Thursday, October 29, 2009
Are you Dangerous?
Exodus 1:12, "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel."
The first chapter of Exodus tells us about the children of Israel living down in Egypt. Verse 7 says, "And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them." They were fulfilling the first commandment that God gave to man. Something powerful always happens when we obey God's commandments. They are not ordinary words to be discarded; they are life-giving decrees.
What happened in Egypt? The children of Israel became "more and mightier" than the Egyptians. (v. 9). They became a threat to them. And the Egyptians were grieved. The word grieved is the Hebrew word qutsand it means "disgusted, abhorred, horrified, afraid--actually vomiting is the primary understanding of the word."
This same Hebrew word is used in another passage where the children of Israel became a threat. In Numbers 22:3 it tells us, "Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many and Moab was distressed (quts) because of the children of Israel." Why was Moab so very afraid? Because the Israelites were multiplying! When a people multiply, they become scary. When they multiply, they take dominion.
Now here's the question. Are we, the people of God, a threat to the enemy in our nation today? Sadly, we have to answer no. For the last seven or eight decades, instead of multiplying, God's people have been diminishing. They have turned away from the infallible, immutable Word of God and followed their own desires. They have limited their number of children to the worldly 1.6 average. They have sacrificed bringing God's children into the world on the altar of careerism and modern culture-ism. And now the humanists and socialists are taking over.
There are thousands and millions of precious godly offspring who are not here! God has been deprived of His intentions. The world has been deprived of the godly offspring who fill the nation with His love, righteousness. truth, salvation, wisdom and justice. And of course, although many do not realize it, the parents themselves have been deprived.
But all is not lost. There are a growing number of families who are listening to the heartbeat of God. They are hearing His desire for family and for children. They are turning from their deceptions and opening their hearts to the children that He has destined for them to have, whether it is one or ten! As they obey God's first commandment something amazing is happening. The liberalists are starting to get scared! They are so horrified, they want to vomit!
Very recently a book was published by a radical feminist and published by Beacon Press, which promotes homosexuality and anti-Christian dogma. She wrote this book to expose Biblical patriarchy and fruitfulmotherhood. In this book she states that the parents who embrace children are "a movement we ignore at our peril." In a message to Barack Obama, she writes, "Fearless Leader--forget the fundamentalists in Iraq; these prolific Christians are the real bad guys!" In other words, fruitful mothers, embracing the children God wants them to have are dangerous! They are scaring the feminists!
The enemy, who hates life, who comes "to rob, kill and destroy" is scared of the godly seed! Mothers who are not deceived by the delusions of Satan, the robber of life, and who still believe in God's very first mandate to mankind are dangerous people! Isn't that exciting? You may think you are insignificant as you care for your children in your home each day, but mother, lift up your eyes! You are doing a powerful work. You are doing God's work. You are dangerous to the enemy. He is scared of you, because he is scared of the godly seed coming into this world who will hate evil and love righteousness, who will destroy the works of the devil and lift up the name of Jesus. And those who walk in deception and follow the devil's ways are scared of you too!
Don't you love being dangerous? Look out! Here we come--holding on to the Word of Life, walking in God's commandments, embracing the Godly seed and training them to be mighty warriors for God who will impact this world and fill it with His glory. Never forget--the more children a godly mother brings into this world...
The more scared the liberalists will become!
The more evil will be defeated in the land!
The more the kingdom of God will be advanced!
The more the gospel will be spread across the earth!
The more the image of God will be revealed in the earth!
The more the economy will boom in the land!
The more righteousness and morality will pervade the land!
The more righteous leaders will arise in the nation!
The more justice, honesty and truth will flood the land!
The more God will be glorified in the earth!
The more the nation will prosper and be blessed!
The more dangerous she will be!
And the more the statists will fear and tremble!
Keep being dangerous!
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL, ABOVE RUBIES
PRAYER:
"Oh God, please help me to see clearly. Help me to realize the power of motherhood and the power of every child you give me to fulfill your plans in this world. Save me from holding back children whom you have destined to accomplish your mighty works. Amen."
AFFIRMATION:
I am a dangerous woman!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Mother's Meditation
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Not too busy to fall on my knees...
Saturday, July 25, 2009
To Leave and to Cleave..
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Fear Not
Monday, June 29, 2009
Created to be ... a handywoman?
Do you clench at the idea of power tools, nails ,screws and hard labor as being part of your lady duties?
Are you unacquainted with the tools in your garage? Do you think a stud finder is some lucky lady that has an eye for good looking guys? if your response is yes to all the above, we are in trouble my friend!
