Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Like me, I am sure you are preparing for Thanksgiving this week. It’s one of my favorite family celebration days. We have so many great traditions and it’s an all-day affair.

However, thanksgiving should not only be for a special day, but our lifestyle. It’s the lifestyle of God’s kingdom. Colossians 2:7 says: “Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, and ABOUNDING therein with thanksgiving.” Have you noticed that the Bible contains extravagant language?

Our God is an extravagant God. He writes extravagant words. Nothing in the Bible is normal. John 10:10 tells us that Jesus not only came to give us life, but ABUNDANT life. He not only gives us peace, but peace that PASSES UNDERSTANDING (Philippians 4:7). He not only gives us joy, but joy that is UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY (1 Peter 1:8).

Now we read that we are not only to be thankful, but to be ABOUNDING in thanksgiving. Some translations say: “OVERFLOWING in gratitude.”

What does it mean to abound? When we look into the original Greek we find even more extravagant adjectives. The word abound is “perisseuo” meaning “to superabound, to be excessive, abundant, exceed, over and above.” The Bible uses the same word in John chapter six where Jesus fed the five thousand men, plus others.

Jesus not only fed the people, but fed them to overflowing. When they were all “filled,” Jesus asked them to gather all that was left over and they filled up twelve baskets full that “remained OVER AND ABOVE (perisseuo)” that which they had eaten.

I believe that we need to come into the TWELVE BASKETS FULL attitude about thanksgiving, don’t you? We all say, “thank you” when someone gives us something or does something for us, but I believe we need to go “over and above” this normality.

How many baskets full do you have over? Perhaps one basket full? You may get excessive sometimes. But not too much. You don’t want people to think are “over the top.” Hey, that’s what you are meant to be! You are never meant to be average, normal, or boring. Especially when it comes to being thankful.

What about two baskets full over? How many times do you thank your husband each day? Do you thank him profusely for even the little things he does for you? Or do you take him for granted? Do you thank your children when they do their chores, or just take them for granted too?

What about three baskets full over and above? Appreciation and gratitude pour from your heart. You don’t have an entitlement mentality. You and I both know that we don’t deserve anything, and therefore we are grateful for every little blessing in life.

What about four baskets full over and above? How our hearts should be filled with thankfulness to God for all His blessings, especially for His great salvation. I cannot refrain from thanking Him every day for His sacrifice upon the cross for me. Our hearts should well up with thankfulness continually through the day for all the wonderful blessings God pours upon us. Often, we don’t see them because of our attitude of ingratitude. That’s why we’ve got to push into the OVER AND ABOVE TWELVE BASKETS FULL ATTITUDE.

What about five baskets full over and above? Are you becoming excessive? Is it becoming normal for you to say, “Thank you soooooo much.” And so, we could go on.

The TWELVE BASKETS FULL attitude can revolutionize your marriage.

The TWELVE BASKETS FULL attitude can revolutionize your family life. Just imagine everyone in the home with this mentality. Outdoing one another with thankfulness. What bliss to live in an environment of thankfulness, blessing, appreciation, and gratitude. It changes everything.

THE OVER AND ABOVE TWELVE BASKETS FULL attitude can change the lives of everyone we meet, and ultimately society.

Start it in your home today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

2 Corinthians 2:14 (WEB) says that Christ "reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place." Did you notice that it says: "IN EVERY PLACE"? That means in your home. That means in your kitchen. That means when the baby is crying, the toddler is having a fit, the pots are boiling over on the stove, and your husband is demanding your attention!

It doesn't matter what is happening in your life, Christ lives in you and His attitude is SWEET! Therefore, when you yield to His Spirit, you will be sweet! You can't do it in your own strength, but only as you acknowledge His sweet presence in you.

I love J. B. Phillips' translation: "Thanks be unto God who leads us, wherever we are, on his own triumphant way and makes our knowledge of him spread through the world like a lovely perfume! We Christians have the unmistakable 'scent' of Christ."

Unmistakable! Wow! Do your children smell the sweet perfume of Christ on you? Do people instantly recognize Christ's scent when they are with you? Can they notice it about me? That’s a challenge to us, isn’t it?

