Your prayers, attitudes thoughts, and words will affect your baby even in the womb.
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
Job exclaims that God does “great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number” (Job 9:10 and 5:9). How true this is. We see God’s wonders every day—in creation, in His workings in our lives, and in our children (the beautiful miracles He has given us.) Every new baby is a miracle from God, a unique new person who has never lived on the earth before and there will never be another one like him or her. How amazing.Take time to look at your children and appreciate the miracles they are. Thank God for them. Embrace them as miracles and joy in them.
The word “wonders” is the Hebrew word “pala” and means “astonishing, extraordinary, marvelous, miraculous, wondrous, to accomplish.” It reveals God doing things beyond the powers of human powers or expectations.
It is used in Genesis 18:14 about the miraculous conception of Isaac: “Is (pala) any thing too hard (pala) for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life and Sarah shall have a son.” God miraculously restored Sarah’s womanly cycle and she conceived during the “time of life,” the time of the month when the womb is ready for conception and a miracle of God.
Although this was a very special miracle to an older woman, every married woman has this opportunity for a miracle during her “time of life.”
This word is used of God creating each new life in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16). The psalmist exclaims: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous (pala) are thy works.”
God uses this word when describing a couple falling in love (Proverbs 30:18, 19). God calls it marvelous and wonderful. I’m sure it makes His heart smile for it is His plan and design.
Each night as I am going off to sleep, I like to think of all the wonders around me for which I can thank God and then I like to do it again as I wake in the morning.
We can easily get bogged down with all the pressures and complexities of life. But look up today, dear mother. Rejoice in the miracles all around you. You have wonders without number if you will only open your eyes.
Be filled with thanksgiving today,
Nancy Campbell
P.S.
MORE SCRIPTURES ABOUT GOD’S WONDERFUL WORKS
We are to show to our children, and all people, God’s marvelous works. We must not keep them hidden: 1 Chronicles 16:9, 12, 24; Psalm 9:1; 26:7; 71:17; 78:4 (specifically); 96:3; 105:2, 5; 107:8, 15, 21, 31; 119:27; and 145:5.
God loves to do wonderful and marvelous things: Exodus 3:20; 34:10; Job 5:9; 37:5, 14; Joshua 3:5; Psalm 31:21; 40:5; 72:18; 75:1; 78:32; 86:10; 98:1; 106:7, 21, 22; 111:4; 118:23; 119:18; 136:4; Isaiah 28:19; 29:14; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Joel 2:26; and Zechariah 8:6-8.
~ Nancy
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THE GREATEST MAN in history--He had no servants, yet they called him Master.
He had no degree, yet they called him Teacher.
He had no medicines, yet they called him Healer.
He had no army, yet kings feared him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
He is my Savior and Redeemer. His name is Jesus Christ,
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS!
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Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.
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 Wadsworth Longfellow
Painting by Janet Kruskamp: Summer Front Porch.
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Did you know that your home is meant to be a treasure house, filled with the good things of God? Proverbs 15:6 says: “In the house of the righteous is MUCH treasure.” The word “treasure” in this Scripture also means “riches, strength.”God wants our homes filled with all the riches that are in Christ Jesus--His wisdom, knowledge, mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, forbearance, forgiveness, love, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17; Colossians 2:2, 3; 3:12-17; and James 3:17, 18). What amazing treasures. These are the riches that fill our homes with strength!
But we know that Satan is the robber. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy and he wants to rob you and your home of all these beautiful treasures. In 2 Chronicles 12:9 we read how the king of Egypt came against Jerusalem and “took away ALL the treasures of the house of the Lord; he took all.” This included the shields which were all made of gold.
What did king Rehoboam of Jerusalem do? He made brass shields. Instead of gold, he now had brass! Dear mother, be on the alert against the robber of your home. Sometimes we can be so apathetic that we don’t even notice we are being robbed. The treasures of love, kindness, peace and joy creep out the door and we settle for the inferior. We get used to the status quo of how we are living.
We can become so deceived that we are satisfied with counterfeits. We put up with the brass instead of the gold.
Instead of pursuing a loving, serving, and intimate relationship with our husband, we settle for “just living together.”
Instead of seeking forgiveness and peace, we settle for arguments, bickerings, and moods amongst family members.
