Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.

Strengthening Families Across the World through the encouragement of women in their high calling from God as wives, mothers and homemakers.

GUARD YOUR TREASURES


GuardTreasuresGod has given us so many treasures in family life. We must protect them and watch that we don’t give them away.
 
In 2 Chronicles 12:9 we read how the King of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and “took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.”
 
King Rehoboam was not on guard. He allowed the treasures of God’s house and his house to be taken away. These were not little treasures. They were treasures of gold. Everything in the house of God was made of pure gold. Even the shields were made of gold.
 
We must also guard that we don’t allow our treasures of gold to be taken away. This is just want the enemy wants to do. He comes to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). He comes to rob us of all that God wants us to enjoy.
 
When we let him rob us, we end up with second best. The King of Egypt took the shields of gold, “Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass” (2 Chronicles 12:10). Counterfeit! Second best! Which do you want? Gold or brass? You have to choose.
 
God is the author of marriage. Because it is God’s plan, the devil wants to destroy it. Don’t let him steal your marriage. Keep a soft and forgiving heart. Don’t let hardness take hold of your heart. Hardness leads to divorce (Matthew 19:8). Instead, build your marriage. Every day, find some way to build into your marriage and make it stronger. When you strengthen your marriage, you are a threat against Satan, the Destroyer.
 
Guard your children. Don’t allow the enemy to rob and deceive them with lies and deception. Don’t give them away each day to the public education system to drill their humanistic and alternative propaganda into their brains.
 
Micah 2:9 says: “The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away their glory forever.” The Amplified Version translates this verse: “From her children you take away my splendor and blessing forever (by putting them among pagans, away from Me).” God says that the glory of children is for them to be raised in the home.
 
Guard your fertility. Our fertility is a very precious gift from God. And it doesn’t last forever. It is only for a window of time in the seasons of our whole life. We can’t determine when we will have children. It is ultimately in God’s hands. To walk in God’s perfect plan for our lives, we should yield our wombs to God, for His glory. He will give the children He has planned from the foundation of the world.
 
If you are having problems conceiving, ask your husband to lay his hands upon your womb and pray over you every day. Make a specific time every day. Your husband is your covering and God will hear his cries for you.
 
Guard your family life. Once again, family is God’s idea. It’s the way He has planned for us to live in their world. He has no other plan. He specifically states that He wants the solitary to live in families. It’s the healthiest way to live. But because It is God’s plan, the devil hates it. We know he is bent on destroying family life.
 
He won’t always tempt you with blatant, sinful things to destroy your family, He uses little things. He subtly deceives you. Watch for his deceptions. Watch that your family doesn’t become fragmented, everyone constantly going their various ways. This is the testimony of most families today, but it’s not God’s way.
 
He wants us to build our families. To make things happen in our homes that keep the family together. That build relationships. That encourage interaction and family life. Determine to sit together for your family meals, especially for your evening. Don’t only eat food at your table. Feed the soul and encourage family discussion and participation. And feed the spirit. Never leave the table without reading God’s living Word and praying together. Guard this precious time. Don’t give it away.
 
“Drive your pegs deep” (Isaiah 54:2). Guard your treasures, dear mothers. Don’t let them filter through your fingers. It can happen so easily. You must PURPOSEFULLY, DELIBERATELY, and INTENTIONALLY build into your marriage and family life. It doesn’t just happen. You must make it happen.
 
Constantly think and dream of how you are going to build your home and family. That’s what a builder does. He dreams. He gets a vision. And then he takes action and builds according to the plan.
 
Be blessed today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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DO YOUR CHILDREN KNOW THAT GOD IS HOLY?

 
Without HolinessIf we truly know God is holy, we will walk in the fear of God. We will fear to displease Him and sin against Him. It surprises me when people who say they are Christians commit sinful and lustful deeds, often without conscience. They watch movies with fornication and adultery and think nothing of it. I know several couples who confess Christ as their Savior and yet live together without being married. Is their conscience hardened, or do they not understand what sin is?
 
