Notes of encouragement for Nancy and tributes to Robert
Dear Nancy- My dear husband gave me the ROH Notetaking Bible for Christmas. I now consider him a mind reader after secretly wishing for one. I didn’t open it to start the daily reading plan on January 1, even though you have been encouraging us to do so on AFR every evening. After reading the email about Robert’s passing, I immediately began to pray for you and his entire family. My heart is so burdened for the grief you must all be experiencing. What a treasure he was to you! And to all of us as we rejoice that you had such an excellent husband. My heart then said “start reading like Nancy asked you to!” So I did. I’ve opened it every day since and have pored (I always thought it was poured and had to look it up because I thought it was a typo so thanks for the new word!) over all the introduction and have gotten as far as the reading calendar. You should see my notes on just Nancy’s words. They are so rich and I can’t wait to implement all you have instructed. Today I journaled a prayer on your post from 1/10/22 that Holy Spirit would continue to comfort your heart in the days to come. I pray your words on the page back to the Father for you. Most certainly you rejoice in the fact that Robert is resting in the arms of Jesus. It’s been beautiful to hear your love story unfold. And I can’t wait for God’s love story-to us- to unfold as I read through this beautiful book. Thank you Nancy and Robert and Revive Our Hearts for being faithful servants of His. Love, Abby P.S. Robert’s “Men’s Daily Bible” is now on order for my man. Together we will pore over God’s Word as Robert and Nancy have so wonderfully demonstrated.
Nancy mi corazón y mis oraciones están contigo y con la familia de Robert con la esperanza de que Dios los llenará de fortaleza, fe y consuelo en estos momentos difíciles, sabiendo que Robert ahora descansa y se goza en los brazos de nuestro Salvador. Oro porque el inmenso amor de nuestro Señor llene cualquier vacío que ha dejado la partida de Robert. Aunque no nos conocemos, para mi eres una de mis mejores amigas y mi mayor consejera a través de cada devocional de Aviva Nuestros Corazones, donde he aprendido muchísimo y a través de los cuales el Señor ha ida cambiando mi corazón y enseñandome tanto con cada tema. He sido tan bendecida y comparto con otras mujeres los devocionales, quienes me han dicho que también están siendo grandemente bendecidas. Que Dios siga glorificandose y bendiciendo más mujeres a través de Aviva Nuestros Corazones (saludos desde Guatemala, Centro América)
Thank you for showing us what love and commitment look like. Robert through his 44 years of marriage and then through Nancy with their 10 years of marriage. Nancy's heart being open to a man after a lifetime of singleness to love and hold until death. Beautiful testament to all who witnessed it. We are with you in prayer, Nancy. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Hna Nancy, desde lo más sentido de mi corazón creo que Dios te dará el consuelo necesario para seguir adelante. Dios me permitió conocerte a través del ministerio Aviva nuestros corazones, en la iglesia estamos siguiendo el reto para leer el Nuevo testamento y los salmos en este 2026. Te amo en el amor de Cristo mi estimada hna valiente y esforzada. Un abrazo afectuoso con el deseo de que tu fe en el Señor siga así de fuerte y no decaiga a pesar de las pruebas, así como nos dices muchas veces mi hna.