Instead of embracing and nurturing our children in our home, we take the enemy’s counterfeit of daycares. And so it goes on.
Let’s go for the treasures of gold, not the counterfeit of brass.
Don’t settle for the status quo.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell.
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I received these encouraging words from Patricia this morning. She used to be a neighbor to us but is now a missionary to the native people of Panama. May you be encouraged.WHAT MORE COULD WE ASK?
If God is with us, what more could we ask?
If God be for us, who can be against?
If Heaven smiles down on us,
How can earth oppose?
If God is with us, what more could we ask?
When evil sweeps thru like a flood,
When trials and griefs swell on waves,
Even then, praise your God,
For praise has strength to overcome.
This, too, has come-to-pass,
And “pass” it shall, for God has warranted
His will for us is good, His love is great,
His Kingdom SHALL come, and we shall see it!
If God is with us, then we are with Him,
Side-by-side, joined in Jesus Christ.
Oh, faithful pilgrim—keep on keeping on!
If God is with us, what more could we ask?
~ Patricia Moore Holmes
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01.11.2022
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Yesterday I wrote a post about wombing, one way to describe being pregnant. I enjoyed all the comments and other different words that some of you use to describe pregnancy.
Many of the ladies say they like to say “with child” which is a biblical term. I agree with this too and thought I’d give you some of the Scriptures about being “with child.”
Ecclesiastes 11:5 talks about “how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child.” The Hebrew for “with child” in this passage is male and means “full, filling, fullness.” It is the picture of the womb filled with child. If this phrase was more popular, society would become aware of the truth that the baby is not a blob of tissue, but an actual human being growing and filling the womb—a human being that has the same DNA it will have when he or she is even 70 or plus years of age.
The Hebrew word hareh is also translated “with child.” This word is used for conception as well as the child growing in the womb. It’s the language of angels. When the angel of the Lord came to Hagar he said, “Behold thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael” (Genesis 16:11).
In Genesis 21:2 the same word is used when it says: “Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age.” The Bible makes it clear that life begins at conception. This word is used for the moment of conception, the child growing in the womb, when the baby is “great” and ready to be born, and then coming into the world. A similar word, harah, is also used for both conception and being “with child.”
Here’s another thought-provoking point. Exodus 21:22 says: “If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her . . .” “With child” is hareh. But what is the word for fruit? It is the Hebrew word yeled which means, “something born, a child, a young man.” That’s talking about a person who is alive and walking around. But God uses that word for the baby in the womb, confirming that the babe in the womb is just as much the person they will be when they are a child or even older.
Let’s go to the New Testament. Jesus speaks of Mary being “with child” when Jesus, the Son of God grew in her womb (Matthew 1:18, 23 and Luke 1:31) and it is used five other times. The Greek word brephos is also used of a babe in the womb as well as a child.
Don’t you think it is time we understood God’s truth rather than listening to human reasoning?
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Other hareh (“with child”) references: Genesis 38:24, 25; Exodus 21:22; Judges 13:5, 7; 1 Samuel 4:19; 2 Samuel 11:5; Isaiah 7:14; 26:7; Jeremiah 20:17; 31:8; Amos 1:13; and 2 Kings 8:12.
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In understanding Scripture, the “law of the first mention” is critical. When God states something the first time, He lays down a foundation for that particular truth. He adds to it and develops it throughout the rest of His Word, but He does not change from the establishing of the “first mention.”The first mention of marriage in the Bible is in Genesis 2:24. In this Scripture God speaks of the man and his wife and the father and mother. God puts male and female together—His plan from eternity. There is no mention of same sexes.
If we want something to work properly, we must read the manual from the one who designed it. God is the one who created our bodies and designed marriage, and we better make sure we take notice of His manual.
One of the synonyms of marriage is matrimony, usually called “holy matrimony,” the union of a man and woman for life. It comes from the Latin word, “matrimonium,” from “mater,” from which come the words mother, maternal, matrimony, marriage.
Therefore, the full understanding of marriage is that the wife can become a mother. This cannot happen naturally in a homosexual relationship. It is totally unnatural and against God’s divine order of creation and His eternal plan for us.
