Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

How can I do it? I have too much to do,

I’m overwhelmed and feeling real blue,
I’m stuck in this house like super glue.
Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

The other morning Colin read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 in our daily devotion: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed year by year.”

“No,” we responded, “that’s not correct!” Colin often does this to trick us to see if we are really listening. Sometimes we may not pick up his ploy, which means we’re not listening!

The blood of Jesus Christ is the central theme of the Bible. This scarlet thread begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. The Old Testament lamb sacrifices pointed to the THE LAMB OF GOD who sacrificed His life and shed HIs blood to atone for our sins. The New Testament looks back to that greatest moment in history. Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world for this very purpose (1 Peter 1:19, 20).

In Revelation 5:1-7, we read that because He was THE LAMB slain from the foundation of the world, He was the only one worthy to open the seals of the book. Revelation 9:11-16 (ESV) pictures Jesus, “called Faithful and True . . . His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems . . . He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word if God.”

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

How much do you sing in your home? This is a real challenge to me. I love to have beautiful music playing as I work, doing Above Rubies or doing housework, but I have to admit I don't sing myself as much as I should. Sometimes I spontaneously sing for joy, but I want to do it more.

I shared in my post below, LIVING STRESS FREE IN A STRESSFUL WORLD, that music and singing are one of the ways we release oxytocin, which is the "stress relieving" hormone. God, our Creator, understands this, and of course, this is why the Bible is filled with admonitions to sing to the Lord, to sing aloud, to sing for joy, to sing praises, to sing with thanks, and to sing a new song,

The Bible couples together "rejoicing and singing," "laughter and singing," and "dancing and singing."

We listen to a lot of music today. It is normal to see young people listening to music with their headphones. But how often do we actually sing? I remember growing up in a little town in New Zealand. Many men walked to work and you could hear them whistling as they walked? We rarely hear whistling today.

I remember my father telling me how that after a hard day's work and evening meal, his parents would hitch the horses to the buggy, and with the family and portable organ, would go off to the neighbors to sing their hearts out together. They had no TV in those days and this is how they enjoyed their evenings. I am sure they enjoyed lots of oxytocin.

One of my favorite things to do is to gather people into our home for a hymn sing, especially with those who know the old hymns and sing them with gusto. However, we do sing a hymn every morning and evening at our Family Devotions, and we sing hymns together at our weekly prayer meeting. Many of our grandchildren come to the prayer meeting (they are great prayer warriors, right down to the little ones). It was such joy to hear them all singing the hymns this week. When we sang, "More, more about Jesus," they sang it thunderously!

Colin and I were in Scotland a couple of years ago and we went to a prayer meeting where these Scottish Christians sang some hymns before they prayed. I have never in my life heard such singing and harmonies. There were only about 20 people but you would have thought there were a thousand people! I want to go back to that church and relive it all over again.

I love many of the current worship songs, which we sing at our church fellowship on Sunday, but I do believe that as we embrace the new, we should not discard the old. I feel sad that many young people today do not know the wonderful old hymns, filled with truth and sound doctrine. Plus, they are much easier to sing to for congregational singing. I want all my grandchildren to be familiar with these hymns.

We always give thanks before each meal, but I think we should sing graces more too. We always sing when the whole family comes together. The other night I put on a 50th birthday for Evangeline and Stephen and before the meal over sixty of us sang grace. It is awesome to sing together, especially when we get to the harmonies of the Amen.

During the days of the tabernacle and the temple, the Levites sang and worshipped the Lord through every morning and evening sacrifice (which revealed a type for our morning and evening devotions today). We read the description of what happened in King Hezekiah's time: "And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded, and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. . . . Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer (the writers of most of the psalms). And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped" (2 Chronicles 29:27-30).

Therefore, dear ladies, if you want to eliminate the stress in your home, begin to sing more. Let's all begin to sing more. Sing out loud. Sing as a family. Sing at your Family Devotions together. Plan a night to sing and worship with friends and family. Sing when you give thanks at the table.

And what about this idea? One night you could plan a supper time where you don't talk at the table, but only sing. Everyone sings their requests to pass something to them, or whatever they want to share about!

