Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

What is my favorite marriage Scripture? We have no doubt as to how God wants us to live as wives, as God has made it plain to us in the Scriptures. However, I often say that if we had no other Scripture, the following one would be all we need for a successful marriage. It constantly challenges me.

Philippians 2:5-8 says, "Let his mind (or this attitude) be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

How is it that we hang on to our stubborn attitude (which is usually quite ridiculous) when Jesus was prepared to give up Heaven and His Godhead to die for our sins? How is it that we can't even humble ourselves when Jesus, who was used to the glory of heaven, was willing to humble himself to become a man for us?

Le's seek to have the same attitude as Jesus. This attitude will not fail to bring blessing to your marriage.

Love from Nancy

Sitting at breakfast at a recent Above Rubies retreat a mother shared with me how they were counseled to avoid having children when they first married. In the counseling session, the couple asked, "What do you think about us just trusting God?" God had been convicting them that if God was truly Lord of their lives, they should trust Him for children too. The pastors laughed with scorn at such a preposterous idea!  Siding with the devil's plan to eliminate life, they continued to provide them with information regarding all methods of birth control.

In spite of their "advice" they knew they had to obey God. They later moved on from this church. Many years later they met these pastors again at an airport as they traveled with their seven children to a family wedding. They greeted one another cordially as they all boarded the same plane together, However, these two pastors were very embarrassed and did not know where to look. In front of their eyes were seven delightful and beautifully behaved children--children who would not be alive if they had taken their advice!

Their counsel would have deprived them of these blessings, not only for the parents, but for the blessing of this world, and for eternity to come.

Love from Nancy

P.S. This mother is now joyfully expecting their ninth blessing.

The life God gives us in His kingdom is an abounding life. It is above the normal status quo. He wants us to abound in everything in our lives (2 Corinthians 8:7). That means abounding and overflowing as we face the challenges of motherhood each day. Yes, right in your kitchen, when a child is annoying you, one is crying, and everyone seems to want you at once!

"Please get real," you say. "This is a bit over the top. And you don't understand what I am going through." Dear wife and mother, did you know that the word "abounding" is Bible language. It's repeated over and over again, along with other words such as "abundantly, exceeding, increasing, multiplying" in every area of our lives. And they are written to believers who were suffering and going through persecution.

One of the "aboundings" is to abound in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:7). The actual Greek word means "overflowing, over and above, enough and to spare, superabounding, excelling and exceeding." Now, that's not  normal is it? It's over the top! So let's get with it.

Do you start the day thanking God for all His goodness and His great salvation. Are you thanking Him in your heart all day long for every little thing that happens? This overflowing thankfulness spills over to everyone around us. Do you continually thank and show gratitude to your husband? When he does something for you do you take it for granted, or spill over in thanks? Why don't you stop and give him a call right now and thank him for the wonderful husband and provider that he is? Thank him for marrying you!

And don't forget your children. Thank them when they do a task. We give loads of commands, but often forget the thanks, don't we? Let's live the overflowing life.

Love from Nancy

What are the very first words we hear God speak in the Bible? Genesis 1:3 says, "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

God is light. He loves the light. He lights everything around Him. When He comes into our lives He fills them with light.

Because God has filled us with His light, this should also be our passion. Loving the light. Hating the darkness.

Is there a dark place in your life? Ask God to fill it with His light. Are their places of darkness in your home? Has darkness and evil subtly intruded through the media, computers, or literature? Ask God to expose all darkness and flood your home with His light. Don't let one corner go unnoticed. When you allow evil to hide in a little corner, it will soon encroach upon the rest of the home.

Be a darkness exposer and a light flooder!

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Love from Nancy

"Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start," sang Julie Andrews. It's a good place for us to start too, in every situation in life.

The first words of the Bible state, "In the beginning God." He is the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end." Everything began with God. Your life began with God, therefore everything in your life should begin with God. When you have a concern about something to whom do you turn? Do you call your friend? Do you call the doctor? Do you call a counselor? Or do you go to God first? That should always be the "beginning" thing that we do.

Psalm 119:160 tells us that God's word is "true from the beginning." To understand truth on any subject we must go back to the beginning. That means back to God and His Word.

We should begin our personal day with God. We should begin our family day with Family Devotions to acknowledge that He is preeminent in our home. 

