Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

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.

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.

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!

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 prepare 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: "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 your children with purpose.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

I have always been inspired by the words in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, A Psalm of Life—“But to act, that each tomorrow find us farther than today.” I believe that each day should be a new day of learning and enlightenment, don’t you? We should never allow ourselves to become stagnant. How boring is that?

2 Peter 3:18: “But GROW in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” If a plant does not grow, it is because it is dead! Growing and increasing is part of LIFE!

Each new day we are to grow in grace of Jesus Christ, learning and experiencing more of His victorious life working in us. We are to grow in knowledge, especially the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ for “in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). There is always more and more to fathom, learn, and experience.

Doesn’t it make each new day exciting? Every new day is an opportunity to learn and experience more of Christ and more facets of wisdom and knowledge! A great question you can ask your children at your Family Meal Table this evening is, “What was something new you learned today?” Ask each child to share something—this gets them into the habit of always wanting to learn and expand their knowledge. They’ll want to hear from Mommy and Daddy, too!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

My purpose as a wife and mother is to:

P Passionately love my husband and minister to his needs.

U Unflinchingly keep my eyes upon the goal of raising a godly generation.

R Resist all temptation to come down from my high calling.

P Persevere in building my marriage and home in the face of all obstacles.

O Order my home with diligence.

S Saturate my children with God’s Word and loads of encouragement.

E Embrace my life-giving role of mothering and nurturing.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

How much to do you believe in the power of God’s Word? I read this morning in Psalm 19:7-11 that His Word restores the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, gives us warning, and “in keeping of them there is great reward.”

I believe God’s Word has the power to fill up weaknesses in our own lives and our children’s lives. If you have a weakness in your life, search the Scriptures for God’s victory in this area. Meditate on and memorize these Scriptures. Constantly confess these Scriptures out loud. As you do, you will find that the weakness will turn into strength in your life.

Are you weary? Overburdened? Feel you can't cope? Jesus invites you to come to Him. He promises to give you rest. It's a refreshing rest. The word "rest" Jesus uses is translated "refresh" in other passages.

But Jesus doesn't give you rest by taking away your burdens and all the work you have to do. Instead He asks you to take on another yoke. Really? Yes, but this time it is His yoke. He yokes Himself to you and amazingly takes most of the burden upon Himself. I read about an old farmer using oxen to plough his fields. However, this pair of oxen were most unusual--one was big and one small. How could they possibly function when the yoke was so uneven? It was all to do with how the traces were hooked to the yoke in order for the large bullock to pull the weight for the little bullock that was being trained. In fact, the little one hardly pulled any weight at all as the big bullock took the strain

This is what happens when we take Jesus' yoke. We still have to face our challenges and difficulties but He takes the burden. He refreshes us even in the midst of all our overwhelmingness. He knows you can't pull the weight yourself. When two oxen are yoked together, they can do what is impossible for one ox to do.

Of course, you'll have to give up your pride and self-sufficiency. When you take Jesus' yoke, you are yoked to One who is "gentle and humble in heart." You won't fit too well if you are proud and stubborn and pull off in your own direction.

And when you take His yoke, He teaches you at the same time. He shows you how to do it His way, rather than your way. He not only invites you to come, but to come and LEARN. Little by little He changes you to be more and more like Him as you submit to Him. He leads you into a deeper rest, a rest in the very depths of your soul.

Dear mother, you don't have to stay in your stressed state. Jesus waits for you to COME. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. "And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Are you wrestling against the devil and his evil works, or nestling in his camp? Ephesians 6:12 says that we are to wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this world. We have evil and deception all around us. What are we doing about it? Are we acquiescing or fighting? To wrestle means to fight hard to win.

We cannot be neutral. We cannot be tolerant towards evil. We must stand against it. We must fight and wrestle. If we don’t, we eventually succumb to the evil itself. Why are the evils of materialism, worldliness, feminism, socialism, progressivism, abortion, homosexuality encroaching on our nation? Is it because God's people are not fighting against these powers of darkness?

Ephesians 6:13-14: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, too stand. Stand therefore…”The words “withstand” means more than stand. It means to “stand against, to oppose, to resist.”

