—Get Out No.4!—Dad's Health Talk on Maria's Birthday! DO 202831/7/85

ARMENDRIA'S APPENDICITIS

1. ARMY, ONE OF OUR PRECIOUS TEENS, IS RECOVERING FROM A VERY SERIOUS OPERATION, MAJOR SERIOUS SURGERY. She even had to be fed intravenously for five days afterwards. I had a really strange experience about Army, did I tell you? I tried to figure it back in my Diary to pin it down, & the very day she got sick was the day I looked at her picture & the Lord laid her on my heart to pray for her! I hope she's really resting now & not carrying anything, not even picking up the baby for awhile, because once your appendix is ruptured like that you need to give it time to be completely healed, or you can rip it open again if you strain too much.

2. I READ HER REPORT TODAY & NEARLY ALL THE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WERE TRUE. I know what brings on appendicitis because I've had it very bad several times in the past‚ & all the things that help to bring it on are exactly what she went through—strain, stress, constipation, irregular eating & for about a week she hadn't even had a get-out! Under the stress of Marianne having the baby that day, she was already feeling a little sick & she went on this bouncy, bumpy ride with a lunch of two dry sandwiches‚ one cheese & one peanut butter!—Almost exactly the same kind of lunch I had riding in a car the day before I had my worst appendicitis attack that nearly killed me down there in Anaheim, California! (See No.956.)

3. SO SHE WAS CLOGGED UP, SHE HADN'T HAD HER BM, she hadn't had any exercise for a week because of bad weather & a bad cold, she'd been eating irregularly, not eating the right kind of food, she'd violated practically every one of the health rules! I don't know why they let her get away with it‚ they must not have been watching her very well. Well, Marianne was having her baby right then so you can't blame her, & there was all kinds of excitement going on. She was very excited about the baby & they were sending her to see Marianne & the baby for the first time right after the baby had been born—in fact, it was the day the baby was born.

4. SHE WAS NOT HAVING REGULAR ELIMINATION & NOT EATING THE RIGHT KIND OF FOOD, ENOUGH FRUITS & VEGETABLES & THINGS LIKE THAT. She didn't write much about what she was drinking & not drinking, but I'm sure she must not have been drinking enough liquids, because that's one thing that does it. She was not getting enough exercise, she was under all this stress & strain‚ she'd had a bad cold & it looked like she was about to start her period. (Maria: She did, right after the operation in the hospital.) So she was really under tremendous strain. But see, if you keep the health rules, in spite of the tests & trials & strains, you're not going to have that happen to you!

5. AN APPENDIX LIKE THAT GETS INFECTED, PROBABLY PARTLY BECAUSE SHE HAD A COLD. You know, some people get a cold in their heads‚ some in their throats, some in their muscles, just wherever the infection spreads, whatever your weak spot is. Usually I get it in my bowels. But thank God I never did catch that cold you guys had, thanks to your prayers! One day I had a little cough & that was all, so thank the Lord!

HAVE REGULAR BMS!

6. SHE SAID HER BMs HAD NEVER BEEN REGULAR—& YOU MUST TRY TO HAVE REGULAR BMS, BELOVED! I've heard from Dr. Koger & other doctors that the most natural time is when you first get up in the morning. I know a lot of you don't do that, but that is the most natural time, & you can encourage that. As Maria knows, when I first get up in the morning I drink about a pint of water first thing. I usually drink about half of it before I even get out of bed & I drink some more when I get into the bathroom. I drink just as much water as I can & that immediately encourages the bowel movement. That's the best time to have it, & if you have it that time always with regularity, it's a habit & you'll get the habit & you'll always have it at that time.

7. IF THE WATER DOESN'T DO IT, THEN HAVE YOUR COFFEE. The next thing I do is make my coffee-eggnog–peanut–butter-milk, and if I haven't had it before, I'll have it afterwards.—Because that starts the rhythm going & gets the peristalic muscles stimulated & it starts your bowels moving. So it's very natural for you to have your BM then.

8. YOU PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE A REGULAR HABIT TIME FOR BMS, LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU! She said she's almost always had trouble with constipation, straining etc., which is very bad for a weak appendix. You don't need to have constipation, Beloved! My goodness, how much water do I drink every day? I drink water, drink water, drink water all day long!