Wouldn't this be a good habit to get into in our lives? To begin with God in every situation. That we we'll always be on the right track!

Love from Nancy

I was thinking this morning of the blessed life we have living here in the West.  However, did you know that while we live in comparative ease and comfort, that 200 million Christians across the world are currently suffering from some form of persecution? And did you know that over 100,000 Christians are murdered each year for their faith?

We dare not forget about these persecuted believers. I believe we have a responsibility to pray for them each day. If we were being persecuted, we would certainly like to know others were praying for us, wouldn't we? 

As you gather your family together for Family Devotions each morning and evening, remind one another to pray for the persecuted church. Google "The Persecuted Believers" and find out true stories to share with your children to give them a heart to pray for families who are suffering.

Hebrews 13:3 says, "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body." To understand it more simply the NLT translates it, "Remember those in prison, AS IF YOU WERE THERE YOURSELF. Remember also those being mistreated, AS IF YOU FELT THEIR PAIN IN YOUR OWN BODIES." That's pretty clear, isn't it?

In our home we use, Praying Through the 100 Gateway Cities of the 10/40 Window at our Family Devotions (you can order this through the Above Rubies website). It gives information of the most needy cities in the world and how to pray for them. It is most enlightening and we find it a wonderful help to us in praying. We pray for one city for a week before we go on to the next one. The children love praying for these cities too, and also learn about countries and cities they have never heard of.

Praying families shake the world.

Love from Nancy

COUNTRIES WHERE CHRISTIANS ARE PERSECUTED

Further to my post, FEEL THEIR PAIN, here are some of the countries where believers are being persecuted. Pray for them.

Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Chiapas, Mexico, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gaza, and the West Bank, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mindanao, Philippines (Colin and I lived in Mindanao when we were first married doing missionary work--there are many Christians in Mindanao, but also Muslim areas where there is persecution), Mauritania (we have just been praying at Family Devotions for Nouakchott in Mauritania with a population of 99.0% Muslim, this poverty stricken desert country with only 0.4% Christian), Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tibet (China), Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.

Love from Nancy

I was inspired recently by reading again Psalm 104:24, ""O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in WISDOM hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches."

There are endless numbers of scientific books which tell us of the intricate wonders of God's creatures. We could go on and on, but what about the zebras? Did you know that no zebra has two stripes exactly alike? Everyone is different.

What about the Emperor Penguins? They live in the Antarctic, the coldest place on earth with winds as high as 100 mph. The female lays her egg at the beginning of winter and then the male cares for the baby-egg. He holds it on the top of his toes, keeping it off the ice so it won't freeze. Plus, God created a thick fold of skin on his belly which hangs down like a blanket to cover the egg to keep it warm in the freezing conditions. God thought of every tiny thing.

I can't resist reminding you about one more. Most caterpillars only live a few weeks before turning into moths. However, the Arctic woolly-bear caterpillar lives for 14 years as a caterpillar! Late in the summer the woolly-bear starts making antifreeze. As the temperature freezes, the caterpillar's gut freezes, then it completely freezes (not even a breath or beating heart) until it thaws out in the spring. God enables this little caterpillar to remember to make the antifreeze each year and then survive 13 winter freezes!

However, God's highest creation is the male and female. He also made us with His perfect wisdom. Every part of our body is planned by the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Eternal Architect. It makes me wonder why we mortals think we know better than God. So many, even those who say they believe in God, reject the way God created them. They have tubal ligations and vasectomies to make sure God's perfect plan cannot work. If they don't have surgery, at least they'll use some form of birth control to make sure their fertility, designed by God, is ineffective. In doing so, they deny their Creator and His wisdom.

Love from Nancy

Scriptures to look up: Psalm 95:6; 100:3; 119:73; Isaiah 29:16; 45:9-10; 64:8; Romans 9:20-21; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:10.

“You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be—

I had a mother who read to me.”

(Strickland W. Gillilan, The Reading Mother.

FAVORITE STORY BOOKS    

I loved reading to my children when they were young. We read serial stories every night after supper. I'd find a great book and we'd read a chapter or two a night. No, that's not correct. They would always cry for more and so we usually read many chapters. One of our greatest favorites was "Children on the Oregon Trail" by Anna Rutgers van der Loeff--a most heart rendering story and I cried along with the children.

