—By Father David DFO1134 16/2/81

—Only one 8-oz. cup or glass per day!—Or 2 small 4-oz. Wine Glasses!

1. I JUST NOTICED THAT SOME OF'M WERE POURING THEMSELVES A NICE BIG GENEROUS BRIMFUL GLASS OF WINE out in the kitchen after supper the other night, after having already had to least one at the table, & I'm wondering if this is a common practice. Because from my experience I've now discovered that I sleep better without it, & feel better too, & that certainly one at the table at night is sufficient & not even two.

2. WE DID MAKE A TWO-GLASS LIMIT, but considering the size of some of these glasses‚ some of these glasses they're using are as big as two glasses, some of these glasses they're using are as big as two glasses instead of just a small wine glass. They're using a big table tumbler, water glass, & two of those is about the same as four wine glasses.

3. REMEMBER THAT A GLASS A WINE IS EQUIVALENT TO ONE LITTLE JIGGER OF WHISKEY, in other words, one shot of whiskey, not a double but one shot, an ordinary wine glass, glass of wine. And they're both equal to a mug of beer or the same amount of alcohol in each one. A shot of whiskey, a glass of wine or a mug of beer.

4. SO TO DRINK TWO TABLE TUMBLERS OF WINE, equivalent to four wine glasses of wine, is the equivalent of two double shots of whiskey or four mugs of beer, & I think it's too much! Well, we set a two-wine-glass limit on table wine for the day. They could either have one at lunch & one at dinner or two at night. And I've noticed some pouring themselves an extra brimful, big table tumbler of wine out in the kitchen afterward, & that's too much!—Two 8-oz. tumblers makes four wine glasses!

5. IF YOU'RE GOING TO DRINK TWO BIG TABLE TUMBLERS OF WINE equivalent to four ordinary wine glasses every night, that's the same as drinking four shots of whisky‚ 'cause there's the same amount of alcohol in a shot of whiskey as there is in a glass of wine or a mug of beer. It's the same as drinking four shots of whiskey, or two doubles, or four mugs of beer which means a whole half-gallon of beer. Four shots of whiskey is about a half-pint, isn't it?—A fifth of a quart, what they call a fifth. Well, it's a good part of a fifth anyhow & it's enough to make you drunk!

6. SO I'D SUGGEST WE START TELLING THE FAMILY THE FAMILY LIMIT FOR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES for the entire day & night should not be more than one glass of wine‚ if it's one of those big tumblers, or two small wine glasses. They can have one small wine glass with their lunch & one with their dinner or they can have them both at dinnertime if they want, but no more. That's enough!

7. BECAUSE I'VE CERTAINLY FOUND OUT THAT I FEEL BETTER & SLEEP BETTER & everything since I quit drinking so much wine at dinner. (Maria: I just read in the Suggestions & Comments somebody else said he's feeling much better since he stopped.) And since I've stopped drinking so much coffee too, that helps. So, PTL!

8. I SUGGEST WE CUT DOWN THE FAMILY RATIONING to either one of those drinking tumblers of wine or two small normal wine glasses of wine. Table wine now, that's not sherry, Brandy, Cognac or port! (Maria: I've heard some places they think nothing of bringing a great big bottle of sherry over for the evening & finishing it off or having it with hors d'oeuvres at night‚ you know, as an aperitif.)

9. I SUGGEST WE REMEMBER ALSO THAT IF THEY MUST DRINK SHERRY‚ one small wine glass of sherry is equivalent to two normal wine glasses of ordinary table wine because it's twice as strong. So if they insist on drinking sherry & prefer it, well then they just get one small wine glass of sherry per day at their evening meal if they want it, that's all. Or two small wine glasses of ordinary table wine per day or evening meal or one each meal, lunch & dinner, & no more.

10. NO NIGHTCAPS OR EYE OPENERS IN THE MORNING OR WHATEVER! It's more apt to close your eyes than open them! (Sue: Sometimes when we've been out for lunch we've had wine because all they had was either beer or bubbly water, but it just wipes you out! It makes you sleepy!