Growing up without a dad or brothers in the house, my sisters and I learned early in life that if you couldn't fix it nobody would. To make matters worse I didn't have the luxury of having "tools" per say,we were poor back in Colombia and couldn't afford even the basics of instruments: rocks or pieces of wood did the job for a hammer, anything with a point like knives served as screwdrivers both flat and Phillips.We never owned a power drill but yet in the middle of this cave-like environment I learned to take machines apart to see how they worked, I became a fan of owner's manuals( they are essential reading to me) and I got used to tackle jobs that normally girls wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.
Personally I think guys like a woman who can fend for herself in some areas and is not afraid of getting dirty. As a matter of fact after I met my husband, he found me one day mixing concrete up on top of my roof in the process of installing a TV antenna. He jokes telling me that was one of the signs that I was THE ONE for him.
I'm all for feminine stuff, to be lady -like and know your way around the kitchen. Covering all the basics from cleaning to cooking, ironing to mending socks, knitting, scrapbooking, teaching, tending to children, I believe women are capable of amazing things! When it comes to home improvement though, I'm afraid many are in the dark.
After all why bother? I have my man to do that kind of job! But wait a minute: What if hubby is away at work and your house is flooding and you don't know where the main shut off valve is? or how about if there's a power outage and you don't know how to reset your utility box? or switch a power breaker back on? Will you spend the rest of the day without electricity until hubby comes home? How about those times when your honey -do list is soooo long ,your husband doesn't have time to hang that picture or repair that leaky faucet? Will you endure the wait?
I don't think a little knowledge of basic DIY would hurt any woman, if anything it would be of great benefit. I happen to have a husband that is very good at getting to my honey -do list very quickly, but there are times when he's at work and I get to do jobs I believe I can do on my own and this makes him very proud of me. I heard a very wise lady say: Don't complain to your husband about the leaky faucet, go ahead and fix it yourself! She goes a little further as to say that women need to know basic mechanics and how to change oil in a car and replace a tire. It's a matter of survival!
But how? you say. Well, when you go to the home improvement store grab a book of basic DIY. Ask questions, Watch a DIY show on TV, not just the ones about pretty designs but the one where they teach you how to replace a toilet ( my favorite shows are This Old house and Ask This old House). By the way, another way to learn is tackling a job with hubby, watch while he works or figure it out together and the best part: you save money doing it yourselves.
My husband and I have replaced a toilet, faucets, light fixtures, ceiling fans; installed a garage door opener and many more together, I read the manual and we brainstorm the plan together, he does most of the manual work but at the end we both have the satisfaction of a job well done.
I believe God has created us to be help meets for our husbands not just in the things that pertain to the "women's work" of the household but also to be partners in working along side of them to improve and beautify our homes. So , give it a try and get the power tools out! you are in for a treat!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Love Letters from Abba Father...
Monday, June 22, 2009
Why I don't own a pair of Stilletos...
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Kids Do the Darndest Things!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Beautiful in His eyes...
My daughter,
While I was creating the universe, you were in my thoughts , while I was speaking this world into being ,you were already in the blueprint of my mind; though I made every creature amazing in itself and every other wonder to reflect my majesty, I reserved the best of my design for you, my own image to reflect my heart of love: I chose to put the twinkling of the stars in your eyes, I imagined every line in your face like the mountains and valleys that I made, I gave you eyes that can see me, ears to hear my voice, a mouth that would praise me , hands that I could hold, feet that would run to me, a heart that will love me eternally and a spirit that will long for my presence; I created you for me ,I created you beautiful indeed , not like this world defines its beauty but by the sweetness of your gentle spirit.
I also made you with a purpose and a destiny,my desire is to fullfill my will in your life and bring you to the place I designed you for, You are precious to me.
As you can attest, time makes youth and beauty fade away but yet what remains is unfading deep inside of you, that part of me that your eyes can't see. I wish for a moment that you could see yourself they way I do; that every time you look at your reflection in the mirror and are tempted to be discontent with what's in front of you ,you would remember that I made you uniquely special , there's no one in the whole world that compares to you . You are my daughter , you are beautiful in my eyes.
Proverbs 31:30 Song of Songs 4: 1
Friday, June 5, 2009
Finding joy in unexpected places
It's past midnight and I find myself doing my bedtime rounds: fold the laundry, put the last load in the dryer, turn on the dishwasher, last wipe and pick up around the kitchen counter, I grab my water bottle and up the stairs I go, turning in for the night; tomorrow I'll do it all over again...