9. YOU'VE JUST GOT TO KEEP YOUR SYSTEM LUBRICATED & FLUSHED WITH LOTS OF LIQUID! You should drink lots of liquids & you should eat lots of foods which have bulk. They used to call it roughage, but it's not really roughage, it's bulk, something your bowels can get ahold of & make it move along. You should eat lots of vegetables, fruits, juicy things & drink lots of liquids.

GET–OUT!

10. AND DO NOT FAIL TO GET THAT ONE HOUR OUT FOR YOUR GET-OUT EVERY DAY!—OF VIGOROUS EXERCISE! We've gone to a lot of trouble to make that goodminton court for you. Instead of calling it badminton, I couldn't see why I should call it bad, it's good, so we call it goodminton. But that's such a long word, I was telling somebody today I think it would be easier to just say, "Why don't we go play birdie?"

11. YOU CAN GET VERY VIGOROUS EXERCISE PLAYING THAT GAME WITHOUT IT BEING TOO STRENUOUS. Tennis is quite strenuous, I found it was almost a little too much for me at my age, but this is not that strenuous. It's vigorous & there's lots of action & activity! You spend half your time picking up the birdies & bending over, which is good for your back & stomach & everything else, you get a lot of exercise! We felt it was very necessary so that most of you doing sedentary desk work who do not get enough real active vigorous exercise can get the exercise you need.

12. I REALLY PRAYED ABOUT IT & I WAS ESPECIALLY BURDENED FOR MARIA & PETER because they're doing work like I do all day long, sitting down & not moving around much‚ & that's not very good for your health. So I have tried to always be sure that we get plenty of exercise if we can. But even just swimming around a little bit in that pool during warm weather is not vigorous enough exercise, & besides, you can play goodminton all year long.

13. YOU NEED TO FEEL THE WEIGHT OF YOUR BODY ON YOUR FEET TO KEEP YOUR LEGS STRONG! I'll never forget what that guy Arthur somebody said‚ a famous fellow on television. He was in a wheelchair & he said, "You know, the legs are the first to go when you get old!" So when I heard that, I was determined that from then on I was going to get on my feet & stay on my legs as long as I could & keep them strong & active! So almost ever since you can remember us, Maria & I have taken walks for 3 or 4 kilometers every day hardly without fail.—That's a mile, mile-&-a-half or two miles every day of vigorous walking! But we haven't been able to do that much lately, so I've been worried about it.

14. BUT I THINK GOODMINTON IS ONE OF THE HELPFUL SOLUTIONS & I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT MOST OF YOU ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT! If you can't play outside, if it's raining or too hot sun‚ then play inside. And if we're having conflicting schedules, maybe somebody can work out a schedule & work out hours. We used to do that about the laundry at some of our old schools. We had a laundry schedule so that everybody knew at what hour the laundry would be available for them.

15. WELL ANYHOW, TRY TO GET OUT, & we've found that one half-an-hour of that game is just about all you can stand, because you're really active! Maria & I have been working it up & we played nearly an hour today! PTL! After that you don't do too much swimming, but at least you can cool off.

16. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOUR HEALTH TO REMAIN VERY ACTIVE OR YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE AS ACTIVE AS I AM AT MY AGE! Of course, you'll never get to be my age, but anyway, you may not even last till the Lord comes if you don't get more exercise!—And sexercise is not enough! That's nice, & the doctors say 15 minutes of vigorous exercise until it leaves you gasping is enough. Well, I don't believe it. You can get that in bed, & all of you get that anyhow.

17. WHAT YOU NEED IS SOME GOOD BODILY EXERCISE THAT EXERCISES YOUR ARMS & LEGS & YOUR WHOLE BODY & MAKES YOUR HEART POUND! That's good for your heart, it strengthens it & circulates your blood rapidly so you don't get blood clots & whatnot‚ one of the great enemies of old age. It keeps your blood system open & free & circulating, your heart strong & your lungs flushed out of all that old stale air that you have in there. Most people don't breathe to their full capacity at all unless they exercise vigorously.

