Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Do you remember reading the wonderful testimony of the Waller family in the last issue of Above Rubies # 86 (they serve the vineyard farmers on the West Bank of Israel)?

This last weekend Colin and I looked forward to attending the wedding of their daughter, Victoria to Aaron Hood. Everyone was invited to come for the whole weekend to Kenlake State Park in Kentucky. We did not know the exact time the wedding would take place. It was to be a surprise-- a picture of waiting for the Heavenly Bridegroom who comes for His bride, but we know "neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13).

Colin and I drove up Saturday morning, thinking they surely wouldn't have the wedding before then! However, we arrived to find we missed the wedding! They blew the shofars in the night and the wedding was held at midnight, down by the lake in the moonlight--a glorious two and a half hour ceremony! We were slumbering and sleeping in our bed at home when the cry came, "Behold the bridegroom comes, go ye out to meet him" (Matthew 25:6)! Can you believe it? We missed!

However, although the ceremony was at midnight, we learned they were going to have the wedding feast at 3.00 pm on Sunday. We drove home again Saturday, and then drove up just in time for the feast after our Sunday service. We were glad we could at least be part of this wonderful celebration.

Love from Nancy Campbell

This was Serene's recent post on TRIM HEALTHY MAMA, but I thought you may like to cash in on what's happening in our neck of the woods...

How are all my THM Sistahs? Is your summer season shaping up well? Yes, the pun was intended… it thrills us to pieces to hear about how far and wide the message in our book is reaching and of the fantastic shape ups that are happening all over THM Nation.

As we mention in the book, Pearl and I live in rural Tennessee. Our children’s summers are all about creek fishing and swimming. Pearl and I take our children to our local fishing/swimming hole and sit in the shade together. We keep busy praising all their aquatic acrobats, (some more graceful than others) and cheer on the fishing experts as they reel their beauties back to shore. In between this wonderful splashing chaos we try to get our noses back down to our research papers and writing material that we bring to the creek to keep all our sisters at THM in the know.

WHY CAN'T SHE GO IN THE BUSHES?

I have to tell on Pearl though. Yesterday a beautiful balmy breeze blew across the bubbling, cool creek. Earthy scents of mossy rocks and wet river grass and the intoxicating, almost magical fragrance of wild honeysuckle and jasmine vines danced around our happy gathering. I could have stayed all day accept for the fact that “Miss Princess prima donna Pearl” didn't want to go pee in the bushes and had to go home to her civilized toilet.

But, this is just a good example of how it takes all different types to make the world go around.

Trim Healthy Mama embraces all types of Mamas and approaches to food. There are lots of purists like me but plenty of relaxed short cut queens like my sister Pearl. You don’t have to be a “Granola Mom” to be a THM and it is even more an enjoyable and entertaining journey knowing that we are not all cookie cutters of each other. But, sometimes Pearl can drive me a bit nuts when she decides to leave me at the creek alone just for the loo and the way she uses her dreaded microwave! (Hey Pearl... love you heaps, mate!)

THE SNAKE FRIGHT!

However, I have some more news about my yesterday. I was in my room about to start my “Spew Session.” You know, the quick exercise routine I tell you about on page 558 of our book. I cinched up my vibram five finger shoes and checked for my proper form in our bedroom mirror as I began my set of jump squats for my "spew" session. In the upper corner of the mirror I noticed a reflection of the wall right next to me and a shadowy dark apparition that swung back and forth. The head of a huge snake… (did I mention HUGE) jutted back and forth, slithering down the pictures on my wall. Horror movie worthy!

An unconscious surge of adrenaline catapulted me into the air. I have never jumped higher in any of my spew sessions. If I was participating in the Olympic Games as a high jumper I may have brought home a gold medal and a world record jump.

Snakes are my creepy thing. I mean, I hate snakes! I would rather have seen a crocodile or huge guerrilla in my room than a slithering, slippery, SNAKE.

I screamed and shouted for all the children to run outside. I grabbed the baby, dashed outside and did a head count while dialing my husband’s number and sputtering about the snake.

My husband who was working an hour away told me to get my Dad quick (he lives close by), find the snake and kill it, or we would never sleep soundly again. Good news is that after much searching in my bedroom, the snake was found. It had slithered under my bed… Ahhh!

This summer in our county has been labeled as one of the worst in a long time for snakes. Our children love to run in and out to the trampoline and then in for a snack and then out to play with their puppy and then in again. I suppose with the door left open half the day it was a welcome mat for our snake.

My children who play outdoors so much (we make them wear big leather cowboy boots) and see snakes more than I do, were not as bothered by the whole fiasco. I am still checking behind every door and bed and even behind the toilet before I can relax enough to pee! But all this is just part of the fun of summer in the country and now that the snake is dead I can appreciate the funny side of it.