We cannot bow to mortal man’s deception, distortion, and desecration of divine truth.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Painting by Willem Haenraets
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It is so true that you can save so much money when you buy in bulk, prepare foods from scratch, and from the garden. It takes time and effort to be a good homemaker but it saves a lot of money. You can quit your job and “do good to your husband all the days of your life” (Proverbs 31:12).
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“I’m pregnant!” No, not me, although that would be amazing! But these are usually the words a mother will say when she sees the pink line! Actually, It’s not such a nice-sounding word, is it? For something so wonderful I am sure we could think of a better word.What about “I’m gestating!” That doesn’t sound very beautiful.
I love the sound of “I’m wombing!” It reveals what is really happening. Of course, I don’t expect you will use this word. It’s a little old-fashioned, but I love it. And it truly describes what is happening.
What a beautiful thing to be wombing. When else does a mother have an excuse to have a nap in the afternoon and dream of her coming baby?
It is a time of wonder and apprehension for a first-time mother. But is it any less wonder for the mother of five, six, or more? I think she understands even more the awe and miracle of the little life growing inside her—a brand new person who has never lived before and will never come to this earth again. She may have other children, but this is a new creation of God. What will he or she be like?
She may be waiting in anticipation for the surprise. Will it be a boy or girl? Many don’t wait for this surprise today, but it is one of the surprises God loves to give us. Psalm 139:15 tells us how God crates the baby in “the secret place.”
It is so exciting for a new mother to feel the first “quickening” of life within her womb. Nor will an older mother ever get tired of this wonder. What could be more amazing?
Are you blessed to be pregnant? Enjoy your wombing? It is a powerful time of your life. It is more important that all the other things you could be rushing about doing. God Himself tells us in Isaiah 40:11 that He “gently leads those that are with young.” When you are asked to be involved in this and that, you can say, “I’m so sorry, but I”m not available at this time. I’m wombing!”
It’s time to enjoy the wonder. It’s time to “cozy in” and prepare your “home nest” again for your coming baby. First time mothers, you will never be able to comprehend until the moment of birth the overwhelming love you will feel for your baby.
Second time mothers, you love your present child so much, you wonder if you could ever have enough love for another child. This is also a wonder. You will have even more love for this precious child. And each baby that comes into the family causes the mother to love her husband and her other children even more. The mother who has many children overloads with more and more love for each individual in her family when a new baby is born.
Oh, the wonder.
Love from Nancy Campbell
This is a picture of Marvel Lea, Chalice’s little baby. Chalice is Serene’s daughter. She is barely three weeks old and already getting so fat!
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How do you feel about your home? Do you feel like a prisoner? Are you longing for the day when you can get on to something different?Or is your delight in your home? Is it your favorite place to be? Dear mother, this is God’s plan for you.
Psalm 106:24, 25 says: “Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.“ The “pleasant land” was the home God chose for His people. It was the land that flowed with milk and honey, but they despised it and murmured and complained.
God has chosen a “pleasant land” for you too. It is your home. The first home, which was the prototype of all homes to come, was called the garden of Eden. Eden means “delight” and God wants you to make your home a delight too.
Dear sweet mother, I know life is not always easy in your home as you care for your little ones and face all the challenges of each day. But can I let you in on a secret? It is delightful or burdensome according to your attitude. Nothing influential or powerful in this life is easy. It takes hard work and commitment. It’s the same with mothering in your home.
If you are in the grumbling and despising state, change your attitude today. Embrace your home. You are in the perfect will of God. Delight in it. And commit to making your home a delight—for your husband, your children, and even for yourself.
Love to you today,
Nancy Campbell
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Your home is what you make it to be! Build good and lovely things into your home today.
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The devil is afraid of mothers who know who they are and God’s purpose for their lives. The devil wants to destroy the family but he can’t do much damage when there is a praying, God-fearing, home-loving, motherhood-embracing, nation-changing mother in the home! As a mother, you are a powerful force for the kingdom of God.
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I am encouraged by this Scripture in Proverbs 24:25-27 TPT: “Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose looking straight ahead, IGNORE LIFE’S DISTRACTIONS. Stick to the path of truth . . . DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE SIDETRACKED FOR EVEN A MOMENT.”The devil knows that he can’t sidetrack us with things that are evil. We would not be interested. So, he distracts us and sidetracks us with things that look good and even wise, and yet my not be the best. We must constantly check what is our purpose in life and mothering and keep our eyes on that goal. If even good things will distract us from our purpose, we don’t do them.
