—By Father David

DFO 1218Complied 2/82

SOME PEARLS FOR PARENTS!

1. VIRTUALLY ALL OF PARENTAL DUTY IS BASED ON SACRIFICE & LOVE & HELPING THE CHILDREN TO GET A START—a one-way street, almost, for a long time. I think parents then, naturally expect the children to take care of them, which the Scripture says is right: "Honour thy parent's." (Eph.6:1-3) But it really should be the duty of the parents to try to help the children get started. (24-10-79)

2. KIDS DON'T REQUIRE A LOT OF ATTENTION‚ BUT THEY REQUIRE A LITTLE. Even when their daddy's busy, it's not too hard to stop & say something or do something. You should never just shoo them away & say, "Go away, I'm busy!"—Or Don't bother me!"—That's bad. I always try to at least say a few words, give them a little attention, & then they're usually satisfied & go their way. (21-11–78)

3. THESE PSYCHOLOGISTS & PSYCHIATRISTS who say that children have to have a constant situation in order to achieve mental stability & a sense of security‚ that they mustn't be subjected to too many changes & so on—it's a big bunch of bull! I had nothing but changes all my life ever since I can remember, & I loved it! After town weeks in a two, it only took about two weeks to get used to a place, & by that time I was looking forward to the next place. Evangelistic meetings usually only lasted two weeks to a month, & I enjoyed it, meeting new people & all.

4. ONE THING IT TEACHES YOU IS THAT NOTHING IN THIS WORLD IS CONSTANT, nothing in this World is ever going to be the same all the time except the Lord. It really gives you a sense of the permanency of the Lord & the impermanency of this World. TYL! (Maria: The main thing that makes children unstable is a lack of love‚ if they've got lots of love, moving around is not going to hurt them a bit.) Right. And it's better to get them accustomed to change, otherwise if they're used to the same old thing & the same old place all the time, then if you cause them to change, it's a shock trauma‚ if they're really not accustomed to adjusting themselves or adapting themselves.

5. WE HAVE THE LORD & HE'S OUR SECURITY, & He's always the same & always with us wherever we go! We have Him to hang on to all the time. No matter if all things change & everything goes, we still have the Lord! You see, System child psychology is materialistic, it's really teaching you that you must give your children things to hang on to for security—houses, mother & father, money, things to hang on to—then they will feel that things will always be the same & they will feel secure. I never had that really, ever! And as you an see‚ we're still changing! But in the Lord we have complete security. TYJ! (4-9–77 & 2-10-77)

6. WHEN A CHILD STIRS & FUSSES IN ITS SLEEP, there's usually something wrong‚ either a dream or he is uncomfortable or maybe there's mosquito biting him. You ought to at least go check & see. (13-6-80)

7. YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY REVOLUTIONARY & HAPPY & everything, but there are some things we need to reserve a little respect for, & "Devotions" is one of them. I don't go for calling them "Devies." For one thing it's the name of an Indian god. It reminds me of the way my brother came back from college calling Jesus "J.C."—J.C. this & J.C. that.

8. AS A LITTLE KID IT INFURIATED ME & THOUGHT IT WAS VERY DISRESPECTFUL. There are some things you just don't abbreviate! There are certain things I don't think you ought to teach little children‚ & "devies" sounds a little bit like the Devil. We need to teach the children to be respectful of some things. (20-4-81)

9. I'VE FOUND MOST 12-YEAR-OLDS ARE SMARTER THAN THOSE THAT ARE 50! It's an age of looking honestly at things, not accepting everything you're told, questioning your parents, questioning your teachers & questioning the System. It's an age of choice‚ an age of decision, & that's when most people accept the Lord, at the age of 12‚ more than any other age. (2-12-78)

