Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We know that he has, more than any other man, the gift of compressing the largest number of words into the smallest amount of thought.
~ Winston Churchill (about Prime Minister James MacDonald)

The further backward you can look, the further forward you are likely to see.
~ Winston Churchill

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
~ Søren Kierkegaard

Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge.
~ Winston Churchill

The longest way round is the shortest way home.
~ C.S. Lewis

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That is why we call it “the Present”.

He is a very modest man. But then he has much to be modest about.
~ Winston Churchill (about Prime Minister Clement Atlee)

Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan.
~ John F. Kennedy

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.
~ John F. Kennedy

My enemy’s enemy is my friend.

Not he who has little, but he who desires much is poor.
~ Seneca

Short people’s constant worry: the average.

Volunteer your services with caution. The best assurance that they are wanted and needed is to be invited.

Anger is only one letter short of danger.

It is not the years in your life, but the life in your years that count.
~ Adlai Stevenson

If you’re not the lead dog the view never changes.

It is better to know someone despite his faults than not to know someone at all.
~ Roberto Goizueta

Some people refuse to do what is right for fear of the inconvenient consequences.

If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room.

I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.
~ Albert Einstein

Minor surgery is something that is performed only on somebody else.

The definition of a Christian is someone who has made a choice, has decided to change, and is willing to meet the world’s challenges.
~ Billy Graham

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep for that which he cannot lose.
~ Jim Elliott

There is a huge difference between “good mistakes” (best effort, bad result) and “bad mistakes” (sloppiness or lack of effort).
~ Charles Brewer (founder of Mindspring)

The Evolution of Society (and Humanity?)

From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from great courage to liberty;
from liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency;
from complacency to apathy;
from apathy to dependency;
from dependency back into bondage.

Conditions for a good and lasting relationship: Faith, integrity and humility.

Seven Sins of the World:

Wealth without work
Pleasure without Conscience
Knowledge without Character
Commerce without Morality
Science without Humanity
Worship without Sacrifice
Politics without Principle
~ Mahatma Ghandi

You are never given a second chance to make a first impression.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;

I was made weak, that I might learn to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things;

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy;

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for;

but everything that I hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Appropriate answer to an inappropriate question: “If you will forgive me for not answering, I will forgive you for asking”.

One thing I have learned is that if everybody’s kicking you in the behind, it’s because you are way out in front.
~ Andrew Young

Grandparents and grandchildren are allies against a common enemy.
~ Philip Toynbee

An optimist sees and opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.
~ Winston Churchill

In an argument, the convenience of the written word seldom outweighs the risk of the same words being used against you. So speak your argument.

We make a living by what we get;
we make life by what we give.

It’s ideas, stupid!

Nothing lasts!

Age is a matter of mind. If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.
~ Cary Grant

Sin and pride both have “I” in the middle.

Only love can mend a situation in which personal relationships are broken. Rebuke and criticism are liable to awaken only resentment and hostility. Argument and controversy are liable only to widen the breach. Love is the one thing to heal the breach and restore the lost relationship.
~ Charles Spurgeon

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime;
therefore, we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint;
therefore we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.
~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Live! Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.
~ from the novel “Auntie Mame”

To the wise, life is a festival.
~ R.W. Emerson

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else;
for everything you gain, you lose something.
~ R.W. Emerson

If a dialog can’t mend a broken relationship, a monologue may begin the healing.

It is safe to assume that personal interest will precede professionalism and the truth.

Dear God, Help me recognize my sins, so that I may accept them and ask for your forgiveness.

If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything.
~ Mor

If in doubt, tell the truth.
~ Harry S. Truman, U.S. President

Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.
~ J.C. Watts

By speaking only the truth you are never in doubt about what you said.

Great minds discuss ideas;
average minds discuss events;
small minds discuss people.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

It is not hard for a totalitarian democracy to keep people ignorant. Once you relinquish your freedom for the sake of “understood necessity”, for general will (i.e., "public good"), for political discipline, for conformity with the government, for the greatness of historical accomplishments, or for any of the substitutes that are so convincingly offered, you cede your claim to the truth. Slowly, drop by drop, your life begins to ooze away just as surely as if you had slashed your wrists. You have voluntarily condemned yourself to helplessness.
~ Heda Margolius Kovàly (paraphrased)

A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
~ Winston Churchill

Fanaticism: Redoubling your efforts when you’ve lost sight of the objective.
~ George Santayana

If an offer to help is not accepted the first time, it is safe to assume that it is neither needed nor appreciated. So do not offer it again. At best it is a waste of time, at worst it may be taken as an insult or an offence.

The quickest way to increase your income is to cut your expenses.

It’s a fine thing to be honest, but it is also very important to be right.
~ Winston Churchill

A clear conscience is often due to a hazy memory.

I kiss my son because I love him;
and in order that I may love him.
~ Baron von Hugel

Forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
~ The Lord’s Prayer

Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige.
It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
~ Winston Churchill

Speak only the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth.

The measure of our success is not how we behave when we are winning;
it is how we hope when we have lost.

