
Pink and dainty as can be,
Like a coral from the sea?
Talk of jewels strung in rows,
Gaze upon those little toes,
Fairer than a diadem,
With the mother kissing them!
It is morning and he lies
Uttering his happy cries,
While his little hands reach out
For the feet that fly about.
Then I go to him and blow
Laughter out of every toe;
Hold him high and let her place
Tiny footprints on my face.
Little feet that do not know
Where the winding roadways go,
Little feet that never tire,
Feel the stones or trudge the mire,
Still too pink and still too small
To do anything but crawl,
Thinking all their wanderings fair,
Filled with wonders everywhere.
Little feet, so rich with charm,
May you never come to harm.
As I bend and proudly blow
Laughter out of every toe,
This I pray, that God above
Shall protect you with His love,
And shall guide those little feet
Safely down life's broader street.
~ Edgar Guest
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Put a smile on your face!
Here's a lovely quote by Marianne Neifert, which an Above Rubies reader sent to me. I'm sure you will identify with these same feelings . . .
"If I hadn't had children, I probably would have had more money and material things. I probably would have gone more places, gotten more sleep, pampered myself more. My life would have been much more boring and predictable. As a result of being a parent, I have laughed harder, cried more often. I have worried more and hurried more. I've had less sleep, but somehow I've had more fun. I've learned more, grown more. My heart has ached harder, and I've loved to a capacity beyond my imagination. I've given more of myself, but I've derived more meaning from life."
Isn't it true? We experience the delirious joys of motherhood and also the aches and pains of motherhood, but our lives are richer for them all. How much we would have missed out on if we hadn't been blessed with each child God has given us. And we get more than we start with. As each of our children marry and have children, we receive the blessing of grandchildren! That’s unbeatable! And then great-grandchildren. That’s even more amazing!
Dear young mothers, forget sighing and grumbling about all your frustrations. These precious days with your little ones go too quickly. My three oldest children are all over 50 years of age, but it still seems like one blink of my eye since the day they were born. As I look back on raising our children, do I regret that I didn't get involved in more activities outside the home or further my career? Oh no. I regret every moment I didn't spend with them. I never felt I had enough time to pour into them all I wanted to before they were gone and flown the nest.
Treasure every moment with the children God has given you, today.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Picture: Back when my twins were born, 1965 (Evangeline on the left and Stephen on the right). At that time I had three children under 17 months.
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Have you begun praying as a family?
I love God’s Word to us in Leviticus 26:8: "Five of you shall chase an hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword." What is the greatest way to destroy our enemies? By prayer and intercession.
Do we have enemies to fight? Yes. Many years ago, before we ever came to live in America, we made a visit to Disneyland and I watched an animated speech of President Abraham Lincoln. I have never forgotten hearing him say: “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” Nearly 30 years later, we face this destruction, and right now at election time.
We have enemies of abortion where Hilary Clinton and all her hordes advocate murdering babies in the womb right up until the day they are born! We fight the enemy of euthanasia. I heard yesterday that now Obama Care states that chemotherapy is not allowed for anyone over 75 years of age. They want to eliminate the aged, and yet many men are, or have been, leaders of countries in their seventies!
Do you fear terrorists from overseas? They are already here. We have terrorist sleeper cells waiting for the right time to destroy us in every city in America. Hilary wants to bring them in by the thousands. We have the enemy of homosexuality which the Creator of mankind calls an abomination. Plus corruption and deceit and more and more and more.
How are we going to fight? Do you have three children in your family? Three children and mom and dad makes five! God says that five of you can put 100 enemies to flight. Twenty families of five can cause 10,000 enemies to bite the dust.
What about families with six, seven, eight, nine and more children? Think about all these prayer warriors. Just imagine if God-fearing families would really get to prayer! Don't let the devil get you so busy and so involved in other things (yes, even GOOD things), that you don't have time to pray and cry out to God for our nation. Don't let all your prayer warriors be wasted. Even little children can learn to intercede.