We live in a culture where every sinful thing is tolerated. Even if the Bible states that it is sin, or an abomination, we are still expected to tolerate it. Obviously, this generation does not know the Bible. They don’t know what God says. They don’t know that He is a holy God. And they don’t know that “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
 
If we do not walk in reverential fear of our Holy God, we do not know the God of the Bible. God does not tolerate sin. Yes, He has patience toward the sinner as He waits for them to come to repentance. Yes, He forgives and cleanses sin. No sin is too great for Him to pardon. But because He is holy, he has no fellowship with sin. If we believe in a God who tolerates sin, it is a god of our own imagination.
 
However, as with everything, it starts in the home. We as parents have a responsibility to show what sin is to our children. If we tolerate sin in our children and allow them to get away with disobedience, deceit, rebellion, lying, and so on, we could be keeping them from salvation and the promise of eternal life with God forever. Unless they are convicted of sin, they will not realize they need of a Savior. The understanding of sin comes first!
 
Let’s raise our children to understand the true nature of God—that He is a HOLY God who hates sin. That why He sent His Beloved Son to die and shed His blood to save us from our sin.
 
Let’s lead our children on the way of holiness. Isaiah 35:8 says: “And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called THE WAY OF HOLINESS; the unclean shall not pass over it.”
 
On which way are we walking? On which way are we leading our children? The way of holiness? Or the worldly way?
 
Be blessed today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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IF I HADN’T BEEN A MOM

HadntBeenMomWhat would life have been like, I wondered

If I hadn't been a Mom?
If God had never placed a baby
In the shelter of my arms?

If I hadn't been a Mom
I probably would not have cried so much
I surely would not have laughed so much
I definitely would not have loved, or been loved, so much.

If I hadn't been a Mom
I wouldn't have had the chance to be
A hero, saving the day,
A fashion consultant, explaining why some things just don't match
A nurse, comforting the sick
A general, rallying the troops,
A teacher, shaping young minds,
A detective, searching out truth,
An explorer, seeking lost treasures,
A missionary, sharing the gospel of Christ.

If I hadn't been a Mom
I would never have
Been loved unconditionally by a five-month old
Snuggled under a special blankie with a two-year old
Sang Veggie Tales songs with a four-year old
Had a tickle fight with a five-year old
Found a willing and able helper in a seven-year old
Received a one-of-a-kind original masterpiece from a nine-year old
Been beaten in chess by an eleven-year old
Been instructed in the top Christian artists and their latest songs by a
thirteen-year old
Had my book-reading record broken by a fifteen-year old
Or been prayed for faithfully each night by a sixteen-year old.

I would have missed out on star-gazing, water-hose tag, read-alouds,
dancing, birthday parties and Christmas mornings full of joy.

If I hadn't been a Mom
I wouldn't have had the chance to fall in love with my husband
Time and time again
As he kissed a tiny baby
Or danced with a little girl
Wrestled with little boys
Or took young ladies out on their first dates
And taught young men what it means to be a man.

If I hadn't been a Mom
I wouldn't have to read Amelia Bedelia or play "This Little Piggy"
numberless times
I wouldn't have had to wipe crayon off the walls
Scrub Play-Doh out of the carpets
Or spot treat countless little clothes

I wouldn't find old diapers under my car seat,
Rocks in my washing machine,
Or my toothbrush on the floor behind the toilet.

I wouldn't have had to make last-minute searches for shoes,
Fix hundreds of ponytails,
Wipe thousands of noses,
Clip millions of fingernails.

I wouldn't have been drooled, thrown up, pooped, and peed on.
I wouldn't have come to think of the bathroom as my private sanctuary
Or settled into the dentist's chair with a sigh of pleasure
At the prospect of thirty minutes of peace.

But if I hadn't been a Mom
I wouldn't have been given butterfly kisses
Or felt baby hands clasped around my neck.

I wouldn't have received love notes
With questionable spelling,
But matchless expression.

I wouldn't have enjoyed wildflower bouquets
Or head rubs
Or been the object of so many radiant smiles.

