LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 166 –  LIFE TO THE FULL, Part 1

Today, I begin a new series, LIFE TO THE FULL. God does not want us to be half full, but truly FULL. Today, we look at the very first FILL word in the Bible.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. We’re starting a new series today, LIFE TO THE FULL. I wish I had called this podcast that very name, LIFE TO THE FULL, because I think this is what this podcast is all about. I’m always sharing with you from the Scriptures, how God wants us to live. And it is, LIFE TOP THE FULL!

This podcast is called From Our Home to Yours, With Nancy Campbell. Yes, I do sometimes talk about what’s going on here. But really, I love to speak more from the Word. I love to fill you with the Word, about life to the full, because that’s how God wants us to live.

John 10:10: Jesus said: “I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.” And our God is a God of fullness. We read in the Scriptures, Jeremiah 23:24: “Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”

Psalm 33:5 tells us how “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”

Psalm 119:64: “The earth is full of His mercy.”

Psalm 104:24: “The earth is full of His riches.”

Habakkuk 3:3: “The earth is full of his praise.”

He is a God of fullness. In everything that God is, He is in complete fullness.

We go over to the New Testament. I love this Scripture from one of the stories that Jesus told. In Luke 14:23, Jesus was telling the story about how all these people were invited to the feast, but they all had their excuses why they couldn’t come. So, the one who was the host, he said, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them that they may come in, that my house may be filled.”

God is THE GOD OF THE FULL HOUSE. He wants a full house. He wants His house in eternity to be filled. That’s why one of God’s favorite words is “Come. Come unto Me. Come, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden. Come, those who are hungry and thirsty. Come, be filled, come into My Kingdom.”

God wants to have a full house. But because God is a God of fullness, He wants His people to have this same mentality about being full. Not half-full, but full.

We go over to Ephesians.1:21-22. Oh, this beautiful Scripture! Talking about Jesus, Who is “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body,” and, listen to this, ladies, “THE FULLNESS OF HIM THAT FILLETH ALL IN ALL.”

Christ is the fullness. He is the One that fills all in all, that fills everything. He wants His body, His church, that is us, to be filled with His fullness, the One Who fills all in all. And so, it’s all about fullness, ladies, life to the full.

So, I’d like to take you through some Scriptures because God speaks about many different things, of how He wants us to be filled and what He wants us to be filled with throughout the Word of God.

So, we’ll look at some of these things. But we always have to start with that which is first. I believe in starting with first things first. That means we go right back to the beginning. And God doesn’t take very long to start us off on this great revelation of fullness.

In fact, he talks about it in the very first chapter of the Bible. We don’t even get past the first chapter and God is talking about the word “fill.” And, of course, it’s Genesis 1:28. It’s the very first words that God spoke into the ears of man. And he used the word “filled.”

You see, it’s Who God is . . . it’s on His heart. So out it comes, from His mouth, onto us, His people, onto the very first creation. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”

That’s King James, but most other translations, I think nearly every other translation says: “And fill the earth and subdue it.” Because it is the Hebrew word male, or mah-lay. Those Hebrew-speaking people, forgive me, if I give you the wrong pronunciation.

But the word in the Hebrew is m-a-l-e, and pronounced, I think, mah-lay. In the Strong’s Concordance, it’s the number 4390, and also 4392. They are both male, and both have just about the same meaning, meaning, “to the full, fill to overflowing.”

So, God comes out with this great word, right at the beginning, the very first words He speaks into His creation. Therefore, ladies, we do have to take notice of them. I am amazed how many, even people who say they are Bible believers, take no notice of these words. “Oh, that was just for back then.”

No. Every word God gave was powerful. It was eternal. It was for all generations. And God spoke this word to give us His heart and His plan for us. And God hasn’t changed. This is what He speaks to us today, to all married couples.

God says, “I bless you.” And His blessing is “be fruitful, multiply.” The word multiply is rabah, and it means “abundant, increase, make greater, more, and fill the earth.” Was that the only time God said these words? No. While we’re on this subject, the very first subject for the word, “fill,” I’ll take you on to quite a few other Scriptures.

We go on to Genesis 9. This was after the Flood, and because sin came, and, oh, God was so sad that He even made man. And He sent this flood to destroy the whole earth. But He saved Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their wives, the only people who were not contaminated by the evil at that time.

Isn’t it interesting, ladies, that right throughout Scripture, we see remnants? You know, it’s not always all the people who are on the right track. No, it’s usually the remnant. Even Jesus said in His sermon on the Mount, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13, 14).

The popular idea, the popular way of life, is not always God’s way. And in that time of that evil upon the earth, God only found eight people. That was a very small remnant. Interestingly, what does the Bible say in the New Testament? That when Jesus comes, it will be like the days of Noah which were days of great evil. And in those days, there was only a remnant that was saved. This is very challenging to me. Oh, I often cry out to the Lord. Do you also?

I say, “Lord God, I want to be in Your remnant. Oh, don’t let me miss Your remnant!” Because the Bible tells us that there will be a great falling away and many will be deceived. Even some of the elect will be deceived. Oh, how we must be so careful, even studious, to study, to discern, to know, what is God’s mind, and to be with Him, and walking with Him, rather than walking with the popular opinion of the day.

So, after this flood, when most of the earth was destroyed, God came again to Noah and his family, and He repeated the words He gave in Genesis 1. Because, you see, this is God’s heart. He wanted them brought again, He wanted to remind Noah again, because this was His plan.

So, He comes again with these same words, “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.” Male, fill to overflowing. No, not just, “Well, just have a few children, just whatever you think you could perhaps manage.” No, fill the earth!

This is God’s heart. Do we really think like God, or do we think like this humanistic age? We are to think one way or the other. Here, God said it in verse one, and He said it in verse seven, again. This time, He said it two times, so they would get the message.

Yes, so we move along. Then time goes on, and, yes, the people of God were filling the earth. God began to bring out of the earth a people, a special people, a people for His Name who would be His people, who would bring forth the Messiah, who would bring forth the Word of God into the world. They were the people of Israel, beginning with Abraham.

We get to the story of where the children of Israel, they’re now down in Egypt. You remember how Joseph was used to guard, to save Egypt and many countries, and, especially his own people, from famine. He brought his father and all his family down to Egypt. They dwelt in the land of Goshen.

The years went by, and they multiplied. But now, a new Pharoah has come. He didn’t even really know who these people were. So, let’s read about it.

We’ll start with Exodus 1:7: “And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them." So here we get this word “filled” again. It keeps coming. We’re going to see that it keeps coming up, right throughout the Word of God.

We see that the people of Israel, they were doing what God intended them to do. Did you get it? My, there were a lot of adjectives here. They were . . .

“fruitful, and

 increased abundantly, and

multiplied, and

waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was

FILLED with them.”

“Now, there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we are.” Oooh, what an amazing testament.

Did you know, ladies, that that should be the testimony of the people of God? That should be our testimony right now, in 2021, because this is God’s heart. This is His plan. When God gave that first command in Genesis 1:28, and He said, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth,” He didn’t stop there.

He went on to say, “And subdue and take dominion.” You see, God wants His people to take dominion on the earth. He wants them to reveal His glory on the earth, to show forth His salvation from day to day, to show forth His mercy, and love, and glory, and judgment, and justice, and all the character of God.

God wants who He is to be revealed on the earth through His people. He wants them to take dominion. He doesn’t want the other side. He doesn’t want the devil’s followers to take dominion.

But how does it happen? It happens through filling the earth with His people. When we stop filling the earth, when we limit our families, we limit the government of God in the earth, we limit the revelation of God in the earth. We limit the justice of God in the earth. We limit the salvation of God. We limit the glory of God in the earth.

And, we are living in that time now. It is a sad state that the last few generations or so have turned away from the Word of God, from God’s very first commandment today, from the very first words that He ever spoke into the ears of man. They have turned to the worldly way.

Well, it’s really the devil’s way, because the devil hates life. God is the giver of life, the author of life, the lover of life. Satan, who cannot give life, hates life. He seeks to eliminate it, every way he can. Sadly, the devil has been very, very successful in blinding the eyes of even God’s precious people to begin to think like the humanistic mindset.

And to think, “Oh, wow, it is much better to only have, well, maybe two or perhaps three children, where we can provide for them. Then we’ll have time to do all the things that we want to. Of course, I can’t have too many children if I’m out in this career.”

Somehow, oh, I don’t know how it’s happened, but it’s happened gradually. Now, in so many, many churches today, it is the normal thinking. You go into a church today and apart from going to church on Sunday, apart from worshipping the Lord on Sunday, their lifestyle is not very different from the secular world.

Most of the women in the church are limiting their families. They are going out to work. They are not actually doing God’s ultimate plan, which is to fill the earth, to embrace the children God wants for them. Because this is how God brings His revelation into the world.

Now, we are living in a time such as we have never lived before. We are becoming under tyranny from those who do not fear God, those who try to bring us into subjection, instead of God’s people having dominion. It's all because we have limited the godly seed.

Just think of the thousands of millions of godly seed that would be on this earth, filling the earth with His glory, filling it with His justice, bringing righteousness into the land, instead of more and more evil. Instead, we are where we are today.

I don’t know. Is it even too late to get back? We have lost thousands and thousands and thousands of the godly seed.

But here we are, back in Egypt, they were doing it right. And they were more and mightier than the Egyptians. That was God’s intention. It’s still God’s intention.

But, of course, they (the Egyptians) didn’t like it. So, they said: “Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply.” Wow. Yes, can you see the devil’s cunning plan there, ladies? Do you see it? “Come on now, let’s deal wisely with them, lest they multiply.”

The devil is scared of multiplication! He is scared of the godly seed. He is scared of more and more of God’s people filling the earth. And so, he duped God’s people. Yes, he gradually duped us. He used his worldly wisdom to put these thoughts in their minds.

“Oooh, wow, the world, they seem to know best, don’t they? I mean, have all these children? Goodness me, how can you even survive? How can you provide for them? And how can you do all you want to do in life? How can you even serve the Lord?”

He puts all these thoughts into our minds, and he dupes us, lest we multiply, because he is scared of the godly seed. He is scared of godly mothers who know who they are. He is scared of those who are open to embrace the godly children. Oooh, he doesn’t want that. This is what he does.

And it goes on. Verse 11: “Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.” But verse 12 says, listen to this: “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.” Wow! Isn’t that amazing?

Here we are, you know, in a very affluent society. At this time, we don’t know what is going to happen. I am praying for God to move so mightily. I so long that we would see a great harvest of souls in this end time before the Lord comes. But I don’t know.

We are either getting very, very close to the end, as we see what is happening, even now, with trying to bring mandated vaccinations. This mandating is totally against our freedoms, the freedoms of us individually, the freedoms of us as a nation, the freedoms that we have through our Constitution.

All this is totally anti-Constitution, anti-who God made us to be, anti-everything that we are as a nation. It's not of God. It’s just like what we know is going to come at some time. Will it be soon, or is it in the future of the mark of the beast where we will not be able to buy or sell?

We’re certainly having a practice run now. Or it’s getting very close now, where already, in some of our states, they’re already mandating, “You can’t do this unless you have this vaccine passport.”

So, we are living in very precarious days. But right up until now, we have lived in freedom, the greatest free country in the history of this world, here in America. And yet, people, even in this beautiful country are still limiting the godly seed.

Here in Egypt, even with great affliction and taskmasters, whipping them and bringing them into bondage and servitude, they still did not stop bringing in the godly seed. They continued to fill Egypt.

So, wow, what an example it was! Then we go on, how the king of Egypt even told them (the midwives) they had to kill the sons when they were born. But the Hebrew midwives, oh, my. It goes on, verse 19: “And the midwives said unto Pharaoh” (because they kept the male children alive, and he was upset with them), they said: “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. And therefore, God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied.”

They still multiplied! Even when the king sent out this mandate: “Midwives, you must kill every male child!”  Did they take notice? No! They defied the mandate! They defied the king of Egypt, the Pharoah. They defied it, in the face of death.

There are many who will say, “Oh, we must heed to Romans 13 which says we must submit to the government, whatever they say.” Yes, I believe that is true, but I don’t believe we submit when it is against God.

Just as in a marriage, a wife is to submit to her husband. That is biblical. But a wife doesn’t submit to something that God has said is evil or is not right. She cannot submit to wickedness. We think of the disciples who said:  “We must obey God, rather than man” (Acts 4:18-20 and 5:28, 29),

Here, we see in this passage, how these midwives, they were given a mandate. They were given a law that they were to kill them, these precious babies! But they defied, they defied the king of Egypt. There are times when we have to defy that which is evil. And in the midst of all this, it says: “And the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.” OK! So, they were filling the earth.

All right! You know, terrible things can come when we don’t do what God wants us to do. Did you know that Saudi Arabia was once a Christian nation? It’s now a totally Islamic nation. In 100 years, it became Islamic. Nations can change if we don’t continue to walk in the fear of God, and in obedience to God’s ways.

All right, let’s see another Scripture about filling. Ecclesiastes 11:5. This is an interesting Scripture. It talks about how a baby is being created in the womb. It says: “As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.” The words “with child,” ladies, it’s the same word we’re talking about, male, “filled to overflowing.”

And God uses that word when a baby is growing in the womb. Gradually this baby fills the womb. This is the word God uses. Isn’t that beautiful? The Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible says: “In the womb of the full one.” So, gradually, this little baby grows and fills the womb.

When this baby is filling the womb, it gets to a stage, where, oh, my, there’s no more room at all! And it comes time for this little baby to be born. But once again, we see this Hebrew word, “filled to the fullness.” It’s also about a baby coming on.

All right, let’s go to another passage, Psalm 80. In this passage, God is revealing His plan for Israel. It’s also His plan for His redeemed people. This is what God wants.

Now, sadly, because the people of Israel, they sinned, they turned away from God. We do not see, we have not yet seen the fullness of this Scripture. But it will come, because every word that God has given, there will come a time when it will be fulfilled. But it’s a beautiful picture.

Here is it, Psalm 80:8-10: “Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt.” It’s talking about bringing His people out of Egypt. “Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.” God brought them into the Promised Land. They had to push them out and overcome the enemy. They had to annihilate them so they could fill the land.

“Thou preparest room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.” There was a time when the children of Israel went in and they filled the land. That was God’s plan. Sadly, because of their sins, they ended up being cast out of the land.

But let’s continue the beautiful picture. “The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.”

So, that was the picture. It’s the picture God has for His people, filling the land. You notice the word “fill” again. You see, this is God’s Word. He loves this word. It’s His heart. It’s what He wants. He wants the land filled with His people. They did that when they went into the land.

But then it goes on to say: “Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the woods doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. Return, we beseech Thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; And the vineyard, which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that Thou madest strong for thyself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from Thee: quicken us, and we will call upon Thy name. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

Oh, my, we need to cry out that prayer before the Lord, because God’s people have been cut down even in this land. Even God’s people have refused to bring them in but God wants . . .  His longing is for the land to be filled with His people.

Isaiah 27:6: “Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.”

And then we go on to Numbers 14:21: “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” You notice the word “filled” again? This is what God’s plan is, the glory of the Lord.

Now, what is the glory of the Lord? Well, His creation is His glory. Yes. But God has a greater glory. It’s His people. God wants to fill His people with His glory and He wants them to fill the earth. This is His ultimate plan, that there will come a day when all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord, the glory of His people filling the earth.

Psalm 72:19: “Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen,” says the Psalm.

Habakkuk 2:14 and Isaiah 11:9: “For the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

All right, one more Scripture for this session, and we’ll have to keep going next time. We’ve got so many more! Ezekiel 36:38. In this Scripture, it’s in the context of God bringing back His people Israel to the land of Israel. Oh, I love this chapter of Ezekiel! I’d love you to read the whole chapter sometime when you get a moment. It’s amazing!

In fact, in this chapter, God is prophesying through His servant, Ezekiel. He’s not prophesying to people. We always think, when there’s a prophetic word, it’s a word to people. But here, the prophet is prophesying, not to people.

He says, verse 4: “Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and a derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of My jealousy have I spoken against the heathen,” and so on.

Then He carries on again, verse 6: “Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains” (here it is again) “and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys,” and so on. It’s talking about how the land is to get ready for God’s people who are about to come.

Verse 8: “But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.” It’s amazing, ladies, that we, as we are reading this, we are actually living in the time of this prophetic word being fulfilled.

We all know how Israel became a nation in 1948. Hitler tried to get rid of God’s chosen people, the Jews. He tried to eliminate them. But three years after he died, Israel became a nation again. God was working out His plans. And God did it. He has been bringing back His people to the land, from that time, even before that time.

And more and more, since 1948, and right up to this day, Jews are still coming back to the land and the land is blossoming. The land is bringing forth fruit. It’s amazing. I have been out to the West Bank, to some of these desolate places in Israel.

I went out with one tour. Part of the tour is to go and plant a tree for Israel. So, we go out, and there on the barren hills, they’re just stones. They give you a tree and you look at this little spindly tree, and you think, “Help! Am I to plant this here?”

“Yes, just go and plant it over there.” It’s just a bit of stony stuff. There’s no real good soil. You think, “This is ridiculous! OK, well, better plant it.”  You try to dig a little bit and you plant this tree in this sandy soil, stony soil, really it is. Sorry, I’m going over time. I’ll just finish this story. But you look around, and there’s all these amazing, beautiful trees, so lush and glorious, that other people have planted. And they grew!

Then I went out to be with these dear friends of ours, the Wallers, who have the organization Ha Yovel. They are planting vineyards on the mountains of Samaria out on the West Bank. They’re planting vineyards.

Once again, it’s on this stony, rocky land, and you think “How could anything grow?” You look around, and these glorious, luscious vineyards are growing, because they’re growing prophetically! God said, He prophesied the word, that this land would get ready for His people. And when they came back it would flourish! Not only would it flourish, but it goes on to the end of this chapter.

Verse 37: “I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feast; so shall the waste cities be filled (there it is again) be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.” God wants, He loves the world filled, and He wants us to fill the earth.

“Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word. Without Your Word, we would not know Your plans. We would not know Your heart. And, Lord God, we see Your heart. You are God of the filling, the God of fullness.

You want us, also, to be part of Your plan. Help us to understand Your ways. Take us, Lord, from this earthly, humanistic thinking of our society, and help us to be people who think like You. We ask it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.abovwerubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 165 –  MEET THE MOM OF ELEVEN SONS!

Today you will meet Cassie Fox, the mom of 11 sons! Baby number 12 is coming, and guess what? It's another son! You will be blessed as you hear from Cassie, who the doctors said would never be able to have children. She also endured many miscarriages, and they have one special needs son, who is a blessing to the whole family.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. I have someone to introduce to you today. Her name is Cassie Fox. And Cassie, can you believe this? She is the mother of 11 children! But not just 11 children, she has 11 sons! How about that? And Cassie is expecting number 12. And Cassie, what is this little one?

Cassie Fox: Number 12 is also a boy.

Nancy: Isn't that exciting? She is going to be the mother of 12 sons! Oh, I just think that is so amazing. So I'm going to be chatting with Cassie today. I know you're going to enjoy it so much.

But I have a couple of questions for you, before we start chatting together. I wanted to ask you, maybe you have listened to the last series. I just finished last week a series of six podcasts called “LET’S GET BACK THE GLORY.” It was all about clothing, and how the Bible tells us how to dress.

Isn't it amazing how God is so interested in everything that we do? He even gets down right down to the nitty-gritty of even how we're meant to clothe ourselves.

Anyway, I have a question to ask you. I wonder, as you listened to these podcasts, did you change in any of your attitudes about this subject? Did you change the way you dressed. thinking about this subject? I wonder. Wow.

Actually, I'm going to stop for a minute. By the way, I just thought I'd ask, because I read this Scripture yesterday morning, and I've always been challenged by this Scripture. I was challenged again. It's Mark 4:24-25: “And Jesus said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.”

That's challenging, isn't it? I believe that, when we embrace what God speaks to us from His Word, if we will not only listen to it, but actually take heed, embrace it into our lives, that God will give us more. I want more revelation. don't you? I'm always searching for more truth. But I can only get that if I will obey that which He already gives me.

And it's such a challenge when you say to those who don't have, we don't take notice of what God is saying to us. well, He takes away even what we have. But those who receive, He gives more. So I trust that that series was a blessing to you. I know there were challenging parts, but they were all from the Bible. I had to even change my own ways. That's what we have to do when we read the Word, don't we?

And another question: My last podcast, at the end, I shared a Scripture that I had currently been memorizing, because I feel it so relates to this hour in which we are living. It was Revelation 15:2. John was looking into the heavenly realm, and he said, “I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; And them that had gotten the victory

OVER the beast, and

OVER his image, and

OVER his mark, and

OVER the number of his name.”

 

That's powerful, isn't it? John saw these people in the heavenly realm, around the throne, because they had overcome. They had overcome the beast. Well, maybe they had their heads chopped off for overcoming. Maybe they got there by being martyred. But somehow, they overcame, in a time when they could not even buy or sell if they did not take the mark of the beast.

And we know, don't we, that's something we must never, ever do. We must be teaching our children, that they have got it right in their very being. Because they will be faced, our children will be faced. We don't know when this is going to happen. We've had a lot of practice runs in these last eighteen months.

We have a practice run even now when people are being forced to take this experimental vaccination. People are taking it because, oh, they might lose their job, or they can't go and shop, or they can't do this, or they can't do that.

Well, I don't believe this is the final mark of the beast, but my, it is a great practice run. Are we overcoming now?  Because, I really wonder, if we cannot overcome in what we're facing now, how will we overcome in that time?

I just wanted to remind you about it again, because I suggested to you that you memorize this Scripture with your children, so you can say it out loud together, every day. It's some time. Will it be sooner, or will it be further away? We don't know, but we know it's coming at some time. It's some time. We have to be ready.