Love, Serene Allison

EVANGELINE--PEARL AND SERENE'S SISTER PIPES IN...

Serene does not know this.... but I came home from selling our organic produce at the best Farmer's Market ever and took the children and cuzzies down to the creek.

Well folks, there swimming in the water over to the rocks where Serene had been was a Copperhead! Being more of a kiwi (New Zealander) than my sisters, I did a "kiwi snake-terror freak-out" and called them all out of the water. The snake went under some rock where most probably millions of them live there!

The children couldn't care two hoots and went back in after I realized we were not all dead! Now... don't tell Serene this either, BUT, I just heard from my neighbor down the holler that they released Timber Rattlers into the Natchez Trace--a stone's throw or two from us!

ANOTHER SNAKE STORY FROM VANGE

Once my daughter went to the bathroom with a flashlight and came out saying there was something big and black in there. I went to look and there was this humongous snake doing the dance! Howard was away and I did not know what to do-- shoot, stab, or scream! If I shot, I would shoot the plumbing out of the floor, screaming would freak the tiny children all night, and I could only quickly find a broom to hold the thing at bay.

I called Serene's husband who grew up with snakes and he came a running. He stood there bewildered, as I was, with the huge thing continuing to do its dance.

We decided to stab it with a sword so we would not destroy the plumbing. I held it with the broom and Sam stabbed and stabbed, then I tried stab - stab! Finally, we pierced the thing and I went to sleep safely. But I always, ALWAYS check bathrooms for snakes ever since!

God gives the prescription for health. Proverbs 16:24 says, "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soil, and health to the bones."

Do you want to be healthy? Do you want your husband to be healthy? Do you want your children to be healthy in soul and body? Fill your home with pleasant words?

What are pleasant words? The Hebrew word means, "agreeable, beautiful, delightful, gracious, suitable, and sweet."

This is the way you build a healthy home.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Further to my post yesterday, there is more involved in the word building than meets the eye. The word in the Hebrew is "banah." Yes, of course it means to build. However, it also means to repair. We have to keep repairing things in our home or it will soon fall down around us. We also have to keep repairing our relationship with our husband and children. This is all part of the building program.

But, did you know that there is another aspect to building? This word also means "to have children." To build a home you must embrace children.

I love the blessing the people of Judah gave to Naomi about her daughter-in-law, Ruth, "The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build (banah) the house of Israel" (Ruth 4:11).

How did Rachel and Leah build a nation? With hammers and wood? No, they built it by embracing children.

Here are some other Scriptures that speak of building by embracing children, Genesis 2:22; 16:2; 30:3; Deuteronomy 25:9; Psalm 127:1 and Proverbs 14:1).

Be a great builder as you build your home and consequently the nation.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying,
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the whirlpool that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling's hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father, Father, keep our children.

Through life's troubled waters steer them,
Through life's bitter battle cheer them,
Father, Father, be Thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleadings thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may 'bide,
Lead them Home at eventide.
~ Amy Carmichael

The above prayer is a heart-cry for our children. I would encourage you to print it off so you can pray it OUT LOUD to the Father. Don't just read it, but pray it.

Love from Nancy Campbell

As wives and mothers, we are in the biggest building program in the nation. We have the responsibility to build a strong marriage, a godly family, and children who will also grow up to build strong marriages and families. God calls us builders. Proverbs 14:1 says, "Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands."

Any builder who is successful in his business works hard. He works long hours. He sweats it out. It's the same for us. We don't build a great marriage and home by just dreaming about it. We have to work at it. We have to pray. We have to work at our attitude. We have to work at the way we speak to our spouse and our children.

But, we also have to be practical and work hard physically. We haven't got time to be lazy. We have to keep the home running smoothly. We have to make sure we prepare nutritious meals for our family. We seek to have a meal ready for our husband when he walks in the door--and we'll make sure that the house is tidied up and ready for his home-coming.

I remember a mother saying to me, "All I ever wanted was to be a wife and mother," and yet her marriage fell apart. She dreamed about it, but she didn't do what was needed to make it happen. Her life was wrapped up around herself.

Building takes forgetting about yourself and living to serve your husband and family. Your mind is on your job, not on gratifying your own fleshly desires. You constantly think of things to say and do to make your marriage stronger. You think of new and creative ideas to make your family life stronger

And as you build into your home, you also build for eternity.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Paul confessed to Timothy, "Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, PURPOSE, faith, longsuffering, love, patience" 2 Timothy 3:10).

Do you know your own purpose in life? Do those around you know your purpose? Without purpose we have no zest for life.

As a mother, we have no doubt about our purpose. God has chosen us to reveal His maternal and nurturing heart to the world. He has chosen us to diligently teach and train the children He has given us for righteousness and the destiny He has for them. We can wake up in the morning with a smile on our face and a spring in our step because we know what we are meant to be doing.