18. YOU NEED TO GET OUT THERE & REALLY WORK AT IT! Determine to be out there & play at least a half-an-hour a day. Unless you're one of the busy ones who're on your feet & working all day like shoppers, cooks & house-

keepers etc. You people who have office jobs particularly need to make sure you get out & play hard at least once a day for at least half-an-hour. But you need to get that exercise!—Then take a swim if it's warm enough!

HABIT TIME!

19. AND YOU NEED TO TRY TO TRAIN YOUR BODY TO HAVE A REGULAR HABIT TIME! I started to say happy time. Well, you'll have a happy time if you have a habit time of having your BM at a certain time every day. Techi usually has hers after lunch & maybe yours comes then too. Maria usually has hers in the afternoon, don't you? (Maria: Well, I'm very regular, but at different times during the day.)—But at least once a day! It may depend on your regular eating or drinking habits.

20. I REMEMBER AN AD IN A MAGAZINE BY A LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, & THEY'RE ALWAYS ADVOCATING GOOD HEALTH. It showed the waves of the sea, the tide, & it said "HABIT TIME!" in great big letters‚ & went on to describe how it's very important that you try to live a fairly regular schedule. Although you may have some variations, it particularly emphasised having your BMs regularly, hopefully at about the same time of day every day or within the same schedule.

21. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE YOURS FIRST THING IN THE MORNING BEFORE BREAKFAST?—Good for you! That's the best time! That's when I have mine. How many of you have yours after breakfast?—That seems to be most of you. How many of you regularly & usually don't have yours until after lunch?—The children. How did they ever get in that habit of not having theirs till after lunch? Well, as long as it's regular & you regularly have it at about the same time every day, that's fine, but it should be regular & you should have it daily, & a good one‚ normal if possible.

22. IT'S SO GOOD FOR YOU TO DRINK LOTS OF LIQUID, & eat lots of fruits & vegetables. I don't seem to get enough fruit for some reason‚ but I guess it just doesn't seem to fit my schedule. Maybe it's because I drink so much liquid it makes up for it. I'm drinking water all day long!

KEEP ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE!

23. BELOVED‚ IF YOU WANT TO STAY HEALTHY & STRONG & BE ABLE TO BE USEFUL TO THE LORD, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH! We've told you time & time again that you'll have good health if you'll follow those rules that we gave you‚ to eat right, sleep right, exercise right‚ love right & live right! That has to do with your regular habits & a fairly regular schedule.

24. EVEN THOUGH MY HOURS VARY, I ALWAYS HAVE THAT BM IN THE MORNING & MY EGGNOG AFTERWARD. I do my paperwork until around noon or afternoon, then I usually get out & get my exercise & sexercise! I come in & have my brunch & usually do a little more paperwork, have an afternoon nap—just really rather regularly, I seldom miss it—& then have my dinner. I may not always have it the same hour, but it's approximately the same. If the schedule begins late it runs late; if it begins early, it runs a little early. But it's regular & it's well-spaced & it's almost identical daily that I have the same activities at the same time, & it's very important for your health to try to live on such a good schedule.

25. SO A WORD TO THE WISE IS SUFFICIENT! LET THAT SAD CASE OF ARMENDRIA BE A WARNING & A LESSON TO YOU FOLKS! It's not a matter of option, it's not a matter of choice, I'm telling you, if you want to stay healthy & stay here, do it!—And I mean it! That's the law! That's the rule! And if you violate those rules you are going to pay the penalty whether I know it or not! You're going to suffer for it. Your health is going to suffer for it, & if your health suffers‚ God's work is going to suffer for it. And if God's work suffers, other people are going to suffer that you could have been a help to! That's what it means.

26. NOW YOU DON'T WANT SOMEBODY MISSING HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO KEEP A REGULAR SCHEDULE & TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY, DO YOU?—Knowing that they didn't get the Gospel because you didn't do your job because you couldn't, because you were sick! I mean it! I've got that burden on my heart because I just read Armendria's testimony. Well‚ it wasn't much of a testimony, it was a sad confession about what brought it all on. Thank God the Lord answered prayer & saved her life, because she could have easily been gone. People often die from a burst appendix like that if it's not taken care of, & I think that's what I almost had several times.

CONSTIPATION!