We have to exercise our courage muscle. We have to prepare, and we have to prepare our children, that they will be strong in this hour, to stand for God, and never cave into the plans of the enemy, or ever take that mark of the beast.

So, get out that Scripture. Haven't done it yet? Can I remind you again? That you will seek to try to memorize it with your whole family. Say it over together because it's so powerful. Four times it says “over,” and that word “over” means “to prevail, to conquer, to have the victory.” That's the spirit that we have to get in our very being, isn't it?

OK, that was just a little reminder to you.

So now, I've got Cassie here! We've got to talk to her. So, Cassie, it's so great to have you. I’m just getting to know you. I think we'll get to know one another more in the future, because my granddaughter, Cherish (Cherish is one of Serene's daughters) and Cherish and Cassie's son are courting. His name is Ben. We love Ben. He is such a fine young man. We are so happy about Cherish and Ben. Are you happy about them?

Cassie: I am. Cherish matches Ben perfectly. She was made just for him, I think.

Nancy: Yes, they're just so beautiful together. It's so funny, because we've already got the wedding date organized. On January 22, isn't it, I think? You don't know? (laughter) That's what Cherish told me. She said she thought that day, but I don't think he's even popped the question yet! So they've got the wedding date, and he hasn't popped the question. How about that? (laughter) Isn't that amazing?

But anyway, we're looking forward to that. It will be great for Cherish to get married because Cherish has been a bridesmaid, I think now, about ten times! She must be the most popular bridesmaid in the history of the world, I think. That will be so great.

Cherish is one of Serene's adopted daughters. Serene and Sam adopted quite a number of children but there were three siblings. That was Selah, and Isaiah, and Cherish. Selah is married. Oh, Selah, she's so beautiful, the most beautiful girl. Beautiful wife, beautiful mother of six children. She also fosters children. She's just so amazing.

And then Isaiah. He's getting married, at the end of this month, September? Very soon, three weeks or so, yes. He's getting married to Addie, who was an Above Rubies girl. That's going to be beautiful. Then Cherish will be getting married. So great!

I haven't got to know all your family yet. We know Joey, because we see a lot of Joey. I think they came into our lives because Joey and Ben were working with CMS, weren't they? CMS is the manufacturing plant of Trim Healthy Mama. I think Ben, he now works in building now, isn't he?

But I was talking to Joey on Sunday. I said, “Oh, do you know I'm going to interview your mom this coming week?” He said, “Oh, yes!” I said, “What shall I ask her?”  And you know what he said? He said, “Oh, just ask who her favorite son is! Because it's me!” (laughter)

Cassie: That's the competition they all have. I hope they all think they are. That's the goal.

Nancy: That reminds me. Did you notice, ladies, in the latest magazine, Above Rubies 98, which I'm sure you have received, there is an advertisement for a tee shirt which says, “I’M THE FAVORITE!” It was Allison Hartman, actually she wasn't the first to get that. It was, oh, it was another friend of mine who thought of that, Heather Bryant who has organized so many Above Rubies retreats in Washington State.

But they put it together, so you can go to the magazine, and you'll see the link. You can buy a tee shirt, “I’M THE FAVORITE!” for everyone in your family. They've got them for every size. You can go round and everyone in your family has got their “I'm The Favorite!” I think that's such a great idea.

Yes, so anyway, Cassie, you were telling me that when you were married, they said that you wouldn't be able to have children.

Cassie: Actually, before I got married. Right after I met my husband, we were dating. I was sent to a doctor because I'd had problems for years. The doctor did surgery. I had cysts, I had. . .

Nancy: All this before you were married!

Cassie: Before I was married. He said I had endometriosis and several other things that I don't even remember, because I didn't understand.

Nancy: Endometriosis usually causes infertility.

Cassie: He told me, “If you do get pregnant, which you probably won't, you'll probably miscarry. You're not going to carry it.” I had just found the person I was going to marry. He wanted a large family which we thought was four kids (children). (laughter)

So I went back, after the break between our college semesters, and told him, “You can marry someone else if you want. I understand. I can't have children.” He said, “No, God told me you're the one. He actually told me we're going to have children.” And he picked our oldest son's name, Cody Michael, and he said, “That's going to be our first son's name.”

We got married a year later, and I still did not have faith that I was going to. But he did. We were married four months and I went on a women's retreat with my mother-in-law. And the woman spoke on infertility. She talked about Hannah and Samuel.

I committed to the Lord then. I said, “OK, I'll take the child however you give it to me. Adoption. However.” But I was trying to . . . It was my first step in trusting.

But a month later, Mother's Day, one of the women at church said, “Oh, next year, you'll be up on the platform for Mother's Day.” I just walked out of the church, went over to my in-law's house and cried. I said, “God, I know You're probably not going to give me a baby.”

Next month was Father's Day and my husband was on the platform. They gave him that month because I was pregnant, and he was the newest father. It was an incredible moment, that I still hadn't completely trusted the Lord, I guess, because the next month I was in the hospital with a threatened miscarriage. We went the whole pregnancy in and out of the hospital.

They kept stopping my contractions. One time I was in there and I was panicking in the hospital, just totally panicking. And the nurse got in my face, and she said, “Are you a Christian?” And I said, “Yes.” She said, “Well, pray to your God.” That was the moment I was, “OK, God, I completely give it to You.” And I prayed and trusted Him, and we did get Cody.

Nancy: How wonderful! When was he born? Was he premature?

Cassie: No, he was born on his due date, February 18^th, 1999. Our first son.

Nancy: Wow!

Cassie: Which is a miracle. I started praying, not just to have a child, but to have a sibling for him. I wanted my son to have a brother. I prayed for a brother, and God gave us Stephen, nine months after Cody's first birthday. So they were not quite two years apart.

I thought, “Well, OK, we now have two kids (children).” I thought that's what we were going to get. And then Joey.  Only five months after I had Stephen, God gave me Joey. I told my husband, “Whatever they said was wrong. This is not a problem anymore.”

I didn't know Joey was a boy. We didn't have any ultrasounds. God really spoke to my heart during his pregnancy, and told me . . . I only told my husband, because I thought people would think I'm crazy that God was going to give us a lot of sons. So we're going to have more sons.

And two women, two different strangers, two different places, came up to me and said, “I'm the mother of seven sons, and I saw you, and I know you're going to have many sons.” I don't know who those two women were. I never saw them again. I knew Joey was a boy then. Sure enough, he was.

And then Benjamin. Shortly after that, those four, and I got to keep my first four pregnancies, which was pretty incredible.

Nancy: All miracles! Isn't God amazing? Oh yes, you know, we often hear so much negative stuff from the medical profession. So many women hear, “I'll never be able to conceive,” or, “You won't be able to get pregnant,” or this or that, or “If you do get pregnant, something terrible will happen,” or, “You shouldn't.”

But God is so much bigger. He's amazing, isn't He? That is just so wonderful! So, you've got four boys now. What happened? Did you just keep trusting God?

Cassie: We did. The next pregnancy I had I did miscarry. It was very difficult. I was told by two different Christians, “Well, that wasn't a real baby. That was just tissue that didn't work out right.”

But in Jeremiah, the Bible tells us that God knew us before, before He formed us (Jeremiah 1:5). So I knew God knew that child. I used that to make me recommit myself, not to take advantage of the fact that I had four children, but to welcome any more that He would give me.

He gave me twins the next time. I had two boys the next time. One of them has cerebral palsy. He ended up with several other issues along the way. That helped me appreciate and care for him even more because I got to keep him. I got to keep both of them. That changed our family a lot too.

Nancy: Oh, I guess it did! What is his name again?

Cassie: Jacob.

Nancy: Jacob, yes. What a lovely, lovely boy. Oh, he is just so beautiful. In a wheelchair but just so beautiful. Tell us more. Tell the ladies more about Jacob and what he faces in life. Also, how it's affected your family.

Cassie: Well, Jacob is the younger twin. I always said Caleb was given to us for more than one reason. He's very, very special. He helps me. Every day, he helps me. Jacob had a stroke in my womb, at least three of them. I felt them and talked to the doctor about it.

The doctor told me I was crazy, that you can't know that. I didn't say “stroke,” but I said, “He's not breathing. He's just struggling to breathe.” You could feel his little body. When he was born, of course, that was true. It's a very, very long story.

But the short of it is that he ended up with some different doctors that weren't always the best. They medicated him, and caused him more injuries, seizures, and issues. I thank God for a good doctor we finally came across when he was about five. He helped me a lot, and Jacob.

Between five and six, he stopped all medications, was much healthier, able to communicate with us to a point. He was doing a lot better. He was able to get saved and understand for sure. He knows what he loves. He's been baptized. He's able to understand so much. We're just thankful we were able to get him off that medication. You don't have enough time for all that.

Nancy: Oh, please! We just want to hear everything, don't we, ladies?

Cassie: He's changed everyone in our family's hearts. Each of our older boys had to help at different hours. Our oldest son was seven, almost eight. He would just sit and hold Jacob, because Jacob was afraid. His little body would just tremble if you left him anywhere. He needed to be held when he was very small. Each of the boys would help feeding him, taking care of him, making sure he did everything they did.

Nancy: And how old were those boys, about that age?

Cassie: How old were they? When Jacob was born, our oldest was seven and a half. When his seizures started, my oldest was ten. So, ten down to, let's see, Benjamin would have been almost six, I think.

Nancy: So they were just young boys, but they learned how to minister to this little one. That's amazing.

Cassie: They all still do. They all still help, make sure he's. . . Benjamin has actually been the one who asked if, when I can't care for Jacob anymore, if he could have him, if he could take care of him. I know that if he couldn't, all his other brothers are like, “Well, we will.”

God placed him in the middle. He's really in the middle right now. He has five older siblings and five younger. But they all love him and take care of him. Each little brother, they don't know anything different than him in their care.

Nancy: I could imagine both Ben and Cherish welcoming him.

Cassie: They take him out together. They take him to the lake and out to eat. They sit with him, and he loves it.

Nancy: Oh, it just makes me want to cry. So amazing! What are some of the things that they have to do for him each day, currently?

Cassie: Well, Jacob has a feeding tube, which the majority of the nutrition goes through. He did not need that until after the medication reactions we had. He always ate by mouth. So I make . . .

Nancy: Really, those medications do so much more harm.

Cassie: Yes. So I make all his food in the blender, the majority of his food. Caleb, right now, is the one that will feed him through the tube in the morning when I'm taking care of the baby.

We have stairs in the house right now. Hopefully, in two weeks, he'll be on the same level with us. But right now, Caleb carries him down every morning. Jacob's small for his age but he's over 100 pounds. It's a lot of work.

I dress him, but then Caleb puts him in his chair. He's with him right now, watching him. They do school together. His requirements are less, but Caleb always puts on something. They're doing some things separate. He sets it up for Jacob if he needs anything. He loves beads and things to hold, so if he drops them, all the kids (children) know, oh, go get him that. Make sure he has what he needs.