Have a great singing day,

Nancy Campbell

Sing OUT LOUD: Nehemiah 12:42, 43; Psalm 51:14; 59:16; 81:1; 132:16; 149:5; Isaiah 24:14; 54:1; and Revelation 19:5-7.

Sing a NEW SONG: Psalm 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144; 149:1; Isaiah 42:10; Revelation 5:9; and 14:3.

Picture: Some of our grandchildren singing "On Christ the Solid Rock I stand," one of their favorite hymns. L. to r: Arrow Johnson, Cedar Allison, and Noble Barrett.

P.S. I'd love to hear from you and how you sing as a family in your home.

LIVING DAILY FOR HIS GLORY
Philippians 1.21; and 3:7-14.

Is your marriage in dire straits? Is your home filled with chaos and bedlam? Are you “put to the worse before the enemy”? God always shows us the way to get back to Him.

In 2 Chronicles 6:24 Solomon prayed for those who are “put to the worse” by the enemy of their souls. Throughout the chapter and also God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read God’s conditions to get back under the cloud of blessing again.

Do the people who come into your home feel the presence of God? Are your neighbors and those around you aware that your home belongs to God?

When Solomon dedicated the temple he prayed a very heartfelt prayer. One of the things he prayed was “that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee . . . and may know that this house which I built is called by thy name” (2 Chronicles 6:33).

Concerning my post below, a mother asks, “What does this rod mean?” Moses’ rod was a shepherd’s staff. It was only a dead stick, nothing very significant, but he used it to direct the sheep in the direction they should go, to steer them from danger, and even to beat off wild animals as he protected his flock. It helped him as he climbed up and down the steep rocky paths.

God used his insignificant staff to wield mighty miracles and deliver a nation. You may feel that your task as a mother is insignificant, but motherhood in God’s hand is a mighty force. Moses’ lifted up his rod to bring plagues upon the Egyptians, to part the Red Sea for millions of people to pass through on dry land and to command the sea to go back destroying the Egyptian army. He used it to bring water out of the rock and to defeat the enemy.

God doesn’t intend us to live in a state of stress with our stomach tied up in knots. He wants us to live in rest (Isaiah 32:18; Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 11:28-30; and Hebrews 4:9). Therefore, if we want to reduce stress in our overwhelming, busy, hectic lives we need loads of oxytocin. This hormone is called the “life hormone,” the “love hormone,” the “bonding hormone,” and best of all, the “stress releasing hormone.” It reduces blood pressure, cortisol levels, and anxiety.

What are some of the ways oxytocin is released? As I researched I was amazed to find that it most mostly comes back to the home.

1. Live in a family, especially a loving, happy family. God, who created the family understands that this is the most stress-free way to live. God wants everyone to live in a family. He wants the solitary to live in families (Psalm 68:6).

2. Don’t hold back from love-making. Oxytocin is released big time during love-making, especially during orgasm for both men and women. That’s why it is known as the “life hormone” as often life can be conceived during lovemaking which results in the birth of a baby. Oxytocin is also released during labor and giving birth. This amazing hormone is necessary for the continuing of the human race.

3. Touch, cuddle, and hug. The more you interact physically by loving and touching your husband and children, the more you release oxytocin. And the more you release it, the more you’ll want to do it. Be a touchy and cuddly mother. Be a touchy and cuddly wife. That’s why the older women are commanded to teach the younger women to “love their husbands” (Titus 2:4). The word is “philandros” and means “to be affectionate and cuddly.”

4. Breastfeed your baby. This is a big one. Along with prolactin, you release oxytocin when nursing your baby. Every time you put your baby to the breast you release these hormones and the more motherly you become. Oxytocin causes you to be more motherly, more nurturing, more cuddly, and softer to everyone around you. That’s why it’s called the “love hormone” and the “bonding hormone.”