27. THANK GOD YOU CHILDREN DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT AS LONG AS YOU LIVE A REGULAR SCHEDULE, eat right, live right & have your BMs right, daily! Nobody needs to have any problem with constipation, not if you will drink lots of liquids!—I don't care if it's water‚ coffee, fruit juice or whatnot, if you drink enough liquids, things will keep moving! I mean it!

28. AND IF YOU HAVE CONSTIPATION, THERE IS A CAUSE FOR IT, THERE'S A REASON FOR IT!—It's because you're not getting enough liquids & you're not eating the right foods & perhaps you're not even eating enough—that has something to do with it—& you're not getting enough exercise. So if you have that problem, that's your problem, not the constipation!—It's your failure to obey & keep the health rules, & that means an hour of good vigorous exercise every day! If you don't get it all at once, take it in two half-hours, but get it!

29. —AND DRINK LOTS OF WATER, LOTS OF LIQUIDS! You've just got to keep that liquid there to keep things going & keep your system flushed out & keep everything flowing or you're going to have trouble.—Especially if you sit at a desk or a typewriter all day in a strained position & under the nervous stress of all that. You've got to have time to get out & exercise & you've got to drink lots of water & eat enough food to keep things moving & have enough recreation to really keep you healthy.

APPENDICITIS!

30. NOW PLEASE, FOLKS, DON'T LET HAPPEN TO YOU WHAT HAPPENED TO ARMENDRIA! She violated almost every health rule in the book before she had that attack of appendicitis. She ate the wrong things, she didn't eat the right things, she didn't drink enough liquids, she didn't get any exercise, she was under too much stress & strain, all kinds of things that caused it. Now it doesn't have to happen to you! Thank God‚ after that one horrible experience in Anaheim, California, & then beginning to try to take care of myself & do the right thing, I seldom had appendicitis attacks from that time on. I think I only had one in recent years because I ate too many beans, & it was just a passing pain.

31. THAT'S ANOTHER THING, IF YOU HAVE A SENSITIVE APPENDIX & YOU'VE HAD A PROBLEM ALONG THAT LINE‚ THERE ARE CERTAIN FOODS YOU SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM!—Besides foods that clog up your bowels & stop things, which is very bad for your appendix‚ because then it can't move on & gets in the appendix & it swells up & gets infected etc.—Like that funny old guy in our Tabernacle in Miami who was praying for the sick. He got this woman up there & asked her what was wrong, & she said she loved cucumbers but she knew they gave her indigestion & she had a terrible case of acute indigestion from eating a cucumber. So he slapped his big paw on her stomach & he screamed out, "Now Lord, You know that cucumbers are all right, You made them, & they're all right in most people's bellies, but in this woman's belly they're in the wrong place!—Now You heal her!"—And thank the Lord‚ He did! He was a funny old Country Jake from Kentucky!

32. WELL, SOME THINGS MAY BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE IN SOME PEOPLE'S STOMACHS, BUT NOT IN YOURS, & if you have a tendency to appendicitis, you'd better watch out! Dr. Koger told me to avoid anything with rough hulls like beans‚ some kinds of rice with the hulls on it & some kinds of nuts, but he especially cautioned me against beans. You know how I love chili & beans! All those delicious Mexican dishes are always full of beans & several times I've almost been like the little boy & the piece of pie! The woman said, "If you eat another piece of pie you're going to explode!" And he said, "Give me the pie & get out of the way!" Well, I as good as said that one night & I nearly did explode! I had the only attack of appendicitis I've had for a long time. I hadn't been getting enough exercise & one thing after the other, & I really suffered for that. I had gas pains, whew!

33. IF YOU HAVE A TENDENCY TO APPENDICITIS OR IF YOU HAVE EVEN A SENSITIVE APPENDIX, that lower right part of your abdomen down there, you should avoid things that cause gas. If you frequently get pains down there it could be that you have a sensitive appendix, & it may get sore & even get infected if you don't have enough BMs or if you eat harsh foods that irritate it, so you've got to watch it. Well‚ I've been watching it a little bit more lately, I don't think I eat so many beans any more, & I haven't had any trouble since then, thank the Lord‚ hardly ever.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

34. SO PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! LIKE THE OLD SONG SAYS, "TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF, YOU BELONG TO ME!" Well, you not only belong to me, you belong to the Lord, & He says, "Abuse not your body, the temple of the Holy Ghost." (1Cor.3:16; 6:19‚20; 2Cor.6:16; Eph.2:22.) Take care of yourself, you belong to the Lord! Your body is His house, His instrument, & if you abuse it & don't take good care of it, then you're going to suffer for it, & worst of all, not only you suffer, but we suffer, everybody suffers & His work will suffer, which means souls will suffer! I'm sure you don't want anybody going to Hell because you didn't keep the health laws!