It seems like there could be little to no joy found in these mundane tasks of the everyday life.
Another dirty diaper to change, changing clothes on a child just minutes after you got them showered and dressed ?! or wiping messes that seem to appear out of nowhere like magic. Why even bother to clean the floor? It's going to get messy again ! Sometimes as I'm doing it I think to myself , didn't I just do this a while ago?
I confess there are days when the mere thought of doing these menial things make me wish I could stay in bed all day but my sense of responsibility doesn't allow me to. I also wrestle with rejoicing throughout these chores that seem repetitive and at times meaningless. I guess the main questions are:
Is God interested in these tasks? and could there be a way to find joy while doing them? .
First of all, the things we mothers do in our home for our families is our service to them and to The Lord. We are servants! God has appointed us to be the deliverers of His love to our children and love in its purest form is demonstrated through service. " As unto the Lord" to me means as if Jesus is the recipient of my service.
Philippians 2 :5-7 We need to have the same attitude Jesus had toward service.
Philippians 2:3 says Do nothing out of selfish ambition
Here are some ways we can exercise servanthood and experience joy at the same time:
- Enjoying a baby's smile while changing a diaper
- Memorizing Scripture or praying while washing dishes
- Listening to a preaching tape or singing along a worship song while folding laundry or mopping the floor.
- Helping a child with homework while cooking
- Listen to a child read to you or read to her while nursing the baby
- Make cleaning a family business, let the children in on the fun
- Reminding yourself: I'm doing this as unto The Lord!
Something that keeps coming to my mind when I'm tempted to grumble about the "new" mess to be cleaned or the fifth time I have to refill a cup of milk, is that God has designed this to make me a servant, to get out of my selfish mode and bring me to a complete surrender of my will. Dying to the right to take a nap when I need it or have "me"time every now and then. I have to chose to die daily to my own desire to have it my way.
But it's not all about sadness or dying to rights, there is joy! . There is joy when I get a smile and an unexpected thank you in return , a hug, or a beautiful painting with MOM written all over it , or fresh picked dandelions,or the good feeling you get at the end of the day when you know that even as inadequate or imperfect you think you are as a mother, your children were taken care of and nurtured by none other than you. Today I was not feeling like myself, maybe coming down with a cold but I stretched myself to be there for my children , we read books, made some crafts, finished school work, watched a movie and cuddled together, I can sleep in peace knowing I did my best to serve them and my Lord.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Natural Remedies, thing of the past?
Toothaches, headaches, all kinds of aches and fevers were no match for my Grammy and her garden.
I wonder why we seem to run without fear to the ER at the first sign of illness. Don't get me wrong I'm very glad for all the state of the art equipment and the skilled staff that is ready for you in case of trauma, but I've found that in many cases , specially with children's ailments, there are options for healing when we go back to simple things as essential oils and herbs.
I'll be listing the "natural" tip of the day on this blog where I would like to share with you some of my trial and error (tried and true) remedies.
Warning: I'm not a doctor and if your condition is serious you should run to the ER.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The road less traveled...
I want to journal my experiences of life at home and my journey as a mother during these precious years that seem to go so fast.
I came to this country from Colombia eleven years ago, newlywed , just gotten pregnant on my honeymoon and did not know anyone here. Of course, I was received with a warm welcome by my new family but being away from all that I ever held dear was too much to bear. There was a lot of crying and homesickness back in those days, but rapidly I adjusted to my new surroundings.
Motherhood found me in my mid twenties filled with anticipation and dreams, little did I know this job required more than just that and as we were increasing in size ,blessed with every child, so did the realization of responsibility and work that it entailed. Eleven years of marriage and six children later, I can say that I'm still learning but God has been faithful to guide me through the rough waters.
I can still remember my first month with my son , the reality of being a mother had not yet sunk in and as I held him everyday I wondered when "his real mommy" will come to pick him up. It wasn't until weeks later when he got really sick and I stayed in a hospital with him for four days and nights that it hit me, nobody was coming , he was mine.
As a young couple , we encounter with great privilege, what I believe to be the wisdom that only comes from God through godly counsel and His word and decided to leave the size of our family to Him; other children came and with them the criticism and pressure from family and friends about our decision but we didn't pay attention to those voices and have found peace doing what we believe to be His will for us. Now, it has not been easy but nobody said it would be. There has been days filled with chaos and overwhelming termoil that made us question not His will but our own ability to fullfill it, but of course, the rewards of this road less traveled are without measure.