—By Father DavidDFO95626 April 1980

(Dad's advice to a pub member sick in bed suffering from an appendicitis attack:)

1. DEAR SON: WELL, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS TO ASK YOU SINCE I'M THE DOCTOR! FIRST OF ALL, HAVE YOU BEEN GETTING OUT for at least one or two hours of vigorous exercise every day? Son, how can you expect a blessing from the Lord when you disobey? That is not optional, it's not a suggestion, it's an order! Everybody in the Family has got to get out at least an hour or two for exercise every day!

2. THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT CAME TO ME WHEN I WAS PRAYING ABOUT YOU: "I'll bet he got absorbed in all this work he's been getting that he's been hunched over his desk & working away in a cramped position & not getting out & getting good fresh air & exercise & lots of good refreshing activity!" You just can't skip it!

3. I CAN'T SKIP IT, SO I DON'T SEE HOW YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH IT! The Lord won't let me do it—if I even miss one day I feel it. We take a long walk or a stiff climb, or in the Summertime when we have it we take a swim or something. Now you just haven't got any excuse for not getting out, Honey. Here's the way it is: There will always be work to do, you never get finished. Don't think, "Well, I want to finish this or finish that"—I know, I've done it, & then my exercise time is gone & that's it!

4. HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING ALL THE HEALTH RULES BESIDES THAT, THE DIETARY RULES? Do you drink plenty of fruit juice? Eat lots of vegetables? Stay clear of coffee? Just before this attack had you been drinking some coffee to try to stay awake to get your work done?

5. HAVE YOU READ MY RULES FOR APPENDICITIS THAT I WROTE TO LOIS IN THE FN about the exercise & taking frequent breaks? Don't keep hunched over your table for a long period of time working without getting up & moving around—walk downstairs, go to the bathroom, do something! And then if you feel it begins to be a strain or tiresome‚ quit! Take a break! Walk around the yard, any little thing like that helps.

6. A BODY JUST WASN'T MADE TO STAY IN ONE CRAMPED POSITION LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME & NOT GET PROPER CIRCULATION OF YOUR BLOOD. You need to get out, just even the inside exercise is not enough. You have to get outside in the fresh air where you can really flush out your lungs & breathe good fresh oxygen, & this then stirs up your whole bloodstream‚ gets it moving & from being sluggish & replenishes all the oxygen needed. There's just nothing that will take the place of good exercise outdoors in the fresh air.

7. NOW, WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN GETTING OUT FOR YOUR HOUR OR TWO OF VIGOROUS EXERCISE EVERY DAY? I get absorbed in my work too, but you know that what I do? With very rare exception as Maria knows—the minute the daylight begins to fade & I would have to read & study by artificial light, which I don't like, I quit!

8. I WORK ALL DAY WITH GOOD BROAD DAYLIGHT, & THEN WHEN IT BEGINS TO FADE ABOUT 6 O'CLOCK WE KNOCK OFF & TAKE OFF & walk for an hour or two.—Long walks! We walked four kilometers the other day, which is a fairly long walk for a woman & an old man, but it sure is good for me! Although I was real tired when I got back from that walk, I felt better the next day than I had in a long time.

9. YOU JUST CANNOT VIOLATE GOD'S HEALTH RULES ANY MORE THAN YOU CAN VIOLATE HIS MORAL RULES OR HIS LAW OF LOVE! You just can't do it & not suffer for it‚ I'm just telling you! What about the dietary rules? You folks just eat clean meats, don't you? I'm sorry to have to fuss at you, Honey, but that's what doctors are for‚ to tell you not just what's wrong with you but why‚ & that's the first thing that came to me when they told me you were sick.

10. WHY DO YOU THINK I WROTE THOSE LETTERS ANYHOW? Did you read them? Well, what do you think about them? What do you think I wrote them for? (Maria: He's sorry he hasn't followed them now!) Did you guys think that those Letters‚ the instruction to get out every day, was optional & that you could just do it if you wanted to or you felt like it?

11. IT'S AN ORDER! GET OUT!—That's why I put it so bluntly in the title "Get Out!" (No.805.) Do we have to phone you every day & tell you to get out? Have you got to have a special delivery message?—I already wrote you one Letter! Are you getting plenty of sleep at night, a good eight hours? Are you eating regular meals? Do you have a regular schedule? Do you get up about the same time every day? And what do you eat for breakfast? How many meals do you eat a day? (Maria: I understand he's been eating some brown rice though, & that's pretty hard on a sensitive stomach.)

12. WELL‚ I DON'T CARE WHAT THE DOCTORS SAY, IT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE APPENDICITIS TO ME, & with that you've got to follow those rules that I gave Lois. Appendicitis starts with a stomach ache, mainly because your stomach is all cramped & your bottom's cramped & you're not getting enough action & exercise & circulating your blood & body fluids enough, even your waste fluids, so they get cramped & stuck in there & begin to fester because you're not getting them moving & going. Have you had any constipation? Constipation is often a definite cause of appendicitis!

13. SON, YOU JUST CANNOT DO IT! YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT & GET GOOD EXERCISE & YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE REGULARITY, regularity is one of the best things. Getting up at a regular time‚ eating at a regular time, eliminating at a regular time, doing your work at a regular time, getting out for exercise at a regular time, & going to bed at a regular time. Now, do you do that?