10. CHILDREN MUST BE TAUGHT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUTRIGHT LYING & MERE PRETENDING & playacting as we do in our skits. They must be taught & know the difference between an outright lie, attempting to deceive, & a mere "let's pretend" or "let's make believe" or "let's act," when everybody knows they're acting & pretending & making believe or even kidding. They must know the difference between that & downright lying to deceive & not telling the truth. (3–5-81)

11. I'LL NEVER FORGET WHAT EVE SAID: SHE WAS SO THANKFUL WHEN THE SECOND CHILD CAME ALONG, because she said now they could entertain each other & she didn't have to entertain the one all the time! (19–5-79)

12. FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T TRY TO PUSH THE POOR KIDS TO SING SOMETHING THAT'S WAY OUT OF THEIR RANGE! You've never heard anything more awful than a little group of kids trying to sing some chorus that's too high for them.—It happens!—And I've even heard it happen on our videos! It's best to find songs that fit their range rather than have them straining themselves & straining their voices & trying to hit notes they can't hit & then getting them off tune, off key. And even if the song has a short range of not more than six notes to an octave, be sure it is pitched in a key which stays within their range.

13. IF YOU HAVE A GUITAR & CAN PLAY THE SCALE on the guitar & thereby know what key that scale is in, you could test their range that way. But try not to pitch their song out of their range beyond what they're able to bear. The Lord tries not to give you more than you're able to bear & if it happens He always makes a way of escape—& the kids will find some way to escape, don't worry!

14. WHEN I WAS A YOUNG SINGER, OFTEN THE LORD WOULD LET THE SONGS REALLY SINK INTO MY HEART in such a way that I really got it down in there.—Not only the message, the words, the music, but the meaning.—Music with meaning!—The real emotion, & I could feel it. And that's when you can really sing, when you not only know the tune & the words, but when you feel it, & then you can project that feeling when you're singing. So that's what the children need to practice on. They need to learn the music, the tune, the song, the words, & then sing it with feeling, from their heart!

15. HELP THEM TO SING FOR ALL THEY'RE WORTH‚ LORD‚ for all You're worth, to make it worthwhile singing & to really be able to be a blessing to many people with their songs from the heart.—In Jesus' name. And remember, it's better to pick a few songs that they can sing well than a whole lot that they sing poorly. The variety & the number of songs is not what counts—it's the quality, not the quantity! (11-2-81)

16. WHEN A CHILD IS IN A CONTRARY MOOD is no time to ask him anything! They'll say no to everything! (15-3-79)

17. I ALWAYS REMEMBER AN ARTICLE I READ IN READERS' DIGEST once that said you're never an adult until you have a child of your own, how about that? You're never an adult until you have a child of your own. In other words, if you've never had children, you're still a child. (3-6-77)

18. CHILDREN ARE A FULL-TIME JOB!—Anyone who has children, you know what they've been doing: They've been busy all day! When you get used to the fact that children are perpetual motion & resign yourself to that fact, then maybe you can get used to them. Perpetual motion—they just never stop until they're asleep. (5-1–78)

19. NEVER LET KIDS SLEEP IN A DARK ROOM WITHOUT ANY LIGHTS. It should not be anywhere near dark in their room at all. Everything in the room should be very clearly visible & with enough light. It doesn't have to be bright light but it's gotta be light, subdued light, so that there's no darkness or shadows or anything. The Devil really takes advantage of that.

20. I DON'T THINK CHILDREN SHOULD SLEEP BY THEMSELVES EITHER, never, not until they're almost grown, sub-teens, old enough & strong enough to stand on their own two feet spiritually & care for themselves. That's my opinion. Children under sub-teens shouldn't actually sleep by themselves, or at least those under sub-teenage. I think up until about the age of 10 probably they ought to at least sleep together or sleep in a room with adults. "One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight‚" & if "one stumbles, the other will lift him up." There is strength in unity. (Deut.32:30; Ecc.4:9,10)

21. WE HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTING & STAY IN THE WORD & PRAYER & BE WATCHFUL & loving & comforting to those who are weak in the faith—& a little child can be pretty weak in the dark. Fear is very real, fear can kill, & you just have to resist it with faith & the Word. Just telling them not to worry, "there's nothing to be afraid of," isn't enough‚ like most people do. You've got to give them Scriptures that prove that the Lord's taking care of them & is not going to let anything happen to us.

