Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

1 Timothy 5:10 tells us we must have a REPUTATION FOR GOOD WORKS. And what are these specific good works?
1. Embracing child rearing
2. Practicing hospitality
3. Washing the saints’ feet
4. Helping those in distress
5. Exhibiting all kinds of good works

This Scripture also tells us to DILIGENTLY fulfil all these good works.

Acts 9:36-42 gives us the example of how we are to be FULL OF GOOD WORKS.

1 Timothy 2: 10 tells us to DRESS ourselves with good works. We should be more concerned about doing good works than worrying about what we wear.

Titus 2:3 exhorts the older women to be TEACHERS OF GOOD THINGS. And what are these specific good things? I Know you know them but it’s good to remind ourselves, isn’t it?

1. To be self-controlled
2. To love our husbands
3. To love our children
4. To be discreet
5. To be pure
6. To be keepers at home
7. To be good and kind
8. To be submissive to our own husbands

Do you notice that all these things are to do with home and family? They are not only good things, but BEAUTIFUL things. The word also means “lovely and beautiful.” The Passion translation says the older women are to be “teachers of beautiful things.” God doesn’t us to do them in a skimpy way. Grudgingly. Or survival mode. No, He wants us to do them exuberantly.

Colossians 1:10 says: “Being FRUITFUL IN EVERY GOOD WORK.”

Dear mother, you are DOING A BEAUTIFUL WORK in your home as you pour out God’s nurturing heart to your children and to the needy around you.

Be encouraged and blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

Artist: Katherine Roundtree

Patience kisses the red swollen face,
Bathes the bare knees that you warned not to race,
Answers the questions though weary she feels,
And smiles at the wonder found in orange peel.

Gentleness carves through old gnarly walls
Dwells in the peaceful, though fiercest of all,
Power to defeat what battalions can’t,
Teaching and guiding and holding small hands.

Joy sees the beauty in cereal and milk,
And dinosaur paintings, ignoring what’s spilt,
Opens the curtains with fresh new delight,
Freeing a spirit to soar as a kite.

Love, now love, how mighty she is,
Love smashes walls pride built over years,
Love steps through storms, walks on water, raises dead,
Love meets the husband’s harsh words with a kiss.

Motherhood answers the scariest call,
As tiny creations require you for all,
Demanding your courage and wonder and grace,
Supplied by our Maker as he cheers on your race.

LORNA OLIVER (England)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Painting: Mother Reading to Son by Svetlana Jenkins

May our sons and daughters know the fullness and the sweetness of Your everlasting love for them.

May the practices of kindness, tenderness, and selfless love guide our words and actions toward one another.

May we strive to work with all diligence in the tasks of home, resting content in the center of Your will.

May each guest in our home sense Your gentle presence and be nourished with manna freely given from Your bountiful table.

May You equip us daily to live godly and fruitful lives.

May Your purposes for our home be accomplished, for we offer ourselves to You as living sacrifices. Amen

Prayer by Jennifer Anne Messing.

~ Elisabeth Snell
Elisabeth wrote this poem to tell her husband a new baby was on the way.

Only a short time to teach you,
To know of God's love for you;
To trust Him and seek Him for everything,
To follow His call for you.

Too soon the day is coming
When toys are all stored away;
When our home that's been your shelter
Won't be the place you'll stay.

So I will savor these moments,
Even the trying times too,
Knowing that one of God's greatest gifts
Has been the pleasure of raising you.

2019, Val Halloran
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.valhalloran.com

Remember, all these beautiful attributes are not only nouns, but also verbs! Love is a noun, but also a verb. Love doesn’t become effective until we verb it. We love, not because we feel like loving, or because the person is nice or doing what we want them to do, but because Christ wants to love through us.!

Joy is a noun, but also a verb, usually translated rejoice! The joy of the Lord doesn’t change just because you feel lousy. It’s still the same. It’s always there. Rejoice that you are a child of God. Rejoice that you have eternal life. Rejoice that God has blessed you with your precious children. Rejoice that you trust in a God who will never fail you. Rejoice even when everything looks hopeless. “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!” (Philippians 4;4).

Did you know that apart from rejoice, joy also has two other verbs? They are “joyed” and “joying”? Have you heard those words before? They are in the King James Version of the Bible (2 Corinthians 7:13 and Colossians 2:5).