14. WELL, THAT IS NOT OPTIONAL, THAT'S AN ORDER! YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT FOR AN HOUR OR TWO WALK OR EXERCISE OF SOME KIND EVERY DAY! A walk is the best thing in the world because you get out in the fresh air & sunshine. It's inspiring, invigorating & you get fresh air to flush out your lungs & your blood stream & you circulate even your waste fluids so that you don't have any problem about your elimination. Have you had any problem with urination? Going often shows the body's trying to throw off the waste.

15. I'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS, SON, I'VE HAD APPENDICITIS MANY TIMES WHEN I WAS YOUNG. I suffered with it from the time I was 12 years of age, maybe before, but that's when I really began to feel it. You kids just cannot violate God's health rules & abuse your bodies & expect to be healthy, you just can't do it!

16. WHY DO YOU THINK I'M AS HEALTHY AS I AM AFTER ALL THESE YEARS & STILL GOING STRONG?—TTL! I fucked three women in a row already in the last three days! How's your sex life?—Being sick pretty well nixes it, doesn't it? Well, if you gals don't take better care of this guy & make him get out & take care of himself, I'm gonna get on your case! I don't want to hear of another day that you don't get out for at least an hour or two of good long vigorous walks, healthy exercise, every day, & I mean it!

17. WHAT'S THE USE OF PRAYING FOR YOU IF YOU KEEP VIOLATING THE RULES? We just have to come back & pray for you again, & you keep getting sick again. Like my mother said about those Pennsylvania-Dutch, "They eat all that sweet stuff & they've all got diabetes & stuff like that! It just absolutely disgusts me to have to pray for those people because I know even if the Lord heals them I'll have to be beck next year to pray for them again!—They'll all be sick again, considering the kind of life they lead & the diet they eat!"

18. NOW SON, YOU'VE BEEN DOING A MARVELOUS JOB, YOU'VE BEEN OVER-WORKING, THAT'S THE PROBLEM! I have been dumbfounded to see those things get done so quickly! You knew there was no rush on those, didn't you? I kind of get inspired sometimes & work by spurts, & I'll sit there & rattle off a bunch of them & knock'm off & send them off, but I don't expect you to have them all done the same day you receive them.

19. DO LIKE I DO: I JUST PLUG ALONG & DO MY WORK, WHATEVER I CAN DO, & WHEN SIX O'CLOCK COMES I KNOCK OFF!—No matter if I'm in the middle of something, that's it!—And I take off! You've got to work just like you're working for an employer or a business or anything else where you have regular hours & you get off at 6 o'clock. We don't require you to get up before 8 in the morning, none of us do, but at least you can knock off by six in the evening & get a nice two hours before supper. Then you can relax after supper & watch TV or the women or fuck'm or whatever you want to do, but you're not gonna feel like it if you keep on just crouching over your desk all the time!

20. I'M SORRY TO HAVE TO TALK TO YOU LIKE THIS, BUT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE & I WARNED YOU BEFORE, right?—And it was the same problem then, you hadn't been getting out! You've just gotta do it, Son‚ it doesn't matter whether you feel like it or not. You've gotta do it! Now once you're really sick & you're in pain, I don't suggest that you jump right out of bed & start running down the road; but just as soon as you feel like getting around the best you can. But you have got to get more exercise or you're gonna be sick, sick, sick!—And we need you, the Lord needs you!

21. HOW MUCH TIME DOES THIS SAVE NOW? HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU SAVED BY WORKING TOO LONG, TOO LATE & TOO HARD to hurry & get out these Chapters so that it lands you in bed for a week? How much time does that save? That's not saving any time, is it? What kind of common sense is that, huh? What kind of rationality is that? If you're gonna land yourself in bed for a week‚ that's not saving any time! It's far better for you to live regularly & take regular exercise.

22. ESPECIALLY WE PEOPLE WHO HAVE OFFICE JOBS, WE HAVE GOT TO GET OUT & GET SOME GOOD EXERCISE EVERY DAY! I like to do it regularly, & we have a regular schedule where I knock off about six every day & we get out, but what your schedule is & what you want to make it is up to you! If you'd rather walk out at noon in the heat of the day, that's up to you. I like to walk in the evening in the cool of the day‚ & it's often pretty in the cool at 6 o'clock.

23. AND DON'T COME BACK & WORK AFTER SUPPER EITHER! KNOCK IT OFF! Your day is done if you've put in your 6 or 8 hours during the day, then after supper is the time to relax with a video or a woman or reading or whatever you like to relax with, amen? I like to save time when I'm watching TV—I don't like to just sit there doing nothing, so usually I'm making love at the same time!—Double recreation! (Maria: Double your pleasure!) Yes‚ double your pleasure, double your fun!—But I hope you don't chew Wrigley's Spearmint gum!

24. WELL‚ YOU VIOLATED THE RULES‚ SON‚ YOU DISOBEYED, & THE LORD IS NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET AWAY WITH IT! He'll just give you a good spanking & let you suffer for it because He doesn't approve of it! He doesn't like it & I don't like it! You're never going to be as healthy as you could be if you're going to keep on violating those rules. Now I really kind of scolded you a little bit last time about it, & you started getting out more & you felt better, didn't you? Right, well, why did you stop?

25. YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT!—WELL, YOU SEE, YOU DIDN'T! You've got to keep the rules, Son, you can't violate God's health rules, you just can't get away with it. He's got built-in self destruct to punish you for violating the rules. Now why did you guys think you could get away with it, hmm? Of course if you're not doing it, who's gonna make him do it?

