Of First Importance

The most important lesson a child can learn is the lesson of respect. In fact, honor and respect are the only rules. All other rules are sub-rule of these.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: 3 ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’ ” ―Ephesians 6:1-3

This respect is shown is three fundamental ways:

Attitudes: There can be no true honor if there is not first a godly attitude. Rebellion is first nurtured in the heart—it is the product of sinful pride. “Nobody is going to tell me what to do!” Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah saying, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me” (Matt. 15:8). Children must show, and must me required by their parents and teachers to show, respectful attitudes toward their own parents and toward all those who hold superior positions over them, which is almost everyone (they should also display proper attitudes of respect toward their equals). 

Words: Parental authority must be honored and obeyed with the child’s words and body language.  Children must be trained to use the appropriate language of respect when addressing or responding to their parents (and other adults). When a child is permitted to use disrespectful language, or to ignore the adult who is speaking to them, this is a form of dishonor and disobedience. The scriptures teach us that we are to pray for those in authority over us, which would include our parents and teachers: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). 

Behavior: Children honor their parents and teachers by their actions. Submission, respect and obedience are demonstrated in what we do. “Eyeservice” alone is not sufficient to honor those whom God has placed in authority over us. When we obey our parents and other legitimate authorities we not only honor them, we honor God. This principle is taught in Col. 3:22-24:  “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:  and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

You Are Never Alone

You are part of the covenant bodies you are members of—your family, your church and state.

This means all of your thoughts, words, and behavior affects those you are in covenant with (or will be in covenant with).

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. ―1 Corinthians 6:19-20

You are connected to the past and to the future. You are part of a great river that has an upstream and a downstream. There are no genuinely “private acts.” We’re always connected to the community. Our attitudes, words and behavior constantly impact others, and indeed, the entire culture.

Maturity and Parental Responsibility

Parents are required in Scripture to bring up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). This means the first great task confronting parents today is to bring their children up within the covenant, and in such a way as their children feel a life-long loyalty to that covenant. This task addresses the question of whether our children will be Christians after us, and whether they will bring up their children in the Christian faith.

Children according to the Fourth Commandment are required to honor their father and mother. One element of honoring your father and mother is this: obey and love their standards, as much as you possibly can. Jesus did the will of His heavenly Father.

Now if you are to grow, mature and be perfected as godly men and women, that process must occur in the proper context. Just as a plant needs proper soil, water and sunshine to reach maturity and be fruitful, so do you. The ideal place for that is a godly covenant household. Next to that is a godly covenant church. We can think of a covenant in a couple of ways:

First, a covenant is a government. There are laws that govern those in the covenant (these should be based on God’s laws). The household was designed by God to instruct us and discipline us. This provides protection and should lead to godly self-government.

Second, a covenant is a relationship. There are different positions held by those in the covenant (these positions are defined and governed by God). God has placed you in a particular position e.g., husband, father, wife, mother, son or daughter—pastor, elder, deacon, church member—president, governor, citizen, etc. Godliness requires that we know our position and act accordingly. When we abandon the law or the relationships of the covenant we are exposing ourselves to God’s judgment or discipline.

Christin's Quote Book

• A conscience is what hurts when the rest of you feels so good. – Unknown
• I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. – Galileo Galilei
• It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating. – Oscar Wilde
• If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? – Abraham Lincoln
• It takes a big man to cry, but it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man. – Jack Handy

Growing-Up

God gives each of us many gifts. Nevertheless, a gift is only the beginning. What we do with those gifts is critical. Gifts can be squandered, abused, and misused to harm ourselves and others or else they can be used for a righteous purpose and become a blessing to us and to our neighbors. There are many wealthy, beautiful, smart, witty, clever, or artistic, people who are so narcissistic that no one can endure being around them for very long. Everything is about them; everything is a threat to them. Essentially, they’re big babies that never really grew up. Perhaps they were indulged or isolated as children. There are numerous explanations as to why people remain immature but none of the explanations are legitimate excuses for this kind of sin.

