Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

To cultivate an attitude of thanks toward the Lord is so much better than an attitude of negativity and complaining, isn't it? Don't wait to thank God for the big things, but instead get into the habit of thanking the Lord for each little thing that happens throughout the day. Encourage your children in this habit, too.

Although a thanking heart should be our attitude all the day long, this Scripture specifically states that we should thank the Lord EVERY MORNING AND EVERY EVENING. Gathering our family together each morning and each evening for Family Devotions provides a foundation for us to do this faithfully.

What a wonderful time we enjoyed as we prayed and gave thanks this morning. I am so grateful for these very precious times in our home each day. I know that without these specified and committed times, we would not take this time to thank the Lord and sing praises to His name. God knows that we need specific times to remind us.

Be blessed today as fill your home with thankfulness.

~ Nancy Campbell

Have fun together.

~ Nancy

Simple, raw, down-to-earth humility and meekness are the materials with which God loves to build. We best represent Christianity by a rugged cross, a crucified yet living Messiah, and crucified yet living disciples. Why does the church have to make it flashy, pretentious, showy, and grandiose?

Past, present, and future, God looks for “humble mangers” through which to reveal His Son to the world. Much of the present-day church, while giving approval for the humble manger because it sounds so enchanting, would never think of endorsing such humility if it was their own child being born to the King of kings. As always, God confounds the wisdom and pride of man. God’s only begotten Son, who in His pre-existence created all the worlds, was planned before the world began to be born in an animal manger. This is how God confronts the pride of man.

Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders because He never fitted into their idea of how a Messiah should be born, live, or die. Is it not still our pride that causes us to present to the world a glamorous Christianity that still shuns the cross, as well as the manger?

God on earth still loves to reveal Himself through a manger mentality.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

M God chose you to be the MOTHER of His child.

I God is INTERESTED in every minute detail of your baby, from creating every part of his/her body in the womb to His plans for his/her life in the future.

R God will REVEAL more of His character and His ways to you as you embrace and nurture your precious baby.

A God will give you His ANOINTING and ABILITY to train this child. He knows you cannot do it in your own strength. And He will AMAZINGLY provide every need for this coming baby. He doesn’t necessarily provide before the baby comes, but when your baby arrives, you will see His daily provision.

C God has CALLED and COMMISSIONED you for this great task.

L God will LAVISH you with His LOVE for this sweet baby. You will not only be overcome with love for your baby, but if you have other children, you will fall in love with them all over again too. And what about all the negative gainsayers and family members? When the baby is born, they will all fall in love with the baby too.

E God is creating within you an ETERNAL soul that will live forever. You are embarking on an ETERNAL mission.

Praise God for your miracle.

Love from Nancy Campbell

The saints of old CONFESSED they were strangers and pilgrims. They acknowledged they were citizens of Heaven. The faith men and women of old lived in the light of the eternal kingdom. What is your confession? Do you focus more on working for the materials possession of this world or are you building for the eternal kingdom? Are you preparing your children for the eternal world?

We learn to do this is by continually CONFESSING we are strangers and foreigners. Perhaps we should confess this truth each morning as we rise. “Thank you for being with me today, Father, as I live as a pilgrim and stranger here on this earth. Help me to realize that I belong to another kingdom apart from this world. And in the name of Jesus, I confess that I am a stranger and pilgrim today. Amen.”

The word “confession” is the Greek word “homologeo” and means “to speak and confess the same words God says to us and about us, to agree with God, and to publically acknowledge God’s truth.” We must daily confess the truths that belong to God’s kingdom instead of the humanistic jargon of this humanistic society.

As you daily confess the truth that you are only a temporary resident on this earth, you will begin to live more according to this truth.

Be encouraged in God’s ways,

Nancy Campbell

God uses His word to guide us (Psalm 119:19, 54 and Hebrews 11:13). As exiles of eternity we must keep His words in our hearts and mouths. The people who belong to earth live by a different mindset than the God-fearing sojourner. They belong to a different kingdom with different values and worldview. Therefore, if we don’t continually hold on to God’s words we can easily be dragged into the mindset of this world system instead of living by heavenly rules and principles.

It is also important to teach your children that they are only temporary residents and foreigners on this earth and have a greater destiny than this world.

Love from Nancy Campbell

God is our Rock from one generation to the next. With all my heart I want to encourage you to speak these words out loud today: “FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING, YOU ARE GOD.” Say them consistently. Say them over and over again. Get your children to learn them.