I wouldn't have received
An encouraging word, a hug,
Or an act of service just when I needed it most.

I wouldn't have shared heart-to-heart talks
With aspiring young film-makers,
Computer experts, artists, writers, interior decorators,
Chefs, gardeners, singers, architects, ballerinas, engineers, inventors,
Explorers, horse-trainers, and future Daddies and Mommies.

I wouldn't have a front-row seat to the blossoming of future
world-changers
And the pleasure of living with my very best friends.

If I hadn't been a Mom I wouldn't have heard a child cry "Mommy!"
If I hadn't been a Mom
I wouldn't have been challenged
To love Christ more,
Trust my Father more,
Listen to the Holy Spirit more,
Repent quickly,
Speak carefully,
Forgive graciously,
Give generously,
Be truer, braver, freer.
I might never have plumbed the depths of my own weakness
And found, at the bottom, the miracle of God's grace.

So, for all you little girls—

Hold fast to your baby dolls and love them well.
And to you big girls
Standing on the edge of life's great adventure—

When you hear the lie, as you surely will,
That life is too short to be lived
Within four walls washing dishes,
Changing diapers,
Cleaning up messes,
Teaching ABCs,
And being the center of a whirlwind of noise and activity,
Don't pay it any mind.
Take it from someone who has gone before you
That, although whatever road God takes you down in life will be blessed,
There is no richer journey than the one you will find
If you are one day privileged
To be a Mom.

By Jenny Hutchins, mother of 10 children.

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I AM SHUDDERING WITH HORROR

Can you believe it? After President Trump and Republican leaders promised to defund Planned Parenthood, they have now gone ahead and funded $500 million to this baby killing organization. They have fulfilled Hilly Clinton’s promise instead.

Planned Parenthohod is the Auschwitz of our country. They kill over 320,000 babies every year! And then they have the audacity to sell the baby organs to make more money—precious limbs, livers, hearts, brains, eyes, and even whole heads! And they even have a law suit against David Daleiden, the brave young man who exposed what they are doing. What is his crime? Telling the truth.

We can’t let this go without standing up for what is right. We must always stand for life. God is for life. He is the author of life, but Satan hates life and wants to kill, rob, and destroy.

What can you do? Pray above everything else. Pray for repentance among our national leaders for helping to kill babies. Pray for God to change their hearts. Pay for leaders who will stand for truth. Pray for pastors and clergy who will stand for truth. Pray together as a family each day.

And pray in your churches? Did your church pray about this matter on Sunday?

And be a voice. Go to https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ where you can leave a message for President Trump. Tell him that you expected him to keep his promise. Tell him to stand up for life and do something to defund Planned Parenthood.

Phone your senators. Go to:
https://www.dailykos.com/…/-Call-your-senator-Phone-numbers…

Phone your congressmen. Go to: https://www.house.gov/representatives

If you would prefer to email, click on the name of your representative which will take you to where you can email them. I both emailed a message and phoned my senators and representatives.

By the way, why did I say I was shuddering with horror? Paul writes in Romans 12:9: “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” The Greek word “abhor” is very strong and means “to shudder with horror.” Is there anything more horrifying than the killing of unborn innocent lives? If it doesn’t make us shudder, we should ask God to soften our hearts to beat with His heart.

Proverbs 31:8, 9 exhorts us: “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and please the cause of the poor and needy.”

Did you notice that this Scripture doesn’t tell you to keep your mouth closed, but to OPEN YOUR MOUTH!

Make your voice heard.

Thanks for standing for life,

Nancy Campbell

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NO CHILDREN?

NoChildren2No children in the house to play-

It must be hard to live that way!
I wonder what the people do
When night comes on and the work is through,
With no glad little folks to shout,
No eager feet to race about,
No youthful tongues to chatter on
About the joy that’s been and gone?
The house might be a castle fine,
But what a lonely place to dine!

