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.

WHAT WERE YOU CREATED FOR?...

AdamDirtRepost. Very true words.

Read about it again in the first two chapters of Genesis. Gods made His plan clear to us in the very beginning. And God’s Word is true from the beginning and from the beginning God’s Word is true (Psalm 119:160). God made men to be manly and women to be womanly. It’s not complicated. Just let’s be who God created us to be. Then we live in the glory of who we are meant to be.

 

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GOD MAKES THE IMPOSSIBLE INTO THE POSSIBLE

ImpossiblePossibleAre you currently facing an impossible situation? Can I encourage you to not look at the “impossible” situation, but to look to God? Did you know that the word “impossible” means nothing to God? It’s not in His vocabulary.
 
What did Abraham do in the impossible looking situation when God promised him a son? He was 100 years old, and Sarah was ninety! It couldn’t happen naturally. Romans 4:20 says: “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith giving glory to God.” The ESV makes it clearer: “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”
 
I was challenged again as I read this Scripture. Abraham became strong in faith AS HE PRAISED AND GAVE GLORY TO GOD. His faith would have weakened if he had kept dwelling on the impossibility of the situation.
 
Praise God in your situation, even when you feel the opposite. Even when you can see not light at the end of the tunnel. Give glory to God that He is in control and can do what man cannot do. Even when doubts consume your mind, keep giving glory to the Lord, and your faith will grow strong. Our faith doesn’t grow strong when we can manage the situation ourselves, but only when we are totally cast upon God.
 
God bless you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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JOY...

JoyThe best way to live!
The way to JOY!
It works.
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IT’S HOW WE LOOK AT THINGS

CountBlessingsProverbs 15:15 says: “All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.”
 
In this Scripture the “afflicted” are not those who go through great misfortunes, but those who see the worst in everything. They are depressed in their minds. The New Living Translation says: “For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.”
 
When we see the negative in everything, we live a miserable life. And what is the bottom line? We are leaving God out of the equation! For no matter what happens in our lives, in the little annoying things of our daily lives or the big situations that seem like the end of the world, God is in control. He is bigger than our problems and difficulties. We can totally trust Him, and “Whoso trusts in the Lord, HAPPY IS HE” (Proverbs 16:20). Your life can actually be a continual feast!
 
When we put our trust in the Lord and rejoice in the fact that He is our Strength, our Source, Our Rock, our Help, our Joy, and our Deliverer, we can keep our hearts joyful in any salutation.
 
It’s all in how we look at things. I love Paul’s confession in 2 Corinthians 43:8-10: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed.” He goes on to say in verses 16-18: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a FAR MORE EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
 
Instead of looking on the dark side today, why not count some blessings?
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
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EVERY GREAT THING THAT HAPPENS IN THIS WORLD HAPPENS THROUGH THE WOMB!

EverythingGreatSatan loves to blind our eyes to God’s wondrous plans and truths. Because he is at war against women (Genesis 3:16), he loves to blind them about the power of their womb. Oh yes, now he is confusing women’s minds so they cannot even answer the question, “What is a woman?”
 
I think of the words Mary sang as she praised the Lord, “For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49). It is true that Mary was blessed beyond any other women in the history of the world as she nourished Jesus in her womb and gave birth to the Son of the Highest, the Savior of the world. God certainly chose her for GREAT THINGS.
 
In a lesser and yet still powerful way, God does GREAT THINGS through every baby that is conceived in a mother’s womb. Every new baby is born in the image of God. Each one is a fresh revelation of God to the world. Each one has the possibility of accomplishing marvelous things.
 
Let’s think for a moment of all the amazing things that have happened, are happening, and will happen in this world--the remarkable inventions, the amazing feats both intellectually and physically, the astounding advancements, and the brilliant discoveries. None of this happens on its own. Every single thing happens through a person. And that person comes through the womb. Without the womb NOTHING happens in this world. It all comes to a halt.
 
All the GREAT THINGS that take place in the world happen because of a mother’s womb. The womb is a place of destiny.
 
Can we grasp the fullness of this truth? God privileges women with the gift of a womb, a sanctuary from where God brings forth GREAT THINGS to fulfill His purposes and glorify His name. And not only for this world, but for eternity, for every child who is conceived is an eternal soul that lives forever.
 
Dear precious mother, don’t hold back your womb from God. Your finite mind cannot even fathom what great things God has ordained to happen in this world through creating a God-destined life in your womb (1 Corinthians 2:9). We are privileged and blessed beyond measure.
 