Fill your home with sweetness today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting: “Baby's Bath Time” by Arthur John Elsley (British, 1861-1952).

We know that all women will not marry, but some of the greatest examples of mothers in our world are women who never married or bore children. We immediately think of Mother Theresa, Corrie Ten Boom, Gladys Aylward, Mary Slessor, Amy Carmichael and the list goes on--women who embraced their motherly anointing. They poured out their lives to nurture and mother the hurting and needy and in turn were totally fulfilled women.

God only made two species of humankind--male and female. He didn't make two Adams to both do the same job. That would have been superfluous. He created male and female, each with a different assignment, but they both fit together perfectly.

If we are female, we should seek to embrace our femaleness. To do anything else is a waste of our life. The more we reveal our "femaleness" and our motherly anointing, the more we give glory to God our Creator.

Let's be fully who God created us to be.

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting: American artist, Elisabeth Nourse, 1860-1938.

It seems strange, doesn't it, that many couples want to receive Jesus, but would rather not accept a baby from Him. We are not meant to receive children with the attitude, "Well, I guess we'll survive somehow if God gives us another baby."

The Greek word for "receive" is "dechomai" and means, "to accept a gift deliberately and readily, to welcome, to embrace, make one's own, not to reject." This word is used 55 times in the New Testament.

One of the occasions is how Jesus Christ was received into the heavens after He left earth (Acts 3:21). With what joy and fanfare, He must have been welcomed back into His heavenly home (Psalm 24:7-10). This is the same way God wants us to receive the children He gives us, planned and purposed before the foundation of the world.
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Be blessed and encouraged today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting: “The Kiss” by Nicolas Tarkhoff.

The newborn is like an unwritten book. God has the story already written, but He waits for the child to write on the blank pages (Psalm 139:16). With much prayer, godly wisdom, and teaching, the parents guide him as he writes the story.

The new baby is like a precious jewel, waiting to be cut and polished so he will shine more and more brightly as he walks in this world. He will not only shine in this world, but Daniel 12:3 tells us that those who turn many to righteousness will shine “as the stars forever and ever.”

Every new life is another revelation of the image of God in this world. Each new life comes with the potential to shed God’s light into the darkness and destroy the works of the enemy. The child is not a life to itself. He will influence everyone he meets. Many more lives will be born as future dynasties come forth from this one child and shape generations to come.

And each newborn child who comes into the world is an eternal soul who will liver for ever and ever and ever.

No wonder the devil hates new life!

Let’s be those who are in awe of life.

Nancy Campbell

I wonder what you have planned for your family meal table tonight? Always be thinking of ways you can bless and encourage your husband and children. Every now and then it's a nice idea to get your children to write a card to their father with all the great things they love about him. They can also draw a picture to make it special. If you have little ones who cannot write yet, get them to draw a picture for Daddy. You can then put them by his plate when he comes to the evening meal. During the meal he can read them aloud. The children will be excited, and your husband will be blessed.

Every now and then I love to make place cards for each member of the family. This is a lovely way to encourage your husband and children. I keep colored cardboard and paper on hand for this task. I type the name and comment on the computer, print it off on colored paper and then paste it on a folded cardboard that can stand on its own when folded in half. There are lots of ways you can do this:

Encouraging Phrases
Type or write their name and underneath their name write an encouraging phrase that starts with the first letter of their name. Here's some examples that I have used with my children and grandchildren.

OLIVER
Obedient Son

ROCKLYN
Resolute for God

Rhyming Couplets
Type, or write their name and underneath write a rhyming couplet. It doesn’t take too long to think of these and they will really bless your family. Here are some examples I have written for the grandchildren over the years. As you can see, they are very simple rhymes.

BOWEN
A very fine boy who can read so well,
We all think that you are real swell!

HARRY
The boy with the beautiful, big blue eyes,
There’s no doubt about it, he’ll take the prize!

RASHIDA
Industriously planning ways to make money,
But no matter how busy, she always looks sunny!

And some for our grown children, one of the many I have written for her!

EVANGELINE
Wild and outrageous, but she is a true sage,
The best researcher on curriculums for any age!

