PLAY IT SAFE!                      11/85
--A Lecture on Birdy Safety!     DO 2082

         1. WE'VE TRIED TO MAKE SAFETY RULES FOR YOU ABOUT THE HOUSE & EVERY OTHER WAY, TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT ACCIDENTS DON'T HAPPEN, & a few times before when they did, the people involved usually got a lecture, as Dora & a few others know, about the care of the children & hot water & mechanics in the kitchen & all kinds of things. I've been a little bit concerned about this already & the Lord's been very good to us about it, in our birdy court and all of our household activities and our exercise.
         2. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN ENJOYING BIRDY? I like to call it birdy, it's easier than saying badminton. I don't think it's "bad". Sometimes it's not too good either. But anyway, it's a lot of exercise. It was the Lord's idea. I was concerned about especially you office people who don't get much exercise.
         3. SO I WAS JUST LOOKING OUT IN THE YARD WONDERING WHAT IN THE WORLD WE COULD DO TO GET SOME GOOD EXERCISE! And I looked across at that pavement & it just came to me as clear as a picture, like all these other inventions have come! The Lord just gives me a picture. There it is, it's a birdy court! It's just the right size for a birdy court & thanks to the dear boys who helped set it all up!
         4. NOW THAT WE'VE GOT THE BIRDY COURT IN OPERATION & EVERYBODY'S ENJOYING IT, I HAVE CAUTIONED A FEW PEOPLE I've played with out there at the beginning about safety, because you can get cracked in the head with those rackets pretty hard if you're not careful & prayerful about how you play & how near to others that you play. But it's just a miracle that we've been playing so long & nobody's really gotten hit very hard--until today.
         5. SHOW THEM YOUR CHEEK THERE, DEAR NAOMI! She was hit so hard that it not only knocked the skin off & made a cut, but as you can see, it's black-&-blue around the cut, it hit her jaw so hard. But I think that girl is the bravest girl I ever saw! She never flinched! She never winced! She just smiled! She never hollered, she never complained & we thought she'd just been barely touched or grazed until we saw it bleeding. I thought, my goodness, she really has gotten a scratch, but I didn't realise how badly she was really hit until we were together this afternoon & I examined her jaw. I asked her, "Did it just scratch the skin or did you feel it hit your jaw?" She said, "No, it hit the bone!" It really hit hard.
         6. AS I RECALL, BRUCE, THIS IS A CAUTION TO YOU & SOME OF YOU VERY AGGRESSIVE PLAYERS. I think maybe some of you forget that you're not out there to go to the extreme just to try to win, you're out there for exercise & for enjoyment, health, fresh air & sunshine.
         7. BEFORE THIS, NOBODY HAS REALLY GOTTEN HURT. A few people have gotten grazed a little bit. The birdies don't hurt you, as long as they don't hit you in the eye. I've gotten knocked in the head a few times or in the shoulder with rackets, but it wasn't enough to hurt. But this was a serious accident. And I'm not just saying this for Bruce's sake, but for all of you, we don't want this repeated, & it can be avoided!
         8. NOW WHAT HAS BEEN MY CRITERION ABOUT ACCIDENTS? What is my favourite saying about accidents?--Do your best to make it impossible for an accident to happen! Avoid the conditions & the circumstances that lead to accidents! If you see anything in a dangerous position, or in a position where somebody might accidentally hit it & knock it off or step on it or whatever it might be, although people might be able to avoid it, make it impossible for accidents to happen!
         9. THOSE RACKETS ARE VERY SMALL & VERY LIGHT, BUT IF THEY HIT YOU IN THE WRONG PLACE AS THEY DID POOR NAOMI TODAY, THEY CAN HURT!--And it could have been a lot more serious. It could have been her ear, or worse yet, it could have been her eye!
         10. BY THE WAY, SON, WHAT SHOT WAS IT THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAD TO COME THAT CLOSE TO HER? I remember that she was way over in the middle of her court. So I don't believe it was her fault. We have to be honest about these things. As far as I've seen playing with most all of you so far, I've found that Bruce is probably the champ here. He's really good at it & a fairly aggressive player & really knows how to knock down your points & make points.
         11. BUT I WANT TO REMIND SOME OF YOU THAT WE DON'T PLAY BIRDY JUST TO WIN! We're not out there playing just to make points. The point is not as valuable as the people! Winning is not the thing you're out there for, you're out there for good vigorous exercise!
         12. I BRING OUT THIS POINT TO SHOW YOU WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LAY DOWN THESE RULES: Bruce, what were you doing over in her court? (Bruce: I was going after a birdy that was really hers.)--Right! That's an honest confession. God bless him for being honest.
         13. NOW WHEN I FIRST TAUGHT YOU GUYS TO PLAY BIRDY, DIDN'T I SAY SOMETHING ABOUT STAYING IN YOUR OWN COURTS? I said the only safe way to keep from hitting each other with your rackets is to only hit birdies which are in your own courts! Of course, if you're just playing singles you get the whole court & there's nobody playing right beside you with a lethal racket, so you're perfectly safe & you can be all over the place, it doesn't matter!
         14. BUT WHEN YOU'RE PLAYING DOUBLES & YOU'RE SIDE-BY-SIDE IN TWO SMALL COURTS, YOU ARE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO EACH OTHER! And the only way to avoid this sort of accident is to make it impossible for it to happen by staying in your own court. As I recall, when I saw it happen, Naomi was right in the middle of her court, but Bruce was leaping over there to get a birdy he was afraid she was going to miss, & that's how she got socked!
         15. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU GO OUT THERE IS LIKE MARIA DID TODAY WHEN WE STARTED TO PLAY--PRAY! But maybe we didn't take it seriously enough & didn't really join in with her in spirit enough about it. She prayed, "Lord bless & keep us in Jesus' name, amen!" Maria was thoughtful & mindful to pray, but perhaps some of the rest of us didn't really take it as seriously as we should have.
         16. I THINK YOU REALLY NEED TO PRAY SERIOUSLY, ALL OF YOU! You don't want to go out there & hold hands & bow your heads & have a prayer meeting or a seance in front of all the neighbours, but if nothing else, you could pray before you go out. I think maybe we're going to have to make a rule that you folks who go out there to play, stop inside & bow your heads & pray & ask the Lord to keep accidents from happening.
         17. YOU FOLKS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIRST OF ALL PRAY, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP THE RULE ABOUT KEEPING TO YOUR OWN COURTS & only hitting birdies that are in your court, regardless of whether your other player is good enough or not! You're not there just to win, you're there for exercise! You may prove yourself to be a champ & kill somebody in the process, including yourself! So stick to your own court! Try to just hit the birdies that you're pretty sure are going to land in your court, & for God's sake, don't run out of your court into somebody else's court!
         18. NOW THERE IS ONE EXCEPTION IN THAT, & THAT IS AFTER THE FIRST SERVE, LIKE IN TENNIS OR IN BIRDIE, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO PLAY FORECOURT & BACKCOURT. You can either play net or backcourt, so one man stays close to the net & one stays in the back field, in the back court, so that you stay away from each other. One tries to get the birdies just coming over the net & the other stays back there to get the longshots. That's one good way to stay away from each other. Although sometimes because the front man can't see the rear man, it can cause problems. You're really safer to play your whole court & just your own court, the side court, whether close or back.
         19. BUT IF YOU'RE TWO GOOD PLAYERS THAT ARE USED TO PLAYING WITH EACH OTHER & you know where you're at & you're not going to bop the other guy on the bean with your racket, you could play forecourt & backcourt. Usually the guy in front of you isn't going to hit you back there behind him, although you can sometimes raise your racket to hit a birdy & hit the player behind you.
         20. YOU CAN RAISE THAT RACKET & HIT SOMEBODY BEHIND YOU IF YOU DON'T LOOK OUT! So if you know they're back there & you don't know where they are, just don't raise your racket that far, even if you miss the shot! I'd rather you miss the shot & miss the person than hit the shot & hit the person! So try to stay in your own court, or if you want to play forward & backward, be sure you know how to play it safely & stay apart from each other.
         21. MAYBE SOMETIMES YOU'LL WANT TO PLAY FORWARD & BACKWARD, BUT JUST BE VERY CAREFUL, especially the back man, don't go swinging that racket around so you crack your teammate in the head with it, like Bruce did to poor Naomi today. We know of course he didn't do it on purpose, but he was a little too zealous & aggressive there in trying to get that shot.
         22. I'M TALKING TO ALL OF YOU, NOT JUST BRUCE! He just happens to be the guy that's getting it tonight because he was the first one who had a serious accident & really hurt somebody. Now don't take chances! If you think the bird is coming down too close to the other player, it's better to let it fall than swing your racket & hit'm! Just let it fall!
         23. THE BEST WAY TO DO IT IS NUMBER ONE, PRAY, NUMBER TWO, STAY IN YOUR OWN COURT--either forecourt or rearcourt, whichever--& remember, it's better to miss the shot & lose the point than to hurt somebody! Let's not take any chances. When you think your teammate is a little close & you might hit'm, if there's any possibility you might even touch them with that racket, it's better to just let it fall, or let them have a chance to see if they can get it!--Especially if it's in their court. Give'm a chance to play! How are they ever going to learn if you try to play the whole field for'm, no matter how good you are?
         24. THERE'S NO POINT IN SHOWING OFF HOW GOOD YOU ARE! WE'RE NOT OUT THERE TO SHOW OFF, TO WIN GAMES & MAKE POINTS! That's not what we're there for, to be aggressive & show what a champ & what an expert we are. I know I try to make points, but I try to make them safely.
         25. STAY FAR ENOUGH APART THAT THERE'S NO POSSIBLE CHANCE OF HITTING YOUR PARTNER WITH YOUR RACKET! We don't want somebody to lose an eye or break a nose. Those rackets on the end, especially where the strings are strung, are pretty sharp. Look what they did to her cheek! Swung by a strong man, they can cause a lot of damage if you hit somebody. They can hurt & they can actually injure, especially around your head & face etc. There's just no point in playing so close to the other player that you're apt to hit them. Just don't do it!
         26. WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO BAN BIRDY BECAUSE YOU'RE CARELESS & YOU'RE TOO AGGRESSIVE in your playing & you're striving too hard to make points & trying too much to win & you're forgetting what you're there for! You're there most of all to get the exercise you need. That's what I was concerned about when I figured out the birdy court & the Lord gave me that picture.
         27. AT FIRST I WAS A LITTLE LEERY ABOUT SETTING UP THE COURT, BUT I THOUGHT, "WELL, LORD, WE'LL TRY IT!" After all, He gave me the idea, it's gonna work! But if you start boppin' people on the bean with your racket it's not going to work very well!--Or socking them in the jaw or in the eye or the nose or the ear or something! It could cause a permanent injury & you wouldn't be very happy about that, would you?
         28. TRY TO DO THINGS IN A WAY & SITUATE THINGS IN A WAY THAT ACCIDENTS CANNOT HAPPEN! Do your best to make it impossible for accidents to happen & please watch out on the birdy court! If you want to continue to be able to have it, & without pain, without accident, without some kind of a problem that you're going to regret for the rest of your life, then just don't do it! Just don't go over there & try to help your teammate. That's what they're there for, they're supposed to catch their own birdies, they're supposed to hit their own shots in their own court! Stick to your own court! Stay away from'm!
         29. AND DON'T EVER TAKE A CHANCE ON HITTING ONE SO CLOSE TO THEM THAT YOU'RE APT TO HIT THEM, EVER! I don't care how good you are, to show us how good you can play & get shots they can't get, it's just not worth it! It's better to lose the point.
         30. I THINK YOU OUGHT TO MEMORISE THAT RULE: BETTER TO LOSE THE POINT THAN TO HIT THE PERSON! Just stay in your own court! And pray before you go there & ask the Lord to really help you, that you're not going to hurt somebody with that racket! Wielding it wildly to try to catch a birdy, you're apt to catch somebody else.
         31. WINNING ISN'T THAT IMPORTANT! Winning one point certainly isn't that important. It would be better to lose the game & save the person than to try to win the game & hurt the person! Amen? So please try to be more prayerful & more careful, more considerate, more thoughtful of other people, & put first things first. And the most important thing is not to hurt anybody--not win the game! The most important thing is not to hit somebody.
         32. GO AHEAD & LOSE THE POINT, IT'S BETTER THAN SOMEBODY LOSING AN EYE OR AN EAR OR A NOSE OR SOMETHING! Try to stay away from each other. If it lands right in the middle on the line, well, better for both of you to stop & miss it. I've seen players do that lots of times. They each saw maybe the other one ought to hit it & neither one of them hit it & they just let it fall. Well, that's better than both of them trying to hit it & hitting each other! You're only out there to get good healthful fresh air, sunshine, exercise, fun & play & enjoy it! But you're not going to enjoy it if you hurt somebody, & they're not going to enjoy it if you hurt them.
         33. ANOTHER POTENTIAL DANGER IS THE STAIRWAY, & IF YOU START TUMBLING DOWN IT, YOU'VE GOT A LONG WAYS TO GO! So we have always taught our children & insisted that everybody on a stairway always hold onto the handrail.