Why not do some joying in your home? Everyone is getting upset and tense? Forget your schedule and go out a-joying with your children. Think of something fun to do. Your marriage is getting a bit boring. Think of something creative to do and a-joying with your husband.

Peace is a noun, but the Bible makes it a verb. It tells us to extend peace, follow peace, love peace, make peace, ordain peace, preach peace, publish peace, pursue peace, seek peace and speak peace.

God wants to bring a bit of heaven to your home today. Yield yourself to Him so He can shine His attributes through you. Invite Him to fill you to overflowing so you will overflow with His love, His joy, His longsuffering, His patience, and His self-control.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Verbs for peace:
Isaiah 66:1, 2; Hebrews 12:14; Zechariah 8:19; Isaiah 27:5; Ephesians 2:15; Isaiah
26:12; Acts 10:36; Acts 2:17; Isaiah 52:7; Nahum 1:15; Psalm 34:14; 1 Peter 3:11; Esther 10:3; and Psalm 85:8.

She sets the table for supper. She shuts out her own household duties when she sees her mate coming home from work. She kisses him reverently and helps him with his coat and snowy shoes. She fixes his chair and gives him his mail. She sits on a chair beside him and asks him about his day. She speaks softly to the children and asks them to pick up their toys before supper.

She hears her husband praise her as he speaks to friends, “My wife stays at home with our children. Her prayers keep our family together. I love having my wife at home.”

This mother tells a story to the world. She is like Mary who entertained the angel with an obedient heart and gave birth supernaturally to God’s Son, Jesus. She is like Sarah who called her husband, lord, and gave birth to Isaac in her old age. She is like Hannah who gave birth to the prophet, Samuel.

The things of this world and all that glitters cannot compare to the spiritual treasures in this mother’s holy temple. She is a handmaiden for Christ, a covenant keeper. She is the King’s daughter and she is all glorious within.

What kind of an atmosphere should be in our homes? Jesus showed us when He told us how to pray. Read the Lord’s Prayer again in Matthew 6:9-13. The Luke 11:2 passage says: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth . . . ”

What a powerful statement: “as in heaven, so in earth.” Read this over and over. Let the amazingness of this truth sink into your mind and heart. Let it fill your being. Write it out in big letters and pin it up in your kitchen.

Can you believe it? God wants His will to be accomplished in our homes, just as it is in Heaven, His home. God wants the atmosphere of heaven to be the atmosphere of your home. God’s wants His presence to fill your home. This is His perfect will for you. This is the prayer Jesus wants you to pray for your home every day. Start praying it today.

What’s the atmosphere like in heaven? We haven’t been there yet, but we know it is filled with harmony and unity. We know it is filled with light and glory. We know it is filled with love and joy. We know that it is “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

We know that it embraces children. When the disciples tried to shoo the little children away from Jesus, He rebuked them and said: “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Children are very much part of the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:13-16; and Luke 18:15 16).

We know that it involves eating together around the table for when Jesus spoke to His disciples, He told them about His table in His heavenly kingdom (Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:29; 22:29-30; and Revelation 19:9).

When I have spoken on this subject, I have sometimes asked this question, “What kind of atmosphere does God want you to have in your home?” Here are some of the responses women have given to me . . .

appreciation, acceptance,
beauty,
cheerfulness, commitment, communication, compassion, consideration, contentment, courteousness,
encouragement, excitement and fun (in the home rather than having to find it outside the home),
eliminating unnecessary telephone calls,
faithfulness, forbearance, forgiveness, fruitfulness,
generousness, gentleness, godliness, goodness, God-centeredness, God’s Word, graciousness,
harmony, heavenliness, helpfulness, holiness, hospitality, humility,
interaction,
joyfulness,
kindness,
longsuffering, love, loving discipline, laughter,
mercy, meekness, motherliness
opportunities for creativity, opportunities to dream and think great thoughts, order and routine without rigidity and legality,
patience, peace, praise and worship, prayer, purity, a place of refuge, pleasantness, politeness, positiveness, putting others first,
respect, rest, righteousness,
self-control, selflessness, serenity, servanthood, singing, submission, sweetness,
teachableness, tenderheartedness, thankfulness, thoughtfulness, truthfulness,
unity,
warmth, willingness,
quietness.

“Help,” you cry out. “This is beyond me! How can I have the atmosphere of heaven when I often scream and yell at the children?” “I’m tired of being a servant and I’m angry with my husband and he does nothing to help me,” another mother sighs.