Nancy: He's not really able to communicate? How does he communicate?

Cassie: He has “yes” and “no” sign language, “yes,” and then his head for “no.” He does, every once in a while, say words. If he doesn't think too hard, it will come out naturally.

Nancy: So it’s actually there in his head, yes?

Cassie: When he was younger, he could use his foot a little bit to write words, letters. Now that he's older, he has a speaking device. It's a little hard for him to use. They're going to change it to where he can control it with his eyes. So I'm excited about that because he knows what he wants. He knows what he likes. He can communicate a little bit better that way.

Nancy: I'm sure the greatest blessing is just the fact of him being with his family, not only having so many to care for him, but so much going on. I mean, he would be totally bored in a little, maybe two-child family. What would he do? But there, he's just got so much to observe, look at, and be part of, hasn't he?

Cassie: One of his therapists told me, and I thought they were going to be very judgmental when we had our seventh son. She said, “No, all the kids (children) in this unit who have younger siblings try harder.” And he did.

He's very protective of the younger kids (children). We couldn't tell our one born after him No. Jacob would get upset. He didn't want us to ever tell anyone No. We couldn't scold anybody. It's funny. Yesterday they were watching the kids (children). I came home, and one of my little ones had been naughty. They told Jacob, “Don't tell Mama I was naughty.” Jacob said, “No, no, he was fine. He was fine.” He doesn't like the little ones to get in trouble. He tries harder around them.

Nancy: That's just so amazing. That's another amazing thing, that even though you have this “special needs” child, you never thought of not having any more. Did you think about that, or what?

Cassie: No, every new one was definitely harder. We actually had a miscarriage after the twins. That was the seventh. That was a very difficult loss. Again, it did make my heart yearn more for children instead of stopping it.

We got Luke, and he was a joy. The boys were a little bit older. To see how excited they were with him brought more joy. We thought, “Lord, we're going to keep. . . Whether You take them from us, or let us keep them, we're going to keep accepting what You give, and how long you give them.”

Nancy: That's so beautiful. Everyone has been the most beautiful blessing. Now, you're waiting for another new blessing. How incredible! But you had quite a few miscarriages along the way, didn't you?

Cassie: Yes. After Luke, I got pregnant again. I assumed we'd probably miscarry again. I had a friend, because she had a son with cerebral palsy also, who's a doctor. “Let me do an ultrasound for you, early on.”

I thought I had miscarried, so I went in. I had twins, but I'd lost one of the twins. So I was able to keep Lincoln. Lincoln really says he's a twin in himself because he's got a lot of energy. So I was able to keep him. I thought, “OK, well, maybe the Lord's going to keep letting me have them.” But we had two more miscarriages after that loss.

I thought, “Well, maybe we're done. I don't know what God's doing.” I prayed the same prayer, the same as I had before about Samuel. After Lincoln, our child that we had was Samuel. That was probably my hardest pregnancy, because I really struggled again, kind of back to where I was again, losing three in a row.

“Am I going to get to keep this child?” I think he was about a day old, before I was, I had him, that it's over, and he's here. He's a sweet, sweet boy. So he's probably the one next to Jacob, constantly with him. He's seven. But God let us keep him and He let us keep the baby after him, Brent. And so we were surprised. We got two, back-to-back again. He's five now, and he's sweet.

And we thought that we were probably done. We've gotten kids (children). That's a lot! And then we ended up having a miscarriage, and then we ended up having a tubal pregnancy. It almost cost my life. That one was pretty serious. My ovary had exploded, literally, and my tube was gone. I had hours.

But the Lord brought a doctor to me. She did the surgery, and she told me, “You can still have children.” I didn't think I could. She said, “I'll deliver them. I'll help you.”

Nancy: Did they save the fallopian tube?

Cassie: It was gone. It was exploded.

Nancy: So you just have one ovary.

Cassie: I have one. I had several people tell me, “Oh, no, that makes you more fertile.” I didn't think it did. But it did. I work twice as hard now! I ended up with four more miscarriages, though. I thought, “Well, I might be able to get pregnant.”

But a lot of things, I had many surgeries in that time frame. More cysts and issues, and all those things that what the doctor told me would happen, was happening. I thought we were done. One of them, I carried five weeks, the other three twelve weeks.

So when I got pregnant for the seventh time in a row there, I went into the doctor and said, “Just tell me, is the heartbeat still there, or is it weak? Which one is it?” And she said, “The heartbeat's there, and it's strong. You're going to carry this baby.”

She was so excited because she wanted to deliver one of my kids (children). And he was fine. He tiny, but he's here. He just celebrated his first birthday. I got pregnant again, and she told me the same thing. “This baby's strong, and it's going to make it.” We’ve got sixteen weeks left, I think. It's so exciting.

Nancy: What a beautiful story! So, how many miscarriages have you had in total?

Cassie: Total, a vanishing twin, and then a tubal, and then nine pregnancies, so eleven babies, eleven.

Nancy: Wow. So that means, when this precious baby is born, you will have 23! What a blessing! Wow! So not only do you enjoy with all these amazing sons here, but then you've got all these surprises to meet in eternity! It's just so amazing!

Cassie: Yes, we've talked about it a lot. My mom passed away in November, and I'm like, “She got to meet them all first!” She's probably up there rocking grandbabies. That's what she liked to do. We have them all. I'm so excited.

Nancy: So wonderful. And then I think you have these testimonies that are so encouraging. Sometimes, when you're having a lot of miscarriages, and then my daughter, Serene, has just had a third miscarriage. She's so grieving, and so disappointed. I mean, a miscarriage is not just a miscarriage. It's a life, and you grieve this life, no matter what stage it is, whether it's in the womb, or it's later. Because it's life.

But I'm just so blessed to hear how you kept trusting God. And I think that's the most wonderful thing. And you're getting blessed. Now you have these two babies that are coming, the last one, and now this one. It's so amazing.

I've got lots of beautiful poems about miscarriages, because, you know, women face this quite frequently, and I love to have things to encourage them. So I'll read one of them to you today. I love this. It's called “Holding us Both,” by a mother, Heather Hamilton.

My little one, barely formed

I’ve never seen your face

In this life I’ll never hold you close

And yet

For just a little while my womb was your home

From the moment I knew your life was in me

I loved you

I touched my womb and knew that you were there

A miracle was being woven

But something was not right

I lost you, my little one

Before I got to know you,

hold you close or see your face

My dear little one

My heart cries out for you with such loss and deep sorrow

But I know the LORD will hold you for me

And one day I will see your face

My precious little child

And joy will replace the grief and loss

But until that day the LORD will hold us both.

 

Isn't that lovely? Yes. Now, as you've been having all these children, you know, our current society doesn't really understand the blessing and joy of children. I think this is one of the greatest testimonies that we can be in this world, as a joyful mother of children. We are revealing what God is like. He is a lover of children.

But I guess you've had lots of negative comments as you've gone out. What are some of the things you've replied, or said, when people said, “Oh, are all these yours?” Or things like that.

Cassie: Oh goodness. It's been a while. I used to get pretty upset. But I'm proud of who my children have become. When I had the older ones, when they were little, I'd get a lot of negative stuff from women.

Men would always tell me, “I wish my wife would have more kids (children).”

That was in California. Out here, it's been the opposite. I'll have women come tell me, “I wish I had more kids (children).” But usually, they ask if they're paying to feed my kids (children). And they're not. We're feeding our own children.

Nancy: What a rude question to ask! Oh!

Cassie: My husband's a hard worker. And our boys are hard workers. Now usually when they find out, I get asked, “You don't have six kids, do you,” when they see the little ones with me.

And I say, “No, I have 12!” And I like these four men, my sons who are adults, Ben's almost there. I like who’ve they’ve become. They're good men. They're godly men. They're hard workers. I like to see who they've become.

I think sometimes one or two kids (children), people have, and they haven't turned out. You can’t say something to me. My experience isn’t yours.

Nancy: I think it's different too. People will see a mum with lots of little children, and “Oh, goodness! How does she survive that? Goodness me!” When people see a mother with these big sons all around them, fine, upright young men, hard-working young men, oh my. There is not one negative thing they can say.

Cassie: I feel like that's why I get more positive stuff. Out here, of course, in Tennessee, there's a lot more larger families, so you get that more frequently.

But yes, exactly. It is hard when you have to teach your child to cook, or to behave. It takes time, but the rewards later on, it's a lot easier. Things are easier when they're well-behaved, and they're good men.

Nancy: Absolutely! It's just a joy. I often say to young mums, when people look at a mum with all her little ones and say, “Oh! Are all these yours?” And I say, “Just beam with joy and say, 'Yes, we love children! Don't you?'”

Well! It gets back on them! Don't they love children? Well, they don't know what to say. They can't say, “No, I don't love children!” They why are they asking me such a stupid question? (laughter)

Well, now you are just having this beautiful twelfth pregnancy, well, you've had more. But your twelfth baby coming. How has that affected your health? Have you found pregnancy has been a blessing and that actually you've even got healthier as you've gone along?

Cassie: I think so. Most of my pregnancies have been pretty smooth. The first two I was stressed a lot and had different issues there, but overall healthy. I've had gestational diabetes once, with the last pregnancy, but overall, yes, the doctor said, “You're healthy, you're strong.” God made me to have babies, and He puts them in there.

Nancy: That's exactly right! And I just want to encourage young mums listening today, and you're hearing about this beautiful mother, having her twelfth baby. And you think, “Oh, how could I ever do that?” But you know. lovely ladies, we, as Cassie just said, we were born to have babies! That's how God created us!

And the blessings are so amazing! I thought I would just, as we're closing, mention some of these blessings that we sometimes forget about. Of course, we go to the Scripture. In 1 Timothy 2:15, where it says that “Women will be saved in childbearing.”

The New American Standard says: “Women shall be preserved through the bearing of children, if they continue in faith and love and sanctity, with self-restraint.” That word, “to be saved, or preserved,” is an amazing word. It's the Greek word sozo. It's actually pronounced as “sode’-zo.” It means, listen to what it means. It means, not just to save, it means “to save, to deliver, protect, heal, preserve, keep safe, and make whole.”

That's the full meaning of that word and that word is used for women. It says: “Women will be preserved, delivered, healed, made whole, through childbearing.” That's not just through giving birth to a child. It's the whole embracing of childbearing, of pregnancy, birthing, and raising and nurturing that child. We will be saved and preserved through that.

It's the same word, exactly the same word when Jesus healed people, when it said: “He made them whole.” Isn't that amazing? When He healed the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus said, “Daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole.”

And if you go back to the Greek, the words “hath made” are sozo, and “whole” is sozo. So it comes two times in that same sentence that Jesus said, “I make you whole.” And that's what childbearing does. You are made whole. It's so amazing.

You go on, when Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus. And Jesus said to him: “Your faith hath made you whole.” So it goes on and on. You read so many stories in the Gospels about that.

But I just thought I should remind you again, how, so many of the things, how we are preserved. Oh, I wrote an article on this one. I'll just give you a few little tips just now.

