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00:00 Let’s turn our attention to the Schiller family. 00:03 Is it possible to balance raising a family with a busy spiritual routine? 00:08 And if circumstances allow, can parents reach out for spiritual goals 00:12 —even full-time service? 00:14 Let’s listen to their answers to those questions. 00:19 Sometimes people say: “Well, you know, what was your secret? 00:23 How did you raise six kids?” 00:26 We got married September 16, 1972. 00:30 Two things started coming quickly 00:32 —spiritual privileges came along and the children came along— 00:35 together. 00:36 I was made an elder 00:39 shortly after the elder arrangement came into effect. 00:44 The kids were just part of all that, 00:47 and you might think that sometimes they didn’t know it. 00:50 We were doing substitute work with five children, 00:54 and I don’t think they even knew what we were doing. 00:58 In 1989, we were pioneering, 01:01 and then we had the opportunity to help out at Bethel, 01:05 maybe a week or two at a time. 01:08 About that time, Patterson was starting up. 01:12 And we kind of recognized 01:16 that maybe we were getting too comfortable. 01:20 We went one time to Bethel and said: 01:23 “Hey, if you need a doctor out at Patterson, why, we’d be available. 01:27 Or we could make ourselves available, maybe.” 01:30 And wouldn’t you know it, shortly after, we got a call, 01:34 “How quickly could you sell your place and be up here?” 01:37 So we went to Bethel with six kids, 01:41 sold our house at a loss so we could do that, 01:44 and started a new life there. 01:50 So we learned pretty quickly: Don’t turn down any privileges 01:53 —and especially not because we had kids. 01:58 When we went to Bethel, the oldest one was 17. 02:03 Having children 02:05 kept my husband and me very humble 02:09 because as soon as you thought you had something figured out, 02:12 each child needed to be disciplined in a different way. 02:15 And as soon as you thought, ‘Boy, you know, I’ve got this figured out,’ 02:17 you’re thrown a curve. 02:20 A challenge was to keep doing the basic things. 02:25 You’d come home tired. 02:28 It would be so easy not to have the family study 02:32 maybe one Monday. 02:34 It’s those basic, simple things 02:37 that I think kept us on an even keel. 02:42 I often think of the illustration that Jesus gave 02:46 at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, 02:48 what he said about this foundation that was washed away. 02:52 And Jesus never blamed the storm; he blamed the foundation. 02:57 And so we recognize that any child anywhere 03:01 —in fact, even adults— can get their faith tested. 03:04 So we tried to really make sure 03:06 they had a good foundation that didn’t get washed away. 03:09 Prepare them, let them learn how to deal with people 03:13 while they’re under your care, 03:16 and get them ready for life. 03:19 We got to thinking, ‘Other parents require their kids to go to college,’ 03:23 so we just required them 03:25 to pioneer for a year. 03:28 Any kind of education— 03:29 Any kind of secular education can teach you 03:33 how to have a skill so that you have a job. 03:37 But the Bible teaches you how to live, 03:40 and it teaches you principles that you can live your life by. 03:45 And all of them kept pioneering. 03:48 You know, they did various jobs to support themselves. 03:51 They cleaned; they worked at lumberyards; they worked on roofing. 03:54 And none of them have 03:57 a complicated life that holds them down. 04:00 I wanted everlasting life for my children, 04:03 and I knew I would have to give them back to Jehovah. 04:06 We have to realize we don’t own our children —Jehovah does. 04:09 And we have to respect that. 04:11 We’re not telling them what to do anymore. 04:16 We appreciate and we’re very, very thankful 04:18 when our children, as far away as they are 04:21 and as busy as they are, 04:23 take the time to communicate with us. 04:27 And I know you won’t remember this, 04:31 but I remember one time, before you fell asleep at night, 04:35 I said, “With all that you have done for Jehovah, 04:40 what would you like in return?” 04:44 Do you remember what you said? 04:47 You said three words, “All my children.” 04:53 In Deuteronomy it says: “I have put life and death before you, 04:56 . . . and you must choose.” 04:58 So we can do what we can as parents 05:01 —some things good, some things not so good. 05:03 In the end, each one had to make 05:07 his or her own decision. 05:10 And that’s why, again, it was not any secret we had. 05:14 We’re so proud of what the kids decided 05:17 and how they turned out because it was their decision. 05:20 I think that’s the thing that we’ve learned: 05:24 Don’t turn down opportunities. 05:32 Isn’t it wonderful to hear of ones like Brother and Sister Schiller 05:36 who have offered their gifts to Jehovah? 05:38 Brother Schiller said that it was doing the basic things 05:41 that kept his family focused spiritually. 05:44 So when opportunities came along, he was able to do more, 05:48 which included pioneering, substitute circuit work, 05:52 and using the medical training he had already acquired 05:55 to volunteer at the Patterson Educational Center. 05:59 Proverbs 10:22 says: 06:02 “It is the blessing of Jehovah that makes one rich, 06:06 and He adds no hardship with it.”(Ftn.) 06:08 That certainly has proved true for Brother Schiller and his family.