Don’t worry, dear mother, you can’t do it on your own, so stop trying. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 says: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, THAT THE EXCELLENCY OF THE POWER MAY BE OF GOD, AND NOT OF US

God has shined in your heart so you can reveal His light to your children and to all you meet. You are just an “earthen vessel” with no power to do anything. It’s not your light, but God’s light that shines through you. It’s not your longsuffering, but God’s patience that flows through you. It’s not your love, but God’s love in you. Your love runs out easily, but God’s love never runs dry. Psalm 107:1 (Msg) says: “His love never runs out!”

Each new day you can come to Him and replenish from His inexhaustible well.

God wants to bring a bit of heaven to your home today. Yield yourself to Him so He can shine His attributes through you. Invite Him to come in and fill every room in your home. Invite Him to take His place at the table with you when you sit down to eat. Invite Him to fill you to overflowing so you will overflow with His love, His joy, His longsuffering, His patience, and His self-control.

And don’t forget to write these words and pin them up in your kitchen a daily reminder . . .

“As in God’s home, so in my home!”

Love from Nancy Campbell

Today we discover that the word “obey” is in the Scriptures regarding marriage. This time it’s the Greek word “hupakouo.”

“hupo” meaning “to place under, to be under obedience.
“akouo” meaning “to hear, to obey, to hearken, give heed, yield.”

Where do we find it? 1 Peter 3:5, 6: “For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection (hupotasso) unto their own husbands: Even as Sarah obeyed (hupakouo) Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”

So there it is. The Bible says that we are Sarah’s daughters when we “obey” our husbands.

In fact, this is how the women who lived ”once upon a time” adorned themselves. Actually, it was how they made themselves beautiful.

Beck translation: “This is how long ago the holy women who trusted in God used to make themselves BEAUTIFUL: they submitted to their husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him lord.”

NCV translation: In this same way the holy women who lived long ago and followed God, made themselves BEAUTIFUL, yielding to their own husbands.”

HCSB translation: “For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also BEAUTIFIED themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.”

The Bible calls it a beautiful thing. Peter was referring to women who lived long ago. Now we are even further into the future and even further (yes, f-u-r-t-h-e-r) away from God’s original pattern! Why do we think we know best? Why do we spurn God’s way? Why do even Christian women reject God’s pattern?

The word “hupakouo” is the same word used for “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1).

We learn more of what it means when we read other passages where this word is used. It’s the word that is used when Jesus “rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying What manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey (hupakouo) him!” (Mathew 8:26, 27). Also Mark 4:41 and Luke 8:25). The winds didn’t resist Jesus. They obeyed Him.

It’s used when Jesus cast out unclean spirits: “For with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey (hupakouo) him.”

It’s used in Scriptures about obeying the gospel (Acts 6:7; Romans 6:17; 2 Philippians 2;123; Thessalonians 1:7-1-0; 3:14; Hebrews 5:9; and 11:8).

Because God ordained marriage as the glorious picture of Christ and the church, we should embrace the spirit of obedience. The paramount thing Jesus talked about in the gospels was to obey His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23; and 15:19). How can we be part of Christ’s body if we do not obey His commandments? In the same way, as the church hears and obeys Jesus’ commandments, so we reveal this picture by hearing and obeying our husbands.

But we notice that our obedience is “as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5;22). A wife does not obey her husband if he asks her to sin or do anything that is contrary to God’s Word. If it is contrary to Christ and His Word, it does not reveal the picture of the bride without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:26, 27).

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

Picture: Sunny-side-up Eggs art print by Soosh

Recently a reader posted a reply to one of my posts saying that the word “obey” for marriage was not in the Bible.

Well, it seems that most women don’t want that word to be in the Bible, but if we are those who want to live by truth, we had better check it out. Who wants to check it out with me?

Let’s begin with the word submit. Perhaps that is not as frightening as obey. The Greek word is “hupotasso.”
“hupo” means “to place under, to be under obedience.”
“tasso” is a military word meaning “to arrange in an orderly manner, to assign to a certain position, to appoint.”

Therefore, we see that it is a voluntary coming under the protection, covering, and leadership of the husband for the wife’s blessing.

Isn’t it amazing that in our culture of feminism it seems that even the majority of Christian women now reject any form of submission? And yet where does submission originate? In the Godhead. Our God is one God, but three persons, The Father, His Beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit. All have equal authority, and all are worshipped and adored. And yet in this total unity but diversity there is difference of authority. All have authority but the Father is head over the Son.