We expect immature two-year-olds, and we have some reasonable hope that they will outgrow it, but when we see it in so-called adults, it’s exceptionally ugly. Who wants to be around that? On the other hand, maturity is lovely and attractive. It knows how to deny self, how to serve others and how to live in community, how to be humble. It gives, and therefore, it also receives back a blessing from God. Maturity looks out, not in. It sees the best in others and seeks to help and encourage those that are weak. Maturity builds others up instead of tearing them down. Again, the epitome of maturity is Jesus Christ Himself, who not only emptied Himself, but also gave Himself for us. He loved God and His neighbor.

What is Maturity?

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” ―Matthew 5:48

People speak of being “mature or immature for their age,” but before we can begin a discussion of “maturity” we need a definition. One person described maturity this way: “The ability to stick with a job until it’s finished; the ability to do a job without being supervised; the ability to carry money without spending it; and the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even” The Bible sets before us a number of passages that speak to the issue of maturity, for example:

For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? ³² It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.  ―Psalm 18:31-32

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever.  ―Psalm 138:8

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ^15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. ―Ephesians 4:11-15

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. ―Colossians 1:28

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection. ―Hebrews 6:1

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ―James 1:2-4

In other words, true maturity is the work of God in making us to be like Jesus Christ; the perfect man. My definition of immaturity is two two-year-olds in a room with one toy. They think the whole world revolves around them and what they want. We sometimes insult someone when by saying, “Don’t be such a baby about it.” On the other hand, the epitome of maturity is Jesus Christ: He was filled with wisdom, He loved God and His neighbor, and He sacrificed Himself for others. The mature person ultimately sees the world in terms of their relationship to others.

Maturity and Risk-Taking

Our heavenly Father “knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103:14). Getting from point A to point B is inherently risky. Learning to walk inevitably means falling down. Therefore, getting children to greater maturity necessarily involves failures along the way. It’s easier (in the short-term) just to do it ourselves, or do it for them. In the long-term, this is the painful way. Remember, we want them to leave; we want them to be able to stand before God without us having to stand right next to them. So, we’ll have to let them do things―hard things―we’ll have to let them fail. Haven’t you learned things the hard way? In fact, haven’t you learned most things the hard way?

Your children are a reflection of you; that’s an inescapable concept. Your children are going say things and do things (or not do things) that are going to embarrass you. Get used to it. Sometimes, we’re afraid to let our immature children be placed in risky situations, not because they don’t need the challenge or experience, but because we’re afraid they will fail and we’ll be embarrassed. Our pride gets in the way of their opportunity to grow. Let them pour the milk, spill the milk, and clean-up the spill. Then teach them and let them try again and again until they can handle it without you. You’ll need to apply this principle over and over to all kinds of situations. Remember, you too are being trained. God is putting you into new circumstances to see if you will mature as well. It’s ok if other people think you’re not a perfect parent, because you’re not; at least not yet.

Do We Really Have to Grow Up?

Do we really have to grow up? The Bible says “yes”:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ^13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ^14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ^15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ^16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. ―Ephesians 4:11-16

Well, this means that we have no time to waste, and since age is no guarantee of maturity, we’ll have to learn from God how to get there. We live in a day where there’s a revolt against maturity, however, retaining childhood is not normal. It’s appropriate for a child to be a child, but it’s not appropriate for a child to remain a child. Growth―physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually are the proper goals of childrearing. And so it’s important for us, as parents, to have a vision of what maturity looks like and how to attain it. Maturity is central to our daily lesson plan.

It's a Slab!

Well, I said that when we had a slab that I would be officially excited about the new church building.  I’m officially excited!

More Pictures HERE.

Parents, Children and Maturity

And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” ―1 John 2:28

Regardless of the subject we’re studying in the Bible, we should to start with an aerial view: we need to see the big picture, and we need to see the ideal picture. Few of us (if any) are in ideal circumstances. In fact, we’re usually in situations that are far from the ideal. Nevertheless, the ideal—the perfect—is the goal. In fact, the Greek word in the Bible that is often translated “mature,” is sometimes translated “perfect,” or “of full age.”

