Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
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Strengthening Families Across the World through the encouragement of women in their high calling from God as wives, mothers and homemakers.

Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

GOD WANTS TO PLANT

PlantMothers

God’s blessings are upon you when you are planted in the home. Don’t let temptations around you pluck you out of the heart of your home, the place God has ordained for you. Put your heart and soul into mothering and teaching your children today. Rejoice in your God-given role.

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

A GENTLE AND QUIET SPIRIT

GentleQuietI must share a confession. When I read 1 Peter 3:4 as a young woman I would despair. “Oh, God, please help me. How can I be like that?” To have a “meek and quiet spirit” was the opposite of my personality. I realize, of course, that it is not my personality. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in my heart and life. And yes, God has helped me throughout all these years.
 
But let’s look a little closer. The word “quiet” can be misleading. Some people have quiet personalities and yet be stubborn and rebellious on the inside. Others are boisterous and loud and yet have a soft spirit in their inner man. The true meaning of this word is “to keep one’s seat.”
 
It is the composure of the inner man. It is not the absence of noise but keeping calm in the midst of noise and chaos! Wow, we surely need this anointing as mothers, don’t we? It’s calm in the midst of the storm. Undisturbed by the circumstances around us. Inner tranquility. It’s not jumping up off your seat (figuratively and physically) when you are agitated, irritated, or challenged.
 
Wow, that is powerful, isn’t it? How can you do it? If you can get a hold of this picture, it will help you “to keep your seat” instead of “flying off the handle,” instead of retorting back to your husband, instead of “blowing your stack”!
 
You can’t do it in your own strength. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life. Yield yourself to the Holy Spirit and the beautiful life of Jesus that dwells within you.
Jesus lives in rest. Northing takes Him by surprise. Let Him answer the door to the things that upset you and make you angry. That’s why this beautiful anointing is of “great price” to God because it is not you, but the power of the Holy Spirit within you.
 
Did you notice that God also calls it “beautiful”?
 
Can you try “keeping your seat” today?
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

MOTHER, YOU IMPACT THE CITY WHERE YOU LIVE

ImpactCityEvery word of God is true and powerful. Proverbs 11:11 states: “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.” The message of this Scripture is that the kind of families that live in a city is what the city will be like. The more upright, godly, honest, trustworthy, and Bible believing families in a city, the more godly the city will be.
 
This is the power of family life. Everything begins with the family. They determine the moral state of their city. Dear mother, you may think you are insignificant as you mother your children and keep your home. Oh no! You are impacting a neighborhood and a city. And ultimately a nation.
 
What kind of people bless a city? The upright. The word in the Hebrew means “straight, righteous, doing that which is right in the eyes of the Lord.” The phrases we sometimes use today come from this word:
“straight and narrow”
“standing straight and tall”
“straighten up” (I often said this to my children)
“straight shooter”
 
Dear mother, lift up your head and put your shoulders back. You are doing a great work. Be encouraged today as you influence your children to “stand straight and tall” in the ways of God and walk the “straight and narrow” way which leads to life. You are impacting your city.
 
I love Psalm 87:3: “Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.” This is speaking about Jerusalem. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this could be said of your community because you live there?
 
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
 
Painting: Jim Daly
 
P.S. One of the meanings of the word “exalted” is to “bring up children, to lift them up to a high status” (Isaiah 1:2 and 23:4).
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

KEEP ON DOING

DoingALittle

Life can get overwhelming and you wonder how you will ever catch up with everything. Don’t despair. Keep plodding on. Keep@on doing a little more every day . The little adds up to a lot!

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

DO YOU SIT TOGETHER?

SettingTable

Do you sit together as a family for your meals? The table is a gathering place where you meet to dialogue and share together. It’s where you feed your family, body, soul, and spirit.

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

THE TIDE ALWAYS COMES IN AGAIN

TideComesInDear ladies, the following is a very powerful article about marriage. I published it 38 years ago in Above Rubies, but the message is as powerful as ever. Please take time to read it and share with others, especially those who feel the tide has gone out on their marriage.
 
