Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Or maybe I’ll live in a hot, dry desert
Wandering and dying of thirst.
Since in my own home my needs are not met,
Living there is definitely the worst.
The home I dream of holds a wife who’s content;
A woman placidly happy would be heaven-sent.
She’s satisfied, loving and usually unruffled;
Her infrequent criticism she tries to keep muffled.
This wife brings me good;
I feel understood.

I jump down from my roof and run in from the rain;
To be apart from this woman would just be insane!

~ Kim Newhouse

“Better to dwell in a corner of a roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife”
(Proverbs 25:24 TLV).

“Continual dripping on a day of steady rain and a contentious wife are alike”
(Proverbs 27:15 TLV).

“It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome, worrisome wife”
(Proverbs 21:19 TLV).

Read also: Proverbs 19:13 and 21:9.

Hebrews 3:1 states that we are “PARTAKERS of the heavenly calling.”

Hebrews 3;14 states that we are made “PARTAKERS of Christ.”

Hebrews 6:4 states that we have been made “PARTAKERS of the Holy Spirit.”

2 Peter 1:4 states that we have become “PARTAKERS of the divine nature.” The “divine nature”! Not our fleshly nature! Jesus Christ wants to live His divine nature through you! He wants to share it with you. He wants you to share it with Him. Not just at church, but every day and every moment in your home with your children. Right now.

You are not convinced? Listen to John 1:16 talking about Jesus the Word who “was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. . . . And of his FULLNESS HAVE ALL WE RECEIVED, grace for grace.” This is not talking about a scanty bit of grace, but an abundance of grace for every situation you face each day. You share in His fullness!

“Dear Father, please help us to get a glimpse of the glory and divine life that You want us to live in each day. Save us from living on the crumbs and imprisoned to our fleshly reactions when you have invited us to share Your divine nature. Help us to live in the fullness of your grace for every challenge we face. Thank You in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Don’t live normally today, but supernaturally.

Nancy Campbell

We know of course that Sarah was past the time of childbearing. She didn’t believe that such a thing could happen and so God speaks again the second time! Verse 14 says: “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (verse 14).

I believe that God restored Sarah’s cycle so that she could ovulate again and therefore God was able to come and visit her during her “time of life.”

Our “time of life” is also a time of “visitation” from God. We read again about Sarah’s conceiving in Genesis 21:1, 2: “And the Lord VISITED Sarah as he had said and the LORD did unto Sarah AS HE HAD SPOKEN (in Genesis 18:10, 14). For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

We read also of God visiting Hannah and giving her children. After Hannah had taken Samuel to live at the temple because she had dedicated him to the Lord, 1 Samuel 2:21 says: “And the LORD VISITED Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters.” She was blessed with five more visitations of God.

What a privilege to be visited by God. A responsibility too. Understanding this truth makes clear what we are actually doing when we choose a plan to stop life during the time of ovulation. We refuse a visitation of God. We thwart the sovereign plans of Almighty God. We say No to life instead of Yes. And when we stop one conception, it is not only one baby, but a dynasty to come!

Love and blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

P.S. You can read another story about the “time of life” in 2 Kings 4:16,17.

Picture: I was looking for a picture of a newborn baby. My lovely Above Rubies helper said, “I’ve got one of my mother and baby sister.” This is little Emmaline, about two minutes old. I wish you could see her mother, Misty. This is her ninth baby, and now she is happily expecting No. 10, but she just looks like a teenager.

This is God’s plan--that we build godly generations, from one generation to the next. Perhaps you may not have the privilege of the heritage of a godly generation. Are you the first one in your family to walk with the Lord? Be encouraged. You are now beginning a godly generation! How exciting.

As you nurture your children each day, dear mothers, remember that you are not only mothering for today, but for generations to come. Motherhood is not transient! It’s not just for one day. Your mothering extends to future generations and on to eternity. Every day is a generational day.

Rejoice in this privilege. Take up your responsibility. Isaiah 59:21 (HCSB) says: “‘My Spirit who is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your children, or from the mouth of your children’s children, from now on and forever,’ says the LORD.”

Be encouraged.

Nancy Campbell

There won’t be much satisfaction
Looking back along the way,
Though we kept our house all shining -
If we scolded every day.

Yes I know that little garments
Sadly torn and out of place
Make it hard for tired mother;
Hard to wear a smiling face.

They will leave their home nest shortly;
Some may fly to foreign lands -
Then your house will be in order
But you will sit with empty hands.

So let us all enjoy each minute
Of these lovely childhood days;
Just forget the dust that gathers,
And enjoy their childish ways.

Yesterday they were but babies,
Now they’re with us for awhile
But tomorrow they’ll be going -
Send them onward with a smile!

Anon.

Painting by Steve Hanks.

It's easy to get busy with the things I need to do,
Forgetting that their playful days are fleeting and too few.
O Lord, please help me notice what's important and what's not,
To cherish precious moments and to mother as I ought.

Please keep me from distractions that would rob me of the joy
That you have planned to give me through my precious girls and boys.
Help me teach them of Your ways, this is my highest aim,
I long to see my children live to glorify Your name.