Our children start as children but the goal is for us to raise adults, not children. Maturity is the object, and it’s the object of every lesson, every day. However, before we turn our attention to helping our children mature we must remember that we too are children who are being raised up to maturity. The Apostle Paul said that his goal was to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:28).  He continues, describing himself in these terms:

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. ¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. ―Philippians 3:12-16

As parents, even as we seek the maturity of our own children, we must constantly have before us that God is at work in us (as His little children) to bring us into conformity to His Son; the One who is the picture of maturity and perfection. God uses our own children as a big part of the process to mature us. Moreover, it will be difficult for our children to ever rise above our own maturity (or lack thereof). Therefore, the Bible always begins with us and our duties and responsibilities. If our children are to learn to love God and their neighbors they will have to first see it in us.

Christin's Quote Book

• The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If their okay, then it’s you. – Rita Mae Brown
• Good fences make good neighbors. – Robert Frost
• I hope life isn’t just one big joke because I don’t get it. – Jack Handy
• To think a quiz is easy is a blessing. To say a quiz is easy is boasting. – John Scwandt
• You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least, you need a beer. – Frank Zappa

The Places of Grief and Joy

One way to think about grief and joy is with the analogy of geography. Grief is a low place and joy is a high place. To be in a state of grief or joy is to be located in a place that affects our perspective on everything else. Valleys and mountaintops limit or expand our vision; our vision of the past, present and future.

When we feel physical pain, all of our attention is located at the point where it hurts. For example, the fact that other parts of our body feel good doesn’t diminish the intensity of an injured foot. The pain, if it’s significant, gets all of our attention. While we’re in pain, it’s a priority, and it blocks out all other thoughts. It’s all about the here-and-now. While we would like to leave it behind, pain holds us in place. Emotional pain, or grief, operates the same way. The valley of the shadow of death is a fearful place; a lonely place. When we’re in a state of grief, we can’t see where we’ve been or where we’re going. It’s hard to imagine being anywhere else. Our whole perspective is changed and our priorities are rearranged.

From the high place of joy we can see far. We can remember and we can anticipate. We can see the valleys behind us, but they’re diminished in size as they’re placed in the grand context of our whole journey. We can remember being in pain―we remember that it hurt―but the pain itself subsides as move away from it. We can see that we’ve been in many valleys in the past, but we can also see the multitude of places in between, along with the various summits we have conquered. If fact, our time spent in the valleys of pain and grief heighten our joys and provide a contrast that enables us to appreciate our new location. Our gratitude for being in a state of health is greater when we have also visited the place of sickness. Eternal life is even grander when we’ve been rescued from eternal death.

Sometimes, we find ourselves stuck in grief―spinning our wheels―it’s hard to find our way out. We can’t pass though this life without going there (perhaps many times), but how can we see beyond that dark place? How can we grieve, yet not grieve like those who have no hope? It’s essential that we turn to the only reliable source for our journey i.e., the road map of the Word of God. His faithfulness in the past is our assurance for the future.

     For His anger is but for a moment,

     His favor is for life;

     Weeping may endure for a night,

     But joy comes in the morning.

                                                ―Psalm 30:5

Where are Your Manners?

Manners are often misunderstood. It’s easy to seize upon the trivial or obscure and to think such things are simply silly and unimportant. For example, why should we hold out our little fingers when sipping from a teacup?  While some particulars have become obsolete and inapplicable, most manners are rooted in the notion of loving our neighbors. They’re a way of showing respect and concern for others―providing a certain politeness or decorum―they decorate personal relationships and our communities. Unfortunately, we live in a day where the culture is often ugly and less and less decorous, which means it’s less and less Christian. Failing to show good manners is usually due to ignorance or carelessness. No one is born with good manners; they have to be taught. Carelessness speaks to a self-centered heart. 

Indulgence and Love

God loves us and He occasionally indulges us (e.g., Deut. 14:26). Yet because He loves us, He doesn’t constantly indulge us; He also calls on us to deny ourselves. Self-denial is the essence of maturity. There’s a good reason why parents who over-indulge their children are said to “spoil” them. The over-indulged child becomes an “entitlement child.” Rather than being grateful for gracious gifts they have received, they come to see it as their “right,” and as your obligation. In the name of love and affection for the child, some parents end up doing actual harm. The parental impulse to curry the favor of the child is, in itself, a selfish impulse on the part of the parent. As C.S. Lewis observed: “A doting mother may be tempted by natural affection to ‘spoil’ her child; that is, to gratify her own affectionate impulses at the expense of the child’s real happiness later on.” Loving someone is doing for them what they need, not necessarily what they want.

When a child has been over-indulged, and has developed an entitlement mentality, rather than feeling affection for their benefactor, they come to expect the satisfaction of their every desire, and they expect it now. If, at some point, the parent (recognizing what they have created), decides to put a halt to the indulgence, then the response from the child will not be a humble recognition that heretofore they have been the recipients of gracious gifts, rather they will despise the parent for having “cut them off.” When an indulgence ceases to be special―when there is a lack of gratitude and thankfulness­―then that good gift has begun to do real harm.

Compound Interest

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.” ―Luke 16:10

The Apostle Peter admonishes us to “add to your faith virtue” (2 Peter 1:5). It’s not so much the “big things,” rather the little things that that speak to who and what we are. They plot the course of our trajectory. The “big things” are made up of many “little things.” Character is what we do when no one is looking so that we do the right thing when everyone is looking. The principle of “gradualism” is always at work; “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal. 5:9).

“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An appar­ently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.”

―C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Christin's Quote Book

• No one gossips about other people’s secret virtues. – Bertrand Russell
• A secret may be sometimes best kept by keeping the secret of its being a secret - Anonymous 
• There is no refuge from confession but suicide and suicide is confession. – Daniel Webster
• A country can be judged by the quality of its proverbs. – German proverb
• A room without books is like a body without a soul. – Cicero

Organizing Our Days

“The self-discipline of organizing our days around worship and prayer…is fundamentally at odds with the frenetic and chaotic lives of people in the information society. Contemplative ways of life are not anti-technological as much as pro-community, pro-wisdom, and pro-faithfulness. They remind us all how important non-instrumental, non-informational thought and practice are for responsible living.”

―Quentin J. Schultz, Habits of the High-Tech Heart, p. 197

Friendship and Community

"The decisive significance of friendship in the information society leads us back to the importance of community. Friendship ultimately softens radical individualism and bolsters community. In the Christian tradi­tion, for instance, the acquisition of virtue is collective, not individual. People discover the good life as they associate virtuously. The church itself is meant to be a faithful fellowship of virtue-seeking people who value friendship and cultivate shared moral bonds. Historically, the church described the deepest form of friendship as love."

―Quentin J. Schultz, Habits of the High-Tech Heart, p. 201

When Priorities Become Priorities

Most of us recognize the need to reorder our priorities from time to time. The tyranny of the urgent pushes the important things further and further down the list. But how do we know that a priority has really become a priority? It’s easy to do things when it’s easy. We know a priority has truly become a priority when we do it in the face of inconvenience. Attending church, tithing, hospitality, prayer, Bible reading, etc. are often inconvenient. Nevertheless, it’s at the very point of the inconvenience where we find out what something is worth. When our children (and others) see us do the inconvenient thing, that’s where they discover what it is that we think is really important.

More Observations on Faith

"We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone." 
— Martin Luther

This is why Paul upholds the teaching of the gospel in such a forceful way ... Seeing such an example and such a picture of man’s great weakness and fickleness, Paul states that the truth of the gospel must supersede anything that we may devise … he is showing us that we ought to know the substance of the doctrine which is brought to us in the name of God, so that our faith can be fully grounded upon it. Then we will not be tossed about with every wind, nor will we wander about aimlessly, changing our opinions a hundred times a day; we will persist in this doctrine until the end. This, in brief, is what we must remember." 
— John Calvin

"Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe." 
— Augustine of Hippo

"Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand." 
— Augustine of Hippo