Let’s fight, and teach our children to fight. Stand up and speak out at every opportunity. Pray together daily as families and fight these principalities and powers in prayer. If we don’t, the next generation will be assimilated more and more into the ways of the enemy.

God gives mothers an anointing of strength and gentleness. These attributes come from God himself, for we are made in His image and likeness. We see a picture of this in Isaiah 40:10-11: “Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him . . . He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” God comes to rule with strength and might but He also comes as the personal and tender shepherd who holds the lambs close to His heart.

God speaks to us individually, but did you know that He also wants to speak to us as families? God is vitally interested in our individual lives, but He also sees us collectively as families. He designed us to live as families. Jeremiah 2:4: "Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the FAMILIES of the house of Israel."

God wants not only you and your husband, but also your children to hear His words. This is why it is paramount to come together as families, evening and morning, and listen to God speak to us as a family as we read His Word.

1 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we will be “saved in childbearing.” Does this mean that we will be saved from having a painless childbirth experience? Some women experience this but it is not what the Scripture is saying.

The word “saved” is “sozo” and has a wonderful rich meaning. It comes from a root word, “saos” which means “safe.” That’s nice, isn’t it? But it also means “to be healed, preserved, protected, delivered, and made whole.” On a number of occasions Jesus said to people, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” The word “whole” is “sozo,” the same word used in 1Timothy 2:15.

Sometimes you feel like fainting and giving up along the way. Zerubbabel felt like that too when he came back from Babylon to rebuild the house of God. The prophet continued to encourage him in Zechariah 4:9: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it.”

You have begun building a godly home and godly dynasty. Don’t give up until you finish. God is with you now and will be with you all the way through! His plan is for you to finish your task and He will not forsake you until you have finished--and finished in triumph!

I have always been convicted by Proverbs 10:19: "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise."

The New Living Translation is even more challenging: "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut."

How true it is that the more we open our mouth, the more we tend to say the wrong thing. It pays to watch our words.

After all these years I am still trying to get into the habit of shutting my mouth. This is my plan: if I can't reply with something kind or positive, I shut my mouth and don't say anything at all.

Dear sweet mother, why do you cry?
Don’t you know that your God is nigh?
He is closer to you than your very breath,
He will never forsake you, not even in death.

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” talks about those whose lives are shattered and broken to shivers.

Isaiah 49:1 is a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, the Messiah: "Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name." What a beautiful thing that a Messianic prophecy uses the words WOMB, BOWELS, and MOTHER. God is not ashamed to declare that He called His beloved Son from the WOMB of a MOTHER.

Just as Christ Himself was called and spoken by name from the womb of his mother, so God continues to call sons and daughters from the womb. From the womb they are created and called to a life of fellowship with God and service to Him. Life and destiny begin in the womb.

Genesis 49:25 talks about the "blessings of the breasts, and of the womb." Blessings? Yes, God says they are His blessings to us as women. But they are ultimately His blessings to the whole world for without them mankind would come to a screeching halt!

One of the meanings of womb is "a place where something originates and develops." The womb is the commencement of life, the beginning and continuing of generations, the origin of dynasties to come, and also the filling of eternity. Every precious life that is conceived in the womb is an eternal soul who will live forever. The power of the womb is eternal.

Isn't it the most boring thing in the world to get into a rut? You're stuck. You're going nowhere. This often happens in our marriage relationship. We go from day to day in the same old fashion. We are quite happy with one another and there are no problems. But there's no spice.

Sometimes we have to be stirred out of this rut. We don't even realize we are in it. The great thing is that you don't have to stay in the same old routine. Nothing ever happens without making it happen, but you can start making it happen. Hebrews 10:24 (NIV) says: “SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON toward love and good deeds.” THE LIVING BIBLE says: “LET US OUTDO each other in being helpful and kind to each other.”

God measures every inch of your life. Not one tiny thing is overlooked. Even every hair of your head is counted.

God is not haphazard. He is not forgetful. God is perfect in all His ways and He measures everything. He is a measuring God. We read how God "measured" over and over again in Ezekiel chapters 40 - 47. I love reading about our awesome God in Isaiah 40:12: "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?"