Be blessed today,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
 
Beautiful painting, “Waiting for the Birth” by Marco Ortolan, Argentina.
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THE WISDOM OF A CHILD

WisdomChildI was talking to Val Stares, the Director of Above Rubies in Australia, last night about her new shipment of Above Rubies.
 
Val has been with me in this ministry of Above Rubies from the very first day God gave me the vision, 45 years ago. When we left New Zealand, she and her husband and family (and other families) moved to Australia with us. When we left the shores of Australia 10 years later for USA, she took over the managing of Above Rubies in Australia.
 
Like me, Val is also now a great-grandmother. She shared with me this encounter. Her little three-year-old great-grandson was sitting on the bed with her.
 
“Do you have a baby?” he asked her.
 
“No, I don’t have a baby,” she replied.
 
Then he touched her breasts and asked, “Do you have milk?”
 
“No, I don’t have milk,” she answered.
 
He sat back and looked at her amazingly with his big eyes and asked, “Are you a woman?”
 
Wow! A little child instinctively understands “what is a woman” more than many adults today.
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
 
 
Painting by Mary Cassatt
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LET’S GET IT STRAIGHT

LetsGetStraightIn understanding Scripture, the “law of the first mention” is critical. When God states something the first time, He lays down a foundation for that truth. He develops it throughout the rest of His Word, but never changes or deviates from the “first mention.” In God there is “no variation or the slightest hint of change” (James 1:17 (NET). His Word is true from the beginning and from the beginning His Word is true! (Psalm 119:160).
 
The first mention of marriage in the Bible is in Genesis 2:21-25. In this passage God speaks of the man and his wife and the father and mother. God puts male and female together, His plan from the eternity. There is no mention of same sexes.
 
If we want something to work properly, we must read the manual from the One who designed it. God created our bodies, and He designed marriage. We better make sure we take notice of His manual.
 
One of the synonyms of marriage is matrimony, usually called “holy matrimony” -- the union of a man and woman for life. It comes from the Latin word, “matrimonium,” from “mater,” from which we get the words: mother, maternal, maternity, matrimony, marriage, wedlock, nuptial, connubial, and hymneal (which comes from hymen, the virginal membrane pertaining to marriage),
 
Therefore, the full understanding of marriage is that the wife becomes a mother. This cannot happen naturally in a homosexual relationship. It is totally unnatural and against God’s divine order of creation and eternal plan for us.
 
We cannot bow to mortal man’s deception, distortion, and desecration of divine truth.
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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THE LAZY WAY OR THE DILIGENT WAY

LazyWayWhat’s happening in your home today? Is everything piling on top of you--laundry, dishes, and teaching the children all waiting to be accomplished? Don’t despair, dear mother. Don’t look at everything waiting to be done. Just tackle one job at a time. Keep plodding on. Priorities first.
 
But do each task with ALL YOUR MIGHT. Not half-heartedly, grumblingly, or lazily. And teach your children to do their chores with all their might, too. Inspire this attitude in them as they see the way you work in the home.
 
The Bible always shows us the way:
 
Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy MIGHT.”
 
Colossians 3:23, 24: “And whatsoever ye do, do it HEARTILY, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
 
Colossians 3:17: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, DO ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, GIVING THANKS to God and the Father by him.”
 
1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the GLORY OF GOD.”
 
Philippians 2:14: “Do all things WITHOUT MURMURING.”
 
Matthew 25:21, 23 and Luke 16:10: “He that is FAITHFUL IN THAT WHICH IS LEAST, is faithful also in much.”
 
Enjoy a great day in your home today as each one does everything with all their might.
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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A NEW LEVEL OF LIVING

NewLevelLivingI posted yesterday about living in the true reality, the reality of the heavenly world. How can we practically do we do this?
 
When Christ dwells in our hearts everything is sacred. No matter how mundane the task at hand, it cannot be anything less than holy when Christ dwells in us. What is the real truth? “Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). We need to acknowledge this truth and believe it!
 
When you clean up dirty messes, sing for joy because Christ sings with you and over you (Zephaniah 3:17).
 
When you wash dishes and laundry, acknowledge the presence of Christ with you.
 
When you prepare yet another meal for your family, do it with joy and excitement because Christ is with you.
 
He doesn’t leave you when you do the commonplace duties. He is not apart from you in the humdrum of life. He is in you and with you.
 