Pregnancy hormones are beneficial to the ovaries. They help to clear pre-cancerous cells from the epithelial lining of the ovary.

Now because older women accumulate more cells than younger women, pregnancy at an older age is such a blessing. Isn't that amazing? So older women can be more prone to getting these pre-cancerous cells, which can grow, but when they conceive and are pregnant, it clears them away. Hallelujah! Isn't that so incredible? It's so amazing!

And then of course, we know how breastfeeding is an antidote to breast cancer. There are so many articles written about that. I don't even need to go into them all. Oh, yes, you know when you feel sick when you're pregnant? You go through that, “I don't know, why do I have to go through this?”

Oh, don't be in despair, ladies.  Maybe you're going through this now. It's a good thing, because when you feel this lousy morning sickness, remember that this hormone is gonadotropin. That's the hormone. It's also a hormone that prevents cancer. Isn't that amazing?

So every time you conceive, you get sick, and sometimes even mothers may miscarry later, but they have still been through that time. That is all anti-cancer, that hormone, going through that time. That is amazing. And I love the fact that estriol is one of the three estrogen hormones that we, as women, have. But estriol, this particular one, it elevates 1000 times when we're pregnant. Isn't that amazing?

Yes, oh, goodness me, they have found that this level of estriol that you have during pregnancy, it causes the risk of breast cancer to decrease even 40 years later! Isn't that amazing?

And get this! Estriol is the anti-aging hormone! Wow! Isn't that exciting? Yes, they put estriol in anti-aging creams. You don't have to pay all the money! Just get pregnant! (laughter) Yes! It's so incredible.

Oh, I just watched the YouTube of this woman in Australia. She's 107 years of age! She wasn't all doddering, and they had to help her walking along and with her walking stick. I couldn't believe it! She was walking like some fit woman of about 50! She was amazing! And she had 11 children! And here she is, at 107. She had lots of pep still. She's going great! Isn't that amazing?

Yes, and of course, when you're pregnant, you have glorious oxytocin and prolactin, and all those wonderful things. And progesterone, oh, goodness, that elevates. It jumps to 100 times more when you're pregnant. Yes.

Progesterone guards you from breast cancer, and it alleviates anxiety and depression. It also improves the immune system, builds bones, improves serum, and protects from seizures, decreases allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, and loads of other things. Wow! You just get so blessed when you're pregnant!

In our society, we are told lies. This whole of society is filled with lies. It's just deception and lies. And we've got to get the truth. People are made to think, “Oh, if I had more babies, oh, goodness me, it will be bad on my health.”

It is the opposite! Because your body was created to conceive a child, and give birth, and nurse from your breasts. As you do these things, you have all these glorious blessings, physically, but also emotionally, and spiritually. Yes, but we've run out of time! Do you want to say anything more?

Cassie: Just thank you so much for having me. It's been fun.

Nancy: Oh, it's been so great. I know you've been blessed by Cassie's story. Oh, we'll have to tell you when this baby comes. Oh, thank you, Cassie. Let's pray.

“Dear Father, we thank You that You are a God who loves life. You love babies, You love children. This is Your heart. This is Your plan. You created us female for the privilege, and the honor, and the glory of bringing forth life into this world. And Lord, You give us all the blessings along with it, these physical blessings.

We thank You, Lord God. I pray, Father, that you will bring each one who's listening today into all Your truths. Lord, God, let us be women of truth, rather than being just kind of influenced by the humanistic thinking of this age. We ask it in the Name of Jesus.

I pray Your blessing on every marriage, and every family, and every child. And that we will all, in this hour of deception, walk in Your ways, walk with courage, walk with bravery, walk in the strength of the Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.abovwerubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 164 –  LET’S GET BACK THE GLORY, Part 6

This is the last podcast on this subject of clothing. We look at more Scriptures today to see what God has to say. It's amazing how much God has to say about the everyday things of our lives, even about how we should dress. The Bible even talks about jewelry. And what about fashion for our little children?

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Well, I said I would look up the 1828 Webster Dictionary for the word “feminine.” So I did that, and here is the meaning. He ((Noah Webster) said the first syllable, when he's taking it from the Latin, the first syllable for feminine which is “fem” comes from the word “womb.” The last syllable comes from the word “man.” So it literally means, “fem-man,” or “womb-man.”

Now, that's interesting, isn't it? I think that is very true, because that's what we foundationally, creationally, are. We are a “womb-man.” Our womb is our most distinguishing characteristic as a woman. “Womb-man.” So, of course, we should embrace our womb because we are feminine. A man does not have a womb.

That is such a huge distinction between the male and the female. The male does not have a womb. A womb-man, the womb-man has a womb, a womb where she can conceive and grow a little baby, an eternal soul, and bring forth this child into the world. Such a beautiful privilege we have as women, as females, as feminine women.

We are talking about our feminine clothing, well, clothing, that was one of our points, that we should be feminine. I wonder if anyone has thought a little bit more about that? I think the more we see women being feminine, and dressing femininely in society, the more glorifying it will be to God. The more we will be standing up for truth in this very deceived age.

Oh, we are living in such a time of deception. We have to be very careful, because the Word of God says that in the end times, “even the elect will be deceived.” There is more and more deception coming up.

Our precious children are growing up in an age where transgender is considered normal. They are promoting it in schools. Wow, I don't think the public school is a very good place for our children today.

In the midst of all this abomination, which it is, of this transgender society, we should be shining like lights in this dark world. We shine by our facial expressions. We shine by the clothing we wear as we go out in the supermarket, and wherever we go. So, let's shine! Let's be who God created us to be! The more feminine we can be, the more God will be glorified.

The more males, the more manly, the better it is for them. The more feminine we are, is how God loves it, because it's the way He created us.

N0. 8: NOT DICTATED BY TH3 FASHION OF THIS WORLD

We are now up to point number eight. We should not be dictated by the fashion of this world. You all know Romans 12:1-2. I'll read it to you. Well, I'll quote it to you. Of course, I know these Scriptures by heart, and I'm sure you do too. Just say it with me as I'm saying it!

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Be not conformed. One translation says, “Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold.” Oh, how easily we get squeezed into the mold of the world and the fashion of the world! Most Christians today are squeezed into the mold of the fashion of this world.

I have seen women preachers preach in skinny jeans! In holey jeans! I beg your pardon? I mean, that's on the platform, speaking God's message. We're being squeezed into the mold of the fashion of this world. That is not the fashion of the Bible. It is not modest. And it is not feminine. It's dictated by this world.

What does it say in James 4:4? “Know ye that not the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” Today, most people are more friendly with the fashion of the world than they are in dressing in a way that's glorifying to God.

1 Peter 5:19: “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” This whole world system, ladies, it lies in wickedness. It's the whole world. The ESV version says: “We know that we are for God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

So the fashion of this world, it's masterminded by the enemy! That's not hard to see when we look at the fashion of the world today. So what are we going by? Are we just going by the fashion of this world? Of course, it doesn't mean to say that you become old-fashioned and dress kind of drab and old-fashioned. No! That's not glorifying to God either.

I talked before, in my previous podcast, about how we are to dress beautifully. And you can dress modernly in a beautiful way, in a modest way, and in a feminine way. You can do it! And you don't have to look as though you've come from some past generation.

You can go to the internet. There are beautiful, feminine, and modest clothes that are glorious. They're actually beautiful! So when you go out, you're not going to be considered old-fashioned, you're going to be considered, wow—beautiful! People say, “Wow! Where did you get that dress? Oh, wow! That's beautiful!”

Have you noticed that, when you wear a beautiful dress out, people remark? Yes, they're so used to seeing just jeans and tops. When they see a beautiful dress, they love it! We are drawn to it.

1 John 2:15-17: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

So dearest ladies, can I encourage you? Don't be dictated by the fashion of this world, but at the same time, don't be drab, and boring, and old-fashioned. No! Oh, no, there's such scope. You can dress beautifully, and femininely, and modestly, and look like a model! Why don't you try it?

NO. 9: TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN WHILE THEY ARE YOUNG

Start the pattern of training your children when they are young. I think this is something we should think about because it's so easy to dress little children . . . as they're growing, we can go to the beach, and, ”Oh, yes, they can wear a bikini! They've got nothing to show. They're so innocent.” And we look upon them as innocent. Well, OK, what's wrong with this? Nothing, if they're showing nothing. But . . .

And then we can dress them in the fashion of this day, in their jeans and tops. Well, it's not wrong for them to have some jeans when they're out playing. But let's not let that become their uniform, dear ladies.

Why? Because they're going to grow up thinking, “That's how you dress!” If you let them wear bikinis and little scantily clad things, they'll grow up thinking, “Oh, well, when we go out to play, or when we go to the beach, we can wear scanty things.” They will continue the pattern that you begin in childhood.

So we have to watch now. Even though they don't have anything to show off, and they're very innocent, just watch. Be careful. I mean, you don't have to send them round in long dresses. But watch that you dress them in a way that they will think, “OK, this is how you dress.” And they will continue it into their teens.

Timothy Paul Jones writes, “The clothes that our children wear do not merely cover the nakedness of their flesh. They shape and reflect the contours of our children's souls.” So watch how they dress.

In fact, children, oh, have you noticed how children love to be princesses? I was talking in our last session about one of our pointers, DRESS LIKE ROYALTY. Do you know that if we kept being children, as children are allowed to dress, we'd most probably keep being princesses?

I have always had a dress-up box for my grandchildren. That's always been their most favorite thing. They would come and they'd go to the dress-up box. I'd have loads of lovely, sort of princess dresses for them. Not always already made into beautiful princess dresses, but I'd have old curtains, and lovely, white lacy things. They would be so creative.

And when they got dressed up, you would never find them wanting to dress like some “business woman” suit. Oh, no! They wouldn't want to do that. They wanted to be a queen. They wanted to be a princess. I have so many pictures of my grandchildren dressed like princesses.

Many of them, it was just all bits of material, and this and that. Oh, they'd adorn themselves gloriously, because that's what they want to be! It's inherent within them.

And then we grow up, and, of course, we get used to the fashion of this world. Then we begin to dress oppositely, don't we?

Anyway, let's carry on here.

NO. 10: GUARD AGAINST SHAME

We should guard against shame. I was reading the other day, Isaiah 20:4. It is about Egypt. “So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.”

Now, Egypt was not a godly nation. Egypt was a secular nation. But because their buttocks were uncovered, oh, goodness me! It was so shameful! Shameful to Egypt, which speaks of the world, and speaks of the worldly way. In the Bible, Egypt always speaks of the worldly way.

Colin and I were down at the beach this last week. Our lovely daughter Pearl, and her husband, gave us a gift of a few days at the beach. It was Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays, Christmas, all packed in together.

It was lovely to get to the beach. We love the beach because I was brought up just about on the beach. Not far to go to the sea. New Zealand is three islands North, South, and Stewart Island. So we have sea all around us. We would just go  half an hour off to the beach. I was used to the beautiful rolling breakers.

Then we moved to Australia, and we lived in Surfer's Paradise! We were right on the beach! I would go down every morning to walk the beach and pray for our children. How I loved the breakers! I'd t grown up with the breakers and the pounding surf, the Pacific Ocean, and the more pounding it is, the more I loved it! All my life, I'd go into that surf and be pounded, and rolled over and over. Oh, goodness me! How I loved it!

But we were down at the beach, at the Gulf. Colin and I would go down to the beach, mainly in the early morning and in the evening. It wasn't so hot then. We could go for a walk, and I'd go for a swim. I did pop down in the day, but it was just so crowded, which is wonderful. Beautiful families, just families everywhere.

And yet, I couldn't believe it. Colin didn't even want to go down in the day at all, because there was just so much flesh showing. Now, I know, when you go to the beach, you're not going to be dressed in some dress, because I mean, I love to go into the surf, and into the waves.

But I dress appropriately. I've got on shorts and a top, you know, swimming shorts and top. I couldn't believe it. We could not believe how much flesh was showing. Everybody was totally exposing themselves. And I walked past one girl, I mean, not a young girl, not a little child—an older person with their full buttocks showing!

That's why I was arrested by the Scripture I read the other day. “Buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt,” and here was a girl, totally shameless! Absolutely, buttocks fully exposed, just a g-string. But no shame. It was just as though that was the most normal thing in the world!

What has happened? There's no shame? No one was ashamed of showing off everything? Wow! We, as Christian people, are the holy people of God: “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

“There is a highway, and it is called the way of holiness” (Isaiah 35:8). What road are we walking on? Surely there should be shame at such exposure. Let's just watch that. Amen?

Revelation 16:15: “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Now, I believe that's talking spiritually, but it's also naturally. What you have in the spiritual, you have to have in the natural.

The word, “keepeth” means “he holds onto it, so he does not lose it, or give it up.” Wow! In this day especially, you'd better hold onto your clothes, so you don't lose them!

Revelation 3:18: “I counsel thee to buy of me . . . white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.”

The psalmist in Psalm 4:2 asks: “How long will you turn My glory into shame?”

In fact, it’s interesting, in the Bible, there’s places where someone is called “naked.” King Saul was called “naked,” actually, before he became king, because he prophesied. It says he took off his clothes, and he prophesied. Help! Was he standing there, bare naked? No, he wasn’t. He would have still had on his undertunic.

It’s like when David danced before the Lord. His wife, Michal, she was so disgusted. “How dare you dance before all those women naked?” But he wasn’t naked. He still had on his undertunic, which was much more clothing than most people wear today.

So that was even considered naked, when they took off their outer garment, even though their undergarment still covered them. Yet today, goodness! They don’t even mind getting just about naked.

All right! Let’s go on.

NO. 11: DO NO WORRY ABOUT WHAT YOU WILL WEAR

We should not worry about our clothing, but trust God. What does it say in Matthew? We're not to worry about what we wear, and what we'll put on, because God clothes, He clothes the lilies of the field. He looks out for the little sparrows that fall (Matthew 6:25-34).

So, in all this talk about clothing, we don't need to be taking up with it too much. We can trust God. Yes, it's amazing how most of my clothing, actually, is somehow just provided. When our children were growing up, they loved it when people would bring a bag of clothes they were passing on, or a box of clothes.

Even our grandchildren still today, a friend will bring a bag of clothes, and they'll all get round in a circle, and they'll go through all the clothes and find out who wants what, and what suits this one, or suits that one. It's such fun!

In fact, when I was raising our children, I don't think we hardly bought clothes amongst our church fellowship. We would just pass on bags of clothes from when one child was growing out of their clothes. And then we passed them on. Everybody got clothed. It was all fun, and the children just loved doing it.

And still today, I have clothes passed on, or people give me this, or give me that. I'm amazed how God clothes me with such lovely clothing! It's amazing.

SHOULD WE WEAR JEWELRY?

All right. Now, I have here just one or two questions. How are we going for time? We're good. OK. Now, here's a little question. Not exactly clothing but it goes with our clothing. Should we wear jewelry?

Well, there are some Christians who don't believe in wearing jewelry. I'm not sure where they get that, because, what I like to do, as you know, ladies, no matter what the subject, I like to go and find out what God says about it.

So, does God say anything about jewelry? Yes, He does. So let's find out what He says. The very first mention of jewelry is back in Genesis when Abraham sent his servant to get a bride for Isaac. God led him, remember? God was faithful and he looked to God to lead him. He said those beautiful words: “I being in the way the Lord led me” (Genesis 24:27).

And he got to the place, and he found Rebekah. When he found her, it says that he gave to Rebekah the golden earring and two large gold bracelets. Back in those days, I think they had more silver and gold than we have today.

Then later on, when he was with the family and they were doing the arrangement to take Rebekah, it says in verse 53: “And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah; he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.”

Now this was in jewelry. So even back then, in Genesis, they were wearing beautiful jewelry made of silver, made of gold.

In Isaiah 61:10, we started this subject on this Scripture: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

So there it is, ladies. The Bible talks about wearing beautiful jewels. And in that lovely passage I read you in Ezekiel 16 a couple of podcasts ago, you can read it, Ezekiel 16, a beautiful allegory of how God clothes us.

Ezekiel 16:9-10, in the New Living Translation. God says: “I gave you lovely jewelry, bracelets, beautiful necklaces, a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears, and a lovely crown for your head. And so you were adorned with gold and silver.” So, if God loves to adorn us with bracelets and necklaces, and gold and silver, it can't be wrong to wear jewelry. So here we go. We get what the Bible says.

Now, it does say here, I've always wondered about this, “a ring for your nose, and earrings for your ears.” Back in those days, they would not have had pierced noses and pierced ears, because the Jewish people did not believe in piercing themselves in any way. So they obviously would have had to use some little gadget to put it on them. But they didn't do that (pierce themselves).

Now, another question. Should we wear colored clothes? Well, there's some sections of Christianity who like to look very, very drab, and just wear dark colors. Now, is that biblical? Well, let's see what the Bible says again.

Oh, yes, we go to that same passage in Ezekiel. It says there in Ezekiel 16:13: “And your clothes were made of fine linen and costly fabric, and were beautifully embroidered.” That word, “embroidered,” in the Hebrew is riqmah. It literally means, “a variegation of color, embroidery, many colors, needlework.” So they obviously embroidered their clothes with beautiful colors. Other translations say: “I dressed you in a colorful garment. I dressed you in beautiful needlework.”

Then in Psalm 45:14, that's a beautiful passage. You must read that psalm later. It says: “She” (that's the bride) “shall be brought unto the king in raiment” (or a dress) “of needlework.” The Holman Translation says: “In colorful garments, she is led to the king.”

The high priest, he was clothed. God said he had to be clothed “for glory and for beauty” and his clothing was to be made of gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen (Exodus 30:2, 5). We see that God loves color! So, you can wear colors. It's not against God to wear beautiful colors. He created the colors.

I think it's feminine to wear colors. There are certain colors that are more feminine than others, so it's lovely to wear those colors, especially if they suit you, because different colors suit different people.

Did anybody ever hear about “Color Me Beautiful?” There was a season, oh, quite a few years ago, where people were encouraged to find the colors that suited them and wear those particular colors. I think it's a very good idea.

WHITE CLOTHES IN HEAVEN

But then I noticed something interesting. I'm going to finish with this. But when we go to Revelation and John is looking into the heavenly realm, we see that everybody is clothed in white. That's interesting, isn't it? I don't know, maybe we will wear some colors in heaven, too. But when John looked, he noticed everyone was in white. Let's start off with Jesus Himself.

Revelation 1:13: “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” It was actually a white garment, and it was down to the foot. The Greek word that is used there literally means “down to the ankles.”

And then the angels. Revelation 15:6: “And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen.”

And then the angelic armies. Revelation 19:13-14: “And Jesus was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His Name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”

The four and twenty elders in Revelation 4:4: “Round about the throne were clothed in white raiment.”

And then, I found seven different Scriptures about the saints, the Bride of Christ, and even the martyrs who were martyred for their faith. Let's read them.

Revelation 3:18: “I counsel thee to buy of me” (this was speaking to the church at Laodicea) “white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.”

Revelation 3:4-5, speaking to the church at Saudis: “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels.”

The New Living Translation says: “All who are victorious will walk with Me in white.” Now, stop the press! Wow! Because that word “overcome,” and “victorious” is the same word in a Scripture I read the other day. Also, of heaven. John was looking up into heaven, and this is what he saw.

This is Revelation 15:2-4. I've just memorized these Scriptures because they are so powerful. So I thought I would talk about them at this moment. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory” (there's that word, those who overcame, those who were victorious).

In this Scripture, it says:

“And them that had gotten the victory

OVER the beast, and

OVER his image, and

OVER his mark, and

OVER the number of his name,

stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? For Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.”

I read this Scripture the other day. Wow! It really got to me. And I have since memorized it. I believe that everyone of us should memorize this Scripture. I believe we should teach it to our children, and I believe we should get them to memorize it, because we need to be those, in this hour, who are overcomers.

We have to be getting ready, because we already have some practice runs, ladies, about overcoming. These practice runs have showed us that it is getting nearer to the time when we will face the mark of the beast, where we cannot buy or sell if we don't take that mark. Most probably, we may be killed if we don't take that mark.

But we dare not take that mark, for anyone who takes that mark will not get into heaven. And therefore, we have to learn to overcome now. I just read, those who overcome, “Those who are victorious, will walk with Me in white.” And here John saw the ones who overcame.

What did they overcome? They got victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, which is, and we all know, 666.

Now, we know we're going to facing this in times to come. We've got to prepare our children. They will face this time, I believe. So we must prepare them. We must have this in our spirit. We must have this spirit of overcoming. And dear, precious ladies, if we don't have the spirit now, to overcome, how will we overcome in that hour? Already we are facing a . . . we face this vaccination, which is well-known. Its name is luciferase, and the number is 2020-060606. That is the patent.

Now, I don't think we have yet reached the mark of the beast but, my, these things show that we are getting closer. If we are not able to overcome with these things we're facing now, how will we overcome when we do face the mark of the beast, and his image, and his mark? And the number of his name?

So, lovely ladies, take that Scripture. Look it up. Revelation 15:2-4. Memorize it as a family. Say it out loud together every day, so you get it. So you even get that in your spirit, and you begin to exercise your courage muscle. You begin to exercise it and take courage. The more you do, the more you will be ready.

OK, so time's going on, so let's just finish these last few Scriptures I found about walking in white.

Revelation 6:9-11: “I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God” (most probably because they didn't take the mark) “and for the testimony which they held.” They didn't let go! They didn't cave in! They didn't give into tyranny. They held.

“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them.” The word “robes” is stole in the Greek. It is a long-fitting gown and the mark of dignity. It's a long robe.

Interesting. Here we are on earth, and I don't believe we have to. . . lovely long dresses are beautiful to wear, but you don't have to wear them round every day. We wear dresses that are not short. We certainly don't want to do that. I think they should be over the knee.

But there will come a time when we are going to have long robes. That's what it says. That's what John saw. That is the word, stole, this long-fitting gown. Actually, that's interesting, isn't it? A long-fitting gown isn't just baggy, it was fitting, and a mark of dignity. Anyway, that's what he saw in the heavenly realm.

And I've just got a couple more. Revelation 7:9: “After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindred, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes (stole - these beautiful long, white, glorious, fitting gowns are a mark of dignity) and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Go down to verses 13-14: “One of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? . . . And he said unto me, these are they which come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 19:7-9, last one. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

Well, that's what John saw in the heavenly realm, these glorious white robes. But here on earth, as we see in the Bible, we can still wear color. So may the Lord bless his us. Sorry, I've gone a little bit over time. Let's pray.

“Dear Father, we thank You we have Your Word to guide us, to show us the way. And Lord, as we have been talking about clothing in these last few sessions, I pray that You will give us soft and tender hearts to listen to You, to listen to Your Word, Lord God, that we will be women who glorify Your Holy Name in our clothing.

Lord God, as we go out into this world, help us to go out glorifying Your Name, dressed beautifully, dressed femininely, dressed modestly, bringing glory to You. I ask that You will show us the way and teach us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.abovwerubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Would you like to email Darlene and thank her so much for faithfully and freely transcribing these podcasts every week for your benefit?

SUGGESIONS FOR DRESSES FROM MY GRANDDAUGHTER, MEADOW HALL

Ivy City Co (they have a nursing-friendly category) - https://ivycityco.com/

Jessakae - https://jessakae.com/

Maternity & Nursing-friendly clothing - nothingfitsbut.com 

The above brands have  modest dresses to offer, but not all of their dresses are modest.

More Modest Clothing Websites for you to check out:

Dresses Sale, Cheap Women's Fashion Dresses Online Shop - Airydress

Modest Dresses for Women - NeeSee's Dresses (neeseesdresses.com)

Women's fashion dresses on Pinkofyouth

Dresses – Love Olive Co

https://www.aubrey-jane.com

https://www.curvedream.com

Classic Women's Dresses: Casual & Dressy Styles | Appleseed's (appleseeds.com)

Maxi dresses – wesandy-

 

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FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 163 –  LET’S GET BACK THE GLORY, Part 5

God wants us to dress femininely and like royalty. Did you know it is possible to femininely and yet not modestly? It is also possible to dress modestly and yet not femininely. How do we do it?

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Before I get onto our subject today, I want to remind you that we have three Above Rubies Family Camps coming up. I'll let you know where they are. If you are anywhere near, do try and see if you can organize everything to come.

These family camps are such a wonderful blessing. It's just so great, families getting together, having great fellowship. Not only the parents, but the children and the teens, and even the older children. Oh, they make such great friends. It's just so good.

I think it's so good, even for the children, and the young people. At our family retreat down in Panama. I think we have more young people than even parents and children. It's just so beautiful to see the young people fellowshipping together.

I have a little secret. Well, Colin and I, we actually met at a family camp so many years ago, away down in New Zealand. I believe that Christian family camps are a wonderful way where young people can meet other young people, and maybe their future husband, maybe their future wife. What greater place to meet someone who has the same convictions that you do?

So anyway, what's coming up?

We have one in Missouri, August 13-15. You can check it out on my webpage, AboveRubies.org. Go there, and you can check out all the information, and who you have to contact.

Then we have August 20-22 in California, up in the hills of San Diego. We've been having retreats there for many, many years.

Then we have another one coming up at the beginning of September, September 3-6 in Central Mississippi. That's Labor Day Weekend. So we're going to have the whole weekend. That will be so great. So if you're thinking of “What will we do for Labor Day weekend,” well, think about this Above Rubies Retreat in central Mississippi.

If you are living in any state around Mississippi, get in the car, come for a drive, and come and join us. It's going to be at the Timber Creek Camp, which is a beautiful lake. They've got everything there for children and young people, volleyball, and gaga ball, and canoeing, trails through the woods. Apparently, they have a wonderful Christian staff and cook scrumptious meals.

So look into those retreats. I just hope that I might get to see some of you at them. That would be so wonderful!

Now ladies, I am still continuing our series, “Let's Get Back the Glory.” We are currently talking about the subject of clothing. That's not the only subject in “Getting Back the Glory,” but we've talked about lots of other things.

Now, I'm talking about this, and I haven't finished yet. So I've got a few more things to share with you. Even then, I know I'm not going to exhaust everything that I could share. As I told you in one of my last podcasts. I found 23 different Hebrew words that are used for clothing in the Old Testament. Then I found 13 different Greek words that are used for clothing in the New Testament.

So God speaks a lot about clothing in His Word. God is so practical. I'm always amazed that anything we want to know about, we'll find it in the Word of God. Even what we have to do every day. We've got to clothe ourselves. Well, God speaks loads about it in His Word.

I'm not going to go through all these Hebrew and Greek words with you, but I'll just share a few more things.

Now last, time, when Allison Hartman was with me, and we talked together about this, and I read you that beautiful, beautiful passage from Ezekiel 16. Oh, such a beautiful passage! If you didn't hear last week's podcast, do go back, and listen to it again.

One of the phrases in that passage says that God, He says, “I will cover your nakedness.” It's a spiritual allegory, but God is using physical clothing in that passage to describe so much that He does spiritually. God often does that. It's first that which is natural, then that which is spiritual. They are tied up together. God uses the natural to help us to understand the spiritual.

And then what we have in the spiritual, we should have in the natural. So it all ties up together. And that word in the Hebrew where it says: “I will cover your nakedness,” I told you last time about how it means, “to cover your secret parts.” One translation says: “I covered your private parts.”

And we talked about how important it is that we do cover, we cover our private parts. We don't expose ourselves. We cover. That’s what clothing is all about. It's to cover. We cover amply. We don't clothe ourselves skimpily. No, most of the words in the New Testament, and in the Old, they all have slightly different meanings, but just about everyone means, “to fully clothe, to cover up.”  It's used of the garments, and the raiment, and the clothes, all these clothes that really clothe you.

I didn't have time last time to give you a few of the different Scriptures where that same word is used, so you get to understand it. Often, when we just read one Scripture, we don't get the full meaning until we look at other Scriptures, where maybe it's translated with a different word, or it's even talking about a different subject. But it gives us a further meaning.

So that word which means, “to cover our secret parts, to hide them,” it's used in Genesis 7:19: “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole of heaven, were covered.” This is talking about the flood, of course. But it says that all the high hills, even the mountains under the whole of heaven were covered. That flood covered everything.

That's the same word that God uses when He covers our nakedness. He doesn't half cover us. He fully covers us.

Genesis 24:65: “When Rebekah saw Isaac, her future husband coming, she took her veil and covered herself.” Rebekah had been waiting for this man to come. She didn't even know who he would be. But when she saw him coming, she covered herself and went to him.

This is how a bride is meant to come to her husband, not exposed on her wedding day, with bare shoulders, and so much uncovered. It's amazing, brides are so uncovered today. But a bride is meant to go to her husband covered.

We go to Genesis 9:23: “When Noah's sons, Shem and Japheth found their father naked, they took a garment and laid it upon their shoulders and went backwards and covered the nakedness of their father.”

In Exodus 28:42: “And thou shalt make them linen breeches” (this was talking about the priests, the Levites) to cover their nakedness; from the loins, even unto the thighs.” That was an area of the body that God always wanted covered.

In Psalm 32:1: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” When God covers something, He doesn't partly cover. Oh, no, He completely covers it. So that gives us a little more understanding of that word.

NO. 5. GOD WANTS US TO DRESS FEMININELY

Now we're up to point number five. I have so many points. I think I have 12 points. Anyway, let's see how we go. But this is point number five. God wants us to dress femininely.

Deuteronomy 22:5: “The woman shall not wear that which pertains unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”

God does not want male and female to be blurred. Nor does He want them to be mixed up. God is against transgender, even in clothing. God wants the woman to look like a woman in her clothing. He wants the man to look like a man in his clothing.

Now, does that mean that you are never allowed to wear pants again? Well, no, because when those words were written, both male and female wore long robes. That was mainly the kind of clothing they wore back in those days. They wore, usually, an undergarment, which was a tunic, maybe coming to, at least the knees, or so on. Sometimes it was a long tunic.

People would wear that around the home. But when they went out, they would always put on an outer garment. They didn't go out with just one garment. They went with an undergarment, which was a tunic. Then they would have an outer garment. Sometimes, if it was cold, they would even have a cloak over that.

But both men and women did wear those kinds of clothes. But there was a difference. There was a difference. The women wore more feminine clothing. The men, theirs were more rough and coarse and darker clothing. The women wore that which was more suitable to a woman, which was feminine.

This is the thing that we have to get at. We are women. We are female. We have been created feminine. Now, what does the word “feminine” mean? Well, I looked it up in the dictionary. But I didn't get time to look it up in the Webster's Dictionary, the 1828. I must do that. Perhaps I'll tell you next session what that dictionary says, because it usually has the fuller meaning of any dictionaries we have today.

Anyway, here are some modern dictionaries that I looked up. It means “having the quality or an appearance traditionally associated with women. For example, a feminine, frilled blouse.” Well, even a modern dictionary used that example.

Another one: “Characteristic of, or appropriate, or unique to women. For example, feminine beauty.”

Another one: “Belonging to the female sex, female.” Therefore, “female” means “opposite to male.” I think that's pretty straightforward, don't you? Female, opposite to male.

Therefore, when we dress, God wants us, as females, as His feminine creation, to dress opposite to males. OK? So I guess that means that in whatever society, whatever time in history we are living, we should dress differently than males so that we can see easily, “There is a woman!” We know by looking at her, she is a woman, but even by the way she is clothed, she is a woman.

Now, in our current society, men wear pants and shirts that they didn't back in Bible days, but they do today. So, what should we do? Well, the amazing thing is, that now the trend is that everybody wears pants and shirts. We do wear them differently, but it's so much like the male.

Why is it, why is it, I'm just asking myself, I'm asking you, why is it that the more humanistic, the more we have turned away from God's ways, the more now in society, and not only secular society, but the Christian society. . . In fact, you don't really see much difference between secular and Christian in clothing. Pretty well everybody dresses the same.

And mainly today, it's jeans and top, or some kind of pants and top. Some people will make it look very, very feminine, and that's beautiful. OK, you can wear pants and a beautiful feminine blouse and look very feminine. But more and more and more, we're getting away from femininity.

What do we have today with most young people? Or not even young people. I've seen loads of older people doing this too. They’re just wearing their jeans. Jeans are not feminine. Guys wear jeans. It doesn't really show much difference.

Sorry, ladies, I'm really coming against culture, aren't I? I'm being counterculture. I'm not here saying you can't do this. I mean, people are free, free to do what you like. But, but why don't we want to be feminine? Why? We must ask ourselves that question because this is who God created us. We are His feminine creation. He wants us to reveal our femininity to the world. He wants us to glory in it. We glory in our clothing. Our clothing shows who we are.

