Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

1. Sit at the Table

Sitting at the table is also a Bible principle. I know it takes training to get your children to sit through the meal but keep on training, little by little. 

Not one word is wasted in the Bible. Every word is important. It’s interesting how the Bible takes time to talk about such a practical thing as sitting at the table. First Samuel, chapter 20 tells the story of how David and Jonathan planned David’s escape from the palace. It was mandatory for each person to be present for the evening meal at the palace and they all sat in their assigned places.

David said to Jonathan in verse 5 (ESV): “I should not fail to sit at table with the king.” No one was meant to be missing. All places were to be filled.

Later, down in verses 24 and 25 it says: “And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. The king sat on his seat, as at other times on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place as empty.” Each person had their own assigned seat.

A mother shared with me that she allows her children to sit where they like when they come to the table. “But,” she complained, “they continually bicker and argue about where they are going to sit.” I suggested she assign seats for each child. It’s biblical, and it stops the arguing.

Let’s go over to the New Testament. There are many Scriptures about sitting at the meal table (not standing around)! However, let’s look at when Jesus’ fed the five thousand plus people. Jesus did not feed the multitude until they were all seated. He didn’t suggest they sit down. He “commanded” them to sit down. We get the same message in each Gospel.

Matthew 14:19 “He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass.”

Mark 6:39, 40: “He commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks . . .” Do you notice that they “all” had to sit down, not just those who wanted to. No food unless seated!

Luke 9:14: “And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down . . .”

John 6:10 (NKJV): “Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down . . . So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down.” We certainly get the feeling that there had to be some organization to get them all seated.

This certainly relates to our families, doesn’t it? Have you found that you need to make your children sit down? Unless you train them to learn to sit at the table they will be jumping up and down like a yo-yo!

We must also teach our children how to sit. I can’t believe how many children and teens sit with their knees up at the table! Has no one ever taught them how to sit correctly?

Unless we sit at the table, we will not receive the same nutritional benefit from our food or from fellowship together.

Have a great day,

Nancy Campbell

Do you love to gather your family around your table to eat and fellowship together? The family meal table is one of the foundations of family life. It’s a biblical principle. The picture God gives in the Bible of a blessed family is the wife in the heart of the home and all the children sitting around the table. Read it again in Psalm 128:3.

The first mention of the word table in the Bible is The Table of Shewbread in the tabernacle in the wilderness. On this table there were twelve loaves of bread called The Shewbread. The table was also called The Table of Faces and the bread, The Bread of Faces (Lechem haPanim). The bread upon the table pointed to Christ who is our bread, our life, our sustenance. As we look to Him and feed from Him, we are fed and satisfied.

Do you notice that a plural word is used for bread? Christ is more than one face. He has many attributes and the more we look to Him in His Word the more we come to know Him and all His glorious attributes. Colossians 2:3 says: “In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

The twelve loaves upon the table also pointed to the Israelites. God also wanted the bread upon the table to represent His people. In the loaves, He saw each one of their faces. He wanted them in His presence. Each week the priests would take the week-old bread off the table and replace it with new bread. The priests would then eat the bread (which was still fresh because it had lain in the presence of the Lord) and fellowship together.

The Table and the Shewbread were considered one. They were like twins. Just as mother and home are synonymous, so the table and food are synonymous. They go together. In other words, we eat food at the table! We don’t eat food in front of the TV. We don’t allow each member to grab their food and eat in their rooms or wherever they like. God wants us to sit around the table together.

But the table is not only a biblical principle, it is a heavenly principle. Did you know that God had a table (or tables) in His heavenly kingdom before we ever had them on earth? Yes, tables originated in Heaven! Jesus often talked about His table in the heavenly realm (Matthew 8:11; Luke 14:15; 29:30; and Revelation 19:9).

Therefore, the more you gather at your table, the more of the heavenly atmosphere you will bring to your home! Ooops! “It’s not very heavenly at my table,” I hear you reply. “It’s welcome to the shambles.”

Don’t despair. God gives us principles in His Word about how we should gather at the table. Let me share some of them with you.

Set the Table

If you do not take time to set and prepare the table, your children will not feel it is important. How you prepare your table is how they will perceive the importance of the table. Proverbs 9:2 (RSV) says: “Wisdom has built her house . . . she has also set her table.” I love to set a beautiful table each evening. I love to use a tablecloth. It makes such a difference to the table and to the atmosphere of the meal. Food on a naked table does not have the same welcoming touch.

“Help, do you expect me to add more laundry to my already huge pile?” you scream. Dear lovely mother, you can purchase a lovely tablecloth and put a piece of clear plastic over it which you wipe down after the meal. There are seasons in life. As your children grow, there will come a time when you can eliminate the plastic.

Are you still thinking of the extra work? Teach your children how to set the table correctly. And beautifully and creatively. They love to do it. The children can take turns. They can become very competitive as each one seeks to outdo the other. You can encourage them to add centerpieces, candles, go outside and find wildflowers or leaves, or use their imagination to make something creative.

More ideas tomorrow.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Painting: The Marriage Supper of the Lamb by Lambert Dolphin

I think one of the most important things we as mothers must have is a spirit of discernment. We must know the difference between good and evil. That seems a very basic statement, doesn’t it? You’d think everyone would know the difference between good and evil. But no. One of the biggest movements among Christendom today is the “spirit of tolerance.” Many Christians have been brainwashed that they are not allowed to judge anything or anyone. They must be tolerant to all and everyone.

This is not Bible This is not God. God is a merciful and forgiving God, but He is not tolerant of sin. Nor should we be. We must know the difference between good and evil and we must impart this strongly to our children. Job 34:4 says: “Let us KNOW among ourselves what is GOOD.” If we don’t know and discern, how will our children know?

I love the old hymn by Clara Scott, “Open my eyes, that I may see, Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.” The second stanza says:

“Open my ears, that I may hear

Voices of truth Thou makest clear;

And while the wave notes fall on my ear,

EVERYTHING FALSE WILL DISAPPEAR.”

I want everything that is false to be cast out from my mind and heart, don’t you? I want this for my children and grandchildren too. I don’t want them to be subtly deceived by the lies and delusions of this age. I want them to KNOW TRUTH. I want them to exercise discernment. I want them to be able to judge between what is right and what is evil.

The greatest, or perhaps the only way, we can truly discern is through filling our hearts with God’s Word. His eternal Word is the ultimate deterrent to deception! If His Word is not in us, we don’t have what it takes to discern!

Let’s RICHLY fill our hearts and the hearts of our children with His Word (Colossians 3:16). That means gathering them every morning and evening to read His Word to them. To discuss it together. To ask questions. To talk about it. To get it into their hearts and mouths (Isaiah 59:21).

Let’s get it into them so faithfully that EVERYTHING FALSE WILL DISAPPEAR. Amen

Be blessed today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Mother, it is not enough to care for the physical bodies of your children. We must guard their minds, their souls, and their spirits.

The Beauty of Surrender

I have always loved the lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "A Psalm of Life."

"But to act that each tomorrow
Find us further than today."

I love to learn something new every day, don't you? Recently I learned the difference between a Shepherd's Pie and a Cottage Pie. How come it has taken me so long to know the difference?

A Shepherd's Pie is made with ground lamb whereas a Cottage Pie is made with ground beef. I guess the reason I didn't know is that growing up in New Zealand we called it a Shepherd's Pie even though we always cooked with lamb.

I also learned recently that The American Life League estimates that "Using formulas based on the way the birth control pill works, pharmacy experts project that about 14 million chemical abortions occur in the United States each year." Wow, that bit of information is just about too much to take in.
More abortions through the Pill than Clinic abortions!

Another interesting fact I learned recently was the loudest sound that has ever been heard by human ears. It was when the volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883 at 310 decibels. People in Alice springs, Australia, 2,233 miles away heard it!

Anyway, I think it is a good thing to encourage your children to learn something new every day. I think this is more important than making sure your children get through all their lessons each day. They can do them and yet often not remember anything. But if they learn one specific new thing
every day, they will become very knowledgeable.

A good idea is to check how everyone is learning in the family at your evening family meal table. When you have sharing time around the table and talk about different questions, every now and then give them this question: "Children, what is something new you learned today?"

Start with the first child and go around each one to ask them one new thing they learned. This is a good way to check if your homeschooling is effective. And don't leave out you and your husband. Your children love to hear something new that you have learned too.

We are all learning together. This is true education. It's for life. It's learning something new every day. It's inspiring an excitement for learning. When you give your children this challenge, they'll start looking for things to really remember. And you will too.

And even more than learning something new every day is to have the vision to grow a little more in Christ every day. We should never stay the same, but each new day seek to be conformed to the image of God's dear Son. 1 Timothy 4:15 tells us that we are to immerse ourselves in the teachings of Christ and the Scriptures "so that all may see your progress." Our progress should be evident in our lives.

Our Christian walk is not a stay-at-the-same-place walk, but a MORE AND MORE walk.

Proverbs 4:18: "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth MORE AND MORE unto the perfect day."

Be excited to learn something new today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

P.S. More Scriptures to check out: 1 Samuel 7:26; Psalm 92:12-14; Proverbs 4:18; Romans 5:2-6; 8:29; Ephesians 4;11-16; Colossians 2:6, 7; 1 Timothy 4;11-15; Hebrews 6:1; 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2, 3; 2 Peter 1:5-8; and 3:18. 

Are you learning something new each day

The value you put on your meal table will determine the behavior of your children at the meal table. Make every meal a love affair. Make every meal special.

Eleven beautiful girls graced our Shabbat table last night, granddaughters and friends in the Hilltop. It was such a precious time.

Build into your marriage each day. Say something encouraging and positive to your husband. Respond to him lovingly. Think of something special to do for him. “Every wise woman buildeth her house” (Proverbs14:1).

There’s no other way. Otherwise you can be deceived without realizing you are deceived. What about your children? Are you filling them daily with God’s living word? Is it in their mouths?

When you worry about your problems and concentrate on them you will be filled with misery. When you keep your eyes upon the Lord, peace will fill your heart. “Thou wilt keep him in PERFECT PEACE whose mind is stayed in thee” (Isaiah26:3).

You can change the atmosphere of your home by your smiles. Are you smiling at your husband? Are you smiling at your children? Smile even if you don’t feel like smiling because when you smile it will change your attitude, and consequently the attitude of all your family.