26. I DON'T EVER WANT TO FIND OUT ANYBODY IS STILL WORKING AFTER 6 O'CLOCK & I MEAN IT! That's the time to knock off & take two hours off. Before supper is a great time to get your exercise because it really gets you pepped up & your blood circulating & your lungs flushed out & you're all nice & hungry then for supper & you can really eat!

27. YOU HAVE GOT TO GET OUTDOORS AT LEAST ONE HOUR A DAY, out walking vigorously‚ climbing over the hills & getting fresh air, sunshine & exercise, or you are all going to be sick! Now how do you think I stayed as well as I am as long as I have, huh? How do you think I could fuck all these women if I wasn't getting good exercise & feeling good? But I was real sick yesterday myself & probably for the same reason—I wasn't getting out enough.

28. WELL FOR ONE REASON, I WAS SICK FOR SOMEBODY ELSE'S SAKE, MAYBE YOURS TOO, but I didn't know you were sick then. I was praying for somebody else, the poor landlady of our next house. We heard when we were over there looking at the place that she's going in the hospital for a major cancer operation June 2nd. She was so sweet & so precious, my heart was so moved for her! I came home that night & I can't think of any reason why it happened, except I did vary my schedule in one thing.

29. WE WERE COMING BACK FROM THE HOUSE & I WANTED TO TAKE THE FAMILY OUT FOR A LITTLE REFRESHMENT. They'd skipped their snack so we all got a cup of coffee, a nice great big delicious strong cup of this lethal brew they make where we live, & it was so good!—But it was just an hour before supper, which of course totally KO'd my appetite for supper. I drank it on an empty stomach & then I didn't feel like eating supper till about 11 or 12 o'clock that night. Normally eating before I go to bed doesn't bother me, in fact I sleep better if I eat a little snack—something bland that's not hard to digest.

30. I USUALLY ONLY EAT TWO MEALS A DAY! I drink a cup of coffee in the morning, but it's quite a cup of coffee with a lot of nourishment in it. In fact, doing the kind of work that you & I do where you're hunched over a desk all day long, you don't need very much to eat, & you certainly don't need to eat foods hard to digest.

31. I DRINK A CUP OF COFFEE IN THE MORNING MADE WITH HALF DECAF & HALF THE STRAIGHT REAL THING to help wake me up & get me going—two teaspoons of coffee, one decaf & one real thing—& then a lot of powdered milk in it. She said lately she hadn't even been putting honey in it because the milk makes it sweet enough. Then she adds a couple of eggs, just beaten up in the coffee, & cooks it slowly on the fire. She stirs it & cooks it on a very low fire until it's almost like custard, it thickens, & that's one of the best thing in the world for what's wrong with you right now!

32. FOR THAT'S A VERY NOURISHING MEAL, A CUP OF COFFEE MADE LIKE THAT. You can leave out the real coffee for him while he's sick, just give him the decaf, but with plenty of milk in it & a couple raw eggs straight out of the shell, & then just cook it slowly on the fire. You have to keep stirring it all the time in order to keep it from globbing up & getting all lumpy. It's nice & thick & slides down smooth & rests so easy, I don't even hardly burp—& I'm a great burper!

33. NOW YOU'VE JUST GOT TO LIVE A REGULAR SCHEDULE & JUST LOOK ON IT LIKE A REGULAR JOB. I know you've had some slave drivers in the past, like the guy that demanded a pound of flesh that Shakespeare wrote about.—The old Jew that loaned the guy some money, a courtier in the King's court, gambler or spendthrift. He promised to pay it back & said, "If I don't pay it I'll give you a pound of my flesh!" So when he didn't pay‚ this old Jewish loan shark took him to court & said, "I want my pound of flesh!" Ha! That's the opinion they had of Jews in those days & the kind of things Shakespeare wrote!

34. SO YOU HAD SOME REAL SLAVE–DRIVERS LIKE JETHRO‚ HO, JUSTUS ASHTREE ETC., BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU‚ I JUST DON'T BELIEVE IN IT & NEVER HAVE! Clear back at the Ranch we had a regular schedule, & when we rang the bell at five o'clock at the end of the work day—for most everybody there it was five 'cause we got up early there with ranch work—we rang that big bell, & if those guys didn't come in off those tractors & stop that work where it was & cut it off, I came out there with my cane screaming at them!

35. I SAID, "I DON'T CARE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO FINISH THIS ROW! Just leave it sit where it is, it's not raining, just leave it there!"—& I'd lift my cane like I was gonna use it on them, & brother, they skiddaddled in! Because Jethro‚ he'd work 'em out there all day right through meal times & all night too if he'd had enough light to do it! I don't believe in it! I don't think you're gonna get the best out of your workers‚ & I don't think you're gonna get the best works out of your work, & nobody's gonna enjoy life that way!

36. YOU'RE HERE TO SERVE THE LORD‚ TO LOVE THE LORD & ENJOY HIM FOREVER, & you can't enjoy Him forever if you're gonna stay forever over that table or that desk or that typewriter or that drawing board, & I mean it! You can only stand so much of that kind of work & then you've got to get out!—You're going to kill your eyes & your lungs, & that's why dear Sam wound up almost blind & spitting blood, because he just studied & worked all the time hunched over a desk, & pretty soon he had TB & was almost blind! And last I saw of dear false prophet Joel they almost had to lead him around by the hand in Dallas, he'd gone almost blind from wrecking his eyes reading a little 3 x 5 Bible!

37. WHAT KIND OF LIGHT DO YOU WORK IN? DO YOU HAVE REALLY GOOD LIGHT coming over your left shoulder?—Or if you're left handed, over your right shoulder? Do you make sure your light is right & doesn't glare on your paper?—That it doesn't come from in front of you & glare in your eyes, & that the shadow of your hand doesn't fall on your paper? Do you watch that & take care of your eyes?

38. LET ME TELL YOU, HARDLY ANYBODY CAN GET ALONG WITHOUT EYES! I wondered sometimes when I had a little eye trouble, "Well Lord, I suppose if I had to do some editing Maria could read it to me & I could dictate the corrections"—but I'll tell you, that would take two people's time then‚ & I can do it a whole lot easier the way I am now! I have very good eyes & can see very well; the only reason I have to wear glasses is because my arm isn't long enough! Old folks usually get far-sighted, so that's hope for you near-sighted folks!: As you get older your near-sightedness usually will get better because your lenses get hardened in a more far-sighted position.

39. I'M SORRY, BUT I HAD TO GIVE YOU A GOOD SPANKING SO THAT YOU CAN REPENT & ask the Lord to forgive you & promise you're going to obey from now on & you're not going to do that any more, hanging over your desk day & night & not getting out for your exercise! You knock off at six o'clock & that's it, every one of you! Get out for a walk, if you've got to go two-by-two in different directions or whatever so as not to attract too much attention or curiosity, as folks aren't used to walking much anymore!

40. I USUALLY KNOCK OFF ABOUT SIX & DRINK A NICE GREAT BIG MUG OF TOMATO JUICE, or whatever kind of juice I can get ahold of, & that holds me off then until supper. —And we take our walk & ramble all around our place till there's hardly anyplace around that we haven't explored! I'm even amazed at the people at my house when I ask them, "Have you been up there? Been there?" I say, "Well, where do you go?" "Well, we did so & so & so."—I've got to get on them too, because I think some of them are scotching off & not getting out on their walks!

41. (MARIA: WELL, ANOTHER THING YOU DO THAT REALLY HELPS YOU IS YOU DRINK A LOT OF WATER.) Lots of liquids! I drink a lot of water even while I wash my face & hands in the morning, then I drink a mug of coffee & an equal mug of water. Now don't try to cram all this down all at once just 'cause I said so, or you're apt to blow up like a balloon & burst if you're not used to it!

42. I JUST DO WHAT I FEEL LIKE DOING!—TROUBLE IS, TOO MANY PEOPLE GET IN BAD HABITS to where they don't feel like doing the right thing anymore. God made it so that your body tells you what to do. You don't have to tell your animals what to do & when to drink & when to eat, they tell you, right?—You farmers.

43. WELL, I UNDERSTAND YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR CATS ANYMORE, WHICH IS A GOOD THING, because they're just a nuisance really. We people working for the Lord have got too much to do to fiddle around with pets & if you can't even take care of your own body, how the hell are you going to take care of cats? (Maria: Another thing some people don't do is go to the bathroom when they need to, they put it off & wait‚ & that's not good.) Yes!

44. YOU HAVE TO DRINK LOTS OF LIQUIDS & HAVE EXCELLENT ELIMINATION. You should have at least one good BM at the same usual regular time every day, regularity‚ like the tides in the sea. I was writing something a long time ago about "Body Clocks" which we haven't published yet. I mean she's going to have enough to keep her busy publishing after I'm gone till the Lord comes, so you're never going to run out‚ don't worry!

45. THE LORD DID JUST WHAT HE PROMISED, HE GIVES US MORE THAN WE HAVE ROOM ENOUGH TO HOLD! We started out with a 32-page Magazine & we went up to 40, then we went up to 64, 72, 80, 160, 164 (now 232) & we still don't have enough room for everything! But we keep it flowing anyhow, it doesn't get clogged up & stopped up like your abdomen.

46. YOU HAVE GOT TO KNOCK IT OFF, THAT'S THE LAW! IT'S NOT OPTIONAL, TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY IS PART OF YOUR JOB! The Lord has said plenty about it in the Word, "Abuse not your body, it's the temple of the Holy Ghost!" (1Co.3:16,17;6:19.)—Besides that, it's His tool to do His work, & you just can't abuse it‚ that's all! Everybody's always worried about the work. Well, let me tell you‚ God's a lot more worried about the worker!

47. BECAUSE THE WORK'S GOING TO BE NO GOOD IF YOU DON'T TAKE CARE OF THE WORKER, & your primary job is to take care of yourself. You have to take good care of yourself, & then you can take good care of others & the Lord's Work. Now I don't ever want to have to give you this lecture again‚ Son, & I don't ever want to hear again that you're not getting out!

48. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK AT NIGHT, so all you have to do is lounge around on the couch with the women & fuck'm or read or watch TV or whatever you feel like, but I don't want to hear of anybody doing any more of this hard, many-hours, day-after-day, half-the-night kind of work! I just won't let them do it at my house, & I'm not gonna let you do it here!

49. I KNOW YOU DO YOUR WORK—OUR PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO BE DRIVEN TO WORK, WE ALL LOVE OUR WORK!—If anything we over-work & we have to be driven away from our work! So Path‚ just to go up there with a stick, if you have to, & beat on him to get him to quit & get out! If you have to drive them all out the door with a cane, use it, so you can drive them out the door to get them out. And then if they won't budge, beat on them until they run down the road! I mean it! OK, now is that enough?—Or do I have to sock it to you more?