And, you’ll be LESS STRESSED OUT! Therefore nurse your baby as much as he wants you. Don’t try to wean your baby too soon. Let your baby nurse until he is ready to wean. The more babies you have the blessing of nursing at your breast, the more you are blessed by this God-given hormone. In fact, the blessing of this hormone in a nursing mother changes her brain forever. Check out this link: http://www.thealphaparent.com/…/how-breastfeeding-changes-y…
ww.nationalrighttolifenews.org/…/the-amazing-interplay-be…/…

5. Eat together as a family. Sit around the table for your meals. We didn’t really have to find this out through scientific studies because God showed His plan way back in Psalm 128 where He reveals the picture of a relaxed, happy family, the family He wants to pour out His blessings upon. What is the family doing? They are all sitting around the table together--father, mother, and all the children.

6. Sing for joy. Listen to music. We usually sing when we are happy, don’t we? Often we sing less as we get older as we take on more pressures and burdens of life. I know I don’t sing as spontaneously as I used to. At least we sing together as a family every morning and evening at our Family Devotions. I’m so glad we take these times to sing, I maybe I would forget for the rest of the day.

Once again, this is God-directed for our blessing and rest. In the Bible days the Levite singers and musicians sang and worshipped the Lord together as the priests daily sacrificed the lamb every morning and evening. It was part of their ritual. But God knew how much singing is important to the day and the releasing of oxytocin.

7. Take a walk each day. Do moderate exercise. I have to be reminded of this as I get so busy.

8. Be generous and give gifts to others, not just for birthdays etc, but to show your love. Give to charity, needy people, and ministries.

Be blessed today dear mother. Live an oxytocin releasing lifestyle.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Dear ladies, Can you bear with me a little longer? There is another issue I would like to address from the “Dynasty” post.

A subject some ladies brought up was that the Old Testament tells us to “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.” However, as one mother states: “In the new testament we are given commands to go forth into all nations & spread His Word. . . . What the world needs now is strong Christians, living Christ, taking Christ to all nations & being His light in the last days. I see a New Testament full of this & I see our Christ & apostles live & preach this.” I agree wholeheartedly with this statement. But it’s not either or, but both. Some think that we are only to be fruitful now by winning souls.

Yes, we should have a passion to win souls. And yes, we are commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel, starting right where we are (Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8). However, being a mother and having children doesn’t inhibit you from winning souls. Every Christian, no matter what they do in life, should always be ready to win souls. I cannot see how this takes away from being fruitful in having children.

In fact, the Bible says: “First the natural, and then the spiritual.” We are to be fruitful in every area of our lives. I have found just as much opportunity to win souls as a mother as when I was single. As a mother you meet with other mothers in different organizations, out and about getting groceries, people come to your door, and God arranges all manner of situations for you to witness if you will see them and take them.

The wonderful thing is that when you embrace children, you not only can be a witness yourself, but you raise MORE WITNESSES for the kingdom of God. If we take the attitude that we are only going to win souls and therefore can’t have physical children, soon there’ll be no one to witness too.

The other weekend Colin and I stayed at the home of a family of twelve children. Both parents have a passion for lost souls and for missions. They are passing this on to their children and their older children are already involved in missions with a heart for souls.

I think of our daughter, Evangeline, a mother of ten children. She grew up understanding the meaning of her name--Evangel, the bearer of the good tidings of the gospel. From the time she could talk, and up until this day at 50 years of age, she takes every opportunity to talk about Jesus. Wherever she goes and to everyone she meets she testifies about Christ. And her children are growing up doing the same.

In fact, the more children we have, the more impact we have for spreading the gospel. I love what Finis Jennings Dake says of Psalm 127:3-5: “Each child will in the process of time be a defense, support and propagation of the eternal preproduction of man and fulfillment of the plan of God for man. The more arrows one has, the more enemies he will slay, the more powerful will he be in the earth. The more children born and saved to help God administer the affairs of the eternal plan for man, the more reward God will have.”

My husband comes from a family of nine children. Each one of them are either full-time pastors or evangelists and all are soul-winners. All have raised their children to be soul-winners, and now the grandchildren to be soul-winners. Our children have taken the gospel to many countries of the world, even such countries as China and Morocco, and countries I have never been to. If I had more children, I would have more influence for God in this world.