35. I'M TRYING TO SHAKE YOU UP! I'M TRYING TO SHOCK YOU & TELL YOU THAT'S JUST WHAT IT MEANS, THAT YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES! Now get some exercise! If you don't want to play birdie‚ all right, then jump rope or do something else that will give you some really vigorous exercise. Now I don't say strenuous exercise because strenuous exercise means straining exercise & you might overdo. You have to watch out about that if you're my age particularly, but at your age you should be able to handle it. Of course, some of you people who haven't been getting it need to make sure you build up to it & get it!

36. THE FIRST TIME SOME OF YOU WENT OUT THERE & PLAYED BIRDIE, YOU HARDLY MADE 15 OR 20 MINUTES!—Today Maria & I played nearly an hour! You don't get up to it the first day maybe, but you build up to it. I don't want any hospital cases on our hands here, & I mean it! And if you find the exercise is too strenuous, Davida‚ then don't do that kind of strenuous exercise. If your heart or lungs are a little weak‚ take it easy! Some of you have a natural tendency to be weak along certain lines.

37. I'VE HAD A LITTLE PROBLEM WITH MY HEART NEARLY ALL MY LIFE, BUT I'M STILL HERE! The doctor in the hospital said I had a heart twice normal size—maybe that's one reason I'm still here! But he didn't seem to think it was an asset, he thought that was something wrong. I'm beginning to think now that maybe that's the way the Lord helped me to develop it, with all that strenuous exercise when I was a kid, so it would be strong enough to take & stand what I've had to go through since then! PTL! So I'm not complaining about it being twice normal size, I think maybe that's one reason I've made it!

38. IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE I'M A LITTLE TOUGHER & STRONGER THAN SOME OF YOU YOUNGSTERS! I made love yesterday morning, then I worked half-a–day on my work & had a busi-ness conference & poor Maria & Peter were already exhausted & had to take a nap!—But I went out & played a game with the boys, then we saw a lot of work had to be done, then we played another game & then we went swimming‚ about four hours all together! I was tired but I still wasn't sleepy, I didn't even take a nap & then even went to bed late! I kept right on going! I think I can out-run some of you guys because you didn't take good care of your health. You can tell from my old Diaries I didn't always take good care of my health either.

39. BUT THEY SAY THERE'S NOTHING THAT WILL MAKE YOU LIVE LONGER THAN BEING A SEMI-INVALID or somebody with a chronic ailment which they have to live very carefully to take good care of. But that kind of people usually wind up living longer than the healthy people that abuse their bodies! So I've had heart trouble all my life, but I've learned to handle it & live with it, take care of it, until in these recent years I've had less trouble & felt better than I have in all the rest of my life!

40. SO TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOURSELF, YOU BELONG TO HIM! And when you're not getting out & getting your exercise & you're not eating right & you're not having your BMs, you're not taking good care of yourself! This is what happened to Army, she doesn't know how many days she went without a BM, because she got too busy & she wasn't used to having it at a regular time. I keep a record of mine in my Diary every day, so I hardly ever miss it. In fact, it's such a habit I just normally get out of bed & go to the toilet every day, same time, first thing in the morning. And if you'll drink as much water as I do when you first get up in the morning, I'll bet you will too!—Or something close to it. Of course‚ if you've already developed a regular habit of going at a different time, that's all right, but just do it & don't let anything prevent it.

