Quote from Forum Archives on April 12, 2001, 12:33 am

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

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THE HOPE CHEST: Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #40 part 2 / April 2001
Be an Overcomer!
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WELCOME TO THE HOPE CHEST!

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free bi-monthly e-mail newsletter
with encouragement and
practical teaching tips.
Web page: www.homestead.com/hopechest/welcome.html
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This is part 2 of 3.

DIGGING DEEPER: Scriptures to Accompany “Nurturing Naomi” Article
“ABOVE ONLY” by Nancy Campbell
“THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE HOME” by Nancy Campbell
REJOICE! by Val Halloran

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DIGGING DEEPER: Scriptures to Accompany “Nurturing Naomi” Article
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SEE GOD’S PROVIDENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY IN EACH SITUATION: Ruth 1:6; Ruth
1:20-21; Ruth
2:12; Ruth 2:20; Isaiah 61:1-3; Exodus 15:22-25; Psalm 66:8-12; Romans
8:28

HOLD THINGS AND PEOPLE LOOSELY: Ruth 1:8; Ruth 2:2; Ruth 3:1; Ruth 4:3;
Matthew 5:38-42;
Matthew 10:8; Matthew 16:25-26; Job 1:20; James 1:20

CONNECT WITH KINDRED MINDS: Ruth 1:9; Ruth 2:22; Ruth 4:11&17; Proverbs
13:20; Proverbs 19:20;
Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 27:9; Hebrews 10:24-25; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

DEVELOP A QUIET ROUTINE OF HOMEMAKING: Titus 2:4-5; Proverbs 14:1;
Proverbs 31; 1 Samuel
30:15; 1 Samuel 32:17; Psalm 84:3

INVEST IN FUTURE GENERATIONS: Ruth 3:1-2; Ruth 4:11-17; Psalm 78:4-6;
Psalm 139:13-16; 1
Thessalonians 2:6-9; Mark 10:13-16

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“ABOVE ONLY”
by Nancy Campbell
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[This was sent from Nancy Campbell’s weekly e-mail encouragement list.
You can subscribe to this list
from her web site at http://www.aboverubies.org. If you don’t have web
access, just pop a note on over to:
Nancy@aboverubies.org. She’ll be glad to get you put on it! Tell her I
sent you!]

Deuteronomy 28:13, 'Thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be
beneath; if thou hearken unto the
commandments of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do them..'

Where do you live? Groaning under your circumstances? Or are you on top,
looking down on them from a
place of victory? It's so easy to go under, isn't it? It doesn't take any
effort at all. It takes a lot more effort to
stay on top. But you can get into the habit of doing it. You have to
change your current thought groove and
switch gear into a new mindset.

When Peter wrote to the new believers who were scattered throughout the
country that is called Turkey
today, he encouraged them to 'gird up the loins of their minds..' (1
Peter 1:13) The Modern Language
Bible translates it well, 'Brace up your minds for action, and be
alert..' These believers understood what he
was talking about. In those days, they wore long flowing robes. If they
wanted to run or exercise, they had
to pull up their robes and secure them so they would not be hindered in
their action.

This is what you have to do with your minds. When you feel you are coming
under your circumstances,
gird up your mind. Capture your negative thoughts and oust them from you.
Instead of agonizing over your
problems, look down upon them from God's vantage point. Remember where
God has placed you in the
spirit realm. You have been lifted up to sit with Christ Jesus in the
heavenly spheres. (Ephesians 1:6) See
yourself there. See yourself looking down upon your problems.

Perhaps you feel overwhelmed in your home. Everything is in a mess. See
yourself looking down upon it.
>From that vantage point, you'll begin to see solutions to the problem.
Dear mother, there is a solution for
every problem. God has got a practical answer for every difficulty or
frustration you face in your home. Of
course, you'll never see the way out while you are complaining and crying
in the dust. You've got to look
down from your position in Christ. As you do this, you'll see things in
their true perspective and the
revelation for the victory will come!

God's Word says that you will be 'above only.' and 'not be beneath..'
Wait a minute. There is a
prerequisite. This promise is only to those who fully obey the
commandments of the Lord. This promise is
to those who not only hear God's Words but who do them. But as you walk
in obedience to the Lord, you
can claim this promise.

Dear friend, you choose where you want to be today. Don't let Satan take
your mind captive. He's laughing
when you are in a miserable state. He wants you to feel a failure.
Instead, 'tear down reasonings and
every proud barrier that is raised up against the knowledge of God and
lead every thought into subjection
to Christ..' (1 Corinthians 5:10 MLB)

God's plan for you today is to be above only! Be there!

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

'Oh Lord, I thank you for the amazing revelation, that because I am in
you, I have been raised up to sit with
you in the heavenly realm. This is beyond my natural thinking, but it is
the truth. Help me to believe the
truth. Help me to experientially live in this truth. Help me to see my
problems from my position of sitting
with you in heavenly places. Oh Lord, I thank you for the victories that
I will see today as I live in this place.
Blessed be your wonderful name. Amen..'

QUOTE:

Out of Christ, you live in despair,
In Christ, you live in divine revelation.

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THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE HOME
by Nancy Campbell
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[Another of Nancy’s weekly encouragement messages!]

Dear Mother, Making your home a place of joy and delight,

Peace be to you and peace be to your home.

May your home be filled with joy today. It's an interesting fact that the
more children you have, the more
possibilities you have for joy, fun and laughter in your home. Oh yes, I
know that can also increase the
possibilities for arguments, dissension and strife too! But dear mother,
that depends on us. We as
mothers are the ones who set the tone for the day. We determine the kind
of atmosphere that rules in our
home.

I have always been challenged by the prayer of repentance David prayed in
Psalm 51:12, 'Restore unto
me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit..' The
Holy Spirit who lives within us is a free
spirit. Check 2 Corinthians 3:17. He wants our spirits to be free too -
not bound up with fears, hurts,
bitterness, and self-pity etc. These things bind up our spirit and
distort our soul. They also affect our
children. What we are is what we pass on to our children.

As mothers we have a responsibility to keep our spirits pure and free
from the contamination of self-pity
which leads us to depression; fears which lead us into bondage; and
harboring hurts which destroy our
soul and those around us.

The word 'free' means 'noble, willing, liberal.' May be your modern
version translates it 'willing'. That's
good too. Keep your heart soft and willing to respond to the precious
Holy Spirit who lives within you. As
you keep your heart in the right place and as you commune with the Holy
Spirit and let Him work out in
you the life of Jesus, you will bring the atmosphere of Heaven into your
home.

I believe that establishing the right atmosphere in your home is so
important. Even if you are a
homeschooling mother, it is more important that all the information you
seek to teach your children. It is
more important that getting everything accomplished each day. It is rare
that you will get it accomplished,
so why not relax and stop being frustrated?

Your children will blossom and bloom and learn more in a relaxed, happy
and joyful atmosphere even
when you don't get everything done, than in a rigid atmosphere where you
are on edge and tense. Your
children will forget much of the information you give them, but they'll
always remember the atmosphere.
That is what will linger in their minds and hearts. What kind of
atmosphere are you creating today?

Have a wonderful day with your children.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL, Above Rubies www.aboverubies.org

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REJOICE!
by Val Halloran
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Seeing as how Easter is approaching us this month, I thought that it
would be fitting to focus on the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I will start by pointing out the parallel between Christ’s death and
resurrection and the Christian life itself.
That is, the Christian life as it is in the metaphor that we have died
with Christ and are now alive in Him.
The death of Jesus represents our death to sin and to the world. In
Galatians 2:20 Paul says, "I have been
crucified with Christ…" And in Romans 6:2 he asks "How shall we who died
to sin still live in it?" We are
commanded to "…die daily" to sin, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, because
Jesus died for us.
The resurrection of Jesus represents the new life that we have in him as
Christians. Ephesians 2:4-5
reads, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with
which He loved us, even when we
were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ…" We
are alive with Jesus, and it is
because of Him that we have eternal life.

This brings me to what I really want to say, which is this: REJOICE!!!
Rejoice in the freedom that we have
from sin through Christ’s death on the cross, and rejoice in the life
that we have in Him because of the
wonderful mercies that our awesome and loving God has given to us. "But
now having been freed from sin
and enslaved to God, you derive you benefit, resulting in sanctification,
and the outcome, eternal life. For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans
6:22-23)

[Virginia’s note: If you have not yet experienced the forgiveness and
freedom that is freely available in
Jesus Christ, and you would like more information, please let me know!
I’d be glad to correspond with you
about this!]