Praying together is THE MOST POWERFUL THING you can do together as a family. Amen.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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It's hard to believe what is happening in our nation, isn't it? It’s difficult to comprehend the corruption in someone who wants to lead our country! There was a time when America was the least corrupt nation in the world. Now it is rife at the top! But we thank God for answering prayer. We have been praying earnestly and consistently for God to expose all deception, corruption, and the hidden agendas in our government. God is answering prayer and exposing it.
We must keep praying. Praying begins with families, not the church. Are you praying earnestly as a family each day for these coming elections which are just about upon us? This country is at tipping point. These elections will determine the course of this nation and ultimately the world.
We must pray and we most vote against evil—against corruption, against the murdering of babies in the womb right up until the day they are born (which is Hilary’s agenda), against euthanasia, against the appointment of liberal Supreme Court judges (which Hilary plans to do) and it goes on and on.
We have a friend who is very close to our family and recently he arrived with a replica of the LIBERTY BELL for us. And yes, it even has the crack in it, and the Scripture written on it which is on the original in Philadelphia: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10).
Our friend knows we have Prayer Boxes on different subjects that we use each morning and evening in our family prayer times. Now we use the Liberty Bell to pray for the nation (and now the upcoming elections). Each card tells a different need to pray for our nation. We find the prayer cards help to stimulate our prayer times, especially for the children, who often run out of ideas to pray. It teaches them to stay focused and gives ideas for prayer which they often don’t have.
If you are not currently praying, can you begin today? Gather your family together at your evening meal tonight and PRAY TOGETHER, Everyone around the table. Don’t just pray. CALL out to God to save our nation. You may have to rearrange your whole schedule. We can’t even consider that sacrifice when we consider that our nation hangs in the balances.
Can you imagine what could happen if every God-fearing, Bible believing family began to gather their family together morning and evening and cry out to God for this nation. We can quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 by heart, but do we believe it or do anything about it?
Luke 18:7-8: "Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry DAY AND NIGHT unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily."
Let’s take up our responsibility as God-fearing families.
Love from Nancy Campbell
For further reference, clink on these links:
http://tinyurl.com/OurPrayerBox
http://tinyurl.com/TryDifferentPrayerBoxes
http://tinyurl.com/IdeasForPrayerCards
http://aboverubies.org/morning-evening-principle
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You’ll enjoy the lovely poem typed below, written by a dear friend of mine, Val Halloran. Val shares the message, and as an older mother I also reiterate it:
Slow down, dear mother. These days with your little ones go so fast. Make the most of every moment and every day with them. In a blink of your eye, they will be grown and left the nest. These are the most precious days of your life. I know they can be trying and overwhelming, but they are very precious years. Try to make time to record the special things they say and do. I thought I would remember, but as the years have gone by I have forgotten.
You only have their childhood to train them and it goes by so quickly. Don’t waste this great privilege from God by giving your God-given gifts to someone else to train. God has given them to YOU to train in His ways. Embrace every moment of your high calling from God.
Love from Nancy
THEY GROW TOO FAST
I think back to the day you came
To bless me long ago;
All I knew about you was your name
And that I loved you so.
A tiny bundle, soft and sweet,
God's special gift to me.
Uniquely made to be like Him,
To live eternally!
The days and months flew quickly by;
I was told the time would pass;
But with lots of babes and work to do,
I didn't know then how fast.
I wanted more than anything
To lead you in God's ways,
To teach you that to live for Him
Was the reason you were made.
Now that you're grown and on your own,
And time to train has passed,
Though you say you saw faith in me,
I still wish I could go back,
To cherish more those fleeting times,
To show you of His love.
Though I tried to point you all to Him,
I'll never feel I did enough.
But I'll say to you what was said to me,
That as you love and train your own,
Slow down, enjoy these precious ones,
In a blink, they'll all be grown.
@2013, Val Halloran
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