And don’t forget your husband. I have written many for Colin over the years, e.g.

COLIN
He has a great big, kind, and loving heart,
He likes things big and he likes them smart!

COLIN
Are there any faithful left in the land?
Yes, he is one of God’s mighty band!

Four-Liners
Can you think of four rhyming lines? There is something about rhymes that helps your children to remember. You will also remember them and can recite them to your child when you are sitting with them or riding in the car. For example:

MEADOW
A beautiful girl who is a delight to the eyes,
From the hand of the Lord she is a special prize!
With her long golden curls and her soft white skin,
She radiates loveliness which comes from within!

Limericks
These will take a little more thought to write, but worth it for a special occasion. These are Name Places your children will keep as memories. Here's some I wrote for my three daughters many years ago . . .

EVANGELINE
There’s a lady with flowing red hair
Who always makes everyone stare!
She is so outrageous
And even dangerous
This girl with the flowing red hair!

SERENE
There’s a song floating up from the stairs,
Its melody takes away cares,
It brightens the day,
We want it to stay,
Serene’s song floating up from the stairs!

PEARL
I saw a wonderful and happy sight,
It was like a bird that is taking flight,
A mother skipping,
Her feet a-tripping,
A mother happy and filled with delight!

The Meaning of their Name

ZADOK
Leading many to righteousness

RASHIDA LA'EL
Pointed in the right direction toward God

Thank You
Sometimes you may like to write a “Thank You” underneath their name, some character trait for which you are thankful or for something they have done for you, e.g.

MERCY
Thank you for the privilege of being your mother!

JOHN
Thank you for watering my garden every night!

COLIN
Thank you for being my faithful and loving husband!

Trust these examples will be of some inspiration to you in your family.

Love from Nancy Campbell

While they rummaged through drawers to find red clothes (children love to dress up), I set the table with a red tablecloth, adding red candles, napkins, and centerpiece (red flowers if I could find them).

I prepared red foods. There are plenty of foods from which to choose, e.g. beets, radishes, red beans, red hot dogs with tomato sauce, tomato soup, potatoes or rice colored with red food coloring, etc. For dessert you can choose red fruits such as pomegranates (when in season), blood oranges, cherries, strawberries, watermelon, or red grapes, etc.

You can also purchase red paper plates and knives and forks, etc. I would often wrap a little gift (something inexpensive) in red paper and put it beside their plate. The children loved these nights and over the years we tried every color of the rainbow!

I’ll share with you some more ideas in the coming days.

Have fun with your family,

Nancy Campbell

P.S. I’d also love to hear from you about two things:
1) Different and creative ideas you like to do or have done at your family meal table.
2) Testimonies from mothers with older children who are now reaping the blessings of trained children who are such a help in the home.

Dear Ladies, I am continuing to add a few comments from the post below, CHAOS OR ORDER?

Because of disorder at the table, one lady mentioned the adage: “Children should be seen and not heard” I don’t agree with this statement. I believe the table is place for not only eating, but fellowship. Food and fellowship go together. They are TWINS.

Of course, as I have been sharing, we don’t allow children to talk over the top of one another, or to have separate conversations with each other at the table. Fellowship is for building up one another. Therefore, each one takes a turn. We train our children to do what is right and what is etiquette. When they learn the right way at the table, they understand how to act in other situations.

Even in the church situation 1 Corinthians 14:31 says: “For ye may all prophecy ONE BY ONE, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.” Do you notice the words ONE BY ONE? It is chaos when everyone talks at once. But we are all blessed and encouraged when each one takes their turn.

Other women mentioned that husbands should help more! We all want our husbands to help more, don’t we? But we need to remember that God has given us the task of managing our home. It’s not our husband’s obligation. His responsibility to is to work hard to provide and protect the home. Of course, it is lovely when the husband helps with the dishes, especially when there are young children.

However, when there are older children in the home, they should be trained to take the responsibility to clear the table, do the dishes, and clean the kitchen. If we are not training them, we are not doing our job. The husband who has been working hard all day should not have to do this. But if he does, please be grateful to him and thank him. Don’t take it for granted.