The Father sent His son into the world (John 3:34, 5:30; 17:18; 20:21; and 1 John 4:9, 14) and Jesus delighted to do the will of His Father (Psalm 40:6-8) and “obeyed” (Philippians 2:8). Not only does marriage reveal the glorious picture of Christ, and His church, His bride who delights to obey her heavenly bridegroom, but we also represent the Trinity. We are made in the likeness and image of God. And in our marriages, we have the privilege to reveal the relationship of the Trinity.

And why are so many adamant about behind “under” ?

“Hupo” is used in the story of the centurion who was in command of 100 men! He said to Jesus that he was “a man under authority” and yet he had soldiers under him. He recognized the authority in Jesus and told him He didn’t have to come to his house to heal his servant, but to just speak the word.

Although we come under the authority of our husbands, God has also given us authority to manage and rule our homes. We are not without authority, but we must exercise the authority God has given us in the sphere He has given to us, rather than seeking to usurp authority that doesn’t belong to us. Read Matthew 6:5-10.

We have a powerful warning in Jude as Jude 1:7 (ESV) states: “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.”

Jesus used the word “hupo” when He wept over Jerusalem. Matthew 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under (hupo) her wings, and ye would not!”

Do you notice the last three words, and with an exclamation mark? “You would not!” Why do we want to refuse “hupo” blessings? "Hupo" is a beautiful word of protection and covering.

God protected the Israelites in the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 1 Corinthians 10:1 tells us that they were all “under (hupo) the cloud.” What a blessing to be under the protection of the cloud, just as it is a privilege to be under the protection and covering of our husbands.

Mark 4:32 speaks of the grain of mustard seed that “groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under (hupo) the shadow of it.” How lovely it is to take respite from the hut sun under the shade of a big tree. It’s the "hupo" blessing!

Because Jesus Christ, the Son, was willing and obedient to go to the cross, God has exalted Him and “hath put all things under (hupo) his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22,23). ” Read also 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, most important Scripture.

But I am getting lengthy although I haven’t finished yet. Tomorrow I’ll give you the specific “obey” word for marriage. Are you ready for it? Or are you too scared?

See you tomorrow.

Love from Nancy Campbell

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 hearts. No matter what the hardships and challenges, we face them with joy. We are not dreaming of some day when we will be finished with 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

Painting: ORIGINAL FERRÁNDIZ - EDICIONES SUBI -N. 1958.1- DIPTICA 11,5X17CM

IT ALL HAPPENS IN THE HOME. Without this training in the home the nation will be impaired.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

It would be enough to take one of these and work on them for a few weeks, wouldn’t it? And yet we have 26 of them!

Love from Nancy Campbell

You can waste hours of time talking and gossiping on the telephone. Not only is it timewasting, but this is usually when your children get into trouble or be naughty because they realize the phone has taken mother’s attention away from them.

2. SOCIAL MEDIA – FACEBOOK, IPHONES, IPADS, ETC.
Too many women spend too much time on their iPhones. These iPhones prove how disciplined we really are. Use them to serve you, but don’t become a victim to them. Don’t be checking your iPhone when you should be giving time to your children, reading to them, enjoying them, and doing things that need to be accomplished in the home.

I think there needs to be an etiquette list for iPhones. Here is a list to start with. Let me know others you think of.

a) It is rude to check your iPhone when in conversation with other people. Put it away and give your attention to those you are speaking to.

b) It is rude to bring an iPhone to the table and be checking it and listening for every ding when it is the time to interact and fellowship with your family. Don’t allow any iPhones at your family meal table. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT RULE IN MY HOME!

c) It is rude to be glued to your iPhone when your children need your attention.

d) It is rude to go out for dinner and look at your iPhone instead of being engaged with your husband or family around the table. You see this all the time, don’t you? A family at a restaurant able and everyone looking at their iPhones and no one engaged in conversation. Let’s train our children the true way to live.

e) It is sacrilege to use your iPhone Bible app at church and get side-tracked with messages etc. Use great discipline here. Turn off messaging while you are in church. I think it is still the greatest thing to take your real Bible to church. If you are going to use your iPhone, discipline yourself to not look at one other thing other than the Scriptures you are checking. I have observed people checking social media in church! I have observed it while I have been speaking! I feel grieved. How does God feel?

