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

Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

GOD IS IN YOUR MOTHERING

GodIsYourMotheringWe talked yesterday about knowing God. The Scriptures translate it “Know Him in ALL YOUR WAYS” (Proverbs 3:6). What does it say? ALL your ways. That means ALL the practical ways of our lives. We can often feel very close to God when we are on our own with our Bible and no distractions. In fact, we can feel very spiritual. But what about when we get back in the fray? In the midst of babies, toddlers, tantrums, teens, frustrations, and overwhelmingness! How can we know God then?
 
Dear mother, God wants you to KNOW HIM in all your mothering ways. Let’s get to the reality of life. God is the One who created our bodies. He wondrously, intricately, and amazingly created them to carry and nurture life in our wombs, to give birth, to pour out life and sustenance from our breasts, and to mother and teach our children. We are created, called, chosen, ordained, designated, and destined—physically, emotionally, and spiritually— for this purpose.
 
Therefore, as we realize this divine truth (and can I please interrupt my sentence here--it is a divine truth although our humanistic society does not embrace it). Because it is God’s plan the enemy wants to rob us from it. When he robs us of this truth, he robs us of our full understanding of God. As we embrace this divine truth, we come to find out more and more who God is like. And the more we embrace His ways for us as wives and mothers, the more He reveals to us and leads us in His paths.
 
Seek with all your heart to KNOW GOD in the way He created you. Discover all the amazing hormones He gives to you when you are pregnant. Experience the blessed hormones He gives you while you nurse your baby. God is wrapped up in all your mothering. You miss knowing much of who God really is when you discard your mothering ways for other ways.
 
Let’s be those who know God and who He created us to be and how He created us to function.
 
Be blessed,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
P.S. Here are some links you may like to check out:
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

DO YOUR CHILDREN KNOW GOD?

DoChildKnowGodI am sure you have memorized and have taught your children Proverbs 3:5, 6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” These are good Scriptures to memorize as a family, aren’t they?
 
Although I have known these Scriptures from a child, it was only in recent years that I discovered that the word “acknowledge” is “yada” in the Hebrew. This is far more than a casual acknowledgement of God. It means to know God in an intimate way. This same word is used of sexual intimacy. We read how God knew Abraham in a personal relationship (Genesis 18:19), He spoke with Moses face to face (Exodus 33:17 and Deuteronomy 34:10), and He knew Jeremiah in the womb (Jeremiah 9:23, 24).
 
We can only experience God’s true direction in our lives as we KNOW Him. If we have put God into our little box and made Him a god of our own understanding, we will end up on a deceived path. We must pursue knowing God.
 
And dear mothers, we must seek above all things to teach our children to KNOW God, not only know about Him. When God spoke to the little boy, Samuel in the temple 1 Samuel 3:7 states: “Now Samuel did not yet know (yada) the LORD.” Samuel lived in the temple with the priests but didn’t know God personally yet.
 
Your children can grow up in your godly home and know about God, and yet miss KNOWING Him personally. Pray that they will come to know God intimately. Fill them with the Scriptures daily because it is the Word that makes them “wise unto salvation” (2 Timothy 3:17). Make sure you are revealing to them the God of the Bible, not a god of your own making. They will only know God’s ultimate direction upon their lives as they know God truly and intimately.
 
Be blessed,
 
Nancy Campbell
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Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

TIPS FOR COOKING MEALS

TipsCookMealsHere are seven tips to remember when cooking your meals:
 
1. MAKE IT SIMPLE
You do not need to cook an extravagant meal. You can do this for special occasions. A basic meal at our home consists of a choice of meat, two or three different vegetables either steamed or sauteed, and a salad. I love to include lots of vegetables. A baked potato meal is a nice change. Bake potatoes and make lots of different fillings to add. Each member of the family can choose the fillings they like best. This is even fun to do with visitors if you make lots of interesting fillings.
 
2. MAKE IT NUTRITIOUS
Eliminate all refined foods. Use brown rice instead of white. Grind your grains freshly and back your own bread if possible. Do not over-cook your vegetables—steam them or short cook them in a tiny amount of water. Or raw! Children prefer eating raw carrots than cooked.
 
3. MAKE IT TASTY
This is the secret. Food must taste delicious. Delicious food is the spice of life. Bland food is boring. Gradually stock up on your herbs and spices and experiment! Be imaginative! Try a bit of this and a bit of that! It is the enchantment of cooking! If you use your spices and herbs sparingly at the beginning you won’t spoil a dish by using the wrong ones, but you’ll gradually find what works best. In our home we like our foods HOT AND SPICY, but you will do it to your own taste.
 