However, when they were smaller, one of our favorite authors was Bill Peet. He wrote the most amazing children's stories, most of them in rhyme. I never tire of reading stories in rhyme. Bill Peet's books are incredibly illustrated, the stories are exciting and imaginative, and the language interesting. Our children still love to say, "Doggon and dagnabit, That's what I call a whopping big rabbit!" (From "Huge Harold.")

Some of our favorite titles are: HUGE HAROLD, KERMIT THE HERMIT, FAREWELL TO SHADY GROVE, RANDY'S DANDY LIONS, and BUFORD THE LITTLE BIGHORN. Google Bill Peet for a complete list. I really recommend these wonderful stories for your children. They were definitely our favorites.

And yes, another favorite was "Tikki Tikki Tembo" by Arlene Mosel about a little Chinese boy who nearly died because his name was so long. His full name is "Tikki Tikki Tembo-no Sa Rembo-chari Bari Ruchi-pip Peri Pembo." The name is fun to say and our adult children have never forgotten the name and can still recite it today. You'll love this one, too.

Have fun reading stories to your children today. Whenever my little ones would start bouncing off the walls, I would haul them all in for story time! There's nothing like gathering your children close in around you and on your knees and reading to them. it calms them down, and you'll most probably need to do it more than once a day!

Love from Nancy

Every day each one of us faces challenges. It's hard not to face them when raising a family is it? Each child has their own particular needs, quirks, and character that needs training. Sometimes we face a trauma that is too big for us to handle, or sickness, or even tragedy in the family. What should we do?

I have found the only thing I can do is LOOK UP. Look up to God and put my trust in Him. Sometimes, I may physically look up, but it is more a raising of the inward eyes to our faithful, limitless, and unchangeable God. Absolutely nothing takes Him by surprise. He can handle anything. He is bigger than the mountain that looms in front of us.

When you look at your circumstances, you crumble. When you brood over your problem it only becomes worse. When you try to fix it in your own strength you usually make a mess of it.

Get into the habit of looking up, dear mother. CONSTANTLY RAISE YOUR INWARD EYES to your God. As you do this in the little things you face each day, you will be in the habit when you face bigger mountains. Instead of going into stress and despair, you will have learned the secret of knowing God's calm in the midst of the storm and experiencing His rest in the midst of trauma.

Love from Nancy

After writing the post below, I thought of something my eldest son said to me when facing great difficulties and when he lost millions of dollars with a big project he was doing. I remember asking him at the time, "How are you getting on with all these problems?"

He looked at me and replied, "Mother, I don't have problems, only challenges!"

Love from Nancy

LOOK UP!

How can I do it? I have too much to do,

I’m overwhelmed and feeling real blue,

I’m stuck in this house like super glue.

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

The dishes and laundry are piled up high,

When I look ‘round the house I have to sigh,

And for supper my husband’s expecting a pie!

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

We can’t pay the mortgage; bills are overdue,

I’m tired and have headaches, not a few,

These children are driving me crazy too!

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

My husband comes home late; he doesn’t care,

He doesn’t help with the children; it’s not fair!

I don’t want to smile; I just want to glare!

            Don’t look around – LOOK UP!

Take your eyes off your problems, look up to Him,

God’s presence is with you, even in the din!

Confess your bad mood and He’ll cleanse your sin.

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

He will show you how to order your place,

He will give you direction as you seek His face,

He wants to pour upon you His anointing of grace.         

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

Keep your eyes fixed on Him; He is your Stay,

He is your Wisdom for problems each day,

He will bring His presence right into your fray.  

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

Each morning He comes as the refreshing Dew

To revive your body, and your spirit too,

He is your Deliverer and He’ll make you new,

            He is your God – LOOK UP!

Love from Nancy

Do you want to raise wise children? The Bible gives us the answer. Fill their hearts and minds with the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:15 says, "From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to MAKE THEE WISE unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

There is no wisdom on earth that is greater than God's Word. Guard against their minds being filled with humanistic wisdom. Establish Family Devotions with your family to DAILY fill them with God's Word.

How many Scriptures do your children know? Are they RICHLY FILLED with the Word (Colossians 3:16)?

Don't wait. You can start reading the Scriptures to your child while still in the womb.

