Maria #355DO 30817/96

—By Maria

System Jobs vs. Family Tools1

The Strength of Dependence on the Lord2

Paul's Sample of Standing Strong for the Family!3

Prophecy for Paul5

Be Prayerful When Giving Prophecies to People5

Sex and Cleanliness6

Prayer Is More Important than Counseling6

Finding the Balance Between Spending Time with the Lord and with the Sheep7

Consideration for Those Not Attending7

Shepherding Is Still "In!"7

The Lord Can Speak Any Time!8

The "Loving Jesus" Songs!8

Happy Birthday Gary!8

Reading the GNs Carefully Is Vital!8

Mama's Words of Endearment to Peter9

What Applies in One Situation May Not Apply in Another!9

Peter's Sample of Yieldedness10

A Channel of the Lord's Love!10

Mama's Love for Peter!10

The Young People's Conduct When They Return Home11

Giving the Lord's Love Back to Him by Sharing It11

Praying for the Gift of Prophecy11

Loving Jesus with Others12

Only Through Prayer Can We Release God's Power!12

1. My precious Sweetheart, my sweet Gary, and my lovely Heather! I love you all so much and you mean so much to me! I could never thank you enough for the wonderful sample of love, obedience, yieldedness, humility and wisdom that you are being to those there. Because of your willingness to lay down your lives, great and mighty things are happening in the Spirit! The results will be more far–reaching than we could ever dream.

2. Gary, Peter wrote me that he appreciates your help so much. He couldn't do nearly as good a job without you. He is very thankful for you. I know he is telling you so, but I just wanted to let you know that he tells me too.

System Jobs vs. Family Tools

3. Here's a note which one of our girls wrote regarding System jobs versus distributing the Family tools:

4. "It's not that System jobs are more lucrative hour by hour, but when you have a System job you are obligated to be at work at a certain time, you work eight hours a day, and you are guaranteed a certain income. Because you are locked in by an employer, you have to go to work, you have to put in the hours, and then you get X number of dollars in return.

5. "I completely agree with Juan that there is more money to be made in the distribution of our tools. One of the problems is that it seems that the reason people make more money holding down a System job than distributing the tools is because they don't spend the same amount of time witnessing, provisioning, and distributing tools as they would spend working at a job. They don't have an employer that's requiring it. They don't have a taskmaster over their head making them get to work on time and making them put in their hours. It's not necessarily because the distribution of tools is not as lucrative, but it's because they aren't on the job eight hours a day, five or six days a week.

6. "I think people who are considering getting a System job because they don't want to live hand-to-mouth should first make some kind of pledge to the Lord—to say that for two or three months, or a certain amount of time, they will put in the same number of hours witnessing and distributing and following up that they would have to put in for their System job, including the travel time, lunch break and all of that. I think they would find witnessing to be more lucrative and certainly more fruitful spiritually, as well as more inspiring."

7. (Mama:) That's a good point, isn't it? I hope you understand that I am not completely closing the door on System jobs, because it may be the Lord's will for a few people, in cases where they can at least use it as a witness, and can get good support from those jobs‚ and know it is the Lord's will for them. We certainly have nothing against that! But those who get jobs need to know with certainty that it is the Lord's will for them personally.

8. And just because some take on these jobs doesn't mean that the majority of the Family is supposed to do that. When something new starts‚ we have to help folks see that not everybody is necessarily supposed to throw all the old aside and grab the new idea as it comes along, because it looks so promising and like such a solution to their problems. It might just be a test to see if they are willing to trust the Lord and wait for His solutions!

The Strength of Dependence on the Lord

9. Dear Gary, thank you so much for your latest report. And thank you for the details of your illness, as that really helps us make sure we continue to labor for you in prayer.

10. I know that this sickness is not only very draining and exhausting and bothersome, but when you're going through something like this, you always wonder exactly why the Lord is doing it. We usually know that it's to draw us closer to Him, of course, which is almost always one reason the Lord allows these things. But whenever we know exactly, it makes our afflictions easier to bear. I knew that you probably would need some encouragement—even more so during this time—so I asked someone to hear from the Lord for you. What He said is so beautiful, and I'm sure it will be an uplift to you. I think you or Peter might want to read it to everyone and use it as a springboard for a little talk.

11. (Jesus speaking: ) My dear Gary‚ I love you‚ My gentle‚ tender ram. You have much strength and energy of flesh. But because these young ones look to you and see this strength, I have had to humble your flesh with weakness‚ so that they will also see in you the strength of weakness. For if they saw weakness only in King Peter, some could use this as an excuse to glory in their flesh.

12. I want to impress upon these young ones the strength of weakness, the strength of great dependence upon Me and My Spirit, that they glory not in the strength of the flesh and the strength of their youth. I want them to realize that all that they have and all that they have been given is of Me, and not of themselves.

13. They must continually be reminded of the strength of weakness, the strength of humility, the strength of dependence, the strength of yieldedness, the strength of desperation, the strength of seeking My power and the strength of My Spirit. They must know that it is not by their might, nor their power, nor the strength of their youth or their idealism or their zeal or their own will, but by My Spirit—the strength and power and might of humility and love.

14. I am sorry, My son, that you must suffer this weakness, this affliction of the flesh, so that these young ones may be ever reminded of this important principle. Through your weakness and desperation and lack of your own power, My Love and My grace and My wisdom and the anointing I have given you will be even more clearly visible. They will see and know that it is from Me, that it is My doing and a gift from My hand. To get these gifts‚ they must be close to Me, desperate before Me, yielded before Me, acknowledging their weakness without Me.

15. So despair not, My son, for this is but for a short time, and I will restore your health unto you. I will arise with healing in My wings, and I shall raise you up and deliver you from this weakness. Be encouraged that I use this sickness as a tool, and as a good shepherd you are laying down your life for your sheep, these young ones, that they may learn what I want to teach them. Thank you for being a faithful and loving shepherd. No greater love hath any man than this, that a man lay down his life—and his health—for his friends.

16. During this time of sickness, as you lie upon your bed to rest, draw ever so close to My bosom and rest in My arms, that I may give you the extra grace and strength of spirit that you need to carry the load and burden of responsibility. Where weakness does abound, My grace and love and strength do much more abound. As you lie still in My arms and love Me, I will fill you to overflowing with all that you need to overcome and be more than a conqueror in the midst of your affliction. And when My work is done, I will heal you, for I do not wish to see you suffer more than is necessary.

17. I love you without measure, and am well pleased with your love and sacrifice and giving, and I will reward you abundantly! Thank you for being My yielded vessel, a humble instrument in My hands, a channel of My Love and wisdom. I love you, My brave and hearty ram with a lamb's heart! (End of prophecy.)

18. (Mama:) Isn't that beautiful? If you've got to suffer, it sure helps to know what you're suffering for!—And for such a worthy cause! The Lord is so good and He loves you so much! Of course you know it, but it's wonderful to hear Him say it! He always says such sweet things about you, Gary. He's so proud of you!—And I am, too!

19. Gary, that was sweet to dictate a personal note to Juan when your throat was so sore and you were so tired and sick. It was even a greater sacrifice for you to write us that report, which is a great deal longer! You are really precious, and we are praying real big for you. We know the Lord has some real victories ahead.

Paul's Sample of Standing Strong for the Family!

20. Our dear Paul (formerly Pethuel), one of our long-time Family musicians, just wrote us a very precious letter in response to a message from the Lord that we had sent him. God bless this dear man for resisting this offer of everything that his heart could desire through Brother Thomas and Singing Sam—everything except to continue faithful to the Words of David and his Family.

21. All that Paul had been dreaming about was being offered to him! He had been working very hard to support his large family in a field Home, and hadn't been involved in full-time studio work for some time due to various circumstances, and now Sam and Brother Thomas were telling him that he could help with Sam's TV show and that Brother Thomas would give him a place to live and a beautiful studio—all, of course, at the price of his leaving the Family. Paul refused this offer so that he could continue to be faithful to the Words of David and his Family. What a wonderful, wonderful sample of forsaking everything else for Jesus and His will!

22. I'm really inspired about Paul and Micah and Brazilian Paulo setting up a studio to record Family music part-time, while at the same time witnessing and raising their support through their music ministry. Isn't it wonderful that we might be able to have another studio that could produce Family music, including maybe some songs more geared towards the adults' musical tastes, since the young people are getting so much of theirs via the FTTs? It's so exciting!

23. Obviously the Lord wants to bless these faithful men who could have very easily had all the financial backing they wanted, free housing, their own TV show, everything their hearts could desire in the way of ministries and financial support—and even a place of Christian service. But they chose to turn their backs on all of that—a great sacrifice—because they want to follow the Words of David and be in His Family more than anything else. They have hung on by faith, without even knowing what the future holds, without even knowing if they will ever have the ministry that they know the Lord has called them to. It really makes me cry. It's so, so beautiful! It strengthens my faith in our precious folks who are willing to suffer the loss of everything to follow the Words of David.

24. You know that the Lord wants to give them back everything that they've given up—even more—to reward them and show them how much He loves them. This sounds like it could be very exciting. I'd be so happy if these musicians could have a fruitful place in the Family where they can continue the ministry that the Lord has called them to and gifted them so greatly for.

25. Following are excerpts of Paul's letter to me:

Excerpts of Paul's Letter to Mama:

26. (Paul:) I don't think I can possibly put into words what I'm feeling. When I received your letter I was literally speechless. It was almost incomprehensible that I would receive a personal word from you, and even more inconceivable that Jesus would reach down to the depths of my despair to speak such Words of love to me, a literal spiritual wreck. It breaks my heart to know that He was there all the time and He would have spoken those same words to me, had I the faith to listen and believe. But I was afraid, and I was looking at the waves‚ walking by sight‚ all the wrong things. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's true.

27. You and the Lord showed so much faith in me that I can't help but want to do all I can to prove myself worthy of such love and trust. But that is where I go astray so often‚ in that the Lord doesn't want me to prove anything. He just wants me to love Him, to surrender to Him, to let Him take me and ravish me so that I will never go away from His side. But in the midst of all this activity‚ face to face with all this need in every area, I repeatedly make the mistake of carrying the yoke myself and falling under the weight of a load that only He can carry.

28. I believe that is part of why the Lord has asked us men to become women in the Spirit in our times of love with Him, to take on the attributes of a yielded bride whose sole desire is to please her Husband—not concerned about doing those things which the Husband is responsible for, but only concerned about Him‚ His needs, and pleasing Him.

29. Thank you so much for giving me this chance to record again for the Family. Working with Micah this way is tremendous. I love working with him on music production when we do what the Lord designed us to do. I've been trying to get some kind of recording set–up to teach my kids what I've learned, but we could never get beyond the basic stage for lack of funds. I knew the Lord would eventually supply in some way, if only because of my importunity, not to mention my own teens' prayers and their willingness to work for it. So‚ many thanks and much love for your consideration and desire to help us get set up. We love you!

30. Thank you so much for taking the time to hear from the Lord for me and praying for me and my family! Your personal words and the Words from our dear Husband have turned my life around, drawn me out of the miry clay and set my feet upon the Rock! Jesus was so specific with me, even repeating a verse that He'd given me the night I decided to reject Sam and Brother Thomas' offer, where He asked me to choose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

31. I don't feel like it was some kind of heroic act or anything, Mama. We would have been miserable! We would have had to deny everything we believe! My last 25 years would have been meaningless, my children would have no future, our marriage would have crumbled and my life would have slowly wasted away to nothing. There wasn't really a choice to make—there was no comparison! Poor Sam sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, and what a mess it will turn out to be at that.

32. Forgive me for doubting your love and the Lord's Love. Forgive me for not asking for help sooner and confessing my weakness. Jesus, help me to learn and grow! I love you, Mama. There's so much I would like to say in the way of thanks and love, hopes and dreams‚ but I guess that's one of the things we can do in Heaven. Will you jot me down in your little black book? At least one dance! Ha! Thank you again for taking the time to pray for me and write me. What a privilege! That prophecy is my "Philadelphia Prophecy!" I'm going to, by His grace, build on that foundation. That's something I can stand on forever! Hallelujah!

—Love and Prayers, Paul (Pethuel)

Prophecy for Paul

33. (Mama:) Following is the beautiful message that the Lord had given for Paul, which he responded to in his letter above:

34. (Jesus speaking:) My dearest son, My dear Paul. How I wish to caress you, to kiss you, to hold you in My arms, very close to My heart, so that you will feel safe and secure as you lay your head on My gentle breast.

35. You are very special to Me, My son. Great is your love for Me, and great is My Love for you!—Wide, wide as the ocean; deep, deep as the seas! We are given to each other in marriage, and our relationship will last forever.

36. You have proven your faithfulness and loyalty unto Me. You have shown Me how much you love Me. You have not forsaken Me, even when it seemed to you that I might have forsaken you. You have remained a faithful bride. You have suffered affliction with the people of God‚ rather than enjoy the riches‚ fame and glory that the world had to offer you.

37. For this, My son, I am very proud of you‚ and you will be rewarded accordingly. My promise will be fulfilled, that he that has forsaken friends‚ jobs‚ and opportunities for My Name's sake, and has continued faithfully serving Me in My Family‚ I will reward accordingly, and I will give you an hundred fold. Silver and gold I may not give you, but what I will give unto you is much greater than anything money can buy. I will give you love, happiness‚ health and joy which you have never felt before! For as I have promised to all My children, I will care for you, and for your wife and children.

38. I love you, My son. Call unto Me and I will answer‚ for I delight in giving you what you ask for. I want to be there to help you, to uphold you, to caress you, to strengthen you. Thank you for how in spite of your doubts and fears, which caused you to go through tests and trials, you have remained close to Me.

39. Not only will I bless you and care for you, but I will bless and care for your loved ones as a reward to you, My precious son. You have believed in Me, so you and your household will be cared for. I will grant you the petitions of your heart as you continue to delight yourself in Me and learn to grow closer to Me. Dear Paul, I love you and I am proud of you. You are a son to be proud of! (End of prophecy.)

40. (Mama:) Amen! I certainly agree! Don't you? God bless him for his faith!

41. Okay, I think I'm coming to the end of this long epistle. Thanks so much for listening. I hope I'm not inundating you with too much. I guess in a way you are processing some of the wine from the vats! Please keep up the good work! It's really working!

42. Peter, my wonderful sweetheart—you and Jesus mean so much to me! I can't think of anything more exciting than being in such a wild, hot, sexy lovemaking session with you both—except for the excitement that comes with hearing His wonderful Words and seeing the fruit that they're bringing in the lives of those there!

Be Prayerful When Giving Prophecies to People

43. Sometimes we get prophecies for people and think they'll be the biggest encouragement in the world to them, but find later, to our dismay, there was something in them that we never would have suspected would cause them difficulty. For example, someone is very jealous and you receive a prophecy telling them if they'll just share the one they love, the Lord will multiply their love for each other. Now that sounds wonderful, but the Enemy can whisper in their ear, "If it's so hard to share your loved one now, loving him as much as you do, how much harder is it going to be later, when you love him even more!" In other words, if they have such a difficult time getting the victory over their jealousy now, how doubly difficult is it going to be later down the line when their love is much greater!

44. It might seem to some to be a silly little thing. Nevertheless, the Enemy is always right there to try to make you turn something positive and wonderful into a problem, or to bring up questions about the future, something the Lord says we are not supposed to worry about. He gives us grace for today, but we won't have grace for tomorrow until tomorrow comes!

45. So no matter how wonderfully we may think a prophecy is going to go over with someone because it's so "positive," we should bear in mind that the way they look at things may be much different than the way we see them.

46. They're so much more personally involved, so little things will affect them much more greatly‚ things that we might not even understand. So we need to be very prayerful in giving prophecies that we receive to those the Lord is speaking to or about, and not take it lightly. When the Lord speaks to people through us‚ we don't want to hold back what He has given‚ but we do need to be there for them and monitor the situation to know how they're doing, and to help them if they show any signs of discouragement, or if there is something that they don't understand and need counsel on.

Sex and Cleanliness

47. If you ever get around to having that sex education class, my secretary and I both agree that you could highlight to the young men the need for cleanliness, as well as sexual hygiene. You should have heard her rave about how you keep so clean and always smell so nice, and I gave an overwhelming "amen" to that!—And we both agreed that we are so thankful and appreciative to you for being so careful to always keep so clean—from your hair‚ to your armpits, to your penie! You always not only feel so nice‚ but smell so nice too! And women really like that! The Lord has made you so nice‚ Peter! He's given me the best of everything, in you!

48. Okay, my sweetheart‚ I love you so much! You delight me, you thrill me, you move me—in more ways than one! I can feel it! I love you so, and I'm so glad that together we can be Jesus' brides and love Him as our sexy Husband! Wow! Like Dad said, He's the Creator of sex, so He must be the expert!—And now He's getting a chance to really show it! Hallelujah! He sure knows His stuff! I love you, my sweetheart! Kisses, hugs, and lots more to you!—Yours forever, M.

49. Dear Peter, Gary and Heather, I love you so much! And I love your letters and reports! Thank you‚ Peter, for that great report I just received from you. It's like having you come for a little visit. Thank you for taking your precious time to fill me in on the news. And, Heather, of course I'm appreciative of every little note that you send, because I know how tired you are and what an effort it is! Thank you so much! The same with you, Gary!—I just love to hear from you, and we learn so much.

50. I've got a long list of odds and ends to reply to you on, or to ask you about, or to tell you about, one or the other. So I'm going to try to be brief!—Ha! When have I ever been? I'm always amazed that you can read my letters in the middle of everything else.

Prayer Is More Important Than Counseling

51. Gary, we are so glad to hear the Lord is healing you, and that you were even able to teach a class! Praise the Lord! Think of all the prayer that you got while you were sick! Not only did it benefit you greatly, but it helped all those who prayed so earnestly for you! And I'm sure it helped those there to appreciate you even more, when you couldn't be with them! It sounded like you used your time in between sleeping and resting very well. I'm sure the time you spent praying for those there was even more valuable than your talking to them personally.

52. It's a temptation to think we always have to talk to people. It certainly does help many times, but if we prayed for them more, we wouldn't have to talk so much to them about their problems, because they wouldn't have so many of them! The Lord uses both our prayers and our Godly counsel, hand in hand, to help our folks, but all of us could do much more for people if we'd go heavier on the prayer and lighter on the talk.

Finding the Balance Between Spending Time with the Lord and with the Sheep

53. Related to this is something else I wanted to tell you. I know you feel like you have to be constantly seeing people and walking and talking with them—not necessarily about problems, but getting to know them and sharing with them on a personal basis. That's very important, of course, and you've all been doing that just great! But if there are times when you can't do it because there are more important things to do, like seeking the Lord for His direction, preparing for the meetings, etc., I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes I think that perhaps you can get so swept up into the feeling that you have to be so much with people on an individual basis that you might neglect some more important things.

54. If you can't spend as much time as you would like seeing people individually, I believe the Lord will more than make up for that in the times when you see them collectively. He is able to get through to them just as well in the things you say in the meetings. He is able to speak to them and solve their problems through the abundant counsel that you are pouring out to them when you are with them collectively.

55. Now please don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that you shouldn't walk and talk with people, and that that's not extremely important. I am just saying that you have to be constantly checking yourself and asking the Lord if you're getting the right balance, so you don't go overboard on one to the neglect of the other. I'm just trying to comfort you that if you do feel sometimes that maybe you aren't taking enough time with people, the Lord can more than make up for that by all the time that you spend with them together in your united meetings.—Which, by the way, they should be very thankful for‚ and not feel that you are neglecting them if you don't get to talk to them on a personal basis.