3. T.V.
I would rather live life than watch it! Teach your children to “live” life rather than watch it go by. Remember that the day is for work, the evening is for relaxation. A good rule for your home is to never turn the TV on during the day. (It can be a timewaster in the evening too)!

4. READING NOVELS WHEN THERE’S WORK TO BE DONE
Don’t be tempted to read a novel during the hours of the night only to wake up too tired to cope with your children during the day.

5. SELF-PITY AND WORRY
Thinking about yourself is a deadly timewaster. You can’t adequately nurture your children or bless others while you use all your emotional energy on yourself.

6. LACK OF ORGANIZATION
If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it. It is important to have long-range goals, and a goal for each day, even if you don’t accomplish it all.

7. LACK OF DISCIPLINE
Do what needs to be done, not just what you feel like doing. This develops character.

8. TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE
Tackle one job at a time and finish it completely. Then start another job. Clean one room at a time. You don’t have to get everything done in one day. Praise the Lord!

9. INABILITY TO SAY NO
Stay focused. Don’t get sidetracked. Your first priority is to be a wife, a mother, and homemaker. Everything else comes second. Don’t be afraid to say No to extra things.

10. TOO MUCH STUFF
The more “stuff” you have in your home, the more you must clean. The more gadgets and ornaments you have, the more you must dust. The more toys your children own, the more you must pick up. They only need two or three at once. Put the others away. Continually de-junk your house. Keep only what you need.

11. INEFFICIENCY
When cleaning up, don’t carry one thing to another room and then come back for something else. Put everything for one room in a box, and then take one trip to that room. Save on unnecessary movements. Now, I’ve got to leave this computer and get on to cleaning up. Friday is my Cleaning Day. I’ll start downstairs and put everything I need to take upstairs in a box, instead of loads of trips up and down the stairs. Then when I start upstairs, I’ll put everything in the box to come down. Isn’t it amazing how things gradually get all over the house instead of where they’re meant to be?

12. GETTING SIDETRACKED
Stay focused.

Have a great day,

Nancy Campbell

Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.

Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O’er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.

~ Henry Wadswoth Longellow

Homeness is in every one of us. God put it there as He as designed us to love home which is also family. The words for home in the Hebrew and Greek are also used for family. We understand the power of homeness when we see the opposite, homeless. No one is meant to be homeless. God intends every person to live in a family. He sets the solitary in families.

When a child leaves their home to stay with friends it is common for them to be homesick. In fact, homesickness can be debilitating and can be painful for some children, even as they get older. We’ve all felt the sickening feeling of homesickness and understand that it is a vey real thing.

Sometimes we can feel homesick even when we are at home! I think that’s a homesickness for our eternal home. Home is very much tied to our lives.

Once again, because it is a God breathed thing, the devil hates it. The devil hates everything that is of God. He hates life, family, the home, the womb, and babies. The devil is having a heyday as he has successfully wooed thousands of women out of their homes, away from the God-ordained post, away from their children, and away from the nest where God wants to give them sanctuary and rest.

In Psalm 68:11, 12 God talks about the army of women in the home, but they have gone AWOL!

I believe it is time for women to come back to the home. It’s not coming back to nothingness. It’s coming back to the highest career in the nation.

It’s coming back to pour our lives into our children to teach and train them to be mighty for God. It is coming back to the home to have time to prepare meals where we can sit around the table together and fellowship as families. It’s coming back to the home to have time to establish a family meeting with God morning and evening. It’s coming back to the home where we have the opportunity to use all the gifts God has given to us to build godly families and create and make and sew and paint and write and accomplish all the artistic gifts God has put within us.

Creating a home is revealing the likeness of God. He already has a home, but He is still creating. Jesus told us He is preparing a place for us (John 14:1-3). His ultimate plan is to welcome us into His eternal home. When we turn away from home, thinking it is insignificant, we are turning away from God’s ultimate plan. Everything we do in this life is a type and a preparation for our eternal home.

It is time for mothers to make their homes a home, a place where everyone wants to be, and they are homesick when they are not there. He wants us to make delightful homes. The first home was called the Garden of Eden. Eden means “delight” which was the prototype for all homes to come.

The more time we spend away from home, the more we weaken the home. The more we build into our home and family, the more we strengthen it. In fact, it is a good idea when making decisions for your family to have this goal: whatever weakens the family, don’t do it; whatever strengthens the family, go for it.

Let’s get back to homeness, dear mothers. Strong homes make a strong nation.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell