Appreciate Your Blessings

Dad
May 22, 2003

—Dad's Talk to the Kids! 11/86

1. I'LL TELL YOU‚ SOMEDAY YOU KIDS ARE GOING TO APPRECIATE ALL THIS—our Homes, our Family & our people & how good you have it now—Heaven on Earth! We all have to learn it, that's all. The only time you really appreciate your blessings is when you don't have them any more.

2. (DAVID: I'VE BEEN APPRECIATING MINE, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN HAVING THEM TAKEN AWAY LATELY.) That's the only way we really learn soberness & appreciation & realisation of how serious this life is. The only way we ever learn it is through suffering.

3. (TECHI: HAVE YOU BEEN THROUGH THOSE EXPERIENCES?) Honey, I've been through almost everything, except actual torture or imprisonment! (Techi: Haven't you been in prison?) Well, I was arrested & held under detention. Detention is sort of a nice temporary imprisonment they keep you in when you're being held for a court case.

4. (TECHI: DID YOU EVER GO TO COURT?) Yes. They hold you in isolation & detention while the court case is going on. (David: So you won't run away.)—Yes, & the witnesses too. Also in my court case for speeding they held me in detention while Dr. Koger got a lawyer to get me out.

5. (DAVID: YOU CAN GO TO JAIL FOR SPEEDING?) (Techi: What does "speeding" mean?) Speeding is driving too fast. Well, they usually fine you, they don't normally send you to jail unless you're speeding pretty seriously. But this cop was really mean, so he issued me a ticket so that I had to go to court.

6. HONEY, THOSE ARE SMALL MATTERS COMPARED TO THE MORE SERIOUS MATTERS OF SUFFERING. (Techi: Like the Christians went through in the days of Rome?) Yes, that's a kind of suffering, that was really serious suffering & torture & martyrdom. (Techi: They even put them on those stakes & they had the lions come.)

7. YOU KNOW WHAT THE SCRIPTURE SAYS EVEN ABOUT JESUS. (Techi: "Even though a Son, He learned through the things that he suffered.") Exactly! Good girl‚ you really know those Scriptures! (Techi: It's in Hebrews 5.) What did He learn? (Techi: He learned obedience through the things that He suffered.) And if you don't learn obedience any other way, the Lord will teach you obedience through that, when you suffer, & then you'll realise that it's better to obey!

8. (TECHI: WHAT SUFFERING DID JESUS GO THROUGH?) Well‚ Honey‚ you ought to know, He went through all kinds of suffering. He went through the Garden of Gethsemane & finally crucifixion—the whole works! But praise the Lord‚ He learned it all through His suffering & He finally came out victorious.

9. I DON'T WANT YOU KIDS TO HAVE TO SUFFER‚ BUT IF YOU DON'T LEARN TO OBEY ANY OTHER WAY, the Lord could allow you to go through some suffering. (Techi: Like being sick?) Being sick is one of them. (Techi: What else?) Having to move quickly & unexpectedly is suffering, it's hard.

10. WELL, IT'S NOT SO HARD ON CHILDREN, BECAUSE YOU ARE READILY ADAPTABLE & LIKE CHANGE ETC. (Techi: But for you it's different?) It is very hard on me & Mama too. It is hard on quite a few people when we have to leave & move again.

11. I'M JUST TRYING TO SOBER YOU UP A LITTLE BIT & make you realise that you kids have been kind of silly & funny here in our room some nights which may be all right sometimes, but I was a little ashamed last night that we got into so much silliness & silly jokes, etc. We need to be more sober. (Techi: I'm sorry, Grandpa.)

12. WE NEED TO REALISE THAT WE COULD FACE SOME PRETTY SERIOUS TIMES AHEAD, & PROBABLY WILL! (Techi: Like what?) Things are getting worse all the time all over the World, so we need to get a little more serious & prayerful & desperate & praying for the Lord to help us be prepared!

13. (TECHI: AUNTIE SARA AT SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP TOLD US HOW IF WE'RE BAD KIDS, THAT WOULD AFFECT AUNTIE SARA & Auntie Dora & the adults here with their important ministry of getting the Teen Books out. Then the books would get delayed if the people who work on it get delayed, & then the Teen Camps would get delayed & then that would mean you & Mama's work would get delayed if we're bad.)

14. (TECHI: WE HAD A LITTLE STUDY ON THAT VERSE, "OBEY THEM THAT HAVE THE RULE OVER YOU." We only have to obey & submit‚ we have the easy road. We're kind of like the Rebels when we're rebellious. But Auntie Sara said that at least we're lots better than the Rebels in the Millennium we kids will have to teach. But we have the easy part now, to just obey & do what we're told, no matter what we think. We only have to obey & submit—that's two things—but they have to watch for us & give account of us!)

15. WAS THAT SARA'S TALK TONIGHT?—That's good, very good! (Techi: Yes, "Submit yourself for they watch for your souls as they that must give account." Heb.13:17)

16. I'LL TELL YOU, IF WE DON'T APPRECIATE OUR BLESSINGS & IF WE DON'T REALLY THANK THE LORD & we don't really pray desperately for the Lord to keep us, if you don't get sober & serious & not only obedient, but desperate in prayer & ask the Lord to help us, He could easily allow something bad to happen to us.