You are the Queen of your home. You are not expected to do every job in the home. You train and delegate. Every child can do something, even the little ones. In homes where there are older trained children the mothers should be reaping their reward of years of mothering. They should be able to sit and relax while their children clean up.

And one more thing. Can I please encourage you, dear wives and mothers, to change your confession? Many wrote that they dislike the family table because of the rabble and confusion that goes on. But this is opposite to God’s plan. God wants to come and join you at your table. He wants to bring His presence to your table. He wants it to be a place of joy, laughter, harmony, and blessing one another.

You can begin to make this happen as you change your confession. Begin confessing that you LOVE MEAL TIMES WITH YOUR FAMILY! What you confess will come to pass. Instead of thinking of preparing a meal as another chore, look upon it as sacred task. My goal is TO MAKE EVERY MEAL A LOVE AFFAIR!

That’s what I think about when you start preparing a meal. Think of how you make your meal a love affair to bless their physical bodies. You think of how you can make your table a love affair as you talk and fellowship together. You think of the greatest joy at the end of the meal when you open the Bible to feed the spirit and pray together.

Start thinking NOW about what you are going to do at your meal table this evening.

Love from Nancy Campbell

We continue talking about the family meal table. One mother wrote: “I spend most of my meal correcting and giving reminders of appropriate manners/behavior.” Yes, I agree that this is part of training at the meal table. Necessary training. However, when we engage them in conversation and discuss topics together, the children become more involved and forget about doing all their antics at the table.

Another mother of teenagers down to a two-year-old wrote: “Getting everyone to help is hard and frustrating.” This shouldn’t be the case when you have older children. They should be trained by now! The teenagers should know how to run the home, including cooking the meal and cleaning up. If they are not capable of doing this, what have we been doing all their lives? Even little children can learn how to help with the meal, set the table, clean up, and help with dishes. Each one should have their own job.

You start training them when they are little. You expect obedience. You don’t allow them to get away with doing their own thing when there is a job to be done. If you let them get away with it when they are little, they will never get in the habit.

It’s a good idea to work out a timetable for the evening meal and other jobs in the home each week. Decide the task of each child and put it up on the fridge or somewhere and each child is responsible for their chore. Your job is to make sure they do it. But it shouldn’t have to be cajoling and reminding. No. Get excited. Do you part and encourage everyone to be excited about doing their part as you all work together! Work is fun! Work is great. It’s family time! You are all doing it together.

I remember when our granddaughter, Rashida was younger. She is now a mother of two precious little girls. Every year my father came to visit us from New Zealand (he has since passed away). Each year Rashida would a cook a special meal for her beloved great-granddad.

She was only seven years old when she prepared this feast—roast turkey with coos coos stuffing (including sundried tomatoes, cashews, pine nuts, figs, and raisins); marinated grape leaves stuffed with lebani, placed in a bowl with figs, dates, and black and green olives; mashed potatoes and gravy; salad with homemade dressings (almondaise and Green Greek dressing) and tamarind date chutney. Yes, she made dessert too--ginger steamed pudding and raw nut balls!

From that age Rashida was in charge of the kitchen for their family. I think your seven-year-old can at least help with dishes!

Another mother wrote: “I am always left drowning in dishes while everyone scatters afterwards.” This should never happen. All children should be trained to clean up the table and do the dishes. No one in the family should ever leave the kitchen until everything is cleaned and finished. It is all part of the family meal time. It doesn’t finish until dishes are completed. No one escapes! Or look out!

Be encouraged dear mothers. Can I say it again, you create your world. You can have what you want. You train. You make it happen.

Love to you today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting by Jessie Willcox Smith

Dear Ladies, Today I would like to address comments from my last post, CHAOS OR ORDER AT THE TABLE. Scroll down and read it if you haven’t already.

I was sad to read that many do not enjoy mealtimes with their families. They feel they are chaotic and everyone talks over the top of one another.

One mother of teenagers down to little ones writes: “The children have weird conversations with each other and my husband I often just tune it out.” And there were similar comments. Dear mothers, can I remind you that you and your husband decide what happens at your table. Not the children! We as parents create the world we want in our home. We create the atmosphere. We determine what happens at the family meal table.

When I prepare the food for our evening meal, I not only think about food for the body, but food for the soul. I find it is just as important to meditate about what we will speak about at the table as prepare the meal. I find that if my husband and I do not bring a question or a subject to discuss to the table the conversation goes nowhere. It’s usually about nothing. Or small talk that is a waste of time. It seems futile. Is that what you find at your table?

You can change that! Come to the table prepared with a subject to talk about. Of course, this will depend on the season and ages of your children. If you have little children, bring a very simple question such as “What was the best thing you did today?” Encourage each child to share and then Daddy and Mommy must also talk about the best thing that happened to them. It’s for the whole family.

As your children get older you can bring subjects to the table to discuss—fun topics, political, geographical, spiritual, or biblical. Here’s one that our children loved when growing up. We often asked this question as they never tired of it: “If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it?” Or, “If you had all the money in the world and you could go to any country in the world, which country would you choose and why?”

Get every child to have their turn, including mother and father. No one is exempt. No one is left out. Even in the midst of a large corporate family, each child receives their own personal attention. When each child has their turn, they are the center of attention, from mother and father and the rest of the family. They hold the floor!

Also, in this way, no one talks over the top of one another. Each one has their turn. Oh yes, they may try to do this, but both you and your husband will curb this and keep order. You are in charge, not them!

Sometimes when we would bring a controversial subject to the table, the children would all try to have their say at once, sometimes getting up on their chair to get their point across. We birthed loud and opinionated children who became more opinionated the older they got! However, we still didn’t allow them to take over. We allowed them to freely express their opinions, which we loved them to do, but they had to have turns! My husband was always the umpire!

Here’s another important thing to remember at your table. My husband and I have never allowed personal conversations with other members of the family at the table. The table is for togetherness. When one member speaks at the table, it is for the whole family to hear. It is time for family communication, not personal conversation which they can have at any time. Therefore, apart from asking someone to pass something to them on the table, all conversations are for everyone to hear. Sometimes we have people come to our table who will begin to whisper or talk to the person next to them. It grieves me when this happens, and I realize they haven’t been taught true table manners. Establish this rule in your family. It will save chaos at your table and you will train your children how to act when they sit at other’s people’s tables.

I will give you a couple of links of questions you can ask the children at your table. I keep a copy of these lists above my fridge. Sometimes when I am tired and cannot think of something new, I will refer to them, so we always have something to bring to the table to keep the conversation spicy and encourage heart and soul communication.

http://aboverubies.org/…/797-family-meal-table-dinner-time-…

http://aboverubies.org/…/798-family-meal-table-presidential…

This is what the table is all about—communication and fellowship. That’s why we sit around a table, so we can look a one another’s faces. Food releases the wonderful stress-relieving hormone of oxytocin when you eat with others in a relaxed atmosphere. It doesn’t do you any good when you eat on your own or while looking at the back of someone’s head in the car! Do it the Bible way—sitting around the table (Psalm 128:3).

I will address other remarks tomorrow.

Be blessed at your table today,
Nancy Campbell

Painting: “Glory of Evening” by Thomas Kinkade. God intends the evening meal to be a time of glory in your home, a time when you all enjoy one another and where God comes to join your table with His presence.

Dear mother, you are the one to make this happen. You don’t allow everyone to do their own thing. You gather the family together. You make the table and your meal so attractive and inviting that they’ll want to come to the table.

You’ll think of subjects to discuss with your children at the table rather than sitting there with small talk that doesn’t interest anyone. And of course, you’ll never allow iPhones at the table! Have a basket where they drop them in as they come to the table. The table is the place to communicate together as a family. To look at one another face to face.

Why am I talking about the family table again? Because it is a gathering place for the family. God planned it. The Bible picture of a family that that lives in God’s blessing is a family with the children all sitting around the table (Psalm 128:3). God loves the table because it is a place of communication. He wants to join you at your table. He wants to speak to you all as you open His Word at the end of the meal.

Dear mother, can I encourage you to make family times happen in your home? Don’t let your family dissipate into their own world and the world of social media while your family fragments away.

When you plan and make things happen, it brings order. It establishes peace and harmony and drives out chaos.