Love from Nancy

P.S. Further Scriptures to read: Deuteronomy 4:5-6; Jeremiah 8:9; Psalm 19:7; 119:98; Proverbs 28:7; Matthew 7:24-27.

Don't you hate being in debt? There are always so many bills to pay and you are scrounging from here and there to pay them.

I've got some good news for you. There is one debt you don't have to pay! Oh yes, there is great pressure on us to pay this debt, and many times we pay it unnecessarily. What is it? It is the debt to our flesh--our feelings and fleshly desires. Romans 8:12 says, "We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." In others words, we are not obligated to the flesh one tiny bit!

You do not have to give into that anger! You do not have to give into bitterness and self-pity. You do not have to retort back to your husband. Instead, deny your feelings and flesh! That means say No to it, and yield to the Holy Spirit instead. The life of Jesus, who lives in you, is filled with love, patience, longsuffering, and joy.

If only we could go through each day being reminded of this truth! What a difference it will make to the atmosphere of our home. What a difference it will make to our marriage relationship and to our children who are learning how God wants them to live.

Love from Nancy Campbell

As God blessed us with children, my husband began to pray that God would keep our children from "All accident, harm, sickness, and danger, and all enemy attack--physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally." This prayer has become entrenched in our lives and every day we pray this prayer over all our children and grandchildren. And now our children use the same prayer to pray over their children. I think it will continue down the generations. You are welcome to use this prayer to pray over your children, too.

Of course, after praying this prayer, we pray other things over our children about which we are burdened.

Love from Nancy

The following are the prayers that my husband and I pray for our children, grandchildren and generations to come. We pray personally by name for each of our children, their spouses and our grandchildren daily.  We do not pray for every one of these requests every day, but pray for different ones each day as the Holy Spirit directs.

I have printed out the following for myself, covered with plastic. Many times I like to lay it upon my heart as I am praying for our children so God can see the longings and requests I have for the children and grandchildren as we bring their names before Him in prayer.

You may like to copy and print this out, too, so you can have as a guide in praying for your children. At certain times, you may like to look up the Scriptures and pray the Scriptures out loud before the Lord for your children. This is a very powerful way to pray for your children. Here we go...

Oh God, hear our cry for our children, grandchildren and the children who are yet to be born. We pray…

That they will have a real born again experience and come to know God personally. (John 3:3)

That they will have soft, tender hearts to hear and obey the voice of the Lord. (1 Samuel 3:10; Isaiah 57:15; 66:2)

That they will walk humbly before the Lord. (Micah 6:8; 1 Peter 5:5-6)

That they will love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:50)

That they will love to read and meditate on the Word of God and will receive revelation and insight as they read. (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:9, 11, 18, 97, 105; Ephesians 1:17-18; Colossians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:2)

That they will love to pray. (2 Corinthians 7:14; Psalm 55:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

That they will be committed to the gathering together of God’s people. (Hebrews 10:25)

That they will love righteousness and hate evil. (Psalm 97:10; 101:3; Amos 5:15; Romans 12:9)

That they will stand strong against the wiles of the devil and never compromise. (Ephesians 5:11; 6:13-14; 1 Peter 5:8-9)

That they will hate the spirit of this world and not give in to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. (1 John 2:15-17; Romans 12:2; James 4:4)

That they will hate lies and deception and seek after truth. (Psalm 51:6; 119:30; 163; Proverbs 12:22; 13:5; 19:9)

That they will shine as lights in this dark and deceived world. (John 17:18; Philippians 2:15)

That they will understand true justice and have discernment regarding good and evil, the holy and the profane. (Leviticus 10:10; Isaiah 59:14-15; Jeremiah 15:19; Ezekiel 22:26)

That they will seek God with all their hearts. (Psalm 27:8; 105:4; 119:2; Proverbs 28:5; Zephaniah 2:3)

That their whole spirit, soul and body will be kept pure and blameless for the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

That they will be kept from evil. (John 17:15-16)

That their faith will not fail. (Luke 22:32)

That God will pour out His Holy Spirit upon them mightily. (Isaiah 44:3-4; Acts 2:16-18)

That they will keep themselves pure and holy (body, soul and spirit) for the man/woman that God has chosen for them. (Romans 6:12-13; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4)

That God will even now prepare for them godly wives and husbands who will be committed and faithful in marriage. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

That they will love and embrace children and establish godly homes. (Psalm 27 and 28: Malachi 2:15)

That God will keep them from accident, harm, sickness and danger and all enemy attack. (Psalm 91)

Love fromNancy Campbell

When in Israel last year I was privileged to visit with some of the settlers out on the West Bank. At one home I gave an "Above Rubies" magazine to a mother. She looked at it and immediately exclaimed in Hebrew, "Paniyn, panyin... pearls." "Panyin" is the Hebrew word for pearls.