LOOK FOR THE NEW WAVE
 
Have you ever met an elderly married couple who look so alike they could be brother and sister. They "fit" together so closely that they are like hand and glove. Even their cat seems to match! Were they always like this we wonder? They smile a little secret smile as they look back over the years of their togetherness. We can be sure that not all was milk and honey.
 
I remember, as a child, staying for a time with a very special aunt. I recall her rising early day after day in the ice blackness of the winter mornings to get uncle off to work. I remember uncle as cross and irritable, unwell, and suffering with severe and continual backpain. My many cousins were young, demanding and tireless, my aunt tired and overworked. Could this be a picture of a successful marriage? I am happy to say it wasn’t always like that! The pressure years gave up to the still active and fulfilled middle-age years, grandparenting, travel, singing together in the choir, working together in service groups, and a closeness in their relationship that spoke of sharing together in good times and in difficult seasons. Love had passed the test!
 
Most married couples can recall a time, or times, of severe pressure in their marriage when it appeared that the rosy dreams of pre-marriage, thrilling romance, even hopeful plans for the future had vanished like a bubble when it bursts.
 
My husband, Trevor, and I lived 13 years in India where we learned a great deal by being exposed to a different culture. In India, even today, many young people meet their future spouse only once or twice, if at all, before marriage. To many of us the thought is unthinkable! However, one of our sons, then 14, and having been bought up in India, asked if we planned to arrange his marriage. or did we believe in love-match—at least that proved our upbringing does direct the way we think!
 
What is very interesting about arranged marriages is that there is no great expectation from most couples of immediate romance or immediate passionate love. One young man in Poona told me it would be shameful for him to be “in love” before marriage. The marriage will, of course, be consummated after the wedding ceremony as this is a necessary requirement. The joyful union of hearts and minds may come later. The bonus for such couples is that their immediate expectations on each other are not impossibly idealistic and romantic.
 
The new husband may say, “If she gives me my conjugal rights, makes sure my meals and clothes are ready, and is able to help the home financially, that, for now, is enough.” The wife may say, “If he is kind to me and provides for me, that, for now, is enough.” In that atmosphere it is possible that deep, abiding love may blossom. In fact, a deeply committed relationship, based on life’s realities, does very often develop.
 
In our western culture, still modified considerably by the concepts of handsome prince, beautiful princess, white horse, castle, and living happily ever after--the romantic expectations as couples enter marriage is very high.
 
If we are honest, most of us women, though observing how hard our parents worked over the years, did not realize we would be under the same kinds of pressures. We watched our mothers labor in the house but apart from generous bursts of helpfulness born out of teenage impulsiveness, we had never borne for any length of time, the responsibility of house and home.
 
Most unmarried young men in Australia are not expected to be responsible for the garden, the lawn, maintenance of house, the home, the payment of the mortgage or to give regular help in the home. Everything just seems to “happen.” With no pain to the young man food is on the plate, the home is clean and tidy, the lawns and gardens neat, clothes ironed and spotless. Good old mum and dad!
 
Now the new bride and groom, as they enter marriage in the rosy glow of love, (which I’m 100% in favor of), find themselves facing a brand new and often confusing array of decisions, responsibilities, and unending work. Into this situation comes a child, loved and longed for no doubt, but adding more responsibility, sleepless nights, increased financial pressure, and a demand for selflessness we have never faced before.
 
Through all this the husband is expected to be strong, manly, considerate, a marvelous provider, passionate lover, and home handyman--in fact, all the men of all the love-songs rolled into one. The wife is expected to be cool, calm, glamorous, amorous, world-class chef, laundress, go out to work, and look like Sophia Loren!
 
Amazingly, many of us cope magnificently, many of us cope adequately, but in Australia, around 40 out of every 100 marriages fail, ending in divorce. This is terrifying, not only in terms of human suffering involved in such statistics but also in the tens of thousands of one parent homes where hundreds of thousands of children are developing their concepts, their strengths, and weaknesses. Many single parents, both male and female, provide stable and happy environments for their children yet would still agree that two parents are better than one. Men are so different to women and vice versa that we just cannot be both.
 