Satan does not want family togetherness. He is intent on scattering the family in every direction. You must fight against every hindrance. You must push through and make it happen. But what blessed things will happen when you do.

When we get order and peace in family homes, we will begin to get order and peace in the nation.

I bless your home today in the name of Jesus.

Love from Nancy Campbell

P.S. Do you need help? Do you need specific ideas on what to do? Feel free to ask questions and we can answer them together.

The enemy is lurking
To steal our time away;
Doing nice, but fleeting things
That soon will fade away.
Even in these mundane times,
Help me teach them how to find
A way to see that all they do
Will only count if done for You.

The moments, months, and years fly by
Until each child will say goodbye.
I dare not waste these times to show
What really matters as they grow.
Oh Lord, please point their eyes to You
And help me teach them of Your truth.
More than any other thing
Let lives be lived for You, O King.

I know I only have this day
To teach and guide them in Your way.
So, help me with the time You give
To show them how to really live,
Not chasing vain and worldly lusts,
But learning how to seek and trust
Their only Savior, Lord, and King,
For in You is their everything.

C 2010, Val Halloran
www.valhalloran.com
Val and her husband have eight children, five of whom are married. No. #26 grandchild is due in March or April, 2018.

Painting: “The reading lesson” by Léon Augustin Lhermitte.

We see an example in the life of King Ahab. Ben-Hadad, king of Syria sent messengers to king Ahab of Israel: “Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.” And what did king Ahab answer? “My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.” He even stated: “I denied him not” (1 Kings 20: 2, 3, 7). Can you believe it? Because of the fear of man, or because he didn’t have the courage to stand up against king Ben-Hadad, he surrendered to him. He gave up everything that was precious to him.

How sad to read such a testimony? And yet we can so easily get caught. God gives us our children to raise for Him and for God’s destiny. And yet we give them to daycares and hand them over to the state education system. Somehow, even Christian parents don’t mind that their children are now being taught that Islam is a peaceful religion (while we watch Islamic terror on TV).

Many children in state schools have been asked to draw posters of the Five Pillars of Islam and pictures of the Prophet Muhammad, sing Islamic songs, wear Islamic clothes, construct a 3-D model of a mosque, design an Islamic prayer rug, and do calligraphy for “There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet.” Yes, this is in American schools.

Some parents don’t seem to mind that the gay agenda now pushes their lifestyle in our state schools through books and curriculums. One of their latest books available to schools is “It’s Perfectly Normal” which contains material so sexually explicit that, according to the American Life League, it has been ruled inappropriate for prisoners by a Washington State court.

Let’s not give in like Ahab. Let’s have the courage to rise up and say No to the enemy! Say No to his robbing of all that God has given us.

Speak your confession out loud: “I will not give anything to the devil. He has no right over me. I am God’s possession. He has no right over my children and I will not give him any authority over them. They too are God’s possession.”

It’s time to say No.

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

Dear mother, God wants you to walk in close fellowship with Him as you mother your children. You are not doing this great job on your own. God is with you. Every moment. When you are doing the most mundane tasks. When you are doing the same tasks repeatedly each day. Not one chore is insignificant. Each one is sacred because He is with you and abides in you.

But sometimes you forget. Remember the truth, no matter how you feel. God is with you. He is Emmanuel, GOD WITH US! Your feelings are not facts. They come and go and change with the wind, or whatever is happening in your life. But the real truth is that whatever is happening, good or bad, GOD IS WITH YOU!

Acknowledge His presence with you. Thank Him that He is with you. Thank Him that you are in His perfect will as you mother your children. Rejoice that He is with you. Thank Him for every little blessing that happens—a smile from one of your children, the adoring look of your baby as you nurse him at the breast, food to prepare for lunch and supper, your husband who provides for you, and on and on. Bring every little sigh to Him. Don’t take one burden on yourself because He is with you to carry your burdens and He is so much better at it that you. He is bigger than every problem you face.

And He delights to be with you in your home. He created you for the home. He created you for motherhood. And He delights in you when you embrace the way He created you. This is how you bring glory to your Creator and Redeemer.

