WONDERFUL DAYS AHEAD

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses,
and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?”
(Mark 6:3).

Often young mothers feel very overwhelmed with their little ones. Yes, it is a fact that the most engulfing time of motherhood is when you have your first two or three children. You have to do everything for them. You don’t have any help and it is often exhausting. I remember when I had three children in 17 months (I cheated and had twins)! I hardly had time to go to the bathroom. Tiredness was like a pain. But I survived. I look back and remember those days with joy.

However, there is another fact that many young mothers don’t understand because they haven’t yet experienced it. It gets easier to have another child when you have older children. It’s not the mothers of six, seven, or more children who feel overwhelmed. It’s the mother’s with their first one or two children.

What happens is that your little children grow. They don’t stay little forever and as you train them, they become wonderful helpers. When a new baby comes into the home, instead of this little one adding a burden to the home, they bring more joy and blessing, not only to you, but the whole family. When you have children who are growing older, you have many more hands on deck to help--to hold the baby, to ooh and aah and keep your baby smiling and laughing, to bring this and that to you while you sit and nurse, to help with the dishes and housework, to cook a meal, and to keep the home running smoothly. You are getting to the reward time of mothering.

Every baby brings more love into a home. Not just love for the baby, but a new wave of love for every child in the family. Many mothers of larger families have share with me how when a new baby comes into the home they are renewed with love for motherhood and for every member of the family. Every time you put your new baby to the breast, you release prolactin and oxytocin which make you more motherly. The more a mother puts her baby to the breast the more motherly she becomes.

Currently I have two Above Rubies helpers in my home. What a joy they are. Both come from larger families. Shelby is the eldest daughter of nine children and recently her mother and siblings came and stayed the night with us. What utter joy to see the love between Shelby and all her little brothers and sisters. They adore her and she adores them. And what a joy to have this precious family sit around our table for our Friday evening meal. They were all so well-mannered, polite, and delightful. At Family Devotions they spontaneously answered questions from the Bible and prayed beautifully. And what about this mother of nine children? She looks like Shelby’s sister. No one can believe she is the mother.

Shelby tells me that a neighbor’s three children play at their home every day. They say, “We love being here because it’s more fun, there’s more children to play with, your mother is so calm, and there’s no stress.”

Lizzy is in the middle of a family of twelve. She says “I just love being part of a big family. There is so much goodness. I would hate to be in a small family (although I don’t know what that’s like).” She also has loads of cousins. Her mother is one of three daughters-- one sister also has twelve children and another thirteen. I know these families personally. They are filled with love, joy, and life even in the midst of difficulties and sorrows.

I think of my daughter, Serene (Trim Healthy :Mama). Serene gave birth to her eighth biological baby on Mother’s Day 2015 (although there are 13 in the family because she also adopted five). Her testimony is the same: “Oh mother, I have even more love for all my children since little Remmy was born.” And it certainly isn’t without difficulties and challenges. Remmy was born with a an extraordinary high pallet which makes it impossible for him to suck milk from the breast. Not to be outdone, she continues to nurse Remmy at her breast, pumping night and day so he can receive milk from a tube while he tries to suck at the breast. In her big family there are many other things at her beck and call with Trim Healthy Mama, interviews, and filming, and yet she continues to be fulltime “Mrs. Pump.” She couldn’t do it all without the older children.

Is she complaining and miserable because of all this extra load. No, joy fills this home. There is no greater joy for Colin and I to pop over to them in an evening and bask in the peace, joy, and love that fills their home as they all sit around every evening and fellowship together as a family. The atmosphere is “rich” with delight.

I could continue with hundreds of testimonies of mothers of larger families. But what I really want to do is encourage you. Don’t give up in these trying times with little ones all around you. The season changes. Your children will grow. And it becomes easier and easier.

And remember that Jesus grew up in a large family. If God thought that it was best for children to only have a couple of siblings, He would not have chosen for His beloved Son, the Creator of the worlds, the One who was very God, to be part of a large family. Mark 6:3 tells of Jesus’ four brothers and his “sisters.” If there were only two sisters, it would be a family of seven. However, “sisters” is plural and he could have had three to five sisters. He may have been part of a family of ten or more!

Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“I thank you, dear Father, that You do not give me more than I can handle. You are the One who planned the way family should be and You know what is best for me. I embrace Your will with all my heart, knowing that there is no greater place to be than in Your perfect will. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am safe and secure as I walk in the perfect will of God.

“I’M DONE!”

“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered”
(Proverbs 28:26).

I often hear mothers saying, “I’m done!” Meaning of course that they “are done” with having children. I wonder where this statement comes from. I think it is important to check the root of all our attitudes to see if we have picked them up from our humanistic society or if they are really embedded in God’s Word. Do you think we could get to the bottom of it together? Let’s first check out where it doesn’t come from:

1. It doesn’t come from God’s heart

God’s heart is a heart of blessing. In fact, the very first thing God did after creating Adam and Eve was to bless them. And how did He bless them? By blessing them with the blessing of fruitfulness (Genesis 1:28 and so many other Scriptures). Let’s just read Deuteronomy 7:12-13: “God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb.” How does God show His love, blessing, and mercy upon us? This Scripture tells us that He does it by blessing us with children. Read again about God’s heart for families in Psalm 127 and 128.