4. MAKE IT FULL OF AROMA
The spices and herbs and the smell of the meal cooking should draw everyone to the kitchen and make them hungry for the meal.
 
5. MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE
Coordinate your meal so you have different colors and always arrange your food attractively, whether on each plate or in serving dishes for the family to help themselves. Use herbs, flowers, and leaves to decorate. Set the table nicely and welcomingly. Your children can do this task and teach them to do it creatively and beautifully.
 
6. MAKE PLENTY
It is better to have more than you need than not enough. If you have extra, it’s great for leftovers for lunch the next day, or you can freeze it for another meal. However, the idea in cooking plenty is to be ready for that unexpected guest or person who needs a meal.
 
7. MAKE A SALAD
Make a big salad at least once a day, either for lunch or for supper.
 
Most of all, have fun! Instead of preparing meals as a chore, embrace the challenge of making the most nutritious, attractive, delicious, exciting meal you could ever make!
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
 
P.S. I’d love to hear some of your tips.
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

AN INVITATION FROM GOD

InviteFromGodWe find one of the most amazing incidents in the Bible in Exodus 24:9-11 God gives an invitation, not only to Moses, but also to Aaron, his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel to come up to Him on the mountain. They had just seen the power of God on the mountain when God came down to give the Ten Commandments. They had quaked with fear as they watched the mountain smoke like a furnace, they had trembled as they felt the earthquake, and their hearts had melted when they heard the trumpet blast louder and louder. God had commanded that no one must “touch the border of it: whosoever touches the mount shall be surely put to death” (Exodus 19:12).
 
And yet now they have been invited to come up on this fearful mountain. Wow! How would you feel? I think I would have obeyed with great fear and trepidation. Let us read what happened.
 
Exodus 24:9-11: “Then went u Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drank.”
 
I have to say “Wow!” again! They ate a meal in the presence of God. The New Bible Commentary comments on this passage. “A sacrifice involved a sacrificial meal, and Moses, following the command of verse 1, took the elders up the mount, there to eat the flesh of the sacrifice and so to commune with the God to whom it was offered. While they were eating God granted to them, as a token of His favor, a vision of Himself which revealed Him as the God who not only thunders in wrath at all iniquity, but whose glory is also manifested in surpassing loveliness.”
 
Once again, it was WHILE THEY WERE EATING that God revealed Himself and gave them a glimpse of His glory. The NLT says: “they ate as covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!”
 
Exodus 33:20 tells us that: “no man shall see me, and live” so they obviously did not see the pure fullness of God’s glory but were privileged to behold a reflection of His dazzling splendor, all while they ate and communed in the presence of God.
 
God not only visits people at church. He longs to visit them at their tables. God wants to bring His presence to your table too. He delights to join you. Do you invite Him? Do you expect Him to be with you? It will make all the difference to your mealtimes.
 
Have a beautiful day,
 
Nancy Campbell
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Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

THE CORNERSTONE

TheCornerstone“May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace” (Psalm 144:12 NLT).
 
THE CORNERSTONE
“That our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace” (Psalm 144:12).
 
Daughters as pillars so fixed and grounded
With roots in a rock immovably founded,
An ancient faith and an ancient quarry
Has brought them forth to Heaven’s glory.
 
For Sarah’s daughters are pillars of life,
Not dead pillars of salt like Lot’s backslidden wife,
Look forward and not back with hearts ablaze
To see your house of God filled with praise.
 
Stand strong in faith and uphold the roof
That shields from storm and welcomes truth,
For pillars sculptured in palace style
Will stand the test of time and trial.
 
As one great pillar made of pearl
You stand a witness to the world,
That the worth of the kingdom far excels
The worth pursued on other trails.
 
With faith unbending and eyes on Him
Who redeemed you to Himself from sin,
Let fulfillment’s greatest goal be found
That on the cornerstone be placed the crown.
 
~ Brayden and Tali Waller
 
What is the cornerstone? The cornerstone is the foundation of the home. In building the home all other stones are set from this foundation stone, thus determining the entire structure. It is the crown. We as mothers are the cornerstones of our home and are training our daughters for this great task. Rejoice today in the great commission God has given you.
 
~ Nancy
 
Brayden and Tali are organizing the coming Above Rubies Family Retreat in Missouri THIS COMING WEEKEND! You can still come at the last minute! Would love to see you!
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

WhatRUDoingWhat is your heart doing at this time in our nation? Are you horrified? Are you grieving? Are you gathering your family to pray for this nation and the world each day? Are you gathering others to pray with you?
 
How can we carry on life as normal when we are facing oppression from an illegitimate government? They want to bring back lockdowns, masks, and make an experimental vacc-sin-ation mandatory. Our nation is guilty of mass murdering of the unborn, sex trafficking, homosexuality, and now transgender is even advocated in our schools. How do we get used to the fact that same-sex marriage is law in our nation? Do we really see sin like God sees it?
 
I think of how King Josiah responded after hearing the words of the “book of the law.” When he heard of God’s judgments upon the sin of the land, he wept and tore his clothes. God saw his repentance and humility and said to him: “Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you” (2 Kings 22:19).
 
What about these Scriptures?
 
Psalm 119:53: “HORROR has taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.”
 
Psalm 119: 136: “RIVERS OF WATER run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.”
 
Psalm 119:158: “I beheld the transgressors, and was GREIEVED; because they kept not thy word.”
 
What did Ezra do when he found sin amongst the people of God? “When I heard this, I tore my cloak and my shirt, pulled my hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked” (Ezra 8
 
Ezekiel talks about those who “sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst” (Ezekiel 9:4) and the “sighers” and “criers” were the only ones who escaped God’s judgment.
 
Paul writes in Romans 12:9: “ABHOR that which is evil.” The word “abhor” in the Greek means to ‘SHUDDER WITH HORROR.” Do we shudder?
I have to confess that I haven’t been tearing my clothes, but I am burdened to pray. I don’t believe we can carry on life as per normal unless we don’t understand what is happening.
 
I am sorry this is not a nice, comforting post, but we’ve got to face the facts, dear friends. We are facing tyranny and total dominion of our bodies in what is supposed to be a free nation. Nehemiah cried out in his time: “Also they have dominion over our bodies . . . at their pleasure, and we are in great distress” (Nehemiah 9:37).
 
If we as God’s people are not mightily affected by the sin in the land, if our hearts are not grieved to tears, if we don’t shudder with horror at evil, and if we are not concerned enough to cry out to God in repentance, we are not much different from the world (Jeremiah 10:25).
 
Are our hearts hardened because we get used to the sin and worldliness all around us? Or do we have soft, tender hearts. Oh, I want to walk in the in the fear of the Lord, don’t you? I want a weeping heart over sin (in my own life, in my family, in the church, and in the nation).
 
Let’s get to prayer,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
Scriptures to ponder: 2 Chronicles 7:14; Ezra 9:1-3; Isaiah 66:2; Jeremiah 9:17-21; Ezekiel 9:3-11; Amos 5:15; Joel 2:16-18; James 4:8-10; and 1 Peter 1:17.
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

YOU CANNOT BE REPLACED

UCannotBReplacedThe humanistic worldview in our society makes mothers feel insignificant. They are told they should do something worthwhile with their lives. This is opposite to God’s plan. God designed women for the home—to raise His children in the home (yes, they are ultimately God’s children), to influence their children for God and His truth, and to make their home a sanctuary that is strong and secure against the storms of this life.
 
The words of Zechariah 13:7 also apply to motherhood: “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” Just as the shepherd is essential for the survival of his sheep and lambs, so mothers are indispensable for their children.
 
Satan’s plan is to smite motherhood and scatter the mother shepherds out of the home. When he lures mothers away from their home, he can then turn against “the little ones” and entice them to his thinking and ways.
 
It is sad that many have fallen for Satan’s trap. It is time for watchdog, protective, lion-like, standing strong, never-giving-into-deception mothers to arise. Mothers who will not be moved from their homes and who will guard their children and homes with all diligence.
 
Don’t be lured away, dear mother. No one, no matter how professional they are, can ever replace you! You are more important than you realize.
 
Blessings to you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

WHAT ABOUT VISITORS?

WhatAboutVisitorsI promised I would also share with you what we should do if visitors who come into our home with different standards than we do. I often wondered what to do about this until I discovered the Scriptures. Isn’t it wonderful? God gives us the answer on any situation we need to know about.
 
Sometimes people come into our home and allow their children to jump on the furniture. Children would ruj into rooms and touch things they shouldn’t. Some people are used to having TV going in the background all day! Help. The day is for work. Not for wasting time looking at junk. Some visitors come to the table with their iPhones as that’s what they do in their homes. They may even place them on their knee under the table where they keep looking down to check them. They can’t leave them unattended for a minute!
 