22. THE WORD OF COURSE IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER. My favourite Scripture verses that I always claim are "Perfect love casts out all fear", "God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power & of love & of a sound mind", "Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee & so on. You just need to claim Scriptures about the Lord. That Psalm 91 is a good choice along with some of these that I've quoted‚ which have always been my standbys, especially‚ I think, that one "Perfect love casteth out all fear." (1Jn.4:18; 2Tim.1:7; Isa.26:3)

23. I THINK I'VE PROBABLY THOUGHT & QUOTED THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE which reminded me that the Lord loved me & I didn't have to worry. Well, PTL, no victory without a battle, no testimony without a test, no triumph without a trial! He will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear, but with every temptation He will give us a way of escape, that's a promise. (1Cor.10:13) He's not going to let the Devil give us more than we can take, but He does let him test our faith to see if we'll really flee to the Lord & quote His Word & take a stand of faith. Putting on the whole armour of God is no joke‚ let me tell you!—It's a real fight & you need every piece of it! TYL! (Eph.6) (1-4-81)

24. ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS A CHILD CAN DO is grab a long stick & put one end in his mouth & start running around.—He could ram it right through the back of his head! As I've said before, the Lord, I'm sure, didn't object to the children playing around His feet even when He was teaching sometimes. However, don't take that to the opposite extreme that the Lord wouldn't object no matter what they did. If they started jumping up & down on His head or doing something that interfered with His teaching, that would be something different! (12-61)

25. CHILDREN—IT IS GIVEN TO CHILDREN TO BE RICH IN FAITH! (2-3-77)

26. YOU CAN'T CONCEAL YOUR OWN FEELINGS & SPIRIT FROM A CHILD, they sense it as clearly as anything. You can't kid kids, believe it or not! They just feel it. Ad if you don't love 'em, if you don't want 'em, or you resent 'em for any reason, they can sense it like that! (16-9-77)

27. MARIA WAS READING ABOUT POTTY TRAINING & what this psychiatrist had to say about this boy who had real problems—four years old & still not potty–trained. Finally when his mother was gone he confided in the psychiatrist & said, "There's a monster in there that gobbles up my doo–doo! And he might gobble me up too!" And he was afraid to get on the toilet! He called it a monster!

28. THE PSYCHIATRIST WENT ON TO EXPLAIN that it must be a very traumatic experience the first time a little child sees the toilet flush, hears all that roaring & gobbling & that gigantic mouth swallows up all that water & everything, & he certainly must be afraid to get on it for fear he might go down too!

29. THAT'S WHY THEY SAY IT'S MUCH BETTER TO TRAIN THEM ON A LITTLE POT that they're not afraid of & they can see the results afterwards. Then the psychiatrist said, she's trying to think like a child must think after his first successful effort on the pot, you show him his doo-doo & Mama praises him & everybody's all excited, wonderful!—And then you go & throw it in that monster & he gobbles it up! And he can't understand why you do that with it, a precious gift, & you go throw it away!—Ha! (31-1-76)

30. ONE OF THE BEST THINGS YOU CAN DO ABOUT EVOLUTION IS JUST TO MAKE FUN OF IT as being silly, stupid & ridiculous. They don't have any evidence at all for evolution‚ none! It's pure fabrication, the whole thing, & if our kids can be shown how silly & stupid & ridiculous & unreasonable it is, all theory & no proof, they can just sneer at it & make fun of it!—Just like people sneer at us & make fun of our faith, we can sneer at them & make fun of their faith, which is a whole lot more stupid! (5-10-78)

31. (MARIA: HOW CLOSE SHOULD THE KIDS BE ALLOWED TO SIT TO THE TV?) Well, five or six feet is about the limit, that's as close as they should ever be. (3-79)

SOME BABY JEWELS

32. A BABY HAS A SPIRIT. HOW OLD IS IT? How much knowledge does it bring with it? Mormons believe in the pre-existence of a baby's spirit in Heaven. They have some explanations for it: The Lord wipes their memory clean when they start here‚ but that sometimes they have little vestiges of things from before, depending on the baby. The idea is that He creates them in Heaven first & then sends them down. (2-5-75)

33. BABIES RIGHT AWAY RECOGNISE PEOPLE & THINGS LIKE THAT. Even if they don't see too well they recognise your voice & even recognise your touch. I think they're more psychic than adults! They recognise your voice & your touch & I think they probably even sense your aura. (17-3-79)

34. BOY, MY BABIES LOVED TO BE ROCKED TO SLEEP IN THE PRAM! Bring her to me here & I'll show you how to do it. She also likes to come see Mama.—She gets tired of lying down, she wants to stand up & look around. Honey, support her head, you've always got to support tiny babies' heads, because they don't have strong neck muscles, it's funny how she cranes her neck, it reminds me so much of that dream I had about Maria that time. (See ML No.231:1,2.)

35. THAT'S ANOTHER THING, IF YOUR BABY OR EVEN YOUNG CHILD IS FUSSY & OUGHT TO BE GOING TO SLEEP, but just refuses to shut its eyes, I used to take my hand & put it right over his eyes to make him shut them. Or if you can get them facing a real bright light where they just don't want to keep them open they shut them & then they go to sleep. It's a fact!

36. THE GOOD OLD-FASHIONED CRADLES WERE A GREAT THING & I don't know why they ever abandoned them—the rocking cradles. They were a great thing, babies loved them. You used to be able to be there in bed half-asleep & just reach out & rock the thing back & forth. That's why we always put our babies first thing in a buggy, because we could set it right by the bed. (2-4-79)—And rock it!

37. I ALWAYS LIKE MY BABIES TO SLEEP IN A CARRIAGE.—"PILGRIMS & STRANGERS!"—I got a Scripture, its Scriptural! Then you can roll them around from room to room & rock them so easily. (15-3-79)

38. ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING THINGS IN THE WORLD to me is now the Lord ever expected a great big baby to come out through that little tiny hole! It's just almost unbelievable! The miracle of birth! How that thing can stretch! (Maria: He must not have expected women to tear or to have to be cut.) No‚ of course not. (15-3-79)

39. DO YOU BELIEVE IN PRENATAL INFLUENCE? Well I'll tell you, God can do it. He did for Jacob with the cattle!—He made a deal with his old crooked father-in-law Laban: "Well‚ now you can have all the solid-coloured cattle that are born, & I'll take all the straked & speckled & ringed & so on." Now I don't know whether God actually told him or how it was, but Jacob put out rods that were cut & stripped & everything in front of the cattle down at the waterholes where they conceived. And practically all the cattle that got born were streaked & speckled & ringed & spotted, & after a few years Jacob was getting all the cattle! God was on his side so he was getting the best of the deal. (Gen.30:37-43)

40. WELL, I BELIEVE IN PRENATAL INFLUENCE. My mother said the dedicated me to the Lord before I was born: "Lord, I dedicate this child to Your service‚ I'm consecrating him to you to serve You." And years later I received the prophecy that I was filled with the Holy Ghost & faith from my mother's womb! PTL! (1969)

SOME DITO JEWELS!

41. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH DAVIDITO‚ why he is so peculiar & so strange & so unique, in case you get to know him—I mean he's so psychic & so amazing, the most amazing little child I have ever known, & I had four kids myself before this & know a lot of others, he's like a four-year-old already—it's because he has the spirit of his father, & that's a pretty strong spirit!—In fact it's quite a few! (11-6-76) Ha!