What then is the process causing this huge number of marriages to fail? Sleepless nights, ill children, financial pressures, increasing responsibilities, the fading of super-ambitious dreams which now appear to be impossible to reach all take their toll. In one flashing thought there goes, “Where is love?”, “Where is all the fun?”, “I’m losing myself and I’ve got to get out.”
 
THE TIDE ALWAYS COMES IN AGAIN
 
It appears in fact that “the tide has gone out on love.” Seeds of doubt persist, “Perhaps we made a mistake. . . we’re not going to make it. . . is it worth all this worry anyway. . . If I thought he/she still loved me I could go on, but all this is so hard, I can’t stand it. Perhaps it’s better for everyone if we break up and start again on our own.
 
I have a word of encouragement for those who know the tide is going out or is already out. This is all part of the natural process of life. THE TIDE GOES OUT BUT IT ALWAYS COMES IN AGAIN!
 
When the tide goes out in marriage it is rather like the winter season. There doesn’t appear to be much life and growth, but there is. Life is throbbing silently, only waiting for the season of budding and bursting forth.
 
BETTER THAN HONEYMOON LOVE
 
Sometimes, while standing on the beach watching the tide ebb away, and continuing to wait, I see the turning of water. There is an inching away from the waters, pulled by some invisible force, a few seconds’ pause, then almost imperceptibly, yes, the waters begin to creep their way up the beach. I look away for just a few minutes and when I turn, I can see the difference.
 
What a picture of married love . . . an ebbing and flowing, a waxing and waning and waxing again. It is a growth pattern that can take us into increasing love, growing deeper and richer and so much better love than honeymoon love.
 
What is discouraging when the tide is out is that we see all the rubbish that has been covered by the pretty water. The rusty old cans of anger, past hurts, resentments, self-righteousness, selfishness, and unforgiveness look vile. But they don’t have to stay. You can get rid of them. Clean up the beach while you can, then watch your love flow again.
 
You may find, or have already found, that the tide of married love does not always turn in minutes. The tide has gone out for miles, sometimes it seems totally out of sight. What to do then? If there is violence, incest, alcoholism, drug abuse, homosexuality, or indefinity in the marriage you may need help from outside of yourselves. Seek that help as almost always there is someone near who cares.
 
Most marriages, however, do not fail due to the above reasons. It is the continuous pressure. It is because when the tide is out on love we wonder if it’s worth the effort to keep trying.
 
It is worth the effort. It is worth the effort because of the marriage vows you mean to keep. It is worth staying in for our own self-respect, worth staying for your children, worth staying because with love, prayer, and patience the tide of love will flow again.
 
Some words are not very fashionable today--duty, responsibility, integrity, character, bearing our burdens, but they are all valid in the everyday context of marriage and parenting. I have taught my own children for many years concerning responsibility that where love and enjoyment for the task has failed, let duty carry you though. Love and enjoyment will take over again later.
 
Another secret, and this is my ultra-power packed secret: pray and ask God for His help to make your marriage work. “God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble."
 
Yes, the tide of love will come in again. It is inevitable.
 
ISABEL PATERSON
Western Australia
 
Printed from Above Rubies, February 1987 (38 years ago!).
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

JOYFULLY COVER

ClothesToCover

If you want to please the Lord, you will joyfully cover.

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

NANA’S KITCHEN

NanasKitchenToday I am sharing with you a poem I wrote about my mother who lived for 83 years. She would be 105 years if she was still living today. This is my father and mother, Ivan and Joyce Bowen. My mother sewed all her own clothes, including my father's jackets. He is wearing one of them in this picture. She loved home and loved people. I pray you will be blessed as you read about life in her kitchen, the heart of her home.
 
NANA’S KITCHEN
 
Nana’s kitchen exuded warmth and love,
It was a little taste of heaven above,
It had a drawing power that was irresistible,
Beckoning, nourishing, totally amiable.
 
Out of her oven came delectable food
To make you feel in a wonderful mood,
Scones, bran muffins, and healthy cookies,
Filled with raisins, nuts, and goodies,
 
She liked to add dried ginger as well,
This made Granddad feel real swell.
Every meal was scrumptious and served with care,
There was always more than enough to spare.
 
Nana started the day with millet and linseed,
The king of cereals for her body’s need.
What joy to sit down for lunch with Nana
And eat her wholesome soups, oh what manna!
 
Oh yes, the salad, Nana would never forget
To have her raw veggies with vinaigrette.
But more than the food, it was Nana herself,
Imparting counsel and wisdom which is true wealth.
 
She always had some new story to tell, -
Perhaps about health or some personnel,
But best of all, rich nuggets from the Lord,
The One she loved and always adored.
 
Oh, how we long for those moments again,
Yet in our memories they’ll forever remain,
Of sitting at her table and being nourished
While our whole body, soul and spirit flourished.
 
Nancy Campbell,
Written 24th December 1999
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

HAVE YOU GOT THE VISION?

GotVision
“Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny, she would see that in all God’s world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given to her.”
~ J. R. Miller
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG MOTHERS

EspeciallyYoungMothersThe magazine, Above Rubies, is for all women (and men love to read it too). However, I believe it is essential for the precious young mothers of this generation as they live in the overwhelming time of raising their little ones.
 
Although I have been publishing Above Rubies for just on 48 years, I realize that there are thousands of mothers of this new generation who still haven’t even heard of Above Rubies.
 
And yet these mothers desperately need the encouragement of this magazine. They need to be uplifted and strengthened in their great calling. They need to hear the truth from God’s word rather than the indoctrination of this deluded humanistic and feministic age.
 
If you know any young mothers in your church, in your neighborhood, close at hand or far away, you are welcome to send me their names and addresses and I’ll be happy to send an Above Rubies magazine to them. What about your daughters and your daughters-in-law? Are they getting the magazine?
 
Send the information to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
You can email me their names and addresses, or you can ask for extra magazines (tell me how many you need) yourself so you can pass them on to all the young mothers you meet.
 
And even if you know mothers who live overseas, you can send me their names and addresses, and I will forward them to the appropriate Above Rubies bases. Above Rubies magazines go to well over 100 countries of the world.
 
Many blessings to you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

WHATEVER A CHILD BELIEVES...

WhateverChildBelieves

Dear mother, you have the most powerful influence in your children’s lives. In fact, more influence than anyone else. Don’t waste these early years with your children. They are too precious and the time goes so quickly.

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

YOU ARE DOING A GREAT WORK

GreatWork

Don’t let the lesser things of life hinder you from your highest calling of motherhood.

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

THE HEART OF A MOTHER

LovliestMasterpiece

God designed motherhood. God loves motherhood. You are in the perfect will of God as you mother and train and teach your children and God is on your side. He is with you in all your mothering.

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

BE A TEMPLE CLEANER

GodsTemple

“You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

WOW, that makes a big difference to living life in your home, doesn’t it?

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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

WHY DOES GOD NOT TELL US WHY?

GodNotTellUsWe have been reading through the book of Job during our Family Devotions each day. We came to chapter 41 where God speaks to Job about Leviathan. To meet this creature is to dance with death. He is impervious to all weapons and enemies. No one is brave enough to confront him. Then God states: “Everything under heaven belongs to me!” In other words, even this mightiest creature is pliable in God’s hands. We will never fully understand all God’s greatness and His ways.
 
God abruptly ends this discourse of 34 verses about Leviathan but gives Job no answer to the “why” of all that he has suffered and endured. He doesn’t explain to Job how Satan came to Him and challenged Him to allow him to attack him and how God removed the protecting hedge He had around Job.
 
Job 42:10 says: “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” But He never explained the why of all he suffered.
 
I know that each one of you have faced trials and tribulations in different ways. You may be struggling with a difficult situation right now. You wonder why. Why is God allowing this to happen? What have I done to deserve this? Why did God take this loved one from me? The questions go round and round in your mind, never ending.
 
Dear fellow wives and mothers, can I remind you that you may never know why. Many times you will never receive an answer. If we knew why these hardships and sufferings happen to us, we wouldn’t need to trust God. God wants us to learn to trust Him, no matter what. God is God. We are not. If we were to know the answer to every question, we’d be like God Himself.
 