11. (MARIA: OR IF YOU GO FFing like a lot of our girls do, maybe they better put off their dinner wine for their night out because a lot of them do go out & they're almost obliged to drink a little when they go out because what else can you get in those places?) You can get Coca-Cola & orange juice & 7-Up & some stuff like that, but they'd better watch out how much they drink of it.

12. EVEN MY OLD FAVOURITE, VODKA: ONE SCREWDRIVER IS SUFFICIENT. Usually there's just one shot of Vodka, which is whiskey, in one screw–driver, & that's equivalent to a small glass of wine or a mug of beer or a half of a wine glass of sherry. Sherry has a pretty high alcoholic content‚ it's fortified

13. SO THEY'D BETTER WATCH THEIR STEP & I think we'd better cut the Family drinking down to either one of these table tumblers of wine at night if they insist on calling that a glass, or they can have two ordinary normal wine glasses of wine.

14. I DON'T MEAN BY THAT ONE OF THESE TABLE TUMBLERS THAT HAS A SHORT STEM ON IT WHICH HOLDS A HALF A PINT, or a cupful in other words. You talk about passing the brimming cup around, we're not talking about a cup full. We're talking about a wine glass full which is a half a cup or half an ordinary table tumbler glass. So that's all the Family ought to be drinking.

15. (MARIA: THEY SAID IN ONE PLACE FOR COMMUNION they passed the glass around three times filling it each time!) Well, I would say any place where they have to pass the glass around three times for Communion, they really do need Salvation! That's a kind of a triple testimony‚ maybe a triple-header too & triple headaches! Better watch their step!

16. SO I RECOMMEND THAT ALL FAMILY HOMES DON'T HAVE MORE THAN TWO SMALL GLASSES OF TABLE WINE PER DAY, that's equivalent to one small wine glass of sherry or one shot of whiskey or one great big mug of beer. I don't think your alcoholic intake better be more than that per day.

17. IF THEY INSIST ON A GREAT BIG TABLE TUMBLER, half-pint glass of wine & call that a glass of wine for dinner at night, that's it, one not two. Or if they insist on a great big mug of beer, that's it. They can have two small wine glasses of wine either both at dinner or one for lunch & one for dinner.

18. SO THAT'S IT‚ THAT'S THE FAMILY RATION & that's all it ought to be & you'll all feel better for it. A little wine is good for your stomach's sake & especially if there's bad water. Saint Paul said, "Drink no longer water, but drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake & thine often infirmities." (1Tim. 5:23.) And I think a little means the less the better.

19. SO I SUGGEST WE START HAVING A LITTLE TEMPERANCE & MODERATION IN THE FAMILY if not total abstinence, sign the pledge! (Maria: We've got a lot of people with drinking problems in the Family.) And I understand some of the Families are drinking too much. I know we were for a while and I don't think we were any better off for it. I think we're much better off now that we've toned down, tapered down to no more than one glass a night or two small wine glasses.

20. I'VE QUIT DRINKING ENTIRELY EXCEPT FOR MY WINE AT DINNER. Sometimes I drink just a little tiny bit during the night. (Maria: If they want, they could fill it up just like we do with some juice.) Yes. If you're just plain thirsty, why don't you mix a little in with your apple juice or orange juice or some kind of fruit juice, grape juice or something & dilute the alcohol & still get as much liquid.

21. I REMEMBER, I THINK IT WAS JERRY McCAULEY who said that a major part of the alcoholic problem of the skid-rows of the World would be solved by putting a drinking fountain on every corner! A lot of it is just plain simple thirst. 'Cause where are they going to get a drink free, a glass of water free? You don't just walk into a bar & ask for a free glass of water. They're in the business for the money so they have to ask for a drink of something else & maybe water with it.