No children in the house at all,
No finger marks upon the wall,
No corner where the toys are piled—
Sure indication of a child.
No little lips to breathe the prayer
That God shall keep you in His care,
No glad caress and welcome sweet
When night returns you to your street;
No little lips a kiss to give—
Oh, what a lonely way to live!

No children in the house! I fear
We could not stand it half a year.
What would we talk about at night?
Plan for and work with all our might,
Hold common dreams about and find
True union of the heart and mind,
If we two had no greater care
Than what we both should eat and wear?
We never knew love’s brightest flame
Until the day the baby came.

And now we could not get along
Without their laughter and their song,
Joy is not bottled on a shelf,
It cannot feed upon itself;
And even love, if it shall wear,
Must find its happiness in care;
Dull we’d become of mind and speech
Had we no little ones to teach.
No children in the house to play!
Oh, we could never live that way!

By Edgar Guest.

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YOU CHOOSE THE ATMOSPHERE

BuildingDestroyingWhat’s the atmosphere like in your home today? Sometimes it can get chaotic. Sometimes its morbid. Other times happy and laughing.

Dear mothers, we are the ones who choose the atmosphere of our home. Yes, we decide what atmosphere we want! What do you want? Do you want your home to be filled with the presence of God? Filled with joy and happiness? Then we can make it happen.

It all starts with us. First, we choose what we do with our emotions. We choose how we handle our trials. I know that life isn’t perfect. Many things don’t go the way we want them to. Life often hits us whammies we never imagined.

Whatever we face today, we can choose to trust God. He is bigger than any situation we face. We can choose to praise Him in the midst of the storm. We can choose to rejoice in every situation. We can choose to see things in the light of the eternal, instead of the here and now (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

We can choose to fill our home with God’s presence. We do this by choosing to praise God instead of complaining, moaning, griping, and falling into self-pity. Psalm 22:3 says that God dwells in our praises! That means that when we choose to praise instead of groan, God dwells in us. His presence comes to us and fills our home. The word is “yashab” and even means to “sit down.” He sits down and rests in our praises. Some translations say that He is “enthroned” in our praises.

1 Peter 4:12-14 inspires us to rejoice even in the midst of fiery trials. Actually, we are to “exceedingly rejoice.” And when we rejoice instead of grumbling, “the spirit of glory and of God rests upon” us (v. 14). Isn’t that incredible? That sure brings a wonderful atmosphere to your home.

What rests upon you and your home today? The morbid mud of self-pity, or the glory of God?

Love to you today,

Nancy Campbell

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WHAT SHOULD I DO?

servingI can remember times during the days of our marriage when my husband would come home tired and ready for his evening meal, but I had planned to go out to a meeting or activity. What should I do? Place his dinner in front of him, say Bye, and leave him to all the children? Or should I stay with him and the children for the evening?

The modern viewpoint would say, “Well, you’ve been with the children all day long. It’s about time he had his turn!”

But what decision builds into the marriage and the home? I think you’ve guessed it. It is so easy to build into so many other things in this life and forget our greatest building project.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that you will never go out. There are always special occasions. But we need to be sensitive and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as to what is the best thing. Good things are often the enemy of the best! It’s so easy to get into the habit of always going out, which doesn’t build up the marriage and the home. I believe it is important, as much as possible, to be home with your husband and family to prepare the evening meal, to sit together for the evening meal, and to enjoy family worship together.

Proverbs 14:1: “Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands.” The New Century Version says it very clearly: “A wise woman strengthens her family, but a foolish woman destroys hers by what she does.”

Every day make decisions. Every day we plan our schedule. Let’s always make our decisions in the light of building up and strengthening our marriages and families. And remember, it’s not just the big things, but the little everyday things that are the most powerful building tools.

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

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MY MEDITATION BASKET

MeditationBasketHere is a picture of my Meditation Basket. I use it every day and everywhere I go, downstairs in the office where I am writing to you and searching the Word and upstairs where I live.

What do you put in a Meditation Basket? Find any suitable basket around you home and put in it your Bible and whatever else inspires you when you have your Quiet Time (or not so quiet if the children are around you). Here are some ideas for you.

Your Bible. Most important of all.

A Daily Devotional of your choice. You may love to have “100 Days of Blessing” which is a devotional especially for wives and mothers. We have both volumes 1 and 2 available for you at http://tinyurl.com/100DaysBundle

A different version of the Bible than you normally read. I keep my “Hebrew/Greek Key Study Bible in the King James Version. However, I love to have a couple of different translations to also refer to. I am a connoisseur of Bible translations and change them in my basket from time to time.

An old hymn book (it is wonderful to read some of the wonderful old hymns to inspire you in your worship and walk with the Lord).

A hard-covered diary in which you can write the most important Scripture God gives you for the day.

Two or three pens (or even more as they seem to disappear quickly), as you want to have a pen on hand when God speaks to you. I need a load of pens as I am a professional pen looser!

Keep your Meditation Basket in the place where you love to sit with the Lord. You can pick up your basket and take it with you anywhere in the house. To your bedroom. Or to the sofa where you are nursing the baby. You may like to take it outside under a tree while you watch the children play, or wherever you want to go. It’s all in the basket. You don’t have to run around finding everything when you find another cozy nook somewhere.

I hope this is an inspiration to you. Have a lovely day.

NANCY CAMPBELL

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THE POWER OF FOOD

PowerFoodDo you love preparing meals for your family? Or do you find it a chore? Dearest wives and mothers, can I encourage you today that cooking and preparing meals for your family is not an insignificant task? It is a powerful part of your divine mothering career. It holds families together. It keeps generations alive.

A home is a true home when families sit around the table together eating and fellowshipping, laughing and debating, exchanging ideas and sharing new visions. It’s pulsating. It releases family members into great things. And most of all, it strengthens and cements the family unit.

But it rarely happens without food. Food paves the way for these life-changing and sometimes nation-changing moments to happen. And who does it come back to? The mother in the home. She is the one who prepares the atmosphere by lovingly preparing the food and graciously setting it on the table. It doesn’t have to be exotic food. It only needs to be simple food. But food is needed!

How Jesus loved to sit at the table and share divine truths. What was Jesus own testimony of himself? “The Son of man is come eating and drinking” (Luke 7:34). Robert Karris, the author of “Eating Your Way Through Luke’s Gospel” says: “In Luke’s Gospel Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal.”

Proverbs 31:15 (NASB) says: “She (the mother in the home) rises also while it is still night and gives food to her household.” SHE is the one who prepares the food. SHE is the one who prepares the way for family togetherness. SHE is the one who sees beyond the work of cooking food to the great things that will happen as the family and others come to the table around the food.

Of course, it’s not always perfect. Especially when your children are little. It can be exhausting and hair-raising! But dear mothers, keep establishing the habit of family meals around the table. You are training your children. You are establishing godly and biblical habits. Eventually your work and training will be rewarded. Your children grow, and you will eventually have amazing times of conversation and discussion together.

In the meantime, if you are desperate for more intelligent fellowship, open your home in hospitality. Invite people to your home to sit around your table with you. This is normal Christian life. It is the extension of our mothering and homemaking ministry. It is the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. Acts 2:46, 47 (NET) says: “Every day they continued to gather together . . . breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.”

Rejoice in the power of preparing meals in your home today.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Phoebe Wahl

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IS YOUR HOME A HEALING HOME?

HealingHomeDid you know that the home is associated with healing? In Luke 2:42, 43 Jesus tells a parable of the master of the household who appoints a faithful and wise steward to be in charge of his home and to make sure his servants have food while he is away. The same parable is also told in Matthew 24:45-47. The word household is “therapeia” in the Greek and means “attendance to medical needs, domestic, healing.”

In other words, out homes should be homes of healing—healing the spirit, the soul, and the body. That’s why God ordained the home. It is an oasis from the storms of life, a sanctuary from the chaos and strife in the world, a place of safety to nurture and raise children, and a place of healing.

One of the powerful places in the home is the table where we eat and fellowship. It is the gathering place. The home centers around food and fellowship. If we do not smell the wonderful smells of spices and herbs enhancing the food cooking on the stove and the aroma of homemade bread in the oven we miss some of the joys of home.

If we do not sit around the table to communicate, discuss, and share our revelations and thoughts as we eat together we miss the true essence of home. The table is communal. It promotes oneness, not independence.

The picture God paints of a blessed family is of children “all around the table” (Psalm 1238:3). Tables are meant to be filled. God didn’t intend the 1.8-member family of today’s society. He loves the filled table. And not only the immediate family, but often grandparents and extended family. And friends and strangers. Each one comes with expectancy, ready for new dialogue. The place hums with conversation. No one is lonely. The togetherness brings healing and joy.

To talk about the things that are on our hearts help to heal our confusions or brokenness. And when we eat, it is important to eat healthy foods. This word “healing” that is used for “household” is used in only two other places in the Bible. Both talk about healing.

Luke 9:11 where Jesus “healed them that had need of healing (therapeia).”

Revelation 22:1, 2 speaks of “A pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing (therapeia) of the nations.” Healing foods, not refined junk foods.

Are we careful to prepare healing foods for our husbands and children? This is such an important part of being a homemaker.

Make your home a beautiful place of healing for the spirit, the soul, and the body.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Harold Anderson

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SHINE LIKE STARS

Stars

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THE LANGUAGE OF MOTHERHOOD

LanguageMotherhoodDo you remember seeing the Women’s March immediately after the election of President Trump? I remember being so grieved by hearing the filthy and course language shouted by so many of the women. It was the absolute opposite of womanhood. A rejection of femininity.

I have been thinking of some of the beautiful words that describe motherhood. Can we remind ourselves of some of them?

Blessing, breastfeeding, compassionating (I’ll explain further down), conceiving, consoling, comforting, cuddling, delighting, embracing, encouraging, gestating, guarding, guiding, giving selflessly, keeping watch, loving, leading, longsuffering, mothering, mending broken hearts, making lovely memories, ministering, nurturing, nursing, nourishing, nesting, praying, protecting, shepherding, serving, sacrificing, strengthening, suckling, soothing, satisfying, satiating, sweetening, teaching, training, tenderly caring, and yearning over our children’s souls.

What beautiful words. Titus 2:3 tells us that the older women are “to be teachers of beautiful things” which are all to do with motherhood and being wife. Why is that artists love to paint mothers and babies? Because there is nothing so beautiful.

I mentioned the word “compassionating.” A. W. Tozer says we should change compassionate into a verb. It then becomes “to compassionATE.” When you show compassion, you are compassionating. When you embrace a baby in your womb, you are wombing.

We don’t hear many of the above words in conversations today. And yet they are the description of our lives as mothers. It’s time to get back to the real world.

Have a blessed day,

NANCY CAMPBELL

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YOUR COMFORTER

ComforterOne of the names of our God is the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Did you notice that He is the God of ALL comfort? We need God’s comfort in different ways as we face different situations in our lives. But there is nothing that is too painful for God’s comfort.

He is also El Shaddai, the God of tender love and compassion. It is a beautiful word. “El” speaks of God’s might and power. The word “Shaddai” translates “the breast of God.” The root of “Shaddai” is “shad” and literally means “breast.”

It is a picture of God, who like a nursing mother, loves to gather us in His arms and tenderly comfort and nurture us. We see a little glimpse of this in Isaiah 40:31: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom and shall gently led those that are with young.”

The blessing God gives over Joseph says: “The God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty (Shaddai), who shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb” (Genesis 49:25).

The Hebrew word for “womb” is “racham.” This word means “compassion, mercy, tender love.” The amazing thing is that this word is used interchangeably in God’s Word to describe the mercies and compassion of God and also the womb of a woman! Same word!

God’s comfort comes from His breast (from His heart) and also from the very bowels of His womb of compassion and tender mercies. As a mother, you have much need of His comfort, counsel, and comfort. As you find your nourishment in Him, you then minister it to your precious children. As you seek Him to find Him as your solace and source of strength, stability, and comfort, He ministers into your life, so you can comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).

As mothers, our “others” are first our children God has given us. God has wondrously created us in His image to reveal His nurturing heart and His compassion and tender love. This anointing comes from God Himself and He has put it divinely within us. And even more! He created us physically to reveal these powerful attributes. He created us with the blessings of breasts and the womb. As we embrace the function of the breasts and the womb in childbearing we reveal the image of God. We become pourers forth of God’s nurture, compassion, and tender love.

How privileged we are. Embrace who God created you to be. Find God as your El Shaddai and then as a little “shad” pour out His love and nurture to your babies, children, and to the hurting around you.

In His love,

Nancy Campbell

Belgian paintings: Armand Rassenfosse - Maternité, 1921

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THEY’RE SCARED!

MomChildWe read Deuteronomy 2:10 in our Family Devotions this morning: “And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by name of the LORD: and they shall be afraid of thee.”

At first, I thought, Are the people who reject God afraid of His people? I don’t think so. They despise us and many times lord over us.

But then I thought again. Yes, they are afraid of what we stand for! The first thing God established when He created the world was the institution of marriage and family. Because it is God’s design and His idea, Satan hates it. He seeks to undermine and destroy it every way he can. He loves to pull marriages apart and distort the image of God because marriage is a picture of Christ, the Bridegroom, and His church.

And he is desperate to destroy motherhood. Through the mediums of feminism and humanistic deception the devil woos woman out of the home. He deceives them from knowing they are in the most important career in the nation. The fact is, Satan fears motherhood. That’s why he wants to eradicate it!

He knows that he doesn’t have any power over the women who know who God created them to be—women who embrace motherhood and their home. Women who leave their careers, which are only a passing phase, to pour their lives into an eternal work that will last forever. Women who willingly embrace the children God gives them and are filled with a divine passion to instill God’s principles into their lives and raise mighty young men and women for God.

Satan can’t get his hands on these children because they have a mother guarding over them in the home. She determines the education of her children. And she is at home to fill them minds with God’s truth and a biblical worldview. She is preparing them to go out into the world, strong and bold, to stand against the wolves!

Dearest mother, you are the devil’s biggest problem! Lift up your head. Stand strong in who you are as a mother. Don’t ever give into his temptations and wily deceptions. You are in the most powerful career for women in the nation. You are employed by God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. You determine the destiny of the nation.

And remember, the devil is afraid of the power of motherhood.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

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TRUSTING THE LORD MEANS SAFETY

FearingPeople

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I FEEL A STIR...

FeelAStir

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ARE YOU FILLING UP THE PAGES?

BookRememberanceWhat do you love to do when you get together with other believers? What do you love to talk about it?

Malachi 3:16 says, "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." This Scripture is a beautiful picture of the saints fellowshipping together. Not gossiping together, but discussing God's Word and sharing testimonies with one another of His goodness and daily mercies to us.

I am always excited to learn more of the Scriptures and love to hear what others are discovering.

"What has God been saying to you lately?" I sometimes ask. Blank stares. No reply.

"What book are you reading in the Bible at present?" Once again, no reply.

We are always eager to talk about what is on our heart, aren't we? Therefore, if we are thinking about the Lord, don't you think we'll want to talk about Him? As we receive new understanding from reading God's Word each day, we'll be keen to share it. So, why the silence?

Surely, as believers, we are not talking more about movies, concerts, shopping, clothes, and everything else but God and His Word.

Will our pages in God's Book of Remembrance be blank, or are we filling them up? Will there lots be written about your family life?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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STIR UP THE POT

StirUpPotWhen we find someone believing a lie, what do we do? When someone is going astray, what do we do? Most times, we prefer to say or do nothing. We don't like to interfere. We don't want to be thought of someone who is condemning or legal, so we keep quiet. We don’t want people to think negatively about us.

But is this what God wants us to do? Proverbs 28:4 says: "They that forsake the law praise the wicked; but such as keep the law contend with them." The Hebrew word for "contend" is “garah” and means "to meddle, to stir up." In other words, stir up the pot!

Is it loving to leave someone in deception? Is it loving to not rescue someone who is going in the wrong direction? (Read Jude 1:23). How can we change society if we stay silent? God wants us to invade society with His truth. He wants His people to show the way. He wants us to shine His light into the darkness, not hide our light (Matthew 5:13-16).

This doesn't mean we become condemning. A great way to challenge people's thinking is to ask them questions. Ask them why they think the way they do. Ask them about their worldview.

What happens when you ask this innocent question: “Are you planning on having any more children?” This nice little question can often receive a negative and vehement answer! I wonder why some folks can have such a reaction about something that is a gift from God. I think it is because it is a spiritual battle between light and darkness.

But don’t get upset. Smile lovingly. And ask another question? It will open open the way to gently speak God’s truth into their lives. Christian and non-Christians are constantly bombarded with a secular and humanistic worldview and we have a responsibility to redirect their thinking back to God's way.

Jude 1:3 exhorts us to “earnestly contend for the faith.” And of course, our first accountability is to our children. We must constantly seek to keep them in the truth.

Don't hide your light. And don't forget to smile at people when you stir up the pot!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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DRIFTING WITH THE CURRENT

DriftingWe don’t have to do one thing to drift with the current, do we? It happens without our doing anything. We can lay back and relax and watch the world go by.

Hebrews 2:1 (Weymouth) says: “For this reason we ought to pay the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, for fear we should drift away from them.” Drifting is an unconscious process. Westcott comments, “We are all continually exposed to the action of currents of opinion, habit, action, which tend to carry us away insensibly from the position which we ought to maintain.”

Conversely, it takes concerted effort and untiring strength, conviction, and purpose to go in the right direction, which most times is against the current of this world.

Are you living against the grain of this society? Keep standing strong. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t cave in to the easy way. You may receive scoffing and contempt from family members and people around you but put your shoulders back and lift your head. You are on God’s course! Your end is “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Your disdainers are deceived and deliriously drifting on dangerous currents.

And please, do everything in your power to keep your children from drifting in the current of this world. That’s why so many Christian parents take their children out of the public education system. It’s not only the lack of godly teaching they receive, but the influence of their peers. Children, and especially teenagers, want to be in the groove. They want to be like everyone else around them. Therefore, it’s easy for them to drift toward the behavior of their peers.

You can be the godliest parents, but if your children get in the wrong company, it becomes a stronger influence than you. This is not God’s plan. You as the parents should be the strongest influence in their lives. Don’t hand over your influence and God-given responsibility.

Love from Nancy Campbell

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GOD HEALS BROKEN LIVES

HeRestoresThere are so many hurting people, not only poor people who are struggling, but those who are affluent. Many of their lives are broken and crushed too. Their marriages are tearing apart. And again, some of these are in the church, and sometimes even in leadership.

And yet God is waiting to heal. He is the healer of broken lives. When Jesus went into the synagogue at Nazareth, He picked up the scroll and read from Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he that anointed me . . . to heal the brokenhearted" (Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:16-19). The word "brokenhearted" is talking about those whose lives are shattered and broken to shivers.

You may be feeling utterly crushed. Your life is broken in little bits and you can't imagine how to get it back together again. Dear hurting one, God waits to heal and restore you. Lay your life before Him and let Him come in with His light, His love, His healing balm, and His restoring anointing. He will do it, little by little, if you let Him. Allow His living Word to heal you (Psalm 107:20). Your circumstances may not change right away, but God will heal your soul.

You cannot cope with life unless your soul is whole. Let Him come in and flood your life. His love will enable you to forgive, to let go of hurt and bitterness, and to be healed and restored. Take hold of the truth in Psalm 23:3. “Thank you, dear Father, that You restore my soul.”

He is the only true restorer of the soul.

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

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Above Rubies Address

AboveRubies
Email Nancy

PO Box 681687
Franklin, TN 37068-1687

Phone : 931-729-9861
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