50. PTL! WELL, YOU SHOULDN'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING BUT LIQUIDS FOR A LITTLE WHILE. Would you like to try that kind of coffee some time?—It's really good! I have that in the morning, & tomato juice in the afternoon. I can honestly say I often don't eat all day, I just drink! Often my first meal of the day is dinner, & I eat a real good big dinner. Well of course, I don't eat near as much as some of these giants, never saw people who could eat like they can eat! I look at those plates heaped up like that in amazement! I hope none of you little guys eat like that! You're just stuffing your guts & you don't really need it‚ & you don't have enough room for it!

51. I THINK YOU COULD PUT ALL THAT I EAT FOR DINNER IN ONE OF THOSE LITTLE CEREAL BOWLS, & that's about all your stomach can hold! Now mine may look like it can hold a lot more, but that's just fat because I don't get enough exercise, sad to say, & it's just the way I'm built. Maria says it's because I'm a king! (Maria: It's nice!) Well, when you see some of those pictures of how skinny I used to be 20 years ago, it feels kind of comfortable now!

52. I USED TO BE SO ASHAMED OF BEING SO SKINNY ALL MY LIFE, I WAS REALLY EMBARRASSED I WAS SO THIN! Fred would get me up on television & say, "Look at this guy, he's so skinny I don't know how he does so much work, he couldn't weight 80 lbs. soaking wet!" He used to call me "a bag of bones"! But I have spread out! I used to worry about it till my father said,

53. "SON, DON'T WORRY—JUST WAIT FOR THE MIDDLE-AGED SPREAD!"—AND IT FINALLY ARRIVED! I don't know whether it's the coffee that does it or those dinners at night or what, anyway, it's just the way I'm shaped.—Because of my mother's shape, I think, I took after her, I'm a lot like her. I sound like my father though‚ it's really funny. When I hear my voice on a tape recorder I think‚ "Wow, that sure sounds just like my Dad!"

54. WELL, PTL! THAT'S ABOUT ALL, WE'LL PRAY FOR YOU & I'M GOING TO PRAY MOST OF ALL FOR YOUR NAUGHTY HEART‚ that you will repent of your sins & will make restitution by getting out & getting some exercise & not working so hard! I had a check of the Holy Spirit when I sent you all that work, that I should tell somebody to tell you that you didn't have to do it all as fast as I was dishing it out! I work in spurts & do a whole bunch, & then sometimes when I don't feel like working, I just knock it off. If I don't feel like working I just don't work, & it's usually 'cause I've done plenty. Besides‚ she can't even get it all in the Mag anyhow, so why worry?

55. JUST DO WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE DOING! Now of course, if you feel like sleeping all the time, that's a little problem, or if you just feel like running around over the hills all the time, that would be a problem. Or if you feel like working all the time, that's just as big a problem!—You may get work done for awhile, but pretty soon you won't be able to work, & that's no good.

56. HAVE YOU GOT ANY KIND OF ALARM CLOCK THERE YOU GUYS CAN SET? If you haven't, get one that you can hear a mile away, one of those old-fashioned old–timers that sounds like a fire gong! Set it for six o'clock, so you guys will know when to knock off!—And when you hear it, knock it off! Get out! Right then!

57. YOU COOKS GET A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF EXERCISE & A CHANGE OF POSITION AT LEAST & A LITTLE ACTIVITY AROUND THE KITCHEN for about an hour before supper, but that does not substitute for an outdoor hour of exercise‚ fresh air, sunshine, deep breathing, your heart pumping hard to flush out your bloodstream—it does not substitute for it! I don't care how many washings you did or how many meals you cooked, you've still got to get your hour out!

58. NOW IS THAT CLEAR? HAVE I MADE IT CLEAR ENOUGH THIS TIME? I don't ever want to hear you guys again thinking that your work's so important you can't get some exercise! Taking care of your body is even more important than your work, in a way, because you're not gonna be able to work very long if you don't take care of your body!

59. I SURE CAN'T SCOLD YOU ABOUT YOUR WORK EXCEPT THAT YOU'RE OVER-WORKING‚ doing too much, work, & you're keeping me too busy! That's one reason I'm here. For God's sake, knock it off so you don't keep sending me so much work & so I don't have to work so hard! Well, I must say it's a temptation when you send us all that work, I always ask Maria first thing "Did you receive any goodies today?"—And I got everything done you sent me. But that does not mean that you have got to do them all now & finish them up immediately. Is that clear?—Nor tomorrow, nor this weekend! Especially while you're sick.

60. SO TAKE IT EASY WHILE YOU HAVE A CHANCE—WE'RE NOT GONNA LET YOU BE SICK VERY OFTEN! In fact, we're gonna make sure you're not sick any more. They're gonna keep you in good health if they have to prop you up & roll you down the hill in a wheel chair! So just take care of yourselves‚ knock it off, & no more typing, no more drawing, no more photowork, laying out—except women—after supper! Is that clear?

61. WELL, DON'T OVERDO SEXUALLY EITHER, THAT CAN WEAR YOU DOWN—of course I've never had it wear me down yet, but anyhow, some say it does! It seems like I never get tired of sex for some reason. Why is that, Honey? Hmm?—I do get tired, but not of that! So, PTL, God bless her, she gives me really all I need, but I have to be fair & I have to share. (Maria: He needs a lot of variety!) I have to try to keep the others happy too! (Prays:)

62. SO PTL! WE'RE SORRY WE HAD TO SPEND THIS TIME GIVING THEM A LECTURE & SCOLDING THEM, but they needed it, they needed a spanking, Lord. They needed a little verbal tongue-lashing for their sins & their wickedness & their evil disobedient hearts for not getting out & getting the exercise we commanded them to do.