My eldest son, manager of the Newsboys, got the vision for the movie, “God’s Not Dead.” How many millions have heard the gospel through this movie? When my husband and I were ministering in Europe this Spring, we went to a little Hungarian village in Ukraine. Even in this remote place, the young people had seen “God’s Not Dead.”

Do you remember Catherine Booth, wife of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army? Catherine had eight children but that didn’t stop her soul-winning. She, along with her husband, brought thousands into the kingdom of God. And they raised their children to be soul-winners too. They had 45 grandchildren and every one of them also served God with all their hearts, many on the mission field. Their great-grandchildren and onwards continued as missionaries.

So let’s embrace fruitfulness with all our hearts and in all areas. Let’s seek to be fruitful in winning souls, and of course, to disciple our children to be soul-winners too. Let’s seek to be fruitful in the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit, revealing Christ to our husband and children and a hurting world. And let’s be fruitful from our wombs as God intends.

Love from Nancy Campbell

EVANGELINE, THE EVANGELIST

Here’s a couple of pictures of our daughter, Evangeline, whom I mentioned in the post above, NOT EITHER OR, BUT BOTH.
L. Evangeline after giving birth to Tiveria Life who was a miracle baby. During her pregnancy her uterus was hanging on by a thread. Evangeline drank bottles and bottles of chlorophyll and hung onto God in faith and prayer. Toward the end of her pregnancy God came into her room and miraculously healed her. At the time of birth, Tiveria she was footling breech, but turned to Frank breech at the last. It was a miraculous birth and here is Evangeline exclaiming: “I’ve climbed Mt. Everest and put my flag at the top!”

In response to my Dynasty post, some of you shared how you are suffering from different medical problems that have been detrimental to you in your pregnancy, birth, or continuing. I was so grieved to hear these stories and have been praying for you. In fact, I have been praying through the night for God to come and heal you and deliver you. I would encourage you to not give up in prayer either.

1. Ask the elders of your church to come and pray for you. If we are sick, this is what we are told to do in God’s Word, and yet often we forget to do it, don’t we? James 5:14-156 states: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Dear Lovely Ladies, I omitted to share an important fact in my post, “I’m Done” yesterday. As I read your comments, I notice many precious young mothers feel very overwhelmed with their little ones. Yes, it is a fact that the most engulfing time of motherhood is when you have your first two or three children. You have to do everything for them. You don’t have any help and it is often exhausting. I remember when I had three children in 17 months (I cheated and had twins)! I hardly had time to go to the bathroom. Tiredness was like a pain. But I survived. I look back and remember these days with joy.

However, there is another fact that many young mothers don’t yet realize because they haven’t yet experienced it. And that is that it gets easier to have another child when you have older children. It’s not the mothers of six, seven, or more children who feel so overwhelmed.

What happens is your little children grow, and as you train them, they become such wonderful helpers. When a new baby comes into the home, instead of this little one adding a burden to the home, they bring more joy and blessing, not only to you, but the whole family. When you have children who are growing older, you have so many hands on deck to help--to hold the baby, to goo and gah at the baby and keep your baby smiling and laughing, to bring this and that to you while you are nursing, to help with the dishes and housework, to cook a meal, and to keep the home running smoothly. You are getting to the reward time of mothering.

Every baby brings more love into a home. Not just love for the baby, but a new wave of love for every child in the family. Many mothers of larger families have shared with me recently how when their new baby came into the home they were renewed with love for motherhood and for every member of the family. Every time you put your new baby to the breast, prolactin is released which makes you more motherly. The more a mother puts her baby to the breast the more motherly she becomes.

Currently I have two Above Rubies helpers in my home. What a joy they are. Both come from larger families. Shelby is the eldest daughter of nine children. This last weekend her mother and siblings came and stayed the night with us. Oh what utter joy to see the love between Shelby and all her little brothers and sisters. They adore her and she adores them. And what a joy to have this precious family sit around our table for our Friday evening meal. They were all so well-mannered, polite, and delightful. At Family Devotions they spontaneously answered questions from the Bible and prayed beautifully. And what about this mother of nine children? She looks like Shelby’s sister. No one can believe she is the mother.