As I raised our children, God gave me a vision from 1 Thessalonians 3:23, "I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming our Lord Jesus Christ."

My purpose and vision was to not only minister to their bodies, but their souls and spirits, in order to present them WHOLE before the Father in eternity. Wow. This is certainly a full-time career. And what purpose!

Love from Nancy Campbell

Dear happy homemaker in both word and deed,
God’s purpose for you is to raise godly seed,
Obedient children who are righteous and pure,
With mother at home, they’ll be happy and secure.

Secure in God’s love and protected from the world,
Guarded from evil and grounded in His Word
By a mother who has embraced her calling divine,
The mandate God gave from the beginning of time.

You’re now planted at home, you’ve found your “glory,"
Left your career behind--that was another story!
You’ve now been promoted to a much higher career!
You’re in God’s perfect will so you don’t have to fear.

You’re nurturing, nourishing, and building your nest,
Under your husband’s covering, you’re totally blessed.
God has promised to provide, He is Jehovah Jireh,
He will always be faithful, He is not a liar.

You are an “arrow polisher," daily sharpening your arrows,
You’re not pecking on the ground like little sparrows,
But soaring like the eagle, your stature is high,
You’re changing the course of the nation as on God you rely!’

Dear mighty mother, stand up and be strong,
Don’t be fooled by the enemy and the worldly throng,
Don’t be deceived by the mindset of this society,
Embrace your motherhood, it is your highest priority!

Don’t be conformed to the humanistic trend,
It only leads to heartache in the final end.
Be a non-conformist, stand against the tide,
You don’t have to be governed by this world’s pride.

Instead be transformed by God’s living Word,
He is restoring His truth, will you be stirred?
Will you be part of this end-time restoration,
To train godly children and change the nation?

God is preparing a people for Jesus’ second appearing,
He wants an army of arrows, trained and unfearing,
Straight arrows to go forth from the parents’ bow,
The deceptions of Satan to overthrow.

May you experience God’s anointing and His daily renewing
As you become part of this revival which is all God’s doing.
You will be part of heralding the coming of the King
As you build God’s army–and His praises will ring.

~ Nancy Campbell
Malachi 4:5-6

God gives many blessings to those who walk in His ways. One of them is to prosper.

God says in Deuteronomy 28:11 that "The Lord will make you ABOUND IN PROSPERITY" (NKJV, ESV). Praise God. We all want to prosper, don't we? However, God's idea of prosperity is often different to ours.

The first blessing of prosperity that He states is that He will prosper us "in the fruit of your womb." This is No. 1 prosperity in God's eyes. In fact, He not only wants to prosper, but to ABUNDANTLY prosper the fruit of our womb (NIV, HCSB). The NCV translation says, "The Lord will make you RICH. You will have many children."

He then goes on to say that He will also make us prosper "in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground." These blessings, of course, are to provide for the No. 1 prosperity, which is the fruit of the womb.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Zephaniah 3:17 tells us that God rests in His love toward us. The Hebrew word for rest in this Scripture means "to be silent, to hold your tongue." The same word is translated "hold your peace" or "hold your tongue" 30 times in the Bible. When God forgives us from our sin and cleanses us with His precious blood, He remembers our sin no more. He doesn't keep accusing us or bring it back to remind us.

God wants us to enjoy this kind of love in our marriage relationship, too. It's so easy to accuse. It's too easy to retort back. It's so easy to bring up past experiences. But, does this bring rest in your relationship? No. It only brings more nervous tension. It raises the blood pressure.

Instead, God wants you to enjoy His RESTING love. He wants you to rest in each another's love instead of answering back and having to have the last say.

Other translations say, "quieting love" (ESV), "calming love" (CEB, NLT, WEB), and "renewing love" (NET, GWT, RSV).

Will you ask God to help you be silent and "hold your tongue" today? No more retorts! Let me give you a secret. It will bring rest instead of stress!

Love from Nancy Campbell

Choose one of these positive statements to confess out loud today. Write or type it up in bold letters to pin up in your kitchen to remind you.

I am liberated and anointed to be the person God created me to be. I am deaf to accusations and dumb to my accusers.
I am helping to prepare an army of invaders who will fill this land with God's glory.
I am reporting for duty each morning to the King of kings.
I am making my home richer each day, not with material goods, but with lasting treasures.
I am no longer floundering for I have a purpose.
As a mother, I determine the destiny of the nation.

Be encouraged, dear mother. There is no career that has the backing of God more than motherhood.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Keep confessing the truth, dear mother. You are doing a great job as you nurture and train your children. You are determining the destiny of the nation.