56. It reminds me of when Dad used to get a little annoyed because people kept asking him the same questions that he had already answered in the pubs time after time. He used to say, "I've answered people already on these questions. Why do they continue to ask me? Why don't they go back and read what I've already said?" Well, I'm not saying that you can apply this exactly, but it's true that some folks there will probably have the very same questions that you will be addressing in united meetings, and they will be able to get their answers during those times. Many of them are‚ as evidenced by their reactions.

Consideration for Those Not Attending

57. Thank you, Gary, for your care and consideration for the folks on the CRO office staffs, and for writing them to comfort them because they couldn't be at the Summit meeting. I guess you were able to sympathize‚ as you had to be out of the action for a while yourself. I thought it was so sweet that you took the time to write them.

Shepherding Is Still "In!"

58. I hope while you're with the young people there that you're going to be able to get the point across that shepherding is still "in," and that it is not wrong to "sway" people's opinions as long as you are swaying them in the right direction—towards the Letters and the Charter. Kids verbally ganging up on an adult who is trying to shepherd them can be very intimidating. Some of the young people in one Home apparently even had Juan wondering whether or not he was supposed to be counseling them. They were of the opinion that they should be able to do exactly what they wanted to do regardless of the dangers‚ regardless of the circumstances. Now I may be exaggerating things, but I am doing it to get the point across. The fact remains that this does seem to be the general attitude of many of our young people throughout the Family right now—that the adults are not supposed to interfere, and they are supposed to let the young people do just what they want‚ when they want.

59. The specific situation that I am using as a springboard for this comment is one which Juan told me about where the young people wanted to go on a road trip‚ but the car they wanted to take was definitely not roadworthy. There were also quite a few other factors involved that did not lend themselves to that particular trip. In fact‚ when he asked them to pray about it, they themselves got a confirmation of Juan's counsel, that it wasn't the Lord's plan nor His time. God bless them, they yielded to what the Lord and Juan were trying to tell them, but it took some courage on Juan's part to buck the tide of their will and give them Godly counsel on the matter. So if they gave that much trouble to one of our top leaders, think what it must be like for some of our poor Home shepherds, or especially one of their peers trying to stand up for his or her convictions!

The Lord Can Speak Any Time!

60. In your discussions about prophecy, please make sure you explain to the young people how the Lord is always ready to speak, if we are willing to listen. Of course it's better if we can get completely quiet and free of any of the day's distractions. That's why we—you and I, Peter—like to hear from Him first thing in the morning after our night's sleep, when our minds aren't yet distracted by all the details of the day. However, if we can't do that, the Lord will speak to us any time. Gabe and Amy had to get prophecies as they were driving along in the car to their appointment with the landlord! I wouldn't normally recommend that as the most conducive time to hear from the Lord, but in their case it was the only time they had, and it was important that they got specific Word on how they were supposed to handle the appointment.

61. Also, remember that time when we were making love, Peter‚ and we were saying sweet things to each other and to the Lord, and I said that I'm sure the Lord wanted to say things back to us, and we were able to hear from Him in between kisses? It was so natural and normal, just the way He would naturally speak to us if He were with us in the flesh.

The "Loving Jesus" Songs!

62. Peter, God bless you for working with the young people on the "Loving Jesus" songs. Since music is such a huge part of our kids' lives, I'm very thankful that the Lord has laid it on your heart to help them with these songs and with their song writing. Not only is it very good instruction for them, which they desperately need, but it drives the point home with your living example that we really are behind this push to get them the music that they want and need.

63. I love you all so much and am praying for you. I hope these points aren't a burden for you, but that in some way they are a help and blessing. Thanks for being such good ambassadors of His Kingdom of Love. Thanks for being yielded and desperate, and such good samples in every way! You're wonderful!—Lots of love and great admiration, M.

64. Dear Peter, Gary and Heather, Well, here I am again! It's just that I didn't really finish writing to you yesterday; I still had a long list of things left. But at least the ones I wrote you were the ones that I thought were the most timely. Since that time I've accumulated a whole lot more. You just keep generating so much material from there, and of course I want to get involved in it all! Ha! But just "squawk" if I "squish" you too much. You're all doing just great! I'm just thrilled at the wisdom the Lord gives you and how He helps you to handle all those different situations and so many details, so many subjects, so many meetings, and so many people! It's wonderful!

Happy Birthday Gary!

65. Gary, we're all so happy to hear that you are over the worst of your sickness, and giving classes again, and even able to touch people again! It must be wonderful after having been separated for so long! You'd better be careful about kissing anybody for a while, or coughing right close to them, though.