22. A LOT OF TIMES YOU'LL FIND OUT YOUR THIRST IS NOTHING BUT THIRST FOR LIQUID, any kind of liquid, & you don't have to have wine. And the best thirst quencher is water. PTL! So I think that ought to be the Family quota, absolute limit‚ Family rationing. You can call it rationing if you want to & quota if you want to & I don't care what you call it, just do it! No more than two small wine glasses for dinner, or one for lunch & one for dinner, or one 8oz. table tumbler of wine per day.

23. TABLE TUMBLER MEANS A CUPFUL WHICH IS HALF-A-PINT, American–British, which is 8 ounces. Your small wine glasses amount usually to 4 ounces & I'm not talking about centiliters now or anything like that, I'd have to translate that in centiliters, but I would say it's about 15 centiliters. Well anyhow, one table tumbler or ordinary American-English glass, so-called glassful size glass‚ is supposed to be equivalent to one cup. That's one cup or eight ounces‚ or two 4-oz. wine glasses.

24. ONE CUP IS EIGHT OUNCES, & ONE SUCH TUMBLER OF EIGHT OUNCES OF WINE IS SUFFICIENT. This is about two-fifths of a 75 centiliter bottle of wine, 2/5 of a big 75 centiliter dinner bottle, the average that they serve anywhere. Some restaurants won't even serve one that small, they insist on serving a 37 1/2 centiliter bottle which is a half of a big 75 centiliter bottle—2 1/2 wine glasses.

25. A 25-CENTILITER BOTTLE IS A QUARTER OF A LITER OR ONE CUPFUL or one glassful & that's all you ought to drink of table wine at night or in any day. This boils down to two small wine glasses of wine. You'll find you can fill up your wine glass about twice out of one of these little 25-centiliter bottles, or one cup, or one glass, & that's all you should drink in the Family at one meal. Or you can divide it in two & have one small wine glass each meal if you wish, but no more than that is necessary.

26. EXCEPT PERHAPS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS, parties or special celebrations you might have a little leniency & stretch it out maybe, double the ration. Double your ration on special parties‚ birthday parties, celebrations. Just don't start celebrating every night, please!

27. SO THE FAMILY RATION SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 8-OUNCE GLASS OR CUP OF WINE PER DAY, either all at dinner time or half that at each of lunch & dinner, a four-ounce wine glass at each meal or an eight–ounce cup or table tumbler glass at one meal, whatever you prefer, & that is about the same as a 25-centiliter bottle, a small bottle of table wine, the smallest that's made, not the 37 1/2-centiliter bottle which is a third of a liter. It's a quarter of a liter & that's all you ought to drink.

28. AND SINCE THE ALCOHOLIC CONTENT OF SHERRY & PORT IS DOUBLE THAT OR MORE, then if you insist on sherry or port you're going to have to halve the quantity, cut it in half of the quantity of table wine. Table wine usually runs 10-12% alcohol, sherry or ports run 20-22%, & of course whiskey runs two or three times that depending on the whiskey.

29. I SUGGEST THAT NOBODY IN THE FAMILY DRINKS ANY WHISKY OR STRONG DRINK UNLESS YOU DILUTE IT A GREAT DEAL, & that ought to be our Family quota per day, no more than eight ounces of table wine‚ about 25 centiliters of table wine per day. That's one cup or one table tumbler glass, large glass, or that is two small wine glasses of table wine of no more than 10, 12 at the most 14% alcoholic content. So, if you insist on sherry, why, you can only have half of that much. (Maria: Sherry is more than doubly expensive too.)

30. SOME PEOPLE LIKE SHERRY BECAUSE IT'S SWEET & THEY LIKE IT FOR AN APPETISER BEFORE A MEAL. And if you prefer that, well then you only get half as much 'cause it's twice as strong & twice as expensive. (Maria: Three or four times as expensive in some places!) Yes, it depends on where you are in the World; it's pretty cheap in Spain, it's expensive in countries that don't make it.—Or sherry equivalents that some countries make‚ like Madeira & port.