63. LORD, IF WE CAN PAINT IT BLACK ENOUGH & SHOW THEM HOW BAD IT IS, MAYBE THEY'LL BE AFRAID NOT TO OBEY! So we ask You in Jesus' Name to help them to take better care of their bodies. We know Thy Work is important, but Thy worker is even more important, or he's not going to be able to work long. So please, Lord‚ remind them & help them remind each other that they must take care of themselves & their bodies & each other as well as Thy Work, or they're not gonna make very good workers if they can't work.

64. SO LORD, WE ASK THEE TO HELP THEM TO REMEMBER THEY MUST FIRST TAKE CARE OF THE WORKER‚ & THEN THE WORK, & of course spend as much fellowship with You‚ Lord, & Thy Word as possible for their spiritual food & their spiritual exercise as well, in Jesus' Name. TYL! Amen. Bless Thy Son now, Lord, in Jesus' Name. We ask Thee to rebuke this thing & touch it & clear up this poison & infection & congestion, clean it out, Lord, & strengthen him. Help him to take better care of himself now, to drink the right things & do whatever activity he can stand, Lord, Thy will be done. Help him to obey.

65. HELP HIM TO JUST REST NOW & MEDITATE & REFLECT ON THESE THINGS SO THAT HE WILL BE BETTER SOON & BETTER ABLE TO SERVE THEE, Lord, by taking better care of not only Thy work, Lord, but Thy worker, in Jesus' name. Rebuke it, Lord‚ in Jesus' Name, right now! You promised "they shall lay hands on the sick & they shall recover." (Mt.16:18.) "I am the Lord that healeth thee, who healeth all thy diseases & forgiveth all thine iniquity" of not walking! (Ex.15:26; Ps.103:3.) I realise "many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all"—by getting out for a nice walk every day! (Ps.34:19.) OK?

66. SO GET OUT EVERY DAY, IT'S A RULE, & IT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT AS YOUR EATING! Do you have to be reminded to eat every day? Do they have to beg you to come to the table? Well, sometimes you do some people, to try to get them there on time. But a regular schedule is very important, I've read so much doctors have had to say on regularity. Dr. Koger was a regularity fanatic!

67. SEE, IF YOU GUY'S WORK WAS PHYSICAL EXERCISE, IF IT WAS MANUAL LABOUR, THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TAKING A WALK EVERY DAY. If you were a postman out hoofing it all day long you sure wouldn't have to take a walk afterward!—Or if you were out there on a construction site wheeling a wheel-barrow all day like I used to do, you wouldn't have to be taking walks either. But because you're humped over a desk or a typewriter or a drawing board all day, then you've got to get out & exercise your body some other way. You just don't get it in your work! OK? Have I said enough?

68. NOW HE SHOULD HAVE NOTHING BUT LIQUIDS, & PARTICULARLY WHATEVER APPEALS TO HIM. I'm a great one for your body knowing what it needs & having a yen for something that's good for you. You need to drink lots of liquids, drink plenty of water‚ & if you need nourishment‚ you feel hungry, then drink that coffee or some nice soup or fruit juice or yogurt‚ whatever appeals to you the most.

69. SEE, I HAD APPENDICITIS FOR YEARS & I NEARLY LANDED IN THE HOSPITAL WITH IT & I NEARLY DIED OF IT! My whole family had appendicitis & every one of them had their appendix removed. Appendectomies were very popular when I was a little tiny kid & before that, but by the time I was born my mother believed the Lord for healing, so she didn't want me operated on & the Lord always healed me. TTL!

70. BUT OF COURSE IF I KEPT ON VIOLATING THE HEALTH RULES, THEN I'D GET IT BACK AGAIN‚ for the same reason. I was a bookworm & I'd stay curled up in a chair reading a book all day. Well, that's not good for you, you don't get enough exercise, & I'd get sick.—Or sometimes later on I'd be driving a car all day, a very nerve-straining job.

71. ANY TYPE OF JOB THAT IS NERVE-STRAINING & NERVE-RACKING WHERE YOU'RE UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE & TENSION while you're working—like lay-out, photography, artwork & even typing—tension is one of the greatest contributors to appendicitis, believe it or not. And if you're in the same position for hours at a time, it just cramps every thing down to where it can't function properly.

72. SO EVERY TIME YOU FIND THAT YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE STRAINED & A LITTLE TIRED OF THAT POSITION, too much tension—get up, walk around, walk down stairs, get out! We don't smoke, so you guys can't take a smoke break, but you can take a fresh air break! Get outside & just take a few minutes—I do that all day long!

73. EVERY HOUR OR TWO I'M OUT OF MY CHAIR AGAIN & I'm going to the bathroom, washing my face & hands or running down the hall‚ check the furnace‚ check the baby, then back to work again. Because just even the one hour every day is not going to do it. You've got to have little breaks off & on all day to keep active. So take good care of yourself. GBY! ILY! I'm sorry to have to lecture you.