         34. BE PRAYERFUL & CAREFUL IN ANYTHING DANGEROUS OR THAT COULD BE DANGEROUS IN ANY WAY ABOUT THE HOUSE OR THE KITCHEN, that's one of the most dangerous rooms in the house. More accidents happen in the kitchen than anywhere in a house. The second most dangerous room is the bathroom. People slip & fall or get burned or cut themselves or take the wrong kind of pills or something. It's been proven by actual statistics that the kitchen is the most dangerous room because of fire & knives & food prep & explosions & all kinds of things, gas & whatnot. And the bathroom is the second most dangerous place because of all those other hazards--hot water, slips, falls, broken bones.
         35. LIFE IS DANGEROUS & MORE ACCIDENTS HAPPEN AT HOME, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THAN ANYWHERE ELSE, because you spend more hours at home than anywhere else, & there are so many dangerous things you can do at home. Cars are the next biggest killers in the World, but homes can kill you if you're not prayerful & careful & cautious & do your best to keep accidents from happening, & do your best to try to make it impossible for them to happen.
         36. I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH LECTURE FOR TONIGHT, BUT I THINK WE NEEDED IT, DON'T YOU? I know that Bruce wouldn't have wanted to hurt her by any means, it was an accident, but if he had been more careful, prayerful & not as aggressive in his playing & been willing to lose a point rather than hurt somebody, it wouldn't have happened. But I'm sure the Lord let it happen in order to make sure I gave you this little talk, so we don't have any more of these happen. PTL?
         37. AND DON'T BE TEMPTED TO MAKE ANY FAST HOME RUNS TO GRAB ONE LITTLE BIRDY TO SAVE ONE SHOT & MAKE ONE POINT & RISK YOUR LIFE & go sailing across there & knock your head on a concrete corner or something! It's just not worth it! Take it easy! Don't work so hard, don't play so hard. You don't need that much exercise that you risk killing yourself! Just take it easy! If you have to start running across the court some great distance way out of reach to make some spectacular hit or shot, forget it!
         38. WE'RE NOT OUT THERE FOR VANITY & TO SHOW HOW WELL WE CAN PLAY & how smart we are & how athletic we are & what a good sport we are & what a great winner we are & all that, you're out there to get good exercise to save your life, not end it or hurt it! Is that clear? Okay! I don't want to hear of any more accidents out there, God willing! I want you to pray before you get out there & I want you to make sure the court is safe & as dry as possible. You can't always have it perfectly dry, but just go slow & easy. Even when it's dry we found out it can be pretty slick with some kinds of shoes. Just don't try to go on one of those big slides to try to get something or you're apt to fall & get badly hurt.
         39. ANY ACTIVITIES THAT ARE THAT VIGOROUS & WITH THAT MUCH ACTION, IF YOU'RE NOT VERY CAREFUL & PRAYERFUL, YOU STAND A DANGER OF A FALL or a tumble or a hit or something & to get hurt.--Because you're in motion. Anything where your body's in motion, just try to limit the motion & slow the motion. Better slow motion & miss it than fast motion & hit your head!--Or hit somebody else, for which you might even be more sorry!
         40. OKAY NOW, LET'S PLAY, LET'S HAVE FUN, & MOST OF ALL LET'S GET THAT GOOD EXERCISE, FRESH AIR & SUNSHINE THAT WE NEED, because most of us are in office jobs & we don't get much exercise except walks or trips to town or birdy. Some of you, your job is a lot more active & you get more exercise, but the birdy court was a salvation to us office workers & desk workers to give us the exercise we need without having to go out, get dressed in those dirty System clothes & walk on the dangerous streets.
         41. ANYWAY, IT COULD HAVE BEEN YOU TODAY! So you're all just as guilty if you're not going to pray & play it safe. So please be careful & cautious & most of all prayerful & use that birdy court for what it's for most of all--recreation, healthful exercise & just plain fun. And don't let it be a source of trouble & accident & sorrow. Amen?
         42. JESUS' NAME, WE ASK FOR SAFETY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY NOW, WHETHER AT WORK OR AT PLAY OR AT HOME OR ABROAD! Bless all of our far-flung Family clear around the Globe! Keep them, Lord, as You have, with so few accidents or injuries, Lord. It's just miraculous how You've spared us, with so few serious persecutions, Lord, or jailings, really almost nothing compared to what could have happened, Lord.--And so few deaths, so few, Lord! It's absolutely supernatural & miraculous the way You have protected us & provided for us & cared for us & kept us & prospered us & made us so fruitful, Lord, winning so many millions of souls for Thy Kingdom! Thank You Jesus for using us! Thank You Lord for loving us & saving us & even using us for Thy glory & to help others, in Jesus' name! TYJ! GBY!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family