Speak life into your home today.
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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.
You can see the drawings or watch the YouTube. Clink on the links below:
Dear Reader, forgive me, I know these illustrations are horrific, but we cannot put our heads in the sand. We cannot stand idly by while babies are murdered in such a horrific way, and lawfully up until the time of birth.
Our God is a God of life. He creates every precious new life that is conceived. He loves each new life. He has plans and destiny for each special life (Psalm 139:13-16). And these lives are eternal.
The kingdom of God is a kingdom of life. If we belong to the kingdom of God we must stand on the side of life. If we do not cringe and cry at the devastation of life in the womb in this way, we belong to the kingdom of darkness which hates life.
We must stand against the candidate, Hilary Clinton, who unashamedly promotes the murdering of babies in this way, right up until the birth of the baby. We must do everything in our power to stop her anti-life agenda.
~ Nancy Campbell
http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/linedrawings/
http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/illustrations/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6vnOaq7nWU
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Even when it’s hard to be strong for ourselves, we must be strong for our children and others around us.
When Joab (the captain of King David’s army) faced a mighty battle with the Ammonites he said to his warriors: “Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God” (2 Samuel 10:12). The phrase “play the men” means “to be courageous, valiant, to conquer.” The word is used mostly in the context of battle.
Do you notice that Joab encouraged his men to be strong and courageous, not just for themselves, but “FOR OUR PEOPLE, AND FOR THE CITIES OF OUR GOD”?
God is with you, dear mother. Even when you feel week in yourself, you can call on God’s strength in the battle. He is with you. He is the One who gives you courage. And He gives you courage to be strong for your family.
I believe we are in a time when we not only have to be strong for our families, but for our cities, and our nation! We must stand strong for righteousness. We must stand strong for the life of the unborn. We must be courageous to oppose all evil, even in the face of ridicule.
We must be strong at this election time to vote for righteousness. In this coming election I am not voting FOR someone as much as I am voting AGAINST! Because I belong to the kingdom of God which is a kingdom of righteousness, a kingdom of light, and a kingdom of life, I must oppose all evil and everything that seeks to destroy life. I am not warring against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers.
Therefore, I will vote against the candidate who brashly believes that babies should be aborted even one day before they are born, because they are still in the womb. I am voting against the shutting down of the Christian voice in the nation and the candidate who believes that Christians and evangelicals will need to change their thinking to all that is unbiblical and against God.
Let’s be courageous in this hour, not just for ourselves, but for your children, our children’s children, and the destiny of this nation.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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The other day I wrote a post, A MANLY THING, about young men being ready to take responsibility in marriage. I can’t leave out the young women. It’s important for them to be prepared also. As with the men, many young women today have rarely held a baby. They know nothing about motherhood or managing a home. They have spent most of their life at school, college, and even partying. They have not been prepared mentally for the embracing of children or establishing a home.
They fall in love and “eventually “get married, but have no thought of having children. That’s something in the far distant future. This is not God’s plan. The first words He spoke to the first married couple were “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.” If a couple are not ready to embrace children, they are not ready for marriage. They are still immature and irresponsible.
Wow, that’s a statement most people won’t like today.
They think they are responsible by waiting until they have “all their ducks in a row” and are financially successfully before they could have children. But that depends whether you are depending upon yourself or upon God. That depends whether you have a humanistic worldview or a biblical worldview.
The Bible tells us that when He sends a child, that He will provide. Of course, we don’t know when God will give us a baby. It’s not a given that it will happen right away. We don’t know whether God will give us only one or two or maybe ten, but that’s His prerogative. If we walk with the Lord, we walk by faith and trust in His absolute sovereignty. It comes down to this fact: we either trust in our own resources or in God’s sovereignty and His resources which never fail.
Plus, there is nothing like the addition of children to mature a young man and woman. They grow up overnight (unless they are steeped in deception and demanding their own way rather than yielding to the will of God).
Psalm 144:12 tells us that our daughters are to be like the cornerstones of a palace. A cornerstone is the one that forms the very foundation of a building. It is the mainstay. When our daughters marry and begin establishing a home, they are the very core, heart, backbone, and bedrock of the home. If they haven’t been trained to manage a home and embrace and care for children, how will they cope? Many times they don’t.
And if we don’t have mothers as the cornerstone of their homes, how will our homes become the strength of the nation? Godly homes are the strength and stability of a nation. Marriages and homes that are fragmented and falling apart weaken the nation.
Are you raising cornerstones?
Love from Nancy Campbell
Picture: Shelby and Josiah at their wedding rehearsal. Yes, they are both always holding babies, any time you see them, at their rehearsal, and even on their wedding day.
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You are not insignificant, dear mother. God has chosen you to lead your children into their destiny and all that God has planned for them. Rise up into your calling.
~ Nancy
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On Sunday we enjoyed another family wedding—Josiah and Shelby. It is so wonderful to observe Josiah and his love for babies and children (he himself is the oldest of 11 children).
At their rehearsal Josiah and Shelby were both constantly holding babies. And on their wedding day, even though Josiah was enamored with his beautiful bride, he constantly sought out little babies to cuddle. During the speeches at the end of the day little Remmy (Serene’s baby) began crawling along the floor. I observed that immediately Josiah got down behind the chair and peeked out behind it to get Remmy’s eye and play with him. He can’t help himself.
During the bride and groom dance, Josiah’s little sister came and danced all around them and they loved it.
This is such a beautiful thing to me. And such a manly thing. So many young men today would not even have the time of day to notice a baby, especially on their wedding day. Sadly, they have been raised in a humanistic society that doesn’t embrace children. They don’t know anything about babies or raising children. They have been raised in two-child families where they have not had the privilege of little ones around them and don’t know how to relate to them.
Josiah and Shelby are a young couple. But they are ready. Josiah is ready to take on providing for his wife and a family as they come along. They are both ready to embrace family, and as soon as possible. This is true manhood. This is God’s plan from the very beginning of time. He didn’t intend men to amble along in their single estate for years and years. He purposes for men to get married, take on their manly responsibility, and embrace children.
Let’s raise sons who are real men.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Picture: Josiah cuddling Ezzie (Rashida’s baby) on his wedding day.
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What is your tongue like today? Lashing out at everyone? Griping about everything and everyone? God wants you to have a healing tongue in your home today. Proverbs 15:4 (TLV) says: “A healing tongue is a tree of life.”
I was most interested to read Young’s Literal Translation of this Scripture (the same Robert Young who compiled “Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible”). This translation says: “A HEALED tongue is a tree of life, and perverseness in it –a breach in the spirit.” I love this. I think we all need our tongue to be HEALED, don’t we? It’s all very well to have a “healing tongue,” but our tongue needs to be healed before it can bring healing to those around us.
We need the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit to touch our lips each morning. Just like Isaiah when he saw the LORD and exclaimed, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.” Then the seraphim took a coal from the altar and laid it on his mouth and said, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isaiah 6).
Let’s pray: “Dear Father God, please touch my lips with your holy fire today and heal them from all perverseness. I want to be a healing tongue in my home today to my husband and to my children. Amen.”
All God’s blessings,
Nancy Campbell
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It is always fascinating to see twins, isn’t it? You can’t help looking at them, especially when they are identical. I myself had twins 51 years ago. A boy and a girl and they were so different that if people didn’t know, they didn’t recognize I had twins. But it was a great blessing. I used to say that there’s only one thing better than having a baby, and that’s having two babies!
However, did you know the Bible also has many twins? I love looking for them as I read God’s Word. You will immediately think of Mercy and Truth, Faith and Love, Righteousness and Peace etc.
Another set of twins are Beauty and Holiness. Holiness is beautiful and beauty should be clothed with holiness. In fact, most times these twins are mentioned in the context of clothing. Psalm 92:2 says: “Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” It actually refers to the holy garments the priests wore when they worshipped and served the Lord. And also when they went out to battle (Psalm 110:3; 2 Chronicles 20:11; and Revelation 1:14).
God is a God of holiness and beauty. When He gave the design of the clothes for the high priest, God stated had to be made for “glory and for beauty” (Exodus 28:2).
It’s rather interesting that it refers to garments. God wants His people to dress beautifully because He loves beauty, but He also wants them to be holy. Remember, they are twins! Inseparable.
Why then do some women like to wear (sometimes even to church) low cut and short dresses? What message do they want to portray? It’s certainly not one of holiness, or even of beauty. We need to be reminded of who we are. We are called “The people of thy holiness” (Isaiah 63:18). We are called “The Holy People” (Isaiah 62:12). We are called “The holy seed” (Ezra 9:2). We are called “a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9).
God’s temple was called the “holy and beautiful house” (Isaiah 64:11). You are now the temple of the Lord. You are His dwelling place and He wants you to be a holy and beautiful house for Him.
Let’s dress in a holy and beautiful manner.
Blessings to you today,
Nancy Campbell
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Be encouraged, today, dear mother. God sees your “labor of love” in your home and you will receive your eternal reward. You will hear the words of Jesus from Matthew 25:21: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
A question: what are the words you will hear from Jesus? “Well done, thou good and faithful SERVANT.” Did you pick up the word “servant”? Jesus will not say: “faithful leader,” “faithful church worker,” “faithful song leader,” “faithful teacher,” but “faithful servant”! Your reward in eternity comes from being a servant.
Be a joyful servant today.
Love from Nancy Campbell
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What’s the joy on your barometer today? A tiny bit of joy? Perhaps you’re half way up the barometer? Anyone up to the top and overflowing?
Psalm 16:11 says: “In thy presence is fullness of joy.” Fullness means up to the top and overflowing. How do you get to experience this amount of joy? Only one way. By living in His presence. It’s not according to Your circumstances or what trauma you face.
My daughter, Evangeline was sharing with us on Sunday how God challenged her about this. Her husband has been redoing their kitchen and renewing all the plumbing in their house. With ten children she has had no stove and no water for two and a half months! Can you be filled with joy in the midst of this? Not in the natural, but yes, as you live in the presence of the Lord.
If we have no joy, or only a tiny bit of joy, it’s because we live in the flesh. We are fixed on our problems instead. Dear mother, fix your eyes on the Lord today. Live in His presence, for it is an absolute face that in His presence is FULLNESS OF JOY.
Let’s look at some other translations:
NET: “I EXPERIENCE ABSOLUTE JOY in your presence.
CJB: “In your presence is UNBOUNDED JOY.”
CEB: “In your presence is TOTAL CELEBRATION.”
TLV: “ABUNDANCE OF JOYS are in your presence.”
It’s only in His presence. Jesus is filled with joy above everyone else and He lives in you (Hebrews 1:9)!
May you have a joy-filled day, Nancy Campbell
Picture: Evangeline on her recent vacation. She had just kayaked about six miles catching fish. Yes, this is on vacation, but she’s just the same at home with no stove and no water! She makes every day an adventure.
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Proverbs 4:23 says: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” I love to find out what the words of a Scripture really mean. The phrase “with all diligence” in the Hebrew is most interesting. It uses a preposition meaning “above, beyond” and a noun meaning “prison, guard, the act of guarding.” It can be translated “more than all other guarding, guard your heart.”
I am interested in the use of the word “prison.” Most inmates in a prison want to get out; they want to escape. It’s much the same with our hearts. Sin, worldliness, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” want to escape the light of God shining in our hearts. They want to do their own thing. They want to be free.
Therefore, we must vigilantly guard our heart. We cannot be lenient. We must take strict measures to bring “every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
The Complete Jewish Bible says: “Above everything else, guard your heart for it is the source of life’s consequences.” The Hebrew means “the outgoings of life.”
As mothers, we cannot afford to let our hearts run away with us. We must keep pure hearts before the Lord. If we hold resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, or just stay miserable towards our husband or any other person, it not only destroys our own soul, but affects each one of our children.
You cannot hide the attitude of your heart. It eventually affects the atmosphere of your home and the hearts of your children for good or for evil.
We guard our hearts, not only for our own sake but the for the sake of our children, children’s children, and beyond.
God bless you and your family today,
Nancy Campbell
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Mother, you are a NATION BUILDER!
May God strengthen you mightily as you mother and train your children today. You are privileged to be working in the most influential career in the nation--building a strong marriage and family, and consequently building a nation! And even more amazing, you don't have an earthly employer; your employer is God Himself!
When Zerubbabel and his crew came back from Babylon to rebuild the temple, God encouraged them with the words: "Yet now be strong, alert and courageous, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; be strong, alert and courageous O Joshua... and be STRONG, ALERT and COURAGEOUS all you people of the land, and WORK. For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:4 Amplified).
We are also involved in rebuilding--rebuilding a nation where marriages and families are falling apart. I believe the answer to the cry of the psalmist: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" is to build them again. We do this firstly by putting every effort into building our own marriage and family, and secondly, to be part of strengthening and building up again the families of the nation by proclaiming and standing true to God's principles.
How do we this? We have to be STRONG! We have to be DISCERNING AND ALERT to the enemy's subtle inroads into our home! We have to be COURAGEOUS! And, we have to WORK! Yes, it is not a picnic! It takes WORK!
But, we do not faint, because who is with us? THE LORD OF HOSTS! The strong and mighty Warrior! The Lord of the armies of heaven who fights for His people.
Be encouraged today in your great work of building. You are doing a great work. I know you'll be strong and courageous for the task.
~ Nancy Campbell
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Isn't it awesome to know that we weren't created haphazardly, but purposely? God created every aspect of our female body for His divine purposes. He didn't create our female organs to lie dormant or to atrophy, but to fulfill God's wondrous designs. Our whole being, transcendentally and physically, is tied together. Our womb is not only a physical organ. It is the very seat of our emotions. It is the essence of our motherly compassion and love.
It always amazes me that the word "womb" in the Bible is used to describe the physical womb and also compassion and pity, especially God's compassion. When we embrace the function of our womb, we experience more and more of the anointing of God's compassion in our lives.
Isaiah 49:15 reads: "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have COMPASSION on the son of her WOMB? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Do you notice that compassion and the womb are linked together?
Do not despise the glorious function of your womb. It is not only where you conceive and nurture an eternal soul, but where the anointing of God's compassion and love encompasses you. And, even more amazingly, you reveal God's compassionate heart toward your children and those around you.
Be blessed today,
Nancy Campbell
Painting by Sergey Andreevitch Tutunov
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I talked with a husband at an Above Rubies Family Retreat. He told me how his job is very stressful. “But,” he continued, “it is so wonderful to come home each night to a peaceful and relaxed home.” What a wonderful testimony about his wife, the mother of eight children.
What kind of an atmosphere does your husband come home to each evening? It’s easy to let the chaos of the day overwhelm us, isn’t it? But mother, you are the queen of your domain. You determine what it will be like. If you let everything all around you run over you, you sink. But things don’t just happen, you have to make them happen (my favorite affirmation). You’ve got to plan and prepare a peaceful atmosphere for your husband to come home to.
Stop everything you are doing a certain time before he gets home. If the home is in a mess, have a ONE, TWO, THREE! That’s what I used to do. “Okay children, let’s put everything away. Let’s see how quickly we can do it. LET’S GO!” Everyone gets involved to put all the mess away (hopefully in the right place). If you can’t manage that, at least put it out of sight. Give come clear space for your husband to walk into.
Turn on lovely worship music. Begin singing and praising the Lord. Encourage your children to be happy and excited about Daddy coming home. Organize one or two of the children to set the table and make it look as beautiful as they can. Perhaps flowers, candles, or whatever creativity they can think of.
Make it all fun. Make it happen. Make it so amazing your husband can’t wait to get home each evening.
Loads of love,
Nancy
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Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers: "I will very gladly spend and be spent for you" (2 Corinthians 12:15). The adding of "and be spent" means "vehemently, heartily, and exceedingly" to his affirmation. This was Paul's attitude to the new believers in Christ.
What about us mothers and homemakers? We have precious lives in our care that God has given us to disciple. What is our attitude towards them? Are we willing to "spend and be spent," or do we resent the fact that motherhood takes all our energy and time? Read 1 Thessalonians 2:8, 9 for a little more understanding.
Paul did not do this because it was his duty, but he did it "VERY GLADLY." I often see mothers with the attitudes of "very complaining," "very resentful," or "very unhappy." Do you think we could change it to “very gladly”?
Come on now, dear mothers. You are in full time ministry for the Lord. You are disciplining precious souls.
What's your attitude today?
Be blessed,
Nancy Campbell
Painting by Sandra Kuck.
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If you are a child of God, you belong to royalty. We have been embraced into the kingdom of God and our ruler is the King of all the kings of the earth and Lord of all lords. I think we tend to forget who we really are. The Bible reminds us in 1 Peter 29: “But ye are a chosen generation, a ROYAL priesthood, a holy nation . . .” The dictionary says that royalty means “people of royal blood or status, members of a royal family, that which pertains to a king or queen.”
Truly, we have been redeemed by the royal blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We now belong to a royal kingdom and a royal priesthood.
Therefore, don’t you think we should act in a more royal way? We are princesses of the King of kings. We should teach our daughters to live, talk, walk, speak, and act like princesses. We should teach our sons to act in a kingly manner. With nobility. Regality. The authority of the kingdom of God. We need to remind them that they belong to a royal kingdom. We are raising princes and princesses. I see so many young people, even from Christian homes, who give a totally opposite picture.
OF course we will show them by our own example.
Begin to see yourself as a royal family. Train your children to behave in a royal manner. Become true ambassadors of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Be blessed today,
Nancy Campbell
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I am in the perfect will of God. I am employed by the King of kings. I have the most important career in the nation!
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The great preacher and author, Dwight L. Moody confessed, "If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God!" He understood the power of investing in a child's life. Dear mother, you are in this very ministry! Every day and all day! What a privilege. There is nothing more powerful you can do. The investment you pour into your children not only blessed them, but the world. Even more--future generations, and eternity!
Don't let the enemy fill you with his lies that motherhood is insignificant. You are part of the greatest work in God's kingdom. When the people brought children to Jesus, the disciples shooed them off, thinking Jesus would not have time for the children. This made Jesus angry and He let them know. "Do not push these children away. Do not ever get between them and Me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom" (Mark 10:13, 15 MSG).
Mother, you are at the very epicenter of life in God's kingdom!
Enjoy it today,
Nancy Campbell
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An important question. Are our homes stagnant or flowing with joy and life? Psalm 46:4 (Jubilee) gives a description of the homes of Jerusalem: "There is a river, the streams of which make glad the city of God, the sanctuary of the tents of the most high." The city is filled with gladness because streams are flowing from the homes of the city.
What are these streams? They flow from the river of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39 and Romans 5:5). As mothers, we have a responsibility to "make glad" our home. The words in the Hebrew mean "to brighten up, to cheer up, to rejoice, to make merry and very glad." The only way we can do this is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and allow the streams that flow from Him into our lives to flow out from us to our husband and children.
What are these streams? They are streams of love, forgiveness, sweetness, healing of the soul and body, holiness, encouragement and building up, compassion and kindness, tenderheartedness, humility and meekness, longsuffering and patience, and streams of forbearance and peacemaking. These streams can only come from the river of the Holy Spirit.
Do you make your marriage glad? Do you make your motherhood glad? Do you make your home glad? Are these streams flowing from your life or are they stagnant? Don't allow the debris of self-pity, discouragement, despondency, unforgiveness, and discontentment to block up the river.
Let the river of life flow in your home today,
Nancy Campbell
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