42. OUR LITTLE GENIUS, WHAT IS HE GOING TO THINK UP NEXT? He almost scares me sometimes, he's so smart. I had a dream one time‚ did I say it out loud? Was I talking in my sleep or what? (Maria: I think you told me when you woke up.) I saw Davidito with all these little elves‚ little gnomes or elves, little male fairies—I'm not talking about those other male fairies—they were all running around in this cave & there was Davidito & he was the boss. And someone said, "He's the King of Elves! You just think he's a little boy, but really he's not, he's smarter than we are!" Sometimes I half believe it! (Sara: Oh boy, I do, I really believe it!) (15-6–77)

43. I KISS THE HAND OF THE QUEEN OF LOVE WHO HAS THE CHILD OF LOVE. He's so psychic! When he looks at you it scares you. He looks clear into your heart with those little black eyes of his. It scares you because you know he's reading your mind, & he is. (1979)

44. HE BEHAVES SO BIG & MANLY & SOBERLY & HE'S ALWAYS COMPARING EVERYTHING TO THE BIBLE. The other day he grabbed a weed, a real hairy-looking weed, & he said, "Oh‚ Daddy look! Here's Esau, a real hairy weed!" That was a pretty good comparison. Esau was a weed & he was pretty hairy. He's always giving Bible quotes & making Bible comparisons & things like that, so Sara's done & marvellous job! (1-6-80)

45. HIS MEMORY IS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL, just like a tape recorder! I nearly had to laugh the other night when he started telling the Family a story: "Did you know what...?"—Sounded just like the way I told it! (18-3-79)

46. DAVIDITO IS SO FASTIDIOUS, HE'S ALMOST AS PARTICULAR AS I AM! Everything's got to be neat & in order, & if he sees anything out of place he's got to pick it up & straighten it up. I always try to illustrate my stories, so for the "Hurricane Story" I grabbed all these papers off my desk & I threw them all over the room, & he was absolutely dumbfounded!—And involuntarily he quickly jumped to start picking them up! He's as particular as his Daddy. When I was a little kid my mother used to say that other kids would be sitting out in the mud making mud pies with mud head-to-toe‚ but if I got out there & got one finger in the mud I'd come in, "Icky, icky, icky, I got dirty!" (28-5–79)

47. HE'S GOING TO BE THRILLED WITH ANOTHER TRAIN RIDE! He could hardly stop talking last time, he takes such an interest in everything. He has got a bright little mind like his Mama, & a strange spirit like his Father. (5-4–78)

48. DAVID & MY KIDS USED TO LIKE IT WHEN I BOUNCED THE PRAM UP & DOWN, rocked it up & down. Only David, he had to have a special motion: You had to push it out, pull it back, push it out‚ pull it back, & rock it at the same time. I used to have to learn how to eat with my left hand while I was pushing the pram. And oh yes, it had the nicest creak to it—squeak, creak, squeak, creak—& if it didn't make that noise he was unhappy. He liked the noise as much as anything, it was real squeaky!

49. SOMEONE SAID ONE DAY, "YOU OUGHT TO OIL THAT THING!" I said, "My goodness, if you'd oil that thing David wouldn't go to sleep!" And he always had to be in where the Family was! If you left him in the bedroom by himself when he could hear the Family having a good time around the table, oh, he would scream bloody murder! And the minute you'd bring him in & set him up right by the table or I'd take him up in my arms while I was eating, why he was perfectly happy. He wanted to be right in the middle of the muddle, right in the thick of it! (13-5-79)

50. HE'S GOOD IN THE KITCHEN, he'll stand up on a stool & do dishes & everything, he likes to feel like he's really useful & accomplishing something. He's a real good little worker. (28-5-79)

51. YOU CAN'T EXPECT CHILDREN TO SIT & LISTEN TO A LONG TALK & SERMON. I've been amazed the way sometimes Davidito will listen for long stretches between play & stand there at the table & look at me, & I wonder what's going on through his little head. He really thinks! (28-5-78)