41. DON'T EVER TELL YOURSELF, "OH, I'M TOO BUSY, I'M IN TOO BIG A HURRY, I CAN'T DO IT RIGHT NOW!"—NEVER! When you feel like it‚ do it! Because if you stop & don't do it, you're apt to get stopped up. Your bowels get tired of pushing, & then you're going to wind up with constipation, & if you wind up with enough of that you can wind up with a burst appendix! Don't overeat either, that has something to do with it, if you eat irregularly or overeat, also not eating enough! Overeating one day & then not enough the next day & irregularity, all that sort of thing is really bad!

42. FORGIVE ME FOR BRINGING THIS OUT ON YOUR BIRTHDAY, BUT I'M SURE DEAR MARIA COULD HAVE NO BETTER BIRTHDAY PRESENT THAN FOR YOU TO KEEP HEALTHY & BE ABLE TO CONTINUE GOD'S WORK!—And I'm sure the Lord doesn't want anything better either than for you to stay a good, useful, healthy instrument in His hands that can do the job. Because we have a big job to do & you've got to stay healthy to do it! I mean it!

43. DON'T LET ANYTHING KEEP YOU FROM IT! I don't care if both courts are full‚ get out there & run around the yard or do something to get some exercise! Now just do it! I have a pretty regular time when I get my exercise, just before my brunch, & I do it almost every day without fail. And if I miss that time, like I did today, then I usually get it later. We had a good time out there & played nearly an hour, it was a lot of fun! Don't worry about the wind, it's even more fun then! It never goes where you expect it to! So you miss it half the time!—So you pick it up!—All good exercise!

44. HOW MANY OF YOU USUALLY HAVE A REGULAR BM AT LEAST ONCE A DAY? Now don't lie to me! Why the hesitancy, Honey? Your hand was slow. (Fam: Because I missed mine today.) Don't miss a day! Have a regular BM at least once a day if you possibly can. Now if something happens & you don't or can't, there's some emergency or unusual circumstance, it's not going to kill you, but if you miss the next day too it might, & you might have happen to you what happened to Armendria!

45. AS I TOLD HER IN MY LITTLE NOTE OF ADVICE TO HER, YOU CAN'T KEEP STUFFING IT IN ONE END & NOT HAVING IT COME OUT THE OTHER OR YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS! Is that clear? You can't keep shovelling it in your mouth & then not having it be eliminated out of the other end or you're going to be in serious trouble. What comes in has gotta go! And a funny Scripture came to me for her: "Remember, it's better to give than to receive!" (Acts 20:35) You'll be healthier if you have more BMs than eating regularly. It's better for you to have good elimination than even a regular diet, because elimination is getting rid of the poisons & the wastes. And if you don't get rid of the poisons & the wastes‚ you're going to be poisoned‚ & you're going to be eliminated from the battle! And we need you!

KEEP IN SHAPE FOR THE BATTLE!

46. WE'RE IN A WAR & EVERY SOLDIER IS NEEDED, SO YOU NEED TO KEEP YOURSELF IN GOOD SHAPE FOR THE BATTLE! So let's take care of ourselves & keep on a regular schedule as much as possible with regular eating & sleeping & elimination habits & exercise habits, & eat properly & drink lots of good water. Especially in the hot summer you really need to drink water.—Amen? How many of you are going to do your best to take good care of your bodies & do all those things so you can be a good healthy worker for the Lord & help the rest of the Family to win lots of souls?—TYJ! PTL!

47. I WOULDN'T WANT THE LORD TO HAVE TO TAKE YOU HOME TO TEACH YOU A LESSON, THAT'S TOO LATE! Take care of yourself now! Take good care of yourself. Don't let anything interfere with your regular schedule of sleep & meals & elimination & exercise & all the things you need to do. How many of you are going to promise me that you'll try your best to do that? Have you got your hand up, Mary Dear?—That's a good girl! Okay‚ cutie-pie! ILY!

48. WELL, I GUESS WE'VE KEPT POOR MARIA SITTING UP HERE LONG ENOUGH! (Maria: It's wonderful!) How about giving us your Verse for the new year? (Maria: "He must increase but I must decrease.") (Jn.3:30) Now Honey, don't decrease too much, please! (Maria: I can still stand a lot of it‚ don't worry!) She's speaking spiritually, folks. We don't want you to decrease, at least not in the physical way or in your work for the Lord. We need you!