74. IF YOU WERE EXPECTING ME TO PRAY A CHEERFUL PRAYER TO COMFORT YOU, well‚ I guess I'm more like one of Job's Comforters! You know how they comforted?—They spent most of their time bawling him out!—And some of them were right, he needed it! He was a bit too self–righteous. He thought he was pretty perfect. You certainly do good work, all of you, & I don't have to admonish you to work. I have to admonish you to quit working‚ & I don't want to have to do it any more! I don't want to hear about anybody not getting their time out & time off.—6-8 hours of office work a day 5 or 6 days a week is enough!

75. NOW IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN, EVERYBODY THERE IS GOING TO HAVE TO WRITE ME A DAILY HOURLY REPORT of your activities from morning till night, everything you do. Now if you don't want to tell me all that‚ then take better care of yourself & get out & get some exercise, OK? Well‚ we've got to finish our exercise now too. I hope I can talk to you all under more pleasant circumstances next time.—But you all needed this scolding.

76. DR. KOGER GAVE ME A DIET WHEN I HAD APPENDICITIS WHEN I WAS A YOUNG TEENAGER. He said if you have a weakness for appendicitis, a tendency to it, then there are certain things you just cannot eat.—Don't eat nuts, grains, rough foods, though meat‚ stay away from anything that's harsh, any kind of cereals or brans like that All-Bran that they furnish you in the State that's supposed to keep you regular, blah blah!—It'll keep you regularly in bad shape! If you didn't have intestinal trouble, why you will have it if you keep eating that junk!

77. GOD DIDN'T INTEND FOR YOU TO EAT ALL BRAN! There's a little bit of bran with all cereals & that's enough, but that stuff is all roughage! You need a little roughage to stimulate the peristaltic action of your bowels to keep the food moving along, but you don't need any of that right now. You don't need anything rough, you need everything smooth, so you should just be drinking liquids which are easy to digest. Even maybe for a day or two stay away from citric acids like orange juice, 'cause that's pretty strong for tender linings. I don't know if you should even drink wine—maybe a little glass or so wouldn't hurt you, but it's sort of like what you feel like eating & drinking.

78. I'D STAY AWAY FROM TOAST OR ANY ROUGH VEGETABLES OR RAW VEGETABLES FOR AWHILE unless you take the crust off & soak the toast in your coffee or milk till it's real real soft, but even then I'd just drink liquids for a little bit. I go all day on liquids some days—I don't see why you can't! PTL!—And then I eat all night! Ha! I eat a good dinner, & lately Maria's been making me eat a little mush when I go to bed about one or two o'clock in the morning, because that satisfies my hunger a little bit so I don't get too hungry & wakeful during the night.

79. AFTER HE'S GETTING BETTER & HE'S DOING PRETTY GOOD ON LIQUIDS, START GIVING HIM JUST SOFT FOODS ONLY, some real soft mush, not some kind of harsh cereal, but things like mashed potatoes & gravy. Stay clear of any rough vegetables or any meat that's too rough, & definitely no nuts or cereal or grains.—I can't even eat raisins! Since I married Maria,

80. I'VE HAD A LITTLE TOUCH OF APPENDICITIS JUST A VERY FEW TIMES IN OUR LIFE TOGETHER, & almost always I could trace it back to something I ate that was too rough, & at the same time I wasn't getting enough exercise, I was hunched over my work too long & under too much tension.

81. NERVOUS TENSION IS ONE OF THE GREATEST CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO APPENDICITIS, & I'm telling you‚ Son, I've had it & I've heard a lot about it & talked to a lot of doctors about it, so I don't care what the doctor says, I'm convinced you've got appendicitis! You've got all the signs of it & there's hardly anything else that'll give you that much pain, & boy‚ I tell you, it can give you pain!

82. I'VE TOLD YOU THE STORY OF HOW I WAS ROLLING ON THE FLOOR ONE NIGHT IN AGONY, & I'd have been screaming if I'd dared, but I was in a hotel. And my mother said‚ "Do you want me to send for a doctor?" She'd prayed & laid hands on me & asked the dear preacher nearby who had a lot of faith for healing, for his elders & his church to pray for me, & I wasn't better yet. So finally I think she got a little scared & her faith got weak because I was really suffering. I was literally doubled up rolling on the floor I was in such agony, so I know how it feels!

83. AND SHE SAID‚ "WELL MAYBE I'D BETTER SEND FOR AN AMBULANCE, & IF THEY TAKE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL maybe they'll at least give you tests to see exactly what's wrong & maybe they'll know what to give you & what I shouldn't give you. The doctors know a lot of things that I don't know."—She was sort of weakening a bit.

84. AND IN A WAY IT'S TRUE, IF YOU HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH SENSE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, you don't know what you're supposed to eat or not eat, or drink or not drink, or whatever, then maybe you need to go to a hospital & a doctor to find out!—But you've got a doctor talking to you this afternoon who knows a lot about this one—besides you have the Lord! I told you guys that story in another Letter I think somewhere.

85. ANYHOW, SHE FINALLY PHONED THE HOSPITAL UNBEKNOWNST TO ME. It was late at night & the only guy there was the head of the hospital, a Lutheran. She said‚ "My boy is real sick & we're quite sure it's appendicitis‚ with quite a bit of pain. I was just wondering if it's all right for him to drink water?" & so on. And he said, "Well who's his doctor?"—That's one of the catches where they've always got you. "You mean you haven't called a doctor?" She said,

86. "WELL‚ THIS BOY IS A LITTLE BIT FANATICAL, YOU KNOW, HE BELIEVES GOD IS GOING TO HEAL HIM!"—She didn't want to admit that she was that way too, ha! She said, "He doesn't want to call a doctor, he says the Lord is going to heal him, but I thought maybe I ought to call you to send an ambulance & then take him to the hospital, that if you could treat him a little bit there, then maybe that might help." He said‚ "Never!