The whole point of our Christian life is learning to trust God, even in the dark. The Scripture says: “The just shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38). We don’t live by sight. We don’t live by knowing the answers to every question. We live by faith nd trust.
 
What did Job confess in the midst of his terrible suffering? “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15).
 
Romans 11:33: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Notice two exclamations marks in this Scripture.
 
Can we give up asking the Why? And let’s be those who trust our God. Because He can be totally trusted! All things are under His control. Thee is nothing that is unnoticed by Him.
 
Love to you today from Nancy Campbell
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Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

LOCKED TOGETHER

LockedTogetherThe first Scripture about marriage in the Bible talks about cleaving to one another. The word cleave in the Hebrew is “dabaq” meaning “to cling, to stick, to stay close, to be joined.” This word is used in other places in the Bible and helps us to understand more of what it means.
 
One of my favorite places is found in Job 41:15-17. It’s in the middle of the passage where God describes Leviathan, this powerful creature that no man can tame. God describes fire leaping out of his mouth and smoke pouring out of his nostrils. Wow, it’s an exciting passage to read to your boys who love dinosaurs!
 
But in verses 15-17 (GW) God gives this description: “It’s back has rows of scales that are tightly sealed. One is so close to the other that there is no space between them. Each is joined (dabaq) to the other. They are locked together and INSEPARABLE.”
 
The New English Translation says: “Its back has rows of shields, shut up closely together as with a seal; each one is so close to the next that NO AIR CAN COME BETWEEN THEM. They LOCK TIGHTLY TOGETHER (dabaq), one to the next; they CLING TOGETHER AND CANNOT BE SEPARATED.”
 
What a beautiful picture of marriage. God wants us to be so one together that not even air can come between us! He wants us to be so tightly locked together that we cannot be separated!
 
I don’t think this happens immediately. We often come to marriage with an independent spirit. It takes time to throw aside independence and instead to think oneness and live oneness. But this is God’s ultimate picture of marriage. And this is the glory of marriage This is the picture of Christ and His church.
 
I’m reminded again of the words of John D. Garr who when describing marriage states: “Your ‘twoness’ has ceased to exist.”
 
Are you so locked together that there is nothing in this life that can separate you?
 
Blessings today from Nancy Campbell
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DO YOU FINISH WHAT YOU BEGIN?

FinishStartIt is a good habit to finish one thing before you start another. We see examples of this in the apostle Paul’s life.
 
Paul longed to come and see the believers in Spain, but he told them he couldn’t come until he FINISHED his current task which was to take contributions from the church to the poor believers in Jerusalem (Romans 15:28).
 
Paul asks the Galatians believers in Galatians 3:3 who were trying to gain their salvation by doing the works of the law? “Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?”
 
We have to watch this too, don’t we? We can begin a project in the power of the Holy Spirit and gravitate to doing it by our own human effort. God wants us to finish in the anointing of the Holy Spirit too.
 
It was Paul’s habit to complete and finish his missions. He states in Acts 20:24: “But none of these things move me (the fact they he was going to face prison and afflictions), neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might FINISH my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus.”
 
Toward the close of his life he confesses in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have FINISHED the race, I have kept the faith.”
 
JESUS also finished the work God gave Him to do.
 
John 4:34: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to FINISH His work.”
 
John 17:4: “I have FINISHED the work which thou gavest me to do.”
 
John 19:30: “Jesus said, It is FINISHED: and he bowed his and gave up the ghost.”
 
May we also be task finishers.
 
Blessings to you today,
 
Nancy Campbell
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REJOICING HOMES

RejoicingHomesGod told the tribe of Issachar "to rejoice in their homes" (Deuteronomy 33:18). The word for homes is “ohel” and it means “a covering, a dwelling place.” It can be used of a hut or a palace! It speaks of a home for animals or for a king.
 
Maybe you are living in cramped quarters. It feels like a hut! You long for more room. Can I encourage you to keep rejoicing? When Moses spoke those words to Issachar, they were living in temporary tents! They had no mod cons. No store down the road to run to if they ran out of something. And God wanted them to rejoice.
 
Rejoicing is a powerful attribute. It allows God to work in our lives and in our circumstances. When we complain and whine, we keep ourselves in our self-pity dungeon! And we stay miserable!
 