49. GOD BLESS YOU ALL, I HOPE THAT WASN'T TOO LONG, I'M SORRY.—NO, I'M NOT SORRY, BECAUSE YOU NEED IT!—AND YOU'D BETTER DO IT! Don't think you can get away with it because nobody noticed & I didn't hear about it—if you keep it up we'll all hear about it sooner or later, like Armendria! It was bad enough to have all the excitement of Marianne having a baby‚ then Armendria had to go to the hospital too right afterward! There's nothing wrong with having babies, you can't help that & we like that, but we don't want you to land in the hospital with some serious major illness or surgery that could have been avoided if you'd kept the rules!

50. NOW GOD KNOWS IF YOU'RE KEEPING THE RULES WHETHER WE KNOW IT OR NOT, & you're not going to get away with it with Him! Be sure your sins will find you out, & whatsoever you sow, you're going to reap! (Num.32:23; Gal.6:7) I mean it! It's a shame I have to talk to you people like this, but when some of our number have been caught violating these health rules time & again, then I have to get tough!

51. MAYBE THIS WARNING WILL HELP YOU: WE CAN'T HAVE ANY SICK SOULS OR SICK SOLDIERS IN THIS ARMY, PARTICULARLY IN THIS HOUSE! Thank God, compared to some people we have almost no sicknesses, almost no illness, just a few little light colds & almost nothing compared to all the serious accidents & illnesses that some people have. When you consider how many people we've got in this Family, it's a miracle, absolutely miraculous! Because God knows we can't stand it, we can't have it! We can't have any stretcher cases, invalid cases or hospital cases in this Family! We need you!—And if you prove you can't take it‚ you'll have to go someplace else where the fight's not so tough. You wouldn't want to lose your place in this house or in this army because you disobeyed the rules & didn't take care of yourself, amen?

52. I KNOW YOU CATCH A LITTLE COLD ONCE IN AWHILE‚ this, that & the other‚ & I have my afflictions too, but thank God, so far they haven't kept us from working & getting our jobs done. We may feel knocked-out some days, but usually it's our own fault, we've broken the rules. Let's please try not to so we can stay active, healthy soldiers for the Lord & not have to be sent home wounded or sick from the battle.—Amen? Are you children going to try to take good care of yourselves & have good habits & eat right, drink right, live right & all that?—PTL!

53. WELL, PRAY FOR POOR ARMENDRIA THAT SHE'LL HEAL UP QUICK! I'm sure the Devil's after her because of the marvellous job she did on those tapes, just trying to cut her off & get rid of her! Now don't let him do that to you!—Keep the rules! You cooperate with the Lord & He'll cooperate with You & He'll keep us going like He usually has—in good health‚ able to work & work well & get the job done! All right‚ Maria‚ we'll let you close with your Birthday Prayer. You can pray for Armendria & all of us & for a good New year for yourself, Sweetheart. I love you!

MARIA'S BIRTHDAY PRAYER!

54. (MARIA: THANK YOU LORD FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL HAPPY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION! Thank You that we can celebrate every day, Lord, all Your Love, & all that You accomplish in the way of souls saved & Thy Word getting out to the World. We thank You, Jesus, that we have an even greater reason to celebrate it this year, Lord, because You've helped us to get out more than ever before! You've given us greater fruits for our labours & helped each one to accomplish more than ever before for You.

55. (WE THANK YOU LORD ESPECIALLY TONIGHT FOR THY LOVE, in not only encouraging us & instructing us, but for Your rebukes & chastenings that show us that You love us‚ that it may help us to accomplish even more for You & to even save lives! We thank You for it. Thank You for the faithfulness of Thy Servant & his guidance & instruction & counsel that keeps us on the right path, Lord, & gives us Thy Word. Thank You Lord for all Your blessings, You've been so good to us! We know You're going to keep us through another year & until the End! We know You're going to keep us going & keep us in Thy will if we just look to You & we're obedient & yielded to You.

56. (BLESS ARMY, LORD‚ & STRENGTHEN HER! Thank You that even though she had a problem & disobeyed some rules, You've helped her to be an example for the whole Family, Lord, so all of us can learn from it & prevent the problems that she had. Bless her & strengthen her, Lord! We know she won't do it again & that she'll be faithful in the future. Bless & keep us all tonight safely in Thy care & continue to make each day profitable & fruitful, Lord, good days for Thee, in Jesus' name.)