"True virtue never appears so lovely as when it is most oppressed; and the divine excellency of real Christianity is never exhibited with such advantage as when under the greatest trials; then it is that true faith appears much more precious than gold, and upon this account is "found to praise and honour and glory." 
— Jonathan Edwards

"Men will trust in God no further than they know Him; and they cannot be in the exercise of faith in Him one ace further than they have a sight of His fulness and faithfulness in exercise." 
— Jonathan Edwards

Observations on Faith

"The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more child-like will be our faith" 
— J. Gresham Machen

"Faith is indeed intellectual; it involves an apprehension of certain things as facts; and vain is the modern effort to divorce faith from knowledge. But although faith is intellectual, it is not only intellectual. You cannot have faith without having knowledge; but you will not have faith if you have only knowledge." 
— J. Gresham Machen

"The true reason why faith is given such an exclusive place by the New Testament, so far as the attainment of salvation is concerned, over against love and over against everything else in man...is that faith means receiving something, not doing something or even being something. To say, therefore, that our faith saves us means that we do not save ourselves even in slightest measure, but that God saves us." 
— J. Gresham Machen

"[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you." 
— C.S. Lewis

"This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see." 
— Corrie Ten Boom

Happy Perspective

Looking back on 37 years of happiness provides the advantage of some perspective. It’s not that our lives have been without some so-called “bad” moments, it’s simply that the “bad” moments have turned out to be part of what has made the good ones so good. The stresses of being young, broke, sick, tired, and sinful (in a number of ways), made the path forward seem difficult and even uncertain at times. But covering all of that has been the grace of God, the love of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit; shaping and forming us and our marriage to increasingly reflect the Grand Marriage of Christ and His Church. The momentary difficulties of our lives have been exceeded by the far more weighty glory and happiness of walking together and seeing how He was as work in us. Without faith in the word of God, life is a mystery; it’s really meaningless and fleeting. However, as we go forward, and learn to stand on the promises of God, we see more and more how every part of our lives, even the difficult ones, are worked together for our good in Christ. In eternity our perspective will be even clearer.

On August 9^th, 1974, Marinell and I made covenant vows to one another and to God in the presence of many witnesses: “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.” Thank you, Marinell, for making this so easy and pleasant.

Today, my bride, the mother of my three children, is ministering (as she always does) to our newest grandchild (number 11), in California. And while we are, for the moment, separated by geography, yet we’re never separated in spirit. I look forward to your safe return and the continuation of our delightful journey.

With all my love, Happy Anniversary!

Randy

Christin's Quote Book

• It is hard to believe a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place. – H. L. Mencken
• When the well’s dry, we know the worth of the water. – Benjamin Franklin
• He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow. – George Elliot
• The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones. – Gaboril
• Love your neighbor; yet pull not down your hedge. – George Herbert

It Happens to be True

"The great difficulty is to get modern audiences to realize that you are preaching Christianity solely and simply because you happen to think it true; they always suppose you are preaching it because you like it or think it good for society or something of that sort. Now a clearly maintained distinction between what the Faith actually says and what you would like it to have said or what you understand or what you personally find helpful or think probable, forces your audience to realize that you are tied to your data just as the scientist is tied by the results of the experiments; that you are not just saying what you like. This immediately helps them realize that what is being discussed is a question about objective fact — not gas about ideals and points of view." 

— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Happy Anniversary!

I just remembered today that my 11^th anniversary as the pastor of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church slipped by (July 30^th ―we’re having so much fun, I forgot.) So let me say to my wonderful congregation, THANK YOU! Thank you for your faithfulness, for your love, and for your providing a solid Christian community for me and my family to be nurtured in. In recent days I’ve seen shining examples of how that community functions in real life situations and in a multitude of ways. As we've been learning from the book of Hebrews, faith always does something; it believes God and then it acts. I'm a blessed man and a blessed pastor.

Christin's Quote Book

• Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines. - Unknown
• If a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do.  Think up something appropriate and do it. – Edgar Watson Howe
• It takes your enemy and your friend working together to hurt you to the heart; the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you. – Mark Twain
• Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. – Jonathan Swift
• He who is most creative conceals his sources best. – Unknown