So, what should we do?
 
This is what the Scriptures say:
 
Exodus 12:49, 50: "One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus did all the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they."
 
The ESV makes it clearer: “One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as foreigner among you.”
 
Therefore, I will sweetly and gently tell the folks that this is the standard we have for our home and would they mind joining with us? If you ask people very nicely, they are usually happy to comply. If not, well, they’ll have to anyway!
Here are some more Scriptures:
 
Numbers 9:14: "Ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land."
 
Numbers 15:15, 16: "One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance forever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger before the Lord. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you."
 
Numbers 15:29: "Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them."
 
Does this help you a little?
 
Be blessed,
 
Nancy Campbell
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WHAT DO WE DO?

BoyPrayRegarding my recent posts about managing our homes, some have asked what we do for our family devotions each day. We gather together each morning and evening and we usually read THE DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH. We use this devotional because it is only the Scriptures. It gives Scriptures on a certain theme for every morning and every evening of every day in the year. All you need to do is go to the date and the Scriptures are waiting for you to read! Isn’t that great? It’s so great, especially for husbands who may not know where to read in the Bible. It’s all waiting for them
 
When my husband reads, he asks lots of questions to get everyone involved. It’s important to make sure everyone is participating so they don’t fall into a dream and twiddle their thumbs with boredom. It’s easy for any of us to do this unless we are kept alert.
 
We always have our Bible reading at the end of the meal. I have found this such a blessing because you have the whole family together at the meal table. And the physical meal prepares us for the spiritual meal. In the Netherlands Christian families call their Bible reading time “Finishing up the Meal.” They wouldn’t leave the table until they had not only nurtured their physical bodies but fed their soul and spirit. The table is a place where we feed the whole man—body, soul, and spirit. If we allow our children to leave the table before we have fed them spiritually, we are letting the go half-fed!
 
We begin our reading before we have cleared the table. Truly? With all the dishes still on the table? Yes. I find that if everyone starts scraping plates, stacking dishes, and taking them to the counter, it breaks the whole atmosphere, and I can never get anyone back to the table again. So, I don’t let them leave! We don’t even notice the dishes on the table. This is an important secret.
 
After reading and sharing together, we all pray. Yes, everyone, right down to the littlest one who is just learning to talk. We learn to pray by praying. Prayer should be as familiar as breath to our children. They should grow up praying aloud. I also use Prayer Boxes on different issues which give ideas of subjects for the children to pray about. And then we sing a worship song or a hymn together.
 
I have two DAILY LIGHTS available through Above Rubies which you can purchase.
 
THE DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH * PLUS CREATIVE WAYS TO READ GOD’S WORD TO YOUR CHILDREN (KJV)
 
This book has ideas at the beginning of each month on how you can keep your children “on their toes” and listening. You will find them most helpful.
Or
THE DAILY LIGHT ON THE DAILY PATH (NKJV)
This book has the same Scriptures but does not list the ideas.
 
May you be blessed and encouraged.
 
Nancy Campbell
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WHAT DO I DO IN MY HOUSE?

WhatIDoInMyHouseHere are a few more practical guidelines I found helpful in raising our children and which I still continue today. I know you may have different priorities, because we are all different, but here are some of mine.
 
1. I don’t allow children to jump on the furniture and on their beds. This does not teach our children how to care for things or how to act in someone else’s home.
 
2. I don’t allow children to eat food in their bedrooms or anywhere in the house except at the dining room table or in the kitchen. This only makes so much more work for you in cleaning house—crumbs around the house and marks on the carpet etc.
 
3. I allowed my children to be “children” and didn’t get at them for many of the stupid and childish things they did. However, I disciplined for disobedience, willfulness, rebellion, lying, and things that God hates.
 
4. I trained the children to do their chores with a smile and a good attitude. They would be given another task until they showed the right attitude. Of course, they learn this mostly from YOUR OWN ATTITUDE TOWARD WORK. You show by your actions and attitude that you LOVE WORK, and it is a God-given blessing.
 
5. I expect everyone to be at the dinner table on time! Not coming when they feel like it. They must be there the moment I call, although usually by this time the children are in the kitchen with you helping you with the meal and putting it on the table.
 
6. I expect ALL children and EVERYONE living in our home to join us for family devotions. One time, a young man was staying with us for a week or so. The night before he left, he said he wouldn’t have time for Bible reading and prayer as he wanted to pack his bag. It was only an excuse as he had done nothing all day and had plenty of time after devotions, I certainly didn’t let him off the hook!
 
7. I don’t allow the children to jump up and down during the mealtime but to stay seated until the end.
 
8. I don’t allow children to whisper to someone privately at the table or to have their own conversations while others are talking. That is rude. We all focus on the one conversation so we can enjoy “togetherness.”
 
9. I don’t allow chewing gum in my home. Please understand that this is not a “thus saith the Lord.” It is my preference. I simply cannot stand finding chewing gum stuck to the floor or under chairs etc. I’ve scraped it off too many times! Therefore, I don’t allow it in the home. Period. Personally, I don’t like to see people chewing gum anyway. I don’t think it equates with royalty, and aren’t we training our children to be princes and princesses in God’s royal kingdom?
 
10. When the children grew older and were still living at home, I expected them to be home for the evening meal and family devotions unless they let me know in time and it was a valid excuse. I expected them (and still expect anyone living in our home) to tell me where they are going and what time they will be home. And I have certain time guidelines for them to be in at night.
 
Does this sound rather rigid? No, they are underlying guidelines so we can be free to enjoy life together in peace and happiness. I am sure you have many other ideas to share.
 
Be blessed,
 
Nancy Campbell
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A FEW GUIDELINES

GuidlinesLast week I wrote a couple of posts about keeping order in our homes. These fundamental guidelines change with times and seasons. I had different “rules” when the children were little than when they grew older.
 
Also, I don’t like to give plans for other households as I believe each one will manage their homes uniquely to their personality. Plus, as I shared last week, I believe the Holy Spirit is the greatest guide in showing us how He wants us to effectively run our homes.
 
However, I will give you a few tips that I have found helpful over the years. My children are now all out of the home, married with their own children. But we still have young people living in our home (Above Rubies helpers) and visitors continually staying and coming and going. Do I have the same values for visitors? I’ll share that with you in another post.
 
I believe in getting up at a decent hour, not sleeping in! You can’t manage a home effectively if you sleep in. The best part of the day is gone before you even start. Wake up time will be a different time in every home and at the different seasons and ages of your children. That means children need to be up by a certain time also. And that means getting to bed at a reasonable hour the night before.
 
Currently I like to get into the kitchen about 7.30 am. I read and pray before this of course. I expect everyone living in the home to have breakfast before 8.00 am when we commence Family Devotions together. I revolve my day around PRIORITIES. Family Devotions, both morning and evening, are the highest priority in my day. Therefore, I plan the order of my day around them. That’s why everyone must be up in time. No sleeping in. I hate sleeping in myself but allow our young people to sleep in on the weekends.
 
After Family Devotions, we begin the day. Mothers with children will make sure basic chores are completed such as cleaning the kitchen and getting laundry going and then begin homeschooling.
 
Lunch time comes and we allow an hour for lunch and clean up. Larger families will most probably need longer to prepare, eat, and clean up.
 
For me, after lunch, it’s back to the office to keep writing and keep Above Rubies going. Mothers may continue homeschooling, although usually they can all be finished by lunchtime. The afternoon is a wonderful time for projects, gardening, research, creative ideas, errands, visiting someone in need and so on. And rest time for little ones.
 
I like to be in the kitchen again no later than 5.00 to prepare for the evening meal. This is a huge priority for me. I know that Family Devotions won’t work unless I prepare for it. It is such a blessing to have the evening meal ready for when your husband comes home so you can all eat together and at the end of the meal, enjoy time reading God’s Word and praying together. These things don’t happen unless you make them happen.
 
And tomorrow I will tell you a load of practical things—things I like and things I don’t like.
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT COOKS!

CannotLiveCooksDear mother, don’t despise cooking! It’s a very big pat of your mothering anointing and it’s never a waste of time. It is nurturing and blessing your family and everyone who comes into your home. Do it with joy. And be encouraged by this little poem.
 
We may live without poetry, music, and art;
We may live without conscience and live without heart;
We may live without friends, we may live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks.
 
He may live without books, - what is knowledge but grieving?
He may live without hope, - what is hope but deceiving?
He may live without love, - what is passion but pining?
But where is the man that can live without dining?
 
By Owen Meredith
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Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

HOW CAN YOU DO IT?

HowCanDoItWe talked yesterday about establishing order in the home in order to make it run smoothly. How do we do this? Do we copy what other mothers do? Do we get ideas out of a book? No, we get it by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
 
How did David get the pattern for building the house of the Lord? God gave it to him BY HIS SPIRIT. 1 Chronicles 28:11-13 tells us that he received “the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit . . . for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.” Isn’t that wonderful?
 
God is interested in every detail of your home—everything that is involved in the running of your home. Even the pots and the pans and how you should order your kitchen (1 Chronicles 9:32 and Zechariah 14:20, 21). God will show you how to set everything in order and how to order your days.
 
Ask God to show you and He will give you the plan by His Spirit. Wait on Him for His plan. When He gives it to you, it will work. Sometimes you try to follow the ideas of others. It may work for them, but it doesn’t work for you. The way God shows you will work for you.
 
We are all going to manage our homes differently because each one of us is a unique personality. I think of my three daughters Evangeline, Pearl and Serene. Each one of them manages their home quite differently because they are all distinct personalities and none of them feel they have to copy the others.
 
God will guide you according to the personality that He gave to you.
 
Be blessed,
 
Nancy Campbell
 
Painting: Roy de Maistre, Interior with mother and child, Exeter, NSW, 1916.
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HOW DO YOU RUN YOUR HOME?

HowRunHmDo you have laws in your house? I do. I have rules to keep my home in order and running efficiently. If I let everyone do whatever they want or however they want, the home soon turns to chaos. At the same time, I hate legality and love to have a spirit of freedom and openness to spontaneity, fun, and laughter. When we have an underlying foundation and plan for our home, it’s easier for this to happen. Everything is in order, so we are free to do unexpected things.
 
Let’s look at an example in the Bible. Ezekiel 43:12 says: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be MOST HOLY. Behold, this is the law of the house.” This is talking about Ezekiel’s temple, the place of God’s dwelling.
God had laws for His house. He established many ordinances to make it run smoothly. In Ezekiel 44:5 it says: “Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning ALL THE ORDINANCES OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, and ALL THE LAWS thereof: and mark well the entering in of the house with every going forth of the sanctuary.”
 
Because I am also building a house to the Lord, a sanctuary for the living God and for my husband and family, I believe I can’t do better than God’s plan. If it was important for God to have ordinances to run His house smoothly, I think I also need laws and ordinances to make my home function effectively.
 
God’s house had order and established daily times for certain functions. I need to make this happen in my home too. I believe in flexibility because every day of every year is different, and we never know what is going to happen. However, I believe it is important to keep a basic plan.
 
How do you work things in your home?
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
 
Picture: Heart of the Home by John Sloane
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ENTERING A NEW WORLD

EnterNewWorldSome mothers have shared how they have faithfully stayed home to homeschool their children, but now the children have grown and left the nest. What do they do now? One mother mentioned that she feels scared about going back in the workforce after being home all these years.
 
Dear older mothers, why do you feel you now have to go back to the work force? Your career hasn't changed. You are just moving into a different gear. God doesn't take away your motherhood career just because your children have grown! You are entering into a greater realm of motherhood. There is a world of afflicted and hurting people waiting for your love and encouragement. Ask God who He wants you to reach out to. Ask Him who He wants you to gather into your home to love and nurture. Now that your children are grown, you have more time to reach the broken-hearted and to uplift and strengthen the downcast and disillusioned.
 
What about the young mothers? As older mothers, we are commanded to teach them and show them the way God wants them to live. We don't show them the way by going out of the home and going into the workforce. That gives them a false picture. You can't do one thing and say another. You must live what you speak. One of the greatest cries of mothers is that they have no one to encourage them. I hear it daily.
 
Rise up, older mothers. You haven't got time to waste your life earning a bit of extra pocket money. You have a world of young mothers who need encouraging and help; single mothers who need uplifting and strengthening; young singles who need inspiring in the ways of God instead of the ways of the world; older people who are lonely and have no one to care for them; those who sick and in prison; and all the hurting, troubled, and brokenhearted all around you (Matthew 25:31-46). Help, I can’t find the time to do one tenth of all I would like to do in ministering to those who need Jesus.
 
And dear older mothers, you have a home! Don't vacate it. Your home is the greatest place to serve God in the entire world. Ask God who He wants you to invite into your home for a meal. Ask a family over to supper who need encouraging. Ask a young mother with her children over to lunch to bless her and encourage her. Open your home in hospitality. Open your doors wide. You will never be bored again.
 
And look out. The grandchildren will soon be coming. How wonderful. Encourage your children to have children. That's what the Bible tells us to do (Jeremiah 29:6) and be ready and waiting for them.
 
God gives the picture of His plan for women in 1 Timothy 5:10 (ESV). It speaks of the young mother embracing motherhood, but as her children grow, we see her growing more and more powerful in her anointing of motherhood as she opens her home in hospitality and reaches out to the needy. She is described as "having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work."
 
Lift up your eyes. A wonderful world of ministry awaits you.
 
Have a great day,
 
Nancy Campbell
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ARE YOU A SHINING MOTHER?

ShiningMom“You are the LIGHT of the world. . . Let your SO SHINE before men, that they may SEE your GOOD WORKS, and GLORIFY your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
 
Notice the words in caps.
 
LIGHT: Jesus is the light of the world. Therefore, when He comes into our lives we are filled with LIGHT. Light exposes the darkness and deception. Light brings forth life. Light brings forth revelation and understanding.
 
Filled-with-light mothers will expose any darkness or deception that comes into the home. It won’t be able to hide away secretly.
 
SHINE: Do you notice that we are not only to SHINE but to SO SHINE? The Passion translation says: “Let it SHINE BRIGHTLY before others.”
 
Filled-with-light mothers will not be a little dim light, but a bright shining light in their homes and wherever they go.
 
SEE: People must SEE the light of Jesus in our lives. Who will see it first? Our husbands and children. If we can’t shine the light in our homes, how can we do it outside the home? The GW translation says that we should shine our line “in front of people.”
 
Filled-with-light mothers will not hide their light, or be afraid to speak truth, but are always ready to spread light.
 
GOOD WORKS: We reveal the light of Jesus by our GOOD WORKS. We are not saved by good works, but when we are born again, we show it by our good works (Ephesians 2:10). Where will we show our good works first? In our homes.
 
Filled-with-light mothers delight to do good works. By the way, just to remind you, did you remember that God calls loving your husband, loving your children, and being a keeper of the home, etc., a “good” work? Read Titus 2:3-5 and 1 Timothy 5:10).
 
GLORIFY: We GLORIFY our Father in heaven when those around us see our good works.
 
Filled-with-light mothers glorify God as they mother and nurture their children and diligently manage their homes.
 
May your children exclaim, “Mommy, you are shining, today.”
 
“Mommy, I love your smile.”
 
“Mommy, thank you for being home with me.”
 
“Mommy, you look so happy and you make me happy.”
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
 
Painting by Mark Arian
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HAVE YOU CAUGHT THE VISION?

CaughtVisionTHREE MASONS
 
Once a man came upon three rock masons at work. "What are you doing?" he asked of them.
 
"I am carving these stones into the different sizes wanted," answered the first.
 
"I am earning six dollars a day," replied the second.
 
"I am helping to build a great cathedral," commented the last.
 
Only he had caught the vision of the great work that he was helping to do!
 
THREE MOTHERS
 
Once a woman came upon three mothers at work. "What are you doing?" she asked of them.
 
"I am doing the weekly washing," answered the first.
 
"I am doing a bit of household drudgery," replied the second.
 
"I am mothering three young children who someday will fill important and useful spheres in life, and wash-day is a part of my grand task in caring for these souls who shall live forever," replied the third.
 
Only she had caught the vision of the great work she was doing!
 
~ Unknown.
 
Have you caught the vision?
 
Love from Nancy Campbell
 
Painting: Laundry Day by Diane Leonard
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WHAT GOES ON IN YOUR HOME?

OnInHomeDo the people who come into your home feel the presence of God?
 
When Solomon dedicated the temple, he prayed a very heartfelt prayer. One of the things he prayed was "that all the people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee . . . and may know that this house which I built is called by thy name" (2 Chronicles 6:33).
 
This house was the temple Solomon built for God. But dear ladies, you are also building a house for God. It is a sanctuary for His holy presence where you raise your children in the ways of God. Your home either belongs to the spirit of this world or it belongs to God. Do your children experience God's name in your home? Do they know that their home is called by the name of the Lord? What about your neighbors? Do they know?
 
I think that Solomon's prayer is a good prayer for us to pray too, don't you?
 
How will folks know your home is truly God's home?
. It will be a house of prayer. Jesus said, "My house will be called a house of prayer." Sadly, not much prayer happens in Christian homes today.
 