52. (SARA: HE'S SUCH A BIG BOY, HE'S LIKE ANOTHER MAN AROUND THE HOUSE!) That's wonderful. (Sara: Too good to be true!) Honey, you did it! You & the Lord did it! You've trained a real little lover & a saint & an angel & a prophet of God. So thank the Lord you're going to be...well, you have got enough to be real proud of him right now‚ but you're probably going to be more proud of him one of these days. (28-6-80)

53. I WAS SO TENDERHEARTED, YOU COULD HARDLY POKE YOUR FINGER AT ME—I'D CRY! I'm still almost that bad sometimes, but sometimes I'm pretty mean!—Pretty hardhearted when people make me mad sometimes. He is so tenderhearted, that's wonderful, I hope he doesn't lose it. (5-9-77)

DAD TO DITO!

54. HELLO, SWEET BOY! HOW ARE YOU, MY LITTLE LOVE? I'm sorry Daddy's so busy & has to talk so much. Give me a kiss & a hug! Oh my, that was a good one, thanks! Lord bless & keep him safely & give him a good night's sleep, & help him to be a good boy & have sweet dreams, in Jesus' name, amen. (16-9–77)

55. DID YOU SEE A DUMP TRUCK IN YOUR DREAMS? What a Heavenly dream, dump trucks! I'm afraid if there are no vehicles in Heaven he's not going to want to go there! (15-6-77)

56. DAVID‚ WE DON'T ALLOW SCREAMING UNLESS YOU'RE HURT. Don't scream, it's not good!—Unless you're hurt, don't scream. I used to spank my kids hard for screaming. I'd slap their mouths & they'd remember never to scream, because then when they did scream we knew they were hurt. Otherwise if they just scream with delight & shriek & scream just because they're having fun, which sometimes they'll do, you never know when they're hurt. Like the story about "Wolf, wolf!" If you scream when you're not hurt, then we will never know when you are hurt & when you need help. So don't scream unless you're hurt. (5-1-79)

57. HONEY, DON'T BE MEAN TO YOUR LITTLE SISTER. I know sometimes she's a tease, she likes to tease & she does things sometimes that aren't right. But you're supposed to return good for evil, not evil for evil. Even if she acts naughty & does something wrong, don't let that make you do something wrong or act naughty, but you do something good & then she'll be ashamed of herself & she'll be sorry. (23–3-79)

58. DAVID, DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? I'm a prophet & I can predict the future: Because you don't eat your dinner, after while you're going to be very hungry & three won't be anything to eat & you're going to go to bed very hungry because there's nothing to eat, because you didn't eat your dinner. Don't you think you better eat it now so you won't get real hungry later? I'm not going to make you eat it!—if you want to go hungry, that's up to you. If you want to be hungry, go ahead & be hungry! (11-6-78)

59. REMEMBER, DAVID, THOSE KNIVES ARE MEAT CUTTERS & YOUR FINGERS ARE MADE OUT OF MEAT.—So watch out‚ they can cut! (11–6-79)

60. ONE LITTLE PIECE OF GLASS CAN CUT YOU VERY BADLY. Glasses are not something you should play with—ever! One little piece of glass can cut you like the little grain of sand cut the balloon the other day, remember? TTL that you didn't get hurt or cut, Son, but glasses are dangerous things to play around with. See how much work & trouble it causes, one little accident, one little piece of carelessness?