Shelby was telling me that a neighbor’s three children played at their home every day. They would say, “We love being here because it’s more fun, there’s more children to play with, your mother is so calm, and there’s no stress.”

Lizzy is in the middle of a family of twelve. She says “I just love being part of a big family. There is so much goodness. I would hate to be in a small family (although I don’t know what that’s like).” She also has loads of cousins. Her mother is one of three girls-- one sister also has twelve children and another thirteen. I know these families personally--they are filled with love, joy, and life even in the midst of difficulties and sorrows.

I think of my daughter, Serene (Trim Healthy :Mama). Serene recently gave birth to her eighth biological baby (although there are 13 in the family because she also adopted five). Her testimony is the same: “Oh mother, I have even more love for all my children since little Remmy was born.” And it certainly isn’t without difficulties and challenges. Remmy was born with a tongue tie (since cut) and an extraordinary high pallet which makes it impossible for him to suc.k milk from the breast. Not to be outdone, she continues to nurse Remmy at her breast, pumping her milk so he can receive milk from a tube while he tries to suc.k at the breast. But, in her big family, with also so many other things at her beck and call, such as releasing their two new books (Trim Healthy Mama PLAN, and Trim Healthy Mama COOKBOOK), interviews, and filming, she is fulltime “Mrs. Pump.” She pumps her milk for every feeding and then feeds him in the way mentioned. She couldn’t do it all without the older children.

Is she complaining and miserable because of all this extra load. No, joy fills this home. There is no greater joy for Colin and I to pop over to them in an evening and bask in the peace, joy, and love that fills their home as they all sit around every evening and fellowship together as a family. The atmosphere is “rich” with delight.

Forgive me for going on and on. I could keep going on and on and on with hundreds of testimonies of mothers of larger families. But what I really want to do is encourage you dear lovely young moms. Don’t give up in these trying times with little ones all around you. The season changes. Your children will grow. And it becomes easier and easier.

And remember that Jesus grew up in a large family. If God thought that it was best for children to only have a couple of siblings, He would not have chosen for His beloved Son, the Creator of the worlds, the One who was very God, to be part of a large family. Mark 6:3 tells of Jesus’ four brothers and his “sisters.” If there were only two sisters, it would be a family of seven. However, “sisters” is plural and he could have had three to five sisters. He may have been part of a family of ten!

Be encouraged dear young mothers.

Love from Nancy Campbell

P.S. The picture is of Bonnie Ailshie’s family of twelve children on the wedding day of their daughter.

Dear ladies, I would like to comment on some of the comments regarding the post below. Just one for this post. I noticed a number of mothers saying, “I’m done!” Meaning of course that they “are done” with having children. I wonder where this statement comes from. I think it is important to check the root of all our attitudes to see if we have picked them up from our humanistic society or if they are really embedded in God’s Word. Do you think we could get to the bottom of it together? As I think about it, I cannot see that it comes from:

1. God’s heart. God’s heart is a heart of blessing. In fact, the very first thing God did after creating Adam and Eve was to bless them. And how did He bless them? By blessing them with the blessing of fruitfulness (Genesis 1:28 and so many other Scriptures). Let’s just read one: “God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb” (Deuteronomy 7:12-14). How does God show His love, blessing, and mercy upon us? By blessing us with children, and of course many others blessings too. Read again about God’s heart for families in Psalm 127 and 128.

2. God’s Word. You can order the book from our website, BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY to discover all the Scriptures God says in His Word about this subject. To say, “I’m done” is contrary to the Bible that reveals God’s plan for godly children to come into the world. Malachi 2:15 tells us that He looks for godly children from each marriage.

3. Our own femaleness. This refers to the physical way God created us, plus the transcendence of our innate mothering anointing God has put within us. God created us as females with a womb and breasts. They are not just appendages of our body, but for the purpose of embracing and nurturing babies, plus many other blessings. Genesis 49:25 speaks of the “blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.” Notice it doesn’t say “blessing,” but “blessings.” Plural!