The more you speak them out, the more the power of these words will go into the depth of your spirit. They will strengthen your hope and trust in God. They will carry your through your difficulties and heartaches.

Love in Christ,

Nancy Campbell

How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

"Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
For I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

"When through the deep waters I call you to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,
For I will be with you in trouble to bless,
And sanctify to you your deepest distress.

"When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
My grace all-sufficient shall be your supply;
The flame shall not hurt you; I only design
Your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

"The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no never forsake!"

Be encouraged today,

Nancy

New Living Translation: “ This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.”

Are you getting the picture? Let me give you one more passage where the word “beauty” is mentioned SIX times! It’s the Barclay version: “Your beauty must not be the superficial beauty which depends on elaborate hair-styles and expensive jewellery and the wearing of fashionable clothes. No! Your beauty must be the beauty of your inner character and personality. It must consist of the beauty of a gentle; and serene character, a beauty which the years cannot wither, for in God’s sight that is what is really precious. This was the beauty with which once upon a time consecrated women, whose hopes were set on God, adorned themselves. They accepted the authority of their husbands. It was in this that Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him master.”

New English Bible: “Thus it was among God’s people in days of old: the women who fixed their hopes on him adorned themselves by submission to their husbands.” God never commands a husband to make his wife submit to him. God’s commands the husband to love his wife like his own body and as much as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:25-33). It is something she does of her own volition, from her own heart, from her humble heart of submission to the Lord. Submission is an adorning. It is how we clothe ourselves, and it is an adorning that makes us beautiful.
Why is submission a beautiful thing? Because it is the same attitude of Jesus who submitted to His father’s will. Although Jesus was God He was willing to leave glory and become a man, humble Himself, even to the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
Do we have a submissive heart or a stubborn and rebellious heart? Are we making ourselves beautiful?

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

Like Thy springs of running water,
Make me crystal pure,
Like Thy rocks of towering grandeur,
Make me strong and sure.

Like Thy dancing waves in sunlight,
Make me glad and free,
Like the straightness of the pine-tree,
Help me upright be.

Like the arching of Thy heavens,
Raise my thoughts above,
Turn my dreams to noble actions,
Ministries of love.

God, who touches earth with beauty,
Make me lovely too,
Keep me ever, by Thy Spirit
Pure and strong and true.

~ Mary S. Adgar

“For each other you should care
And always be aware
Of the lovely things that you’ve been taught to do!”

It made me realize how powerful the lines of little rhymes are for our children. These simple lines for children came back to also remind me to live a lovely life. Our children need constant reminders, and so do we.

Love from Nancy Campbell

If you haven’t ordered NANNY’S NURSERY RHYMES yet, you can go to:
http://tinyurl.com/NannysNurseryRhymes

Can people describe my life by the lovely things I do? Can they describe your life this way? Firstly in the home, because that’s where it all starts. Our light first shines for everyone in our home to see and then shines out to neighbors and people around us. How do they see this light? By the lovely things we do and say.

It’s not only what we do. What about our lovely words? Do we speak lovely words to our husbands? Do we speak lovely words to our children? It’s hypocritical to speak nice words to others outside the home if we are angry, shouting, and nasty in the home.

If we are born again, Christ dwells in us by His Holy Spirit. He wants to live His lovely life through us with all His love, joy, peace, longsuffering, patience, and kindness, etc.

Let’s yield to the life of Christ who lives within us and live a lovely life today--doing lovely things and speaking lovely words.

In His love,

Nancy Campbell

"How long have you been married?" they asked. When we told them 19 years, the husband shook his head and chuckled. He had presumed we were newlyweds! His wife admitted she wondered the same thing. I asked why and the man said, “It’s the way you act together, how you look at each other.”

My husband and I do not act like we are all over each other when we are out, but we usually hold hands or touch in some way. It’s a habit we’ve formed. We still gravitate to one another when we are in a group of people; we enjoy conversations with others but never separate completely in a social gathering. Who could be more important to me than him?

There are many reasons we could have ended up like the typical stereotype of a bored and passionless, long-time married couple. We’ve gone through the same issues that most married couples have that threaten passion and intimacy: children, challenging years, health concerns, financial stressors—so many excuses to drift into relational complacency.

Our strong bond is only because we choose to cultivate it every day. As with food, you change destructive habits with better, fun ones day by day and yes, the results are fantastic!