2. It doesn’t come from God’s Word

Go to the link http://bit.ly/BeFruitfulAndMultiply to purchase the book, Be Fruitful and Multiply to discover all the Scriptures God says in His Word about this subject. To say, “I’m done” is contrary to the Bible that reveals God’s plan for godly children to come into the world. Malachi 2:15 tells us that He looks for godly children from each marriage.

3. It doesn’t come from our innate femaleness

This refers to the physical way God created us, plus the transcendence of our innate mothering anointing God has put within us. God created His female creation with a womb and breasts. They are not just appendages of our bodies, but for the purpose of embracing and nurturing babies, plus many other blessings. Genesis 49:25 speaks of the “blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.” Notice it doesn’t say “blessing,” but “blessings.” Plural!

Dear mothers, we are blessed with bodies that are created to bring forth children and nurse at our breasts. God gives amazing hormones to the pregnant and nursing mother that are not only for her blessing while she is pregnant and nursing, but which affect her positively for life! One particular hormone, estriol, is elevated 1,000 times in a pregnant woman. And did you know that estriol is an anti-aging hormone?

Both prolactin and oxytocyn, prevalent in nursing mothers, are known as love hormones and stress-free hormones. Did you get that? STRESS FREE! Why miss out on these God-given hormones for your blessing?

1 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we will be preserved through the bearing and nurturing of children. Science has now caught up with the Bible and there are plentiful studies that show that the more babies a mother has, the less risk she has for female cancers. The longer she nurses babies from her breast, the less incidence of breast cancer.

4. It doesn’t come the essence of true Christianity

Dear mothers, I know that it is not always an easy task to bear children and raise children. We face many difficulties and challenges (physically, emotionally, and financially), but this is the case with any nation-impacting career. But the blessings far outweigh any challenges. And every difficulty is waiting to be overcome. It’s not only mothers who have to overcome. Men with responsible careers have to overcome problems daily. The Bible tells us His rewards go to the “overcomers.”

I believe the very root of this phrase, “I’m done” is selfishness. Or perhaps thinking we know best. Do we really know what’s best? Our understanding is limited, whereas God’s understanding is beyond measure (Psalm 147:5). I am constantly challenged to come up to God’s thinking and His ways, rather than bringing God down to my level and putting Him in my little box where I can manage Him (Isaiah 55:8-9). Dear mothers, we cannot manage God. He is unmanageable! He is incomprehensible! His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways our higher than our ways. We have to come up to Him.

Isaiah 40:25 says: “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” We dare not bring God down to our level.

And what about this truth? Isn’t the very foundation of Christianity to daily die to ourselves, our own thoughts, our own ways, and to take up our cross and follow Him? All through my mothering life Mark 8:24, 35 has been a challenge to me: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”

2 Corinthians 5:15 states: “And that he (Jesus) died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

Therefore, if this phrase does not come from the above four points, it must come from a deceived understanding. Yes, I was there too. God had to deal with me. He had to expose my deceptions and show me His ways, and I had to do lots of repenting.

Let’s always be open to God leading us ever upward in His path.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Dear Father God, please help me to always be conscious that choosing my own way is not the right way; that Your ways are higher than my ways and Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. And Your ways are always best and always for my good. I thank You that I can wholly trust You. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am at rest because I am yielded to the divine sovereignty of God. God’s way is His perfect will for me.

WHOSE TABLE?

“They shall enter into my sanctuary,
and they shall come near to MY TABLE to minister unto me”
(Ezekiel 44:16).

I wonder what kind of table you have in your home? Is it round, square, or rectangular? Is it old or new? It doesn’t really matter what it looks like. The real question we have to ask ourselves is: who does our table belong to? Is it my table? Or is it the Lord’s table?

If God dwells in our home, it is God’s table.

Did you know that God loves tables? Before there were ever tables on earth, God had a table in eternity. When talking to his disciples one day Jesus told them about His table in heaven and said to them: “That ye may eat and drink at MY TABLE in my kingdom” (Luke 22:30). God ordained a table for Himself on earth which was placed in the Holy Place in the tabernacle, and later in the temple. He also wants a table that belongs to Him in your home.

Everything changes when you understand your table belongs to God. It changes how you conduct your meals. It changes what you do at your table. We feed our bodies, but God is present to feed our souls and spirits.

We notice four wonderful things about the table in the above Scripture:

1. WE HAVE TO COME

We have to COME to the table. We have to ENTER into His sanctuary. We have to understand that our table is a sacred place because it is God’s table. When we understand it is God’s table, we won’t want to miss being at the table to meet with Him.

We cannot taste the delights of God’s table unless we come to the table. How many precious hours families miss together because life’s programs stop them from sitting at the table together. They may be good activities, but they deprive us from the best.

2. WE HAVE TO COME NEAR

God reminds us to come NEAR to Him. God doesn’t want us to be far away from Him. He doesn’t want everything else in the world to captivate our hearts. At the table we come near to one another and near to God. He wants to be present at your table with you. Invite Him to come and expect Him to be with you.

3. WE HAVE TO COME TO HIS TABLE

It’s not our table, but HIS TABLE. If it was our table, we could perhaps forget about it, but because it is His Table, we must be faithful to come to it.

4. WE HAVE TO MINISTER TO HIM

God reminds us that the table is where we MINISTER UNTO HIM. God had His table in the Holy Place in the tabernacle. Every single day the twelve loaves of bread sat upon the table. Every week the priests placed fresh bread on the table. Then, they ate the loaves that had been sitting in the Lord’s presence, fellowshipping with God and one another. Even though they had been sitting for seven days the Mishnah tells us that they were still hot and fresh.

The table was never without bread. It was called the “continual shewbread” (Leviticus 24:5-8 and 2 Chronicles 2:4). Even when they traveled to a new place the continual bread could never leave the table (Numbers 4:7). It was also called the “presence bread,” and the “bread of faces” because the bread, which is a type of Christ, reveals so many of His attributes and character.

God always has bread on His table. It’s there every day for us. It never runs out. We never have to go hungry in our souls and spirits. Therefore, at our table each day, at the end of the meal, we open God’s precious Word and read it. It ministers to us and to our children. It prepares them for life. It prepares them to face the world. We cannot do without it or we starve spiritually.

Not only does God minister to us by filling us with His eternal bread, but we minister to Him as we pray and praise Him together. He waits for us to minister to Him at the table. As mothers, we also have the privilege of serving God at His table in our home by lovingly preparing meals and gathering our family to a fresh and bountiful table, naturally and spiritually.

Don’t vacate God’s table. He waits at His table in your home to meet with you, to feed you, and to have fellowship with you.

Be encouraged,

Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Thank you, Father, that You love tables.  Thank you for wanting to be part of our table, which is truly Your table. Help us as a family to be faithful to come to Your table daily to feast with You and with one another. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

The table is our trysting place,

To meet with God and see His face,

To join together with each other,

Brothers, sisters, Father, Mother,

To talk and laugh, share our goals,

And fill our tummies and our souls.

A PERSONAL GOD
TO YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN

“And I will establish my covenant between Me and you
and your descendants after you in their generations,
for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and your descendants after you”
(Genesis 17:7 NASB).

We feel the heartbeat of God in His words to Abram, “I will be God to you.” He wanted to have a personal relationship with Abram. God also wants to have a personal relationship with you--every day and all through the day. He is the One who seeks us out. As John the disciple confessed, “We loved him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

When David prayed to God, he prayed to One who was very personal to Him. Over and over again he addresses God as “MY God.” David understood God as the God of creation and King over all, but he daily experienced God personally in his life. He not only addresses God as “MY Lord, and MY God,” but also . . .
MY Buckler,
MY Defence
MY Deliverer,
MY Exceeding joy,
MY Father,
MY Fortress,
MY Glory,
MY Goodness,
MY Help,
MY High Tower,
MY Hiding Place,
MY Hope,
MY Judge,
MY King,
MY Light,
MY Mercy,
MY Portion,
MY Refuge,
MY Righteousness
MY Rock,
MY Savior,
MY Shield,
MY Shelter,
MY Shepherd,
MY Song,
MY Song in the night,
MY Strength,
MY Strong Habitation,
MY Strong Refuge,
MY Strong Rock,
MY Strong Tower,
MY Trust,

David experienced God personally ministering to him in all these ways. And this is how God wants you to experience Him too. Is he your Light? Is He your Righteousness? Is He personally your Shepherd? Take each one of these attributes of God one by one, and seek to know Him personally in all these ways.

But this promise is not only you. It is for your children too. God states that He wants to be “GOD TO YOU AND YOUR DESCENDANTS AFTER YOU.” He wants to be God to your children. He wants them to know Him and experience Him personally in every part of their lives. This is more important than all the education you give your children. They can be the most educated children in the world, but if they don’t KNOW GOD, the One who created them, died for them, and who planned their destiny before the foundation of the world, they are deprived of their destiny.

In John 17:3 Jesus said: “And this is life eternal, that they might KNOW THEE the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Amen.

When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he proclaimed the words: “For the promise is unto YOU, AND TO YOUR CHILDREN” (Acts 2:39).

Claim the wonderful promise in Isaiah 44:3 (NET): “I will pour my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your children.”

There is no greater task you can have as a mother than to lead your children to know God personally. The more you come to know Him, the more you will be able to lead your children to know Him.

Blessings from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“My Father, You are my Savior, my Shield, my Shelter, my Shepherd, my Song, my Strength, my Strong Habitation, my Strong Refuge, my Strong Rock, and my Strong Tower. I want to know you personally and experience You more and more in all Your attributes. Please lead me closer to you day by day. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.