Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

I received a number of requests from my post yesterday: "What do I do when my children won't obey right away?" "What do you do to get them to obey consistently?" "What are practical tips for following through?" And so on.

I believe there is one important principle we have to understand before we can expect obedience. We must teach them to listen before we can teach them to obey.

Therefore, when you tell your child to do something, you must speak to them face to face. Make sure they hear you. If they are very little, you may ask them to repeat back to you what you have asked them. Now you know they have heard you. Once they have received your instruction, explain that true hearing results in action. As soon as they hear what you say, they must immediately go and do it.

When they are little, you may take them by the hand and do the task with them to teach them that the moment you ask, they perform the action. It's hands on learning. They then learn to get into the habit of doing this. As they get older, you must give appropriate discipline for not obeying your command.

We have a friend who has this motto. "As soon as I read something in God's Word I immediately try to put it into practice." This is a great way to read God's Word. We train our children to have this attitude as we teach them to do what we ask right away. It is what God expects. He expects nothing less than obedience.

Obedience is an important theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The attitude of Christ from eternity, and as He faced the cross, was "Not my will, but thine be done." Philippians 2:6 tells us that He "became OBEDIENT unto death, even the death of the cross" and He wants us and our children to have this same attitude.

Are we training our children to have this attitude? Of course they will fail. They are human. But we daily train them. It takes consistently on our part. It is being obedient ourselves to God's plan for us as parents. If we are disobedient to teach them how to obey, how will they learn to be obedient?

I'll share more of ways to help them obey in the next post.

Love from Nancy Campbell

How important do you feel it is to teach your children to obey you? It's easy to let it slip, isn't it? It's easy to get into the habit of telling them to do something over and over again before we expect obedience. It's easy to ask them to do something and not press through to make sure they obey.

What are we teaching our children when we do this? We teach them to disobey. We are lay a foundation for disobeying God.

God's plan is for parents to teach their children how to walk with God. And that first requirement is obedience. Acts 5:32 says that God gives the Holy Spirit "to them that obey him." And Hebrews 5:9 says He gives His salvation to "them that obey him."

If we don't get into the habit of training our children to obey, how will they suddenly want to obey God? In fact, God looks upon disobedience as rebellion and witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

Ask God to help you to be a faithful parent to prepare your children for a life of obedience to God?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell.

1 John 5:19 ESV tells us that, "The whole world lies in the power of the evil one." If this world is in the grip of the evil one, how do we live without getting pulled into its grip? How do we keep our children from its control? We've got to swim upstream.

It's not easy to swim upstream, is it? It takes all your effort. The moment we relax, we start floating downstream again, away with the current of the evil one. That's why we have to constantly fight the good fight of faith. We must fight it ourselves, and for our family. We must teach our children the principles of swimming upstream.

As children get older, and especially into their teens, they are prone to being swept into the current of this world system. We must teach from a young age how to constantly fight the battle and swim upstream.

Here are some pointers:

1. Penetrate your children with a godly and biblical worldview. How they live and think is determined by their worldview. Remember, the public education system teaches your children a humanistic worldview.
2. Teach them to pray. Establish daily prayer times with your children.
3. Fill them with God's Word. Don't let anything deter you from Family Devotions each day with your family.
4. Regular fellowship with the people of God (Hebrews 10:25).
5. Teach them to say no to the flesh and the devil and yield to Christ who dwells within them.

What will take them, and even ourselves, downstream?

1. Compromising with the world (1 John 2:15-17).
2. Tolerating sin. God does not tell us to tolerate, but to obliterate! Ephesians 5:22 says, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather REPROVE them."
3. Undisciplined time with media.
4. No daily habit of prayer and reading God's Word.
5. Hanging around with the wrong company. Proverbs 13:20 says, "He that walks with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." I raised my children on this Scripture. Young people will go the way of those they hang around with. Guide them into wise company.

Are you a swimming upstream family, or merrily floating downstream with the current of this world. Remember, when you are floating, you don't even realize you are going downstream until it is too late.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

When you have an opportunity to go out to enjoy yourself, who would you rather go with? Some girlfriends? Or your husband? We will always want to go with our best friend, won't we?

In Titus 2:4 the older women are exhorted to teach the young women to "love their husbands." The Greek word used here is not agape (God's divine love which goes beyond the love of man). It is not "eros" which is sexual love. We need to experience both these in our marriage, but the one God uses in this passage is "philandros." This is a friendly, affectionate love.

We are not only to love our husbands, but to be friendly and affectionate to them. Throughout the day we should take every opportunity to cuddle, kiss, hug, and touch. The more we do this, the more we release love to each other. We have to work at being friendly. We can so easily forget about it in the challenges of the day and the tiredness of the evening.