Dear mothers, we are blessed with bodies that were created to bring forth children and nurse at our breasts. I would need to write another post regarding all the blessings we receive when we are pregnant and nursing. God gives amazing hormones to the pregnant and nursing mother that are not only for her blessing while she is pregnant or nursing but they affect her positively for life! One of the hormones, estriol, is elevated 1,000 times in a pregnant woman. And did you know that estriol is an anti-aging hormone?

Both prolactin and oxytocyn, prevalent in nursing mothers, are known as the love hormones and the stress-free hormones. STRESS FREE, ladies. Why miss out on these God-given hormones for your blessing? But they also have many more beneficial affects upon the body and the well-being of the mother.

1 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we will be preserved through the bearing and nurturing of children. Science has now caught up with the Bible and there are plentiful studies that show that the more babies a mother has, the less risk she has for female cancers. The longer she nurses babies from her breast, the less incidence of breast cancer.

4. The essence of true Christianity. Dear mothers, I know that it is not always an easy task to bear children and raise children. We face many difficulties and challenges (physically, emotionally, and financially), but this is the case with any nation-impacting career. But the blessings far outweigh any challenges. And every difficulty is waiting to be overcome. It’s not only mothers who have to overcome. Men with responsible careers have to overcome problems daily. Revelation tells us that the rewards go to the “overcomers.”

As I think about this issue, dear mothers, I believe the very root of this phrase is wanting our own way. Or perhaps thinking we know best. Do we really know what’s best? Oh no. Our understanding is so limited whereas God’s understanding is beyond measure (Psalm 147:5). I am constantly challenged to come up to God’s thinking and His ways, rather than bringing God down to my level and putting Him in my little box where I can manage Him. Dear mothers, we cannot manage God. He is unmanageable! He is incomprehensible! His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways our higher than our ways. We have to come up to Him.

Isaiah 40:25 says, “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” We dare not bring God down to our level.

And another thought. Isn’t the very foundation of Christianity to daily die to ourselves, our own thoughts, our own ways, and to take up our cross and follow Him? Mark 8:24, 35 has always been a challenge to my mothering all through my life: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”

2 Corinthians 5:15 states: “And that he (Jesus) died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

I understand where many of you are at in your thinking, because I was there too. God had to deal with me. He had to expose my deceptions and show me His ways, and I had to do lots of repenting. Let’s always be open to God leading us ever upward in His path.

In His love,

Nancy Campbell

Dear mother, God wants to cheer you up today in the midst of all that is going on in your life. Perhaps you don’t feel like being cheerful. You are going through too much and feel depressed, discouraged, or disappointed. Listen to these words from Jesus in John 16:33: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but BE OF GOOD CHEER; I have overcome the world.” Jesus says these words to you when you are going through tribulation, not just when everything is rosy. He is able to say them to you because He has already overcome the world! So, be of good cheer today! Not just cheer, but GOOD CHEER!

Did you have a kind day yesterday? Oh my, I have to confess I blew it. Even after writing a post to you about kindness!

My husband and I were traveling in the car and making the most of the time to pray for many people who were on our hearts. The phone rang for me and I was quick and impatient with the person because she interrupted our praying!

“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.

I love to hear about people's lives at funeral services, don’t you? I think every funeral service should be a CELEBRATION of a person's life. At this funeral celebration a close family friend shared that the testimony of this woman’s life was KINDNESS. What a wonderful label to have over your life. This was reiterated by many others.

And the best speech of the day was the little grandson who courageously got up to speak about his grandmother. He had to be held up to look over the lectern, but he spoke with animation and boldness.

And here is another poem for you:

PRUNED!

It is the branch that bears the fruit,
That feels the knife;
To prune it for a larger growth,
A fuller life.

Have you read the devotion for this week? Here is a poem that will also bless you:

O U C H . . .

“Ouch!” says the lump of clay as the Potter throws it back on the wheel.
The wheel spins faster and faster as the firm hand of the Potter begins to
shape the clay. “Stop it, I can’t take any more,” cries the clay.
The Potter: “I am creating a vessel of HONOR--an instrument of great unsurpassed
beauty to be of service in the courts of the King.”
The lump of clay: “Not my will, but thine be done.”