66. Dear Gary‚ happy birthday in advance! What a wonderful birthday present from the Lord to you, to have your health back and to be able to again participate in the activities, and to be able to hug people again! And most of all‚ the wonderful birthday present of being involved in the most important meeting in the whole world! The Lord sure has blessed you in every way, and this year is starting off with a wonderful explosion of love! The Lord has already given you the most marvelous beginning to your new year, and I know He is going to continue His great blessings throughout the year. I don't have much to give you‚ except my prayers and love, which I do wholeheartedly! You're a wonderful man‚ and I'm glad the Lord has made you such an important part of me!

Reading the GNs Carefully Is Vital!

67. In one of the reactions, somebody said, "The GNs are always so 'explained' that you feel you got the point 100 paragraphs back." You can tell him that that's just Mama, and that's the way you and Gary feel, too, when she talks.—Ha! Seriously, though‚ it might be good to have him go into further detail about what he means. I have a feeling that some folks just don't read the GNs carefully enough, and don't realize that we are not just repeating the same point over and over, but we are adding on different aspects and rounding out the picture.

68. If our folks would really tune in to the Letters, they wouldn't have the misinterpretations and questions after they're done reading them that some do now. It's not that we are just repeating the same point over and over, but we're expanding on it and adding to it and rounding it out. We're doing this for their sakes, so that they will be able to get the full picture and the right balance‚ so they won't go off half–cocked thinking that they know what the elephant is like because they felt his trunk! We're trying to give them a clear picture of the whole elephant!

Mama's Words of Endearment to Peter

69. Peter, do you think reading all these "endearments" that I write you puts those there who don't have boyfriends or girlfriends or mates through trials? I noticed that you were very considerate in that you explained to them that you hoped it wouldn't be a problem for them.

70. One of the girls there, in her reaction, said that to the contrary, even though she didn't have someone she was real close to, it helped her to want to reach out more to others and to say loving things to them. Francis, however, said that it did cause him a trial, and he has had to just skip over them‚ because he wishes he had someone he could be saying those things to. I told him I understand and it is perfectly all right if he doesn't read those parts, if they are going to cause him to feel bad and depressed. Of course, the folks there don't have that option of "skipping over them." We know the Lord does want us to read these to the young people there, and He has confirmed this, but it is good to be conscious of those who might have a problem.

71. You should make sure that they don't leave these meetings thinking that my lavishing all these "love words" on you has continued just as heavily as at the beginning. It's not that I love you any less—you know that!—But I finally decided that it was a lot easier to write you and Gary and Heather without trying to talk to you so personally at the same time. Then I could just attach a little P.S. to you of a personal nature. Because I wanted to write all of you together, I had to opt for the more "businesslike" approach, even though, of course, I love all three of you dearly. But it just is a little difficult to talk personally and intimately to one if I'm not going to be talking to the others the same way.

72. So in some ways it's a matter of logistics. Also, of course, I was trying to pour on extra reassurance to you at the beginning when you would be wondering if things were going to change between us, with Juan being here while you're gone. Now that I—and the Lord—have convinced you that everything is still okay, we don't have to keep it up so heavily. Not that I would mind, if there were time for me to write it and for you to read it—and you know I love saying those things to you, because you are so precious to me! But most of our time in our letters has to be devoted to loving others and our wonderful Sweetheart, Jesus!

73. Peter, I hope the above doesn't make you feel bad. I don't want to sound cold and businesslike, when I don't feel that way at all towards you. To the contrary, instead of feeling "cold," I feel very "hot!" The flame of the fire of love in my heart is burning very strongly. I love you passionately, my darling! I need you every moment‚ and I can feel your soft touches! Jesus has put us together‚ inseparably, irrevocably, and our hearts will always beat together as one. We know this would be impossible unless it were the Love of Jesus filling us and thrilling us and exploding in us and loving us so completely. This is His Love, and we give all the glory to Him!

What Applies in One Situation May Not Apply in Another!

74. So, my love, I hope that the folks there see that they can't always take what we say in one situation and apply it to all situations. They can't think that what we do in one circumstance, we do in all circumstances. What we start doing at the beginning, we don't always continue doing all the way through. Every day is a different day‚ and a time to re–evaluate what we're doing by prayerfully seeking the Lord about it. We can't just put the controls on automatic and expect that everything is going to be okay. That's not the way the Lord works. Every situation has to be taken separately. No situation is like another. And even each situation‚ in itself, may require different care or different handling from one day to the next.

Peter's Sample of Yieldedness

75. Peter, I want to tell you again that I admire you greatly for your yieldedness in every area. You are a wonderful sample to us all. Your message to me while you were waiting for the letter and prophecies that you knew I was going to send, touched me very much. It's wonderful to be able to look forward with anticipation, and not fear‚ to whatever the Lord may have in store, even though we have no idea of what it is! Lord help us all to be that way‚ and to so eagerly welcome whatever He may have for us, knowing He would do nothing to hurt us, and only that which will help us, be good for us, and make us happy, as well as being good for His work. So that we can say, repeating the words of the Scripture, "I delight to do Thy will‚ O God"—whatever it is—whether I know what it is or not!

A Channel of the Lord's Love!