We should speak to them as though we were speaking to our best friend. Do we yell at our best friend? Do we give the silent treatment to our best friend? Exodus 33;11 tells us that God spoke to Moses "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." He told things to Moses that He didn't tell anyone else. There is a special way we speak to friends. Usually polite, sweet, kind, and with respect. This is the same way we should speak to our husband.

If our husband is our best friend, we'll love him even when he's not so nice; even when he's being difficult. Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loveth AT ALL TIMES."

Another wonderful thing about friendship is learning from one another, encouraging one another, and sparring one another on to greater intellectual and spiritual heights. My husband and I love to discuss subjects together (especially from God's Word), and we don't always agree. How boring that would be. My husband says, "We don't have to agree with one another, but we do have to love one another." Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

Forget Girls' Night Out! I'd rather go out with my husband (or stay home with him) than anyone else in the world. And that's after over 51 years of living together!

Love from Nancy Campbell

Further to my today's post: Have you read the story of C. T. Studd, a famous cricketer in England, who gave up everything to serve the Lord in China? He wrote . . .

Lord, send us lion-hearted men
With good courageous habits
Who ne’er will run from the devil’s gun
Like hares and bunny rabbits!

He also wrote a poem about Chocolate soldiers versus real soldiers and how chocolate soldiers melt when things get too hot! One of the stanzas says . . .

For genuine soldiers are heroes
"Chocolate soldiers" are shams
The soldiers of Jesus are lions
Not hares or timid lambs.

I am sure your boys will love memorizing these lines.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

What is your goal, dear mother as you train your little army each day? It's easy to lose sight of the great mission we have in the midst of the day to day challenges and everything we have to accomplish. Can I encourage you to keep your vision in front of you? It's a powerful vision. You have the responsibility of training God's end-time task force. Wow, you are not insignificant!

God is preparing an army and you are one of His chosen trainers. Are you training them to fit in with the groove of this world? Or are you training them to be true soldiers of Jesus Christ?

It's not an easy task to train a soldier. A true soldier must learn how to obey his commander immediately. As we train our children to obey us, we are training them to be ready to obey their Great Commander. A true soldier must be disciplined. They learn how to get up at a certain time and do their chores quickly and happily. A true soldier keeps fit and toned.

Are your children becoming soldiers for God's army? Or are they flabby in spirit and more attuned to the amusements of this world than God's coming purpose for their life? 2 Timothy 2:4 says, "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

Train you children with purpose.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

I read recently read that "Babies are built to expect the equivalent of an 'external womb' after birth." I'm sure this is how God intends it to be. A baby that comes forth from the continual security and sustenance of the womb needs to know the continuing security and sustenance of its mother.

It is normal and natural for the babe to be nursed at the breast as the baby requires, not only for food, but for comfort and consolation. It is normal for a young babe to sleep with his mother and nurse at her breasts during the night, rather than lie in the coldness of a bassinet. It is normal for a babe to be constantly close to the mother's skin and heart as she carries him in a baby carrier.

I know that many mothers are influenced by old wives' tales that they must separate their baby and leave him to cry. This goes against everything in a mother's heart. I remember reading these words as a young mother, "There is more in a mother's intuition than in all the books you'll ever read." How true. You don't have to listen to this person or that person. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART, dear mother. Follow the God-given instincts that God has put in you to mother. Go with your heart.

Love from Nancy Campbell

As wives and mothers, oh how we have to constantly watch the words we say. Every word has the power to either bring life or death.

Are you crushed and hurting? God will come close to you if you let Him.

The LORD is close to the Brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Pslam 34:18

Colin and I were blessed to have seven beautiful young ladies grace our dinner table last evening. We love to discuss subjects at our table and last night I asked each girl to share something beautiful that has happened in their life. What beautiful things they shared.

The first girl told us with great delight the amazing excitement and joy that happens in their family when their parents tell the news they are having another baby. She was radiant and full of smiles as she shared how every child is so excited. Some jump up and down with excitement and others cry with joy. And very soon these parents are going to have their 10th baby.

How delightful. Love from Nancy

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth" (Psalm 139:13-15).

There are so many hurting people, not only poor people who are struggling, but those who are affluent, and yet their lives are broken and crushed. Their marriages are tearing apart. And again, some of these are in the church, and sometimes even in leadership.

And yet God is waiting to heal. He is the healer of broken lives. When Jesus went into the synagogue at Nazareth, He picked up the scroll and read from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he that anointed me . . . to heal the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:16-19). The word “brokenhearted” is talking about those whose lives are shattered and broken to shivers.