00:00 Let’s turn our attention to the Schiller family. 00:03 Is it possible to balance raising a family with a busy spiritual routine? 00:08 And if circumstances allow, can parents reach out for spiritual goals 00:12 —even full-time service? 00:14 Let’s listen to their answers to those questions. 00:19 Sometimes people say: “Well, you know, what was your secret? 00:23 How did you raise six kids?” 00:26 We got married September 16, 1972. 00:30 Two things started coming quickly 00:32 —spiritual privileges came along and the children came along— 00:35 together. 00:36 I was made an elder 00:39 shortly after the elder arrangement came into effect. 00:44 The kids were just part of all that, 00:47 and you might think that sometimes they didn’t know it. 00:50 We were doing substitute work with five children, 00:54 and I don’t think they even knew what we were doing. 00:58 In 1989, we were pioneering, 01:01 and then we had the opportunity to help out at Bethel, 01:05 maybe a week or two at a time. 01:08 About that time, Patterson was starting up. 01:12 And we kind of recognized 01:16 that maybe we were getting too comfortable. 01:20 We went one time to Bethel and said: 01:23 “Hey, if you need a doctor out at Patterson, why, we’d be available. 01:27 Or we could make ourselves available, maybe.” 01:30 And wouldn’t you know it, shortly after, we got a call, 01:34 “How quickly could you sell your place and be up here?” 01:37 So we went to Bethel with six kids, 01:41 sold our house at a loss so we could do that, 01:44 and started a new life there. 01:50 So we learned pretty quickly: Don’t turn down any privileges 01:53 —and especially not because we had kids. 01:58 When we went to Bethel, the oldest one was 17. 02:03 Having children 02:05 kept my husband and me very humble 02:09 because as soon as you thought you had something figured out, 02:12 each child needed to be disciplined in a different way. 02:15 And as soon as you thought, ‘Boy, you know, I’ve got this figured out,’ 02:17 you’re thrown a curve. 02:20 A challenge was to keep doing the basic things. 02:25 You’d come home tired. 02:28 It would be so easy not to have the family study 02:32 maybe one Monday. 02:34 It’s those basic, simple things 02:37 that I think kept us on an even keel. 02:42 I often think of the illustration that Jesus gave 02:46 at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, 02:48 what he said about this foundation that was washed away. 02:52 And Jesus never blamed the storm; he blamed the foundation. 02:57 And so we recognize that any child anywhere 03:01 —in fact, even adults— can get their faith tested. 03:04 So we tried to really make sure 03:06 they had a good foundation that didn’t get washed away. 03:09 Prepare them, let them learn how to deal with people 03:13 while they’re under your care, 03:16 and get them ready for life. 03:19 We got to thinking, ‘Other parents require their kids to go to college,’ 03:23 so we just required them 03:25 to pioneer for a year. 03:28 Any kind of education— 03:29 Any kind of secular education can teach you 03:33 how to have a skill so that you have a job. 03:37 But the Bible teaches you how to live, 03:40 and it teaches you principles that you can live your life by. 03:45 And all of them kept pioneering. 03:48 You know, they did various jobs to support themselves. 03:51 They cleaned; they worked at lumberyards; they worked on roofing. 03:54 And none of them have 03:57 a complicated life that holds them down. 04:00 I wanted everlasting life for my children, 04:03 and I knew I would have to give them back to Jehovah. 04:06 We have to realize we don’t own our children —Jehovah does. 04:09 And we have to respect that. 04:11 We’re not telling them what to do anymore. 04:16 We appreciate and we’re very, very thankful 04:18 when our children, as far away as they are 04:21 and as busy as they are, 04:23 take the time to communicate with us. 04:27 And I know you won’t remember this, 04:31 but I remember one time, before you fell asleep at night, 04:35 I said, “With all that you have done for Jehovah, 04:40 what would you like in return?” 04:44 Do you remember what you said? 04:47 You said three words, “All my children.” 04:53 In Deuteronomy it says: “I have put life and death before you, 04:56 . . . and you must choose.” 04:58 So we can do what we can as parents 05:01 —some things good, some things not so good. 05:03 In the end, each one had to make 05:07 his or her own decision. 05:10 And that’s why, again, it was not any secret we had. 05:14 We’re so proud of what the kids decided 05:17 and how they turned out because it was their decision. 05:20 I think that’s the thing that we’ve learned: 05:24 Don’t turn down opportunities. 05:32 Isn’t it wonderful to hear of ones like Brother and Sister Schiller 05:36 who have offered their gifts to Jehovah? 05:38 Brother Schiller said that it was doing the basic things 05:41 that kept his family focused spiritually. 05:44 So when opportunities came along, he was able to do more, 05:48 which included pioneering, substitute circuit work, 05:52 and using the medical training he had already acquired 05:55 to volunteer at the Patterson Educational Center. 05:59 Proverbs 10:22 says: 06:02 “It is the blessing of Jehovah that makes one rich, 06:06 and He adds no hardship with it.”(Ftn.) 06:08 That certainly has proved true for Brother Schiller and his family.