76. I haven't heard any more details about M. being in love with you, but since she apparently is, do you think you could have another date with her, Peter? Maybe some of the others are in love with you, too. But since she's the one we know about, would you be able to make the time for her?

77. How are you doing as far as your dates? If being with M. again would put too much strain on you, please disregard this. I just know that putting myself in her place, it would mean so, so much to me. Being in love with you, Peter, and not being able to be with you and be held in your arms and feel your kisses, would be very difficult.

78. Well, if it works out before she leaves, it would be such a wonderful thing for her. I love you, my darling, and I'm so proud of you for being such a willing channel of our great Lover's Love!

79. I love you, Peter, Gary and Heather, so, so much, and am praying daily that the Lord will continue to uphold you with His hand and continue His wonderful anointing upon you in every way. Thanks for giving your all to Him, so He can give His all to you!

80. P.S. to Peter: I love you, my darling. You're just wonderful, and I'm so thankful for you and how the Lord has put us together for His work's sake, and in the process, helped us to be so happy and fulfilled together. I love you‚ admire you, want you and desire you! Our sweet secretary knows I really mean it, because when I start talking to you like this I start sounding so different than I do in my regular dictation. At first I don't even notice it myself, but then I realize that I'm saying it with so much love in my voice. It's sort of funny how I change my tone of voice without even realizing it, just like I would be talking to you if you were here. It's more than dictating, it's dictating with love! Lots of big sexy hugs and kisses for you, my sweetheart!

Mama's Love for Peter!

81. My precious, wonderful lover and friend, dear, dear Peter! How I love you! It was so‚ so nice to talk to you on the phone this evening. Although I talk to you an awful lot in my letters, I must say that there's nothing like hearing your voice and getting your feedback right on the spot! It's just like you've really come for a visit! Honey‚ just hearing you talk turns me on! Well, even getting your letters turns me on! Did you know that I'm hopelessly in love with you? I must be getting more so every day, because I loved that phone call! It really is the next best thing to having you right here!

82. Honey, you are so sexy—you sure make me feel that way! My, the combination of the Spirit and the physical really is strong, isn't it? Just the effect of the Lord's Love on the body and the mind and the spirit is powerful! His Love through you really moves me—in every way! I'm getting more "mushy," more sentimental, more emotional, more sexy, more everything, because of you!

83. Honey, I just love, love, love you! I hope it's not too much! I don't want to "squish" you! You can see why we couldn't both be there at the Summit meeting together. We'd hardly ever get a chance to spend time with each other, but instead be needing to spend time with somebody else every night! Okay‚ I know it's not every night, but you know how it is!—That's the way it seems‚ at least!

84. Well, Sweetheart‚ as I said on the phone‚ I admire you so much! Even though I know your "work" at night is very satisfying and fulfilling, because you see how lives are so touched and changed by the Lord, I also know it's a sacrifice. It's a lot of work, and you get very tired, and I'm glad I don't have to be doing the same kind of thing! I know you're glad, too!—Ha!

85. So I really, really admire you, Sweetheart! I love your yieldedness. I love your obedience. I love your sensitivity to the Lord's voice and your willingness to do whatever He tells you! I love your freedom in the spirit and I love your sexiness! Actually, I love everything about you! Well, I've told you that before, haven't I? You don't mind hearing it again, do you?

86. I could go on and on about how wonderful you are and how much I love you, my darling‚ but I guess I'd better also mention some other things.

87. Peter, if anything I say in the things I write hurts you in any way, please let me know. You know I would never intentionally hurt you, but I know that in this multitude of words there are probably going to be some things that you might be a little sensitive about. In some cases, I don't think there is much we could do about it, because there are subjects we have to cover in which we just have to set our personal feelings aside in the interest of passing on lessons to others. But I certainly hope that you are faring all right in all of this.

The Young People's Conduct When They Return Home

88. One subject that needs to be covered—or at least mentioned as frequently as possible—is the young people's conduct when they get back on their respective fields. Also, the confidentiality factor—what they are able to say and what they are not able to say, for various reasons. The main reason being that they should not take it upon themselves to be the ones who are presenting the "New Wine" to the Family. They should not try to usurp my place in presenting the new moves and revelations and changes to the Family that we've shared with them.

89. This will be a pretty big test of their loyalty and leadership, right off the bat, and it will show if we can trust them or not. Besides, they'll lose a lot of their credibility if they start spouting off things, and then when the pubs come out and people see that what they told them was distorted or misinterpreted or just a small part of the picture, these Family members may very likely not trust them again when they have other important things that they need to tell them.

Giving the Lord's Love Back to Him by Sharing It with Others!

90. Okay, my sweetheart, I think that's all for now. This is a short message today. You have a big job ahead of you and we'll be praying a lot for you. I know the Lord will lead you and Gary, and it'll go just great! I love you from the bottom of my heart. I'm not sure if that's a "feeling" or not, but if it is, I'm very sure I'm not going to lose it. I love being in love with you and Jesus. I love the love that He gives to me in so many ways—including, in such a big way, through you! I love the joy and satisfaction it brings. I love it because it doesn't stop with me, but can overflow on others!