You may be feeling utterly crushed. Your life is broken in little bits and you can’t imagine how to get it back together again. Dear hurting one, God is waiting to heal and restore you. Lay your life before Him and let Him come in with His light, His love, His healing balm, and His restoring anointing. He will do it, little by little, if you let Him. Allow His living Word to heal you. Your circumstances may not change right away, but God will heal your soul.

You cannot cope unless your soul is whole. Let Him come in and flood your life. His love will enable you to forgive, to let go of hurt and bitterness, and to be healed and restored. He only is the “restorer of your soul.”

Blessings to you from Nancy

God says to us in Jeremiah 15:20: "I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord."

Why is God with us? To deliver us--to deliver us from evil, from temptation, and whenever we cry out to Him. Thank Him that He is with you today. Thank Him that He is your Deliverer.

Love, Nancy

This morning at our Family Devotions we sang the hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" written by Martin Luther. It was so great to be reminded of the powerful words in this hymn. Check out all the words in your hymn book or on the Internet, but here's the third verse:

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

1 John 5:19 ESV reminds us that "The whole world lies in the power of the evil one." We cannot relax in the sun on our raft while the current takes us down stream. We are in a fight against evil. We fight every inch of the way. We fight against the enemy who seeks to come into the very sanctuary of our home! Oh the audacity! We mothers have to be fighters.

But we are not fighting in our own strength. We don't have fleshly weapons but powerful spiritual weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). We have the Word of God. We have the powerful name of Jesus and His precious blood.

Praise God, one little word, the name of Jesus, shall fell him! Triumph in the name of Jesus today.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Did you smile at your husband this morning? Are you smiling at your children today?

It's difficult to accomplish anything very powerful when you are apathetic about it, isn't it? Many things can only be accomplished by the "zeal of the Lord." Isaiah 9:7 tells us that "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." How is this going to be accomplished? The rest of the Scripture says, "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." It is the passion and zeal of God that will perform this wonderful promise.

When Jesus beheld what was happening in the temple which was called "The House of Prayer" he didn't stand by indifferently. He rose up in righteous indignation and drove the sheep, oxen, and money changers from the temple, kicking over all their tables. When the disciples saw it they remembered the Scripture, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up" (John 2:17 and Psalm 69:9).

I believe we also need the zeal of the Lord as we tackle the greatest career in the nation, that of mothering and training the next generation who will detriment the course of the nation. WE CAN'T DO IT HAPHAZARDLY. WE CAN'T DO IT APATHETICALLY. WE CAN'T DO IT HALF-HEARTEDLY. WE CAN'T DO IT PART TIME!

We must rise up in the zeal of the Lord, knowing the power and destiny of our calling and the urgency of this hour. Titus 2:14 exhorts us to be "zealous of good works" and the greatest work you are doing is raising your family. Do it with zeal.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes" (Psalm 118:0-10).

Why do we put our trust in mere man when we can trust God?

I read this morning in Ecclesiastes 3:13 "That everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil--this is God's gift to man." I know you've got lots of work to do today. I have to.

Maybe you have a big pile of laundry that must get done. Instead of sighing about it, take pleasure in it! Sing while you organize it. Gather some of the children and teach them how you do it.

You've got to clean a certain room. Enjoy doing it. Praise the Lord for the joy of accomplishing another task. This is the joy of work. God gives work to us as a gift. When we work hard physically, we enjoy a good night's rest. As we work, we get creative ideas on how to do things better or create something new altogether. New inventions and creations always come out of work. We revel in the joy of completing a task.

Your mothering is your greatest work. What a blessed work. It is a good work. It is the work the Lord has given you. Rejoice and take pleasure in it today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

No, I'm not talking about Ebenezer Scrooge! I'm talking about a monument stone that the prophet Samuel erected after God gave Israel victory over the Philistines. He called it "Ebenezer, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us" (1 Samuel 7:12).

What a wonderful affirmation. It's a phrase we need to remember, too. Often we face a new challenge or difficulty and wonder how we'll get through. But, then we remember, God has got me through before and He will do it again! Praise His holy name. As we acknowledge the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord, we are encouraged to  know that God will be with us in new trials and tribulations.

Don't forget your Ebenezers. Raise them up like the old hymn writer, Robert Robinson when he wrote, "Here I raise my Ebenezer." You can raise your Ebenezer by raising your hands and thanking God for His goodness and faithfulness. You can raise up something tangible to remind you, such as your Bible (filled with God's promises to you), a picture that reminds you of God's intervention, or some commemoration you have kept.

God has not failed you in the past and He will never fail you in the future. As Joshua proclaimed, "Ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof" (Joshua 23:14).

Raise your Ebenezer!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell