Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

When Nehemiah went back to Jerusalem to restore and build the gates of Jerusalem he started with the Shepherds’ Gate and ended with the Shepherds’ Gate. There are many things we do as a shepherdess in watching over our flock, but there are two main things. The Knox translation of Ezekiel 34:15 says: “Food and rest, says the Lord God, both these will I give to my flock.” Above everything else, the true shepherd provides food and rest for his flock. They are the most important.

To feed our families is a very important part of motherhood. Many mothers despise the hours spent preparing and cooking meals. It seems endless. You can never get away from it. It is day after day. Can I remind you that this task is not unimportant, even though it may seem thankless at times? It is the chief role of the shepherd.

We read the testimony of a shepherdess/mother in 1 Timothy 5:10. The first attribute it mentions is that she “brought up children.” The Greek word for “brought up” is “teknotropheo” which means “to nurture, to feed, to nourish, to pamper with food.” Providing food is a very big part of bringing up children.

The true shepherdess/mother will not give any kind of food to her family. She provides them with good food (Ezekiel 34;14). She leads her children to eat wholesome foods to nourish their bodies. She turns them away from all junk food—the devitalized and refined food that lack nutrients. She throws out all white bread, white flour, white rice, white sugar and so on. She would not dream of leading her children to pastures of sugary cereals, soda, and pop. The true shepherdess leads her family into wholesome pastures.

God says in Psalm 81:16 (NLT): “I will feed you with the best of foods.”

Good food is enjoyable and should also be eaten with joy. In the Scripture’s we see how God links eating with joy and gladness.

Esther 9:19: “A day of gladness and feasting . . .”

Psalm 103:1-5: “Bless the Lord, O my soul . . . who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Ecclesiastes 9:7: “Eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart.”

Acts 2:46-47: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their food with gladness .”

Acts 14:17: “He gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

But there is more to feeding our family than food for their bodies. The responsible shepherdess/mother also provides wholesome food for her children’s souls and spirits. She provides rich food in conversation and teaching, excellent books, and music. She does not lead them to the destroying diet of TV worldly stuff on IPhones and IPads but provides them with wholesome materials that will nourish their souls. She does not keep any junk food among their books, music, or DVDs. Everything in her home inspires, enriches, and nourishes.

When raising our children, I continually prayed Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians: “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is not enough to care for your children’s physical needs. We must enrich their souls and spirits too. Psalm 107:9 tells us that God “fills the hungry with good things.” Good food for the body and good food for the soul and spirit.

Have a wonderful day,

Nancy Campbell

Painting: Woman with Sheep in a Barn * Cornelis van Leemputten (1841–1902).

God continues to look for shepherds. He looks for mothers who will shepherd like his heart. Jeremiah 3:15 states: “I will give you pastors (shepherds) according to mine heart, which shall fee you with knowledge and understanding.”

And because our little flock is really His flock, He requires them at our hand (Ezekiel 34:10). He wants us to diligently know the state of our little flock. He wants us to know what is going on in their hearts and minds as well as in their actions. He wants us to know the state of their souls. We can do this effectively unless we are with our children. Proverbs 27:23 says: “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks.”

How can we be the shepherdess He wants us to be? We certainly can't do it in our own strength and wisdom, but be encouraged, for Micah 5:4 tells us that Jesus Christ will "stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God." If that is how Jesus shepherds, that's the only way we can do it, too.

Dear mother, you can’t do it in your strength, but you can do it in the strength of the Lord.

Be encouraged today,

Nancy Campbell

As a shepherdess, we teach our children that Jesus wants to be their personal Savior and Shepherd. We are careful not to do anything in our homes that will grieve our Shepherd who wants to be intimately involved in everything we do.

Our Shepherd has a great shepherding heart and He wants us to shepherd our little flock in the same way He shepherds His flock. Shepherding is an enormous undertaking and from the Scriptures and the Hebrew meanings of the word "shepherd" we find that it includes the following tender and powerful ministries. You will see that a shepherd must be both brave and tender. Let God teach you as you read them. The full meaning of shepherding means . . .

befriending with an intimate relationship,
binding and bandaging up the hurt and broken,
bravely fighting off all enemies,
bringing back the straying and wandering ones,
carrying the lambs close to your heart,
comforting,
encouraging the weary,
eliminating fear in the dark and anxious times,
feeding physically and spiritually,
gathering in your arms and to your heart,
gently leading,
guarding and watching over your flock,
guiding your flock on the "right track,"
healing the sickly,
increasing the flock,
keeping them safe,
leading to good, fat, restful, rich, and green pastures,
nourishing,
persevering until you find the lost,
preparing a table,
protecting,
providing,
rescuing when they turn to by-paths,
restoring (renewing, reviving, and refreshing),
ruling with wisdom and discretion,
sacrificing and laying down your life for your flock,
saving your flock,
searching and seeking the lost ones,
strengthening the weak, and
tenderly folding your flock.

My, what an amazing mission you have as a shepherdess.

Embrace this beautiful role. It is not insignificant. I would suggest you read the above qualities over and over. It’s too much to comprehend in one reading, isn’t it?

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting: Luigi Chialiva (1842-1914). A Shepherdess Watering Her Flock.

I began writing about the table of shewbread and I’m on a role. Lots more thoughts to share with you.

Did you know that the Table of Shewbread is also called by other names? It is called the “continual table,” the “pure table,” the “table of the presence,” and the “table of ordering.”

On the table the priests were to place twelve loaves of bread each week. The bread sat on the table in the presence of the Lord for one week before replacing them with twelves new loaves. The priests would then eat the bread that was taken off the table and fellowship together in the presence of the Lord. They did not eat stale bread as the bread stayed warm and fresh as it lay in the presence of the Lord.

The bread upon the table was also called “the bread of the presence.” The Hebrew is “lechem hapanim,” meaning “bread of faces.” Not one face, but many faces. The bread speaks of Jesus Christ who is our daily provision, sustenance, and nourishment. Jesus came as “the bread of LIFE.”  Our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ does not have only one attribute, but many attributes or “faces.” He is everything we need. He is the God who is Enough.

Not only does the bread speak of the many revelations of His character, but the bread also reveals the truth of God’s people living in His presence. God wanted twelve loaves of bread to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. We who have come to Christ are in Him. We also are in the continual presence and watchfulness of God.

It’s interesting that this table was made of acacia wood, a very common tree, speaking of Christ’s humanity but it was covered with pure gold, speaking of His divinity. It also applies to us at our tables. We come to our tables with all our children and little ones and I am sure you agree with me that many times it’s very “earthy”!

Nothing goes perfect. We are in the process of training children to sit up, we are stopping quarrels, and seeking to keep order. But God understands. He wants us to invite Him to our tables. He wants to come. He wants to come and cover our humanity with His divinity! Isn’t that wonderful?

The Table of Shewbread is the picture of the very first table. It is the picture of the provision of food for the physical and the spiritual man. Each time we come to the table we feed our bodies, but we take time at the end of the meal to open God’s Word and receive revelations of His truth and divine character. Remember, we eat the Bread of Faces. Many faces. Never ending. New revelations every day. Always fresh.

It was called the “continual table” and the “continual bread” because it was always on the table. Exodus 25:30 (NET) states: “You are to set the Bread of the Presence on the table before me CONTINUALLY.”

As the priest changed the bread each week, one set of priests would be ready to place the new bread on the table as another group of priests took the previous bread off the table. There was to be no lapse between the changeover.

Make your table a place for the presence of the Lord. Invite Him to your table. Bask in His presence. Be renewed as you feed from Jesus Christ, the Bread of many Faces.

In His love, Nancy Campbell

P.S. Scriptures that speak about the Table of Shewbread:
Exodus 25:23-30; 37:10-16; Leviticus 24:5-9; Numbers 4:4, 7, 8; 1 Chronicles 23:29; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 13:11; and 29:18.

Picture: “Little House on the Prairie” by Renée Graef.

Yesterday we talked about having order at our table. Part of keeping order at the table is training our children to sit at the table. Often, that is easier said than done! It takes training. Everything to do with raising children is training, isn’t it?

Mother, you are a trainer, among the 101 other things you do as a professional mother.

Is it important to train our children to sit? Yes, God thinks it is important. Let’s look at a couple of examples.

In 1 Samuel 20 we read the story of where King Saul was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. David and Jonathan made a plan that David would not come to the meal table and wait to see what King Saul would do.

That night the king sat down to eat. Let’s see how they sat at their meal table. 1 Samuel 20:25 (NET) says: “The king sat down in his USUAL PLACE by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at Saul’s side. But David’s place was vacant.” Do you notice how everyone had their assigned seats? I think this can be a good thing. Often, we let our children sit anywhere at the table, but sometimes that can end in fights because one wants to sit on a certain seat and another sibling is vying for that seat.

We notice that they sat down for their meal. We also notice that each person was expected to be at the table for the evening meal. Verse 20 says: ‘The second day, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, ‘Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?’”

We go to the New Testament ad read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 men, plus others. We notice that before Jesus gave thanks to His Father and fed this multitude, He first “COMMANDED them to make all SIT DOWN by companies upon the green grass. And they SAT DOWN in ranks” (Mark 6:39).

Matthew and Mark both used the word “commanded.” Mark, Luke, and John use the words “MAKE THEM SIT DOWN . . .” I am sure that took some doing with all those thousands of people. But Jesus would not feed the people until they were seated, and seated in companies, not just “any old how.”

Do you notice that He told them to “MAKE them sit down”? Do you have to do this at your table? You have to MAKE your children sit down! Don’t despair. You’re being very biblical! But as we teach them from little ones, they learn the habit.

And it is a good habit. When you eat standing or walking around you are usually doing something else at the same time and don’t really remember that you’ve eaten. You may become hungrier sooner.

But the main reason is that God intends us to sit while we eat is because eating is more than consuming food. God wants us to eat and fellowship. To sit down together and dialogue and communicate. And as we do this we get more nutritional value from our food.

Make it a habit to all sit together at your table. We also take this concept into the spiritual realm. Ephesians 2:6 says that God has “raised us up together, and MADE US SIT TOGETHER in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Be blessed,

Nancy Campbell

When God showed Moses how to set up the tabernacle in the wilderness, we notice that God established order for each day and order in every department.

One of the pieces of furniture in the Holy Place is the Table of Shewbread. The first time this table is mentioned is in Exodus 25:23 which is the first mention of a table in the Bible. The “first mention” of something in the Bible is important. It lays a foundation for that subject from which God never deviates.

It’s also interesting to note that the Bible tells us that the plan of the tabernacle was a pattern of the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5). This reveals to us that God has a table, or many tables in Heaven. God thought of tables before we ever had them on earth! Isn’t that amazing?

The table in your home is not insignificant. It is a place where powerful things can happen. Of course it’s not so much the able, but what happens at the table. The table, whether little or big, prestigious or humble, is the place where you gather your family.

The table is a gathering place. It’s where you gather to eat food. That makes it easy to gather the family, doesn’t it? Everyone wants to eat. Make sure your family eats together at the table, not sitting in front of the TV or hiding in their bedrooms. But it’s more than gathering to eat. It’s gathering to fellowship, to dialogue, to interact, to make memories together.

But I began talking about order. I notice in Exodus 40:4, 23 that God says: “And thou shalt bring in the table, and SET IN ORDER the things that are to be SET IN ORDER upon it . . . And he set the bread IN ORDER upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.”

When we read about the first table in the Bible, we learn principles for our table. Everything written in God’s Word is for our daily lives today (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11; and 2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

Therefore, we see that it is important to set the table. To set the plates and the food in order. We don’t dump the food and utensils on the table and let everyone grab what they want. No, God wants order. He wants us to come to a table that is set and ready. We read again in Proverbs 9:1, 2 that the wise woman sets her table.

Dear ladies, everything in the home begins with the mother. I believe this also means our family meal tables. Often, it’s hard to keep order at the table with all our little children. But I believe if we set the table with order, it lays a foundation for keeping order for the rest of the meal! It helps anyway!

It’s important too, to teach our children how to set the table. How to place the plates and silverware properly. How to make it attractive. How to set the food nicely in serving dishes.

It’s lovely to use a tablecloth to add that extra touch. It adds an extra prettiness, or class, or “I love you,” or “Gather to our lovely table,” or whatever you want to say to your family or visitors. I hate to sit down to a naked table. I love it covered. It is all part of my setting the table and making it as lovely as I can for all who will gather at our table.

Be blessed today,

Nancy Campbell

I woke up this morning with the phrase “the Spirit and the Word” upon my heart. It is not good to have one without the other. I love the quote:

If you have all Spirit, you’ll burn up,
If you have all Word, you’ll dry up,
But if you have the Spirit and the Word, you’ll grow up.

This truth applies to us individually and as families.

God’s mandate to families in Isaiah 59:21 states two things—He wants to pour out His Spirit upon us and He wants His words to be in our mouths: ”This is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My Spirit that is upon thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, not our of the mouth of thy seed (thy children), nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed (children’s children), saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever.”

These two things are at the top on God’s priority. Are they your top priority too?

God not only wants His Word to be in our hearts and the hearts of our children but also in our mouths! Is the Word of God in the mouths of your children? It saddens my heart that most young people today seem to know more about movie stars and sports than they do of God’s Word. If you repeat a common Scripture and ask them to finish it, many of them don’t know it. It’s not even in their hearts and minds, let alone their mouths.

Are you reading God’s Word each day to your children? Are you getting them to memorize the Scriptures?

How we need the power of the Holy Spirit flowing in our homes. In fact, how can we mother without the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit? I cannot do anything effectively in my own strength. In fact, the prayer I pray more than any other is from Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the LORD of hosts.”

We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to open God’s Word to us too. When you read God’s Word to your children, read it with passion. Ask the Holy Spirit to come and illumine it to you. Get your children into the habit of relying on the Holy Spirit to give them understanding of the Word.

Do you remember that story in Luke 24:27-32 where Jesus spoke to the two disciples as they walked to Emmaus? Jesus expounded the Scriptures to them and when they eventually realized it was Him, they said: “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:27-32). When you feel that burning inside you, that witnessing to truth, it is the anointing of the Spirit confirming the Word.

I love the words of Ray Stedman: “The Word is interpreted by the Spirit, and the Word becomes fresh and vital as you look to the Holy Spirit to make Jesus Christ step out of the pages and stand in your presence in living flesh.”

We see this principle in the beginning. “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light” (Genesis 1:2, 3). The Spirit of God moved and God spoke—the Spirit and the Word working together.

Dear precious mother, I know you are so busy and there are so many things to do. If you are like me, you never accomplish everything you have planned in one day. My lists carry on to the next day and even the next day. But of all the things we feel we must accomplish the greatest is to seek the anointing of the presence of the Holy Spirit to flow in our homes and to richly fill our children with His living Word.

Can anyone say Amen?

Love from Nancy Campbell

These are the words of Jesus. They will never fail. If Jesus says that we will not lose our reward if we give a cup of water in His name, what about preparing a whole meal?

Every time you prepare a meal for your family—breakfast, lunch, and supper, God is watching. When you do it with the right attitude, when you do it as unto Him, when you do it in His name, He promises that you will not lose your reward.

Oh what a blessing to be a mother. Just think of how many rewards you are going to receive from cooking meals day after day for years! Of course, we do it in His name, not with a bad, complaining attitude.

And what a blessing to prepare each meal for our family, but at the same time “as unto the Lord, and “in His name.” It takes you to a whole new realm. Because you are doing it for the Lord, you will want to make each meal special, knowing that Jesus desires to sit with you at your meal.

Don’t you love these words?

Christ is the Head of this home,
The Unseen Guest at every meal,
The Silent Listener to every conversation.

Many people have these wonderful words hanging on their wall. It’s a great reminder isn’t it? Jesus wants to be included at your meal table.

Many blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

Picture: Interesting observation: when I look for a picture of a mother cooking in her home, it is nearly impossible to find a contemporary one—they are all vintage. What has happened to mothers cooking homemade meals? Or maybe you have a picture to send me. That would be wonderful.

More than material possessions, more than making sure every school subject is finished each day, more than keeping up with the Joneses, the greatest thing we can do is to seek the manifestation of the presence of God in our homes.

God’s presence will impact the lives of your children more than anything else in this world.

Will the atmosphere of the presence of God that permeates your home be the greatest memory your children take with them into their future?

Love from Nancy Campbell

Top five people who have influenced you outside your family and why.
Top five places you have visited and why.
Top five places you want to visit and why.
Top favorite moves.
Top five favorite books.
Top five favorite songs.
Top five favorite smells.
Top five favorite articles of clothing.
Top five favorite Bible verses.
Top five favorite foods.
Top[ favorite historical figures.
Top five pets.
Top five wedding days.
Top five childhood memories.
Top five goals for your life.
Top five habits you’d like to make or break.
Top five things you would take a desert island.

I’d love to hear some more ideas from you."
~ Simone Campbell

It’s worth printing these off and having them in a handy place. I have found that it is such a great idea to bring a subject or a question to the table when the family gathers to eat together each evening. If we don’t do something positive like this the conversation can often go nowhere or add up to nothing at all. Bringing a conversation starter gets everyone talking. We usually go around the able and make sure each person has a turn, no one left out. You can gradually go through the whole list and add more of your own.

If you have a bigger family you could make it the Top Three or if you have an extra big family, make it the Top One!

I have already prepared two sheets with ideas for table conversations which I keep to refer to if I run out of ideas (I’ll give you the links below), but I’ll be printing these off too.

http://aboverubies.org/…/797-family-meal-table-dinner-time-…

http://aboverubies.org/…/798-family-meal-table-presidential…

Have a blessed day,

Nancy Campbell

Photo: My son, Stephen, and his wife Simone of 30 years.