O help me be the model that would draw them to Your throne,
Let me make for them a haven that would turn their hearts to home,
And in these fast and fleeting years, please help me not to miss
The treasure that you give me in each cuddle and each kiss.

Please give to me a child's heart, to see the way they see,
To savor every moment with these ones so dear to me
That when I 'm old and looking back at every blessed year
I will rejoice that I was there to share each joy and tear.

C 1998 Val Halloran Music That Encourages the Heart www.valhalloran.com

We are the only Bible the careless world will read,
We are the sinner’s gospel; we are the scoffer’s creed;
We are the Lord’s last message, given in word and deed;
What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?
What if our feet are walking where sin’s allurement is?
What if our tongue is speaking of things His lips would spurn?
How can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?

—Annie Johnston Flint

The Mirror exposition of 2 Timothy 1:18 says: ”His visit meant so much to me that day in Rome: HE MADE GOD’S MERCY TANGIBLE.” What a challenge. Am I a visible and evident expression of God to my husband and family? What about you?

I love the quote of William Makepeace Thackeray: “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” We are the touchable expression of God to our children. Every day we show them what God is like. What about our husbands? Do they come closer to God through seeing Him manifested lives?

Let’s be the tangible proof to our husbands, our children, and the world of what God is like.

Love from Nancy Campbell

In our society where we can buy any vegetable or fruit we could imagine from the supermarket (at any season and from anywhere in the world) we don’t think gardens are important for food. However, where can you purchase food as fresh as harvesting from the garden as you prepare your next meal? Even organic vegetables (which are usually too expensive to purchase) often look old and wilted.

The first home was called the Garden of Eden and it was the prototype of all homes to come. Even when the children of Israel were taken captives to Babylon, God (the Lord of hosts) brought a word to the people through the prophet Jeremiah. He told them that even in captivity that they were to “Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them” (Jeremiah 29:5). In other words, keep doing the plan I gave you at the beginning, even though you are in captivity and life is difficult.

This is now the season to plant. I have planted 106 tomato plants and three rows of sweet and hot peppers, plus cucumbers, kale and lettuce so far. I hope to plant okra, zucchini, golden squash, and more cucumbers today. It’s hard work, but I am encouraged by the promise I read this morning of the wonderful harvest to come.

Can I encourage you that even if you live in the city and only have a tiny piece of earth, to try and plant something. Even if it is a few lettuces or one or two tomato plants. You can even plant these in pots to grow on your deck or verandah. And if you truly don’t have one piece of dirt at all, grow herbs on your window sill. At least have some vestige of a garden, for this is God’s plan from the very beginning.

Happy gardening.

Love from Nancy Campbell

THE WRONG WAY TO GARDEN!
A picture of Evangeline in the garden. Actually, she is a hard-working gardener, but she can work or relax in the garden!

Do you feel that everything is cut away from you? Life is finished. Dear friend, there is hope. Even if the tree is dead, it can live again. All it needs is some water! In fact, this Scripture says that even the smell of water will awaken life. Read the Scripture again. Read it OUT LOUD!

Water your situation in prayer. Water your marriage in prayer. Cry out for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to come. Zechariah 4:6 says: “Not my might, not by power, but by my Spirit saith the LORD of hosts.” The living water of the Holy Spirit awakens life. Soak in the anointing of God’s Word and speak it into your situation.

As you continue to water your situation with prayer, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the power of the Word of God life will come. Your dead situation will sprout again. “For I will pour water upon him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring; they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses” (Isaiah 44:3, 4). Read also Psalm 1:1-3.

Be encouraged.

Nancy Campbell

Titus 2:3 exhorts the older women to be “teachers of good things.” The word in the Greek language is “kalodidaskalos.” It comes from two words:
didaskalos - teacher, instructor
kalos - beautiful, good, worthy, valuable or virtuous for appearance and function.

Therefore, when Titus 2:3-5 speaks about loving our children, loving our husbands, being submissive to our husbands, and keepers at home, it is talking about BEAUTIFUL works. They are beautiful in God’s eyes. They are beautiful in the eyes of your husband. They will also be beautiful in your eyes when you understand they are God’s perfect will and His ultimate plan for you.

Embrace your beautiful role wholeheartedly. When you get up in the morning, thank God for the privilege of having such a beautiful career. Thank Him for the privilege of nurturing your little ones with God’s love and compassion. Thank Him for the joy of cooking and preparing meals for your family. Oh yes, 1 Timothy 5:10 tells us that this is also a beautiful work: “Well reported of for good (kalos) works: if she has brought up children . . .” The words “brought up” mean to not only nurture and raise your children, but to feed them with food!

Thank Him for the privilege of loving your husband and making your home a sanctuary for God. And yes, thank Him for all the challenges you face, because how could you expect to escape challenges and difficulties when you work full time in the most important career in the nation?

Love from Nancy Campbell

P.S. In case you haven’t read about Prayer Boxes, you can go to these links:
http://tinyurl.com/OurPrayerBox
http://tinyurl.com/TryDifferentPrayerBoxes
http://tinyurl.com/IdeasForPrayerCards
http://tinyurl.com/RecommendedLinks