~ Pearl Barrett (Trim Healthy Mama)

This devotion also comes from the book, 100 DAYS OF INSPIRATION (Three generations sharing their family wisdom).

God asks of the people of Jerusalem, "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? they certainly were not ashamed, and they did not know how to blush" (Jeremiah 8:12 NKJV).

We cannot control evil, but we can stay sensitive to its offensiveness. We don't want to turn into haughty prudes with hardened hearts. We pray with compassion for the lost and reach out our hand into their world of pain, but can we still blush? Evil should jar our spirits.

Have I become desensitized to the things which should make me blush as a daughter of our Holy God? Is TV constantly in the background with its lewdness and humanism seeping into the atmosphere? Could I watch this movie and be comfortable if Jesus sat beside me in the flesh? Would I lose my temper and justify it because I had a headache if God was over for dinner? Actually, He is over for dinner every night!

What do we accept through the gates of our hearts and homes that doesn't even bother us, and yet should make us blush?

~ Serene Allison (Trim Healthy Mama)

This devotion comes from the book, ONE HUNDRED DAYS OF INSPIRATION:
http://tinyurl.com/100DaysInspiration

Look to Him and trust Him. With God, and God only, you can BEAR ALL THINGS.

Love to you today,

NANCY CAMPBELL

Take joy in delighting in your home today. Delight in nurturing your children. Delight in spoiling your husband. Delight in making your home a delightful place to live—for your husband, your children, yourself, and everyone who comes in your doors!

God bless your home today,

Nancy Campbell

We live in a humanist and deceived age. There are bypaths everywhere and many of them look wise and good, but if they veer off the highway of God's plan, they eventually take us down a road of destruction.

Jeremiah 18:15 (MLB): "My people have forgotten Me . . . they have stumbled in their ways, in the ancient roads, and have walked in bypaths, not the highway." This is the way it is translated in most versions, but the ESV says they "walk into side roads, not the highway." The NLT says they "walk in muddy paths." Moffat's translation says that they "take to bypaths of their own."

The Hebrew for "walk in bypaths" is translated in other places in the Old Testament as "desolation, astonishment, or waste."

Are you on THE highway, or walking a bypath? Make sure you and your family fill your minds and hearts with the Word daily. This is the only map to keep us on the highway, and unless we constantly refer to it, we often don't realize we are on a bypath.

Jeremiah 6:16: "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."

Enjoy the “good way” today,

Love from Nancy Campbell

Satan’s kingdom is one of lies and deception; God’s kingdom is a kingdom of truth. When we are part of God’s kingdom we passionately seek after truth. We discern what are lies and deception and depart from them.

Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of death; God’s kingdom is a kingdom of life. When we belong to God’s kingdom we embrace life. We open our hearts to the children He wants to give us (Matthew 19:14). We are life-givers and not life-stoppers. Life-stoppers are antithesis to God’s kingdom.

God has laws and commandments for His kingdom and we can only enter His kingdom on HIs terms (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). The devil’s kingdom loves to compromise God’s ways and preaches we must tolerate evil and never judge.

God’s kingdom is an unshakeable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28). When things in our lives begin to shake and fall apart around us we continue rejoicing because we belong to an unshakeable kingdom that will never pass away.

Living in God’s kingdom we are not moved by our circumstances or in a continual state of self-pity or depression because God’s kingdom is “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).

The kingdoms of this world will all pass away but we belong to an everlasting kingdom! Hallelujah! Doesn’t this make you shout for joy? Read Psalm 145:13; 146:10; Daniel 4:34; 7:27; 2 Timothy 4:19; and 2 Peter 1:11.

God’s kingdom is glorious and majestic (Psalm 145:11, 12). We talked yesterday about how God wants His people to walk in the anointing of His majesty. Because we belong to a royal kingdom, we are no longer normal. Because Christ dwells in us we bear the image of the heavenly. We walk in majesty and dignity. We die to our flesh and live the life of Christ which abides in us. God has “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).

May God rule and reign in your life and in every room and every area of your home.

Love from Nancy Campbell

P.S. FOR THE BEREANS. Some good teaching on the Kingdom of God.
http://www.christcenteredmall.com/teachi…/kingdom-of-god.htm
http://www.christcenteredmall.com/teac…/kingdom-of-god-2.htm
http://www.christcenteredmall.com/teac…/kingdom-of-god-3.htm
http://www.christcenteredmall.com/teac…/kingdom-of-god-4.htm
http://www.christcenteredmall.com/teac…/kingdom-of-god-5.htm