I am proud to be called a mother.
I am shining God's light into the dark places of my home and society.
I am a peacemaker, speaking peace in the midst of chaos and trauma.
I am raising children to be Truth Lovers and Truth Speakers.
I am a society changer.
I am filling my home with everything that pleases the Lord and throwing out everything that displeases Him.

What one are you going to confess today?

Love from Nancy Campbell

Continually confess your trust in God. It is not enough to believe; you must also confess!

The Bible says, "I believe, and therefore have I spoken" (2 Corinthians 4:13). If you don't confess, your belief is not worth anything.

Here are some more affirmations for you today.

I am walking in the power of the cross of Jesus which is greater than my feelings, greater than my circumstances, and greater than the temptations of this world.
I am drawing from God's inexhaustible well that never runs day.
I am praising God in the good times and the bad.
I am learning to trust God more and more.
I am investing in that which will last forever.
one more.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Are you confessing these positive affirmations each day? It's a good idea to take the one that speak to you the most, print it out in BIG AND BOLD letters, and pin it up in your kitchen, or your bathroom, or wherever you can constantly see it.

I am employed in the most important career in the nation.
I am a faith-defender and I am training my children to be the same.
I am training valiant warriors, not wimps!
I am raising God-fearing children.
I am doing a great work as I sharpen and polish my arrows. I don't have time to come down to my adversaries.
I am walking in front of my children, inspiring them to all that God has for them.

Love from Nancy Campbell

A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday school presentation. His mother, who was in the front row to prompt him, formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. His memory was blank.

Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the words to him, "I am the Light of the world."

The little boy beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world."

What about confessing some affirmations about your marriage today? It's amazing how they will change your attitude, and consequently your relationship with your husband, and the atmosphere of your home.

I am a covenant-keeper.
I am my husband's happy helper.
I am respecting and honoring my husband today.
I am a smiling wife and mother.
I am going to be more delightful to my husband than when he first met me!
I am guarding my marriage and home on all fronts!

Love from Nancy Campbell

I was walking with Serene to her home this afternoon. Some of the children had gone to karate with the other cousins, and I said to her, "You'll have a quiet supper tonight."

"Oh no," she replied. "It will be much more hectic. I won't have so much help and therefore the children will be more boisterous and roudy. I won't have Engedi to hold baby Haven while I cook the meal or Cherish to help with the other little ones."

It's so true! More children don't make life more burdensome for a mother. The opposite is true. The more children, the more help. The more older children, the more there are to play and entertain the little ones. Everyone works together and the home runs smoothly.

The most challenging time of motherhood is when you have two or three little children, and no older ones. Please don't despair in this time, young mothers. More children, not stopping children, will fill your home with joy. And it doesn't become more overwhelming. It will become easier.

Love from Nancy Campbell

WHAT IS MARRIAGE?

One man and one woman,

   Fused into one.

God’s plan! Is there a better?

   There is none.

One body, one flesh—

   Indescribable!

One purpose, one vision—

   Unconquerable!

One soul and spirit—

   Invincible!

What is the foundation?

Praying together—

   Highest priority!

Reading God’s Word together—

   Paramount for success.

What does it take?

   Sacrificial love.

   Yielding and submission.

   No longer “me” but “you.”

   Laying down my life.

   Delighting to serve.

What is the fruit?

   A union that cannot be broken.

   A union that survives the storms of life.

   A union that forges a path for God in this world.

   A union that builds a godly generation for now and generations to come.

What is the power?

   A God-fearing family that is formidable to the adversary!

~ Nancy Campbell

Keep confessing the truth! Choose one, or all of them, to confess out loud. You will become what you speak.

I am no longer a half-hearted, but a whole-hearted wife and mother.

I am walking before the Lord and my family with a transparent heart.

I am walking in the joy of a free spirit.

I am raising children who are richly filled with God's Word.

I am in full-time ministry for God as I nurture and train my children.

I am training my children how to listen to the One who speaks from heaven!

Love from Nancy Campbell

It is important to constantly affirm who God created you to be and who you are in your high and noble calling of motherhood. Here are a few affirmations for you today. Write them out, bold and big, and pin them up where you can be reminded. And don't forget to SPEAK THEM OUT LOUD!

And remember, you don't speak these affirmations because you feel like it. You may feel exactly the opposite! But, forget your feelings. They come and go. They are temporary. Truth is the real issue, and when you speak truth, you will be amazed how your whole being--emotionally, physically, and spiritually, will catch up with your confession.

I am a fulfilled and liberated homemaker.

I am created to be a nurturer.

I am a dangerous woman to the enemy as I raise arrows for God's army.

I am a full-time missionary, training laborers for God's harvest field.

I am involved in the greatest building program in the nation--building a godly dynasty!

I am a family strengthener.

Love from Nancy Campbell