57. AMEN! PRAISE YOU LORD! THANK YOU FOR HOW YOU HAVE KEPT US, LORD, & how wonderfully You have protected us from enemies & accident & harm & illness & failures! We thank You for prospering us & making Thy work fruitful, Lord, & making all of us able to do the job & to bear good fruit for Thy Kingdom, & to help others, to furnish them with the tools so that they can bear much fruit.

58. THANK YOU FOR THE MARVELLOUS AMOUNT OF FRUIT THAT MARIA HAS BORNE THIS PAST YEAR, having been more & more in charge of publications, with more & more of the burden on her tiny shoulders of so many important pubs, along with Peter too & others, such a tremendous burden, Lord, of so much! We have never ever tackled so much before! It got to be far too much for me, Lord, & we had to spread it out on these others & they have done such a marvellous job! TYL! Now help us to get it finished before that postal rate hike.

59. WE BELIEVE YOU GAVE US THAT DEADLINE TO PUSH US & REALLY MAKE US WORK HARD TO GET IT DONE, BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING! So help us to do it, Lord! Help us to get it done as much as possible. Bless everyone & give them the strength, the courage & the faith for it, Lord, & the determination to finish the job‚ & bless & keep us all so we can. TYJ! PYL! Hallelujah! TYJ! Amen, amen! As we pray His Prayer together: (Prays the Lord's Prayer)

60. BLESS & KEEP US NOW & GIVE US ALL A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP & STRENGTH FOR TOMORROW! Thank You for this beautiful Home to live in, Lord, & for all this good food & wonderful Family & happy times together! Lord, You've just poured out so much on us of all the blessings‚ we're just almost spoiled! But help us to be so thankful we'll work extra hard for You, Jesus, to get these things done, in Jesus' name, amen! Hallelujah! TYJ! PTL! PYL!

61. I KEEP GETTING SOMETHING FOR MARIA BUT I CAN'T QUITE GET IT. Lord help me‚ in Jesus' name. It's something like, "She hath done what she could." (Mk.14:8) Hallelujah! TYL! Well, I can give you the gist of it: "She hath done well in her faithful service in the House of the Lord, & great is her reward in Heaven!" TYJ! PYL! Hallelujah! Well, I hope that doesn't mean you're going to Heaven very soon—we need you! PTL!

62. GBY ALL! ILY! IT'S ALMOST 11:30 SO WE'D BETTER GET TO BED! I kept you up late, I'm sorry, but most of you don't go to bed any sooner anyway. You'd better do like dear Techi does‚ she always sees what time it is she's going to sleep so she'll know what time she's allowed to get up in the morning! I say, "You've always got to add 9 hours onto whatever time you to go sleep!" So she says‚ "Now let's see, it's 12:21—I can get up at 9:21 in the morning, can't I?" I told her a long time ago that the earlier she goes to bed, the earlier she can get up!

63. AMEN! THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS LITTLE ONE THAT'S DONE A MAN-SIZE JOB!—Amen? (Maria: The Lord did it!)—More than a man-size job, really. (Maria: It's just the Lord for sure!) What a wonderful wonderful Family! TYJ! I'll tell you, we have the best! We have the best of everything, the best folks too! Get to bed & don't waste time, get a good night's rest, & keep the rules! Get out there & play! I don't want to see those courts unused!

64. GBY ALL! THANK YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONIES TONIGHT, I REALLY ENJOYED THEM! (Everyone had given their story of the first time they'd met Maria!) Oh Mama‚ you're leaving too soon! There's cake & ice cream, two of your favourites! (Maria: I'll take mine upstairs with you, if that's okay.) She's bashful! She did well tonight though, she sat up there right in front of you with all of you looking at her all evening! That's pretty good! (Photographer snaps a pic of Dad & Maria hugging!) Oh Honey, taking pictures of her is fine...(Maria: And of you it's even better!) Oh Honey, I love you! God bless you all! (Maria: Thank you, everybody, for coming to my birthday party!) GBY!—And please take good care of yourself so you'll have many happy birthdays too!—Amen?

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family