I am already a very focused person, but I am seeking to more and more be untouched by distractions. We must also learn to detect distractions and know that although they may be harmless and even good, they may not be the ultimate best.
May the Lord pour out His blessings upon you in this coming year and keep you looking to Him and doing His will.
Much love,
Nancy Campbell
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Today I would love to bless you with a song from my daughters, Serene and Pearl. I'll give you the words too, so you won't miss the blessing as they sing. Be thankful for your husband and children today. Don't ever take them for granted. Click on the link to enjoy the song.MY HEART IS FULL
Little arms reaching for me,
Grubby fingers touch my face
And love is what I feel.
Little eyes looking at me,
Chubby cheeks burst with smiles
And joy is what I know,
Peeking in while they sleep at night,
I thank God for the gift of life,
I thank God for more that I deserve.
CHORUS:
My heart is full, my heart is full,
Why would I want for more?
When my cup overflows?
My heart is full, my heart is full,
This much I know.
Strong arms reaching for me
Circle my waist for the millionth time
And love is what I feel
Sometimes I watch him sleep at night,
I thank God that I am his wife,
And joy is what I know.
BE BLESSED,
NANCY
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Dearest mothers, you have such a high calming and such a beautiful role in society. And so needed. Embrace it. Never look down upon it.
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If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.
If I work at a soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.
If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.
Love stops the cooking to hug your child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss your husband.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn't yell at the children to get out of the way.
Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.
~ Unknown.
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Do you feel overwhelmed at all you have to do? Don’t give up in Despair. Keep plodding on. Do a little bit at a time and soon you will have the job completed the job.
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A few days ago, I shared the picture of two of my granddaughters helping me make my annual Christmas cake. I notice that a number of folks are asking for the recipe. Sorry for the delay, but here it is for you.CAMPBELL’S CHRISTMAS CAKE
(This was my husband’s mother’s recipe and she most probably got it from generations previously).
Cream together 1 lb. butter and 1 lb. raw sugar (I use succanat or equivalent THM Gentle Sweet). Beat it until it is very creamy. I use a strong wooden spoon. Lots of arm exercise! Get your children taking turns to beat.
Add 10 eggs. Add them two at a time and beat them into the creamed butter and sugar mixture. More arm exercises!
Gradually add 3 cups flour. You can use any flour. I use spelt or kamut (with half THM Baking Blend). Start adding the flour slowly along with the eggs. Even more arm exercise! It gets harder to beat as you go along. But keep beating. Get the children to take turns. And dad too! You’ve got to get this mixture really creamy.
When you’ve gradually added all the eggs and the flour until they are absorbed, add:
1 Tbs. dark jam
1 Tbs. Treacle (American readers, we can’t get treacle, but you could use sorghum, molasses, or dark honey)
Essences. Use whatever you have in your pantry such as vanilla, rum, brandy, almond etc.
Spices. Use 1- 2 tsp. mixed spice, ginger, and cinnamon, as you desire
1 tsp. Baking Soda
Mix in, and then add the fruit and nuts.
1 lb. Currants (it’s hard to get currants in USA, so I add more raisins).
1 lb. Sultanas
1-packet raisins (or use more raisins if you don’t have sultanas or currants)
1 cup chopped walnuts (nuts are optional)
1 cup chopped almonds (use more nuts if you desire). I use more nuts as I love the nuts in the cake.
Grease a large cake tin. I usually line the tin with newspaper, so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. I then line it with butter papers (the paper in which the butter was wrapped). Start saving your butter papers now. Place mixture in the tin and cook at 250 degrees for about three to four hours.
I usually pour wine or brandy over my cake when it comes out of the oven.
Suggestions from lady in England: Did you know that in England we make our Christmas cakes in October. The reason is that it matures over the weeks. We pick holes in the top and pour a little brandy in (about 2 Tbs.) or apple juice if you don’t use brandy. Seal fully with foil. Then we open every two weeks and repeat the process. This keeps it lovely and moist and allows the fruit to mature. My children and I make six every year as love gifts for our family.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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