There is no opinion, however absurd, which men will not readily embrace as soon as they can be brought to the conviction that it is generally adopted.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer

I should be sorry if I only entertained them. I wish to make them better.
~ Georg Friedrich Handel (on compliments on “Messias”)

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
~ Søren Kierkegaard

Declining Charity:
From compassion to care,
from care to interest,
from interest to mere curiosity.

Socialism: Government of the duds, by the duds, and for the duds.
~ Winston Churchill

Democracy is the worst system devised by wit of man, except for all the others.
~ Winston Churchill

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings;
the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
~ Winston Churchill

It is the socialist idea that making profits is a vice;
I consider the real vice is making losses.
~ Winston Churchill

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.
~ Rev. William John Henry Boetcker

The problem with a self-made man is that he usually falls in love with his creator.
~ Joseph Parker

O, heavenly Father,
We thank thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
that thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen.

There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means.
~ Calvin Coolidge

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

Aldrig, aldrig, aldrig spørge om det nytter; bare, om det er sandt.
~ Kaj Munk

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
~ St. Francis of Assisi

The gospel of inclusion preaches a reconstructed, therapeutic Jesus, who accepts us exactly as we are.
Traditional Christianity, however, holds that Jesus calls us to repentance of sins, and to transformation through a new life lived in accordance with God's will.
~ Katherine Kersten

Our culture is based primarily on lies – lust, greed, arrogance, sloth, envy, gluttony and anger are foundational in our attitudes of how we think about our relationships. The opposite side of these lies is the truth of who we are and where we are going, our destiny as human beings.
~ Glen Alan Lillquist

A witness to the truth is a person who in poverty witnesses the truth. For him there is never promotion, except in an inverse sense, downward, step by step.
~ Søren Kierkegaard

We have created a unique society in which those who do bad things are shown compassion and understanding, and those who point out the badness and expect consequences and justice are called judgmental and mean. This attitude is so pervasive because it provides a huge gray area in which no one has to assume any responsibility for their actions, and they are immune from annoying judgment.
~ Laura Schlessinger

Penitence, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing.
~ John Petty, Coventry Cathedral provost on the Cathedral’s and the people of Coventry’s spirit towards Germany and the Germans after the World War II bombings of the city.

The greatest shame is to have no shame.

There are no illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents.

Buy what appreciates in value; lease what depreciates in value.
~ J. Paul Getty

A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money.
~ U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen.

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.
~ Errol Flynn

I want this performance to be your best, because in the audience there will be people who will hear this music for the first time in their life, and there will be people who will hear it for the last time in their life.
~ Robert Shaw to the Atlanta Symphony Choir

Next to the word of God, music deserves the highest praise. The gift of language combined with the gift of song was given to man that he should proclaim the word of God through music.
~ Martin Luther

We have two lives: The life we learn with, and the life we live after that. Suffering is what brings us towards happiness.
~ “The Natural”

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The principle of prayer is rooted in the fact of need, want, poverty. Our Lord makes poverty the first condition of spiritual blessedness.
~ William Porcher duBose

It has been said that nations, unlike people, don’t have friends; they have interests. Sadly, people have become a lot like nations.

The civil part of civilization is vastly overrated.

To be an alien, to be in exile, is the mark of Christian suffering.
~ Søren Kierkegaard

The most important thing is not a thing.

Venskab lever af et overskud. Det ernærer sig af de kræfter, som ikke gik i praktisk tjeneste hos Eros eller Merkur. Det kan derfor ikke fejle, at den, der kan have venner, er netop også den, der kan tåle ensomhed.
~ Jacob Paludan

Tidens afmagt i forståelse af venskab finder et sublimt ironisk udtryk i den kendsgerning, at de resterende par venner bevislig efterhånden mistænkes for at have homoseksuelle tendenser.
~ Jacob Paludan

Just because a man is courteous, don’t think he isn’t brave.
~ Spanish proverb

On dishonor: It’s really easy to lie to your parents when they trust you.
~ Teenage girl on having a sexual relationship against her parents’ will.

Oh, what tangled web we weave,
when first we practice to deceive
~ Sir Walter Scott

Statistical Morality:
Premise A - the normal is determined by statistics;
Premise B - the normal is human and good;
Conclusion - the abnormal is inhuman and bad
~ R.C. Sproul

Mistakes and errors come in all sizes. It’s what we do with them that counts.

When there is mist in the pulpit there is fog in the pews.

Clean up your room before you go to bed! Jesus may come tonight.
~ Mor

On cohabitation: Why buy the cow when you can get the milk free?

He who lives quietly lives well.

God is dead.
~ F. Nietzsche

Nietzsche is dead.
~ God

Other people may try to destroy your reputation, but they cannot destroy your character.

Cynics are, in the end, only perfectionists with awkwardly high standards.

Objective absolutes know only truths;
Subjective relativisms know mostly lies.

Now that you’ve told me about your credentials, tell me about your credibility.

Truth vs. Rumors: Those who know don’t talk; those who don’t know talk.

Prescription for defiance of religion:
Pride and reason over humility and faith

Praise in public, criticize in private.

There is nothing the body suffers which the soul may not profit by.
~ George Meredith

Pray as if everything depends on God;
work as if everything depends on you.