When we rejoice, our circumstances may not change, but our heart changes and we can face insurmountable odds with the joy of the Lord.
 
Do you remember the time when David came back from battle to his home city of Ziklag? They found it burned to the ground with fire. That would be enough to make you depressed. But the Amalekites had also taken all their wives, sons, and daughters captive! They were left with nothing. They all lifted up their voices and wept until they could weep no more! The men were so upset they wanted to stone David!
 
David was so distraught! But then the Bible tells us that “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). When David took his eyes off his devastating circumstances and directed his heart to the Lord, God was able to give David the strategy and he and his men recovered every wife and all their children. Verse 19 says “David recovered all.”
 
David had no answer to their terrible catastrophe while he was in a state of despair. We can’t hear from God when we are filled with bitterness, unforgiveness, and moaning. But when by faith we look to the Lord and rejoice in Him, things begin to change. It’s a biblical principle (Job 13:15 and Habakkuk 3:17, 18).
 
Fill your home with rejoicing today.
 
Blessings to you from Nancy Campbell
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MY WOBBLY FAITH

WobblyFaithThe other week I did a podcast with Rebecca Southey from New Zealand (who was staying with us at the time) where she tells her story of God’s grace and blessing upon her life. She mentioned on the podcast of how I printed a testimony by her mother, Maureen Green, who gave birth to a spinal bifida daughter. Can you believe it? It was printed in the No. 3 issue of Above Rubies, away back in 1978! Here’s the testimony.
 
MY WOBBLY FAITH
 
How thrilled and grateful I was when my young daughter, Lois gave birth to a big bouncing baby boy. She had a perfect pregnancy and an easy natural birth. Little Joshua was my 15th grandchild, so why was it so special?
 
I thought back to a day 21 years ago when I lay on a hospital bed with a gynecologist/physician/surgeon surrounding me saying that this pregnancy must be terminated! This was because of my acute physical condition and the risk of childbirth. My previous pregnancies and births had been very difficult, and they did not think I could survive this one.
 
I was faced with an issue of life and death. How could I destroy life which God had put within me? No. I couldn’t allow it, even at risk to myself. I remember saying to the physician, “My faith is wobbly, but I will wobble on with the help of God” and I went through the pregnancy.
 
Lois was born with difficulty at five weeks premature, RH negative, and spinal bifida! She was operated on at two days old to close the opening. After the operation there was no reaction or sign of reflexes. Her legs just dangled. The doctor said they had done all they could.
 
My husband and I had many times experienced a touch from the Lord and so we turned to Him again. We took her to Wellington where a visiting evangelist from America prayed for her.
 
Nothing apparent happened, but my husband, being a man of faith, kept telling the Lord what we had read in His word: “They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18). Each night as we put her to bed he would say, “Lord, we’re still waiting. We thank You that this baby will walk.”
 
The night she was one year old we were bathing her and suddenly she moved, and her legs kicked for the first time. What excitement as the whole family came crowding in the tiny little bathroom. Such shouting and rejoicing.
 
From this day on she grew stronger and began to hold her head which she could not do before. We decided to treat her from this day just as we had our other five children.
 
We had many opportunities to tell of Jesus and His love through what people saw happening over a space of time.
 
At 15 years she was last seen by the specialist who was surprised that she was just like any normal girl. However, he did say that if one day she should marry and have a child that she would need to give birth by c-section. How wonderful is the goodness of God that she had a beautiful natural delivery.
 
We have been a family who have known what it is to have sickness come our way, but we have seen the Lord’s hand on our lives and have been granted the ability to rise above it.
 
I strongly recommend this wonderful friend, Jesus Christ, to anyone needing healing, whether it be spiritual, physical, or emotional.
 
MAUREEN GREEN (who passed away many years ago).
 
(Maureen was also Sue’s mother who did the podcast, A LIFE POURED OUT, and Rebecca’s mother who shared her story in the podcast, GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.
Here's the link to Rebecca’s great testimony.
 