However, if our home is called by God's name, it will be filled with prayer.
. It will be filled with love.
. It will be filled with confessing the name of the Lord throughout the day.
. It will be filled with the riches of God's word.
. It will be filled with joy, singing, and God-inspired music.
. It will be filled with the glory of God (2 Chronicles 7:1-3).
. It will be filled with the inspiration of a mother who delights to be in her home, nurturing, feeding, and training her children to be God-seekers and God-lovers.
 
Everything comes back to the family and the home. We can get involved in all kinds of ministry but if God doesn't fill our homes, we miss the boat. There are mothers who serve the Lord in different organizations and yet their families are in disarray.
 
Our true testimony is what goes on in our home.
 
Blessings to you today from Nancy Campbell
 
Painting by Hermann von Kaulbach (Munich, Germany 1846 - 1909).
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GET UNDER THE CLOUD OF BLESSING

CloudBeautyIs your marriage in dire straits? Is your home filled with chaos and bedlam? Are you "put to the worse before the enemy"? God always shows us the way to get back to Him.
 
In 2 Chronicles 6:24 Solomon prayed for those who are "put to the worse" by the enemy of their souls. Throughout chapter 24 and also God's promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read God's conditions to get back under the cloud of blessing again.
 
1. Humble ourselves (2 Chronicles 7:14).
2. Return to God with all our hearts and souls (verses 24, 37, 38).
3. Confess our sins, "saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly" (verse 38).
4. Turn from our sin (verse 26 and 2 Chronicles 7:14)).
5. Confess (acknowledge) the name of the Lord (verses 24, 26).
6. Pray (verses 24, 26, 29, 324, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 2 Chronicles 7:14).
7. Make supplication (beseech) (verses 24, 29, 35, 39).
8. Seek God's face (2 Chronicles 7:14).
9. Spread forth our hands toward the Lord in our homes (verse 29).
10. Fear the Lord again (verse 31).
 
God always turns His heart toward us when we come before Him in humility and confess our sins. Each one of us fail, even as Solomon reminded God in his prayer, "for there is no man which sinneth not" (verse 36). But we have a forgiving heavenly Father. We have an advocate in Jesus Christ through His blood that flowed from His side upon the cross.
 
When we keep a soft and tender heart toward the Lord and toward one another, when we seek to have humble hearts instead of stubborn and proud hearts, and when we continually pray and seek the Lord in our homes He promises: "Mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually" (2 Chronicles 7:16). Oh, what a wonderful promise.
 
Don't you long for God's eyes and His heart to be continually upon your home?
 
Keep close accounts with God. Don't allow Satan to get a foothold in your home.
 
Amen from Nancy Campbell
 
Painting by Emily Schultz
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WHAT WILL YOU WEAR TODAY?

WhatWearTodayMost of us have more clothes in our wardrobe than we need. Did you know that you also have an amazing spiritual wardrobe? And it's free. It has been given to you by Jesus Christ, paid for by His death upon the cross and His precious blood which He poured out for you.
 
God doesn't want you to leave His beautiful clothes He gave you sitting in your wardrobe. He wants you to wear them. Did you wake up grumpy and irritable this morning? Take off that grumpy dress and put on your "garment of praise" (Isaiah 61:3). Oh yes, you've also got a dress called "Joy" too (Nehemiah 8:10).
 
You also have lovely dresses of love, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). You have delightful garments of tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, forbearance, and forgiveness. (Colossians 3:12-17).
 
Don't leave them hanging in your wardrobe. God gives them to you to wear!
 
Read Ephesians 4: 22-24 and Colossians 3:10.
 
The strange thing is that although we have this expensive wardrobe, we don't always bother to wear the clothes. We are so used to our old shabby clothes of the flesh. We feel more comfortable in them. They feel familiar, so we stick with them instead of wearing our new clothes. But these new clothes belong to you! They are yours!
 
The J. B. Phillip's translation of Ephesians 4:22-24 says: "Fling off the dirty clothes of the old way of living . And put on the CLEAN FRESH CLOTHES of the new life.
 
You can even change garments as you need to throughout the day. Are the children driving you crazy? Your anger is rising. Quick! Change into your garment of long-suffering or patience. Put it on by faith. Thank the Lord for His patience which is in you because He lives in you.
 
Are you starting to shout and yell because everything is getting on top of you? Put on the garment of gentleness. Thank the Lord for His gentle Spirit who lives in you.
 
Wear your beautiful clothes.
 
Blessings to you,
 
Nancy Campbell
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