Querida y amada Nancy: Uno de mis libros favoritos tuyos es "Sea agradecido. Su camino al gozo". No sé cuántas veces lo he leído, estoy segura de que más de 10 veces, y este año no será la excepción. Hoy por la mañana leía una página y quiero compartirla contigo, y recordar las palabras que tú misma escribiste, y que estoy segura de que será de ánimo y consuelo para ti en este momento de pérdida y duelo ... Cito: "La oración es vital; pero para que realmente experimentemos su paz, debemos ir a Él con gratitud. Una gratitud fervorosa, una gratitud costosa. La clase de gratitud que confía que Él está obrando para nuestro propio bien aun en medio de circunstancias desagradables ... la clase de gratitud que guarda nuestra mente y nuestro corazón atribulados con su inexplicable paz. ¿Está usted enfrentando una o varias situaciones caóticas preocupantes? ¿está su alma desanimada por la lucha, el estrés y la tensión? Hay paz -La paz de Dios- esperando por usted tras las puertas de una gratitud premeditada. Pero la única forma de encontrarla es _ir allí y comprobarlo por usted mismo_ La paz de Dios es una de las muchas bendiciones que aguardan al otro lado de la gratitud. "Oración + acción de gracias = paz" (pg. 60. ¿Por qué deberíamos ser agradecidos? 3.- La gratitud es un camino seguro hacia la paz) Hoy Robert está comprobando más que nunca, que la gratitud a última instancia, nos prepara para el cielo. Te quiero, querida Nancy, y te acompaño en tu dolor. Tú eres para mí una madre espiritual, tu dolor es mi dolor, pero tu gratitud, mi gratitud hacia Dios.
Tus mensajes me ayudan tanto cada día Nancy! Desde que supe que Robert había enfermando he pensado mucho en ti, y ahora que está con el Señor, Oro aunque no la conozco siento que si, y por eso he orado nada día pidiéndole al Espíritu Santo que te abrace y te haga sentir su profundo amor por ti, dándote su Paz, pero sobre todo que te haga sentir su compañía en esos momentos cuando extrañes a tu amando esposo. Te mando un fuerte abrazo Elena
It is sweet painful reality to know Robert has left us. But we rejoice knowing that his soul is with the Lord Jesus Christ the author and perfector of our salvation. In him we live, move and have our being. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Peace to you Dear Nancy.
Dear Nancy, I am so sorry for your loss; what has happened is heartbreaking. However, I want to honor you with these words. I have been so touched by how, from the very beginning of this process, you have encouraged others, urging us to trust in God even in our pain. This phrase has always resonated in my heart: "Heaven Reigns." I continue to pray to the Lord for you. You are a precious and true woman. Thank you for impacting my life in such a meaningful way. May God bless your life and fill your heart with peace. I love you.
My heart is broken!! I could always hear in your voice the love you had for your husband any time you spoke about him!! We love you and pray that God will bless you and give you the courage to continue with this podcast in his beloved memory!!
Nancy te amamos mucho en casa, no sabes la fortaleza que Dios da a nuestras vidas a través de ti y Robert. Pido al Eterno fortalezca tu corazón y el de la familia, oramos por ustedes un abrazo a la distancia. El cielo Gobierna. Atentamente, Marleni.
Dear Nancy: In this most difficult time of grieving, it has been such a sweet blessing to our souls to have read in your CB posts how the Lord has so gently and lovingly ministered to you and Robert through prayer, His Word, music and the encouraging words of brothers/sisters around the world. We continue to lift you up and the family with our prayers of peace and comfort in the days ahead, as the Lord turns your mourning into joy. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)
Nancy...mi nombre es Claudia Alvarado, vivo en la buitrera de Palmira . Colombia Gracias al señor tu lo tienes a el como tú primer esposo, sabes quién te ha mantenido y quién te mantendrá. Gracias a Dios porque te presto un esposo por una temporada y fuiste muy feliz, tenemos que apreciar ese momento y solo darle gracias, gracias al señor. También fui viuda en mi juventud, muy duro pero Dios me ha brindado un esposo ahora en mi edad adulta....hasta que Dios defina otra cosa. Solo agradezco al cielo por tener esa compañía. Entiendo tu dolor. Acompañándote de corazón.
Dear Nancy and Family, I have prayed for you and have been so very blessed by the ministry of Revive our Hearts over the last 16 years. We met you and Robert one time, very briefly, when you came to Houston with a 105.7 KHCB event and Janet Harrison ushered my 2 daughters (who were very young then!) to say hello, greet you and Robert and have a quick pic! I attended the Heaven Rules conference in 2022 and was blessed beyond measure. I wrote "HEAVEN RULES" over my dad's cancer on the big banner on the wall there in Indianapolis, not knowing what the next few years would entail. I gave your Heaven Rules book (in Spanish and English!) to people at MD Anderson, Baylor College of Medicine and the countless people who helped our family as both my parents battled cancer so thank you for that resource and the truth we could share that HEAVEN RULES. I heard Dannah's interview with Robert in 2023 on his book, "The Finish Line" and immediately shared it with my dad and bought him the book! It was VERY helpful for us as we faced the finish line of my dad's life and helped us really prepare and think and pray through things we hadn't thought of. Thank you for that. I actually signed all our Caringbridge posts for my parents, "Jesus is near! Heaven Rules! We are not afraid!". Thank you so much for the ways Revive our Hearts and Robert ministered to my family during those difficult years and right up to the end as my dad hit the finish line in May of 2024. Jesus never left us in the hospital or in hospice and right up to that final breath. His peace surpassed understanding. I have prayed for you in these past weeks as one who very recently was in your exact position, waiting by the bedside, that very surreal hovering between this life and eternity and I wanted to share something I read that made me think of Robert and also my dad and your dad, too!. As the Lord would have it, I was studying Matthew along with what my kids are reading in their school. This is on Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will SEE God", a quote from a book on the Sermon on the Mount by Kent Hughes: "Yet there is a seeing that surpasses even this - and that is seeing God. Since nothing is higher than God, seeing God is logically the greatest joy once can experience. Thus, when we pass from this world and SEE the face of Christ, the joy of that first split second will transcend all the accumulated joys of this life. It will be the highest good, the summum bonum, the greatest joy, beside which the wonderful story of Mrs. Pennica's 'miracle' {of healed blindness} fades in comparison...Scripture and reason demand that we understand that it will be the greatest event of our eternal existence-the visio Dei, the vision of God. We need to believe it!"(Kent Hughes, p.56, 60) Nancy, praying that in this time of grief and sorrow and sadness at that final enemy, death, you are comforted knowing that Robert has SEEN GOD! Glory! I cannot imagine it! Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Lord, will you comfort Nancy and her family in this season of "not yet", in the pain of death and separation, will you remind them each day in your Word that you ARE the resurrection and the life, that you fill in any gap between the grief now and the day when we see you face to face as Robert, my dad, John MacArthur, Kay Arthur, Corrie TenBoom, Elisabeth Elliot and all the saints who have gone before Robert are doing right now. Our family will continue to pray for you in the days and weeks ahead. Heaven Rules. Jesus is Near. Thank you for all the ways you and Robert have specifically ministered to our little family here in Houston, TX over the years and certainly for the last few years in particular as the finish line came into view with my dad and we cheered him across in victory, thanking God for Jesus through whom we can now have faith that those who die in Christ WILL SEE GOD and rest forever in His presence. with love and prayers. Randy and Brooke Keeney, Abby, Anna, Tyler and Andrew
Robert was the Christian Father/Friend/Mentor I would have loved to have. His manner of speaking and what he had to say were always very meaningful and inspiring. I can only imagine what his passing will mean in your life Nancy, although we know he is with our Lord and healthy and very happy. I'm praying for you and his many friends in this time of transition.
I honestly was not familiar with this man or Nancy, until last night. My husband had heard of his marriage to Nancy and he used to listen to her on the radio on his way to work. He then realized that Robert had passed away on January 10. We began with one video, then another, and another, and I am continuing to listen to more this morning. My husband and I are nobody well known, but, I had cancer and felt just like his first wife, that it was to live is Christ and to die is gain. I lived. Now, my husband and I are involved each week with 14 grandchildren telling them about Jesus. That’s the best investment of our time that we can give. Robert and Nancy’s story is one that gives us hope and encouragement and I am thankful. I thought about Nancy having a family here on earth to love and support her, God’s provision, and it’s beautiful. I’m so sorry for his families’ loss, but, it is a picture of a life well spent and now, eternity with Christ. May the Lord continue to bless each of you and know the Lord is still using you to further the Kingdom.
I pray that the Lord will comfort the hearts of this family, and that the peace which surpasses all understanding will bring consolation to the deep human pain that is felt in moments like these. Robert has finished his race and is now in the presence of the Lord. His crown has been prepared for him. I bless his family in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Rich memories of Robert ... wonderful Sunday School classes, and building a deck at a Habitat house together, which Robert insisted had to be built using a herringbone pattern in the floor. Not kidding. Only Robert would have insisted on a detail like that. Rest in peace, Robert. And peace to Nancy and all of the other wonderful family members.
Dear Nancy, You don't know me but you have blessed me in my life more than you could ever imagine. Even though I was a Christian there was just something about you that drew me closer to the Lord. When you see trust, obedience, faithfulness, commitment, joy, kindness, perseverance, and pure loveliness displayed in someone, it makes you stop and take notice. I was following you and listening to Revive Our Hearts and reading your book "Lies Women Believe" and you were a lifeline to me when I needed a Godly female mentor in my life. Even though you are just a few years older than me- you had the wisdom of the Lord on your side and I desperately needed it. When you fell in love and married Robert I felt so happy for you! Not because you hadn't been a blessed woman before God brought him to you as your husband, but because it was yet another amazing display of the Lord's generosity and goodness. He wanted to bless you with the kind of joy that one can only experience in marriage. I enjoyed learning about you and Robert and your precious relationship through podcasts, video's and social media. And when I saw that Robert was having health struggles I started praying for him and both of you. Sometimes the Lord was waking me up in the early hours of the morning to pray. I was convinced the Lord would heal Robert of the pneumonia and felt brokenhearted for you when He chose to heal him in His way and bring Robert home. I felt such a weight of grief while Robert was suffering and I knew you were by his side trusting the Lord with your whole heart and soul- like you have taught women like me to do every single day and yet I felt angry at the Lord's decision. It was not what I would have chosen for Robert or for you. I had a couple of rough days where my own husband probably wondered why I was so discouraged and sad about a man and woman I have never met. In my prayers I argued with God and asked how could He take Robert and leave you without him just as you are entering into your Golden years together. Why would He do that? Why Robert, why you? One thought led to another until I thought "Lord you barely gave them any time together- they have hardly even been married for very long- it's just not fair. There are so many miserable and unhappy and ungodly marriages and yet they remain......why???" I didn't hear an audible voice but I did feel a prompting from the Holy Spirit. "Look up how long they have been married on Google." When I looked up how long you and Robert have been married I was shocked. In my mind it had only been a few years- maybe 3 or 4 years. When I saw that the Lord had given you 10 years together before He called Robert home I suddenly felt a profound sense of peace sitting alongside my grief for your loss. I thought...."Wow Lord, you gave them a decade! Nancy hadn't even expected anything from you in regards to a husband- she had dedicated her life to You ,but in Your kindness You saw fit to give Nancy an earthly love of her life. And you gave her an entire decade! You are truly good Lord. I would have asked for more but You have a purpose and a reason for everything that You do and we can trust You." Nancy my prayer for you as you walk through this journey of grief and loss is that God surrounds you with His peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray that He provides everything you need and abundantly more. I pray that you know how loved you are by the Lord and by others. I want to thank you for all of the ways you have blessed my life over the years and I pray for God's richest blessings in your life in the years to come. Love and peace from your online friend- Christine
Feeling sadness and grief for your loss, Nancy - prayers continue for you Dear Sister asking for God's peace and comfort. You are loved and appreciated. Rejoicing for Heaven's gain - praising God that Robert is home with his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ! May your memories be sweet until you meet again!
Dear Nancy, You continue to be in my prayers as you walk through this valley of the shadow of death. It is a walk, not a sprint, yet the Lord is with you. You have been an inspiration and guide to women as a godly single woman, then a godly wife, and now you will show us how to be a godly widow. May the Lord give you strength at this busy time at ROH, as you grieve the loss of Robert.