91. I'm so richly blessed beyond all measure or comprehension, and I want to give it all back to Him by sharing it with others. I'm doing that partly in sharing you with them. You're His Love—and my love—for them. Next to passing on His Love in the form of His Words, the greatest thing I can give them is you!—And Gary and Heather, of course! The folks there know I love them, because they know what a sacrifice it is for us to have all three of you gone for so long.

92. My precious sweetheart, I love you so much! I wish I knew how to better tell you. Well, the Lord has said it so beautifully in several instances, so if you really want the "full treatment," just go back and read the things He said! They do express what I feel‚ because our wonderful Husband is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and such an eloquent expresser of them also!

93. I was so excited to get your lengthy report! It's always such a treat to hear from you. I was wondering what was going on with some things, because poor Heather didn't know very much about them and is apparently on "overload." Poor girl, she has way too much to do, because the kids all love her and want her to shepherd them, and she has to be a secretary for all of us, and on top of that she does need a little sleep at least! Whatta gal! She's managing to keep up with it all‚ but I hope she can make the final two weeks! We'll sure be praying for her!

Praying for the Gift of Prophecy

94. Thanks for giving me the rundown on the prophecy classes. I'm so glad you followed the Lord's lead and prayed for those that needed to exercise their gifts more‚ and for those who didn't have it already. The results were wonderful‚ weren't they? Hallelujah! Good for you for making them "prove the Lord" by sitting down and asking Him for something afterwards. It was wise to suggest that they get something privately‚ as giving their first prophecy in public would have been more difficult for them. It was also good to have them later publicly testify that the Lord had answered and had given them prophecies too. It helps them‚ and also helps those that hear them.

Loving Jesus with Others

95. Peter, that was so precious about your date with J. I'm so happy that the Lord touched her in such a special way. It's just wonderful! Just think how powerfully the Lord can move and change people's lives by using us as His instruments! Thank you, my sweetheart, for being so yielded and for pouring forth so freely and completely and constantly! That makes me love you more and more! It's good for you to explain clearly and slowly and patiently to the girls about loving Jesus, so they won't think it's some big mystery that they aren't going to be able to attain to.

96. Also, it shows how the more open you are about loving Jesus‚ talking about it and praising Him intimately all together there, the more natural it becomes and the more free people feel about doing it.

97. The Lord is fulfilling all the promises that He made before the Summit, and it's wonderful to watch! Thanks for being His hands, His feet, His eyes, His mouth, and for sacrificing, that others may follow Him more closely. It is so sweet, though, how He makes your job so satisfying and fulfilling, and He makes you so happy as you do it! He's sure wonderful!—And He makes you that way, too! I love you dearly, M.

Only Through Prayer Can We Release God's Power!

98. Dear Peter, Gary and Heather, I love you‚ my dear ones! Don't be discouraged! Help is on the way! We were desperate to know how you were going to make it through the rest of this time, how you would ever have enough strength and time to do what you have to do. It just looked like an impossible situation, so I asked the Lord to give us something to help you, some encouragement as well as instruction for you! Well, we got it!—But the instruction was more for us than for you! There is some for you, too, but most of it is what we need to do! Lord help us!

99. He said, "Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm! The bugle calls! Call in reinforcements and forward, march!! Your angels and mighty warriors are surrounding you, but they are waiting for a signal to come to your rescue. They can only be released through our prayers."

100. The Lord then said, "Pray for My King Peter! Pray for My Prime Minister Gary! Pray for My beloved Handmaiden [Heather]—lest they be weary and faint in their minds. Pray that they may continue on in battle, leading My troops to victory! … Hold up their arms in prayer that they faint not. Wrap them around with the golden chain of prayer! Secure them with a forcefield of prayer! Fill them with prayers of My strength, of My power, of My security, and security against Enemy forces!

101. "Pray in the reinforcements, for I have legions waiting to be released at your command, to fight for you in this battle! The faithful prayers of My children are powerful and they can do—and will do—mighty things. But you must pray! Fear not, My fearless three, and take heed that you fall not at the Enemy's subtle attempts when he comes in with worry here and fretting there!"

102. So, we're on the attack here, and we're going to do all we can to create this chain of prayer that the Lord has indicated is so necessary to uphold you in this fierce battle! I'm sure you'll soon be feeling His renewed strength and power to continue your mission! I felt a little bad that we hadn't gotten this sooner, but I can see how the Lord allowed you to really get to the end of your strength, because He wants to show that it's only His power that can sustain you, and that He has to have our prayers to do it! No matter how much power He has there that He wants to release, He can't do it unless we do our part!

103. Of course we all have been praying daily for you, at each meal time and united devotions and meeting, but the Lord wanted us to get everyone much more desperate and stirred up to start waging a militant warfare, really on the attack, having you in our thoughts all the time. He not only wanted us here in our Home to do it, but our other units as well as the CRO offices. He wanted us to know it was an emergency and that your lives were depending upon it!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family