87. "IF THAT BOY WANTS TO TRUST GOD, DON'T YOU TAKE HIM NEAR A HOSPITAL! DON'T YOU CALL A DOCTOR! YOU LET HIM TRUST GOD!" How about that? He said, "You keep him away from all those things. If I send an ambulance down there with a couple of interns, the first thing they'd do is give him a shot & knock him out if he's in that much pain, & he wouldn't be able to trust God!" He said,

88. "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, I KNOW A PREACHER HERE WHO'S REALLY GOT FAITH FOR HEALING! He comes in here in my hospital & lays hands on the sick & they get healed! It's miraculous!"—And he gave her the name of the very same guy she'd just phoned to have prayer for me! Ha! She said, "All right, thank you very much! Sure appreciate that!" She told me she'd phoned & asked for advice—that's the way she put it—& he gave it to her!

89. AND THEN I SAID, "WELL, MOTHER, WE'VE HAD PRAYER & THEY'RE PRAYING FOR ME & THE DOCTOR TOLD YOU TO LET ME TRUST THE LORD, SO WE'VE DONE ALL WE CAN DO.—And with all these people praying for me & you guys laid hands on me & everything else‚ I ought to be able to just lie down on the bed now & stretch out & go to sleep & trust the Lord that He's going to heal me!"—I thought I'd try, as before I hadn't been able to. I had been in bed‚ but I was writhing in agony & actually rolled down on the floor! So I said,

90. "IF GOD'S GONNA HEAL ME, HE CAN DO IT WITHOUT ANY HELP, IF HE WANTS TO HEAL ME.—AND IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO HEAL ME‚ NOBODY CAN HELP ME!" So I laid down on the bed—I hadn't been able to even straighten out before, couldn't flatten out on my back 'cause it hurt my side so—I laid flat out, & that's the last thing I remember! I just went sound asleep & slept clear through the night till the next morning, woke up completely healed, not a pain‚ nothing! I was a little weak yet from what I'd been through, but I was totally & completely healed!

91. BUT YOU KNOW HOW THAT HAPPENED? I HAD DRIVEN ALL DAY LONG IN THE CAR IN A CRAMPED POSITION. I didn't even stop hardly to go to the toilet. And I had eaten a bunch of real bready dry sandwiches without much liquid, & in that strained position driving the car all day long, nervous tension‚ harsh dry food, not enough liquid‚ not enough change of position, same position all day—boy, was I in agony that night!—Another attack of appendicitis!

92. THAT'S WHAT DOES IT!—I KNOW, I'VE HAD IT! And if that isn't true of you & doesn't work with you, then you're some kind of a freak, 'cause that's the way it usually works. I gave Lois this advice & because she took the advice & obeyed, she hasn't had any appendicitis since then! Now you obey, Son! If you don't obey‚ I hope the Lord doesn't have to give you a worse spanking next time, I mean it! I appreciate your work, but I'd sure lots rather you'd take good care of the worker!

93. YOU'RE THE LORD'S PROPERTY & YOU BETTER TAKE CARE OF HIS PROPERTY, AMEN? Amen, Lord, enough said, maybe too much, & we have prayed & we leave him now in Your hands & we trust that he's going to be better. Now help him to rest, get the rest that he failed to get, & a little activity when he feels like it, & a lot of activity outdoors, Lord, when he's able, so this won't happen again, in Jesus' name.—Amen!—So quit working so hard & play more!

94. ALL WORK & NO PLAY MAKES YOU A VERY DULL BOY & A VERY SICK BOY TOO! God bless you, Son, I love you! Forgive me for having to fuss at you, but thank the Lord, PTL! I'm a funny boss: Most bosses want to make sure you're working—I want to make sure you aren't! TYL! Hallelujah! Well, you may see this in print some day because I imagine there are a few other people that need it! I thought after writing "Get Out!" I wouldn't have any more trouble with you guys on that! But here we go again!

95. I HAVE BEEN HEALTHIER FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS SINCE I STARTED THE FAMILY & BEEN WITH MARIA, THAN IN MY WHOLE LIFE! I've felt better, healthier, & had more fun! (Maria: His heart used to bother him so that if we'd just walk a little way up a hill he'd have to stop! And the Lord just healed him of those cramps he used to have all the time too!) We just took real definite victory over it & she laid hands on both places—she's really got the gift of healing! If you ever need healing, just ask her to pray for you! Almost the minute she touches me, why the Lord heals me just like that! Hallelujah!

96. AMEN LORD, BLESS THESE DEAR ONES & KEEP THEM. We thank You for how You have, Lord‚ & dear Gene too. Help him to get some rest & bless them in their work, Lord, & help them to get out afterwards & get their time in Thy beautiful Creation, Lord, fresh air & sun, good exercise, to take good care of their bodies. Help them, Lord, to relax after dinner & take time for a little recreation, sex, amusement & entertainment, Lord, just to have a change of menu, change of diet in their daily activities & lots of sweets fellowship with each other, & a good night's rest & safekeeping. Thank You, Lord, for giving them a beautiful place to live & walk in, Lord‚ amongst Thy creations, in Jesus' name.—Amen!—DO YOU OBEY & GET OUT?!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family