 
Picture: Cover of Above Rubies, No. 3. I wonder if anyone in the world still has this copy of Above Rubies!
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Nancy Campbell
Women's Daily Encouragement Blog

THE LORD’S PRAYER

ThyKingdomComeI can’t believe it. I found the following on my computer the other day—and it was sent to me in 2000, 25 years ago! So here it is. Hope it’s a blessing to you.
 
THE LORD’S PRAYER
 
(A little dialogue between God and someone).
 
“Our Father which art in heaven . . .”
 
“Yes?"
 
"Don't interrupt me. I'm praying."
 
"But you called Me."
 
"Called you? I didn't call You. I'm praying. ‘Our Father which art in Heaven . . .’”
 
"There . . . you did it again."
 
"Did what?"
 
“Called Me. You said, ‘Our Father which art in heaven.’ Here I am. What's on your mind?"
 
“But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say The Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done."
 
"All right. Go on."
 
"Hallowed be thy name . . .”
 
"Hold it! What do you mean by that?"
 
"By what?"
 
"By ‘hallowed be thy name?’”
 
"It means, it means, good grief! I don't know what it means. How should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?"
 
"It means honored, holy, wonderful."
 
"Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what ‘hallowed’ meant before.
 
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
 
"Do you really mean that?"
 
"Sure, why not?"
 
"What are you doing about it?"
 
"Doing? Nothing, I guess! I just think it would be kind of neat if You got control of everything down here like You have up there."
 
"Have I got control of you?"
 
"Well, I go to church."
 
"That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You've really
got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?"
 
"Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at the church."
 
“Excuse me. I thought you were praying for My will to be done. If that
is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it, like you, for example."
 
"Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others."
 
"So could I."
 
"I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to . . . you know . . . be really free."
 
"Good, now we're getting somewhere! We'll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I'm proud of you."
 
"Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. ‘Give us this day, our daily bread.’”
 
"You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is."
 
"Hey, wait a minute! What is this? 'Criticize me day?' Here I was doing my religious duty and all of a sudden You break in and remind me of all my hang-ups."
 
"Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to get across to you. You called Me, and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep praying. I'm interested in the next part of your prayer (pause). Well, go on!"
 
"I'm scared to."
 
"Scared? Of what?"
 
"I know what You'll say."
 
"Try me and see."
 
“Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us."
 
"What about Ann?"
 
"See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!"
 
"But your prayer? What about your prayer?"
 
"I didn't mean it."
 
"Well, at least you're honest. But it's not much fun carrying that load of bitterness around inside, is it?
 
"No, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood."
 
"You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change all that."
 
"You can? How?"
 
"Forgive Ann. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Ann's problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart."
 
"Oh, you're right. You always are. And more than I want to revenge Ann, I want to be right with You. Ann, I want to be right with you . . . (pause) . . . (sigh). All right! Alright! I forgive her! Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it. Someway, somehow, show her the right way."
 
"There now! Wonderful! Now do you feel?"
 
"Hmmm . . . well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest."
 
"You're not through with your prayer. Go on."
 
"Oh, all right. ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’"
 
"Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted."
 
"What do you mean by that?"
 
"Don't turn on the TV when you know the laundry needs to be done and the
house needs to be picked up. Also, about the time you spend having coffee with your friends. If you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for ‘keeping up with.’ And please don't use Me for an escape hatch."
 
"I don't understand the last part."
 
"Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get into trouble and then you come running to Me, ‘Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise You I'll never do it again.’ You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with Me?"
 
"Yes, and I'm ashamed, Lord. I really am."
 
"Which bargain are you remembering?"
 
"Well, there was the night that Bill was gone and the children and I were
home alone. The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any
minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, 'Oh God, if
You spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again.’”
 
"I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?"
 
"I'm sorry, Lord. I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed The Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn't expect anything to happen like it did."
 
"Go ahead and finish your prayer."
 
"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen."
 
"Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make Me happy?"
 
"No, but I'd like to know. I now want to please You. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of Your followers."
 
"You just answered the question."
 
"I did?"
 
"Yes, the thing that would bring Me glory is to have people like you truly love Me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together."
 
"Oh, Lord, let's see what we can make of me, okay?"
 
"Yes, let's see."
 
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