So, so many, yes, even Christians today, I know some who hardly own a dress. They just wear their pants and top, or jeans and top. And that's their uniform. They really would have grown up with this. Maybe that's what their mother wore. That's what everybody's wearing around. We so gravitate to society and what everybody else is doing.

But can I ask you, lovely ladies, to ask yourself the question? “Why do I not want to be feminine? Why don't I wear more feminine clothes?” This is what the Bible wants. He does not want us to dress like a man. He does not want men to dress like a woman.

Imagine! Imagine if men, I mean, oh, goodness me. I have a friend, and sadly she's no longer married to this man. But he was a cross-dresser. And he would come out to her, in her living room, all dressed up in women's clothes! He had a problem! And there are a number of men like that.

It is disgusting. I mean, it is an abomination when you see a man trying to dress like a woman. Of course, we have these people now, these transgenders, who want to change their whole sex, that's totally anti-God. It's even anti-God to dress like a woman if you're a man.

So, why is it, that so many women dress like men? Now, do I wear pants? Yes, out in the garden. I mean, if I've got to get out there in that garden, and I'm down on my knees, and I'm digging, and I'm in the mud. I'm just getting my old pants on.

I don't ride horses now, but when I was young, I used to ride horses. My father was a great dog trainer, horse trainer, and broke in horses. I was blessed to have a beautiful thoroughbred trotter. I used to ride this beautiful horse. I always rode with pants on. I didn't ever learn to ride sidesaddle as they did in earlier days from me. The ladies would have to learn sidesaddle. Of course, I always pants, although I haven't ridden horses for years.

If I'm going hiking, well, I'm going to put some pants on. So there are places where I will wear pants. But I don't like to wear them in my normal day around the home, or especially when I go out. Especially when I go to worship and to church. I want to bring glory to God and who He created me to be.

I remember one time, oh goodness me (your husband, I guess he's so used to pants, women wearing pants, because it’s just society, that he accepts it). My husband, he doesn't have a problem with other people, but he just never liked me wearing pants. Well, he doesn't mind when I'm hiking, gardening, doing all those kinds of things.

But he doesn't like me to wear pants around, or to wear jeans. In fact, I've never worn a pair of jeans in my life! Because my husband just, oh, he wouldn't be able to stand my doing it. That's just him. OK.

But one time, this is quite a number of years ago, I was flying back from New Zealand, because we come from New Zealand. We would go back frequently to see family. I would go back to minister there. And I was flying back, this long, long trip when you fly back from New Zealand, or fly to New Zealand. By the time you leave to the time you get there, you've been flying and stopping and waiting for about 30 plus hours or so.

I thought, “Oh, I'll just wear these pants, they're so comfortable. I'll just wear them on the journey.” Anyway, I arrived here in the States and my husband was there waiting to meet me. And I'll never forget (this may sound so strange to you, because even men today, they're just so used to women wearing their pants everywhere), but my husband didn't say anything. But I saw him look, and I saw the disappointment in his eyes. He knew that I knew that he didn't really like me wearing them. But I'd done it. He never said anything, but I knew. I felt his disappointment. And so I didn't do it again.

In fact, now you know, this happens quite often, except since this plandemic's been around, we haven't been flying so much. Usually I'm flying quite a lot, going to speak at Above Rubies retreats. Just weekends away, and I come home, and my husband is always there, waiting for me.

I have to admit, after being married for 58 years, it's still so exciting to be walking up, with all the travelers, and knowing my husband is going to be waiting there (I think the most handsome man in the whole of the world and he is waiting for me to come) and he's watching, and he's looking.

I know he's going to see this woman is not like everybody else. Maybe I'm the only one who's not arriving with jeans and tops, or pants and tops. And I'm wearing, because I love to now to wear something lovely when I'm going to meet him. So I'm wearing a dress, or wearing a skirt, or wearing something lovely, so that when he sees me, he's going to be so excited. And we're always so excited to see one another, even after a weekend.

So that's just my little experience. I'm not putting anything on anybody. But I do feel we should ask questions. And I believe, in this day of transgender, we should be more than ever, we as women should seek to show our femininity. We should be feminine in who we are, and we should clothe ourselves femininely. This is basic. This is foundational.

YOU CAN BE FEMININE AND YET NOT MODEST,

YOU CAN BE MODEST AND YET NOT FEMININE!

I believe that we are a hindrance really to what God wants. He wants such distinction between male and female. But here's a little point: you can be feminine, and not modest. And ladies, did you know, you can be modest, and not feminine?

God actually wants us to be both. Sometimes I'll see a beautiful dress. Oh, it's so gorgeous! And it's beautifully feminine. And then I look, and, oh, but the person wearing it is showing cleavage. I mean, this beautiful, feminine dress is spoiled because the person is exposing themselves. They're not fully clothing their secret, their private parts.

But then on the other hand, there are sections of Christian society who do wear very modest clothing. Oh, they believe in modesty, but really, they're not very feminine at all. Their clothes are dark colors. They look like sacks. There was that trend, you don't see it so often now, where so many women. . . You'd often see it amongst the homeschooling movement. They'd wear these denim jumpers. They were just like a sack. They covered everything inside. But they were just so boring and so unfeminine.

There is a balance. We have to seek to find clothes that are feminine, and that are modest. It's not always easy to find them in the shops these days. But you know what, ladies, you can find them on the internet! It's unbelievable how many beautiful, beautiful dresses that there are, out there on the Internet. Oh, I love it!

Every single time I see my lovely granddaughter, Meadow, she is always in a beautiful dress. Oh! She loves to dress femininely. I'll say, “Oh, Meadow! Where did you get that dress! It's so beautiful!

“Oh, on the Internet,” she’ll answer.

And even her mother, Pearl, she has so many beautiful dresses, too. She'll come to church in a lovely, gorgeous dress, just beautiful!

“Pearlie, where did you get that dress!”

“Oh, on the internet.”

 So I thought, “Oh, goodness, I'd better start looking myself!”

It's amazing, I've j seen so many beautiful dresses that are maybe, three-quarter length. Some are long. You don't have to wear long dresses all the time. Even three-quarter are lovely. I think dresses should be at least to the knee, or below the knee, because it's not just what they look like when you're standing, but when you sit and when you bend over.

Even when you sit, you need a dress of considerable length to cover you. Of course, even learning to sit correctly. Oh, I think it's because of so many women wearing pants and jeans that they have forgotten how to sit. And they even begin to sit like a man!

I've seen young people today, sitting with their legs crossed, not like a woman crosses her legs but her leg, with one leg crossed right over, like men sit. That is so unfeminine. It is so like a man. And it's so sad to see beautiful young girls and women actually sitting like a man! Well, if they're dressing like a man, they're going to start sitting like a man!

But there is a way for a woman to sit. You can sit with your legs crossed properly, or you can sit with your legs together sideways. Have a look at the Queen. See how she sits. I mean, that is total etiquette. We should learn ourselves, and teach our daughters, how we are to sit. That's part of being feminine also. So, lovely ladies, yes, let's get with it, shall we?

I love Philippians 1:9-10: “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ.” The word “excellent” there is diaphero and it means “to differ, to be better, to differ from, to be more excellent, to be of more value.”

Well, let's look at some other places where that same word is used. In Matthew 6:26, Jesus is talking about how He feeds the birds of the air and looks after them. And then He says: “Are you not much better than they?” That's the same word, “excellent.”

In Matthew 10:31, Jesus was telling the people how not one sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing. And then He says: “And you are of more value than many sparrows.” That same word. You see that same word, “excellent, more excellent,”

I think it relates even to clothing. We should, why do we just stick to whatever everybody else is doing? There is a more excellent way. The more excellent way is the more feminine way because it's who God created us to be.

I wonder, is anyone bold enough, courageous enough, to stand out a little bit, and dress more femininely more often? Maybe just start trying it a little bit. Maybe when you go out, perhaps order a couple of lovely dresses. Wear them when you go out. I think your husband will be so happy to see you in them. Actually, it will be quite a change.

Now in Matthew 12:11-12 Jesus tells the parable of a shepherd having one sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, and how he won't leave it there. But he goes and rescues it and lifts it out. And then Jesus said: “How much then is a man better than a sheep?”

1 Corinthians 15:41: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star from another star in glory.” And ladies, we are meant to differ from man in the way we clothe ourselves. We are to be different. So, there it is.

NO. 6. GOD WANTS US TO DRESS MODESTLY

Number six, God wants us to dress modestly. We read in 1 Timothy 2:9-10: “A woman should dress herself modestly and prudently.” We talked about that in the last point, didn't we, how that, yes, modesty is important, but we want to cover it with femininity. And remember, once again, we don't just have femininity without modesty. They're twins. That means they “to go together.”

NO. 7. GOD WANTS US TO DRESS LIKE ROYALTY

Number seven: God wants us to dress like royalty. Why? Because we belong to Him! And He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We belong to a royal kingdom. In that beautiful passage in Ezekiel 16, where God gives His allegory about clothing us, it's talking about us spiritually. But it says here, in the New Living Translation, in verse 13: “You looked like a queen, and so you were.”

In the ESV, it says: “You grew exceedingly beautiful, and advanced to royalty.”

Yes, in Psalm 45:2, it talks there about the bride being brought to the king, dressed like royalty. So we should keep that in mind. As I close this session, remember, we are to be queens and princesses. We need to teach our children that they are princesses. They belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That also helps us to up our standards a little bit.

OK, time is gone, and I've still got some more things to share, so we'll carry on next session, if you can take it! Do you think you can come in for another session? Still some interesting things to talk about.

“Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word. Thank You, Lord, that it teaches us the way. Thank You that You created us female. Lord God, help us to be who You created us to be. Help us to live how You want us to live. Help us, Lord God, to clothe ourselves how You want us to clothe ourselves as women. Teach us what it means to dress femininely.

Lord God, we pray that You will help us to be those who are not totally taken up by the spirit of this world, but You will help us to be living how You want us to be, even in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation. We ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

 

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.abovwerubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Would you like to email Darlene and thank her so much for faithfully and freely transcribing these podcasts every week for your benefit?

SUGGESIONS FOR DRESSES FROM MY GRANDDAUGHTER, MEADOW HALL

Ivy City Co (they have a nursing-friendly category) - https://ivycityco.com/

Jessakae - https://jessakae.com/

Maternity & Nursing-friendly clothing - nothingfitsbut.com 

These brands have modest dresses to offer, but not all of their dresses are modest.

More Modest Clothing Websites for you to check out:

-        https://pinkofyouth.com

-        https://www.onelovedbabe.com

-        https://roolee.com

-        https://loveoliveco.com

-        https://www.aubrey-jane.com

-        https://www.shopemeryrose.com

-        https://www.curvedream.com

-        https://www.neeseesdresses.com

-        https://www.appleseeds.com

-        https://wesandy.com

 

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