31. SO IF I CAN CUT DOWN FROM TWO OR THREE GLASSES AT DINNER AT NIGHT & NONE PER DAY, WHY CAN'T YOU? And I certainly feel a lot better, sleep better, am better & feel better & hope you can be better too! PTL! TYL! So God bless you! We're not asking you be teetotalers or to climb on the wagon or sign the pledge, but just be a little temperate & let your moderation be known to all men & be temperate in all things. (Phil.4:5; 1Co.9:25.)

32. AND WHEN SAINT PAUL SAID A LITTLE WINE, he said a little not a liter & a little I would say is not more than two small wine glasses per night‚ or one cup or table tumbler per night & day. And by nigh I mean night & day‚ within 24 hours, night & day. I don't mean you can have one in the day & one at night. I mean no more than 8ozs. per 24 hours & that's that!

33. THAT SHOULD BE THE FAMILY RATION IN EVERY HOME & you shouldn't give them any more & they shouldn't ask for any more, and if they manage to get anymore or buy any more or sneak any more, then they're breaking the Family rules & violating the Family regulations & disobeying Dad & displeasing the Lord & they are going to be judged for it & rewarded accordingly & punished for it, I'm sure, by the Lord, or someone, & you will suffer for it as I have in the past. So please don't do it!—Or you're out!

34. LET'S CUT DOWN ON THE WINE DRINKING & if you don't know how to cut down maybe we just better cut it out all together! That's the thing I suggested for Homes which have had a heavy drinking problem such as Jus' Home. That's the thing I said I couldn't remember what it was that I wanted to do to punish them, because they're all to blame, they drink too much!

35. AND THAT IS, I SUGGEST THAT ANY HOME WHERE SOMEBODY HAS A HEAVY DRINKING PROBLEM, THAT THEY ALL QUIT & have no alcoholic beverages in the house whatsoever & serve none at all. Where there's any real heavy drinking problem‚ a drinking problem at all or alcoholics such as Justus was & which caused his problem & now he's no longer with us, & if he keeps up at that rate he'll be no longer with this World either!—And I don't know how the Lord's going to put up with him. If there were rivers of wine in Heaven amongst the Houris, then He must give you the capability to take it without getting drunk!

36. BUT RIGHT HERE & NOW WE SUGGEST THAT IN ANY HOME WHERE THERE'S AN ALCOHOLIC PROBLEM & people are tempted to drink too much, & after being rationed & quotaed & penalised they still insist on drinking too much, they sneak it or snitch it or cheat on it some way in getting more, that that Home no longer buys any alcoholic beverages. We'll have to penalise the entire Home & they'll all have to suffer with you who are guilty so they won't even have any in the house & you can't even find any around to sneak or steal.

37. I SUGGEST THAT ANY WS HOMES THAT HAVE HAD A HEAVY DRINKING PROBLEM‚ BE FORBIDDEN TO BUY ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ANYMORE, & if you catch them or it's reported that they are still buying alcoholic beverages, I suggest that we cut their budget subtracting the cost of any alcoholic beverages they've been buying‚ cut their budget sufficiently that it will be either impossible for them to buy alcohol or very difficult‚ & make it as difficult as we can for them to buy it.

38. I SUGGEST THAT THAT HOME BE FORBIDDEN TO DRINK ANY FURTHER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES or have any on hand whatsoever, as in Jus' former Home. And I suggest perhaps to ensure that, that since they were able to afford so much alcohol before, we figure out about what it cost & dock their budget that much so they can't buy it.

39. I WAS AMAZED AT HOW MUCH THEY WERE BUYING & DRINKING. If they can afford to buy that much alcohol, then let's make it impossible for them to afford it—if they have drinking problems or been known to have drinking problems or any Home that's drinking too much. PTL?

40. (MARIA: I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARY TO BUY SHERRY EITHER, IT'S REALLY EXPENSIVE.) It's not necessary to buy sherry at all. There are all kinds of good table wines that are perfectly tasty & acceptable & go well with meals. You don't have to buy sherry—only a good cheap 10-12% table wine.—OK? Thanks! GBAKY from drinking too much!

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