Every son and daughter God gives you is a gift from Him. You didn’t plan each child. God did. And He is with you to help you raise them for His glory. He wants to walk with you and He wants you to walk with Him in close relationship just like Enoch did, all the time begetting and raising sons and daughters.

Be encouraged today,

Nancy Campbell

This beautiful painting is by William Sergeant Kendall.

Last week we talked about nesting in the home. But we must look at something more in Psalm 113:9 which describes the mother as JOYFUL. Did you know that God equates motherhood with joy? And it’s not an average kind of joy. It’s exceeding joy.

The Hebrew word is “sameach.” It means “to be blithe and gleeful, to be merry-hearted.” It’s the same word used in Proverbs 14:13: “A MERRY HEART maketh a cheerful countenance.” And again, in Proverbs 17:22: “A MERRY HEART doeth good like a medicine.”

But there’s more. It’s the same word that is used when people drink wine and get happy (Isaiah 14:7). When you are “eating and drinking, and making merry” (1 Kings 4:20). It’s the same word that was used when Solomon was made king and the people “rejoiced with GREAT JOY, so that the earth rent with the sound of them" (1 Kings 1:40). Did you get that? The HCSB makes it clearer: “rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.”

This the joy of motherhood! “This is a bit over-the-top” you exclaim! Dear mothers, it’s meant to be over-the-top! God is not average or ordinary in any way. He doesn’t only give us life, He gives us ABUNDANT life. He not only gives us joy, but EXCEEDING joy and “JOY UNSPEAKABLE and FULL OF GLORY” (1 Peter 1:8).

So, why aren’t mothers joyful? Unfortunately, most women are brainwashed against motherhood by in-laws, out-laws, the media, and the education system. They are told that motherhood is an insignificant career and they should be doing something more beneficial. Because of this they have the wrong attitude about motherhood, and if you have the wrong attitude, you’re not going to be very happy.

The truth is that God created you for motherhood. Your body is created for this purpose. When God gives you children to raise in your home you are in the very perfect will of God. God does not see motherhood as insignificant. He exalts motherhood (Ezekiel 19:10,11), He glorifies motherhood (Hosea 9:11), and He enthrones motherhood (Psalm 113:9 Sugden).

How do we get into the joy?
1. Embrace the truth. When you know the truth, it sets you free to be who you are!
2. Acknowledge that you are in His perfect will.
3. Confess the truth. It’s not enough to know the truth, you must confess the truth. Your words determine your life. What you speak is what you become. Therefore, Therefore, thank God for the joy of being a mother. Speak out loud: “I am a joyful mother,” “I love being a mother,” or “Motherhood is my greatest career.”
4. Change your attitude. Your words and your attitude affect your life. The wrong attitude makes you miserable. The right attitude fills you with joy.
5. Purpose to be joyful. Joy has nothing to do with feelings or circumstances. Anyone can be happy when everything is going according to plan. But life isn’t like that. It’s full of challenges and difficulties which must be overcome. But this is how we mature in life. This is how we become one of the overcomers! Jesus Christ is filled with joy and He dwells in you if you have embraced Him into your life. Therefore, you can live His life of joy, no matter what circumstances you face or what your lying feelings are telling you. Come to the place of living by the truth rather than by your feelings or the lies that society tells you.

May you have the most wonderful and joyful day in your home,

Love from Nancy Campbell

I love the CEB translation of this Scripture: “God NESTS the once barren woman at home—now a joyful mother of children.” To nest in a home means to settle in. To make a snug abode, a sweet resting place. A nest is a place to rear young such as a bird with her nestlings. Why are baby birds called nestlings? Because the mother nurtures them in a nest where it is safe and secure.

Our babies and young children are also little nestlings. God intends them to be nurtured in the home, not in daycares. And therefore, we make our home a safe nest.

We cannot be a nester if we are not in the home. We work in our home. We mother in our home. We nurture in our home. We love our nest.

Did you notice that this Scripture ends with the exclamation, “Praise ye the Lord”? What is your response to nesting in the home? A sigh and a groan or the bold exclamation, “Praise ye the Lord”?

Can I hear you say it aloud? Come on, say it with me, “Praise ye the Lord.”

Have a blessed day in your home today,
Nancy Campbell