"But," I said to her, "I didn't think you had pearls in Israel."

"That's the reason it says we are pearls," she replied. "The man has to go far away to look for such a treasure."

Of course I checked out the word "far" above rubies or pearls. Yes, it means, "far, far away, abroad, precious." The man has to go far to find such a precious jewel.

Isn't it amazing? I have read the Bible through over and over again, but never found a Scripture that says that a man's worth is more than rubies or pearls!

As wives, mothers, and homemakers, we are indispensable to our husband and our home. As home-loving, home-keeping, home-cooking, home-working, home-advocating and child-training mothers, we are indispensable to this nation!

Love from Nancy

The psalmist proclaimed in Psalm 135:13, "Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever, and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations." The more correct Hebrew translation should be "to generation and generation."

How is God going to be remembered from one generation to the next?  By fathers and mothers imparting God and His truth to their children. Our greatest responsibility is to reveal God to our children, through our lives and through the Scriptures. It is not enough for them to know about God. We must pray that each one will experience and know Him in such a way that they will continue to reveal Him to their children, and their children to their children. His words must not depart out of the mouth of our children, or our children's children, "from henceforth and FOREVER" (Isaiah 59:21).

We see God revealing Himself from one generation to the other in His name, "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:15).

Our children will pass on what fills their hearts. Are their hearts filled with the revelation of God and His Word? Is it so ingrained in their hearts that you can be sure they will pass it on? We have a responsibility to make this happen, dear mothers. It takes purpose, consistency, and effort.

God is a generational God. He wants us to have a vision, not only for our children now, but for the coming generations.

Love from Nancy

Read Psalm 102:12 and 145:4-7.

God has many names. Not one is enough to describe Him. Each one reveals another aspect of His character to us, even though they are only glimpses of Him. We are finite and He is infinite and therefore we will never fully know or comprehend Him. He is incomprehensible because He is God!

Recently I noticed a name of which God says, "This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations" (Exodus 3:15).

I checked out the concordance and found that this is the ONLY name in the Bible where God actually states, "THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER." It must be very important. Do you know what it is?

God reminded Moses of this name when He spoke to him at the burning bush. He said to Moses, "Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you."

We as Gentile believers rarely use this name. And yet God says it is the name by which He wants to be remembered forever! Therefore, if the God of the Bible is our God, we must acknowledge who He is. He is the God of Israel--the God of the land of Israel and the God of the people of Israel. If we do not acknowledge Him as such, we are serving a different God than the one in the Bible.

As He loves Israel, so we must love and stand with Israel. As He loves the land of Israel, because He found it and chose it, so we must love the land of Israel.

We must pass this name on to our children. They also should be familiar with it because God wants it to be remembered in ALL GENERATIONS.

Love from Nancy

It is vitally important to daily feed your children's spirits every day. It is as important as feeding their physical bodies. But how do you do it? The Bible doesn't tell us to have devotions that are "long and drawn out," or "boring and tedious."

Instead, what does it say? "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:10).

The main thing is to be consistent. Every day. The Bible gives us the Morning and Evening Principle.

Keep it short. Ask questions. Get the children involved. Remind them that they are listening to God speak to them personally. At the end of devotions, ask the children what God spoke to them. You will be amazed at how God speaks to your children.

Love from Nancy

It must have been very important in God's heart and mind to give Adam and Eve the blessing commission to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth" (Genesis 1:28). He had already created them with a sexual desire for one another, consequently fruitfulness would have happened naturally (at least back in those days when they didn't use birth control).

However, God not only created the man and wife with a sexual desire for one another,  but issued a mandate for them to be fruitful as well. He wanted to make sure they knew this was His plan for subduing the world and advancing His kingdom.

God's plan hasn't changed since He first gave the mandate. God does not chop and change His ideas. Are we in line with God's plan?

Love from Nancy