He promises: “I will NEVER leave you, or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). No matter what you are doing (unless you are sinning and grieving His Holy Spirit), He is with you.
 
I love Zechariah 14:20, 21 (NET): “On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “HOLY TO THE LORD.” The cooking pots in the LORD’S temple will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will become holy in the sight of the LORD who rules over all.”
 
Every saucepan you pick up is holy because you, and everything in your home, is sanctified by the power of the living Christ who abides in you. To prepare a meal for your family is as sacred as a minister who prepares a spiritual meal for the church!
 
Therefore, enjoy every moment and every task in your home today.
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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THE NITTY GRITTY OF LIFE

NittyGrittyThe reality of life is our day-to-day responsibility to manage our homes, feed, nurture, and train our children, and everything else that clamors for our attention. But there is another reality, a reality that has the power to affect our daily life in our home. It is the reality of the heavenly.
 
Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT) states: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”
 
These words seem so far from our experience, don’t they? And yet this is normal Christianity. The realities of the heavenly realm are the TRUE REALITIES. The eternal realm is the real world. This world is passing away. It is like a vapor that appears for a moment and is gone.
 
When we focus our ordinary, daily life on the eternal, it takes us from the doldrums to delight, from misery to the miraculous, from pre-occupation with self to praising God. Instead of being overwhelmed about all our challenges and problems, we lift our eyes to Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father. We give our difficulties to Him. Nothing is too big for Him to handle.
 
Did you know that God never gets in a state of confusion or tension? And He dwells in your heart by His Spirit? Therefore, you don’t have to get all tied up in knots. Allow Christ to take control. He’ll do a much better job than you!
 
I am challenged by the AMPC version of Colossians 3:1-3: “If then you have been raised with Christ (to a new life, thus sharing his resurrection from the dead), aim at and seek the (rich eternal treasures) that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And SET YOUR MINDS AND KEEP THEM SET ON WHAT IS ABOVE (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.”
 
Many blessings to you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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ARE YOU BUILDING OR DESTROYING?...

delightexpressedThe words we speak to one another either build up or destroy our marriage.

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FAMILY IS FIRST...

FamilyFirstDo something purposeful to strengthen your family life today.

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MOTHERS BELONG IN THE HOME

MothersInHmThey have a powerful work to do as they raise their children for God.

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DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE TWO SEXES

TwoSexesWe are all familiar with the above picture. Wherever we go in the world we know which restroom to enter by the picture. It is amazing that even in this deceived culture every restroom represents the man’s room with the picture of the pants and the women’s restroom with the picture of a skirt.

And it as it should be. God created male and female, and it is His intention that we reveal the distinction between the sexes. The sad part is that we as women haven’t kept our part of the deal. When the first woman began wearing pants it was met with outrage. But it didn’t take long before more began to follow and then gradually more and more until we now live in a culture where many of our young people wouldn’t hardly know that dresses belong to women.

We know there are crossdressers but imagine if all our young godly men began wearing skirts! Mothers would be horrified. And yet they are so conditioned by our worldly and deceived society that don’t turn a hair to see their daughters in man’s clothing!

We have become so entrenched in a culture of lies that even this post will make many people crazy!

However, if you are really interested in searching for truth, I’d recommend that you read the following article which is a full and doctrinal exegesis on Deuteronomy 22:5.

Deuteronomy 22:5, Gender Distinct Clothing, Pants, Dresses (faithsaves.net)

By the way, don’t scream at me until you have read the article through.

Love and blessings from Nancy Campbell

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EXALTED FEMININITY

ExaltedFemininityI was talking to my husband in the car tonight as we are traveling and he said these words: “Women are exalted in their femininity but degraded when they take on masculinity.” Yes, it is true.

God created male and female and women live in their glory when they embrace their womanhood and men live in their glory when they live in their masculinity.

This is how God intends is to live.

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LIVING IN A WORLD OF LIES AND DECEPTION

DestroyOurselvesThis is happening right now. We are living in a world of lies and deception. Our young people are being educated against all truth. But truth is more powerful than lies. We must begin educating our young people with the truth, boldly proclaim the truth, and live the truth more passionately than we ever have before. Who is with me?

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KITCHEN TESTING

KitchenTestingThe kitchen is where we do a lot of taste testing, isn’t it? We have to taste the meals we create to make sure they are palatable and have a great flavor.
 