61. I KNOW YOU DIDN'T INTEND TO DO IT, YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT, but you should have come up to the table more slowly & not grabbed like you did. That was another thing, we left the glass to close to the edge, we should have had the glass further back from the edge. What do you say to the boys for sweeping up the glass you broke? (Dito: Thank you.) Did you tell them you're sorry‚ too? (Dito: I'm sorry.) Okay. (3-79)

62. YOU CAME FROM HEAVEN WITH A LOT OF WISDOM BEFORE YOU EVEN GOT HERE. The Lord told me so!—Like Techi! (23-4-81)

63. BLESS US ALL NOW & CONTINUE TO KEEP US SAFELY, LORD. Give us a good night's rest & safekeeping & strength for tomorrow. Thank you‚ Lord, for how wonderfully You have blessed Sara & the family in their training of little David, & for how You're teaching him things every day. Thank You, Lord, that he already understands about You. And so we ask Thee, in Jesus' name, to help him really learn to love You, Lord, & to understand. Make sure that Thy Spirit is working, teaching him daily, to help him understand, to love, in the right spirit, that he might be example, Lord, & most of all a blessing. Help them to set an example of what can be done, what the potential & the possibilities are in Thy children‚ Lord, really showing them the way.—PTL! (14-7–77)

64. IN JESUS' NAME, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING HIM THROUGH ANOTHER YEAR SAFELY, Lord, strong & well & healthy & happy & still loving You, Jesus, serving You & having such a good time in Your service with his little sister & with Alfred & Sara & Techi. So we thank You so much, Lord, for this nice Happy Birthday, David's fifth Birthday.

65. WE ASK THAT HE'LL REMEMBER IT HAPPILY & THANKFULLY & ALWAYS LIVE CLOSE TO YOU, Lord‚ in this coming year, & be a good boy & obedient, thoughtful & kind & loving & always living for You. Help him to have a nice time now the rest of the day with his new birthday present, in Jesus' name. Keep him safely, help him to obey & not to cause any trouble & to play safely.—Not to have any accidents, Lord, but to be very safe & take good care of the things You've given him, in Jesus' amen. (25-1-80)

SOME TECHI JEWELS!

66. THANK YOU, LORD, FOR A WONDERFUL WONDERFUL TIME HAVING THE BABY, such a beautiful little angel, Lord, straight from Heaven‚ so good & so precious & so perfect, Lord. We thank You, Jesus! What a wonder, what a miracle!—So much more than we asked or thought or could deserve, but You sent her, Lord, TYJ! PYJ! And thank you that Mama's okay too, Lord, & everybody's happy. Hallelujah! (23–3–79)

67. (TAKING TO DITO:) DID YOU KNOW YOU'VE SEEN TECHI & DADDY HASN'T EVEN SEEN TECHI YET? They won't show her to me! They're hiding her somewhere & I don't know where she is! (Dito: She's in Dora's bedroom.) Oh, you know where she is! Would you show me where she is? Maybe I better wait till she wakes up. Do you want to take me in & show me Techi? Wait till I put on some cologne, I shouldn't go see a pretty girl without putting on some cologne, should I? You should always put on some cologne! You want to put some on too? Daddy's got to smell good for Techi! (21-3-79)

68. HOW WONDERFUL, HOW WONDERFUL, WE JUST HAD TO HAVE HER! We just couldn't have helped it! Hi, I'm over here now hi there‚ hi there! Here's Daddy over here! Look, I'm in the bright light, hi! Hi! Well, well‚ well! You made Daddy miss his news!—You're bigger news than BBC, how about that! (24-3-79)

69. ISN'T THE LORD GOOD TO ME?—TO GIVE ME A SWEET BABY GIRL THAT I LOVE! She tries to comfort your Father in his sorrow. Her Father needs her kisses. (1979)

70. SHE MAKES THE FUNNIEST FACES, SHE IS A SCREAM! When she gets that blanket draped over her head she looks just like a little old fat lady! Just like a little old fat lady! You come into this World looking just like you leave it!—Ha! I always did think little babies look more like little old people. (Maria: Just some of that wisdom from above hanging on, old and wise!) I don't know‚ they all look pretty old. I always did say little babies look like old people. (Maria: It goes along with what's in the Letters, that they're wise at first, even their looks. It's really strange, because then they start looking more like babies.) How was it Shakespeare put it?—When we leave this life‚ we leave like we came in—sans teeth, sans eyes, sans hair, sans everything! (12-5-79)

71. (TO DORA:) MY HEART IS WITH HER. I would love to take care of her myself, but I have to take care of the World. She's my job & I prayed for her but I have to give her to you to take care of her because I have to take care of the World. But thus you help to take care of the World.

72. IT'S AN AMAZING THING HOW SHE LOVES THOSE BIBLE STORIES‚ & no wonder she loves the story of little Samuel so much. it's almost like her. I'm like Hannah, I prayed for her, I wanted her, but then I had to give her up to the Lord for the work's sake. And you are like Eli, you're her priestess, you raise her in the Temple.

73. SHE'S SUCH A COMFORT, THE LORD PROMISED HER & HER SHOWED HER TO ME YEARS BEFORE. The Lord promised her & he fulfilled my wish. (11-8-80)

74. (TO DORA:) HOW CAN YOU LOVE ME SO MUCH & MY LITTLE BABY & take care of her so good? I can't love her enough!—You have to love her for me. I haven't got time. Please love her for me. Will you please love her for me? I haven't got time to love her enough. (Tongues) My God, how can you love such a child enough, such a messenger of love? She feels her Father's agony & she weeps for me because I cannot love her enough. She looks at me with such awe & wonder. (28-1-80)

75. (TO DAVID: ) WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, I GAVE YOU ALL MY ATTENTION & you lived right with me all the time. Now she's just a little baby & she needs my attention, see? See? (24-2-80)

76. (MARIA: DORA COULDN'T DO IT, I COULDN'T DO IT, she was screaming & screaming & I couldn't get her to calm down! But Daddy just took her & bounced her up & down on his knee & talked to her!) All I have to do is talk to her & she stops & listens like everybody else! (6–79)

77. YOU MUST TEACH HER TO GET USED TO GIVING THANKS & saying thank you too. She'll get it one of these days if she hears it often enough. (23-3-80)

78. PLEASE WATCH OUT ABOUT GETTING STUFF ON THE FLOOR. She is very fond of picking up little tiny hairs & little pins‚ the tiniest little thing you couldn't even see, she's as sharp-eyed as a bird! And she usually will offer it to us unless maybe we don't see it soon enough & then she tries it. So watch out. Try to keep stuff off the floor if you can. (11-2-80)

79. I'VE REALLY BEEN PRAYING ABOUT WHY SHE FUSSED SO MUCH WITH THE POTTYING TONIGHT‚ but she's getting really smart & she doesn't want to be embarrassed having to go potty in front of everybody. She feels like she's being picked on, always being told that she has to go potty now. So maybe we can try to take her outside of the room to potty to tell her‚ "Yes, we just to potty & then we can come back in." The other kids don't have to do it, the big people don't do it either. Then she wouldn't be so embarrassed having to go potty in front of everybody. (11-8-80)

80. ARE YOU GLAD YOU FOUND JESUS? (Family: Amen!) Are you glad you found the Family? (Family: Amen!) PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! What a Family! And now what children we have, wow! It's unbelievable how good they are & how spiritual they are & how they understand these things. I hardly believe it when I hear about Techi, the way you tell her these stories & she comprehends & loves them & likes to get up & repeat'm & tell'm herself. I mean, I was almost stunned & astounded here at the table tonight when I heard her quote that song, two verses of it all the way through!

81. I WAS AMAZED!—21 months old‚ not even two years old‚ & she's already singing & quoting songs & Scriptures & understands MO Letters & Bible stories. Even David wasn't that precocious, he wasn't that advanced, right? I mean‚ I thought he was a wonder boy, but she is a wonder girl! Well, her time's shorter, she hasn't got as much time to learn & to grow as David did. David got a three-year start on her. That's why you've got to learn so fast now, you don't have as much time as I had! (21-12–80)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family