GOD'S PETS!               DO 2344          9/87

(Dad, Mama & Peter get together for a business meeting:)
         1. SO, WHAT PROBLEMS DO WE HAVE? DO WE HAVE ANY? Our work is not too difficult, thank the Lord! He hasn't given us more than we've been able to bear yet. If we'd known how MUCH we were going to do in the beginning, we might have given up ahead of time, thinking we could never do all that! But the Lord just kept piling it on us bit by bit, straw by straw, & so far we haven't come to the last straw! He always gives us little rest periods between battles!
         2. I'M ACTUALLY FEELING BETTER NOW & GETTING ALONG BETTER AND HAVING LESS PROBLEMS & LESS AFFLICTIONS THAN EVER! As Cooney said, "Every day in every way I'm getting better & better!" That was his philosophy. He taught you to stand in front of the mirror every morning while you're shaving & say to yourself, "Every day in every way I'm getting better & better!" And he used to say, "And pretty soon you will!" It's this mental philosophy thing, metaphysics & blah blah, but it's TRUE, thank the Lord, of ME!--Not because I stand in front of the mirror & tell myself that, but because the LORD has done it!
         3. MAYBE THIS IS JUST A LITTLE TIME TO PRAISE THE LORD & BE THANKFUL FOR ALL OF OUR BLESSINGS! PTL! Here we sit in a top level business meeting & we can't even think of any problem serious enough to discuss! We've got good leadership now. Since we got rid of the Chain, we've developed a lot of good leadership who have really done the people good in running these Teen Camps & Leadership Training Meetings! I think they've done us a World of good! We're keeping our teens better than I ever saw any other church keep them! They're really sold-out for the Lord & for the Family, & really witnessing!
         4. I THINK WE'VE GOT EVERYTHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR & NOTHING TO COMPLAIN OR MURMUR ABOUT! I think the Lord has really blessed us!--Financially, spiritually, leadershipwise, people & personnel-wise, in just EVERY WAY! We have very little persecution--what little we've had sometimes we've brought on ourselves by lack of wisdom on some people's part. But our people are getting a little wiser & learning to be as "wise as serpents & harmless as doves" (Mat.10:16), and I think we're maturing and learning a lot!
         5. ROY WALLIS CAME OUT WITH SOME PRETTY GOOD POINTS IN ONE OF HIS ARTICLES, "WHERE HAVE ALL THE CHILDREN GONE?" He talked about how we've grown up! He said, "The children?--They've grown up! They've become wiser & more mature & more sensible & practical & businesslike!" He was complimenting us for maturing.
         6. ANYHOW, WE SIT HERE & WE HAVE A HARD TIME TRYING TO THINK OF ANY PROBLEMS, EXCEPT THE USUAL WORKLOAD, WHICH IS JUST OUR JOB & WE ENJOY IT! I enjoy mine & you enjoy yours! We haven't reached any insurmountable problems or bottlenecks, the Lord's been really good to us!
         7. LIKE MY FATHER USED TO SAY ABOUT MY MOTHER: "OH, YOU'RE THE LORD'S PET! You get away with anything & the Lord lets you!" And she used to say back to him, "Well, that's because I LOVE Him & I give my whole LIFE & TIME & STRENGTH to Him, & He seems to feel like I'm WORTH petting & being GOOD to!" So in a way, we're the LORD'S PETS! We have delighted ourselves in Him, so He's given us the desires of our hearts!--And our PEOPLE too! God's been good to them from every direction, including from US! I feel like treating OTHERS like I'D like to be treated! They work hard & they sacrifice & I think we should help our own people as much as we can!
         8. SO WE'VE GOT LOTS TO BE THANKFUL FOR & JUST ABOUT NOTHING TO BE TOO CONCERNED ABOUT AS FAR AS I CAN SEE! So PTL! I don't want to be like the old woman who when they asked her how she was, she said, "Well, I feel GOOD, but whenever I feel GOOD I feel BAD because I know it won't be long before I feel BAD again!" (Maria: Yes, that's the tendency we have of looking ahead to see what's going to come next!) That's why the Lord said, "Don't worry about tomorrow, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof!"--Mat.6:34. Most of us see that we can survive today & don't see it as being too evil or having too many insurmountable problems.--PTL! GBY! ILY!

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