However, the kitchen is also a place where we test who we really are! It's easy to live a patient and sweet life when we fellowship with friends or when everything is quiet and peaceful. But what about when everything is in a turmoil? What about when the baby needs you, the toddler is crying, you are trying to get breakfast for everyone, the phone is ringing, and your husband needs last minute help as he leaves the house. You hardly know where to turn first? What about when the children are cranky, whining, or bouncing off the walls? How do you react then?
 
2 Corinthians 13:5 challenges us with these words: "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that JESUS CHRIST IS IN YOU, except ye be reprobates." We need to examine our faith in the midst of trials and difficulties. This is the true testing.
 
However, we need not despair that we cannot live up to God's holy standard. We can't! Do you notice the words "JESUS CHRIST IS IN YOU"? It's not you trying to be perfect in your little world of mothering your children. It is allowing the life of Jesus Christ who lives within you to live His life through you.
 
Get into this habit. Say No to the flesh. Say No to anger and frustration. Say No to self-pity and gloom. Instead, thank Jesus Christ for His patience and love that IS IN YOU BECAUSE HE LIVES IN YOU!
 
Your greatest test in your kitchen is not trying to be more perfect but yielding to the life of Christ in you!
 
Be encouraged today,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
Painting by Helge Artelius
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O HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU ARE...

TenTinyEach new baby is created in the image of God. Each new baby is unique and there will never be another baby like them in the whole world. Each new baby is exquisitely beautiful. The most beautiful gift you could ever receive.
 
In this society where so many women voted for the right to abortion, even up to birth, we must become more pro-life than ever. Satan wants to eliminate babies and close down the wombs of women. He wants to deceive women as to who they really are. But God loves babies. He looks for the “godly offspring” to come forth. Let’s be on God’s side.
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NEAR TO YOUR SIDE

NearToYourSideI read this beautiful promise the other day in Psalm 47:13: “For he strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.”
 
God’s blessing is on our young children when they are protected within our walls. He wants our children protected. I was amazed to realize what the word “within” truly means. It is “qereb” meaning “the nearest part, in the center, the inward part, the inward thought.” David used the same word when he said: “I will walk WITHIN my house with a perfect heart” (Psalm 101:7). He used it again when he exclaimed: “O Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is WITHIN me.”
 
It is a picture of having our children near us, in the center of the home. They are not pushed away into daycare or even the public school system to be taught by teachers we don’t even know! What is their character? What are they teaching? We are now aware that they are adamantly encouraging the mutilation of children’s bodies to the opposite sex. In this time of history, we must be more protective than we have ever been.
 
Keep your precious children NEAR to your heart and NEAR to your side.
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
 
 
Painting by Joe Bowler
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WHAT HAPPENS AT YOUR TABLE?

WhatHappensTableYour table in your home is not only a place to eat some food and run.
It's a place to also feed the soul and spirit.
It’s a place for interaction.
It's a place for stimulating conversation and learning new things.
It's a place to challenge our thinking.
 
In the Gospels we read that when Jesus came to a meal, He always taught something new.
He exposed deceptions.
He challenged thought patterns.
He uncovered hypocrisy.
He healed people.
 
You can read some examples in Matthew 8:14-17; Luke 7:36-50; 11:37-54; 14:1-14; 14:15-24; 24:30-32 and John 21:9-19.
 
Invite Jesus to your table. It will no longer be boring.
Talk about life and what is happening in each other's life.
Ask questions.
Bring subjects to the table to discuss--theological, spiritual, geographical, or political.
 
At our table we laugh a lot. We discuss (and sometimes debate). We don't always agree, but this makes for stimulating conversation. My husband says, "We don't have to agree with one another as long as we love one another."
 
Ask God for a new vision for your table.
Don't only think about what you will eat, but what you will talk about.
Come prepared with a subject to discuss.
Challenge each other's thinking.
Invite Jesus to steer your conversation, teach you new things, and lead you in His truth.
 
But make sure you don’t all talk at once. One person at a time. And don’t allow people to whisper together and have their own side conversation (which is very rude).. Include everyone in the same conversation.
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
 
(I am always looking for pictures with families sitting around the table together. It is so hard to find them. Anyone have one they can send me?)
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Above Rubies Address

AboveRubies
Email Nancy

PO Box 681687
Franklin, TN 37068-1687

Phone : 931-729-9861
Office Hrs 9am - 5pm, M - F, CTZ